Rick Hellman

Rick Hellman

@rickhellman.bsky.social

Husband, father, brother, son.

630 followers313 following793 posts

Rick Hellman reposted

Hamilton Nolan
@hamiltonnolan.bsky.social

There is no equivalent on the Democratic side for the pure, undiluted nihilism coming from the federal government right now. We basically have one party of technocrats and one party of Branch Davidians.

The Associated Press@apnews.com

The Trump administration has announced two more payouts for energy companies to walk away from U.S. offshore wind projects under development.

bit.lyTrump administration to pay 2 more companies to walk away from US offshore wind leasesThe Trump administration has announced two more payouts for energy companies to walk away from U.S. offshore wind projects under development.
Rick Hellman
@rickhellman.bsky.social

Good story here w/lotta quotes from @universityofkansas.bsky.social prof Jeff Hall, making sense, as usual.

Harriet Weber@harri.bsky.social

After nuking my Insta, I spoke to Stanford, UMelbourne, UKansas, and UChicago researchers to understand the benefits of deleting social media—and how to cushion the blow if you do—for @popsci.com 🧪 www.popsci.com/science/is-s...

popsci.comDoes deleting social media make you happier or lonelier? Short answer: It depends.The research isn’t one-size-fits-all.

Rick Hellman reposted

Kevin M. Kruse
@kevinmkruse.bsky.social

Say what you will about the worst members of the Roberts Court, but they all make sure their wives are in on the grift. Jane Roberts, Martha Alito and Ginni Thomas are equal partners with their husbands in the grand project of destroying the United States and enriching themselves in the process.

Bryan 🌐 🇺🇦 Slava Ukraine personal opinions only@papootx.bsky.social

John Roberts’ Wife Made Millions From Bribes Roberts accepted $10 Million in bribes disguised as recruiting fees from Law firms with cases pending before the Supreme Court. www.thedailybeast.com/chief-justic...

thedailybeast.comChief Justice’s Wife Made $10M+ as Legal Recruiter: ReportAt least one of the firms reportedly had a case before Chief Justice Roberts.
Rick Hellman
@rickhellman.bsky.social

Jeff Hall's "Friendship Hours" survey cited once again here. Not sure I believe the 200 hours part, but the gist of it - that you must put in a lot of work to be a good friend - yes. www.bolde.com/psychology-s...

bolde.comPsychology says people who don't have a lot of good friends often want to reverse it, but just don't know howI used to think I was the only one who didn’t have a set crew of people. I’d scroll through social media and see groups of friends laughing, celebrating, going on trips together. I’d wonder how they f...

Rick Hellman reposted

CYNC Verity Media
@cvmedia.bsky.social

Surveillance has evolved beyond Orwell’s “Big Brother.” Today’s reality is a network of governments, corporations, and data brokers—each collecting and leveraging personal data at scale. Laws can constrain governments. Controlling private power is far harder. #AISurveillance #Privacy @ec.europa.eu

Rick Hellman reposted

Marc Elias
@marcelias.bsky.social

With the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) last week demanding 2024 election records from Wayne County, Michigan, the Trump administration is now aggressively targeting the voting process in perhaps the country’s three most pivotal voting jurisdictions. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

democracydocket.comAhead of midterms, Trump’s DOJ is targeting voting in three of the most pivotal swing-state counties"They're basically acknowledging they got nothing," one elections expert said. "It's going to be used for propaganda and PR. And DOJ's law enforcement powers aren't supposed to be used for propaganda ...

Rick Hellman reposted

Maggie Harrison Dupré
@mharrisondupre.bsky.social

Forbes is gamifying news about the horrific mass shooting in Shreveport, LA this weekend, encouraging readers to bet on the likelihood of gun regulation with fake money via its "ForbesPredict" feature. Eight children were murdered in the shooting. futurism.com/future-socie...

futurism.comIn Article About Horrific Shooting That Killed Eight Children, Forbes Lets Readers Place Bets About Gun ControlIn a story about a mass shooting that left eight children dead, Forbes is encouraging readers to bet on the news with fake money.

Rick Hellman reposted

Dave Lee
@davelee.me

Mamdani needs to have this team make movie poster-style subway ads with these quotes

Jared Holt@jaredlholt.bsky.social

Zohran Mamdani said he's going to start taxing rich people who buy luxury housing in NYC but don't actually live in there, and the former CEO of Twitter/X called it "actually one of the scariest things I have ever seen."

Rick Hellman reposted

Erika Hall
@erikahall.bsky.social

How is TJ Maxx not getting in on "looksmaxxing," riding it hard for a fiscal quarter of advertising campaign, then walking away with the satisfaction of having murdered the trend.

