(VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
@braak.bsky.social
It's me, braak, returned at long last from my social media exile.
I encourage you to purchase my book, RADHIKA RAAD AND THE TOWER INGENIUS, which is now available (for purchase).
https://a.co/d/1nix74W
I encourage you to purchase my book, RADHIKA RAAD AND THE TOWER INGENIUS, which is now available (for purchase).
https://a.co/d/1nix74W
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
The right-wing obsession with Sparta is so weird to me. They were a culture that mandated pedophilia, were ruled by corrupt oligarchs, and eventually collapsed because of their dependence on slave labor and I see it now, that's on me.
February 16, 2026 at 4:11 PM
The right-wing obsession with Sparta is so weird to me. They were a culture that mandated pedophilia, were ruled by corrupt oligarchs, and eventually collapsed because of their dependence on slave labor and I see it now, that's on me.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
We need SALES of the PHYSICAL comic books for the DAKOTA INCIDENT 100K CHALLENGE!
Let's sell 100,000 copies of NEW HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE: THE DAKOTA INCIDENT from @dc.com and Milestone so you can ask for an ONGOING STATIC SERIES with SALES DATA to back you up!
IN COMIC BOOK SHOPS FEB. 25TH!!
Let's sell 100,000 copies of NEW HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE: THE DAKOTA INCIDENT from @dc.com and Milestone so you can ask for an ONGOING STATIC SERIES with SALES DATA to back you up!
IN COMIC BOOK SHOPS FEB. 25TH!!
THE DAKOTA INCIDENT 100K CHALLENGE is a call to action to sell 100,000 of NEW HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE: THE DAKOTA INCIDENT hitting comic book shops FEBRUARY 25TH!
I pre-ordered 50 copies of this book so I hope you will join me to get 100,000 copies sold.
So we can DEMAND an ongoing STATIC book!
I pre-ordered 50 copies of this book so I hope you will join me to get 100,000 copies sold.
So we can DEMAND an ongoing STATIC book!
February 16, 2026 at 4:42 PM
We need SALES of the PHYSICAL comic books for the DAKOTA INCIDENT 100K CHALLENGE!
Let's sell 100,000 copies of NEW HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE: THE DAKOTA INCIDENT from @dc.com and Milestone so you can ask for an ONGOING STATIC SERIES with SALES DATA to back you up!
IN COMIC BOOK SHOPS FEB. 25TH!!
Let's sell 100,000 copies of NEW HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE: THE DAKOTA INCIDENT from @dc.com and Milestone so you can ask for an ONGOING STATIC SERIES with SALES DATA to back you up!
IN COMIC BOOK SHOPS FEB. 25TH!!
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Trump backed off calling Renee Good & Alex Pretti domestic terrorists because people didn't like it. But as I wrote, the admin is still doubling down on the use of domestic terrorism investigations to scare Americans away from using their First Amendment rights. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
Trump’s Version of “Domestic Terrorism” vs. the First Amendment
The administration has given itself permission to prosecute people and organizations for their political views.
www.brennancenter.org
February 16, 2026 at 2:17 PM
Trump backed off calling Renee Good & Alex Pretti domestic terrorists because people didn't like it. But as I wrote, the admin is still doubling down on the use of domestic terrorism investigations to scare Americans away from using their First Amendment rights. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
it’s breathtaking to see how this country is in decline by every possible metric
Devastated to learn that Univ of Texas at Austin is closing the American Studies dept. The years I spent there earning my PhD were formative, making me the teacher, thinker, and writer I am today. I've passed on what I learned at UT to thousands of students over the past 20 years. Just awful.
February 16, 2026 at 2:55 AM
it’s breathtaking to see how this country is in decline by every possible metric
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
Yeah, this is pretty much exactly what I thought about when I saw Musk's stupid racist tweet: Minnesotans have spent the last month and a half saying we will die to defend our multicultural community.
It's also part of a very direct negation of the latest stupid tweet by Musk: people have given so much, two of them their lives, to defend a multicultural city and the rights of people not exactly like them. And that multiculturalism is American culture.
February 16, 2026 at 5:42 AM
Yeah, this is pretty much exactly what I thought about when I saw Musk's stupid racist tweet: Minnesotans have spent the last month and a half saying we will die to defend our multicultural community.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
The question is always, if this company is worth a trillion dollars what trillion dollar problem is it fixing and the only possible answer to that question in the instance of A.I. is “wages.”
AI guys insisting on the inevitability of the tech are so irritating. every comparison they make is to something whose utility was immediately apparent. "it does things faster and we can fix its mistakes later and that'll be the job now" does not compare to "metronome that doesn't need winding"
February 16, 2026 at 3:26 PM
The question is always, if this company is worth a trillion dollars what trillion dollar problem is it fixing and the only possible answer to that question in the instance of A.I. is “wages.”
One day, America, too, can get its ass kicked by the Big Gay Army of Thebes
February 16, 2026 at 3:30 PM
One day, America, too, can get its ass kicked by the Big Gay Army of Thebes
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More measles PSA...it is a series. Your pediatrician can often push up the additional doses.
