I'll show them. I'll show them all. Won't they be surprised when I corner the market on tulips.
I make jokes about metahumor. He/him. Grey-haired white cis-male-adjacent. Devout agnostic. Black lives matter. LGBT+ lives matter. Immigrant lives matter. Facts matter. Science matters. Aka Eric Bloomquist.
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I'll show them. I'll show them all. Won't they be surprised when I corner the market on tulips.
"Would you support less freedom for other people if it might mean a little more mostly-illusionary security for you?" Too many people: "Yes, obviously, duh!" Welcome to Omelas. (Except it's not even slightly utopian.)
"The men and women who have joined C.D.C. across generations have done so not for prestige or power, but because they believe deeply in the call to service. They deserve an H.H.S. secretary who stands up for health, supports science and has their back. So, too, does our country." We do. (Gift link)
And of course instead of deregulators and dishonest mortgagers getting blamed, it was somehow all the fault of - surprise! - POC buying homes. Because mortgagers were in some mysterious way "forced" by evil Democrats to give them mortgages.
Not exactly news, but nice that the Times is treating it as news. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/u...
Well, there’s Mayor McCheese … but yeah, also pretty weird.
This is worth sharing far and wide. Federal Employees and contractors oral history project. Im not involved in this. Just got the link, idea seems to be to create a record of the assault on the American Repuvlic after Jan 2025. www.fecohp.org
There’s a saying that the street finds its own uses for things. (William Gibson) Which is true, but that’s harder to do when corporations gatekeep the streets and cops kettle people if they get out of line.
Imagine what this person’s life has been like that has given her such an incredible ability to blatantly lie like that. I mean, that’s not just a lie. It’s dark and twisted fantasizing. Imagine what that’s been like for the people who have had to personally deal with her.
Hey, if local law enforcement wants to take inspiration from this and start picking up litter, that’s great! (As if.)
Evidently Trump’s advisory opinions are legally equivalent to passed and signed legislation. (Ob: Nope) I don’t remember this being covered in high school civics or in Schoolhouse Rock, but I’m sure the Republican SCOTUS can handwave … I mean, carefully explain it.
Even IF that 87% stat is correct, it’s not actually meaningful because the timeline is too short and the numbers are too small.
They "saw the rot up close" and THEY LET IT SPREAD. Years ago - *decades ago* - would've been a much better time to tear them out of government root and branch. If Never-Trumpers want to help clean up the mess, great, but they should never be voted back into office.
"armed men of unclear authority" I bet their authority was clear to anyone who could see their skin.
Too toxic. I suggest either burial deep in a subduction zone or launching his body into the sun.
He's neither alive nor dead until we see the body. Schrodinger's Rat.
The "Parable of the Sower" certainly resembles much of what's currently happening. But it also shows the value of community and interdependence as important responses. It's simultaneously one of the most disturbing dystopian novels I've read and one of the most stubbornly optimistic. Brilliant.
Obviously, the Republican-led Congress *should* be stepping in re some states' measures. But equally obviously, they won't.
It's explicit in the Constitution that the president *doesn't* have this power. Per the Constitution, states run elections, with the US Congress only able to step to protect voters' rights. (Which is not to say that this SCOTUS can't say otherwise. But the Constitution itself is clear.)
Yes.
I wonder how many times he's ordered a nuclear strike and the people around him just war gamed it until he nodded off and forgot about it.
I have on occasion wished that you'd write a screenplay for a romantic comedy. If I had enough money, I'd offer to commission one. In a romantic comedy, snappy dialogue is everything, and you are a grand master of snappy dialogue.
And why do they call them anomalies when they're so common?
Yeah, that’s not at all concerning when he’s trying to occupy Democrat-led cities.
We'd have to impeach *and* convict. And thoroughly destroy the body in front of witnesses, on live TV. Just ... you know. To make sure. We could use a funeral pyre, and tell MAGA that it's traditionally a sign of high respect.
That'd be good, too, but personally too unsubtle for my taste. I think a shovel would be, um, I want to say "classier" but that's not a word that could apply to any version of this.
I know it's just the headline, but ... "Starting to"? He's been doing this all along, and I'm sure that he's done it in previous contexts.
On a less serious note, if I lived along the route to the golf course, I'd be tempted to stand out front, quietly holding a shovel as they go by.
www.fastcompany.com/90755916/the... (Scroll down in the article to see Ms. Atwood being badass with a flamethrower.)
