"While it appears that it has never been easier for anyone to freely share their opinions with the world, the apparatus that shapes the public’s thoughts and sentiments has never been in the hands of fewer men. (And yes, they are all men.)" #JohnGanz https://www.thenation.com/article/society/last-days-discourse-electronic-plebescite/

"The pattern here is impossible to miss: Take money from USAID, sabotage their Ukraine efforts, face investigation, launch an attack on the agency’s credibility, use your newfound illegitimate government power to shut it down, and cap it off by amplifying Russian disinformation about USAID." @mmasnick https://www.techdirt.com/2025/02/10/as-elon-musk-continues-to-repeat-lies-about-who-and-what-usaid-funded-turns-out-it-funded-elon-musk/ ht @glynmoody @onepict

@cJ in practice a President can prevent enforcement of Federal law by Federal law enforcement, and he can pardon Federal infractions. but states have law enforcement power too. state laws may be broken, and states can sometimes enforce Federal law and the Constitution too.

@Linux_Is_Best@misskey.de i think the correlation between “asshole” or sociopathy and extraordinary “success” under current institutions is very strong and positive.

the puzzle, the outliers we need to learn from, are when decent people extravagantly succeed.

i kind of hate when people talk about "tech" because if you asked people who they think the worst people in the world are, people like Musk and Andreeson would be dramatically disproportionate on lists named by programmers.

the NRx and TESCREAL bullshit subsists within a rich, powerful sliver of the tech community. there is a reason why those motherfuckers hate their workforces so much. most workers welcome their hatred, but fear losing their jobs.

What are the consequences to a legislator for violating their oath of office?

@llimllib if we don’t crosslink, aesthetically i’d share the preference. aesthetically X/Twitter/Insta style is cleanest and “friendliest” of all.

but maybe a functional advantage should overcome a widespread aesthetic preference. it’s a trade-off, obviously, and people who value things differently might make different choices.

@Phil @fisherstudio @KimSJ yes. in practice there have been unconfirmed, “informal” advisors. *but no presidential authority can be delegated to them.* they can only serve as advisors.

i don’t know what case law you are talking about, but this stuff is straight outta the Constitution, which rather supercedes.

@llimllib i think that issue is proposing cleaner display as well profile linking for bridgy users?

i’m not opposed, but suggest for people who do not actively bridgey, @<non-tld-dns-name> and @<identifier>@<non-tld-dns-name> are distinct, and we can take advantage of that to link.

(this does have “vive la difference” implications — it would militate towards preserving rather than converging mention formats, to maintain the existing distinction.)

helpfully, Mastodon mentions are distinct in format from Bluesky mentions, and vice versa.

BlueSky clients should turn Mastodon mentions into profile links, and Mastodon clients should do the same for BlueSky links.

(can’t, and shouldn’t, for X/Twitter, which shares mention format with eg Insta.)

@Phil @fisherstudio @KimSJ the Constitution literally requires every position to be confirmed except where Congress explicitly authorizes unconfirmed hiring. that’s what it means when we say Congress “creates agencies”. there are no agencies in the Constitution. there are “inferior Officers” Congress vests appointments of who to “Head of Departments “.

@fisherstudio @KimSJ have you seen this, via @Arianity? https://mastodon.social/@Arianity/113970992711223783

@KimSJ we need to find the places where his lawbreaking violates state law. his most obvious infractions are Federal, and Trump has eviscerated any independence of Federal law enforcement. but it’s very likely there are violations of state law, and certainly lots of damages that could become the basis for civil suits in the fifty states.

This point is so obvious it should fit in one post.

Elon Musk’s role is plainly illegal. The “advice and consent” clause of the Constitution is obviously intended to prevent a President from such powerful delegations of authority without explicit Congressional consent.

buy treasuries because a recession is coming or sell treasuries before a great revulsion destroys US assets?

really interesting times!

Would Apple backdoor Advanced Data Protection, or just cease to offer it as a kind of canary? https://mastodon.world/@Hawaii/113976025533421147

"When history is written, the first few months of Trump 2.0 will go down as the most craven and prostrate in the history of the Republican Party. We are living in a country ruled by fantastic conspiracy theories and personal revenge, and not a single Republican is willing to stand against it. Not one." #KevinDrum https://jabberwocking.com/this-is-the-republican-partys-most-spineless-hour/

we are fortunate Musk has the character flaw of a B-movie serial killer. he can't refrain from openly taking credit for his misdeeds.

their worldview is basically government is a radical left-wing idea.