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luminiferousaether.bsky.social
Luminiferous Aether
@luminiferousaether.bsky.social
130 followers 260 following 85 posts
An occasional birder, a constant reader, and a general dork.
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Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
skwinnicki.bsky.social
It's been a few years since I participated in @skypeascientist.bsky.social (just too sick to commit to extra tasks for a few years there)

I forgot how exciting it is to be matched with a teacher, I really hope the students want to learn about bird evolution
November 20, 2025 at 12:00 AM
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sethcotlar.bsky.social
17 year old high school student in McMinnville, OR (whose family says he is a US citizen) is kidnapped by ICE while getting lunch off campus.
www.opb.org/article/2025...
ICE arrests McMinnville High School student during Friday lunch period
Family told local news the 17-year-old is a U.S. citizen.
www.opb.org
November 22, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
paleofuture.bsky.social
It’s fun to think about the surgeon who will botch your surgery 20 years from now and what he’s doing at this moment. He just ran all his homework through ChatGPT. He just read that article about vaccines and autism at the CDC website. He just watched an Instagram video about the moon landing hoax.
November 21, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
singlefemalelawyer.bsky.social
First of all, this judge is a hero.

Secondly, my god this is egregious conduct. Imagine being this judge, driving this poor kid home, only to have ICE threaten to smash your car windows on your way out of the lot??
Multiple sources told Target 12 that Rhode Island sheriffs earlier noticed someone taking photos of the intern inside the courthouse and in Superior Court Judge McBurney's courtroom. When approached, the individual identified himself as an ICE agent and was told to abide by standard courthouse rules, and to stop taking pictures. The intern was reportedly shaken, so McBurney offered to drive him home. ICE agents then surrounded the judge's car and demanded everyone to exit the vehicle, threatening to smash in the windows if they did not comply. Dana Smith, Head of Security Operations for R.I. Superior Court, confronted the agents and told both the judge and the intern to stay inside the car. After an argument, ICE confirmed they had misidentified the teen and left. The intern was released once his ID was checked.
November 21, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
THREAD: Judge Ellis is the first federal judge to review extensive body cam video of DHS's actions in Chicago. She finds that DHS *repeatedly* misled the public and made claims that were disproven by agents' own videos.

I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
II. Credibility The Court next addresses the credibility of the parties’ evidence and witnesses. After reviewing all the evidence submitted to the Court and listening to the testimony elicited at the preliminary injunction hearing, during depositions, and in other court proceedings, the Court finds Defendants’ evidence simply not credible. [FN 6] Plaintiffs submitted a mountain of evidence, providing the Court with over eighty declarations, numerous videos and articles, and other evidence. Defendants did not rebut anything that Plaintiffs set forth in their declarations or testimony, even with BWC footage. [FN 6] In another case considering some of the same evidence presented to this Court, another court in this district also found that the perceptions of certain of Defendants’ declarants, such as Hott and Parra, were not reliable. See Illinois v. Trump, No. 25-cv-12174, 2025 WL 2886645, at *5 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 10, 2025) (noting a “troubling trend of Defendants’ declarants equating protests with riots and a lack of appreciation for the wide spectrum that exists between citizens who are observing, questioning, and criticizing their government, and those who are obstructing, assaulting, or doing violence”), motion to stay denied in part, 155 F.4th 929 (7th Cir. 2025).
November 20, 2025 at 11:04 PM
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nnedi.bsky.social
Earlier today, I was notified that someone was at my door.

This is who it was:
A male Anna’s hummingbird at the door. So nosy! 🤣
November 21, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
nytpitchbot.bsky.social
Whether it's Donald Trump appearing 1700 times in Epstein's emails or some Democrat delegate from the Virgin Islands no one has ever heard of sending a few texts to Epstein once, both sides have their hands very dirty.
November 19, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
indivisible.org
Between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, join us in hitting pause on buying from corporations that enable Trump’s fascist agenda: weaintbuyingit.com?utm_source=i...
(above images of the Target, Amazon, and Home Depot logos that have been crossed out) We Ain't Buying It Target Companies This action is taking direct aim at Target, for caving to this administration's biased attacks on DEl; Home Depot, for allowing and colluding with ICE to kidnap our neighbors on their properties; and Amazon, for funding this administration to secure their own corporate tax cuts.
November 19, 2025 at 1:43 AM
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ndrew.bsky.social
mr president sir theres a story coming about how you intervened to help a sex criminal. no sir, not that sex criminal you helped….no not that one either…sir, please stop guessing sex criminals that you helped. ill give you a hint sir, hes a trafficker. no sir, not that trafficker a different one
November 18, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
jamellebouie.net
it is almost as if accommodating and conceding to far right ideas legitimizes them and signals to voters that the far right is a legitimate choice for governance
markmcgeoghegan.bsky.social Mark McGeoghegan @markmcgeoghegan.bsky.social · 5d
The Danish Social Democrats are currently on course for their worst election result since at least the Second World War, despite their brand of far-right accommodationism being touted as a blueprint for other centre-left parties.
November 18, 2025 at 2:24 PM
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jackiantonovich.bsky.social
The reason why most women my age couldn't care less if Bill Clinton goes down with the ship is that we were teens & young women when the Anita Hill and Monica Lewinsky scandals happened. It's rotten to the core. All the way down. Your "lost" era is not ours.
david.noll.org David Noll @david.noll.org · 7d
Seriously, what is wrong with these people?
Epstein Emails Reveal a Lost New York The disgraced financier’s recently released documents are steeped in a clubby world that is all but gone.
November 16, 2025 at 1:41 PM
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nicholasgrossman.bsky.social
The Founders were so concerned about bribery that the Constitution forbids it three separate times. Two emoluments clauses ban officials—unambiguously including the president—from accepting things of value, plus bribery is the only named impeachable offense besides treason.

