@Alienated53@mastodon.online
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Alienated53

@Alienated53@mastodon.online

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Alienated53, to random
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

"Yes, it’s OK to laugh at wealthy Burning Man attendees mired in muck
Maybe it feels satisfying to see the US elite in discomfort because we’re so unlikely to see them face accountability in normal life.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/06/burning-man-wealthy-attendees

ProPublica, to Idaho
@ProPublica@newsie.social avatar

Idaho Created a $25 Million Fund to Fix Unsafe .
Why Is Nobody Using It?

About a decade ago, one school district went to the state for money to fix its crumbling buildings.

It got a fraction of what it asked for.

Since then, no other district has even applied.

https://propub.li/485N1nO

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@ProPublica was once, IMO, a major US value. Certainly in my childhood youth it was so, even if many to "beat" the Russkies. The adjacent values of became ascendant in the 1970s, and culminated in the Reagan revolution. The surrendered to the same religion with the Clintonites. Now and , public anything, have crumbled. Of course it is worse in Idaho.

ProPublica, to MIguns
@ProPublica@newsie.social avatar

deleted_by_moderator

    •
    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @ProPublica Who ya gonna believe, the cops or your lying eyes?

    w7voa, to twitter
    @w7voa@journa.host avatar

    Elon Musk engaging with white nationalists and antisemites who want to ban the Anti-Defamation League from his platform formerly known as . https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-757445

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @w7voa I expect he will not file such a suit. It would amplify the evidence of the antisemitism he empowers.

    Alienated53, to climate
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar


    How ironic that we developed our human tech to the point of destabilizing the planet's , yet: "Brazil's struggling rainforests are so understudied, it's not clear how bad the damage is
    The extinction crisis is slamming the Amazon, but it's so poorly understood, we don't know what's being lost."
    https://www.salon.com/2023/09/03/brazils-struggling-rainforests-are-so-understudied-its-not-clear-how-the-damage-is/
    https://youtu.be/2595abcvh2M?si=AQafB7HC-wpiPw41

    ThomHartmann, to random
    @ThomHartmann@mstdn.social avatar

    Over the past 40 years, Republicans have pulled off an incredible magic trick. They’ve convinced average working people that tax cuts benefit them when in fact the opposite is true. How much longer will America fall for their BS?

    https://hartmannreport.com/p/how-the-gop-suckered-america-on-tax-b1a

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @ThomHartmann Probably as long as the and / owners operate the most pervasive propaganda network ever assembled, the . Even the falsely labeled "left" MSNBC carries a multitude of pro- and ads.

    georgetakei, to random

    Trump met with pharma lobbyists and nixed his promise to have Medicare negotiate drug prices.

    Biden just announced Medicare would negotiate drug prices on ten popular drugs used by millions of seniors.

    The first is empty talk. The second is bold action.

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @georgetakei Semi-bold action at best. The really bold actions were taken off the table by the hobbled long ago. But we must take the crumbs that fall off the masters' buffet, I guess.

    jeffjarvis, to random
    @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social avatar

    Jeezus. Maybe the "struggle" is because of coverage like this from The New York Times. Appalling.

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @jeffjarvis Jobs are up, wages less so – and lower purchasing power could still lead the US into a recession.
    I also question use of average wage which is easily skewed by bigger increases at the top.
    https://theconversation.com/jobs-are-up-wages-less-so-and-lower-purchasing-power-could-still-lead-the-us-into-a-recession-212678

    HeavenlyPossum, (edited ) to random
    @HeavenlyPossum@kolektiva.social avatar

    When I was a kid in the 80s and 90s, I watched Star Trek: The Next Generation. I soaked up the vibes of a high-tech, utopian future. I internalized the trajectory we were on was good, that we had reached the End of History. There might be a few bumps on the road, but the direction was inevitable and the destination was inexorable.

    It turns out that the fastest a human being has ever traveled was 39,897 kilometers per hour. That was the crew of the Apollo 10 mission returning to earth. That happened on 26 May, 1969.

    Fifty-four years ago. We peaked more than half a century ago.

