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bolverk

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by bolverk

  1. Noted conservative David Brooks calling for a revolution (basically): What’s Happening Is Not Normal. America Needs an Uprising That Is Not Normal. In the beginning there was agony. Under the empires of old, the strong did what they willed and the weak suffered what they must. But over the centuries, people built the sinews of civilization: Constitutions to restrain power, international alliances to promote peace, legal systems to peacefully settle disputes, scientific institutions to cure disease, news outlets to advance public understanding, charitable organizations to ease suffering, businesses to build wealth and spread prosperity, and universities to preserve, transmit and advance the glories of our way of life. These institutions make our lives sweet, loving and creative, rather than nasty, brutish and short. Trumpism is threatening all of that. It is primarily about the acquisition of power β€” power for its own sake. It is a multifront assault to make the earth a playground for ruthless men, so of course any institutions that might restrain power must be weakened or destroyed. Trumpism is about ego, appetite and acquisitiveness and is driven by a primal aversion to the higher elements of the human spirit β€” learning, compassion, scientific wonder, the pursuit of justice. So far, we have treated the various assaults of President Trump and the acolytes in his administration as a series of different attacks. In one lane they are going after law firms. In another they savaged U.S.A.I.D. In another they’re attacking our universities. On yet another front they’re undermining NATO and on another they’re upending global trade. But that’s the wrong way to think about it. These are not separate battles. This is a single effort to undo the parts of the civilizational order that might restrain Trump’s acquisition of power. And it will take a concerted response to beat it back. So far, each sector Trump has assaulted has responded independently β€” the law firms seek to protect themselves, the universities, separately, try to do the same. Yes, a group of firms banded together in support of the firm Perkins Coie, but in other cases it’s individual law firms trying to secure their separate peace with Trump. Yes, Harvard eventually drew a line in the sand, but Columbia cut a deal. This is a disastrous strategy that ensures that Trump will trample on one victim after another. He divides and conquers. Slowly, many of us are realizing that we need to band together. But even these efforts are insular and fragmented. Several members of the Big Ten conference are working on forming an alliance to defend academic freedom. Good. But that would be 18 schools out of roughly 4,000 degree-granting American colleges and universities. So far, the only real hint of something larger β€” a mass countermovement β€” has been the rallies led by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But this too is an ineffective way to respond to Trump; those partisan rallies make this fight seem like a normal contest between Democrats and Republicans. What is happening now is not normal politics. We’re seeing an assault on the fundamental institutions of our civic life, things we should all swear loyalty to β€” Democrat, independent or Republican. It’s time for a comprehensive national civic uprising. It’s time for Americans in universities, law, business, nonprofits and the scientific community, and civil servants and beyond to form one coordinated mass movement. Trump is about power. The only way he’s going to be stopped is if he’s confronted by some movement that possesses rival power. Peoples throughout history have done exactly this when confronted by an authoritarian assault. In their book, β€œWhy Civil Resistance Works,” Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan looked at hundreds of nonviolent uprisings. These movements used many different tools at their disposal β€” lawsuits, mass rallies, strikes, work slowdowns, boycotts and other forms of noncooperation and resistance. These movements began small and built up. They developed clear messages that appealed to a variety of groups. They shifted the narrative so the authoritarians were no longer on permanent offense. Sometimes they used nonviolent means to provoke the regime into taking violent action, which shocks the nation, undercuts the regime’s authority and further strengthens the movement. (Think of the civil rights movement at Selma.) Right now, Trumpism is dividing civil society; if done right, the civic uprising can begin to divide the forces of Trumpism. Chenoweth and Stephan emphasize that this takes coordination. There doesn’t always have to be one charismatic leader, but there does have to be one backbone organization, one coordinating body that does the work of coalition building. In his book β€œUpheaval,” Jared Diamond