Today we're launching a new #Mastodon feature that will highlight writers and journalists that are active on the fediverse when their their articles are being shared.
@JamesGleick You know, it's a shame; you see, Adam Serwer's sewery surname from Surinam is just THAT close to being a perfectly apt adjective for the dreck-pap-screed he penned; and, more broadly, for that long-pustulent Pravda of propaganda rag he works for.
The vision of a President above the law, transformed to a king, was introduced by the Federalist Society and conservative academics from way back. Bill Barr began the effort to make it so. I wrote about this in 2019 (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/05/nancy-pelosi-trump-barr-executive-privilege-abuse-power.html). Today’s decree from John Roberts, Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett is what the Federalist-Society-controlled Republican crime syndicate has been promising for a long time. 1/
A stat I found interesting is that meat consumption / person is falling steadily in Germany, down 15% in the last 5 years while the meat replacement industry is booming. Sadly much of the rest of the world is going in the opposite direction.
(sorry for the Hungarian text, but the graphs should be pretty self explanatory)
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) continues to be the member of Congress who best demonstrates the qualities of leadership so badly needed by her party. She will not succeed in impeaching these Supreme Court justices, but she will shine a light on their corruption and lay down a marker for voters.
@JamesGleick This can’t be ignored. There is a fast approaching showdown that MUST take place if you care about what we are to become.
BRAVO, more power to her, and to the members of Congress, who understand what an outrageously unconstitutional ruling that SOTUS spit out in their disregard for our nation.
Checks and balances no longer work when corruption has infested the body, which means that although I’m a pessimist, this action, some action must be taken before the next phase. 🧐
@JamesGleick@futurebird In #Minnesota ; we currently have Ilhan Omar, who has called for impeaching the illegitimate extremists who form the current SCOTUS majority, and Tina Smith, who has long been advocating expanding the court and appointing new justices who respect the Constitution & human rights.
May everyone represented by other members of Congress encourage them to do likewise.
@notjustbikes
Listening to UrbanistAgenda when you talk about a scary future of suburban poverty, as cities get desirable and 'gentrify'. Living in Scarborough (Ontario) I think it's not exactly distant future. TTC is the lifeline my neighbours cling to, and the majority live in highrises, many of which have no nearby amenities.
Got a video coming about that suburban/urban rich/poor flip?
@TechConnectify "I've always been fascinated with the idea of building 7-segment displays out of weird things. Imagine a clock where each segment is a 4 foot fluorescent tube"
yes
I have done this a looong time ago and it's a nightmare to get the high frequency drive of the tubes right and if I'd do it now I would probably predict when to change digits (if it's a clock) to pre-heat the filaments to strike the tubes flicker-free.
#SCOTUS is supposed to rule this morning on #Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election.
The decision will determine whether & how special counsel #JackSmith’s case against Trump can proceed — although it’s unlikely a trial would happen before #Election Day. But the ruling could also set an important #precedent for how to prosecute presidents for their actions in office.
Some justices suggested during oral arguments that they were taking a sweeping approach to the case. “We are writing a rule for the ages,” Justice #Gorsuch said. #Trump is facing 4 charges stemming from his attempts to overturn #Biden’s victory in the #2020election, the most serious of which carries a max of 20 yrs in #prison. The case has been on hold while #SCOTUSconsiders Trump’s argument that presidents are immune from prosecution for official acts they take while in office.
“Never in the history of our Republic has a President had reason to believe that he would be #immune from #criminal prosecution if he used the trappings of his office to violate the criminal #law. Moving forward, however, all former Presidents will be cloaked in such #immunity.
…if the occupant of that office misuses official power for personal gain, the criminal law that the rest of us must abide will not provide a backstop. With fear for our #democracy, I dissent."
If you live or work in Amsterdam then I recommend that you fill out this survey being done by the gemeente about making space for walking, cycling, public transit, taxis, and driving:
@notjustbikes I just wonder why it is in English. Maybe surprisingly but a lot of people who live in Amsterdam do speak Dutch.
I'm afraid only tourists and expats will fill in this survey...
@JamesGleick Faulkner did this within a single novel, The Sound and the Fury, in four parts voicing three different character points of view (of different but overlapping events) and only ending with an omniscient narrator story.
@JamesGleick Peter Watts's short story "The Things" provides the Thing's perspective. ("Who Goes There?", The Thing from Another World, The Thing, etc.) I recommend it to anyone very interested in the Thing, but only AFTER reading everything else, because it WILL change your view about it.
Literary sub-genre: Novel or play retells a classic from the perspective of a secondary character or characters. The new story tracks the the original but shifts some of its action offstage. The two versions intertwine, each now commenting on the other.
Examples:
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Tom Stoppard).
James (Percival Everett).
@JamesGleick There are tons! The Wind Done Gone, for example, retells Gone with the Wind from the slaves' point of view. The Last Ringbearer is an alternative take on The Lord of the Rings from the Mordor viewpoint. And so on.
@TheConversationUS Thanks for that. At least that time (which I lived through) the withdrawal came early enough for a real primary campaign. This time would be worse.
I love older consoles and a while ago I made Wizards & Dinosaurs for Atari 2600 and Oopi's Quest for Nintendo NES. Both are free, can be played in the browser or on their respective console; https://kenney.nl/games