I remember being dismissively assured it wasn’t true, that this crank zillionaire is funding basically unlimited vexatious litigation

something i’ve been thinking about is whether or not there’s a way to rightfully condemn anti-trans comments by people with a public profile without elevating their celebrity/importance + serving them on a platter to the right wing media ecosystem. the cycle is painfully disturbing and predictable.

its true that what sophie cunningham said unequivocally sucked. it’s also true that i had never heard of her before the past week or so. it’s become pathetically easy to rocket to relevance by being anti-trans. is there a way to acknowledge the harm while also depriving it oxygen? i don’t know.

the shoutout to Starkey in the goodbye post is *chef's kiss*

Stoatwobbler@stoatwobbler.bsky.social · 18h ago

Oldspeak Books is shutting their premises. Citing an inability to maintain a welcoming environment. But if you want to create a welcoming environment, don't be so utterly stupid as to put "remigration now" flags in your front window!

Also, the point of the media coverage is to set Mamdani up for a classic double-bind, which is a fundamental feature of all kinds of bigotry. They want to make it so that no matter whether he attends or stays away, he has done the wrong thing.

Anjali Dayal@anjalikdayal.bsky.social · 19h ago

the argument against Mamdani attending the 9/11 anniversary, as far as I can tell, is literally just that he’s Muslim, and reposting it is just reporting rank racism

Tom Nichols is a living breathing example of how worthless Never Trump conservatives are in any putative anti-Trump coalition

When someone shows you how good their opinions are, believe them the first time

#StupidSuez@diplomatofnight.com · 9h ago

This guy's whole shtick is cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry and then do nothing

There's a specific kind of NeverTrumper who is convinced that Trump is a break with Bush presidencies rather than their natural, vulgar conclusion, & you can identify them by refusal to update any priors outside of an election year, like claiming concern for Gazans is just college kids not dem base

US center left and center right policy on MENA: shoot and cry and cry and do nothing and shoot and cry and cry and do nothing and shoot and cry and cry and do nothing and shoot and cry and cry and do nothing and shoot and cry and cry and do nothing and shoot and cry and cry and do nothing and shoot

Nathan Goldwag @goldwagnathan.bsky.social · 9h ago

The pivot from "Israel is our most important ally, the only democracy in the Middle East, the bedrock of Jewish identity, and it should be illegal to criticize it in any way" to "Why do Americans have any opinions about Israel??? What does that have to do with us??" is remarkable to watch.

Exacerbated environmental racism is one of the major very real harms of data centers, and something that people who've been studying & discussing this for over a decade have long pointed out. It gets put in communities already most disproportionately harmed by pollution like emissions & waste heat.

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · yesterday

“This is very real redlining…It is appropriating rural, Black-owned land and converting it for industrial purposes, and it’s being done by people who have no historical or cultural tie to the land. These are not people who are local, developing their land for industrial use.”

your clean energy is an affront to the life of a fictional elf invented by a transphobe

Mithqal managed to get in touch last week & said that his gunshot wound is being treated & his condition is thankfully improving. But he has trouble getting online, is kicked off Bluesky repeatedly, & now has steep medical costs while starving & supporting his family. Please help if you can.

Indrapramit Das@indrapramitdas.bsky.social · last mo.

Mithqal urgently needs help: 'I was on my way to my niece's wedding 2 days ago, &...there was a terrible bombing right next to me. I was in a taxi, 2 people in the car were killed, & I was shot in the side. I'm receiving treatment now.'

We cannot ignore the fact that black people are still being lynched.

My goodness please *listen* to this extremely wholesome story

We asked a first grader to interview his hero: A bird scientist

NPR asked an aspiring scientist in Philadelphia to interview an adult who is living his dream about his career in conservation science.

npr.org

im getting vibes that schmitt is just reinventing the anarchist theory of the state but choosing to side with brute power and its glamorous conceit anarchists: the state is a gang calling its violence law [derogatory] fascists: the state is a gang calling its violence law [laudatory]

Yep. See also Mussolini constantly quoting anarchists. Fascism arose as a response to anarchism, we both cut through the tangled delusions of liberalism, but fascism simply inverts anarchist moral values so that might is right. Fascists are often sharply clearheaded about what the state is.

