Tom Benthin
@tbenthin.bsky.social
Graphic facilitator, French-Intensive Biodynamic gardener, activist. California Grassroots Alliance, Indivisible Sonoma County.
Reposted by Tom Benthin
Yes, this is what I think too, and likely the reason for the abrupt coordinated messaging
"An AI agent went rogue" also feels like a test drive for an era when no one is responsible for the worst things these products do. Seems like a standard that could be really convenient for certain governments.
September 14, 2026 at 10:46 PM
Yes, this is what I think too, and likely the reason for the abrupt coordinated messaging
Reposted by Tom Benthin
We need LEADERS with strong moral compasses willing to put people ahead of their narrow self-interests and their own pockets. Instead they stand with the rapacious billionaires and companies whose greed knows no boundaries.
If we don't demand better, we may not be alive in 10 years to reconsider.
If we don't demand better, we may not be alive in 10 years to reconsider.
September 10, 2026 at 3:06 PM
We need LEADERS with strong moral compasses willing to put people ahead of their narrow self-interests and their own pockets. Instead they stand with the rapacious billionaires and companies whose greed knows no boundaries.
If we don't demand better, we may not be alive in 10 years to reconsider.
If we don't demand better, we may not be alive in 10 years to reconsider.
Reposted by Tom Benthin
As but one example, @schumer.senate.gov's ENTIRE FAMILY is enmeshed with the most dangerous companies and oligarchs in the country. He cannot lead because he is both bought, and self-interested. He also enables a continuing and growing genocide. Jeffries is bought by the same actors.
September 10, 2026 at 3:06 PM
As but one example, @schumer.senate.gov's ENTIRE FAMILY is enmeshed with the most dangerous companies and oligarchs in the country. He cannot lead because he is both bought, and self-interested. He also enables a continuing and growing genocide. Jeffries is bought by the same actors.
Reposted by Tom Benthin
We are a death cult intent on killing ourselves and a planet on which complex and interrelated life forms evolved over billions of years. We will obliterate all life either through nuclear war, climate change, or out of control "artificial intelligence" which may actually launch the nuclear war.
September 10, 2026 at 3:06 PM
We are a death cult intent on killing ourselves and a planet on which complex and interrelated life forms evolved over billions of years. We will obliterate all life either through nuclear war, climate change, or out of control "artificial intelligence" which may actually launch the nuclear war.
Reposted by Tom Benthin
NAZA: 24 Israeli soldiers sit on Tel Aviv rooftops, sharing how they killed entire families, thousands of people, in Gaza.
These testimonies appear in NAZA, a film that premiers in Venice today. Here are the directors, explaining why they made the film: www.972mag.com/naza-exposin...
These testimonies appear in NAZA, a film that premiers in Venice today. Here are the directors, explaining why they made the film: www.972mag.com/naza-exposin...
‘NAZA’: Exposing Israel’s killing machine in Gaza
Our new film shows how Israel’s slaughter of Palestinian civilians was a calculated and intentional act, through the testimonies of those responsible.
www.972mag.com
September 10, 2026 at 2:23 PM
NAZA: 24 Israeli soldiers sit on Tel Aviv rooftops, sharing how they killed entire families, thousands of people, in Gaza.
These testimonies appear in NAZA, a film that premiers in Venice today. Here are the directors, explaining why they made the film: www.972mag.com/naza-exposin...
These testimonies appear in NAZA, a film that premiers in Venice today. Here are the directors, explaining why they made the film: www.972mag.com/naza-exposin...
Reposted by Tom Benthin
Protest that endures, I think, is moved by a hope far more modest than that of public success: namely, the hope of preserving qualities in one's own heart and spirit that would be destroyed by acquiescence.
Wendell Berry, What Are People For?
Wendell Berry, What Are People For?
September 1, 2026 at 1:37 AM
Protest that endures, I think, is moved by a hope far more modest than that of public success: namely, the hope of preserving qualities in one's own heart and spirit that would be destroyed by acquiescence.
