@RufusJCooter@mstdn.social cover
@RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

RufusJCooter

@RufusJCooter@mstdn.social

Mastodon, eh?
Middle-aged, cis-het white guy; my experience has been that the more we amplify the voices of those who don't fall neatly into those categories, the better. So that's what I try to do.
FYI: if I see you scolding someone for mastodonning wrong (i.e., "We don't do threads on Mastodon!" "You need to tag your b/w photos as colorless!" "This discussion of racism needs to be hidden behind a content warning!") I will block you.
also @RufusJCooter
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This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. For a complete list of posts, browse on the original instance.

GottaLaff , to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

“A conservative public school board president in Temecula whose promotion of policies on race and gender thrust the district into the national battle over critical race theory in the classroom and the rights of + students narrowly lost a recall vote, officials announced Thursday.”
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-06-20/temecula-school-board-president-loses-recall-vote

RufusJCooter ,
@RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

@GottaLaff For the old-heads out there:

flexghost , to random
@flexghost@mastodon.social avatar

Sounds like Ted Cruz and the GOP really don't want this document leak out there

They keep getting redacted by "news" sites who were hosting them. Apparently, even "free-speech" Elon Musk had them removed from his nazi-enthusiast site twitter (per Newsweek)

Well...

Here they are

Shoutout to my Discord for sending me these 🇺🇸

1/

OCR info: John Aycoth (EAW GROUP LLC) - A native of North Carolina who joined the USS. = Navy in 1975 and graduated with honors from the U.S. Naval Cryptologic School, s Corry Station in Pensacola, Florida and received a Top Secret Special Intelligence. Clearance (SI) and was assigned duty to (FOSIF), the Fleet Oceanographic Surveillance Intelligence Facility at the U.S. Naval Cryptologic Station in Rota, Spain, which included (TAD) Temporary Active Duty on the U.S.S. Guam, U.S.S. Yarnell, U.S.S. Bowen and 60 days on the staff of the U.S. Naval Commander - Middle East Forces on the U.S.S. LaSalle in Bahrain. Before being discharged from 4 years active service in 1979, following 2 years Naval Reserve, Mr. Aycoth was awarded a Citation of Appreciation from the Commanding Officer, U.S. Naval Cryptologic Station, Rota, Spain. In 1980 he became a State Coordinator with the Reagan for President Campaign and the Reagan/Bush Campaign in Florida. After the election in 1981, Mr. Aycoth moved to . Washington, D.C. and launched Edward Aycoth & Co, Inc, an International Consulting firm which specialized in Public Relations, Advertising, Government Afairs, Trade & Economic Development Programs for Developing Countries. In 1990, Mr. Aycoth launched EAW Financial PR in New York which ..
OCR info: Greg Hynes (SMART TD PAC) ~ Greg Hynes s the National Legislaive Director at i Smart Union. Greg Hynes is a fifth-generation railroader born in Winslow, Ariz, hiring e Il ot ith Acchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Rilvayin Los Angeles. Calif, in 1995. He * = transferred to Phoenix, Ariz, in 1997, ol Hynes was elected local legislative representative of Local 1081 at Glendale, Ariz, in 2003, He was elected Arizona assistant state legislative director in 2004, was elevated to Arizona state legislative director in 2009 and was re-elected to that office in 2011 e He served on the Executive Council of the Arizona State AFL-CIO and held the positions of Finance Committee chairman and Legislative Committee chairman. Hynes was appointed the first chairperson of the UTU Rail Safety Task Force in 2009 and served in that capacity until being elected SMART Transportation Division N alternate national legislative director at the Transportation Division’s 2014 convention. He was elected national legislative director at the Second SMART TD Convention on August 11, 2019, in Las Vegas, Nev. He had the honor of serving on the SMART Transportation Division National Safety Team that assists the National Transportation Safety Board with accident investigations, from 2007 to 2014. In 2014...
OCR info: Andrew Szente (DELL TECHNOLOGIES INC. EMPLOYEE PAC) - Director, Government Afairs for Dell Technologies. A seasoned government relations profession with successful lobbying and Hill experience advocating for market-based growth and consumer choice policies. Extensive knowledge and experience with helping companies and industries navigate Congress and the Administration on sensitive business issues. Proficient n tax, trade, financial services, cybersecurity and breach issues. Self-starter with strong analytical abilities and research skills, in addition to strong writing and coalition building skills. Significant experience working with CEOs and other senior executives to provide strategic advice and execute corporate strategies. Prior to his arrival at Dell Technologies, he served as the Associate Director of Government Affairs at Best Buy. Andrew i a graduate of George Mason University with a Masters of Professional Studies from The George Washington University. Brian Wild (NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WHOLESALER-DISTRIBUTORS PAC) - Brian Wild is Chief Government Relations Officer for NAW. He previously worked as " Policy Director at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, advising Fortune 500 companies, trade associations, and non-profits before Congress and the White House on a wide

