Rich Swinton
@ricosuavejd.bsky.social
Here for the politics. Staying for the nicer vibes.
Reposted by Rich Swinton
it’s insane that a decade ago we all agreed that giving mass shooters the attention they desired was a bad thing but now because rightwingers will quite literally lie about the shooter every single time we all have to be acutely aware of the shooters intentions and ideology
February 17, 2026 at 9:28 PM
it’s insane that a decade ago we all agreed that giving mass shooters the attention they desired was a bad thing but now because rightwingers will quite literally lie about the shooter every single time we all have to be acutely aware of the shooters intentions and ideology
Reposted by Rich Swinton
"Whirlpool to lay off around 400 workers in Amana" share.google/6EetXUiI00Rw...
Whirlpool to lay off around 400 workers in Amana
Whirlpool shared with TV9 Tuesday that around 400 employees will be let go at its Amana facility, effective March 9.
www.kcrg.com
February 17, 2026 at 9:25 PM
"Whirlpool to lay off around 400 workers in Amana" share.google/6EetXUiI00Rw...
Reposted by Rich Swinton
A lobbyist used AI to falsify 20,000 public comments to tip the scales against reducing deadly air pollution in homes. This has been illegal since at least 2019 - but enforcement would require a prosecutor brave enough to argue that "bot" can mean "AI". Crickets.
www.latimes.com/environment/...
www.latimes.com/environment/...
Southern California air board rejected pollution rules after AI-generated flood of comments
SoCal’s pollution authority scrapped a plan to phase out gas-powered appliances after receiving more than 20,000 emails sent by an AI-powered platform called CiviClick.
www.latimes.com
February 17, 2026 at 8:40 PM
A lobbyist used AI to falsify 20,000 public comments to tip the scales against reducing deadly air pollution in homes. This has been illegal since at least 2019 - but enforcement would require a prosecutor brave enough to argue that "bot" can mean "AI". Crickets.
www.latimes.com/environment/...
www.latimes.com/environment/...
Reposted by Rich Swinton
Ignores the fact that (as Colbert mentioned) the equal-time DOES NOT APPLY TO COLBERT'S SHOW
CBS pushed back on Stephen Colbert's description of events and claimed it didn't prohibit the late-night host from airing an interview with James Talarico.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
February 17, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Ignores the fact that (as Colbert mentioned) the equal-time DOES NOT APPLY TO COLBERT'S SHOW
Reposted by Rich Swinton
BREAKING: An immigration judge has *terminated* the Trump-Vance administration's efforts to deport Columbia pro-Palestine student protestor Mohsen Mahdawi.
Mohsen was first detained 10 months ago, when agents ambushed him at a citizenship interview.
Mohsen was first detained 10 months ago, when agents ambushed him at a citizenship interview.
February 17, 2026 at 9:14 PM
BREAKING: An immigration judge has *terminated* the Trump-Vance administration's efforts to deport Columbia pro-Palestine student protestor Mohsen Mahdawi.
Mohsen was first detained 10 months ago, when agents ambushed him at a citizenship interview.
Mohsen was first detained 10 months ago, when agents ambushed him at a citizenship interview.
Reposted by Rich Swinton
Ummmm
Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on tariffs: "It's not regressive. Most consumption in America is done by the wealthiest people. So the idea it's somehow regressive is just wrong."
February 17, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Ummmm
Reposted by Rich Swinton
An aside about the banality of evil: if you're not familiar with the area around this detention center, this is the ICE facility in a suburban office park in Burlington, Massachusetts. I know it well. I used to work in the building right behind the one in the center of the photo.
“They’re trapped in this little confinement cell, a dark cell with no sunlight, with multiple people,” said Shaan Chatterjee, an attorney at New England Immigration Law. “They’re basically torturing people into signing off on their own deportation.”
(Free article) www.sunjournal.com/2026/02/07/i...
(Free article) www.sunjournal.com/2026/02/07/i...
ICE detainees from Maine being held under ‘inhumane’ conditions in Mass. facility, attorneys say
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson said the allegations of overcrowding and lack of access to lawyers are false.
www.sunjournal.com
February 17, 2026 at 3:45 PM
An aside about the banality of evil: if you're not familiar with the area around this detention center, this is the ICE facility in a suburban office park in Burlington, Massachusetts. I know it well. I used to work in the building right behind the one in the center of the photo.
Reposted by Rich Swinton
Forum members discuss their discomfort with mass deportation efforts, debate how federal agents have interacted with civilians, and complain about their working conditions. www.wired.com/story/hsi-fo...