    1/of several

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @HeavenlyPossum This is still on-going. Here is just one example of how the has control within the : "Biden Infrastructure Report Pushes 'Disastrous Water Privatization Schemes,' Watchdog Says
    "President Biden should have never appointed an investment banker to chair an advisory council for the nation's infrastructure," said one advocate." https://www.commondreams.org/news/biden-water-privatization

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @HeavenlyPossum In July 69 I watched the first step on the moon. The US had heavily invested in STEM education and in the 70s I was able to obtain a BA and Law degree at nearly free at public universities. It does indeed feel like we peaked back then. Proto MAGA GOP was able to play racist white Americans to destroy any chance of a Star Trekian utopia.

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @HeavenlyPossum Newest stuff I see on the nanoplastics, forever chems and climate change makes it hard not to believe we are headed back to much shorter, less healthy lives for all but the top 10%. Would not be surprised if we reach an end of human fertility sometime in the near future.

    br00t4c, to Georgia
    @br00t4c@mastodon.social avatar

    "I don't want to have to draw my rifle": Georgia GOPer warns of "civil war" if Trump is prosecuted

    https://www.salon.com/2023/08/30/i-dont-want-to-have-to-draw-my-rifle-georgia-goper-warns-of-civil-war-if-is-prosecuted/

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @br00t4c There may well be an upsurge in violence. It will be horrendous. It is the nature of the beast that we are currently fighting. It may well serve as the chance to clear more of these violent miscreants from living openly among us. Sadly, IMO, we must be willing to jail perhaps thousands or even tens of thousands of deluded cultists as the only way to encyst the cancer that they represent.

    zoom_earth, to random
    @zoom_earth@mapstodon.space avatar

    makes landfall near Keaton Beach, Florida as a Category 3 Major Hurricane at 7:45 AM EDT (11:45 UTC) with maximum winds near 125 mph, pressure 949 mb.

    video/mp4

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @zoom_earth If I were a believer, I might be tempted to suggest a god was punishing FL (and soon GA, SC) for their attacks on POC and LGBTQ. (In recognition of all the use of gods in past catastrophes.)

    timnitGebru, to random
    @timnitGebru@dair-community.social avatar

    "Three days after the article was published, someone asked Yudkowsky on social media: “How many people are allowed to die to prevent AGI?” His response was: “There should be enough survivors on Earth in close contact to form a viable reproductive population, with room to spare, and they should have a sustainable food supply. So long as that’s true, there’s still a chance of reaching the stars someday.”"

    Remember that these are the bozos policy makers are talking to.

    https://www.truthdig.com/articles/before-its-too-late-buddy/

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @timnitGebru "The Bozos" seem to me to be a direct offspring of and cultures. Rand is already extremely influential among our political/economic leadership. Makes the threat from TESCREAL seem all the more palpable IMO.

    br00t4c, to Michigan
    @br00t4c@mastodon.social avatar

    In Michigan, Progressives Are Finally Rolling Back Right-Wing Anti-Labor Laws

    https://jacobin.com/2023/08/joey-andrews-michigan-state-democrats-pro-labor-law-right-to-work/

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @br00t4c The first steps of a 1000 mile march with an existential timer ticking. Better doubletime it.

    petersuber, (edited ) to Youtube
    @petersuber@fediscience.org avatar

    Where we are:

    ", #X [] and [] have stopped labeling or removing posts that repeat Trump’s claims [that he won the 2020 election], even as voters increasingly get their news on .
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/08/25/political-conspiracies-facebook-youtube-elon-musk/

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @petersuber Can we just finally admit that the ideological differences between the / and are de minimis compared to the hatred/fear they harbour for or anything left of rabid .

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @petersuber On another level, this also explains precisely why and the are so unable to walk a straight path and always hedge every action such that their funders are not alienated beyond recovery. The party is still rife with those that supported a move to allow become their new masters. Biden himself has twisted into a pretzel trying to serve two multiple masters. Be immensely interesting if DEMs win big enough to control three branches

    georgetakei, to random

    Oh myyy, this is too good not to share!

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @georgetakei I fear it is much too early to declare victory. I suspect we will see continued violence from the cult following. We will probably have to spend years cleaning out various nests of vipers. Would not surprise me if we will need to jail thousands, maybe tens of thousands. So many in this cult are heavily armed and willing to kill, having already dehumanized all who are not part of the cult. Seems likely that they will continue to move to what has been seen as a White refuge: NW US.

