Kai Ryssdal (@kairyssdal.bsky.social) reposted
We did this to ourselves www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/w...
Very tall, very old, he/him. Brushing off the cobwebs to try to keep going.
261 followers 44 following 2,722 posts
view profile on Bluesky Kai Ryssdal (@kairyssdal.bsky.social) reposted
We did this to ourselves www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/w...
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
Today I learned that the Wilhelm Scream, and all the sound effects in the original collection, aren't in the public domain, but have been released under a Creative Commons 0 license (CC0), which is functionally public domain. Download them from the Internet Archive. blog.archive.org/2023/05/20/c...
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
It's stupid that National Guardsmen deployed to Washington DC are picking up trash and doing landscaping in parks. One silver lining is that we still live where the government can't just have troops in a city, they have to do something while they are there. And since there's no crime to police...
Kai Ryssdal (@kairyssdal.bsky.social) reposted
What are we even doing?
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
His name is Paul *Reubens*, now departed. It is Paul Rubens.
Street Art Utopia (@streetartutopia.com) reposted
In Which Nadine Amuses a Dragon and Makes Autumn Happen
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
Fascists need emergencies because they need special emergency powers. Without those powers, their policies are so unpopular they can't make them happen through a regular democracy.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
And puts off enough greenhouse gasses and toxic pollution to kill you anyway, even if you don't follow its suicide demands.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
And puts off enough greenhouse gasses and toxic pollution to kill you anyway, even if you don't follow its suicide demands.
Peter Sagal (@petersagal.bsky.social) reposted
In which the President destroys our relationship with a global power and drives it into the arms of Russia because their strongman won’t help him get a Nobel Peace Prize. (Sorry, used up all my gift links this month.) www.nytimes.com/2025/08/30/u...
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
Trump continues his long tradition of supporting sex traffickers by delivering Guatemalan sex traffickers 2000+ free kids for their sex trafficking businesses. Like the police handing abused kids back to their abusers. Or that one teenager back to Jeffrey Dahmer. www.cnn.com/2025/08/29/p...
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
Ah, that was the phrase I was looking for.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
Our naive/hypocritical/evil Founders gave us that Second Amendment which virtually guarantees unavoidable piles of dead kids. It was likely added to do just that, though in their heads it was probably piles of dead enslaved black kids who had just rebelled, not dead Murican kids.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
Our naive/hypocritical/evil Founders gave us that Second Amendment which virtually guarantees piles of dead kids. It was likely added to do just that, though in their heads it was probably piles of dead enslaved black kids who had just rebelled, not dead Murican kids.
Science Friday (@scifri.bsky.social) reposted
For the Karuk people in Northern California, controlled burns are more than land management; they are a way of life.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
And that is the actual quote from Proverbs 16:18, here in its entirety: "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." Both parts are applicable to doctors in general, not just Dr. Frankenstein.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
I would like this to continue, but modern medicine differs from Dr. Frankenstein only by degree, in terms of taking over from [insert deity here] and destroying everything good to do it. Shelley wrote about a logical extreme of modern medicine, not simply pride going before destruction.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
Doctors in general, if we're going to be fair about this, use a huge amount of resources and effort, which destroys a lot of the environment (aka "everything good"), to eke another 20 or 30 years out of sick patients.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
Any prosecutor in these cases is either getting fired soon, won't do it out of loyalty to Trump, or realizes any punishment will be overturned on Pardon. Pardons just remove the punishment, they don't mean acquittal. There are prisoners refusing pardons because they insist they are innocent.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
SCOTUS gave Trump immunity from prosecution for felonies, and his toadies are getting pardons, and military honors, for committing those felonies. It was darkly hilarious when SCOTUS said a President's minions could still be prosecuted and conveniently forgot about the unlimited Pardon power.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
Kinda weird, his estate deciding to lean into "Epstein was a sex trafficker" in order to talk about Epstein trafficking girls to Trump. Great, but unusual.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
I haven't heard anyone calling him Vladimir Futon. Tell me more about this so the algorithm will pick it up.
