@hexdrake.bsky.social
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One of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, forces in public opinion is elite leadership. Partisans largely “follow the lead“ of their side’s elites.
Arguing Dems shouldn’t try to shape opinion is arguing they should give up this power voluntarily. That’s dumb, not to mention morally vacuous
Arguing Dems shouldn’t try to shape opinion is arguing they should give up this power voluntarily. That’s dumb, not to mention morally vacuous
A critique I hear of me sometimes is that I don’t believe in changing public opinion.
What I would say is that I don’t really think *working politicians* should be focused on changing opinion, that’s the job for everyone else — go out and persuade someone!
What I would say is that I don’t really think *working politicians* should be focused on changing opinion, that’s the job for everyone else — go out and persuade someone!
"Democratic politicians urgently need to adopt the GOP view of public opinion—that it’s movable, and it’s their job to move it." newrepublic.com/article/2058...
February 14, 2026 at 6:23 PM
One of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, forces in public opinion is elite leadership. Partisans largely “follow the lead“ of their side’s elites.
Arguing Dems shouldn’t try to shape opinion is arguing they should give up this power voluntarily. That’s dumb, not to mention morally vacuous
Arguing Dems shouldn’t try to shape opinion is arguing they should give up this power voluntarily. That’s dumb, not to mention morally vacuous
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Game & Watch screens when you first put the batteries in:
Really photo editing here by Hector Vivas of Getty Images. Composite of the women's snowboard halfpipe final, depicting all the female Olympians who competed.
February 14, 2026 at 9:31 PM
Game & Watch screens when you first put the batteries in:
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The trans rights panic is purely based on elite signaling. It is entirely inorganic, driven by media and wealthy interests. It's nonsense to say that elites cannot sway opinions, and the popularists are advocating for unilateral disarmament because they like Trump and want him to win.
I'm not an expert, but I have read a fair amount of polisci research for a layperson, and there is just absolutely no justification for the argument that "elites cannot sway opinion." Nobody thinks that. It's completely wrong. 1
February 14, 2026 at 10:02 PM
The trans rights panic is purely based on elite signaling. It is entirely inorganic, driven by media and wealthy interests. It's nonsense to say that elites cannot sway opinions, and the popularists are advocating for unilateral disarmament because they like Trump and want him to win.
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Was reminiscing about high school and started wondering why I was never cast in any girl roles back when I did theater, and then realized that I forgot that I was going to school as a boy at the time and that I transitioned.
February 14, 2026 at 10:30 PM
Was reminiscing about high school and started wondering why I was never cast in any girl roles back when I did theater, and then realized that I forgot that I was going to school as a boy at the time and that I transitioned.
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Just going to point out again that our arbitrary political rules permit Republicans to attack urban areas with impunity but strictly forbid the faintest whiff of condescension toward rural areas by Democrats
“The first thing I thought was, ‘What is she talking about?’” said Bryan Fish, the vice mayor of Culver City, whom everyone calls Bubba but doesn’t look like someone whom everyone calls Bubba. “The only crime here,” he added, “is like the $18 strawberry at Erewhon.”
culver city, crime haven! lmaooo
culver city, crime haven! lmaooo
Bondi Suggests Culver City Has a Crime Problem. Culver City Has a Problem With That.
www.nytimes.com
February 14, 2026 at 10:37 PM
Just going to point out again that our arbitrary political rules permit Republicans to attack urban areas with impunity but strictly forbid the faintest whiff of condescension toward rural areas by Democrats
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The problem is that some on the left know one fact about antisemitism, which is that “anti-zionism is not antisemitism.”
This is like if the only thing you knew about racism was “it’s not racist to criticize Liberia.”
It is true in most cases but you’re not actually anti-racist if you stop there
This is like if the only thing you knew about racism was “it’s not racist to criticize Liberia.”
It is true in most cases but you’re not actually anti-racist if you stop there
Pointing out antisemitism on the left is one of the most annoying experiences one can have on Bluesky, not only do you get actual antisemites in your replies but also other leftists who are reflexively defensive and who bristle at the slightest critique.
February 11, 2026 at 1:07 PM
The problem is that some on the left know one fact about antisemitism, which is that “anti-zionism is not antisemitism.”
This is like if the only thing you knew about racism was “it’s not racist to criticize Liberia.”
It is true in most cases but you’re not actually anti-racist if you stop there
This is like if the only thing you knew about racism was “it’s not racist to criticize Liberia.”
