Joe Flaherty
@joef-3.bsky.social
Ní neart go cur le chéile. He/him.
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
I’m not sure it’s even possible to know for sure, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility that by dollar value Trump is more corrupt than all other American elected officials combined, past and present.
December 27, 2025 at 9:42 PM
I’m not sure it’s even possible to know for sure, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility that by dollar value Trump is more corrupt than all other American elected officials combined, past and present.
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
It's really cool and great that "men whose SO broke up with them over their gambling addiction" is such a large demographic that advertisers are targeting them
December 28, 2025 at 2:51 AM
It's really cool and great that "men whose SO broke up with them over their gambling addiction" is such a large demographic that advertisers are targeting them
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
Buttons are back. Knobs are back. Dumb devices are back. Own-it-forever software is back. Print is back. Personal websites and chronological feeds are back. Touching grass is back. People keep saying 2015, but it’s not far enough. The entire 2010s were a mistake. We must retvrn to… 2009.
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its senses.
Rejoice! Carmakers Are Embracing Physical Buttons Again
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its…
wrd.cm
December 28, 2025 at 3:54 AM
Buttons are back. Knobs are back. Dumb devices are back. Own-it-forever software is back. Print is back. Personal websites and chronological feeds are back. Touching grass is back. People keep saying 2015, but it’s not far enough. The entire 2010s were a mistake. We must retvrn to… 2009.
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
“Then they shouldn’t have voted for this!”
Bitch, Asheville is a blue college town and the county has gone blue for decades. I am so sick of this “if I pretend disasters only happen to red areas, it means I’m safe because I’m properly on the left!” No. You’re not safe. That’s why we save everybody.
Bitch, Asheville is a blue college town and the county has gone blue for decades. I am so sick of this “if I pretend disasters only happen to red areas, it means I’m safe because I’m properly on the left!” No. You’re not safe. That’s why we save everybody.
Hundreds of residents signed up for FEMA buyouts after Hurricane Helene. Not one has been approved.
Hundreds of residents signed up for FEMA buyouts after Helene. Not one has been approved.
More than a year after applying for a federal buyout, many North Carolina homeowners have heard almost nothing definitive.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 27, 2025 at 9:05 PM
“Then they shouldn’t have voted for this!”
Bitch, Asheville is a blue college town and the county has gone blue for decades. I am so sick of this “if I pretend disasters only happen to red areas, it means I’m safe because I’m properly on the left!” No. You’re not safe. That’s why we save everybody.
Bitch, Asheville is a blue college town and the county has gone blue for decades. I am so sick of this “if I pretend disasters only happen to red areas, it means I’m safe because I’m properly on the left!” No. You’re not safe. That’s why we save everybody.
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
Hey journalists can we make 2026 the year of Not Taking Billionaire Claims As Scientific Predictions The Market, Nay, Western Civilization Itself, Can Rely On Sure In The Knowledge Such Titans Would Never Lead Us Astray
December 28, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Hey journalists can we make 2026 the year of Not Taking Billionaire Claims As Scientific Predictions The Market, Nay, Western Civilization Itself, Can Rely On Sure In The Knowledge Such Titans Would Never Lead Us Astray
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
All of the money that changed hands in the Teapot Dome scandal totaled less than $10 million after adjusting for inflation, and it was considered so corrupt we still teach it in high school government classes a century later.
Corruption so pungent, it wafts right off the page:
Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”
Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”
Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Inside the New Fast Track to a Presidential Pardon
Even some of the president’s closest advisers have been surprised by a number of the recent series of pardons.
www.wsj.com
December 27, 2025 at 9:24 PM
All of the money that changed hands in the Teapot Dome scandal totaled less than $10 million after adjusting for inflation, and it was considered so corrupt we still teach it in high school government classes a century later.