Kai Ryssdal (@kairyssdal.bsky.social) reposted
Agree with every word
Wajahat Ali (@wajali.bsky.social) reposted
RFK Leads the GOP's Pro-Death March The Dangerous Politicization of Public Health in America: Why RFK Jr.’s Rise to Power Puts Millions of Lives at Risk open.substack.com/pub/thelefth...
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
Luckily for DJT, the bills for his American Government credit card are paid by......some people known as "taxpayers," which doesn't include him. The DoD is footing the bill for $1m a day for gardeners and trash workers.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
The finger closest to the audience of the right hand claw appears to be in front of her in the last moment, so this is superimposed images, not forced perspective, right?
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
It's concerning how Republicans think they are so in control that they can do things that make the Republican President Trump look bad, instead of just doing those things when a Democratic President is in charge. www.newscentermaine.com/article/news...
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
Funding creativity and knowledge requires helping people, so now you have your explanation for why they didn't do that.
Matthew Dow Smith (@matthewdowsmith.bsky.social) reposted
I will never get over how a handful of tech bros set billions of dollars on fire to build a plagiarism machine that doesn't work and will destroy human society when they could have used a fraction of that money to fund a new golden age of creativity and knowledge.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
The sci-fi show "LEXX" had a despotic government which had a punishment consisting of giving up one eye, one lung, and one kidney. And now it's looking less like science *fiction*.
Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD (@elizabethjacobs.bsky.social) reposted
Interim CDC Director Jim O’Neill thinks we should be able to decide to sell our own organs if we want since there are “plenty of healthy spare kidneys walking around, unused”. Which is problematic enough, but just wait until *he* decides he should be able to sell your organs.
jam (@socialistboat.dad) reposted
They are drawing pictures of "dad". You can tell it is "dad" because it is wearing "hat"
lesbian john williams 🏳️⚧️ (@micropolyphonia.bsky.social) reposted
instead of other things you might read, here is my girlfriend's thought for the day.
Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) reposted
I wonder why Bill Pulte didn’t send this case over to DOJ with a criminal referral along with his selective targeting of Adam Schiff and Lisa Cook? apnews.com/article/paxt...
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
I can't decide if I want you to reveal the movie title to satisfy my curiosity or to know what not to watch. Curious means I might then watch it. 🙀
Denise Wheeler (@denisedwheeler.bsky.social) reposted
The new ICE song by Jesse Welles nails it. ICE isn’t recruiting heroes, it’s recruiting the bitter, the rejected, the ones desperate for a badge to cover their failures. Losers with power become the most dangerous kind. (c/o Caroline Codsi)
Son of Eric (@spiritof44.bsky.social) reposted
The President of The United States of America. #SexualPredatorAdjudicatedRapistFelonTRUMP
Go Green (@ecowarriorss.bsky.social) reposted
This week, a federal judge ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service broke the law when it decided not to protect gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains under the federal Endangered Species Act. www.humaneworld.org/en/blog/laws...
Gary (@lionyolo.bsky.social) reposted
How chemo initially felt. Today it's 1 hr every 14 days - and I am surviving! HOO!
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
It sounds more real than a Fyre Festival, at least. Yes, low bar there.
BikeBike In Calgary (@bikebikeyyc.bsky.social) reposted
Really wish BIA's in this city would read this and try, like try even a little, to believe the facts if the matter: Bike lanes are good for small businesses. #yycbike #yyccc www.businessinsider.com/bike-lanes-g...
Larry Hochman (@larryhochman.bsky.social) reposted
EPSTEIN Epstein Epstein Epstein CDC and FBI hollowed out of experienced servants to make way for pliant toadies. Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein January 6 Traitor Ashli Babbit receiving military honors. Epstein Epstein Epstein EPSTEIN
Kai Ryssdal (@kairyssdal.bsky.social) reposted
FFS www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/u...
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
OK, a little technical: a utility app used by lots of projects, about 5,000 in the Dept of Defense, is maintained by a Russian developer. He says he's not putting malicious code into it, but the apps code could be taken over and used for Russian cyberattacks. www.theregister.com/2025/08/27/p...
