@PhillyBella #politics #justsayin #election2024 The difference is staggering.

Biden found something by accident & turned it over. He's cooperating with investigations.

The material Biden turned over to a library (that TFG bitches about) was from his SENATE years and all of those belonged to him.

I've been through the barebones indictment and it's worse than I imagined.

@SECRET_ASIAN_MAN #politics (let's remember to hashtag this for those being overwhelmed, please). I'm very aware we have a violent history in America. What we don't have is a history of is an attempt to overthrow the government as happened on 1/6.

You know what we didn't have earlier? The internet and darknet as a way of organizing diverse groups around the country.

I grew up in John Bircher country. I know how bonkers these folks are.

#politics

I am hoping this free story link works. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. (I have a subscription.)

We now understand how dangerous insurrectionists are and the problem is that there are so many of these loons that the FBI can't track them all.

There are only 35k people who work for the FBI including support staff.

I doubt my .50 caliber paintball gun would be of much defensive use.

Sighs...

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/10/us/politics/trump-supporter-violent-rhetoric.html

@DarkeConteur I used to haunt those stores. In Fairbanks they were a trove of cold-weather gear. I've found all kinds of things there, including my old machete. #writingcommunity

@DarkeConteur I suspect you could get anything in Texas. Not sure where you're at. They just look at me like I have two heads because I don't want to walk out looking like I'm getting ready to fight the federal government.

Hey, have you tried an Army/Navy store for surplus machetes? I used to have a WWII machete in a hard case that had to be handled with care because it would rust. No idea what happened to it. I move too much.

#writingcommunity

#WritingCommunity every once in a while the people at the sporting good store give me weird looks. Hand held, miniature, crossbows, recently it’s been a paintball pistol. I don’t have the money to be able to figure out how to buy a bastard sword. It’s kind of funny that in Texas I could walk around looking like a commando with real firearms but when you start going into middle earth sort of weapons, they get concerned about you. 🤣 I need to find some local SCA people.

#politics #news https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/08/nate-paul-arrested-ken-paxton-impeachment/

#politics #religion Trump finally got indicted. Pat Robertson died. Overall it's been a good day. 👍

@ChristopherNoyesRoberts #randomthoughts Am reading your article and the first thing that happened was that I laughed at because how many people have even heard about boolean?

I used to work in the background with boolean search strings and other such fun stuff working with the Lexis-Nexis and Westlaw. People thought I was prescient. I'm certainly not.

@ChristopherNoyesRoberts #randomthoughts

A member of my household got the following letter this week. (see image).

This person grew up in the same critical thinking oriented household I did, although a decade earlier.

Anyone with a scintilla of critical thinking skills would look at this and laugh before tossing it. From Silent Gen to X I am seeing credulous people believe things like this.

I know people in their 20's who buy this. 😱

@ChristopherNoyesRoberts

#randomthoughts

I'm not panicking about AI.

AI won't make people smarter per se.

People need critical thinking skills. AI can't make people think critically.

We need to teach critical thinking skills from kindergarten on.

I was fortunate to have been raised in family where critical thinking skills were important.

When my daughter was in high school I insisted she take two classes (1) logic and (2) family finances.

@ChristopherNoyesRoberts #randomthoughts

>kids - I live in a non-voting state and spent the better part of a year trying to get kids at a Jr. College I was attending at the time to register and vote. Not one.

I spent my own time to help them learn how to write papers and took many from an F to an A. They were happy for the free, unconditional help, but voting? No way.

I don't regret a moment of free tutoring, but I feel sad about the non-voting.

They believed their vote did not count. 😩

Well, I'm off. My dog says I'm neglecting her. My manuscript is late for deadline (mine) so I'll be spending all my time on it the rest of the night.

Good night and good luck to all.

#randomthoughts

@ChristopherNoyesRoberts #politics #religion Let's hope that the kids today can outlive them. Although what we're leaving to them is pretty pathetic.

I remember feeling as if I'd done something great for the environment by working to prevent molybdenum mining in the White Clouds in Idaho.

Drop in the bucket.

I suppose we do what we can as we can and cross our fingers.

@Jeber @kel #politics Yes, a violent minority can best a civil majority. The Russian Revolution, as I recall, was 3% of the population.

I no longer own a firearm. I have a friend in VT who served in Viet Nam who is a liberal who has felt the need to arm himself to protect himself from the right wing there. In VT. No shit.

While there are good folks everywhere, and we are in the majority, we can't win an overwhelming violent overthrow IMO.

@ChristopherNoyesRoberts

#politics It doesn't matter if they're delusional. It doesn't matter if there is no god/devil (good/evil) construct. Because this isn't about their theology. It's about their determination to create an end of the world.

They WANT an end to the world.

Sometimes I wonder if they aren't going to try and figure out a way to blow up a nuke over there.

@ChristopherNoyesRoberts @kel #politics who said denying science would be profitable?

You have to realize a lot of these people want to blow up Israel and bring on Armageddon. You know that, right?

They lust for the "rapture"

@kel #politics These folks are largely my family and neighbors Nothing will pop their bubble. It will be a plot by the Democrats.

If you hear me muttering about putting anti-psychotics in the water, realize I don't have the capacity.

They think Trump will get re-elected and all their Trump dollars will be cash on the barrelhead. They'll execute all the Democrats. Life will be good. FML

Sooner or later the crazies will force a default.

@kel #politics When I lived in Australia voting was mandatory. It still is. I believe we should have mandatory voting here.

We took the Australian ballot (secret). Let's make voting mandatory. There's a fine for not voting in Australia.

@kel #politics

The hopeless places are largely the wide open spaces where they get the same amount of political clout as NY.

I get snail mail almost every day ranting and raving about insane right wing things that no one in their right mind would believe. And yet, people do.

If I got something from the left that was that bizarre I'd be calling someone on the team and suggesting psychiatric hospitalization - stat.