Barb Pollak
@barbpollak.bsky.social
Writer living in the PNW. Written some books, won some awards. Lover of dogs, cats, good whisky, & dark chocolate. Diehard Seattle Mariners and Kraken fan.
Reposted by Barb Pollak
It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours, and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic.
When the fire starts to burn, every good person better be ready to man a post with a bucket of water if you want to stop it from raging out of control.
When the fire starts to burn, every good person better be ready to man a post with a bucket of water if you want to stop it from raging out of control.
February 19, 2025 at 6:44 PM
It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours, and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic.
When the fire starts to burn, every good person better be ready to man a post with a bucket of water if you want to stop it from raging out of control.
When the fire starts to burn, every good person better be ready to man a post with a bucket of water if you want to stop it from raging out of control.
Wow, Sean McDonough. Way to be a total putz.
February 21, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Wow, Sean McDonough. Way to be a total putz.
Today, in shameful, yet timely U.S. History:
February 19, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Today, in shameful, yet timely U.S. History:
Reposted by Barb Pollak
so tesla board meetings are basically raves with no music no dancing and the most boring people on earth
February 5, 2025 at 6:22 PM
so tesla board meetings are basically raves with no music no dancing and the most boring people on earth
Today's sweatshirt
February 5, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Today's sweatshirt
I wrote 1500 words today on a new manuscript. In these times, that feels like a victory against the darkness.
Plus, it felt REALLY good.
Plus, it felt REALLY good.
February 5, 2025 at 2:10 AM
I wrote 1500 words today on a new manuscript. In these times, that feels like a victory against the darkness.
Plus, it felt REALLY good.
Plus, it felt REALLY good.
Dumb suggestion, but has anyone thought about calling 911 and reporting Elon Musk for B&E?
I mean...come ON.
I mean...come ON.
February 3, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Dumb suggestion, but has anyone thought about calling 911 and reporting Elon Musk for B&E?
I mean...come ON.
I mean...come ON.
We all knew this would happen—YOU knew it would happen—SO WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SOMETHING THEN?
This is on you and on every major media outlet who refused to call his behavior EXACTLY what it was.
This is on you and on every major media outlet who refused to call his behavior EXACTLY what it was.
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com
The first two weeks into President Trump's second tour in the White House "have seen so many lines crossed in the pursuit of his agenda that anyone who believes in the Constitution and honest governance should be worried," the editorial board writes.
The first two weeks into President Trump's second tour in the White House "have seen so many lines crossed in the pursuit of his agenda that anyone who believes in the Constitution and honest governance should be worried," the editorial board writes.
Opinion | Trump’s Test of the Constitution
Two weeks in, the president is quickly moving to eliminate tools of accountability.
nyti.ms
February 2, 2025 at 6:48 PM
We all knew this would happen—YOU knew it would happen—SO WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SOMETHING THEN?
This is on you and on every major media outlet who refused to call his behavior EXACTLY what it was.
This is on you and on every major media outlet who refused to call his behavior EXACTLY what it was.
Reposted by Barb Pollak
Correct. And when he accused Biden and Harris and the Democrats of seeking to destroy the country, he was engaging in pure psychological projection.
This is not a new concept- the goal has always been the destruction of the government. And when DipTurd in chief said you’ll never have to vote again- who thought he wasn’t kidding?
February 2, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Correct. And when he accused Biden and Harris and the Democrats of seeking to destroy the country, he was engaging in pure psychological projection.
Reposted by Barb Pollak
Incredibly proud of every member of the government refusing access to Musk. It’s very important to remember and circulate widely that departments of government are created by congress, not presidential whims. Musk is breaking the law. These people are defending the government from criminal acts.
February 2, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Incredibly proud of every member of the government refusing access to Musk. It’s very important to remember and circulate widely that departments of government are created by congress, not presidential whims. Musk is breaking the law. These people are defending the government from criminal acts.
Today in U.S. History:
1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican–American War. Mexico loses 55 percent of its territory to the US, including California, Nevada and Utah in exchange for $15 million.
1887: First Groundhog Day observed at Gobbler's Knob, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
1/5
1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican–American War. Mexico loses 55 percent of its territory to the US, including California, Nevada and Utah in exchange for $15 million.
1887: First Groundhog Day observed at Gobbler's Knob, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
1/5
a rainbow and a star with the words " i know you know "
ALT: a rainbow and a star with the words " i know you know "
media.tenor.com
February 2, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Today in U.S. History:
1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican–American War. Mexico loses 55 percent of its territory to the US, including California, Nevada and Utah in exchange for $15 million.
1887: First Groundhog Day observed at Gobbler's Knob, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
1/5
1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican–American War. Mexico loses 55 percent of its territory to the US, including California, Nevada and Utah in exchange for $15 million.
1887: First Groundhog Day observed at Gobbler's Knob, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
1/5
Reposted by Barb Pollak
The first Senators to actually do anything about the Trump admin
NEW - Ottawa Senators fans booed the American national anthem at the beginning of tonight’s hockey game.
February 2, 2025 at 1:07 AM
The first Senators to actually do anything about the Trump admin
Reposted by Barb Pollak
Having watched with growing alarm the developments of the last 24 and 36 hours in Washington, I thought I’d take a stab at how the US media would cover this story if it was happening in a foreign country. Here’s that story that should be written this weekend: www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/musk-s-jun...
Musk's Junta Establishes Him as Head of Government
Imagining how we'd cover overseas what's happening to the U.S. right now
www.doomsdayscenario.co
February 1, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Having watched with growing alarm the developments of the last 24 and 36 hours in Washington, I thought I’d take a stab at how the US media would cover this story if it was happening in a foreign country. Here’s that story that should be written this weekend: www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/musk-s-jun...
Welcome to today's installment of Today in U.S. History:
1810: 1st insurance company managed by African Americans, The African Insurance Company opens in Philadelphia
1861: Texas secedes from the Union (which precipitates the American Civil War) 1/3
1810: 1st insurance company managed by African Americans, The African Insurance Company opens in Philadelphia
1861: Texas secedes from the Union (which precipitates the American Civil War) 1/3
a rainbow and a star with the words " i know you know "
ALT: a rainbow and a star with the words " i know you know "
media.tenor.com
February 1, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Welcome to today's installment of Today in U.S. History:
1810: 1st insurance company managed by African Americans, The African Insurance Company opens in Philadelphia
1861: Texas secedes from the Union (which precipitates the American Civil War) 1/3
1810: 1st insurance company managed by African Americans, The African Insurance Company opens in Philadelphia
1861: Texas secedes from the Union (which precipitates the American Civil War) 1/3
Reposted by Barb Pollak
it's not hyperbolic to say we're witnessing a coup.
Exclusive: Musk aides lock government workers out of computer systems at US agency, sources say
Aides to Elon Musk charged with running the U.S. government human resources agency have locked career civil servants out of computer systems that contain the personal data of millions of federal employees, according to two agency officials.
www.reuters.com
January 31, 2025 at 8:23 PM
it's not hyperbolic to say we're witnessing a coup.
Today in U.S. History:
1863 1st black Civil War regiment, South Carolina Volunteers, mustered into US Army
1865 Congress passes, by a vote of 121-24, the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States 1/3
1863 1st black Civil War regiment, South Carolina Volunteers, mustered into US Army
1865 Congress passes, by a vote of 121-24, the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States 1/3
a rainbow colored shooting star with the words " do you know " in the background
ALT: a rainbow colored shooting star with the words " do you know " in the background
media.tenor.com
January 31, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Today in U.S. History:
1863 1st black Civil War regiment, South Carolina Volunteers, mustered into US Army
1865 Congress passes, by a vote of 121-24, the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States 1/3
1863 1st black Civil War regiment, South Carolina Volunteers, mustered into US Army
1865 Congress passes, by a vote of 121-24, the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States 1/3
I know the world's on fire and Elon's trying to get into the Treasury (DUDE, REALLY?) but I've got to share the subject line of this R I received for a short story simply because it was so mind-boggling:
"Great work but..."
(Punctuation accurate.)
The rest of the email was similarly...something.
"Great work but..."
(Punctuation accurate.)
The rest of the email was similarly...something.
January 31, 2025 at 4:25 PM
I know the world's on fire and Elon's trying to get into the Treasury (DUDE, REALLY?) but I've got to share the subject line of this R I received for a short story simply because it was so mind-boggling:
"Great work but..."
(Punctuation accurate.)
The rest of the email was similarly...something.
"Great work but..."
(Punctuation accurate.)
The rest of the email was similarly...something.
Reposted by Barb Pollak
➡️ January 20: FAA director fired
➡️ January 21: Air Traffic Controller hiring frozen
➡️ January 22: Aviation Safety Advisory Committee disbanded
➡️ January 28: Buyout/retirement demand sent to existing employees
➡️ January 29: First American mid-air collision in 16 years
Making America Great Again!
➡️ January 21: Air Traffic Controller hiring frozen
➡️ January 22: Aviation Safety Advisory Committee disbanded
➡️ January 28: Buyout/retirement demand sent to existing employees
➡️ January 29: First American mid-air collision in 16 years
Making America Great Again!
January 30, 2025 at 3:37 PM
➡️ January 20: FAA director fired
➡️ January 21: Air Traffic Controller hiring frozen
➡️ January 22: Aviation Safety Advisory Committee disbanded
➡️ January 28: Buyout/retirement demand sent to existing employees
➡️ January 29: First American mid-air collision in 16 years
Making America Great Again!
➡️ January 21: Air Traffic Controller hiring frozen
➡️ January 22: Aviation Safety Advisory Committee disbanded
➡️ January 28: Buyout/retirement demand sent to existing employees
➡️ January 29: First American mid-air collision in 16 years
Making America Great Again!
These assholes, I swear.
January 30, 2025 at 5:23 PM
These assholes, I swear.
Reposted by Barb Pollak
SHARE WIDELY.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS.
With mass deportations starting today across the country, it is vitally important - for both citizens and non-citizens - to know your rights.
You have the right to remain silent. Assert it. You have the right to a lawyer. Ask for one.
(1/3)
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS.
With mass deportations starting today across the country, it is vitally important - for both citizens and non-citizens - to know your rights.
You have the right to remain silent. Assert it. You have the right to a lawyer. Ask for one.
(1/3)
January 22, 2025 at 2:19 AM
SHARE WIDELY.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS.
With mass deportations starting today across the country, it is vitally important - for both citizens and non-citizens - to know your rights.
You have the right to remain silent. Assert it. You have the right to a lawyer. Ask for one.
(1/3)
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS.
With mass deportations starting today across the country, it is vitally important - for both citizens and non-citizens - to know your rights.
You have the right to remain silent. Assert it. You have the right to a lawyer. Ask for one.
(1/3)
O RLY?
Seriously, it’s like the jokes write themselves.
Seriously, it’s like the jokes write themselves.
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https://www.ft.com/content/a0dfedd1-5255-4fa9-8ccc-1fe01de87ea6?sharetype=blocked
OpenAI says it has found evidence that Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek used the US company’s proprietary models to train its own open-source competitor, as concerns grow over a potential breach of intellectual property.
The San Francisco-based ChatGPT maker told the Financial Times it had seen some evidence of “distillation”, which it suspects to be from DeepSeek.
The technique is used by developers to obtain better performance on smaller models by using outputs from larger, more capable ones, allowing them to achieve similar results on specific tasks at a much lower cost.
Distillation is a common practice in the industry but the concern was that DeepSeek may be doing it to build its own rival model, which is a breach of OpenAI’s terms of service.
“The issue is when you [take it out of the platform and] are doing it to create your own model for your own purposes,” said one person close to OpenAI.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:26hkfmtr7jrchexamh7hk6rz/bafkreicsgga7q6qtz6xcrc4xl4sucq4wgcyrlojh4roufwiyj3tcon5wka@jpeg)
January 29, 2025 at 3:03 PM
O RLY?
Seriously, it’s like the jokes write themselves.
Seriously, it’s like the jokes write themselves.
The speed and efficiency with which all of this has been enacted in the past week shows how they've been planning for this.
So no, we weren't paranoid.
And a LOT of people are going to get hurt.
So no, we weren't paranoid.
And a LOT of people are going to get hurt.
January 28, 2025 at 4:28 AM
The speed and efficiency with which all of this has been enacted in the past week shows how they've been planning for this.
So no, we weren't paranoid.
And a LOT of people are going to get hurt.
So no, we weren't paranoid.
And a LOT of people are going to get hurt.
I really need McDavid to trip over his skate laces.
January 28, 2025 at 3:40 AM
I really need McDavid to trip over his skate laces.
Never. About. The. Price. Of. Eggs.
Everyone was warned about this, and it’s happening just as we feared.
January 26, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Never. About. The. Price. Of. Eggs.
Reposted by Barb Pollak
This is how you say “go fuck yourself sideways with a porcupine” in inspector general speak.
Going to be interesting to see how the administration responds
Going to be interesting to see how the administration responds
January 25, 2025 at 11:50 PM
This is how you say “go fuck yourself sideways with a porcupine” in inspector general speak.
Going to be interesting to see how the administration responds
Going to be interesting to see how the administration responds