@maepled.bsky.social
Reposted
In December, I traveled to Montgomery to visit the Legacy Museum, which traces the story of Black America from slavery to Jim Crow to mass incarceration. I wanted to understand how the museum & its affiliated sites were operating in a moment where so much of the history they present is under attack.
The Power of Private Museums
The Equal Justice Initiative’s historical sites in Montgomery, Alabama, show what’s possible when history isn’t subject to federal funding cuts or executive orders.
www.theatlantic.com
January 19, 2026 at 4:35 PM
In December, I traveled to Montgomery to visit the Legacy Museum, which traces the story of Black America from slavery to Jim Crow to mass incarceration. I wanted to understand how the museum & its affiliated sites were operating in a moment where so much of the history they present is under attack.
Reposted
Mubashir and his family came to the United States as refugees from Ethiopia when he was a child, and they all became naturalized citizens in 2019.
Despite being a U.S. citizen, Mubashir was targeted by ICE, assaulted, and detained. Listen to his story:
Despite being a U.S. citizen, Mubashir was targeted by ICE, assaulted, and detained. Listen to his story:
January 17, 2026 at 11:45 PM
Mubashir and his family came to the United States as refugees from Ethiopia when he was a child, and they all became naturalized citizens in 2019.
Despite being a U.S. citizen, Mubashir was targeted by ICE, assaulted, and detained. Listen to his story:
Despite being a U.S. citizen, Mubashir was targeted by ICE, assaulted, and detained. Listen to his story:
Reposted
The idea that AI can “detoxify” people reframes emotional overwhelm as a software problem, and it treats loneliness and strain as things to route into a machine rather than conditions that require support, care, and structural repair. 1/*
These rebranding attempts are getting more ridiculous.
The CEO of Microsoft AI says AI chatbots are a powerful way for humans to offload emotions and 'detoxify ourselves'
Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft AI's CEO, has described using AI for guidance on life decisions as "something that the world needs."
www.businessinsider.com
December 22, 2025 at 7:23 PM
The idea that AI can “detoxify” people reframes emotional overwhelm as a software problem, and it treats loneliness and strain as things to route into a machine rather than conditions that require support, care, and structural repair. 1/*
Reposted
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
November 9, 2025 at 9:23 AM
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
Not a good sign when even the builders avoid the product. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
September 11, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Not a good sign when even the builders avoid the product. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted
A key difference here is that while either can be incorrect, the structure of Wikipedia *creates context* and the structure of LLMs *destroys context*
Wikipedia has linked sources and an edit history showing where information came from and who added it when
An LLM just generates text
Wikipedia has linked sources and an edit history showing where information came from and who added it when
An LLM just generates text
Some of the anti-AI stuff feels a bit like when people would say "don't use Wikipedia as a source." It's just like anything else, a piece of information that you weigh against multiple sources and your own understanding of its likely failure modes
April 26, 2025 at 6:39 PM
A key difference here is that while either can be incorrect, the structure of Wikipedia *creates context* and the structure of LLMs *destroys context*
Wikipedia has linked sources and an edit history showing where information came from and who added it when
An LLM just generates text
Wikipedia has linked sources and an edit history showing where information came from and who added it when
An LLM just generates text
Reposted
“We formulate the questions, drive the inquiry … and we search … for answers that reinforce what we already think we know. ChatGPT has often responded, with patently insincere flattery: ‘That’s a great question.’ It has never responded: ‘That’s the wrong question.’” www.nytimes.com/2025/08/02/o...
Opinion | A.I. Is Not a 21st-Century Enlightenment
www.nytimes.com
August 2, 2025 at 1:22 PM
“We formulate the questions, drive the inquiry … and we search … for answers that reinforce what we already think we know. ChatGPT has often responded, with patently insincere flattery: ‘That’s a great question.’ It has never responded: ‘That’s the wrong question.’” www.nytimes.com/2025/08/02/o...
