Author | Lightnews

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 23h

CIA NCS selects for charisma

1

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 1d

I see the experiments to further embiggen Maine Coons are progressing

2

Reposted by Vlad Oligarchsky

Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️ @jgbollard.bsky.social · 1d

For 125 years, the preservation of the White House has functioned as an agreement between the influential and the powerful, with no accountability.

When Donald Trump demolished the East Wing, he showed once again how unconstrained the Presidency really is.

White House Architecture Was an Honor System. Trump Noticed.

For 125 years, informal norms constrained what a president could do to one of the nation’s most famous landmarks.

www.theatlantic.com

4 9 32

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 1d

Yoooooo congrats!

1

Reposted by Vlad Oligarchsky

Norm Charlatan @normcharlatan.bsky.social · 3d

Rooting not just for a Game 7 of the World Series, but another 18 inning game that goes so long on Saturday night that the clocks fall back at 2am before it’s ended and everyone gets tremendously confused about what time it is.

13 440 2.4K

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 1d

It's a doomed project. People generally dislike anything that increases their cognitive load, and a New American Ahnenpass is not something they're interested in signing up for

1 3

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 1d

I hadn't realized it was *parametric* insurance. Wow

1

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 1d

There is a strong desire in certain quarters to create an actual 'titular American ethnicity' that is explicitly "Anglo-Saxon/German mutt"

1 6

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 1d

I would assume that the British of the era, as well as other well-read Europeans, would be familiar with Liberia. Or, you know, the story of Exodus.

1 6

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 1d

There are truly tough cases, like all the fuckery the Belgians engagsged in with respect to Hutu and Tutsi identity. This...is not one of those cases

1 4

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 1d

As I was racking my brain to figure out "what nationality could people possibly believe was invented by the British in the 19th century?" I immediately dismissed the one that a lot of academics are busy trying to 'deconstruct' because it's too preposterous, but whelp

2 7

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 1d

Oh. OH

2 4

Reposted by Vlad Oligarchsky

CJ Fogler @cjzero.bsky.social · 1d

when the manager is not actually going to do anything but he's letting you vent

1 29 220

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 1d

Magyar?

1

Reposted by Vlad Oligarchsky

It's The Weekend 😌 @craigweekend.bsky.social · 1d

Ladies and gentlemen... the weekend. (also: you are important and are not alone 🧡)

7 170 550

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 1d

1 15

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 1d

Most of the new buildings are in Navy Yard and in the SE quadrant. Aside from The Wharf (which really doesn't have all the much residential) and a couple of new buildings like Camden South, there's not any new residential in SW - certainly far less than on the east side of South Cap

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 1d

This is the most incredible lore, I am fucking cackling over here

1 1

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 1d

What does Georgetown have to do with anything?

1

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 1d

Most of them don't live in DC period. Navy Yard is only slightly less overwhelmingly Dem than the rest of central (between the Park and the River) DV

1

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 2d

Yeah, like, I'm sorry that LBJ finds people like me "tiresome" but I've lived here for most of my life and I don't want to be "replaced," whatever that means (where am I supposed to go, exactly?)

1

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 2d

Both of those were mainstream Democratic positions in 2008, though. And he certainly did not campaign on them!

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 2d

Obama didn't really deviate from the party median in any meaningful way, he was more of an "authenticity as an affect" politician, but also a generational talent in that regard. Ditto Reagan.

1 1

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 2d

(perceived) authenticity is one of the strongest vibes a politician can have & the deviations from the party line are a way of signaling - and generating headlines about - one's authenticity. "He's his own man, "he calls 'em like he sees 'em" etc

Electorates dominated by 1 party discourage this tho

1 3

Vlad Oligarchsky @opulenceihazit.bsky.social · 2d

Yeah, so I'm a big believer in "all politics is vibes" and "all ideology is vibes" (some exceptions apply, like when you're talking about institutions looking out for their bottom line). The thing with McCain and his maverick vibes is that the man was a POW who survived torture. Massive vibes.

2 2