TT
@tathompsonks.bsky.social
Tech, national security, and public policy with a side of aviation, sports, and hot takes
Views are my own.
Views are my own.
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TT
@tathompsonks.bsky.social
· Jan 26
I've seen a lot of "what can I do to stop this" over the last few days.
I want to take a minute to talk about how you engage with your Member of Congress to create change.
Tldr: Call. Don't email, don't tweet, don't fax, don't write. Call.
I want to take a minute to talk about how you engage with your Member of Congress to create change.
Tldr: Call. Don't email, don't tweet, don't fax, don't write. Call.
Reposted by TT
This is how Sen. Ron Wyden clues the public into activity that he finds extremely alarming. He does a press release about a letter he sent to the director of the CIA that basically says, 'I want to make sure you saw the classified letter I sent early today.' www.wyden.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
February 4, 2026 at 9:53 PM
This is how Sen. Ron Wyden clues the public into activity that he finds extremely alarming. He does a press release about a letter he sent to the director of the CIA that basically says, 'I want to make sure you saw the classified letter I sent early today.' www.wyden.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
Where's Andy when you need him @dcgomez1.bsky.social
February 5, 2026 at 3:10 AM
Where's Andy when you need him @dcgomez1.bsky.social
Reposted by TT
This is one of the more useful, and vanilla, things the agency produces. What a loss. For the IC, but also for everyone else who uses it to gain actual information.
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 2:04 AM
This is one of the more useful, and vanilla, things the agency produces. What a loss. For the IC, but also for everyone else who uses it to gain actual information.
Reposted by TT
Heartwarming
it’s genuinely reassuring to me that this is the most miserable and paranoid person in the entire world
February 5, 2026 at 2:06 AM
Heartwarming
Reposted by TT
It was @asharangappa.bsky.social who first put this idea in my head, but really starting to feel like they're gonna try to get Maduro to cop to some insane 2020 election conspiracy in exchange for leniency
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
Exclusive: US spy chief's office investigated voting machines in Puerto Rico
A team working for President Donald Trump's spy chief, Tulsi Gabbard, last spring led an investigation into Puerto Rico's voting machines, said Gabbard's office and three sources familiar with the pre...
www.reuters.com
February 5, 2026 at 12:05 AM
It was @asharangappa.bsky.social who first put this idea in my head, but really starting to feel like they're gonna try to get Maduro to cop to some insane 2020 election conspiracy in exchange for leniency
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
Oh because that's worked well for them before
Boeing announces plans to relocate 787 engineering operations to South Carolina.
February 5, 2026 at 1:01 AM
Oh because that's worked well for them before
Well there goes a tremendous resource
February 5, 2026 at 12:33 AM
Well there goes a tremendous resource
Reposted by TT
chat is it a good thing when the US Attorney representing the DOJ is also afraid of getting disappeared by the same organizations they're representing
February 4, 2026 at 9:16 PM
chat is it a good thing when the US Attorney representing the DOJ is also afraid of getting disappeared by the same organizations they're representing
Reposted by TT
Listen to them when they say it.
Bannon: “you’re damn right, we’re gonna have ICE surround the polls come November…we’re not going to sit here and allow you to steal the country again…and you can whine and cry and throw your toys off the pram all you want…we’ll never again allow an election to be stolen in this country”
February 4, 2026 at 6:41 PM
Listen to them when they say it.
Reposted by TT
This is deeply messed up.
Federal Agents Left Behind “Death Cards” After Capturing Immigrants
ICE agents dropped customized ace of spades playing cards, recalling a macabre practice by U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War.
theintercept.com/2026/02/03/i...
ICE agents dropped customized ace of spades playing cards, recalling a macabre practice by U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War.
theintercept.com/2026/02/03/i...
Federal Agents Left Behind “Death Cards” After Capturing Immigrants
ICE agents dropped customized ace of spades playing cards, recalling a practice by U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War.
theintercept.com
February 4, 2026 at 2:32 AM
This is deeply messed up.
Reposted by TT
The Paris Prosecutor's office announced they are leaving X by stating they raided their offices.
What a way to leave X.
What a way to leave X.
February 3, 2026 at 12:42 PM
The Paris Prosecutor's office announced they are leaving X by stating they raided their offices.
What a way to leave X.
What a way to leave X.
Reposted by TT
This isn’t some anonymous tip. This is sworn testimony, under penalty of perjury, from someone who said Trump threatened to kill her if she exposed Epstein’s sexual abuse.
February 3, 2026 at 5:04 PM
This isn’t some anonymous tip. This is sworn testimony, under penalty of perjury, from someone who said Trump threatened to kill her if she exposed Epstein’s sexual abuse.
Reposted by TT
This hotel I am staying in for trial may be the grimmest place I have ever stayed and that includes the room in Budapest I shared with several Swiss and a monkey
February 4, 2026 at 1:21 AM
This hotel I am staying in for trial may be the grimmest place I have ever stayed and that includes the room in Budapest I shared with several Swiss and a monkey
Reposted by TT
According to FOX 9, a Minneapolis federal judge demanded to know why DOJ is missing deadlines & AUSA Julie Le said, "The system sucks, this job sucks" & asked to be held in contempt so she could sleep.
