@kenlif.bsky.social
UVA, DC Sports, Finance, Tech, and Reading History, and SciFi/Fantasy
Reposted
“.. no modern American president has positioned his family to make so much money while in the White House. Already, since the early days of his reelection campaign, he’s more than doubled his net worth to about $5.4 billion.”
@bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
@bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
October 2, 2025 at 12:10 PM
“.. no modern American president has positioned his family to make so much money while in the White House. Already, since the early days of his reelection campaign, he’s more than doubled his net worth to about $5.4 billion.”
@bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
@bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
Reposted
Reposted
Bolton’s home raided, Gen. Kruse fired, Epstein coverup proceeds, seizure of 10% of Intel another step towards state capitalism. Just one day in the somewhat chaotic but directionally purposeful march towards…despotism.
Does anyone think they’re doing all this so they can hand over power in 2028?
Does anyone think they’re doing all this so they can hand over power in 2028?
August 22, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Bolton’s home raided, Gen. Kruse fired, Epstein coverup proceeds, seizure of 10% of Intel another step towards state capitalism. Just one day in the somewhat chaotic but directionally purposeful march towards…despotism.
Does anyone think they’re doing all this so they can hand over power in 2028?
Does anyone think they’re doing all this so they can hand over power in 2028?
Reposted
"two first-rate economists, David Cutler and Ed Glaeser, have made a stab at estimating the impact of cuts at NIH. Their analysis suggests that these cuts might save $500 billion in federal spending over the next 25 years — while imposing more than $8 trillion in losses."
For MAGA, Ignorance is Strength
Research cuts aren’t about shrinking government, they’re about killing science
paulkrugman.substack.com
July 15, 2025 at 2:16 PM
"two first-rate economists, David Cutler and Ed Glaeser, have made a stab at estimating the impact of cuts at NIH. Their analysis suggests that these cuts might save $500 billion in federal spending over the next 25 years — while imposing more than $8 trillion in losses."
Reposted
This comparsion in the NYTimes today is pretty stark. China is racing ahead to be a high-tech exporter of 21st century technologies, while the US is doubling down on being a petro-state exporting the technologies of the 19th century: www.nytimes.com/inte...
June 30, 2025 at 10:45 PM
This comparsion in the NYTimes today is pretty stark. China is racing ahead to be a high-tech exporter of 21st century technologies, while the US is doubling down on being a petro-state exporting the technologies of the 19th century: www.nytimes.com/inte...
Reposted
If random men in masks claiming to be ICE agents try to grab me, and they’re *not* really ICE, I have the legal right to defend myself against them, yes? And if they are ICE, I don’t?
So how am I supposed to tell the difference? I’m supposed to give my masked kidnappers the benefit of the doubt??
So how am I supposed to tell the difference? I’m supposed to give my masked kidnappers the benefit of the doubt??
I still can't get past the idea that people in America are now supposed to accept that this is a valid form of law enforcement and just assume it's fine when random dudes in groups with face-coverings, no ID, no warrant, & no uniform grab people off the street and force them into unmarked vehicles
Not an original point but worth saying again - there is not a single element in this picture that identifies any of these folks as law enforcement agents. No badges, no uniforms, no vests. Out of context it just looks like a bunch of random guys are kidnapping a mayoral candidate.
June 17, 2025 at 7:24 PM
If random men in masks claiming to be ICE agents try to grab me, and they’re *not* really ICE, I have the legal right to defend myself against them, yes? And if they are ICE, I don’t?
So how am I supposed to tell the difference? I’m supposed to give my masked kidnappers the benefit of the doubt??
So how am I supposed to tell the difference? I’m supposed to give my masked kidnappers the benefit of the doubt??
Reposted
Obvious point: Most of the undocumented immigrants who are being rounded up are better Americans, in the ways that matter, than Donald J. Trump.
June 14, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Obvious point: Most of the undocumented immigrants who are being rounded up are better Americans, in the ways that matter, than Donald J. Trump.
Reposted
To recap:
•DOJ orders ICE to arrest people without a judicial warrant
•People peacefully protest this illegal act
•LAPD confirms people protested peacefully
•Trump fabricates claim of violence—deploys National Guard
Fascists escalate violence—don’t fall for it. Stand united against Trump's tyranny.
•DOJ orders ICE to arrest people without a judicial warrant
•People peacefully protest this illegal act
•LAPD confirms people protested peacefully
•Trump fabricates claim of violence—deploys National Guard
Fascists escalate violence—don’t fall for it. Stand united against Trump's tyranny.