Inside the Homeland Security Forum Where ICE Agents Talk Shit About Other Agents
Forum members discuss their discomfort with mass deportation efforts, debate how federal agents have interacted with civilians, and complain about their working conditions.
www.wired.com
February 17, 2026 at 12:04 PM
Forum members discuss their discomfort with mass deportation efforts, debate how federal agents have interacted with civilians, and complain about their working conditions. www.wired.com/story/hsi-fo...
Reposted by Rich Swinton
This is a bombshell: One of Epstein's victims accused Trump of sexually and violently assaulting her when she was "13 to 15" and the FBI deemed her credible enough to warrant an interview.
FBI Interviewed Trump Accuser, Epstein Files Show
Trump was credibly accused of sexual assault in the Epstein files. It's unclear what became of the DOJ's investigation.
substack.com
February 17, 2026 at 4:15 AM
This is a bombshell: One of Epstein's victims accused Trump of sexually and violently assaulting her when she was "13 to 15" and the FBI deemed her credible enough to warrant an interview.
Reposted by Rich Swinton
Amusingly, propaganda has made right-wing municipalities so scared of immigrants that ICE’s mass deportation plans are stymied by inability to find anywhere that will let them create detainment camps
"The owners of a Dallas County warehouse that ICE had planned to use as a mega detention center said Monday it will not sell or lease the property to the federal government.
“God answered our prayers,” the Hutchins Mayor said after learning of the decision...
www.dallasnews.com/news/immigra...
“God answered our prayers,” the Hutchins Mayor said after learning of the decision...
www.dallasnews.com/news/immigra...
Warehouse owner won’t sell Dallas County property to ICE for migrant detention center
The owners of a Dallas County warehouse that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had planned to use as a mega detention center said Monday it will not sell or...
www.dallasnews.com
February 17, 2026 at 9:20 AM
Amusingly, propaganda has made right-wing municipalities so scared of immigrants that ICE’s mass deportation plans are stymied by inability to find anywhere that will let them create detainment camps
Reposted by Rich Swinton
EXCLUSIVE: ICE officials knew use of force was rising well before the Minneapolis shootings.
Internal agency emails show a surge in reports of ICE officers using more force going back nearly a year, but DHS leadership didn't see it as a concern to be addressed.
Internal agency emails show a surge in reports of ICE officers using more force going back nearly a year, but DHS leadership didn't see it as a concern to be addressed.
ICE officials knew use of force was rising well before Minneapolis shootings
Internal agency emails show a surge in reports of ICE officers using more force going back nearly a year, but DHS leadership did not see it as a concern to be addressed.
www.politico.com
February 17, 2026 at 1:09 PM
EXCLUSIVE: ICE officials knew use of force was rising well before the Minneapolis shootings.
Internal agency emails show a surge in reports of ICE officers using more force going back nearly a year, but DHS leadership didn't see it as a concern to be addressed.
Internal agency emails show a surge in reports of ICE officers using more force going back nearly a year, but DHS leadership didn't see it as a concern to be addressed.
Reposted by Rich Swinton
the effort to censor Telrico will just drive WAY more people than normal to this interview with him the Late Show posted to YouTube, which has already seen its viewership count jump 10k in the time it took me to write this:
Rep. James Talarico On Confronting Christian Nationalism, And Strange Days In The Texas Legislatu…
YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
youtu.be
February 17, 2026 at 1:09 PM
the effort to censor Telrico will just drive WAY more people than normal to this interview with him the Late Show posted to YouTube, which has already seen its viewership count jump 10k in the time it took me to write this:
Reposted by Rich Swinton
I think it’s time for Democratic leaders to start saying “if you’re a pilot or ground crew involved in a deportation that was stayed by a judge, you’ll be held criminally liable for human trafficking.” Everyone involved in these flights should have that fear in the back of their minds.
Overnight, this probable ICE flight landed in Benin and is now returning to Senegal, likely for a crew layover.
February 16, 2026 at 10:57 AM
I think it’s time for Democratic leaders to start saying “if you’re a pilot or ground crew involved in a deportation that was stayed by a judge, you’ll be held criminally liable for human trafficking.” Everyone involved in these flights should have that fear in the back of their minds.
Reposted by Rich Swinton
EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Sent a Rescue Plane for Boat Strike Survivors. It Took 45 Hours to Arrive.
In seas that could kill a person within an hour, it took nearly two days for a rescue plane to arrive.
New from @airwars.bsky.social and @theintercept.com
theintercept.com/2026/02/17/b...
In seas that could kill a person within an hour, it took nearly two days for a rescue plane to arrive.
New from @airwars.bsky.social and @theintercept.com
theintercept.com/2026/02/17/b...
U.S. Sent a Rescue Plane for Boat Strike Survivors. It Took 45 Hours to Arrive.
