TarHeel_Harold
@tarheel-harold.bsky.social
Scientist. Cocktail enthusiast. Tree hugger. UNC fanatic. Sarcasm is my love language. He/him/dude.
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
This thread asks why Trump saying “I'm going to try to cheat like hell..." isn’t getting as much media attention as his obviously farcical $5,000 proposals. They ignore it when he says crazy things that are true, and take seriously the crazy things he says that are not. Sanewashing. 
Let's all admire some incredible sanewashing. The US media is trying to push @froomkin.bsky.social over the edge. A tale of two evenings....
September 11, 2026 at 1:13 PM
This thread asks why Trump saying “I'm going to try to cheat like hell..." isn’t getting as much media attention as his obviously farcical $5,000 proposals. They ignore it when he says crazy things that are true, and take seriously the crazy things he says that are not. Sanewashing. 
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
Newsletter is up. I hate this day. For its sadness. And for the horrible decisions we made afterwards
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
The US Had a Choice After 9/11. It Chose Wrong.
In this week’s Elie v. U.S., our justice correspondent reflects on September 11. Plus: the stupidity of the "Trump Dividend" and the threat of AI.
www.thenation.com
September 11, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Newsletter is up. I hate this day. For its sadness. And for the horrible decisions we made afterwards
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
How is ICE making record arrests?
I found the answer in Pa. coal country, where cops lured by a promise of federal $$$ have embraced ICE's 287(g) and are throwing up checkpoints, raiding job sites, arresting 100s, and terrorizing their communities
My special report www.inquirer.com/opinion/penn...
I found the answer in Pa. coal country, where cops lured by a promise of federal $$$ have embraced ICE's 287(g) and are throwing up checkpoints, raiding job sites, arresting 100s, and terrorizing their communities
My special report www.inquirer.com/opinion/penn...
In Pa. coal country, local police join with ICE to bring arrests, fear | Will Bunch
Pa.'s Schuylkill County is the new face of Trump's mass deportation, as local cops lured by federal cash bust scores of migrants.
www.inquirer.com
September 10, 2026 at 7:03 PM
How is ICE making record arrests?
I found the answer in Pa. coal country, where cops lured by a promise of federal $$$ have embraced ICE's 287(g) and are throwing up checkpoints, raiding job sites, arresting 100s, and terrorizing their communities
My special report www.inquirer.com/opinion/penn...
I found the answer in Pa. coal country, where cops lured by a promise of federal $$$ have embraced ICE's 287(g) and are throwing up checkpoints, raiding job sites, arresting 100s, and terrorizing their communities
My special report www.inquirer.com/opinion/penn...
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
A new NIAID strategic plan for 2026-2030 was quietly published last week, and lacks both ID and pandemic preparedness plans
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The new vision from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) - Nature Medicine
Preparing for tomorrow’s threats by enhancing our ability to help patients today.
www.nature.com
September 8, 2026 at 2:43 PM
A new NIAID strategic plan for 2026-2030 was quietly published last week, and lacks both ID and pandemic preparedness plans
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
The proto-Effin’ Birds was my Tumblr “Swear Trek”. It opened a lot of doors for me and I wouldn’t be where I am today without it. I don’t have plans to revive it (one daily comic is enough work), just wanted to thank it for getting me here on this 60th anniversary of Star Trek.
September 8, 2026 at 1:20 PM
The proto-Effin’ Birds was my Tumblr “Swear Trek”. It opened a lot of doors for me and I wouldn’t be where I am today without it. I don’t have plans to revive it (one daily comic is enough work), just wanted to thank it for getting me here on this 60th anniversary of Star Trek.
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
"people are anthropomorphizing LLMs because they are so astonishingly good at processing human thought and language" people will anthropomorphize a chair if you put the stitches in the right place.
September 7, 2026 at 10:33 PM
"people are anthropomorphizing LLMs because they are so astonishingly good at processing human thought and language" people will anthropomorphize a chair if you put the stitches in the right place.
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
If the media is going to insist that politicians denounce their supporters who make extremist statements, I have a suggestion for someone a bit more important than a Twitch streamer.
