cogenteur.bsky.social
a.k.a.RonK, Seattle
Lighthouse in a fogged-up world.
Futures(?) of democracy & discourse
Climate's changing, billionaires are taking over, and we all have a brain the size of a walnut.
2,517 posts
386 followers
429 following
Getting Started
Active Commenter
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Pretty harsh anti-panhandling posture, isn't it?
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Probably as close to spaceflight as zebras will every get.
One small caper for Ed, one giant leap for zebrakind.
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The thing you would do, if there was an authoritarian crackdown?
You're doing it.
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From many decades back, there's a classic line to this effect in Harvard Lampoon's "Radio Dinner".
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Is it ever ethical to engage in violence for nothing more than emotional satisfaction?
This seems the core of today's pro-violence movement.
We're not seeing anything that resembles utilitarian violence.
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Homan is Trump's ICEman from central casting ... in the wrong movie.
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As they did @velshi.com covering Minn BLM reaction.
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"hate"??
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Thank you for your service. 🙄
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... and forgive us our dumbasses, as we forgive those who dumbass against us.
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In light of the reality that some of us do not conduct ourselves gracefully under stress, I'm using Mute liberally.
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Second, the attitude that "the way to stop a bad guy with a crock is a good guy with a crock" has led us into traps of our own making - and left us with collections of crocks too precious to throw out, but too flawed to sell in the broader competitive marketplace.
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AUSA Schrader had abundant good cause (abundance!) to steer clear of this vindictive prosecution and associated misconduct.
HOWEVER in the interest of keeping public advocacy well-grounded, the two statements appear consistent (contrary to Goodman's paraphrases).
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By all means, "Let them eat cake!"
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Before secession, see what we can accomplish with "equal protection".
But also, succession. I don't think Trump will last, and his removal/replacement/truth/reco ciliation process may demand creativity.
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There is selective prosecution.
Then there is selective investigation.
And selective publication, proclamation, amplification, selective ballyhoo.
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We also have no clue how close or distant KAG was standing relative to the other "loiterers" picked up at Home D. Could be pretty significant, circumstantially, as regards his MS-13 affiliation (if any) at the time.
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One of the police reports said the "loiterers" threw bottles - conaining mj - under cars when approached by police.
We don't know who called the cops, or why. Home D staff? Rivals in the casual pick-up labor line (sometimes a tough racket)? Undercover? Routine patrol?
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The distinction may be more spectral than bright-line categorical. When people are smuggled, they are susceptible to consequences in degrees that can vary from indignities to wage theft etc to physical abuse to trafficking to homicide.
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Sounds like KAG was *informally* extradited from El Salvador, without access to counsel, without the opportunity to fight extradition ... in other words, without due process.
Just as he was informally (and incorrectly) detained, exported, and incarcerated without due process.
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More of a bro-ha-ha.
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Isn't it iconic?
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Only a matter of time til his office-mates get him drunk senseless and shave that thing off.
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Beefs production at all-time highs.
Enough surplus material to launch Build-a-Beef Workshops!
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I don't believe 20 Senate votes could be bought for something that high-stakes, high-vis, with extensive network effects.
A literal handful of House R's can sink the ship, though, and they're much more fungible.
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Take the under on both.
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Both clinically disordered, both further intoxicated by hero worship on digital-age magnitudes.
Their acolytes could be more dangerous than the principals.
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Odds are it sorta blows over - with some lessons learned - but the downside stakes are literally apocalyptic.
And it's out of our hands, no cavalry riding to the rescue, limited defenses against 3rd-party opportunistic exploitation.
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Both can threaten/destroy careers of elected R's.
Musk/DOGE hold Swords of Damocles over major federal data stores, could ransom or irrevocably scramble them.
Unclear how other oligarchs might align in a showdown.
Not a clear mismatch.
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bsky.app/profile/jerr...
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The cheat codes here s/b obvious. Two-word policy descriptor? *Popular*. Full page policy brief (what, how, who pays, who rules, what's in/out)? *Controversial*.
So centers exist. Status quo wins - or worse reaction sets in - unless we overlap them with margin to spare.
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It's a very disturbing thought, but ... JVL's very disturbing thought might be as good as it gets.
Of course the question facing NYC voters is not "What's the best outcome for America?". It's "What's the best outcome for NYC?".
NYC doesn't seem to have the answers -- much like the USA these days.
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Do Democrats have political capital? No, they don't.
Are any exchanges open where Democrats could spend political capital to buy trans rights or Gaza survival? No, there aren't.
What's your next best idea?
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The kind of places career criminals can't break the habit of holding up, because they're just so darned convenient?
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Pension (plus social security) is a good start, but eviction record may rule out renting down-scale. Look for empty-nesters, where he can room & share expenses?
DOGE etc will put a lot of VA ppl - and spaces - in temporary distress ... he might be the solution to someone else's problem.
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Buttadeus? @thewanderingjew.bsky.social
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Is there a Jesus face-palm meme?
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a.k.a. @pamkeithdc.bsky.social
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Next year's economic statistics will be incredible.
Literally.
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So you're saying you hate yams ...
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Fending off dissonance w/ chains of auxiliary premises - each one unfounded & facially implausible in its own right:
"There's a clique of psychotic lawyers on here that have beef with pro-Palestine posters that seized on this public solicitation for ... circumventing sanctions."
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Lindsey M's @dcinbox.bsky.social could pull occurrences of Latino/a/x for congressional comms, and break it out by time interval and party.
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Local friends who work extensively in comms by and for Spanish language community - arts, culture, political events etc - (I rvu/edit a bit) have had to wrestle with 'latinx' for years. Not empiric enuf? ...
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If you succeed in placing cash in the hands of a starving Gazan, they can out-bid other starving people for whatever food exists.
Give one enough cash, and they may eat well enough that 5 others starve.
It's the trolley problem from hell.