BAHumbug 🇺🇦
@bahumbug.bsky.social
Software implementation and support. Recovering journalist. Standing in uffish thought. @bethhilbig@mastodon.cloud | http://post.news/bhilbig
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
"Amid concerns that he has failed to address a worsening affordability crisis....Donald Trump revealed on Sunday that his domestic policy chief’s main priority is building a triumphal arch for Washington DC." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Trump says building DC triumphal arch is domestic policy chief’s ‘primary thing’
Trump praises Vince Haley, his ex-speechwriter tasked with creating Arc de Triomphe knockoff amid affordability crisis
www.theguardian.com
December 15, 2025 at 4:43 AM
"Amid concerns that he has failed to address a worsening affordability crisis....Donald Trump revealed on Sunday that his domestic policy chief’s main priority is building a triumphal arch for Washington DC." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
Every few months now I re-read this "Who Goes Nazi?" piece from 1941 and am blown away by how it captures the people we are dealing with 80 years later.
harpers.org/archive/1941...
harpers.org/archive/1941...
Who Goes Nazi?, by Dorothy Thompson
harpers.org
October 1, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Every few months now I re-read this "Who Goes Nazi?" piece from 1941 and am blown away by how it captures the people we are dealing with 80 years later.
harpers.org/archive/1941...
harpers.org/archive/1941...
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
RIP Rob Reiner. You were a prince and I’m grateful we intersected.
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
Rob Reiner, ‘When Harry Met Sally,’ ‘The Princess Bride’ and ‘Stand by Me’ Director and ‘All in the Family’ Actor, Dies at 78 in Apparent Homicide (Report)
The two-time Emmy winner and Oscar nominee and his wife, Michele, were found dead in their Brentwood home.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
December 15, 2025 at 4:24 AM
RIP Rob Reiner. You were a prince and I’m grateful we intersected.
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
“‘For the Reinvention of Man’: How a Conservative Debating Society at Harvard Pushed Women From Its Ranks *** The John Adams Society began quietly excluding women from membership this semester…It is now effectively functioning as a single-sex organization.” 12/8/25… 1/
‘For the Reinvention of Man’: How a Conservative Debating Society at Harvard Pushed Women From Its Ranks | News | The Harvard Crimson
The John Adams Society began quietly excluding women from membership this semester, former and prospective affiliates told The Crimson. It is now effectively functioning as a single-sex organization.
www.thecrimson.com
December 14, 2025 at 7:04 PM
“‘For the Reinvention of Man’: How a Conservative Debating Society at Harvard Pushed Women From Its Ranks *** The John Adams Society began quietly excluding women from membership this semester…It is now effectively functioning as a single-sex organization.” 12/8/25… 1/
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
ICE sprayed a one-year-old in the face with pepper spray.
The child and parents are US citizens, but that doesn't even matter.
These monsters pepper-sprayed a baby.
We cannot allow ICE to continue this behavior, and they aren't going to reform themselves.
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
The child and parents are US citizens, but that doesn't even matter.
These monsters pepper-sprayed a baby.
We cannot allow ICE to continue this behavior, and they aren't going to reform themselves.
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
December 15, 2025 at 3:24 AM
ICE sprayed a one-year-old in the face with pepper spray.
The child and parents are US citizens, but that doesn't even matter.
These monsters pepper-sprayed a baby.
We cannot allow ICE to continue this behavior, and they aren't going to reform themselves.
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
The child and parents are US citizens, but that doesn't even matter.
These monsters pepper-sprayed a baby.
We cannot allow ICE to continue this behavior, and they aren't going to reform themselves.
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
Don't mistake incompetence for accident. The degradation of your social media feed, the collapse of your news, the defunding of your school—it is all functional.
They are happy to rule over the ashes, as long as they are the ones holding the match.
They are happy to rule over the ashes, as long as they are the ones holding the match.
December 14, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Don't mistake incompetence for accident. The degradation of your social media feed, the collapse of your news, the defunding of your school—it is all functional.
They are happy to rule over the ashes, as long as they are the ones holding the match.
They are happy to rule over the ashes, as long as they are the ones holding the match.
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
And finally, the assault on Section 230. This is the endgame for independent speech.
If you repeal 230, you don’t hurt Google or Meta—they have the lawyers to survive. You destroy the small forums, the independent blogs, the dissenters. You make the cost of speaking the truth too high to bear.
If you repeal 230, you don’t hurt Google or Meta—they have the lawyers to survive. You destroy the small forums, the independent blogs, the dissenters. You make the cost of speaking the truth too high to bear.
How Democrats’ Attack On Section 230 Plays Right Into Trump’s Censorial Plans
Like clockwork, lawmakers are once again rallying around the idea of eliminating Section 230. That Republicans are leading this charge is hardly surprising—repealing Section 230 is explicitly laid …
www.techdirt.com
December 14, 2025 at 9:11 PM
And finally, the assault on Section 230. This is the endgame for independent speech.
