Kirklin (he/him)

Kirklin (he/him)

@kirklins.bsky.social

10/19 1st day of early voting in TX. I know enough to know I have no real idea how much I don't know, but I'm working on it.

458 followers173 following1.2K posts

If you're in Texas you only have the rest of the week to do in person early voting. Election day is one week away, on Tuesday November 3. If you're not voting early but plan to vote mark the date. If you plan to give rides or watch for ICE mark the date. And don't forget to remind your neighbors.

Yes there are. Most important being the continued proof that ice cream is a panacea.

Jen 🔜 Metatopia@jenkatwrites.bsky.social

I got slammed by my flu shot/covid booster, and I usually have no reaction at all, so I was really surprised by how much I was feeling it this morning. I felt a little better after taking a long nap, but a LOT better after eating a big bowl of ice cream. There's lessons here, clearly

"They won't assimilate into our American culture!" Bitch, please. Cajun and Texan and Southie and great plains farmer and biker and more may overlap but I dare you to tell any of them they aren't really Americans because they haven't fully assimilated into _your_ culture. Ignorant racist asshole.

I submit native Americans in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries.

Comrade DiaMat@comradediamat4.bsky.social

Palestinians: one of the only groups of people on earth to be genocided and displaced by an invasive settler-colonial force and then be blamed as the aggressors in the global media.

Add Waffle House, though its "probably minus the war crimes." Same expected quality performance on a full and memorized menu regardless of circumstances.

journeyman folklorist@aniceburrito.bsky.social

Tangential to the Cheesecake Factory talk is that their workers are genuinely elite tier 1 operators in the food service industry. I have a friend who manages bars and restaurants and he will instantly hire anyone with Cheesecake Factory experience. They are like the Marines minus the war crimes

Double? What, are you a vampire trying to survive? Where it says clove substitute head. Use tablespoons instead of teaspoons and lose count a few times over. There is such a thing as too much garlic but that threshold is far higher than you think.

Richard Kadrey@richardkadrey.bsky.social

Today I'm reminded that however much garlic you're supposed to use in a recipe, double it. 🧄

I like the abolish-fire-prosecute meme, but I'm going to start pushing one i like better: Investigate Prosecute Impeach Im pushing it because it sidestep the 2/3 problem at the top layers. 1/6

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That takes us to prosecute. Prosecute and convict. Even failure taints the officer. Getting convicted? It's hard to do your job when you're sitting in jail. And if you're a supreme court justice, senators are going to be hard pressed to vote against impeachment. 5/6

That, of course, is the last step. Impeach and remove from office. We can't apply that to the president or VP. There might be other protected offices, but most are not. Investigate. Prosecute. Impeach. 6/6

I like the abolish-fire-prosecute meme, but I'm going to start pushing one i like better: Investigate Prosecute Impeach Im pushing it because it sidestep the 2/3 problem at the top layers. 1/6

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Both house and senate can investigate without GOP approval. So long as they dont the vote for sanctions double jeopardy is avoided. Instead turn over to both federal and appropriate state law enforement agencies. 3/6

Yes, several federal agencies would decline to follow up. Publicly chewing on that failure would be seen as acting against corruption - a political win. And might even move things. But several states would continue. 4/6

I like the abolish-fire-prosecute meme, but I'm going to start pushing one i like better: Investigate Prosecute Impeach Im pushing it because it sidestep the 2/3 problem at the top layers. 1/6

2/3 problem is the fact we will not have 2/3 of the senate, and possibly the house. No impeachment and no overridden vetoed without GOP buy-in. Getting the buy-in will require settling and sacrifice and I want to avoid that. 2/6

Cigarette smoke. I can think of no practical way to explain how it was normal for an airplane flight or restaurant to have at least 2/3 of people present smoking.

Social media loves talking about how everything is getting worse. But what’s something that you’ve seen get _better_ in your lifetime?

A tactical option for congressional anti-corruption actions. Investigate, turn over all evidence to both federal and appropriate state agencies so they can prosecute, convict, and sentence. Then impeach. For everyone but the President or VP. Just have to avoid the Oliver North loophole.

