A.L.P. Hawg
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alphawg.bsky.social
A.L.P. Hawg
@alphawg.bsky.social
510 followers 3.2K following 550 posts
Ohioan/occasional New Mexican.
Former newspaper reporter.
Big nerd.
Posts Replies Media Videos
alphawg.bsky.social
Hang on, isn't this what Congress is supposed to be for...?
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d
Trump: "I have determined that, for the Good of our Country, especially in these very troubled and dangerous times, our Military Budget for the year 2027 should not be $1 Trillion Dollars, but rather $1.5 Trillion. This will allow us to build the 'Dream Military' that we have long been entitled to."
After long and difficult negotiations with Senators, Congressmen, Secretaries, and other Political Representatives, I have determined that, for the Good of our Country, especially in these very troubled and dangerous times, our Military Budget for the year 2027 should not be $1 Trillion Dollars, but rather $1.5 Trillion Dollars. This will allow us to build the “Dream Military” that we have long been entitled to and, more importantly, that will keep us SAFE and SECURE, regardless of foe. If it weren’t for the tremendous numbers being produced by Tariffs from other Countries, many of which, in the past, have “ripped off” the United States at levels never seen before, I would stay at the $1 Trillion Dollar number but, because of Tariffs, and the tremendous Income that they bring, amounts being generated, that would have been unthinkable in the past (especially just one year ago during the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration, the Worst President in the History of our Country!), we are able to easily hit the $1.5 Trillion Dollar number while, at the same time, producing an unparalleled Military Force, and having the ability to, at the same time, pay down Debt, and likewise, pay a substantial Dividend to moderate income Patriots within our Country!
January 7, 2026 at 9:32 PM
alphawg.bsky.social
I went through this Jan. 6 WSJ story "Trump’s Push to Seize Greenland from Denmark Angers Some Republicans" and pulled out the things said by various Congress people on-the-record. Interesting to see who chose to speak publicly.

(hopefully the gift link still works)

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Rep. Blake Moore (R., Utah): “Sabre-rattling about annexing Greenland is needlessly dangerous.” Rep. Steny Hoyer (D., Md.): (Joint statement with Moore, co-chair of bipartisan Congressional Friends of Denmark Caucus): Denmark is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally and one of America’s closest partners and an attack on Greenland “would tragically be an attack on NATO.” “If the message is that ‘we need Greenland,’ the truth is that we already have access to everything we could need from Greenland.” Rep. Don Bacon (R., Neb.) (now retired): “…denigrating allies serves no purpose and there is NO up side. … Stop the stupid ‘we want Greenland.’ ” Sen. Thom Tillis (R., N.C.): “You can’t annex Greenland. It would require an invasion or capitulation on the part of the Kingdom of Denmark. That’s why this scenario is never going to occur.” Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.): (H)e didn’t know “how much is bravado, how much is bombast (but) militarily taking Greenland obviously I would not support.” Sen. John Kennedy (R., La.): “Do I think he’s going to invade Greenland? No. The president likes to think out loud…Sometimes he does it just to aggravate you guys.” Sen. Tim Kaine (D., Va.): “You’ve got to take any threat that he makes seriously.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.): “I’m not saying we’re going to go take over Greenland, I’m saying we’re going to build up our military presence, and we need to create a new relationship between the United States and Greenland to make sure our investment is secure.” Sen. John Thune (R., S.D.): “I don’t see military action being an option there. That to me is not something anybody has contemplated seriously.”
January 7, 2026 at 4:59 PM
alphawg.bsky.social
I don't think anybody wants my opinion on the Democratic ticket for Ohio governor, but if you do, my DMs are open.

(Spoiler: it's grim.)
January 7, 2026 at 3:18 PM
alphawg.bsky.social
🧵
beyerstein.bsky.social Lindsay Beyerstein @beyerstein.bsky.social · 1d
Media, stop repeating WH talking points about "the option to acquire Greenland," which is not an option.
January 7, 2026 at 1:25 PM
alphawg.bsky.social
Jesus Christ
January 5, 2026 at 3:43 PM
alphawg.bsky.social
Where is congressional oversight
Where is congressional oversight
Where is congressional oversight
Where is congress...
January 4, 2026 at 4:46 PM
alphawg.bsky.social
I walked. :) Unassisted.

(Probably not as exciting if you don't know how 2023 & '24 went for me.)
wyattswickedgoods.com Wyatt Sinclair @wyattswickedgoods.com · 10d
Every year around this time I do the same thread and it has been a lot of fun.

Tell me something you did in 2025 that you're proud of that you want everyone to know about. Did you write a book? Did you get a promotion? Did you survive the year?