Rick Hellman reposted

Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
@froomkin.bsky.social

So the media is a bunch of villainous Jews and Trump is Jesus. I fully expect the NYT to sanewash this antisemitic lunacy. So far, they’re ignoring it.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Hegseth: "Our press are just like these Pharisees. Your politically motivated animus for President Trump nearly completely blinds you from the brilliance of our American warriors."

Rick Hellman
@rickhellman.bsky.social

Congrats to @universityofkansas.bsky.social prof @bogiperson.bsky.social for being shortlisted for Best First Novel! locusmag.com/2026/04/2026... Here's KU News Service release on "Song of Spores" for more: news.ku.edu/news/article...

locusmag.com2026 Locus Awards Top Ten FinalistsCongratulations to all of the Locus Awards top ten finalists! These results are from the February 1 to April 1 voting by readers on an open public ballot. The Locus Awards winners will be announced…

Rick Hellman reposted

emptywheel
@emptywheel.bsky.social

These are adjudged terrorists.

Roger Parloff@rparloff.bsky.social

GOVT ASKS DC CIRCUIT TO VACATE CONVICTIONS AND REMAND FOR DISMISSAL IN OATH KEEPERS AND PROUD BOYS CASES. Stewart Rhodes, Ethan Nordean, everybody. ... www.documentcloud.org/documents/28...

Rick Hellman
@rickhellman.bsky.social

Most Jews know the difference between an actual attempted genocide and something else.

StandWithUs@standwithus.bsky.social

If we held a minute of silence for every victim of the Holocaust, we would be silent for eleven and a half years. On Yom HaShoah, Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, we remember the 6 million Jewish lives that were stolen during the Nazi regime, along with millions of others.

Rick Hellman reposted

Andy Kroll
@andykroll.bsky.social

A @propublica.org investigation pinpointed at least 75 people across federal agencies who stood up to protect the integrity of the 2020 election. Today, nearly all of those people are gone, having resigned, been fired, or been reassigned, esp. at DOJ and DHS. www.propublica.org/article/trum...

propublica.orgInside Trump’s Effort to “Take Over” the Midterm ElectionsWhen Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election, the institutional guardrails of American democracy held. But if faced with the same tests today, those barriers — and people who held the line — would l...

Rick Hellman reposted

Ann Telnaes
@anntelnaes.bsky.social

I've seen respected columnists using AI to add cartoons to their posts. Please stop- first of all, it's garbage. Secondly, most editorial cartoonists would be happy if you included their work with your posts. Just ask them for permission.

Derf Backderf@derfbackderf.bsky.social

This should be a no-brainer. For Christ's sake STOP Posting obvious AI-generated political cartoons! Bluesky is awash in this shit these days. There are tons of real live human political cartoonists here, posting terrific work. Repost those. If you're unclear, here's how to spot AI slop:

Rick Hellman reposted

Radley Balko
@radleybalko.bsky.social

I think this is correct. Congress gave Trump the personalist, violent paramilitary force he's always wanted, but without the statutory hurdles, internal accountability, resistance from the courts, and institutional pushback that would come with deploying the actual military.

thehill.comThe Posse Comitatus workaround: ICE expands into domestic policingCongress gave ICE a $75 billion budget with few strings attached, allowing it to operate beyond its intended scope and bypass traditional checks on power, raising constitutional concerns.

Rick Hellman reposted

Timothy Snyder
@timothysnyder.bsky.social

So let’s have universal health care and help people live in dignity.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Sharon Simmons, the DoorDash grandma who was just part of a Trump photo op at the White House, says on Fox News that "no tax on tips" helped her because she couldn't afford her husband's cancer treatments

Rick Hellman reposted

ElieNYC
@elienyc.bsky.social

You know what would also help her afford her husband's cancer treatments? UNIVERSAL FUCKING HEALTH CARE JESUS FUCKING CHRIST HOW IS THIS GODDAMN COUNTRY STILL LIKE THIS MAYBE GRANDMA SHOULDN"T HAVE TO DELIVER FOOD LIKE A TEENAGER IF WE HAD A DECENT FUCKING SOCIETY!!!!!!!!!!

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Sharon Simmons, the DoorDash grandma who was just part of a Trump photo op at the White House, says on Fox News that "no tax on tips" helped her because she couldn't afford her husband's cancer treatments

Rick Hellman reposted

Max Kennerly
@maxkennerly.bsky.social

The USPS can't "run out of money," the sole question is the people in charge of the federal government believe delivering mail is worth funding the same way they already fund armed kidnapping gangs, concentration camps, and blowing up girls' schools.

CBS News@cbsnews.com

The U.S. Postal Service, which lost $9 billion in 2025, recently warned that it could run out of money within 12 months.

cbsn.wsUSPS suspends contributions to employee pensions after warning of "cash crisis"The U.S. Postal Service, which lost $9 billion in 2025, recently warned that it could run out of money within 12 months.