More #SundayThoughts: Human history begins with "to the winners go the spoils"—tribal warfare where clans seized resources from defeated foes. This raw form of theft was direct and violent, with power concentrated in the victors' hands. Early societies formed around these extractive dynamics. (1/6)

Sunday walking thoughts: #Trump promised to "drain the swamp"—to dismantle corrupt elites and return power to ordinary #Americans. Millions believed him. They saw a chance to reclaim agency, to break the system that had failed them. It felt like hope. (1/3)

It occurs to me, and I'm sure I'm not the only one, that what is happening with the ultra rich oppressing and exploiting everyone else is a mirror of what humans have done to the earth.

This was long before he became president. It's not a new thing. If the American people as a whole had sense and decency, he never would have been allowed on a ballot. Period. Vetting officially died the day he was allowed to run.

History suggests the latter, but this does feel like a breaking point, because history is also full of populaces growing fed up with the depravity and excess and arrogance of their leaders and turning on them.

Shine a light on those who think they're infallible because they are rich or powerful. Those who deign to walk this earth as though they aren't rife with shame. Show them no amount of money can keep those disgusting skeletons in the closet. Expose them as the reprehensible rapists they are. #Epstein

The Dodgers beat the Blue Jays in these categories: HR, BB, GIDP, W, SV, CG, and probably the most important- WPA. Caleb Joseph wasn't wrong to say the Jays were better. The difference was timing- that's all. I don't think that's luck or skill or 'clutch'. It's #baseball. #BlueJays #Dodgers #mlb

Today I wake up sad, feeling for my little team that just barely couldn't, particularly for Mark Shapiro, oddly, because one other team of his got to a #WorldSeries Game 7, and they too lost in extras. 😢🩵😢 #BlueJays

The excuses made for in office work are rarely anything but spurious 'humanity' covers for shitty motives indifferent to actual human needs. #hybridwork #workfromhome #officespace

Notable #Vladdy Leaderboard Spots, among players with 20+ plate appearances this postseason: HR - 1st R - 1st (tied with Springer) RBI - 1st K% - 3rd (behind Clement and Kiner-Falefa) ISO - 1st AVG - 2nd (behind Judge) OBP - 2nd (behind Judge) SLG - 1st (at .930!!!) wRC+ - 1st BB/K - 1st #BlueJays

There are three #BlueJays players I've believed in when many did not: Ernie Clement, Nathan Lukes, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. I compared one to Cal Ripken, another to Alex Gordon, and another to Miguel Cabrera. I feel like my comparisons were not asinine. Go Blue Jays!!! #MLB #ALCS #Game7

If the Trump regime are Nazis, ironically, our only hope for freedom in this world is China and its allies. China is Britain in this comparative scenario. How crazy is that?

The key problem of #AI is that it cannot do the other three things, at all in some cases. #AI feels much like Ozymandias' statue right now, while it was being built- except that we are well aware of our potential fate, and our 'best and brightest' keep charging ahead like lemmings over the cliff.

Trump's fascist regime continues...

Republicans don’t need a single democratic vote to fund their regime. Here’s why. Please share widely.

For today, I don't care about politics, about the injustices in our world. I put my blinders on and revel in the simplicity of sport, of my beloved #BlueJays winning the AL East for the first time in a decade. 💙🩵💙

Alternatives to those that are bending the knee

I wish that I didn't have to keep posting this, but it keeps happening: youtu.be/G86zLAoyAAw?... You love your guns more than you love your kids. #schoolshootings

This perfectly encapsulates how utterly backwards the USA is right now.

The Epstein files are important and there are already countless reasons to distrust and discredit Donald Trump. A thread 🧵 #TrumpCrimes #NeverForget

Three years ago I wrote and played this #song on my livestream. Nothing has changed. #gunviolence #shootings #MNshootings youtu.be/G86zLAoyAAw?...

More of this. Shame the man as he merits.

This is what I've been warning Americans on here of, for too many months: cmarmitage.substack.com/p/i-research... #trump #facism #hewillnotstop

In lighter news, it took me 41 years to realize that Wham!'s "Make it Big" is pretty much a Motown album made by pretty white boys. It's an enigma, capable of being terrible and wonderful by turns. 🩵 #Wham #MakeItBig #enigma

The false promise of #tech advancement has long been that it will make life easier, work hours fewer, allowing for increasing leisure. That's been steadily manipulated into surrendering rights, creativity, intelligence, and health instead. It's been a great lie so far, and #AI might be the endgame.

