The Trials After Trump

We need to start thinking, now, about how we are going to penalize the people who made this disaster. There need to be trials, penalties, and some sort of legal order, and currently we have just nothing. I don't want to see these acts go unpunished. I also don't want to see an orgy of revanchism.

The Village Anarchism of Mastodon

Many of the anarchists of Mastodon act as if they don't believe real criminality exists. Most of them are probably sincere, but likely some are criminals themselves and are using anarchist ideology as protective coloration. Mastodon site rules typically say that users must obey the laws of the country where the instance is hosted, and perhaps other laws as well, but how is that to be enforced without a police presence? I don't believe most Mastodon mods are capable of dealing with serious crime.

I am remembering how CHAZ/CHOP in Seattle ended - four shootings, two deaths, and an untold number of rapes. Oh, you sweet anarchist children…

… and I sometimes have the feeling that a lot of these anarchist mods don't so much object to policing as want to be the cops themselves.

The Militia, the Constitution, and States Rights

I, (First, Middle, Last Name) do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State (Commonwealth, District, Territory) of against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the Governor of the State (Commonwealth, District, Territory) of , that I make this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the Office of (Grade) in the Army/Air National Guard of the State (Commonwealth, District, Territory) of upon which I am about to enter, so help me God. — US National Guard Officer’s Oath, 2019-09-13 Ng.mil, Archive.org.

The Apocalyptic Administration

One of the constant refrains, I hear from people who aren’t bought into the madness that has overtaken the United States, is “Why are they destroying this? Don’t they care about the outcome?” And the answer, all too obviously, is “No, they don’t care.” Which leads to the second question: “Why don’t they care?” It’s their own lives on the line; even the very rich and powerful have reason to care; look at what has been done to the oligarchs of Russia. So, why…?

Big Brother Is Alive and Well in Mississippi

Because of a new Mississippi law, Bluesky has blocked all Mississippi IP addresses. Key points:

 "The law requires age verification for all users, not just those accessing age-restricted content […]

"The compliance requirements disadvantage newer and smaller platforms like Bluesky [or anyone who hosts their own blog or runs a Mastodon site, which is basically now at best much more expensive and even so at risk of false prosecution…]

"The law requires collecting and storing sensitive personal information from all users, including detailed tracking of minors. […]"

This law puts every internet user in Mississippi at risk, by creating extensive databases of their internet use, which can then be abused both by state security agencies and hackers.

US Fascism: a Tipping Point

This week, it seems to me that multiple lines have been crossed. It began with:

• The firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer
• Identification of Trump as a groomer by Lindsay Beyerstein, and the transfer of Ghislane Maxwell to a minimum security facility, endangering the public and the other people held there.
• The leak of a Homeland Security memo detailing that there is a plan to extend the ICE investment of Los Angeles to other cities, with the extensive funding provided by the Big Baleful Bill.

It ends with:

• The current EPA management unilaterally abrogating its contracts with its employee unions, with a claimed justification of national security.
• In the name of peace and without consulting the Ukrainian government, which will not accept it, Trump has surrendered part of Ukraine to Russia and is inviting Putin to the United States to seal the agreement.
• A comprehensive censorship regime is being constructed, at CBS and in government funded scientific research.
• Texas is planning on gerrymandering six Democratic seats out of the House of Representatives. 

As Kamala Harris said in her Late Show interview, “I believed that on some level, there should be many who consider themselves to be guardians of our system and our democracy, who just capitulated.”  The Trump administration keeps making things worse and worse and yet few people and institutions with any power are fighting,

The Flapping of Butterfly Wings

Trump thinks he's king and he negotiates like a landlord. He figures his tenants have nowhere else to go so they have to pay what he wants. Surprise, the president is still not a king.

Baton rounds, they're called baton rounds. “Rubber bullets” sound like something soft.

We should have started fighting 25 years ago. No wonder MAGA thinks we're pushovers.

I'm suddenly not angry at Democrats any more, even the ones I strongly disagree with. I'll save my outrage for Republicans.

I wish we would stop using the phrase “racial profiling” and start using the phrase “harassing people because of racism.”

“Come back here and let me bully you some more,” say the bullies.

We could use some good old fashioned Cold War style paranoia, or at least skepticism and caution.

Has anyone else noticed the way these people surrender to foreign powers? Think of Afghanistan. Complete ignominious surrender. They're trying to do the same in Ukraine.

Conservatives, like teenage boys, take martial prowess much more seriously than anything else.

I'm surprised the conservative press is even bothering with Bluesky.

Those aren't liberals, those are conservatives cosplaying liberals.

What do we do when so many of our leaders have betrayed us?

It's like we've socialized cowardice.

I continue to be astonished how many people who are willing to roll over and do the will of the far right. Most business leaders. Many university administrators. Why? Surrendering is not going to make this better.

Is he going to bite when negotiations start going badly?

Waiting for Barrett to call Jackson “uppity.”

This is not the time for measured thoughtful responses. This is the time for "All hands on deck! Prepare to repel boarders!"

I keep talking about how the media is completely f***** but the media is completely f*****.

The first thing an incoming Democratic administration should do is shut down Guantanamo Bay and bring the prisoners back from the overseas prisons.

Grok has gone Nazi. Oh tempora! O mores!

Oh! It's the New York Times strategy! Stir up sentiment for a war and then, after a few thousand people are dead, apologize.

“A common characteristic of individuals with delusional disorder is the apparent normality of their behavior and appearance when their delusional ideas are not being discussed or acted on.”—DSM-5