Bat Guy
@dr-batman.bsky.social
Biologist; professor; studier of the behavior of bats and other animals. All opinions are my own.
Reposted by Bat Guy
I LOVE how @propublica.org dealt with official comment here, editorially and stylistically.
October 6, 2026 at 1:39 PM
I LOVE how @propublica.org dealt with official comment here, editorially and stylistically.
Reposted by Bat Guy
very tired of being told it is the responsibility of urban democratic voters never to risk possibly maybe by chance seeming less than respectful of rural red state life and then watching thousands in nebraska cheer on the president joking about a nuclear strike on me and millions of my neighbors
October 6, 2026 at 4:05 AM
very tired of being told it is the responsibility of urban democratic voters never to risk possibly maybe by chance seeming less than respectful of rural red state life and then watching thousands in nebraska cheer on the president joking about a nuclear strike on me and millions of my neighbors
Reposted by Bat Guy
An American president is encouraging an enemy to destroy American cities. This is treason, though he will claim we are not at war.
Trump suggested tonight that Iran could "take out" American cities:
"It's a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe. They can take out a city. Let them take— let it, let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay."
"It's a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe. They can take out a city. Let them take— let it, let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay."
October 6, 2026 at 1:37 AM
An American president is encouraging an enemy to destroy American cities. This is treason, though he will claim we are not at war.
Reposted by Bat Guy
Saying he'd be cool with Iran nuking my home city is pretty bad but not quite as bad as when Hillary said some trump supporters were deplorable so I can see why the media turned the latter into a major scandal and not the former
BREAKING: In Nebraska rally, Trump just suggested he would be unbothered to see Iran "take out" LA or San Diego:
“They could take out a city,” he said. “Let them take—Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. That’s—this is a very small price to pay."
“They could take out a city,” he said. “Let them take—Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. That’s—this is a very small price to pay."
October 6, 2026 at 2:48 AM
Saying he'd be cool with Iran nuking my home city is pretty bad but not quite as bad as when Hillary said some trump supporters were deplorable so I can see why the media turned the latter into a major scandal and not the former
Reposted by Bat Guy
it is interesting that I can't find any mainstream media coverage of Altman's sister Annie going viral on social media over the weekend for uploading footage of the first hour of her deposition in her lawsuit against him (one of two) in which she is alleging years of CSA
Accept ‘bad things’ in return for benefits of AI, says Sam Altman
Boss of OpenAI calls for a regulatory light touch because of the ‘good stuff’ the technology can deliver
www.theguardian.com
October 5, 2026 at 7:17 PM
it is interesting that I can't find any mainstream media coverage of Altman's sister Annie going viral on social media over the weekend for uploading footage of the first hour of her deposition in her lawsuit against him (one of two) in which she is alleging years of CSA
Reposted by Bat Guy
Just a reminder: Tillis persuaded the woman Hegseth allegedly raped to come forward with her story, and told her that if she did, it would sink the nomination.
She did. At great risk to herself. Tillis then cast the deciding vote for Hegseth.
Because he’s a goddamned coward.
She did. At great risk to herself. Tillis then cast the deciding vote for Hegseth.
Because he’s a goddamned coward.
Outgoing Sen. Tillis regrets pivotal vote for Hegseth: ‘He’s an actor. He’s not a manager’
Outgoing Sen. Thom Tillis spoke to MS NOW about regretting his vote to confirm Pete Hegseth and his strained relationship with Trump.
www.ms.now
October 5, 2026 at 7:13 PM
Just a reminder: Tillis persuaded the woman Hegseth allegedly raped to come forward with her story, and told her that if she did, it would sink the nomination.
She did. At great risk to herself. Tillis then cast the deciding vote for Hegseth.
Because he’s a goddamned coward.
She did. At great risk to herself. Tillis then cast the deciding vote for Hegseth.
Because he’s a goddamned coward.
Reposted by Bat Guy
POPE LEO <turns chair around, sits, placing his arms on the back>: You want to hear about an Influencer, one with a direct connection to a superior intelligence?
October 3, 2026 at 12:42 PM
POPE LEO <turns chair around, sits, placing his arms on the back>: You want to hear about an Influencer, one with a direct connection to a superior intelligence?