Reposted
STAGGERING: This new study of 133 countries is the first to estimate the impact of all USAID’s work. In 2 decades, it has saved *92M* lives. Current cuts, if not reversed, are forecast to cost up to *14M* lives thru 2030. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
July 1, 2025 at 2:23 PM
STAGGERING: This new study of 133 countries is the first to estimate the impact of all USAID’s work. In 2 decades, it has saved *92M* lives. Current cuts, if not reversed, are forecast to cost up to *14M* lives thru 2030. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
"When assistive technologies are expanded to police, surveil, maim, and kill before materializing the human-centered solution that inspired their invention, it is worth considering the morality of bringing disabled people into a war apparatus known to produce and perpetuate disability—and death."
Wrote about the Wheelchair-to-Warfare Pipeline with @fractalecho.bsky.social. This is just another example. newrepublic.com/article/1793...
How Disabled People Get Exploited to Build the Technology of War
The cutting-edge products that Big Tech and the Pentagon are developing could be rebuilding an untold number of lives. Instead, they’re being sent to the battlefield to ruin more.
newrepublic.com
July 1, 2025 at 1:45 AM
"When assistive technologies are expanded to police, surveil, maim, and kill before materializing the human-centered solution that inspired their invention, it is worth considering the morality of bringing disabled people into a war apparatus known to produce and perpetuate disability—and death."
Reposted
Wrote about the Wheelchair-to-Warfare Pipeline with @fractalecho.bsky.social. This is just another example. newrepublic.com/article/1793...
How Disabled People Get Exploited to Build the Technology of War
The cutting-edge products that Big Tech and the Pentagon are developing could be rebuilding an untold number of lives. Instead, they’re being sent to the battlefield to ruin more.
newrepublic.com
July 1, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Wrote about the Wheelchair-to-Warfare Pipeline with @fractalecho.bsky.social. This is just another example. newrepublic.com/article/1793...
Reposted
This is your reminder that nothing human-made is inevitable and you hereby have all the permission you need to reject bad/harmful social, technological, and political paradigms and to work toward something better.
June 20, 2025 at 5:14 PM
This is your reminder that nothing human-made is inevitable and you hereby have all the permission you need to reject bad/harmful social, technological, and political paradigms and to work toward something better.
Reposted
Worth noting that back in the 1920s many localities were filled with mask wearing vigilantes, many of whom were also police officers, who sought to rid the nation of foreign “contaminants.” That group was the Klan and they targeted Catholics, Jews, Black people, and Mexicans.
NEW: Pope Leo’s newly appointed Bishop, Michael Pham, outside the court in San Diego:
“We need to speak up for the voiceless in our society - and we will.”
The video then shows masked ICE agents leaving without snatching anyone today.
More of this resistance nationwide! 👏
(🎥 PSL San Diego)
“We need to speak up for the voiceless in our society - and we will.”
The video then shows masked ICE agents leaving without snatching anyone today.
More of this resistance nationwide! 👏
(🎥 PSL San Diego)
June 20, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Worth noting that back in the 1920s many localities were filled with mask wearing vigilantes, many of whom were also police officers, who sought to rid the nation of foreign “contaminants.” That group was the Klan and they targeted Catholics, Jews, Black people, and Mexicans.
"Government processes that affect people’s liberty, health, and livelihoods require human attention and accountability." YES.
"The chatbot responded that it was perfectly okay for landlords to discriminate based on whether those potential tenants need rental assistance"
From "Government officials are letting AI do their jobs. Badly," by @emilymbender.bsky.social & @alexhanna.bsky.social
thebulletin.org/2025/05/gove...
From "Government officials are letting AI do their jobs. Badly," by @emilymbender.bsky.social & @alexhanna.bsky.social
thebulletin.org/2025/05/gove...
Government officials are letting AI do their jobs. Badly
Offloading government responsibilities to AI can encourage discrimination, give wrong advice, and limit access to valid claims of asylum.
thebulletin.org
May 31, 2025 at 5:59 PM
"Government processes that affect people’s liberty, health, and livelihoods require human attention and accountability." YES.
