va_benny
@va-benny.bsky.social
My aura smiles and never frowns. Your kids will meditate in school. Your kids will meditate in school!
Reposted by va_benny
Turning Point USA Announces Alternative Puerto Rico https://theonion.com/turning-point-usa-announces-alternative-puerto-rico/
February 12, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Turning Point USA Announces Alternative Puerto Rico https://theonion.com/turning-point-usa-announces-alternative-puerto-rico/
Reposted by va_benny
Interesting research in HBR today about how the productivity boost you can get from AI tools can lead to burnout or general metal exhaustion, something I've noticed in my own work simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/9/a...
AI Doesn’t Reduce Work—It Intensifies It
Aruna Ranganathan and Xingqi Maggie Ye from Berkeley Haas School of Business report initial findings in the HBR from their April to December 2025 study of 200 employees at a …
simonwillison.net
February 9, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Interesting research in HBR today about how the productivity boost you can get from AI tools can lead to burnout or general metal exhaustion, something I've noticed in my own work simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/9/a...
Reposted by va_benny
AOC on DHS Warehouses: I think every American should be alarmed. They are building—and have built—a black box system that disappears people, both immigrants and U.S. citizens alike.
February 10, 2026 at 1:30 AM
AOC on DHS Warehouses: I think every American should be alarmed. They are building—and have built—a black box system that disappears people, both immigrants and U.S. citizens alike.
Reposted by va_benny
The point of the AI project is to provoke despair in creative people. They haven’t produced profits or anything anyone wants, just a steady stream of articles about how us artistic types can’t do the thing we’re already doing, making art. Jokes on them, we’re even better at despair than they are.
February 8, 2026 at 6:24 PM
The point of the AI project is to provoke despair in creative people. They haven’t produced profits or anything anyone wants, just a steady stream of articles about how us artistic types can’t do the thing we’re already doing, making art. Jokes on them, we’re even better at despair than they are.
Reposted by va_benny
Epstein is like the evil Forrest Gump, somehow present and responsible for every terrible thing of the last twenty years.
February 6, 2026 at 4:37 AM
Epstein is like the evil Forrest Gump, somehow present and responsible for every terrible thing of the last twenty years.
Reposted by va_benny
"This news has moved me from "maybe computer use should be regulated" to "Butlerian Jihad Now" on the radicalisation scale."
The Steam Machine Has Been Delayed Because Stupid Little Babies Can't Stop Using AI To Write Their Emails
The Steam Machine Has Been Delayed Because Stupid Little Babies Can't Stop Using AI To Write Their Emails
February 5, 2026 at 10:00 AM
"This news has moved me from "maybe computer use should be regulated" to "Butlerian Jihad Now" on the radicalisation scale."
The Steam Machine Has Been Delayed Because Stupid Little Babies Can't Stop Using AI To Write Their Emails
The Steam Machine Has Been Delayed Because Stupid Little Babies Can't Stop Using AI To Write Their Emails
Reposted by va_benny
Reposted by va_benny
Ain’t I been telling you the reactionary backlash was driven by the very rich and powerful watching regular people use social media to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sex crimes, then watching him dragged sobbing to jail, unprotected by his enormous wealth? What do you think the cancel culture panic was.
January 31, 2026 at 9:19 AM
Ain’t I been telling you the reactionary backlash was driven by the very rich and powerful watching regular people use social media to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sex crimes, then watching him dragged sobbing to jail, unprotected by his enormous wealth? What do you think the cancel culture panic was.
Reposted by va_benny
A manual for ICE's immigrant-targeting computer system, Palantir ELITE, was leaked today.
Let's look at it, then step back to evaluate how far we've come along a dangerous road and where that road might take us. 🧵
Let's look at it, then step back to evaluate how far we've come along a dangerous road and where that road might take us. 🧵
Here is the User Guide for ELITE, the Tool Palantir Made for ICE
404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, which lets ICE bring up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.
www.404media.co
January 31, 2026 at 3:37 AM
A manual for ICE's immigrant-targeting computer system, Palantir ELITE, was leaked today.
Let's look at it, then step back to evaluate how far we've come along a dangerous road and where that road might take us. 🧵
Let's look at it, then step back to evaluate how far we've come along a dangerous road and where that road might take us. 🧵
Reposted by va_benny
🚨BREAKING NEWS FROM 1955: Get the polio vaccine.
January 24, 2026 at 12:15 AM
🚨BREAKING NEWS FROM 1955: Get the polio vaccine.
Reposted by va_benny
i just feel like america has no business starting fights with the country that makes ozempic
January 19, 2026 at 8:05 AM
i just feel like america has no business starting fights with the country that makes ozempic
Reposted by va_benny
Just a reminder that Trump is selling Venezuelan oil and depositing the proceeds into a bank account in Qatar that is NOT under any control by the US government or Congress.
He's just stealing it. It really is that simple.
He's just stealing it. It really is that simple.
