@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

tobie1

@tobie1@mastodon.social

My interests vary wildly from politics to poetry and philosophy. I'm a born contrarian but my bark is worse than my bite, and I appreciate detailed posts, sharp commentary, verbal repartee and quirky habits. Some of my quirks are #FountainPens, #birding, and all manners of idealist thought. Committed to fairness, democracy, and environmental stewardship. Proud lifelong #Dem

I was on another server but it was closing down, so I switched to this instance. I'll say in advance, "Happy to meet you."

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

timkmak, to Russia
@timkmak@journa.host avatar

NEWSFLASH:

One of interim Iranian President Mohammad first phone calls since ascending to the position was with the

In October 2022, Mokhaber went to to sell and to , reported Reuters.

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@rameshgupta @timkmak @kravietz I'm not sure what to make of all this except that Russia and Iran have gotten very close and each has something the other wants. Iran gives Russia drones for the war in Ukraine, Russia helps Iran with its nuclear weapons program. I tend to think that these collaborations are larger than any of the individuals involved with them--except perhaps Putin and Khameini--but that's just an uneducated guess. Strange times we live in.

tazgetroete, to random German
@tazgetroete@mastodon.social avatar

Das Trinity College beendet Investitionen in etliche israelische Unternehmen, streicht Stipendien für Israelis und richtet neue für Palästinenser ein. http://www.taz.de/!6009701/

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@tazgetroete Irland--Zentrum des Judenhasses in Europa.

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

Bipartisan contempt for freedom of expression in new legislation aimed at critics of Israeli actions. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/05/01/antisemitism-awarness-act-campus-protests/

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@dangillmor Hmm...if the KKK helped Young College Republicans and other students set up encampments where they would taunt students of certain identities and prevent them from accessing college facilities would be be so indifferent?

w7voa, to random
@w7voa@journa.host avatar

UK Foreign Minister David Cameron, at the State Department, says his visit last evening to Mar-a-Lago to see former President Trump was "entirely proper" as it was in line with precedent in meeting with opposition leaders in the US, but was a private dicussion.

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@w7voa Ddi any journalist ask Cameron to name some UK Foreign Ministers who met with unnominated Presidential candidates? I haven't looked into this so I'm curious what past precedent he's relying on.

TonyStark, to random
@TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

They are not going to stop until they take every last thing away. This isn’t surprising to anyone who’s been following along, but you let Trump be President again and you get a lot more SCOTUS justices ready to get rid of same-sex marriage, along with the rest of rights people have left.

Consider not letting that happen if you’re not already on board.

Alito renews criticism of Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling in rejecting Missouri jury case | The Hill
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4479539-alito-renews-criticism-of-supreme-courts-same-sex-marriage-ruling-in-rejecting-missouri-jury-case/

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@noondlyt @TonyStark Alito and his friends have so much power and yet they always claim that they're the victims...especially when it comes to denying other people basic civil rights in the name of "religious freedom," i.e., Alito's freedom to impose his personal beliefs on everyone else.

aelliotpr, to random
@aelliotpr@babka.social avatar

This is from Spain's second most influential national newspaper, El Mundo, positioned on the centre right. The unadulterated antisemitism of the Spanish media knows no bounds. Unspeakable.

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@aelliotpr What a grotesque image. Both Spain's and Ireland's attacks on Israel have been really disturbing. And they began on October 8 as the world was waking up to the massacre committed on Israeli soil.

tobie1, to random
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

Does Suozzi's victory in the NY special election mean that Democrats have a better chance of getting enough votes for a discharge position so the foreign aid bill can be brought to the floor for a vote? I sure hope so.

Oeneus, to random
@Oeneus@assortedflotsam.com avatar

Every cause is antisemitic now.

image/png

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@Oeneus WTF. The western pro-Palestine movement has tapped into the most vile anti-semitism from the 19th century. If it's not the accusation of blood libel, it's the charge of being a rootless cosmopolitan who feeds off the sweat and blood of 'real Americans.' I feel like I'm living through the Dreyfus affair. Jews stand accused everywhere of being an enemy of humanity.

shoq, to random
@shoq@mastodon.social avatar

@msnbc is thrilled to tell you how Michigan voters (mostly Arab-Americans) are going to be single-issue voters and not vote for Biden because of Israel.

