Luminiferous Aether
@luminiferousaether.bsky.social
An occasional birder, a constant reader, and a general dork.
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
You are ABSOLUTELY NOT going to regret listening to this bird:
A male rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) in winter plumage.
Ptarmigan is from Gaelic 'tarmachan' meaning "croaker". The p- was added when people mistakenly assumed it was a Greek word.
A bird forever warning people: "A werewolf!" (just in case of werewolves).
Ptarmigan is from Gaelic 'tarmachan' meaning "croaker". The p- was added when people mistakenly assumed it was a Greek word.
A bird forever warning people: "A werewolf!" (just in case of werewolves).
December 6, 2025 at 5:10 PM
You are ABSOLUTELY NOT going to regret listening to this bird:
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
the great gatsby is one of the most widely assigned books in america and yet apparently literally nobody understands it www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
December 6, 2025 at 8:24 PM
the great gatsby is one of the most widely assigned books in america and yet apparently literally nobody understands it www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
A reminder that "we just want immigrants to come here the *right* way!" was always a lie
December 7, 2025 at 1:21 AM
A reminder that "we just want immigrants to come here the *right* way!" was always a lie
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
It starts with knowing the truth. Don’t allow yourselves to be gaslit into believing this is a real question.
December 6, 2025 at 2:44 PM
It starts with knowing the truth. Don’t allow yourselves to be gaslit into believing this is a real question.
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
i genuinely don’t see a distinction between giving up on birthright citizenship and giving up on the american dream.
I continue to think that Matty coming out against birthright citizenship a few months ago should have been taken as a major warning sign that the group chats have already decided to surrender on this.
December 6, 2025 at 3:33 PM
i genuinely don’t see a distinction between giving up on birthright citizenship and giving up on the american dream.
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
The Nobel Prize committee should announce the World Cup winner tomorrow
December 6, 2025 at 4:29 AM
The Nobel Prize committee should announce the World Cup winner tomorrow
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
Give a gift of History with the AskHistorians 2025 Holiday Book Recommendation Thread! Every year we feature a space to share some of our favourite #history books, and get some help tracking down the perfect gift for the history lovers in our life. Come join the fun!
old.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
old.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
Give a gift of History with the AskHistorians 2025 Holiday Book Recommendation Thread!
Novembers come and gone, with December now upon us, its time for our annual tradition. This is a popular time for gift giving and family...
old.reddit.com
December 6, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Give a gift of History with the AskHistorians 2025 Holiday Book Recommendation Thread! Every year we feature a space to share some of our favourite #history books, and get some help tracking down the perfect gift for the history lovers in our life. Come join the fun!
old.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
old.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
Brett Kavanaugh sees no problem with this woman being forced to do this every day for the rest of her life
“Traumatized, humiliated, degraded.”
The nurse, a US citizen, 4’11”, 85 lbs, says she was following orders when she was dragged out of her car by masked immigration agents in Florida.
It was the 3rd time she had been stopped and told to produce ID.
Free link ⤵️
www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...
The nurse, a US citizen, 4’11”, 85 lbs, says she was following orders when she was dragged out of her car by masked immigration agents in Florida.
It was the 3rd time she had been stopped and told to produce ID.
Free link ⤵️
www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...
Exclusive: Woman detained by feds in Keys says she was following agents’ orders
“This is not the America that I grew up in, and this is not the America that we represent.”
www.miamiherald.com
December 6, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Brett Kavanaugh sees no problem with this woman being forced to do this every day for the rest of her life
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
it might seem surprising that the people who said “look, let trans people live their lives, but i have Reasonable Concerns about sports and toilets” aren’t up in arms about this, but what you have to remember is that those people who said that are liars who were lying
December 6, 2025 at 12:40 PM
it might seem surprising that the people who said “look, let trans people live their lives, but i have Reasonable Concerns about sports and toilets” aren’t up in arms about this, but what you have to remember is that those people who said that are liars who were lying
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
This is great. Very few people want to go to jail, get disbarred or die for this regime. Make them fight you. They will cave.
www.ms.now/news/minneap...
www.ms.now/news/minneap...