When there was a measles outbreak near us a few years back my pediatrician contacted us and gave my son his final shot about a year early to get him fully covered.
It's worth asking about.
When there was a measles outbreak near us a few years back my pediatrician contacted us and gave my son his final shot about a year early to get him fully covered.
It's worth asking about.
I’m going to keep sharing this PSA: although the MMR is usually given at 12 and 18 months, your baby can get a first dose as early as 6 months. They will still need the other two doses, because immunity doesn’t stick at that age, and insurance may not cover it. But it’s protection.
Measles: how does it spread and how can I protect my child?
February 16, 2026 at 3:23 PM
More measles PSA...it is a series. Your pediatrician can often push up the additional doses.
When there was a measles outbreak near us a few years back my pediatrician contacted us and gave my son his final shot about a year early to get him fully covered.
It's worth asking about.
When there was a measles outbreak near us a few years back my pediatrician contacted us and gave my son his final shot about a year early to get him fully covered.
It's worth asking about.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
How to build a nested list
1) Start like this
A) Then do this
Bird: I live here now
2) Make sure to get the bird out
Bird: NO
1) Start like this
A) Then do this
Bird: I live here now
2) Make sure to get the bird out
Bird: NO
March 12, 2025 at 12:41 AM
How to build a nested list
1) Start like this
A) Then do this
Bird: I live here now
2) Make sure to get the bird out
Bird: NO
1) Start like this
A) Then do this
Bird: I live here now
2) Make sure to get the bird out
Bird: NO
this, too, is political
... a lot of 'I am going to fill the floor of the gallery with toy soldiers to protest the war.' And it got to me and I was like, "Yeah, I'm going to make a life-size painting of John Tesh."
February 16, 2026 at 2:57 PM
this, too, is political
Yeah like I don't like this guy and I don't like that he did this but we know for a fact that this standard is going to be much more broadly applied to people that say Fuck ICE.
Am I going to be the only one to suggest that firing a public school teacher for speaking out on a matter of public concern raises profound First Amendment issues, and we should pause before cheering on such actions when that power can be weaponized against progressive teachers in red places? 1/3
This “beloved” Chicago teacher, James Heidorn, believes he was pushed out of his job due to a two-word post on his Facebook account.
Oddly enough, the heavily Hispanic district didn’t appreciate him posting “GO ICE”.
#ProudBlue #FuckICE #Chicago
Oddly enough, the heavily Hispanic district didn’t appreciate him posting “GO ICE”.
#ProudBlue #FuckICE #Chicago
February 16, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Yeah like I don't like this guy and I don't like that he did this but we know for a fact that this standard is going to be much more broadly applied to people that say Fuck ICE.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
Am I going to be the only one to suggest that firing a public school teacher for speaking out on a matter of public concern raises profound First Amendment issues, and we should pause before cheering on such actions when that power can be weaponized against progressive teachers in red places? 1/3
This “beloved” Chicago teacher, James Heidorn, believes he was pushed out of his job due to a two-word post on his Facebook account.
Oddly enough, the heavily Hispanic district didn’t appreciate him posting “GO ICE”.
#ProudBlue #FuckICE #Chicago
Oddly enough, the heavily Hispanic district didn’t appreciate him posting “GO ICE”.
#ProudBlue #FuckICE #Chicago
'Beloved' Chicago teacher fired over two word post about ICE
A "beloved" Chicago teacher is reeling after he describes being pushed out of his job for a two-worded pro-ICE Facebook post
www.the-express.com
February 16, 2026 at 2:37 PM
Am I going to be the only one to suggest that firing a public school teacher for speaking out on a matter of public concern raises profound First Amendment issues, and we should pause before cheering on such actions when that power can be weaponized against progressive teachers in red places? 1/3
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There's a long and honorable newspaper tradition of sending reporters out into the field to dump raw findings onto someone back in the office who has the skills and knowledge and understanding to shape the material into a story, and that's why editors got paid more than reporters
The funny thing here is that the real job being devalued and automated in this setup is his own
A conscientious journalism grad withdraw from a job when she learned the Cleveland Plain Dealer uses AI to write its stories.
Now the editor is castigating her and journalism professors for not being “prepared for the workforce.”
You can’t make this shit up.
www.cleveland.com/news/2026/02...
Now the editor is castigating her and journalism professors for not being “prepared for the workforce.”
You can’t make this shit up.
www.cleveland.com/news/2026/02...
February 16, 2026 at 2:47 PM
There's a long and honorable newspaper tradition of sending reporters out into the field to dump raw findings onto someone back in the office who has the skills and knowledge and understanding to shape the material into a story, and that's why editors got paid more than reporters
If you asked me to diagnose any number of problems this is probably what I'd come up with.
if you asked me to diagnose the western game industry's current problem it would start with "landlords have absorbed basically all disposable income"
February 16, 2026 at 2:12 PM
If you asked me to diagnose any number of problems this is probably what I'd come up with.
