When Social Security checks stop showing up because of gov’t employee purges, millions of Americans will finally understand what’s going on. “It is no exaggeration to say this will kill people — mainly people who are elderly, disabled and/or poor.”
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Jason Kottke’s weblog, home of fine hypertext products since 1998
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“Democracy Dies in Darkness” Wasn’t a Warning; It Was Our End Goal....
“Democracy Dies in Darkness” Wasn’t a Warning; It Was Our End Goal. “When it comes to choosing whether or not to resist authoritarianism, I believe Snyder meant to write, ‘Do not! Obey in advance!’”
DOGE’s Chaos Reaches Antarctica. “If the Antarctic program budget is cut, then...
DOGE’s Chaos Reaches Antarctica. “If the Antarctic program budget is cut, then they’ll…get to the point where they can’t even keep the station open. If the South Pole [station] is shut down, it’s basically nearly impossible to bring it back up.”
“The Covid Alarmists Were Closer to the Truth Than Anyone Else”
From David Wallace-Wells, a reminder that those who were considered alarmists at the beginning of the pandemic were ultimately proved right — it actually was an alarming situation.
Today, the official Covid death toll in the United States stands at 1.22 million. Excess mor...
Women Are Scared And Scrapping Their Baby Plans Under This Administration &...
Women Are Scared And Scrapping Their Baby Plans Under This Administration & For Good Reason. “I don’t want to die trying to have another baby. I don’t want to leave my own living child motherless.”
The February 28 Economic Blackout
A broad range of Americans are organizing a 24-hour economic boycott on February 28th to protest the ongoing actions of the Trump administration and to send a message to corporate America. From The People’s Union USA website, here are the details:
The boycott runs all da...
FDA cancels meeting to select flu strains for next season’s shots. “Deciding...
FDA cancels meeting to select flu strains for next season’s shots. “Deciding on the strains in the spring gives vaccine manufacturers enough time to produce the shots to be ready for the fall.”
The US Economic Policy Uncertainty Index is at its highest level since...
The US Economic Policy Uncertainty Index is at its highest level since 2000 — higher than during 9/11, the 2007 financial crisis, and the pandemic. “It is a mystery as to why credit spreads and equities are still so well-behaved…”
The MacArthur Foundation will increase its giving over the next two years...
The MacArthur Foundation will increase its giving over the next two years in response to Trump’s actions illegally freezing aid. “This is a major crisis for our sector and it’s a time when those of us who can do more should do more.”
The United States has fallen to a score of 65 (on a...
The United States has fallen to a score of 65 (on a scale of 0-100) on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (calculated before Trump’s 2nd term). It’s fallen steadily since 2013 (score of 76), esp. during Trump’s 1st term.
Legendary actor Gene Hackman has died at the age of 95. Hackman,...
Legendary actor Gene Hackman has died at the age of 95. Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa, and their dog were found dead at their home yesterday. “Foul play was not suspected.”
A Son Tries to Rescue His Dad From Conspiracy Theories
NPR’s Embedded podcast has a three-episode series from reporter Zach Mack about a year-long effort to convince his dad that all the conspiracy theories he (his dad) believes are bogus, in an attempt to save his family.
Reporter Zach Mack thinks his dad has gone all in on...
Pedro Pascal responding to transphobia on social media: “I can’t think of...
Pedro Pascal responding to transphobia on social media: “I can’t think of anything more vile and small and pathetic than terrorizing the smallest, most vulnerable community of people who want nothing from you, except the right to exist.”
Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015
Whoa, HBO has made a third installment of Eyes on the Prize, the landmark series on the American Civil Rights Movement. The trailer is above and you can watch the six-part series on HBO or Max right now.
The first two series, which are amongst the best television ever air...
Jeff Bezos declares opinions questioning “free markets” no longer welcome at The...
Jeff Bezos declares opinions questioning “free markets” no longer welcome at The Washington Post. “Months after insisting he would never allow his personal interests to influence the Post’s content…” LOL, the underrepresented capitalist perspective…
A long but very interesting thread about how Trump & Russell Vought...