It is true in most cases but you’re not actually anti-racist if you stop there
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@moderation.bsky.app this is not what I joined Bluesky for. Please explain how this account violated the rules without ever posting.
palestinian journalist posting on twitter that his bluesky account was immediately taken down purely because he was in gaza. all palestinian accounts are assumed to be spam.
![Tamer Nahed 𓂆🇵🇸
@Tamer_Alnoaizy
BlueSky is one of the worst platforms I have ever dealt with. Within seconds of creating a second account, after my first one was shut down just two days after it was created, my account was closed again. This happened despite the fact that I hadn’t posted anything or followed anyone. I was only in the process of adding a profile photo, yet I received an email claiming that my account was “spam” and that it was “causing harm.” What kind of logic is this?
The painful truth is that the account was shut down the moment it became clear it was created from inside Gaza. It seems we are no longer allowed to write or speak about what is happening to us here. They are not afraid of content itself, but of our voices and the reality we carry with us.
Millions are spent to silence these voices and to erase the truth. I am exhausted by this platform and by how our photos and videos, which document real suffering, are treated as “violations of community standards,” as if pain itself has become a crime.
What is happening is not simple moderation or policy enforcement. It is an attempt to erase our existence and bury the truth. And honestly, this is shameful and unbearably painful.
[the original poster has included two screenshots showing the email from bluesky admin informing him that his account has been taken down for being 'spammy, inauthentic or disruptive to users'. it's the standard boilerplate you get when they take moderation action.]
2:45 PM · Feb 10, 2026
https://twitter.com/Tamer_Alnoaizy/status/2021234178461704409](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2l6seozmjsqc4kfukjejat77/bafkreiga45xjdal6lfcqt2zmambaymeoelxafbrlt7fi2nmoahpbqj3cja@jpeg)
February 12, 2026 at 12:28 PM
@moderation.bsky.app this is not what I joined Bluesky for. Please explain how this account violated the rules without ever posting.
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once again i think people in anglosphere north america and western europe often forget that dedicated gaming consoles and heavy duty gaming pcs are comparatively rarer in asia (outside japan) where mobile phones as gaming platforms dominate
February 14, 2026 at 6:44 PM
once again i think people in anglosphere north america and western europe often forget that dedicated gaming consoles and heavy duty gaming pcs are comparatively rarer in asia (outside japan) where mobile phones as gaming platforms dominate
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This is blackout poetry to me
February 14, 2026 at 2:26 PM
This is blackout poetry to me
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I don't really talk about this but the fact that I can currently eat because I'm making enough money because of my writing is a) a bit of a fluke and I feel fortunate it happened, because b) I become unhirable pretty much right after I transitioned, which makes my situation quite precarious.
there is an employment crisis among trans women and there always has been, but good luck getting people to see it
Still living this life after almost 8 months. A professional I know who works almost exclusively with trans people said almost all of them are unemployed.
February 14, 2026 at 8:21 PM
I don't really talk about this but the fact that I can currently eat because I'm making enough money because of my writing is a) a bit of a fluke and I feel fortunate it happened, because b) I become unhirable pretty much right after I transitioned, which makes my situation quite precarious.
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Ideal Shipping Dynamic #137 –
Character A: Okay, I'm not, like, Looking For A Relationship, but should the opportunity arise I would 100% suck your dick clean off your body. Just putting that out there.
Character B: Hey, that cloud looks like a rabbit.
Character A: Okay, I'm not, like, Looking For A Relationship, but should the opportunity arise I would 100% suck your dick clean off your body. Just putting that out there.
Character B: Hey, that cloud looks like a rabbit.
February 14, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Ideal Shipping Dynamic #137 –
Character A: Okay, I'm not, like, Looking For A Relationship, but should the opportunity arise I would 100% suck your dick clean off your body. Just putting that out there.
Character B: Hey, that cloud looks like a rabbit.
Character A: Okay, I'm not, like, Looking For A Relationship, but should the opportunity arise I would 100% suck your dick clean off your body. Just putting that out there.
Character B: Hey, that cloud looks like a rabbit.
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this is still relevant. it's not safe to be friends with people who have made it clear they want you dead. www.everythingishorrible.net/p/it-may-not...
February 14, 2026 at 5:27 PM
this is still relevant. it's not safe to be friends with people who have made it clear they want you dead. www.everythingishorrible.net/p/it-may-not...
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men run for office and lose all the time. yet no one concludes that men can't win.
women run for office and win all the time. yet nobody concludes that only women can win.
why is that? www.everythingishorrible.net/p/democrats-...
women run for office and win all the time. yet nobody concludes that only women can win.
why is that? www.everythingishorrible.net/p/democrats-...