OCR info: Pt FUNDRA&SINGINC. Capital Giile Diner Ted Cruz Capital Grille 601 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC A Tuesday, June 18, 2024 L 7:30 PM 1 Shawnda Tumer will be staffng Total Guests Attending: 8 Total Pledged: $19,500 Total Paid: $0 First Name Last Name Company Pledged John Aycoth EAW GROUP LLC $1,500 Kelly Cole The Wireless Association PAC $1,000 (CTIA) Wendy Donoho. Ericsson Inc. Employees PAC $2,500 Greg Hynes SMART TD PAC $2,500 . Channing Pejic INATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF $2,000 'WHOLESALER-DISTRIBUTORS PAC David Planning Comerstone Government Affairs Andrew Szente DELL TECHNOLOGIES INC.. $2,500 EMPLOYEE PAC Brian Wild NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF $1,000 WHOLESALER-DISTRIBUTORS PAC
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    • + Npars01, DemocracyMattersALot, flexghost
    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @flexghost Can you imagine having US$11,600 just laying around, not doin' nuthin', and thinking, "Yeah, that's some money that I can give to Trump Save America JFC"

    (Yes, I'm pretty sure that here, "JFC" stands for Joint Fundraising Committee, but c'mon)

    futurebird , to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    So of ya'll talk about "reply guys" on Mastodon. And yeah that exists, but it's like the least annoying of the gruesome menagerie I used to deal with every day on X social media.

    There were:

    • Stalker
    • Mr. Race Science
    • Always Wrong, Thinks He's Right
    • Mr. I'm Making This About Politics
    • Ms. Gender(ing everyone for no reason)
    • Mr. Just Plain Racist
    • Mr. I thought I blocked you?
    • Mr. "I know where you work"

    and on and on

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @futurebird @snork303 Huh!

    Neither of those is how I usually see the term used - what I see most frequently is that the is a representative of the

    futurebird , to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    "CheeseBro" sounds like a goofy gangster name from batman.

    "Cheesebro" "The Ice Man" and "Mr. Mumbles"

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @futurebird He's one of The Hamburglar's henchmen

    futurebird , to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    Zoe has been making some important content about PragerU's effort to creep into public schools. Her main point is an important one: It's not just that this content comes from an extremist right wing group with extreme views: it's also just not very good. It's all videos and multiple choice questions-- none of it very thoughtful.

    But what would you expect? These people don't really like education or think it's important.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLKMW1LII7c

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @futurebird @benroyce All of this! And!

    The part that makes my blood run cold is, what's going to happen when this war on education comes to fruition? (My guess is that it looks an awful lot like what happens if someone needs to see an OB/GYN right now in TX/FL/ID/etc., only, for, well... everything?)

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @futurebird @benroyce Well, sure, that, too!

    But on a more basic level - rich people like health care (for themselves); which requires doctors, nurses, nurses' assistants, orderlies, a payroll department to pay all the above, etc.

    Rich people like legal representation (for themselves), which requires lawyers, paralegals, secretaries, a payroll department, etc...

    Which is to say, one can't lead a modern rich lifestyle w/o a middle class providing the services to which they are accustomed!

    RufusJCooter , to random
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    Huh! That was fun! Lots of things I didn't see coming this time!
    Like:

    1. Baddies understand the importance of PPE; good guys, less so
    2. Sure, there was lots of sexism, but also, lots of "Penny, you just have to be understanding of Daddy's relationship w/ his 'partner', and not ask so many questions"
    3. Don't recall any coffee in this one, but wow, was there some tobacco!

