Tessera

I'll be in the UK in less than a week from now! Look out UK! Look out!

Two panel meme. First panel a man labelled "The UK" points to an empty plinth. The top text reads "this is where I'd put my codified constitution." Second panel he is yelling. Bottom text reads "IF I HAD ONE." This is very funny for a specific audience.

There's a new episode! In my ongoing plot to teach you all the basics of Australian politics I've made a comprehensive explainer of what local government does, how it works, what it's for, and more!* Watch here: youtu.be/A3HRJsi0dZE *why it's constitutional

Though pride month ends the reminder is eternal that queerness and diversity is the most natural thing in the world. There is no point to denying this or trying to make anyone's life worse because of it. 🌈

Does it count as making it if looking me up on Instagram gets a reasonably OK (but a little jumbled) AI summary of my work? I guess I'm finally well known enough to be picked up by this garbage feature.

A screenshot of a meta AI summary about Auspol Explained. It talks about how my youtube channel covers different aspects of Australia’s political system.

Reminder that it's still pride month. I hope everyone's remembering that discrimination against LGBTQIA+ people of any kind has no place in a fair or equal society and we're all just human beings that deserve dignity, respect and love. 🌈🏳️‍🌈✌️

Fun fact: it's not a mystery what your senators are doing! You can find Senate statistics that break down their attendance, how many times they've voted (and which way), how many speeches they've given and how many bills and motions they've introduced. It's all here! www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentar...

Camera update: still don't have it back.

Is anyone else constantly worried that the age of reasoned debate is soon to die a painful death at the hands of generative AI creating massive distrust in any form of information, real or otherwise, and everyone's going to splinter into ever more polarised echo chambers? Or is that just me?

There's a NEW Auspol Explained episode about how the Hansard record is the official record of parliamentary debates which I know doesn't sound like a great pitch but on the bright side if you think it's boring it's only a 5.5 minute long video so... what's the harm? Watch here: youtu.be/I8Rehlk0A0U

David@auspolexplained.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Good news! I finally got the quote to repair my camera lens and the sensor that was damaged by that pesky moth! It is $743 which is... oof. OK. At least in a couple weeks I'll be back in action. I can confidently say that is the most a single moth has ever cost me and moths are now my mortal enemy.

A MOTH GOT INTO MY CAMERA LENS AND DIED??? It also scratched up my camera sensor so both the lens and camera I use for filming Auspol Explained videos is in for repair! Thankfully I filmed a couple episodes before the moth appeared so I've got something to edit but it'll be out of action for a while

An image of a 50mm lens with a dead moth inside the glass element.

David@auspolexplained.bsky.social · 4mo ago

If you're waiting for an update: so am I. I've not yet heard back from the repair people about time/cost. Oh well. Guess I'll just do some writing instead of filming.

David@auspolexplained.bsky.social · 4mo ago

JUST A REMINDER. NO REASON. JUST A REMINDER THAT THE SEPARATION OF POWERS MATTERS AND POLITICAL FIGURES SHOULDN'T PREJUDICE ONGOING COURT CASES WHETHER INTENTIONALLY OR INCIDENTALLY.

I just want to say apropros of nothing: court proceedings should never be politicised. The judiciary is an important part of any society and it's not there for popularity contests or culture wars.

Remember, if there's something important to you then you should contact your local MP and Senators to tell them about it and why they should act on it: www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and...

Contacting Senators and Members

aph.gov.au

David @auspolexplained.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Did you know that if every member of the House of Representatives spoke for only 5 minutes each it'd take 12.5 hours to get through them all. So not everyone can talk every sitting day. The solution? The Federation Chamber. youtu.be/yrV3SbbbFhU

I just want to say apropros of nothing: court proceedings should never be politicised. The judiciary is an important part of any society and it's not there for popularity contests or culture wars.

David @auspolexplained.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Let's get down to bzzzzness* (learning about how amendments are made) youtu.be/P_e-LqouX80

How Do Amendments Work? | AUSPOL EXPLAINED

YouTube video by Auspol Explained

youtu.be

It's my birthday today! So here's a story about Australian political history: youtu.be/iJuUGI-4wXQ

34 (and living the dream)

YouTube video by Auspol Explained

youtu.be

No one has asked me my thoughts or predictions on the South Australian election tomorrow... I wouldn't have given you any. But like, it's nice to feel included.

It's wild how every single time I say "hey, discrimination and abusive comments about (insert group of people here) will not be tolerated" I get people announcing loudly they're offended that I'm standing up for a minority and are unsubscribing. OK??? You could've just left quietly?

There has been an alarming rise of anti-Muslim comments that I've had to delete lately. While Islamophobia has always been an unfortunate part of the internet, this recent spike is worrying and unacceptable. I want it to be known that this kind of discrimination is not tolerated.

It's just under a week until my 34th birthday and you know what that means - time moves unrelentingly forward in a linear fashion and cannot be stopped. ... also I expect people to wish me a happy birthday on Saturday to make me feel good.

I'm in a few sovereign citizen groups on Facebook (because doom scrolling wasn't DEPRESSING ENOUGH) and I'm fascinated by the sheer volume of misinformation and disinformation spread by these groups to a truly baffling degree. It's concerning and saddening at the same time.