Wendell Berry, What Are People For?
Wendell Berry, What Are People For?
Reposted by Tom Benthin
My colleague Sarah Ladd with this remembrance: "...Wendell Berry once wrote: 'Beware the machinery of longevity. When a man’s life is over the decent thing is for him to die. The forest does not withhold itself from death.'" kentuckylantern.com/2026/08/31/k... @kentuckylantern.com
Kentucky writer, farmer and advocate Wendell Berry dies at 92 • Kentucky Lantern
A lover of forests, the farmer, author and former English professor died on Thursday, according to his family and the New York Times. He was 92.
kentuckylantern.com
September 1, 2026 at 2:23 AM
My colleague Sarah Ladd with this remembrance: "...Wendell Berry once wrote: 'Beware the machinery of longevity. When a man’s life is over the decent thing is for him to die. The forest does not withhold itself from death.'" kentuckylantern.com/2026/08/31/k... @kentuckylantern.com
Reposted by Tom Benthin
Wendell Berry: “Though we have life, it is beyond us. We do not know how we have it, or why. We do not know what is going to happen to it, or to us. It is not predictable; though we can destroy it, we cannot make it. It cannot... be controlled."
www.kentucky.com/news/local/a...
www.kentucky.com/news/local/a...
‘Another great light gone out.’ Kentucky author, activist Wendell Berry dies at 92.
Wendell Berry championed small farms, agrarianism and conservation for decades.
www.kentucky.com
September 1, 2026 at 1:47 AM
Wendell Berry: “Though we have life, it is beyond us. We do not know how we have it, or why. We do not know what is going to happen to it, or to us. It is not predictable; though we can destroy it, we cannot make it. It cannot... be controlled."
www.kentucky.com/news/local/a...
www.kentucky.com/news/local/a...
Reposted by Tom Benthin
Wendell Berry, revered American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, and farmer.
August 5, 1934 - August 31, 2026.
Rest in Peace, sweet soul.
❤️🩹🕯️🕊️
August 5, 1934 - August 31, 2026.
Rest in Peace, sweet soul.
❤️🩹🕯️🕊️
September 1, 2026 at 12:56 AM
Wendell Berry, revered American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, and farmer.
August 5, 1934 - August 31, 2026.
Rest in Peace, sweet soul.
❤️🩹🕯️🕊️
August 5, 1934 - August 31, 2026.
Rest in Peace, sweet soul.
❤️🩹🕯️🕊️
Reposted by Tom Benthin
Rest in the peace of wild things, Wendell. Thank you, thank you, thank you for everything, every word.
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/u...
Wendell Berry, Writer Who Extolled America’s Agrarian Past, Dies at 92 (Gift Article)
A Kentucky farmer, he railed against agribusiness and championed small family farms and the environment, winning widespread acclaim.
www.nytimes.com
September 1, 2026 at 1:47 AM
Rest in the peace of wild things, Wendell. Thank you, thank you, thank you for everything, every word.
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/u...
Reposted by Tom Benthin
So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor. Love someone who does not deserve it. Denounce the government and embrace the flag.
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/u...
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor. Love someone who does not deserve it. Denounce the government and embrace the flag.
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/u...
Wendell Berry, Writer Who Extolled America’s Agrarian Past, Dies at 92
www.nytimes.com
September 1, 2026 at 1:01 AM
So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor. Love someone who does not deserve it. Denounce the government and embrace the flag.
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/u...
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor. Love someone who does not deserve it. Denounce the government and embrace the flag.
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/u...
Reposted by Tom Benthin
Wendell Berry is gone after a long life. I dare you to read or listen to this and not be overwhelmed by something
The Peace of Wild Things
A poem by Wendell Berry.
onbeing.org
September 1, 2026 at 1:45 AM
Wendell Berry is gone after a long life. I dare you to read or listen to this and not be overwhelmed by something
Reposted by Tom Benthin
👀👀👀. Immediately.
