Leah Leier
@leahleier.bsky.social
Nerd, geek, engineer. SF&F fan. Any pronouns acceptable.
Reposted by Leah Leier
Exactly right.
Bovino's leaving? Great, get Noem to resign.
Noem resigns? Great, defund and dismantle ICE.
Go after Stephen Miller too. Bring charges against ICE thugs at the state and local level. Lawsuits. New state laws restricting them.
Every possible angle.
Bovino's leaving? Great, get Noem to resign.
Noem resigns? Great, defund and dismantle ICE.
Go after Stephen Miller too. Bring charges against ICE thugs at the state and local level. Lawsuits. New state laws restricting them.
Every possible angle.
They are wounded and flailing. Press the advantage.
January 27, 2026 at 12:13 AM
Exactly right.
Bovino's leaving? Great, get Noem to resign.
Noem resigns? Great, defund and dismantle ICE.
Go after Stephen Miller too. Bring charges against ICE thugs at the state and local level. Lawsuits. New state laws restricting them.
Every possible angle.
Bovino's leaving? Great, get Noem to resign.
Noem resigns? Great, defund and dismantle ICE.
Go after Stephen Miller too. Bring charges against ICE thugs at the state and local level. Lawsuits. New state laws restricting them.
Every possible angle.
Reposted by Leah Leier
They are *murdering* people. *Executing* implies some kind of process. They're just getting pissed off and killing.
Correct. They are *executing* people.
And I will remind: there is a hearing Monday morning in MN where a judge will hear args on a request for a preliminary injunction to stop agents and their activities from continuing there.
And I will remind: there is a hearing Monday morning in MN where a judge will hear args on a request for a preliminary injunction to stop agents and their activities from continuing there.
The proper word for this is an execution.
January 24, 2026 at 4:40 PM
They are *murdering* people. *Executing* implies some kind of process. They're just getting pissed off and killing.
Overheard phone conversation on the T: ... Do you mean like frozen water?... Oh, do you mean fascists?.... And then it continued with a discussion of things Mayor Wu has said about being prepared for "paramilitary working for fascists".
I wish such conversations weren't so routine now.
I wish such conversations weren't so routine now.
January 24, 2026 at 5:06 PM
Overheard phone conversation on the T: ... Do you mean like frozen water?... Oh, do you mean fascists?.... And then it continued with a discussion of things Mayor Wu has said about being prepared for "paramilitary working for fascists".
I wish such conversations weren't so routine now.
I wish such conversations weren't so routine now.
Reposted by Leah Leier
It is so bizarre to watch Congressional Democrats go about the work of negotiating and passing appropriations bills as if 1. the Trump administration hasn't repeatedly ignored its appropriations and 2. there isn't a fascist, authoritarian crisis on the streets www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
House passes DHS funding bill despite Democratic opposition over ICE
Lawmakers are still on track to prevent another government shutdown at the end of the month.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 23, 2026 at 12:52 PM
It is so bizarre to watch Congressional Democrats go about the work of negotiating and passing appropriations bills as if 1. the Trump administration hasn't repeatedly ignored its appropriations and 2. there isn't a fascist, authoritarian crisis on the streets www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Leah Leier
They really are dropping any pretense that ICE is about immigration.
Once you're saying ICE has absolute power over not only undocumented people but anyone they engage, you're openly admitting these are meant to be shock troops for the mad king
Once you're saying ICE has absolute power over not only undocumented people but anyone they engage, you're openly admitting these are meant to be shock troops for the mad king
When an ICE agent confronts you is "when your due process ends," says the member of Congress from the largest border district.
www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
January 23, 2026 at 5:10 PM
They really are dropping any pretense that ICE is about immigration.
Once you're saying ICE has absolute power over not only undocumented people but anyone they engage, you're openly admitting these are meant to be shock troops for the mad king
Once you're saying ICE has absolute power over not only undocumented people but anyone they engage, you're openly admitting these are meant to be shock troops for the mad king
Reposted by Leah Leier
This is why we celebrate the Boston Substack Party, when the patriots wrote strongly worded pamphlets about tea.
Republican on CNN: You peacefully protest with a letter to the editor. You peacefully protest by starting a Substack or a podcast.
January 15, 2026 at 1:08 PM
This is why we celebrate the Boston Substack Party, when the patriots wrote strongly worded pamphlets about tea.
Reposted by Leah Leier
Bravo to @kelbournewoolens.bsky.social for taking a public stand against ICE and the ensuing atrocities. I will be buying a lot of their yarns moving forward. Thank you! #KnitSky #Knitting 🧶
January 13, 2026 at 10:37 PM
Bravo to @kelbournewoolens.bsky.social for taking a public stand against ICE and the ensuing atrocities. I will be buying a lot of their yarns moving forward. Thank you! #KnitSky #Knitting 🧶
Reposted by Leah Leier
I have some congresspeople who follow me, so I'll just throw this out there:
As a taxpayer, I would actually prefer that you *not* continue to fund the fascist military machine that is being used to kill and kidnap people from our communities.
