A. de Villiers
@tortoise2win.bsky.social
Reposted by A. de Villiers
insurance companies literally kill people
UnitedHealth reduced hospitalizations for nursing home seniors. Now it faces wrongful death claims
The company says it is protecting nursing home residents by curbing unnecessary hospital transfers. Whistleblowers allege cost-cutting tactics have endangered the elderly
www.theguardian.com
December 17, 2025 at 6:23 PM
insurance companies literally kill people
Reposted by A. de Villiers
LUHAN: Is the FCC an independent agency?
CARR: I think th---
L: Yes or no
C: There's a test for this in the la---
L: It's yes or no, Brendan! On your website, it simply says, man, 'the FCC is independent.' This isn't a trick question
C: The FCC is not
L: So is your website lying?
C: Possibly
CARR: I think th---
L: Yes or no
C: There's a test for this in the la---
L: It's yes or no, Brendan! On your website, it simply says, man, 'the FCC is independent.' This isn't a trick question
C: The FCC is not
L: So is your website lying?
C: Possibly
December 17, 2025 at 4:54 PM
LUHAN: Is the FCC an independent agency?
CARR: I think th---
L: Yes or no
C: There's a test for this in the la---
L: It's yes or no, Brendan! On your website, it simply says, man, 'the FCC is independent.' This isn't a trick question
C: The FCC is not
L: So is your website lying?
C: Possibly
CARR: I think th---
L: Yes or no
C: There's a test for this in the la---
L: It's yes or no, Brendan! On your website, it simply says, man, 'the FCC is independent.' This isn't a trick question
C: The FCC is not
L: So is your website lying?
C: Possibly
Reposted by A. de Villiers
A must read from @gregsargent.bsky.social in @newrepublic.com
“Indeed, Miller’s grander aims are best understood as an effort to destroy the entire architecture of immigration and humanitarian resettlement put in place in the post–World War II era.”
“Indeed, Miller’s grander aims are best understood as an effort to destroy the entire architecture of immigration and humanitarian resettlement put in place in the post–World War II era.”
Inside Stephen Miller’s Dark Plot to Build a MAGA Terror State
He is descended from Russian Jews—you know, the kind of people who were once denounced as alien and unassimilable. Today, his project is to unleash government persecution of those he deems alien and u...
newrepublic.com
December 17, 2025 at 4:56 PM
A must read from @gregsargent.bsky.social in @newrepublic.com
“Indeed, Miller’s grander aims are best understood as an effort to destroy the entire architecture of immigration and humanitarian resettlement put in place in the post–World War II era.”
“Indeed, Miller’s grander aims are best understood as an effort to destroy the entire architecture of immigration and humanitarian resettlement put in place in the post–World War II era.”
Reposted by A. de Villiers
"The notion that all elected officials have are their thoughts and prayers, regardless of by whom it is uttered, is a direct attack on the purpose of government itself."
snyder.substack.com/p/what-a-ter...
snyder.substack.com/p/what-a-ter...
What a terrible thing it is
Mass shootings as regime change
snyder.substack.com
December 17, 2025 at 5:05 PM
"The notion that all elected officials have are their thoughts and prayers, regardless of by whom it is uttered, is a direct attack on the purpose of government itself."
snyder.substack.com/p/what-a-ter...
snyder.substack.com/p/what-a-ter...
Reposted by A. de Villiers
NPR is tracking the record number of congressional lawmakers – now more than one in ten current members – who have announced plans to retire or run for a different office in 2026. n.pr/48IgpTr
More than 10% of Congress won't return to their seats after 2026
NPR is tracking the record number of congressional lawmakers – now more than one in ten current members – who have announced plans to retire or run for a different office in 2026.
n.pr
December 17, 2025 at 5:11 PM
NPR is tracking the record number of congressional lawmakers – now more than one in ten current members – who have announced plans to retire or run for a different office in 2026. n.pr/48IgpTr
Reposted by A. de Villiers
Sharp point from @donmoyn.bsky.social in here: Trump's immigration agenda is in no sense efficient management or successful crime fighting. It's massively wasteful, undermines public safety and harms the national interest in addition to being cruel. Read:
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/democrats-...
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/democrats-...
