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Persistently Earnest @spartanoverseas.bsky.social · 10h

Live shot of a bunch of Navy Seals arriving on a Venezuelan beach:

a baby is walking on a wooden floor with the words nope written on the floor .

ALT: a baby is walking on a wooden floor with the words nope written on the floor .

media.tenor.com

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Persistently Earnest @spartanoverseas.bsky.social · 22h

Doesn't seem so "covert"

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Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 1d

That’s crazy. I wonder what happened in January

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Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · 2d

Sam Altman went from “AI will cure cancer" to "ChatGPT porn" in less than a month

ChatGPT boss predicts when AI could cure cancer

We made ChatGPT pretty restrictive to make sure we were being careful with mental health issues. We realize this made it less useful/enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems, but given the seriousness of the issue we wanted to get this right.

Now that we have been able to mitigate the serious mental health issues and have new tools, we are going to be able to safely relax the restrictions in most cases.

In a few weeks, we plan to put out a new version of ChatGPT that allows people to have a personality that behaves more like what people liked about 4o (we hope it will be better!). If you want your ChatGPT to respond in a very human-like way, or use a ton of emoji, or act like a friend, ChatGPT should do it (but only if you want it, not because we are usage-maxxing).

In December, as we roll out age-gating more fully and as part of our “treat adult users like adults” principle, we will allow even more, like erotica for verified adults.
12:02 PM · Oct 14, 2025
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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 2d

He supported America’s war, escaped Afghanistan and started a family in the U.S. Then ICE arrested him. If he is deported, he expects the Taliban to kill him. www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

America saved him from the Taliban. Trump wants to send him back.

He supported America’s war, escaped Afghanistan and started a family in the U.S. Then ICE arrested him. If he is deported, he expects the Taliban to kill him.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 2d

Traditionally that’s the trade off — the cop proves their authority and then expects people to respect it.

ICE refuses to give us proof but demands we respect them as if they had.

That’s not how this works

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Ian Bond @cerianbond.bsky.social · 2d

My new piece for @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social on EU-UK co-operation on China policy. Tl;dr: if you say a country is a systemic rival, or that competing with it may have huge consequences for your citizens, you need more serious policy responses than either the EU or UK have offered so far.

Centre for European Reform @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social · 2d

China’s rise, its support for Russia’s war effort in Ukraine & the unreliability of Trump’s US have sharpened the dilemmas in European policy towards China. 🇪🇺 🇨🇳 🇬🇧

New @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social policy brief by @cerianbond.bsky.social

Read here: buff.ly/EJXAsaz

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Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · 2d

Solidarity is the only way

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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 2d

Finally, a good explainer of Dems' other shutdown demand, via @citizencohn.bsky.social. It's about trying to make it harder for the Trump admin to continue unilaterally (and illegally) cutting funding for government programs substack.com/home/post/p-...

The OTHER Democratic Demand for Reopening the Government

It’s about stopping Donald Trump and Russ Vought—and it can’t happen soon enough.

substack.com

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 2d

What if the unidentified masked men with guns don't accept the validity of your papers?

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Persistently Earnest @spartanoverseas.bsky.social · 2d

Fwiw: all of these outlets declined the pentagons press policy too. Maybe the day before the Atlantic. I didn't check the individual dates.

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 3d

I wonder if all the people braying about the "war on Christianity" might raise some objections if it were a *Democratic* administration who had its armed thugs shooting priests in the head with pepper balls and waiting outside Catholic Churches to disappear parishioners?

Rachel Maddow @maddow.msnbc.com · 3d

"After the warning, neighbors showed up and formed a human chain outside the church to guide parishioners home. NBC Chicago found more organizers doing the same for the beginning of the 6 p.m. mass..."

www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/c...

Chicago priest urges parishioners to leave mass with caution after ICE agents reported nearby

Chicago's Rogers Park community remained vigilant after reports of federal agents near a Catholic church during Sunday mass.

www.nbcchicago.com

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Persistently Earnest @spartanoverseas.bsky.social · 3d

wapo.st/3KLEVcM

Dozens rescued as remnants of typhoon hits Alaska while nor'easter brings flooding to East Coast

Authorities say more than 30 people were rescued and three people remain unaccounted for in western Alaska after the remnants of Typhoon Halong brought hurricane-force winds and flooding strong enough...

wapo.st

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News Eye @newseye.bsky.social · 3d

These are mostly indigenous communities in Alaska that have been slammed by the storm.