Denouncing Extremists
One of the media's favorite activities is demanding that Democratic politicians denounce individuals on their side who have made extreme statements.
This is a pattern that stretches back to the 1992 ...
campaign-trails.ghost.io
September 3, 2026 at 4:31 PM
If the media is going to insist that politicians denounce their supporters who make extremist statements, I have a suggestion for someone a bit more important than a Twitch streamer.
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
Just remember, there were a handful of useful idiots in academia and elsewhere that championed Jay Bhattacharya for NIH director.
New email to Director Bhattacharya to start Labor Day weekend regarding the secret transfer of appropriated funds to the Department of Defense.
September 5, 2026 at 12:21 PM
Just remember, there were a handful of useful idiots in academia and elsewhere that championed Jay Bhattacharya for NIH director.
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
I want to make sure everyone in the city is aware that SUNY Downstate operates a large and extremely skilled LGBTQ and gender affirming care clinic, and we have repeatedly reiterated our intention to go to jail before we stop.
BREAKING: The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Friday that it reached an “agreement” with Mount Sinai Health System in which it will “cease providing” gender-affirming medical care to minors and dedicate $2 million to providing care to those “suffering harmful consequences” of such care.
September 4, 2026 at 6:35 PM
I want to make sure everyone in the city is aware that SUNY Downstate operates a large and extremely skilled LGBTQ and gender affirming care clinic, and we have repeatedly reiterated our intention to go to jail before we stop.
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
Happening now in TX: Voters in battleground Tarrant County are telling GOP local officials what they think of their plan to cut 30% of voting locations this year
“Nothing you can do can stop us from removing you in November”
“Nothing you can do can stop us from removing you in November”
September 1, 2026 at 8:03 PM
Happening now in TX: Voters in battleground Tarrant County are telling GOP local officials what they think of their plan to cut 30% of voting locations this year
“Nothing you can do can stop us from removing you in November”
“Nothing you can do can stop us from removing you in November”
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
Children in an Idaho faith-healing sect keep dying.
Some are sick for hours or days; others endured months or years of disease.
In at least 15 cases, medical experts told us children died from conditions that doctors could’ve treated.
Some are sick for hours or days; others endured months or years of disease.
In at least 15 cases, medical experts told us children died from conditions that doctors could’ve treated.
These Children’s Deaths Were Preventable. Their Parents Prayed Instead of Seeking Medical Care.
For decades, Idaho laws have allowed parents who belong to the Followers of Christ and other faith-healing sects to pray rather than seek medical care. Since 2015, at least 15 children have died of tr...
www.propublica.org
September 2, 2026 at 2:24 AM
Children in an Idaho faith-healing sect keep dying.
Some are sick for hours or days; others endured months or years of disease.
In at least 15 cases, medical experts told us children died from conditions that doctors could’ve treated.
Some are sick for hours or days; others endured months or years of disease.
In at least 15 cases, medical experts told us children died from conditions that doctors could’ve treated.
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
This is set up for laughs, but it’s actually one of the best demonstrations I’ve seen of how being capable of producing convincing sounding language and understanding meaning are two completely different things.
A chatbot does not understand you, it just has automated responses based on your words.
A chatbot does not understand you, it just has automated responses based on your words.
August 28, 2026 at 8:32 AM
This is set up for laughs, but it’s actually one of the best demonstrations I’ve seen of how being capable of producing convincing sounding language and understanding meaning are two completely different things.
A chatbot does not understand you, it just has automated responses based on your words.
A chatbot does not understand you, it just has automated responses based on your words.
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
"That gives some readers something enormously valuable: permission. I am not saying diversity lowered standards. Tyler Austin Harper is saying it. I am not saying progressive academics have become obsessed with race. He is saying it." cloakinginequity.com/2026/08/19/t...
He Picked a Fight With Black America. I’m Here to Finish It.
Liberals keep reaching out asking me to read Tyler Austin Harper. Not one liberal. Not one conversation. It has happened enough the past few days that I have started wondering why. Why has Tyler be…
cloakinginequity.com
August 23, 2026 at 1:35 PM
"That gives some readers something enormously valuable: permission. I am not saying diversity lowered standards. Tyler Austin Harper is saying it. I am not saying progressive academics have become obsessed with race. He is saying it." cloakinginequity.com/2026/08/19/t...