looked at countries that endured crises and recovered. He points out that the nations that recover don’t catastrophize β€” they don’t say everything is screwed up and we need to burn it all down. They take a careful inventory of what is working well and what is working poorly. Leaders assume responsibility for their own share of society’s problems. This struck me as essential advice for Americans today. We live in a country with catastrophically low levels of institutional trust. University presidents, big law firms, media organizations and corporate executives face a wall of skepticism and cynicism. If they are going to participate in a mass civic uprising against Trump, they have to show the rest of the country that they understand the establishment sins that gave rise to Trump in the first place. They have to show that they are democratically seeking to reform their institutions. This is not just defending the establishment; it’s moving somewhere new. [NOTE: This is a point that Buttigieg has been making in the last couple of weeks. There's no rebuilding what will have been lost if/once this is all over. We're going to have to build something new to replace some of the shit that kinda didn't work anymore for everyone.] Let’s take the universities. I’ve been privileged to teach at American universities off and on for nearly 30 years and I get to visit a dozen or two others every year. These are the crown jewels of American life. They are hubs of scientific and entrepreneurial innovation. In a million ways, the scholars at universities help us understand ourselves and our world. I have seen it over and over: A kid comes on campus as a freshman, inquisitive but unformed. By senior year, there is something impressive about her. She is awakened, cultured, a critical thinker. The universities have performed their magic once again. People flock from all over the world to admire our universities. But like all institutions, they have their flaws. Many have allowed themselves to become shrouded in a stifling progressivism that tells half the country: Your voices don’t matter. Through admissions policies that favor rich kids, the elite universities have contributed to a diploma divide. If the same affluent families come out on top generation after generation, then no one should be surprised if the losers flip over the table. In other words, a civic uprising has to have a short-term vision and a long-term vision. Short term: Stop Trump. Foil his efforts. Pile on the lawsuits. Turn some of his followers against him. The second is a long-term vision of a fairer society that is not just hard on Trump, but hard on the causes of Trumpism β€” one that offers a positive vision. Whether it’s the universities, the immigration system or the global economy, we can’t go back to the status quo that prevailed when Trump first rode down the escalator. I’m really not a movement guy. I don’t naturally march in demonstrations or attend rallies that I’m not covering as a journalist. But this is what America needs right now. Trump is shackling the greatest institutions in American life. We have nothing to lose but our chains.
  2. I probably should have worded it more precisely or with more context to mean the "one person chosen as a member of this Cabinet," which still would’ve been wrong, of course, because here we are. It's not like I expected him to be some savior of liberal democracy. But, yeah, you allude to him turning his back on Ukraine, and I had his previously strong support for them in mind when I typed that up. I was just surprised by how really objectively awful his quick embrace of authoritarianism would be. Mea culpa.
  3. Wordle 1,399 4/6 β¬›β¬›β¬›β¬›πŸŸ© πŸŸ¨β¬›πŸŸ¨β¬›πŸŸ© β¬›β¬›πŸŸ©πŸŸ©πŸŸ© 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #677 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 πŸŸͺπŸŸͺπŸŸͺπŸŸͺ 🟦🟦🟦🟦 πŸ™‚ Daily Quordle 1180 5️⃣6️⃣ 7️⃣4️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩 🟩🟨⬜⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟩⬜🟨⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜ 🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜🟨🟩🟩⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
  4. Looks like they let the guy out. I don't think the regime was ready to fight this one yet.
  5. No worries, investors. The Emoluments Clause of the US Constitution should put a stop to any corruption by the Executive.
  6. It kind of looks like the Pentagon at an angle and from above.
  7. Gotta wait and see if one of the victims was a white teenager, stabbed by a Black kid at a track meet, first. If so, sit back and watch it grow to 18 pages. That is the *only* injustice in America worthy of passionate discussion, happening in the news these days.
  8. Two shooters, according to that link. One dead; one in custody.
  9. In normal times, I’d recommend Canada as a safe and easy choice, but right now, I’d start looking at options across the Pond due to the whole 51st state thing.
