John Holbo
@jholbo.bsky.social
Professor of Philosophy, Illustrator of Philosophers https://www.onbeyondzarathustra.com
Good morning from Oregon. Well, not so good. But good if you prefer seeing to, like, breathing. Why does the sun look SO weird? Just convert to monochrome and - pop! - it disappears. Same trick as Monet used in his famous sunrise painting that gave ‘Impressionism’ its name.
They know voters hate this shit. So they wait until Blanche has the votes for Collins to come out against him. So she can claim to be a moderate. So she gets reelected. So she can spend the next two years voting for more Todd Blanches.
Collins Watch@collinswatch.bsky.social · 22h agoSusan comes out against Todd Blanche now that he's got the votes. So tiresome. (We called it: tinyurl.com/3bepafkz) #MEpolitics
OMAC does the Unflinching Walk, 1974, well before any of the movie examples cited at TV Tropes.
carloskentscomics.bsky.social@carloskentscomics.bsky.social · 2d agoJack Kirby
And we've known about the IRGC money laundering since 2017. www.newyorker.com/magazine/201...
Donald Trump’s Worst Deal
The President helped build a hotel in Azerbaijan that appears to be a corrupt operation engineered by oligarchs tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
newyorker.com
Mrs. Betty Bowers@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 4d agoWhen it comes to Trump’s money laundering, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The Trump Soho laundered Russian mob money. Trump Panama laundered drug cartel money. Trump Azerbaijan laundered Iranian Revolutionary Guard money. Florida real estate was used to launder Russian oligarch money.
Just wanted to share one of my favorite photos of one of my favorite artists, taken by another one of my favorite artists. This is Jim Flora, in glorious tweed - taken by his dear friend Gene Dietch in 1970. Style goals for me in my golden years. By the way, Jim is 56 here.
I know this would be closing the barn door after he horse has been reelected president, but if Democrats win both chambers I'd really like to see a concurrent resolution deeming January 6 an insurrection under 14(3). 1/
Intra-conservative arguments ongoing at the Bad Place over the 'common good' are something else. It's 'let them fight' if, instead of Godzilla-style, you had Zillow-style virtual tour of the most impressive motte-and-bailey architectural folly ever, collapsing.
Click through and see the rest by Hoogstraten. Great stuff!
Dr. Peter Paul Rubens@peterpaulrubens.bsky.social · 3d agoThe picture looks back, and it’s not too pleased to see you. By Samuel van Hoogstraten in 1653. Today was his day.
Edit: Fauci overreacted by shutting down the country. Trump would not have done that. It was 2020 so technically Biden was already President.
Mike Rothschild@rothschildmd.bsky.social · 6d agoThe overwhelming right wing sentiment is that COVID was an engineered bioweapon that was also harmless. Trump overreacted to it by shutting down the country, then engineered a drive to create a vaccine that was the real bioweapon that killed millions, and it's Joe Biden's fault.
Another example of the problem with the fixation with Trump’s putative emotions: here a story about the Trump administration’s corruption, incompetence, and venality is framed as one about Trump’s “wrath.” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/01/u...
In Dropping Reflecting Pool Case, Pirro Draws Trump’s Wrath
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in Washington, blamed shoddy construction, contradicting President Trump’s pet theory. Mr. Trump said he disagreed “100%” with her.
nytimes.com
It's too bad that Daniel Pinkwater and Ursula K. Le Guin never got to collaborate on a novel based on this premise.
Kat Kerlin@katkerlin.bsky.social · last wk.Some avocados are female in the morning and male in the afternoon, while others are on the opposite schedule. This helps them avoid self-pollination. How do they do it? A @ucdavis.bsky.social study explains. www.ucdavis.edu/food/news/st...
When you slow down and think about it you realize it's ten times worse than it seems. Sure it's farcical, but it's also a brutal legal attack on a man they knew to be innocent, done to distract from their own thievery and incompetence and as a flex to terrify anyone who might make them look bad.
Brendel@brendelbored.bsky.social · 5d agoIt is very weird that they just lie about normal people and then it’s not a scandal when they admit it
Original artwork for the cover to The Worlds of A.E. Van Vogt - by Bart Forbes, 1974. #wardsmorguefile
Like the hypocrisy and the open corruption, the naked, brazen lying is itself aspiring authoritarianism. They aren't lying to cover anything up. They're saying, "We know we're lying. You know we're lying. And we know you know we're lying. And there's nothing you can do about it."
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last mo.BASH: But it peeled off. Why did that happen? BURGUM: It didn't peel off. There was vandalism. There was box cutters. There have been 7 arrests. BASH: There are photographs of people cutting a 350 foot gash in the reflecting pool? BURGUM: Dana, I'm not sure why you keep questioning it
This is a crisis of federalism. Tim Walz is asserting as fact that Iran attacked water infrastructure in Minnesota and several other states. And Trump is saying it's Minnesota's own fault they were attacked as part of a war he started.
Hackers targeted municipal water systems in 7 states this week, FBI says
The federal warning comes after more than 30 water facilities in Minnesota were breached.
nbcnews.com
Concept art by Mary Blair for Cinderella (1950), dir. Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi and Wilfred Jackson, Walt Disney Productions
If individuals do not have the right to ponder the mysteries of existence privately, then government will fill the vacuum. Imagine thinking ‘we’re from the government and we are here to define the meaning of your existence’ is a reassuring policy for ensuring government does NOT intrude unduly.
A thread on how heroes like Dr. Anthony Fauci make Trump and the Republicans look like criminals by comparison. That's why they tried to destroy his good name. That's the story.
2/2 A fierce bad tiger. And very small! Netsuke by Matsushita Otoman, mid-19th century Japan. Less than 2 inches high. #WorldTigerDay
The crucial information here isn't about Blanche, who will continue on as Acting. It's that Trump REALLY REALLY REFUSES to commit to abolishing the January 6 Slush Fund or to giving up any part of his above-the-law get-out-of-audits-free card. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/u...
Trump Says He May Drop Blanche’s Attorney General Nomination, for Now
President Trump’s threat followed a day of fruitless negotiations with two holdout Republicans, Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis.
nytimes.com
Why did she think it should be performed as an Irish jig over a reggae beat? www.youtube.com/watch?v=5agt...
Kate Bush - Rocket Man - Official Music Video
YouTube video by KateBushMusic
youtube.com
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"that compendious philosophy which talking of mind, but thinking of brick and mortar or other images equally abstracted from body, contrives a theory of spirit by nicknaming matter ..."
