M. Barnes
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fremarch.bsky.social
M. Barnes
@fremarch.bsky.social
Engineering Redshirt. 3D printing newbie. Video gamer and occasional crocheter.
Reposted by M. Barnes
A Florida-based company is charging military veterans as much as $20,000 for help with disability claims, even though the VA has said that may be illegal and the service should be free. But so far nobody's stopping the company and others like it. n.pr/4awb0jo
n.pr
December 2, 2025 at 10:21 AM
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Poor Mike. Though I'm sure the millions of Americans whose health insurance he's letting double would gladly take his job, salary, and health coverage.
December 2, 2025 at 10:25 AM
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VOTE FOR THE CANDIDATE THAT WILL WORK TO EARN YOUR VOTE

Tomorrow is election day, TN-7, and I'm humbly asking for your vote. I promise to be accessible and only beholden to the voters of the district, never donors or special interests. Polls open at 7 AM & close at 7 PM. Let's go out and win this!
December 1, 2025 at 11:49 PM
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President Donald Trump threatened a foreign country in a new social media post on Monday night over the country's election results.
'There will be hell to pay!' Trump threatens foreign country over election results
President Donald Trump threatened a foreign country in a new social media post on Monday night over the country's election results. "Looks like Honduras is trying to change the results of their Presidential Election. If they do, there will be hell to pay!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. Trump's commen...
bit.ly
December 2, 2025 at 10:40 AM
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Currently dorking out over this graph about child mortality with my brother. Just mind boggling to take in.
December 2, 2025 at 5:00 AM
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The U.S. Transportation Department is threatening to shut down thousands of truck driving schools, part of the Trump administration's widening crackdown on industry.
Thousands of U.S. trucking schools could lose accreditation under DOT crackdown
The U.S. Transportation Department is threatening to shut down thousands of truck driving schools, part of the Trump administration's widening crackdown on industry.
n.pr
December 1, 2025 at 11:19 PM
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i like that this administration is committed to inflicting as much pain on as many americans as possible.
December 2, 2025 at 4:21 AM
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The BBC’s coverage of Conservative allegations of dishonesty against Rachel Reeves shows how its political coverage is still led by the right-wing press, argues @adambienkov.bsky.social

bylinetimes.com/2025/12/01/r...
Rachel Reeves and the Daily Mailification of the BBC
For all the focus on its supposed "left wing bias", the BBC's heavy coverage of Conservative allegations of dishonesty against Rachel Reeves shows how its political coverage is still largely led by th...
bylinetimes.com
December 2, 2025 at 9:57 AM
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Can’t stress enough how disgraceful it is that DOJ lawyers put their names on a brief claiming a 53 year old law doesn’t exist bc Trump has absolute power.
Just a few months ago, DOJ was staffed by the best and brightest, not a bunch of partisan hacks

www.ms.now/news/trump-d...
Trump DOJ says a key part of the Civil Rights Act doesn't apply to federal employees
A former Lebanese-American immigration judge has filed a lawsuit accusing the government of discrimination.
www.ms.now
December 1, 2025 at 10:36 PM
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It’s far from clear whether Republicans have gained enough support to pass this new gerrymander in Indiana’s Senate, where many Republicans previously expressed their opposition.

Trump recently called for primaries against the holdouts, and several were targeted with swatting attempts within days
Indiana’s governor and at least 8 lawmakers have been swatted or threatened as state Republicans face redistricting pressure | CNN Politics
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said he and his family are among the Republicans targeted in a wave of threats against state officeholders this week as President Donald Trump pressures Hoosier State lawmakers...
www.cnn.com
December 1, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Reposted by M. Barnes
there is no legitimate definition of the term "democracy" under which maps like these are "democratic." this level of stovepiping is banana republic shit. this is effectively no different from stuffing a ballot box
Indiana Republicans have unveiled their proposal to re-gerrymander the congressional map & expand their current 7-2 majority to 9-0.

The Dem-held 1st would flip to Trump+12 & the 7th to Trump+19. All 7 GOP seats would be at least Trump+18.

