Rick Rhodent
@emperorhipolito.bsky.social
Mostly gone from the old place. Miscellany about Chicago and things that matter.
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
Universities bring in foreign students ... to undercut the wages of American residents? What?
This is exactly backwards. Foreign students subsidize the tuition of American students.
I wonder why the VP who follows Nazis online has this all wrong.
Probably an innocent, non-racist mistake.
This is exactly backwards. Foreign students subsidize the tuition of American students.
I wonder why the VP who follows Nazis online has this all wrong.
Probably an innocent, non-racist mistake.
Vance: "Some of America's most elite universities bring in foreigners to undercut wages of American residents. There are 9 universities in particular we believe merit an investigation. Those are Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown, the University of Pittsburg, UC Davis, Cal Tech, Arizona State, and MIT."
October 8, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Universities bring in foreign students ... to undercut the wages of American residents? What?
This is exactly backwards. Foreign students subsidize the tuition of American students.
I wonder why the VP who follows Nazis online has this all wrong.
Probably an innocent, non-racist mistake.
This is exactly backwards. Foreign students subsidize the tuition of American students.
I wonder why the VP who follows Nazis online has this all wrong.
Probably an innocent, non-racist mistake.
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
the funny thing about this of course is that "athenian democracy" was a cautionary tale to the framers, who saw it as unstable and prone to demagogues and tyrants like the one rubio works for
October 8, 2026 at 11:35 AM
the funny thing about this of course is that "athenian democracy" was a cautionary tale to the framers, who saw it as unstable and prone to demagogues and tyrants like the one rubio works for
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
RIP to the world's first software engineer news.mit.edu/2026/margare...
Margaret Hamilton, computing pioneer who led software development for the Apollo program, dies at 90
Margaret H. Hamilton, a profoundly influential computer scientist best known for leading the software engineering team at MIT’s Instrumentation Lab during NASA’s Apollo program, died at age 90.
news.mit.edu
October 7, 2026 at 11:27 PM
RIP to the world's first software engineer news.mit.edu/2026/margare...
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
How do you weaken one of the most important leftist mayors in the US while simultaneously doing nothing to help Palestine?
This is how!
These people are deranged and they continue to harm everything they pretend to care about
If they were a MAGA ratfucking op they wouldn't do anything differently
This is how!
These people are deranged and they continue to harm everything they pretend to care about
If they were a MAGA ratfucking op they wouldn't do anything differently
Pro-Palestinian protesters gather outside City Hall to call out Mayor Zohran Mamdani for what they see as his betrayal of the movement.
"Mayor Mamdani, you can't hide we charge you with genocide" was a chant that just rang out.
"Mayor Mamdani, you can't hide we charge you with genocide" was a chant that just rang out.
October 7, 2026 at 11:10 PM
How do you weaken one of the most important leftist mayors in the US while simultaneously doing nothing to help Palestine?
This is how!
These people are deranged and they continue to harm everything they pretend to care about
If they were a MAGA ratfucking op they wouldn't do anything differently
This is how!
These people are deranged and they continue to harm everything they pretend to care about
If they were a MAGA ratfucking op they wouldn't do anything differently
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
Just another day in the Presidency as directed by Fellini.
October 7, 2026 at 9:54 PM
Just another day in the Presidency as directed by Fellini.
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
The richest man owns X.
The second richest man owns The Washington Post.
The third and fifth richest men control Google.
The sixth richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
And the eighth richest man now owns both Paramount and Warner Bros.
See the problem here?
The second richest man owns The Washington Post.
The third and fifth richest men control Google.
The sixth richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
And the eighth richest man now owns both Paramount and Warner Bros.
See the problem here?
Paramount takes over Warner Bros in $110bn Hollywood merger
The merger of two of Hollywood's biggest movie studios comes after months of legal disputes and concern over competition
www.bbc.com
October 6, 2026 at 6:15 PM
The richest man owns X.
The second richest man owns The Washington Post.
The third and fifth richest men control Google.
The sixth richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
And the eighth richest man now owns both Paramount and Warner Bros.