Unprecedentedly corrupt.
anneapplebaum.bsky.social Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · 7d
To negotiate a trade deal with the President of the United States, the Swiss government arrived with a "special Rolex desktop clock" and "a 1-kilogram personalized gold bar"

www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
How to lobby Trump with Swiss precision: gifts, gold and gab
How the Swiss broke a diplomatic logjam on tariffs by arriving with tributes fit for a king.
www.axios.com
November 16, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
frwildflowers.bsky.social
Spanish Peaks 🌿 #Fallback to May 15
Two snow-covered peaks rise above a plain
November 16, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
michaelhobbes.bsky.social
My advice is to ignore anyone telling you to get a road bike or anything that requires clip-on shoes or special equipment. Get something that doesn’t strain your back or shoulders and with fenders and a rack so you can get groceries. Prioritize comfort over speed.
November 15, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
thomaszimmer.bsky.social
There is absolutely nothing old or consolidated about *multiracial, pluralistic democracy* in America. It only started 60 years ago.

And the conflict over whether or not it should be allowed to endure and prosper has been the central fault line in U.S. politics ever since.
pbump.com Philip Bump @pbump.com · 7d
From 2022:
November 15, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
dennycarter.bsky.social
Jamelle was cooking.

Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/o...
If they win, Democrats will have to use their newfound authority to rethink, even dismantle, agencies like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. They may need to walk back the Bush-era decision to consolidate those agencies and others under a single department, given the wild abuses perpetrated under this administration and its predecessors. It will need to give serious thought to major political and social reform, including D.C. statehood, a federal ban on partisan gerrymandering, a new voting rights act and federal protections for reproductive rights and bodily autonomy, including the rights of gender and sexual minorities. Democrats will also need to embrace the legislature’s constitutional authority to structure the executive branch and the judiciary, up to and including Supreme Court reform. If they win next year, Democrats will need to treat the next Congress not as a return to the status quo ante but as the beginning of a new era in which the principal task is to roll back the president’s effort to create and consolidate a personalist dictatorship. They’ll need to fortify the American political system against future attempts to play dictator and lay out a project of genuine democratic renewal. None of this is possible without a willingness to use power rather than just hold it. What we’ve seen this week is that there are still too many Democrats whose instinct is to retreat to normalcy rather than face the conflict at hand.
November 14, 2025 at 12:50 PM
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matttomic.bsky.social
Jesus Christ.
“I get 10 messages, DMs (direct messages) a game, (saying), ‘F— you, I’m gonna f— your family up,” one player said. “I personally hate gambling. Hate everyone talking about parlays this, parlays that. I hate getting DMs in my Instagram talking about, ‘You f—– up my parlay.’ I hate people sending me threats because I messed up their parlay,” another said. Terrible. Hate them. Every game, no matter if it’s a good game or bad game, you’ve got motherf—— sending death threats, saying racist s—. Every game. I guarantee you, if I check right now, I’ll probably have something from this game. Every game. Everywhere. DMs, Twitter. People be tripping, bro,” a player said. “I hope it doesn’t happen, but it’s going to come to a point where players are going to be targeted because people have lost so much money on them. That’s what I think. But hopefully I’m wrong.”
November 15, 2025 at 3:44 AM
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
joshuaholland.bsky.social
And keep in mind that “criminal history” could be a 15-year-old DUI, which is what they used to deport a popular local restaurant owner with two American children in my town during Trump I. He employed 6 people and nothing has opened up in that space since.
jmetr22b.bsky.social Jason Meisner @jmetr22b.bsky.social · 8d
DEVELOPING: The DOJs own data, provided as part of an ongoing lawsuit, appeared to show only about 2.5% of 614 people arrested by ICE on immigration violations in the Chicago area before Oct. 7 had criminal histories
Story here:
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/14/o...
Only 2.5% on list of 614 ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ arrestees had criminal histories, DOJ records show
Meanwhile, the other 598 people on the list had no listed criminal history at all.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
gettoknownature.bsky.social
We could all use a laugh so please bring out your best/worst shots for #PhotoFailFriday!

Here’s a Northern Harrier who was standing on the ground a second before I took this shot! Lol

#birds #WorstBirdPic
The fanned out tail is all that’s visible of a large hawk who has just taken off from the dried grass covered ground.
November 14, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
erinhansonartist.bsky.social
Today is Claude Monet's birthday!

