Weak Points | The Weekly Sift

https://whowhatwhy.org/cartoon/asking-the-tough-questions/

https://weeklysift.com/2024/12/02/weak-points/

«Trump will troll us by threatening to do something, get some kind of response from the targets of his threats, falsely claim that the response is a concession, and do a victory lap for “winning” the exchange. Nothing has actually happened, but he has exhausted his opponents and given his followers a fake “victory” to crow about.»

«Inflation is headed down, fentanyl deaths are down, border apprehensions are down — in a few months we’re going to hear Trump claim all these accomplishments as his own.»

The Monday Morning Teaser | The Weekly Sift

https://weeklysift.com/2024/12/02/the-monday-morning-teaser-584/

«I started the week with the intention of reading and summarizing some of the many articles that have been appearing about how to resist the incoming Trump administration and its expected attacks on democracy. But in the last few days I’ve discovered something about myself: I still haven’t fully recovered from the profound disillusionment of the election. I still can’t find in myself the hard base of determination that a principled resistance requires, or even the fire of anger. I’m still processing my feelings of disappointment in my countrymen and sorrow for what my country will soon face. I hope to get past this phase soon, and do pass on a few resistance tips I’ve gleaned from the limited research I’ve done.

So I decided to write about that instead. The featured post “Resisting, eventually” should be out before 10 EST.»

Godspeed, Mr. and Mrs. Muder.

NYT on the filibuster

Buried in a story (such as it is) under a stupid NYT headline is this:

«But will a Republican-led Senate in a Trump-dominated capital really carry out its role as a moderating force for deliberation and temperance, for checks and balances? Is that even possible? As glorious as this sounds, it also feels more than a smidgen naïve in this age of polarization and political blood sport. Mr. Trump expects Republicans in the House and Senate to fulfill his wishes no matter the cost.»

Riiiight, the filibuster will work to moderate the president the same way the Electoral College works to keep a wholly unfit president from being elected. Courageous, right-thinking senators will apply the brakes.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/02/opinion/donald-trump-senate.html?unlocked_article_code=1.eU4.DBiN.-y6zFrS6xeC_&smid=url-share (Should I even bother wasting a gift link on a story this fluffy?)

Weinersmiths on space settlement

I thought of you, dear social media, when I read this quote from “A City on Mars: Can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through?” by Kelly Weinersmith, Zach Weinersmith –

“Staying alive on Earth requires fire and a pointy stick. Staying alive in space will require all sorts of high-tech gadgets we can barely manufacture on Earth.”

Start reading this book for free: https://a.co/2VFDa0v

(I’ve started a new book. Without, of course, finishing any of the others I’m reading.)


«consider an idea we call the “Necrosphere,” in contrast with the Biosphere. The Necrosphere is a built structure on Earth. Inside it, the ground is poison, there is no air, and cascades of radiation are fired at the inhabitants on a perpetual basis.

Why did we build it? In the sure knowledge that we can stick engineers inside who, due to the harsh environment combined with their need not to die, will spew forth valuable ideas like a spigot spews forth pressurized water. If this sort of thing seems implausible to you, you should ask yourself why anyone would expect a Mars base to generate all these supposed benefits. You should also ask yourself why it is that so many innovations on Earth come not from anarchic wastelands but from cities where an engineer’s main hardship is eight-dollar espressos.»

Emboldened ‘manosphere’ accelerates threats and demeaning language toward women after US election

«The slogan also has made its way offline with boys chanting it in middle schools or men directing it at women on college campuses, according to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue report and social media reports. One mother said her daughter heard the phrase on her college campus three times, the report said.

School districts in Wisconsin and Minnesota have sent notices about the language to parents. T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase were pulled off Amazon.

Perez said she has seen men respond to shared Snapchat stories for their college class with “Your body, my choice.”»

https://apnews.com/article/trump-harris-election-womens-rights-social-media-d5cea53480437ac8bf837aaa821e5681

I’m not generally a fan of the Chinese idea of “social capital”, but sometimes, it’s tempting.