Saganomics
@saganomics.bsky.social
Hey I'm Mitch, some guy with an engineering degree, a construction job, a lot of cats and a house full of projects that's a local Democratic chair.
📍Massachusetts
📍Massachusetts
Pinned
TODAY is the primary election for for the First Middlesex District senate special! This is the decisive election for the state senate seat for Lowell, Dracut, Tyngsborough, Dunstable and Pepperell. Polls are open for 2 more hours, come on out and vote for Rep. Vanna Howard! #mapoli
In four weeks voters in the First Middlesex Senate District - Dracut, Dunstable, Lowell, Pepperell & Tyngsborough - will vote in primaries to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Ed Kennedy. On Feb 3rd, vote for the progressive legacy to be carried on by Rep. Vanna Howard!
www.vannahoward.com
www.vannahoward.com
WE DID IT! Vanna Howard has WON the First Middlesex special election primary! Thank you to all our voters, volunteers and supporting orgs, including on here @jonathancohn.bsky.social at Progressive Mass, @a-is-for-amy.bsky.social & @owlnerd.bsky.social at Lowell Together, and of course many others!
OUCH stripped for a touchdown, I think that's probably the game
Well as a New Englander this has been a mostly lame game so far with terrible ads around a really neat half time show. At least it's not a shutout but this has been rough.
February 9, 2026 at 3:00 AM
OUCH stripped for a touchdown, I think that's probably the game
Reposted by Saganomics
Well as a New Englander this has been a mostly lame game so far with terrible ads around a really neat half time show. At least it's not a shutout but this has been rough.
February 9, 2026 at 2:50 AM
Well as a New Englander this has been a mostly lame game so far with terrible ads around a really neat half time show. At least it's not a shutout but this has been rough.
Reposted by Saganomics
this feels to me like it is maybe going to be a breakthrough story in a breakthrough story
I was asked to check this, the journal uses a Rail Fence Cipher, so you read each line up and down, left to right. The deciphered text in the article below is accurate, and names names. The file itself can be found here:
www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
February 8, 2026 at 2:00 PM
this feels to me like it is maybe going to be a breakthrough story in a breakthrough story
Reposted by Saganomics
in general, volunteer led political groups need bodies more than they need experts -- people who are just willing to show up and do whatever needs doing. the exception is if you know how to do short form video, in which case you are basically a political advocacy first round draft pick
February 8, 2026 at 3:54 AM
in general, volunteer led political groups need bodies more than they need experts -- people who are just willing to show up and do whatever needs doing. the exception is if you know how to do short form video, in which case you are basically a political advocacy first round draft pick
Reposted by Saganomics
the long death of congressional committees is a huge problem tbh
It sucks, but it’s a real principal problem. Way too many members just don’t have the bandwidth to do this.
What we need is to restore larger committee staff and support agencies so people can keep their eye on the ball over things like this.
What we need is to restore larger committee staff and support agencies so people can keep their eye on the ball over things like this.
February 8, 2026 at 3:03 AM
the long death of congressional committees is a huge problem tbh
Remembering how many people got mad at Wolfenstein ads
kind of funny that an olympian said they are here to represent "compassion, respect, and love for others" and some people automatically knew that was a statement against them
February 7, 2026 at 10:57 PM
Remembering how many people got mad at Wolfenstein ads
Reposted by Saganomics
it’s a moral abomination that SCOTUS decided in Rucho that partisan gerrymandering is nonjusticiable.
but if it’s a question for state legislatures, well, you’ll never guess what L. Louise Lucas has on her business card
but if it’s a question for state legislatures, well, you’ll never guess what L. Louise Lucas has on her business card
February 7, 2026 at 2:27 PM
it’s a moral abomination that SCOTUS decided in Rucho that partisan gerrymandering is nonjusticiable.