🚨🚨👀 Clyburn comes out for Court expansion.
Expanding #SCOTUS to rebalance Roberts MAGA Court should now be the standard position of the Democratic Party. #expandtheCourt
Expanding #SCOTUS to rebalance Roberts MAGA Court should now be the standard position of the Democratic Party. #expandtheCourt
Rep. James Clyburn says he supports expanding the Supreme Court: "13 is a pretty good number. A baker's dozen would be a good number to have on the Court."
August 30, 2026 at 6:03 PM
👀👀👀. Immediately.
Reposted by Tom Benthin
Again… immediately. And no hiding behind the worst Senator whoever that turns out to be. Put them ALL on record.
court expansion is something that needs to happen quickly, before anything gets bogged down - even the most recalcitrant senators are going to be much more reluctant to immediately hamstring the very first thing a new administration tries to do
August 30, 2026 at 6:06 PM
Again… immediately. And no hiding behind the worst Senator whoever that turns out to be. Put them ALL on record.
Reposted by Tom Benthin
Israeli settlers beat a team of NBC journalists, putting one in the hospital. The Israeli government said and did nothing. The USG said and did nothing. Israel’s violence is metastasizing.
August 30, 2026 at 7:33 PM
Israeli settlers beat a team of NBC journalists, putting one in the hospital. The Israeli government said and did nothing. The USG said and did nothing. Israel’s violence is metastasizing.
Reposted by Tom Benthin
In possibly the fastest shift in public opinion I've ever seen, local data center approval went from -5 to -65 in less than a year
heatmap.news/daily/data-c...
heatmap.news/daily/data-c...
August 20, 2026 at 7:51 PM
In possibly the fastest shift in public opinion I've ever seen, local data center approval went from -5 to -65 in less than a year
heatmap.news/daily/data-c...
heatmap.news/daily/data-c...
Reposted by Tom Benthin
Part of the problem is Dems aren’t even making this case.
How many stories have you read in the last month about how radical & extreme Francesca Hong & Abdul El-Sayed are, & how the Democrats are veering far left?
How many stories have you read in the last month about how radical & extreme Tom Tiffany & Ken Paxton are, & how the GOP is veering far right?
How many stories have you read in the last month about how radical & extreme Tom Tiffany & Ken Paxton are, & how the GOP is veering far right?
Kind of remarkable that so much of the discourse is about the dangers of extremism in the Democratic Party.
August 12, 2026 at 12:33 AM
Part of the problem is Dems aren’t even making this case.
Reposted by Tom Benthin
I am truly honored and humbled to be Minnesota’s Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate.
Thank you, Minnesota – for everything.
Thank you, Minnesota – for everything.
August 12, 2026 at 3:47 AM
I am truly honored and humbled to be Minnesota’s Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate.
Thank you, Minnesota – for everything.
Thank you, Minnesota – for everything.
Reposted by Tom Benthin
Peggy Flanagan’s likely win in Minnesota should send a thunderous message to all Democrats who bent the knee to Trump in the early days of his 2.0 inauguration which unleashed the brutality of Miller/Trump’s immigration regime. Not ok.
Anyone running for Prez who voted for LR will need to explain.
Anyone running for Prez who voted for LR will need to explain.
August 12, 2026 at 3:14 AM
Peggy Flanagan’s likely win in Minnesota should send a thunderous message to all Democrats who bent the knee to Trump in the early days of his 2.0 inauguration which unleashed the brutality of Miller/Trump’s immigration regime. Not ok.
Anyone running for Prez who voted for LR will need to explain.
Anyone running for Prez who voted for LR will need to explain.
Reposted by Tom Benthin
There is really no way to reform this kind of behavior.
