(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
Something I think about is, I know it's standard language to describe it as a "loss", but I don't think that Robert Duvall dying is a loss. This not because I don't like him, I do like him! He was great! But he was also 95 years old. He had an entire lifetime of incredible work.
February 16, 2026 at 8:09 PM
Something I think about is, I know it's standard language to describe it as a "loss", but I don't think that Robert Duvall dying is a loss. This not because I don't like him, I do like him! He was great! But he was also 95 years old. He had an entire lifetime of incredible work.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
Anthropic “is prepared to relax its terms of use, but wants assurances its tech won’t be used for mass domestic spying operations or to build weapons that can be deployed with no human involvement.”
Anthropic's Deal With US Military Under Threat | PYMNTS.com
The Pentagon is reportedly preparing to sever its relationship with artificial intelligence (AI) startup Anthropic. The government is also “close” to
www.pymnts.com
February 16, 2026 at 8:03 PM
Anthropic “is prepared to relax its terms of use, but wants assurances its tech won’t be used for mass domestic spying operations or to build weapons that can be deployed with no human involvement.”
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
Every Wednesday I go to yoga with a retired gay man and then we go back to his house and eat the dinner his husband cooked for us while we were out, and when I told them some of the stuff the UK government are doing to trans people they literally said "it's happening again!"
HELLO I WAS A QUEER TEEN IN THE 1990s AND THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST SOCIAL TRANSITION NOW ARE INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST "LETTING" US BE (at the time, for me) GAY OR LESBIAN THEN.
They all rest on the belief that it's inherently better to be straight (then)/cis (now) and that's BS.
They all rest on the belief that it's inherently better to be straight (then)/cis (now) and that's BS.
Hilary Cass here arguing for children to be prevented from being known by a preferred name or getting a haircut in case it encourages them to continue later in life to transition.
Hilary Cass acts like gender variant children should have the transness hazed out of them.
Hilary Cass acts like gender variant children should have the transness hazed out of them.
February 16, 2026 at 6:51 PM
Every Wednesday I go to yoga with a retired gay man and then we go back to his house and eat the dinner his husband cooked for us while we were out, and when I told them some of the stuff the UK government are doing to trans people they literally said "it's happening again!"
It's funny to see Warren Buffet in here with a extremely respectable $68 billion, but the thing of it is that Buffet is 95 years old, he has *at most* ten more years in him. What the fuck is he gonna do with the other $140 billion? He can't possibly spend it in the time he's got left!
February 16, 2026 at 7:36 PM
It's funny to see Warren Buffet in here with a extremely respectable $68 billion, but the thing of it is that Buffet is 95 years old, he has *at most* ten more years in him. What the fuck is he gonna do with the other $140 billion? He can't possibly spend it in the time he's got left!
My wife is trying to explain how the arcade works and he can't accept it. "I already bought the card, and then I have to put MORE money on it? But I can't get more games from it?"
I agree man it's actually a scam. I'm sorry to tell you.
I agree man it's actually a scam. I'm sorry to tell you.
February 16, 2026 at 7:30 PM
My wife is trying to explain how the arcade works and he can't accept it. "I already bought the card, and then I have to put MORE money on it? But I can't get more games from it?"
I agree man it's actually a scam. I'm sorry to tell you.
I agree man it's actually a scam. I'm sorry to tell you.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
The teacher wasn’t fired, though. He quit twice.
There’s no “potentially dangerous precedent” being set here, because the “Go Gestapo” guy wasn’t fired!
Instead, we should be talking about LASD history teacher Ricardo Lopez, who was actually fired for opening a gate to keep his students safe.
There’s no “potentially dangerous precedent” being set here, because the “Go Gestapo” guy wasn’t fired!
Instead, we should be talking about LASD history teacher Ricardo Lopez, who was actually fired for opening a gate to keep his students safe.
February 16, 2026 at 4:16 PM
The teacher wasn’t fired, though. He quit twice.
There’s no “potentially dangerous precedent” being set here, because the “Go Gestapo” guy wasn’t fired!
Instead, we should be talking about LASD history teacher Ricardo Lopez, who was actually fired for opening a gate to keep his students safe.
There’s no “potentially dangerous precedent” being set here, because the “Go Gestapo” guy wasn’t fired!
Instead, we should be talking about LASD history teacher Ricardo Lopez, who was actually fired for opening a gate to keep his students safe.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
Have you ever once seen the New York Times quote Trump like this?
February 16, 2026 at 6:24 PM
Have you ever once seen the New York Times quote Trump like this?
yeah fuck it, okay look at all my emails if you want, motherfuckers.
Posting about ICE on Instagram is now enough to get you an “administrative subpoena.” 👀
@nytimes.com #$META
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
@nytimes.com #$META
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
February 16, 2026 at 6:58 PM
yeah fuck it, okay look at all my emails if you want, motherfuckers.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
They want to scare people out of posting ICE-critical content, because they know these posts are turning even their supporters against them. But the better option is to take a page out of their playbook and flood the zone.
Posting about ICE on Instagram is now enough to get you an “administrative subpoena.” 👀
@nytimes.com #$META
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
@nytimes.com #$META
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
February 16, 2026 at 1:49 PM
They want to scare people out of posting ICE-critical content, because they know these posts are turning even their supporters against them. But the better option is to take a page out of their playbook and flood the zone.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
and ofc the athenians went on to get their shit rocked, not bc they were woke nerds but bc they alienated their former allies by indiscriminate use of force to get what they wanted. at long last, we are doing the melian dialogue from thucydides's classic historical work Don't Do The Melian Dialogue.
February 16, 2026 at 6:45 PM
and ofc the athenians went on to get their shit rocked, not bc they were woke nerds but bc they alienated their former allies by indiscriminate use of force to get what they wanted. at long last, we are doing the melian dialogue from thucydides's classic historical work Don't Do The Melian Dialogue.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
the guy that hasn't washed his hands in years is threatening a $300 bn AI company's existence
because they want guarantees that he won't use their AI to surveil American citizens or kill people autonomously
and he refuses to agree to those terms
www.axios.com/2026/02/16/a...
because they want guarantees that he won't use their AI to surveil American citizens or kill people autonomously
and he refuses to agree to those terms
www.axios.com/2026/02/16/a...
Exclusive: Pentagon warns Anthropic will "pay a price" as feud escalates
The Pentagon may label Anthropic a "supply chain risk," forcing all its vendors to sever ties.
www.axios.com
February 16, 2026 at 3:23 PM
the guy that hasn't washed his hands in years is threatening a $300 bn AI company's existence
because they want guarantees that he won't use their AI to surveil American citizens or kill people autonomously
and he refuses to agree to those terms
www.axios.com/2026/02/16/a...
because they want guarantees that he won't use their AI to surveil American citizens or kill people autonomously
and he refuses to agree to those terms
www.axios.com/2026/02/16/a...
Also clearly makes the case that the reason working class people can't make music is because they don't have time, but that's because Mr. Monopoly here won't raise their wages. Real standard "create a problem then charge people to fix it"
What do we think about the assertion in this meme? I know, we think it's asinine, but I'm looking for specific arguments as to why it's asinine.
February 16, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Also clearly makes the case that the reason working class people can't make music is because they don't have time, but that's because Mr. Monopoly here won't raise their wages. Real standard "create a problem then charge people to fix it"
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!!
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
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
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
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
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
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