Alliterative A@alliterativea.bsky.social · 13h ago

Schmitt did read bakunin, and the term "political theology" is a direct lift from some of his writing

Reading this makes me sad and angry. We don't fight for decent social goals (such as the ability of everyone to afford good meals) or attack the right people (such as politicians), so we go after the closest person who's just trying to have a little joy.

Krista D Ball is Canada's Snarky Potato@kristadb1.bsky.social · yesterday

The placemat that caused hundreds of blocks because people complained A. It ruined the aesthetic of my meal presentation B. It did not match the vibe of the food I was eating C. A bunch of people did not understand quilted placemats exist D. People accused me of ableism and classism

I think this is the only fantasy or speculative-adjacent book on the ballot!

Kathleen Jennings@tanaudel.bsky.social · 3d ago

HONEYEATER is shortlisted for the People's Choice awards at the QLAs. Are you in Australia? VOTING IS HERE: bwf.org.au/queensland-l... And find the (Ditmar-winning) book here: USA: torpublishinggroup.com/honeyeater/ Australia: panmacmillan.com.au/9781761562303/

Charles Stross (@cstross@wandering.shop) once wrote a great blog post about the funniness of the trot-to-neocon tendency, and also about the neo-reactionary/dark enlightenment wierdos, titled "Trotskyite singularitarians for Monarchism!" www.antipope.org/charlie/blog...

Trotskyite singularitarians for Monarchism! A political speculation. - Charlie's Diary

[ Home ] [ FAQ ] [ Contact me ] [ Older stuff ]

antipope.org

When I read Little, Big, I knew John Crowley was a great writer, and one who had spent his childhood in the same big library as me. When he taught my Clarion West class in 1992, I knew he was a great teacher, and a kind man. May his memory persist; may his works survive.

We need to have to have a reckoning with the fact that our media class is mostly just dull as fuck driving gloves Tory 65 year olds who think behaving like an insufferable cunt is cool and funny

it's funny how (white) people always associate MLK with his "I have a dream" speech and not his letter from Birmingham Jail

Not to mention that ‘bad messaging’ was ultimately are major critique of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. It was extremely unpopular at the time before ultimately being proven as the only morally defensible position. Liberals always say the messaging is bad. MLK wrote down his frustration with this.

We’re still criticizing liberationist messaging from the same era as ‘Build A Wall’ etc. after a decade of militarized police openly violating Geneva Conventions against students, the disabled & elderly & in the aftermath of scores of people holding ‘Mass Deportations’ signs We have learned nothing

John Crowley on death www.laphamsquarterly.org/medicine/mid...

In the Midst of Death | John Crowley

If the universe can’t outlive or transcend individual consciousness, does death even really exist?

laphamsquarterly.org

1. Unambiguously good 2. As part of a broader regional agreement, great. 3. As part of a broader regional agreement, great. 4. Unambiguously good 5. Unambiguously good

Nicholas Grossman@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 12h ago

Iran issues extensive list of demands to reopen Hormuz: -End US blockade -US forces out of area -End sanctions -Unconditionally release all frozen Iranian assets -Pay war reparations Even as maximal position to be negotiated down, Iran being in this position highlights how badly Trump screwed up.

He mostly ran on being /for/ Medicare for All, /against/ Chuck Schumer, and juxtaposed himself against the candidate who took a record-shattering 30,000,000 dollars from a single PAC and 70,000,000 from PACs overall.

Maine has no parole, meaning that people with life sentences are almost guaranteed to die in prison. Janet Mills has blocked parole reform for years. This could all change soon, as Maine elects a new governor. Incarcerated voters are paying attention: boltsmag.org/maine-prison...

Maine Prisoners Organize to Protect Their Rare Right to Vote - Bolts

Maine is one of the only places in the country where prisoners keep their right to vote. But logistical barriers to voting still contribute to their larger exclusion from the political process.

boltsmag.org

Callback to recent data center discourse - why don't people want them in the community? Because of shit like this: futurism.com/artificial-i...

Google Data Center Announces Plans to Pave Over Protected Wetlands

Google is requesting authorization to fill in a chunk of precious wetlands to build three data center buildings in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

futurism.com