Reposted
"The chatbot responded that it was perfectly okay for landlords to discriminate based on whether those potential tenants need rental assistance"
From "Government officials are letting AI do their jobs. Badly," by @emilymbender.bsky.social & @alexhanna.bsky.social
thebulletin.org/2025/05/gove...
From "Government officials are letting AI do their jobs. Badly," by @emilymbender.bsky.social & @alexhanna.bsky.social
thebulletin.org/2025/05/gove...
Government officials are letting AI do their jobs. Badly
Offloading government responsibilities to AI can encourage discrimination, give wrong advice, and limit access to valid claims of asylum.
thebulletin.org
May 31, 2025 at 5:05 PM
"The chatbot responded that it was perfectly okay for landlords to discriminate based on whether those potential tenants need rental assistance"
From "Government officials are letting AI do their jobs. Badly," by @emilymbender.bsky.social & @alexhanna.bsky.social
thebulletin.org/2025/05/gove...
From "Government officials are letting AI do their jobs. Badly," by @emilymbender.bsky.social & @alexhanna.bsky.social
thebulletin.org/2025/05/gove...
Reposted
BREAKING: The Supreme Court just effectively overruled 90 years of precedent on the shadow docket, greenlighting Trump's firing of multi-member agency leaders while their cases are pending—despite Congress' effort to protect them against removal. A huge decision. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...
![SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
No. 24A966
DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES, ET AL. v. GWYNNE A. WILCOX, ET AL.
ON APPLICATION FOR STAY
[May 22, 2025]
The Government has applied for a stay of orders from the
District Court for the District of Columbia enjoining the
President’s removal of a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and a member of the Merit Systems
Protection Board (MSPB), respectively. The President is
prohibited by statute from removing these officers except
for cause, and no qualifying cause was given. See 29
U. S. C. §153(a); 5 U. S. C. §1202(d).
The application for stay presented to THE CHIEF JUSTICE
and by him referred to the Court is granted. Because the
Constitution vests the executive power in the President, see
Art. II, §1, cl. 1, he may remove without cause executive officers who exercise that power on his behalf, subject to narrow exceptions recognized by our precedents, see Seila Law
LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 591 U. S.
197, 215−218 (2020). The stay reflects our judgment that
the Government is likely to show that both the NLRB and
MSPB exercise considerable executive power. But we do
not ultimately decide in this posture whether the NLRB or
MSPB falls within such a recognized exception; that question is better left for resolution after full briefing and argument. The stay also reflects our judgment that the Government faces greater risk of harm from an order allowing a
removed officer to continue exercising the executive power
than a wrongfully removed officer faces from being unable
to perform her statutory duty. See Trump v. International](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/bafkreib46fusdo6tfyaq4bbpbbn3y47kchey6aduciplbxr3f2dp3nsyni@jpeg)
May 22, 2025 at 8:54 PM
BREAKING: The Supreme Court just effectively overruled 90 years of precedent on the shadow docket, greenlighting Trump's firing of multi-member agency leaders while their cases are pending—despite Congress' effort to protect them against removal. A huge decision. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...
Reposted
1/ President Trump just announced he’s dropping Ed Martin as his pick for the U.S. Attorney for DC after a GOP senator opposed Martin’s confirmation.
The decision comes immediately after a top Senate Democrat strongly condemned the pick — and cited ProPublica…🧵
The decision comes immediately after a top Senate Democrat strongly condemned the pick — and cited ProPublica…🧵
May 8, 2025 at 5:13 PM
1/ President Trump just announced he’s dropping Ed Martin as his pick for the U.S. Attorney for DC after a GOP senator opposed Martin’s confirmation.