My rebuttal to point 1 bring to ask how much of the fundraising fees are going to consultant selected agents in which the consultants just happen to have an interest. I am to recall that being a thing.

Chatham Harrison dba TRUMP DELENDUS EST@chathamharrison.bsky.social

1. That chart says only 2% are going to consultants per se 2. Yes, most of the expense of an organization goes to building out that organization & executing its mission 3. Imagine how much of this we could do without if we constitutionally limited campaign spending & shortened election seasons

One of my AI apocalypse examples is AI getting into bank accounts and changing balances leading to bank runs on all banks that use AI agents Which would be pretty much all of them. There just isn't enough cash on hand, especially if businesses get involved.

hilzoy@hilzoy.bsky.social

“Executives reportedly recognize that a growing demographic of banking clients are interested in using their own AI agents to perform financial tasks and transactions.” What on earth? Why? Regardless, AI companies that release products capable of unauthorized bank transactions should be liable.

I've begun to think it possible that the upcoming congress will be majority Dem but not at veto-proof levels. That means impeachments and the legislation most of us want will require getting at least some GOP buy-in. What blood is going to be spent to bring justice to others?

What this means is that smaller interest groups need to start planning and building alliances now. Build your negotiation base of allies and treats and threats. I'd love to see all our issues win, but we aren't going to be able to override a veto alone.

I noticed in the body cam footage that officer Foster Hunter played BCP tag (put your body in front of a moving vehicle and use that as your excuse to start shooting "in defense".) I'm wondering if that was the reason he escaped justice. well, in addition to the racism.

Sometimes I suspect the reason the Epstein files haven't been released is not because DT's name is throughout but rather because it contains so many entries of various billionaires' names. Ima guessing several are more frequently tied to money shenanigans, but they are attached to the rapiness too.

I've been pondering accountability. Actually I've been pondering what I ask my Democratic (I hope) congress for when they have the majority but not at veto-proof numbers, and accountability has been one of the thoughts. So anyway, I'm thinking a law for those who ignore the courts is an idea.

That is things like being told not to cut down 100 trees and doing it anyway, or putting people on flights to unwelcoming nations after the courts said no, and so forth. And what I think is that in this case there can be no fines. It needs to be time in prison, and perhaps restitution.

A fine is a fee, and for some of these people it's pocket change. Loss of agency? Nobody lives so long they ignore the lost days. Is accountability the only thing or most important thing I want? No and maybe, respectively. But it's important enough I ponder the form, and I thought I'd share that.

I've been thinking of the FEMA notice to states that they'll be on their own in 6 months. It's part of a pattern of isolation. The strength of the US has been its interconnectedness - how even when they don't want to the states, counties, cities, even individual citizens provide aid to each other.

That mutual network makes us powerful. See the old story of the father using a bundle of sticks to teach his sons how this works. "They" have to separate us to break us. By state, by county, by city, by neighborhood. Wouldn't be surprised to see penalties for states helping states without FEMA.

I recall my wife and I celebrating after voting in 2016. The polls were good, there were record numbers of people voting in early elections - we just locked on the idea of cheering for Madame President. Then came the electoral college pissing on the democratic majority. Vote, dammit. All of you.

Axelrod and Meagher. Not Dem politicians but rather the same Dem pundits who told Walz to quit calling Republicans weird. Fuck'm and their so-called moderate "Mustn't anger the other side" positions. Same to any politicians who decide to follow their advice.

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"When you tax something, you get less of it." You say that like fewer billionaires is a bad thing.

Most billionaire wealth isn't in yachts or jewelry — that's just a few percent of it. Most is productive business capital: companies that employ people, build things, and fund research. Tax that wealth and you're taxing the businesses that employ us all. Cato's Adam Michel explains.

So it appears that my vote was one of 76069 votes recorded in the county of Dallas on the first day of in person early voting. That's a bit over a 35% increase on the 2024 day one turnout. I do believe that turnout isn't going to be the problem here.

