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thomas @silentthomas.bsky.social · 7h

Packing to move, and ran across these guys. Always nice to see an old (robot overlord) friend courtesy of @rstevens.bsky.social

A wooden model of Red Robot with hands triumphantly raised in victory

A wooden model of Red Robot with arms down

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FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez @agomezfcc.bsky.social · Aug 7

A government-sanctioned "truth arbiter" will soon arrive at CBS. Their role will be to ensure that journalists do not criticize this Administration or express views that conflict with its agenda.

This is a betrayal—not just of journalistic independence, but of the public trust. 🧵

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Evan Bernick, a finite mode with a smol hooman and a lorg floof @evanbernick.bsky.social · Jul 21

Du Bois on what these assholes were really like

The Southern planter suffered, not simply for his eco- nomic mistakess-the psychological effect of slavery upon him was fatal. The mere fact that a man could be, under the law, the actual master of the mind and body of human beings had to have disastrous effects. It tended to inflate the ego of most planters beyond all reason; they became arrogant, strutting, quarrelsome kinglets; they issued commands; they made laws; they shouted their orders; they expected deference and self-abasement; they were choleric and easily insulted. Their "honor" be- came a vast and awful thing, requiring wide and insist- ent deference. Such of them as were inherently weak and inefficient were all the more easily angered, jealous and resentful; while the few who were superior, physically or mentally, conceived no bounds to their power and per- sonal prestige. As the world had long learned, nothing is so calculated to ruin human nature as absolute power
over human beings.

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thomas @silentthomas.bsky.social · Jun 22

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

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Molly Knight @mollyknight.bsky.social · Jun 22

If you were too young in 2003 here is what Bush told the American people:

1) The Iraq War won’t cost a lot of money
3) We won’t need a lot of troops
4) We’ll bring peace and freedom to Iraq
5) We’ll find WMDs
6) We’ll be welcomed as liberators
7) It will be easy
8) It won’t take long

All lies.

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Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · Jun 10

For all you fancy boys and girls who say
'fracture' instead of 'break'
'larceny' instead of 'theft'
'interrogate' instead of 'ask'

You can thank the Battle of Hastings (1066).

🧵⬇️

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Misandrosaurus Hex @bexone.bsky.social · Jun 6

Focusing on Stranger Danger means we don’t have the brain space to worry about the bad dads, funny uncles, scoutmasters and preachers that kids come into contact with regularly and often

Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · Jun 6

A thing I find baffling is that anyone now old enough to have kids grew up in a time when it was considered uttterly normal and safe for kids to walk around the neighbornood alone, and yet we seem to have collectively determined the thing we all did as kids is now borderline child abuse.

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thomas @silentthomas.bsky.social · Jun 6

Absolutely right. We've policed our world terribly, all so we could protect the real threats from scrutiny.

Misandrosaurus Hex @bexone.bsky.social · Jun 6

Focusing on Stranger Danger means we don’t have the brain space to worry about the bad dads, funny uncles, scoutmasters and preachers that kids come into contact with regularly and often

Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · Jun 6

A thing I find baffling is that anyone now old enough to have kids grew up in a time when it was considered uttterly normal and safe for kids to walk around the neighbornood alone, and yet we seem to have collectively determined the thing we all did as kids is now borderline child abuse.

thomas @silentthomas.bsky.social · May 25

They rise heads up high.

GNU Sir Terry Pratchett.

#speakhisname

Text from Night Watch: There was a tradition, once, far back in the past, called the King of the Bean. A special dish was served to all the men of the clan on a certain day of the year. It contained one small hard-baked bean, and whoever got the bean was, possibly after some dental attention, hailed as king. It was quite an inexpensive system, and it worked well, probably because the clever little bald men who actually ran things and paid some attention to possible candidates were experts at palming a bean into the right bowl.

Text from Night Watch: And while the crops ripened and the tribe thrived and the land was fertile, the king thrived, too. But when, in the fullness of time, crops failed and the ice came back and animals were inexplicably barren, the clever little bald men sharpened their long knives, which were mostly used for cutting mistletoe. And on the due night, one of them went into his cave and carefully baked one small bean. Of course, that was before people were civilized. These days, no one had to eat beans.

