Author | Lightnews

ames @amsrbb.bsky.social · 1h

At a special meeting of the VT Emergency Board today, $6.3 million in state funding was approved to replace 50% of Nov’s SNAP benefit for Vermonters. There is technical work to be done now; DCF hopes to make the benefit available by Nov7. VEB will reconvene Nov13 if shutdown continues
#SNAP #vtpoli

ames @amsrbb.bsky.social · 1h

Ha. An easy mistake.

Reposted by ames

Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 5h

I teamed up to write how:

The Trump administration has provided two - completely irreconcilable - determinations on status of Tren de Aragua and Venezuela regime.

Makes it impossible for judges to defer to 'presidential determination' on Alien Enemies Act. Confounds law and policy.

Irreconcilable Presidential Determinations on TdA and Venezuela

The two characterizations are mutually exclusive; it is legally impossible to maintain both simultaneously.

www.justsecurity.org

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ames @amsrbb.bsky.social · 6h

I didn’t know that but looks like yes! He’s younger than i am, unfortunately for the world. TC and i were at TC at the same time. (I hope it doesn’t need to be said, but: we didn’t run in the same circles.)

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ToddKBailey @toddkbailey.bsky.social · 18h

D Secretaries of State control 278 Electoral College Votes. Not that they should all say this now but they should hint at the fact that the constitution is clear & they won’t put Trump on the ballot in 28. If the GOP wants to nominate him that’s their choice but he has no path to a win so have at it

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ames @amsrbb.bsky.social · 8h

Someone get Jim McGovern a dictionary, stat!
(From Punchbowl)

Democrats discussed the looming crisis over SNAP funding, which runs out on Nov. 1. They blamed President Donald Trump and GOP congressional leaders for the situation, even though virtually all House Democrats voted against a Republican plan to fund federal agencies through Nov. 21. And there was extreme bitterness toward Speaker Mike Johnson, who hasn't brought the House back into session for more than 40 days while refusing to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.).
"Mike Johnson - what an insignificant, irrelevant human being he has become," Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) complained.
McGovern and other Democrats want Johnson to bring back the House immediately.

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ames @amsrbb.bsky.social · 9h

Tucker went to Trinity. And he arrived there already a highly toxic d-bag.

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Katie Bergh @katiebergh.bsky.social · 1d

The Trump Administration’s assertion that it can't use SNAP’s contingency reserves for SNAP benefits is contrary to:
▪️The plain language of the law
▪️Their own (now deleted) shutdown plan
▪️Guidance from prior Administrations

We have the receipts:

SNAP’s Contingency Reserve Is Available for Regular SNAP Benefits, as USDA and OMB Have Ruled in Past

The Administration must use all available options to fund November benefits for the 1 in 8 people in the U.S. who need SNAP to afford their grocery bill.

www.cbpp.org

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ames @amsrbb.bsky.social · 3d

This is so good.

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ames @amsrbb.bsky.social · 3d

I wasn’t sure if your question was rhetorical, but it did get me thinking so i decided to do some math :)

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ames @amsrbb.bsky.social · 3d

Oh no.

ames @amsrbb.bsky.social · 3d

In May, 2025 (the last month for which data is currently available), SNAP benefits issued totaled $7.86 billion nationwide. There are approximately 22.5 million SNAP households. Every non-SNAP household (~105million) would need to contribute about $76 to cover a month of SNAP.

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Matt Gabriele @profgabriele.com · 4d

The plagiarism machine that’s mostly wrong and consumes lakes would like you to get a low flow toilet

The Associated Press @apnews.com · 4d

Artificial intelligence has caused concern for its tremendous consumption of water and power. But scientists are also experimenting with ways that AI can help people and businesses use energy more efficiently and pollute less.

AI can help the environment, even though it uses tremendous energy. Here are 5 ways how

Artificial intelligence has caused concern for its tremendous consumption of water and power. But scientists are also experimenting with ways that AI can help people and businesses use energy more efficiently and pollute less.

bit.ly

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ames @amsrbb.bsky.social · 6d

And, as it turns out, a fascist enabler. It’s a really sorry state of affairs.

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Void Screamin @vermonster.bsky.social · 7d

$27,000. The average cost per person for the National Health Service (NHS) in England in 2022-23 was £3,300 and it costs that person nothing if they need care while we spend thousands on top of insurance to get care, and that’s only if the insurance company doesn’t deny you. What are we even doing?

The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 7d

The cost of health insurance rose steeply for a third year in a row in 2025, reaching just under $27,000 for a family plan, according to an annual survey.

The Average Cost of a Family Health Insurance Plan Is Now $27,000

Higher spending on chronic diseases, weight-loss drugs and hospital bills helped drive the increase.

on.wsj.com

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ames @amsrbb.bsky.social · 7d

static.politico.com/f5/80/bc6534...

static.politico.com

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ames @amsrbb.bsky.social · 7d

Vermont Sen Peter Welch doing his best to support the shit bomb administration once again.

Jason Linkins @dceiver.bsky.social · 8d

some fun facts from Demand Justice about Harold Mooty, a couple really stand out

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ames @amsrbb.bsky.social · 7d

I have an idea

ames @amsrbb.bsky.social · 7d

Those are nice looking b sprouts! They’re the best.

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Charlie Warzel @cwarzel.bsky.social · 8d

Hi. I wrote an essay about AI slop: How it feels like an invasive species for the internet. How its boosters describe building a future that’s devoid of craft. How frictionlessness can be nihilistic & how this stuff seems to leach part of our shared humanity out of the world. I hope you'll read it.

AI’s Invasive Species

The slop is winning.

www.theatlantic.com

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Sophie M. @sophiesaurus98.bsky.social · 8d

I might go so far as to say Wikipedia is the single most important website on today’s internet. Maybe the internet in general. It is a necessary resource and we need to do all we can to support it.

CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 12d

yeah, look .... not sure who needs to hear this (actually, everyone does), but turn off the stupid AI suggestions in your search results, and def. go and use @wikipedia.org a lot more.

I use it as my first-go-to knowledge base resource.

Follow the trail of citations to primary sources.

It's good.

Emanuel Maiberg @emanuelmaiberg.bsky.social · 12d

wikipedia's data shows that AI is siphoning traffic away from the site, which is a danger to its sustainability. ironically Wikipedia is more important than ever to users who want reliable information instead of slop, and to AI companies that need it for training data www.404media.co/wikipedia-sa...

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ames @amsrbb.bsky.social · 8d

Happy birthday, Robin 💛
Lovely essay.

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Alyssa Harad @alyssaharad.bsky.social · 8d

I feel like I shouldn’t care about this. Buildings can be restored. No one has died. And yet the metaphor is so blunt it has physical force.

Jonathan Edwards @jonathanreports.bsky.social · 8d

Scoop: Trump has started demolishing the White House's East Wing facade to build his ballroom. The president had claimed construction of the $250 million building wouldn’t ‘interfere’ with the existing White House structure. /W @ddiamond.bsky.social wapo.st/4hqBNiU

White House begins demolishing East Wing facade to build Trump’s ballroom

The president had claimed construction of the $250 million ballroom wouldn’t ‘interfere’ with the existing White House structure.

wapo.st

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ames @amsrbb.bsky.social · 9d

It’s also kind of fun to imagine the pumpkin here is a different orange thing.

ames @amsrbb.bsky.social · 9d

Yup. There are literally thousands of non-elected positions in fed agencies and courts who are doing massive damage everywhere. Tr*mp is their enabler, not the reverse. And popularity doesn’t matter to them in the least. They’re blowing up and pillaging as much as they can as fast as they can.

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