Erik
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sjcaustenite.bsky.social
Erik
@sjcaustenite.bsky.social
230 followers 120 following 630 posts
American in Prague, podcaster, he/him, 🏳️‍🌈
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Reposted by Erik
Just stop clicking on this shit, I'm serious. People re-heat these "one weird trick so Trump can run again" stories bc people will skip over actual news to read them.
this is paywalled, but I suppose this is the moronic “he could be elected vice president and then the president could resign” theory. I am mad at every lib law professor who has entertained this Rube-Goldberg bullshit
There is a legal case for a third term—but it is strewn with obstacles
Reposted by Erik
I know there's a lot going on, but it's crazy that Mike Johnson is still refusing to swear in Rep-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who won her election on Sept. 23.

He could have done this at any time, even amid the government shutdown. But he won't.

Unprecedented.
Reposted by Erik
Johnson has been giving all these bogus claims about why he "can't" swear Grijalva in, like he couldn't do it until her election results were certified (false -- there was no dispute in her election), couldn't do it with the House in recess (false) and now, can't do it in a shutdown (false).
Recently, we have seen the results of 40+ years of hard work organizing, fighting at every level, and investing for tomorrow by the US right wing.

The Democratics still think they can beat that by adjusting their messaging and finding the right slogan.

It's bringing a PowerPoint to a gunfight.
Reposted by Erik
My take on this communication manifesto written by policy wonks is that policy wonks think people vote on policy. If 2024 taught us anything it should be that they absolutely do not.
They can’t even get through 5 bullet points without hedging: “Say you’re going to raise taxes on the wealthy but not in a socialist way!” Promise to help with cost of living but not in a free-healthcare way!

This agenda seems more interested in what *not* to do rather than laying out a clear vision
In other news, the Democratic Party will likely decide to stand for absolutely nothing if it means some extremely old people can cling to their elected offices.

At a certain point, the Democratic Party will have to be very clear about what it stands *for* that isn't GOP-lite
Li'l scoop at Semafor: A new report endorsed by Biden's former campaign manager, former DCCC chair Cheri Bustos, and other centrist Dems blames the party's broken brand on post-2012 left-wing language and ideas - not just "the groups" but adopted by whole party www.semafor.com/article/10/2...
Left-wing ideas have wrecked Democrats’ brand, new report warns
The center-left group Welcome relied on polling of hundreds of thousands of voters over six months for its findings, shared first with Semafor.
www.semafor.com
Reposted by Erik
Easy one: People don’t have pictures of relatives who were murdered by demons.
Every time you see or hear a right winger say anything remember this: they are frequently profoundly stupid and yet filled with the confidence that only talentless white men can have.
AOC is a federal official who has had over 6 years of national attention.

Why on Earth is she the benchmark for an NYC mayoral candidate most people have no reason to have any opinion on?

I mean, we all *know* why the comparison is being made -- but I wish the cowards would just admit it.
Bill Clinton blushed when he read this.

Your job as a politician is to articulate your decisions and the reasoning that motivates them.

This man thinks so little of the voters he tries to trick them with synonyms.
Asked why he's refused to endorse Mamdani, Hakeem Jeffries replies: "I have not refused to endorse; I have refused to articulate my position"
Reposted by Erik
The way Dems treat Mamdani versus Platner... hm
"Not one senator said Platner’s tattoo or other controversies were disqualifying, and several acknowledged he’s bringing excitement to a party that has been struggling in the political wilderness since President Donald Trump took back power in January."

da fuc is wrong with these people
Senate Democrats tread lightly on Maine primary as new poll shows Graham Platner leading Janet Mills
Despite recent controversies, Platner has a huge lead in a recent poll and is drawing big crowds, while the two-term governor Mills is counting on her experience and achievements.
www.nbcnews.com
I often think about my rich ex's grandfather. Bought a small peninsula for a family compound & wanted a small lighthouse at the end. Wasn't given permission by authorities. Did it anyway. He just factored the fines into the building costs.

Laws only constrain if people care about the consequences.
Reposted by Erik
Struck me at the end of Trump's first term, post-impeachment, that even when he got bipartisan support (like for CARES) he didn't invite Dems to the bill signing.

I think about this bc there's a kneejerk political media instinct to ask Dems how they'll unify the country and it's getting very silly.
Reposted by Erik
The Democratic primary in this race will be held fully eight months from now in June 2026, there are nine active Democratic candidates, and there could be more! Even the filing deadline is still months away (March 15, I believe). I don’t get the PSA crew adopting a bunker mentality this early.
“Let him among you who is without a Nazi tattoo cast the first stone.” -The Bible
Graham Platner is younger than me. He was born in 1984.

He was supposedly 23 years old when he got the "regrettable" Nazi tattoo, allegedly in Croatia in 2007.

I don't know that his "innocent" explanation makes sense in the age of Google Image Search and the almost 20 years since.
Reposted by Erik
Last week's This Had Oscar Buzz we covered USED PEOPLE, a 1992 movie that you probably have never seen or even heard of, but which nonetheless features Marcia Gay Harden dressed up as Marilyn Monroe, Bonnie Parker, Mrs. Robinson, and Barbra Streisand. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Reposted by Erik
Pro-regime media is funded by your wordle addiction. If you or someone you know is struggling with a NYT subscription please show them video games
New NYT euphemism just dropped
Reposted by Erik
For God’s sake let us sit upon the ground
And tell sad stories of the death of kings
Reposted by Erik
The curry has been part of British cuisine for over 250 years: Hannah Glasse (18th century Mary Berry) had a curry recipe in her cookbook The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy.

And British curry houses first opened in the early 19th cent; chippies in the mid-19th.

ARGH.
The British Right are just in total freefall into savagery at this point
Reposted by Erik
The White House and other government entities are joining Bluesky as I type. That will bring a new group to bsky that many have not dealt w before. Don't engage, just block their asses. Give them no oxygen, starve them out.
💙✌🏻💙
They may arrive tomorrow
Reposted by Erik
I suspected this might be coming because of her recent retirement... I knew she'd never lay down the microphone unless forced to.

RIP to a giant of journalism, to a Founding Mother of NPR, and to -- I am proud and humbled to say -- my friend.

www.npr.org/2025/10/16/1...
NPR 'founding mother' Susan Stamberg has died
Susan Stamberg, an original National Public Radio staffer who went on to become the first U.S. woman to anchor a nightly national news program, has died.
www.npr.org
Reposted by Erik
Ukrainians must be thrilled that Putin and Trump will meet in Budapest, the city where Russia signed a memorandum in 1994 promising not to attack Ukraine.
Personally, I think what this article -- which is from an independent contributor because Forbes is no longer an actual publication but is essentially Medium with a legacy -- argues most clearly is that "Business" was always a questionable university degree.
Wow. Just wow.

"Students pay premium prices for information that AI now delivers instantly and for free. A business student can ask ChatGPT to explain supply chain optimization or generate market analysis in seconds. The traditional lecture-and-test model faces its Blockbuster moment."
When Knowledge is Free, What are Professors For?
Higher Education Must Stop Competing with AI on Information and Start Teaching What Machines Can’t Do
www.forbes.com