@grumble209@techhub.social
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

grumble209

@grumble209@techhub.social

"We have met what's going to save our ass and it is us." - Vinge

While the bird site falls apart,
the thrill of tooting fills my heart.

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

mattblaze, to photography
@mattblaze@federate.social avatar

Titan Missile 571-7, Sahuarita Arizona, 2009.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/4185185541

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@mattblaze I highly recommend these videos from Sandia Labs about the US strategic targeting, and how it has evolved over the decades.

It's amazing to hear someone say about targeting "All the warheads were used. There were never any spare warheads." (Doug Lawson, Nuclear Policy Analyst, Sandia National Labs)

Worth watching not because it is reassuring but because it shows the turmoil at the intersection of global politics, organizational politics, scientific and engineering realities.

https://youtu.be/Qz0Dg5gIjhw?si=FPb6rtUhDU6shFJX

dangillmor, to random
@dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar

Trump: I will be dictator.
Media: Trump says he wants to be a dictator, but others say he's not really serious.
Trump: I want to be dictator and destroy the news media I don't control.
Media: There goes Trump again, ha ha.
Trump: I can't wait to put you in prison.
Media: Wowzer! Haley is ahead of DeSantis.

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@dangillmor Suppose Trump wants to be a fascist dictator, and has the majority of the GOP voters ready to support his fascist dictatorship.

If Trump wins, then the rest of us will have to fight the fascist dictatorship in the streets.

If Trump loses, the fascists - because they are hell bent on fascist dictatorship - will revolt and the rest of us will have to fight them in the streets.

Or, just maybe, the chance of a fascist dictatorship is being blown out of proportion by the DNC.

But just to be safe, you might want to get your black block gear ready.

qkslvrwolf, to random
@qkslvrwolf@mastodon.social avatar

I have a fantasy where ukrainian intelligence actually manages to out a bunch of republicans as active russian agents.

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@Alon @qkslvrwolf Pretty sure the GOP folks will vote for whoever paid them first; which is likely Putin. (As my former boss, now a Florida lobbyist, told me - "The difference between the GOP and the Democrats is that the GOP stays bought").

But there's hope - Ukraine can likely extort a 'present' vote from the Russian agents. Or maybe there'll be an unexpected blizzard the day of the vote, preventing some folks from making it it person. Act of God, you know.

grumble209, to random
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

Hypothetical question for smarter people than me:

What happens if a presidential candidate drops out of the race after the primaries?

This seems like a question that needs a crisp answer.

noondlyt, to random
@noondlyt@mastodon.social avatar

Taxpayer funded pharmaceutical patents (and medical device patents) should be owned by the people paying for the product. At both ends it is the citizens of this country providing the money to make these possible.

Biden administration asserts power to seize drug patents https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/07/biden-administration-asserts-power-to-seize-drug-patents.html

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@noondlyt The next step is tax-payer owned pharma factories to produce and sell tax-payer-owned patented pharma products and overpriced generic pharma products at cost + minimum profit. Contract out the operation of the factory and split the profits with the contractor.

This is how the US DoD buys weapons and tanks and nukes: Contractor-Operated, Government-Owned (COGO).

It would sure be nice to have on-shore pharma manufacturing capacity for the next pandemic, and to have a supplier for generic drugs for Medicare that doesn't price gouge.

jeffowski, to random
@jeffowski@mastodon.world avatar

Twelve year old meme is still true.

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@jeffowski How retro - a US general who won a war

grumble209, to random
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

It says a lot about Stockholm Syndrome in our capitalist society that children in public schools have mass shooter drills but not CEOs and Boards of Directors.

GW, to Jewish

'THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF THE IS SILENCING THE '

New Speaker Mike Spent Years Waging 'Spiritual ' In Public Schools...

“The ultimate goal of the enemy is silencing the Gospel," the said in 2004 after parents sued a school for pushing on their kids.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mike-johnson-christianity-public-schools_n_65565dfce4b0998d699f5f0d

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@GW Teach your kids whatever you like, on your time, at your expense - have fun - no one cares.

But if you want to use tax money, or teach a stranger's kid, you can fuck right off.

Johnson is an entitled little whiner - government schools have enough work to do without subsidizing his invisible friend.

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

If you hate what is going on in the middle east, wait till you get a load of this guy’s agenda:

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@Tengrain 2024 is likely Trump's final candidacy. For that I am grateful.

PS: I'd like to "expel the warmongers from our government", tbh. You'd think a slogan like that would resonate with voters across party lines. But like campaign finance reform, although wildly popular neither party ever takes it seriously.