I want to spend the end of the year celebrating you.
December 30, 2025 at 12:24 AM
alphawg.bsky.social
Even Nixon would blush.
jlazarus.bsky.social Jeff Lazarus @jlazarus.bsky.social · 12d
I’m not sure it’s even possible to know for sure, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility that by dollar value Trump is more corrupt than all other American elected officials combined, past and present.
December 27, 2025 at 10:01 PM
alphawg.bsky.social
1. YES

2. I've been binge-ing Bewitched since Hulu put it on my home screen a few weeks ago and I have to say, I'd vote for Endora for *any* political office. She really puts Dagwood in his place.
frankconniff.bsky.social Frank Conniff @frankconniff.bsky.social · 17d
Lots of folks seem to think Bari Weiss fucked up, but in terms of her standing with the Ellisons at CBS, it's like the end of a Bewitched episode where Darrin lands the Henderson account and Larry Tate is pleased and all is well.
December 22, 2025 at 5:16 PM
alphawg.bsky.social
There are some academics who turn their noses up at journalists, but I could never get away with a false attribution like this.
johnmullinax.bsky.social John Mullinax @johnmullinax.bsky.social · 22d
Call me old fashioned, but can't folks just stop citing papers they have not personally read?
December 21, 2025 at 2:00 AM
alphawg.bsky.social
Jesus Christ. This is nakedly, greedily shameful.
washingtonpost.com The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 20d
The Trump administration reversed a Biden-era ban on antipersonnel land mines except on the Korean Peninsula.

The memo, signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, says the reversal would give the U.S. military a “force multiplier” against enemies.
Hegseth reverses land mine policy to allow use of controversial weapon
The Trump administration will reverse a Biden-era policy that prohibits the use of antipersonnel land mines, according to a Dec. 2 document reviewed by The Post.
wapo.st
December 20, 2025 at 12:29 AM
alphawg.bsky.social
Beautiful thread
dieworkwear.bsky.social derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 21d
The photos of those Haitian refugees was his first big break, as they earned him the Robert Capa Gold Medal award, which catapulted his career. But at the moment he took the images, he and the other men on the boat thought they were going to die.

He had this to say about the experience:
Excerpt from Magnum. The text is by Anderson: "“A couple of days into our journey, the boat began to sink. We were doomed and we knew it. We started saying goodbye to one another. Strangely, it was quite calm on the boat. There was not much to do except resign oneself to the inevitability of it all. Up to that point, I had not taken many pictures. Everyone on the boat knew I was a photographer, but it somehow had not felt right. It’s difficult to explain. But as the boat sank, David, the Haitian whom I had followed on this journey, said to me, ‘Chris, you’d better start making pictures. We only have an hour to live.’ And so, without much thought, I began making pictures. We were saved at the last moment by a US coast guard cutter that happened upon us, but that’s another story. Much later on, back home safe, I reflected on this question: why make pictures that no one will ever see? The only explanation for me was that the act of photographing had more to do with the explaining of the world to myself than explaining something to someone else. The pictures were about communicating something about my experience, not about reporting literal information. This would be the single most transformative moment of my photographic life.”"
December 18, 2025 at 2:55 AM
alphawg.bsky.social
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Witch's Sister books. I even emailed her as an adult to tell her how much I appreciate them.
adamkeiper.com Adam Keiper @adamkeiper.com · Nov 26
What's a book—or series of books—that you loved as a kid that almost nobody seems to read or even remember nowadays?
Illustration from the box set of John Christopher's 'The Tripods Trilogy' showing a huge War-of-the-Worlds-type gigantic metal tripod with a metallic tentacle grabbing a person from the ground while towering over some sort of explosion, with two kids, who kind of look like hobbits, hiding in the foreground in apparent shock and dismay.
December 16, 2025 at 9:16 PM
alphawg.bsky.social
I don't know if this year compares directly to 2012, but I feel just as anxious for it to be over. I'm just... out of tears.

You know?
December 15, 2025 at 7:18 PM
alphawg.bsky.social
The only thing that surprises me about this is how long it took. He must have had an early bedtime last night.
pbump.com Philip Bump @pbump.com · 24d
utterly incapable of grace
December 15, 2025 at 3:15 PM
alphawg.bsky.social
Anybody else numbing up a bit? I can't process all of this. And I'm irrationally afraid more terrible things will happen if I fall asleep.
December 15, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Reposted by A.L.P. Hawg
audrelawdamercy.bsky.social
So probable cause is now just...going to an East African restaurant
robertscotthorton.bsky.social Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 25d
Armed ICE agents trapped US citizens in a restaurant and demanded their papers. Federal agents walked into East African restaurants in Cedar-Riverside, MN. They closed and blocked the doors. Then they demanded to see everyone’s papers. Every person present was a US citizen.
Federal agents use chemical irritant on crowd in Somali neighborhood of Minneapolis amid Trump crackdown
Federal agents have used chemical irritant to disperse a crowd in a heavily Somali neighborhood in Minneapolis. This happened Tuesday during a identification checks amid the Trump administration's cra...
www.mprnews.org
December 14, 2025 at 8:18 PM
alphawg.bsky.social
Something about barn doors and cows...
December 12, 2025 at 5:38 PM
alphawg.bsky.social
Accessibility is a hill I will die on.
lukesteuber.com Luke Steuber @lukesteuber.com · 28d
I made a Chrome extension that swaps Times New Roman for Calibri on every site or just .gov. It also had Open Sans and Open Dyslexic, because f**k these people.