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correct! every post about fixing a broken games industry that involves [specific games industry tweaks] and not [destroying a speculation-mad executive class and using their bones for compost] is just wasting everyone's time
if you asked me to diagnose the western game industry's current problem it would start with "landlords have absorbed basically all disposable income"
February 16, 2026 at 12:11 AM
correct! every post about fixing a broken games industry that involves [specific games industry tweaks] and not [destroying a speculation-mad executive class and using their bones for compost] is just wasting everyone's time
Dystopia in which all the work is done by AI and robots and everyone else just lives in slums and the only way out is winning the lottery, so lotto tickets become a de facto currency.
February 16, 2026 at 1:55 PM
Dystopia in which all the work is done by AI and robots and everyone else just lives in slums and the only way out is winning the lottery, so lotto tickets become a de facto currency.
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This is happening because OpenAI - a company that does not have anything even approaching a viable business model and is setting money on fire - used borrowed money to advance buy all of the raw materials for RAM production so competitors couldn’t get it
this RAM crisis feels like it’s going to ruin consumer electronics over the next decade. Bloomberg reports that Sony is considering pushing the PS6 release to 2028 or even 2029 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
February 16, 2026 at 1:01 PM
This is happening because OpenAI - a company that does not have anything even approaching a viable business model and is setting money on fire - used borrowed money to advance buy all of the raw materials for RAM production so competitors couldn’t get it
Yeah, okay. I'm in.
Jason Statham is set to play Jason Statham in Jason Statham Stole My Bike, a new action-comedy from Bullet Train director David Leitch.
Read more: www.empireonline.com/movies...
Read more: www.empireonline.com/movies...
February 16, 2026 at 1:42 PM
Yeah, okay. I'm in.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
Good thread here – I follow some self-sustaining/reader sustained local papers in e.g. Mississippi and elsewhere and I think this is what is up, going forward
As a Clevelander, the collapse of the PD over the past 20 years has been painful to watch, but we do have lots of wonderful alternatives in the city to get real news from these days —here are a few:
signalcleveland.org
signalcleveland.org
Greater Cleveland news prioritizing Clevelanders, Signal Cleveland
Greater Cleveland news — from local government to your child’s school and community events — we break down what matters.
signalcleveland.org
February 16, 2026 at 1:35 PM
Good thread here – I follow some self-sustaining/reader sustained local papers in e.g. Mississippi and elsewhere and I think this is what is up, going forward
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
A conscientious journalism grad withdraw from a job when she learned the Cleveland Plain Dealer uses AI to write its stories.
Now the editor is castigating her and journalism professors for not being “prepared for the workforce.”
You can’t make this shit up.
www.cleveland.com/news/2026/02...
Now the editor is castigating her and journalism professors for not being “prepared for the workforce.”
You can’t make this shit up.
www.cleveland.com/news/2026/02...
February 16, 2026 at 12:16 PM
A conscientious journalism grad withdraw from a job when she learned the Cleveland Plain Dealer uses AI to write its stories.
Now the editor is castigating her and journalism professors for not being “prepared for the workforce.”
You can’t make this shit up.
www.cleveland.com/news/2026/02...
Now the editor is castigating her and journalism professors for not being “prepared for the workforce.”
You can’t make this shit up.
www.cleveland.com/news/2026/02...
the hell is going on in Abyssinia
The word for "coffee" is a near-cognate in almost every language. Whatever else is said, that word must be understood
February 16, 2026 at 12:37 PM
the hell is going on in Abyssinia
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That’s Dan❤️🩹🦅
Top right corner. Can't help but wonder if The Simpsons paid subtle tribute to Dan McQuade in tonight's set-in-Philadelphia 800th episode.
February 16, 2026 at 1:55 AM
That’s Dan❤️🩹🦅
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No bastard ever won a war by dying for his multicultural economic zone. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his autarkic ethnostate.
“You’re gonna die for a ‘multicultural economic zone?’”
“Someone is.”
“Someone is.”
Also, here’s a photo of people dying to defend a “multicultural economic zone”
February 16, 2026 at 12:13 AM
No bastard ever won a war by dying for his multicultural economic zone. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his autarkic ethnostate.
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“You’re gonna die for a ‘multicultural economic zone?’”
“Someone is.”
“Someone is.”
Also, here’s a photo of people dying to defend a “multicultural economic zone”
February 16, 2026 at 12:06 AM
“You’re gonna die for a ‘multicultural economic zone?’”
“Someone is.”
“Someone is.”
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THE U.S. GOVERNMENT spent 100s of thousands of dollars and expended thousands of man-hours of labor all to send just NINE people in chains on a Boeing 737 from Minnesota to Texas today 👀
February 15, 2026 at 11:23 PM
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT spent 100s of thousands of dollars and expended thousands of man-hours of labor all to send just NINE people in chains on a Boeing 737 from Minnesota to Texas today 👀