    Thanks everyone for joining in! Thanks @Taweret for hosting! See y'all next week!

    futurebird , to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    Judge Cannon must be getting help from other conservative think tank lawyers. Her recent request to force them to consider an obscure recent supreme court decision written by Clarence ... (about payday lenders) is way too complex and informed for this lady.

    So my question: is there a kind of legal help, or conferencing with, political or lobbying groups that would be illegal or improper for a judge? Can we find out who's feeding her this stuff and nail her for it?

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @futurebird I'm no expert, but my cursory read of the ethics code for fed judges is that's it's something of an 'honor code'. That is, they're expected to self-enforce, so if Cannon says, nope, nothing illegal or improper going on here, that's that.

    So, in order for any nailing to happen, there'd pretty much have to be somebody wearing a wire, putting a suitcase full of cash, or gold bars, or whatever, in the trunk of her car, while she confirms the exact quid pro quo, out loud.

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    I, a total stranger, was thinking of befriending your kid, but before I did, I thought I'd ask you, are they a boring, selfish jerk?

    It's fine if they are, I'm just really trying to find quality people to be friends with, so I thought I'd ask you, is your kid a dick?

    Wait, don't get offended! How are people supposed to know whether to hang out with your kid if you can't answer a simple question?!

    An anonymized toot reading @pluralistic I have a question about your book, and if the answer requires spoilers you can tag it or DM it or whatever: Is the climax and ending really tropey? Like does the villain or a side character stop the main character right before the villain is killed and gives them a Reason Why You Suck speech deconstructing the main character's motivations for revenge, or anything like that?
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    • RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @pluralistic Huh. Usually, when I'm trying to decide whether to read a book, or not, I'll see if there are any reviews by folks whose tastes generally align w/ mine.

    Have I been doing it wrong?

    futurebird , to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    All the reporting on the final arguments in the election interference case were very muddled and frankly hard to follow for what I wanted to know.

    Basically I'm mostly curious if the defense mostly made a technical argument about the law, or did the defense try to dispute the facts of the case?

    Can anyone who has had some time to follow this say?

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @futurebird Neither? I didn't follow that closely, but from what I read, the defense summation amounted to, Daniels and Cohen are liars w/ axes to grind so you can't rely on their testimony. (Not, notably, that Team Trump could point to any actual falsehoods from either...)

    Basically, it all seemed to amount to 'these people don't like Trump, therefore, you must acquit'

    But like I say, wasn't there, didn't follow that closely, so I probably missed a lot

    Nonilex , to random
    @Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

    Tues 28 May 2024 🧵 #ClosingArguments to Begin in #TrumpTrial

    #Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection w/a #HushMoney payment made to a porn star to influence the 2016 election. The case could be in the jury’s hands as early as Wed.

    #law #ElectionInterference
    https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/05/28/nyregion/trump-trial-closing-arguments?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @Nonilex Lordt.

    "Some sort of tax scheme"?!? For the sake of Blanche's partners, I hope Trump slept through that...

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @Nonilex Yeah, it feels a /lot/ like he's all in on a favorable set of jury instructions. (Which he won't get...)

    GottaLaff , to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    Reminder: I'm on the road today, so I will NOT be live-posting the #TrumpTrial

    Please follow @Nonilex for coverage. She's terrific!

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @GottaLaff Safe travels! (I don't have an appropriate .GIF handy, but please don't think that means I don't care! I recently decommissioned my Windows laptop, and my Chromebook, because reasons, so now I'm here in Linuxtown, which is fine, mostly, except my gif libraries are gone. So, please accept my text-only bon voyage!)

    futurebird , to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    The decisions and policy that have the most profound impacts on the greatest number of human lives often aren't the ones talked about most often in political discourse.

    What is the biggest difference between life in this era and say... European feudalism?

    I would argue it's near universal literacy. And along with simply having access to the written word, the highest percentage of a population armed with some scraps of what you might call a "liberal arts education"

    The ability to self-teach.

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @futurebird Agree with all this! And further, even if "workers need to be more educated for the modern world" were a worthy vision for the purpose of education (it isn't!), trying to design a system of pedagogy around such a philosophy would just turn out graduates with skills that are obsolete by the time they enter the work force.