See the problem here?
The second richest man owns The Washington Post.
The third and fifth richest men control Google.
The sixth richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
And the eighth richest man now owns both Paramount and Warner Bros.
See the problem here?
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
I’d argue the entire media does this consistently
notable -- Fox News hasn't mentioned Trump's transphobic attack on Annie Andrews a single time. Not once. And they cover a lot of his Truth Social posts.
Almost like they're trying to protect their audience from learning the true depth of his depravity.
Almost like they're trying to protect their audience from learning the true depth of his depravity.
October 6, 2026 at 5:46 PM
I’d argue the entire media does this consistently
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
"De-Trumpification" has to be one of the top agenda items if Dems win power. All the lawlessness and every last one of his efforts to turn DC into an imperial capital should be undone.
October 5, 2026 at 10:55 PM
"De-Trumpification" has to be one of the top agenda items if Dems win power. All the lawlessness and every last one of his efforts to turn DC into an imperial capital should be undone.
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
Trump says 'Let them take out Los Angeles.'
Recall this map: The *entire states* with population smaller than LA County.
Among them they have 80+ US Senators. LA is about 1/3 of Calif's population, which has 2.
Recall this map: The *entire states* with population smaller than LA County.
Among them they have 80+ US Senators. LA is about 1/3 of Calif's population, which has 2.
October 6, 2026 at 1:07 AM
Trump says 'Let them take out Los Angeles.'
Recall this map: The *entire states* with population smaller than LA County.
Among them they have 80+ US Senators. LA is about 1/3 of Calif's population, which has 2.
Recall this map: The *entire states* with population smaller than LA County.
Among them they have 80+ US Senators. LA is about 1/3 of Calif's population, which has 2.
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
Every river in North America, every day for two years. The combined flow to the sea sinks as low as 53,000 m³/s in winter and swells past 290,000 by late June, more than quadrupling each spring. Data: GloFAS, @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social
#rivers #dataviz #hydrology
#rivers #dataviz #hydrology
October 3, 2026 at 2:31 PM
Every river in North America, every day for two years. The combined flow to the sea sinks as low as 53,000 m³/s in winter and swells past 290,000 by late June, more than quadrupling each spring. Data: GloFAS, @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social
#rivers #dataviz #hydrology
#rivers #dataviz #hydrology
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
If you have $100 million to spend on ads saying you shouldn’t be taxed you’re not being taxed enough
Google cofounder Sergey Brin has spent $102 million to fight California’s proposed billionaire tax—he could owe $13 billion if he loses fortune.com/article/how-...
Google cofounder Sergey Brin has spent $102 million to fight California’s proposed billionaire tax—he could owe $13 billion if he loses fortune.com/article/how-...
Google co-founder Sergey Brin has now spent $100 million to fight California’s proposed billionaire tax—he could owe $13 billion if he loses | Fortune
The state’s ultrawealthy, including Larry Page and Peter Thiel, have similarly donated to efforts opposing the wealth tax.
fortune.com
October 4, 2026 at 12:23 PM
If you have $100 million to spend on ads saying you shouldn’t be taxed you’re not being taxed enough
Google cofounder Sergey Brin has spent $102 million to fight California’s proposed billionaire tax—he could owe $13 billion if he loses fortune.com/article/how-...
Google cofounder Sergey Brin has spent $102 million to fight California’s proposed billionaire tax—he could owe $13 billion if he loses fortune.com/article/how-...
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
Confirmed ICE seen skulking around South Minneapolis. Eyes out, whistles up
October 4, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Confirmed ICE seen skulking around South Minneapolis. Eyes out, whistles up
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
1. She's president's human binky & controls his social media
2. Foreign govts use her a conduit for Trump
3. She's lied about much of her background
4. She wouldn't or couldn't get security clearance (see 3)
5. She has an obsession w/ Trump giving their relationship a vaguely inappropriate dynamic
2. Foreign govts use her a conduit for Trump
3. She's lied about much of her background
4. She wouldn't or couldn't get security clearance (see 3)
5. She has an obsession w/ Trump giving their relationship a vaguely inappropriate dynamic
I don’t understand why we’re supposed to give a shit about this person.
