Notices by Shoq (shoq@mastodon.social), page 11

I’m old enough to remember when only crackpots wanted to lecture you on how “America is a Republic, not a democracy.” They had no idea what either word meant, but it sure made them feel smarter saying it. Now the entire Republican party is crackpots and they’re all saying it. So it goes.

In reply to…
https://mastodon.social/@shoq/112343186714078755

Why I’m Leaving Twitter: A Reflection on Elon Musk’s Takeover and Anti-Democratic Values

https://mem.ai/p/e83QTrTPntGEmmZYQUEc

And now another cabal of white men, this time in the Tennessee legislature, pass a bill letting teachers pack sidearms in class.

Another Rubicon jumped like a damn shark.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/tennessee-passes-bill-let-teachers-carry-guns-schools-rcna149068

I can’t speak for you, but I am really tired of everything being so stupid, defective. unaccountable, or just plain lousy. Pick almost any topic of interest and the same rule applies. It wasn’t this way when I grew up. There were occasional outbreaks of quality and excellence. Those days are over.

@ahumanbeinz I have friends who have told me for years that Trump will never face justice. But then, neither will Rick Scott, half the Sandler family, and countless other criminals with or from great wealth. We’ve evolved a justice system that the rich feel they’ve always deserved.

Praise be!

In reply to…
https://mastodon.social/@tchambers@indieweb.social/112299959110125952

I’ve tried a variety of pitches. This one seems to get the biggest point across. That Decentralized is happening. Get on board! #FOMO

I am so sick of paywalls. We have to find a more sustainable form of journalism. All general news articles should be free after 24 hours. Feature articles can stay behind the paywall. Those who want or need superfresh news can (and will) pay.

@joeo10. Every time someone tells me that, the alternative is some open source project that just invites frustrations. Which is yours?

I hope it’s easier to understand than this article about it.

CBS News Plans Streaming Overhaul With New ‘Whip-Around’ Program

https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/cbs-news-streaming-overhaul-whip-around-1235965338/

HOLY SHIT. Arizona Supreme Court just upheld an 1864 abortion law that bans the procedure, outright. Just more reason for anyone caring about women’s rights needs to get their asses to the polls in November, dragging at least one person with them.

@tchambers @flexghost

Has anyone researched and published data on what typical fedi instances are spending on system resources?

While was a proponent of Threads in the fediverse, I was never convinced that some fears were not valid. And there was a deep dread that if those fears we realized, it would be all but impossible to reverse the damage. Meta is just too big, too powerful, and too fucking evil. There, I’ve said it.

The people like Taibbi who subscribe to the idea that “we need to hit rock bottom” before social change is possible, never seem to explain why that hasn’t happened in other countries that punched right through the floor a long time ago.

@mike @MissTakenLee Thanks Mike. I like saying things that should be said. By someone. Anyone.

What I find most interesting is that despite some views to the contrary, it’s not the tech making the fediverse interesting. It’s all the people making a sustained effort to make it interesting.

I swear, we are still talking about this platform stuff all wrong. There is absolutely no comparison between my mastodon engagements and those anywhere else. People here are just far more interested in engaging people and ideas than any other site where the biggest activity seems to be following celebrity accounts and popular influencers discussing very little. It’s a completely different kind of experience.

@tchambers Did instagram followers automatically translate to Threads followers? That would explain why so many vapid accounts have 1500+ followers or more. Nothing else does.

@suzannealdrich @tchambers Thanks, but that doesn’t appear to answer the question: do your instagram followers automatically inflate up your follower count on threads, even if they haven’t yet followed your public threads profile.

I don’t care what tech for commercial innovation you point to in the last 35 years, after the initial splash, most of them have turned into crushing disappointments. Worse, their companies have not just in enshittified their own product lines, but no small part of our overall culture as well. Oligarchs have created a pliant consumer culture that lazily accepts often subpar products and services.

Republicans have done the unthinkable. They’ve remade Liberals into the conservatives in the room; the ones who want to preserve the best parts of our culture, not promote and exploit the very worst of it.