thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Block the a-holes, and carry on like you do so well. It sounded better in my head.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Block the a-holes, and carry on like you do so well. It sounded better in my head.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Have to bookmark this for later when I need an endorphin hit.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
His bedrock of principles is strong, which probably explains his utter disgust with this WH.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
When is ICE Cops coming out? Would be a great vehicle for documenting some horrible stuff.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
" I wanna run the Turd Reich!" "No, I wanna run the Turd Reich!" Terrible people competing to do terrible things to other people. As their brains must be a sack of cats, I'm expecting some weird stuff to emerge. Like banning the color yellow or something.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I think Europeans know that just saying yes to this means trump will keep doing this over and over for years; it's a negotiation. Except the goal of Europeans is Ukraine being able to defend itself; the goal of trump is some kinda weird narcissism BS.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Despite their massive hypocrisy and moral cowardice, if evangelical trumpers need an off-ramp, fine, take this one.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Your desire to post that is appreciated.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social)
With alligator prisons, and ICE thugs rampant, and a corrupt WH, and a Supreme Court not interested in Justice, and billionaires controlling more and more, and the Constitution looking weaker and weaker, stating "I'll never vote Gavin Newsom" sounds so f*cking selfish.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I'm assuming the food will still be good for awhile after the BB date?
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Been there. Lots of good people, but man, I reached a point where I couldn't support an org of Franklin Graham's anymore. Too many other good charity options out there, why keep supporting such a cowardly, base human being.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
'Precedented times' sounds pretty good right now.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
One of the few joys is watching the horror on the faces of the Noem's, Rubio's, etc as they know at any moment, with no rhyme or reason, they can be turned into the next patsy / fall-guy.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
dumb q: how do they know if you're in the UK if you use a vpn?
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Why FFS are decent people / govts still posting there? It's a hazard.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
FFS
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
The traditional American response to authoritarians is "Fuck You". I'm a traditionalist.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Couldn't get into it. I wanted to, but it felt too self-aware.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I'm one of those stick in another century, thinking 'Who the heck watches the Ticky Tok?"
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Feels weird 'liking' this. Wish there was a 'thanks for the heads up' equivalent.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I can see a future where intentionally confusing AI is a crime.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
The momentum in trying to kneecap Mamdani died down too fast for her. It's like she was in a loud room and started talking loudly and then everyone stopped talking but her.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Not sure how she squares "Alaska carve-outs" in the budget being necessary for Alaskans, but not every other American. Do other working-class Americans not need health-care and food?
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Looks like a younger Andrew Sullivan behind him.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
It's sad, but Kamala lost because she was a black woman. Take any other male Dem politician who could communicate day in-day out and they are president right now. Misogyny got trump elected twice, it's so screwed up.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
If he can't say a Jewish state should exist then he has no business being in power. If he wants to help Palestinians from Israeli acts of violence, start with a basic appeal: starving people to death is evil.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
My advice to him is don't get sucked into a debate on Israeli politics that has him discussing ethical minutia with a fine tooth comb while MAGA is putting people into gulags and destroying the country. Priorities.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Yeah, I'd separate disliking Bibi with disliking Israel itself or Israeli's. Honestly, the guy should just blandly repeat what non-psycho GOP / Dem Presidents have previously said about a two-state solution.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I think discussions like this should have a warning stating "This all pales with the fact the GOP are supporting fascism and are dismantling the Constitution.", or something to that effect. The scale of the threat of harm and danger just seems all out of whack.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
it sucks they have to clean up such an unnecessary mess.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
It's funny the way these nuts jump back in forth between reality and 'Your all here to serve me'-world.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Would be nice if the elites who say they give a crap acted like they gave a crap.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Pretty much the only thing I miss about the other place is @lkrozen.bsky.social talking about what she's just watched / asking for watch recs.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
So you're saying the guy who creates a fire where none existed before shouldn't get credit for bombing a house in order to save it from said fire? But what if the bombs put out the fire?
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I thought about it, held off, but I'm glad you did it.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I'm still hoping Ladner comes out on top somehow. What's interesting (and unfair) is Mamdani's support prob goes down if he was manhandled like Ladner was; I'm thinking Ladner's went up.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
That's nuts.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I think Russia's interests in Iran are playing a role in his hesitation.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
The influence of Russia on his decision not to strike shouldn't be overlooked; this whole episode makes Putin look weak. If Iran regime can't depend on Russia for anything, they'll look elsewhere, maybe China.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I'm wondering about the influence of Russia on his decision. The current Iran/Israel situation makes Russia look powerless / weak; certainly the longer this goes on, the less Iran will be interested in exchanging anything with Russia, and probably will seek Chinese hardware instead.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Assuming at this point GOP loses in 2026, and news orgs like this start doing their jobs properly again, do we pretend they weren't prostrating themselves to authoritarian power for the previous couple of years?
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I'm hoping at some point there was a risk management conference that had Jason Alexander as an opening speaker.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
It's a team effort. Each separate issue having the same answer: Resist, and vote the GOP out.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Assuming 50% of women have an equal chance at being the next Newton / Einstein / etc, and given the rate of tech change, societies that follow this path of subjugating women have a fairly small window before being hopelessly surpassed by free societies. Two-three generations maybe?
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Kinda like America and USAID...oh wait.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I blame soccer moms. Seriously though, for all it's faults, earnest religious instruction that promotes good behavior in youth serves a purpose for society that gets overlooked. Sometime a-holes need a God in order to not to be a-holes.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
What makes me wanna barf is the fake concern that will be coming from MAGA over an allergic reaction. Meanwhile, they're literally mocking Dems getting assassinated in their own homes.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I'd rather he not be, but at least there's this: comptroller.nyc.gov/newsroom/nyc...
