@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

PJ_Evans

@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social

retired map reader; amateur genealogist since 1974; knitter since 1969; SF fan since 1961.
Cactuses (but not opuntias) are fun!

Location: Los Angeles

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

KawaTora, to random

Normal People: What was the civil war fought over?

White Supremacists: It was about states' rights.

Normal People: States' rights to do what exactly?

White Supremacists: To make and enforce their own laws.

Normal People: Laws regarding what?

White Supremacists: Property and theft.

Normal People: What kind of property? Theft of what?

White Supremacists: Well, people were stealing slaves and taking them to free states.

Normal People: Who was stealing slaves?

White Supremacists: The slaves were stealing themselves by running to the North and those damn Yankees didn't want to send them back.

Normal People: So what did the South do about it?

White Supremacists: They got a federal law passed in 1851, that forced the Northern states to ignore their own laws against slavery and recognize the South's right to have escaped slaves sent back. It was called the Fugitive Slave Act.

Normal People: So you pushed for a new federal law to force states to ignore their own state laws and constitutions in the name of "states' rights", is that correct?

White Supremacists: Yep,

Normal People: Then what happened?

White Supremacists: Those damn Yankees got control of the house and the senate and the presidency and tried to ban slavery nationwide.

Normal People: So they wanted to use a federal law to force Southern states to change their laws, kind of like with the Fugitive Slave Act you pushed for a decade earlier, right?

White Supremacists: No, this was different because this time it effected the South.

Normal People: So what happened as a result?

White Supremacists: We decided to commit treason against the USA and start our own country to keep slaves.

Normal People: So you admit the Civil War was about slavery.

White Supremacists: No it was about states' rights. States have rights to own slaves but no rights to refuse to recognize slavery.

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@KawaTora @thepoliticalcat @grumble209
"Indentured servitude" was one of the more common routes by which people got to North America.

Jyoti, to acab
@Jyoti@mas.to avatar

I'm gonna keep posting this as it keeps annoying bootlickers.

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@Jyoti
L.A. doesn't bother much, at least on the buses. Haven't been downtown in a decade, so I don't know what the subway gates are like now.

pluralistic, to Watches
@pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

It's time for action

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@TomMarcinko @pluralistic
I think it's safe to assume time exists, because otherwise we wouldn't have nuclear isotopes. They'd all all have decayed at once, without time.

rvawonk, to Russia

NEW: #Russia has jumped into the #Texas border controversy and is now cheering on civil war in the US and promoting the right-wing border convoy. Even more interestingly, I found evidence that disinformation accounts associated with the notorious Internet Research Agency (Russia’s “troll factory”) may be being “reactivated” to promote a secessionist movement in Texas.

My latest:
https://weaponizedspaces.substack.com/p/russia-amplifies-calls-for-civil

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rvawonk
And so many people pushing for secession have no idea that Russia is behind it.

blogdiva, to firefox
@blogdiva@mastodon.social avatar

it's time to fork #Firefox and turn it into a cooperative-owned project.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/02/mozilla-lays-off-60-people-wants-to-build-ai-into-firefox/

cooperative membership is the element missing from FLOSS.

fuck the non-profit's faux neutrality when in truth it's just a broke doppelganger of the top-down structure of the corporatist kleptocracy.

make the project a cooperative where members --users and developers-- get to vote on the future of the project with their paid memberships and contributed labor.

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@blogdiva
I don't need AI in my browser. Or in search engines. In fact, I can't see a use for it for most purposes.

mekkaokereke, (edited ) to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

Rapper Meek Mill is wondering out loud if Africans have access to streaming music apps like Spotify, and if so, if they listen to his music.

There aren't enough stories about the Africans working at big tech companies, but there are a lot of us. There are many Ghanaians, South Africans, Kenyans, and Nigerians 🙋🏿‍♂️, working in tech.

I often remind folks that Nigerian 7th grade math curriculum includes binary, octal, hexadecimal, statistics and data, algebra, and geometry.

https://youtu.be/2JTnr9XW-lk?si=D4ch-nw-zDkKNiAe

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@mekkaokereke
In my 7th grade math class, we got bases 7 and 12, and learned how to convert them. It actually came in handy in college, when we had a problem that was base 7 to base 10 (IIRC) and my calculator wasn't working. (Did it on paper, the way I'd learned in 7th grade.) I had trouble with the method the professor used, though.