Democrats Should Still Nominate Women for President
Has nominating men really turned out that well?
www.everythingishorrible.net
February 14, 2026 at 6:31 AM
men run for office and lose all the time. yet no one concludes that men can't win.
women run for office and win all the time. yet nobody concludes that only women can win.
why is that? www.everythingishorrible.net/p/democrats-...
women run for office and win all the time. yet nobody concludes that only women can win.
why is that? www.everythingishorrible.net/p/democrats-...
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This is LITERALLY just taking Mike Johnson’s lie and presenting it as fact.
Calling the requirement for a judicial warrant before entering a person’s home one of the Democrats’ “new restrictions on federal immigration agents” crosses the line into outright falsehood. It’s in the Bill of Rights! A rule as old as the republic.
February 14, 2026 at 6:26 AM
This is LITERALLY just taking Mike Johnson’s lie and presenting it as fact.
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Saw a quote from someone saying that 'Order is preferable to chaos' and that's all the excuse I need to ramble about the Discordian conception of chaos, which posits that order, itself, is merely a subset of chaos.
Buckle up, it's a wild ride but worthwhile I think.
Buckle up, it's a wild ride but worthwhile I think.
January 1, 2026 at 3:28 PM
Saw a quote from someone saying that 'Order is preferable to chaos' and that's all the excuse I need to ramble about the Discordian conception of chaos, which posits that order, itself, is merely a subset of chaos.
Buckle up, it's a wild ride but worthwhile I think.
Buckle up, it's a wild ride but worthwhile I think.
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unfortunately computers do crimes very fast and we simply have no mechanisms or willingness to hold people accountable so all you have to do is make some very slight tweak so existing policing infrastructure doesn’t easily apply and any scheme will probably work for a very long time
February 14, 2026 at 7:19 AM
unfortunately computers do crimes very fast and we simply have no mechanisms or willingness to hold people accountable so all you have to do is make some very slight tweak so existing policing infrastructure doesn’t easily apply and any scheme will probably work for a very long time
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ok; ugh. I don't want my senator finding things to agree on rfk with.
When asked “what’s something you agree with Donald Trump on,” Kelly said she liked the “wellness programs” of RFK, and Stratton said “I don’t agree with Donald Trump on anything and I’m not going to Washington to find things to agree with him.” That is the whole race in a nutshell imo.
February 14, 2026 at 7:46 AM
ok; ugh. I don't want my senator finding things to agree on rfk with.
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Yes! Rather than chasing Trump's policies, they should chase his strategy of shaping public perception.
February 13, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Yes! Rather than chasing Trump's policies, they should chase his strategy of shaping public perception.
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Update: the judge in the Stanford case has declared a mistrial, with jurors "hopelessly deadlocked" on both felony counts – a big embarrassment for the Santa Clara DA, who has already said he'll retry the case.
The most serious charges against pro-Palestine student protestors in the country have come from a Democratic DA in a blue state. In San Francisco & San Jose, prosecutors are using *felony conspiracy* charges to go after activists who aren't accused of any violence boltsmag.org/stanford-san...
In Bay Area, Felony Charges Against Student Protesters Prompt Free Speech Concerns - Bolts
German Gonzalez grew up about an hour south of Stanford University, in a dusty California farming town where the apples for Martinelli’s sparkling cider are juiced and packaged. In high... Read More
boltsmag.org
February 13, 2026 at 11:55 PM
Update: the judge in the Stanford case has declared a mistrial, with jurors "hopelessly deadlocked" on both felony counts – a big embarrassment for the Santa Clara DA, who has already said he'll retry the case.
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"you can go peacefully fuck yourself" kid is a legend
February 13, 2026 at 10:18 PM
"you can go peacefully fuck yourself" kid is a legend
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When I say I stand on business this what I mean.
February 13, 2026 at 8:55 PM
When I say I stand on business this what I mean.
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If you are someone who is not ready to burn down buildings to stop concentration camps, serving on a jury may well be a more important use of your voter registration than whether or what you fill out on a ballot.
Because it really does take all kinds.
Because it really does take all kinds.
February 13, 2026 at 11:00 PM
If you are someone who is not ready to burn down buildings to stop concentration camps, serving on a jury may well be a more important use of your voter registration than whether or what you fill out on a ballot.
Because it really does take all kinds.
Because it really does take all kinds.