@soundsilenttide.bsky.social
Here mostly to find neat things. No affiliation with the House of Hohenzollern
TSA is mostly security theater. To the extent it is not theater, those functions would be better carried out by local airport authorities.
February 6, 2026 at 1:36 AM
TSA is mostly security theater. To the extent it is not theater, those functions would be better carried out by local airport authorities.
Not TSA. That agency getting killed by the fallout of ICE/CBP would be a great bonus.
February 5, 2026 at 10:47 PM
Not TSA. That agency getting killed by the fallout of ICE/CBP would be a great bonus.
I must have been around 10 when I first heard this, and I have never forgotten it.
February 5, 2026 at 4:36 AM
I must have been around 10 when I first heard this, and I have never forgotten it.
Imagine you are a Dem governor of a state that they try to pull this in. They deploy several hundred goons at multiple polling stations. Someone goes to court and gets an emergency court order mandating removal of the goons. What do you do?
February 5, 2026 at 3:04 AM
Imagine you are a Dem governor of a state that they try to pull this in. They deploy several hundred goons at multiple polling stations. Someone goes to court and gets an emergency court order mandating removal of the goons. What do you do?
I said this elsewhere, but what I think it boils down to is that any deployment of goons that is of sufficient scale to actually change election results is going to be tantamount to starting a civil war. Which they could do. But I think they will lose such a conflict
February 5, 2026 at 2:06 AM
I said this elsewhere, but what I think it boils down to is that any deployment of goons that is of sufficient scale to actually change election results is going to be tantamount to starting a civil war. Which they could do. But I think they will lose such a conflict
Didn't work in the Civil Rights Era, isn't working in MN. They might try but all evidence points to an attempt causing a backlash
February 4, 2026 at 8:26 PM
Didn't work in the Civil Rights Era, isn't working in MN. They might try but all evidence points to an attempt causing a backlash
polling station to actually do anything. That limits you to the low hundreds of locations you can deploy to at most. Some districts probably have more than that.
February 4, 2026 at 8:20 PM
polling station to actually do anything. That limits you to the low hundreds of locations you can deploy to at most. Some districts probably have more than that.
Because there are nowhere near enough thugs to affect things nationally. There are hundreds of thousands of polling locations across the country. They have fewer than 10,000 armed guys. It can't work. They can't deploy in groups fewer than 5, but realistically you would need dozens at a single
February 4, 2026 at 8:20 PM
Because there are nowhere near enough thugs to affect things nationally. There are hundreds of thousands of polling locations across the country. They have fewer than 10,000 armed guys. It can't work. They can't deploy in groups fewer than 5, but realistically you would need dozens at a single
these people are supposed to be.
February 1, 2026 at 6:00 PM
these people are supposed to be.
I read the rest of it. This feels typical of a NYT moral panic piece. Find a lot of people (never explain how these people were found), document troubling opinions, and provide almost no overall picture to put things into context. I cannot tell from the contents of this article how representative
February 1, 2026 at 6:00 PM
I read the rest of it. This feels typical of a NYT moral panic piece. Find a lot of people (never explain how these people were found), document troubling opinions, and provide almost no overall picture to put things into context. I cannot tell from the contents of this article how representative
In LOTR the armies are explicitly a sideshow. The whole point is the moral quest of destroying the ring; it's quite literally a story of personal perseverance and small virtues over the temptation of power. That's also why it is so galling that the tech bros cite it as justification
January 27, 2026 at 2:57 PM
In LOTR the armies are explicitly a sideshow. The whole point is the moral quest of destroying the ring; it's quite literally a story of personal perseverance and small virtues over the temptation of power. That's also why it is so galling that the tech bros cite it as justification
Sounds rough. I hope you are able to find at least a little bit of time solely for yourself on the trip.
January 27, 2026 at 1:44 AM
Sounds rough. I hope you are able to find at least a little bit of time solely for yourself on the trip.
Power leaves them. Someone else will be around and will be nominating cabinet officials and agency heads. And giving orders to the joint chiefs.
But yeah, some might need to be dragged out of the White House
But yeah, some might need to be dragged out of the White House
January 26, 2026 at 3:18 AM
Power leaves them. Someone else will be around and will be nominating cabinet officials and agency heads. And giving orders to the joint chiefs.
