mazel tov cocktail

wired.comA 28-Year-Old DOGE Operative Gutted USAID. HR Had No Record of Him Working ThereDespite the agency's human resources department saying he hadn’t even been onboarded, Jeremy Lewin oversaw the destruction of USAID. It’s not clear he had the legal authority to do so.

10h

Wait, what? I can't read much of the article as it's paywalled - somebody want to fill me in? IF the guy never got past onboarding, on what authority could he carry any of this out? This is insanity

Katie Drummond@katie-drummond.bsky.social

NEW: The DOGE operative who gutted USAID -- firing thousands of employees and canceling lifesaving programs -- never actually signed the paperwork that's legally required for him to be employed by the agency.

13h

I am on multiple friend group chats about the Israeli elections and all I can say is: I would like to be on more

17h

I don’t know what is going to happen in Israel, but I tell you what: getting 74.3% turnout is wild

theguardian.comSerbian leader Aleksandar Vučić concedes defeat in fiercely contested parliamentary electionVučić’s 12-year reign looks to have been ended by record turnout of voters in election provoked by student-led protests

These folks are fascists and racists, yes, but they are also really fucking weird

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

JD Vance: "We're self-confident men in the Trump/Vance administration. The president has been noticing a lot about the physiques of everybody lately"

LULA!! That’s 2-0

On the face of it: incredible stuff happening in Serbia: www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...

mazel tov cocktail@afertig.bsky.social

Who do I follow that knows about the Serbian elections or follows people knowledgable in that area? Serbia, Brazil, Israel, and the US all have elections close together and while I am rather familiar with Israeli and US politics, I am woefully ignorant about Serbian and Brazilian situation.

1. Food is definitely better. Bad food is better, average food is better and high end food is amazing. 2. There’s no longer “smoking” sections of restaurants 3. For as bad as many things are about the way talk about & treat mental health in the US, I really love that people are more open about it.

Michael Druker 🇨🇦@mdruker.app

Social media loves talking about how everything is getting worse. But what’s something that you’ve seen get _better_ in your lifetime?

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6. We used to criminalize marijuana possession, now in Massachusetts where I live (and many other states we don’t.) That comes with real problems and unintended consequences to deal with, but it is absolutely better.

7. When I was in high school we were fighting for marriage equality. That’s (for now) the law of the land. It’s definitely better and we need to fight to keep it. But that is better.

Michael Druker 🇨🇦@mdruker.app

Social media loves talking about how everything is getting worse. But what’s something that you’ve seen get _better_ in your lifetime?

4. GPS/maps are better! I don’t have a million fold out maps in my car, or print out directions from MapQuest!

5. Medicine is way better (if you can afford it)! Treating diabetes, heart attacks, and many many cancers is undeniably better.

Hey folks, I googled it, but not sure which tool to use. What’s the best / safest / least ethically shitty tool to export Facebook friends’ birthdays so I can import them to my calendar? If I want to get off Meta I want to have that info. Thanks to @onekade.bsky.social for spurring me on

(It seems there are a number of options)

I went on the quiet car & the person next to me said she had never been on the Amtrak before! She started chatting, I politely pointed out that this was the quiet car & explained what it was. She nicely was quiet the rest of the way. But I noticed she didn’t have a book, look at a phone or anything

Saeed Jones@theferocity.bsky.social

I don’t either bother with the quiet car anymore. Might as well just opt for business class and make sure your noise canceling headphones are charged and ready to go.

She didn’t nap or read a magazine or anything. She just stared at the back of the seat, with her hands folded. At one point I offered her a spare book to read (I had two & was reading another), but she declined.

Other than declining the book we didn’t talk and the quiet car was indeed quiet! It was actually kind of unnerving! But polite and totally fine!

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The Conversation U.S.

@us.theconversation.com

🎂🎉 Happy Birthday to us! 🎂🎉 12 years ago today, The Conversation U.S. launched with a team of 9 housed in a basement at Boston University. We had 2,360 pageviews on our website that day – about the number we have every 20 minutes today, as the most-read nonprofit news site in the nation.

A friend convinced me to swap from GoodReads to StoryGraph. Does anybody I know and like here use StoryGraph and want to connect?

Or are both evil or whatever?

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Joel S.

@joelhs.bsky.social

Netanyahu is a genocidal war criminal who belongs in the Hague, but Jews were not considered ethnic Poles based on the Polish government, and Polish Jewish last names were forced on families against their will. This kind of conspiratorial rhetoric about Jews faking their identity is gross.

In addition to my previous comment regarding progress, the banger opening "Do you love your dad" goes to a larger point in our politics: you can criticize something and love something at the same time. A lot of times, people say because you are criticizing something it means you reject all of it.

Jesi🃏♠️🔥@luciferjesit.bsky.social

This was such a great answer from Abdul El-Sayed about his previous criticisms of President Obama.

@mississippifreepress.org

Dang, this is an all-time answer. "Do you love your dad" is an incredible opener. It's all about progress. What was possible in 2009-2017 should be the new floor -- we can do better than that. That's the point of progress.

Jesi🃏♠️🔥@luciferjesit.bsky.social

This was such a great answer from Abdul El-Sayed about his previous criticisms of President Obama.

