Chris Downey
@chrisdowney.bsky.social
British/Irish Unix/Android/iOS hacker, based in SoCal. Dad to 4 neurodivergent adults. Butler for dogs. Ebike enthusiast. Believer in the scientific process.
Background pic is the Salton Sea at sunset.
He/him.
Background pic is the Salton Sea at sunset.
He/him.
Reposted by Chris Downey
The best, simplest, and most honest take I've seen on this.
November 10, 2025 at 8:47 PM
The best, simplest, and most honest take I've seen on this.
Reposted by Chris Downey
Costco announced they will not stock mifepristone in their pharmacies. Contrary to viral social media posts, this IS a big deal and it DOES mean that they caved to pressure from far-right MAGA anti-woman conservatives. Here I go over the evidence and what you can do skepchick.org/2025/08/cost...
Costco Gives Misogynists a Win by Not Selling Abortion Medication
Transcript: You may have recently heard some news about Costco and the abortion medication mifepristone. Today I want to address some misinformation about that, AND some misinformation ABOUT the mi…
skepchick.org
August 22, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Costco announced they will not stock mifepristone in their pharmacies. Contrary to viral social media posts, this IS a big deal and it DOES mean that they caved to pressure from far-right MAGA anti-woman conservatives. Here I go over the evidence and what you can do skepchick.org/2025/08/cost...
Reposted by Chris Downey
LA refuses to embrace density surrounding rapid transit even as:
👉 It’s population is declining.
👉 Its rents are increasing.
👉 Houses are getting more expensive.
Maybe it’s time to embrace zoning reform rather than telling the state legislature that all is well.
open.substack.com/pub/yimbyman...
👉 It’s population is declining.
👉 Its rents are increasing.
👉 Houses are getting more expensive.
Maybe it’s time to embrace zoning reform rather than telling the state legislature that all is well.
open.substack.com/pub/yimbyman...
LA Doubles Down on Bad Housing Policy
Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory
open.substack.com
August 21, 2025 at 12:37 PM
LA refuses to embrace density surrounding rapid transit even as:
👉 It’s population is declining.
👉 Its rents are increasing.
👉 Houses are getting more expensive.
Maybe it’s time to embrace zoning reform rather than telling the state legislature that all is well.
open.substack.com/pub/yimbyman...
👉 It’s population is declining.
👉 Its rents are increasing.
👉 Houses are getting more expensive.
Maybe it’s time to embrace zoning reform rather than telling the state legislature that all is well.
open.substack.com/pub/yimbyman...
Reposted by Chris Downey
"For the last time, I didn't know anything about Jeffrey Epstein's pedophilia ring, we were just best friends for over a decade and then finally had a falling out when he stole this seventeen-year-old blonde girl from me. I trust that settles it."
July 29, 2025 at 7:40 PM
"For the last time, I didn't know anything about Jeffrey Epstein's pedophilia ring, we were just best friends for over a decade and then finally had a falling out when he stole this seventeen-year-old blonde girl from me. I trust that settles it."
Reposted by Chris Downey
Wait, wut. "Custom"? "CUSTOM"?!
I have sympathy for media outlets discussing complicated legal issues, but it is outright false for @nytimes.com to describe birthright citizenship as a "custom."
It is the law. It is the text of the Constitution. Are the Bill of Rights a "custom" too? What about the Presidency itself?
It is the law. It is the text of the Constitution. Are the Bill of Rights a "custom" too? What about the Presidency itself?
not to be the flyspeck nyt copy as if it's the most important thing guy, but seriously wtf is this?
July 10, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Wait, wut. "Custom"? "CUSTOM"?!
Reposted by Chris Downey
If I say that Trump wants to transfer $45 billion away from critical public health funding to fund ICE, a policing unit only good at incarcerating people for racist reasons, you see how horrific it is.
But when I said that Biden transferred $50 billion away from COVID relief funds to fund cops?
But when I said that Biden transferred $50 billion away from COVID relief funds to fund cops?
Rifles, Tasers and Jails: How Cities and States Spent Billions of COVID-19 Relief
President Biden’s signature American Rescue Plan Act gave local governments $350 billion to recover from COVID-19. They spent much of it on police, prisons and the courts.
www.themarshallproject.org
July 3, 2025 at 12:34 PM
If I say that Trump wants to transfer $45 billion away from critical public health funding to fund ICE, a policing unit only good at incarcerating people for racist reasons, you see how horrific it is.
But when I said that Biden transferred $50 billion away from COVID relief funds to fund cops?
But when I said that Biden transferred $50 billion away from COVID relief funds to fund cops?
Reposted by Chris Downey
Shows up from Iran. Moves to rural Alabama. Becomes Trump supporter. Advocates for their own deportation. Gets deported.
Anyways...
Anyways...
