Notices by Shoq (shoq@mastodon.social)

MUST READ BEFORE WEEPING

Exclusive: German ambassador warns of Trump plan to redefine constitutional order, document shows | Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/german-ambassador-warns-trump-plan-redefine-constitutional-order-document-shows-2025-01-18/

Sure glad Trump has gagged the CDC.

Bird Flu Enters a New Phase, Scientists Say

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/health/bird-flu-h5n1.html

Everyone still seems to be in a trance about all this. Like they’re waiting for their God to straighten it out . That scares me more than anything.

Europe’s Elon Musk Problem - Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic
- No paywall.

https://archive.ph/4gGa5

I have always though this birthright citizenship was a red herring. They knew it wasn’t constitutional and didn’t care. It was just so we’d not focus on the far worse stuff they are doing like the DEIA move yesterday. It’s astonishing we’re not talking more about that.

Good morning. I hereby declare the period since 2016, the “Rollback Era” of American history, when evil people took control of the American experiment. We should build permanent monuments to them so future generations know why they had to be vanquished. Which they will be. It’s just a matter of time.

BREAKING: Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban. Russian social media czar Edward Snowden tells hair and makeup influencers they are welcome in Russia where Vladimir Putin respects the importance of health and beauty.

We’re all just angrily posting our favorite influencers and pundits, as democracy winds down. America is the most embarrassing success story in the history of the world. I can no longer hide my hunger for our retribution. I want these MAGA misanthropes to all go down for this. Very hard.

This is a very big announcement. #FreeOurFeeds promises to be the future of social media, and it will be, when more folks stop focusing on Twitter as the model, or fretting over VCs who knew projects like this were inevitable.
https://www.threads.net/@shoqv4/post/DExQJ2pp6MR

We KNOW what they are doing. The only thing that befuddles me is WHY ARENT WE TALKING ABOUT ACTION TO REMEDY THIS?

If you think pluralism and politics can fix this, you’re tragically naive—or just stupid. There IS no precedent for this structural venality. But there IS precedent for other societies rising up to reject far less. What does it take to find your balls, America?

Transcript: Trump’s Ugly Eruptions Over Wildfires Hint at Darker Story

https://newrepublic.com/article/190034/transcript-trumps-ugly-eruptions-wildfires-hint-darker-story

At what point does anyone want to step out of this fantasy that this is all going work out with democratic process? We’re way past that now. We allowed the mega-wealthy to get out of control and now we seem surprised that they’re out of control. Barring some alien intervention. this will only end one way. If it ever does. https://bsky.app/profile/shoq.bsky.social/post/3leom2fdfjk2a

I wondered when this story might happen. Not surprised it’s Michael Harriot telling it. He thinks we’ve all been looking at the wrong lunatics. He makes a strong case. Don’t miss this. Just don’t.

https://tinyurl.com/3xmk56c3

There are great people on Bluesky and Threads. But I still enjoy the daily snark on Mastodon the best. That says something. To me, at least.

https://mastodon.social/@BigBoppa/113795553757071579

Why not? Who or what in this nation of spineless whiners will ever stop her?

Judge in Trump documents case temporarily blocks release of special counsel report.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-report-jack-smith-aileen-cannon/

The last number feels curiously out of sync with the first two. But more disturbing is that my mastodon.social engagements have plummeted in the last 2 months. I have relied on it for the most interesting discussions, but the opportunities for them seem to be tapering off. Are there fewer users, does my breath smell, or is there just less interest? I can’t tell yet, but I want to rekindle them, if that’s possible. I need them to stay sane.

When Fascism Comes To America, It Will Be Wrapped in SEO and Carrying a Paywall.

https://www.wsj.com/business/media/advertisers-keep-avoiding-news-sites-and-publishers-have-had-enough-of-it-e9e4ab83

Musk is now aiming for Germany. Does anyone think this isn’t going to end with the very violence I said it would in 2010? Every 50 to 100 years, the world needs a reminder that greed and power are the Holy Grail for megalomaniacs, psychopaths and assholes.

https://mastodon.social/@SueInRockville@mstdn.social/113685226080739768

I appreciate so much all the support I have gotten on 4 platforms about my mom’s passing. I am sorry that one post pissed-off some hospice fans and experts. I was working with info from others, not clinical experience. I wasn’t trying to “quench her thirst,” but to keep her organs functioning (after 72 hrs) while she was shedding an ill-advised sedation. As a lay person, I didn’t know hospice patients can go much longer without hydration. She was given Xanax AND morphine on intake, when her …

I’m trembling listening to this psychopath. The only way we survive this is some form of rebellion, and. But we won’t do that, because since World War II. Americans have become stupid, lazy, and selfish and taken democracy for granted. And we’re about to pay dearly for that.

Because a dwindling number of principled people draw a line when it comes to enabling fascist overlords? Just a hunch.

From X to Bluesky: why are people fleeing Elon Musk’s ‘digital town square’?

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/dec/11/from-x-to-bluesky-why-are-people-abandoning-twitter-digital-town-square

I am going to be posting this at least once a week to ensure everyone I know grasps the concept. There is nothing surprising about where we are today except that it still manages to surprise some people.