Everyone’s been quoting Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny for “do not obey in advance.” But I hope they look into his other work, particularly his tireless advocacy for the Ukrainian cause.
Anyone who ever protested funding sent to Ukraine should reflect on how his analysis of the situation in Ukraine and his work on fighting tyranny are linked. If you think his ideas have value, then look at his actions: look at the fundraiser he did to arm Ukrainians with drones.
If you think he has solid ideas on what defending freedom looks like, don’t disparage his work by failing to grasp its full scope.
If you’re an American federal employee and got an email saying “it’s ok to quit your job.” Do not, for the love of everything, quit your job. This is purely a scare tactic to get rid of as many people as possible without legal consequences.
Obviously, Trump has realized firing everyone in the government will be harder than he thought because of robust legal protections so he’s trying to scare or trick people into leaving instead because he knows they can block and slow his fascist agenda. Don’t let that happen. If you’re in the civil service, your country needs you; stay in your job and protect the constitution. And if you’re not in civil service, do what you can to support the civil service, including calling your representatives and asking them to protect civil servants.
I saw some James Webb Telescope scientists give a talk and one of them said this was her favorite image because she had waited and worked 25 years to see this.
[Begin ID. Image 1. Tweet by Latest in space (@ latestinspace) on September 21, 2022 at 9:34 AM. James Webb telescope just dropped its latest image, Neptune, and its rings.
The other two images are from the post’s attachments.
Image 2. Outer space with colorful stars and galaxies. Neptune is far away, yet close enough that it’s rings are visible. The planet is a shining purplish white.
Image 3. Closeup of Neptune. It glows brightly against the black of space. Neptune is pale lavender. It has bands of white spots that have a hint of gold. Its five rings are white. Two rings are clearly visible. End ID.]
When asked “Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?” Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England, wrote this magnificent response:
“A few things spring to mind. Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem. For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed.
So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief. Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever.
I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman. But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty. Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers. And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness. There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface. Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront. Well, we don’t.
We see it as having no inner world, no soul. And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist. Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that. He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat. He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege. And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully. That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a sniveling sidekick instead.
There are unspoken rules to this stuff – the Queensberry rules of basic decency – and he breaks them all. He punches downwards – which a gentleman shouldn’t, wouldn’t, could never do – and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless – and he kicks them when they are down.
It’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum.
God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid. If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.”
every time I do a web search, right at the top I have AI info dumping on me
just give me the top result please
Swear in your search request. I know it sounds ridiculous, but the most effective way I’ve found of it not doing the AI summary is just to add “fucking” go my search.
Holy shit
You’re welcome! I can’t claim credit to have come up with it, but very happy to spread it around 😄
This post legitimately knocked me out of a doomscroll. Had to put down my phone and everything and stare at a wall.
I really do regret my inaction the most. Every time. All of my future problems are always caused by things I failed to do in the present. And every time, I get so mad at past Me for not even trying because I’m so afraid to fail.
Like. Damn. Didn’t expect pixel art of some planets to hit me so hard.
If deportation forces aren’t currently swarming your streets that much but might soon be doing more of this (looking at Europe here), consider practicing on cops and public transport checks. How long can you keep a cop busy by arguing about minor things? That’s time he can’t spend harassing homeless people. How long can you try to find the ‘lost ticket’ that was in your pocket all along? If it’s enough to get to the train or bus to the next stop, it’ll allow those without tickets to make an escape and avoid a fine.
Doing this a lot will make you much better at it and will put a little good into the world on a daily basis.
amhrancas 