Does anyone write think pieces about how Truth Social is an echo chamber?
Queer, gender-complicated guy, photographer, lapsed EV journalist, kink/sexuality educator, intactivist/foreskin restoration advocate, pagan, living with Tourette Syndrome. He/They All opinions expressed here are my own http://wintertashlin.com
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Does anyone write think pieces about how Truth Social is an echo chamber?
Doctor thanks me for taking the covid surge seriously and masking, while neither he nor anybody in the practice was masking. My brother in Christ.
Dare you to find a more fitting metaphor for America right now.
This week, I sat down with @bencollins.bsky.social. He pulled no punches in his assessment of the news business, confessed to a devastating addiction to Balatro (which I will not be downloading), and told me his employees should "pick up hammers and throw them at my head." Why? Click to find out!
I hate that the holidays I celebrate are days off for everyone, even when they don't celebrate, but my Jewish and Muslim friends have to take PTO. If you're in HR, an easy solve for this is to give floating holidays as a benefit. My work gives us 12/year (one day per month) to use whenever.
The idea that children are property of their parents, and their parents should have sole ownership over their lives and identities until (or even beyond) adulthood, is a core belief of modern U.S. conservatism and American Christianity.
More gender affirming care clinics for trans youth close in Washington State - for those who were confused as to why I upped the risk to moderate in that state for youth. www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/a...
Last year, Idaho passed a strict law that forbids anyone from providing to a minor any service that could be construed as medical or psychological in nature without parental consent. Now, minors calling the state's suicide hotline are being forced to have a parent speak for them or hang up
Vance follows a coterie of online Nazis on X, has described Curtis Yarvin as a major intellectual influence, and openly attacks immigrants in blood and soil terms. The response of most of the political press? "Doesn't look like anything to me."
again we’re seeing how the glide path toward authoritarian overreach here is disrupted by regular people than by big institutions or the powerful people who run them
Well, there we have it. Keir Starmer comes to the aid of a man who was arrested for inciting violence against trans women.
I am not seeing "Constitutional amendment reversing Citizens United" on any of these New Reconstruction wishlists folks are circulating, and. Absent starting over from scratch, I don't see us establishing any semblance of democracy here without that plus Supreme Court expansion.
Just reminded of the Oglaf strip with the crow lawyer. (One of the few safe for work strips, but the rest of the comics are very smutty.)
1. Monday was a landmark day in one of the most brazen political and economic grifts in history. It netted Trump, at least on paper, $3.4 BILLION. Follow this thread for details. 🧵
I took this picture 20 years ago and every so often I have to check on it to make sure that creepy ass shit didn’t escape the film and is like standing behind me or whatever
the incorporation of LLMS through education infrastructures is one of the most blatant examples that i have seen of the plan for social destruction through the cultivation of anti-sociality.
ah yes, the adults in the room.
"I've been stripped of my identity." "The removal of hormones from prisons is a deliberate act of cruelty that strips trans people of medically necessary care and basic dignity." "What is tested in the carceral sphere reverberates across society." #Georgia #USA #Incarceration #Healthcare
Trump is holding a televised news conference to make a speech tomorrow at 2 PM. No announcement what it is about Three possibilities strike me as top contenders 1. Martial law in major cities in blue states (NYC, Chicago) 2. EO targeting trans people after shooting 3. Health update (least likely)
There are way too few GIFs available for the movie Dave, and I find this especially upsetting right now
Virtually every speaker the OR GOP has brought to the state for one of their events since 2022 has been, first and foremost, an election denier. Lying about elections is now basically a requirement for being a Republican in good standing.
There are lots of commercials for casinos during baseball games (at least here in the PNW), and even with all their money, all the footage available, all the modern editing techniques, all the time in the world, they can't make a casino look like anything but an absolute cosmic horror to me.
People are melting down at a Tribune article about CHSD 230 considering adding Arabic to its language learning electives. I wasted time in the comments, which I normally avoid doing since it's useless and awful, but it led to possibly the funniest thing anybody's ever said to me about France.
As Michael gets at in this thread, the real problem was a lack of major investment in education. When schools necessarily closed, families were left to handle it on their own. Blue states should have created outdoor programs for kids to socialize and learn safely. Ah, but that would have cost money.
