I’ve actually been on BlueSky for awhile, but I don’t use it that much. Maybe that will change as I feel the need to return to a higher level of news engagement.
“But here’s the thing: all those other platforms, the ones where I unwisely allowed myself to get locked in, where today I find myself trapped by the professional, personal and political costs of leaving them, they were all started by people who swore they’d never sell out.”
A lot of local PBS programming is going to be available on Prime Video.
“Cold comfort is still comfort.”
“We’ve entered the stage of Trumpist collapse in which people who seek to harm those seen as insufficiently loyal are being promoted over those with actual skills, or vision, or politics. Matt Gaetz is the open threat of violence and targeted prosecution that follows a refusal to take seriously the veiled threat of violence and targeted prosecution. They broke it; they bought it. Far too late to suggest they can choose to return what he will be selling.”
“Top ten RFK Jr. conspiracy theories, now in handy index card format”.
“Fox News contributor Caitlyn Jenner is being sued for alleged securities fraud by people who invested in her $JENNER memecoin and lost tens of thousands of dollars”.
“This week, we’ll travel back in time to 1986, when Voyager 2 became the first (and still only) spacecraft to visit Uranus. This flyby has profoundly affected our view of this mysterious world, but new research suggests we got off on the wrong foot with Uranus and its moons. First impressions matter, even with giant planets!”
RIP, Bela Karolyi, former gymnastics coach. I’m just going to leave it at that.
“Advocates said there are a number of things trans people can do immediately to protect their rights and safety before January. Here’s how the nation’s LGBTQ+ leaders feel things will go in the top policy areas impacting trans people and how trans folks can prepare ahead of January 2025.”
“The late, beloved “Golden Girls” actor Betty White will be memorialized on a new postage stamp next year.”
RIP, Ella Jenkins, singer/songwriter known as the “first lady of children’s music”.
RIP, Charles Dumont, singer, musician, songwriter best known for the classic “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien”.
“But if it has anything to do with assignment rules, it’s that the existing judge picking system — put aside whether or not the judges are ACTUALLY in the tank for one side or the other — feeds the impression that the litigants do see judges as bought and paid for toys. That’s bad for the judiciary. You’d think a judge might want to make a simple change that, likely without actually changing the outcome, would stifle that impression.”
“Now that Trump has won the presidency again, it’s worth revisiting these episodes as a guide to what might be coming. It’s often said that Trump campaigned expressly on a platform of authoritarian rule, but this also applies to corruption: He didn’t disguise his promises to govern in the direct interests of some of the wealthiest executives and investors in the country—and he won anyway. Trump and his allies will likely interpret this as a green light to engage in an extraordinary spree of unrestrained malfeasance.”
“Cutting $2 trillion is impossible politically. But if Musk is serious about cutting government spending and waste there is only one place to start: the defense budget. About half of the discretionary budget — the spending that Congress approves each year — is spent on defense. For the 2024 budget, the amount allocated for the Department of Defense exceeded $840 billion.”
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing to want social media to return to a sense of kindness and frivolity. Not every waking moment on the internet needs to be a debate or troll battle. And for those seeking to use BlueSky as a political or activist-focused platform, why should that mean having to engage with the same losers who will never agree with you and just want to hurt you?”
“[Comcast] will move forward with an effort to spin off the bulk of its cable assets, which include MSNBC, CNBC, Universal Kids, USA, E!, Oxygen and Syfy, according to a person familiar with the matter. Only Bravo, viewed as an important feeder of programming to the Peacock streaming service, will stay with the NBC TV business.”
“A lawsuit seeking class action status accuses Meta of rolling back its now shuttered Facebook Watch streaming video service to give Netflix a clear path as part of a deal to split the spoils of the new digital landscape.”
Everything you ever wanted to know about Pink Lady and Jeff, possibly the weirdest and least understood TV show ever. Via Mark Evanier, who was its lead writer and enjoyed the experience regardless of the outcome.
RIP, Tony Campolo, progressive Christian leader. Read The Slacktivist for more about him.
“There are three big reasons you are alive today.”
“House Speaker Mike Johnson blocked an effort by a fellow Republican lawmaker that would have allowed women in Congress who just gave birth to vote by proxy—a way to let them recover from birth and bond with their child while also giving a voice to their constituents.”
Popehat is always worth the read. Matt Gaetz is out, but if the chatter is true that the Trump DoJ is going to be investigating the 2020 election, that keeps them from doing more damage elsewhere. Let them stay deep in that rabbit hole.