Reposted by Bat Guy
You'd think that the Democratic party would be making hay over their opposition's biggest donor fighting to let his bot keep making revenge porn.
Elon Musk's xAI on Friday persuaded a US federal appeals court to halt Minnesota's first-in-the-nation ban on AI-generated fake nude images as the technology and social media company pursues a lawsuit alleging that the law is unconstitutional.
US appeals court blocks Minnesota's AI 'nudification' law for now in XAI lawsuit
Elon Musk's xAI on Friday persuaded a US federal appeals court to halt Minnesota's first-in-the-nation ban on AI-generated fake nude images as the technology and social media company pursues a lawsuit alleging that the law is unconstitutional.
reut.rs
October 3, 2026 at 1:16 PM
You'd think that the Democratic party would be making hay over their opposition's biggest donor fighting to let his bot keep making revenge porn.
Reposted by Bat Guy
Trump’s insider trading is, on its own, the worst corruption scandal in US history, with $$$ dwarfing Teapot Dome.
So are Trump’s bribes-for-pardons.
So is the Qatar bribe plane.
So is all the Saudi money he (and Kushner) have pocketed.
And the ballroom.
And more. Each alone would be the worst.
So are Trump’s bribes-for-pardons.
So is the Qatar bribe plane.
So is all the Saudi money he (and Kushner) have pocketed.
And the ballroom.
And more. Each alone would be the worst.
Again, you can always detect some faint embarrassment from Democrats when they talk about the ballroom, but “the president demolished a big part of the White House to build himself a palace with bribes from enemy powers” is, by an order of magnitude, the worst corruption scandal in US history
A Wealthy Russian Businessman Is Helping Fund Trump’s Stupid Ballroom. Nothing Sketchy About That, Right?
Surely, our president will face consequences for this insanity.
www.esquire.com
October 3, 2026 at 12:59 PM
Trump’s insider trading is, on its own, the worst corruption scandal in US history, with $$$ dwarfing Teapot Dome.
So are Trump’s bribes-for-pardons.
So is the Qatar bribe plane.
So is all the Saudi money he (and Kushner) have pocketed.
And the ballroom.
And more. Each alone would be the worst.
So are Trump’s bribes-for-pardons.
So is the Qatar bribe plane.
So is all the Saudi money he (and Kushner) have pocketed.
And the ballroom.
And more. Each alone would be the worst.
Reposted by Bat Guy
I don’t think everyone realizes how bad things are for US science:
For the fiscal year that just ended, the Trump regime withheld $1.4 billion from the National Science Foundation’s research budget, which is about 1/5 of its primary research budget.
For the fiscal year that just ended, the Trump regime withheld $1.4 billion from the National Science Foundation’s research budget, which is about 1/5 of its primary research budget.
National Science Foundation Diverted $1.4 Billion in Science Funds Mandated by Congress (Gift Article)
The move, affecting about one-fifth of the National Science Foundation’s primary research budget, is the latest sign of how the White House is asserting more control over grants.
www.nytimes.com
October 3, 2026 at 5:54 AM
I don’t think everyone realizes how bad things are for US science:
For the fiscal year that just ended, the Trump regime withheld $1.4 billion from the National Science Foundation’s research budget, which is about 1/5 of its primary research budget.
For the fiscal year that just ended, the Trump regime withheld $1.4 billion from the National Science Foundation’s research budget, which is about 1/5 of its primary research budget.
Reposted by Bat Guy
Again, you can always detect some faint embarrassment from Democrats when they talk about the ballroom, but “the president demolished a big part of the White House to build himself a palace with bribes from enemy powers” is, by an order of magnitude, the worst corruption scandal in US history
A Wealthy Russian Businessman Is Helping Fund Trump’s Stupid Ballroom. Nothing Sketchy About That, Right?
Surely, our president will face consequences for this insanity.
www.esquire.com
October 3, 2026 at 12:47 PM
Again, you can always detect some faint embarrassment from Democrats when they talk about the ballroom, but “the president demolished a big part of the White House to build himself a palace with bribes from enemy powers” is, by an order of magnitude, the worst corruption scandal in US history
Reposted by Bat Guy
The BEST thing that true believers in AI could do is stop evangelizing to people, like me, who think it sucks.