  10. Oh, great. Now, I'm a race traitor to boot. This week just keeps getting better.
  11. This hits too close to home.
  12. Canary Mission is an anonymously-run doxing[1] website established in 2014 that publishes the personal information of students, professors, and organizations that it describes as anti-Israel or antisemitic, focusing primarily on people at North American universities.[2][3][4] Critics have described it as weaponizing the accusation of antisemitism in order to silence critique of Israel.[1] Canary Mission's published materials have been described as a blacklist.[5][6] Profiles are publicly-available online and intended for wide use, and Canary Mission may actively send them to employers.[7] Known users of the profiles include Israeli intelligence organizations Ministry of Strategic Affairs[1][8][9] and Shin Bet,[1] which interrogate and deny entry to American citizens.[9][10][11] In March 2025, multiple foreign students with Canary Mission profiles were detained by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.[12] ***** Canary Mission's work toward silencing critique of Israel is controversial.[5][13][6] Its tactics have been compared to McCarthyism[14][4] and the makeup and reliability of profiles have been questioned. Canary Mission does not publish information about who operates or funds it.[1][5][13][6] In 2018, The Intercept reported that the website was adding students to its lists solely following their participation in Students for Justice in Palestine activities. They also reported that Canary Mission perfectly articulated its vision and strategy in its April 2015 debut video. The two-minute clip features images of Jews with yellow stars on their clothes, followed by images of hijab-clad women waving Palestinian flags. The video’s female narrator closes by saying, "It is your duty to ensure that today’s radicals are not tomorrow’s employees."[5] Although Canary Mission's website states that it is a nonprofit organization, no organization with the name Canary Mission is registered with the IRS. While Canary Mission's website provides a way to donate to the organization via debit or credit card, there is no public record of Canary Mission's sponsors or donors.[3][26] Multiple pro-Israel organizations have denied having any affiliation with Canary Mission.[11]
  13. Welp. There goes the neighborhood.
  14. Yeah, folks around here have him in real life at tailgates. If anyone knows his family, they need to let them know he's exhibiting signs of a complete psychotic break.
  15. I have a feeling all these loyal Republican Cubans will be in for a nasty surprise when it's their turn.
  16. So long as it doesn't involve mayonnaise, sour cream, ranch dressing, or tartar sauce, I should be able to choke most of it down.
  17. I wasn't joking. We should all be acutely aware (if it hasn't already dawned on us) that everything happening right now has one purpose: to control the masses through fear and intimidation.
  18. Okay, so cool. I "aided and abetted" a terrorist when I called my congressman to bitch about the lack of due process for this dude and foolishly gave them my name. Good to know.
  19. Rubio is the ONE guy I didn't expect to go full-on fascist with thos regime, bit he's really taken to it with aplomb.
  20. Notable quotes: All three companies were founded by entrepreneurs who have been major political supporters of Trump. Musk has donated more than a quarter of a billion dollars to help elect Trump, and now serves as a special adviser to the president working to cut government spending through his Department of Government Efficiency. ***** One of the sources familiar with the talks described them as "a departure from the usual acquisition process. There's an attitude that the national security and defense community has to be sensitive and deferential to Elon Musk because of his role in the government." ***** In an unusual twist, SpaceX has proposed setting up its role in Golden Dome as a "subscription service" in which the government would pay for access to the technology, rather than own the system outright. The subscription model, which has not been previously reported, could skirt some Pentagon procurement protocols allowing the system to be rolled out faster, the two sources said. While the approach would not violate any rules, the government may then be locked into a subscription and lose control over its ongoing development and pricing, they added. We the People, wouldn't actually own this weapons system flying around above us. So, what happens if we decide to cancel our subscription, and are we sure they won't target us again?
  21. "Missed it by that much" applies to all three games. Wordle 1,398 4/6 πŸŸ©β¬›β¬›πŸŸ¨β¬› πŸŸ©πŸŸ©πŸŸ©β¬›β¬› πŸŸ©πŸŸ©πŸŸ©πŸŸ©β¬› Missed a 50/50 shot here. 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #676 🟨🟨🟦🟨 Fell for it. Should've scanned 3 seconds longer. 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 πŸŸͺπŸŸͺπŸŸͺπŸŸͺ πŸ™‚ Daily Quordle 1179 4️⃣5️⃣ 8️⃣6️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ 🟩⬜🟨⬜🟨 ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨 ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩 ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨 ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨 🟩⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ 🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩⬜🟩🟩⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ << Missed hitting my solve-in-seven-guesses goal. 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
  22. I dunno. To me, that was a part of the aspect of the writing for his character I enjoyed. Within one context, he’s like an infallible robot, precisely reciting all the necessary protocols for saving/repairing the biological aspects of human existence. Within another, he’s just a guy trying to figure out how to cope like a normal, imperfect person, prone to questionable judgment like any other mortal soul.
  23. Wordle 1,397 3/6 β¬›πŸŸ¨πŸŸ¨β¬›β¬› β¬›πŸŸ©πŸŸ¨πŸŸ©πŸŸ¨ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #675 🟨🟨🟨🟨 πŸŸͺπŸŸͺ🟩🟩 πŸŸͺπŸŸͺπŸŸͺπŸŸͺ 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 πŸ™‚ Daily Quordle 1178 4️⃣7️⃣ 5️⃣6️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ 🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨🟩⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜ 🟩⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
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