Fascinating conversation on the latest episode of ShopTalk between @davatron5000 and @chriscoyier. These algorithms have essentially made content creators into slaves who have to follow unknown rules just to get their hard work seen.
Picked up some amazing breakfast sandwiches from Eggies, and had breakfast at the beach over the weekend. It was nice to get out and get some fresh air. I needed it.
Black mis-leadership like Jim Clyburn is only possible because the Democratic Party learned that they could hide evil corrupt corporatism behind people of color and women. This is why Kamala Harris, despite her atrocious criminal justice record and support for US imperialism, quickly shot to the top of the Democratic Party despite voters harshly rejecting her during the 2020 Democratic Primaries.
Now I am seeing a more troubling pattern emerge, Democrats are using these black corrupt leaders to shut down and stifle movements against the establishment. For example, Jim Clyburn, Jamie Harrison, Barack Obama, Raphael Warnock, and many other black leaders are the Democratic attack dogs used to attack grassroots activist movements like Defund the Police. Jim Clyburn comparing Defund the Police to “burn baby burn” and Barack Obama concern trolling about the slogan is how they are used to undermine our movement. Let us be clear, Defund the Police is NOT a slogan. It is a policy demand. One which these black congressional oligarchs do not like because Democrats receive more money from the police than Republicans do. Once again, these black establishment Democrats are selling out our people and attacking our movement for money and political power.
What ‘Democracy’ Is Under Attack? Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix
Rightists suck at conspiracy analysis because their worldview requires an elite cabal planning and orchestrating all evil dynamics, whereas leftists understand that many (though not all) of those dynamics will unfold on their own in a system where human behavior is driven by profit-seeking. In situations where you are ideologically prohibited from blaming the obvious culprit capitalism, you’ll come up with all kinds of other wacky explanations.
Capitalism is at the core of the rot consuming the US. A bold socialist agenda would help us heal the planet and offer everyone a life of dignity.
Dems Reject Bigger Survival Checks, Float Tax Breaks For The Rich
The lack of clarity around what a $2,000 check actually means gave Biden an opportunity to decide whether to press for more or less relief to millions of American facing eviction, starvation and bankruptcy. He chose to use the ambiguity to call for less.
Indeed, rather than pushing for a full $2,000 check, the president-elect and party leaders decided to parse their own rhetoric and offer up a legalistic justification for a smaller amount of relief — a big win for conservative Democrats such as Joe Manchin, who has said that many people don’t need the checks and argued instead for more “targeted” relief.
The Democratic Party doesn’t represent the interests of regular people.
Does God Really Hate Queers?
Here’s a fascinating, heartwarming, and heartbreaking video about being queer and whether it’s also possible to have a faith.
Interestingly, my former religion makes an appearance just to show the world how horrible it is. Jehovah’s Witnesses are not accepting of LGBTQ people. Joshua, a gay man that is featured in the video, explains how he was disfellowshipped (or excommunicated) and subsequently completely shunned by his family. The story of the muslim woman is just as disturbing as she tries to find a marriage of convenience so that her family doesn’t disown her.
It’s stories like these that push me towards agnosticism and atheism. How could a loving god expect you to shun someone because of who they love? Why would a loving god punish someone for something so deeply personal and intrinsic to who they are, such as their sexuality?
So does god really hate people who are LGBTQ? I have no interest in a god that does.
Apple Might Be Making a Display Again
There have been lots of interesting rumors about Apple this week, but this one is the most exciting for me:
The cheaper monitor would feature a screen geared more for consumer than professional use and wouldn’t have the brightness and contrast ratio of the top-tier offering. Apple last launched a consumer-grade monitor called the Thunderbolt Display in 2011 for $999 but discontinued it in 2016.
I haven’t loved the monitor options after the discontinuation of the Thunderbolt Display. I loved that thing. It had some nice I/O, powered my laptop, featured a pretty nice panel with great colors, and the speakers weren’t bad either.
I’ve used the LG 5K UltraFine since. It’s not a terrible monitor. The brightness is pretty good, and most of the color is accurate (except when I’m having ghosting issues). But the speakers are terrible and the I/O is essentially non-existent.
