A hopepunk tragic optimist

Veterans’ Care at Risk Under Trump as Hundreds of Doctors and Nurses Reject Working at VA Hospitals Amid concerns about the stability of the agency, records show nearly 40% of the doctors offered jobs at the VA from January through March of this year turned them down — quadruple the rate of rejectio...

Many job applicants are turning down offers to work for Veterans Affairs, worried that the positions are not stable and uneasy with the overall direction of the agency.

Records show nearly 40% of the ~2,000 doctors offered jobs at the VA from January through March of this year turned them down.

PHLASK site helps find free, essential resources in Philly The website gives Philadelphians an idea of where to find free drinking water, bathrooms and food.

There's a website that can help you find a public restroom, a water fountain or even free food in Philly. The program is meant to spark conversations, too. buff.ly/rFndmuo

Seems like Bluesky is doing just fine for journalists and researchers:

A purple and teal ombre image has blue and black text that says: “Dealing with Severe ME after COVID-19? tips for living with severe myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), including: • understanding common symptoms • tips for managing your energy • finding care & support • resources for patients and doctors The footer reads, "Long COVID Essentials, www.tiny.cc/LCE. A series by The Sick Times x Long COVID Justice."

Today is Severe ME Awareness Day, and we’re sharing our explainer about Severe ME.

Highlights in thread, and check out the full resource at longcovidjustice.org/severe-me

This is part of the Long COVID Essentials series by @longcovidjustice.org + @thesicktimes.bsky.social

Learning History Is a Righteous Form of Resistance It’s a way to combat Trump’s attempts at remaking the past to justify erasing protections for the most vulnerable.

Learning our history is a radical and righteous form of resistance, and any one of us can do it.

trib.al/mpThXI7

Trump actually is ‘canceling’ the 2026 midterms, starting in Texas | Will Bunch Trump's outrageous push to kill five Dem House seats in Texas triggers a nuclear war that will end representative democracy.

OK, Trump can't actually cancel the 2026 midterms, but Texas redistricting scheme (and plans to bring it to FL, IN, etc.) is essentially that, deciding the election by a computer instead of a campaign the GOP will lose

The plan to nullify Congress. My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/texa...

Veterans’ Care at Risk Under Trump as Hundreds of Doctors and Nurses Reject Working at VA Hospitals Amid concerns about the stability of the agency, records show nearly 40% of the doctors offered jobs at the VA from January through March of this year turned them down — quadruple the rate of rejectio...

NEW: Amid concerns about the stability of the agency, records show nearly 40% of the doctors offered jobs at the VA from January through March of this year turned them down — quadruple the rate of rejections for the same period a year earlier.

Big Budget Act Creates a ‘Deportation Industrial Complex' That Will be Hard to Dismantle An assessment of how DHS and ICE will spend new funds and the balance between deportation enforcement and the system's humanitarian goals.

www.justsecurity.org/118072/budge...

First look at Fla. museum that will commemorate the SS United States The iconic ship’s conservancy shared drawings of the eventual site, while preparations to sink the historic ocean liner off Florida continue.

This week, crews began to remove the smoke stacks from the SS United States which will be a feature of the new land-based museum.

Much of the rest of the vessel will go to a watery resting place off Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Video shows Department of Justice official urging Jan. 6 rioters to 'kill' cops The Department of Justice hired a former Jan. 6 defendant who was caught on tape urging rioters to "kill" police. The department calls him a "valued member" of the administration.

NEW: Police bodycam footage introduced at the trial of Jared Wise showed him berating police officers on Jan. 6, 2021, and yelling "kill 'em" as rioters attacked law enforcement. He’s now working as a senior adviser for the Department of Justice.

NPR: “Less than five years after urging rioters to "kill" police at the Capitol, former Jan. 6 defendant Jared Wise is working as a senior adviser for Trump’s Department of Justice…”

But ‘Back the Blue’, right?

More: www.npr.org/2025/08/07/n...

A seagull stands defiantly on top of a circular sign that shows a silhouette of a bird with a red slash through it, indicating "no birds allowed." The scene is humorous and ironic, as the seagull perches calmly above a sign that clearly forbids its presence. In the background, a soft sky fades into the horizon with buildings and trees below.

You can’t ban defiance!

✊🏼✊🏾📢⚖️

Photo of two blue pocket-sized Constitutions that read "Constitution of the United States of America" in yellow text on each of them with a red ACLU logo, on a wooden surface.

