Andrew Raff
@andrewraff.com
Renaissance man, privacy, copyright, in-house law-talking guy, saxamaphonist, bicycle pilot
Reposted by Andrew Raff
you cannot talk about U.S. opinions or polling or electoral beliefs without centering on the fact that the U.S. information diet consists of billionaire-funded corporate rigt wing agitprop and raw sewage
(the political press somehow does anyway)
(the political press somehow does anyway)
December 30, 2025 at 9:15 PM
you cannot talk about U.S. opinions or polling or electoral beliefs without centering on the fact that the U.S. information diet consists of billionaire-funded corporate rigt wing agitprop and raw sewage
(the political press somehow does anyway)
(the political press somehow does anyway)
Reposted by Andrew Raff
My sincere year-end thought isn’t an original one, but its importance has been underscored to me repeatedly over the last 12 months: be free with telling the people you love that you love them, casually, and at every chance. Great love, small love, every type of love.
December 30, 2025 at 7:42 PM
My sincere year-end thought isn’t an original one, but its importance has been underscored to me repeatedly over the last 12 months: be free with telling the people you love that you love them, casually, and at every chance. Great love, small love, every type of love.
Reposted by Andrew Raff
"The documented record does not show a political party with a corruption problem. It shows a criminal organization using political power as its operating mechanism. The politics exist to enable the crime. The crime funds the politics."
December 30, 2025 at 5:32 AM
"The documented record does not show a political party with a corruption problem. It shows a criminal organization using political power as its operating mechanism. The politics exist to enable the crime. The crime funds the politics."
Reposted by Andrew Raff
dems serious about winning really have no choice but to seriously embrace antitrust reform and challenge corporate power, because their failure to do so earnestly opened the door to phony ass authoritarian pseudo-populism
Pretending to challenge corporate power has been one of the motivating points of the Trump platform. If someone did it for real, that would really be something.
The Democratic party would win elections repeatedly if they competently challenged corporate power.
December 29, 2025 at 4:39 PM
dems serious about winning really have no choice but to seriously embrace antitrust reform and challenge corporate power, because their failure to do so earnestly opened the door to phony ass authoritarian pseudo-populism
Reposted by Andrew Raff
One of the biggest lies too many people have bought into is that those with capital are geniuses.
If you pay somebody to build a rocket you are not a space engineer.
If you pay somebody to write a book you are not a writer.
If you (don't) pay somebody to build a tower you are not an architect.
If you pay somebody to build a rocket you are not a space engineer.
If you pay somebody to write a book you are not a writer.
If you (don't) pay somebody to build a tower you are not an architect.
December 29, 2025 at 2:46 PM
One of the biggest lies too many people have bought into is that those with capital are geniuses.
If you pay somebody to build a rocket you are not a space engineer.
If you pay somebody to write a book you are not a writer.
If you (don't) pay somebody to build a tower you are not an architect.
If you pay somebody to build a rocket you are not a space engineer.
If you pay somebody to write a book you are not a writer.
If you (don't) pay somebody to build a tower you are not an architect.
Reposted by Andrew Raff
Speaking as someone who just wrote a book on the Manhattan Project, I can assure you that refugee immigrants were the *entire* reason the US mastered the atom first. The most chilling part of writing my book was reading about them fleeing fascism … abroad. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/fleeing-on...
December 28, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Speaking as someone who just wrote a book on the Manhattan Project, I can assure you that refugee immigrants were the *entire* reason the US mastered the atom first. The most chilling part of writing my book was reading about them fleeing fascism … abroad. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/fleeing-on...
Reposted by Andrew Raff
medical tricorder privacy policy
December 28, 2025 at 10:40 PM
medical tricorder privacy policy
Reposted by Andrew Raff
I don't think there's any understanding of the First Amendment under which this ("our Savior") is constitutional. Yet they don't care, and they've eliminated all the attorneys who would've objected.
Kudos to the Goldwater and Cato Institutes for condemning it.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/a...
Kudos to the Goldwater and Cato Institutes for condemning it.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/a...
Trump Administration Emphasizes Religion in Official Christmas Messages
www.nytimes.com
December 26, 2025 at 12:47 PM
I don't think there's any understanding of the First Amendment under which this ("our Savior") is constitutional. Yet they don't care, and they've eliminated all the attorneys who would've objected.
Kudos to the Goldwater and Cato Institutes for condemning it.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/a...
Kudos to the Goldwater and Cato Institutes for condemning it.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/a...
Reposted by Andrew Raff
Freaking love this city and all the people in it so much….a bunch of people went and turned the 4 train into the Polar Express giving out toys to kids along the way from the Bronx to Brooklyn….shoutout to the @newyorkers.live account on IG for doing this 🙏 www.instagram.com/reel/DSnsvWS...
