@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.

GottaLaff, to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

Via Angry Staffer:

…Project 2025 ..

  • would let red states monitor & prosecute women who get abortions

  • won’t commit to defending NATO nations

  • wd fire attys who won’t prosec his political opponents

  • suspend posse comitatus & deploy the military on US soil

  • wd end pandemic preparedness office

  • wd fire 1000s of civil servants

  • pardon all J6 rioters

  • try to make law enf officers immune from prosec

If this doesn’t scare the living shit out of you, you aren’t paying attention.

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff I know you and I differ on this, but the danger of the "burn it all down" contingent was painfully apparent to me in 2016. Who among them had actually read or understood TPP and compared it to other trade agreements? Trade treaties are notoriously complex, and the geopolitical dimensions of TPP only compounded this. Still it became a rallying cry at the Dem convention. Shame on those who demagogued the agreement. Trump profited from their protest.

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.

taylorlorenz, to random
@taylorlorenz@mastodon.social avatar

“We later found out that Hamas had offered on October 9 or 10 to release all the civilian hostages in exchange for the IDF not entering the Strip, but the government rejected the offer.” https://www.timesofisrael.com/no-doubt-netanyahu-preventing-hostage-deal-charges-ex-spokesman-of-families-forum/

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@taylorlorenz The subtitle of the op ed piece says that Haim Rubenstein "claims" this, though Rubinstein is not a member of the ruling coalition, so I'm not sure how privy he would be to negotiations. Plus on Oct 8 & 9 Israel still didn't know how many were killed, how many kidnapped so an alleged promise to return some number of hostages would not be reassuring.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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?

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.

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

dukepaaron, to random
@dukepaaron@babka.social avatar

In the interests of annoying everyone in the hard line politics and morals sportsball team model of life...

There's nothing inherently antisemitic about protesting to end a war. Arresting peaceful protesters on college campuses for civil disobedience is not a great look. Regardless of whether you agree with them or not.

On the flipside, chanting things like "yehuda yehuda," "we're all Hamas," or "Remember the 7th of October! That will happen not one more time, not five more times, not 10 more times, not 100 more times, not 1000 more times, but 10,000 times!" surely is all meant to be pirposely antisemitic.

Holding a sign that reads “Al-Qassam’s next target" with an arrow pointing to a group of Jews isn't anti-war or even anti-zionism. It's fucking crazy is what it is.

So stop strong arming protests. They're normal. Even if they have very fucked up elements in them.

Protestors, you got a 'nazi bar' problem and you should fix it or fuck off. There's no excuse for this shit.

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@acarson @dukepaaron It was possible early in the conflict to say, "Cease fire AND Bring them Home." The fact that the two aims were never tied to each other in the cease fire crowd told me everything I needed to know about the protest movement. It opposes the existence of a Jewish state in any form in what it considers hallowed Arab ground. And that is why it cannot utter a word of criticism against Hamas for prolonging this conflict.

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

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/

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.

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

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

Any Fediverse tips?

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.

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.

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

See? Same problem as Hamas itself. When people don’t actually want to resolve the conflict, they make demands that can never be met. And that is precisely why so many Israeli hardliners feel justified in doing whatever it takes to destroy Hamas. Even if the death toll sickens some of them. They see it as their only option with an enemy that lets uncomprising terrorists lead them to only more death and destruction.

In reply to…
https://mastodon.social/@lawyersgunsnmoney@mstdn.social/112363328520129130

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@shoq That's an interesting take on the psychology of hardliners in Israel. The whole situation fills me with such despair.

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.

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.

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.

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