they like Trump and want to help him rule us. Two of the things that helped Republicans rule us more than anything else were in 2012 and 2022 when Republicans under a Dem Presidency and Senate were able to win the House only through more efficient gerrymandering and stymie Dem Presidencies.
hasan makes an obvious joke and has generally good politics and the media is like we need to drown him to prove he's not a witch. meanwhile tucker carlson goes live and talks about how demons are real and one tried to eat him in his sleep once and the media is like he seems trustworthy
If you let them ban porn, they will call you pornographic when they ban you.
The beloved US President Obama had the opportunity to hold the previous administration accountable for its crimes but chose not to in the name " of healing the nation "
And the wound it needed healing from got worse
So you'll forgive me when Americans say there will be accountability
Jewish communities are living in fear amid rising antisemitism, including these appalling arson attacks. We must confront this.
At the same time, antisemitism is being weaponised to shut down criticism of the Israeli government.
Both are true. Both deeply concerning. Both Antisemitic.
Hegseth's repeal of universal flu vaccines is nonsense on so many levels, but his claim vaccine mandates were an "era of betrayal" irked me as a historian. Here's my response, in @thebulwark.com this morning;
www.thebulwark.com/p/george-was...
Remember this every time a Reasonable Democrat says we should be onboard with legal/technical measures to stop minors from accessing adult content
Once you create a category of Bannable Speech, you've created a tool for the powerful to ban any speech they want; just put it in the Bannable category.
Democrats getting more backlash for attempting redistricting in Virginia in response to completely unprecedented GOP powergrabs than Republicans have gotten for gerrymandering for decades is extremely grim shit ngl.
fuck sam altman forever for taking away the last places where we could engage in good faith: the creative arts, which should be a testament to human ingenuity. i am so mad that everything i read or listen to or admire is now tainted with doubt. do you understand? he is a thief of joy and i HATE HIM
I despise with the heat of a thousand suns the way I have to be suspicious of all art I see now while I investigate it's authenticity, because this couldn't be more diametrically opposed to the state of mind one should be in while taking in all art.
here is the thing about vote scolding: it doesn't work
my personal position is that the right thing to do is to vote and - because the republican party is so completely world-destroyingly insane - to vote for the democrats
but you simply cannot change minds on this by scolding people
I decided to watch Amadeus again (great decision) and can you IMAGINE hollywood going with such an abstract non descriptive poster today??? I had no idea what it was about for years, but it intrigued me everytime I saw it at the video store.
Goofball.
A screenshot of clearsky, showing that the bluesky staff member, who goes by Why, has subscribed to only one blocking list, one made by a known troll that searches for users that are against ai and add them to this moderation list. Why @why.bsky.team Blocking 310,708 total users via lists @antiantiai.bsky.social Anti "Anti-AI" Labeler 3 hours ago AI Haters Subscribes to anti-AI blocklists or otherwise seems poorly disposed for productive conversations.
Lmao when a staff member subscribes to a block list made by a troll account and ends up blocking 310,700+ users, all because the majority of the users of bluesky hold the rational opinion that ai is total shit and shouldn't be used for any reason.
Ai is ruining the site, and the world.
Fuck ai.
Washington Post Editorial Board headline: “The Texas gerrymander freak out. What’s happening in Texas is not a threat to democracy.”
Washington Post Editorial Board headline: “Virginia plunges America deeper into the gerrymandering abyss. The redistricting scheme was always a power grab by Democrats. Voters went along with it.”
The Washington Post Editorial Board was fine with Republicans gerrymandering in Texas.
But when Democrats responded in Virginia, it’s a “power grab” that “plunges America deeper into the gerrymandering abyss.”
The implicit media consensus is that urban voters should not be able to overrule rural voters, but that rural voters should be able to overrule urban voters, an assumption so axiomatic and unquestionable that nobody even understands they're making it.
It’s kind of astonishing how many news outlets have published versions of a “Tucker Carlson apologized for telling people to support Trump” story by writers who very clearly did not listen to the podcast.
Media needs to stop with "critics say" and just quote the actual language of the bill.
HB 249 creates a new category of "seminudity" which can be used to arrest women who aren't nude, but are wearing clothing — leggings, t-shirts without bras — that religious groups feel is too provocative.
This is horrific. I feel physically ill.
(Reposted with ALT text)
"we should never do litmus tests" is one of those things that consultants think sounds smart but falls apart if you think about it for two fucking seconds
Musk explicitly made it part of the site's design ethos, with the paid checkmarks and monetization of viral posts.
This isn't conspiracy theory fearmongering, guy went on stage and said "Here's monetary incentive for whipping up culture wars."
At some point, we need to actually grapple with that.
Beth worked as a doctor for years until a transphobe turned up. Now, she's had to leave her job, leave her home, move to the other side of the world and is still being hounded and harassed by the media and cult.
She did nothing but exist as trans in the orbit of Sandie Peggie.
Not to mention that like... why do they need that space? It's not as if we're preventing them from getting the necessities of life, like they are with us.
I keep saying, time and again, right-wingers don't just want to kill us, they desperately want us to like them while they do it.
Once again "the death of the West" meant "the death of my secret bank account."
Capitalism isn't a democracy. Spending money isn't voting. Every time we repeat this, we forget where we actually derive power: not by being a naughty little consumer who won't consume, but by getting loud, speaking out, direct action, and making the people who stand to benefit miserable.
The task of de-Trumpification of science and public health will take a generation and a "Marshall Plan" to rebuild. Without a bold, expansive vision to guide us, there is no coming back. Small-bore, poll-tested versions of the future will not help us. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
People keep blabbing that Congress is "so divided" but they're never divided when it comes to these three things:
1) Supporting Israel no matter what it does
2) Covering for Jeffrey Epstein and his network
3) Supporting Big Tech, including technofascists, and taking their donations
“The US has provided no evidence that any of the vessels were involved in drug trafficking, and legal experts and rights groups say the attacks amount to extrajudicial killings as they apparently target civilians who do not pose any immediate threat.”
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
it's becoming increasingly clear that the Hagseth Doctrine boils down to "Strategy and Logistics Are Woke and Gay"
the elite aren’t powerful politicians or billionaires. common misconception. the elite is anyone i think is cooler than me, funnier than me, more artistic than me, or generally anyone i resent for daring to be happier than i am despite my immense wealth and political clout