PACER shows she got assigned to defend the govt in 88+ cases since Operation Metro Surge started.
PACER shows she got assigned to defend the govt in 88+ cases since Operation Metro Surge started.
February 3, 2026 at 9:27 PM
According to FOX 9, a Minneapolis federal judge demanded to know why DOJ is missing deadlines & AUSA Julie Le said, "The system sucks, this job sucks" & asked to be held in contempt so she could sleep.
PACER shows she got assigned to defend the govt in 88+ cases since Operation Metro Surge started.
PACER shows she got assigned to defend the govt in 88+ cases since Operation Metro Surge started.
Reposted by TT
Apparently morale at DOJ is so low that line attorneys are asking to be held in contempt so they can get some sleep yikes
February 3, 2026 at 9:15 PM
Apparently morale at DOJ is so low that line attorneys are asking to be held in contempt so they can get some sleep yikes
Reposted by TT
Martinez is recounting her harrowing experience: after being shot by CBP agents, she drove a mile to the safety of an auto shop where she called 911, got treatment at a hospital for 7 bullet wounds, then was immediately taken into custody by federal agents.
February 3, 2026 at 8:50 PM
Martinez is recounting her harrowing experience: after being shot by CBP agents, she drove a mile to the safety of an auto shop where she called 911, got treatment at a hospital for 7 bullet wounds, then was immediately taken into custody by federal agents.
This could alternatively - and correctly - be framed as "How Stephen Miller Enables Trump's White Nationalist Agenda"
February 4, 2026 at 12:26 AM
This could alternatively - and correctly - be framed as "How Stephen Miller Enables Trump's White Nationalist Agenda"
The thing I don't understand about this huge surge in detention facilities is that in my experience, they're deporting people as fast as they can grab them.
Or have federal judges started slowing that down
Or have federal judges started slowing that down
It’s hard to put into perspective how truly massive the warehouse is that was recently sold by the Rockefeller Group to the Department of Homeland Security for $70 million to build a concentration camp in Surprise, AZ. Across the street is a huge neighborhood and a school. It’s 400,000-square-feet.
February 4, 2026 at 12:23 AM
The thing I don't understand about this huge surge in detention facilities is that in my experience, they're deporting people as fast as they can grab them.
Or have federal judges started slowing that down
Or have federal judges started slowing that down
Reposted by TT
What DOJ is doing is making its attorneys go before the same judges over and over again with the same deficient argument in habeas petitions challenging immigration detention. They're losing nearly every case and torching their reputations in front of federal judges.
BREAKING: 8 more U.S. Attorneys in MN resign from Trump’s DOJ in protest as backlash grows.
This isn’t normal; isn’t routine reshuffling. It’s a rebellion.
Last month, 6 veteran prosecutors quit in protest. Normal staffing for the MN DOJ’s office is around 50 attorneys. They’re down to just 9.
This isn’t normal; isn’t routine reshuffling. It’s a rebellion.
Last month, 6 veteran prosecutors quit in protest. Normal staffing for the MN DOJ’s office is around 50 attorneys. They’re down to just 9.
February 3, 2026 at 2:47 PM
What DOJ is doing is making its attorneys go before the same judges over and over again with the same deficient argument in habeas petitions challenging immigration detention. They're losing nearly every case and torching their reputations in front of federal judges.
Reposted by TT
They just blindly shot through the fucking door.
"Additional photographs show damage consistent with a bullet fragment lodged in a bedroom wall down the hallway — suggesting it traveled between a mattress and a portable crib in a room where several small children sleep."
"Additional photographs show damage consistent with a bullet fragment lodged in a bedroom wall down the hallway — suggesting it traveled between a mattress and a portable crib in a room where several small children sleep."
"Photographic evidence from the shooting scene of a Venezuelan man by federal agents last month in Minneapolis supports the account of witnesses there – and appears to undercut the narrative provided by federal officials." www.startribune.com/ice-raids-mi...
Live: Judge orders release of suspects in alleged shovel attack on agent
Department of Homeland Security says agent fired in self-defense after being attacked with a snow shovel and broom.
www.startribune.com
February 3, 2026 at 10:25 PM
They just blindly shot through the fucking door.
"Additional photographs show damage consistent with a bullet fragment lodged in a bedroom wall down the hallway — suggesting it traveled between a mattress and a portable crib in a room where several small children sleep."
"Additional photographs show damage consistent with a bullet fragment lodged in a bedroom wall down the hallway — suggesting it traveled between a mattress and a portable crib in a room where several small children sleep."
Reposted by TT
Floored by this story. A man wrote a pollite email to a federal prosecutor objecting to the deportation of an Afghan seeking asylum. DHS responded with an administrative warrant to get the man's info from Google, then visited his home to intimidate him.