    If school worked like that when I was a kid, I'd have spent hours learning VisiCalc in MS, and WordPerfect in HS.
    1/n

    GottaLaff , to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    NEW 🧵starts HERE.

    Plz remember to use NFL (Not For Laffy, no hashtag) so I can ignore those replies while live-posting. TY!

    1/... Tyler McBrien:

    It's 2:09 p.m., Trump walks in with his defense team in tow.

    Alan Dershowitz is still here as well.

    All five members of the prosecution are already seated.

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @GottaLaff NFL well, on the plus side for Team Trump, it sure doesn't seem like this witness has been coached or over-prepared

    Nonilex , to random
    @Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

    #TrumpTrial 🧵 Monday 20 May 2024

    #Trump has a huge posse today, including #KashPatel; #GerryKassar, a #conservative party leader in NY; #BernieKerik, fmr NYPD commissioner who was imprisoned for tax fraud & false statements; #AlanDershowitz, lawyer who defended Trump during his first impeachment, & #BorisEpshteyn, legal adviser who was #indicted in AZ for attempts to keep Trump in power after the 2020 election.

    #criminal #law #ElectionInterference #MobTactics #StochasticTerrorism #GagOrder

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @Nonilex
    Also referred to by many legal experts as "The Shaggy Defense"

    https://media.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExYmI3MXZ3cWptMHF0cGRndWdiMXVma3gyaGdwcWUyMzVldm52YjBzdCZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/3CiLrTgKkqL0k/giphy.gif

    GottaLaff , to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    NEW 🧵starts HERE.

    Remember: I cannot reply while live-posting, so plz use NFL (Not For Laffy.. no hashtag) so I can skip your replies. THANK YOU.

    1/... Erica Orden:

    Trump returned to courtroom accompanied by Eric, Lara Trump, + rest of entourage.

    McB:

    Back in overflow, the rules are as strict as ever—even Chris Hayes
    gets ID'd.

    "Press credentials?" a court officer demands, as another reporter gives a good natured, "You sure you're a member of the press, Chris?"

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @GottaLaff @ClassyT Last time I moved back in '08, I didn't have any choice but PODS (there was a 3 month gap between moving out of the old place & into the new); worked out brilliantly. It was a really good solution for me to move/temporarily store my stuff until the new place was ready!

    GottaLaff , to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    New 🧵starts HERE.

    REMEMBER: I can’t/won’t reply while live-posting. Please use NFL (Not For Laffy) so I can skip your reply, but NO hashtag on that. Thx.

    Picking up after my "mistrial" thread/ 1/...

    All via McB for awhile:

    Counsel approaches, brief sidebar

    "Binoculars down."

    As I mentioned, courtroom rules strictly enforced. During sidebar, court security doesn't allow reporters to use binoculars they had brought to see exhibits and facial expressions better

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @GottaLaff @msbellows That's a 1st rate idea, 10/10, would like & subscribe, tell my friends, etc

    RufusJCooter , to random
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    OK, @pluralistic 's The Bezzle finally bubbled up to the top of my to-read stack, and hot damn! Such a great read, in turns hilarious and infuriating and heart breaking.

    And I had a thought about why I find his writing so compelling - he's something of a 21st century Dickens; his daily threads show you the pieces of the puzzle, much as Dickens' serializations of his work doled out a story in bite-sized chunks. Then, you sit down and read the whole, and it you see the whole, and... damn.

    RufusJCooter , to random
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    Quick (& possibly silly!) question for those in the know re: alt text:

    Where image descriptions run long, is there a trick for displaying the text that gets truncated by my mastodon web interface?

    @FediTips , do you happen to know?

    futurebird , to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    Why didn't Trump just make a PAC to do all the payments and stuff? Could a PAC have done the actions of Cohen and it be legal? I guess the PAC would need a mission beyond electing one guy... but could that be fudged?

    They didn't make a PAC. So it is a moot point but I'm curious if it would have worked.

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @futurebird maybe a 501(c)(3)?

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @dr2chase @futurebird Well, sure, but... 1) Does Team Trump have a track record that suggests that they'd let some "rules" get in the way of doing something they want to do?

    and, b) Who would have stopped them? The FEC? IRS? The Florida Department of Law Enforcement?