In seas that could kill a person within an hour, it took nearly two days for a rescue plane to arrive.
theintercept.com
February 17, 2026 at 1:00 PM
EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Sent a Rescue Plane for Boat Strike Survivors. It Took 45 Hours to Arrive.
In seas that could kill a person within an hour, it took nearly two days for a rescue plane to arrive.
New from @airwars.bsky.social and @theintercept.com
theintercept.com/2026/02/17/b...
In seas that could kill a person within an hour, it took nearly two days for a rescue plane to arrive.
New from @airwars.bsky.social and @theintercept.com
theintercept.com/2026/02/17/b...
Reposted by Rich Swinton
The rare voter fraud incidents that actually exist always end up being someone trying to vote for Trump. newrepublic.com/post/206627/...
Kansas Mayor Who Voted for Trump as Noncitizen Faces Felony Charges
Joe Ceballos has the support of his small town, where he has lived since he was a teenager.
newrepublic.com
February 17, 2026 at 12:57 PM
The rare voter fraud incidents that actually exist always end up being someone trying to vote for Trump. newrepublic.com/post/206627/...
Reposted by Rich Swinton
Steve Bannon talked about invoking the 25th Amendment with Jeffrey Epstein.
The conversation happened over New Year’s in 2018/2019 and included talk about how Madeleine Westerhout, the director of Oval Office ops, was “saving the world” by giving Trump oral sex.
(www.justice.gov/epstein/file...)
The conversation happened over New Year’s in 2018/2019 and included talk about how Madeleine Westerhout, the director of Oval Office ops, was “saving the world” by giving Trump oral sex.
(www.justice.gov/epstein/file...)
February 16, 2026 at 8:40 PM
Steve Bannon talked about invoking the 25th Amendment with Jeffrey Epstein.
The conversation happened over New Year’s in 2018/2019 and included talk about how Madeleine Westerhout, the director of Oval Office ops, was “saving the world” by giving Trump oral sex.
(www.justice.gov/epstein/file...)
The conversation happened over New Year’s in 2018/2019 and included talk about how Madeleine Westerhout, the director of Oval Office ops, was “saving the world” by giving Trump oral sex.
(www.justice.gov/epstein/file...)
Reposted by Rich Swinton
gotta do investigations into DHS “waste, fraud and abuse” as pretext for killing the agency
The interior of Kristi Noem’s new billionaire-class luxury jet is complete with two bidets and a wet bar with a wine chiller. It will be purchased on our dime from the slush fund Congress approved in the One Big Beautiful Bill.
open.substack.com/pub/newsnotn...
open.substack.com/pub/newsnotn...
Let Them Fly First Class: Kristi Noem’s DHS Luxury Jet Scandal
Inside Noem's flying palace. Plus: Pentagon demands obedient, deadly AI. The race to deploy untested nuclear reactors. Lawmakers move to rein in presidential pardons. And remembering Robert Duvall.
open.substack.com
February 17, 2026 at 2:53 AM
gotta do investigations into DHS “waste, fraud and abuse” as pretext for killing the agency
Reposted by Rich Swinton
The LAPD is citing truancy laws in an attempt to squash the ongoing school walkouts against ICE. The LAPD is also threatening to arrest any parents or adults who support the kids in their acts of civil disobedience.
February 17, 2026 at 4:35 AM
The LAPD is citing truancy laws in an attempt to squash the ongoing school walkouts against ICE. The LAPD is also threatening to arrest any parents or adults who support the kids in their acts of civil disobedience.
Reposted by Rich Swinton
Dr. Linda Davis was killed today in a fatal car crash
Her vehicle was hit by a man who was fleeing ICE agents, a man with no previous criminal history
Her vehicle was hit by a man who was fleeing ICE agents, a man with no previous criminal history
February 17, 2026 at 4:35 AM
Dr. Linda Davis was killed today in a fatal car crash
Her vehicle was hit by a man who was fleeing ICE agents, a man with no previous criminal history
Her vehicle was hit by a man who was fleeing ICE agents, a man with no previous criminal history
Reposted by Rich Swinton
So far it looks like Trump, Noem, and operation metro surge drained Minneapolis alone—not yet counting St. Paul, Bloomington, etc.— $203 million. This was a MAGA Trump assault on an American blue city. Nothing more. Start seeing it.
www.fox9.com/news/operati...
www.fox9.com/news/operati...
