EVERYONE needs this look-back on how we got to this hideous state of our politics, as told by the brilliant @driftglass and @bluegal. Ever wondered where “political dumpster fire” and the “bothsides” trope came from? From them. Trust me.
There are few commentators anywhere who got so much right for so long (750 weekly podcasts). Most of my friends never miss an episode. No progressive ever should. Listen once, you’ll be hooked.
For all the people who say ”I had to select a server, it was so complicated to sign up to Mastodon. On Bluesky it was easy” - how are these two different logic-wise? I mean what the hell?
@rolle
I suspect that is an impression hanging on from last November even though our signon experience has improved. Which is why first impressions are so important. They can get embedded.
I gave my bum knee a nice water walking workout today. And what did I get for my efforts? A knee that it hurts a lot more than it did before. My ortho said I’m a long way from a knee replacement. But only because there are other things to try first. I hope he hurries.
It’s been clear to me for months that the fediverse has a PR problem. We know the press developed an uninformed and rather snide attitude toward Mastodon/Fediverse early on during the Twitter migration, and copped an attitude that’s unlikely to be shed without an intervention. But they ran with that narrative because there wasn’t one already made for them when the migration washed ashore.
I think we need a new mission to position decentralized social networking (#dsn) in our quite … 1/4
@shoq
The story is out there, which is a start. It's being repeated accurately, which is a help. It needs to get more mainstream distribution outside of tech pubs, and it needs some context for laypeople who don't immediately grasp the implications as tech people do.
I hope you all realize that if Jim Jordan wins, it’s another legal prelude to a coup. The MAGA/facsist right is pouring on the muscle and money, threatening every lawmaker who said they would never vote for him. We should be fucking terrified. But we’re not.
@shoq@Npars01@lin11c
The court has sided with corporate/wealthy interests since long before there was a 6-3 radical majority. Supporting the wealthy is not considered a radical position.
I used to do civil defense law in Cali. Most cases settled, but the ones that went to trial tended to be right on the five-year limit. That was the 80s in state court, but all courts are only more crowded now. The whole flow of the justice system needs overhauling.
@shoq@Npars01@lin11c
No, but I think things like Obergefell were meant to be our distractions from the business cases that, if you look at the history, have very, very little deviation. And now, as you say, they don't need to appease us anymore, so they are getting ready to retract the distractions.
I’ll write a fuller response later, but when billionaire tycoons who profit from genocide say that they want to become “supermen” while explicitly endorsing colonialism, that’s not optimism. That’s fascism with a smile. I actually make stuff, and help other people make stuff, and genuine optimism (technological or not) looks like community, nurturing, organizing and empowering — not indulging billionaires who profit from genocide.
Having just surveyed Threads for the first time in months, I am afraid to say that I think the social media war may already be lost. The biggest Xitter influencers have all rebuilt their followers there and I see nothing that is going to slow that momentum.
Having a better mousetrap doesn’t mean shit if users don’t believe they have any mice. That said, until I can follow my Masto account there, I won’t believe that it’s not likely to be a very bad thing.
While I rarely agree with Tom Friedman on much, there is a certain logic to the idea that Israel may be trying to “out-crazy” Hamas with an overwhelming response.
Oh FFS, Welker being Welker again: “Welker asked Jeffries why formal conversations for a bipartisan solution haven’t yet begun, and Jeffries said it was up to Republicans to initiate them”
cc @driftglass
Jeffries: We Are in ‘Informal’ Talks for ‘Bipartisan’ Speaker Solution
The current strategy seems to be that if someone spots a Hamas leader feeding pigeons in the park, the IDF will immediately take out the park.” That doesn’t feel like a very cost-effective mission to me. But then, Israeli’s don’t really pay for many of these massive military actions. All too ofte, we Americans do.
@shoq
I really want someone to study how much of our economy relies on weapons manufacturing and sales. That would explain why we gave Saudi Arabia money to buy our weapons--they hardly need the money.
One part of the enshittification process that @pluralistic leaves out of his equation is third-party developers. Developers are like the canaries in the enshittification coalmine.
They create a huge part of the value of a platform for both end users and businesses.
Platforms encourage this value creation in the ecosystem, and cherry-pick the best apps to either clone or acquire.
Then, they shiv developers with an API TOS change.
Utility post: I'm working on Claudia Goldin, and trying to put the economic important of rising female labor force participation in context. Between 1970 and 2000 the female LPR rose about 17 points, so an increase in overall labor supply of ~8 percent 1/