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @futurebird @andyw350 @dr2chase My read of the immunity agreement (https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1119501/dl) is that the hush money wasn't illegal per se, but that since it was an (undeclared) expenditure to benefit a presidential election campaign, that's why Uncle Sam took an interest

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    Today in "Capitalists Hate Capitalism" news: The Appeal has published the first-ever survey of national prison commissary prices, revealing just how badly the prison profiteer system gouges American's all-time, world-record-beating prison population:

    https://theappeal.org/locked-in-priced-out-how-much-prison-commissary-prices/

    --

    If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

    https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/20/captive-market/#locked-in

    1/

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @pluralistic @danhon New sticker idea:
    The time that you spent typing this condescending reply would have been better spent looking into why I made the choices that I made
    (IDK, a bit wordy, I'm sure you can improve on it)

    futurebird , to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    If you were worried about the juror who said she likes how Trump "speaks his mind" don't.

    She said she gets her news from "google" and listens to the breakfast club

    The breakfast club is a NYC radio show that lots of black people like. It's total fluff. Fun.

    This person isn't interested in politics. "google" ?

    And I think that's fine. Not everyone has the disease that I have (and maybe you too.) In a trial they explain everything. The case is good so this kind of juror is good.

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @futurebird One thing that struck me about voir dire so far is how Team Trump seems to buy into his view of his legal troubles all being a matter of The Haters vs. Trump - their ?s all seemed to boil down to feels & vibes re: T

    from what I've seen of the state's case, I wouldn't bet on feels & vibes to get an acquittal, or even a hung jury...

    GottaLaff , to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    👀 Via Ron Filipkowski:

    BREAKING: Rep. Thomas Massie told this morning that he needs to resign as Speaker or he will join Marge Greene’s Motion to Vacate.

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @GottaLaff @Wileymiller indeed - what does seem plausible to me is a "centrist" like Cuellar ("D"-TX28) could garner enough votes from the centrist/corporate Dems & the less-unhinged Reps to take the gavel

    ...but there's no way he goes along for that, because there's no way he gets leadership support the next time he gets primaried if he does

    futurebird , to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    I was listening to a "Snowball Earth" TV documentary. Not paying much attention. I wish TV documentaries would let scientists who they interview explain more. Like how did you know how old the zircons were? How many places did you find the glacial erratics? Exactly how cold did it get? etc.

    Once of the scientists they interview said "It would be harder to live on snowball Earth than the surface of Mars." which seems... not true? Or is it just out of context?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhVFZFm44SQ

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @futurebird Right!?! We're already watching your nerdy science programming! We're here for it! Don't make these folks give us the elevator pitch, let them use complete sentences!

    And if your producer is worried about losing Joe Sixpack or Mary Americanidol, well, don't know how to break it to them but... Joe & Mary ain't been watching this sort of programming. You can't lose what you never had, bruh.

    futurebird , to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    There are a lot of papers about ants, and we know a lot about ants, but also there are a LOT of ants and a whole lot to know about them.

    Hence, we know a lot about ants but we also don't know much about ants.

    If what I've observed holds up it's wild to me that no one has noticed or mentioned that this very common species of ant in the United States is among the smaller club of ants that can produce female workers without mating under certain circumstances.

    But it makes sense. 1/

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @futurebird @michaelgemar I don't suppose there's a 23 and Me, but for invertebrates...

    futurebird , to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    Everyone acts like I'm "From the Great Depression" because I want to take the T-bone home from the steakhouse to make split pea soup but what THEY do not understand is the best split pea soup in the universe is made with a 2-inch thick proper NYC steakhouse T-bone. It's not like I'm going around back to get them with Pica's ilk.

    Take the bone home.

    If steakhouses had any sense they'd make soap too. Brand it with their logo.

    Soup Tomorrow!

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @futurebird Fmr MIL made a ham on vacation in Hawaii, and put the bone in one of those oversize ziploc bags in her carry-on to make soup when she got home

    got all kinds of funny looks going through security

    futurebird , to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    If you run an etsy shop and are selling sweater vests, especially used/vintage or one of a kind items... I think your items would be more appealing if the models had on a shirt on under? Do people really just put on a v neck vest over their bare skin?

    I mean it's an OK look ... but ...

    No it's not rational since I don't feel the same about shirts but I don't get the choice to model it that way.