A Trump supporter married to an immigrant said she was "blindsided" by the president's immigration policies after her husband was detained by ICE
Woman Says She Was ‘Blindsided’ After ICE Detained Her Trump-Supporting Husband
Morgan Gardner, who is seven months pregnant, said she felt betrayed after her Iranian spouse was targeted amid ongoing tension between the U.S. and Iran.
www.huffpost.com
June 27, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Shows up from Iran. Moves to rural Alabama. Becomes Trump supporter. Advocates for their own deportation. Gets deported.
Anyways...
Anyways...
Reposted by Chris Downey
Zohran leaning hard in this final-push pitch into the idea that this primary offers an opportunity for young voters to remake the Democratic Party.
Listen to Emily: young people can decide this election. Polls are open until 9pm.
zohranfornyc.com/vote
zohranfornyc.com/vote
June 24, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Zohran leaning hard in this final-push pitch into the idea that this primary offers an opportunity for young voters to remake the Democratic Party.
Reposted by Chris Downey
It's also just plain wrong. Three studies found statistically significant reduction in suicidality. The fourth, and smallest, with only 19 subjects in the treatment group, found reductions that fell just short of significance. No competent statistician would describe that as "inconsistent".
Still one of the most insane things I've ever seen in a government report
June 21, 2025 at 8:44 PM
It's also just plain wrong. Three studies found statistically significant reduction in suicidality. The fourth, and smallest, with only 19 subjects in the treatment group, found reductions that fell just short of significance. No competent statistician would describe that as "inconsistent".
Reposted by Chris Downey
McBride is the Columbia University of Trans advocates
This will backfire and she will understand that compromise does not result in keeping rights
She has made herself a tool for the GOP to use and discard
This kind of magical thinking may make her feel better but it just benefits the GOP
This will backfire and she will understand that compromise does not result in keeping rights
She has made herself a tool for the GOP to use and discard
This kind of magical thinking may make her feel better but it just benefits the GOP
June 21, 2025 at 7:40 PM
McBride is the Columbia University of Trans advocates
This will backfire and she will understand that compromise does not result in keeping rights
She has made herself a tool for the GOP to use and discard
This kind of magical thinking may make her feel better but it just benefits the GOP
This will backfire and she will understand that compromise does not result in keeping rights
She has made herself a tool for the GOP to use and discard
This kind of magical thinking may make her feel better but it just benefits the GOP
Reposted by Chris Downey
♥️👍🏿🇲🇽🇪🇸
Reminder that I AM LATINA AND PROUD. I am the product of immigration - my grandmother was undocumented and entered the country from Mexico as a baby. My mother was a fierce, gorgeous Latina woman of Mexican and Spanish descent.
June 12, 2025 at 3:36 AM
♥️👍🏿🇲🇽🇪🇸
Reposted by Chris Downey
👀
Fucking priceless.
Elon implanted a fraudster at DOD, HE's the guy who claimed there were NSA intercepts showing Whiskey Pete's reliable aides were behind the leaks.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Elon implanted a fraudster at DOD, HE's the guy who claimed there were NSA intercepts showing Whiskey Pete's reliable aides were behind the leaks.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
June 9, 2025 at 6:12 PM
👀
Reposted by Chris Downey
It's really quite staggering to say *any fucking thing* about the "gender language police" when there is an actual administration in the WH right now that is cancelling NIH grants with the word "gender" in the abstract; threatening to sue colleges for "reverse racism," and on and on
May 29, 2025 at 8:50 PM
It's really quite staggering to say *any fucking thing* about the "gender language police" when there is an actual administration in the WH right now that is cancelling NIH grants with the word "gender" in the abstract; threatening to sue colleges for "reverse racism," and on and on
Reposted by Chris Downey
"None of my old friends like me anymore, and I think I've figured out why!"
May 17, 2025 at 8:19 PM
"None of my old friends like me anymore, and I think I've figured out why!"
Reposted by Chris Downey
Hey, but don't fret! #Trump and his MAGA GOP Big Ugly Bill will make it worse! 🥳
The bottom 60% of U.S. households don't make enough money to afford a "minimal quality of life," according to a new analysis.
Most Americans don't earn enough to afford basic costs of living, analysis finds
The bottom 60% of U.S. households don't make enough money to afford a "minimal quality of life," according to a new analysis.
www.cbsnews.com
May 15, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Hey, but don't fret! #Trump and his MAGA GOP Big Ugly Bill will make it worse! 🥳
Reposted by Chris Downey
A poem by Charles Bukowski called 16-bit Intel 8088 Chip. “with an Apple Macintosh / you can’t run Radio Shack programs / in its disc drive. / nor can a Commodore 64 / drive read a file / you have created on an / IBM Personal Computer.” [kottke.org]
16-bit Intel 8088 Chip by Charles Bukowski
Today I learned that Charles Bukowski, “laureate of American lowlife”, wrote about the incompatibilities of early computing platforms in a poem called 16-bit Intel 8088 Chip:
16-bit Intel 8088 chip
with an Apple Macint
kottke.org
May 9, 2025 at 3:56 PM
A poem by Charles Bukowski called 16-bit Intel 8088 Chip. “with an Apple Macintosh / you can’t run Radio Shack programs / in its disc drive. / nor can a Commodore 64 / drive read a file / you have created on an / IBM Personal Computer.” [kottke.org]
Reposted by Chris Downey
I have seen this claim made many times but I have yet to see it demonstrated in a repeatable way. What *are* they useful for? My own experiments have been complete failures, and when I ask people who have been “successful” with them, their success is slippery, hard to quantify.