Video of an ICE agent pulling a gun on a wife and mother, who is a US citizen born and raised in the area, near Bailey's Crossroads in Northern Virginia yesterday.
Chillingly, they claimed she “almost ran them over” until she told them she had video proving that was a lie.
Chillingly, they claimed she “almost ran them over” until she told them she had video proving that was a lie.
August 11, 2026 at 11:29 PM
There is really no way to reform this kind of behavior.
Reposted by Tom Benthin
ABOLISH ICE, PROSECUTE THE MFS
Video of an ICE agent pulling a gun on a wife and mother, who is a US citizen born and raised in the area, near Bailey's Crossroads in Northern Virginia yesterday.
Chillingly, they claimed she “almost ran them over” until she told them she had video proving that was a lie.
Chillingly, they claimed she “almost ran them over” until she told them she had video proving that was a lie.
August 11, 2026 at 11:31 PM
ABOLISH ICE, PROSECUTE THE MFS
Reposted by Tom Benthin
Powerful point from @elienyc.bsky.social with @profmmurray.bsky.social re how Dems/progressives aren't being strategic when they are not being thoughtful re how to rebalance/reform the Roberts #SCOTUS.
It is the SCOTUS stupid.
W/o control of SCOTUS every progressive policy dream burns.
It is the SCOTUS stupid.
W/o control of SCOTUS every progressive policy dream burns.
August 11, 2026 at 10:49 PM
Powerful point from @elienyc.bsky.social with @profmmurray.bsky.social re how Dems/progressives aren't being strategic when they are not being thoughtful re how to rebalance/reform the Roberts #SCOTUS.
It is the SCOTUS stupid.
W/o control of SCOTUS every progressive policy dream burns.
It is the SCOTUS stupid.
W/o control of SCOTUS every progressive policy dream burns.
Reposted by Tom Benthin
If you find yourself dooming, it's worth recalling that Trump has neither the legal nor (more importantly) the practical ability to effectively federalize & rig the midterms. But if you find yourself complacent, it's important to note he can cause a whole lot of chaos by illegally trying & failing.
🚨🚨🚨
WAYNE ALLYN ROOT: You have the right to declare a national security emergency for elections. If you do this in the next month, we will get photo ID, proof of citizenship, and a limit to mail ballots
TRUMP: Let me just say stranger things have happened. I'll leave it at that
WAYNE ALLYN ROOT: You have the right to declare a national security emergency for elections. If you do this in the next month, we will get photo ID, proof of citizenship, and a limit to mail ballots
TRUMP: Let me just say stranger things have happened. I'll leave it at that
August 11, 2026 at 6:15 PM
If you find yourself dooming, it's worth recalling that Trump has neither the legal nor (more importantly) the practical ability to effectively federalize & rig the midterms. But if you find yourself complacent, it's important to note he can cause a whole lot of chaos by illegally trying & failing.
Reposted by Tom Benthin
Climate change is bringing more & deadlier mosquitoes to the US, but I'm told we're "hushing" about climate these days, so, uh, don't mention it.
They’re the Most Annoying Creatures on the Planet. You Don’t Know What They’re Going to Unleash on America.
They can do a lot more than ruin your summer day.
slate.com
August 11, 2026 at 11:02 PM
Climate change is bringing more & deadlier mosquitoes to the US, but I'm told we're "hushing" about climate these days, so, uh, don't mention it.
Reposted by Tom Benthin
Abolish this agency. Burn it to the ground. Scatter the ashes. Imprison those involved.
Video of an ICE agent pulling a gun on a wife and mother, who is a US citizen born and raised in the area, near Bailey's Crossroads in Northern Virginia yesterday.
Chillingly, they claimed she “almost ran them over” until she told them she had video proving that was a lie.
Chillingly, they claimed she “almost ran them over” until she told them she had video proving that was a lie.
August 11, 2026 at 11:05 PM
Abolish this agency. Burn it to the ground. Scatter the ashes. Imprison those involved.