notoptional.bsky.social

JUST NOW: A confused, clearly not-there McConnell votes “AYE” after almost voting NO with Dems but getting *corrected* by handlers around him

Mitch McConnell leaves the Senate after not having a clue what he voted for or where he is.

July was one of the hottest months in the U.S. on record — even hotter than July during the 1936 Dust Bowl. Meanwhile, Trump is gutting renewable energy projects and fast-tracking dirty fossil fuel production that causes climate change. He’s selling out the future of our planet.

🚨CALL TO ACTION 🚨 Please go follow @bauerkahan.bsky.social She”s the author of #AB412 (the AI Copyright Transparency Act bill). Please follow her and tell her how you are impacted and thank her for AB-412. Also, tell all your friends to do the same. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE IN CA FOR THIS.

Denmark didn’t “transition” its grid—it replaced it. ~15% → 92% renewable electricity in 25 years. Wind did the heavy lifting. Solar is scaling. Interconnection balanced. Flexibility solved variability. Wind built it. Solar is scaling. Fossil lost it. This IS system replacement. ⚡#Bettrification

@lbc.co.uk “Sometimes there is too much wind for our outdated grid to handle, especially in Scotland & East of England. Rather than paying wind farms to switch off we’re trialling a new system where people who live near these constrained areas get cheaper ,or even free, electricity.” Govt on X.

There’s one thing stupider than spending 1.5 trillion to lose a war to a middle power in the Middle East, and that is spending 1.7 trillion to do so.

Now that the Supreme Court ruled the tariffs unlawful, how are you planning to spend your government refund? Personally, I'm running kinda low on Corn Nuts & sugarless peanut butter cups. 😋

Ossoff: "Among today's false prophets are the election deniers who indulge this president's obsession with overturning the 2020 election. Hear me when I say this -- they tell a lie so absurd, and therefore so debasing, that the act of telling it proves the teller's total and humiliating submission."

Good grief. Everyone knows they were just friends.

We've analysed this video of the shooting of Renee Nicole Good yesterday in Minneapolis frame-by-frame to highlight the positioning of the gun and phone in the ICE agent's hands. Video: @minnesotareformer.com with annotations by Bellingcat

Good time to follow Bellingcat, which has done crucial, dependable evidentiary work for many years

Friends (esp if you live in CA) we REALLY need signatures on this petition supporting Bill AB412 - the AI Copyright Transparency Act. TLDR = this will require AI corps to be transparent about what is in their datasets! Signing takes 1 min. Once you sign, PLEASE SHARE!! tinyurl.com/4uxbp963

Democracies do not use their military to try and intimidate their own citizens with “shows of presence”. This is fascism.

This last minute freeze of funds will cripple summer classes and camps scheduled to begin soon, leaving poor working parents without options. Shameful. Illegal. Wrong.

AB 412 passed out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee today! We're grateful to everyone who showed up in support! There’s more work ahead, and we hope to see you back in Sacramento as AB 412 moves through the legislative process. @sagaftra.org @navavoices.org

As a professional illustrator whose work is currently visible at multiple sites online, and whose livelihood has been jeopardized by unethical data scraping and training practices: thank you @bauerkahan.bsky.social for your introduction of #AB412 the AI Copyright Transparency Act!

THE MOST DECORATED (but — “DEI”)

WOW. After yesterday’s Oval Office ambush of President Zelensky, Haltbakk Bunkers, one of Norway’s leading marine fuel providers, announced that it will no longer refuel U.S. Navy vessels, urging other European firms to follow suit. The United States is weaker and more isolated than ever.

“We shouldn’t be harassed for doing the right thing, for telling our story, for telling the truth, for speaking against them in court and in public. They’re the traitor. They’re the one who attacked the Capitol.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

@asmlowenthal.bsky.social has introduced AB 566, sponsored by the CPPA. It requires browsers and mobile operating systems to give users the tools to opt out of the sale or sharing of their personal info in one step with opt-out preference signals. Read more: cppa.ca.gov/announcement...

No words….