If you repeal 230, you don’t hurt Google or Meta—they have the lawyers to survive. You destroy the small forums, the independent blogs, the dissenters. You make the cost of speaking the truth too high to bear.
If you repeal 230, you don’t hurt Google or Meta—they have the lawyers to survive. You destroy the small forums, the independent blogs, the dissenters. You make the cost of speaking the truth too high to bear.
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
Same with TikTok. We were told it was a "national security" threat. But the forced divestiture wasn't about data privacy.
It was about transfer of ownership. Handing the algorithm to politically safe tech oligarchs ensures that the last algorithmic feed not under their thumb is brought to heel.
It was about transfer of ownership. Handing the algorithm to politically safe tech oligarchs ensures that the last algorithmic feed not under their thumb is brought to heel.
Trump allies to control TikTok under new US deal
Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order laying out a proposed deal for a US version of TikTok that would see Chinese ownership reduced to 20 percent and put
www.southtexasnews.com
December 14, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Same with TikTok. We were told it was a "national security" threat. But the forced divestiture wasn't about data privacy.
It was about transfer of ownership. Handing the algorithm to politically safe tech oligarchs ensures that the last algorithmic feed not under their thumb is brought to heel.
It was about transfer of ownership. Handing the algorithm to politically safe tech oligarchs ensures that the last algorithmic feed not under their thumb is brought to heel.
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
Likewise, the "Compact for Academic Excellence" and the attacks on the Ivy League aren't about reform.
Nuance and critical theory are enemies to a movement built on myth. Since they can't force Harvard to teach their alternate reality, they will tax, sue, and harass it until it ceases to function.
Nuance and critical theory are enemies to a movement built on myth. Since they can't force Harvard to teach their alternate reality, they will tax, sue, and harass it until it ceases to function.
December 14, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Likewise, the "Compact for Academic Excellence" and the attacks on the Ivy League aren't about reform.
Nuance and critical theory are enemies to a movement built on myth. Since they can't force Harvard to teach their alternate reality, they will tax, sue, and harass it until it ceases to function.
Nuance and critical theory are enemies to a movement built on myth. Since they can't force Harvard to teach their alternate reality, they will tax, sue, and harass it until it ceases to function.
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
Now look at CBS. Installing Bari Weiss to run a news division isn’t a "pivot to the center." It is a deliberate hollowing out.
Take a legacy institution, gut its standards, wear its skin like a suit. They don’t want CBS's credibility; they want to destroy the idea that credible news exists at all.
Take a legacy institution, gut its standards, wear its skin like a suit. They don’t want CBS's credibility; they want to destroy the idea that credible news exists at all.
December 14, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Now look at CBS. Installing Bari Weiss to run a news division isn’t a "pivot to the center." It is a deliberate hollowing out.
Take a legacy institution, gut its standards, wear its skin like a suit. They don’t want CBS's credibility; they want to destroy the idea that credible news exists at all.
Take a legacy institution, gut its standards, wear its skin like a suit. They don’t want CBS's credibility; they want to destroy the idea that credible news exists at all.
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
We saw the prototype of the Nero Doctrine with Twitter. The goal wasn't to make it profitable or "free." The goal was to break the one place where news broke faster than the state could spin it.
They bought the town square not to speak in it, but to burn it down so we’d have nowhere else to gather.
They bought the town square not to speak in it, but to burn it down so we’d have nowhere else to gather.
December 14, 2025 at 9:11 PM
We saw the prototype of the Nero Doctrine with Twitter. The goal wasn't to make it profitable or "free." The goal was to break the one place where news broke faster than the state could spin it.
They bought the town square not to speak in it, but to burn it down so we’d have nowhere else to gather.
They bought the town square not to speak in it, but to burn it down so we’d have nowhere else to gather.
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
There’s a specific mechanism in authoritarian movements that we’re seeing play out in real-time across American media and tech. It’s a simple rule: "If we cannot co-opt it, we must destroy it."
It is the logic of "scorched earth." It's the logic of the Nero Decree and it's happening right now. 🧵
It is the logic of "scorched earth." It's the logic of the Nero Decree and it's happening right now. 🧵
December 14, 2025 at 9:11 PM
There’s a specific mechanism in authoritarian movements that we’re seeing play out in real-time across American media and tech. It’s a simple rule: "If we cannot co-opt it, we must destroy it."
It is the logic of "scorched earth." It's the logic of the Nero Decree and it's happening right now. 🧵
It is the logic of "scorched earth." It's the logic of the Nero Decree and it's happening right now. 🧵
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
“We almost had a midair collision up here,” the JetBlue pilot said, according to a recording of his conversation with air traffic control. “They passed directly in our flight path. … They don’t have their transponder turned on, it’s outrageous.” www.cnn.com/2025/12/14/p...