Operation Metro Surge cost Minneapolis at least $203 million, city officials say
Minneapolis officials have released an estimated tab on what Operation Metro Surge has cost city residents so far.
www.fox9.com
February 17, 2026 at 1:21 AM
So far it looks like Trump, Noem, and operation metro surge drained Minneapolis alone—not yet counting St. Paul, Bloomington, etc.— $203 million. This was a MAGA Trump assault on an American blue city. Nothing more. Start seeing it.
www.fox9.com/news/operati...
www.fox9.com/news/operati...
Reposted by Rich Swinton
The interior of Kristi Noem’s new billionaire-class luxury jet is complete with two bidets and a wet bar with a wine chiller. It will be purchased on our dime from the slush fund Congress approved in the One Big Beautiful Bill.
open.substack.com/pub/newsnotn...
open.substack.com/pub/newsnotn...
Let Them Fly First Class: Kristi Noem’s DHS Luxury Jet Scandal
Inside Noem's flying palace. Plus: Pentagon demands obedient, deadly AI. The race to deploy untested nuclear reactors. Lawmakers move to rein in presidential pardons. And remembering Robert Duvall.
open.substack.com
February 17, 2026 at 1:41 AM
The interior of Kristi Noem’s new billionaire-class luxury jet is complete with two bidets and a wet bar with a wine chiller. It will be purchased on our dime from the slush fund Congress approved in the One Big Beautiful Bill.
open.substack.com/pub/newsnotn...
open.substack.com/pub/newsnotn...
Reposted by Rich Swinton
pretty stunning chart
February 15, 2026 at 7:58 PM
pretty stunning chart
Reposted by Rich Swinton
We live in an autocratic oligarchic hellhole.
The Pentagon is basically saying that if Anthropic doesn't drop its demands over restricting the use of AI in autonomous drone targeting and surveillance of Americans, it will essentially destroy the company.
The Pentagon is basically saying that if Anthropic doesn't drop its demands over restricting the use of AI in autonomous drone targeting and surveillance of Americans, it will essentially destroy the company.
Exclusive: Pentagon warns Anthropic will "pay a price" as feud escalates
The Pentagon may label Anthropic a "supply chain risk," forcing all its vendors to sever ties.
www.axios.com
February 16, 2026 at 8:42 PM
We live in an autocratic oligarchic hellhole.
The Pentagon is basically saying that if Anthropic doesn't drop its demands over restricting the use of AI in autonomous drone targeting and surveillance of Americans, it will essentially destroy the company.
The Pentagon is basically saying that if Anthropic doesn't drop its demands over restricting the use of AI in autonomous drone targeting and surveillance of Americans, it will essentially destroy the company.
Reposted by Rich Swinton
Complaining that following the Constitution will stop you from doing the thing you want to do is... an admission that what you want to do is unconstitutional.
You swore an oath to defend the Constitution. You are violating that oath, Rep. Alford. Time to go home and let someone else do the job.
You swore an oath to defend the Constitution. You are violating that oath, Rep. Alford. Time to go home and let someone else do the job.
Rep. Mark Alford: "If you tie a judicial warrant to what ICE is doing, it will never happen"
February 17, 2026 at 12:36 AM
Complaining that following the Constitution will stop you from doing the thing you want to do is... an admission that what you want to do is unconstitutional.
You swore an oath to defend the Constitution. You are violating that oath, Rep. Alford. Time to go home and let someone else do the job.
You swore an oath to defend the Constitution. You are violating that oath, Rep. Alford. Time to go home and let someone else do the job.
Reposted by Rich Swinton
Russia's war effort is unsustainable. That's an overarching, sometimes underrated, fact of the war.
Economy strained beyond capacity, and signs of growing problems.
Doesn't mean it's about to collapse. Doesn't mean we know when it'll break. But enough time failing to conquer Ukraine, and it will.
Economy strained beyond capacity, and signs of growing problems.
Doesn't mean it's about to collapse. Doesn't mean we know when it'll break. But enough time failing to conquer Ukraine, and it will.
“Russia’s economy hasn’t collapsed. It has entered the “death zone”—surviving by consuming its own future. Growth at 1%. Budget deficit rising. Military sector expands while civilian industry shrinks. Interest payments > education + healthcare. No climber survives this altitude forever.”
Russia’s economy has entered the death zone
Alexandra Prokopenko wonders how much longer it can go on metabolising its own muscle tissue
www.economist.com
February 16, 2026 at 3:24 PM
Russia's war effort is unsustainable. That's an overarching, sometimes underrated, fact of the war.
Economy strained beyond capacity, and signs of growing problems.
Doesn't mean it's about to collapse. Doesn't mean we know when it'll break. But enough time failing to conquer Ukraine, and it will.
Economy strained beyond capacity, and signs of growing problems.
Doesn't mean it's about to collapse. Doesn't mean we know when it'll break. But enough time failing to conquer Ukraine, and it will.