October 4, 2026 at 1:04 PM
1. She's president's human binky & controls his social media
2. Foreign govts use her a conduit for Trump
3. She's lied about much of her background
4. She wouldn't or couldn't get security clearance (see 3)
5. She has an obsession w/ Trump giving their relationship a vaguely inappropriate dynamic
2. Foreign govts use her a conduit for Trump
3. She's lied about much of her background
4. She wouldn't or couldn't get security clearance (see 3)
5. She has an obsession w/ Trump giving their relationship a vaguely inappropriate dynamic
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
I know this isn’t useful but it’s weird how “the president should be coherent” was a Very Important Thing just a few years ago and then suddenly wasn’t.
Trump: "I take an aspirin a day. I don't know if it works but psychologically I need it. It thins the hell out of your blood I guess ... They want me to go down to the 80. I take the 386. I don't know what the hell it is. It's a monster. They said, 'Sir, you don't need that!'"
October 4, 2026 at 1:07 AM
I know this isn’t useful but it’s weird how “the president should be coherent” was a Very Important Thing just a few years ago and then suddenly wasn’t.
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
NEW: DHS agents tracked people observing ICE arrests, photographed them, ran their plates, pulled personal information, and added them to a Palantir database, according to newly unsealed court filings.
w/ @regret.bsky.social
w/ @regret.bsky.social
ICE Has Been Dumping Protester Photos Into a Palantir Database
DHS agents not only tracked and intimidated people observing ICE activity in Maine, but stored information about them in a Palantir-built database, newly unsealed court filings say.
www.wired.com
October 2, 2026 at 8:07 PM
NEW: DHS agents tracked people observing ICE arrests, photographed them, ran their plates, pulled personal information, and added them to a Palantir database, according to newly unsealed court filings.
w/ @regret.bsky.social
w/ @regret.bsky.social
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
Don’t get complacent.
They’re still going to try to cheat.
Check your registration. Vote early if at all possible.
They’re still going to try to cheat.
Check your registration. Vote early if at all possible.
October 2, 2026 at 8:51 PM
Don’t get complacent.
They’re still going to try to cheat.
Check your registration. Vote early if at all possible.
They’re still going to try to cheat.
Check your registration. Vote early if at all possible.
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
GOP bill hides brutal cuts until after midterms to shield them from voters.
Dec 31: Medicaid work requirements trigger mass disenrollment.
Jan 1: Trapped in a double-bind—denied Medicaid? You lose tax credits too. Immigrants lose credits.
Jul 1: Student loan relief ends. Millions cascade into
Dec 31: Medicaid work requirements trigger mass disenrollment.
Jan 1: Trapped in a double-bind—denied Medicaid? You lose tax credits too. Immigrants lose credits.
Jul 1: Student loan relief ends. Millions cascade into
October 2, 2026 at 8:28 PM
GOP bill hides brutal cuts until after midterms to shield them from voters.
Dec 31: Medicaid work requirements trigger mass disenrollment.
Jan 1: Trapped in a double-bind—denied Medicaid? You lose tax credits too. Immigrants lose credits.
Jul 1: Student loan relief ends. Millions cascade into
Dec 31: Medicaid work requirements trigger mass disenrollment.
Jan 1: Trapped in a double-bind—denied Medicaid? You lose tax credits too. Immigrants lose credits.
Jul 1: Student loan relief ends. Millions cascade into
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
The idea that public transit is expensive compared to road transportation and that driving a car is a sign of "independence" rather than of complete reliance on a huge ongoing government investment program is based on nothing but vibes and ignorance.
Sort of insane fact about how broken US urban planning is—America now spends more building *just the lights for roads and highways* than on all subways & ground mass transit combined
Spending on roadway *pavement* is 18x transit spending
Spending on roadway *pavement* is 18x transit spending
October 2, 2026 at 8:30 PM
The idea that public transit is expensive compared to road transportation and that driving a car is a sign of "independence" rather than of complete reliance on a huge ongoing government investment program is based on nothing but vibes and ignorance.