Minneapolis police chief warns officers: Stop unlawful force by ICE or lose your job
Chief Brian O’Hara says he’ll fire city police officers if they don’t intervene when immigration agents use unlawful force.
www.ms.now
December 6, 2025 at 1:51 PM
This is great. Very few people want to go to jail, get disbarred or die for this regime. Make them fight you. They will cave.
www.ms.now/news/minneap...
www.ms.now/news/minneap...
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
Stop covering it, I’m serious, it really pisses him off
Trump Is Furious Over ‘Bullshit’ Media Coverage About His Age, Mental Decline
‘He is sensitive to being compared, even if not explicitly, to Sleepy Joe,’ a Trump adviser tells Zeteo.
zeteo.com/p/trump-furi...
‘He is sensitive to being compared, even if not explicitly, to Sleepy Joe,’ a Trump adviser tells Zeteo.
zeteo.com/p/trump-furi...
Trump Is Furious Over ‘Bullshit’ Media Coverage About His Age, Mental Decline
‘He is sensitive to being compared, even if not explicitly, to Sleepy Joe,’ a Trump adviser tells Zeteo.
zeteo.com
December 5, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Stop covering it, I’m serious, it really pisses him off
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
it's just wholly embarrassing and sad how badly conservatives on the Supreme Court have broken our country
As Kagan notes, SCOTUS has given states a cheat code to enact illegally racist voting laws: just pass them close enough to an election that the Purcell principle will bar judicial review!
Under this logic, courts couldn’t block actual Jim Crow laws within a year of an election. It can’t be right.
Under this logic, courts couldn’t block actual Jim Crow laws within a year of an election. It can’t be right.
December 5, 2025 at 12:33 AM
it's just wholly embarrassing and sad how badly conservatives on the Supreme Court have broken our country
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
This photo answers the question "What if a Muppet was also a knife"
I just came across my photos of this heron using its pointy face dagger to catch and eat a chipmunk. 😬 Today I feel like the chipmunk
#birds 🌿
#birds 🌿
December 5, 2025 at 1:11 AM
This photo answers the question "What if a Muppet was also a knife"
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
My employer, Dartmouth College, today boasts it's 1st Ivy "to launch AI at an institutional scale." It is doing this by partnering--"more than a collaboration"--with Anthropic, a company that stole the books of many faculty, me included, which many of us are suing.
December 4, 2025 at 9:38 PM
My employer, Dartmouth College, today boasts it's 1st Ivy "to launch AI at an institutional scale." It is doing this by partnering--"more than a collaboration"--with Anthropic, a company that stole the books of many faculty, me included, which many of us are suing.
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
Holy shit.
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
December 4, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Holy shit.
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents.
They’ve had their necks kneeled on.
They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.
At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them.
They’ve had their necks kneeled on.
They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.
At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them.
More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...
www.propublica.org
December 4, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents.
They’ve had their necks kneeled on.
They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.
At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them.
They’ve had their necks kneeled on.
They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.
At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them.
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
smiling at my phone like im texting with a suitor but I'm looking at the inaturalist page for coconut crabs
December 4, 2025 at 12:17 PM
smiling at my phone like im texting with a suitor but I'm looking at the inaturalist page for coconut crabs
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
Never believe the fuckers who say "why bother, they already won"
NEWS: The Institute of Museum & Library Services has restored ALL previously canceled federal grants to libraries, following a ruling by a federal judge in Rhode Island last month.
This is a massive win for libraries & communities in every state & territory!
Learn more: www.ala.org/news/2025/12...
This is a massive win for libraries & communities in every state & territory!
Learn more: www.ala.org/news/2025/12...
