Notices by Brian Marick (marick@mstdn.social)

The Washington Post, desperate to survive the wave of subscriber cancelations due to Jeff Bezos deciding he knows best, adopts The Guardian typo-heavy model.¹

After all, the WaPo was founded 56 years after the Grauniad, so – as a now-reactionary paper – it’s only fitting it revert to a history The Guardian has long since left behind.

¹ https://londontrends.uk/what-is-a-grauniad-uk-news-most-famous-typo-explained https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:a5fwvpvub5e7mxaebuxn3tuu/post/3m3ur64sods25

Oops, that was supposed to be a quote-post linking to this:

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:a5fwvpvub5e7mxaebuxn3tuu/post/3m3ur64sods25

@inthehands @sandofsky @ayanonagon Words cannot express my admiration for your poem, sir.

@vy @inthehands Could split the difference. Yes, King is nominally not a Democrat, but in the way I’m not a Democrat. Not a formal member of the party, but ‘cmon: which party do I *act* like I’m a part of?

And, “I, an abortion rights advocate, asked my good buddy Josh Hawley who I should vote for, and gosh darn it he *deceived* me” sure sounds like a Democratic Senator. Such as my senior senator, Dick “comity” Durbin, who is thankfully retiring. (1/3)

@vy @inthehands Re: Durbin’s confirmations. In Greenspan’s term: “With notably rare exceptions”, such as the Muslim candidate who got zorched for the 3d circuit vacancy, which was left unfilled for Emil Bove to fill.

I think reasonable people can disagree about how effective the Democratic leadership has been. I think they’ve been ineffective, have not risen to the occasion. I *don’t* think any reasonable person can think they’ve executed anything close to flawlessly in the last… lotta years.

@vy @inthehands I agree Biden got a raw deal. He was a good President. Better than Clinton. Better than Obama.

And the Congress did OK, given the hand they were dealt.

I don’t see what that has to do with the present situation.

@vy @inthehands No, I was not complaining about Durbin on judges. *You* brought up judges. As far as I know, Durbin was a good Whip. But being able to ride herd on Democrats is not the entirety of the job.

Nor did I accuse Democrats of being corrupt, or unmanly, etc. I accused them of being ineffective. Specifically, at the job of coping with a fascistic opposition.

You are confusing me with the boogieman in your head.

82-year old Chilean, granted permanent legal residency (political asylum) by the US in 1987.

Lost his “green card”. While getting it replaced, ICE snatched him. Family couldn’t find out where he was, thought he was dead. Then they were told he was dead (anonymously? - unclear)

Instead, he had been deported. Not to Chile. To Guatemala. He’s now in a hospital there.

His fate depends on the whims of the people who sent him, people immune to the law.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ice-deported-grandpa-green-card-b2792290.html

@br00t4c @inthehands Hey, Padilla’s one of the ones the law should protect but not bind, not one of the ones it should bind but not protect!

https://slate.com/business/2022/06/wilhoits-law-conservatives-frank-wilhoit.html

With a soupçon of the standard right wing “Now that I’ve found my dear friend John is gay, I’m in favor of Obergefell.”

@nberlat.bsky.social @inthehands How about "replace ICE"? As with "REfund the police," it would be a slogan unclear enough to prompt conversation, rather than one allowing everyone to construe it in a way that best reinforces their prejudices.

@dimsumthinking @inthehands @heidilifeldman A lot depends on three people on the Supreme Court deciding, "OK, this has gotten out of hand."

Maybe the Great Man theory of history is passe¹, but the "failed to rise to the occasion" theory has legs.

¹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_man_theory

@dimsumthinking @inthehands @heidilifeldman Haven't read the details yet, but I expect "we'll figure out what to do with this man sent in error to a hellhole in maybe a few months, maybe a year or so" should make Roberts fear the judgment of the God I guess he only pretends to believe in.

This is an affecting story of what it's like to be one of the casket carriers for soldiers killed in foreign lands.

https://charlotteclymer.substack.com/p/trump-picks-golf-over-dead-american

(via @charlotteclymer, @inthehands)

@wolfsbruder @inthehands I wouldn't assume that Venezuela's Interior Ministry reporting on this topic is any more credible than Musk, say, reporting on fraud in the Social Security Administration.

@inthehands @ajsadauskas @tomquinn.bsky.social Worked for Solomon, except this time both petitioners will say, "Sounds great! Can we watch?"

@ajsadauskas @inthehands @tomquinn.bsky.social You have to retroactively take Rupert Murdoch back, first.

...
Stop the presses! @jmeowmeow has a much much better epigram for the idea:

Nouns, like gems, shine best in a setting.

I've had a few epigrams that were sticky, most notably "An example would be handy right about now" and "you have to go slow to get fast."

How's this for one:

"Nouns should be like quarks: rarely found in isolation."

I sing today of the noun phrase. When thinking of users, think "overworked accountant," not just accountant. (Hat tip: Jeff Patton). A "neighborhood" should be a "searchable neighborhood."

A bare noun shrieks "unexpressed assumptions."

In 1950, the American Political Science Association's Committee on Political Parties published "Toward a More Responsible Two-Party System," in which they called for the Democratic and Republicans to become more different.

I guess they didn't notice the monkey's paw curling in the desk drawer.

Fast forward some decades. "Everyone" now includes self-confident twitter trolls who think tagging themselves "bigballs" on social media projects an attractive swagger. Dumbasses, in other words, working for the biggest dumbass of all. (2/6)