    If you are selling vee necks you are selling to dorks. We aren't going to do that sexy stuff. OK?

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @futurebird Maybe they're trying to prevent complaints from people saying stuff, like "I got the sweater, but where's the shirt that was in the picture?"

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    Vice died the way it lived: being suckered in by smarter predators, even as it trained its own predatory instincts on those more credulous than its own supremely gullible leadership. RIP, we hardly knew ye.

    --

    If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

    https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/24/anti-posse/#when-you-absolutely-positively-dont-give-a-solitary-single-fuck

    1/

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @pluralistic Yeah, vice dot com is one of those things that I, literally, can make neither head nor tails of

    on the one hand: look at the list of folks that they've published over the years, and it's just a murderer's row of the best of the best, since the internet was a thing

    on the other: look at the editorial/mgmt decisions they've made over the years, and... really?

    Really?

    Really!?!

    Really‽

    lowqualityfacts , to random
    @lowqualityfacts@mstdn.social avatar

    Please support me on Patreon so I can continue to write facts such as "The African Elephant is the world's largest dog breed", and then people will leave comments saying "Actually, an elephant is not a dog. You're a fool", and then you can have the satisfaction of commenting "It's satire. Low Quality Facts is not a fool. You are the real fool here"
    https://patreon.com/lowqualityfacts

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @lowqualityfacts Ah, but who is the fool? Is it the fool, or the fool who thinks that he has fooled the fool, or the fool who

    sorry, got tangled up in the various leashes

    who is th

    argh

    wait no stop

    that's not a fi

    oof

    hey now, that's actually really painful, please stop that ri-

    OWW

    remind me to punch drew [who confidently told me I could have a dog & squirrel walking business, while doing social media on the side] square in the nards

    GottaLaff , to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    Via Klasfeld:

    Explainer:

    For each category of disgorgement, Justice Engoron imposed "prejudgment interest" starting from a date. That has a 9 percent rate determined by statute.

    The AG crunched those numbers to estimate ~$450M AS OF TODAY.

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @GottaLaff @Wileymiller

    apologies for flogging my earlier ?s from a different thread, but... The mind boggles that the kind of folk who take out their checkbooks for the RNC & their adjunct PACs and 501(3)(c)s (or whatever) haven't, apparently heard about the "Sunk Cost Fallacy", I guess?

    See, this relates to something I've been wondering about, namely: At some point, the fact that they're turning the GOP fundraising apparatus into The Trump Family Legal Defense Slush Fund, that's got to have an impact at some point, right? At some point, the donors have to start realizing that their donations are funding incompetent lawyers, fling a bunch of malarkey with the courts that would get a 1L an 'F"? Right? People that rich have to know "sunk costs", right?
    ALT
  • Reply
    • RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @GottaLaff @Wileymiller Well, sure, the rank 'n' file, certainly!

    But for the folk named "Koch" or "Walton" or "Harlan Crow"? Ya don't amass generational wealth, the kind that buys you a Supreme Court Justice or 6, if you keep forking over the dough to every two-bit huckster that comes along...

    GottaLaff , to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    I'm suddenly getting phishing emails claiming to be from PayPal. (That go directly to Spam, yes)

    Is this a new effort or something that you've seen for awhile?

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @GottaLaff @nonproductive @jerry for me, it's been an uptick across all possible avenues; text/SMS, robocalls, gmail, work email, and even, yes, here on masto

    shoot, yesterday alone, I got 14 robocalls from some dingus who hasn't set up his robocaller correctly, so when I tried to take the first couple of calls, I just got 15 seconds of silence, then it hung up on me. Then called back 90 seconds later, from the same #

    Annoying!

    GottaLaff , to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    As Dave Wasserman would say, I've seen enough.

    I need a break. Today has been unbelievably frustrating on this platform, so I'll post news if it breaks, but that's about it.

    People, READ THE WORDS IN MY POSTS before commenting.

    Please.

    Good night.

    RufusJCooter ,
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    @GottaLaff FWIW All the journalists that I followed in the before times used the exact same formula, so I really don't understand why ppl aren't getting it today

    also, hope tomorrow treats you better!

    RufusJCooter , to random
    @RufusJCooter@mstdn.social avatar

    Still, not how ant eyes work.

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