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
Trump cruel publicity stunt now to be empty building, just like Trump University.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
The protestor was arrested and charged with setting a fire in a federal park, which is indeed illegal. There are laws still on the books which can be used to arrest a flag burner. Up till now prosecutors recognized why that might look like an attack on free speech. www.huffpost.com/entry/americ...
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
Sad really, that gerrymandering is a thing at all, but Utah voted in 2018 to restrict gerrymandering and the Utah Republican Party broke the law trying to gerrymander anyway. newrepublic.com/post/199604/...
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
Sadly, in the fake shooter incident, two people sustained injuries fleeing the library building. Sadly because the conservative media will pounce on this, saying "libraries are DANGEROUS to your HEALTH!!!!!" Instead of attacking MAGA darling Nancy Mace. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
Justice Clarence Thomas seems to think the white nationalists will give him Honorary White Man status if he keeps deciding in favor of white nationalism. Really, seek out everyone equality, it means no one group controls who is protected.
Mrs. Betty Bowers (@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social) reposted
My current favorite bit of right-wing Christian hypocrisy is Ken Paxton, a man whose wife is divorcing him for adultery, forcing Texas schools to unconstitutionally post "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery." www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
All the cool cultural stuff comes from gay culture.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
I don't normally eat in their restaurants, but the Country Store section of every Cracker Barrel has the simpler toys of the past (safer versions), and the only place I can find decently thick "apple butter", so nostalgia (even for times long before I was born) is what keeps me coming back.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
Corporate design "blanding" may work for companies that have a wide set of demographics in their consumer base, but Cracker Barrel needs to appeal to nostalgia from the locals and have a more authentic label to get the drivers to come off the highway. www.tastingtable.com/1951015/crac...
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
NPR also does human interest stories too, because if they just did doom all the time (however warranted) people might get compassion fatigue and stop responding appropriately. The cute kitten stories give everyone a brief respite so they can still react to the "Democracy is dead" stories.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
People who make absolutist statements about "all US news sources ignore" this thing, didn't bother looking to see if NPR did a news story on the very thing. NPR usually did a news story on the thing they say is ignored. www.npr.org/2025/07/01/n... MOST major news sources, maybe.
Quite Interesting (@qi.com) reposted
The word ‘budget’ originally meant a leather pouch and has the same origin as the world bulge.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
Getting robot limbs like Luke Skywalker did in "The Empire Strikes Back" might be easier, because the human brain already provides the software code to support such a replacement robot limb.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
The SCOTUS had one exception to their rule that (Trump) Presidents get to do whatever they want: they can't fire Federal Reserve governors. In this particular case, allowing Federal employees to invest in the stock market may protect the Fed. www.vox.com/scotus/45937...
Luca (@lucagalletti.bsky.social) reposted
Where the Karakoram Highway connects Pakistan with China over the Khunjerab Pass at 4700m above sea level, one of the highest paved roads in the world.
Jen McGowan (@iamjenmcg.bsky.social) reposted
When I first learned that in England you can be charged with murder if you shoot and kill an intruder in your house my mind was blown “Ohhhh, they value life over property and their laws reflect that” I hope someday we get there
Alt National Park Service (@altnps.bsky.social) reposted
Who would’ve thought Americans wouldn’t want to live in a military state? Oh that’s right, all Americans. Another negative impact of the military crackdown in DC small businesses are struggling to make sales. Restaurant reservations have dropped by nearly 30% compared with last year, and some owners
Marilyn Drew Necci (@annihilatethisweek.bsky.social) reposted
“You’re losing elections because you’re talking like gay people are equal to straight people and people of color are equal to white people” Call me a hopeless romantic but I’d rather lose on that platform than win on agreeing with a bunch of regressive hierarchies.