    Sherifazuhur, to iraq
    @Sherifazuhur@sfba.social avatar

    The Audacity of the Erbil Hills Golf Course Amidst #Iraq’s Water Crisis @iraq

    https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/audacity-erbil-hills-golf-course-amidst-iraqs-water-crisis

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @Sherifazuhur @iraq This, I fear, is simply emblematic of the hubris and lack of empathy with which the wealthy treat not just those of lesser means, but ultimately the whole of humanity as the deepens. Unless they are somehow met with countervailing force, they will engineer the death of billions.

    isomeme, to climate
    @isomeme@mastodon.sdf.org avatar

    I live in Los Angeles. There's hazy sunshine outside right now. By tomorrow, we'll be hit by Hurricane Hilary. Needless to say, this is completely unprecedented. Everyone is preparing for floods and blackouts while laughing nervously about how surreal this all seems.

    This is what happens when you ignore the owner's manual of your home planet, and then also ignore the blinking red "Check Climate" light for a few decades.

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @isomeme From here on out it is going to be as if we all were transported to an alien planet which humanity has created with no need for space travel. Earth 2.0.

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @isomeme Sad part is the top 10% who create 40% (or more) of the problem will also be the ones able to avoid the worst consequences for the longest. They may well take steps that ensure the deaths of billions to prolong their reign. Wealth breeds loss of empathy for those not in their class. I wish I could have a less dystopian outlook, but unless there is a major upheaval within the current system I do not have a lot of hope.

    georgetakei, to random

    I remember the 2000 Election. There were enough votes for Ralph Nader to hand the election to George W. Bush.

    I remember the 2016 Election. There were enough votes for Jill Stein to hand the election to Donald Trump.

    In 2024 the Green Party is running Cornell West. Let’s not repeat this history, friends

    Your vote is not a marriage. You’re not choosing a life partner. It’s a chess move for what’s best for the country and the world.

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @georgetakei It is more than sad that we have a system that is so dysfunctional that to avoid a takeover I must vote for a party and candidate that has shown no ability to overcome its decades of complicity with a sufficiently to deal with the that cannot be managed by a system. Almost by definition will fail us. Perhaps it will buy us a little time to make real changes that are necessary.

    emptywheel, to random
    @emptywheel@mastodon.social avatar

    "They Spoke Often:" It Took the Fash-Friendly FBI Over Two Months to Document the Lies Their Informant, Joe Biggs, Told them

    https://www.emptywheel.net/2023/08/18/they-spoke-often-it-took-the-fash-friendly-fbi-over-two-months-to-document-the-lies-their-informant-joe-biggs-told-them/

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @emptywheel "This is why the FBI didn’t warn against January 6. Because these terrorists were the FBI’s people." So, it started with Hoover, so it has always been.

    theintercept, to random
    @theintercept@journa.host avatar

    Security clearances of the sort Maj. David Grusch has held are subject to strict requirements, including regarding psychological episodes and substance issues. But police records reveal Grusch was committed to a mental health facility in October 2018. https://theintercept.com/2023/08/09/ufo-david-grusch-clearance/

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    @theintercept In my youth (1960s-70s) I could not get enough of and stories. I have witnessed a couple of UFOs and would like nothing more than to have it proven that we are being visited by ET intelligences. Nothing this guy Grusch had to say was not included in books I read those many years ago. The other two witnesses were factual and believable. Grusch demeanor and attitude, if I were on a jury, would cause grave doubts of trustworthiness. Now alc addiction adds doubt.

    Alienated53, to random
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    Clarence Thomas’ Billionaire Friends Bought Him a Lot More Than Vacations...ProPublica’s investigations also illustrate the creation of a cult of personality that was engineered from the top down. Financed by a small group of extremely wealthy people were efforts to turn the jurist into a national cultural icon...
    Forgive me for seeing a connection between this information and Rand's influence on our top leadership in the US.
    https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/08/supreme-court-clarence-thomas-billionaire-friends.html

    Alienated53,
    @Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

    Donald Trump and Ayn Rand
    https://www.rawstory.com/ayn-rand-donald-trump/

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