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Splainer (Material Conditions Acknowledger) @splainer.bsky.social · 1d

More generally, I turn the mic over to David Timoney and his thread:

David Timoney @fromarsetoelbow.bsky.social · Aug 31

We know from the Windrush scandal that there isn't a clear, dividing line between citizen and non-citizen. And that is the reason why ID cards would be the inevitable precursor to a policy of mass deportation. And its liberals who are pushing for that.
observer.co.uk/news/columni...

If Farage starts deporting ‘illegals’ en masse, the ‘lega...

In a climate of fear, everyone is at risk of mistreatment – just look at the States

observer.co.uk

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Splainer (Material Conditions Acknowledger) @splainer.bsky.social · 1d

Could hypothetically have helped, could make things worse. After all, another cause of the Windrush scandal was the government destroying identity records. When the government can effectively annul identity documentation at will, why would an ID card help (it's just one thing to annul)?

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ktb ⧉ @kevinbaker.bsky.social · Jul 21

this, i guess.

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Splainer (Material Conditions Acknowledger) @splainer.bsky.social · 1d

Just make up whatever you want.

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Splainer (Material Conditions Acknowledger) @splainer.bsky.social · 1d

Though the process is presumably mostly complete; I have a hard time imagining the following happening in an America where legacy, normal-right-wing, and fringe-right-wing media are essentially distinct.

bsky.app/profile/dave...

Dave Jorgenson @davejorgenson.bsky.social · 1d

The Post laid off seemingly the remaining of their liberal-leaning staff members on Opinion last Thursday, when some of them were observing Yom Kippur.

from @oliverdarcy.bsky.social for Status
status.news/p/washington-post-opinion-cuts-adam-oneal

Splainer (Material Conditions Acknowledger) @splainer.bsky.social · 1d

I see you're walking back the assessment of the Biden economy from "amazing" to the far-more-defensible "good" "(by most objective measures)". Recall that this whole argument started because you & Stancil got big mad that Semler & I dared to identify a metric by which the Biden economy was sub par.

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Splainer (Material Conditions Acknowledger) @splainer.bsky.social · 1d

An answer may be that in equilibrium the two forms would have merged, and the process of relaxation to equilibrium is slow enough that it hasn't had time to finish.

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Splainer (Material Conditions Acknowledger) @splainer.bsky.social · 1d

Your position is pretty clearly projection, certainly.

Best of luck maintaining your credibility as you flagrantly exaggerate how well the economy's doing whenever the Pres has a "(D)" after their name.

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Splainer (Material Conditions Acknowledger) @splainer.bsky.social · 1d

I'd answer your question but presumably you'd just speciously accuse me of bad faith again.

Anyway: "I didn't say bidens econ=amazing, byt talking about it that way gets you closer to your goal" sounds dangerously close to endorsing lying about the economy in the hope of scoring rhetorical points.

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priscilla page @priscillapage.bsky.social · 2d

guy got mad at me for sharing this comic on twitter back in 2017, but it's still one of my favorite exchanges. (he was not kidding, btw.)

my own tweet explaining "so in this Spanish horror comic, Frankenstein's monster knocks out a woman, and I was REALLY worried, but he just wanted to try on her clothes" with screenshot of a guy named Ziv quote-tweeting me to say "This is horrendously disturbing. I am disturbed. Honestly, Priscilla, you need to back up and look at your life and think to yourself, 'Self, is this really the person I want to be?' Posting frankensteinian erotica and shit?'" with my reply "this is exactly the person I want to be" and the followup "actually it's Frankenstein's MONSTER'S Erotica"

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Louis Römer @lromeranth.bsky.social · 2d

An excellent example of how national security / “terrorism” discourses get used to reframe “free speech” as an argument to silence those who are framed as threats.

Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 2d

Wow. Robert Jenrick doubles down by branding a black journalist's questions "ridiculous" and saying that the problem is not his comments, but "journalists like you who pop up and try to knock me down", adding that "this is the reason why terrorist attacks happen". ~AA

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Steven W. Thrasher is finishing The Overseer Class @thrasherxy.bsky.social · 2d

Pritzker is full of shit. He asked Illinois residents to take out their phones and record ICE…then his gestapo beat up and arrested people doing just that, including my friend.

Jerry Boyle @jecboyle.bsky.social · 2d

I was Pritzker’s biggest fanboy, so I realize it’s hard to accept his betrayal. It was hard for me, but I saw it with my own eyes.
Please stop gaslighting me about Pritzker. You weren’t there. I was. These are Pritzker’s brown shirts, working fist-in-glove with ICE/CBP.

Pritzker’s brown shirts attacking protesters.

Pritzker’s brown shirts. Dude in military gear is also Pritzker’s.

Note the Illinois State Police patch on the dude in military gear.

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Splainer (Material Conditions Acknowledger) @splainer.bsky.social · 2d

Hi JP, quick civil question for you regarding the "Other countries [that] use [digital ID] and it helps them": how many of those other countries had a Windrush scandal?