June 8, 2025 at 7:31 PM
To recap:
•DOJ orders ICE to arrest people without a judicial warrant
•People peacefully protest this illegal act
•LAPD confirms people protested peacefully
•Trump fabricates claim of violence—deploys National Guard
Fascists escalate violence—don’t fall for it. Stand united against Trump's tyranny.
•DOJ orders ICE to arrest people without a judicial warrant
•People peacefully protest this illegal act
•LAPD confirms people protested peacefully
•Trump fabricates claim of violence—deploys National Guard
Fascists escalate violence—don’t fall for it. Stand united against Trump's tyranny.
Reposted
Cutting $20 billion to NIH over 25 years may save $500 billion on paper, but it’d end up costing $8.2 trillion in lost human health.
But NIH isn't the only thing being cut. The budget also slashes all NSF-funded science by 73 percent. NASA faces “the biggest single-year cut to NASA in history."
But NIH isn't the only thing being cut. The budget also slashes all NSF-funded science by 73 percent. NASA faces “the biggest single-year cut to NASA in history."
Donald Trump’s proposed budget would gut American science
It would slash cancer research, drug trials, space exploration, and so much more.
www.motherjones.com
May 31, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Cutting $20 billion to NIH over 25 years may save $500 billion on paper, but it’d end up costing $8.2 trillion in lost human health.
But NIH isn't the only thing being cut. The budget also slashes all NSF-funded science by 73 percent. NASA faces “the biggest single-year cut to NASA in history."
But NIH isn't the only thing being cut. The budget also slashes all NSF-funded science by 73 percent. NASA faces “the biggest single-year cut to NASA in history."
Reposted
I’ll say this as many times as I have to.
No tax cut in the history of tax cuts has ever paid for itself. Not a one.
No tax cut in the history of tax cuts has ever paid for itself. Not a one.
May 30, 2025 at 4:55 PM
I’ll say this as many times as I have to.
No tax cut in the history of tax cuts has ever paid for itself. Not a one.
No tax cut in the history of tax cuts has ever paid for itself. Not a one.
Reposted
The 2018 steel tariffs just called to remind you that steel is produced by a tiny sliver of the economy, but used as an input by a much broader swathe of manufacturers.
econofact.org/steel-tariff...
econofact.org/steel-tariff...
May 30, 2025 at 10:23 PM
The 2018 steel tariffs just called to remind you that steel is produced by a tiny sliver of the economy, but used as an input by a much broader swathe of manufacturers.
econofact.org/steel-tariff...
econofact.org/steel-tariff...
Reposted
Article I, Section 9, Clause 8:
“no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”
“no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”
May 11, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Article I, Section 9, Clause 8:
“no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”
“no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”
Reposted
Let’s Remember Why There’s a System of Federal Research Grants to Universities talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/lets-...
Let’s Remember Why There’s a System of Federal Research Grants to Universities
This is largely preaching to the choir, but it’s absent enough from...
talkingpointsmemo.com
May 8, 2025 at 3:32 AM
Let’s Remember Why There’s a System of Federal Research Grants to Universities talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/lets-...
Reposted
In the U.S. in 1825, *452* out of 1000 children born died before their 5th birthday.
By 1925, that number was 135 out of a 1000 children.
Today, in 2025, that number is *7*
And it is entirely due to advances in medicine, public health, and technology.
9/
By 1925, that number was 135 out of a 1000 children.
Today, in 2025, that number is *7*
And it is entirely due to advances in medicine, public health, and technology.
9/
April 26, 2025 at 1:35 AM
In the U.S. in 1825, *452* out of 1000 children born died before their 5th birthday.
By 1925, that number was 135 out of a 1000 children.
Today, in 2025, that number is *7*
And it is entirely due to advances in medicine, public health, and technology.
9/
By 1925, that number was 135 out of a 1000 children.
Today, in 2025, that number is *7*
And it is entirely due to advances in medicine, public health, and technology.
9/
Reposted
As David Brooks has said, we’re approaching civil disobedience and national strikes phase of defending our nation.
April 18, 2025 at 2:27 AM
As David Brooks has said, we’re approaching civil disobedience and national strikes phase of defending our nation.
Reposted
AOC: The crumbling of our rights and protections. Understand that all of this is what it means and what it feels like to be governed by billionaires. This is what oligarchy feels like.. it is this system that has brought us the most corrupt administration in American history..
April 12, 2025 at 9:24 PM
AOC: The crumbling of our rights and protections. Understand that all of this is what it means and what it feels like to be governed by billionaires. This is what oligarchy feels like.. it is this system that has brought us the most corrupt administration in American history..
