My precious baby

9. "Border security," therefore, has nothing to do with the "border" or "security" in any objective sense of those words. It means closing the door and purging anyone "who does not belong."

The problem is that they agree with it. The right fully won on immigration. Who out there is not just willing to say that immigrants should be treated fairly, but that immigration is good and rather than having ”secure” borders, they should be more open? Who?

I talked a little about this before in one of the other threads but honestly my theory is no they didn’t because when do reactionary right-wing Christofascists in this day and age ever actually experience consequences for stuff? even Francis, who didn’t like them, offered some concessions

I really thought “Tom Wambsgans” was a fake internet personality like “Spiders Georg” whoops this is what happens when you skip a major tv show

i have become obsessed with this. i will read any article about it. this piece quotes an american tradcath who traveled from spain to attend the deliberately schismatic consecration. nearly 20,000 people in all. it's like a january 6th of catholicism!

Reading up on the differences between the Tridentine Mass and the Novus Ordo, because I am as always fascinated by institutional rules and ordinances on how you can do magic words and after a discussion of "emasculating" prayers, I am now forced to wonder where prayers keep their dicks

FASCINATING CONTEXT about whiteness, citizenship, belonging, and actual vs fake religious persecution

I love propaganda art just like I appreciate some poison plants. Lily of the valley, socialist realism...

The beautiful art of schism and propaganda

Cannot keep plants alive in my house. Cats nibble them to death no matter what 😭

the headline says "LGBTQ+" but these are trans protections specifically! www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...

The French Republican calendar's celebration of ordinary plants, animals, and tools feels SO Socialist Realist in the best way.

OH NO I MISSED WORMWOOD DAY

what if "I don't like this any more than you do, but there is no cure, so please try to overlook my unfortunate condition" isn't the best or only argument for queer liberation

not saying being queer is a choice, more that "is it a choice" should stop being the key question this isn't a criminal trial where we're deciding if you're culpable enough to charge you with first degree gay or if we can knock it down to manslover

Alternatively a telepath could just be rendered incapable of doing anything by the constant onslaught of other people's bullshit. Which is not a bad metaphor for social media tbh

And let me add: this is not the weirdest or worst AI moment I’ve had as a sexual violence researcher. When your day to day work is about rape, it becomes really obvious that AI is fundamentally about violating consent and pushing a reality on people that is worse than reality actually is.

You can joke all you like about IRBs being there to protect institutions from lawsuits more than actual research subjects, but it sounds like this IRB failed at absolutely every job it had.

Good thread on why the teaching of history in the U.S. is curated as it is. They didn't teach us in high school that real reason France sold Louisiana is that Toussaint L'Ouverture and them were beating that a$$ and France needed the money.

good friend of mine has multiple pride things out in front of her house (in a neighborhood plastered with reelect mike johnson signs) and has gotten multiple notes in the mailbox thanking her, including one from a closeted teenager signaling virtuous beliefs is good, actually

This is because what we call "performative (derogatory)" accidentally captures the other thing about "performance" which is its role in the creation of reality via reputation management. Yeah, of COURSE we prefer people who seem like they care vs people who make a performance of apathy.

the use of “performative” as an insult here is why these people are losing their primaries. yes, voters want you to perform their anger and disgust! they want representatives to represent their symbolic interests! the idea that good representation is necessarily quiet and unobtrusive is wrong!

I see that the minor fast of the 17th of Tammuz is starting tonight, which means High Jewish Sadness Season is kicking into gear. Fortunately(?) because of the heat I was already really fucking sad.

The thing is, and what a lot of people don’t seem to be grasping, is should birthright citizenship go away, every birth would need to be adjudicated. The idea it would be fine for “the right people” is just wrong.

screaming EVOLUTION IS ABOUT THRIVING IN A PARTICULAR ENVIRONMENT NOT STRENGTH OR POWER at Ash Ketchum.

every Worf episode is like "hello Worf. It is I, your long lost/estranged high school guidance counselor. It is time for the c'ockaDoodle do''''''o

I'm pretty sure I can't have signs bc Condo Bullshit. And I don't have a car to put stickers on. but I probably DO need more pins. Is what I'm taking away from this.

Wee beastie is revisiting Steven Universe and keeps yelping about the gems "evolving" every time they fuse 🥲

i mean if the pope is gonna be excommunicating a bunch of guys tomorrow anyway, why not put some more names on the list. c’mon. as a treat, holy father. it would be fun and funny.

Sent to your room without (the Lord’s) supper

I did not know this! TIL!

Yeah. The Birthright Citizenship win *is* a win, but the fact that it wasn't 9-0 should worry you and the fact that it was a split decision should TERRIFY AND MOTIVATE YOU.

Some concept of gender is starting to emerge into the wee beastie's (2;8) world, but it's largely abstracted out from kin structures so that there are "mommies" and "daddies" and "grandmas" and "grandpas" in the larger world, and gender is inextricable from age 😌

Say it like it is: current conditions of un- and under-employment are specifically hitting the managerial middle class, and especially those of us who work for the public good.

Once again, I am forced to tap the sign.

my new favorite response to someone who says that nobody speaks yiddish anymore

common yiddish birthday wish is "biz hundert un tsvantsik!" (may you live to be 120 years old!) and it's beautiful to see that mel brooks is taking that shit very seriously

I knew about the Pionery and Komsomol, but today was my first time learning about the "Little Octobrists" Soviet youth group 🥺 I mean it was probably. bad. but that NAME it's CUTE

HAPPY 100TH BIRTHDAY MEL BROOKS YOU ICON YOU

Add Glechoma hederacea to my problematic fave invasive species list along with Convolvulus arvensis 😭

So far I've learned that no lawyers follow me lol. Time to ask my family lawyers. (Jewish stereotypes: I have the PhD, my sister has the JD.)

a new ukiyo-e but it's pictures of the floating signifier world

The most cursed phrase I've seen in a long time: "surreptitious advertising by deathbot"

What's the argument for expanding the US Supreme Court? Is it just that a larger court is harder to pack? Because most of the time it just sounds like, "we need to get some of our guys in there too!" and is not accompanied by calls to impeach the people doing the high crimes.

you could get fired from The Dollar Store for saying things the Secretary of Defense or a Supreme Court Justice have said

This does not make it sound like a piece for popular/cross-disciplinary consumption but I swear it is.

Steve Ditko didn't model Spider-Man's world-famous mask on the fetish gimps he was secretly drawing for side-cash* just so you could tell me that A.I. is "inevitable" *extremely true story!