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
The guy who put a 19 year old named Big Balls in charge of gutting key government services: “experience matters when lives are at stake”
December 28, 2025 at 12:18 AM
The guy who put a 19 year old named Big Balls in charge of gutting key government services: “experience matters when lives are at stake”
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
Another way that being homeless is criminalized. You can land on the registry for “indecent exposure” for urinating outdoors, which is the only option when commerce is required to use a restroom at every single business within walking distance
NEW: beginning january 1, chicago will ban unhoused people on the sex offense registry from seeking shelter on public transit.
it’s the latest in a concerted effort by mayor johnson’s admin to criminalize homelessness on cta trains + buses and in public parks during the coldest months of the year.
it’s the latest in a concerted effort by mayor johnson’s admin to criminalize homelessness on cta trains + buses and in public parks during the coldest months of the year.
‘An impossible situation’ - Chicago Reader
Beginning January 1, the City of Chicago will ban unhoused people on the sex offense registry from seeking shelter on public transit.
chicagoreader.com
December 27, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Another way that being homeless is criminalized. You can land on the registry for “indecent exposure” for urinating outdoors, which is the only option when commerce is required to use a restroom at every single business within walking distance
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
The only thing ChatGPT ever does.
August 14, 2025 at 7:35 PM
The only thing ChatGPT ever does.
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
How are these fits of presidential incontinence never covered as their own news events in NYT? Hours of sick hateful bile from the curdled joyless leader of the Christian nationalists sitting in the ruins of the tinsel trimmed White House he’s demolishing — seems like a story to me.
December 27, 2025 at 3:32 AM
How are these fits of presidential incontinence never covered as their own news events in NYT? Hours of sick hateful bile from the curdled joyless leader of the Christian nationalists sitting in the ruins of the tinsel trimmed White House he’s demolishing — seems like a story to me.
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
This administration lied about the people it sent to an overseas torture prison. It lies about the people it’s deporting. It lies every day to gain political advantage. Not a chance in hell they won’t lie about huge swaths of people they suspect might vote for the other party.
December 27, 2025 at 12:31 AM
This administration lied about the people it sent to an overseas torture prison. It lies about the people it’s deporting. It lies every day to gain political advantage. Not a chance in hell they won’t lie about huge swaths of people they suspect might vote for the other party.
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
Calling out a fascist for taking a hypocritical position is easy. It's also a complete waste of time. Fascist rhetoric is aesthetics— pathos, never logos.
You'll never get anywhere pointing out a fascist's hypocrisy. Fascism is not to be debated, it's to be smashed. Get comfortable using power.
You'll never get anywhere pointing out a fascist's hypocrisy. Fascism is not to be debated, it's to be smashed. Get comfortable using power.
December 26, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Calling out a fascist for taking a hypocritical position is easy. It's also a complete waste of time. Fascist rhetoric is aesthetics— pathos, never logos.
You'll never get anywhere pointing out a fascist's hypocrisy. Fascism is not to be debated, it's to be smashed. Get comfortable using power.
You'll never get anywhere pointing out a fascist's hypocrisy. Fascism is not to be debated, it's to be smashed. Get comfortable using power.
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
JUST LIKE THEY DID WHEN MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTED A WEALTH TAX
OH WAIT THEY DIDN'T MASSACHUSETTS ACTUALLY HAS MORE RICH PEOPLE NOW BECAUSE THE STATE CAN AFFORD TO BE A NICER PLACE FOR EVERYONE TO LIVE
OH WAIT THEY DIDN'T MASSACHUSETTS ACTUALLY HAS MORE RICH PEOPLE NOW BECAUSE THE STATE CAN AFFORD TO BE A NICER PLACE FOR EVERYONE TO LIVE
Billionaires are considering cutting or reducing their ties to California by the end of the year because of a proposed ballot measure that could tax the state’s wealthiest residents.
A Wealth Tax Floated in California Has Billionaires Thinking of Leaving
It’s uncertain whether the proposal will reach the statewide ballot in November, but some billionaires like Peter Thiel and Larry Page may be unwilling to take the risk.
nyti.ms
December 27, 2025 at 12:00 AM
JUST LIKE THEY DID WHEN MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTED A WEALTH TAX
OH WAIT THEY DIDN'T MASSACHUSETTS ACTUALLY HAS MORE RICH PEOPLE NOW BECAUSE THE STATE CAN AFFORD TO BE A NICER PLACE FOR EVERYONE TO LIVE
OH WAIT THEY DIDN'T MASSACHUSETTS ACTUALLY HAS MORE RICH PEOPLE NOW BECAUSE THE STATE CAN AFFORD TO BE A NICER PLACE FOR EVERYONE TO LIVE
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
Every time billionaires say they’re gonna leave if you raise their taxes, outlets like the Times credulously regurgitate the propaganda. Meanwhile they don’t move cause these guys WANT to live in California and Manhattan and not Podunk and Bumfuck where the taxes are nonexistent.
