Julie J Lee
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jjlee.bsky.social
Julie J Lee
@jjlee.bsky.social
grad student in investigative journalism, formerly nerd @ aclu ma 📍 New York, NY 🌐 julielee.net 📱signal: julielee.101
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NEW: Think Staten Island is just MAGA? Think again. Spent today reporting on the mayoral election from Staten Island open.substack.com/pub/cjspolit...
Mamdani Campaigners Are Optimistic About Winning Staten Island
“People Outside the Borough are Going to be Surprised.” Mamdani supporters have been campaigning in the borough with high hopes.
open.substack.com
Reposted by Julie J Lee
Alice Wong, Presente. Thank you for everything.
“Don’t let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.”
November 15, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Reposted by Julie J Lee
According to reports, ICE officers are being told to trust the results of a faulty facial recognition app over evidence of citizenship.

The Trump administration is steamrolling our due process and privacy rights to support its mass deportation agenda.
You Can't Refuse To Be Scanned by ICE's Facial Recognition App, DHS Document Says
Photos captured by Mobile Fortify will be stored for 15 years, regardless of immigration or citizenship status, the document says.
www.404media.co
November 4, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Reposted by Julie J Lee
Catalina “Xóchitl” Santiago spent nearly two months in ICE detention—despite having protection under DACA—until a federal judge ruled that the government had no reason to keep her in custody and ordered her release.

DHS is still vowing to "explore every available option to remove" her. My latest:
Then they came for the Dreamers
Immigrants brought here as children were told they wouldn’t be deported. Now, they’re being targeted anyway.
www.motherjones.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Reposted by Julie J Lee
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.

Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."

Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Reposted by Julie J Lee
For folks (and journalists) who want to search the Oversight Committee email texts, I made a database for searching the 20k text files:

splendorous-chaja-f79791.netlify.app
Epstein Document Search
splendorous-chaja-f79791.netlify.app
November 13, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Reposted by Julie J Lee
Fall 2017: Then-NYT reporter literally warning Epstein that someone is "digging around again."
November 12, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Reposted by Julie J Lee
New: A judge in Washington has ruled images from Flock surveillance cameras are public records and that anyone can request them. Highlights the pervasiveness of this tech and just how much surveillance is being done. Very notable ruling

www.404media.co/judge-rules-...
Judge Rules Flock Surveillance Images Are Public Records That Can Be Requested By Anyone
A Washington judge said images taken by Flock cameras are "not exempt from disclosure" in public record requests.
www.404media.co
November 12, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Reposted by Julie J Lee
one of the funniest parts about Joyce Carol Oates going viral for nuking Elon Musk is that he absolutely needed someone tell him who Joyce Carol Oates is
November 10, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Reposted by Julie J Lee
The Authoritarian Stack: how tech billionaires are building a post-democratic America and why Europe is next.

My new project is an interactive investigation and open data platform to expose tech authoritarianism and mobilize collective power for democratic alternatives.
www.authoritarian-stack.info
The Authoritarian Stack
How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic America — And Why Europe Is Next
www.authoritarian-stack.info
November 8, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by Julie J Lee
Breaking News: Late last night Conde Nast illegally fired 4 union organizers who asked company execs to explain the downsizing of Teen Vogue and continued layoffs. We’ve filed a grievance.
November 6, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Reposted by Julie J Lee
Must-read report from @chrisgeidner.bsky.social on today’s SCOTUS order allowing the Trump administration to implement its anti-trans and anti-nonbinary passport policy.
Breaking: SCOTUS lets Trump administration implement anti-trans, anti-nonbinary passport policy
The Democratic appointees, led by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented. The ruling, which applies during litigation, effectively reverses two lower court rulings.
www.lawdork.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:41 AM
NEW from me: open.substack.com/pub/cjspolit... Colombo is a Democrat running for borough president in ruby red Staten Island. I met him handing flyers to commuters outside St George ferry terminal this morning
In Staten Island, a Democrat is Challenging an Incumbent for Borough President
By Julie Lee
open.substack.com
November 5, 2025 at 12:24 AM
NEW: Think Staten Island is just MAGA? Think again. Spent today reporting on the mayoral election from Staten Island open.substack.com/pub/cjspolit...
Mamdani Campaigners Are Optimistic About Winning Staten Island
“People Outside the Borough are Going to be Surprised.” Mamdani supporters have been campaigning in the borough with high hopes.
open.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Hey NYC, if it's useful to have this google map of polling sites, here ya go: www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...
All NYC Polling Sites - Google My Maps
All NYC Polling Sites
www.google.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:20 AM
Reposted by Julie J Lee
Two people died in flooded New York City buildings on Thursday after sudden and intense rain brought a deluge of water to the city in a major afternoon squall.

buff.ly/ZMd1Ow4
Two Die in NYC Basements as Squall Brings Massive Rain Burst to City
Two men, one in Central Brooklyn and another in Upper Manhattan, were found dead in flooded areas after intense rain arrived late on Thursday.
www.thecity.nyc
October 31, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Reposted by Julie J Lee
NEW: “As of Sept. 30, the department no longer presumes service connection for male breast cancer,” a Veterans Affairs rep confirmed to @propublica.org, meaning newly diagnosed veterans will have to show that their cancer is linked to their military service.

By @ericumansky.bsky.social
Citing Trump Order on “Biological Truth,” VA Makes It Harder for Male Veterans With Breast Cancer to Get Coverage
A Department of Veterans Affairs memo obtained by ProPublica erects new roadblocks to care for veterans with the rare but deadly cancer. The agency cites no new science but relies on an executive orde...
www.propublica.org
October 29, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Reposted by Julie J Lee
This was a tough but necessary decision - I posted my own notes on this here, from the perspective of a current PSF board member simonwillison.net/2025/Oct/27/...
October 27, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Q: Do data centers use a lot of water?

A: What are you, a fish?

theonion.com/what-to-know...
What To Know About Data Centers
As the use of AI increases, data centers are popping up across the country. The Onion shares everything you need to know about the controversial facilities.  Q: What do data centers need to run? A: Wa...
theonion.com
October 25, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Reposted by Julie J Lee
Picture of the East Wing demolition of the White House taken on my flight out of DCA.
October 23, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Julie J Lee
That’s called burying the lead
October 21, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Reposted by Julie J Lee
An estimated 100 million people live with facial differences. As face recognition tech becomes widespread, some say they’re getting blocked from accessing essential systems and services. www.wired.com/story/when-f...
When Face Recognition Doesn’t Know Your Face Is a Face
An estimated 100 million people live with facial differences. As face recognition tech becomes widespread, some say they’re getting blocked from accessing essential systems and services.
www.wired.com
October 15, 2025 at 9:33 AM