As a taxpayer, I would actually prefer that you *not* continue to fund the fascist military machine that is being used to kill and kidnap people from our communities.
January 11, 2026 at 1:17 AM
I have some congresspeople who follow me, so I'll just throw this out there:
As a taxpayer, I would actually prefer that you *not* continue to fund the fascist military machine that is being used to kill and kidnap people from our communities.
As a taxpayer, I would actually prefer that you *not* continue to fund the fascist military machine that is being used to kill and kidnap people from our communities.
Reposted by Leah Leier
Pretty sad times we live in when it’s news that the government has agreed to follow a court order.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — US government says ICE doesn't plan to detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia again as long as judge's order banning it stands.
December 31, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Pretty sad times we live in when it’s news that the government has agreed to follow a court order.
Reposted by Leah Leier
welcome to the Second Annual Bluesky Christmas Eve Snowball Fight!
please drop a take in the replies and I or someone else will be along to belligerently interpret whatever you said in the worst possible light
please drop a take in the replies and I or someone else will be along to belligerently interpret whatever you said in the worst possible light
it’s Christmas Eve morning and apparently Bluesky is in a fightin’ mood today.
please drop a take in the replies and I or someone else will be along to belligerently interpret whatever you said in the worst possible light
please drop a take in the replies and I or someone else will be along to belligerently interpret whatever you said in the worst possible light
December 24, 2025 at 2:34 PM
welcome to the Second Annual Bluesky Christmas Eve Snowball Fight!
please drop a take in the replies and I or someone else will be along to belligerently interpret whatever you said in the worst possible light
please drop a take in the replies and I or someone else will be along to belligerently interpret whatever you said in the worst possible light
Reposted by Leah Leier
immigrants score the lowest on tests, but they also take all our jobs, while at the same time taking all the welfare and buying all the homes
Stephen Miller: "If you subtract immigration out of test scores, all of the sudden our test scores skyrocket"
December 9, 2025 at 10:59 PM
immigrants score the lowest on tests, but they also take all our jobs, while at the same time taking all the welfare and buying all the homes
Reposted by Leah Leier
People don’t understand that stripping the guardrails of regulation and oversight doesn’t just apply to like better business bureau type shit but also like on a practical level when I get into an elevator I expect that it has passed a safety inspection & that type of security will be gone soon
December 6, 2025 at 7:37 PM
People don’t understand that stripping the guardrails of regulation and oversight doesn’t just apply to like better business bureau type shit but also like on a practical level when I get into an elevator I expect that it has passed a safety inspection & that type of security will be gone soon
Reposted by Leah Leier
If AI can generate this it can't be all bad: "The primitives believed that by sacrificing their currency to the twin gods 'Target' and 'Walmart' in brutal, localized skirmishes, they could ensure the sun's return in January."
November 30, 2025 at 1:17 AM
If AI can generate this it can't be all bad: "The primitives believed that by sacrificing their currency to the twin gods 'Target' and 'Walmart' in brutal, localized skirmishes, they could ensure the sun's return in January."
Reposted by Leah Leier
National public health “leadership” (hi RFK Jr 🙄) keeps poisoning public health with lies.
Vaccines prevent needless childhood deaths.
No baby in America should be dying of whooping cough — not when we have safe, effective vaccines literally ready to go.
This is a national tragedy
Vaccines prevent needless childhood deaths.
No baby in America should be dying of whooping cough — not when we have safe, effective vaccines literally ready to go.
This is a national tragedy
Third unvaccinated Kentucky baby dies of whooping cough • Kentucky Lantern
A third unvaccinated infant in Kentucky has died of pertussis as public health officials urge Kentuckians to get vaccinated against the disease.
kentuckylantern.com
November 29, 2025 at 11:10 PM
National public health “leadership” (hi RFK Jr 🙄) keeps poisoning public health with lies.
Vaccines prevent needless childhood deaths.
No baby in America should be dying of whooping cough — not when we have safe, effective vaccines literally ready to go.
This is a national tragedy
Vaccines prevent needless childhood deaths.
No baby in America should be dying of whooping cough — not when we have safe, effective vaccines literally ready to go.
This is a national tragedy
Reposted by Leah Leier
did you know that parantheses open a portal to another dimension, and whatever you put inside them is not only NOT a part of the original sentence but rather is, in fact, extraterrestrial? read the literature for God's sake
November 27, 2025 at 12:12 AM
did you know that parantheses open a portal to another dimension, and whatever you put inside them is not only NOT a part of the original sentence but rather is, in fact, extraterrestrial? read the literature for God's sake
Reposted by Leah Leier
saturation with Tolkien spinoffs has somehow not prepared our culture for the arrival of dark lords bearing a gift that everyone becomes convinced they can wield to accomplish great things but just makes them dependent and start whispering about preciouses if you suggest just throwing it away
November 19, 2025 at 11:16 AM
saturation with Tolkien spinoffs has somehow not prepared our culture for the arrival of dark lords bearing a gift that everyone becomes convinced they can wield to accomplish great things but just makes them dependent and start whispering about preciouses if you suggest just throwing it away
Reposted by Leah Leier
Why do I include poetry in a presentation about data visualization? Because cartography IS poetry.