Do the hard, years-long work of detaching your beloved technology from the worst people in the world right now: shameless fascists driven by greed and domination. They’re YOUR partners.
Do the hard, years-long work of detaching your beloved technology from the worst people in the world right now: shameless fascists driven by greed and domination. They’re YOUR partners.
October 2, 2026 at 9:42 PM
The BEST thing that true believers in AI could do is stop evangelizing to people, like me, who think it sucks.
Do the hard, years-long work of detaching your beloved technology from the worst people in the world right now: shameless fascists driven by greed and domination. They’re YOUR partners.
Do the hard, years-long work of detaching your beloved technology from the worst people in the world right now: shameless fascists driven by greed and domination. They’re YOUR partners.
Reposted by Bat Guy
This is a guy that the media has promoted a dozen times in the last few years. He was on Bill Maher's show two weeks ago as a reasonable conservative.
New: Chris Rufo & his co-host devoted a podcast to "The Indian Question," framing Desi people as a problem to be solved.
Their "solution?" Mass expulsion. For those allowed to remain: an “assimilation hazing process” w/ instances of “vulgar, defamatory racism" talkingpointsmemo.com/news/chris-r...
Their "solution?" Mass expulsion. For those allowed to remain: an “assimilation hazing process” w/ instances of “vulgar, defamatory racism" talkingpointsmemo.com/news/chris-r...
Chris Rufo — Known For ‘DEI’ and ‘CRT’ Panics — Tries to Make ‘the Indian Question’ a Thing
To the degree that a “respectable” or “moderate” right exists today in...
talkingpointsmemo.com
October 2, 2026 at 12:38 PM
This is a guy that the media has promoted a dozen times in the last few years. He was on Bill Maher's show two weeks ago as a reasonable conservative.
Reposted by Bat Guy
I think it is crucial for the health of the Democratic party that the entire consultant class from previous administrations, including and especially Clinton, be told to go home and stop bothering people. They are wrong about everything and have been holding the party back for decades.
October 2, 2026 at 12:17 PM
I think it is crucial for the health of the Democratic party that the entire consultant class from previous administrations, including and especially Clinton, be told to go home and stop bothering people. They are wrong about everything and have been holding the party back for decades.
Reposted by Bat Guy
Texas is basically saying it wants to encourage fraud as a matter of public policy and you should keep that in mind whenever you see a large firm incorporated in Texas
Texas bragging about eliminating the "Delaware-style" implied covenant of *good faith and fair dealing* in contracting is about all you need to know concerning where we are in the race to the bottom.
October 2, 2026 at 1:21 AM
Texas is basically saying it wants to encourage fraud as a matter of public policy and you should keep that in mind whenever you see a large firm incorporated in Texas
Reposted by Bat Guy
"For America to right itself, we need changes on the scale of Reconstruction and the New Deal. And I worry that’s not going to happen if Democrats and the broader anti-Trump left are taking their cues about what’s necessary and politically possible from the Times." newrepublic.com/article/2160...
The Left Must Fight The New York Times’ Monopoly Too
The paper’s editorial vision is out of step with the robust liberalism needed today.
newrepublic.com
October 1, 2026 at 12:22 PM
"For America to right itself, we need changes on the scale of Reconstruction and the New Deal. And I worry that’s not going to happen if Democrats and the broader anti-Trump left are taking their cues about what’s necessary and politically possible from the Times." newrepublic.com/article/2160...
Reposted by Bat Guy
If the argument for women should know better than to go into a rape den like a frat house, explain to me why a rape house like a fraternity is allowed to exist at all.
October 1, 2026 at 7:07 PM
If the argument for women should know better than to go into a rape den like a frat house, explain to me why a rape house like a fraternity is allowed to exist at all.
Reposted by Bat Guy
Somehow not everyone is aware of fact alluded to below. So one more time:
John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett were all on GWBush 2000 'Florida Recount' team.
(Which made GWB first prez in 112 yrs to 'win' after losing popular vote. Now they 'impartially' rule on our future.)
John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett were all on GWBush 2000 'Florida Recount' team.
(Which made GWB first prez in 112 yrs to 'win' after losing popular vote. Now they 'impartially' rule on our future.)