I’m waiting for Google’s approval for it to install automatically, but you can download it and install it in 90 seconds. Instructions 👇
ReCalibri
They always make us do everything ourselves, anyway
Dr.eamer.dev
December 12, 2025 at 3:52 AM
alphawg.bsky.social
Oh my god why is this man so rich while being so embarrassingly dumb 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️
mcuban.bsky.social Mark Cuban @mcuban.bsky.social · 29d
For all Universal HC/Single Payer/M4A advocates.

What do the biggest, expensive hospital chains do. Do they opt out and only serve the rich ?

Who in the USA gov runs the program?

R U ok with having to see a primary care doc before you can see a specialist ?
December 11, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Reposted by A.L.P. Hawg
bridgetdooling.bsky.social
This is a proposal. You can read it here: public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-22461.pdf

And you can comment by emailing CBP_PRA@cbp.dhs.gov and referencing OMB Control Number 1651-0111 in the subject line.
kimlanelaw.bsky.social Kim Lane Scheppele @kimlanelaw.bsky.social · 29d
All travelers from ESTA countries (yes the ones on visa waiver programs) will have to disclose 5 years of social media + huge amounts of personal data to enter the US now. All US academic associations should now meet outside the US if we want to meet our international colleagues.
clarajeffery.bsky.social Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 29d
This is INSANE www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/t...

and these are our closest allies!
December 10, 2025 at 4:39 AM
Reposted by A.L.P. Hawg
gregpak.net
I really can't emphasize enough that if you care about local politics, all you gotta do is show up. Just a regular schmegular person showing up. Literally just show up consistently in person and within a remarkably short amount of time, you will have a shocking amount of influence.
December 5, 2025 at 6:07 AM
alphawg.bsky.social
Ah, but once SCOTUS obliterates the 14th amendment, it won't matter will it.
December 7, 2025 at 2:19 PM
alphawg.bsky.social
"...I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart."
achillesthe2nd.bsky.social Achilles Micawber @achillesthe2nd.bsky.social · Dec 5
Which lines of poetry live rent-free in your head?
December 7, 2025 at 4:48 AM
Reposted by A.L.P. Hawg
chrisgeidner.bsky.social
Read this thread, especially the science and Hill and White House reporters who follow me, as well as the congressional staffers — and members.
colincarlson.bsky.social Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · Dec 5
Yesterday, we sent this message to the @viralemergence.org team, bringing a (hopefully temporary) end to our project three years into what started as a decade of planned work. /1
Hi everyone, I wanted to share some sad news about the future of the Verena program. As you know, in September, NSF delayed our annual payment indefinitely, and asked us to keep spending closer and closer to zero until they could “justify” another payment. We began to run out of funds at some universities this month, and will be fully spent out by late spring, so the goal was to get paid in December. We’ve been working with our program officer to make this happen, but sadly, we’ve learned we’re not getting an increment again, and there’s no clarity on when or how much we will be paid in the remainder of the grant (through September 1, 2027). Because of this, the Executive Committee has made the difficult decision to essentially shut the BII down until / unless something changes. What that means is an indefinite end to all programs (e.g., seminar), training activities (integration workshops, trainee corner), and evaluation. On research, what’s able to continue will have to be navigated by each investigator; our goal is to work together to push out all the impactful science we’ve spent three years collecting and analyzing data for, but we also know that priorities may shift around to keep people employed. If we’re lucky, Congress will pass a budget that lets us continue doing something like what we planned, and we’ll pick that back up when Zoe and Collin are back in April. Until then, Verena will continue to exist as a community where we can collaborate (and give and receive support!), and we’re working to find funding sources that can pick up from where the BII left off. On a personal note: it’s been the privilege of a lifetime to work with all of you, and an unbelievably lucky thing to get to run an NSF center in my 20s. I’ve loved this project, and I hope it’s made as much of a difference in your lives as it has in mine. In case I don’t see you later: happy holidays, be well, and so long and thanks for all the viruses. Best, Colin
December 6, 2025 at 4:14 AM