Samantha Starbreaker 🏳️⚧️
@starbreaker.xyz
Amateur theologian, writer, and urbanist. Professional IT technician and application administrator. Weird Baptist. Abolish ICE. Wife of @mizzterri.bsky.social. it/its
Recipes and ramblings at https://blog.starbreaker.xyz/
Recipes and ramblings at https://blog.starbreaker.xyz/
It's still outlandish to me that the government is allowed to use proprietary software *at all.* Why are the public's tax dollars being funneled into the pockets of software corporations, rather than used to sponsor freely available software for the public good?
The thing I don't think he understands about Open Source is that you can look at the source code to see if there are threats. Instead he prefers black boxes you can't see into from companies and people who just say, "trust me"? Really? #FOSS #Software #Development #Security #DigitalSovereignty
Senate Intel chair urges national cyber director to safeguard against open-source software threats
Tom Cotton urges the national cyber director to curb foreign influence and malicious code risks in open-source software used by U.S. government systems.
cyberscoop.com
December 19, 2025 at 12:42 AM
It's still outlandish to me that the government is allowed to use proprietary software *at all.* Why are the public's tax dollars being funneled into the pockets of software corporations, rather than used to sponsor freely available software for the public good?
Reposted by Samantha Starbreaker 🏳️⚧️
listen im not very well spoken on this stuff
we need help. the time for silence from supposed allies has long since passed and they are pushing things that will directly harm trans kids. they seek our elimination because we embody everything they want to take from everyone.
freedom. choice. hope.
we need help. the time for silence from supposed allies has long since passed and they are pushing things that will directly harm trans kids. they seek our elimination because we embody everything they want to take from everyone.
freedom. choice. hope.
December 18, 2025 at 5:39 PM
listen im not very well spoken on this stuff
we need help. the time for silence from supposed allies has long since passed and they are pushing things that will directly harm trans kids. they seek our elimination because we embody everything they want to take from everyone.
freedom. choice. hope.
we need help. the time for silence from supposed allies has long since passed and they are pushing things that will directly harm trans kids. they seek our elimination because we embody everything they want to take from everyone.
freedom. choice. hope.
Reposted by Samantha Starbreaker 🏳️⚧️
The "trans women are hulking men with deep voices and hairy knuckles" or whatever narrative they want the public to associate with us doesn't hold up if the public starts to see trans people who are conventionally attractive/not visibly trans when they think "trans person."
December 18, 2025 at 6:27 PM
The "trans women are hulking men with deep voices and hairy knuckles" or whatever narrative they want the public to associate with us doesn't hold up if the public starts to see trans people who are conventionally attractive/not visibly trans when they think "trans person."
Reposted by Samantha Starbreaker 🏳️⚧️
The reason they're so focused on trans teens is that people who transition younger typically blend into society better. To the extent that they're willing to tolerate our existence in society at all, they'd rather we be easily identified by our appearance/voices/etc.
Cis people really have no idea how it feels to watch a regime hold a press conference to admit, on camera, the pogrom against trans people they've been waging for 11 months is not only real, but they're going to double down on genocide and try to wipe out all the children first.
December 18, 2025 at 6:24 PM
The reason they're so focused on trans teens is that people who transition younger typically blend into society better. To the extent that they're willing to tolerate our existence in society at all, they'd rather we be easily identified by our appearance/voices/etc.
For my blog, I wrote about my conversion from Linux elitist to cloud enthusiast, thanks to a project that sounds like a military psyop: Universal Blue. (universal-blue.org)
Read more: blog.starbreaker.xyz/2025/12/18/a...
Read more: blog.starbreaker.xyz/2025/12/18/a...
December 18, 2025 at 6:44 PM
For my blog, I wrote about my conversion from Linux elitist to cloud enthusiast, thanks to a project that sounds like a military psyop: Universal Blue. (universal-blue.org)
Read more: blog.starbreaker.xyz/2025/12/18/a...
Read more: blog.starbreaker.xyz/2025/12/18/a...
Reposted by Samantha Starbreaker 🏳️⚧️
those who predicted authoritarianism were both dismissed, & deeply misunderstood, by the media
my latest for @newrepublic.com
newrepublic.com/article/2042...
my latest for @newrepublic.com
newrepublic.com/article/2042...