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thomas @silentthomas.bsky.social · May 7

This is why I follow you darth, to find out via a joke that it really, really happened a third time

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thomas @silentthomas.bsky.social · Apr 29

I love English/English language differences, and this one is new for me! I now know I've misunderstood tons of subtle jokes that will make more sense when re-reading my favorite British authors. Thanks for the new knowledge!

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björk 182 @readsettle.rs · Apr 23

one of the tasks of the American left is to explain to retail and service workers that this is the future that America has planned for them

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thomas @silentthomas.bsky.social · Apr 18

Took me a minute, but I *knew* this thread reminded me of something

A Calvin and Hobbes cartoon, walking through a snowy forest.

Panel 1:
Calvin: I LIKE TO VERB WORDS.
Hobbes: WHAT?

Panel 2:
Calvin: I TAKE NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES AND USE THEM AS VERBS. REMEMBER WHEN "ACCESS" WAS A THING? NOW IT'S SOMETHING YOU DO. IT GOT VERBED.

Panel 3:
Calvin: VERBING WEIRDS LANGUAGE.
Hobbes: MAYBE WE CAN EVENTUALLY MAKE LANGUAGE A COMPLETE IMPEDIMENT TO UNDERSTANDING.

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thomas @silentthomas.bsky.social · Apr 8

Life's funny- just after seeing your post and deciding to check the film out, guess what quarter I found when I went to pay for my hotdog? 😄

A commemorative state quarter back, featuring actress Anna May Wong

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Rob Tracinski @tracinski.bsky.social · Apr 5

People who are looking for a way to fight Trump, I have it for you in one name: Kilmar Abrego-Garcia.

He's the poor guy who got pulled off the street, declared a gang member for no reason, then sent off to that hell-hole in El Salvador.

Fight for him because this case will unravel everything. 🧵

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thomas @silentthomas.bsky.social · Apr 4

I really want to believe that logic and self-preservation will win out. But, I'm afraid that what trump (and therefore the Republicans) want is actually what's happening: to break America. They believe they can divide up the broken pieces that remain afterward.

thomas @silentthomas.bsky.social · Apr 4

Exactly my feelings. Loved that album and now when anything from it comes on random I'm so mad.

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Jacques O'Lantern @ass.golf · Apr 4

The massive success of the Arcade Fire spawned a truly vile era of white people music and I'm glad it's dead (also fuck you Win Butler you fuckin creep ass)

Maddy @maddystarstuff.bsky.social · Apr 4

so many stomp clap hey guys, sentenced to exile working for an investment bank 😢

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Mallory Scare 🎃 @malwhere.bzky.team · Mar 29

This is maybe the most succinct explanation of transmisogyny I’ve ever seen

Michaela Joffe @joffeorama
as soon as you recognize that most people's transmisogyny comes from a place of either "finally! women I'm ALLOWED to abuse!" or "finally! women I'M allowed to abuse!" a lot of stuff suddenly falls into place.
2:06 PM • 4/9/24 • 27K Views

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thomas @silentthomas.bsky.social · Mar 31

Yes, please, listen to him

rstevens 🐳💨 @rstevens.bsky.social · Mar 31

remember this well, inter-net users:

tomorrow is april fool’s day and that shit wasn’t funny twenty-five years BEFORE stupid AI image generators existed

thomas @silentthomas.bsky.social · Mar 30

They are the absolute WORST but yeah, wow

thomas @silentthomas.bsky.social · Mar 29

Instant follow.

Brooke Harrington @ebharrington.bsky.social · Nov 15

Listen, Broligarchy is not some cute synonym for oligarchy. It's genuinely different & WAY more dangerous.

I'm a sociologist who's been studying the ultra-rich globally for 17 yrs, entering their world as an offshore wealth mgr. Published 2 books abt them.

🧵Broligarchs are distinct in 3 ways:

Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · Nov 15

There’s a sort of Trump apologist, a relatively small but loud subset, who probably don’t realize or intend to be, but are so attached to a previous hyperbolic claim that they deny anything important changed.

-US was already an oligarchy
-US was already fascist
-Biden gave Israel a blank check
-Etc

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Molly Crabapple @mollycrabapple.bsky.social · Mar 29

The reason that the US is locking up tourists for weeks in hellish detention centers rather than letting them book tickets back home is because the detention centers are owned by corporations. They are charging the taxpayers fortunes to cage these people, and making bonanzas off their suffering.

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