DHS Hunts Down 67-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Who Criticized Them in Email
The Department of Homeland Security is using a little-known tool to go after its critics.
newrepublic.com
February 3, 2026 at 11:14 PM
Floored by this story. A man wrote a pollite email to a federal prosecutor objecting to the deportation of an Afghan seeking asylum. DHS responded with an administrative warrant to get the man's info from Google, then visited his home to intimidate him.
Reposted by TT
UBS has said it wants to bring greater transparency to Switzerland’s dark chapter helping the Nazis in World War II.
Hundreds of Swiss Bank Accounts With Suspected Nazi Links Found by Investigators
The revelations come as Swiss bank UBS uses a legal fight to curb Jewish groups from reopening a decades-old settlement.
on.wsj.com
February 3, 2026 at 2:53 PM
UBS has said it wants to bring greater transparency to Switzerland’s dark chapter helping the Nazis in World War II.
Reposted by TT
This is the point I keep trying to get across in media interviews and conversations.
The science and data matter (obviously), but this is fundamentally a *people* story. These losses and lack of opportunities affect real people, real communities, and the impacts will last for decades.
The science and data matter (obviously), but this is fundamentally a *people* story. These losses and lack of opportunities affect real people, real communities, and the impacts will last for decades.
The state of the field is bad, actually.
The private sector seems to be still doing ok but the rest is hanging by a thread.
We have government shutdowns roughly every 2 months. Federal workers are treated like 3rd class citizens. NCAR as we know it may very well cease to exist.
The private sector seems to be still doing ok but the rest is hanging by a thread.
We have government shutdowns roughly every 2 months. Federal workers are treated like 3rd class citizens. NCAR as we know it may very well cease to exist.
February 2, 2026 at 10:43 PM
This is the point I keep trying to get across in media interviews and conversations.
The science and data matter (obviously), but this is fundamentally a *people* story. These losses and lack of opportunities affect real people, real communities, and the impacts will last for decades.
The science and data matter (obviously), but this is fundamentally a *people* story. These losses and lack of opportunities affect real people, real communities, and the impacts will last for decades.
Reposted by TT
This is a winning message and I sincerely hope the Trump administration continues to deploy it every time this topic comes up in public
February 3, 2026 at 12:48 AM
This is a winning message and I sincerely hope the Trump administration continues to deploy it every time this topic comes up in public
Reposted by TT
This is delicious, especially the last para. The judge pretty much flays Secretary Noem.
Even if you don't have time to read all 83 pages of Judge Reyes's opinion barring the Trump administration from rescinding Temporary Protected Status for 350,000+ Haitians, please at least check out the four-page introduction.
It's a tour de force:
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
It's a tour de force:
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
!["On December 2, 1783, then-Commander-in-Chief George Washington penned: “America is open to receive not only the Opulent & respected Stranger, but the oppressed & persecuted of all Nations & Religions.”1
More than two centuries later, Congress reaffirmed President Washington’s vision by establishing the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. See 8 U.S.C. § 1254a (TPS statute). It provides humanitarian relief to foreign nationals in the United States who come from disaster-stricken countries. It also brings in substantial revenue, with TPS holders generating $5.2 billion in taxes annually. See Part VI.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem has a different take. [screenshot of tweet].](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nwnlnixtjh3qhkwpz2uy5uwv/bafkreicrroq5taft777rmau2ffjlsphbcatlxnwwigf2yekoke533yycim@jpeg)
![has terminated every TPS country designation to have reached her desk—twelve countries up,
twelve countries down. See Section IV.A.2. Her conclusion that Haiti (a majority nonwhite
country) faces merely “concerning” conditions cannot be squared with the “perfect storm of
suffering” and “staggering” “humanitarian toll” described in page-after-page of the Certified
Administrative Record (CAR). See Section IV.A.3.a. She ignored Congress’s requirement that
she “review the conditions” in Haiti only “after” consulting “with appropriate agencies.” 8
U.S.C. § 1254a(b)(3)(A); see Section IV.A.1. Indeed, she did not consult other agencies at all.
See id. Her “national interest” analysis focuses on Haitians outside the United States or here
illegally, ignoring that Haitian TPS holders already live here, and legally so. See Section
IV.A.3.b. And though she states that the analysis must include “economic considerations,” she
ignores altogether the billions Haitian TPS holders contribute to the economy. See id.
The Government’s primary response is that the TPS statute gives the Secretary
unbounded discretion to make whatever determination she wants, any way she wants. And, yes,
the statute does grant her some discretion. But not unbounded discretion. To the contrary,
Congress passed the TPS statute to standardize the then ad hoc temporary protection system—to
replace executive whim with statutory predictability. See Section I.A.
As to irreparable harm, the Government contends that, at most, the harms to Haitian TPS
holders are speculative. But the Department of State (State) warns [screenshot]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nwnlnixtjh3qhkwpz2uy5uwv/bafkreid3cmawech25ummuj2tjvgxsrvufma2kmrijlfpglalwddd3qkikq@jpeg)
February 3, 2026 at 3:22 AM
This is delicious, especially the last para. The judge pretty much flays Secretary Noem.