How decades of tax cuts (mostly to further enrich the wealthiest among us) have helped to bake inequity into our society: https://publicintegrity.org/inequality-poverty-opportunity/taxes/unequal-burden/how-four-decades-of-tax-cuts-fueled-inequality/
By Jim Steele, one of the great journalists of our era...
In case there was some question of "quiet part loud" going on; this is now on the "loud and proud" over at the birdsite. Sad to see it go.
PSA: Do Not Use Services That Hate The Internet. As you look around for a new social media platform, I implore you, only use one that is a part of the World Wide Web. tl;dr avoid Hive and Post. If posts in a social media app do not have URLs that can...
https://jwz.org/b/yj62
As right-wing extremists are re-platformed everywhere from Twitter to Mar-a-Lago, it’s more important than ever that we hold our journalists, researchers, & others to high standards of accountability when it comes to reporting on extremism and extremists. We need journalists who will tell us the truth, not stake out a position in the middle of two unequal sides. I keep coming back to this quote about reporting on the weather, but it was missing something — so I modified it to make it complete.
You are never too important or too advanced to lend a helping hand. It's just that simple.
Wrote a long thread on twitter about the state of affairs in NE and SE Ukraine. A follower suggested i toot a copy of thread reader on here, so I'm giving it a try:
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1596929670632869888.html
Cricut cutting machines, ubiquitous in schools, libraries and makerspaces, can be used to make embossed or stenciled tactile graphics. A Braille embosser costs at least $1500 — Cricuts cost a fifth of that or less. Today I learned that I can handle the hardware and make great stencils: all that holds a Blind maker back is a set of unlabeled controls in the software. Does anyone know somebody at Cricut I could talk to about making the interface more accessible? Boosters beloved on this one!
Twitter was never a healthy "public square" for most of us. Let's not rewrite history while eulogizing the hellsite.
Twitter was a frightening battleground where we managed barely to claw out an uneasy existence amidst the worst violent neo-Nazi extremists who constantly published our home addresses, threatened our kids' lives, and sent hordes of racist trolls into our mentions.
The same principles that allowed us to survive uneasily on Twitter will be required here in the #fediverse. Community defense, thoughtful pressure on moderation policies, and eternal vigilance.
There are no safe spaces but those we make safe through constant effort. We keep us safe.
Elon is usually "managed" by his employees. At Twitter, no one is stopping his dumber ideas.
Cryptocurrencies were always a scam, so that's no surprise there.
Zuck is terrified of decentralized social media and failing to find a solution.
The more dangerous ones are the competent ones that are not in the news.
@mmasnick I get Notifications from Mastodon when "a poll I've participated in has ended". I voted for all 4 of your options here, and was notified 4 times that it ended. Interesting.
>§#Ukraine's leaders will have to be "far-sighted" to secure peace, #Pope Francis said on Friday, suggesting that #Kyiv would have to make concessions to end the war with #Russia.
Maybe missing it, but why are these calls always directed at Kyiv? Russia could put on their big boy pants and be far sighted and offer concessions to end the war too, you know
Why do folks always talk about Russia like its an inanimate force of nature like a hurricane? They have agency too.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-needs-be-far-sighted-secure-peace-pope-says-2022-11-25/
Cory Doctorow (@pluralistic) on economics training and the new open access Core textbook:
"How is it possible that a coterie of self-appointed court sorcerers to the world’s governments manage to keep their jobs despite being regularly, predictably, and catastrophically wrong?"
Answer: indoctrination
https://capitalaspower.com/2022/11/at-last-a-new-econ-101-textbook/
50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR TWITTER
You just pin your last tweet, Pete,
Request your archive, Clive,
You don’t need a blue tick, Vic,
Just get yourself free.
Hop on the tusk, Gus,
You don’t need to delete much,
Except your DMs, Jen,
And get yourself free.
Use Debirdify, Di,
Provide some alt tags, Mags,
Add a content warning, Tim,
To post sensitively.
Remember to boost, Ruth
You don't need to deny truth,
Just drop off the perch, Dirk,
And get yourself free.
#VerseThurday #TwitterMigration #FediTips
Rural medicine expert, practicing in New Zealand. Used to be a web developer, until I fled the city world for peace and quiet in the wilds.