The Americans Who Saw All This Coming—but Were Ignored and Maligned
Call them the Cassandras: the people—mostly not white and male—who smelled the fascism all over Trump from jump street. Why were they “alarmists,” and how did “anti-alarmism” become cool?
newrepublic.com
December 18, 2025 at 11:26 AM
those who predicted authoritarianism were both dismissed, & deeply misunderstood, by the media
my latest for @newrepublic.com
newrepublic.com/article/2042...
my latest for @newrepublic.com
newrepublic.com/article/2042...
Reposted by Samantha Starbreaker 🏳️⚧️
btw the point of preventing young ppl from accessing gender affirming care is forcing them to go through unwanted puberties so that it becomes harder to pass without a shitload of expensive surgeries when they’re adults. that’s it
December 18, 2025 at 2:30 PM
btw the point of preventing young ppl from accessing gender affirming care is forcing them to go through unwanted puberties so that it becomes harder to pass without a shitload of expensive surgeries when they’re adults. that’s it
Some days, it brings me this horrible despair, thinking that I experienced being a real person, only to have it ripped from me. Most days, it brings me an equally horrible resolve. No politician is going to take this away.
I didn't manage to write the newsletter yesterday, but I have a strong idea I'm working on this morning - fleshing out the thought that the trans rights movement's greatest strength in the face of a sudden, cruel backlash is the large cohort of people who transitioned between 2010 and 2020.
December 18, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Some days, it brings me this horrible despair, thinking that I experienced being a real person, only to have it ripped from me. Most days, it brings me an equally horrible resolve. No politician is going to take this away.
Reposted by Samantha Starbreaker 🏳️⚧️
Bluesky tonight is neatly divided between trans people and family members appropriately angry and freaking out and everyone else who has barely noticed.
December 18, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Bluesky tonight is neatly divided between trans people and family members appropriately angry and freaking out and everyone else who has barely noticed.
Reposted by Samantha Starbreaker 🏳️⚧️
Thank you to @gbhnews.bsky.social for covering the truth.
#ShutDownSouthBay #bospoli #mapoli
www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...
#ShutDownSouthBay #bospoli #mapoli
www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...
December 16, 2025 at 3:17 AM
Thank you to @gbhnews.bsky.social for covering the truth.
#ShutDownSouthBay #bospoli #mapoli
www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...
#ShutDownSouthBay #bospoli #mapoli
www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...
Reposted by Samantha Starbreaker 🏳️⚧️
Seeing Like a Nate.
i am fascinated by how nate silver turns everything he doesn’t like into a bespoke ideology. it’s not that he is annoyed by HCR, it is that she is a dreaded “ism” responsible for everything he doesn’t like about the democratic party. same with bluesky.
what the fuck are you talking about man
December 13, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Seeing Like a Nate.
i think one of the important factors in making a Linux OS that's accessible to the average person is you gotta treat the Linux Guys(tm) with absolute contempt.
i believe people when they say linux has gotten better in the last few years. what i'm skeptical of is that linux Guys have improved. i will not use an OS where i'm at high risk of someone calling me stupid for not liking some aspect of the experience. i must be allowed to hate the computer
December 14, 2025 at 1:34 AM
i think one of the important factors in making a Linux OS that's accessible to the average person is you gotta treat the Linux Guys(tm) with absolute contempt.
This is the constant drumbeat from Washington right now: line up with Donnie on policy, or the federal government just won't fund your state. Blue states are constantly getting this threat.
What happens when Trump pulls the trigger on this? How many blue staters just won't pay taxes in return?
What happens when Trump pulls the trigger on this? How many blue staters just won't pay taxes in return?
Their closing message to Indiana: change your maps to artificially benefit the President's political party or 'roads will not be paved' as punishment.
They are openly saying this.
Who would want to live in a country that works like that?
They are openly saying this.
Who would want to live in a country that works like that?
December 11, 2025 at 11:44 PM
This is the constant drumbeat from Washington right now: line up with Donnie on policy, or the federal government just won't fund your state. Blue states are constantly getting this threat.
What happens when Trump pulls the trigger on this? How many blue staters just won't pay taxes in return?