Adam Fare 🖤🤍💜 (@adamfare1996.bsky.social) reposted
Society: "Just be yourself!" Autistic person: *Tries to be themselves" Society: "Eww not like that"
Kai Ryssdal (@kairyssdal.bsky.social) reposted
No
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
A tax on something generally discourages its use, as people seek out untaxed or lower taxed alternatives. With books, there are plenty of alternatives, including reading what I am saying here right now on this alternative to reading books social media platform. 🙄 I need to go read a book now.
Miss Aja (@brat2381.bsky.social) reposted
All Folks Had To Do Was Vote For The Super Qualified Black Lady… With A Degree In Economics
Kai Ryssdal (@kairyssdal.bsky.social) reposted
The purge continues taskandpurpose.com/news/navy-fi...
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
An interesting read on how famous people become quote magnets, as authors try to make their own comments spread far and wide by attributing them to famous intelligent people already well known for creating their own quotes. bigthink.com/high-culture...
George Takei (@georgetakei.bsky.social) reposted
We hear you loud and clear, Madame Secretary.
Mother Jones (@motherjones.com) reposted
NEW: A federal judge in Miami has ruled that operations at the controversial detention facility Alligator Alcatraz must begin to wind down, ordering state and federal officials to stop transferring detainees there and relocate current detainees within 60 days.
Jordan (@gm-jordan.bsky.social) reposted
I’ve seen so many people spreading the misinformation that PBS is shut down or is shutting down. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has been shut down and PBS has been defunded. HOWEVER!!! PBS still exists. It is more important now than ever that you donate to PBS if you can.
George Takei (@georgetakei.bsky.social) reposted
Did he just light the nation on fire and walk away?
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
Sure, police departments had military style weaponry, but now they still have that weaponry and there are more, not less, power mad police on forces. Better to have a well funded police force of good people who just keep all those weapons locked up because they know good policing doesn't need them.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
I've wondered which right wing infiltrator got crowds to shout Defund The Police, rather than the much better Reform The Police. Defunding the police means lower police salaries, which means most of the people who apply will get their additional pay out of being able to mistreat with impunity.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
Hopefully there will be sentences where the name of the person was redacted but identifying information was not, such as "[REDACTED] invited Epstein to his Mar-a-lago Club."
Don Comer (@doncomer.bsky.social) reposted
Trumpers love nothing more than a police state.
Politico (@politico.com) reposted
Illinois tells Bondi that its sanctuary status stands firm.
❀°。Der Siebenschläfer *.゚✿ ⋆ (@sababausa.bsky.social) reposted
After today’s NY appellate division decision we still have a situation where the president of the United States is enjoined from serving as an officer on a NY corporation and his companies are enjoined from applying for loans in NY because he & his business are habitual fraudsters
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
The sooner people like him die, the less likely he'll have created an organization and an industry to continue hurting people after his death. Not saying kill people like that, but I don't mourn their natural deaths. Rabid dogs didn't actively seek rabies infection, like the Dobson types do.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
PC Gaming has a variety of options for reducing the effort required, including malware free businesses that autoload Make Things Easier game RAM modifiers into games. Some people also call those options "cheats." They're wrong. They're Play How You Want options.
John Scalzi (@scalzi.com) reposted
Checked the Worldcon site and there's an apology and retraction, and a new theme for the convention. www.lacon.org/2025/08/21/s...
Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) reposted
The people who reflexively say that everything happening in the news every day is just a distraction from the Epstein files are allowing themselves to get distracted by the Epstein files from many other things that are incredibly important also.
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
We had someone else do the seating chart. Wedding day was bliss!
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social) reply parent
This looks more like what a lonely male would fantasize about, rather than a real option. Really puts into perspective the spy movies where the villain has an all female crew: he saw this movie and thought, finally a way to get some women to pay attention to me. 🧐
Webgiant (@webgiant.bsky.social)
Good. There will be others to be shut down later, but celebrate successes against the Trump Administration.
Tim Onion (@bencollins.bsky.social) reposted
Some incredibly good news: One year ago this week, The Onion returned to print. In that one year, we’ve grown to the 13th largest print newspaper in the United States, just ahead of the Boston Globe, and growing fast. In short, it’s working. So… thank you. Thank you for helping save this thing.