Birdwell is Not Shutting Up

Birdwell is Not Shutting Up

@wellbird.bsky.social

Author of dystopian worlds, past and future. (The present speaks for itself.) I'm a recovering anthropologist and a progressive who doesn't believe in progress. (she/her)

836 followers355 following776 posts

Birdwell is Not Shutting Up
@wellbird.bsky.social

Working Election Protection in Texas, I'm struck by the dearth of voter questions compared to 2 years ago. Voters stride confidently into the polling places and exit 😀 & 👍. Maybe all the brouhaha about election shenanigans has produced a better informed, more confident, and determined electorate.

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Democracy Docket
@democracydocket.com

The DOJ asked a federal district court to allow it to continue collecting state voter roll data and comparing it against a faulty federal database to identify alleged instances of noncitizens registering or casting a ballot. The request comes after a court already blocked the department's campaign.

democracydocket.comDOJ asks court to let it continue its voter roll purging program despite blockThe program is part of a DOJ campaign to obtain state voter roll data, as President Donald Trump aims to take control of elections.

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Sarah Kendzior
@sarahkendzior.bsky.social

I picked chestnuts from my neighbors’ trees and then tried to sell them to my neighbors, including the neighbors from whom I stole. I was six years old. Realizing now this is the same business model as AI.

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James Talarico
@jamestalarico.bsky.social

Ken Paxton is selling off Texas — our land, our water, our communities. Data centers bankroll Paxton, they get tax breaks, and you get stuck with the bill. We can’t afford Ken Paxton’s corruption. (This ad was made by humans — not AI.)

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American Library Association
@amlibraryassoc.bsky.social

This year’s #BannedBooksWeek coincides with ALA’s official 150th anniversary. To mark the occasion, ALA has released a list of the 150 most challenged books documented from 1990, when ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom began tracking book challenges, through 2025. ala150.org/150books

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Congressman Greg Casar
@repcasar.bsky.social

Good news: a federal judge just paused Wilber's deportation. The government shouldn’t be allowed to shoot you from an unmarked vehicle and then cover it up by deporting you. Keep speaking out, it's working.

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Brendan Nyhan
@brendannyhan.bsky.social

Who else will they disappear next?

Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social

If executive branch creates a system so that people under government control can be located and then just stops listing some people in that system — despite their still being under government control — that should be a five-alarm fire for the other branches, the states, and the public.

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PBS News
@pbsnews.org

The Department of Homeland Security's focus on mass deportations resulted in a dramatic drop in investigations into illicit fentanyl, according to a federal watchdog report. https://to.pbs.org/3URZ71L

to.pbs.orgTrump's mass deportations led to a big drop in fentanyl investigations, report finds. Here's what to knowThe Department of Homeland Security’s focus on mass deportations resulted in a dramatic drop in investigations into illicit fentanyl, according to a federal watchdog report.

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Norm Eisen
@normeisen.bsky.social

The judge asked the govt if the Kennedy Center is going bankrupt. You should've seen them backpedal Why so fast? If it's broke, a court puts someone else in charge & they lose control of it @cnn.com👇 -TN

Birdwell is Not Shutting Up
@wellbird.bsky.social

The detention centers profit just as much from locking up citizens and legal immigrants as they do from locking up criminals. The longer they stay, the more $$$ they make. Maybe pass a law preventing legal immigrants and citizens from being counted in ICE quotas or for detention reimbursement.

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Katie Mack
@astrokatie.com

Replying to @astrokatie.com

The story linked above involves LLM-assisted work in which the LLM presented an argument developed by someone else as its own. If a human researcher did that, it would be straightforward misconduct and there could be career consequences. We need a process for addressing this now; we don’t have one.

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Katie Mack
@astrokatie.com

This is one of the objections I have when people talk about how useful LLMs can be for literature searches or for any kind of search, really. Even beyond the biases that inevitably (and, in some cases, intentionally) show up, part of a good literature search is seeing information *in context.*

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Darcie Little Badger
@littlebadger.bsky.social

Did you go to school in Texas? Did your history class discuss the Lipan Apache and our profound impact on the state? No? It’s okay! I got you covered! Seriously, my HS history teacher (from Texarkana) didn’t know we exist/existed. www.tshaonline.org/handbook/ent...

tshaonline.orgHistory and Legacy of the Lipan Apache Tribe in Texas and MexicoExplore the rich history, cultural heritage, and continuous presence of the Lipan Apache tribe across Texas, northern Mexico, and the Southern Great Plains. Learn about their origins, alliances, resis...