What happens when Trump pulls the trigger on this? How many blue staters just won't pay taxes in return?
Reposted by Samantha Starbreaker 🏳️⚧️
This is incredible
MERCENARIES: A Video and Poster Campaign to Counter ICE Recruitment
"They are not protecting our communities—they are trying to destroy them. They aim to wear down our ability to identify w/ each other, our ability to feel compassion. If they succeed, all of us will be in danger."
@crimethinc.com ✊🏼
"They are not protecting our communities—they are trying to destroy them. They aim to wear down our ability to identify w/ each other, our ability to feel compassion. If they succeed, all of us will be in danger."
@crimethinc.com ✊🏼
December 11, 2025 at 3:17 AM
This is incredible
Reposted by Samantha Starbreaker 🏳️⚧️
Congress is trying to force through mass surveillance/censorship laws THIS WEEK
BOOST THIS EVERYWHERE before it’s too late. 👇
www.badinternetbills.com
Call and tell your rep:
—NO to KOSA
—NO to Section 230 reform
—NO online digital ID laws
—NO age verification laws
BOOST THIS EVERYWHERE before it’s too late. 👇
www.badinternetbills.com
Call and tell your rep:
—NO to KOSA
—NO to Section 230 reform
—NO online digital ID laws
—NO age verification laws
Bad Internet Bills
All of the bad internet bills. One website.
www.badinternetbills.com
December 11, 2025 at 5:40 AM
Congress is trying to force through mass surveillance/censorship laws THIS WEEK
BOOST THIS EVERYWHERE before it’s too late. 👇
www.badinternetbills.com
Call and tell your rep:
—NO to KOSA
—NO to Section 230 reform
—NO online digital ID laws
—NO age verification laws
BOOST THIS EVERYWHERE before it’s too late. 👇
www.badinternetbills.com
Call and tell your rep:
—NO to KOSA
—NO to Section 230 reform
—NO online digital ID laws
—NO age verification laws
Great thread by Samantha Hancox-Li of Liberal Currents, about the fundamental allure - and fatal flaw - of Yudkowskian rationalism
finally getting around to NEOREACTION A BASILISK and (pardon me not yet finished with the titular essay) this is *really good* and also totally misunderstands rationalism / the yud et al
www.amazon.com/Neoreaction-...
www.amazon.com/Neoreaction-...
Neoreaction a Basilisk: Essays on and Around the Alt-Right
Neoreaction a Basilisk: Essays on and Around the Alt-Right - Kindle edition by Sandifer, Elizabeth, Graham, Jack. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Neoreaction a Basilisk: Essays on and Around the Alt-Right.
www.amazon.com
December 9, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Great thread by Samantha Hancox-Li of Liberal Currents, about the fundamental allure - and fatal flaw - of Yudkowskian rationalism
No pictures exist, but it was a generic '90s beige-box PC running good old Windows 98
Date yourself with your first rig
Tandy color computer 3
Tandy color computer 3
December 7, 2025 at 3:44 AM
No pictures exist, but it was a generic '90s beige-box PC running good old Windows 98
in 2020, i bought a lot of used iPods on ebay, made mixes for my best friends and partners, and gave each of them an iPod with just the mix i made for them on it. (well, and the charging cable of course)
just like the internet at large... the good tech is still there, if you're looking for it
just like the internet at large... the good tech is still there, if you're looking for it
long before drafting the perfect OK Cupid opening there was ... the art of crafting the perfect mixtape for your crush.
the subtle alchemy of expressing longing and desire while maintaining plausible deniability in case they weren't on the same page.
makes me wanna go listen to some Rainer Maria
the subtle alchemy of expressing longing and desire while maintaining plausible deniability in case they weren't on the same page.
makes me wanna go listen to some Rainer Maria
I know I'm showing my whole age here but remember that thrill of getting a mixtape from someone? A mix of music that they made just for you?
