René Martin
@talkandplay.substack.com
He/him writer/game dev. culture/political posting, politics are in all aspects of life, including creative pursuits. #NAFO appreciator #BLM
Writing sporadically @ https://talkandplay.substack.com
Writing sporadically @ https://talkandplay.substack.com
Pinned
René Martin
@talkandplay.substack.com
· Oct 23
I just realized I should be clear, since I have AI art in my banner, I am aggressively against GenAI in the creative professions. It’s a plagiarism engine and leads to objectively lesser creations. Actual humans do better work than the word-association machine.
Reposted by René Martin
This is an absolutely damning indictment of idiot return to office policies, imo (among many other failures in our perverse and cruel existing system).
Roughly half a million women in the US exited the workforce in 2025, and 42% of those who voluntarily left cited their caregiving responsibilities as the main reason, according to a recent survey from Catalyst.
www.hr-brew.com/stories/2026...
www.hr-brew.com/stories/2026...
42% of women are leaving the workforce over lack of caregiver support
In a tight employment market, employers that offer less flexibility risk losing working caregivers, according to a Catalyst report.
www.hr-brew.com
February 4, 2026 at 1:21 AM
This is an absolutely damning indictment of idiot return to office policies, imo (among many other failures in our perverse and cruel existing system).
Reposted by René Martin
“people with clout in an organization should be allowed to do whatever stupid adventurism they want and if you call it out you will be excommunicated and/or physically assaulted” is, quite frankly, a lot more cop-like than filming them doing it
this is fucking deranged, embarrassing and disqualifying
February 4, 2026 at 12:58 AM
“people with clout in an organization should be allowed to do whatever stupid adventurism they want and if you call it out you will be excommunicated and/or physically assaulted” is, quite frankly, a lot more cop-like than filming them doing it
Reposted by René Martin
basically everything i have written and thought about since that horrifying night in 2016 can be boiled down to "how does power change hands"
February 4, 2026 at 1:05 AM
basically everything i have written and thought about since that horrifying night in 2016 can be boiled down to "how does power change hands"
Reposted by René Martin
the bolsheviks have remained a touchstone for a hundred years, because they were leftists, and they won.
how did they achieve this?
www.liberalcurrents.com/from-powerle...
how did they achieve this?
www.liberalcurrents.com/from-powerle...
From Powerlessness to Power
We will not achieve any of our ultimate goals without exercising state power, and the most effective way to take state power is through nonviolent but confrontational resistance.
www.liberalcurrents.com
February 4, 2026 at 1:01 AM
the bolsheviks have remained a touchstone for a hundred years, because they were leftists, and they won.
how did they achieve this?
www.liberalcurrents.com/from-powerle...
how did they achieve this?
www.liberalcurrents.com/from-powerle...
Reposted by René Martin
this isn’t even about stancil or direct action or setting a dumpster on fire, it’s just pure reactionary oppositional defiance, there’s no merit or principle at stake here, just people who can’t control themselves indulging their worst impulses
drilling a hole in my own skull and pouring battery acid directly into it to show the smug libs on the internet that i have imagined are my true enemies who the real activist is
February 4, 2026 at 1:02 AM
this isn’t even about stancil or direct action or setting a dumpster on fire, it’s just pure reactionary oppositional defiance, there’s no merit or principle at stake here, just people who can’t control themselves indulging their worst impulses
Reposted by René Martin
in fairness unresolved mommy issues is a major animating force of politics generally, art generally, social interaction generally, theology generally, etc
that’s because a major animating force in leftist politics is unresolved mommy issues
I don’t think I’ve ever had as much hate directed at me today for the wine mom/Joe Rogan tweet, which is strange because I have said a lot more vicious and inflammatory things.
February 4, 2026 at 12:59 AM
in fairness unresolved mommy issues is a major animating force of politics generally, art generally, social interaction generally, theology generally, etc
Reposted by René Martin
the greatest argument for anarchism is a conversation with the average leninist
and the greatest argument for leninism is a conversation with the average anarchist
and the greatest argument for leninism is a conversation with the average anarchist
February 4, 2026 at 12:26 AM
the greatest argument for anarchism is a conversation with the average leninist
and the greatest argument for leninism is a conversation with the average anarchist
and the greatest argument for leninism is a conversation with the average anarchist
Reposted by René Martin
The only tool ICE has is force. They cannot penalize legal activity through the courts and their efforts to do so are destroying the DOJ.