Let me see if I've got this right. The team of lawyers who stole an election in Florida, and gave W the presidency, are now the Scotus team at the center of the GOP theft of our democracy.
October 1, 2026 at 4:28 PM
Somehow not everyone is aware of fact alluded to below. So one more time:
John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett were all on GWBush 2000 'Florida Recount' team.
(Which made GWB first prez in 112 yrs to 'win' after losing popular vote. Now they 'impartially' rule on our future.)
John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett were all on GWBush 2000 'Florida Recount' team.
(Which made GWB first prez in 112 yrs to 'win' after losing popular vote. Now they 'impartially' rule on our future.)
Reposted by Bat Guy
Executing prisoners is not a legitimate power of government, despite its long and barbaric history, and we should put an end to it. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/u...
Tennessee Death Row Inmate Christa Pike Still Alive After Attempts to Execute Her, Lawyers Say (Gift Article)
Christa Pike was convicted of murdering a classmate in 1995. It was not clear what went wrong in the execution or what her current medical condition was.
www.nytimes.com
October 1, 2026 at 4:55 AM
Executing prisoners is not a legitimate power of government, despite its long and barbaric history, and we should put an end to it. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/u...
Reposted by Bat Guy
That's where I've been for a while. We can't even reach questions about the death penalty itself because we fail essential predicates such as "fair and consistent criminal justice system" and "reliable death penalty verdicts that leave no reasonable doubt" and, as shown tonight, "humane execution."
there are moral arguments against the death penalty in its ideal form but in real life you never need to get there. the prior question is "can the state be trusted to end the life only of the rightly convicted without torture?" and the answer is no
two doses of lethal drugs and still alive. heartbreaking and barbaric
October 1, 2026 at 3:27 AM
That's where I've been for a while. We can't even reach questions about the death penalty itself because we fail essential predicates such as "fair and consistent criminal justice system" and "reliable death penalty verdicts that leave no reasonable doubt" and, as shown tonight, "humane execution."
Reposted by Bat Guy
It's hard to fathom that, let alone be OK with the fact that, the six people who allowed tonight to happen will start hearing cases next week, the outcome of which will affect us all.
October 1, 2026 at 4:10 AM
It's hard to fathom that, let alone be OK with the fact that, the six people who allowed tonight to happen will start hearing cases next week, the outcome of which will affect us all.
Reposted by Bat Guy
they are stealing billions from us in order to build data centers in our backyards in order to run machines designed to take our jobs and ultimately enslave us
New reports reveal Meta has been classifying gigantic data centers as "pilot models" in order to secure a tax credit from the 1980s.
The loophole has allowed Meta to avoid paying nearly $4,000,000,000 in taxes last year alone.
The loophole has allowed Meta to avoid paying nearly $4,000,000,000 in taxes last year alone.
September 30, 2026 at 4:21 PM
they are stealing billions from us in order to build data centers in our backyards in order to run machines designed to take our jobs and ultimately enslave us
Reposted by Bat Guy
To recap: three GOP-led states that wanted the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade in order to "send abortion back to the states" are now asking the Court to strike down abortion protections in blue states
NEW / HUGE: Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama sued nearly three dozen abortion pill providers + a pharmacy and
The states asked the Supreme Court to be able to sue New York, Massachusetts, and California to challenge their telehealth shield laws @autonomynews.co
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
The states asked the Supreme Court to be able to sue New York, Massachusetts, and California to challenge their telehealth shield laws @autonomynews.co
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
September 30, 2026 at 7:03 PM
To recap: three GOP-led states that wanted the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade in order to "send abortion back to the states" are now asking the Court to strike down abortion protections in blue states
Reposted by Bat Guy
The Bible actually does have something to say about this:
Exodus 20:16: "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."
Exodus 20:16: "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."
JD Vance: "Think about this. If your 6-year-son comes home one day and says he's a girl, Talafreako says, and I quote, it is abusive -- abusive! -- if you don't let school officials but him on hormones and change his pronouns. Nothing in the Bible supports any of this, of course."
September 30, 2026 at 8:04 PM
The Bible actually does have something to say about this:
Exodus 20:16: "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."
Exodus 20:16: "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."
Reposted by Bat Guy
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