The ocean is not literally blue. The land is not literally green.
Symbolism, metaphor, language, cultural context and history all inform map making.
Both exercise the same brain-parts.
The ocean is not literally blue. The land is not literally green.
Symbolism, metaphor, language, cultural context and history all inform map making.
Both exercise the same brain-parts.
Guess I'm a freelance corporate consultant now because I just led a really fun session walking a group of software developers through some mind bending relationship visualization problems.
Bibliography: Tufte, Margaret Atwood, Borges, Tobler, Cynthia Brewer, RJ Andrews and Madeline L'Engle
Bibliography: Tufte, Margaret Atwood, Borges, Tobler, Cynthia Brewer, RJ Andrews and Madeline L'Engle
November 12, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Why do I include poetry in a presentation about data visualization? Because cartography IS poetry.
The ocean is not literally blue. The land is not literally green.
Symbolism, metaphor, language, cultural context and history all inform map making.
Both exercise the same brain-parts.
The ocean is not literally blue. The land is not literally green.
Symbolism, metaphor, language, cultural context and history all inform map making.
Both exercise the same brain-parts.
Reposted by Leah Leier
Once you start thinking of AI as a war on humanity, on human thought, on human inquiry, on human labor, on nuance and critical thinking, it slots in pretty seamlessly with the right wing ideological project, oligarchical political projects, big tech's political projects, etc
November 6, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Once you start thinking of AI as a war on humanity, on human thought, on human inquiry, on human labor, on nuance and critical thinking, it slots in pretty seamlessly with the right wing ideological project, oligarchical political projects, big tech's political projects, etc
Reposted by Leah Leier
Coding on personal projects mean that I can make edits directly to prod YOLOLOLOLOL
November 2, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Coding on personal projects mean that I can make edits directly to prod YOLOLOLOLOL
Reposted by Leah Leier
I’ll be glad when we run this regime out of power and we do something about those ICE assholes.
They should be tried for their crimes against humanity.
They should be tried for their crimes against humanity.
October 30, 2025 at 6:17 PM
I’ll be glad when we run this regime out of power and we do something about those ICE assholes.
They should be tried for their crimes against humanity.
They should be tried for their crimes against humanity.
Reposted by Leah Leier
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
June 19, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
Reposted by Leah Leier
there's a video somewhere of chamath palihapitiya saying that he used to donate millions to democrats but couldn't get a meeting, but is able to with republicans. like everyone, rich donors want to feel special. no better way to make them feel special than a WH ballroom, earning parties more $$$
October 25, 2025 at 12:37 AM
there's a video somewhere of chamath palihapitiya saying that he used to donate millions to democrats but couldn't get a meeting, but is able to with republicans. like everyone, rich donors want to feel special. no better way to make them feel special than a WH ballroom, earning parties more $$$
Reposted by Leah Leier
the point of the ballroom obvs has nothing to do with aesthetics. it's to create an architectural structure to honor the patronage networks that currently dominate US politics. previous WH venues hosted maybe a couple of hundred people; this hosts nearly 1,000 rich donors.
October 25, 2025 at 12:19 AM
the point of the ballroom obvs has nothing to do with aesthetics. it's to create an architectural structure to honor the patronage networks that currently dominate US politics. previous WH venues hosted maybe a couple of hundred people; this hosts nearly 1,000 rich donors.
There needs to be legal consequences for not following the rules and laws, both for this and for all the other illegal stuff they have been doing. If there isn't, then we are living in a place where those who are rich and have private armies can do ANYTHING. Banana republic.
Good morning. ☕
ICYMI: Trump is demolishing the *entire* East Wing of the White House -- after pledging in July not to touch it as he makes way for his massive, privately funded $250M ballroom -- and it's expected to be fully torn down by this weekend.
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
ICYMI: Trump is demolishing the *entire* East Wing of the White House -- after pledging in July not to touch it as he makes way for his massive, privately funded $250M ballroom -- and it's expected to be fully torn down by this weekend.
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
Trump To Demolish Entire East Wing Of White House By This Weekend
The president previously vowed not to touch the East Wing — "my favorite!" — amid his plans to install a massive, privately funded ballroom.
www.huffpost.com
October 23, 2025 at 3:16 PM
There needs to be legal consequences for not following the rules and laws, both for this and for all the other illegal stuff they have been doing. If there isn't, then we are living in a place where those who are rich and have private armies can do ANYTHING. Banana republic.