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Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · 1h

...with carving knives on your boots...

Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · 2h

The thing about the past is that it's past. The future is what can still be fixed, and all hands willing to pitch into help with that should be welcomed -- even those arriving late. Coulda, woulda, shoulda are less important than "I will now..."

Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · 2h

:-)

Watch the race...seems like a cross between chess and skydiving...

Canada's Sarault wins 2nd gold, Boutin skates to silver at Montreal short track World Tour stop | CBC Sports

The Canadian short track speed skating team continued its strong start to the Olympic season with three more medals at the ISU World Tour stop in Montreal.

www.cbc.ca

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Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · 2h

I've more to be thankful for than I could ever list in one day, and neither the greatest nor least of it all is this: living where we can get a wonderful turkey'n'fixings dinner at a little neighbourhood restaurant to which we can walk and from which we can waddle home. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Reposted by Dave Tait

CajunBlueAZ ⚜️🇺🇸 🇺🇦 @cajunblue.bsky.social · 9h

🚨🚨🚨WA Governor Bob Ferguson responds to a letter he received from AG Pam Bondi in which she threatened to place him in jail. 🧯He is on fire! 1/2

680 7.5K 18K

Reposted by Dave Tait

Outbursts Of Everett True @everetttrue.bsky.social · 7h

Belleville Daily Advocate
July 04,1916

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Reposted by Dave Tait

Canadian History Ehx @cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social · 9h

Letters Home From The Trenches: Ronald MacKinnon
On April 6, 1917, he wrote a letter home to his father in Canada, and talked of preparations for an upcoming battle.
Three days later, he died at the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

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Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · 7h

You can hem trousers with a stapler.

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Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · 7h

Next steps: Change the 22nd Amendment to allow third terms, and Article 2 to remove the minimum age for a President if the child of their predecessor…

...or allow the mother of an underage Vice-President to rule as Regent if the VP should succeed to the crown…sorry, presidency before being of age.

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 2d

Trump said he deserved a cut for brokering the TikTok deal, and at once there was agreement that his son Baron would have a top executive slot... though he hasn't asked for it, and has no apparent qualifications to hold it. This is how Trump 2.0 works. www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025...

Barron Trump tipped for top TikTok job

US president’s 19-year-old son could be appointed to the app’s board

www.telegraph.co.uk

Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · 7h

Next steps: change the 22nd Amendment to allow third terms, and Article 2 to remove the minimum age for a president if the child of their predecessor…

...or allow the mother of an underage Vice-President to rule as Regent if the VP should succeed to the crown…sorry, presidency before being of age.

Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · 8h

"This week…the streets filled with whistling and cheering and everyone started jumping and dancing with joy… But they remain afraid it might fail at the last moment, preparing themselves for the worst, so they are not struck down with despair if it does collapse." /2

Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · 8h

"We wrote our names on a piece of paper and put it in our pockets in case the house was bombed and we all died, so that paper would serve as an identity card if our faces were erased." /1

‘Gateway to hell’: young reporter’s harrowing two years in besieged Gaza

Malak A Tantesh’s grim experience of living with perpetual fear and uncertainty amid Israel’s war after 2023 Hamas attack

www.theguardian.com

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Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · 9h

I've said from the start that "Trump" this time was "breaking the rules to break the game" — and those acting in his name have been allowed (and enabled) to do exactly that. Now if any GOPers "dare" move against Trump, the question will be whether it's to roll back the damage…or nail it in place. /8

Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · Nov 24

The Trump team isn't just breaking rules; it's breaking rules to break the game. Picture a soccer team that keeps using hands on the ball and ignores the ref's whistles. Pretty soon the game just can't be played anymore. The ref gives up and other team walks off in disgust... /1

Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · 9h

I don't believe any of this is a "master plan" by the Trump clan; Donald Trump put himself in power the first time, but he's now a "means," not a master (same as Bush 2). Once the above grip starts to consolidate, he'll actually be more hindrance than help -- and the Darkness will really descend. /7

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Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · 9h

Those with power in SCOTUS and Congress defeated the first two -- and now that the third has pretty much come to pass, they'll use their power to go back to Option One and start ruthlessly enforcing what they will now insist are the unwritten "norms" of citizenship, using their new police force. /6

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Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · 12h

When those untroubled by personal ethics decide the absence of a strong fence barring certain areas of conduct is permission to enter, the culture has three basic choices: push back fast and hard to enforce norms implied by the rules; make new, ever-more-specific rules; or lose to the bad guys. /5

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Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · 12h

In a healthy environment, rules are mostly periodic boundary markers to plot the lines we don't cross. Strong fencing between each of those posts isn't needed because the line between is implied and generally agreed to. Not everything needs to be spelled out. It works well...until it doesn't. /4

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Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · 12h

Someone else replying to the post I've linked to above shared this BBC story to make a point -- but what stikes me is just this one face...

It's the "resting look of contempt" face of someone who'd enlarge the Gingrich perversion of rules-over-culture to all of American society -- and the world. /3

Trump administration issues layoff notices to more than 4,000 workers during government shutdown

More than 4,000 workers across seven agencies will receive notices that their jobs are being cut, the government disclosed in a court filing.

www.bbc.com

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Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · 12h

History is more complex than just one man driving the truck into a tree, but so much of the legislative mess in today's U.S. can be traced to Newt Gingrich figuring out how to use the rules of Congress to subverts its culture -- and gathering enthusiatic allies who thought this was a great idea. /2

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Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · 13h

Solid reasoning here.

I'm watching for the "minor" administrative memo changing ICE from "Immigration and Customs Enforcement" to "Immigration and Citizenship Enforcement"...

...to police not just who has citizenship status but also if citizens are properly loyal and respectful. "Goodthink." /1

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 15h

New, from me:
Trump's 3 step plan to create a military omniforce
1. Purge - those deemed disloyal
2. Merge - different parts of law enforcement/military
3. Surge - impose the omniforce on Dem cities; instigate unrest; assert dominance; silence dissent
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/purge-merg...

Purge, Merge, and Surge

Trump is creating a omniforce of armed loyalists to establish his police state

donmoynihan.substack.com

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Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · 13h

Reeeally deep dive into the local Oregon background of this reality-bending effort here. /3

Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 15h

There's one huge difference between the 2025 Portland protests & the ones in 2020. Today, the ~100 anti-fascist protesters at the ICE facility are sandwiched between the feds who have MAGA-friendly media embedded w/ them, and ~15 MAGA-friendly content creators/counter-protesters out in the crowd.

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 15h

As President Trump tries to send the National Guard to Portland, Oregon, conservative influencers are working to support his claim that the city is burning with viral clips from one block. https://wapo.st/4q5HM0n

Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · 13h

“The streamers are actually counter-protesters themselves who are going and documenting the protests that they disagree with. The government is actually working hand-in-glove with those folks in order to promote the government’s message,” [UAlabama j-prof] Bauer said. “That is a new development.” /2

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Dave Tait @davetait.bsky.social · 13h

“I’ve caught some coming-up streamers or whatever they were, legitimately trying to start problems and having hidden cameramen off to the side trying to capture those problems starting so that they could have their viral clips,” [conservative podcaster Matt] Tardio said. “That’s messed up.” /1

OPB @opb.org · 1d

Right-wing media influencers are now being welcomed into the federal government to promote its messages. This kind of media access shows a deepening alliance between the Trump administration and an online world willing to misrepresent facts if it means furthering political goals.