December 4, 2025 at 5:38 PM
in 2020, i bought a lot of used iPods on ebay, made mixes for my best friends and partners, and gave each of them an iPod with just the mix i made for them on it. (well, and the charging cable of course)
just like the internet at large... the good tech is still there, if you're looking for it
just like the internet at large... the good tech is still there, if you're looking for it
Reposted by Samantha Starbreaker 🏳️⚧️
i got like 6 tapes in japan, all of them are repeat listens and i wouldn't have found any by searching bandcamp etc.
deprogram yourself from the idea that music/art is about playlisting to optimize good brain chemicals. embrace risk and exploration
deprogram yourself from the idea that music/art is about playlisting to optimize good brain chemicals. embrace risk and exploration
here’s how i’m streaming music, get on my level
December 4, 2025 at 5:11 PM
i got like 6 tapes in japan, all of them are repeat listens and i wouldn't have found any by searching bandcamp etc.
deprogram yourself from the idea that music/art is about playlisting to optimize good brain chemicals. embrace risk and exploration
deprogram yourself from the idea that music/art is about playlisting to optimize good brain chemicals. embrace risk and exploration
anyone who's considering leaving spotify (and you absolutely should): i'm begging you, try actual radio. no good stations in your area? no worries, you can stream so many radio stations online. I recommend WMBR (the campus radio station for MIT): wmbr.org 1/2
December 3, 2025 at 9:03 PM
anyone who's considering leaving spotify (and you absolutely should): i'm begging you, try actual radio. no good stations in your area? no worries, you can stream so many radio stations online. I recommend WMBR (the campus radio station for MIT): wmbr.org 1/2
also, can we just take a moment to reflect on how like. there is no way this is how cabinet meetings work, right? in any healthy presidency, they're giving actual status reports on how their department is operating, talking about obstacles they're encountering, etc. not just lavishing the prez' boot
Kristi Noem: "Sir, you made it through hurricane season without a hurricane. You kept the hurricanes away. We appreciate that."
December 2, 2025 at 6:58 PM
also, can we just take a moment to reflect on how like. there is no way this is how cabinet meetings work, right? in any healthy presidency, they're giving actual status reports on how their department is operating, talking about obstacles they're encountering, etc. not just lavishing the prez' boot
Reposted by Samantha Starbreaker 🏳️⚧️
The real question is not "Why is Bluesky so left-coded," the real question is "Why can't the right exist in a social media environment without algorithmic assistance, where people can ignore them"
December 2, 2025 at 3:08 PM
The real question is not "Why is Bluesky so left-coded," the real question is "Why can't the right exist in a social media environment without algorithmic assistance, where people can ignore them"
Reposted by Samantha Starbreaker 🏳️⚧️
i’m genuinely so convinced all of this has been a planned operation by the student and her mother (who is commenting on this publicly, and associated closely with the republican party), and big far right propaganda account going all in on it. this is designed to oust trans people from public life
December 1, 2025 at 6:09 PM
i’m genuinely so convinced all of this has been a planned operation by the student and her mother (who is commenting on this publicly, and associated closely with the republican party), and big far right propaganda account going all in on it. this is designed to oust trans people from public life
Reposted by Samantha Starbreaker 🏳️⚧️
so it is very apparent that
1) You are not going to be able to know for sure who or where an order came from, much less if it is legal
2) The President and SecDef will disavow any order that retroactively proves to be unpopular or risky
1) You are not going to be able to know for sure who or where an order came from, much less if it is legal
2) The President and SecDef will disavow any order that retroactively proves to be unpopular or risky
December 1, 2025 at 4:17 PM
so it is very apparent that
1) You are not going to be able to know for sure who or where an order came from, much less if it is legal
2) The President and SecDef will disavow any order that retroactively proves to be unpopular or risky
1) You are not going to be able to know for sure who or where an order came from, much less if it is legal
2) The President and SecDef will disavow any order that retroactively proves to be unpopular or risky
Reposted by Samantha Starbreaker 🏳️⚧️
every trans person i see post about the OU suspension knows that the suspended target is trans & a grad student, & has an innate awareness that this is about purging trans employees. every cis person i see thinks the target is a rando professor & that this is about giving conservatives good grades
December 1, 2025 at 12:04 AM
every trans person i see post about the OU suspension knows that the suspended target is trans & a grad student, & has an innate awareness that this is about purging trans employees. every cis person i see thinks the target is a rando professor & that this is about giving conservatives good grades