Seems to me that our Republican brothers and sisters being unwillng to negotiate now makes it hard to believe promises that they’d negotiate later if only the Democrats would cave on the shutdown.

Astounding to me that my brothers and sisters in the Republican Party seem ready to let people starve and shut down the airlines rather than keep healthcare relatively accessible and affordable.

I have lived my whole life as an Anglo in a minority majority state. It's fine. Sometimes it's pretty cool. Certainly nothing to be worried about.

Mandami's acceptance speech was a banger. Quoting Mario Cuomo was

I can’t wait for the articles—“Democrats won big Tuesday night. Here’s why that’s bad for Democrats.”

So did any Republicans win today? Because I'm not seeing where any republicans won today.

At this point, anyone—a university, a law firm, a corporation, a Democrat—bending the knee to Trump is doing it because they want to, not because of any political reality.

News organizations are starting to call the New Jersey governor's race for Mikie Sherrill, and she recently called out one of my books as a recommendation, I'm not saying that recommending my books will nab you a governorship, but I am saying that the batting record so far is 1.000

<taps microphone> It’s a bad tool.

See, I like the idea of government. I like the idea of a community where everyone has a voice and everyone contributes (if they can) to the common good. I'm against bad government, but it's the _bad_ I object to, not the _government_.

1. Campaign on big issues that are directly relevant to your voters 2. Don't get distracted from point one 3. Present as a decent human with manageable baggage 4. Don't be old as fuck. Go forth and do likewise

There’s always been a tension between seeing poverty as an evil and seeing poverty as a tool of moral instruction. Seems to me that assholes, junkies, sluts and fools should get to eat.

I’m fighting for bills to pay our service members, federal employees, and federal contractors. But I won’t agree to Republicans’ bills that would pay only the “excepted” federal employees and service members. I won’t leave any of New Mexico’s federal workers behind.

I am continually baffled by the idea that an employee who inserts plausible but false information into everything they do is still an asset to the company if their pay is small enough. It’s like “yes, it’s sabotage, but it’s sabotage at less than minimum wage.”

Status anxiety is rough.

The AI-response "Everything can be faked" discourse interests me partly by how much it leaves out of "everything." AI might be able to fake a picture of a meal or video of a football match, but it can't fake the experience of eating or playing. Being embodied seems like a kind of resistance.

Indeed. bsky.app/profile/hele...

LLMs are fine (by which I mean, sure if you want to) for applications that are very tolerant of failure (eg visual art, cold reading) Because plausible but untrue outputs are baked into the model, LLMs are inappropriate for anything that requires reliably true output. (eg legal citations, coding)

As I mentioned elsewhere, I go to bed tonight much clearer of the distinctions between food bank, food pantries, and food drives. My thanks to the folks who have been helpful. And to the others, I will try to love you little shits anyway. Also, locking down replies from now on because Good Lord.

Jesus Christ. I gotta get off social media.

Made an offhand remark about how I'd run the DNC and now I get to block some folks. Good times, good times. 🤣🤣🤣

If I were running the DNC, there would be Democratic Party sponsored food relief banks across the country right now that specifically welcomed anyone regardless of party affiliation. Along with the food, there could be voter registration and links to runforsomething.net

My friends!!! I just got a sneak peek at a brand new story by @ghoulpus.bsky.social that is coming out soon in @lightspeedmagazine.com . It's incredible and amazing and is giving me ALL THE FEELS! You're gonna love it.😁❤️😍

From a conversation elsewhere: It's fascinating to see the AI bubble expressed as people being pushed to up productivity to the level that the AI hype promised and can't deliver.

Has anyone started calling the Epstein Memorial Ballroom yet?

Unrelated to anything else: The album Dove by the indie band Belly is one of my favorite things in years. Here's a taste: www.youtube.com/watch?v=prF1...

Ok get this, not in the US it isn't! If you list US jobs by highest suicide rate, farmers aren't even in the top 20. The farmer suicide rate is just on par for the demographic (older rural white men w guns).

I keep thinking about the French Market Correction of 1789.

This is nice. Tell your friends and remind your enemies. www.audiobooks.com/promotions/p...

Loved the first one in the series. Loved the second one too (which I got to read early). Can recommend. www.amazon.com/Glass-Slide-...

I don't think this is limited to elite pundits, writers, etc. I think it's a common trap to get to a certain point in your life believing you'd be in one future, and discovering you're in another, and then failing to plan how to move through that actual future.

A friend writes: I saw someone's post somewhere that talked about how their nine-year-old and all his friends have started using "That's AI" instead of "I don't believe you." Mom: "We're having dinosaur meat for dinner tonight." Kid: "That's AI."

Important info on scams for authors here.

…The scapegoat, eventually, is released, to death: his murderer continues to live. The suffering of the scapegoat has resulted in seas of blood, and yet not one sinner has been saved, or changed, by this despairing ritual? ~ James Baldwin as quoted by Christopher Hunt:

James Baldwin: That the scapegoat pays for the sins of others is well known, but this is only legend, and a revealing one at that. In fact, however the scapegoat may be made to suffer, his suffering cannot purify the sinner; it merely incriminates him more, and it seals his damnation…

With respect, @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social, you might get better engagement with: "Why is Trump talking about illegally deploying troops against American citizens? Insurance costs spiking? The Epstein files? That ridiculous UN speech? We're tracking all of it, Donnie. #dems #nodistractions"

Seems to me you don't know whether you can forgive really someone until they ask for forgiveness.

Good thread. Can recommend. Will vouch for the fact that a human wrote and posted it.

Vought and Trump say they'll destroy the federal government if it shuts down. That's like saying, if you don't let me break this toy, I'll break it anyway. No shit. But that's on you guys.

My kid’s favorite superhero cartoon just laid out a plain simple truth the adults are REALLY struggling with: “He’s an influencer. By definition he’s not there to inform people, he’s there to INFLUENCE them!”

Fascinating old economist quote perhaps relevant to AI: You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics. ~ Robert Solow (1987)

Alternative manosphere to do list: 1) A sex positive, affirming etiquette guide to courtship and relationships specifically for a straight male audience 2) A serious conversation about setting and maintaining healthy boundaries 3) Celebrations of niche hobbies/art/personal weirdness (cont.)

A study has found that AI 'workslop', where coworkers use AI and their colleagues have to spend time fixing it, is taking over workplaces. Workers said that they thought of their colleagues who filed low-quality AI work as "less creative, capable, and reliable." www.404media.co/ai-workslop-...

LLMs should never be used in any application where it is important that they be accurate. They are only appropriate for situations where it doesn't matter whether the task fails.

I know we’re all freaking the fuck out over (gestures widely). I hope this gives you some small relief. m.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy8k...

Here’s a BTS Expanse throwback for my 5 followers. 😂🫶🏻

"He lived weird, he died weird, and if he left any message for posterity, any fragment of wisdom to hand down through the ages of humanity, it was this: That was fuckin' weird."

...and why the best national security reporters never relied on any kind of access to get their stories.

At the risk of staying the obvious ... If you sign this, you are in no way a journalist.