But yeah, some might need to be dragged out of the White House
But yeah, some might need to be dragged out of the White House
You have to remember Greg, these guys built an entire machine to enable them to constantly and exclusively huff their own farts like the dentist in Little Shop of Horrors. They have done this so long it has been years since they breathed air without sulfur.
January 26, 2026 at 2:06 AM
You have to remember Greg, these guys built an entire machine to enable them to constantly and exclusively huff their own farts like the dentist in Little Shop of Horrors. They have done this so long it has been years since they breathed air without sulfur.
Someone is smart enough to know that it will go badly for them. They already have their most loyal thugs deployed. Deploying active military will probably be less reliable for what they are actually trying to do.
January 25, 2026 at 8:57 PM
Someone is smart enough to know that it will go badly for them. They already have their most loyal thugs deployed. Deploying active military will probably be less reliable for what they are actually trying to do.
My view of the 2nd Amendment after yesterday:
a close up of a person holding a ring that says ' aragorn '
Alt: The One Ring from Lord of the Rings
media.tenor.com
January 25, 2026 at 7:06 PM
My view of the 2nd Amendment after yesterday:
If I conclude that the 2nd Amendment is a "Heads you lose, Tails I win" game, you think it's a weird choice for me to oppose the whole business and focus on more effective resistance?
January 25, 2026 at 6:56 PM
If I conclude that the 2nd Amendment is a "Heads you lose, Tails I win" game, you think it's a weird choice for me to oppose the whole business and focus on more effective resistance?
The 2nd Amendment is The One Ring of the US Constitution. It can only be used to evil ends
January 25, 2026 at 6:34 PM
The 2nd Amendment is The One Ring of the US Constitution. It can only be used to evil ends
If one of us carries, it's an excuse to murder us. So I think it offers no practical benefit to us. We all know what would happen if someone shot an ICE agent, and it would happen even if the shooting was 100% justified. I don't want more of us getting killed to no good end.
January 25, 2026 at 6:16 PM
If one of us carries, it's an excuse to murder us. So I think it offers no practical benefit to us. We all know what would happen if someone shot an ICE agent, and it would happen even if the shooting was 100% justified. I don't want more of us getting killed to no good end.
At every turn the right wing has embraced this terror campaign, and law enforcement is either powerless to stop it or is complicit. So my conclusion after years of observing this is the 2nd Amendment only works one way. It's an excuse for right wingers to terrorize the rest of us.
January 25, 2026 at 6:16 PM
At every turn the right wing has embraced this terror campaign, and law enforcement is either powerless to stop it or is complicit. So my conclusion after years of observing this is the 2nd Amendment only works one way. It's an excuse for right wingers to terrorize the rest of us.
and occupy legislatures. We had to watch Kyle Rittenhouse cross state lines to murder someone and the cops welcomed him, the right celebrated him. We've had to watch police do middle of the night no-knock raids on innocent people who try to defend themselves and die or are prosecuted for doing so.
January 25, 2026 at 6:16 PM
and occupy legislatures. We had to watch Kyle Rittenhouse cross state lines to murder someone and the cops welcomed him, the right celebrated him. We've had to watch police do middle of the night no-knock raids on innocent people who try to defend themselves and die or are prosecuted for doing so.
myth. The reality of the situation is we have had to watch children get slaughtered over and over again, and we have had to watch wackos like the Bundy's illegally occupy federal land and threaten armed violence against the government trying to enforce the law. We have had to watch armed guys storm
January 25, 2026 at 6:16 PM
myth. The reality of the situation is we have had to watch children get slaughtered over and over again, and we have had to watch wackos like the Bundy's illegally occupy federal land and threaten armed violence against the government trying to enforce the law. We have had to watch armed guys storm
Sorry, in still really fucking angry about yesterday, and one of the things that I am angry about is that for as long as I can remember, right wingers have be chanting that the 2nd Amendment is holy writ protecting against government tyranny. And yesterday just totally put the lie to that entire
January 25, 2026 at 6:16 PM
Sorry, in still really fucking angry about yesterday, and one of the things that I am angry about is that for as long as I can remember, right wingers have be chanting that the 2nd Amendment is holy writ protecting against government tyranny. And yesterday just totally put the lie to that entire
To put it bluntly I see protest \ legal observation as moving the ball forward in pushing out our authoritarian government. So it's worth the risks.
January 25, 2026 at 6:16 PM
To put it bluntly I see protest \ legal observation as moving the ball forward in pushing out our authoritarian government. So it's worth the risks.