The decision comes immediately after a top Senate Democrat strongly condemned the pick — and cited ProPublica…🧵
The decision comes immediately after a top Senate Democrat strongly condemned the pick — and cited ProPublica…🧵
Reposted
From Brooke's amazing interview with Bryan Stevenson in our latest episode. Be sure to follow OTM on Instagram and TikTok for some more clips from that conversation.
www.tiktok.com/@onthemedia
www.instagram.com/onthemedia/
www.tiktok.com/@onthemedia
www.instagram.com/onthemedia/
April 30, 2025 at 9:18 PM
From Brooke's amazing interview with Bryan Stevenson in our latest episode. Be sure to follow OTM on Instagram and TikTok for some more clips from that conversation.
www.tiktok.com/@onthemedia
www.instagram.com/onthemedia/
www.tiktok.com/@onthemedia
www.instagram.com/onthemedia/
Reposted
Note: This is not like any other "removal" case, not even from a multi-member board. CPB is a private corporation.
The lawsuit reflects that: It is not just the purportedly fired people suing; this is the entity & the whole board. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is the lead plaintiff here.
The lawsuit reflects that: It is not just the purportedly fired people suing; this is the entity & the whole board. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is the lead plaintiff here.
![COMPLAINT
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting ("CPB"), a District of Columbia nonprofit corporation created by Congress in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 (the "Act"), 47 U.S.C. § 396, the entirety of the Board of Directors for CPB, and individual Board members Laura G. Ross, Thomas E. Rothman, and Diane Kaplan file this Complaint seeking a judicial declaration that an email dated April 28, 2025, purportedly from Trent Morse, Deputy Director of Presidential Personnel, to three of the Board members of CPB asserting that President Trump had purportedly terminated their positions on the Board is of no legal effect given that the President has no power
to remove or terminate CPB's Board members. As set forth in the Act, government guidance, and well-established legal precedent, the CPB was created by Congress to expressly be "a private corporation [to] be created to facilitate the development of public telecommunications and to
afford maximum protection from extraneous interference and control." Id. at § 396 (a)(10). To
ensure that CPB was insulated from partisan governmental interference and control and ensure its
autonomy, Congress expressly provided various protections, including that:](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:36eqtmzysqf7wsslczw4uxcd/bafkreifowjers6ihvjruftv2mrxphqkndewhn2hngdj3ot5ut57y5p7kba@jpeg)
![CPB is not a federal agency subject to the President's authority, but rather a private corporation. See Id. at § 396(b) ("[CPB] will not be an agency or establishment of the United States Government. The Corporation shall be subject to the provisions of this section, and, to the extent consistent with this section, to the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act.");
• CPB's Board members are not officers of the United States, and thus are not within the removal provisions of Article Il of the Constitution. See Id. at § 396(d)(2) ("The members of the [CPB] Board shall not, by reason of such membership, be deemed to be officers or employees of the United States.");
• CPB Board members cannot be affected, controlled, or disturbed by the actions of the government. See Id. at § 398(c) (forbidding "any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over educational television or radio broadcasting, or over [CPB] ...");
Page 3 of 22
Case 1:25-cv-01305
Document 1
Filed 04/29/25
Page 4 of 22
• CPB Board members forfeit their membership in only one scenario, not present here.
See Id. at § 396(e)(7) ("Members of the Board shall attend not less than 50 percent of all duly convened meetings of the Board in any calendar year. A member who fails to meet the requirement ... shall forfeit membership.");
• The Act omits the typical statutory provision when creating a federal agency that the Board members serve at the pleasure of the President.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:36eqtmzysqf7wsslczw4uxcd/bafkreigkkoraiusjeiqiwl525qryeeypzcej2dmsjzjdx6tobpztm3dbym@jpeg)
April 29, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Note: This is not like any other "removal" case, not even from a multi-member board. CPB is a private corporation.
The lawsuit reflects that: It is not just the purportedly fired people suing; this is the entity & the whole board. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is the lead plaintiff here.
The lawsuit reflects that: It is not just the purportedly fired people suing; this is the entity & the whole board. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is the lead plaintiff here.
Reposted
I think a lot abt how marginalized people are expected to be perfect just to be treated w/ basic dignity, just to access legal protection. But democracy can’t mean rights for the respectable few. It has to mean fair and just treatment even for those seen as least deserving. That’s the real test.
April 18, 2025 at 2:52 PM
I think a lot abt how marginalized people are expected to be perfect just to be treated w/ basic dignity, just to access legal protection. But democracy can’t mean rights for the respectable few. It has to mean fair and just treatment even for those seen as least deserving. That’s the real test.