but if it’s a question for state legislatures, well, you’ll never guess what L. Louise Lucas has on her business card
but if it’s a question for state legislatures, well, you’ll never guess what L. Louise Lucas has on her business card
Reposted by Saganomics
It's the Bluesky equivalent of those right wing tough guys all rushing to say how scared they are of going to literally any urban downtown
weird to me that there's a whole class of people on here who will see this and immediately run to their keyboards to announce that it would terrify them, personally, out of voting. have some self respect
🚨BREAKING: Steve Bannon said Tuesday that the federal government is planning to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to patrol polling stations during this year’s midterm elections. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
February 5, 2026 at 1:52 AM
It's the Bluesky equivalent of those right wing tough guys all rushing to say how scared they are of going to literally any urban downtown
Reposted by Saganomics
My position remains that I'll be in favor of competitive districts in Maryland, Illinois, California, and Virginia when Republicans start creating them in Texas, North Carolina, and Georgia
surely this is a Republican district, though? just look at all that red on the map
February 7, 2026 at 12:20 AM
My position remains that I'll be in favor of competitive districts in Maryland, Illinois, California, and Virginia when Republicans start creating them in Texas, North Carolina, and Georgia
Reposted by Saganomics
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...
Spotlighting The World Factbook as We Bid a Fond Farewell
Somewhat devastating news today from the CIA: One of CIA’s oldest and most recognizable intelligence publications, The World Factbook, has sunset. There's not even a hint as to why they …
simonwillison.net
February 5, 2026 at 12:25 AM
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...
Reposted by Saganomics
This is Noam Chomsky talking about Cambodian refugees accurately describing the horrors of the Khmer Rouge that they’d escaped from.
This line in particular is why I’ve hated Chomsky for so long.
This line in particular is why I’ve hated Chomsky for so long.
"refugees are frightened and defenseless, at the mercy of alien forces. They naturally tend to report what they believe their interlocuters wish to hear."
February 1, 2026 at 5:31 PM
This is Noam Chomsky talking about Cambodian refugees accurately describing the horrors of the Khmer Rouge that they’d escaped from.
This line in particular is why I’ve hated Chomsky for so long.
This line in particular is why I’ve hated Chomsky for so long.
Reposted by Saganomics
in real terms, #7 would give states leverage to put an end to surges, #8 would give states the ability to outright stop construction of new detention facilities, #1 and #6 would slow the rate at which DHS could train and deploy officers, #2 and #10 would likely shrink the pool of recruits
Schumer & Jeffries lay out the Democratic demands for a DHS funding deal in a letter to the top Republican leaders
February 5, 2026 at 3:18 AM
in real terms, #7 would give states leverage to put an end to surges, #8 would give states the ability to outright stop construction of new detention facilities, #1 and #6 would slow the rate at which DHS could train and deploy officers, #2 and #10 would likely shrink the pool of recruits
Reposted by Saganomics
it's insulting that they seem to genuinely expect us to believe this
In 2025, as Bluesky grew from 25M to 42M users, we took actions to keep it welcoming, using proactive design to reduce toxic content by 79%. Our 2025 Transparency Report shares how we're building a safer platform while keeping a transparent and human-centered approach: bsky.social/about/blog/0...
2025 Transparency Report Overview - Bluesky
In 2025, as Bluesky grew from 25 million to 41 million users, we improved the trust and safety infrastructure to better enable our mission. Here's what that looks like in plain language.
bsky.social
February 5, 2026 at 12:14 AM
it's insulting that they seem to genuinely expect us to believe this
Reposted by Saganomics
it's extremely funny (in a cosmic sense) how that guy was like "yes marchini & stancil need to fear for their lives, I am completely serious", just in general, but particularly given apparently that's not a bannable offense on bluesky dot app.
more permissive mod policy than kiwifarms on here
more permissive mod policy than kiwifarms on here
February 4, 2026 at 10:00 PM
it's extremely funny (in a cosmic sense) how that guy was like "yes marchini & stancil need to fear for their lives, I am completely serious", just in general, but particularly given apparently that's not a bannable offense on bluesky dot app.