January 17, 2026 at 1:40 AM
Just a reminder that Trump is selling Venezuelan oil and depositing the proceeds into a bank account in Qatar that is NOT under any control by the US government or Congress.
He's just stealing it. It really is that simple.
He's just stealing it. It really is that simple.
Reposted by va_benny
I don’t think people quite understand that the occupation by ICE in the Twin Cities has more or less erased non-white people from public life. They cannot safely exist in any space accessible to the public and moving between private places leaves folks vulnerable to kidnapping by armed masked goons.
January 16, 2026 at 10:15 PM
I don’t think people quite understand that the occupation by ICE in the Twin Cities has more or less erased non-white people from public life. They cannot safely exist in any space accessible to the public and moving between private places leaves folks vulnerable to kidnapping by armed masked goons.
Reposted by va_benny
semi-regular reminder that ICE was only created in 2003
when you are asked to imagine a world without ICE, you're basically being asked to remember where you were when Lilo & Stitch came out
when you are asked to imagine a world without ICE, you're basically being asked to remember where you were when Lilo & Stitch came out
January 12, 2026 at 8:04 PM
semi-regular reminder that ICE was only created in 2003
when you are asked to imagine a world without ICE, you're basically being asked to remember where you were when Lilo & Stitch came out
when you are asked to imagine a world without ICE, you're basically being asked to remember where you were when Lilo & Stitch came out
Reposted by va_benny
WSJ investigation: In the past 6 months ICE agents have fired at vehicles 13 times, leading to:
* 8 people shot
* 5 of which were U.S. citizens
* 2 died
* no victims drew a weapon
The playbook: Agents box in a vehicle, block attempts to flee, then fire
www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...
* 8 people shot
* 5 of which were U.S. citizens
* 2 died
* no victims drew a weapon
The playbook: Agents box in a vehicle, block attempts to flee, then fire
www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...
Videos Show How ICE Vehicle Stops Can Escalate to Shootings
A WSJ visual investigation found that the Minneapolis ICE killing is one of 13 incidents where federal immigration agents have used deadly force against civilians in vehicles since July.
www.wsj.com
January 10, 2026 at 3:44 PM
WSJ investigation: In the past 6 months ICE agents have fired at vehicles 13 times, leading to:
* 8 people shot
* 5 of which were U.S. citizens
* 2 died
* no victims drew a weapon
The playbook: Agents box in a vehicle, block attempts to flee, then fire
www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...
* 8 people shot
* 5 of which were U.S. citizens
* 2 died
* no victims drew a weapon
The playbook: Agents box in a vehicle, block attempts to flee, then fire
www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...
Reposted by va_benny
Ex-Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura: “We’re a 3rd world country now. I know. I’ve been to ‘em. I spent 17 months in SE Asia while the draft dodger was playing golf… that’s what happens in a dictatorship. In comes the military. That’s what’s happening here.” 🇺🇸
January 9, 2026 at 12:43 AM
Ex-Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura: “We’re a 3rd world country now. I know. I’ve been to ‘em. I spent 17 months in SE Asia while the draft dodger was playing golf… that’s what happens in a dictatorship. In comes the military. That’s what’s happening here.” 🇺🇸
Reposted by va_benny
WH sources say Venezuela's opposition leader committed the "ultimate sin": She accepted the Nobel Peace prize.
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one said.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one said.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
January 5, 2026 at 3:02 AM
WH sources say Venezuela's opposition leader committed the "ultimate sin": She accepted the Nobel Peace prize.
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one said.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one said.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Reposted by va_benny
"Well, he's a dictator whose people don't actually want him in charge" is an interesting precedent for this guy to set
January 3, 2026 at 3:16 PM
"Well, he's a dictator whose people don't actually want him in charge" is an interesting precedent for this guy to set
Reposted by va_benny
Wait till you read how he was fucking hired
December 29, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Wait till you read how he was fucking hired
Reposted by va_benny
What you need is the One Ring system, for all your precious items.
December 29, 2025 at 3:15 PM
What you need is the One Ring system, for all your precious items.
Reposted by va_benny
“And a happy new year to everyone, even the liberal lunatics who are ruining the country and who are trying to take away our rights to fire handguns in cabinet meetings”
December 29, 2025 at 1:27 AM
“And a happy new year to everyone, even the liberal lunatics who are ruining the country and who are trying to take away our rights to fire handguns in cabinet meetings”
Reposted by va_benny
Here it is
The full spiked 60 Minutes CECOT package, clean & subtitled. 1/5
December 23, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Here it is
Reposted by va_benny
New piece from @celinegounder.com about how antivax disinformation tactics are making their way to the CDC via the McCullough foundation.
What the CDC’s Vaccine Language Shift Reveals About Pseudoscience
Researchers see a pattern in how unverified studies gain traction online, shaping perceptions of official science before data can catch up
drcelinegounder.substack.com
December 20, 2025 at 7:55 PM
New piece from @celinegounder.com about how antivax disinformation tactics are making their way to the CDC via the McCullough foundation.