Notices by John (johnzajac@dice.camp)

Also remember a Democratic President took power and didn't do fuck all to find them or prevent it from happening again?

Democrats and Republicans are equally complicit in this shit; both support a police state; both are against political speech they disagree with, which always happens to be leftist; both use the State to suppress that speech.

Our problem isn't any one party, it's a political class unused to having to listen to anyone but their donors.

They need to be *reeducated*.

The wildest part is that a group of people could literally just buy an unmarked van, wear all black, have some handcuffs and tasers, and kidnap literally whoever they want while screaming "ICE!"

Nobody would know the difference. TBH, I don't think ICE would know the difference, because I don't think they're keeping track of the people they're kidnapping.

Remember how they kidnapped like 10,000 kids but "forgot" to keep records of where they put them?

The Trump lawyers in the deportation hearing covering their blatant disregard for US court orders are doing the whole "here's an argument that makes no sense; let's see how funny it is to confuse and enrage this silly judge from the old regime" game.

Judges need to start issuing contempt rulings when arguments are so absurd as to beggar belief. They need to imprison a Justice Dept lawyer every day until they show up and act like professionals.

That they don't understand this is ridiculous.

@inthehands @jhlibby

This could be an ideological difference, though I don't know where yours lie: I think private education at all levels should be outlawed, and all education should be free.

I strongly believe that the civic state is like herd immunity: if people are allowed to opt out, it will fail. To me, public education is one of the beating hearts of a modern equitable society, and so my criticism comes from that.

@inthehands @jhlibby

Absent proven academic fraud, I don't honestly believe it's possible for a university to "revoke" a degree without opening themselves up to a huge civil lawsuit. And, hopefully, those civil lawsuits will manifest.

Aside from that, it's obvious that Ivy League schools are no longer rigorous institutions or capable of fulfilling their missions. I suspect that more and more of the *actually* talented people will choose lib arts alternatives, leaving the Ivy to the legacies.

@inthehands @jhlibby

I'm ambivalent about the destruction of these institutions. Higher education in general has been on an unsustainable trajectory for decades, and imo this is just the "cannot be sustained" part of that manifesting.

Also, there's nothing *particularly* special about Ivies that isn't entirely caught up in their faculty and the students they attract. Once the good faculty go somewhere else, the students will follow, and other unis will take their place.

@aral

This is legit classical comedy.

@anildash

I think absent unlimited clean energy, "AI" is probably always going to stink like the planet-killer it is.

I suppose it's possible some unforeseen utility is worth the energy expenditure, social and economic disruption, and widespread larceny needed to "train" it, but I'm highly skeptical.

But it seems clear that "being normal" about energy intensive technology with highly suss value during the accelerating climate catastrophe is to see it as evil AF.

You know, the whole "Trump could eliminate the Post Office!" thing is the epitome of media compliance with fascism.

The US Constitution *guarantees* a functional Post Office serving all Americans. In plain language.

I know, I know, "laws don't actually exist". But it's important to *point out* that Trump is legitimately a *traitor* who is *violating his oath of office*.

IF your goal is to move the passive supporters and passive resisters over to passive resisters and active resisters.

@Qybat

If you ignore the profoundly problematic immorality of what you wrote, and just focus on the merits: Biden literally broke the law a *half-dozen times* shoveling munitions and other military equipment into Bibi's mouth so he could liquidate Gaza.

So when you write "by-the-book" I assume you mean using the binding of the book to beat the law until it dies in the street? Biden was doing tricks for a year to step around congressional approval and appropriation.

@HeavenlyPossum

@inthehands @datum

From a brand perspective, they had an "Apple Effect" going on for about a decade, which is where most of their stock price came from.

Basically, people thought that owning a Tesla conveyed social status, so they ignored or reasoned away all the flaws in the technology (especially the software).

Apple's brand moment lasted for 25 years on the strength of their tech and software. It still props up their company, despite recent stagnation.

But Tesla doesn't have that.

Super curious how Germany feels about their citizen being held without due process in an ICE concentration camp.

The video of Trump and Vance trying to bully Zelensky, and Zelensky just making them look more and more shrill as it goes on, then Vance realizing the optics are ~*not great*~ and trying to prepare the way to blame Zelensky once this hits,

will play *over and over and over* again in capitols all over the world.

They will watch Trump and Vance do this to Zelensky - a VERY popular head of state - and imagine it was them. Also, Zelensky's approvals just shot in to the 90s.

Our media isn't going to talk about it, because it's a quiet part of the hypernormalization we've endured for the last 30 years, but the US is *not* well equipped to endure a trade war.

If a *single entity* calls Trump's bluff - whether it's Canada or Europe or China - we're totally screwed.

The media is reporting this shit like it'll all be okay. It won't be okay. Maga isn't ready for what's coming. Believe me. Those fuckers have step one but nothing else.

All Europe has to do is stop using US tech companies.

29% of all of Google's revenue comes from Europe. 23.14% of Meta's revenue. 25% of Apple's. ~30% of MSFT's.

Even if they reduced their use by a third, they'd *devastate* our economy.

Why do people not understand that the United States is literally *nothing* without our trade empire?

And these fuckers *aren't backing down*. I have a feeling Trump's gonna get this bluff called.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/26/trump-european-union-tariffs

I think one problem we're facing is that the West has not a single leader in office right now. Like, literally nobody can lead, nobody has courage, nobody has principles, nobody has depth, nobody has enough oomph to make Trump look small.

The tyranny of mediocrity, enforced by neoliberal ethos and aesthetics, multiplied by 50 years, has rendered the entire civilization without anyone worth listening to in a position of power.

"The benefit of the doubt" is an interesting concept because in some ways it's been weaponized to allow monsters through the gate.

When you assume incompetence-not-malice, you are giving the person you're regarding *the benefit of the doubt*. If you understand that, you can moderate you use of that aphorism to *credible people* who deserve to receive that benefit.

When you hear someone say perfect-enemy-of-good, and you assume they're using it in good faith, you're giving them the BOD.

Something I've noticed is that almost *everyone* in our society automatically gives BOD to anyone in power.

Seems off. Seems almost like the inverse of how it should be.

How could we have possibly gotten here, where we give men like Elon Musk and Donald Trump BOD? Where their words are reported as neutral things, not mendacious nuclear weapons lobbed with abandon at whatever and whomever they please?

Why, in turn, are we *skeptical* of the people who point out their unreliability?

When I see news orgs jumping onto "AI", it makes me realize how few fucks they give about facts, reality, or actual journalism.

We really need 90% of our "news" institutions to be thrown into the sea.

My entire extended family is in the grips of this "throw out all your useless stuff" thing that's all the rage right now.

But they're like keeping the Xbox Series-X and throwing out the teenagers' art from when they were toddlers. Or like, throwing out all their college woodworking projects and keeping their Ikea wine rack.

And I can't help but think that maybe one of the reasons people keep telling researchers they don't feel connected to past or future is because *they put it in the trash*.