@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

bhahne

@bhahne@mastodon.online

US / San Francisco Bay Area. He/him. Democracy defense info page: bonhoffer.tv/democracy Resources page to fight the use of transphobia in the 2024 US election: https://sites.google.com/site/bonhoffertv/transequality

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

lauren, (edited ) to random
@lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org avatar

AT&T is sending out letters warning they want to kill virtually all landlines (and perhaps related data circuits where fiber is unavailable) across essentially their entire coverage area throughout California. This would have devastating effects. Related CPUC meetings will be taking place through March.

Landlines provide crucial services for individuals, businesses, and other organizations in a wide variety of situations -- not just emergencies when cellular and Internet service tends to rapidly fail, but also for vast numbers of people in areas with poor, unreliable, or in many cases (even in large sections of major cities!) NO cell service, NO fiber, etc.

Landlines often provide the only available communication in a wide variety of security and safety situations, from elevators to interior spaces of all sorts where cell service simply doesn't work.

Many disabled and other persons have crucial equipment that depends on landlines. Often they are not tech-savvy and do not have friends or relatives to help them through forced technology changes.

AT&T has been shirking its public safety responsibilities for years, while still leveraging their effective monopoly on services in so many areas.

Their new effort must be stopped. I'll have much more to say about this as the situation progresses.

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@lauren Do you have any citations or news articles? We receive AT&T landline service in Sunnyvale, CA and have received no such warning letter.

The only news I'm able to find on this topic is from back in 2016, when an Assembly bill that would have allowed AT&T to drop landlines failed to pass; and from a crackpot web site that thinks smartmeters cause health problems.

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@lauren @kkarhan @BNetzA

Yes, I have an 89-year-old uncle who lives alone and doesn't really know how to use his mobile flip-phone. He uses landline for all inbound and outbound calls. And not surprisingly for his age, he has to manage a lot of doctor's appointments by phone.

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@lauren The closet in-person hearings are 162 miles and a 3-hour drive to the north, in Ukiah CA. All three of the in-person hearing locations are out in the middle of nowhere at locations that make it essentially impossible for people in large metropolitan areas to attend.

This process gives the appearance of being rigged to be able to claim "no material support for keeping landlines". That would be consistent with the CPUC's ongoing behavior as a protector of corporate profits.

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@lauren OK, we just received the letter in today's mail, branded as AT&T but opening with "A Message from the California Public Utilities Commission". It's extremely obfuscated and refers only to "application of AT&T California for Relief From its Carrier of Last Resort Obligation". The term "landline phone" doesn't appear even once in this letter. It will not be clear to normal people that they're about to lose their wireline phone service. We definitely need more media coverage of this.

pluralistic, to random
@pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

Rooftop solar is the future, but it's also a scam. It didn't have to be, but the US decided the best way to roll out distributed, resilient, renewable energy was to let Wall Street run the show. They turned it into a scam, and now it's in terrible trouble. which means we're in terrible trouble.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/27/here-comes-the-sun-king/#sign-here

1/

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@pluralistic To my knowledge, most of the vendors who are part of the California Solar and Storage Association (https://calssa.org) are reputable businesses, many of them small single-owner.

CALSSA is good allies with Solar Rights Alliance (https://solarrights.org), the California consumer organization that defends rooftop solar rights. People concerned about rooftop solar in California should sign up for their list at their web site.

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@pluralistic I tend to agree with others in this thread that rather than bashing the entire rooftop solar industry, it would be better to report on the California PUC and how they're completely the lapdogs for PG&E and the other utilities. NEM3.0 in particular has devastated the small rooftop solar companies and demolished the market for rooftop solar in California.

For the severe damage caused by the California PUC's approval of NEM3.0, see here: https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2023/12/01/california-rooftop-solar-installations-drop-80-following-nem-3-0/

ifnotnowboston, to boston
@ifnotnowboston@mastodon.social avatar

BREAKING: area high school students have engaged in a coordinated walkout and are blocking Mass Ave outside

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@lin11c @ifnotnowboston The issue is that the hard right wants the scalp of MIT's President, and she just got hauled in front of a GOP-led Congressional hearing, so she's incentivized to attack her own students to demonstrate how pro-Zionist she is and keep her job. https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/12/13/house-passes-resolution-urging-harvard-mit-presidents-to-resign-after-tense-campus-antisemitism-hearing/?sh=14647a2c3f7f

TonyStark, to random
@TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

The right kept their eye on the Supreme Court prize for 50 years. They waited that long to get a majority that would do whatever they wanted. Unfortunately, it paid off.

At least some of the left doesn’t seem to be nearly as focused on the Supreme Court as the right was. These are lifetime appointments and there is no quick fix. We have to wait it out and keep our eye on the prize, like the right did.

