Notices by Bodhipaksa (bodhipaksa@mastodon.scot)

Usha Vance visiting a Marine Corps base in North Carolina a couple of days ago. Notice anything missing from her left hand?

This is where the US is right now.

A Jewish friend with a (US citizen) Latino husband is making a drive across several US states. They're having to plan their route to avoid areas where ICE is active, in case they get stopped and assaulted (and probably end up with smashed windows on their vehicle).

She compared it to the times of the Green Book, where Black Americans had to share how to travel safely around the country.

#Fascism

The #Aurora isn’t as bright here as it is in other places, but it is still clearly visible to the naked eye

@kims You say "this image" but there's no toot that you're quoting. I'm wondering if something went wrong.

@Life_is @kims I don't see the quoted toot at all.

This photograph of Trump holding a rendering of his new ballroom reveals it to be a ghastly gilded confection of hideousness.

The idea of the capital city containing a permanent monument to Trump's vanity and lack of taste is just intolerable.

I look forward to seeing it demolished, and something more appropriate (perhaps a restoration of the original East Wing) put up in its place.

‘In response to a Facebook post about an upcoming vigil for Kirk, Bushart shared an image of President Donald Trump with the quote, "We have to get over it," which Trump said in January 2024 after a shooting at Iowa's Perry High School. Text added to the image said, "This seems relevant today."’

And for this: $2 million bail and the threat of years in prison.

https://reason.com/2025/10/10/tennessee-man-arrested-gets-2-million-bond-for-posting-facebook-meme/

Still incredibly disturbed by this account of a 1 AM raid on an apartment building in Chicago, where Border Patrol and FBI agents in military clothing smashed in people's doors—even those of citizens—and dragged everyone out onto the street, including naked children. Citizens & others were zip-tied. Non-citizens were taken away. Citizens were left outside in zip-ties for hours.

Of all the fascisty things that I've heard of, this so far strikes me as the most fascist.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2025/10/01/massive-immigration-raid-on-chicago-apartment-building-leaves-residents-reeling-i-feel-defeated

“The media keeps wondering why trust in journalism is at historic lows. Here’s a thought: maybe it’s because when the President reveals he’s making military decisions based on old Fox News footage and lies from his advisors, the reporter who got that admission decides it’s not worth mentioning.”

https://www.techdirt.com/2025/09/30/the-mainstream-media-is-catastrophically-failing-to-meet-the-moment/

Not surprisingly, Canadians no longer trust the United States, are happy to pay more if it means avoiding buying American products, and are reluctant to come here.

It takes a special kind of Stable Genius to destroy an international friendship so completely and so quickly.

https://globalnews.ca/news/11435168/ipsos-polling-canada-us-relationship/

The Trump regime's security forces zip-tied and arrested more than a dozen New York lawmakers yesterday as they insisted on their right to inspect an ICE facility that's been accused of holding prisoners in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions.

I don't see how, at this point, anyone can fail to recognize that we're living under full-blown fascism.

https://www.amny.com/news/brad-lander-jumaane-williams-nyc-officials-arrested-ice/

@DroidPort @passwordsarehard4

Often a screenshot of text contains more text than can fit into one post, or takes up so much of the character allowance that there's no room to comment. (The alt text field can hold much more text.)

Also, I prefer how it looks. I think it's more striking and more likely to be read than a simply text post.

Lastly, it contains information that might be useful to some people. I don't know whether it's from BlueSky or Twitter, for example, but others might.

@nightoo No, I'm not saying that not adding alt text is an "active attack" on people with visual impairments. I'm saying that it's not taking them into account.

And I haven't put anyone down.

@passwordsarehard4 @DroidPort The main point of alt text is to make images accessible to people with visual impairments. When someone uses technology to read aloud what's on the screen, and that technology encounters an image without alt text, the person doesn't know what's being posted, which is frustrating and excludes them. If the alt text is of an image that's composed almost entirely of text, then the alt text will duplicate what you see. But the alt text can be heard by a blind person.

@DroidPort I wouldn't say alt text was an obsession any more than not leaving your car in a disabled parking parking space or not leaving bags of trash in front of a blind neighbor's door are obsessions. There are many visually impaired people on Mastodon. They have a harder time in life than the average person. Why add to their difficulties by filling their feeds with images that lack descriptions? It's a simple act of human kindness to add a description so that VI people aren't excluded.

Taken from another account so that I could add alt text. Please don’t boost posts that lack alt text.

Stephen Miller: “The power of law enforcement under President Trump’s leadership will be used to find you, will be used to take away your money, take away your power and if you have broken the law, take away your freedom.”

Note how he threatens to take away our money and power even if we haven't broken the law. This is profoundly contrary to the first amendment. It's pure fascism; destroying people simply because they politically oppose you.

The GOP is planning to give the government dictatorial powers to designate any US citizen a “supporter of terrorism” (e.g. by expressing opposition to Israel’s actions in Gaza) and to revoke their citizenship. There would be no due process.

https://theintercept.com/2025/09/13/marco-rubio-revoke-us-passports-terrorism/

@hellomiakoda @marzipanista When I got summoned to an immigration appointment I spent the entire hour’s drive memorizing my partner’s number in case they were going to disappear me into a camp. The appointment went without incident, fortunately. I knew her number then, but lack of practice means I’ve forgotten most of it again.

@TheComfortableSpotPodcast She’s a teenager, at a time (college freshman move-in day yesterday) when connecting with friends is vitally important. All her friends are on it. It’s not an easy thing even for adults to walk away from these things.