Reposted
BREAKING: we won! A federal judge has enjoined the administration's shut down of Voice of America
Another success for the Constitution and for us @sddaction.bsky.social & our many wonderful partners & clients
More details to follow--stay tuned!
Another success for the Constitution and for us @sddaction.bsky.social & our many wonderful partners & clients
More details to follow--stay tuned!
April 22, 2025 at 6:56 PM
BREAKING: we won! A federal judge has enjoined the administration's shut down of Voice of America
Another success for the Constitution and for us @sddaction.bsky.social & our many wonderful partners & clients
More details to follow--stay tuned!
Another success for the Constitution and for us @sddaction.bsky.social & our many wonderful partners & clients
More details to follow--stay tuned!
Reposted
The CDC eviscerated divisions that oversee a database on accidental deaths and injuries AND the team that maintains a tool for tracking sexually transmitted diseases.
The EPA will stop requiring that industry measures greenhouse gas emissions.
If you don't measure, it's not a problem, right?
The EPA will stop requiring that industry measures greenhouse gas emissions.
If you don't measure, it's not a problem, right?
Trump’s War on Measurement Means Losing Data on Drug Use, Maternal Mortality, Climate Change and More
By slashing teams that gather critical data, the administration has left the federal government with no way of understanding if policies are working — and created a black hole of information whose con...
www.propublica.org
April 18, 2025 at 11:03 AM
The CDC eviscerated divisions that oversee a database on accidental deaths and injuries AND the team that maintains a tool for tracking sexually transmitted diseases.
The EPA will stop requiring that industry measures greenhouse gas emissions.
If you don't measure, it's not a problem, right?
The EPA will stop requiring that industry measures greenhouse gas emissions.
If you don't measure, it's not a problem, right?
Reposted
🧵 THREAD: A federal whistleblower just dropped one of the most disturbing cybersecurity disclosures I’ve ever read.
He's saying DOGE came in, data went out, and Russians started attempting logins with new valid DOGE passwords
Media's coverage wasn't detailed enough so I dug into his testimony:
He's saying DOGE came in, data went out, and Russians started attempting logins with new valid DOGE passwords
Media's coverage wasn't detailed enough so I dug into his testimony:
April 18, 2025 at 12:10 AM
🧵 THREAD: A federal whistleblower just dropped one of the most disturbing cybersecurity disclosures I’ve ever read.
He's saying DOGE came in, data went out, and Russians started attempting logins with new valid DOGE passwords
Media's coverage wasn't detailed enough so I dug into his testimony:
He's saying DOGE came in, data went out, and Russians started attempting logins with new valid DOGE passwords
Media's coverage wasn't detailed enough so I dug into his testimony:
Reposted
New— Trump's crusade against the American Bar Association continues, this time terminating all grants via DOJ's Office of Violence Against Women.
This morning a webinar on trauma-informed representation was canceled moments before starting. ABA sent email attachment to participants (shared w/ me):
This morning a webinar on trauma-informed representation was canceled moments before starting. ABA sent email attachment to participants (shared w/ me):
April 15, 2025 at 7:21 PM
New— Trump's crusade against the American Bar Association continues, this time terminating all grants via DOJ's Office of Violence Against Women.
This morning a webinar on trauma-informed representation was canceled moments before starting. ABA sent email attachment to participants (shared w/ me):
This morning a webinar on trauma-informed representation was canceled moments before starting. ABA sent email attachment to participants (shared w/ me):
Reposted
I have been an international student, or around international students, for all my adult life. Every single one of these visa revocations is a human tragedy, a dream quashed and a life derailed.
This @insidehighered.com website is tracking visa revocations of students across the US, >600 at >100 colleges as of today, April 10. www.insidehighered.com/news/global/...
April 10, 2025 at 3:56 PM
I have been an international student, or around international students, for all my adult life. Every single one of these visa revocations is a human tragedy, a dream quashed and a life derailed.