It is August 13, and the Colorado Rockies could win out the rest of the season and still finish behind the Milwaukee Brewers, continuing a recent trend of increasing disparity that should be a red flag to #MLB. #baseball #charts

I love a clever line in a novel. This one gave me a giggle: "She thought she was anorexic because, when she looked in the mirror, she did indeed see a fat person." 'Indeed' is heavy lifting here #quotes #writing #NeilGaiman #TerryPratchett

While it reads like a pipe dream, it is still worth aspiring toward. I wish I could credit the creator, but many don't sign their work these days.

What I really don't understand about the USA justice system is how there can be evidence pertaining to a case that is withheld. That's obstruction of justice, clear and simple. It makes no sense that there are any files- JFK, Epstein, etc- somehow held. It's damning to the powers that be. #Epstein

I have tinkered with #AI since its early days, so I have enough familiarity and perspective to say I've had it. Too much evidence is building against it: unregulated development, studies showing it makes us dumber, negative effects on the environment, copyright infringement... and on and on. Bye, AI

Recently, my book THEY CALLED US ENEMY was banned – again – in Tennessee. Book bans are out of control. Huge parts of American history are being restricted. To join me in standing up for the freedom to read, go to pen.org/action. @penamerica.bsky.social @topshelfcomix.bsky.social @idwpublishing.com

How Autocrats Disappear People and Information, and How We Can Fight Back open.substack.com/pub/lucid/p/...

🙂

Identify ICE vehicles quickly. Enterprise will stop renting them to the Gestapo (boycotted in LA).

Because I rarely take a #photo this good, here's a slice of #Ottawa and the #RideauCanal

And sometimes, in the midst of it all, it's nice to just contribute to the mass of internet #cats #catpictures #photo

There’s currently a General Strike running from today through the 4th! Please help spread the word!

There is no better message I've seen to date than this one to the #DemocraticParty #DNC: www.facebook.com/100068903792... #StopTrump #Resist #Democracy #DemocracyNOW

Oligarchs are what happens to you while you're busy watching other disasters. - John Lennon? Yeah, I think he would've said that. #oligarchy #oligarchs #lennon #johnlennon #quotes

Two quotes have been dancing in my head lately: "What makes you stronger... yeah, that probably kills you too." "Look on the bright side- things could always be worse!" Holy crap I'm #cynical #quotes

Well, the #BlueJays are playing lousy tonight SO FAR... but don't forget that those guys have a lot of comeback in 'em. Maybe they can do it! The following graphs fascinate me. They are a reflection of the teams that were, and this year- whoo boy- comeback team! #sabremetrics #baseball #stats

I'm going to pivot from politics for a bit here and visit my childhood love of #baseball and the #torontobluejays. A couple weeks ago I got curious about how much 'comeback' these 2025 #BlueJays have in them. The short answer is 'a lot', especially if they are only down a run. More to come.

🚨🚨The White House is pissed off about this ad so you know what to do, share it everywhere! ICE is disappearing people just because of the color of their skin! No Warrant! No Due Process! This is not who we are as Americans! #MAGAKidnappers want an all white America, fuck that‼️

In #Ottawa we have accessibility buttons at crosswalks. They beep two notes. This is good. But what is great is that they are the first two notes played while Snoopy is strolling. Thanks, brain that doesn't forget melodies.

Sometimes I just despair. I don't know how we're all going to make it. Besides the politics, the financial scarcity, the disparity... all of it... There's the air being hard to breathe, the natural disasters happening more often and more severe... Some days... It's just hard to keep going.

As a cartographer I cringe at the lazy map. As a human I nod and think, "Yes. Spot on. Well done. Tell it like it is." #cartography #pride

Are there any #linguists on Blue Sky who happen to know if there's a geographical divide where people on one side say "by accident" and people on another say "on accident"? This is one of those #linguistic differences that's always thrown me for a loop. #linguistics #linguist

I hope there's an OBGYN Kenobi out there in the world somewhere. Because it's the little things that make each day better. #StarWars

Good to see people resisting. Fight for the soul of your country, southern friends.

If there's one lesson I've been taught repeatedly and still need to learn, it's to not engage with those you disagree with online. There's no benefit. The Internet is not conducive to rational conversation and debate. It lures us into the easy disrespect of anonymity in a vacuum of scope. #insomnia