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
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
NYT editorial board:
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com
“The world is entering a dangerous new nuclear age,” writes the editorial board. “President Trump’s approach to this new, unbound era is alarming in both its words and its mechanics.”
“The world is entering a dangerous new nuclear age,” writes the editorial board. “President Trump’s approach to this new, unbound era is alarming in both its words and its mechanics.”
Opinion | Trump Risks Igniting a Nuclear Wildfire
The president’s approach to the rising nuclear danger is alarming.
nyti.ms
February 17, 2026 at 2:18 AM
NYT editorial board:
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
I’m sure it’s fine
The Epstein files include an order for 55-gallon drums of acid; Bannon abandoned a Florida rental where the Jacuzzi had been wrecked with acid www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general...
February 17, 2026 at 2:20 AM
I’m sure it’s fine
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
I was initially not the biggest fan of Spanberger but it turns out she has the heart of a world class hater and that is 100% the kind of energy we need right now
This is a nice move in an interview www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/u...
February 17, 2026 at 2:13 AM
I was initially not the biggest fan of Spanberger but it turns out she has the heart of a world class hater and that is 100% the kind of energy we need right now
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
douglas adams was our most accurate futurist
We are at an airport restaurant. A robot just drove up to us with our food, said, "Hi! Here I am!" and then drove away with our food.
February 15, 2026 at 10:10 PM
douglas adams was our most accurate futurist
I am continuing to divorce myself from the Amazon ecosystem, which is proving to be harder and more expensive than expected, almost like a real divorce, at least metaphorically. Some details... 1/?
February 15, 2026 at 7:12 PM
I am continuing to divorce myself from the Amazon ecosystem, which is proving to be harder and more expensive than expected, almost like a real divorce, at least metaphorically. Some details... 1/?
Vonnegut told it better
February 14, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Vonnegut told it better
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
Oops! MAGA to be most affected by SAVE act.
Secure Democracy Foundation analysis of State Dept & census data shows states Trump won handily have the largest percentage of citizens without valid passports.
So MAGA just assumed citizenship was written on their faces?
#USDemocracy #Voices4Victory
Secure Democracy Foundation analysis of State Dept & census data shows states Trump won handily have the largest percentage of citizens without valid passports.
So MAGA just assumed citizenship was written on their faces?
#USDemocracy #Voices4Victory
Republican Voters Would Be Disproportionately Impacted by Proof of Citizenship Mandates
Evidence shows Republican voters would face significant hurdles when exercising their freedom to vote – more than Democratic voters – under documentary proof of citizenship laws.
securedemocracyusa.org
February 14, 2026 at 3:31 PM
Oops! MAGA to be most affected by SAVE act.
Secure Democracy Foundation analysis of State Dept & census data shows states Trump won handily have the largest percentage of citizens without valid passports.
So MAGA just assumed citizenship was written on their faces?
#USDemocracy #Voices4Victory
Secure Democracy Foundation analysis of State Dept & census data shows states Trump won handily have the largest percentage of citizens without valid passports.
So MAGA just assumed citizenship was written on their faces?
#USDemocracy #Voices4Victory
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
Resist narratives of inevitability.
February 14, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Resist narratives of inevitability.
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
“I’ve never seen federal agents so out of control and acting in such a malicious manner,” a former federal prosecutor and federal judge said. “They said they were going after ‘the worst of the worst,’ then they became the problem.
Read this by @jonschuppe.bsky.social & @natashakorecki.bsky.social
Read this by @jonschuppe.bsky.social & @natashakorecki.bsky.social
Broken bones, burning eyes: How Trump's DHS deploys 'less lethal' weapons on protesters
Federal immigration officers have repeatedly used force in ways that appear to violate their own policies or general policing guidelines, NBC News found.
www.nbcnews.com
February 14, 2026 at 3:20 PM
“I’ve never seen federal agents so out of control and acting in such a malicious manner,” a former federal prosecutor and federal judge said. “They said they were going after ‘the worst of the worst,’ then they became the problem.
Read this by @jonschuppe.bsky.social & @natashakorecki.bsky.social
Read this by @jonschuppe.bsky.social & @natashakorecki.bsky.social
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
Where Do The Children Play?
YouTube video by Yusuf / Cat Stevens - Topic
youtu.be
February 14, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
“Stories are not universally bought and cannot be imposed on others at the point of a gun or by other forms of force. John Locke was not wrong when he argued that force can only grant you submission, not belief.” www.liberalcurrents.com/politics-is-...
Politics is a Story
What is necessary more than ever before is a genuinely positive story that liberals can tell the public.
www.liberalcurrents.com
February 14, 2026 at 2:43 PM
“Stories are not universally bought and cannot be imposed on others at the point of a gun or by other forms of force. John Locke was not wrong when he argued that force can only grant you submission, not belief.” www.liberalcurrents.com/politics-is-...
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
Swalwell: ICE agents shot Alex Pretti and Renee Good. And the only person in the world who has been held accountable by DHS is the pilot who somehow forgot to move Kristi Noem’s blankie.
February 14, 2026 at 2:27 AM
Swalwell: ICE agents shot Alex Pretti and Renee Good. And the only person in the world who has been held accountable by DHS is the pilot who somehow forgot to move Kristi Noem’s blankie.
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
The commander in chief telling troops who they have to vote for is itself a presidency ending impeachable scandal.
February 14, 2026 at 4:12 PM
The commander in chief telling troops who they have to vote for is itself a presidency ending impeachable scandal.
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
Texan town hall 👀
A young man at our town hall asked if I was pushing class warfare.
I told him: “We already have class warfare in this country — billionaires are waging war on the rest of us.”
I told him: “We already have class warfare in this country — billionaires are waging war on the rest of us.”
February 14, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Texan town hall 👀
Reposted by Patrick LaForge
Calling the requirement for a judicial warrant before entering a person’s home one of the Democrats’ “new restrictions on federal immigration agents” crosses the line into outright falsehood. It’s in the Bill of Rights! A rule as old as the republic.
February 14, 2026 at 4:29 AM
Calling the requirement for a judicial warrant before entering a person’s home one of the Democrats’ “new restrictions on federal immigration agents” crosses the line into outright falsehood. It’s in the Bill of Rights! A rule as old as the republic.
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: