Alexander Cohen
@capitolmuckrakr.bsky.social
Investigative data journalist. Native Washingtonian, garage rock ❤️. Past work: Bloomberg, CNN, Center for Public Integrity, Reuters. Aspiring Butlerian Jihadist. Teach me. Mostly doesn’t follow soapboxers, meanies. He/him. Signal: capitolmuckrakr.01
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
Like @prisonculture.bsky.social, I've been worried about the ways popular myths of the civil rights movement make it hard to see how to struggle today. On the 70th anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott, the things we get wrong & what a fuller history shows us: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
What we get wrong about the Montgomery bus boycott – and what we can learn from it | Jeanne Theoharis
The movement’s success was never a given. It took much longer and required tremendous sacrifice without certainty it would work
www.theguardian.com
December 7, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Like @prisonculture.bsky.social, I've been worried about the ways popular myths of the civil rights movement make it hard to see how to struggle today. On the 70th anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott, the things we get wrong & what a fuller history shows us: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
Charting the objectives of he techno fascists. Balaji Srinivasan, CTO of Coinbase, the cryptocurrency exchange, turns to address the tech workers and investors filling a darkened arena in Singapore—all there to learn how to build empires. “I think it’s fair to say,” he pronounces from the stage,
Tech elites are starting their own for-profit cities
They want to escape from regulation and ‘failing’ democracy — but are they more opportunistic than libertarian?
www.ft.com
December 7, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Charting the objectives of he techno fascists. Balaji Srinivasan, CTO of Coinbase, the cryptocurrency exchange, turns to address the tech workers and investors filling a darkened arena in Singapore—all there to learn how to build empires. “I think it’s fair to say,” he pronounces from the stage,
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
"You Have Arrived in Hell": New Evidence Confirms Torture of Deported Venezuelans in El Salvador. New report confirms my warnings in March: Venezuelans deported to El Salvador were tortured. Half had no criminal record. Many were asylum seekers.
austinkocher.substack.com/p/you-have-a...
austinkocher.substack.com/p/you-have-a...
"You Have Arrived in Hell": New Evidence Confirms Torture of Deported Venezuelans in El Salvador
A new HRW report confirms what I warned about in March: Venezuelans deported to El Salvador were systematically tortured. Half had no criminal record. Many were asylum seekers. We paid for this.
austinkocher.substack.com
December 7, 2025 at 2:44 PM
"You Have Arrived in Hell": New Evidence Confirms Torture of Deported Venezuelans in El Salvador. New report confirms my warnings in March: Venezuelans deported to El Salvador were tortured. Half had no criminal record. Many were asylum seekers.
austinkocher.substack.com/p/you-have-a...
austinkocher.substack.com/p/you-have-a...
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
Feh! Democracy, schemocracy.. who needs it?
U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack: “Israel can claim it’s a democracy but in this region, what’s worked the best, whether you like it or you don’t like it, is a benevolent monarchy.”
U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack: “Israel can claim it’s a democracy but in this region, what’s worked the best, whether you like it or you don’t like it, is a benevolent monarchy.”
December 7, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Feh! Democracy, schemocracy.. who needs it?
U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack: “Israel can claim it’s a democracy but in this region, what’s worked the best, whether you like it or you don’t like it, is a benevolent monarchy.”
U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack: “Israel can claim it’s a democracy but in this region, what’s worked the best, whether you like it or you don’t like it, is a benevolent monarchy.”
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
One problem with all the “AGI” discourse is that “AGI” isn’t actually defined.
Someone tried recently … and predictably it didn’t go well. Join us for the next Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 livestream, in which @alexhanna.bsky.social and I dig into the attempt:
Monday, December 8, noon Pacific
Someone tried recently … and predictably it didn’t go well. Join us for the next Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 livestream, in which @alexhanna.bsky.social and I dig into the attempt:
Monday, December 8, noon Pacific
dair_institute - Twitch
Twitch account for The Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR).
twitch.tv
December 6, 2025 at 1:26 AM
One problem with all the “AGI” discourse is that “AGI” isn’t actually defined.
Someone tried recently … and predictably it didn’t go well. Join us for the next Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 livestream, in which @alexhanna.bsky.social and I dig into the attempt:
Monday, December 8, noon Pacific
Someone tried recently … and predictably it didn’t go well. Join us for the next Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 livestream, in which @alexhanna.bsky.social and I dig into the attempt:
Monday, December 8, noon Pacific
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
It turns out that Dollar General and Family Dollar routinely overcharge people—their advertised price tags are fictions. These are the only stores in many small towns.
Scam culture. It's all scam culture. On this matter, Democrats should run on audits and serious fines for overcharging.
Scam culture. It's all scam culture. On this matter, Democrats should run on audits and serious fines for overcharging.
How the dollar-store industry overcharges cash-strapped customers while promising low prices
A Guardian investigation reveals Dollar General and Family Dollar stores often fail to honor their shelf prices – charging more at checkout for everything from frying pans to Frosted Flakes
www.theguardian.com
December 6, 2025 at 2:52 AM
It turns out that Dollar General and Family Dollar routinely overcharge people—their advertised price tags are fictions. These are the only stores in many small towns.
Scam culture. It's all scam culture. On this matter, Democrats should run on audits and serious fines for overcharging.
Scam culture. It's all scam culture. On this matter, Democrats should run on audits and serious fines for overcharging.
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
Elon Musk's Boring Co faces massive fines after dumping tons of waste in publicly-owned water site: 'active illicit discharge'
NDEP fined TBC $493,297.08 for illegally draining >2,400 gal of drilling fluid & bore mud into Clark County Water Reclamation Dist.
www.thecooldown.com/green-busine...
NDEP fined TBC $493,297.08 for illegally draining >2,400 gal of drilling fluid & bore mud into Clark County Water Reclamation Dist.
www.thecooldown.com/green-busine...
Elon Musk's Boring Company faces massive fines after dumping tons of waste in publicly-owned water site: 'An active illicit discharge'
The Boring Company has been fined nearly half-a-million dollars for illegally draining drilling fluids into a water reclamation system.
www.thecooldown.com
December 6, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Elon Musk's Boring Co faces massive fines after dumping tons of waste in publicly-owned water site: 'active illicit discharge'
NDEP fined TBC $493,297.08 for illegally draining >2,400 gal of drilling fluid & bore mud into Clark County Water Reclamation Dist.
www.thecooldown.com/green-busine...
NDEP fined TBC $493,297.08 for illegally draining >2,400 gal of drilling fluid & bore mud into Clark County Water Reclamation Dist.
www.thecooldown.com/green-busine...
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
“I asked, ‘What’s your favorite go-go band?’ Everyone started naming them. I said, ‘OK, so what’s your top three? Your top five?’ They gave them to me, and I said, ‘That’s ranked-choice voting.’”
Is D.C. ready for ranked-choice voting?
Educating voters will be a big task ahead of the 2026 local elections.
51st.news
December 5, 2025 at 2:31 PM
“I asked, ‘What’s your favorite go-go band?’ Everyone started naming them. I said, ‘OK, so what’s your top three? Your top five?’ They gave them to me, and I said, ‘That’s ranked-choice voting.’”
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
“So we’ve been trying to get access to Tom Homan and the folks over at DHS at the secretary level.” www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Border czar’s former clients cash in on Trump’s immigration crackdown
“So we’ve been trying to get access to Tom Homan…”
www.motherjones.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:09 PM
“So we’ve been trying to get access to Tom Homan and the folks over at DHS at the secretary level.” www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
So cool of FCC chair, CIA director, a Senator, and the US Attorney for DC to party with Fox News.
#hohoho
www.politico.com/newsletters/...
#hohoho
www.politico.com/newsletters/...
December 5, 2025 at 2:03 PM
So cool of FCC chair, CIA director, a Senator, and the US Attorney for DC to party with Fox News.
#hohoho
www.politico.com/newsletters/...
#hohoho
www.politico.com/newsletters/...
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
Skyrocketing EV sales of not just autos but also trucks and buses will keep reducing every year China's oil consumption for transportation.
2025 oil transport consumption will be down ~7.2%, compared to 2023!
energyandcleanair.org/publication/... #energysky
2025 oil transport consumption will be down ~7.2%, compared to 2023!
energyandcleanair.org/publication/... #energysky
December 5, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Skyrocketing EV sales of not just autos but also trucks and buses will keep reducing every year China's oil consumption for transportation.
2025 oil transport consumption will be down ~7.2%, compared to 2023!
energyandcleanair.org/publication/... #energysky
2025 oil transport consumption will be down ~7.2%, compared to 2023!
energyandcleanair.org/publication/... #energysky
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
NEW: A cache of classified Syrian intelligence records reveals ex-President Bashar Assad’s vast system for the detention, torture and murder of Syrian citizens — and the international forces that financed his regime. #DamascusDossier www.icij.org/investigatio...
Damascus Dossier - ICIJ
Tens of thousands of secret photos and intelligence files expose the Assad regime’s killing machine.
www.icij.org
December 4, 2025 at 6:16 AM
NEW: A cache of classified Syrian intelligence records reveals ex-President Bashar Assad’s vast system for the detention, torture and murder of Syrian citizens — and the international forces that financed his regime. #DamascusDossier www.icij.org/investigatio...
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
"Respondents were recruited into an online survey instrument via SMS."
Um...ok, then.
bsky.app/profile/char...
Um...ok, then.
bsky.app/profile/char...
December 3, 2025 at 6:55 PM
"Respondents were recruited into an online survey instrument via SMS."
Um...ok, then.
bsky.app/profile/char...
Um...ok, then.
bsky.app/profile/char...
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
What this chart shows:
- In all five House specials, Dems retained a higher percentage of their 2024 House vote than Reps.
- All five saw shifts to the left of more than 10 points.
- The shift in higher-turnout TN was about the same as in lower-turnout AZ.
www.pbump.net/o/the-leftwa...
- In all five House specials, Dems retained a higher percentage of their 2024 House vote than Reps.
- All five saw shifts to the left of more than 10 points.
- The shift in higher-turnout TN was about the same as in lower-turnout AZ.
www.pbump.net/o/the-leftwa...
December 3, 2025 at 7:26 PM
What this chart shows:
- In all five House specials, Dems retained a higher percentage of their 2024 House vote than Reps.
- All five saw shifts to the left of more than 10 points.
- The shift in higher-turnout TN was about the same as in lower-turnout AZ.
www.pbump.net/o/the-leftwa...
- In all five House specials, Dems retained a higher percentage of their 2024 House vote than Reps.
- All five saw shifts to the left of more than 10 points.
- The shift in higher-turnout TN was about the same as in lower-turnout AZ.
www.pbump.net/o/the-leftwa...
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
To the editor in chief of Alice, it appeared that the university had determined that merely the magazines’ target audiences were enough to warrant their suspensions. The magazines had remained open to students of all backgrounds, not just to their target audiences. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/u...
U. of Alabama Suspends Black and Female Student Magazines, Citing D.E.I. Guidance
www.nytimes.com
December 3, 2025 at 1:42 PM
To the editor in chief of Alice, it appeared that the university had determined that merely the magazines’ target audiences were enough to warrant their suspensions. The magazines had remained open to students of all backgrounds, not just to their target audiences. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/u...
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
Now that it’s settled?
December 3, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Now that it’s settled?
I’m sorry to do this.
“Its” is the possessive form of it.
“It’s” is a contraction of “it is.”
Now that’s settled, enjoy your day.
“Its” is the possessive form of it.
“It’s” is a contraction of “it is.”
Now that’s settled, enjoy your day.
December 3, 2025 at 2:32 PM
I’m sorry to do this.
