silentexplorer18

[silentexplorer18]

deeply saddend about the fact how so many historical texts, books and scriptures just are lost/destroyed.

Like... we know they existed but not what (exactly) they said.

Or the thigns we don't even know of....

[silentexplorer18]

Women want one thing and it's quite obvious, A large affordable interconnected North American Rail Network

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Firefighter demonstrates how to put out a kitchen fire

[silentexplorer18]

A very useful thread on Bluesky:

(There is a lot more. Rather than give you all the images, I've copied the full text below.)

Meredith Rose‬ ‪@mrose.ink‬ November 8, 2024

This is not going to be a repeat of 2016-2020. It will be better, it will be worse, but most of all it will be different. Here are things I want every single person to keep in mind as we head into round 2 of a Trump admin.

My credentials: I’m a queer female public interest attorney working on tech policy in DC. I’ve been doing this for a decade--longer than some, not as long as others. I had to navigate three different administrations, as well as Congress, regulatory agencies, courts, and the advocacy world.

FIRST: don’t let despair override your media literacy.

The left has grifters, just like every other movement. If you’re able and compelled to donate, give to orgs with established track records. Avoid giving to individuals, especially anyone who emerges overnight with a one-weird-trick “plan.”

The left is not immune to misinformation, and everyone—EVERYONE—falls for it sometimes, present company included. There is no shame in it. When (not if) it happens to you, you should acknowledge it; delete or retract the post to reduce the spread; and move on.

If a source consistently shares half-truths or outright misinformation, it is not trustworthy, no matter how much “their heart is in the right place.” Unfollow and move on.

Prediction, analysis, and reporting are three fundamentally different things. Learn to identify them for what they are. Reject attempts by amateur “analysts” to predict the future. They know as much as you do.

Real subject matter experts know and acknowledge their limits. They’re also (usually) hesitant to try and predict the future. The best frame their predictions in terms of a range of possible outcomes. Subject matter experts may also disagree with one another! It happens!

SECOND: What we know for sure about how the Trump, how he operates, and how that will impact the next four years.

Trump is a narcissist who avoids reading and doesn’t care about details. He cannot be persuaded by argument or logic; he’s moved mostly by flattery, and will agree with the last person who flattered him. He can and will upend his own administration’s work without warning, often by tweet.

As a result, most policy experts—even those "on his side"—dread him taking an interest in their field. Ask any Republican staffer who worked in Congress during the last administration, and most of them will confirm that their greatest fear was Trump tweeting about anything related to their work.

As such, people who are serious about their work will do everything to make it as invisible and boring-seeming as possible. This is the policy equivalent of defensive camouflage. Lots of “normie” work will continue in silence. (The lion’s share of tech policy ends up in this bucket.)

If you have a niche issue that you care about, now is a great time to donate to orgs that work on it. Lots of money will be funneled to big legacy orgs working on headline issues: ACLU, climate change orgs, etc. Consider sending your donations where they matter most: local, niche, established.

Trump runs his cabinet like the Apprentice. He thrives on chaos and making people compete for his approval. Not only does he not reward collaboration between his subordinates, he actively undermines it.

Moreover, everyone who works with him knows that they’re vulnerable to being thrown under the bus at a moment’s notice, for any reason (or for no reason at all). His cabinet is going to be scorpions in a bottle. They will not be able to coordinate, for good or ill.

One scorpion can still do a lot of horrific damage. But large scale inter-agency coordination is unlikely, particularly after the first few months, by which point he will likely (prediction warning!) have gone through a handful of cabinet secretaries already.

FINALLY: The view from inside civil society heading into 2025.

In 2016, Trump was a largely unknown quantity. The left and establishment right alike wasted a lot of time trying to read tea leaves and make sense of this guy, because he was completely outside the realm of what anyone had dealt with. That’s not happening now.

He did us a favor by broadcasting his plans in advance (aka Project 2025). Civil society has spent the last 2.5 years strategizing around it. We’re not starting off flat-footed.

The Biden admin did a good amount to future-proof its own achievements. Folks can speak to their own areas of expertise, but clean energy and CHIPS and Science Act (investing in domestic semiconductor production) have benefitted from huge sunk investments. That money’s not getting clawed back.

