Democracy and trains
@wingedisis.bsky.social
Just another lefty urbanist, not my professional account (do people have those here?) #NOLATwitter in exile
Nerdy things I’ve made:
https://plotofland.monumentlab.com/
https://www.papermonuments.org/
https://small.tulane.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/04
Nerdy things I’ve made:
https://plotofland.monumentlab.com/
https://www.papermonuments.org/
https://small.tulane.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/04
Reposted by Democracy and trains
this is your mission. our pedophile president needs you to jump out of a helicopter to kidnap a head of state and his wife so some oil ceos can make a lot of money. we’ll be watching from a resort in florida that still serves wedge salad and checking how many retweets we get. good luck soldier
January 3, 2026 at 10:57 PM
this is your mission. our pedophile president needs you to jump out of a helicopter to kidnap a head of state and his wife so some oil ceos can make a lot of money. we’ll be watching from a resort in florida that still serves wedge salad and checking how many retweets we get. good luck soldier
Reposted by Democracy and trains
Been saying something like this for a while. There's no going back to the status quo. Whatever comes after can't and won't be the same as our first 250 years. Something better must be built with the same disregard for norms and decorum that the old thing was destroyed with.
I know this gives folks big feelings & I want to make space for that, but we’re in “pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will” territory here. What we are experiencing now are the inevitable & historical consequences of the system we have. A new one is simply what is required.
January 3, 2026 at 6:45 PM
Been saying something like this for a while. There's no going back to the status quo. Whatever comes after can't and won't be the same as our first 250 years. Something better must be built with the same disregard for norms and decorum that the old thing was destroyed with.
Reposted by Democracy and trains
I don’t love you and I’m not holding your hand: call your Senator and tell them that the must shut down the government on January 30th until this ends, a thing that Democrats have the hard power to do at this very moment.
I love you all and am holding your hand as I say this:
Dems wield zero hard power levers
Dems wield zero hard power levers
it's kind of crazy that there's even any question that democrats are going to do anything about this
January 3, 2026 at 5:39 PM
I don’t love you and I’m not holding your hand: call your Senator and tell them that the must shut down the government on January 30th until this ends, a thing that Democrats have the hard power to do at this very moment.
Reposted by Democracy and trains
Best thing I’ve read this morning, from a human rights lawyer in Mexico. Translation is in the ALT-text.
January 3, 2026 at 2:16 PM
Best thing I’ve read this morning, from a human rights lawyer in Mexico. Translation is in the ALT-text.
Reposted by Democracy and trains
THREAD: I'll fact-check all the viral misinformation about the US military operation in Venezuela in this thread
This image, purporting to show the US military arresting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, is AI-generated.
According to Google's SynthID detector, it was created using Google AI.
This image, purporting to show the US military arresting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, is AI-generated.
According to Google's SynthID detector, it was created using Google AI.
January 3, 2026 at 5:55 PM
THREAD: I'll fact-check all the viral misinformation about the US military operation in Venezuela in this thread
This image, purporting to show the US military arresting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, is AI-generated.
According to Google's SynthID detector, it was created using Google AI.
This image, purporting to show the US military arresting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, is AI-generated.
According to Google's SynthID detector, it was created using Google AI.
Reposted by Democracy and trains
We are a rogue state, run by a dictator, and the international community should treat us as such including all appropriate economic and diplomatic sanctions
January 3, 2026 at 3:36 PM
We are a rogue state, run by a dictator, and the international community should treat us as such including all appropriate economic and diplomatic sanctions
Reposted by Democracy and trains
You should be embarrassed to be a member of congress and issuing anything other than impeachment resolutions. You're in the model UN. They should give you legos and a propeller hat
January 3, 2026 at 3:57 PM
You should be embarrassed to be a member of congress and issuing anything other than impeachment resolutions. You're in the model UN. They should give you legos and a propeller hat
Reposted by Democracy and trains
This war and extra-judicial kidnapping is patently illegal and unconstitutional. Political leaders on both sides must condemn it. It’s not about whether Maduro is a tyrant but whether the US is still governed by laws and the Constitution. As if this morning, we are clearly not.
January 3, 2026 at 12:27 PM
This war and extra-judicial kidnapping is patently illegal and unconstitutional. Political leaders on both sides must condemn it. It’s not about whether Maduro is a tyrant but whether the US is still governed by laws and the Constitution. As if this morning, we are clearly not.