Yes, it was carefully hidden in the New England Journal of Medicine. Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine (www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1... ) 1/2
Democrat Strategist: Republicans are going hard on anti China racism and rhetoric, so we think that- Rahm Emanuel : we should do it harder? Democrat Strategist: exactly
“Oregonians shouldn’t have to wonder who’s knocking on their door in the middle of the night,” said Cyrus Javadi, a Tillamook Republican.
Good sweet Christ this fucking monster
Good to see a bipartisan group of former CDC Directors raise alarms in the NY Times about RFK Jr. dismantling US public health. And I can’t help but feel frustrated that they didn’t do this last year when public health was on the ballot—nor did NYT frame it that way—when we had a chance to stop it.
Happy Labor Day, comrades 🫡
Impressive to have the stench of both moral foulness and insincerity coming off you, and what the fuck is the BBC doing?
Every perpetrator of genocide claims their actions are “justified” as a matter of national survival.
People literally bled & died fighting against corporate interests, robber barons, corrupt local & state politicians, cops & hired killers, & the federal government & US military for better working conditions for the rest of us so reflect on that today for just a bit while you're doing whatever else.
It is insane to me that the richest man in the world is using his global megaphone to call for millions of British people to be rounded up and deported (including my family) and somehow this isn’t even news.
RFK Jr: “If you’ve ever compared an unvaccinated kid to a vaccinated kid… you see the bright eyes, the engagement, the social interactions, the curiosity. And you compare them to the child who even had one or two vaccines, and they’re completely different.“ This man is an existential threat.
Living in Ireland
“This is Paramount’s Trek” is such a succinct and chilling statement of reality for the franchise in this moment.
I love how this was Gooding saying in a nice way that SNW has sucked balls & probably will keep sucking balls at queer rep but at least Trek as a whole has had some decent shit in the past. I genuinely feel bad for this non binary baddie & them having to be in this show as it acts such a fool
For one dev, PayPal is holding onto a USD equivalent of a six figure sum. All bc the dev is a programmer for an adult game If the dev worked in the SFW side of the indie scene, this would be headline news across games journalism. But bc it’s adult gaming? Barely a peep. Games journalism is a racket
Seen on my run in Rock Creek Park today. Parking lot near Beach and Tilden. Paper taped on over a Harris 2024 sign.
going back to the founders it would have been recognized as an act of gratitude and patriotism to dedicate one's life to service of their adopted country, but Vance rejects the fundamental ideal of America in favor of crude blood-and-soil Nazism that he learned on the internet five years ago
I’m not going to complain about the fascists making mistakes, or about their wannabe storm troopers not getting paid well for violating their oaths and abusing the people of this country. But like, do no MAGA folk read history? Not paying your soldiers doesn’t tend to play out well for governments
I’m worried this is reaching into censorship of books. Could you lose your PayPal account for simply buying a book discussing and depicting these topics in an academic context? A journalistic one? I would not put it past PayPal
I have very little faith left in the court system, since in the end SCOTUS is in MAGA’s pocket. But it’s great to see judges trying to do the right thing and gumming up the gears of fascism, at least for a little while, in the process. A thread worth your time:
Some context: The USPP restricted vehicular pursuits after two officers chased, shot and killed a driver named Bijan Gisar in 2017. The government settled with Gisar's family for $5 million, but neither officer was charged nor lost his job. (www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...)
We are in an unprecedented time--when most people's needs are simply not being addressed by politicians, because addressing those needs will upset the uber-wealthy who hold the purse strings of political donations.
reminder that MasterCard and VISA are very okay with processing payments for guns and bullets, just not a video game where two fictional people fuck.
Co-signed!
Incredible scenes in Genoa, Italy as 50,000 people join a procession to bid farewell to the boats joining the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza. Over 50 boats from 44 countries, loaded with 100s of tons of food aid, have set sail to Gaza to attempt to break the Israeli siege. (📸 Hidden Palestine)
The most frustrating thing about Harris’s alleged gaffe on trans prisoners is that almost no one bothered to defend it on the merits. But the policy is fine: When the state provides healthcare it should also provide transition care!
