Patrick LaForge
@palafo.bsky.social
Writer. Zen meditator. Traveler. Cyclist. New Yorker. Ex-NYT editor. I talk to strangers. I have friends everywhere. http://palafo.org. Signal: Palafo.38
Pinned
This atlas of independent journalists just launched and looks promising. www.journalismatlas.com
Independent Journalism Atlas
A comprehensive directory of independent journalists and creators, mapping the new landscape of independent journalism worldwide.
www.journalismatlas.com
February 13, 2026 at 10:32 PM
This atlas of independent journalists just launched and looks promising. www.journalismatlas.com
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
This is something the Nazis used to do to Jewish children in the camps. It happened to a man I knew when he was a child in Auschwitz. The camp guards thought it was funny as hell.
On Thanksgiving, the immigrant children held at the Dilley detention center gathered in the gym for what they thought was a holiday feast.
The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.
But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.
But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
February 13, 2026 at 8:09 PM
This is something the Nazis used to do to Jewish children in the camps. It happened to a man I knew when he was a child in Auschwitz. The camp guards thought it was funny as hell.
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
Top MAGA voices are calling for Bondi's removal over her handling of the Epstein files and her combative congressional testimony this week.
MAGA world figures attack Pam Bondi over Epstein files
Influential right-wing figures say the Justice Department mishandled the case.
www.axios.com
February 13, 2026 at 8:38 PM
Top MAGA voices are calling for Bondi's removal over her handling of the Epstein files and her combative congressional testimony this week.
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
My biggest problem with the Save Act is not only will people need to get real IDs and/or passports but the government is in charge of giving these documents out. What's to stop the regime from telling these agencies to make it difficult or impossible until after the November elections?
#USDemocracy
#USDemocracy
February 13, 2026 at 8:38 PM
My biggest problem with the Save Act is not only will people need to get real IDs and/or passports but the government is in charge of giving these documents out. What's to stop the regime from telling these agencies to make it difficult or impossible until after the November elections?
#USDemocracy
#USDemocracy
Also: curiosity-driven undergraduate liberal arts study makes for more creative, innovative and adaptable employees than vocational studies involving knowledge that with some exceptions will be obsolete or quickly overtaken. Teach people to think and communicate. Makes for good citizens and workers.
This elitist view that only rich/Ivy/private school kids should study/have access the liberal arts is so deeply ingrained in so many highly educated Democrats’ views (including tons who majored in the lib arts themselves) that they don’t even realize they hold it, let alone how ugly & elitist it is
(3) But the Democrat view is also bad: while it's fine for people at Princeton and Harvard to study Latin and Sanskrit, public higher education is about job training and $ ROI. There is no room for the idea that curiosity-driven inquiry is a good that should be supported by the public.
February 13, 2026 at 8:39 PM
Also: curiosity-driven undergraduate liberal arts study makes for more creative, innovative and adaptable employees than vocational studies involving knowledge that with some exceptions will be obsolete or quickly overtaken. Teach people to think and communicate. Makes for good citizens and workers.
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
About a third of Americans (34%) say U.S. news organizations are doing extremely or very well financially.
These perceptions may help explain why relatively few people feel a responsibility to pay for news.
These perceptions may help explain why relatively few people feel a responsibility to pay for news.
Few say Americans have a responsibility to pay for news
Funding is central to the sustainability of journalism. Yet few Americans pay for news, and most say paying for it isn't their responsibility.
www.pewresearch.org
February 12, 2026 at 6:04 PM
About a third of Americans (34%) say U.S. news organizations are doing extremely or very well financially.
These perceptions may help explain why relatively few people feel a responsibility to pay for news.
These perceptions may help explain why relatively few people feel a responsibility to pay for news.
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
Sen. Gallego: So somebody who probably has never handled a weapon, after 42 days, is going to be inserted into a high-stress environment?
ICE Chief Lyons: Yes
Sen. Gallego: Explains a lot.
ICE Chief Lyons: Yes
Sen. Gallego: Explains a lot.
February 12, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Sen. Gallego: So somebody who probably has never handled a weapon, after 42 days, is going to be inserted into a high-stress environment?
ICE Chief Lyons: Yes
Sen. Gallego: Explains a lot.
ICE Chief Lyons: Yes
Sen. Gallego: Explains a lot.
Thinking about it
February 12, 2026 at 5:48 PM
Thinking about it
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
It’s nice the way they balance out being evil with being complete idiots.
Rep Mark Alford (R-MO) says House Rs are "investigating" Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show & talking with FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr. Alford says he didn't watch the whole thing & also doesn't know Spanish but suspects it might have been "much worse than the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction"
February 10, 2026 at 5:51 PM
It’s nice the way they balance out being evil with being complete idiots.
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
Read the letters referenced by Rep. James Walkinshaw here:
February 10, 2026 at 6:44 PM
Read the letters referenced by Rep. James Walkinshaw here:
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
"A modern-day concentration camp ... People have been killed by the staff here." Irish citizen Seamus Culleton has been in ICE detention since September, despite having a valid work permit and his own business in the US.
February 10, 2026 at 10:09 AM
"A modern-day concentration camp ... People have been killed by the staff here." Irish citizen Seamus Culleton has been in ICE detention since September, despite having a valid work permit and his own business in the US.
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
She's THIS close to getting it.
February 10, 2026 at 9:15 PM
She's THIS close to getting it.
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
Rep. Melanie Stansbury: “The United States government is engaged in an active coverup of the largest sex trafficking scandal & influence peddling scandal in the history of the United States — and Donald Trump is right at the center of it”
February 9, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Rep. Melanie Stansbury: “The United States government is engaged in an active coverup of the largest sex trafficking scandal & influence peddling scandal in the history of the United States — and Donald Trump is right at the center of it”
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
SWALWELL: You said you wanted to see a deportation process that was 'like Amazon Prime but with human beings.' How many times has Amazon Prime shot a mom 3 times in the face?