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
There are four overlapping scandals here:
1. Fundraising spam tactics are hallmarks of elder financial exploitation
2. The Dem establishment is in on it
3. Most of what is raised goes to fundraising consultants
4. Capitulation to legal threats by NYT and The Bulwark on a fully vetted story
🧵👇
1. Fundraising spam tactics are hallmarks of elder financial exploitation
2. The Dem establishment is in on it
3. Most of what is raised goes to fundraising consultants
4. Capitulation to legal threats by NYT and The Bulwark on a fully vetted story
🧵👇
Hook and Squeeze
How Democratic consultants, committees, and party leaders built a fundraising spam pipeline that funnels money from a captive pool of elderly donors into their own operations.
data4democracy.substack.com
August 16, 2026 at 9:40 PM
There are four overlapping scandals here:
1. Fundraising spam tactics are hallmarks of elder financial exploitation
2. The Dem establishment is in on it
3. Most of what is raised goes to fundraising consultants
4. Capitulation to legal threats by NYT and The Bulwark on a fully vetted story
🧵👇
1. Fundraising spam tactics are hallmarks of elder financial exploitation
2. The Dem establishment is in on it
3. Most of what is raised goes to fundraising consultants
4. Capitulation to legal threats by NYT and The Bulwark on a fully vetted story
🧵👇
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
NEW from me: DHS domestic spying based on nutty conspiracy theories demands way more attention. It's a major scandal -- a milestone in our descent into a police state. But where's the outrage? presswatchers.org/2026/08/dhs-...
DHS domestic spying based on nutty conspiracy theories demands way more attention | Press Watch
It's a major scandal -- a milestone in our descent into a police state. But where's the outrage?
presswatchers.org
August 14, 2026 at 7:09 PM
NEW from me: DHS domestic spying based on nutty conspiracy theories demands way more attention. It's a major scandal -- a milestone in our descent into a police state. But where's the outrage? presswatchers.org/2026/08/dhs-...
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
Kentucky’s largest drug rehab center touts a Christian message and a selfless commitment to helping others.
But internally, the organization prioritized money over the well-being of its clients and staff, interviews show.
(Published April with @kentucky.com)
But internally, the organization prioritized money over the well-being of its clients and staff, interviews show.
(Published April with @kentucky.com)
They Needed Treatment for Drug Addiction. The Company They Turned to May Have Used Them to Commit Fraud.
Kentucky’s largest drug rehab center touts a Christian message and a selfless commitment to helping others. But internally, the organization prioritized money over the well-being of its clients and st...
www.propublica.org
August 12, 2026 at 1:42 PM
Kentucky’s largest drug rehab center touts a Christian message and a selfless commitment to helping others.
But internally, the organization prioritized money over the well-being of its clients and staff, interviews show.
(Published April with @kentucky.com)
But internally, the organization prioritized money over the well-being of its clients and staff, interviews show.
(Published April with @kentucky.com)
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
Republicans put unfit, unhinged Pete Hegseth in office and refused to exercise oversight. Republicans gave Trump a blank check.The Iran war disaster is a Republican disaster, one that should disqualify the party from holding power.
open.substack.com/pub/contrari...
open.substack.com/pub/contrari...
Hold Republicans Responsible for the Iran Disaster
Where Democrats go from here — plus, Dems defy 'hot takes' in yesterday's primaries.
open.substack.com
August 12, 2026 at 1:58 PM
Republicans put unfit, unhinged Pete Hegseth in office and refused to exercise oversight. Republicans gave Trump a blank check.The Iran war disaster is a Republican disaster, one that should disqualify the party from holding power.
open.substack.com/pub/contrari...
open.substack.com/pub/contrari...
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
NEW: Flaming robots. Haywire Turkish machines. An actual dumpster fire.
General Dynamics received $533 million from the Army to produce artillery but hasn’t made a single usable shell.