December 26, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Freaking love this city and all the people in it so much….a bunch of people went and turned the 4 train into the Polar Express giving out toys to kids along the way from the Bronx to Brooklyn….shoutout to the @newyorkers.live account on IG for doing this 🙏 www.instagram.com/reel/DSnsvWS...
Reposted by Andrew Raff
The government failed at actually redacting the Epstein files because DOGE cancelled the feds adobe acrobat premium subscription is the funniest shit.
December 24, 2025 at 8:28 PM
The government failed at actually redacting the Epstein files because DOGE cancelled the feds adobe acrobat premium subscription is the funniest shit.
Reposted by Andrew Raff
When you're grumpy because three annoying ghosts kept you up all night.
December 25, 2025 at 9:34 AM
When you're grumpy because three annoying ghosts kept you up all night.
Reposted by Andrew Raff
I count 10 cities in 2025 that are on track to have the fewest murders since at least 1970. Newark is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1956 (though only have data through Oct this year) and San Francisco is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1942.
December 23, 2025 at 7:06 PM
I count 10 cities in 2025 that are on track to have the fewest murders since at least 1970. Newark is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1956 (though only have data through Oct this year) and San Francisco is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1942.
Reposted by Andrew Raff
Thanks for sharing this document, @rweingarten.bsky.social.
I read it, and I believe it's inexcusably inadequate and will not prepare teachers or schools to confront the very real dangers of the "A.i." products pushed by your partners, including OpenAI.
A few thoughts for your consideration...
I read it, and I believe it's inexcusably inadequate and will not prepare teachers or schools to confront the very real dangers of the "A.i." products pushed by your partners, including OpenAI.
A few thoughts for your consideration...
Read about Commonsense Guardrails for Using Advanced Technology in Schools aiinstruction.org/sites/defaul...
aiinstruction.org
December 24, 2025 at 3:43 AM
Thanks for sharing this document, @rweingarten.bsky.social.
I read it, and I believe it's inexcusably inadequate and will not prepare teachers or schools to confront the very real dangers of the "A.i." products pushed by your partners, including OpenAI.
A few thoughts for your consideration...
I read it, and I believe it's inexcusably inadequate and will not prepare teachers or schools to confront the very real dangers of the "A.i." products pushed by your partners, including OpenAI.
A few thoughts for your consideration...
Reposted by Andrew Raff
Big ups to Marty Lederman @martylederman.bsky.social who flagged this argument that SCOTUS relied on (that regular forces refer to military forces, not federal law enforcement).
NEW: By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court blocks Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Chicago to assist immigration agents. A majority holds that he likely lacks authority to do so. Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissent. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
![The Government asked this Court to stay the District Court's order. After the response and reply were filed, JUSTICE BARRETT referred the application to the Court. We directed the parties to file supplemental letter briefs on an issue that the District Court had addressed but the parties' initial briefs had not: the meaning of the term "regular forces" in §12406(3). In its supplemental brief, the Government argues that the term refers to civilian law enforcement officers, such as those employed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Federal Protective Service.
Respondents, echoing the District Court, maintain that the term refers to the regular forces of the United States mili-tary.
We conclude that the term "regular forces" in §12406(3) likely refers to the regular forces of the United States mili-tary. This interpretation means that to call the Guard into active federal service under §12406(3), the President must be "unable" with the regular military "to execute the laws of the United States." Because the statute requires an assessment of the military's ability to execute the laws, it likely applies only where the military could legally execute the laws. Such circumstances are exceptional: Under the Posse Comitatus Act, the military is prohibited from "execut[ing] the laws" "except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress."
18 U. S. C. §1385. So before the President can federalize the Guard under §12406(3), he likely must have statutory or constitutional authority to execute the laws with the regular military and must be "unable" with those forces to perform that function.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/bafkreiftbhzwvn3vgwhqsi7k2paizvdw4t26ailljvovso3chqupnmj364@jpeg)
December 23, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Big ups to Marty Lederman @martylederman.bsky.social who flagged this argument that SCOTUS relied on (that regular forces refer to military forces, not federal law enforcement).
Reposted by Andrew Raff
NEW: By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court blocks Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Chicago to assist immigration agents. A majority holds that he likely lacks authority to do so. Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissent. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
December 23, 2025 at 8:16 PM
NEW: By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court blocks Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Chicago to assist immigration agents. A majority holds that he likely lacks authority to do so. Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissent. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
Great piece on the Trump administration's use of CECOT from 60 Minutes in Canada archive.org/details/60mi...