Alito reignites fetal rights debate in Idaho abortion case |
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4622500-alito-fetal-rights-idaho-abortion-case/

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@TonyStark No, we do not have to "wait it out" - we can expand the court.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/democrats-introduce-bill-expand-supreme-court-9-13-justices-n1264132

TarkabarkaHolgy, (edited ) to folklore
@TarkabarkaHolgy@ohai.social avatar

Happy !
I once again made a compilation of folktales for the occasion.

This time, it's tales where women save themselves. Because they DO EXIST. 😉 (cough cough)
Read here:
https://multicoloreddiary.blogspot.com/2024/03/folktales-about-women-who-save.html

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@TarkabarkaHolgy Also there's this: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17927134-the-princess-who-saved-herself

parismarx, to Futurology
@parismarx@mastodon.online avatar

A top European auto safety body is releasing new rules that will require physical buttons and knobs for key vehicle features to receive a full five-star safety rating. I’d like to see the same in North America.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/5/24091043/euro-ncap-safety-rating-europe-2026-touchscreen-buttons-dials

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@parismarx I refuse to purchase a Volkswagen ID.4 (VW's electric car offering) in part because they've put all of the control functions onto the touchscreen, with GUI design apparently by a lunatic who delights in making functionality impossible to find. We rented one and I found it nearly impossible to adjust the climate controls, among many other issues.

Whoever came up with this trend of putting a 17-inch TV screen into the middle of every new car needs to be fired, IMHO.

18+ TonyStark, to random
@TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

Inside the MAGA bubble, the economy is awful, no one has a job, and Biden is asleep.

In the land of reality and statistics, the economy is doing well and Americans are better off. One reason why is that Democrats and Joe Biden are better at operating the country and it’s economy and pass good legislation that invests in workers and families as a whole.

December jobs report: Hiring holds steady in December : NPR-
https://www.npr.org/2024/01/05/1222714145/jobs-report-december-labor-wages

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@TonyStark Paul Krugman has also noted the "myth of the urban hellscape" as another pervasive right-wing trope: https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2021/07/13/paul-krugman-durable-myth/

themarkup, to random
@themarkup@mastodon.themarkup.org avatar

Hello! We have some big news—our newsroom is joining forces with Cal Matters. ❤️ https://themarkup.org/inside-the-markup/2024/04/18/the-markup-is-joining-forces-with-calmatters

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@themarkup Please clarify "joining forces". Is this a merger of the two 501c3 entities into a single 501c3?

tante, to random
@tante@tldr.nettime.org avatar

If the whole Windows Recall thing scares you and you are looking for options: For many people Linux just does the trick. If you need a browser, some office stuff, maybe a bit of image/media management, Linux absolutely got you covered. It probably will be annoying or something might be broken but that is the same with every operating system.

But before you install something, maybe have a chat with someone who knows a bit more about it to help you navigate the choices and to ensure that your workload is actually supported on Linux.

But it's no longer an OS just for experts. You can do almost anything graphically and a lot of shit just works.

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@tante I'm fairly impressed at the work that's gone into making games work - I do have a variety of games that I've purchased through Steam and it looks like a fair number of them would be OK on Linux.

Other concerns that I have include Zoom videoconferencing and tax software.

I'd really like to avoid having to move to Windows 11 after Windows 10 patches stop happening.

e_urq, to trans
@e_urq@journa.host avatar

I wrote about Easter falling on the same day as last week, when it was just a twinkle in conservatives' eyes.

At the time I didn't think it would take off bc it was too dumb. As usual I overestimated just how dumb and hateful this moral panic is.

https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/easter-sunday-transgender-day-of-visibility

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@e_urq Where by "overestimated" you mean "underestimated"?

FAIR, to random
@FAIR@mastodon.world avatar

Likely part of the reason why the good news about real wages hasn’t broken through to the public is that media have frequently framed wage growth as a concern, rather than as a positive development that allows people to defend themselves from rising prices.

https://fair.org/home/media-obsession-with-inflation-has-manufactured-discontent/

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@FAIR And in fact there's one of those "wage growth is pushing prices out of control, everybody panic!" pieces up right now on Yahoo Finance They specialize in high volume, low quality content. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mcdonalds-18-big-mac-meal-181159814.html

dangillmor, to random
@dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar

Health insurers lie with impunity about who's in their provider networks. From Lever News: https://www.levernews.com/the-case-of-the-missing-health-care-providers/

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@dangillmor I can confirm the near-uselessness of health insurance provider databases. I'm having to test my new Anthem Blue Cross ACA coverage by simply going to appointments and then observing whether the doctor gets paid. Half of the doctors in the primary care department of my local Sutter care facility aren't listed even though all of Sutter California is supposedly in-network with Blue Cross.

kevinrns, to climate
@kevinrns@mstdn.social avatar

This image is us right now, this is where we are. That's an ice road. That's an oil tanker truck. We need a new energy system without oil and coal and fossil gas. Oil has failed us. The world is breaking, its an oil fueled assault on climate.