And of course there will not be a negative impact on the price of oil when this happens, right? Right? right?

Reconstructionist@unavaleable.bsky.social

surely the iranian response to crippling their ability to export oil will be to give up and not escalate

Kirklin (he/him) reposted

David Axelrod and David Brooks clutching their pearls because El-Sayed didn’t roll over for a racist is such a perfect example of America’s white guy politics that it would sound made up if you put it in a novel

I believe it was Eric Flint who pointed out in one of his novels that mass education is a core requirement as well as the inevitable driver of democracy. People think. Education helps people have the tools to think more effectively, and good education is even more effective.

mtsw@mtsw.bsky.social

Yes. The conservative scheme for education is a three-way split: high-priced academies for the children of the wealthy, religious instruction to brainwash the middle class, and a rump of prison-like public schools to discipline the lower class into obedience.

Kirklin (he/him) reposted

Public schools in Utah banned a best-selling Jodi Picoult novel and ordered all copies destroyed. So ... Picoult arrived at a Salt Lake City high school this weekend with 600 copies of the book. And she gave them all away, for free. "Applause and cheers erupted." www.sltrib.com/news/educati...

sltrib.comAuthor Jodi Picoult came to Utah with a surprise: 600 free copies of her bestselling novel banned from public schoolsPicoult encouraged Salt Lake Book Festival attendees to give their copy to a teen who might “need to read it.”

Boosting this. Disclaimer: I contributed a word or two to the 1st ed design but get no benefit beyond seeing Ken do well. But it's the resson think 3d and heat management in sf games.

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Which rather proves David's point as i find performance be a pleasant bonus but not anything close to being a significant component of a ttrpg.

Khantalas@khantalas.bsky.social

I personally think "play" is a subset of the activities involved in TTRPGs, and "performance" (although likely still not comprehensive) encompasses a wider range of TTRPG activities than "play" does.

I think we've said "never again" far too many times, along with "forgive me, Lord". We need to mean it and stop it from happening again.

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And most recently the Political Director for Philip Sarnecki's failed run at being the GOP candidate for governor of Kansas.

legistorm.comThomas Teepell - Philip Sarnecki for Governor (Kansas) (Feb. 2026-), Political Director - Biography | LegiStormSee more about Thomas Teepell including contact information, congressional salary, employment history, education and other biographical information.
Marisa Kabas@marisakabas.bsky.social

SCOOP: 'Tommy' from the now-viral exchange with Abdul El-Sayed is Thomas Teepell, a former staffer for Republican Senator Josh Hawley with close ties to Christian Nationalist Sean Feucht. He's the son of a former Bobby Jindal staffer whose consultant work was instrumental in getting Hawley elected.

A - Do you disavow any attempt to read any religious doctrine into the laws of our country? T - I do not. A - You do not? Then I think it's you who needs to understand the constitution, not me. T: Tommy aka Thomas Teepell, GOP political director A: Abdul El-Sayed, Dem candidate for MI Senator

Kirklin (he/him) reposted

Over on Whatever today I go over @subvert.fm's "AI" policy and tell you why I think it's a really good version of such a policy, and why other organizations looking to create such a policy of their own would be well served to give it a look: whatever.scalzi.com/2026/10/18/w...

whatever.scalzi.comWhat a Good “AI” Policy Looks LikeSubvert is a creator-owned music platform, catering primarily to indie musicians; think of it as Bandcamp if it was a co-op. Subvert recently released a policy on the use of “AI” in the…

Early voting in TX starts tomorrow, Oct 19 and ends Oct 30. Specific times may vary by county - check yours - but: Oct 19-23 polls open at least 9 hours Oct 24 open 12+ consecutive hours Oct 25 open 6+ consecutive hours Oct 26-30 open 12+ consecutive hours Want change for the better? Go vote.

Kirklin (he/him) reposted

No joke. I think this is the most important video I have ever seen about mobile games. This guy breaks down how this game psychologically profiles you, and makes the game harder or easier in order to show you ads