Pulled 60 Minutes segment on CECOT : CBS : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
This is a screen recording of a 60 Minutes segment about the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) prison in El Salvador, which was intended to be...
archive.org
December 23, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Great piece on the Trump administration's use of CECOT from 60 Minutes in Canada archive.org/details/60mi...
Reposted by Andrew Raff
to Bari (verb): To attempt to bury a damaging political story—only to amplify it massively by drawing attention to the act of censorship itself.
Example:
“They tried to Bari the segment, but it got Streisanded and everyone watched it twice.”
Example:
“They tried to Bari the segment, but it got Streisanded and everyone watched it twice.”
December 23, 2025 at 11:40 AM
to Bari (verb): To attempt to bury a damaging political story—only to amplify it massively by drawing attention to the act of censorship itself.
Example:
“They tried to Bari the segment, but it got Streisanded and everyone watched it twice.”
Example:
“They tried to Bari the segment, but it got Streisanded and everyone watched it twice.”
Reposted by Andrew Raff
Reposted by Andrew Raff
Pantone just updated their Color Of The Year
December 20, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Pantone just updated their Color Of The Year
Reposted by Andrew Raff
Calling it now:
The word of the year for 2026 is going to be "Bates number."
The word of the year for 2026 is going to be "Bates number."
Here's a better view of the now-deleted photo showing Trump with Epstein and Trump with a group of young girls.
The photo was originally posted as item EFTA00000468 but was later deleted. Now the 'official' list simply jumps from EFTA00000467 to EFTA00000469.
The photo was originally posted as item EFTA00000468 but was later deleted. Now the 'official' list simply jumps from EFTA00000467 to EFTA00000469.
December 20, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Calling it now:
The word of the year for 2026 is going to be "Bates number."
The word of the year for 2026 is going to be "Bates number."
Reposted by Andrew Raff
the people who made the Epstein gmail simulator did it again, but this time with the photos www.jmail.world/photos
December 20, 2025 at 9:15 PM
the people who made the Epstein gmail simulator did it again, but this time with the photos www.jmail.world/photos
Reposted by Andrew Raff
It was such a joy to celebrate Hanukkah with Mandy, Kathryn and their son, Gideon. As Jewish New Yorkers across our city prepare to light candles and mark the seventh night today, I wish you and your families a Hanukkah full of light and love.
youtu.be/KIxAKyioXng
youtu.be/KIxAKyioXng
Happy Hanukkah
YouTube video by Zohran Mamdani for NYC
youtu.be
December 20, 2025 at 1:58 PM
It was such a joy to celebrate Hanukkah with Mandy, Kathryn and their son, Gideon. As Jewish New Yorkers across our city prepare to light candles and mark the seventh night today, I wish you and your families a Hanukkah full of light and love.
youtu.be/KIxAKyioXng
youtu.be/KIxAKyioXng
Reposted by Andrew Raff
It's so embarassing to see so-called progressives like @amyklobuchar.com and @senpeterwelch.govpeeps.us on this list.
Blowing up Section 230 would be devastating for abortion access
www.wired.com/story/sectio...
It would harm LGBTQ communities
www.teenvogue.com/story/some-d...
Blowing up Section 230 would be devastating for abortion access
www.wired.com/story/sectio...
It would harm LGBTQ communities
www.teenvogue.com/story/some-d...
Section 230 Is a Last Line of Defense for Abortion Speech Online
Dobbs should be a wake-up call for anyone seeking to undercut the immunity protections afforded by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
www.wired.com
December 18, 2025 at 7:40 PM
It's so embarassing to see so-called progressives like @amyklobuchar.com and @senpeterwelch.govpeeps.us on this list.
Blowing up Section 230 would be devastating for abortion access
www.wired.com/story/sectio...
It would harm LGBTQ communities
www.teenvogue.com/story/some-d...
Blowing up Section 230 would be devastating for abortion access
www.wired.com/story/sectio...
It would harm LGBTQ communities
www.teenvogue.com/story/some-d...
Reposted by Andrew Raff
From this point on, I'm forced to assume that every elected politician who does not immediately call for Trump's impeachment is in the Epstein files. Sorry. Just cutting the Gordian knot here, as one does during societal collapse.
December 20, 2025 at 12:05 AM
From this point on, I'm forced to assume that every elected politician who does not immediately call for Trump's impeachment is in the Epstein files. Sorry. Just cutting the Gordian knot here, as one does during societal collapse.
Reposted by Andrew Raff
This studio awards-season email is really matching the current mood in a way I’m not sure they intended.
December 19, 2025 at 11:36 PM
This studio awards-season email is really matching the current mood in a way I’m not sure they intended.