December 3, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Never believe the fuckers who say "why bother, they already won"
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
Amazon, please stop asking me if books I bought month ago met my expectations. I still have unread books I bought in 2012. Be real.
December 2, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Amazon, please stop asking me if books I bought month ago met my expectations. I still have unread books I bought in 2012. Be real.
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
I hope someone draws this wonderful story about Tom Stoppard's Arcadia and the power of the arts to help us see things differently, to the attention of our Education Secretary. Do read it, it will lift your spirits.
December 2, 2025 at 10:59 AM
I hope someone draws this wonderful story about Tom Stoppard's Arcadia and the power of the arts to help us see things differently, to the attention of our Education Secretary. Do read it, it will lift your spirits.
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
Wow.
"It gives me no pleasure to say what I’m about to say because I worked with Pete Hegseth for seven or eight years at Fox News. This is an act of a war crime .... There’s absolutely no legal basis for it.”
- Newsmax's Judge Napolitano
"It gives me no pleasure to say what I’m about to say because I worked with Pete Hegseth for seven or eight years at Fox News. This is an act of a war crime .... There’s absolutely no legal basis for it.”
- Newsmax's Judge Napolitano
Woah. Newsmax’s legal analyst just said Pete Hegseth and everyone involved in the illegal boat strike should be “prosecuted for a war crime.”
They’ve even lost Newsmax on this one.
They’ve even lost Newsmax on this one.
December 3, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Wow.
"It gives me no pleasure to say what I’m about to say because I worked with Pete Hegseth for seven or eight years at Fox News. This is an act of a war crime .... There’s absolutely no legal basis for it.”
- Newsmax's Judge Napolitano
"It gives me no pleasure to say what I’m about to say because I worked with Pete Hegseth for seven or eight years at Fox News. This is an act of a war crime .... There’s absolutely no legal basis for it.”
- Newsmax's Judge Napolitano
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
Hey chat, is it good for your gerrymandering plans if the electorate swings 19 points against you?
First NYT estimate is R+3 lol
December 3, 2025 at 1:41 AM
Hey chat, is it good for your gerrymandering plans if the electorate swings 19 points against you?
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
A friend posted, “get NREL gear while you still can.” If you hadn’t heard, it’s now the National Laboratory of the Rockies.
More from @sambrasch.bsky.social:
www.cpr.org/2025/12/01/n...
More from @sambrasch.bsky.social:
www.cpr.org/2025/12/01/n...
December 3, 2025 at 2:00 AM
A friend posted, “get NREL gear while you still can.” If you hadn’t heard, it’s now the National Laboratory of the Rockies.
More from @sambrasch.bsky.social:
www.cpr.org/2025/12/01/n...
More from @sambrasch.bsky.social:
www.cpr.org/2025/12/01/n...
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
I feel comfortable and secure in my belief that democratic leadership should not be pulling their slogans from venture capitalists. That this, at minimum, is a significant indictment of who they are listening and talking to. It’s not that complicated.
No value, no villain, no vision. Sounds like the tagline for the earnings call of a collapsing appliance retailer
November 30, 2025 at 4:20 PM
I feel comfortable and secure in my belief that democratic leadership should not be pulling their slogans from venture capitalists. That this, at minimum, is a significant indictment of who they are listening and talking to. It’s not that complicated.
Reposted by Luminiferous Aether
The billionaires who own much of the the infrastructure of our 21st century lives have progressively enshittified that infrastructure while expanding their wealth, and then they scold us for being small-souled peasants who don’t believe in progress anymore.
it is amazing how so much tech gets unremittingly worse year on year at whatever you once used it for and less pleasant to use and more bound up with creepy politics as well as personal and environmental harms and yet also still less productive of actual goods and these are somehow great visionaries
November 30, 2025 at 1:38 PM
The billionaires who own much of the the infrastructure of our 21st century lives have progressively enshittified that infrastructure while expanding their wealth, and then they scold us for being small-souled peasants who don’t believe in progress anymore.