The Balance is Being Taken.

Build all the sun and wind right damn now.

Replace the carbon system. Build the new energy now.

Announce it in the morning, call a press conference.

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@kevinrns Unfortunately we have political challenges like "a lot of people in Germany will align with the fascists if you to try to get them to stop using diesel fuel":

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/15/why-europe-farmers-are-protesting

"In recent years, farmers in western Europe have fought with increasing ferocity against policies to protect the planet that they say cost too much."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/15/thousands-tractors-block-berlin-farmers-protest-fuel-subsidy-cuts

bhahne, to random
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

"Trump [won't] cancel elections, but [will] co-opt the machinery of state power in the way that Viktor Orban has done in Hungary. "

Georgetown professor @donmoyn has written a good article describing the mechanics of how the GOP will institute an autocracy, ending Democracy in the US, if we see a second term of the previous president. Moynihan includes his full NYT piece plus some additional commentary.

https://donmoynihan.substack.com/p/what-i-wrote-in-the-new-york-times

bhahne, to Sexism
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@fugueish A.R. Moxon aka @JuliusGoat released a parody takedown of that Washington Post op-ed today.

"Wives In Stepford Increasingly Don't Want To Be Replaced By Robots: Why this threatens the institution of American marriage"

https://armoxon.substack.com/p/wives-in-stepford-increasingly-dont

18+ chiasm, to random
@chiasm@mastodon.online avatar

Honestly, every time I see a posting about how someone in the US can't vote for Biden because he supports genocide, I lose my s*** a little more.

"Sending a message by refusing to vote" DOES NOT WORK in this country!! What country DOES it work in?

(obv voting for the GOP in an attempt to send a message of support for Palestine is so ridiculous I wouldn't accuse of anyone of doing it, so I assume they mean they are not voting in the upcoming Pres election.)

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@chiasm My big concern is that too many on the left are now falling victim to standard purity-war thinking - "I refuse to vote for this impure candidate no matter what the consequences" rather than viewing a vote for Biden as a form of harm reduction.

poligraf, to Palestine
@poligraf@mastodon.online avatar

« Pro-Palestine demonstrators protested for the second night in a row at Stanford University on Friday. »

🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEAGuZ0Y9ig

@palestine

🕊️ 🇵🇸 🍉 🙏🏻 ✌️ ☮️ 🇺🇸

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@poligraf @palestine FYI for people looking for more information specific to the Stanford student movement, the students appear to be using the Stanford Against Apartheid in Palestine Instagram account from January:

https://www.instagram.com/sit_in_to_stop_genocide/

That page has some posts about current (April 28) daily protest content, so somebody is clearly updating that account. I'm unable to find other current social media pages or a web site for the current student efforts.

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@poligraf @palestine And consistent with a national pattern of administrative hostility to students calling for justice, Stanford University is threatening arrests.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/stanford-officials-threaten-arrest-tent-19425536.php

"Stanford officials threaten to arrest protesters camping on campus plaza"

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@poligraf @palestine

As an update on this, my wife received additional information from a Stanford Jewish Voice for Peace member:

"Students have been occupying White Plaza since [April 25]... Community members can follow updates, see daily programming, and see what students need by checking @stanfordsjp and @sit_in_to_stop_genocide on Instagram. Reach out directly if you can support by providing an educational workshop or security!"

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@poligraf @palestine

Ah OK, I was reading it with a browser that has cookies disabled and it worked. I've now added a non-paywalled version of the same story hosted on MSN.

bhahne,
@bhahne@mastodon.online avatar

@poligraf @palestine So the relevant Instagram web sites are:

https://www.instagram.com/stanfordsjp

https://www.instagram.com/sit_in_to_stop_genocide/

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • megavids
  • thenastyranch
  • magazineikmin
  • InstantRegret
  • everett
  • osvaldo12
  • Youngstown
  • mdbf
  • slotface
  • rosin
  • kavyap
  • Durango
  • ngwrru68w68
  • GTA5RPClips
  • JUstTest
  • DreamBathrooms
  • khanakhh
  • Leos
  • cisconetworking
  • ethstaker
  • modclub
  • tester
  • cubers
  • tacticalgear
  • provamag3
  • normalnudes
  • anitta
  • lostlight
  • All magazines
    •