Benjamin Rahn

I point people to Adjoa Andoh's narration of the Ancillary series whenever they say that they like sci-fi but aren't into audiobooks.

"Sit up straight, Dlique. Don’t dismember your sister, Dlique, it isn’t nice. Internal organs belong inside your body, Dlique."

I'd like to see chants of "obey the law" to goad Trump into a declaration of "I am the law."

Trump will imagine he's channelling Judge Dredd, when in fact the more apt comparison is Colonel Jessup.

Love this approach to govt comms: what you need to know & how you can help your community -- all competently executed on modern social media.

Regardless of your views about Mamdani in particular, there's a playbook to follow here

bsky.app/profile/mayo...
Bonus:
bsky.app/profile/mayo...

Shopping Isn’t a Strategy The goal of a boycott is not to make ourselves feel better. The goal is to make society better.

Like bowling, boycotting is best done together

I wrote this piece to share with your friends and family who think they're "doing their part" against ICE and Trump by not shopping at bad companies

www.laborpolitics.com/p/shopping-i...

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, appears to have deleted his tweet after these Democrats responded

This platform needs way more freaking out about Alysa Liu. Oakland chill yet extreme excellence is the antidote to everything that’s so broken right now.

Reality accused of plagiarizing from @theonion.com again

www.404media.co/man-opposing...

h/t @karlbode.com

‘Woke’ AI Feud Escalates Between Pentagon and Anthropic The Pentagon might ask contractors and vendors to certify that they don’t use Anthropic’s Claude amid tensions over how the startup’s tools are used for defense work.

Rebuttal talking point available for the taking:

"AI providers must ensure that their products are used not just legally, but responsibly. Pete Hesgeth's bartenders have to navigate this challenge all the time."

www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

I don’t really know what I expect in posting this, but maybe some people see it and can learn from it.

I’ll call it “lessons from an unwilling immigration attorney.”

1/

Ring cancels its partnership with Flock Safety after surveillance backlash Flock off

www.theverge.com/news/878447/...

This mental model of CEOs/companies definitely resonates!

Do you see tech employees as having some agency in this dynamic? I.e., is there a path for tech folks (individually or collectively) to "negotiate" more from the companies -- not just in $/benfits, but in values/belonging.

Nice mental model for tech's so-called "rightward shift": when the tech labor market is hot, CEOs act progressive to attract employees. When the labor market cools, the CEOs stop doing so.

But @zamosta.bsky.social omits tech folks' individual and collective agency in this implicit negotiation.

Second paragraph is Will Lewis subtweeting his contempt for copywriters

Blue wave watch: Democrat flips Trump +17 Texas Senate seat in 32-point swing
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/blue-wave-...

maybe Elon just wanted to know when it'd be quieter 🤪

See also descriptions of Rep. Ilhan Omar as "visibly shaken"
bsky.app/profile/drui...

Genuinley curious if this arises from writers carelessly using LLMs (rather than political agendas) -- Because unless user stops them, LLMs are inclined to fill in missing details from "typical" stories, plot arcs, tropes regardless of whether they apply.

"Surely they are doing what I would do in their shoes"

cc: @danancona.bsky.social and people who know better than me :-)

Get in front of it with full-court press / ad blitz:

** Trump and the GOP: SOFT ON CRIME **
* Pardoning fraudsters and crime lords
* Putting murderous masked thugs in our streets
* Hiding the Epstein files
* Trump is a 34-time felon.

=> GOP can't say "crime" without reminding people of these ads

We are determined to make it so. The @unbreaking.org team has been working since the beginning to stand up a page focused on Archives & History. Our timeline (unbreaking.org/issues/archi...) and debrief (unbreaking.org/blog/this-we...) were just published today.

This is really, really good. I had been waiting until I had time to watch it, but now there is a transcript!

Clear, simple, direct, no hedging. What we call "strong leadership" is someone who is effective at creating patterns in voters brains. And patterns are contagious. At this rate he's going to have Trump on board with abolish ICE by like April.

Folks saying this is just as bad, I need you to reread about reconstruction. Not holding people accountable is how we get into this position. Removing people who colluded with the administration in an authoritarian takeover of higher ed from their position is the most reasonable thing to do.

bsky.app/profile/brah...

Renfrew Christie Dies at 76; Sabotaged Racist Regime’s Nuclear Program

Holy hell, what an obituary

bsky.app/profile/brah...

Image and product description for a "Nobel Peace Chocolate Medal". Text in Norwegian, English translation via google translate: Nobel Peace Prize Chocolate Medal 21.00 kr About the chocolate medals The chocolate medals are produced in Gouda, the Netherlands – one of the world’s largest chocolate factories, exporting to over 60 countries. The factory holds several quality certificates, including the British Retail Consortium’s Procheck certificate. Ethical and sustainable The cocoa used in the medals is UTZ certified , ensuring responsible production with respect to both the environment and people. Product details Diameter: 55 mm Weight per medal: 11 grams

In case someone in your life needs a tasty ego boost:
shop.nobelpeacecenter.org/product/ny-n...

America has always been an argument. An argument between a wealthy white few ready to kill or control the rest to seize more money & power and the bravest possible people determined to make the promise of life, liberty & yes happiness apply to all, no exceptions.

Tech Workers Are Condemning ICE Even as Their CEOs Stay Quiet The killing of George Floyd in 2020 prompted a wave of statements from tech companies and CEOs. Today, pushback against ICE is largely coming from employees, not executives.

I wrote about ICE, Silicon Valley's response (or lack of) to ICE flooding US streets, and why "business as usual" for CEOs doesn't really apply in a politically unstable climate www.wired.com/story/backla...