So, I guess if Trump wins, they’ll proudly tell their children they chose fascism over democracy for a single issue—as a matter of principle?

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@shoq @msnbc There might be some change in attitude as the election draws closer and the choice becomes clearer.

I'm a mainstream Jewish Dem and I can tell you that I'm not entirely happy with Biden's handling of the war for different reasons than you see in the news. I believe Biden made a big mistake at the start of the war to placate Arab-American voters & it has shaped the representation of the conflict ever since.

But I'm not a one issue voter.

heidilifeldman, to random
@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social avatar

Stay focused. We’ve known for 4 years that, short of death, Trump would be the Republicans’ nominee in 2024. The margin of his wins in Republican primaries and caucuses makes no difference, whatever the headlines and pundits say. We will have to fight using what we have, which will be - again, short of death - be Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket, and all the down ballot Democrats across the country. Every last one of them should make it clear that constitutional democracy is at stake.

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@heidilifeldman Maybe I'm just a knee jerk Dem but I like what Biden's done. His admin revived US manufacturing. He got a global corporate minimum tax rate adopted at home and abroad. He lowered inflation without steering us into a recession. And he led when it came to Ukraine even if Republicans tried to sabotage him.

If I lived in NH, I would have happily written in his name today.

GreenFire, to random
@GreenFire@mstdn.social avatar

Joe Biden cares about all Americans as well as people around the world.

Americans that don't bother voting are proving that they could care less about other people.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/01/22/biden-abortion-contraception/

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@GreenFire I can envision an Israeli govt without Netanyahu or Likud at the helm. My suspicion is Biden is trying to marginalize Netanyahu so this can happen. I can't imagine Palestinian governance without Hamas and that is a big source of concern for me.

TonyStark, to random
@TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

People ask why I talk about elections and voting so much.

It’s because there’s always hope.

Florida Democrats flip Republican House seat in Special Election – WFTV:
https://www.wftv.com/news/local/florida-democrats-flip-republican-house-seat-special-election/BDGBNIJ3CZECRMX6NTSZQVYZX4/

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@TonyStark What's the Republican margin now. 2? 3? Any chance we might see a Speaker Jeffries sooner than we think? Oh, how sweet that would be!

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@TonyStark Thanks for the heads up on this race. I'll send a donation and will try to volunteer to phone bank.

tobie1, to Israel
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

Using stats to create a false narrative.

Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch tweets that in 8 weeks dropped 29000 bombs on whereas the US dropped only 3600 bombs in 6 years in Iraq starting 0ct 2004.

(Note the start date Roth chose)

The problem: the US invaded Iraq in March 2003 and dropped >29,000 bombs in the 1st 4 weeks.

Roth knows what he's doing: generating a misleading talking point. Why does the media run with his propaganda?

https://nitter.net/AGHamilton29/status/1746583089315295564#m

GottaLaff, to Florida
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

🤦🏻‍♀️ “A federal judge in on Friday ruled that a U.S. law that bars people from possessing firearms in post offices is unconstitutional, citing a landmark Supreme Court ruling from 2022 that expanded gun rights.

U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle,
an 👉🏼appointee of 👈🏼
in Tampa, reached that conclusion in dismissing part of an indictment charging a postal worker with illegally possessing a gun in a federal facility.”
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ban-guns-post-offices-is-unconstitutional-us-judge-rules-2024-01-13/

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff Never forget...Mizelle was rated "not qualified" by the ABA. It's shocking she's on the bench with a lifetime appointment.

ZamhoidnLA, to random German
@ZamhoidnLA@mastodon.social avatar

Wie im Vorfeld befürchtet, am 8.1. mehrfach gesichtet: die Flagge der nationalsozialistischen, antisemitischen , damals eine DER Wegbereiter*innen der .

Dem großen Deutschen ist vorzuwerfen, sich auf den 8.1. "draufgesetzt" zu haben, ein Datum, das weit vorher bereits von rechtsextremen Verbänden wie angekündigt wurde, statt sich für alternative 's wie der am 20.01. der fortschrittlichen stark zu machen!