Reposted by Democracy and trains
The US invades a sovereign nation to force a regime change and a major news network reports it like this and it’s only January 3rd
Nicolas Maduro's heavy-handed rule in Venezuela is finally ended by Trump reut.rs/3YWbo3K
Nicolas Maduro's heavy-handed rule in Venezuela is finally ended by Trump
Nicolas Maduro ruled Venezuela with a heavy hand for more than 12 years, presiding over deep economic and social crises and resisting pressure from domestic opponents and foreign governments for political change.
reut.rs
January 3, 2026 at 2:16 PM
The US invades a sovereign nation to force a regime change and a major news network reports it like this and it’s only January 3rd
Reposted by Democracy and trains
Year-end tally of Trump admin combat actions in 2025:
—Yemen—1,000+ strikes*
—Somalia—140+ strikes, 1 ground raid**
—Syria—78+ strikes, 3 ground raids***
—Iran—3 B-2 strikes
—Iraq—1 strike
—Nigeria—1 set of TLAM strikes
—Caribbean—11 strikes
—Eastern Pacific—20 strikes
—Venezuela—1 known CIA strike
—Yemen—1,000+ strikes*
—Somalia—140+ strikes, 1 ground raid**
—Syria—78+ strikes, 3 ground raids***
—Iran—3 B-2 strikes
—Iraq—1 strike
—Nigeria—1 set of TLAM strikes
—Caribbean—11 strikes
—Eastern Pacific—20 strikes
—Venezuela—1 known CIA strike
First-ever US airstrikes in Nigeria put the second Trump admin’s 2025 combat actions at:
—Nigeria—tonight’s strikes
—Yemen—1,000+ strikes (Mar-Apr)
—Somalia—120 strikes, 1 ground raid
—Syria—78+ strikes, 3 ground raids
—Caribbean—11 strikes
—Eastern Pacific—20 strikes
—Iran—3 strikes
—Iraq—1 strike
—Nigeria—tonight’s strikes
—Yemen—1,000+ strikes (Mar-Apr)
—Somalia—120 strikes, 1 ground raid
—Syria—78+ strikes, 3 ground raids
—Caribbean—11 strikes
—Eastern Pacific—20 strikes
—Iran—3 strikes
—Iraq—1 strike
January 2, 2026 at 11:45 PM
Year-end tally of Trump admin combat actions in 2025:
—Yemen—1,000+ strikes*
—Somalia—140+ strikes, 1 ground raid**
—Syria—78+ strikes, 3 ground raids***
—Iran—3 B-2 strikes
—Iraq—1 strike
—Nigeria—1 set of TLAM strikes
—Caribbean—11 strikes
—Eastern Pacific—20 strikes
—Venezuela—1 known CIA strike
—Yemen—1,000+ strikes*
—Somalia—140+ strikes, 1 ground raid**
—Syria—78+ strikes, 3 ground raids***
—Iran—3 B-2 strikes
—Iraq—1 strike
—Nigeria—1 set of TLAM strikes
—Caribbean—11 strikes
—Eastern Pacific—20 strikes
—Venezuela—1 known CIA strike
Reposted by Democracy and trains
This brainrot is more responsible for the rise of authoritarianism in the US than any of the wokeness it will not shut up about
January 2, 2026 at 3:01 PM
This brainrot is more responsible for the rise of authoritarianism in the US than any of the wokeness it will not shut up about
Reposted by Democracy and trains
Excellent article making a bold, unsettling claim—the administration views the history of segregation and its influence on the nation as a threat to its nativist program—and backing it up with detailed technicality on the political stakes of disparate impact liability. Great work.
"The GOP now fuses myths of white male victimhood with censorship that erases decades of academic scholarship detailing how Black Americans—not white men—face systemic discrimination in America." www.liberalcurrents.com/promoting-a-...
Promoting a New Segregation
The Trump administration wants to make anti-Black racism great again.
www.liberalcurrents.com
January 2, 2026 at 3:51 PM
Excellent article making a bold, unsettling claim—the administration views the history of segregation and its influence on the nation as a threat to its nativist program—and backing it up with detailed technicality on the political stakes of disparate impact liability. Great work.
Happy New Year, y’all!
January 1, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Happy New Year, y’all!
Everyone’s commitment to fireworks this year 10/10, everyone’s commitment to emptying their guns over and over -3/10
January 1, 2026 at 6:19 AM
Everyone’s commitment to fireworks this year 10/10, everyone’s commitment to emptying their guns over and over -3/10
Pulling out all my best Middle Eastern checkpoint navigating skills to return a friend from camp to their hotel in the French Quarter and I hate everything about this shit.
January 1, 2026 at 1:57 AM
Pulling out all my best Middle Eastern checkpoint navigating skills to return a friend from camp to their hotel in the French Quarter and I hate everything about this shit.
Reposted by Democracy and trains
The ups and downs within the John McDonogh High School building illustrate the persistent inequities of New Orleans public schools — even today, when almost all white students attend a small subset of white schools.
✍ Marta Jewson
Full Story 🔗: buff.ly/WhrC4Yr
✍ Marta Jewson
Full Story 🔗: buff.ly/WhrC4Yr
December 31, 2025 at 9:00 PM
The ups and downs within the John McDonogh High School building illustrate the persistent inequities of New Orleans public schools — even today, when almost all white students attend a small subset of white schools.
✍ Marta Jewson
Full Story 🔗: buff.ly/WhrC4Yr
✍ Marta Jewson
Full Story 🔗: buff.ly/WhrC4Yr
Reposted by Democracy and trains
What’s going on with the daycares in Minneapolis?
