Abe Smith
@abesmith.bsky.social
a complicated human in complicated times
Mathematician and scientist trying to make AI safer.
Talk to me about science, rural life, music, and trying to organize for a better future.
Wisconsin, USA
Mathematician and scientist trying to make AI safer.
Talk to me about science, rural life, music, and trying to organize for a better future.
Wisconsin, USA
Pinned
Abe Smith
@abesmith.bsky.social
· Jan 18
Here's a starter pack for actual people and sources relevant to Dunn County.
go.bsky.app/D4EMGFv
go.bsky.app/D4EMGFv
Reposted by Abe Smith
This is why I’m so mad at Schumer today - not because I thought he had great shut down leverage but because every previous appeasement was predicated on building up leverage for this moment
Oh yeah March was inexcusable after they basically threw Jeffries' caucus under the bus
November 11, 2025 at 2:46 AM
This is why I’m so mad at Schumer today - not because I thought he had great shut down leverage but because every previous appeasement was predicated on building up leverage for this moment
Reposted by Abe Smith
Hey @schumer.senate.gov - nice work.
You shut the gov down for 40 days, held for election momentum, and then... gave up all leverage to ensure the American people would get screwed over yet again.
👏...👏...👏
Dem party shows again why despite MAGA shredding our norms, D approval is an abysmal 34%.
You shut the gov down for 40 days, held for election momentum, and then... gave up all leverage to ensure the American people would get screwed over yet again.
👏...👏...👏
Dem party shows again why despite MAGA shredding our norms, D approval is an abysmal 34%.
Republicans Already Backtracking on Their Promise as Mike Johnson Refuses to Guarantee a Vote on Obamacare
House Speaker Mike Johnson is already backing away from a key Republican promise — holding a vote to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire soon. When pressed Monday, Johnson dodg...
dailyboulder.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:29 AM
Hey @schumer.senate.gov - nice work.
You shut the gov down for 40 days, held for election momentum, and then... gave up all leverage to ensure the American people would get screwed over yet again.
👏...👏...👏
Dem party shows again why despite MAGA shredding our norms, D approval is an abysmal 34%.
You shut the gov down for 40 days, held for election momentum, and then... gave up all leverage to ensure the American people would get screwed over yet again.
👏...👏...👏
Dem party shows again why despite MAGA shredding our norms, D approval is an abysmal 34%.
Reposted by Abe Smith
watched a decade of evolution on hemp policy fall apart in a day
November 11, 2025 at 3:38 AM
watched a decade of evolution on hemp policy fall apart in a day
Reposted by Abe Smith
i think this is key. taking the deal would amount to taking the blame. it would turn a clear political victory into an unambiguous defeat.
If the Dems blink after all of this, for a deal that all but ensures no ACA subsidies in 2026 anyway, then what was the purpose of letting the shutdown go for 40 days in the first place?
November 10, 2025 at 12:56 AM
i think this is key. taking the deal would amount to taking the blame. it would turn a clear political victory into an unambiguous defeat.
Reposted by Abe Smith
"i asked grok" "i asked chatgpt" yeah well i asked carl sagan and he said the greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge 🧪
July 18, 2025 at 4:12 AM
"i asked grok" "i asked chatgpt" yeah well i asked carl sagan and he said the greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge 🧪
Reposted by Abe Smith
Justice KBJ is a brilliant strategist. She is working the rules to compel timely review of the stay in the SNAP case by both the Circuit Court and by the Supreme Court. This is why knowing which SCOTUS justice has supervision of the Circuit you file in is essential.
www.reuters.com/world/us/usd...
www.reuters.com/world/us/usd...
www.reuters.com
November 8, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Justice KBJ is a brilliant strategist. She is working the rules to compel timely review of the stay in the SNAP case by both the Circuit Court and by the Supreme Court. This is why knowing which SCOTUS justice has supervision of the Circuit you file in is essential.
www.reuters.com/world/us/usd...
www.reuters.com/world/us/usd...