@AbL_Rlp_Saar @wirhabenessatt

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@ZamhoidnLA @AbL_Rlp_Saar @wirhabenessatt Gräßlich. Ich kannte die Flagge vorher nicht und musste sie nachschlagen. Leider muss ich nun mehr über Claus Heim (und Falladas Roman über die Landvolkbewegung der 1920er Jahre) lesen. Plus ça change...

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landvolkbewegung_(Schleswig-Holstein)

tobie1, to random
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

is not over.

It took till now but my household has finally been hit. My husband tested positive this morning. He was coughing and had a soar throat so I quarantined him in his room yesterday already.

I hope I don't get it. I'm supposed to visit my 94 year old mother for new year's and don't want to risk infecting her.

in public.

tobie1, to random
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

Well, this is rich. , who has killed 600,000 Syrians, says the Holocaust didn't happen. How long before this line becomes popular on TikTok?

"In a video of a speech by Assad translated and published by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) on Monday, Assad can be seen telling a listening crowd that 'there is no evidence that six million Jews were killed” during the Holocaust.'"

https://www.timesofisrael.com/syrias-assad-claims-holocaust-was-a-lie-fabricated-to-justify-creation-of-israel/

TonyStark, to random
@TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

I can’t wait until people meet this Donald Trump guy. Big fan of putting checks on Netanyahu, I hear. /s (if it needs that. Really shouldn’t.)

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/19/us/politics/biden-israel-gaza-poll.html?unlocked_article_code=1.HE0.GFxp.SWjPAGo71Rjf&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@TonyStark @birdpoof I hate when people say, "The kids are alright." No, they're not if they truly believe Trump that would rein in Israel's military strategy. Good grief. I guess they have no idea that insensitivity to civilian casualties is not the same as carpet bombing, which would be Trump's recommendation.

tobie1, to random
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

This is so sad to read. André Braugher, so talented, with so much acting left to do, has passed away at 61.
One of the most memorable moments in Homicide was when one police officer asks Pembleton (the cop played by Braugher) something along the lines of why they do what they do when it's just a drop in the proverbial sea. He answered, "We speak for the dead." Chills ran down my spine when he said that.
Rest in power, André Braugher.
https://www.npr.org/2023/12/12/1218964271/andre-braugher-dead-brooklyn-99-homicide?utm_medium=JSONFeed&utm_campaign=news&utm_source=press.coop

tobie1, to random
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@BBCWorld is now taking a both-sides approach to an unambiguous call to eliminate Israel. I wish I was surprised.

Imagine if the terms were reversed. Would you still treat it as potentially innocuous slogan? No way.
@fulelo

"Many Jewish groups say the slogan...is a call for the destruction of Israel. Pro-Palestinian activists argue that most people using it are calling for an end to Israel's occupation of the West Bank and blockade of Gaza, not the elimination of Israel itself."

Alon, to random
@Alon@mastodon.social avatar

A couple Israelis here, like @exmaahal and @yuvalne make an argument against reoccupation of Gaza: Israel did that, and wasn't safer for it - it's been 18 years since the disengagement, same as between the founding of Hamas and the disengagement, and the more recent 18 years, until 6.10, were a lot safer.

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@matunos @Alon @exmaahal @yuvalne I'm not defending Netanyahu at all but I also will not be party to this deflection. Netanyahu is an awful leader in ways too numerous to count, but Hamas also bears responsibility for what it has done. This reflexive blame shifting is annoying.

tobie1, to fountainpens
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

I take back everything I said yesterday about my Jinhao fountain pen. I tightened the ink barrel, was able to fill it and now it ✍️ like a charm. Fine NIBS, Sailor knock off, Jade color.

tobie1, to random
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

I'm trying my first Jinhao tonight. It's a Sailor knock-off. I have to confess I'm a bit disappointed. Stiff, scratchy nib, plastic feel to the pen. Granted I paid next to nothing for it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

tobie1, to random
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

I just switched instances and having trouble finding all the accounts and hashtags I followed in my old account.

Any Fediverse tips?

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