Our pocket Constitutions are the perfect size to keep handy — and will always spell out your rights in full.

Order yours today at aclu.org/pocketconstitutions.

Screenshot of typepad.com on June 02, 2008

typepad.com on June 02, 2008
https://web.archive.org/web/20080602103238if_/http://www.typepad.com

Bomb threat forces Texas Democrats to evacuate Chicago hotel amid redistricting protest The lawmakers said the group remains focused on its work and expressed thanks for the swift response by authorities.

Jan 6 crowd mobilizing news4sanantonio.com/news/local/t...

Confirming @molliebryant.bsky.social. No idea of why—accident? "memory hole?"—but right now (8:55am PDT. Aug 6) sections of the Constitution appear to be missing from the official Congressional site. Including those about habeus corpus.

More from @techcrunch.com techcrunch.com/2025/08/06/k...

Well that’s disturbing. The purported Constitution posted at congress.gov is missing the Habeas Corpus clause among others in Art I. Most of §8 is missing as well as all of §9 and §10.

web.archive.org/web/diff/202...

Premature Halloween stuff.

Hey Lowe's, it's AUGUST 6. Slow down.

This Is What the End of the Liberal World Order Looks Like In a post-American world, greed and nihilism are destroying Sudan.

After Rome came the Dark Ages: "This Is What the End of the Liberal World Order Looks Like. Sudan’s devastating civil war shows what will replace the liberal order: anarchy and greed." www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

love this new york times clip. they recently did a story about how sesame street's set has changed over the years, along with our urban politics.

IG nytimes

Federal Harms Tracker -Cost to Your Government A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working towards effective government for the American people.

As of July 21, 2025, over 148,000 federal employees have left the workforce this year. @publicservice’s Federal Harms Tracker pairs data and impact stories, documenting harms to the public as a result of the administration’s cuts. Explore the data here: bit.ly/CostToYourGov

YouTube video by SERGEANT ROCK'S HEADBANGERS BALL Suicidal Tendencies-Send Me Your Money Official Music Video: HD4K 60FPS

Speaking of influencers, if young men today just listened to the skate-punk-funk-crossover-thrash-metal musings of Cyco Miko & the gang they wouldn’t be taken in by grifters.
Suicidal Tendencies warned us 80s & 90s kids...

Wikipedia Editors Adopt ‘Speedy Deletion’ Policy for AI Slop Articles “The ability to quickly generate a lot of bogus content is problematic if we don't have a way to delete it just as quickly.”

Wikipedia Editors Adopt ‘Speedy Deletion’ Policy for AI Slop Articles

🔗 www.404media.co/wikipedia-ed...

The things you hear at The Franklin Institute! 🙉

Thanks, @phillies.com's John Kruk, for sharing your favorite takeaway from your visit! 🥒

Catch ⚾ BODY WORLDS: Vital in its final weeks! Closes September 1.

The Tiny MBA Book - Alex Hillman You don't need an MBA or fancy investors to be successful in business. Use the 100 ideas in this tiny book to evaluate and execute on your built

Oh hey, today is the 5 year anniversary of when I originally launched my book tiny.mba.

If you don't have a copy, or want to grab a copy as a gift, I set up the discount code 5YEARS to take 25% off the purchase price of both the print bundle and ebook options.

Don't cry for me America...
The truth is
I've NEVER loved you

Fisher-Price’s ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ Little People set is the kitten’s mittens The gang gets itty bitty in the second Little People collector set with Philly ties to be released this year.

Before I pitched this story, I bought the set.

I need a tiny Danny DeVito as Frank Reynolds holding a rum ham in my life, and I wasn’t about to let some jabronis buy up all these sets before I got one.

www.inquirer.com/columnists/i...

Scarsdale community calls for release of high school grad detained by ICE; rally set for Thursday Assemblywoman Amy Paulin has organized a prayer vigil and rally for Thursday evening at Chase Park in Scarsdale for 20-year-old Yeonsoo Go, who was detained by ICE after a routine visa hearing.

A woman who graduated from my high school was detained by ICE after a visa renewal hearing. She was transferred to Louisiana and now, according to this report, to parts unknown. Outrageous. abc7ny.com/post/scarsda...

Because you needed a video of a group of doggies playing with bubbles... You're welcome. ☺️ #dog #dogday #bluesky

God this is spectacular. Not just the question asker, who is amazing. The slow burn, up to the ending — amazing.

And then the crowd ROARED in support.
In Nebraska.