Reposted by Abe Smith
ChatGPT is doing everything 80s parents thought heavy metal and D&D did and I wish this was hyperbole
Panera’s moderately caffeinated lemonade was loosely associated with 2 deaths before it was taken off market.
This article alone has 4 examples of ChatGPT encouraging young people to commit suicide, and OpenAI’s own public stats estimate over a million users discuss suicide with ChatGPT each week.
This article alone has 4 examples of ChatGPT encouraging young people to commit suicide, and OpenAI’s own public stats estimate over a million users discuss suicide with ChatGPT each week.
I fully believe in the corporate death penalty and believe we would be a better world if OpenAI lost its corporate charter and was forcibly dissolved.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
November 8, 2025 at 1:44 AM
ChatGPT is doing everything 80s parents thought heavy metal and D&D did and I wish this was hyperbole
Reposted by Abe Smith
While US venture capitalists were buying monkey jpegs, and DOGE coins, and figuring out how to get Black women fired, and tweeting about white birthrates, and trying to mandate which bathroom trans kids should use, China was making progress on climate change and taking the lead in a real industry.
China has made cheap, clean energy available in huge quantities. The world should take the win econ.st/4oqFszB
Photo: Eyevine
Photo: Eyevine
November 7, 2025 at 11:22 AM
While US venture capitalists were buying monkey jpegs, and DOGE coins, and figuring out how to get Black women fired, and tweeting about white birthrates, and trying to mandate which bathroom trans kids should use, China was making progress on climate change and taking the lead in a real industry.
Reposted by Abe Smith
The US is the world's largest oil and gas producer. Yet, "China is now making more money from exporting green technology than America makes from exporting fossil fuels."
China’s clean-energy revolution will reshape markets and politics
The world’s biggest manufacturer now has an interest in the world decarbonising
www.economist.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:05 AM
The US is the world's largest oil and gas producer. Yet, "China is now making more money from exporting green technology than America makes from exporting fossil fuels."
Reposted by Abe Smith
Parks and Rec isn't a hill to die on, but one thing it gets right is this whole government thing rests on the shoulders of people you will never know, caring a lot about jobs you've never heard of, fighting challenges thrown at them from every angle just to make life a little better for everyone.
November 5, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Parks and Rec isn't a hill to die on, but one thing it gets right is this whole government thing rests on the shoulders of people you will never know, caring a lot about jobs you've never heard of, fighting challenges thrown at them from every angle just to make life a little better for everyone.
Reposted by Abe Smith
SNAP has existed for 60 years. Benefits have gone out every single month over those six decades, including during government shutdowns. Until now.
Make no mistake: The money is available to fund SNAP during this shutdown. Trump is making a choice to withhold it.
Don’t forget this.
Make no mistake: The money is available to fund SNAP during this shutdown. Trump is making a choice to withhold it.
Don’t forget this.
November 6, 2025 at 9:15 PM
SNAP has existed for 60 years. Benefits have gone out every single month over those six decades, including during government shutdowns. Until now.
Make no mistake: The money is available to fund SNAP during this shutdown. Trump is making a choice to withhold it.
Don’t forget this.
Make no mistake: The money is available to fund SNAP during this shutdown. Trump is making a choice to withhold it.
Don’t forget this.
Reposted by Abe Smith
"World's first potential trillionaire has killed 600,000 people, including 400,000 children" is the only headline that anyone should ever read about Elon Musk
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 7, 2025 at 1:33 AM
"World's first potential trillionaire has killed 600,000 people, including 400,000 children" is the only headline that anyone should ever read about Elon Musk
Reposted by Abe Smith
The man who ended USAID is the world's first trillionaire
November 7, 2025 at 2:14 AM
The man who ended USAID is the world's first trillionaire
November 7, 2025 at 2:40 AM
Reposted by Abe Smith
Note how Pontifex maximus tracks every daily occurrence at the ICE Broadview facility in Chicago. Pope Leo XIV issued an appeal to American immigration authorities on Tuesday after migrants held at an Illinois facility were blocked from receiving communion. www.thedailybeast.com/pope-leo-sen...
