Ben’s Bored

Senator Joni Ernst

"We're all going to die anyway..."

Tomorrow I’ll be calling all of my representatives to demand that they call for RFK jr’s immediate resignation.

Wild that despite everything that’s happening we’re still expected to do extraneous shit like “pay rent” and “eat food.”

Calm down, folks, it was just an attempted assassination of a Jewish Democratic governor and his family on the first night of Passover, it’s not like somebody spray painted a dick on a Cybertruck.

A tweet by Sarah Longwell (@SarahLongwell25 ) reads: "He’s threatening media companies who are critical of him. He’s talking about sending Americans to foreign prisons. He’s signing executive orders to investigate former staff members who spoke out against him. Don’t you see what’s happening here?"

I see it. I have lived it. 83 years ago, the U.S. government turned upon a group of its own citizens and residents and sent them to internment camps without due process. I was there among them. American fascism is back. It is here. It is now.

Aiming to limit damages, Catholic hospital argues a fetus isn't the same as a 'person' • Iowa Capital Dispatch A faith-based health care provider is arguing in court that the loss of an unborn child does not equate to the death of a “person.”

Well well well

RFK Jr. says HHS will determine the cause of autism by September

Science does not work like this. The only way you can set a timeline is if you have rigged the results in advance.

a small dog wearing a black and orange bandana, collar, and leash sits on a leafy dirt path and looks up at us with large brown eyes. she's white with brown spots on her ears and eyes. she has brown speckles on her left paw, and her right paw is actually a bright orange webbed duck foot. she likes to have fun with her prosthetics.

This is Autumn. She was born without one paw. Gets along just fine with three, but still sometimes uses a prosthetic leg when she wants to blend in. 13/10

If you're in congress and you aren't publicly in favor of banning the trading of individual stocks by people in congress, get your head out of your fucking ass.

NYT excerpt that reads: Social Security regulations state that the agency may disclose information for law enforcement purposes in certain circumstances, including when a person has been indicted or convicted of “violent crimes,” and to investigate entitlement fraud. During the first Trump administration, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, also pushed for broad access to Social Security data, but was rebuffed based on privacy concerns, according to two people familiar with the negotiations. Among the DOGE associates privy to the data-sharing agreement were Akash Bobba, a recent college graduate who gained access to the Social Security systems in early February, according to court records; Scott Coulter, who was named as Social Security’s chief information officer last month; and Marko Elez, an engineer who resigned from his government positions this year after being linked to an X account with racist posts that pushed for immigration policies based on eugenics. After Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance called for him to be brought back into DOGE, Mr. Elez was quietly rehired.

From our reporting on ICE using Social Security data to go after immigrants: One person involved is Marko Elez, the engineer who previously resigned from DOGE after he was linked to a pseudonymous, racist X account that advocated for eugenic immigration policies.

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/u...

The discourse around tariffs has been “things will get more expensive” but I am here to tell you that I am knee deep in reporting on this subject and I strongly suspect that if super high tariffs endure, it will shift to *certain items cease to be available at any price*

YouTube video by Jewish Arts Collaborative at The Vilna Why I Create: Storyteller Miriam Anzovin

“Miriam Anzovin is reimagining Jewish learning—loud, proud, and feminist AF. This Passover, meet the mythic woman she says belongs at your seder.” Thank you @jewish.arts & @jewishboston!
youtube.com/watch?v=4l1M...

the shift from “I never thought leopards would eat MY face” to “eat my face harder leopard daddy” must be studied

You’d think when you’re claiming the richest country in the world can’t afford childhood cancer research you might wait a year before throwing yourself a 100 million dollar birthday parade. But carpe diem, suckers.

SpaceX just landed a $5.92B contract with the Pentagon for Space Force rocket launches — the largest contract among the three firms who secured deals to send satellites into orbit.

While DOGE cuts essential services for you, Musk is getting a taxpayer-funded windfall.

Hello?

Trump’s Not-So-Subtle Purpose in Fighting Big Law Firms The president has attacked law firms for “frivolous” litigation. But his actions could undermine the basic right of Americans to sue their government.

News Analysis: President Trump and his administration’s lawyers are trying to deter law firms from suing his administration. His actions could undermine the basic right of Americans to sue their government.

Ilana Gritzewsky sitting on a tree trunk with flowers at her feet. The text reads: "She Was Released. Now She’s Campaigning for Her Partner Still in Gaza." Photo by Avishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York Times.

More than 15 months have passed since Ilana Gritzewsky was released from Hamas captivity in Gaza. She has since devoted herself to campaigning on behalf of the hostages still in the enclave, including her partner and two men she said she last saw in a Hamas tunnel while in captivity. nyti.ms/4cnBKSt

This has always been the GOP's strategy:

1) Cut taxes for the wealthy & corporations by claiming they'll pay for themselves.

2) Explode the deficit.

3) Demand cuts to vital programs that help millions.

4) Repeat.

Don't let them get away with it.

This is Ladybug. She refuses to accept that the cat may not like her. 13/10

The Chase

our place in the justice paradox gird your loins

Deuteronomy names a common paradox around fighting for justice in which many activists sometimes get tangled.

It's crucial to address now, as we find our roles facing Trump's horrors:

@rabbijilljacobs.bsky.social, Claude Cahun, @chenoweth.bsky.social, @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social show us the way:

YouTube video by ContraPoints CONSPIRACY | contrapoints

new video
youtu.be/teqkK0RLNkI?...

Houston-area midwife arrested for allegedly providing illegal abortions This represents the first criminal charges under Texas’ near-total abortion ban.

It was always going to get to criminalization.

They were always going to start with someone who was marginalized, serving a marginalized community, so there wouldn't be an uproar.

The frogwater is boiling hotter and hotter.

getting into the leo frank conspiracy theory is hardcore nazi shit. hardcore. the most hardcore. this woman has no place in public life

All of the Republicans who for years railed about "unelected bureaucrats" destroying the government are awfully quiet as an unelected bureaucrat destroys the government.

The President is lying about Social Security as an excuse to gut Social Security after promising not to touch it.

Why? To pave the way for more tax cuts for the rich.

Do not let Trump gaslight you into believing he has a mandate or is all powerful.

Most Americans don't support his agenda.

There will be backlash — and we must make sure it is swift.