Democrats need a theory of power, but democracies need a theory of accountability
No, the Trump administration is not a model for how to get things done
donmoynihan.substack.com
December 17, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Sharp point from @donmoyn.bsky.social in here: Trump's immigration agenda is in no sense efficient management or successful crime fighting. It's massively wasteful, undermines public safety and harms the national interest in addition to being cruel. Read:
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/democrats-...
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/democrats-...
Reposted by A. de Villiers
Trump’s DOJ is hellbent on accessing our private voter information—Social Security numbers, party affiliation, driver's licenses—resulting in what experts warn would be a gold mine for hackers.
“It's a hacker's dream to have all of this private, sensitive information collected somewhere.”
“It's a hacker's dream to have all of this private, sensitive information collected somewhere.”
Trump’s DOJ is building a voter purge machine—powered by your private data
The federal agency ordinarily would prevent attacks on voting rights. Now it’s carrying them out.
bit.ly
December 17, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Trump’s DOJ is hellbent on accessing our private voter information—Social Security numbers, party affiliation, driver's licenses—resulting in what experts warn would be a gold mine for hackers.
“It's a hacker's dream to have all of this private, sensitive information collected somewhere.”
“It's a hacker's dream to have all of this private, sensitive information collected somewhere.”
Reposted by A. de Villiers
Reject any motherfucker who tells you we need to abandon a vulnerable population or person. They’re either a fascist or a fascist-in-waiting.
December 17, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Reject any motherfucker who tells you we need to abandon a vulnerable population or person. They’re either a fascist or a fascist-in-waiting.
Reposted by A. de Villiers
On my 21st-century travelogue, THE LAST AMERICAN ROAD TRIP: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/my-top-ten...
December 17, 2025 at 4:40 PM
On my 21st-century travelogue, THE LAST AMERICAN ROAD TRIP: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/my-top-ten...
Reposted by A. de Villiers
For generations people “cut off” parents by moving away and mailing them a card once a year. Travel and long distance phone calls were expensive; distance effectively cut people off w/o being so explicit.
The difference now is that communication is cheap so cutting them off requires being explicit.
The difference now is that communication is cheap so cutting them off requires being explicit.
There's no hard data, so it's impossible to know for sure, but I suspect the number of adult children cutting off their parents isn't significantly higher than it used to be, and what's actually new is that the children are now explaining it in therapy terms rather than simply ceasing contact.
December 17, 2025 at 4:15 PM
For generations people “cut off” parents by moving away and mailing them a card once a year. Travel and long distance phone calls were expensive; distance effectively cut people off w/o being so explicit.
The difference now is that communication is cheap so cutting them off requires being explicit.
The difference now is that communication is cheap so cutting them off requires being explicit.
Reposted by A. de Villiers
Israeli authorities are engaged in multiple major efforts to ensure there will be no Palestinian state in the future.
Israel to advance plans for 9,000 houses in occupied East Jerusalem
Israeli authorities are engaged in multiple major efforts to ensure there will be no Palestinian state in the future.
www.aljazeera.com
December 17, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Israeli authorities are engaged in multiple major efforts to ensure there will be no Palestinian state in the future.
Reposted by A. de Villiers
A new program at the Department of Energy is pushing the development of nearly a dozen new reactor designs at breakneck speed. n.pr/3KyGew4
Trump's rush to build nuclear reactors across the U.S. raises safety worries
A new program at the Department of Energy is pushing the development of nearly a dozen new reactor designs at breakneck speed.
n.pr
December 17, 2025 at 1:35 PM
A new program at the Department of Energy is pushing the development of nearly a dozen new reactor designs at breakneck speed. n.pr/3KyGew4
Reposted by A. de Villiers
McGovern: "The reality is that some people's premiums are going up 100%, and their big grand plan is to give people an 11% coupon. I mean, this is laughable. It is pathetic ... they are unbelievably out of touch. Republicans have spent a year screwing over the people they represent."
December 17, 2025 at 2:58 PM
McGovern: "The reality is that some people's premiums are going up 100%, and their big grand plan is to give people an 11% coupon. I mean, this is laughable. It is pathetic ... they are unbelievably out of touch. Republicans have spent a year screwing over the people they represent."
Reposted by A. de Villiers
McGovern: "When billionaire CEOs need something, Republicans move at lightning speed. But when it comes to working people needing affordable health care, suddenly the story changes. There's hand wringing and the money is gone. My friends, if you are ok with that, we do not share the same values."
