@emc2@indieweb.social avatar

emc2

@emc2@indieweb.social

Senior research scientist at a major UARC, (infosec, distributed systems, formal methods, quantum computing). Non-profit employee. Tech industry veteran. Election worker. Irredeemable workaholic.

#compsci/ background, and aspiring #physicist

Technoprogressive, humanist, reformist, social democrat #socdem, pragmatic left-progressive, hard-line pro-democracy, #OpenSource advocate, user, and contributor #OSS. Pro-#LGBTQ+

Opinions are my own and do not reflect those of any organization.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. For a complete list of posts, browse on the original instance.

TonyStark , to random
@TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

I saw a comment go by today that said some people are going to sit this election out and wait for 2028. First, there are many downballot elections now and before 2028. Don’t sit out.

Second, if you’re thinking if Trump wins and gets to pack up the courts with more Aileen Cannons, Matthew Kacsmaryks, and Brett Kavanaughs and you’ll have a chance to correct all that in 4 years, you will not.

Trump’s 2025 authoritarian playbook and what it means for democracy | On Point
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2024/02/26/trumps-authoritarian-playbook-for-2025-and-what-it-means-for-democracy

emc2 ,
@emc2@indieweb.social avatar

@TonyStark What makes these people think that there even will be a 2028?

hrefna , to random
@hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

The system not giving you the result you want is orthogonal to whether democracy is "dead"

This is not to say democracy is/isn't "dead" (I'm kind of closer to the view that it was never alive in the first place), but the results not aligning with your sense of rightness is—unfortunately or fortunately—not really a factor in this

Like Biden, don't like Biden, but you should examine whether "democracy" as you think of it was ever alive in the first place before blaming him for the state of it.

emc2 ,
@emc2@indieweb.social avatar

@hrefna it's real obvious these days whose "politics" are akin to wearing the right sports jersey and being the number 1 fan vs whose politics are about real-world outcomes (most notably, survival)

flexghost , to random
@flexghost@mastodon.social avatar

Here is a list of the 112 Republicans who voted against Ukraine aid

Or as we say in my country: “traitors”

How many did you guess right?

https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2024151

emc2 ,
@emc2@indieweb.social avatar

@flexghost all the usual suspects for sure. I don't know the rest of the names, I don't know if any of them are dems, but shame on them if they are.

flexghost , to random
@flexghost@mastodon.social avatar

Let’s chat

Do you feel you have less interest posting about politics / current events lately?

Why?

Do you notice the same responses over and over again?

Do you feel headlines and events seem to go nowhere or seem to repeat?

Do you think people are more polarized or less polarized?

Are people beholden to their sides’ ideology— the kind of people where if you looked at their profile you would know exactly what they think on most issues without nuance?

I just wanna hear where you’re at…

Image of kitten with eyes glazed over and paw crossed staring into screen captions sit down we need to talk Holy shit I might just be over this. The same shit over and over every fucking day. Except for a few people it feels just like an echo chamber wherever you look And when I step out of line with some nuance in my opinion.... what happened to nuance? If I even talk to someone right leaning online the left jumps and vice versa. Some of you were cool. Some of you. Many people are just fucking NPCs and it makes me sad.
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    • + flexghost
    emc2 ,
    @emc2@indieweb.social avatar

    @flexghost

    I am trying to figure out how to do things that actually lead to outcomes. I want there to be a pragmatic, outcomes-focused progressive social democratic movement, that can actually change things for the better.

    It seems like any serious effort to do good is besieged by a social climate that will hijack it and turn it all into meaningless spectacle, drama, LARP-y bullshit, and in the worst case, twist it into poisonous reactionary rhetoric.

    emc2 ,
    @emc2@indieweb.social avatar

    @flexghost

    This is why I started being an election worker. It was something I could do. I am also grateful to have a job where I can actually do something.

    We need to find a way to talk and coordinate and strategize productively though. Atomized, I don't think we can do enough.

    GottaLaff , to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    Via Melissa Murray:

    She's been saying this for a long time. You're delusional if you think banning birth control is off the table.

    Biden-Harris HQ:

    Top Trump supporter Marsha Blackburn says Griswold v. Connecticut is “constitutionally unsound”

    (Griswold v. Connecticut is the 1965 Supreme Court ruling that legalized birth control)

    emc2 ,
    @emc2@indieweb.social avatar

    @GottaLaff Griswold was always the target.

    GottaLaff , (edited ) to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    1/… I'll ask a favor of you.

    This trial hasn't even started yet, not one witness. Yet...

    I'm getting Doomers galore in my feed.

    A Trumpy helped convict him in an earlier trial.

    The prosecutors are vetting the jurors carefully.

    I am not Dooming. Not yet.

    Can we wait for the trial to be in full swing before predicting the worst possible outcome? Or do people thrive on constant pessimism? I just don't.

    Thanks so much for listening. Let's try to be hopeful.

    More…

    emc2 ,
    @emc2@indieweb.social avatar

    @GottaLaff

    Honestly, I suspect this is what unmakes him either way it goes.

    His appalling behavior will bleed off independents and old school Republicans.

    Even his cult is seeing him looking weak and pathetic; that's the sort of thing that snaps people out of the mythos projected by a cult leader.

    I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility he suffers some kind of mental breakdown, either.

    hrefna , to random
    @hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

    If you want an interesting demonstration of how a person (who doesn't particularly know Rust) solves a problem versus how the software solves a problem, these two PRs are worth comparing:

    There are a couple of things I want to highlight about these, because I think this is legitimately an interesting thing to look at.

    1/

    emc2 ,
    @emc2@indieweb.social avatar

    @hrefna

    This reminds me a lot of how things went during the whole outsourcing debacle of the mid-2000s. The nature of the documentation, the odd and simplistic technical choices, the obviously copied template code, and solutions that spec-lawyer their way to an unsatisfactory result.

    GottaLaff , to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    Via Acyn:

    Reporter: Are you concerned that Trump is meeting with #Orbán?

    #Biden: If I’m not, you should be

    emc2 ,
    @emc2@indieweb.social avatar

    @GottaLaff you gotta admit, he's got a talent for one-liners

    GottaLaff , to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    He makes a good point.

    Mitt Romney: “I will not be voting for former President Trump. I must admit that I find sexual assault to be a line I will not cross in the people I select to be my president.”

    emc2 ,
    @emc2@indieweb.social avatar

    @GottaLaff I'll respect a measure of honor. Certainly those who seek to destroy our democracy have none.

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