Pope Leo Slams ICE For Refusing Communion to Catholics
The Chicago-born pontiff expressed concern about migrants’ spiritual rights.
www.thedailybeast.com
November 5, 2025 at 6:49 AM
Note how Pontifex maximus tracks every daily occurrence at the ICE Broadview facility in Chicago. Pope Leo XIV issued an appeal to American immigration authorities on Tuesday after migrants held at an Illinois facility were blocked from receiving communion. www.thedailybeast.com/pope-leo-sen...
Reposted by Abe Smith
The failure of the “blue no matter who” crowd to rally behind Mamdani really just lays the reality of that position bare, doesn’t it?
November 4, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The failure of the “blue no matter who” crowd to rally behind Mamdani really just lays the reality of that position bare, doesn’t it?
Reposted by Abe Smith
The Grand Unifying Theory of Fuck That Guy
"i don't care about policy, i just want to destroy Trumpism"
it's funny that the Democratic coalition basically spans everywhere from former Lt Gov of GA (anti-Trump Republican) to NY municipal socialist
popular front: the party
popular front: the party
November 5, 2025 at 3:45 AM
The Grand Unifying Theory of Fuck That Guy
Reposted by Abe Smith
speaks volumes that Trump's response to tonight's resounding defeat is to demand Republicans redouble efforts to rig elections
November 5, 2025 at 4:01 AM
speaks volumes that Trump's response to tonight's resounding defeat is to demand Republicans redouble efforts to rig elections
Reposted by Abe Smith
Maybe dumping poop on voters from an airplane is not a surefire electoral strategy
November 5, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Maybe dumping poop on voters from an airplane is not a surefire electoral strategy
Reposted by Abe Smith
So….folks are believing the $130 million donation for the military? Do we have any independent confirmation that this happened?
I thought that we were all on the same page that this is just a Trump tall tale which he told in the moment to derail uncomfortable questions. No? It’s all checked out?
I thought that we were all on the same page that this is just a Trump tall tale which he told in the moment to derail uncomfortable questions. No? It’s all checked out?
October 25, 2025 at 1:15 AM
So….folks are believing the $130 million donation for the military? Do we have any independent confirmation that this happened?
I thought that we were all on the same page that this is just a Trump tall tale which he told in the moment to derail uncomfortable questions. No? It’s all checked out?
I thought that we were all on the same page that this is just a Trump tall tale which he told in the moment to derail uncomfortable questions. No? It’s all checked out?
Reposted by Abe Smith
As folks are noting, $130m isn't anywhere near enough to actually pay the troops; the DoD spends something like $16bn on personnel costs per month.
It is, however, more than enough to send everyone to prison for a couple of years under the antideficiency act for improperly appropriating funds.
It is, however, more than enough to send everyone to prison for a couple of years under the antideficiency act for improperly appropriating funds.
October 24, 2025 at 11:28 PM
As folks are noting, $130m isn't anywhere near enough to actually pay the troops; the DoD spends something like $16bn on personnel costs per month.
It is, however, more than enough to send everyone to prison for a couple of years under the antideficiency act for improperly appropriating funds.
It is, however, more than enough to send everyone to prison for a couple of years under the antideficiency act for improperly appropriating funds.
Reposted by Abe Smith
If members of the United States military are truly being paid their salaries by a private individual, the American people should know who that individual is. Now.
October 25, 2025 at 1:04 AM
If members of the United States military are truly being paid their salaries by a private individual, the American people should know who that individual is. Now.
Reposted by Abe Smith
We were all relieved that this didn’t happen on 9/11.
October 21, 2025 at 11:02 PM
We were all relieved that this didn’t happen on 9/11.