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
"This is pretty nuts." What are the odds Stallone gets a call from the WH, seeking military advice?
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Hope he's the next Mayor of NYC.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
These white-collar MAGA types dislike the concept of their own physical suffering for no material benefit to themselves whatsoever. They see themselves more as overseers, do-nothing middle men who get others to do the actual work.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
You remember any that you thought for sure would suck and were pleasantly surprised?
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
The broshake allows for a sneaky hug that is still socially acceptable.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
It's the sort of thing that should be thrown at him for the rest of his career. He starts talking about whatever, the response should be "Aren't you the guy who tweeted this? That's pretty messed up."
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
What sources do we have besides trump? Who was the Reuters source, John Barron?
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Sometimes sons don't obviously look like their father's, but yeah that's def your dad.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
You learn drill during basic training, because it teaches you the fundamentals of being a soldier: following orders, discipline, group cohesion / trust. Not everyone practices it on a regular basis, so before major parades you practice until it's to the standard required.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I'm assuming at this point every facebook post / msg is available to Palantir, without warrant. Would not be surprised if that soon / already included every email on gmail. Twitter posts of course have been given over long ago, maybe one of the main reasons for acquisition.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I think I smell a great photo series: pics of kids disappointed at B-day parties / Christmas's...and have the last one be trump.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
That includes people saying you shouldn't say what you want, even if you can. If you don't like that, too bad. It's called freedom of speech.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Your choice to say it. That's the point.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
You just did, why not me?
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I understand the why, and I sympathize, but if you are serving, there are better ways to say this that works no matter who the president is. As in, say something like "I am proud to serve all Americans, and to defend the Constitution against all enemies...". The message is still clear.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Actually, that is a really good way of framing it, in that his next moron-fest continually feeds that framing.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I'd listen to a 30 minutes podcast on this story over and over again. There'd have to be Giamatti clips in there though.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Small gripe: the 60's had better protest music. Lady Gaga or whoever needs to up their game in that regard.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I wish there was more American flags though at demos. I mean at the end of the day it's about America, and what kind of country it's going to be.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Call me crazy, but Lib-Dems should become Lib-Tories. Take the "patriotic / traditional / common-sense" centre that the other parties are abandoning (because they don't see it as the way to win). There's plenty of room there to still pander to those voters looking to be fed populist pablum.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Sue.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Seeing your stamp just reminded me of the 'heraldry' drawings you used to do for the more corrupt among the trump WH.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Finally got around to googling this. Holy crap, it was a thing: www.dw.com/en/ikea-to-c...
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
People staying on X is a metaphor for American politics right now.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
He should nail him for his lack of awareness about the attempted grift than. You don't get to be Speaker and get away with knowing jack-shit.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Honestly kinda surprised more companies didn't try to take advantage of the terrible working conditions allowed under totalitarians. Wonder how many Uighers are starving in the cold and dark clicking on terminals.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
With trump an out-right authoritarian, do tankies start apologizing for trump and bash Europe instead? I'm not sure how much room up their own asses for their heads is left.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
You're so tankie, it hurts to look at you.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
"His close advisories..." That sticks in my craw the most. I don't know how quickly it went from 'Biden just being old' to 'Biden can't communicate during a debate', but the people closest to him did him and America no favors by just standing by and watching a train wreck happen.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
At least vast majority thinks him and his companies are dog crap.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I hope Zelensky calls him to let him know that yes, that was completely fucked up, and everyone who is sane knows how fucked that all is.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
He turned any brand associated with him into dogshit, so there's that.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I think a good story is how a President Biden that has to be propped up constantly by two goofball sidekicks is still the better reality than what we have now by 1000%.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I myself think a fascist corrupt president doing fascist corrupt things constantly is a page one story every day. Bidens ppl essentially not doing their job in looking after Biden is also a story, but no-where near the same scale of importance.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I think ppl should recognize these two things can be both be true: 1. Biden's support staff failure in recognizing Biden's general status in the spring of 2024 was a bad thing. 2. Biden on his worse day ever is 1000% better than the current fascist president.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Bet we'd still all be thinking "That fascist stuff could never happen in America."
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Maybe the profit in submission outweighs informing the public.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Lead. Because it must be done.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
But Ma, the meatloaf!
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Need grandmothers picking lettuce in the foreground to afford a Barbie for their grandkids.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Thanks for giving a crap.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Serious question: what is a person in the U.S. allowed to demand regarding ID of person claiming to be ICE? And is it a different answer if they are a citizen, vs undocumented, vs tourist?
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I hear its all a smear by the people that know him best.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
What's wrong with the current one? Did I miss something?
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
"Pyromaniac warns that city fires will get worse unless city follows him 24/7 with all available fire trucks."
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Dems should put onus of security fallout / chaos regarding Hegseth on trump. Only way he gets removed is if he looks like a loser / liability.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
To put it another way, I don't find as much concern for "toxic femininity" as there is for "toxic masculinity". For me the term implies that there's something wrong with too wide a swath of behaviors. If goal is tackling unjustified violence / belligerence by men, consider the roles expected of us.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
I only think it's illegal if he was also driving, but I could be wrong.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Can we call it something else, like "toxic a-holeness" or something? I like to think I have an open mind, but I hear "toxic masculinity" and my first instinct is to stop listening immediately.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Wait 10 minutes.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
Maybe it's your coffee.
thomasselleck02.bsky.social (@thomasselleck02.bsky.social) reply parent
If not now, when it looks like trump is willing to let the US bleed economically with China (and every other country) indefinitely, then when? I understand waiting for the right moment to minimize risk, but at a certain point if you don't choose the moment, events will overtake you until the end.