LYONS: None
SWALWELL: How many times has Amazon Prime shot a nurse 10 times in the back?
LYONS: None
LYONS: None
SWALWELL: How many times has Amazon Prime shot a nurse 10 times in the back?
LYONS: None
February 10, 2026 at 4:14 PM
SWALWELL: You said you wanted to see a deportation process that was 'like Amazon Prime but with human beings.' How many times has Amazon Prime shot a mom 3 times in the face?
LYONS: None
SWALWELL: How many times has Amazon Prime shot a nurse 10 times in the back?
LYONS: None
LYONS: None
SWALWELL: How many times has Amazon Prime shot a nurse 10 times in the back?
LYONS: None
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
“I’m racing for an American people who stand for love, for acceptance, for compassion, honesty, and respect for others. For everyone out there caring for others, protecting their neighbours and meeting people with love – every single step is for you.”
www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/f...
www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/f...
Pride and unease: US Winter Olympians navigate politics, patriotism and Trump attacks
Some athletes at the Milano Cortina Games speaking out on the complications of representing the US abroad are facing hostility from home
www.theguardian.com
February 10, 2026 at 8:22 PM
“I’m racing for an American people who stand for love, for acceptance, for compassion, honesty, and respect for others. For everyone out there caring for others, protecting their neighbours and meeting people with love – every single step is for you.”
www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/f...
www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/f...
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
Khanna: "Here we have a sitting cabinet member, Lutnick, who's all over the files as having a business relationship allegedly and personal relationship alleged after Epstein was convicted. He's allegedly lied about his relationship. And there's no consequence. We need to get real in this country."
February 10, 2026 at 1:19 PM
Khanna: "Here we have a sitting cabinet member, Lutnick, who's all over the files as having a business relationship allegedly and personal relationship alleged after Epstein was convicted. He's allegedly lied about his relationship. And there's no consequence. We need to get real in this country."
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
"The sheer number of Epstein’s connections to the rulers of our world is dizzying," writes @moiradonegan.bsky.social. "So, too...is the willingness of his circle to continue their relationships with him despite his convictions for sex crimes..."
Epstein was not ostracised for his crimes. To some powerful men, he became even more appealing | Moira Donegan
The latest tranche of files expose how he was viewed as a sexual svengali – and an expert on dodging the #MeToo movement, says Guardian US columnist Moira Donegan
www.theguardian.com
February 9, 2026 at 6:59 PM
"The sheer number of Epstein’s connections to the rulers of our world is dizzying," writes @moiradonegan.bsky.social. "So, too...is the willingness of his circle to continue their relationships with him despite his convictions for sex crimes..."
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
Vermont US Representative Becca Balint being interviewed by Drop Site News shortly after reviewing more, unreleased Epstein files saying
"They're all a bunch of sick fucks"
"They're all a bunch of sick fucks"
February 10, 2026 at 3:02 AM
Vermont US Representative Becca Balint being interviewed by Drop Site News shortly after reviewing more, unreleased Epstein files saying
"They're all a bunch of sick fucks"
"They're all a bunch of sick fucks"
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
Sorry to be Radical Left but I don't think we should put people who haven't committed a crime, and aren't even accused of committing a crime, into any sort of "Detention"
February 10, 2026 at 6:04 AM
Sorry to be Radical Left but I don't think we should put people who haven't committed a crime, and aren't even accused of committing a crime, into any sort of "Detention"
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
US House's tariff rebukes could get to Trump’s desk
US House’s tariff rebukes could get to Trump’s desk
The House is expected to vote on whether to allow its members to start disapproving of the president’s tariffs.
www.semafor.com
February 10, 2026 at 1:34 PM
US House's tariff rebukes could get to Trump’s desk
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
Bookstagram is an amazing place where someone will say they are posting about the "unheralded," "underrated" books they wish to boost, and then the first book they talk about will literally be a Booker Prize winner
February 9, 2026 at 5:18 PM
Bookstagram is an amazing place where someone will say they are posting about the "unheralded," "underrated" books they wish to boost, and then the first book they talk about will literally be a Booker Prize winner
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
AOC on DHS Warehouses: I think every American should be alarmed. They are building—and have built—a black box system that disappears people, both immigrants and U.S. citizens alike.
February 10, 2026 at 1:30 AM
AOC on DHS Warehouses: I think every American should be alarmed. They are building—and have built—a black box system that disappears people, both immigrants and U.S. citizens alike.
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
ICE is stopping people, damaging property, beating the shit out of them, then realizing the victim is either documented/citizen & leaving them on the street. These are use of force crimes under the color of law & our local & state prosecutors MUST START FILING CHARGES!
youtube.com/shorts/n9u0z...
youtube.com/shorts/n9u0z...
U.S. citizen was running errands. After ICE stop, she ended up at the hospital instead
YouTube video by The Oregonian
youtube.com
February 8, 2026 at 6:57 PM
ICE is stopping people, damaging property, beating the shit out of them, then realizing the victim is either documented/citizen & leaving them on the street. These are use of force crimes under the color of law & our local & state prosecutors MUST START FILING CHARGES!
youtube.com/shorts/n9u0z...
youtube.com/shorts/n9u0z...
Horrific
1/ ProPublica collected handwritten letters in mid-January from children held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the same facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was taken.
Hundreds of kids are still detained.
We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵
Hundreds of kids are still detained.
We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵
February 10, 2026 at 2:20 AM
Horrific