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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 2d

ICE is a hostile occupying force that is a danger to everyone.

Alt text: A man in camouflage clothing and a face covering sits inside a gray Jeep, pointing a weapon out of the open driver-side window. The gun is aimed directly at the camera. The man wears gloves and a dark cap, and his eyes are visible above the mask. The vehicle’s door and side mirror are wet with raindrops.

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Splainer (Material Conditions Acknowledger) @splainer.bsky.social · 2d

A look that I suspect is surprisingly common with cops and feds abusing their power. Not having, or not feeling they have, control over a situation produces panic, frenzy.

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Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 3d

Discord confirms that government IDs used for age-verification were compromised in a hack with a vendor.

Who could have predicted?

Oh, right.

Discord users suffer the first high-profile age-verification hack – and it's unlikely to be the last

Critics of age verification laws warned this was inevitable

www.tomsguide.com

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Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 7d

Bonica used to have to analyze data to show this kind of pattern, but now they just come out and say it

Adam Bonica
@adambonica.bsky.social
The DOGE firings have nothing to do with
"efficiency" or "cutting waste." They're a direct push to weaken federal agencies perceived as liberal. This was evident from the start, and now the data confirms it: targeted agencies overwhelmingly those seen as more left-leaning.
Empirical Evidence of Ideological Targeting in Federal Layoffs
Agencies seen as liberal are significantly more likely to face DOGE layoffs.
Layoff Status • DOGE Layoffs
No Layoffs
1,000,000 -
Dept. of Veterans Affairs
Agency Size (Number of Staff)
100,000-
HHS
Forest Service
EPA
Ran Health
10,000 -
USAID
Dept. of Education
CFPB
1Nuclear Securiy Administration (DOEP
1,000-l
Perceived Ideological Leaning
(< More Liberal | More Conservative →)
ALT
February 19, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Everybody can reply

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Splainer (Material Conditions Acknowledger) @splainer.bsky.social · 3d

#TomNicholsDoesNotUnderstandSelectionBias

Silvia Secchi @profsecchi.bsky.social · 4d

I don’t know who Mr. Nichols hangs around with, but people have absolutely been erasing their social media accounts and keeping their heads down. Green card and visa holders in the US already have plenty of evidence that their social media presence is being monitored and used by the administration.

Tom Nichols post reads:

If we were living under fascism, none of you would be here daring to post things. You'd be erasing your social media accounts and keeping your head down; you'd know that peacocking your faux-bravery on a network would expose you to being disappeared.
You have no idea what "fascism" really means

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Splainer (Material Conditions Acknowledger) @splainer.bsky.social · 3d

You're engaging in pure projection. I answered your question directly & forthrightly; that you're sneering at my direct, forthright answer indicates that _you_ asked _your_ question in bad faith. As does your "maybe ignoring reality is bad" sneer, coming after you called the Biden economy "amazing".

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Gespenst @ Home @callgespenst.bsky.social · 7d

I think the biggest difference between The Internet Then and The Internet Now is how Being Mad Online used to be the one thing you could never admit to, under pain of death, and now, Being Mad Online is a whole career path with a skill tree and an ever-expanding variety of debuffs.

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Garth Marenghi's Catbus @hayao.lol · 4d

Moderation here has been an ongoing embarrassment dating back to when the head of T&S banned a user who made a (perfectly legal) bot that caught them faving teen porn

my suggestion, take moderation power away from thin skinned, vindictive devs

nutsling @nutsling.bsky.social · 4d

a moderator deleted a post that pointed out the old pre-Singal approved ToS, and i called them a coward and suddenly this label appeared on my account. i’ve successfully appealed this three times, let’s see if @moderation.bsky.app wants to die on this hill

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nutsling @nutsling.bsky.social · 4d

a moderator deleted a post that pointed out the old pre-Singal approved ToS, and i called them a coward and suddenly this label appeared on my account. i’ve successfully appealed this three times, let’s see if @moderation.bsky.app wants to die on this hill

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👻 willem dAHHHfoe’s rib cage @djdynastyhandbag.bsky.social · 4d

pig with poop on balls

CNBC @cnbc.com · 4d

To shut down rude behavior instantly, try a simple yet powerful five-word response.

Use this 5-word phrase when someone is rude to you—it's like 'holding up a mirror,' says public speaking expert

When we encounter a rude person, our first instinct might be to fire back with a snarky comment. But that's not the right move, says public speaking expert John Bowe. Here's the perfect response to instantly shut down rude behavior.

cnb.cx

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David S. Moon @daimoon.bsky.social · 6d

The former director general of the domestic secret service chairing the panel that choses the head of the state religion is one of those fun “very normal” things that happens in the UK.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Mullally’s name was passed to Downing Street by the Crown Nominations Commission, chaired by Lord Evans of Weardale, a former director general of MI5, after months of deliberation by the 20-member panel, of which 17 are voting members and 12 must agree. After agreement, a name by tradition is given to the prime minister – in this case Keir Starmer – and then passed to the monarch.

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