ProPublica got the inside story of what went wrong. It’s a wild ride: www.propublica.org/article/gene...
General Dynamics received $533 million from the Army to produce artillery but hasn’t made a single usable shell.
ProPublica got the inside story of what went wrong. It’s a wild ride: www.propublica.org/article/gene...
Fiasco in the Factory: Taxpayers Funded a $533 Million Artillery Plant That Made Nothing
General Dynamics opened a Texas factory to churn out artillery shells for Ukraine, but the machines kept breaking. Robot arms smashed into things. Hunks of metal crashed to the floor. There was even a...
www.propublica.org
August 12, 2026 at 1:11 PM
NEW: Flaming robots. Haywire Turkish machines. An actual dumpster fire.
General Dynamics received $533 million from the Army to produce artillery but hasn’t made a single usable shell.
ProPublica got the inside story of what went wrong. It’s a wild ride: www.propublica.org/article/gene...
General Dynamics received $533 million from the Army to produce artillery but hasn’t made a single usable shell.
ProPublica got the inside story of what went wrong. It’s a wild ride: www.propublica.org/article/gene...
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis have been administered in a combined shot since the 1940s. Combo vaccines are one of the most proven medical technologies ever.
August 11, 2026 at 11:11 PM
Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis have been administered in a combined shot since the 1940s. Combo vaccines are one of the most proven medical technologies ever.
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
1. "They tried to run us over" has been institutionalized as DHS's license to shoot people. They reflexively go to this lie when they draw their guns.
2. Even with a masked man is waving a gun in her face, this woman repeatedly tells them they are full of shit. Hero.
2. Even with a masked man is waving a gun in her face, this woman repeatedly tells them they are full of shit. Hero.
This is absolutely WILD. Here's the dashboard video posted by @fritschner.bsky.social. Fast forward to about 1 minute. An ICE officer jumps out of a van and pulls a gun on this woman immediately before lying and claiming she "almost ran us over."
*profanity warning if watching in public.
*profanity warning if watching in public.
August 11, 2026 at 10:08 PM
1. "They tried to run us over" has been institutionalized as DHS's license to shoot people. They reflexively go to this lie when they draw their guns.
2. Even with a masked man is waving a gun in her face, this woman repeatedly tells them they are full of shit. Hero.
2. Even with a masked man is waving a gun in her face, this woman repeatedly tells them they are full of shit. Hero.
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
It's extremely revealing that one of Harper's main takeaways from the tenure track as a Black professor was to become singularly suspicious of his Black colleagues' qualifications (and his own) rather than, say, at all interested in the existence of racism and white/male mediocrity within academia.
August 11, 2026 at 8:01 PM
It's extremely revealing that one of Harper's main takeaways from the tenure track as a Black professor was to become singularly suspicious of his Black colleagues' qualifications (and his own) rather than, say, at all interested in the existence of racism and white/male mediocrity within academia.
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
"we have no alternative" says idiot who hasn't read the constitution
Cornyn: "As to the idea it could be revived in the future, I think it's highly unlikely that could happen without the cooperation of the DOJ. And I think Mr Blanche gave us the assurances that it was dead and would not be revived and in this case we have no alternative but to take his word" 🙃
August 4, 2026 at 5:32 PM
"we have no alternative" says idiot who hasn't read the constitution
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
This is deadass every republican campaign ad here in the south. I'm not even REMOTELY JOKING.
August 2, 2026 at 12:02 AM
This is deadass every republican campaign ad here in the south. I'm not even REMOTELY JOKING.
Reposted by TarHeel_Harold
It's amazing how quickly we've forgotten how shit-ourselves scared we all were in 2020. Covid-19 was new. We had no firm idea how bad it could get, how it spread, or how to treat for it. Now, these bastards on the right act like the whole thing was just a minor inconvenience blown out of proportion.
July 29, 2026 at 1:53 PM
It's amazing how quickly we've forgotten how shit-ourselves scared we all were in 2020. Covid-19 was new. We had no firm idea how bad it could get, how it spread, or how to treat for it. Now, these bastards on the right act like the whole thing was just a minor inconvenience blown out of proportion.