Daniel Dvorkin @medigoth@qoto.org

lolsob

@moss Yeah, it's "viral" in an almost literal sense: all the Cat 2s have to do is start the infection, and large numbers of Cat 3s will happily take it from there. I have no idea what to do about this on a large scale, and given the current state of US politics I'm afraid there may not be much of a chance for anyone here to do anything about it much longer. Hopefully the rest of the world will carry the torch while we live (or don't) through the plague years.

On a small scale, I've had luck with a few antivaxers by trying to be kind and patient. Same with creationists and climate change deniers. But it's a long shot: for every one I get to consider the evidence, a hundred or a thousand react with confusion, mockery, and/or rage. At this point I'm just not sure how much I have left in me to keep trying.

Yes. There are no #vaccine #skeptics. There are:

1. Rational people who accept the overwhelming evidence that vaccines are safe and effective;

2. Traitors to humanity who lie and say they're not; and

3. Credulous fools who listen to group 2 over group 1.

That's it. There is no fourth option.

Because I am not above shameless self-promotion, get your t-shirts here:

https://www.zazzle.com/pd/spp/pt-zazzle_shirt?dz=116516f4-1106-47f4-ab28-6f7a2b18c749&side_name=front&style=hanes_mens_crew_darktshirt_5250

"#Vaccines work
#Evolution is real
Human activities cause #climate #change
#Chemtrails don't exist
#HAARP doesn't control the #weather
People landed on the #Moon
And FFS, the #Earth is #ROUND"

Seems like this might be particularly important at the moment.

Click to embiggen.

@knowprose Or maybe that's just what they want the overlords to think.

Honestly, I'd be okay with Skynet becoming self-aware before January 20th.

I just got a #spam call from a #bot describing itself as an "#AI #volunteer." Uh ...

Yeah, maybe they should have been "alarmed" a couple of weeks ago. That would have done a lot more good.

I know that if we want to have any chance of salvaging the country from this ongoing train wreck, we're going to need to work with a lot of people who have buyer's remorse. And saying "we told you so" isn't going to be productive. But for the moment, I'm just going to indulge myself in a little snark:

WE FUCKING TOLD YOU SO.

https://www.npr.org/2024/11/17/nx-s1-5193867/farmers-agriculture-experts-reaction-trump-rfk-jr-tariffs

@Wileymiller Well that's ... disturbingly appropriate.

@RickiTarr You should get this "Welcome To #Adulthood Starter Pack" on your 18th birthday, and the congratulatory message should absolutely include this vital wisdom.

@ampersine Immediately after taking office, Biden should have started a program of de-Trumpification throughout the federal government. His failure to do so is IMO a big part of the reason for the mess we're in now.

@mike You monster!

@mike By using open source office software, you're actually stealing potential revenue from Microsoft, so sorry, we're going to have to pull your paper.

@mike Well, that's fairly horrifying.

@sheilasmall Yeah, it's epic trolling. I think I see Musk's hand in this.

#Kennedy for #HHS. There is no bottom to this well.

Seen in the wild: "Luckily all our #environmental laws are older than 18 years, so Rep. #Gaetz shouldn't have much interest in them."

Read the whole thread. This is serious. For better or worse (I think we can definitely say "worse" now) #Twitter used to a major way #science news propagated across the internet. Even after #Musk took it over, a lot of people who should have known better kept relying on it. Now we're seeing the consequences of that.

We can't rely on *any* one platform to get our messages out, not even #Mastodon. Post here, on #Bluesky, even on #Facebook while it's still not a *complete* shithole, and on any other platform you think might have a chance of reaching a decent-sized audience.

This applies to science and #politics and everything else, but I think with science it's particularly critical. #Xitter and other right-wing platforms are going to be pushing even more #misinformation than they already are. For #scientists to keep speaking up is one of the best ways to fight back.

@realTuckFrumper Pretty much as expected. 😐