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Mississippi Free Press

Priscilla Till announced her campaign for Mississippi governor on Oct. 2 in Jackson. If elected, she would be the state's first Black and first woman governor. buff.ly/qUfaRhy

buff.lyPriscilla Till, Emmett Till’s Cousin, Announces Campaign for Mississippi GovernorPriscilla Till, Emmett Till’s cousin, announced on Oct. 2 that she is running for Mississippi governor in 2027.

I don’t think I will ever get a tattoo, but if I were to get a tattoo, I’d want one that is in this genre: light, detailed, flowing with a sense of movement and grace

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Even if the investigation into Omar were legitimate (yeah, right, sure…) why would DHS conduct the search? Give me a break.

washingtonpost.comNumber of teens who identify themselves as gay or bisexual is in ‘free fall’Conservatives have trumpeted the data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but researchers say the reasons for the decline are unclear.

It’s preseason. Means nothing. And yet 🤔

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Joel S.

@joelhs.bsky.social

I don't know; I feel like it's pretty clear why living under queer-hating fascists would make people less likely to identify publicly as queer.

The Washington Post@washingtonpost.com

Young teenagers are less likely to identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual than a few years ago, according to a new analysis. “It really does look like a free fall,” Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology, said. “But what’s causing it is unclear.”

Somebody on my red line train is blasting Stairway to Heaven. We are on a crowded T during rush hour. Haven’t we suffered enough??

Why does this Celtics gear look like green Star Trek The Next Generation uniforms? I’m not complaining, just asking. #celtics

ejewishphilanthropy.comSunkist Fruit Gems, a colorful staple of synagogue celebrations, discontinuedThe kosher confection appears to be the latest victim of private-equity firms acquiring classic candy brands and then shaping them for the mass market

I have just been informed that these candies are being discontinued?!? This, to me, is more anti-Jewish than anything Macklemore has ever said. You simply cannot discontinue these candies and expect Jewish continuity. ejewishphilanthropy.com/sunkist-frui...

23 Sept

Exactly. I am glad to be a loser in private

Shane Liesegang, SJ (シェーン|شَيْن|เชน)@sjml.bsky.social

never ever want to have a high enough profile that Joyce Carol Oates or the menswear guy take notice of me for any reason

12 Sept

I love the idea that Stalin, Hitler, et al are being punished in hell by being forced to debate Charlie Kirk. Also, hard for me to zoom - is that Che next to another Che?

Christopher Owen@oysta.au

fuck, now this is some content

12 Sept

Or is the idea that Charlie Kirk’s idea of Heaven is hanging out and debating Osama???

@jakemgrumbach.bsky.social

12 Sept

lol that’s funny bsky.app/profile/absi...

absinthe makes the heart grow fonder@absintheofcolor.bsky.social

¿two Che Guevaras? ¿en esta economía?

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Jake Grumbach

9 Sept

National Jewish Survey, Sep 1, 2026 Generic congressional ballot: 67% D, 26% R Approvals JD Vance: -68 MAGA: -59 Donald Trump: -53 ICE: -50 Benjamin Netanyahu: -40 Marco Rubio: -33 "Israeli policy in Gaza": -30 Barack Obama +32 jewishvoters.org/wp-content/u...

jewishvoters.orgjewishvoters.org

mazel tov cocktail reposted

Moira Donegan

@moiradonegan.bsky.social

7 Sept

Seems very pointed that Angela Davis did this. www.wlrn.org/npr-breaking...

wlrn.orgI don't think I had $10 in the bank: Angela Davis remembers Gloria Steinem's allyshipActivist and author Angela Davis remembers her friend Gloria Steinem, and discusses intersectional feminism today.

7 Sept

This is fron a curb episode I am almost positive

Laura Helmuth@laurahelmuth.bsky.social

Overheard at a neighborhood block party: "What's the name of that guy, the Jewish Nazi?" Three people simultaneously: "Stephen Miller"

*from

I’m sorry, the T needs improvements for sure, but this says WAY more about how out of touch the elite hostess is than the state of the T. It’s one thing to not ride the T despite living close to a major station — it’s another to not KNOW she lives close to Park St www.bostonglobe.com/2026/09/06/b...

6 Sept

That hostess is out to lunch

4 Sept

Why am I associating this with that time Ted Cruz liked a pornographic tweet?

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Easy: the first Tuesday after Labor Day

Rachel Holliday Smith@rachelholliday.bsky.social

to be real, I’m sick of thinking Serious Thoughts for the day, let’s talk about something dumb: when does summer end, for you? accepting all answers besides Sept. 21 thanks

It may still be hot much of the time, but climate change is gonna make it so that it’s hot in like November. Labor Day is the official end of summer and when school ought to begin.

Rest in peace and power, Gloria Steinem. Her memory will surely be a blessing.

malegislature.govGeneral Law - Part I, Title VIII, Chapter 54, Section 135

Just fyi here is the recount law in Massachusetts: malegislature.gov/Laws/General... #mapoli

mazel tov cocktail@afertig.bsky.social

Oh. My. GOD. 3 votes.

I love people watching. There was a guy with an amazing mustache on the bus reading a book with a cover of a cartoon picture of a jar of fluff. I search it up & the book is "Fluff: The Sticky Sweet Story Of An American Icon,” by Mimi Graney, creator of the "What The Fluff?" festival in Somerville

This guy is wearing a bright turquoise paisley button down short sleeve shirt and I am obsessed with this human