more permissive mod policy than kiwifarms on here
more permissive mod policy than kiwifarms on here
Reposted by Saganomics
If I were to condense down Lessons of Zohran into 2-3 principles, it would be something like
1. Do the actual work, hit the actual doors.
2. Have a real-ass film production team, with a vision and confidence
3. Love my bean-counters, we need you elsewhere, but: we're picking for real-ass charisma
1. Do the actual work, hit the actual doors.
2. Have a real-ass film production team, with a vision and confidence
3. Love my bean-counters, we need you elsewhere, but: we're picking for real-ass charisma
It's making me lose my mind the number of pundits saying the lesson is people are weirdly obsessed w/ Mamdani when the lesson is that most Dems need to be much better at taking credit + communicating their wins.
Chat is it bad Mamdani understands 2026 politics? Jake Anbinder & others say "maybe"
Chat is it bad Mamdani understands 2026 politics? Jake Anbinder & others say "maybe"
February 4, 2026 at 8:14 PM
If I were to condense down Lessons of Zohran into 2-3 principles, it would be something like
1. Do the actual work, hit the actual doors.
2. Have a real-ass film production team, with a vision and confidence
3. Love my bean-counters, we need you elsewhere, but: we're picking for real-ass charisma
1. Do the actual work, hit the actual doors.
2. Have a real-ass film production team, with a vision and confidence
3. Love my bean-counters, we need you elsewhere, but: we're picking for real-ass charisma
Reposted by Saganomics
Charismatic speakers do not speak "like regular people" they speak "like how regular people wish they could speak."
As a real person with some amount of public speaking skills who talks about real things he cares about, I assure you it's actually pretty hard to "speak like a real person" because what you're talking about isn't that.
February 4, 2026 at 8:29 PM
Charismatic speakers do not speak "like regular people" they speak "like how regular people wish they could speak."
Reposted by Saganomics
You all know my feelings on this, but virtually everything described as "free speech" or "open debate" for the last few decades has really been about the idea of a closed salon, where everybody has to follow the rules and be respectful to the host and nothing actually matters that much.
Kind of weird people get so agitated about criticism of the Harper’s Letter, which is a paean to the indispensable virtues of open debate, even when it upsets people.
Probably if I were an editor, author, journalist, researcher, or head of an organization I’d be able to follow along better.
Probably if I were an editor, author, journalist, researcher, or head of an organization I’d be able to follow along better.
February 3, 2026 at 5:16 AM
You all know my feelings on this, but virtually everything described as "free speech" or "open debate" for the last few decades has really been about the idea of a closed salon, where everybody has to follow the rules and be respectful to the host and nothing actually matters that much.
Reposted by Saganomics
Yeah, I have been lowkey kind of fascinated by this genre of post, which really does seem to vindicate the "everything is just perception via social media" theory of politics.
February 4, 2026 at 1:25 AM
Yeah, I have been lowkey kind of fascinated by this genre of post, which really does seem to vindicate the "everything is just perception via social media" theory of politics.
Reposted by Saganomics
Total victory of punditry over journalism.
Matt Murray's full email to staff about today's cuts at the Washington Post
February 4, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Total victory of punditry over journalism.
Reposted by Saganomics
Congrats to Vanna Howard on your victory tonight! #mapoli
Today is the special election primary for the First Middlesex State Senate race!
If you live in Lowell, Dracut, Dunstable, Pepperell, and Tyngsborough, make a plan to vote for Vanna Howard today. #mapoli
If you live in Lowell, Dracut, Dunstable, Pepperell, and Tyngsborough, make a plan to vote for Vanna Howard today. #mapoli
February 4, 2026 at 2:31 AM
Congrats to Vanna Howard on your victory tonight! #mapoli
WE DID IT! Vanna Howard has WON the First Middlesex special election primary! Thank you to all our voters, volunteers and supporting orgs, including on here @jonathancohn.bsky.social at Progressive Mass, @a-is-for-amy.bsky.social & @owlnerd.bsky.social at Lowell Together, and of course many others!