GW, to random

Is it any wonder we don't trust one another?

Misinformation has a significant impact on because the dissemination of unverified information causes , , and a profound sense of mistrust.

We are bombarded with contradicting advice, alarming stories, and unproven therapies as social media platforms and unregulated online sources proliferate, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish reliable information from lies.

We can't trust any damn source for truth.

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@GW In the absence of trustworthy news sources, the mentally lazy cling ever tighter to non-empirical beliefs.

Humans are weird.

dgoldsmith, to random
@dgoldsmith@mastodon.social avatar

From @ErinInTheMorn:

Fascism and corruption go hand in hand.

After Election Loss, Central Bucks School Board Passes Trans Sports Ban, Gives Superintendent $700K https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/after-election-loss-central-bucks

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@dgoldsmith @ErinInTheMorn We had them try that shit here after two of the board got recalled in a special election. The outgoing chairman called emergency meetings twice to change the super's contract. The locals stopped these meetings by getting an injunction from the local judge that the local sheriff enforced.

After the 2 recalled members were gone, the remaining GOP wacko started skipping meetings so that the board had no quorum and couldn't work. Turns out Idaho has a law for public officials doing their duty, and the sheriff made comments about enforcing it. Then, the GOP member (who is a DUI felon, oddly enough) decided to attend meetings.

GOP school boards are a shit show.

https://www.idahoednews.org/north-idaho/recalled-west-bonner-school-trustees-schedule-special-meeting-that-could-defy-court-ruling/

mattblaze, to random
@mattblaze@federate.social avatar

The Supreme Court code of ethics uses the word "should" 53 times and the word "shall" 0 times. https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/Code-of-Conduct-for-Justices_November_13_2023.pdf

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@Teri_Kanefield @mattblaze @SteveBellovin @Bam @icymi_law "the solution to pollution is dilution"

I say keep adding justices until there is no more shadow docket.

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@Bam @Teri_Kanefield @mattblaze @SteveBellovin @icymi_law If there were enough justices, the court could hear all petitions.

Emergency petitions wouldn't be eliminated, but more would be heard.

There are 3000-5000 cases filed per year, and the judges hear less than 100 of them. That puts way too much power in the selection of cases.

Americans deserve a better SCOTUS than this, even if we had *honest *Justices.

DemocracyMattersALot, to random
@DemocracyMattersALot@mstdn.social avatar

Trump supporters: he’ll sacrifice his kids—you think he gives a shit about you?

'A stupid strategy': Trump's sending his kids into a 'perjury trap' in fraud trial return https://www.rawstory.com/trump-kids-perjury/

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@DemocracyMattersALot Trump appears to have no more loyalty to his children than to his wives. He's beyond sociopathic and firmly psychopathic.

I have no pity for Don Jr and Eric - they could have gotten regular jobs but instead they chose the easy route to eat crumbs from daddy's table.

Ivanka married into actual wealth. Daddy wants her because he can't have her and she doesn't need him.

When Trump dies, Eric and Don Jr will sell tickets, offer valet parking, and catering to the thousands daily who will line up to piss on daddy's grave.

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@kvasir476 @throws_lemy Suggested edit: After "In the last quarter-century" insert "I've finally noticed".

Butler saw the scam first-hand, 100 years ago. Every generation seems it must relearn the lessons of our grandparents.

As for young people not enlisting for wars of convenience - exactly. That's partially why a draft was around, and why it was so unpopular. And why the money each service pays for college benefits goes way up when there's a shooting war and goes down in peacetime.

My time in the Navy overlapped with the VEAP program, which would give me a 2-to-1 match for college - up to the maximum contribution of $2700. What a joke.

Compare that to the current GI Bill plus extra money each service pays directly.

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

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

👍🏿I like this framing, because it appeals to selfish people: Even if you're not Black, or brown, or trans, or have trans kids, you now care about school board takeovers by right-wing weirdos.

When they take over, they'll ban books and fire librarians. Again, you're not a teacher or librarian so you don't care.

But then the school district ranking will go down, as all the good teachers and smart kids leave. Your home loses $100K+ in value. Now you care!

H/T @jeffjarvis

https://www.salon.com/2023/11/09/im-so-tired-of-these-psychos-moms-for-liberty-is-now-a-brand/

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@KrajciTom @mekkaokereke @jeffjarvis That happened up here last year. The new board started reversing decisions of the old super, who quit in April. They hired a clown to replace her with no teaching experience. Remarkable hilarity ensued. Now the board was recalled and the clown has resigned.