December 26, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Every time billionaires say they’re gonna leave if you raise their taxes, outlets like the Times credulously regurgitate the propaganda. Meanwhile they don’t move cause these guys WANT to live in California and Manhattan and not Podunk and Bumfuck where the taxes are nonexistent.
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
A little longer now and you'll get to go to the rave celebrating his death. Just a little bit longer
trans people if you did nothing else this year you made it through 12 months of the federal government having your extermination not low on its list of priorities and you can feel really good about that it’s a big deal
December 26, 2025 at 9:02 PM
A little longer now and you'll get to go to the rave celebrating his death. Just a little bit longer
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
Others have noted this before, but it's ENRAGING to see corporations and bosses give this bullshit "A.i." trash FAR more leeway for error and general crappiness than they'd ever give any human creator.
I've started to see arguments that we have to get used to AI Slop coding even if it isn't great, because it's fast. Humans could go faster, too, if they're allowed to turn in stuff that only sometimes works. Such a fascinating double standard that will in no way come back to haunt, naw.
December 26, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Others have noted this before, but it's ENRAGING to see corporations and bosses give this bullshit "A.i." trash FAR more leeway for error and general crappiness than they'd ever give any human creator.
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
I bet you even normies are done with this shit. I haven't seen one declarative hed in forever. This wishy washy nonsense is dogshit and everyone knows it.
'Maybe something happened guys but only maybe'
'Maybe something happened guys but only maybe'
December 26, 2025 at 5:46 PM
I bet you even normies are done with this shit. I haven't seen one declarative hed in forever. This wishy washy nonsense is dogshit and everyone knows it.
'Maybe something happened guys but only maybe'
'Maybe something happened guys but only maybe'
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
"Afraid of appearing partisan, the Obama administration looked the other way when it came to prosecuting war criminals and torturers. The lack of confrontation is coming back to haunt us."
Every previous administration left unaccountable for its crimes is a lesson in why not to repeat the mistake.
Every previous administration left unaccountable for its crimes is a lesson in why not to repeat the mistake.
A Case for Transitional Justice
If sunlight is the best disinfectant, a failure to apply it leaves a festering wound, with complications that continue to amass.
fellowtravelersblog.com
December 26, 2025 at 4:55 PM
"Afraid of appearing partisan, the Obama administration looked the other way when it came to prosecuting war criminals and torturers. The lack of confrontation is coming back to haunt us."
Every previous administration left unaccountable for its crimes is a lesson in why not to repeat the mistake.
Every previous administration left unaccountable for its crimes is a lesson in why not to repeat the mistake.
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
Plato argued in the Republic that the 'tyrant,' or someone with unlimited wealth and power, would live the worst possible life because his soul would be devoured by lawless, unlimited desires that could never be sated. I think we've gotten confirmation of this from more cases than Trump lately
I always thought Plato was pretty pollyannaish on this point, but this is decent evidence for the view that a man of bad character will therefore be unhappy even with every external trapping of success and good fortune.
President Donald Trump gifted the world with nearly 200 Truth Social posts (and counting) on Christmas Day, where he amplified conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and called for a member of Congress to be deported.
December 26, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Plato argued in the Republic that the 'tyrant,' or someone with unlimited wealth and power, would live the worst possible life because his soul would be devoured by lawless, unlimited desires that could never be sated. I think we've gotten confirmation of this from more cases than Trump lately
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
I did not understand this: one of the five Europeans the US has barred from traveling to the United States...is a permanent resident who lives with his family in the US.
Now he is worried about being arrested and deported for the crime of monitoring online hate.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/u...