I don't know what streaming services have "Weekend at Bernie's", but I think they're going to see a noticeable spike in views.
If Republicans didn't have double standards they wouldn't have standards at all.
Hey, if you've got Netflix and you like murder mystery comedies, I recommend "The Thursday Murder Club". It's been a while since I read it, but I think they stuck fairly close to the first novel of the series. They certainly captured the flavor of it.
"Patience hell, I'm going to ..." Oops, nope, never mind, I'm not gonna make that joke in a public space.
Practice is always good, but that went well enough that I think we could handle the real thing right now.
THIS. All of this. Democrats need to stop treating Republicans as if they're talking or acting in good faith. They're not. For example, it's a bad idea to begin a response by saying, "Republicans are right about [x] but ...". Do not prop up their dishonest rhetorical framework.
That's partly because sooner or later the former will happen.
Some people depicted the New Deal as far-left extremism as it was being implemented. So he's just following tradition.
Why would Trump need a heart? He's lived a long time without one.
Heh. I guess nobody is gonna play Elton John's "Funeral for a Friend". (Do they still do that? I haven't listened to music on the radio for years.)
In Vermont, a significant number of registered *Republicans* vote for Bernie. "Sure, he's a socialist. But he's OUR socialist." I heard Fox once tried to do a hit job on Bernie with quotes from Vermonters, and almost nobody would talk to them.
It's New Hampshire, the Live Me-Me-Me and Die state. (Ob: It's a pretty state with lots of nice people but ... uh ... let's just say it's a helluva contrast with Vermont.)
(I wasn't even approximately woke at that age. I just thought what they said was stupid.)
My first - well, second - exposure to really blatant racism was in a grocery store, where I had a part-time job. My reaction ... was evidently not what they expected from a young white guy. They complained to my boss who listened politely and later praised me for I handling it well.
Including by medical professionals. Maybe *especially* by them. If I understand correctly, it's medically, professionally, and ethically questionable. (I'm neither a medical professional nor a medical ethicist. So it's possible that I *don't* understand correctly.)
Sooner or later, I expect the Trumpstapo to start enforcing "gender protection" laws, and disappearing anyone who makes them feel icky.
Massachusetts is considering issuing its own vaccine guidelines, if needed. Giving the state DPH that ability is in the governor's latest budget request.
"Healthy people don't get polio. My pizza and beer diet and trigger-pulling exercise routine keeps me in great shape."
I wanted to know the brand until I read the last bit. Now I *really* want to know the brand.
I tend to be dubious about claims from shops that they closed because of shoplifting. It's an easy excuse that shifts blame to the usual convenient scapegoats. "It was shoplifting! Totally not mismanagement!"
"State Capitalism" ... led by a guy who bankrupted multiple businesses, including casinos. Yeah, of course they like it.
Oh, I'm sure Trump would let us know that it's still Biden's fault. Or that the numbers are totally fake. Maybe both.
Taco Bell's Chief Digital and Technology Officer Dane Mathews: "Sometimes it lets me down, but sometimes it really surprises me." I guess it's particularly surprising when it doesn't let him down.
Well sure. All those facts in one place? Dangerous!
I think we’ve reached (or passed) the point where we’ve jumped from “too early to panic” directly to “too late to panic”. Which might be good actually, as long as we keep in mind that we really don’t need to be panicked to do something.
Trump can’t get the trains to run on time unless he learns how to tell time with a clock. Or unless he redefines what “on time” officially means, which is more his usual thing.
Oh look, another reason to support and expand rail infrastructure.
I want to explain a few things and then it might be clearer why UK trans people are upset. In 2001 I married my wife, Sylvia. In 2005 I started medical transition. (1/13)
Pretending that it’s inevitable is much worse than pretending it’s going away. It’s an abdication of responsibility and of personal decision-making.
Of course, the death panels already existed even then. Although they’re more generally referred to as “healthcare insurance companies boards of directors”.
Yes, theoretically, polls can be manipulated. The more accurate numbers could be *even worse* for Republicans than this.
It's remarkable how many of my fellow white people can be oblivious to subtext. Even when it's essentially just ... text.
Some places will starve to death more slowly than others. And possibly not entirely. We're not dead yet, and neither are our friends.
(Ob: I was being tongue in cheek. According to the research mentioned in the article, the timeline is *probably* not *that* immediate.)