Monet was an incredible impressionist painter. His work "Impression: Sunrise" helped to name the movement that has sparked inspiration in artists for over a century.

Pictured: Monet's Bridge by Erin Hanson

#monet #artwork #impressionism #sciart #art @bsky.art
This painting immerses you into the green and blue hues of Giverny, France, capturing the iconic view of Monet's green bridge and his expansive water lily garden. I spent two days in Giverny to capture Monet's garden in different lighting and times of day. This painting celebrates the inspiration that Monet has always given me. "Monet's Bridge" Original Oil Painting by Erin Hanson 2024 50 x 70 in Original Sold 3D Textured Replicas & Canvas Prints Available
November 13, 2025 at 10:13 PM
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popeofchilitown.bsky.social
Think of your favorite celebrity, whether they’re an actor, musician, athlete, whatever.

They’re probably pretty well-off, financially. But they are still closer to auctioning off their possessions to cover medical bills than they are to being a billionaire.
November 14, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
sarahebond.bsky.social
November 14, 1152 BCE: the first recorded workers' strike occurred in ancient Egypt under Pharaoh Ramses III. Artisans and laborers working on the royal tombs at Deir el-Medina stopped working in protest of delayed and insufficient rations, a form of wages. collezioni.museoegizio.it/en-GB/materi...
The so-called “Strike Papyrus” written by Amunnakht The scribe Amennakht is the author of this papyrus in the hieratic script. It is a report concerning a strike held during the reign of King Ramesses III in the village of Deir el-Medina. The workers protested because they had not received their regular food rations, which constituted payment for their work in the Valley of the kings. “Year 29, secondo month of the Inundation, day 10. Today the work squadron passed the control post shouting “we are hungry!” It is 18 days this month that (the men) go and sit at the back of the funerary temple of Tuthmosis III”. Despite various attempt at conciliation, the protest lasted a number of days. To the officials who tried to persuade them to return to work, the workers replied: “We are here because of the famine and thirst. We are not accustomed to not having unguents, fish, and greens. Write to the pharaoh our perfect lord, take note of our words, and write to the vizier, our superior, because we are in need of our provisions”. Inv. no. : Cat. 1880 TPOP Material: Plant fiber / Papyurs Date: 1187–1157 BCE Period: New Kingdom Dynasty: Twentieth Dynasty Reign: Ramesses III Provenance: Egypt, Luxor / Thebes, Deir el-Medina Acquisition: Purchase Bernardino Drovetti, 1824 Museum location: Museum / Floor 1 / Room 06 DEM / Central wall Selected bibliography: Andreu, Guillemette (a cura di)-Andreu, Guillemette, Gli artisti del faraone: Deir el-Medina e le Valli dei Re e delle Regine, Milano 2003, p. 187. Cline, Eric H.-O'Connor, David (ed.)-Cline H., Eric-O'Connor, David, Ramesses III: the life and times of Egypt's last hero, Ann Arbor 2012, pp. 67, 112, 118, 120–122, 136, 141, 352. Edgerton, William F., “The strikes in Ramses III's twenty-ninth year”, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 10 (1951), pp. 137–145. Gabler, Kathrin, “Methods of identification among the Deir el-Medina workmen and their service personnel: the use of names, titles, patronyms and identity marks in administrativ…
November 14, 2025 at 12:33 PM
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joshuaholland.bsky.social
Within the margin of error of The Crazification Factor.
John: Hey, Bush is now at 37% approval. I feel much less like Kevin McCarthy screaming in traffic. But I wonder what his base is -- Tyrone: 27%. John: ... you said that immmediately, and with some authority. Tyrone: Obama vs. Alan Keyes. Keyes was from out of state, so you can eliminate any established political base; both candidates were black, so you can factor out racism; and Keyes was plainly, obviously, completely crazy. Batshit crazy. Head-trauma crazy. But 27% of the population of Illinois voted for him. They put party identification, personal prejudice, whatever ahead of rational judgement. Hell, even like 5% of Democrats voted for him. That's crazy behaviour. I think you have to assume a 27% Crazification Factor in any population.
November 14, 2025 at 1:15 PM
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rincewind.run
I say it over and over again: when you have that much money, you want to live where you want to live and you are simply not going to relocate because of marginal tax rates

Alan Dershowitz will never leave Martha’s Vineyard and they won’t even sell him a pierogi
ips-dc.org Institute for Policy Studies @ips-dc.org · 10d
NEW: The first two years of Massachusetts' millionaire tax has raised $3 billion more than expected.

And rather than driving the rich away, IPS researchers found that the number of millionaires has *increased.*

Tax the rich. Greg Ryan in @bloomberg.com:
Millionaire Tax That Inspired Mamdani Fuels $5.7 Billion Haul in Massachusetts
A millionaire levy in Massachusetts that New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani holds up as a model for taxing the rich has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing...
www.bloomberg.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:24 AM
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
bubbaprog.xyz
Ken Starr, immediately after being fired for his role in the coverup of sexual abuse at Baylor: I should reach out to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein

this happened! this is a thing that happened!
November 13, 2025 at 5:05 AM