JetBlue plane near Venezuela avoids ‘midair collision’ with US Air Force aircraft | CNN Politics
A JetBlue flight from the small Caribbean nation of Curaçao halted its ascent to avoid colliding with a US Air Force refueling tanker on Friday, and the pilot blamed the military plane for crossing hi...
www.cnn.com
December 15, 2025 at 2:10 AM
“We almost had a midair collision up here,” the JetBlue pilot said, according to a recording of his conversation with air traffic control. “They passed directly in our flight path. … They don’t have their transponder turned on, it’s outrageous.” www.cnn.com/2025/12/14/p...
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
Unbelievable - you literally wire money to some unspecified account. I assume this is so Trump can treat it as a slush fund he can deploy unconstrained by Congress (in violation of the Constitution).
December 15, 2025 at 1:56 AM
Unbelievable - you literally wire money to some unspecified account. I assume this is so Trump can treat it as a slush fund he can deploy unconstrained by Congress (in violation of the Constitution).
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
This is fucking grim. Somebody invented a white guy, an "IT professional" named Edward Crabtree, who stopped the Bondi shooting and spread it all over the internet, which was picked up by AI agents and slop aggregation sites.
The real hero is a fruit stand owner named Ahmed el Ahmed.
The real hero is a fruit stand owner named Ahmed el Ahmed.
December 14, 2025 at 8:02 PM
This is fucking grim. Somebody invented a white guy, an "IT professional" named Edward Crabtree, who stopped the Bondi shooting and spread it all over the internet, which was picked up by AI agents and slop aggregation sites.
The real hero is a fruit stand owner named Ahmed el Ahmed.
The real hero is a fruit stand owner named Ahmed el Ahmed.
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
Masked men wearing ICE vests—but who refused to present a warrant or identify themselves—roped off a construction site, trapping two men on a roof for hours in subzero temps. Protesters gathered. Masked men eventually left, and one man on the roof was taken away by ambulance kstp.com/kstp-news/to...
December 14, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Masked men wearing ICE vests—but who refused to present a warrant or identify themselves—roped off a construction site, trapping two men on a roof for hours in subzero temps. Protesters gathered. Masked men eventually left, and one man on the roof was taken away by ambulance kstp.com/kstp-news/to...
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
Our NYT piece examines Hamm's determined, 15-year campaign to reshape US energy policy. Why? He wanted to extend out the life of fossil fuels to allow his family-controlled company to keep drilling. He argued this is essential to US. energy security. A free link: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/b...
The Oilman Who Pushed Trump to Go All In on Fossil Fuels
www.nytimes.com
December 15, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Our NYT piece examines Hamm's determined, 15-year campaign to reshape US energy policy. Why? He wanted to extend out the life of fossil fuels to allow his family-controlled company to keep drilling. He argued this is essential to US. energy security. A free link: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/b...
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
When Charlie Kirk was shot, he did a full oval office address. When it's college kids on campus it's "things can happen." What a sociopath.
December 14, 2025 at 6:32 PM
When Charlie Kirk was shot, he did a full oval office address. When it's college kids on campus it's "things can happen." What a sociopath.
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
The Arc de Triomphe was commissioned to honor Napoleon in 1806. By the time construction had really begun in earnest, Napoleon had suffered a disastrous military defeat and had been forced into exile.
Trump: We’re building an arc like the Arc de Triomphe. It will be like the one in Paris but it blows it away.
December 14, 2025 at 8:34 PM
The Arc de Triomphe was commissioned to honor Napoleon in 1806. By the time construction had really begun in earnest, Napoleon had suffered a disastrous military defeat and had been forced into exile.
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
absolutely the fuck not
Private equity has found a new source of profit: volunteer fire departments.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/u...
Private Equity Finds a New Source of Profit: Volunteer Fire Departments
www.nytimes.com
December 14, 2025 at 7:31 PM
absolutely the fuck not
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
The ACA isn't just "health care for people who don't have a conventional employer." It also disallows something that was incredibly common 20 years ago, which I fear is getting lost to generational memory: insurance companies could deny you health care for essentially any previous health problem.
I'm dubious about Amazon's commitment to keeping pre-existing conditions a thing of the past.
December 14, 2025 at 11:50 PM
The ACA isn't just "health care for people who don't have a conventional employer." It also disallows something that was incredibly common 20 years ago, which I fear is getting lost to generational memory: insurance companies could deny you health care for essentially any previous health problem.
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
I am often asked what laws I would recommend blue states adopt. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, there are seven changes every state could adopt right now, for virtually no cost or administrative burden. www.democracydocket.com/opinion/seve...
Seven Voting Laws Every Blue State Should Enact Right Now
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
December 14, 2025 at 11:51 PM
I am often asked what laws I would recommend blue states adopt. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, there are seven changes every state could adopt right now, for virtually no cost or administrative burden. www.democracydocket.com/opinion/seve...
Reposted by BAHumbug 🇺🇦
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 5:54 PM
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.