KSR has written some other interesting cli-fi stuff as well, including "Ministry for the Future". I wouldn't say it's "optimistic", but it's ... cautiously hopeful? And definitely interesting.
Welp, I guess it's time to set up the guest room and upstairs room for our Boston friends. I wish we'd added that second bathroom we were thinking about.
So, doubly dishonest of him: saying that the President is in good shape and saying that he's ready to step in if necessary.
I've never been at that level and I don't know what their job description or personal situation is, so I wouldn't presume to speak to what their duty is. The most I could do is say what I would *hope* I would do in a similar situation. But hypothetical decisions are much easier than real ones.
My goodness, this is quite the day for blocking tedious "independent thinkers" repeating the same old trollish crap. A target rich environment. Has anyone else noticed an uptick lately?
Because Republicans literally made it against the law for the government to fund research into gun violence as a public health issue.
They're attempting secondhand eugenics. I noted at the time that Trump et al v1 pulled back on addressing COVID after people started noticing that it was hitting minority communities hardest.
[snort] It was probably a rightwing "think" tank.
Disgusting. I'm not a veteran, but my favorite uncle was. (WW2) Obviously I don't know how he'd react to this, but I think it's safe to think he'd probably be pissed. And he was a hard man to piss off. Ditto my late father-in-law. (Also WW2.)
The place where law and finance and theology overlap must be bizarre AF. But hey, humans, know what I mean? Wacky.
Perhaps as a precaution we should expose them to midi-chlorians.
I'm not a lawyer but I strongly suspect that there's a good reason for her to let her attorneys make a statement on her behalf.
Some might suggest that many religions were obviously started by people who could be described as fantasy writers. (I'm a casually devout agnostic, so *I'M* not suggesting it. Just sayin'.)
It's (very darkly) funny because it's true.
[rimshot] When I was much younger, I used to joke about a Reader's Digest Condensed version of the Bible. Then they made one. (Now I joke about that. Obviously.)
I dare you to go to Annunciation School and tell our grieving community, in effect, guns don’t kill kids, antidepressants do. Just shut up. Stop peddling bullshit. You should be fired.
Someone has a warped sense of humor. (In a good way!)
According to Covered California website, some of the financial help some people get to pay for health insurance found via them will end at the end of 2025. Yes, Medi-Cal (?new name of Cal Care?) is separate, but some people who apply for Covered California get into Medi-Cal with same application.
You can lead a horse's ass to water, but you don't need to teach him to swim. Or something like that, I dunno, I'm pre-caffeine.
Also, public infrastructure for cars (roads and highways) and not people (transit, bike lanes, sidewalks).
Unfortunately, people in the US have to care. I mean, we *could* ignore it, but it's affecting us anyway.
You probably know this, but the heath insurance rates via Covered California are federally subsidized. I don't know how much that involves or whether that's at immediate risk of going away. Also, part of CC is Medi-Cal, which is California's Medicaid program.
Gah! More proof that there's always another level of stupid.
My favorite refrigerator magnet reminds me that "Joy is a form of resistance." Joy and Laughter and Hope and Love are part of what we fight *for*, and we can't get far without bringing them with us.
"The counter to the phrase "bread and circuses" is "bread and roses." It makes clear that pleasures are not necessarily distractions or superfluities, and we don't need to condemn them, as the former phrase suggests." ⬆️ Yes, this, very much this. 🍞🌹
it feels like such a simple ask.
Yup. Actual leaders actually lead.
I just had lunch. I don't need another hero.
Of course, this is part of *why* they loudly accused Dems of weaponizing the law - and of so many other things. They give themselves cover, especially with uninformed or just lazy bothsiders. It's not "projection". It's protection.
It's wild how they kept shouting about Dems "weaponizing the law" with no evidence and are now weaponizing the law right out in the open. It's an expansion of the Trump v1 tactic of violating ethics and breaking the law so blatantly that many people assume it must be okay.
Rare minerals.
More fawning than the entire deer population of New England, but without any of the cuteness factor.
Someone who was traumatized when they were young by someone with a pinwheel toy. I'm joking, but at this point I also think it might be a reasonable theory.
Often they're not even specifically American, they're specifically "mainstream" American. (Where "mainstream" is closely related to "marketable". Closely related like conjoined twins.)
We can line it up with the media's malpractice on political coverage.
The US *scientific* consensus about vaccines is still unbroken. The US *political* consensus about vaccines was already broken.
I'm not an archaeologist, but if I understand correctly, *people* started with Black people.