“Its” is the possessive form of it.
“It’s” is a contraction of “it is.”
Now that’s settled, enjoy your day.
“Its” is the possessive form of it.
“It’s” is a contraction of “it is.”
Now that’s settled, enjoy your day.
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
NEW: Nearly 100 former lawmakers are calling on Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social to advance legislation banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks.
Via @opensecrets.org: www.opensecrets.org/news/2025/12...
Via @opensecrets.org: www.opensecrets.org/news/2025/12...
Nearly 100 former lawmakers call on House to ban stock trading by members of Congress - OpenSecrets News
Ninety former members of Congress today urged U.S. House leaders to quickly pass legislation that would “eliminate the persistent appearance…
www.opensecrets.org
December 2, 2025 at 12:49 PM
NEW: Nearly 100 former lawmakers are calling on Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social to advance legislation banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks.
Via @opensecrets.org: www.opensecrets.org/news/2025/12...
Via @opensecrets.org: www.opensecrets.org/news/2025/12...
"They just don't have the agents to do criminal cases," a former Justice Department official said.
NEW: President Trump has repeatedly threatened to bring federal agents, or even soldiers, to San Francisco to battle crime. His administration has actually done the opposite, quietly taking federal law enforcement away from the city to do immigration work instead.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
December 2, 2025 at 2:29 PM
"They just don't have the agents to do criminal cases," a former Justice Department official said.
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
The signs of imminent market collapse for US equities are all around us, including this. www.ft.com/content/9d90...
UK pension funds dump US equities on fears of AI bubble
Public and private-sector funds concerned over market’s growing concentration in a small number of tech stocks
www.ft.com
December 2, 2025 at 1:07 PM
The signs of imminent market collapse for US equities are all around us, including this. www.ft.com/content/9d90...
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
Charting the planned implosion of the NIH under Trump.
The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine
A quiet policy change means the government is making fewer bets on long-term science.
www.nytimes.com
December 2, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Charting the planned implosion of the NIH under Trump.
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
Hello budding data journalists.
The @NBCNews.com Data / Graphics team is looking for a summer 2026 intern, full-time, $30 / hour, working at 30 Rock in NYC.
The application deadline is Friday Dec. 5 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Details and link to application form below:
gist.github.com/freejoe76/56...
The @NBCNews.com Data / Graphics team is looking for a summer 2026 intern, full-time, $30 / hour, working at 30 Rock in NYC.
The application deadline is Friday Dec. 5 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Details and link to application form below:
gist.github.com/freejoe76/56...
December 1, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Hello budding data journalists.
The @NBCNews.com Data / Graphics team is looking for a summer 2026 intern, full-time, $30 / hour, working at 30 Rock in NYC.
The application deadline is Friday Dec. 5 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Details and link to application form below:
gist.github.com/freejoe76/56...
The @NBCNews.com Data / Graphics team is looking for a summer 2026 intern, full-time, $30 / hour, working at 30 Rock in NYC.
The application deadline is Friday Dec. 5 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Details and link to application form below:
gist.github.com/freejoe76/56...
I read this sentence at least four times:
“At times banned from filmmaking in Iran, the director was allowed to make his latest film, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May, but because he didn’t want to submit it to the authorities for approval, he opted to shoot in secret.”
“At times banned from filmmaking in Iran, the director was allowed to make his latest film, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May, but because he didn’t want to submit it to the authorities for approval, he opted to shoot in secret.”
Jafar Panahi, Who Filmed in Secret in Iran, Wins Big at the Gotham Awards
www.nytimes.com
December 2, 2025 at 4:20 AM
I read this sentence at least four times:
“At times banned from filmmaking in Iran, the director was allowed to make his latest film, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May, but because he didn’t want to submit it to the authorities for approval, he opted to shoot in secret.”
“At times banned from filmmaking in Iran, the director was allowed to make his latest film, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May, but because he didn’t want to submit it to the authorities for approval, he opted to shoot in secret.”