Here’s to hoping this new display comes in at 32”, has an Apple-esque design with minimal bezels, a 4K webcam, and speakers I can actually use when I need a break from my headphones.
I’m back on WordPress for my personal blog and I honestly don’t know why I leave. I tinker too much for my own good sometimes.
I miss existing without the constant worry that I might die.
This video from @mattbirchler on moving his newsletter to Substack is fascinating. I love that Substack gives you an RSS feed and a canonical URL. Not to mention the ease with which you can create a subscription. I’d try it if I had the energy to write a consistent newsletter 🤣
I love the sentiment of this tweet:
guilty pleasure is stupid. like what you like despite other people hating whatever you find fun. ignore bitches who get in the way of you enjoying harmless shit they’ve decided is uncool
— A Mythic Bitch👼🐍 unblock fee $555✨(🐿️ not girl) @Mulletp0wer) January 14, 2021
truly the most fun people I know dont give a fuck about cool
I’ve struggled my whole life with this. Molding myself into whatever I thought other people would like. Trying to fit in where I didn’t, and thinking I was somehow doing something wrong or the things I liked weren’t “cool”. Learning to be authentic instead and standing by that authenticity has been a breath of fresh air in my life, and so far has brought about meeting some of the best people.
Ultimately, I accept and love myself. Why would I allow people who don’t into my bubble?
I’m excited to see news about an open-world Star Wars game. I would love to see more games with a story like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, but who are we kidding? When it comes to Star Wars, I stay hyped.
I respect the people on this call, but I disagree. Lives are on the line. Intentions don’t matter. A politician that isn’t actively pushing for #M4A during a deadly pandemic is my enemy. I’ll call you my ally when I see you fighting for us.
This video from @RaniaKhalek explains perfectly why I find the banning of Trump (and the uncritical praise for it) so alarming.
Let this song be the anthem of the 20’s once this god damn pandemic is over.
I had no idea Chris Stuckmann used to be a Jehovah’s Witness. His latest video is a small peak into the life of being one, and as a former member myself, it’s pretty horrifying. It brings me much joy to see fellow exJWs happy and pursuing their dreams. I hope to one day have the bravery to tell my story so honestly and openly like Chris does.
This is the woman the #fraudsquad betrayed us for. This shell of a person, they willingly voted for without any meaningful concessions. A person that stands by the decision of obstructing stimulus for eight months. Fucking unbelievable.
It Wasn’t 2020, It Was The Ruling Class Trying to Kill You
What needed to happen here in the US was the immediate implementation of a system of national healthcare, a campaign to guarantee widely accessible and free testing, and the deployment of a trained army of contact tracers tracking infections and helping people into paid, catered quarantines. There should have educational campaigns – not just television ads and official announcements but brigades of doctors, nurses, and medical students going door to door nation-wide, explaining the basics of the situation in language the people could understand just as Cuba was able to do. There should have been rent and bill freezes, massive free food distributions, and recurring monthly survival payments. There should have been a comprehensive long term plan to control the spread and make sure that people could stay home and social distance without bringing down economic and emotional devastation upon themselves and their loved ones. That is, of course, not what happened.
Basically every other country has the pandemic under control. We’ve had a whole year of our lives stolen, and yet there’s no end in sight. Will Democrats pass the bold type of legislation needed to get out of the hellhole we’re in? I’m not particularly hopeful. It’s more important than ever to organize and participate in direct action.
Patriot Act 2, Censorship, And Other Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix
To support the censorship of online speech is to support the authority of monopolistic tech oligarchs to exert more and more global control over human communication. Regardless of your attitude toward whoever happens to be getting deplatformed today, supporting this is self-destructive.
There are many gems in this newsletter, and I can’t agree more. We can agree Trump is horrible, but fascism won’t go away by ignoring it. As Caitlin later writes:
Trying to stop fascism by making it invisible is like trying to avert a charging bull by putting your hands over your eyes.
If you want to stop the rise of fascism you need to change. Change your sick society. Profoundly. Not just cover up the manifestations of that sickness.
I watched The King of Staten Island today and loved it. Pete Davidson is fucking brilliant in it. In fact the whole cast is great. Definitely recommend it.