April 24, 2025 at 3:36 AM
I have seen this claim made many times but I have yet to see it demonstrated in a repeatable way. What *are* they useful for? My own experiments have been complete failures, and when I ask people who have been “successful” with them, their success is slippery, hard to quantify.
Reposted by Chris Downey
🤔 Your 401k is in shambles, and they're going after the Civil Rights act?
Unless James Baldwin has your money, that won't help you. 🤷🏿♂️
Unless James Baldwin has your money, that won't help you. 🤷🏿♂️
I Am Not Your Negro | James Baldwin on the Dick Cavett Show | Netflix
YouTube video by Still Watching Netflix
m.youtube.com
April 24, 2025 at 1:45 AM
🤔 Your 401k is in shambles, and they're going after the Civil Rights act?
Unless James Baldwin has your money, that won't help you. 🤷🏿♂️
Unless James Baldwin has your money, that won't help you. 🤷🏿♂️
Reposted by Chris Downey
Tomorrow will be a big test on whether California will address its population declining housing shortage by building homes near transit, or shrink back beneath Texas and mathematically surrender the electoral college to Republicans for a decade.
darrellowens.substack.com/p/big-day-fo...
darrellowens.substack.com/p/big-day-fo...
Big Day for California Housing On Tuesday
An overview of the politics surrounding big zoning laws headed for committee tomorrow.
darrellowens.substack.com
April 21, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Tomorrow will be a big test on whether California will address its population declining housing shortage by building homes near transit, or shrink back beneath Texas and mathematically surrender the electoral college to Republicans for a decade.
darrellowens.substack.com/p/big-day-fo...
darrellowens.substack.com/p/big-day-fo...
Reposted by Chris Downey
I'm not in the habit of sharing Washington Post links these days, but I'll make an exception here because someone has finally done a profile on the influential and mysterious @acyn.bsky.social.
If not for essential guys like Acyn and @atrupar.com I'm not sure where we'd be today.
wapo.st/3RpEvJ7
If not for essential guys like Acyn and @atrupar.com I'm not sure where we'd be today.
wapo.st/3RpEvJ7
The 40-something single dad shaping liberal media from his laptop
Acyn Torabi dominates social media with fast-cut clips of political mayhem. Are they news, or something else?
wapo.st
April 19, 2025 at 4:02 PM
I'm not in the habit of sharing Washington Post links these days, but I'll make an exception here because someone has finally done a profile on the influential and mysterious @acyn.bsky.social.
If not for essential guys like Acyn and @atrupar.com I'm not sure where we'd be today.
wapo.st/3RpEvJ7
If not for essential guys like Acyn and @atrupar.com I'm not sure where we'd be today.
wapo.st/3RpEvJ7
Reposted by Chris Downey
Annals of freelancing: Like a year ago I copyedited an oral history of the jam band scene, and as a result every time I’m in the supermarket and “Hook” comes on, I’m like “Hey! My guys!“
April 15, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Annals of freelancing: Like a year ago I copyedited an oral history of the jam band scene, and as a result every time I’m in the supermarket and “Hook” comes on, I’m like “Hey! My guys!“
Reposted by Chris Downey
In defiance of the Supreme Court & without any evidence, the White House claims that Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a “terrorist,” who was “sent to the right place.”
This is a blatant LIE. He is innocent.
He cannot be allowed to rot in an El Salvadorian jail. He must be brought home.
This is a blatant LIE. He is innocent.
He cannot be allowed to rot in an El Salvadorian jail. He must be brought home.
April 14, 2025 at 10:46 PM
In defiance of the Supreme Court & without any evidence, the White House claims that Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a “terrorist,” who was “sent to the right place.”
This is a blatant LIE. He is innocent.
He cannot be allowed to rot in an El Salvadorian jail. He must be brought home.
This is a blatant LIE. He is innocent.
He cannot be allowed to rot in an El Salvadorian jail. He must be brought home.
Reposted by Chris Downey
If @willbunch.bsky.social wrote it, you should read it.©
There's a reason ICE agents wear masks in the street. From Kristi Noem's war-crime propaganda to the airport officers harassing innocent tourists, the MAGA deportation regime is not just immoral but increasingly criminal
Someday, there must be justice. My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...
Someday, there must be justice. My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...
When this is over, U.S. rights abusers must be tried for crimes against humanity
Escalating reports of human rights crimes from Kristi Noem's propaganda to ICE cruelty must be wiped clean with justice.
www.inquirer.com
April 13, 2025 at 5:19 PM
If @willbunch.bsky.social wrote it, you should read it.©