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@mekkaokereke
We had a black teacher in my HS for a few years - her husband was in the USAF, and was assigned locally at the time. She was fine.

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@thepoliticalcat @mekkaokereke
It isn't teaching the kid anything the kid wants to know.

evangreer, to random
@evangreer@mastodon.online avatar

This feels like SESTA/FOSTA all over again. But we still have a chance to stop it. Please keep sounding the alarm.
https://jezebel.com/3-huge-tech-companies-endorse-bill-that-could-wipe-abor-1851217281

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@evangreer
The tech companies clearly see some way to profit from it.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Today's theme is Normal!

You can take this test to see how "Normal" you are, and also how radically left wing you are! LOL Please share the results if you feel like it, or do nothing at all, because it really doesn't matter!

https://www.idrlabs.com/4-axes/test.php

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@RickiTarr
Gender: tied
Personality: normal
Lifestyle: progressive
Political: woke

TonyStark, to random
@TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

Joe Biden is an engaging, intelligent person with a sense of humor and the experience and temperament to be President, as we’ve seen. Trump is a nightmarish, unhinged criminal who wants to rule over America under his fascist dictatorship while he knocks off enemies with no repercussions if he feels like it.

President Joe Biden Addresses Concerns Over His Age and Shares His 2024 Agenda - YouTube/Late Night with Seth Meyers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxuN3i84FNY

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@TonyStark
I can tell the difference between the two, easily, I think Joe is good for another 10 years.

lolgop, to random
@lolgop@journa.host avatar

THIS IS HOW THEY PLAN TO BAN ABORTION EVERYWHERE

Jessica Valenti explains how Oklahoma House Bill 3216 reveals Republicans' national abortion strategy.

https://jessica.substack.com/p/the-anti-abortion-blueprint

Now leading on the https://www.erlywrm.com/

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@lolgop
They DO NOT NEED a database of women who have had abortions.
They DO NOT NEED doctors to report justifications.
The DO NOT NEED to define an emergency abortion.
They DO NOT NEED to restrict IUDs.
They DO NOT NEED to make contraceptives prescription-only.

TonyStark, to random
@TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

The reason you know Joe Biden isn’t an authoritarian is because you can say “Joe Biden is an authoritarian” (clearly incorrectly) and nothing will happen to you.

Looks like that WaPo cancelation was a good call.

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@TonyStark
Will should retire and write his memoirs. He's missing things that are right in front of his eyeballs.

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

It's Selma day! As people in places like Boston feel smug about the racism in supposedly backwards, Southern, red places like Alabama, I'd like to remind everyone that:

  • Boston is more segregated than Birmingham, Alabama
  • Police violence data shows more racial disparities in Boston than in Mobile Alabama, or Birmingham, Alabama. Birmingham cops are worse than 55% of all other police departments. AKA, pretty average for the US. Boston is worse than 99%. Exceptionally bad!

🙂🙃

Chart of police violence in Mobile, Alabama, showing that 50% of Mobile is Black but 75% of the people killed by police there are Black, a disparity worse than 55% of all US police departments.
Chart of police violence in Birmingham, Alabama, showing that 70% of Birmingham is Black but only 58% of the people killed by police there are Black, a disparity worse than only 34% of all US police departments.

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@mekkaokereke
I remember reading coverage of Boston's school busing. The vitriol from white people was astonishing.

e_urq, to trans
@e_urq@journa.host avatar

In reality, transgender youth healthcare is a carefully considered process where the individual needs of a child are weighed against the risks of treatment.

In the rhetoric of the gender-affirming care "debate" this reality is subsumed by fears about what "might" be happening.

https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/mcardle-wapo-gender-affirming-care-debate

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@e_urq
The opponents all sound like they think the kid walks into a clinic and says "I want to be the other sex" and they do it all that day.

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

They're talking about grade inflation at the Ivies again. And OK, fair. Everyone gets an A. But can we also talk about educator inflation? Educator inflation is a good thing! By educator inflation I mean: the typical educator at a top tier university today, is miles better at educating, than the typical educator at that same institution 50 years ago.

The field of education is not static. There are constant advances in how material is presented, and how students are supported.

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@dave_andersen @jsdodge @JMarkOckerbloom @mekkaokereke

I went to Cal Poly Pomona, decades back. Their weeding-out at the time was requiring you to have had Fortran or Basic before signing up for CS as a major.

skykiss, (edited ) to Ukraine
@skykiss@sfba.social avatar

’s security is our security. As allies, the UK & US fight aggression. We stand up for freedom. We stick by our friends. And we win. I urge the to continue its proud support for ’s fight against Putin’s aggression.

