One bright spot in the bleak year of 2024 was the rise of Bluesky. As someone who relied greatly on Twitter for news and my career—OK, I may have been somewhat addicted—before Elon Musk bought it and turned it into a snake pit of neo-Nazi filth, it was nice to see a Twitter-like replacement rise to relative prominence.
I joined in April 2023 as about the 47,000th user. Today, Bluesky has about 26 million users, and seems to be growing healthily. It actually has some notable improvements on Twitter, like the “starter pack” function where users can put together a group of accounts that one can follow at once (here’s the starter pack for Prospect writers, incidentally), or the “nuclear block” where if one participant in a conversation blocks the other, the entire conversation is zapped. This greatly cuts down on Twitter’s culture of aggressive pile-ons and abuse.
This ability to share outside the platform is proving so popular that Facebook’s Twitter clone, Threads, has belatedly altered its algorithm to include more posts from accounts you follow in an attempt to compete. And this disruption is being done on a shoestring budget—Bluesky has just 20 employees and about $23 million in funding, as compared to Meta’s 70,000+ workers and $156 billion in annual revenue.
It’s strong evidence that there is a large unmet demand for internet systems outside of the control of Big Tech monopolists. I don’t know if there can be a similar option for every walled garden on the internet—it’s hard to dislodge a giant—but there’s no question that there’s a lot of pent-up demand.
David Sirota is a constant namesearcher so if you don't want to see his posts you just have to mention that you think he's a doofus and he'll block you. Saves you the couple clicks!
— Cooper Lund (@cooperlund.online) January 2, 2025 at 2:54 PM
LMAO that he thinks this is a good tack to take here.
— Nied (@nied.bsky.social) January 2, 2025 at 12:54 PM
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Jimmy Dore and Christian Parenti claim that there was no corporate and little government opposition to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. until he organized the Poor People's Campaign.
— Post-Left Watch (@postleftwatch.bsky.social) January 6, 2025 at 10:08 PM
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Christian Parenti is the son of Michael Parenti, he looks like the bad guy from a Die Hard movie, and he writes for the Peter Thiel-funded Compact Magazine.
— Post-Left Watch (@postleftwatch.bsky.social) January 6, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Christian Parenti describing the government opposition to MLK as "Bull Connor and clubs and all that" is something that would be too over-the-top to say if you writing a satire of these assholes.
— Post-Left Watch (@postleftwatch.bsky.social) January 6, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Tuesday morning that content moderation and other restrictions on speech would be lifted across Facebook, Instagram and other platforms as Donald Trump returns to the White House, reported Fox News.
"We’re going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies and restoring free expression on our platforms," Zuckerberg said in a video posted Tuesday morning. "More specifically, we’re going to get rid of fact-checkers and replace them with Community Notes similar to X, starting in the U.S."
Blakeman's original decision was seen as a response to rants made by Trump on Truth Social last week.
In response to the US flag potentially being left at half-mast during his inauguration, Trump said that Democrats "don't love our country" and are "giddy."
"In any event, because of the death of President Jimmy Carter, the Flag may, for the first time ever during an Inauguration of a future President, be at half-mast," Trump said.
70,000+ seniors in Washington state, 4.5 million seniors nationwide will save hundreds or thousands of dollars each year thanks to the new annual cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for folks on Medicare Part D
***PHOTOS AND B-ROLL OF THURSDAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE AVAILABLE HERE***
In case you missed it: on January 1, a new provision that Democrats in Congress got signed into law went into effect, capping out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for seniors with a Medicare prescription drug plan at $2,000 a year. On Thursday, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined U.S. Representative Kim Schrier, M.D. (D-WA-08) at Northaven Senior Living in Seattle to highlight the new costs savings for millions of seniors.
The new cap is thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act Democrats passed through Congress in 2022—that every single Republican voted against—and it means millions of seniors will pay significantly less for their prescription drugs this year, lowering costs for families and giving them more breathing room.
“Starting January 1st, anyone with a Medicare prescription drug plan—also known as Medicare Part D—now has their out-of-pocket drug costs capped at two thousand dollars each year. That’s because of a law Democrats passed—the Inflation Reduction Act—that did all sorts of things to lower health care costs and make it cheaper and easier for folks to get the medications they need,” said Senator Murray. “As everyone knows, high drug prices come with other painful costs—like stress over how to make ends meet, or what bills to skip, in order to fill a prescription, or whether to take the risk of rationing medication. These are impossible choices that no one should ever have to make. But they’re the reality for so many people, and so many seniors especially. And make no mistake, when prescription drugs are too expensive for people to afford—that’s dangerous. Because even the best, most effective medication can’t do someone any good if they can’t afford to get it.”