This is unreal. An AUSA talking like that in open court is about as close as you can come to a total breakdown. Never heard of anything like it.
February 3, 2026 at 9:06 PM
The only tool ICE has is force. They cannot penalize legal activity through the courts and their efforts to do so are destroying the DOJ.
Reposted by René Martin
NEW: I took a trip down to Obsidian Entertainment to talk about their stunning 2025, in which they somehow shipped three games. They were remarkably candid about their successes, their failures, and their plans for navigating the future.
For Businessweek Magazine: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
For Businessweek Magazine: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Inside Xbox, a Game Studio Is Trying to Reinvent Itself
Microsoft’s Obsidian Entertainment is searching for ways to make games more quickly and on smaller budgets.
www.bloomberg.com
February 3, 2026 at 1:38 PM
NEW: I took a trip down to Obsidian Entertainment to talk about their stunning 2025, in which they somehow shipped three games. They were remarkably candid about their successes, their failures, and their plans for navigating the future.
For Businessweek Magazine: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
For Businessweek Magazine: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by René Martin
One must simply abjure and abhor hoe-scaring behavior if one is to achieve success in war or politics—Sun Tzu
February 3, 2026 at 10:03 PM
One must simply abjure and abhor hoe-scaring behavior if one is to achieve success in war or politics—Sun Tzu
Reposted by René Martin
you're clout-obsessed Instagram-ready bullies and I'm sick and fucking tired of bullies and wreckers not being called out and I'm sick and fucking tired of every movement that gives me hope for the future of this country getting pissed and shat on and then used as a backdrop for your posturing.
February 3, 2026 at 11:43 PM
you're clout-obsessed Instagram-ready bullies and I'm sick and fucking tired of bullies and wreckers not being called out and I'm sick and fucking tired of every movement that gives me hope for the future of this country getting pissed and shat on and then used as a backdrop for your posturing.
Reposted by René Martin
that's what this is about.
and you're bullying Will Stancil - a guy who, again, *has been hauling personal ass* to keep his neighbors safe from ICE and has been making sure the entire goddamn internet knows what's happening in his city - for fun, too.
and you're bullying Will Stancil - a guy who, again, *has been hauling personal ass* to keep his neighbors safe from ICE and has been making sure the entire goddamn internet knows what's happening in his city - for fun, too.
February 3, 2026 at 11:43 PM
that's what this is about.
and you're bullying Will Stancil - a guy who, again, *has been hauling personal ass* to keep his neighbors safe from ICE and has been making sure the entire goddamn internet knows what's happening in his city - for fun, too.
and you're bullying Will Stancil - a guy who, again, *has been hauling personal ass* to keep his neighbors safe from ICE and has been making sure the entire goddamn internet knows what's happening in his city - for fun, too.
Reposted by René Martin
"dumpster fires are an absolutely vital protest tactic" okay, listen, i've been nice, but shut the fuck up.
you want to take a nice nighttime protest pic for the 'gram limned against the red revolutionary fire of burning garbage.
that's it. that's all of the it. you're setting fires for fun.
you want to take a nice nighttime protest pic for the 'gram limned against the red revolutionary fire of burning garbage.
that's it. that's all of the it. you're setting fires for fun.
February 3, 2026 at 11:43 PM
"dumpster fires are an absolutely vital protest tactic" okay, listen, i've been nice, but shut the fuck up.
you want to take a nice nighttime protest pic for the 'gram limned against the red revolutionary fire of burning garbage.
that's it. that's all of the it. you're setting fires for fun.
you want to take a nice nighttime protest pic for the 'gram limned against the red revolutionary fire of burning garbage.
that's it. that's all of the it. you're setting fires for fun.
Reposted by René Martin
lol no, setting a dumpster alight is not valorous.
It's also not a barricade if nobody is defending it. It's just trash. Where were the police looking to disassemble it? Where were the people refusing to budge?
You can't claim mass action tactics without mass action. That just makes it vandalism.
It's also not a barricade if nobody is defending it. It's just trash. Where were the police looking to disassemble it? Where were the people refusing to budge?
You can't claim mass action tactics without mass action. That just makes it vandalism.
And like, the problem of normie libs being instinctive snitches because they fear "provocateurs" when they see someone valorously setting a dumpster fire as a barricade is so universal. Like a fucking ton of normie moms in any movement with sufficient numbers are gonna have the same reaction.
February 3, 2026 at 11:50 PM
lol no, setting a dumpster alight is not valorous.