I am calling out the in Congress as Putin-owned who support overthrow of our government.

and republicans' open fealty to Putin, a hostile foreign intelligence agent, who is one of the most infamous cold-blooded killers in human history & wanted war criminal.

Mike Johnson & republicans are blocking a bill that would supply ammunition to soldiers, despite the widespread support in Congress and support of the American people. Showing the world that Republicans are anti-American & disloyal traitors to our allies and our constitution.

, where is treason weasel ? He's a communist loving traitor.

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@skydog @skykiss
Or where the automatic deposit system sends the checks. You have to give them a routing number!

GottaLaff, to legal
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

👀 “Trump signals intent to block testimony in Jeff Clark disciplinary proceedings..to shield key Trump ally from losing his law license over efforts to subvert election”

“Trump injected himself into disbarment proceedings against #JeffClark, raising the specter that TFG will attempt to assert executive privilege to block crucial testimony from senior administration officials — or force months of litigation on the matter.” #legal #TrumpIndictment #DelayDelayDelay 1/… https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/16/trump-block-testimony-jeff-clark-00135931

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@thepoliticalcat @MHowell @PandaChronicle @JonChevreau
Remember, he was put in as a replacement for Spiro Agnew, who had to resign due to criming; he wasn't expected to become president.

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@MHowell @PandaChronicle @JonChevreau @thepoliticalcat
He had a harder time in Iowa than expected. Yes, he got 30 delegates out of it - but RonD and Haley got 15 together.

mekkaokereke, (edited ) to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

If 56% of NFL players are Black and 1.6% are Asian or Pacific Islander, what percentage of playoff quarterbacks would you expect to be Black or AAPI?

Ravens: Black
Texans: Black
Browns: Black
KC: Black
GB: Black
Cowboys: Black
Eagles: Black
Miami: AAPI
Rams: White
Bills: White
Buccaneers: White
Steelers: White
49ers: White

The NFL is not known for its progressive stance on diversity. But once one person breaks ranks and lets Black guys play QB? Everyone else has to do it too, just to compete.👍🏿

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@mekkaokereke
They wouldn't give Kaepernick a tryout when he'd been out for a year.

cstross, to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/27/24016791/astrohaus-freewrite-alpha-digital-typewriter-e-ink

I have no idea how such a shitty product can exist. Same price buys you a Chromebook; there are plenty of software libre distraction-free writing apps out there (try opening a terminal and typing "vim"?).

Or you could chicken out and buy a Kindle Fire Max 11 with keyboard case for the same price.

Both of these let you type for more than a day on a charge: the only benefit of the freewrite alpha is an 80 hour battery, which is pointless with USB-C charging everywhere.

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@kkarhan @cstross
I had one, way back. Not as useful as all that. Most of the time, I'm doing arithmetic.

Jason844, to HashtagGames

Lobster Of Arabia


PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@Jason844
The Lobster of Khan!


ai6yr, to longbeach
@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org avatar

KTLA: Rainwater floods 710 Freeway in Long Beach as determined motorists forge on (live video)
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/rainwater-floods-710-freeway-as-determined-motorists-forge-on/

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@ai6yr
If the water's that deep, you're in real danger.

dyckron, to random

Alberta commission finds renewables pose little threat to agriculture, environment
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-commission-finds-renewables-pose-little-threat-to-agriculture/

Unpaywalled https://archive.ph/bGLZi

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@dyckron
It's possible to have livestock grazing in the solar farms.

RPBook, to LGBTQ
@RPBook@historians.social avatar

I've just discovered that is a thing, and it's happening on 31st March.
https://transrightsreadathon.carrd.co/

So, a few recommendations of books/series that I've read recently with characters and/or authors:

The series and series by @clacksee: https://whitehartfiction.co.uk/

The Jinx Ballou Bounty Hunter Series by Dharma Kelleher: https://dharmakelleher.com/

Welcome to St Hell by Lewis Hancox: https://search.worldcat.org/title/1308435812

@bookstodon

PJ_Evans,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@RPBook @clacksee @bookstodon
Foz Meadows's Tithenai Chronicles (The main characters are gay, but trans people exist and are not unusual.)

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