Medicare Part D—a voluntary program that helps pay for prescription drugs for people with Medicare—provides prescription drug coverage for nearly 56 million Americans. More than 4.5 million older Americans enrolled in Part D are estimated to benefit from the new out-of-pocket spending cap that took effect January 1, 2025. Approximately 1.4 million Part D enrollees who reach the new out-of-pocket cap between 2025 and 2029 will see annual savings of $1,000 or more, and just over 420,000 will see savings of more than $3,000. In Washington state, at least 70,000 seniors are expected to see these new savings—nearly $1,900 in 2025—and that number will steadily increase over time.
The $2,000 annual cap is just one of the many actions Democrats took to lower prescription drug costs in the Inflation Reduction Act. Most notably, the law capped the cost of insulin for patients on Medicare at $35/month—which went into effect January 1, 2023—and it empowered Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices for the first time ever.
- In August, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced negotiated drug prices for ten commonly-used drugs in the first cycle of negotiations. The new, lower negotiated prices will go into effect on January 1, 2026, and will lower the prices people pay for some of the most common and expensive prescription drugs that treat heart disease, cancer, diabetes, blood clots, and more.
- Allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug costs is expected to save American taxpayers $6 billion, with people enrolled in Medicare expected to save $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs in 2026 alone. 15 to 20 more drugs will be added to the negotiating table every year moving forward – all thanks to Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act.
See coverage of the landmark new prescription drug cap below:
Fox 13: Medicare prescription drug costs capped at $2,000 annually
Seniors on Medicare Part D will never pay more than $2,000 out-of-pocket for prescription drugs annually, thanks to a provision in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act which takes effect this year. The new benefit for seniors on Medicare Part D will cap out-of-pocket prescription drug costs at $2,000 per year. Once they reach this dollar amount, they will automatically receive “catastrophic coverage,” which means all out-of-pocket costs for Part D drugs will be covered through the rest of the year. […]
In Washington state alone, 70,000 enrollees will save nearly $1,900 in 2025, with the number of beneficiaries growing over time.
“[It’s] a change that will save millions of people, hundreds or thousands of dollars on their prescription medications, every year from now on,” said U.S. Senator Patty Murray, who is a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “There is more to this story than just numbers—because as everyone knows, high drug prices come with other painful costs. Like stress over how to make ends meet, or what bills to skip, in order to fill a prescription, or whether to take the risk of rationing medication.” […]
“This cap means I can afford my medications without having to cut back on essentials like food or utilities,” said Katherine O’Hara, a local senior who is on Medicare.
Stephan Gerhardt, who lives with dystonia and degenerative disc disease, also praised the change.
“One of my anti-inflammatory medications isn’t covered by my insurance, but luckily, it only costs $45 a bottle and lasts six months,” Gerhardt said. “I’m fortunate compared to others.”
Gerhardt, who has been on Medicare for over a decade due to his disabilities, said the new law will help many seniors in his community avoid tough choices between essential needs.
“People I know often have to decide: ‘Do I eat, pay rent, or take my meds?’” said Gerhardt. “Almost everybody will choose to pay rent because they can’t survive being homeless; and then it’s, ‘How do I figure out food?’”
“This is life-changing for folks who can’t afford their medications,” said Gerhardt. “It reduces the strain on individuals and the healthcare system. If people can afford their medications, they’re less likely to end up in emergency rooms, which costs everyone more in the long run.”
Despite the bipartisan benefits, every Republican in Congress voted against the Inflation Reduction Act, a point highlighted by Murray. She warned of potential future efforts to repeal the law.
“This is about making life more affordable and ensuring no one has to risk their health because they can’t afford medication,” Murray said. “The President-Elect has talked about cutting everything, so he’s got everything in front of him, and we’re going to make sure this is not one he goes after.”
KING 5: Prescription drug costs now capped at $2,000 a year for some Washington seniors on Medicare
Sen. Patty Murray held a press conference Thursday in light of a cap on prescription drug costs for some on Medicare going into effect.
Out-of-pocket costs for prescription medications will be capped at $2,000 a year for seniors on Medicare Part D. Part D is a voluntary program that pays for prescription drug medication that covers nearly 56 million Americans.
The change was included in the Inflation Reduction Act that was passed in Congress in August of 2022. […]
“As everyone knows, high drug prices cause other painful costs, like stress over how to make ends meet, or what bills they needed to skip in order to take a prescription, or whether to take the risk of rationing medication,” Murray said. “Those are impossible choices that no one should ever have to make, but they’re the reality for many people and many seniors.”
Other provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act also take aim at drug costs for people with Medicare. The cost of insulin is capped at $35 a month and recommended vaccines like the flu, shingles, COVID-19 and RSV are free to everyone with Medicare Part D, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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