People who a year ago said "I will die for my trans friends 😡" are now saying "my trans friends are unfortunately going to have to die for me 😌" because when the concept of fascism met the daily reality of fascism they realized a tiny bit of false comfort feels much better than taking a stand.
Anthropologist here! A lot of the evo-anth people are two steps from eugenics and some are already there.
tiktok taking down their live feature in indonesia while the protests are happening shows they understand the ability that app had to show people what was really happening in gaza and they intend not to let it happen again
Those willing, by contrast, to trade away the rights and dignity of transgender people or the poor cannot be considered friends of democracy any more than those who were willing to countenance second-class status for blacks and Jews.
A lot of the discourse about Newsom comes down to people finding ways to say “I just think trans people aren’t as important as my other concerns” but saying it in the most cowardly way because they know how dick they would sound it they said it directly But we all know what you are, transphobes
If you ever doubted @mtsw.bsky.social theory about the media, you'll love the headlines associated with the Benny took Russian money story. Even this one! Can't possibly say they took the money because they're grifters, gotta say they were duped. Fucking pathetic.
all these media asking democrats 'but crime seems to be down in DC isn't that good' ARMED MILITARY ON THE STREETS IS NEVER FUCKING GOOD
Short 🧵 When I taught South African history a couple of years ago, I spent a week talking about mining and labor struggles. One of the main features of the initial stages of both gold and diamond mining there (this is pre-Rhodes) was that anyone could own a claim, regardless of race.
New Mexico is overriding the federal government on the topic of COVID19 vaccines to ensure their residents can access them. States hold a tremendous amount of public health power. They should use it.
They're actively targeting creators who call in & banning them, making it even more important to call if you're a customer & not a creator Tell them they shouldn't be dictating how you get to spend the money you put your blood, sweat, and tears into earning
The thing that keeps me coming back to the Newsom stuff is that Democrats who object to our saying we'd never vote for him are refusing to treat us as ordinary voters who need to be won over, like any other demographic.
i’m watching this piece on Sunday Morning about Lou Bopp, a photographer who travelled the country documenting the empty rooms of children killed in school shootings i am just sitting here, frozen. what a horrible, heart wrenching thing.
So I imagine that folks who insisted it wasn’t ethnic cleansing, land theft, forced removal are lined up to apologize for insisting that this was just about defeating Hamas fighters and the return of the hostages.
Sounds like you should talk to this guy.
I don’t think a lot of these types of folk *care*. He’s decided it’s cool if trans folk die as long as he gets to be safe. A lot of liberals have decided to start sacrificing marginalized people, esp trans folk, because they don’t think Niemöller’s poem could apply to *them*
The far right succeeded in this country in large part because adult men were angry about this supposed theft, and the Nazis learned to channel that rage. "[Marginalized group] stole your sex mommy!" is quite literally their rallying cry a lot of the time.
They’re doing all this to prevent people from MEMORIALIZING A MASS SHOOTING
Locking down your phone, being mindful of what you're wearing, and coming up with plans to communicate with others are all key steps to take before attending a protest. ssd.eff.org/module/atte...
funnily enough tho, this sentiment is usually followed by "and that's why those radical lefties need to buck up and accept someone who wants to kill ppl like them," and almost never "and that's why you centrist fucks can't go around saying minorities are expendable."
OFFICIAL RELEASE: Star Trek and Disability; Volume 1 - The Trouble With Cripples. A short zine made by disabled academics critiquing the utopian vision of Star Trek—FREE to read here: files.libcom.org/files/2024-1... OR linktr.ee/disabilityark
NEW: my office has received disturbing whistleblower reports that the Trump administration plans to separate 700 children from their families, lawyers, and support systems. Disappearing vulnerable children beyond the reach of American law and oversight is beyond depravity.
The media has to stop anthropomorphizing AI. If I write a calculator program that generates incorrect results, it's not dishonest, it's just wrong.
Well, since we’re now on the subject of Andrew Cuomo’s work experience when he was in his late teens, a reminder of the role he played in his dad’s 1977 campaign:
Imagine the complicated and precious genius of the girl who made this embroidery sampler in 1811 The Solar System, sampler, unknown maker, 1811, England. Museum no. T.92-1939. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
The Death of Stalin is streaming on Hulu (not that I just renewed my subscription so I could rewatch it…). It may not make you feel better, but it may make you feel Seen.