Interactive map:
davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap...
December 1, 2025 at 8:50 PM
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One of my colleagues applied for their real ID over 6 months ago, still hasn't got it. He also tried to get a passport but hasn't been able to book an appointment that didn't conflict with his work hours. This is another tax on poverty.
December 1, 2025 at 10:38 PM
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This sure sounds like another way to make it even harder for Americans to get the benefits they've earned.

I will not stop fighting to protect Social Security.
December 1, 2025 at 10:40 PM
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Since searching for things online is completely fucking useless now,

I NEED A HEADSET RECOMMENDATION.

I would like headphones, with a mic, and a 3.5mm plug, with strong preference for having mic feedback that actually fucking works, to maybe get for Christmas or buy for myself later.
December 1, 2025 at 8:57 PM
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Check on a neighbor
THURSNITE/EARL FRIMORN CULD SEE TEMPS AS LOW AS 10 DEGREES
December 1, 2025 at 9:21 PM
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Oh great... while I was in the hospital for a few days, a peacock moved into our backyard and is now dining in our winter #garden - eating lettuce, beets, kale, Swiss chard and arugula - all the things that I need for a healthy heart!
#VancouverIsland 🇨🇦 🌱
December 1, 2025 at 10:03 PM
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this *also* dropped the Friday before tgiving so here is a post-holiday bump for a book I'm so excited to see in print!
ok so a cool thing I haven't posted about but can finally shout from the rooftops is.....

✨HOUSE OF HARKNESS IS COMING OUT IN PRINT!!✨

It's out next summer from Graphix/Scholastic, and I cannot *wait* and!! You can preorder it right now >>

💫 bookshop.org/p/books/hous...
December 1, 2025 at 9:21 PM
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Humanity has fallen from power and is now struggling to survive in a world ruled by vampires, wolf shifters and fae. With no other way to save her sister, Dani must make a bargain with the heir to the vampire throne.

amazon.com/dp/B0FRNGKM2F

#Vampire #paranormalromance #booksky
December 1, 2025 at 9:30 PM
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a real tell in all of this is that the trans instructor wasn't alone in trashing this essay! a whole other person also said they agreed completely that it sucked. but as far as i can tell only the trans person is getting punished. www.oklahoman.com/story/news/e...
December 1, 2025 at 9:05 PM
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A bit late kicking off #ChemAdvent day 1, but here we are!

This year I'm finding chemical connections between some previous ChemAdvent editions 🧪

First up, earthy pyrazines are the connection between the smells of chocolate and green bean casserole 🍫
December 1, 2025 at 10:10 PM
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More than half a million people in the U.S. are held in local jails on any given day, and, unlike people held in state prisons, most remain eligible to vote. Yet they are rarely included in the democratic process, let alone part of forums like this one.
The Michigan Jail that Candidates Keep Visiting
This county lockup in Flint goes far beyond most in promoting civic engagement. But the jail still cuts people off from the world in many other ways while they await trial, sometimes for years.
boltsmag.org
December 1, 2025 at 9:30 PM
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As South Carolina tries to contain its measles outbreak, public health officials across the nation are concerned that the highly contagious virus is making a major comeback ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/11/30/r...
South Carolina’s measles outbreak shows chilling effect of vaccine misinformation • Ohio Capital Journal
Spartanburg County, in South Carolina’s Upstate region, has been fighting a measles outbreak since early October, with more than 50 cases identified.
ohiocapitaljournal.com
December 1, 2025 at 9:30 PM
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I really can't overstate how dire this AI scraping of website content is. My traffic over the last 30 days is down over 90% from the previous year. Visits to my website from searches over the past 30 days is 16 people. I used to get a thousand people every month reading my most popular article.
December 1, 2025 at 8:29 PM
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I'm really gutted about this. I spent over ten years building my website, it's what launched my writing career. But between AI hijacking all my traffic, literally, traffic from searches is almost 0 now, and my host raising fees to be hundreds of dollars for the year, I just can't anymore.
December 1, 2025 at 5:20 PM