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
If you can stomach it, here's a detailed reported story from @dropsitenews.com on the schoolchildren that the US bombed in Iran.
However angry you are, it's not angry enough.
However angry you are, it's not angry enough.
Massacre at Minab: The School That Became a Grave
The bombing of an Iranian school, killing 120 children, is one of the worst U.S. war crimes since Vietnam. Drop Site spoke to survivors, first responders, parents, and witnesses. This is their story.
www.dropsitenews.com
October 1, 2026 at 7:51 PM
If you can stomach it, here's a detailed reported story from @dropsitenews.com on the schoolchildren that the US bombed in Iran.
However angry you are, it's not angry enough.
However angry you are, it's not angry enough.
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
republicans KNOW democrats are nervous-nellie scaredy cats and that if you create Some New Thing To Be Afraid Of the party always fucking folds and feeds into it
fucking stop
reject the entire premise and FUCKING FIGHT for once, goddamn
fucking stop
reject the entire premise and FUCKING FIGHT for once, goddamn
October 1, 2026 at 1:28 PM
republicans KNOW democrats are nervous-nellie scaredy cats and that if you create Some New Thing To Be Afraid Of the party always fucking folds and feeds into it
fucking stop
reject the entire premise and FUCKING FIGHT for once, goddamn
fucking stop
reject the entire premise and FUCKING FIGHT for once, goddamn
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
the democrats who put themselves in a panic over hasan piker are the same democrats who push the party to be anti trans, and a generation ago were the ones saying we cant oppose the war in iraq
these people are never right
they doom the party
they hurt america
stop listening to them
these people are never right
they doom the party
they hurt america
stop listening to them
It’s not just anonymous sources (tho we are in the business of citing people who know what they’re talking about); one of Trump’s top pollsters is on the record throwing cold water on the GOP-wide 2026 anti- Hasan piker electoral strategy which is still going strong at the NRSC, etc.
He then…
He then…
October 1, 2026 at 1:27 PM
the democrats who put themselves in a panic over hasan piker are the same democrats who push the party to be anti trans, and a generation ago were the ones saying we cant oppose the war in iraq
these people are never right
they doom the party
they hurt america
stop listening to them
these people are never right
they doom the party
they hurt america
stop listening to them
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
lol satya nadella catching strays from bernie's interns. he runs microsoft! he has a billion dollars too! it seems like they're Doing AI just as much as AMD is
October 1, 2026 at 1:44 AM
lol satya nadella catching strays from bernie's interns. he runs microsoft! he has a billion dollars too! it seems like they're Doing AI just as much as AMD is
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
remember: it saved no net money, social services US citizens are getting cut, and left the US in a weaker place geopolitically. none of the debates about fiscal responsibility, obligation to US citizens first, or 'hard choices' actually apply. they're all bullshit. killed people for nothing at all.
Still kind of inconceivable how many people died or will die because of the death of USAID. And the world’s richest man did it almost as a joke
September 30, 2026 at 9:30 PM
remember: it saved no net money, social services US citizens are getting cut, and left the US in a weaker place geopolitically. none of the debates about fiscal responsibility, obligation to US citizens first, or 'hard choices' actually apply. they're all bullshit. killed people for nothing at all.
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
Might as well light the Constitution on fire at this point.
Hegseth: "Today, at my direction, I'm establishing the Office of Religious Affairs. It will report straight to the top -- a direct line to the secretary ... as Psalm 33:12 extolls us, blessed is the nation in which God is the Lord"
September 30, 2026 at 7:53 PM
Might as well light the Constitution on fire at this point.
Reposted by Rick Rhodent
I for one think it’s bad that the president can just say crazy stuff all day every day and 99% of it doesn’t make the news because we’ve normalized having an insane president
September 30, 2026 at 9:58 PM
I for one think it’s bad that the president can just say crazy stuff all day every day and 99% of it doesn’t make the news because we’ve normalized having an insane president