Slowly making my way through this and it makes good points, it’s a good place to start as a way to learn about disabled representation. These are academics talking about it, instead of just little old me talking about it on my BlueSky page.
If you keep room after room after room of boxes of junk, they'll call an intervention and make exploitative TV shows about you. If you fill your house floor-to-ceiling with animals, they'll arrest you. But if you grab every single dollar you can and never let it go, they'll fall down in worship.
My students, who attend a working-class rust-belt college, openly talk abt how much they hate AI & are afraid of its consequences. I wonder how much of the oft-reported student enthusiasm for the tech is the merely result of the NYT’s Ivy League bias
I really hope this becomes the black eye it deserves to be www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
New York’s hottest club is Blame Zohran Mamdani for Crimes Committed While Eric Adams Is Mayor Under Laws Signed by Andrew Cuomo. It’s got everything—corrections officers who aren’t registered to vote in New York City, etc etc etc
Premiering a new video about the intense gayness of the X-Men tomorrow! Hit the notify bell on YT to join us: youtu.be/ZhtkT0IeavA
If anyone has ideas for how to acquire PlusLife tests, I’d love to hear it. In the meantime, I’ve ordered a Metrix station and some tests, though tests are FAR more expensive than for the PlusLife (the testing device is cheaper, but the difference is still a huge added expense)
We’ve been using a PlusLife for COVID testing before guests are unmasked in our house or when one of us comes back from traveling But now there’s no way to get more tests sent to the USA. Even the veterinary work around no longer looks like an option This administration is going to get us killed
When politicians do "constituent service," they're beholden to everyone in the electorate. When politicians do only "fan service" they're beholden only to their fans, & especially the most avid amongst them. The nutso present we currently inhabit was, unfortunately, not hard to foresee in Feb 2024.
The devastating flu epidemic of 1918 was particularly dangerous for young adults, for people in their prime, who died by the millions. But RFK Jr. is too stupid to know that. Link below.
Just noticed this on the checkout notification I get from the Chicago Public Library. I think it’s new and I love it!
Cool to see this federal agency schedule an important workshop for early career people to overlap perfectly with Rosh Hashanah This, actually, is the antisemitism problem, not people who oppose genocide
This film was my husband’s introduction the Alice In Wonderland story as a kid and it’s still one of his favorite childhood films. Freaked me the fuck out when he first showed it to me in college
Pushing the boundaries of … criminal medical experimentation?
You spelled ENDANGERING wrong, @nytimes.com. “Pushing the boundaries” is a *positive* frame implying unconventional innovations. There are no innovations here. Just medieval anti-science populist attacks on some of best methods of truth seeking we have.
Over 300 Texas school districts will adopt controversial Bible-infused curriculum www.chron.com/news/houston...
"His mother told NBC4 that the agent told her son they had confused him with someone else, but to “look at the bright side: you’re gonna have an exciting story to tell your friends when you go back to school”." WTF www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
you couldn't make big today because every toy store franchise in the country was killed by private equity, so the whole movie would be about like target
The reason cults usually eschew doctors and any sort of traditional education is because doctors and education allow followers to think there is a source of truth beyond the cult leader, and cults can't have that.
If you’re not masking, today is a good day to start again
Same here. I haven’t worked or shopped or done much of anything else indoors outside my home without an N95 (EnvoMask or 3M Aura) in years. When folk come over our house they mask, unless they are staying a while, in which case we do a home PCR (PlusLife right now, but we’ll need to change systems)
One thing Sensible Centrists refuse to acknowledge - and this was true during covid when people were also saying this stuff explicitly - is these people are eugnenicists who welcome a good plague to get rid of the old, botched, and bungled
Hey Firefox users.
It's useful to think of Trump's political style as a form of "fan service," which is distinct from the "constituent service" we used to associate with the role of elected officials. I took this picture in March of *2022* at a Republican event in Salem, Oregon. That flag seemed bonkers at the time.
RFK Jr. ordered the NIH’s Integrated Research Facility in Frederick to stop all research on serious infectious diseases yesterday at 5:00 PM. They study pathogens like Ebola there. You may be familiar with it from The Hot Zone. www.wired.com/story/hhs-ni...