A long but very interesting thread about how Trump & Russell Vought have started weaponizing the OMB to illegally impound funding appropriated by Congress (like he did in 2019, leading to his first impeachment).
Plan To Be More Positive Off To Shitty Fucking Start. “Well, I’m...
Plan To Be More Positive Off To Shitty Fucking Start. “Well, I’m not even three days into giving optimism a shot, and it already sucks.” 🙃🫠😭
An unvaccinated child has died in the Texas measles outbreak. And before...
An unvaccinated child has died in the Texas measles outbreak. And before that, no one had died of measles since 2003. “This tragic situation illustrates the importance of immunizing as many people as possible…”
What do you do after you accidentally kill a child? This is...
What do you do after you accidentally kill a child? This is wonderfully written….but also very hard to read.
The Great Resegregation
For the Atlantic, Adam Serwer writes about the Great Resegregation, the attempt by the Trump administration to reverse the civil rights movement.
If the Great Resegregation proves successful, it will restore an America past where racial and ethnic minorities were the occasi...
This Is Not a Drill: How Universities Can Save DEI. “This is...
This Is Not a Drill: How Universities Can Save DEI. “This is not just about education. It is about who gets to participate in shaping the future of this country.”
Let This Radicalize You Workbook. “This workbook is intended as an extension...
Let This Radicalize You Workbook. “This workbook is intended as an extension of the book Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care by Kelly Hayes and Mariame Kaba.”
On the lessons of the rise & fall of the KKK. “Fascism...
On the lessons of the rise & fall of the KKK. “Fascism always fails. It is destructive and it is awful and not everyone lives to see the other side, but it always, always fails. It takes work. It takes fighting back.”
The War on Cars debuts an ad that extolls the freedom of...
The War on Cars debuts an ad that extolls the freedom of cycling. “Who’s really more free? People beholden to traffic, gas prices, and the high cost of owning and maintaining a car or those who are able to choose another way?”
Slow Start Today…
It turns out when you get a flat tire after hitting a pothole in the middle of nowhere late at night and you don’t have a spare1 in a state where everyone goes to bed at 9:15pm, you’re just kinda shit outta luck? Huge thanks to Caroline and her sleepy, confused dog for coming to retrieve me. 💞
So yeah anyway, things might be a little wonky around here today because I got very little sleep and I need to see about that flat. 🤷♂️
- I’m gonna head everyone off at the pass here and tell you that I had a portable air compressor and an emergency puncture kit with me that were both useless for this type of flat unfortunately.↩
This weekend, JD Vance is visiting a small VT town near where...
This weekend, JD Vance is visiting a small VT town near where I live and plans to ski at Sugarbush. The locals are understandably pissed — both at our fascist VP and the local businesses extending their welcome to him. Protests to come, I’m sure.
Trump Administration Litigation Tracker. “The table below tracks legal challenges to the...
Trump Administration Litigation Tracker. “The table below tracks legal challenges to the Trump administration’s executive orders, as well as cases on behalf of the Trump administration to enforce them.”
As Facebook Abandons Fact-Checking, It’s Also Offering Bonuses for Viral Content. “The...
As Facebook Abandons Fact-Checking, It’s Also Offering Bonuses for Viral Content. “The upshot: a likely resurgence of incendiary false stories on Facebook, some of them funded by Meta.”
Actress Hunter Schafer’s gender marker was changed to “male” on her US...
Actress Hunter Schafer’s gender marker was changed to “male” on her US passport due to Trump’s anti-trans passport rules. “This is real…and no one, no matter their circumstance, no matter how wealthy or white or pretty or whatever, is excluded.”
Inalienable Rights vs. Conditional Privileges
From @existennialmemes on Tumblr:
Listen, if a Bad President can come in and take away our rights and we’re dependent on a Good President replacing them in four years to give us back our rights, then we do not have any rights.
If politicians can take or distribute them, then they’re not “inalienable” and they’re not “rights.”
We don’t have inalienable rights we have conditional privileges, divvied out according to the whims of whoever currently holds the reins.
And if we want to have actual rights, then we must build a system in which no one has the power to take them away to begin with.
I am wondering what a system like that would actually look like… (via @halaylah.bsky.social)