The far right "parental rights" folks seem to think that strong opinions are a substitute for knowing how to run a school district. They are wrong.

https://www.inlander.com/news/after-almost-two-months-of-inaction-the-west-bonner-school-district-has-accepted-superintendent-branden-dursts-resignation-and-appointed-two-26901476

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

The only almost effective talking point Republicans have on abortion is complaining about why Democrats won't "pick a point where life begins."

"You must pick" is a kind of trap.

The response to this is simple, though I've not often seen it delivered clearly.

Between a pregnant woman and her doctor is that enough people to decide if an abortion is "medically necessary" or do we need to invite the governor, parish sheriff and the fed into the room too?

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@futurebird Not for me to pick. I'll leave that up to the mother.

mattblaze, to random
@mattblaze@federate.social avatar

One gets the impression that Ivanka was there to play "good cop" to Donald's "psycho who I won't be able control much longer cop"

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@mattblaze Ivanka married into actual wealth - she'll do what she can for dad, but the overall trial outcome won't affect her much.

But Dad and the boys are fucked, imho. No more cocaine fueled trophy hunting trips.

GW, to random

‘Scripture Is Very Clear’: New House Speaker Tells Congress God Has ‘Ordained’ Them

Johnson declared. “ believe that Scripture, the Bible is very clear that God is the one that raises up those in authority. He raised up each of you, all of us. And I believe that God has ordained and allowed each one of us to be brought here for this specific moment in this time.

God has given us to serve the extraordinary people of this great country and they deserve it”

BE AFRAID!

https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2023/10/scripture-is-very-clear-new-house-speaker-tells-congress-god-has-ordained-them/

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@GW And when the mob with pitchforks surrounds and eats Mr. Johnson, that too will be God's will.

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

What to know about Hezbollah's ties to Iran and threat to Israel

Receiving military training and hundreds of millions of dollars annually from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hezbollah was initially made up of fighters recruited from various Shia factions

Hezbollah deemed responsible for multiple international terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and diplomats, including two bombings in Buenos Aires in the 1990s that killed 115 people in total and a 2012 bus bombing in Bulgaria that killed 6.

Terrorist attacks against U.S. targets, including 2 bombings against the U.S. embassy and Marine Corps barracks in Beirut 1983 that killed 63 people and 241 service members, respectively.

Nasrallah and other Hezbollah members are also designated global terrorists.
On Oct. 25, Hezbollah leaders, including Nasrallah, met with officials from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to discuss next steps to achieve an "all-out victory" over Israel.

https://www.axios.com/2023/10/27/hezbollah-israel-hamas-war-invasion-gaza-iran

#Hezbollah #Iran #hamas #terror

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@skykiss Imagine how much simpler US foreign policy would be if we didn't send our troops to fuck around in other people's wars. Especially after we've pissed away billions of dollars and hundreds of lives and accomplished what, exactly?

It's been 12 years since Obama invited us into that shitshow. Bring them all home.

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@morecowbell There's so many to keep track of, right?

Syria? Libya? Yemen?

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@morecowbell Not 2011 specifically, although 2011 would have been a good time to leave Afghanistan, but it took another decade, only because Trump, of all people, forced a settlement down the throats of the DOD and left Biden holding the bag to execute it. That was a shit show.

We still have troops in Iraq - "trainers and advisors" which could mean anything from teaching marksmanship to accompanying Iraqi patrols to call in airstrikes or artillery. Our troops there are still taking fire as recently as last week. Another shit show.

2014 was the start of our involvement in Syria, where we still are, and we even cross swords now with Turkey, our NATO ally. An ongoing shit show.

2015-2019 Libya was a ridiculous intervention and led to the CIA's idiotic weapon transshipments to Syria and the pointless loss of life/face that was Benghazi. Oh my, what a shit show.

2013 started a deployment to Niger, which led to the 2017 ambush in Tongo Tongo. Read the report - a total shit show.

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@morecowbell I should have said 9 years, not 12 - I was alluding to the shit show of Syria. My bad. I apologize for the confusion.

As for Obama's *other *shitty foreign policy decisions... I listed the abridged version because I've got a 1000 character limit here, and Barack, like a lot of pols who've never worn a uniform, can't seem to tell the DoD 'no'.

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@morecowbell Washington did ok.

Does there have to precedent for a better policy or can we look at something awful and just decide, "well, that sucked. Less of that, please." ?

grumble209,
@grumble209@techhub.social avatar

@morecowbell I not ready to grade foreign adventurism and body counts on a curve, my dude.

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