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kelly jensen
@heykellyjensen.bsky.social

Your reminder that the midterms are coming, and your votes should include considering pro-library candidates. Ask them their views. Ask them about funding. Ask them about protecting democratic institutions.

PEN America@penamerica.bsky.social

Public libraries nationwide are reaching a breaking point as a result of mounting pressures to censor collections, increased intimidation against library staff, and disruptions to library operations, according to a new report today by PEN America. Read the release: pen.org/press-releas...

pen.orgReport: Public Libraries Face 'Existential Threat,' Putting Books, Information and People at RiskPublic libraries nationwide are reaching a breaking point as a result of mounting pressures to censor collections, increased intimidation against library staff, and disruptions to library operations, ...
Birdwell is Not Shutting Up
@wellbird.bsky.social

Fight on, friends!

Robert Reich@rbreich.bsky.social

The powerful forces trying to dominate our country want us to fall into cynicism. That way, they win everything — and they'll be able to take it all without the rest of us putting up a fight. If you are worried about the future, you are not alone. I am too. But please do not fall into cynicism.

Birdwell is Not Shutting Up
@wellbird.bsky.social

They're intent on producing a generation of manipulable poorly educated lackeys.

Rachel Maddow@maddow.bsky.social

"The professor worried about how to discuss Joan of Arc, who was burned at the stake for, among other reasons, cross-dressing. "He removed two weeks of study about Vikings. He said Viking mythological poems often featured gender-changing gods like Loki and Odin..." www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/u...

nytimes.comA Texas University Becomes a Petri Dish for a Conservative OverhaulTexas Tech is using A.I. to cut left-leaning content in its curriculum. Some say the effort to ferret out forbidden topics is a dystopian academic nightmare.

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Team Talarico
@teamtalaricohq.bsky.social

Ken Paxton’s $1.6 million luxury home in Oklahoma has a private chef, masseuse, and housekeeping. It is one of 8 luxury properties he owns outside of Texas.

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Jane Voter
@janevoter2018.bsky.social

Replying to @janevoter2018.bsky.social

Greenland Energy’s rep said a vessel carrying its 300 shipping containers of drilling equipment is to set sail from Canada on 12 September. Sinking the wells would begin in October. Jeff Landry, LA governor serving as Trump’s Greenland envoy, has said Greenland could be pumping oil next year.

theguardian.comGreenland issues ‘strong warning’ as Trump-linked oil firm prepares to drillIsland’s government says no approval given after Greenland Energy brings kit ashore for exploratory drilling
Birdwell is Not Shutting Up
@wellbird.bsky.social

Having written a science fiction series in which a virus is deliberately created that subsequently wipes out most of the human population, I do not find the reality described here particularly inspiring. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/s...

nytimes.comThis A.I. Just Created Viruses Not Found in Nature (Gift Article)Scientists trained artificial intelligence on libraries of DNA and then asked the model to create recipes for viral genomes. Sixteen of them were viable, yielding new viruses.
Birdwell is Not Shutting Up
@wellbird.bsky.social

I just signed a @theactionnetwork.bsky.social petition: REJECT the undemocratic process for choosing the Texas Secretary of State. Sign here: act.commoncause.org/petitions/re...

act.commoncause.orgTell the Senate: REJECT the anti-voter SAVE ActThe House of Representatives has passed the SAVE Act – a cruel, calculated attack on every American’s right to vote. It’s designed to effectively block millions of eligible Americans from casting a b...

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Sherrilyn Ifill
@sifill.bsky.social

They were trained to behave the way they’re behaving.

Ron Filipkowski@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social

I can pretty much post this every week after each new death where there remains zero accountability for any of the agents or their supervisors. Lowered standards, unqualified people, rushed through shortened training, toxic culture & leadership, lots of weapons. A perfect storm.

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Matt Steinglass
@mattsteinglass.bsky.social

If Jared Kushner paid €110m to buy an island in Albania that has no fresh water from a guy who did not own it, it would help explain why his negotiations with Iran on behalf of the US have not been entirely successful

Shibley Telhami@stelhami.bsky.social

Businessman who sold land for Kushner resort in Albania suspected of faking the deeds www.reuters.com/world/europe...

reuters.comBusinessman who sold land for Kushner resort in Albania suspected of faking the deedsResidents of the village ​of Zvernec near the project have been contesting Artur Shehu's claim on the land in court cases that date back more than a decade.