@ericmacknight@mastodon.social
@ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

ericmacknight

@ericmacknight@mastodon.social

Teaching secondary school (English, mostly) since 1980. American by birth, Canadian by choice. #covid #justice #drums #jazz #dodgers, maybe. Good things: #Bikes, #walking, #gardens, #realfood, #acousticmusic, #art, #reading and #writing. Pieces too long for social media are posted on my blog: http://www.EricMacKnight.com/. No cats, NFL, NBA.

Here’s an idea: Let’s try being kind and respectful to everyone.

Teachers Pay Teachers Store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Eric-Macknight

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

danielpunkass, (edited ) to random
@danielpunkass@mastodon.social avatar

A bug I filed with Apple in March is fixed in macOS 14.5. Two month turnaround. Thanks, Apple! https://mastodon.social/@danielpunkass/112058378904740286

ericmacknight,
@ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

@danielpunkass 15.4? Or 14.5?

ericmacknight, to Economics
@ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

"Modern does not distinguish between renewable and non-renewable materials, as its very method is to equalise and quantify everything by means of a money price. Thus, taking various alternative fuels, like coal, oil, wood, or waterpower: the only difference between them recognised by modern economics is relative cost per equivalent unit. The cheapest is automatically the one to be preferred, as to do otherwise would be irrational and ‘uneconomic’."

—Schumacher, "Small Is Beautiful"

mbonsma, to random
@mbonsma@mastodon.social avatar

Next time you're on the highway, look at the vehicles around you. Chances are you'll see plenty of ordinary cars. But that's about to change: in 2008, 54% of new vehicles in Canada were cars, while in 2022 it was just 17%. As old vehicles die, we will soon be surrounded by behemoths, only trucks and SUVs.

https://driving.ca/column/driving-by-numbers/canadas-best-selling-cars-for-the-past-15-years

ericmacknight,
@ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

@mbonsma "we will soon be surrounded by behemoths, only trucks and SUVs"

That's about all I see, already. But hey, climate change! I know, right? SMH

heidilifeldman, to random
@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social avatar

The state of abortion rights in the U.S. unequivocally demonstrates that women are second class citizens. All the orange and tan states deny women autonomy over their own bodies, the most basic element of liberty. The federal government permits this. I’m angry and heavy-hearted.

ericmacknight,
@ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

@heidilifeldman To be more precise, the Republican Party permits this.

Teri_Kanefield, to random
@Teri_Kanefield@mastodon.social avatar

I took some time to think about the Ronna McDaniel hiring and firing.

The result is that I have written another blog post that has me going against the current.

https://terikanefield.com/the-ronna-mcdaniel-story/

If you get the error message, wait a minute and try again. It's Mastodon's fault! This doesn't happen with any other platforms.

Some news: I may be back in Nevada doing voter protection work with the Nevada Democrats after several cycles in Georgia. A little closer to home.

ericmacknight,
@ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

@Teri_Kanefield Hi, Teri. Thanks for all the time and thought you put into these posts. I agree that the news media's business model—selling ads—is broken because it pushes mindless controversy. Another factor re TV is Neil Postman's observation that TV turns everything it touches into entertainment (see his 1985 book, "Amusing Ourselves to Death"). Re Maddow, her main point was that earlier fascists, unlike Trump, lacked the support of a major party, & RM was a key player in making that happen.

ericmacknight,
@ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

@Teri_Kanefield "Platitudes and transparent manipulative rhetorical devices" have much to do with her success. A positive spin would be, "she's a great communicator." The sad truth is that a straightforward presentation of the facts without such rhetorical ornamentation would attract very few viewers. This is the media world we live in, but it is not essentially different from Ancient Greece, where manipulative rhetoric was first perfected. I am glad that Maddow is not on Trump's side.

dangillmor, to random
@dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar

"There is something wrong at the New York Times" --

https://www.salon.com/2024/03/05/there-is-something-at-the-new-york-times/

This is a well-reported, and pretty much conclusive, indictment of the Times' increasingly terrible political journalism.

The Salon piece focuses on super-flawed recent polls the Times has sponsored and touted -- but the rot goes much, much deeper.

"mistakes" are no longer a plausible explanation. Much more likely is willful blindness. Or, and I hope this is not true, outright malign intent.

ericmacknight,
@ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

@dangillmor It's the business model: selling ads. Biden is bad for business. Trump is great for business. And the business model is terrible for all of us.

thomasfuchs, to random
@thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io avatar

Israel tortured UNRWA employees to extract false confessions to smear the UN agency https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/unrwa-report-says-israel-coerced-some-agency-employees-to-falsely-admit-hamas-links/

ericmacknight,
@ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

@tob @thomasfuchs "the ill-treatment and abuse they said they had experienced included severe physical beatings, waterboarding, and threats of harm to family members"

ericmacknight, to random
@ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

Fascinating article on how to combat fascist propaganda from The Guardian. H/t to @CelloMomOnCars

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/mar/02/the-man-who-tricked-nazi-germany-lessons-from-the-past-on-how-to-beat-disinformation

LALegault, to Israel
@LALegault@newsie.social avatar

Nevermind that the NYT allowed an ex IDF solider to print a sensationalized story about mass sexual assaults on October 7th, no, the REAL investigation is to who told it was a fabricated story:

New York Times Launches Leak Investigation Over Report on Its Israel-Gaza Coverage

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/new-york-times-israel-gaza-leak

ericmacknight,
@ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

@LALegault Would it be rude to say "_______ the New York Times!" Yes. But justified.

ericmacknight, to random
@ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

Trump learned his legal tactics from Roy Cohn, one of the biggest slimeballs in American history. Cohn introduced to Roger Stone, another slimeball. Trump has been dirty from the start.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Cohn

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump#Legal_affairs_and_bankruptcies

GottaLaff, (edited ) to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

‼️ 💥 1/...