The local manager of a small airline fleet says he is the only one doing evacuations right now!

Defund FEMA and people are abandoned. Defund public media and no-one knows.

FYI, today is Indigenous Peoples Day.

Flooding seen with water up to the crash barriers of local roads

Sheds and debris lie scattered in the storm

A small blue house has been blown onto its roof

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Persistently Earnest @spartanoverseas.bsky.social · 3d

100%. Though the way politics have gotten these days -- threats to family, paycheck won't cover real expenses so you have to rely on donors -- the nudge seems tougher than it was, say, 20 years ago.

But without goals, you have nothing. Aspiring to field a candidate everywhere seems worthwhile.

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Persistently Earnest @spartanoverseas.bsky.social · 3d

Running costs $$. $$ isn't infinite. Good candidates aren't always flooding the district.

Maybe it makes sense If it pushes more money into the ticket and elicits candidates. ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

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ctw @skybluebye.bsky.social · 3d

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Persistently Earnest @spartanoverseas.bsky.social · 3d

Seems like some Americans could benefit from understanding "how" these hostages survived.

“He who has a why”—a purpose for living—“can bear any how.” - Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl.

"Like Odysseus, they trained their minds to relentlessly focus on home."

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

The Existential Heroism of the Israeli Hostages

The release of the remaining October 7 captives shows that hope can survive even in the darkest hole.

www.theatlantic.com

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Persistently Earnest @spartanoverseas.bsky.social · 3d

The @washingtonpost.com deserves to hear your opinion about their changes to the opinion section.

The Guild provides a useful letter but I'm sure your own words go farther.

Washington Post Guild @postguild.bsky.social · 6d

Post leadership has heard from us — but now they need to hear from you.
Please follow this link to send an email to Post managers urging them to uphold the personal liberty of free speech and respect workers' rights: actionnetwork.org/letters/wash...

Send a letter to Post CEO and Editorial Page Editor voicing your concern

On Friday, Washington Post CEO and Publisher Will Lewis posted a publisher’s note stating that the Washington Post Editorial Board would no longer be endorsing presidential candidates, including in th...

actionnetwork.org

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 3d

Per WSJ, the Trump regime and Bannon are bragging they’re “ruling Congress with an iron fist” and that it is “largely ceremonial” like the Russian Duma.

Shameful. Not what the founders intended. 🇺🇸 @MarshaBlackburn @RepTimBurchett @AndyOgles

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

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Persistently Earnest @spartanoverseas.bsky.social · 3d

"A GOP in 2025 is to be somebody who takes the side of the bully, the liar, the corrupt, is to be someone in favor of mass murder done on your behalf ...someone willing to build as much labyrinth of justification and ignorance as is needed to place between yourself and the inconvenience of caring. "

Wil Wheaton @wilwheaton.net · 3d

"To be a Republican in 2025 represents a clear public confession that you either don't know the difference between good and evil and you're so morally empty that you can't be bothered to begin to try, or that you do know the difference, and you prefer evil." Great essay from @juliusgoat.bsky.social

The Crime of Human Virtue

Sometimes it really is as simple as good vs. evil. This is one of those times. Human virtue is our great crime against the fascist project; it's also our great weapon against it.

www.the-reframe.com

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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 4d

Welp now they’re reversing some of the layoffs. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/h...

Trump Administration Is Bringing Back Scores of C.D.C. Experts Fired in Error

www.nytimes.com

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ctw @skybluebye.bsky.social · 4d

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Persistently Earnest @spartanoverseas.bsky.social · 4d

IANAL but seems like one could argue "a lapse of appropriations for pay" is unforseen.

I mean.. there's some anecdotal evidence that says it should be foreseeable and yet....

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Persistently Earnest @spartanoverseas.bsky.social · 4d

@pptsapper.bsky.social does this check out? Seemed up your alley