somervillesteve.bsky.social
Same account as just_steve_h on the hellsite. Working towards universal mobility. Anti-authoritarian pro-people. Queer AF. DJ. Drummer. Designer. Developer. IđSomerville! he/him
335 posts
658 followers
947 following
Regular Contributor
Active Commenter
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You are speaking my thoughts [reaching for earplugs]
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[citation needed] đ
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anyway i am more or less constantly thinking about this barbara kruger piece these days
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Also donât forget Democratsâ penchant for honoring seniority, which leads to them elected people Older Than Dirt⢠to office. For example, the House Democratic caucus lost THREE members to DEATH this session alone!
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The only hope for the majority of people around the world is that these entrenched interests in the DoD, CIA, State Department, JSOC, DHS, FBI, NCIS, and NSA spend so much time fighting one another that they donât have time to bother the rest of us!
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Truly, I canât fathom why this is not a proper city function with support from legal counsel! This is OUR city, and we already supposedly HAVE a representative government thatâs empowered to negotiate on our behalf! Crazy to get neighborhood volunteers to do that job, with zero professional support!
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I attended several meetings, but gave up after deciding that the City Council making a legal (?) delegation of power to this newly-invented, unpaid, and unsupported group of People With Time But No Necessary Expertise, solely to negotiate CBAs, was an absolute gift to developers with $ for lawyers.
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Hi JT. While I appreciate the work done, I am concerned by the actual conditions of oversight and enforcement. Volunteer neighbors are supposed to conduct all oversight & demand accountability at quarterly meetings & submit to binding arbitration, USNC responsible legal & arbitration feesâ w/what $?
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Thatâs a good point, I appreciate the nuance. Iâm sure many in the bureaucracy are appalled at whatâs happening. But, at the same time, there are at least SOME people who are enabling this kind of destructive & illegal behavior, and THOSE people should be ostracized from our society and put on trial
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Possibly. However, the excuse of âjust following ordersâ did not protect anyone from punishment at Nuremberg; indeed, the phrase has become shorthand for weak-minded acquiescence to participation in brutality.
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Itâs insane to me that illegal orders from an illegitimate President are still being taken at face value by workers throughout the various bureaucracies involved. Americans are being tested, and we are failing.
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âAll acts of love and pleasure are my ritualsâ is a phrase attributed to the Great Goddess in a variety of pagan practicesâŚ
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Conanâs first writing gig!
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*Kabletown đ¤
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Yup, 100%. In 2002 I noted that the Democrats in Congress were creating a new national executive police force in DHS, which would surely become the Presidentâs brownshirts. Ah well. âThose who understand history are condemned to watch other idiots repeat it.â [Peter Lamborn Wilson]
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On the plus side⌠it appears that this was simply a gun being discharged with no one struck or injured. MBTA and State Police were collecting bullet casings.
I like that firearm discharges are so rare where we live as to prompt a police alert & warning to âshelter in place.â Like, lol. LMAO even.
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Not that anything as far-fetched as this forty year-old film plot would EVER happen today, in the good olâ US of A, of course!
But, on the off chance that it does⌠try to behave like the Buttlesâ upstairs neighbor, who calls out, âMrs. Buttle, are you OK?â and later offers to help the family
[Fin]
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As Mrs. Buttle signs the bureaucratâs paperwork, the troops drag her husband away, his muffled screams audible through the bag clamped over his head. The Buttlesâ young son runs to his shackled father and tries to hold on to him, but the troops yank the child roughly away. +
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A bureaucrat enters the rubble of the apartment. He then reads aloud from a document stating Buttle âhas been invited to assist the Ministry of Information in certain enquiries, and that he is liable for certain financial obligations,â and then demands that Mrs. Buttle sign copies of the document. +
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Next we see a black-clad squad of armed, masked, and helmeted government troops smash through the ceiling of a modest apartment, where Mr. Buttle, his wife, and his 2 children are celebrating a meagre Christmas. The troops cuff Buttle at gunpoint and throw a bag over his head while his kids scream +
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đ
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What happened, did he bend over & show his butt crack?!
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Indeed! A similar argument can be made about childrenâs movies and showsâ âitâs just for kids,â so the quality doesnât matter. Same power gradient, same outcome.
This argument is developed at length (and righteous anger!) in a review of the Minecraft movieâ filmfreakcentral.net/2025/04/a-mi...
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Read @eryk.bsky.social's whole excellent essay at his Cybernetic Forests site: www.cyberneticforests.com/news/social-...
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If I back up six months, I see a Democratic administration and Republicans as well as Democrats in the House excoriating the leadership of our alma mater (Harvard) for largely invented âcampus anti-semitismâ (most of which was anti-genocide protest). Ds and Rs - pushed by AIPAC & ADL - set this up!
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Hereâs a list of all of the National Emergencies to have been declared by American Presidents since 1900 â 51 expired, 49 currently in effect as of April 14, 2025! Itâs quite a list. Many more Executive Orders, rules, regulations, and even sometimes laws carve out many more exceptions to our rights!
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Perhaps youâre not familiar with the various ânational securityâ exceptions, along with the âState of Emergencyâ declarations, and other gems from the âunitary executiveâ crafted by hawks & neoliberals (both Râs and Dâs) these last few decades? The U.S. currently has 49 active States of Emergency!!đ
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Could it maybe, possibly, somehow be, in any way, related to the fact that New York City is the highest concentration of capital in the United States, with some of the most extreme inequality seen anywhere in the world? Might that have some small influence on the conduct of New Yorkâs politics? đ¤ˇđ¸đşđ¸
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Snatching someone showing up for their citizenship test is not just a matter of convenience, knowing where they will be. It is the clearest possible signal to people that they can do everything right in the process, and be *that close*, and it can still be taken away.
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Once again, I am awed by your satirical talents. Thank you!