Supreme Court to weigh immunity, keeps D.C. trial on hold— Bloomberg

“Supreme Court to decide Trump’s immunity claim in election interference case

“Even if the justices ultimately rule against Trump, the court’s intervention adds a further delay, meaning his trial will not start for weeks, if not months.

Supreme Court to decide Trump’s immunity claim in election interference case” https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-decide-trumps-immunity-claim-election-interference-case-rcna139026

ericmacknight,
@ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff No way there will be a J6 trial b4 November. Trump will appeal every word that comes out of Jack Smith's mouth, and the court system will at best enable his stalling tactics, and the worst (Judge Cannon, Supreme Court) actively assist them.

ericmacknight, to random
@ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

The Guardian today.

ericmacknight, to Ukraine
@ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

"Why no one is winning the war in Ukraine"

An excellent 4-minute video from The Guardian.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT9B3KKTyMc

ericmacknight, to politics
@ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

"What do angry farmers in Nevada and Germany have in common? They’re being exploited by the far right" —George Monbiot

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/19/angry-farmers-nevada-germany-far-right-protest

seachanger, to random
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    ericmacknight,
    @ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

    @seachanger JFK pissed off the Miami Cubans and the CIA when he would not allow the US military to support the Bay of Pigs fiasco, and he pissed off the mafia, too, who lost their big piggybank in the Havana casinos and vice rackets. Cubans + CIA + mafia.

    ericmacknight, to socialism
    @ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

    "French city of Montpellier makes public transport free for all residents"

    If this is , I'm all for it. If it isn't socialism, I'm still for it.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/22/montpellier-france-free-public-transport-residents

    ericmacknight, to random
    @ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

    https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/maddow-why-does-trump-keep-talking-like-a-fascist-because-it-works-200511045884

    shoq, to random
    @shoq@mastodon.social avatar

    How many warnings will it take before so many of you in the press realize that YOU are a huge part of the problem. Many of you posture like it’s everyone else, and your own work is not contributing to this cultural catastrophe unfolding before us. Sorry to inform you, but it fucking IS many of you. More of you need step up in your organizations and demand new approaches to this problem. You won’t like prison camps either.

    Source: @dangillmor
    https://mastodon.social/@dangillmor/111598434468891251

    ericmacknight,
    @ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

    @shoq @dangillmor The problem, of course, is that Trump and fascism sell ads, and that's journalism's business model.

    ericmacknight, to Israel
    @ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

    War is the wrong response to terrorism

    War is the appropriate response when one nation is invaded or attacked by another. The most recent obvious example, in Ukraine, illustrates the case: Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in 2022 set off a war between the two nations that continues today. Ukraine is completely justified in defending itself by going to war against Russia. 1/4

    ericmacknight,
    @ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

    @dukepaaron In some alternate universe the U.N. or the ICC would send investigators into Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, Qatar, the U.A.E., Syria, Saudi Arabia, Russia, etc. For the moment, an immediate ceasefire would be a step in the right direction. But there are no quick or easy solutions to a situation as convoluted as Israel and Palestine.

    ericmacknight,
    @ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

    @TonyStark @dukepaaron I agree, Tony, but what are you proposing instead of a ceasefire—that Israel seek to wipe Gaza and everyone in it off the map? Or do you believe that the Israelis are being sufficiently selective in their killing to make it acceptable under the circumstances?

    ericmacknight,
    @ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

    @TonyStark @dukepaaron It's a horrible mess for which the Europeans and Americans have to take a good deal of blame . . . along with a lot of other people. https://ericmacknight.com/wordpress/2023/11/11/recipe-israeli-palestinian-soup/

    blogdiva, to random
    @blogdiva@mastodon.social avatar

    SLAVERY isn't just "it used to be legal". slavery is still legal in the United States.

    this country has no high moral ground to stand-on; when there has never full abolition of slavery.

    so why would am American president care about human rights elsewhere if they don't care about human rights here?

    you want to force change in this country and see how all your fave 'liberal' politicians lose their shit?

    start a new movement for full abolition and the adoption of a Human Rights charter.

    ericmacknight,
    @ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

    @violetmadder @blogdiva Very thought-provoking stuff! I was struck by this when I looked up the 13th amendment in Wikipedia:

    "On February 8, 1864, Sumner submitted a constitutional amendment stating:

    'All persons are equal before the law, so that no person can hold another as a slave; and the Congress shall have power to make all laws necessary and proper to carry this declaration into effect everywhere in the United States.'"

    That would have been a much better amendment abolishing slavery.

    ericmacknight,
    @ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

    @violetmadder @blogdiva As for "a deep change in society's core values," I'm all for that! But how does that happen? Historically, so much change is incremental. Think how long it took, for example, to go from no voting to voting only for white male property owners, to white males, to whites, to everyone in theory but if you're poor and black forget it especially in the South, to . . . etc. So . . . is incremental change just obstruction by those in power, or is it how "core values" change?

    ericmacknight,
    @ericmacknight@mastodon.social avatar

    @violetmadder @blogdiva 💯 Very well said! History is long, life is short; we all just have to do our bit as best we can. Thanks for all the thought and work you are putting in (my mother would have said, "Bless you! You are doing God's work!") 😀 Stay well!

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