OVERALL TAKE-AWAYS:

It's going to suck. But civil society and the political left have some advantages we didn't have last time. We know him, we know his angles, and we know who he's bringing in--none of which we had in 2016.

We'll get through this. It will be grim, but we'll get through it.

John Cutting‬ ‪@johncutting.bsky.social‬

Thanks Meredith. I really valued your analysis over the past few years, and I think this is a reasonable, actionable framework to think about the upcoming storm

Meredith Rose‬ ‪@mrose.ink‬

I really cannot overstate how much time was (necessarily) wasted in 2017 trying to figure out this guy and his influences. The fact that he's not only a known quantity, but ran the most over-studied administration in this nation's recent history, makes this a very different game.

John Cutting‬ ‪@johncutting.bsky.social‬

I bet we can weaponize his narcissism. Let's say some ghoul starts making progress with a mass deportation effort, if we start calling that ghoul that "shadow president" en masse, Trump would fire him in right away and appoint Hulk Hogan or something

‪Meredith Rose‬ ‪@mrose.ink‬

This is exactly why I don't think Musk will last very long. Trump is very clear that he's the only one in the room allowed to have an ego or any kind of brand name.

[silentexplorer18]

what ever happened to personality!!! i want decorative towels that arent boring!!! i want NOVELTY!! i want people to come over to my house and look at my trinkets and immediately think this lady is a wacko and also her stuff is haunted

[silentexplorer18]

My mom is waxing poetic about cheese tonight

[silentexplorer18]

happy pride!! i just wanted to share one of my favorite scenes from If You'll Have Me, my sapphic graphic novel 🌈💕✨

IYHM can be found on this list of retailers, but it can be requested from libraries too! or support your local bookstore if you can! thank you for reading~

[silentexplorer18]

You’re a regular office worker born with the ability to “see” how dangerous a person is with a number scale of 1-10 above their heads. A toddler would be a 1, while a skilled soldier with a firearm may score a 7. Today, you notice the reserved new guy at the office measures a 10.

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lighthouse study. started in sketchbook and finished in procreate

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Tessa Nelissen on Instagram

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Sophie Devereaux is the most galaxy brained idea for a character. She's a professional grifter who's so good at her job that she can take on any disguise, do any accent, be a thousand different people, maintain a thousand different identities, and everyone always buys into it. But she can't act for shit when she's on a stage despite that being her passion and her endgame. She's the world's worst stage actor but the world's best grifter. 15/10 character design

[silentexplorer18]

i gotta remember this

[silentexplorer18]

JSTOR is a nonprofit

Hi all, just a reminder that JSTOR is a nonprofit with a mission to expand access to knowledge and education around the world.

This is not an empty statement. For example:

JSTOR provides free or low-cost access to more than 1,500 institutions in 69 countries

More than 1,500 institutions in Africa and in low-income nations in other continents receive access to JSTOR free of charge or for steeply reduced fees through our JSTOR Access Initiative program.

JSTOR provides free access in prison

We have also recently started a pilot offering free access for higher-ed programs in jails and prisons in the US.

JSTOR is widely available to walk-in library users

Every library in our network of more than 10,000 institutions worldwide is authorized to provide access to the content on JSTOR for walk-in users for free. Public libraries, such as Boston Public or the San Francisco Public, may provide off-site access to library card holders. Libraries may also utilize JSTOR for electronic interlibrary loan, providing a way for people to gain access even if their local libraries don’t participate in JSTOR.

You can read JSTOR online for free

You can read up to 100 articles per month for free. All you need is a free JSTOR account!

JSTOR provides free access to hundreds of thousands of articles, images, and books

In addition, we are continuously working towards making and adding more open content. You can even search for free content only!

[silentexplorer18]

[silentexplorer18]

hate when I wanna talk to a person but I don’t really have anything to say. but I yearn for the connection. can’t just message someone like, hi I have nothing in particular to say but you’re fun and cool and I would like to have a conversation

[silentexplorer18]

my trick for getting through grad school is learning to navigate the quadrants with all their nuances