Notices by disorganized tropical low (stephaniemoore@mastodon.online)

We are back from an amazing trip to Estes Park, CO. My oldest and I had lived near there and visited often, so I was excited to take the twins. They fell in love and want to move there now, lolol. The first pic is from very near the top of Trail Ridge Rd (one of the highest roads in the country), above timberline looking across to mountain peaks with some snow still. The second is a view from our cabin at the YMCA of the Rockies looking down into a nearby valley.

RE: https://mastodon.social/@timklapdor/116550491273768735

Good read on IT culture which has created a way of thinking about of our technological ecosystems that made something like the #canvas hack and system takedown rather inevitable. We have systems built around a maintenance logic, not a resilience or even need-based model.

I rather like the ideas he links to from within this piece on alternatives to LMSs that isn’t the unhelpful “let’s go back to pen and paper” but rather how do we build a better ecosystem (which IS entirely possible)

@inthehands Canvas was open source before they consolidated and became a for-profit (which many at the time felt was a betrayal). Other open source options exist as well like Sakai and Moodle where you don’t necessarily have to build it but you can do your own instance and maintain it. Yes, that requires infrastructure, but IMO creating at-home jobs is also a win here.

I saw a post about the brain drain the US. Most people won’t be able to go anywhere, though, and we are layers deep in incredible people - precisely because of decades of investments in education, science, etc.
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Witness
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#AgainstErasure #AgainstForgetting

@bmacDonald94 same to you 🙏

@bmacDonald94 oh that fits lol

I love NM. I think it’s an under-appreciated treasure.

@bmacDonald94 lol, Arizona wouldn’t surprise me if they were more like “we’re out” and just became their own little Republic

@bmacDonald94 Can Denmark buy New Mexico, too, while they’re at it?

RE: https://mastodon.online/@sergiodomeyko/115951070599660651

This video appears to show the murder of an individual swarmed by ICE agents who are wrestling him (?) to the ground for a good while until one agent I guess decides to just shoot the person - while he his pinned down already by other agents and I think from behind.

It’s very hard to watch. I did because I feel like I need to courageously witness what is happening and not look away, as our neighbors in #Minnesota cannot. Our federal government is killing us.

This email just went out from the Chickasaw Nation to all its citizens, and they’ve been doing a social media and tv blitz in Oklahoma.

@lisagetspolitik Exxactly this. I’d love to have an organized tax strike with the message that “we refuse to pay for ICE”

The Onion still being great …

“Trump Still Polling Well With Working-Class American Pedophiles”

https://theonion.com/trump-still-polling-well-with-working-class-american-pedophiles/

@futurebird I loved this blog post by @inthehands on liberal arts education so much so that I folded it into my Week 1 readings for my AI ethics class and we used it to frame and set the stage for class … and had an amazing semester being curious about unknowns. Many years ago, I’d read the original “greats” on this and always strove towards it, but over time had gotten worn down by bureaucracy and habits. This provided such a welcome refresh:

https://innig.net/teaching/liberal-arts-manifesto

This is a HUGE deal. Republicans are tossing democracy in the bin and barring legally, democratically elected leaders (while accusing Dems of doing that). This deserves a lot more energy and pressure.

Johnson sets record refusing to swear in Adelita Grijalva for 36 days after she won election

https://azmirror.com/briefs/johnson-sets-record-refusing-to-swear-in-adelita-grijalva-for-36-days-after-she-won-election/

They want to turn our military against us for daring to disagree, for daring to exercise our protected rights of speech and protest and assembly.

I know the training these generals received. Years and years of training to defy this very immoral and unconstitutional demand. I would say let’s see how many are brave enough to reject unconstitutional orders, but waiting to see will be too late. SCOTUS has already lost all legitimacy. Are the generals next?

https://journa.host/@w7voa/115293658944245890

If the federal government is going to divest from vaccine production and approval, blue states should collectively INVEST in the facilities for research, testing, and review processes at the state level for approvals and then support distribution for anyone who wants access. Perhaps even find a way to negotiate investments that provide a small return to reinforce the economic engines of blue states.

(PS feel free to add ideas - maybe we crowdsource a plan?)

Next up, reliable data and reports.

I keep thinking that blue states really need to form a strategic, long-view sort of coalition and as part of that build shadow infrastructure so that we don’t lose all the talent, expertise, data, etc that Trump and his goons are trying to wipe away. So I’m going to brainstorm here what that shadow infrastructure could look like and add ideas as the next news item about whatever is being destroyed comes out in the hopes it may inform a strategy.

First up: vaccines. …

If the federal government is going to divest itself from science and research, then blue states should coordinate investment in it. This one actually seems like low-hanging fruit to me. Science and research are economic engines. States can negotiate terms of funding that turn discoveries into infrastructure, jobs, and return on investment. If we imagine symbiotic relationships with universities and labs, how could the two become drivers that also maintain critical advancements and innovation?

If the federal government is going to divest itself from reliable data and reporting, the blue states should coordinate efforts to establish independent data collection and reporting on labor, jobs, economy, environment, etc.

Our market economy relies on valid data and reports. Erode that trust, and economic health erodes with it. Blue states should be hiring the very experts let go and create conduits for keeping reliable information in the ether.

Next up, science and research.