ceoln @ceoln@qoto.org

Heritage’s recommendations for a 2nd Trump term:

(1) cripple the American immigration system
(2) force states and localities into compliance with federal administrative schemes
(3) intimidate immigrants legally living in the U.S.
https://www.niskanencenter.org/project-2025-unveiling-the-far-rights-plan-to-demolish-immigration-in-a-second-trump-term/

Of Moscow, New York and partisan perception

What was most startling about Tucker Carlson’s recent trip to Russia was his gushing over how wonderful Moscow is

While parts of Moscow offer a small elite an opulent lifestyle, Russia as a whole is more than a bit ramshackle. Around a fifth of homes don’t even have indoor toilets. For many Russians, life is poor, nasty, brutish and short: Life expectancy is substantially lower than in the U.S.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/20/opinion/economy-putin-tucker-carlson.html

current thirst levels are 66%

(66%) ■■■■■■□□□□

#otd 1848 the Communist Manifesto, by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, was first published. I am reading selections from these #books today to commemorate. #history #bookstodon

A convicted Ponzi schemer who had his 24-year sentence commuted by Trump has been indicted in what authorities say is his third investment scam.

https://www.nj.com/ocean/2024/02/convicted-ponzi-schemer-whose-sentence-was-commuted-by-trump-indicted-again.html

"We find that, since their invention, cars and automobility have killed 60–80 million people and injured at least 2 billion. Currently, 1 in 34 deaths are caused by automobility."

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692324000267

@flexghost a friend told me that she was still mad that Joe Biden hasn’t canceled any debt. In her mind, because he hadn’t canceled all debt (but especially her debt) he hadn’t done anything. When I pointed to his effort that was predictably struck down by the Supreme Court, her answer is that the President should just ignore rulings he doesn’t like.

Back in reality, Biden has canceled $138 billion for almost 4 million people and the SAVE program will cancel more.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/02/21/fact-sheet-president-biden-cancels-student-debt-for-more-than-150000-student-loan-borrowers-ahead-of-schedule/

People seem to assume because I live in CA now and against the odds got an education, I need to be lectured about "getting out of red states" like I didn't grow up with a single mom in one of the worst places in the COUNTRY for it, go to college in hard right Texas, spend every summer tutoring kids in Missouri to pass standardized testing after they experienced severe brutality in their schools...I can't even list it all. GFY if you're on mastodon to lecture people like me about politics.

Tech press giving Bluesky the same treatment they gave Mastodon/fediverse after covering it in a positive light for ten minutes back in 2022. So fucking predictable. I'm not pleased with Bluesky sucking up all the decentralized social media oxygen these past several months. I mean AP fediverse didn't even get a mention in this article at all. But the "oh well I guess we just have to keep kissing Musk's ass and use Twitter" coverage is bullshit too. Ironically one of their complaints was a same one they had about Mastodon: not enough virality of shitposting content and doomscrolling. Yes, that's what the world needs :eyeroll:. Ironically they also complained that Bluesky is too much like the UX people are used to on Twitter so too boring. Meanwhile that's the opposite of their complaint about Mastodon which was just way too confusing to figure out...or something. I guess their Goldilocks zone for social media is Twitter, Tik-Tok, and Facebook/Instagram. How original Wired magazine. How very fucking original. #rant #fediverse #BigTechShouldNotExist
Bluesky’s Future Is Social Media’s Past

I've been a single issue voter since 2004 on the courts. The undoing of a GOP gerrymander so bad they even had supermajority in one house of the legislature even though the Democrats won the majority of the votes shows the power of that. If more people voted like that for POTUS in recent years we would still have Roe. We would still be able to enact gun control laws like we had until the early-2000s. We would not have resurgence of systemic disenfranchisement of minority voters throughout the country. We would not have had the Wisconsin gerrymander or comparable ones in states like North Carolina long ago. My entire life SCOTUS has been right of center and trending further right with each year. It took a sharp turn right in 2017 thanks to Trump winning the presidency. Until SCOTUS and the federal judiciary are balanced and that balanced state exists long enough for the results to percolate down into real effects I will never be able to vote for the Republican candidate for POTUS or Senate even if there was some magic wand resurgence of moderate Republicanism of mid-20th century. Voting does matter. Elections have consequences for you whether you vote in it or not. Get out and vote. Vote Democratic Party to get these courts fixed and to help us continue moving in the right direction again. #uspoli #scotus #Election2024
Wisconsin governor signs new state legislative maps into law, ending a GOP gerrymander

USPTO denies OpenAI’s ‘GPT’ trademark request, citing descriptive nature - The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a final refusal to OpenAI’s reques... - https://readwrite.com/uspto-denies-openais-gpt-trademark-request-citing-descriptive-nature/ #news #ai

It has come to my attention that some people are claiming the new Bonkwave Allstars track Be My BonkWave is not actually #BonkWave.

To those people I say "you are right - it's #NotBonkWave!"

But I'll let you be the judges:

https://not.bonkwave.org/music/bonkwave-allstars-be-my-bonkwave/

The CDC are adjusting COVID isolation guidance not because there's been a change in the science, but because of pressure from CEOs and politicians. This is malpractice and will only increase misinformation and mistrust.

Living history newsroom where journalism re-creationists demonstrate their professions crafts from long gone times such as verifying claims, asking people impacted by events what their thoughts are, discomfiting the powerful, comforting the afflicted. Olde timey shit like that.

From the outset, I've noted that the Biden/bribe story — included in the GOP impeachment probe! — made no sense. Now, DOJ has indicted the source for inventing it.

Here's the story and the context, no paywall. https://wapo.st/49i5Y6I

I've mostly ignored CDC's advice, given how unrelated to emerging science and common sense it has been. Instead of smashing a square peg into a round hole, I wish they'd ONLY report the data and emerging science so people could at least make INFORMED choices.

It's mind boggling to me how many educated people think meh, it's just a cold.

There are so many SIMPLE things we could be doing to make this so much better for all.

Note to self. Continue to avoid the hoi polloi.

#TipOfIceberg
#Covid