Reposted
Confederate monuments were *quite literally* an effort to “perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history” by promoting the Lost Cause work of white supremacists who wanted to rewrite the history of the Civil War and, yes, Reconstruction.
I _think_ this portion of the “restoring history” EO is meant to compel restoration of Confederate monuments. Aside from this being mere guidance, though, I see a snag: how does it “perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history” to remove shrines to people who rebelled against us?
March 28, 2025 at 1:48 AM
Confederate monuments were *quite literally* an effort to “perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history” by promoting the Lost Cause work of white supremacists who wanted to rewrite the history of the Civil War and, yes, Reconstruction.
Reposted
@crampell.bsky.social: It takes a lot of chutzpah to claim to be combating antisemitism while coddling avowed antisemites. Multiple senior Trump aides have embraced the antisemitic “great replacement theory” and delivered Nazi salutes. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | How (not) to keep Jews safe
President Donald Trump’s anti-antisemitism crusade should make everyone nervous.
www.washingtonpost.com
March 27, 2025 at 11:02 AM
@crampell.bsky.social: It takes a lot of chutzpah to claim to be combating antisemitism while coddling avowed antisemites. Multiple senior Trump aides have embraced the antisemitic “great replacement theory” and delivered Nazi salutes. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Reposted
"the plan to shrink IRS staff by up to 50% would — very conservatively — lead to a $400 billion increase in uncollected taxes over the next decade. It could easily mean more than $2 trillion in losses..."
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | DOGE says it’s saving $100 billion. It’s about to lose a lot more.
Cuts to the IRS will backfire by giving tax evaders a free pass.
www.washingtonpost.com
March 13, 2025 at 4:35 PM
"the plan to shrink IRS staff by up to 50% would — very conservatively — lead to a $400 billion increase in uncollected taxes over the next decade. It could easily mean more than $2 trillion in losses..."
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Reposted
As a JHU professor who works on other stuff, the role my colleagues play in global health is extraordinary and completely irreplaceable. The Trump administration is tossing our collective ability to deal with global problems onto a roaring bonfire.
They're going to fucking wreck the university with one of the best hospital systems in the goddam world
The Trump administration has terminated $800 million in grants to Johns Hopkins University, spurring the nation’s top spender on research and development to plan layoffs and cancel health projects
March 12, 2025 at 1:04 PM
As a JHU professor who works on other stuff, the role my colleagues play in global health is extraordinary and completely irreplaceable. The Trump administration is tossing our collective ability to deal with global problems onto a roaring bonfire.
Reposted
NEW: The Trump administration claims gutting federal agencies will save money, but cutting the IRS means the government collects less taxes.
“If you’re interested in the deficit and curbing it, why would you cut back on the revenue side?” one expert asks.
By @andykroll.bsky.social
“If you’re interested in the deficit and curbing it, why would you cut back on the revenue side?” one expert asks.
By @andykroll.bsky.social
How DOGE’s Cuts to the IRS Threaten to Cost More Than DOGE Will Ever Save
The Trump administration claims gutting federal agencies will save money, but cutting the IRS means the government collects less taxes. “If you’re interested in the deficit and curbing it, why would…
propub.li
March 5, 2025 at 1:00 PM
NEW: The Trump administration claims gutting federal agencies will save money, but cutting the IRS means the government collects less taxes.
“If you’re interested in the deficit and curbing it, why would you cut back on the revenue side?” one expert asks.
By @andykroll.bsky.social
“If you’re interested in the deficit and curbing it, why would you cut back on the revenue side?” one expert asks.
By @andykroll.bsky.social
Reposted
Interesting statement on Russia and Ukraine from leadership at the George W Bush Presidential Center.
www.bushcenter.org/publications...
www.bushcenter.org/publications...
America First should not put Russia second | George W. Bush Presidential Center
www.bushcenter.org
March 3, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Interesting statement on Russia and Ukraine from leadership at the George W Bush Presidential Center.
www.bushcenter.org/publications...
www.bushcenter.org/publications...
Reposted
You should know that a big part of 18F's work was to make sure multi-million to multi-*hundreds*-of-millions dollar contracts at fed *and* state level didn't go to shitty enterprise IT consultancies that *repeatedly* delivered tech that didn't work, was late, or didn't even do what it needed to
March 2, 2025 at 6:03 PM
You should know that a big part of 18F's work was to make sure multi-million to multi-*hundreds*-of-millions dollar contracts at fed *and* state level didn't go to shitty enterprise IT consultancies that *repeatedly* delivered tech that didn't work, was late, or didn't even do what it needed to