Adam Robersmith

The Trump Administration Is Promoting Its Anti-Trans Agenda Globally at the United Nations U.S. delegates have objected to use of the word “gender” in U.N. documents during forums on topics as varied as women’s rights, science and technology, global health, toxic pollution and chemical…

During several speeches before the U.N., U.S. delegates have denounced so-called “gender ideology” or pushed for language that “recognizes women are biologically female and men are biologically male," which leaves no room for the existence of intersex, transgender and nonbinary people.

Light Blue Background, with: "Voting is a kind of prayer for a world we desire for ourselves and children. Nothing is more important right now than passing the John. R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act." --Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock standing behind a lectern in front of the Capitol with Maya Wiley at the rally introduce the legislation. At the bottom Left Corner: Write your lawmakers https://bit.ly/JLVRAA-119th At the right corner: UUSJ Logo with Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice written out.

Have you written your lawmakers to ask them to pass the #JLVRAA which would return the Voting Rights Act to full strength by holding states accountable when they attempt to disenfranchise voters?

Write Your Lawmakers: bit.ly/JLVRAA-119th

Beautiful!!

🤣🤣

Did you ever read Rebecca Konyndyk’s “Glittering Vices?”

A really interesting exploration of the seven deadly sins with a virtue ethics perspective!

Protesters rally against Yale New Haven Health’s decision to end gender affirming care for minors Protesters took to the New Haven Green Thursday night to protest against Yale New Haven Health’s recent decision to end medication treatments as part of its gender affirming care services for people u...

Protesters took to the New Haven Green Thursday night to protest against Yale New Haven Health’s recent decision to end medication treatments as part of its gender affirming care services for people under the age of 19. www.ctpublic.org/news/2025-08...

Trump's Confederacy rises again The Lost Cause doesn't seem all that lost anymore.

New in PN: Trump's Confederacy rises again

"The straightforward explanation for Trump’s Confederacy fetish is that he’s a virulent racist who would’ve enslaved people himself. If you think that’s hyperbolic, just listen to the man."

I struggle with other things about Kant, but where that concept might help turn people to understanding others (as well as self) as worthy of full existence, I’m all for it!

In theory, I care very much why…

In practice, these days, I’m happy to have people learn good meaning by doing good things first.

Whatever it takes to have the world be less awful for each, every, and all of us.

Things that will happen when he's gone:

* we're going to learn about shit he did that's so heinous, it makes the stuff we know about look tame

* his many minions will claim to have "always opposed" him and demand sympathy for their suffering at his hands

* dancing in the streets, worldwide

Perez: The governor's coordinating the Texas department of public safety with the FBI, the president—this is really the type of coordination that could have been used when Texans needed it during the recent floods.

PBS News is not going anywhere.

We will continue our work without fear or favor, as we have for nearly five decades on the air.

We are profoundly grateful to Viewers Like You for your loyalty and unwavering support.

An update from us here at PBS 💙

LOOK AT THIS BULLSHIT: ICE detained a pregnant U.S. citizen—Sabrina Medina—while she was 5 ½ months pregnant with twins.

Agents tried to blackmail her for info on her husband.

Kristi Noem stood outside the raid for a photo op. This is war on our own people.

Cornyn Says F.B.I. Will Help Find Texas Lawmakers Who Left State The senator said the agency had agreed to help locate Democratic state legislators who departed to try to block a vote on congressional maps. Democrats said federal law enforcement was being misused.

Using the FBI to help arrest legislators resisting an effort to rig the 2026 House elections is a blatant abuse of power.

Text from Mastercard release (2024): Mastercard already helps merchants and financial institutions assess risk through attributes like name and payment information as we enable billions of digital interactions around the world, instilling trust in the digital economy. Now, thanks to new EMVCo industry specifications and Mastercard's Identity Attribute Verification service, issuers will soon be able to confirm cardholders' additional attributes, such as their age, date of birth or address. Using the technology behind a payment card, our solutions will allow our partners to seamlessly verify that a consumer meets the criteria for certain goods and services while protecting their privacy. Doing so eliminates the often cumbersome task of uploading documents like photo ID, proof of residency or passport.

Visa and Mastercard already control almost all of what can be sold online — and thus who gets to speak. But with Mastercard's participation in the Online Safety Act, and an initiative to become an age-verification solution, that power could grow exponentially.

www.mastercard.com/news/perspec...

'This is domestic terror': Shaken by ICE raids, pastors rethink ministries (RNS) — The fear of raids has pushed some congregations back to pandemic-era worship strategies.

"@religiousnews.bsky.social has identified at least 10 instances of apparent immigration enforcement activity conducted by ICE or other fed. agents on or immediately near church grounds since Trump’s inauguration."

🔗 religionnews.com/2025/08/04/w...

Write Your Lawmaker: bit.ly/EndViolations

11 more NYC libraries will soon open on Sundays A $2 million City Council deal will expand seven-day service to more than 30 branches citywide.

Eleven more libraries will reopen on Sundays, thanks to the leadership of the City Council. They never should've been closed in the first place.

As Mayor, I'll end this absurd budget dance that keeps our beloved libraries in limbo year after year.

Hello. The president's continued insistence that the BLS numbers are rigged, political, or otherwise manipulated is a lie. Please stop saying 'baseless claim.' Thank you.

Sweet! Thanks for passing it on. :)

We need to redefine “national security” and what makes us safe.

Making sure people are fed and housed makes us safe.
Healthcare for all makes us safe.
Renewable energy and climate solutions make us safe.

Imagine if we funded these instead of mass kidnapping and swamp prisons.

I hope you’ll post a link to a recording when you’ve delivered it!

Donor List Suggests Scale of Trump’s Pay-for-Access Operation

The most corrupt White House in history. Here is an account of what people are paying, directly to a PAC called MAGA Inc, in order to meet the president, get pardons, change policy

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/02/u...

Today I was told by a knowledgeable and highly-informed source that in northern suburbs/exurbs of Chicago ICE is turning neighbors against neighbors by offering $1000 for every undocumented immigrant they turn in. I was told this tactic is effective. These are the same tactics of the Third Reich.

A Georgetown colleague, Dr Badar Khan Suri, describes being kidnapped by ICE. “To this day they haven’t been able to provide an arrest warrant in court, because it doesn’t exist. They were playing from a playbook which has no rights.”

Definitely didn’t forget—but character limits are real! 😜

The “hallucinations” combined with lack of critical thinking is terrifying…and the damage to water supplies where the data centers are built is inexcusable.

Program and explore in lab settings, sure. Don’t experiment on humanity first. 🤦‍♂️

Excellent! I’m glad to have nudged it in your direction.

I am wary of LLMs/“AI” not because technology is bad, but because this particular technology uses our human credulity, overwhelm, and laziness (yes, that too) as an engagement tactic.

Resulting in lack of critical thinking, etc.

Oh, yeah, and all the intellectual/creative property theft. 🤨

Proponents might say this is to be expected – LLMs don’t really understand anything because they are, by definition, mere statistical models of language!

The problem, though, is that many people don’t know that. And LLMs often present themselves as something different: fully competent entities.

Large Language Models rely on chewing through vast stores of human writing. They learn to regurgitate and mash words together well enough to get by. But as Katie says here, these machines were designed, first and foremost to be *convincing*.

bsky.app/profile/astr...

This entire thread is well worth reading!