Notices by Michael Busch (michael_w_busch@mastodon.online), page 2

A disaster occurs.

Some self-identified "preppers" imagine everyone will immediately start fighting one another.

Meanwhile, in reality, I read about everyone doing things from evacuating to search & rescue with boats and helicopters; distributing supplies by foot and bicycle and mule; and surveying and communicating by satellite and drone and ham radio.

And I am reminded of Rebecca Solnit's 2009 "A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster".

I just encountered commentary where someone reacted to hurricane devastation in Asheville, North Carolina, 400 kilometers from the nearest coast, with "this is why people should move further inland".

That is entirely unhelpful.

And I also read reports of semiconductor manufacturing being disrupted by this; just like drug manufacturing was disrupted after Hurricane Maria.

In case anyone still wants to pretend that climate-change-caused disasters in one place somehow does not matter everywhere.

@feld @mekkaokereke On this I have lately learned from @sarahtaber , who is also running for North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner to address some of it.

(And good luck to her and everyone else in the state right now.)

@GottaLaff @inthehands

It is no longer surprising; but it remains striking to me that the MNGOP takes the position that their supporters should have no say in electing POTUS.

Because they know that Republican candidates for the last 25 years have become POTUS only because of the electoral college, but #Minnesota has gone only for Democratic candidates for 50 years.

@gwynnion @mekkaokereke I am reminded of how I sometimes encounter people calling for "political diversity".

By which they never mean the range of political opinions from classical liberalism to anarcho-socialism advocated by the people in my social media feed.

@inthehands @wdlindsy I learn from @rebeccawatson that Richard Dawkins is calling himself a "cultural Christian" now.

As a pretext for sexism, racism, and anti-Muslim bigotry.

The authoritarian pattern is worldwide.

@wdlindsy @inthehands Being a former-Catholic atheist:

It is no longer surprising, but remains striking, to encounter people like J.D. Vance who profess to have once been atheists but then re-associated themselves with the most extreme parts of Catholicism for the sake of bigotry and authoritarianism.

@luckytran

A Trump/Vance administration would largely dismantle food safety; including making food labeling voluntary.

Which might well kill me (celiac).

So. Yeah.

@bicmay @inthehands I remember when Donald Trump and Mike Pence tried to repeal ACA and Pence said that Americans needed to take "personal responsibility".

As if I have personal responsibility for having once been a baby in NICU.

Yet again, USA:

Vote for Harris, for Walz, and for the Democratic candidates for Congress.

For all of the reasons.

And require better from media outlets that have learned nothing from the past 8+ years.

Since Donald Trump just gave a speech in which he continued to call for "bloody" mass deportation and ethnic cleansing: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3l3no54pbpq2c .

Which the Pioneer Press unconscionably reported on with the headline "Trump appeals to voters in Wisconsin GOP stronghold".

@inthehands @swart "Duck, Duck, Grey Duck" ?

@inthehands It would have been nice for kids to be able to get their updated COVID vaccinations before the schools started up again.

But none of the local pharmacies I have been following have supply for the under-12s yet.

It's not great.

@aredridel @inthehands Thanks go to everyone who has worked NICU.

@Thumper1964 @inthehands @RamenCatholic @mathaetaes @homelessjun @MisuseCase @mekkaokereke A group of MNGOP and allied media outlets have lately been pretending that the Twin Cities burned to the ground 4 years ago - while standing in a crowd of 100,000 people on the fair grounds between St. Paul and Minneapolis.

No lie too outrageous for the bigots.

But the DFL has also not acted to stop offenses by police (instead, the mayor of Minneapolis wants to give MPD more money for no good reason).

@mekkaokereke They might say that they like Star Wars, Star Trek, The Culture, The Expanse, The Matrix, Robocop, Terminator, The Lord of the Rings, etc.

But they continue to demonstrate that they did not understand those works.

Even when the authors of the works have explained them (per the Wachowskis telling off Elon Musk).

Which makes me wonder if they actually watched or read or listened to them - or paid attention if they did.

Re. my repost of @Wolven :

I am now considering how many different computers healthcare data can pass through.

When I get an echocardiogram; the images are displayed on the technician's machine, the radiologist's machine, the cardiologist's machine, & eventually my machine.

At least four possible places where Windows 11's "Recall" screen capturing could leave a copy - and only one of which is prevented by me personally not running Windows.

I can only assume Microsoft ignored all its lawyers.

@mdm The current vote by mail rules from the #Minnesota Secretary of State's office: https://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/other-ways-to-vote/vote-early-by-mail/

"Who can witness my ballot?
You will need a witness when you vote and complete your ballot. The witness can be either a registered Minnesota voter or a notary."

I keep complaining about this to my members of the Minnesota state legislature.

(On the other hand, all one needs to get a ballot by mail is to fill out the form online - or by mail or in person in a county election office.)

@inthehands @jonobie @mdm @karabaic @mekkaokereke My one objection to voting rules here in #Minnesota is the witness requirement for voting by mail.

When I was living out-of-state for school but still voting here; I had to find the one person on campus who was a notary in order to vote. It was always a hassle.

Now there is a provision for any other Minnesota voter to witness the ballot; but that doesn't help out-of-state.

And California & Washington manage just fine for without any such rule.

@simonbp I regret to report that one of the Cosmic Call METI demonstration messages included source code for an ELIZA-like chatbot: https://www.vice.com/en/article/yp985x/meet-the-first-chatbot-sent-into-outer-space

Joe Biden should wear his mask and take the week off from work.

To demonstrate good behavior when having COVID.