It's also not a barricade if nobody is defending it. It's just trash. Where were the police looking to disassemble it? Where were the people refusing to budge?
You can't claim mass action tactics without mass action. That just makes it vandalism.
It's also not a barricade if nobody is defending it. It's just trash. Where were the police looking to disassemble it? Where were the people refusing to budge?
You can't claim mass action tactics without mass action. That just makes it vandalism.
Reposted by René Martin
You probably know that ICE agents shot Renee Good.
You should also know what happened next.
You should also know what happened next.
Casar holds a 3 minute and 26 second moment of silence to represent the time in which DHS officers let Renee Good bleed out after she was shot
February 3, 2026 at 11:12 PM
You probably know that ICE agents shot Renee Good.
You should also know what happened next.
You should also know what happened next.
Reposted by René Martin
Reposted by René Martin
An utterly irredeemable political party full of morally bankrupt cowards
“.. Not a single Republican member of Congress showed up to the public forum .. on the violence inflicted by federal immigration agents, featuring testimony from the brothers of Renee Good ..”
@newrepublic.com
newrepublic.com/post/206100/...
@newrepublic.com
newrepublic.com/post/206100/...
February 3, 2026 at 11:18 PM
An utterly irredeemable political party full of morally bankrupt cowards
Reposted by René Martin
we love to do defamation on the Internet don't we folks
February 3, 2026 at 11:14 PM
we love to do defamation on the Internet don't we folks
Reposted by René Martin
hey remember when I got shit on for years for trying to warn people that GamerGate was just Nazis and not just about harassing women and not just about some “consumer revolt”
The Epstein files reveal what powerful people see in video games: profit, coercion, and control
aftermath.site/jeffrey-epstei...
aftermath.site/jeffrey-epstei...
February 3, 2026 at 9:47 PM
hey remember when I got shit on for years for trying to warn people that GamerGate was just Nazis and not just about harassing women and not just about some “consumer revolt”
Reposted by René Martin
Reposted by René Martin
a previous story says that they had 17 of the 50 criminal prosecution berths filled prior to this. by my count this would leave them with 9 attorneys?
If my math is right 20% of the office has now resigned, including the previous group of resignations. That’s debilitating.
www.startribune.com/ice-raids-mi...
www.startribune.com/ice-raids-mi...
Live: Eight more federal prosecutors set to leave the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office
The recent wave of departures follows the mass exodus of six veteran prosecutors last month who quit in protest of recent directives from the U.S. Department of Justice.
www.startribune.com
February 3, 2026 at 9:19 PM
a previous story says that they had 17 of the 50 criminal prosecution berths filled prior to this. by my count this would leave them with 9 attorneys?
Reposted by René Martin
I am EXTREMELY UNHAPPY about how much recent news has been "Epstein! Chomsky! EpSTEIN! BAD INDIVIDUAL JEWISH PERSON!"
on the whole, i think 'all the evil in the world is reducible to a few wealthy criminal Jews' is generally a thing we should be discouraging. i have nakedly self-interested reasons to believe this i will admit.
February 3, 2026 at 5:55 PM
I am EXTREMELY UNHAPPY about how much recent news has been "Epstein! Chomsky! EpSTEIN! BAD INDIVIDUAL JEWISH PERSON!"
Reposted by René Martin
like guys have you seen how they talk about this on twitter. its not good.
February 3, 2026 at 12:15 PM
like guys have you seen how they talk about this on twitter. its not good.
Reposted by René Martin
on the whole, i think 'all the evil in the world is reducible to a few wealthy criminal Jews' is generally a thing we should be discouraging. i have nakedly self-interested reasons to believe this i will admit.
February 3, 2026 at 12:14 PM
on the whole, i think 'all the evil in the world is reducible to a few wealthy criminal Jews' is generally a thing we should be discouraging. i have nakedly self-interested reasons to believe this i will admit.
Reposted by René Martin
I admit, I don't really see the point of setting a dumpster on fire at a protest, but I especially don't understand the point in setting a dumpster on fire at a protest and expecting to keep it secret.
If random masked men are setting fires in your community, I think you should feel free to film them. Especially if dozens of other people and several national news crews are filming them. They are not "allies," they're arsonists. Grow up.
February 3, 2026 at 5:08 PM
I admit, I don't really see the point of setting a dumpster on fire at a protest, but I especially don't understand the point in setting a dumpster on fire at a protest and expecting to keep it secret.