December 17, 2025 at 3:31 PM
McGovern: "When billionaire CEOs need something, Republicans move at lightning speed. But when it comes to working people needing affordable health care, suddenly the story changes. There's hand wringing and the money is gone. My friends, if you are ok with that, we do not share the same values."
Reposted by A. de Villiers
AOC: Donald Trump and Stephen Miller want you to believe that this is who we are as a country. And we are here to say that it is not. We are a country that has fought and defeated the confederacy. That has defeated a history of civil rights violations, of secret police, of fascism.
December 16, 2025 at 4:39 PM
AOC: Donald Trump and Stephen Miller want you to believe that this is who we are as a country. And we are here to say that it is not. We are a country that has fought and defeated the confederacy. That has defeated a history of civil rights violations, of secret police, of fascism.
Reposted by A. de Villiers
Again, anti-wokeness is a backlash to integration of white collar work. Only white men are allowed to have prestigious jobs otherwise it's unfair bsky.app/profile/mike...
Wow, the horror. Completely shut out of an industry that … promoted him to senior reporter by 40
December 16, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Again, anti-wokeness is a backlash to integration of white collar work. Only white men are allowed to have prestigious jobs otherwise it's unfair bsky.app/profile/mike...
Reposted by A. de Villiers
The Supreme Court's use and abuse of the Shadow Docket is *how* Chief Justice John Roberts legitimizes Donald Trump's authoritarian takeover of the government.
Me, in print for a change, in @thenation.com
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Me, in print for a change, in @thenation.com
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
The Supreme Court’s Shadowy Plan to Subvert Democracy
In making frequent, ill use of the “shadow docket,” the high court is not just handing Trump policy victories. It’s upending the rule of law.
www.thenation.com
December 16, 2025 at 5:26 PM
The Supreme Court's use and abuse of the Shadow Docket is *how* Chief Justice John Roberts legitimizes Donald Trump's authoritarian takeover of the government.
Me, in print for a change, in @thenation.com
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Me, in print for a change, in @thenation.com
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Reposted by A. de Villiers
ProPublica identified 17 people who each shielded at least $1 billion in capital gains from the so-called Net Investment Income Tax.
Together, this small group, by collectively exempting more than $35 billion, saved about $1.3 billion in taxes.
(Published Dec. 2024)
Together, this small group, by collectively exempting more than $35 billion, saved about $1.3 billion in taxes.
(Published Dec. 2024)
How Billionaires Sidestepped a Tax Aimed at the Rich
Wall Street financiers were a clear target of the tax, but some, on questionable legal grounds, have claimed their outsized profits were exempt, sometimes avoiding hundreds of millions in taxes.
www.propublica.org
December 17, 2025 at 1:00 AM
ProPublica identified 17 people who each shielded at least $1 billion in capital gains from the so-called Net Investment Income Tax.
Together, this small group, by collectively exempting more than $35 billion, saved about $1.3 billion in taxes.
(Published Dec. 2024)
Together, this small group, by collectively exempting more than $35 billion, saved about $1.3 billion in taxes.
(Published Dec. 2024)
Reposted by A. de Villiers
Barbara Rose Johns was 16 when she led a walkout at her high school, credited with helping end school segregation. Her statue replaces Robert E. Lee's, which was removed in 2020. n.pr/4iWEBF0
Her 1951 walkout helped end school segregation. Now her statue is in the U.S. Capitol
Barbara Rose Johns was 16 when she led a walkout at her high school, credited with helping end school segregation. Her statue replaces Robert E. Lee's, which was removed in 2020.
n.pr
December 16, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Barbara Rose Johns was 16 when she led a walkout at her high school, credited with helping end school segregation. Her statue replaces Robert E. Lee's, which was removed in 2020. n.pr/4iWEBF0
Reposted by A. de Villiers
In related news, remember that time every tribe in South Dakota banned Kristi Noem from entering their land?
In response to Noem baselessly claiming Mexican drug cartels were infiltrating their reservations?
She was banned from 20% of the state! www.huffpost.com/entry/kristi...
In response to Noem baselessly claiming Mexican drug cartels were infiltrating their reservations?
She was banned from 20% of the state! www.huffpost.com/entry/kristi...
