Greg Spradlin @spradlig@qoto.org

Struggling to give a f*ck, tbh…

Must be hard for their families but why do we need to be kept up to date on obscenely wealthy people being killed by the weather conditions their excessive gluttonous consumption helped cause?

Where’s the minute by minute coverage of the tens of millions killed by air pollution every year?

#Karma #ClimateBreakdown

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/08/20/mike-lynch-sicily-yacht-bayesian-italy/

🤞🏼 Vote!

Via Griffin:

Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball is shifting its rating of #NorthCarolina from leaning Republican to toss-up in the presidential race.

This is the first time the Crystal Ball has moved any state from the GOP column into too-close-to-call territory all cycle.

Inflation drops below 3 precent for the first time in years: “Did the U.S. beat inflation? Yes, yes, yes. I told you we were going to have a soft landing, and we’re going to have a soft landing. My policies are working, start writing that way, okay?” - President Biden

US Press: People still feel everything is awful. We don't know why.

Space lovers: #SpaceCadetsForHarris is happening Thursday, August 15, 5pm PT / 8pm ET! Speakers include Bill Nye, #NASA astronauts, #scifi film industry pros, and more. 🚀 https://www.spacecadets4harris.com/

If this were a pregnant white woman, there would be a firestorm of outrage coast to coast, even if she was armed and threatened the life of a police officer.

But an unarmed, pregnant Black woman only "suspected" of a petty thief, and posing no threat is put down like a dangerous animal.

This is not a few bad apples, or a police problem, it's the manufactured culture of #whiteness and the state-sponsored racial class system that cultivates and defends it.

Ohio Cop Charged with Murdering 21-Year-Old Pregnant Black Mother Ta’Kiya Young
#BlackMastodon #whiteTerrorism #Police #StateViolence
https://www.democracynow.org/2024/8/14/headlines/ohio_cop_charged_with_murdering_21_year_old_pregnant_black_mother_takiya_young

One funny thing about the "Harris should give press conferences" discourse is that I work at a publication where we are almost never given access to CEOs or politicians, and yet we break news constantly. In fact, we often beat better funded publications that have press passes to presidential palaces and that get invited on corporate tours.

If your goal is to break news, press conferences are one of the worst places to do it.

@falcennial @dannotdaniel @jeff @tchambers

Yes ... following people and actually engaging matters on Mastodon.

Regretfully, too many who were used to larger accounts on Twitter were accustomed to hanging out in DM rooms with their friends and just sending out posts to be algo-pushed. No real engagement.

This platform is different in that being social is part of it. It takes a bit of effort.

I signed up to all my Patreon subscriptions on their website years ago. They don’t /need/ an iOS app. I never use the iOS app. I’ve tried it but it offers nothing and takes 30%.

Just go all-in on your website, Patreon. Tell Apple to fuck off. Let the open web win again.

Mockery online as slurring Trump steamrolls Musk 'sounding like Sylvester the Cat' - Raw Story

https://www.rawstory.com/elon-musk-trump-2668951926/

trump told TWO LIES A MINUTE at his so-called press conference⁉️ I believe it—that’s probably everything he said—he never gets to the point.

Another useful statistic to keep in politics is: “How Many Times the Candidate DID NOT Answer the Question”. Yes, I know politicians are known for pivoting & deflecting, but at least they start out by responding to the topic. In trump’s recent at his club/home, he rigged his sound system so that the reporters’ questions couldn’t even be heard! #weird

If the point of the “press conference” was to show trump’s prowess at unscripted answers, he failed. trump exposes himself over and over as a candidate who is ignorant of the issues confronting the nation, and unable to speak of anything other than his persecution & grievances. Giving timeworn lie-filled responses IS NOT showing an ability to ad lib.
It’s laughable for an inadequate & ignorant candidate like trump to charge his opponent with being scripted.

#trump #uspol

https://mstdn.ca/@Downshift/112943482565126026

Surprised more people on “The Dick Van Dyke Show” didn’t become ill when having dinner at Rob and Laura’s.

Every meal was a Petrie dish.

If OpenAI were a serious and responsible company they would enable their watermarking feature. But they know that it would completely undermine their product: Nobody wants to read "AI" generated shit and having that easily detectable would shed a bad light on their users. Which it should: If you don't want to write it, I don't want to read it.

(Original title: OpenAI won’t watermark ChatGPT text because its users could get caught)

https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/4/24213268/openai-chatgpt-text-watermark-cheat-detection-tool

“I’m only trying to make it to vote for Kamala Harris.”
- 99-year-old Jimmy Carter

He's been in hospice for over a year and wants to live long enough to vote for Kamala Harris. What's your excuse for not voting? #VoteBlue

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/08/03/jimmy-carter-kamala-harris-vote-100/74657161007/

So proud that #MastodonforHarris is part of this surge in funding for #HarrisForPresident. CNN coverage of July reporting by the campaign here https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/02/politics/harris-fundraising-july/index.html.

Let’s keep it up. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/mastodon-for-harris

@kamalaharrisforpresidentnews

Superb line, superbly delivered. Needs to be seen to be appreciated. #kamalaharris cc: @kamalaharrisforpresidentnews

From: @Nonilex
https://masto.ai/@Nonilex/112878044846663005

🔥
Via Elie Mystal:

Really mean thing for JD Vance to say about Ginni Thomas

Kamala HQ:

Unearthed video: #JDVance says people who don’t have children are “sociopathic,” “psychotic,” and “deranged”

#Harris2024

"These diversified businesses are, in fact, some of the country’s largest nonprofit hospital systems. And they have somehow managed to keep myriad for-profit enterprises under their nonprofit umbrella — a status that means they pay little or no taxes, float bonds at preferred rates, and gain numerous other financial advantages."

https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/commentary-nonprofit-hospitals-rolling-in-money/

#healthcare #hospitals #CostsOfCare #taxes #nonprofit

I'm watching the White Dudes for #Harris zoom call on YouTube, and it's really touching to see all these white men rally around a WOC presidential candidate and advocate for each other, all the women in their lives, labor unions, political activism, etc. It's heartwarming to see men lift each other up and create a culture of male positivity.

Never thought I'd say it, definitely never thought I would see it. This feels way more inclusive than most clubs for white men.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnnKXuYcDU0

"After nearly a decade of being forced to take Trump seriously, Democrats increasingly call BS on the whole charade"

"Old and quite weird": Democrats finally discover new effective attack — and Republicans hate it | Salon.com

https://www.salon.com/2024/07/29/old-and-quite-weird-democrats-finally-discover-new-effective--and-hate-it/