Now he is worried about being arrested and deported for the crime of monitoring online hate.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/u...
Judge Blocks Detention of British Researcher Who Scrutinizes Online Hate
www.nytimes.com
December 26, 2025 at 3:55 AM
I did not understand this: one of the five Europeans the US has barred from traveling to the United States...is a permanent resident who lives with his family in the US.
Now he is worried about being arrested and deported for the crime of monitoring online hate.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/u...
Now he is worried about being arrested and deported for the crime of monitoring online hate.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/u...
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
In addition to how deeply wrong I believe this to be, it makes clear how complex our fight for the future will be.
We all need to REALLY understand why this is wrong and dangerous. And this is not only about people with dementia.
We all need to REALLY understand why this is wrong and dangerous. And this is not only about people with dementia.
The comments on this are all about how sweet it is and I feel insane. Using AI to make fake memories of your grandma with dementia and telling her they happened and then filming her reaction
December 26, 2025 at 6:56 AM
In addition to how deeply wrong I believe this to be, it makes clear how complex our fight for the future will be.
We all need to REALLY understand why this is wrong and dangerous. And this is not only about people with dementia.
We all need to REALLY understand why this is wrong and dangerous. And this is not only about people with dementia.
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
tech bros trying to convince everyone epstein is cool is so telling and interesting
December 26, 2025 at 6:36 AM
tech bros trying to convince everyone epstein is cool is so telling and interesting
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
We already reached the limits of this without AI.
Procedural generation brought us hundreds of worlds to explore in Starfield and they all just plain sucked. The only worlds worth a damn in the entire game were the hand-crafted ones.
Now they can do the same thing by spending untold billions more.
Procedural generation brought us hundreds of worlds to explore in Starfield and they all just plain sucked. The only worlds worth a damn in the entire game were the hand-crafted ones.
Now they can do the same thing by spending untold billions more.
When are these genAI people going to understand that human error is the foundation of art. I - and I believe many others - don't need a company that uses insane amounts of water to generate these sterile digital products, and erases the messy reality of creation. www.ft.com/content/9b1b...
AI ‘world models’ promise to reshape $190bn video games industry
Google DeepMind and Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs target gaming with AI-generated 3D environments
www.ft.com
December 26, 2025 at 10:13 AM
We already reached the limits of this without AI.
Procedural generation brought us hundreds of worlds to explore in Starfield and they all just plain sucked. The only worlds worth a damn in the entire game were the hand-crafted ones.
Now they can do the same thing by spending untold billions more.
Procedural generation brought us hundreds of worlds to explore in Starfield and they all just plain sucked. The only worlds worth a damn in the entire game were the hand-crafted ones.
Now they can do the same thing by spending untold billions more.
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
If you had a nice christmas and kissed a loved one and had a nice meal and felt some warmth deep in your chest for a minute you're doing better than people who make 100,000 times the money you do
It doesn’t fix things, but it really does bring me comfort to know how miserable some of the worst people are. Donald Trump tweeting over 200 times on Christmas. Billionaires fighting with strangers online during the holidays. Everything about Elon Musk
December 26, 2025 at 7:07 AM
If you had a nice christmas and kissed a loved one and had a nice meal and felt some warmth deep in your chest for a minute you're doing better than people who make 100,000 times the money you do
Reposted by Joe Flaherty
Every Democrat running for office needs to promise investigations and full prosecutions from top to bottom, remove its funding bloat then break up the agency and distribute its core remaining useful functions across other agencies.
ICE detain father shopping on Christmas Eve—then steal his family's groceries.
Then 3 agents divvy up his paid for food—taking what they want for themselves.
"Can I just get the wife's number to call and let her know?" woman asks.
"No, guess he should've complied," agent says.
Yakima, Washington
Then 3 agents divvy up his paid for food—taking what they want for themselves.
"Can I just get the wife's number to call and let her know?" woman asks.
"No, guess he should've complied," agent says.
Yakima, Washington
December 26, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Every Democrat running for office needs to promise investigations and full prosecutions from top to bottom, remove its funding bloat then break up the agency and distribute its core remaining useful functions across other agencies.