The Bookwench 🇨🇦🐱🏳️‍🌈

Sparta had 30 years of power. Then 300 gay dudes from Thebes (a democracy, WOKE) smashed the Spartans at Leuctra.

Sparta was a slave state led by a class of pedophile murderer plutocrats.

In short: Aura farming rapists.

Is it any wonder why American fascists worship Sparta?

Okay, uhhhh, good luck fighting with whatever version of me exists in your head. Guess I'll just put you on mute, since you're not even talking to a real person here.

I have a whole thread about it! bsky.app/profile/shif...

I don't think you, personally, have to understand transphobes. But people who want to dismantle their arguments in public need to be able to analyze them in order to point out the many ways in which their worldviews do not reflect reality.

THIS.

Also, someone harshly criticizing a person has a benefit other than convincing the uncertain. If you call out a transphobe as "scientifically illiterate and morally repugnant", trans people and their friends and allies will feel more supported and less alone.

Yes, this. It's not *whether* you're saying someone's stupid (or morally abhorrent), it's HOW you say it.

Phrase it in the right way, and people will be less likely to think, "Oh, that person's being bullied" and more "That person's being harshly but reasonably criticized."

That would mean giving engagement to the Nazi owner of that site, which would be counterproductive.

This is why I would counter-troll in the WoW realm forums (and still do to a lesser extent here). I knew I wasn’t ever going to change the mind of the person trolling, but everyone else reading along was someone I could potentially reach

Your alt-text is *chef's kiss*.

Ottawa has the worst job market in Canada, faring worse than cities with tariff-hit industries Economists say the fallout will only deepen as federal cuts to spending and the civil service begin to ramp up

It's funny how the "Return to office" mandate was in large part due to the idea that it would improve the bottom line for downtown Ottawa businesses. Meanwhile, the public service cuts have had a profound ripple effect on the city as a whole.

Me waiting to see the inevitable "I'm not mad! Would an angry person use all these laugh-cry emoji?" freak-out.

I get that, but IME the people who are *capable* of discussing, say, the history of Arrakis are the ones who actually understand the themes of Dune.

Thread—particularly down from here.

And yes, the human creator of a piece of art is crucial not just as a hand on the tiller, but also as a vehicle for serendipity, surprise, grace.

I would argue that it's not even doing that WITH prompting.

Generative AI has automated this grievance mechanism and massively expanded it.

Anything you could potentially ask a chatbot about, has a chance of being the hook that draws you down the rabbit hole.

Because it is an instrument of fascism, funded by the same nazis that fund their media empires

❤️🌸❤️Hi, happy Valentine's! I'm an illustrator with a love for the surreal, the romantic, and the eldritch~ Big fan of OC's, supporting people's passions, horror, tea & coffee, and cozy feels ☕

contrast this to a year ago when there was very little anti-Trump messaging in public from anyone in a position of power or influence

this is an big change and it does indicate his power over the elites - who have been much more deferential than society at large - is starting to wane

This is totally non-standard for any publication. Every pub everywhere pretty much cleans up uhms, uhm, and vocal tics like that, which EVERYONE DOES.

This is extremely intentional.

If I was writing this I’d probably do the quote “this is of course a very longstanding policy of the United States”

Yeah, I'm astonished my grandmother's didn't crystallize when she stirred in more sugar.

The weird thing is, I thought that unsweetened iced tea was the Southern thing, because that's what most of my relatives served. But perhaps this was just their reaction to my grandmother, who made her iced tea so sweet it physically hurt... and would then stir more sugar into her own glass.

Also, it's implying that kids would be better off dead than autistic.

Recently in one of the education sessions the doctors I work with run, they brought up how many children used to die from measles each year.

2 million. 2 MILLION children used to die every year, worldwide, from measles.

That is the world anti-vaxxers want, and it is evil.

State Department orders nonprofit libraries to stop processing passport applications The State Department has ordered nonprofit public libraries to stop taking passport applications, cutting off a popular local service.

This scheme to make passports harder to obtain comes as Republicans are trying to make passports one of the few documents that can be presented in order to be permitted to register to vote.

Donate to Support Feed Minneapolis: Urgent Food Relief, organized by Andrew Behrman FEED MINNEAPOLIS A COMMUNITY IN CRISIS NEEDS YOU NOW Minneapolis r… Andrew Behrman needs your support for Support Feed Minneapolis: Urgent Food Relief

Minneapolis residents are facing a growing food crisis. Fear from ICE is keeping families—especially elders, parents, and the homebound from groceries.

Feed Minneapolis funds trusted local food shelves and kitchens, with a goal of feeding 10,000 people in 2 weeks.

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A quote tweet of my post from someone named malADHDroit saying "these people have no idea what they're talking about, and it's scary how much damage they're going to cause neurodivergent and disabled students. LLMs are more perfectly aligned with the social model of disability and than any other assistive tool" (yes, the extra word was also in the original, idk what they meant to add there but it probably wasn't going to save the post)

Ah, the "being anti-AI is ableist!" crowd has found this.

Just so we're clear! Telling disabled and neurodivergent students that they have to get their education from the Lie Machine bc we can't bother to invest in real assistance is what is *actually* ableist.

As @isabelcooper.bsky.social put it, "Heathcliff literally kills puppies! There are puppies, and he kills them!"

@gailsimone.bsky.social Just a suggestion, if you wanted to contact your senator with it...

The Primaries are More Important than the General Which direction will the country move?

"You keep hearing the House will flip Blue in 2026.

But here’s the real question: “What kind of Blue will it be?”

Corporate-friendly? Or people-powered?"

CI Courage Candidate Salaam Bhatti @salaambhattiva.bsky.social on why the primaries REALLY count.

salaambhatti.substack.com/p/the-primar...

For a minute, I thought you wrote "Asimov's galactic empires of Arrakis", and were making a clever joke about how Musk claims to be a big fan of science fiction, but in fact has a schoolboy dilettante's knowledge of it.