December 29, 2025 at 11:25 PM
What’s going on with the daycares in Minneapolis?
Reposted by Democracy and trains
Here's ProPublica on the grift. Note that Tricia McLaughlin, whose unashamed lying rivals Baghdad Bob's, is on the grift through her spouse.
www.propublica.org/article/kris...
www.propublica.org/article/kris...
Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts
The company is run by the husband of Noem’s chief DHS spokesperson and has personal and business ties to Noem and her aides. DHS invoked the “emergency” at the border to skirt competitive bidding rule...
www.propublica.org
December 31, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Here's ProPublica on the grift. Note that Tricia McLaughlin, whose unashamed lying rivals Baghdad Bob's, is on the grift through her spouse.
www.propublica.org/article/kris...
www.propublica.org/article/kris...
Reposted by Democracy and trains
[CW: prison rape, coercive rape]
1. Geo Group operates private prisons
2. Government is appalled at the "stunning indifference" to constant sexual abuse by guards of children as *young as 13*
3. Governors start trying to end private prisons
4. Geo tries to keep its prisons and grow ICE facilities
🤷🏿♂️
1. Geo Group operates private prisons
2. Government is appalled at the "stunning indifference" to constant sexual abuse by guards of children as *young as 13*
3. Governors start trying to end private prisons
4. Geo tries to keep its prisons and grow ICE facilities
🤷🏿♂️
December 31, 2025 at 12:10 PM
[CW: prison rape, coercive rape]
1. Geo Group operates private prisons
2. Government is appalled at the "stunning indifference" to constant sexual abuse by guards of children as *young as 13*
3. Governors start trying to end private prisons
4. Geo tries to keep its prisons and grow ICE facilities
🤷🏿♂️
1. Geo Group operates private prisons
2. Government is appalled at the "stunning indifference" to constant sexual abuse by guards of children as *young as 13*
3. Governors start trying to end private prisons
4. Geo tries to keep its prisons and grow ICE facilities
🤷🏿♂️
Huh, I guess you could actually make it worse. Who knew?!
“This could look like a user asking how much ibuprofen to take for a headache receiving a promoted ad for Advil in the chatbot’s response. Meanwhile, actual results on correct dosage may be brushed to the side, or buried under a mountain of ad text…”
OpenAI Reportedly Planning to Make ChatGPT "Prioritize" Advertisers in Conversation
OpenAI employees working on ChatGPT report plans to unleash sponsored advertisements above organic results.
futurism.com
December 30, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Huh, I guess you could actually make it worse. Who knew?!
Reposted by Democracy and trains
@marisakabas.bsky.social managing to concisely lay out what's going on, without screaming and cursing like when I do it
December 30, 2025 at 2:03 AM
@marisakabas.bsky.social managing to concisely lay out what's going on, without screaming and cursing like when I do it
Reposted by Democracy and trains
I had been taking the National Museum of African American History and Culture for granted since it opened in 2016, but the Trump administration's threats to it changed that.
And I wrote a personal, reported essay about it for @veritenews.org.
veritenews.org/2025/12/30/n...
And I wrote a personal, reported essay about it for @veritenews.org.
veritenews.org/2025/12/30/n...
I took the National Museum of African American History and Culture for granted. Trump’s threats changed that.
As a native of the Washington, D.C. metro area, I put off visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture for close to a decade, but the Trump administration’s push to alter the d...
veritenews.org
December 30, 2025 at 6:57 PM
I had been taking the National Museum of African American History and Culture for granted since it opened in 2016, but the Trump administration's threats to it changed that.
And I wrote a personal, reported essay about it for @veritenews.org.
veritenews.org/2025/12/30/n...
And I wrote a personal, reported essay about it for @veritenews.org.
veritenews.org/2025/12/30/n...
Reposted by Democracy and trains
Jesus christ. www.npr.org/2025/12/30/g...
Israel says it will bar aid groups, including Doctors Without Borders, from Gaza
Israel accused Doctors Without Borders, one of the largest health organizations operating in Gaza, of failing to clarify the roles of some staff that Israel accused of cooperation with militants.
www.npr.org
December 30, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Jesus christ. www.npr.org/2025/12/30/g...
Motion to rename New Orleans City Council the Obligatory Override Office for the next two weeks.
Mayor Cantrell vetoes law barring her from spending city funds as she exits office
www.nola.com/gambit/news/...
www.nola.com/gambit/news/...
Mayor Cantrell vetoes law barring her from spending city funds as she exits office
The New Orleans City Council Jan. 8 is expected to override out-going Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s veto of an ordinance barring her from signing new contracts or otherwise spending city funds
www.nola.com
December 30, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Motion to rename New Orleans City Council the Obligatory Override Office for the next two weeks.
Okay this is quite enough with the cold, let’s wrap it up
December 30, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Okay this is quite enough with the cold, let’s wrap it up