Gov. Kristi Noem Now Banished By Every Single South Dakota Tribe
The Flandreau Santee Sioux were South Dakota's last holdout. Now, Noem is banned from 20% of her state.
www.huffpost.com
December 16, 2025 at 9:47 PM
In related news, remember that time every tribe in South Dakota banned Kristi Noem from entering their land?
In response to Noem baselessly claiming Mexican drug cartels were infiltrating their reservations?
She was banned from 20% of the state! www.huffpost.com/entry/kristi...
In response to Noem baselessly claiming Mexican drug cartels were infiltrating their reservations?
She was banned from 20% of the state! www.huffpost.com/entry/kristi...
Reposted by A. de Villiers
“There is something going on here, with all of these cities coming together and protecting our democracy."
From LA to Charlotte, organizers are learning from others’ strategies to protect residents amid federal crackdowns.
From LA to Charlotte, organizers are learning from others’ strategies to protect residents amid federal crackdowns.
‘You don’t have to do it alone’: how US cities are helping each other resist ICE
www.theguardian.com
December 16, 2025 at 10:37 PM
“There is something going on here, with all of these cities coming together and protecting our democracy."
From LA to Charlotte, organizers are learning from others’ strategies to protect residents amid federal crackdowns.
From LA to Charlotte, organizers are learning from others’ strategies to protect residents amid federal crackdowns.
Reposted by A. de Villiers
AOC to @pabloreports.bsky.social: It is the responsibility of Congress to declare and authorize the use of military force. Congress has not authorized a military use of force. There has not been a case made, and I think the absence of one really speaks volumes.
December 16, 2025 at 11:00 PM
AOC to @pabloreports.bsky.social: It is the responsibility of Congress to declare and authorize the use of military force. Congress has not authorized a military use of force. There has not been a case made, and I think the absence of one really speaks volumes.
Reposted by A. de Villiers
"On the grounds of never interrupting your enemy while he is making a mistake, Xi Jinping is 2025’s winner." My column on how Trump has given China a great leap forward. as.ft.com/r/dbe877e6-6...
China’s escalation dominance over Trump
[FREE TO READ] The US president has handed the initiative to Beijing in tech, energy and security
as.ft.com
December 16, 2025 at 11:47 AM
"On the grounds of never interrupting your enemy while he is making a mistake, Xi Jinping is 2025’s winner." My column on how Trump has given China a great leap forward. as.ft.com/r/dbe877e6-6...
Reposted by A. de Villiers
New in PN: The tech industry will come to regret its embrace of Trump
"A comprehensive anti-corruption, pro-consumer movement would inevitably target the industry and its indifference to the harms it creates. It could be incredibly potent, and tech barons would have no one to blame but themselves."
"A comprehensive anti-corruption, pro-consumer movement would inevitably target the industry and its indifference to the harms it creates. It could be incredibly potent, and tech barons would have no one to blame but themselves."
The tech industry will come to regret its embrace of Trump
For now, Silicon Valley is getting everything it wants. But a backlash is on its way.
www.publicnotice.co
December 16, 2025 at 12:56 PM
New in PN: The tech industry will come to regret its embrace of Trump
"A comprehensive anti-corruption, pro-consumer movement would inevitably target the industry and its indifference to the harms it creates. It could be incredibly potent, and tech barons would have no one to blame but themselves."
"A comprehensive anti-corruption, pro-consumer movement would inevitably target the industry and its indifference to the harms it creates. It could be incredibly potent, and tech barons would have no one to blame but themselves."
Reposted by A. de Villiers
@samanthamichaels.bsky.social has been a criminal justice reporter for over a decade. She has lived in an authoritarian country overseas.
But she has never seen a police presence like the one in ICE-occupied Memphis.
“The people supposedly eliminating crime are making the city unlivable.”
But she has never seen a police presence like the one in ICE-occupied Memphis.
“The people supposedly eliminating crime are making the city unlivable.”
I'm a veteran criminal justice reporter. I've never seen anything like ICE-occupied Memphis.
“It’s about as sad as you can possibly imagine."
www.motherjones.com
December 16, 2025 at 1:46 PM
@samanthamichaels.bsky.social has been a criminal justice reporter for over a decade. She has lived in an authoritarian country overseas.
But she has never seen a police presence like the one in ICE-occupied Memphis.
“The people supposedly eliminating crime are making the city unlivable.”
But she has never seen a police presence like the one in ICE-occupied Memphis.
“The people supposedly eliminating crime are making the city unlivable.”