TODAY is the primary election for for the First Middlesex District senate special! This is the decisive election for the state senate seat for Lowell, Dracut, Tyngsborough, Dunstable and Pepperell. Polls are open for 2 more hours, come on out and vote for Rep. Vanna Howard! #mapoli
In four weeks voters in the First Middlesex Senate District - Dracut, Dunstable, Lowell, Pepperell & Tyngsborough - will vote in primaries to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Ed Kennedy. On Feb 3rd, vote for the progressive legacy to be carried on by Rep. Vanna Howard!
www.vannahoward.com
www.vannahoward.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:59 AM
WE DID IT! Vanna Howard has WON the First Middlesex special election primary! Thank you to all our voters, volunteers and supporting orgs, including on here @jonathancohn.bsky.social at Progressive Mass, @a-is-for-amy.bsky.social & @owlnerd.bsky.social at Lowell Together, and of course many others!
TODAY is the primary election for for the First Middlesex District senate special! This is the decisive election for the state senate seat for Lowell, Dracut, Tyngsborough, Dunstable and Pepperell. Polls are open for 2 more hours, come on out and vote for Rep. Vanna Howard! #mapoli
In four weeks voters in the First Middlesex Senate District - Dracut, Dunstable, Lowell, Pepperell & Tyngsborough - will vote in primaries to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Ed Kennedy. On Feb 3rd, vote for the progressive legacy to be carried on by Rep. Vanna Howard!
www.vannahoward.com
www.vannahoward.com
February 3, 2026 at 10:40 PM
TODAY is the primary election for for the First Middlesex District senate special! This is the decisive election for the state senate seat for Lowell, Dracut, Tyngsborough, Dunstable and Pepperell. Polls are open for 2 more hours, come on out and vote for Rep. Vanna Howard! #mapoli
Reposted by Saganomics
Trump does shit non stop that is just "over the top workplace sexual harassment" examples from HR videos produced in the 1980s, this isn't some new fangled blue hair neo feminism, he was just a rapey piece of shit back then and everyone would've seen it for what it is
KAITLAN COLLINS: What would say to Epstein survivo---
TRUMP: You are so bad. You are the worst report. No wonder CNN has no ratings. She's a young woman. I don't think I've ever seen you smile. They should be ashamed of you.
TRUMP: You are so bad. You are the worst report. No wonder CNN has no ratings. She's a young woman. I don't think I've ever seen you smile. They should be ashamed of you.
February 3, 2026 at 10:36 PM
Trump does shit non stop that is just "over the top workplace sexual harassment" examples from HR videos produced in the 1980s, this isn't some new fangled blue hair neo feminism, he was just a rapey piece of shit back then and everyone would've seen it for what it is
Reposted by Saganomics
Trump just wants to be racist, eat fillet o' fish, and pick out the ugliest possible marble for his ballroom while Miller is trying to get his school shooter manifesto put into the CFR and Rubio is trying to get Trump to sign an EO that just says "invade cuba"
this is how the WH works now
ME: yeah could i get the impossible burger with cheese.
THE VIZIER WHO'S BEEN ADVISING ME: ahh, an excellent choice sire. an imitation of the genuine article. there are some "friends" of yours to whom it bears a passing similarity
ME: you want anything
VIZIER: [chuckles] what i want is of no import
THE VIZIER WHO'S BEEN ADVISING ME: ahh, an excellent choice sire. an imitation of the genuine article. there are some "friends" of yours to whom it bears a passing similarity
ME: you want anything
VIZIER: [chuckles] what i want is of no import
February 2, 2026 at 12:24 AM
Trump just wants to be racist, eat fillet o' fish, and pick out the ugliest possible marble for his ballroom while Miller is trying to get his school shooter manifesto put into the CFR and Rubio is trying to get Trump to sign an EO that just says "invade cuba"