AOC is on Bluesky now. Here are the Balloon-Juice Bluesky basics, courtesy of Mousebumples, for anyone who missed them. DougJ is also there.
As Adam mentioned the other day, there are resistance grifters out to take your money and occupy your time. Here’s a blocklist of those folks. Again, choose who to block or mute based on your preferences.
UncleEbeneezer
JML
I love AOC. She absolutely gets it. Smart politician and great communicator. Passionate about what she believes, but also wants to win. Aspirational thinker and leader, but doesn’t make perfect the enemy of good. I’d clone her if I could.
UncleEbeneezer
This is a great way to mute/block a whole bunch of annoying accounts. Just click on subscribe and you get an option to mute/block.
twbrandt
I’m @twbrandt.tombrandt.net over on Bluesky.
I don’t know what the business plan is or what it will look like once they start generating revenue. It may go all to hell like twitter did, or maybe not, but so far it’s really pretty good.
ArchTeryx
@twbrandt: The owners have been quoted as saying they will never allow a billionaire to execute a hostile takeover on them. Twitter didn’t have such a hot business plan, either, before Muskrat took it over and turned it from a money loser into a giant fucking refinery fire. Can things change? Sure. If they are a haven from the fascists they will come under INTENSE pressure from The Convicted Felon, but they’ve also said that if it comes to that, they’ll take BlueSky’s hosting outside the U.S.
BR
Combine AOC’s post with Josh Marshall’s:
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-aftermath-of-competitive-hyperbole/sharetoken/082ec72d-3383-4c1f-a923-373c275aced9
ArchTeryx
One problem I am having with BlueSky is how to tranche my skeets to specific subgroups. It has a more robust tag system than Xhitter, but still, if I post furry stuff, I want it to go to the furry list, not the GOP Resistance list. Most of those are normies and would probably freak at even SFW furry art. Since you’re encouraged to follow as many as possible, trying to tranche my posts is important.
Mousebumples, any ideas on that?
Belafon
She needs to publish a field guide. I will donate to training efforts.
gene108
@twbrandt:
Twitter had its stuff together before Musk bought it.
I learned a lot from different groups that used the platform from foreigners posting about their country to communities talking about things specific to them.
Now it’s so bad not just in content but also in the overall user experience. Even without reading the content it looks shabby.
Belafon
@twbrandt: They said at one point there will probably be ads, and a voluntary subscription service. The ownership is distributed in such a way that a takeover is unlikely, and they’ve declared themselves a company in a way that doesn’t require them to be beholden to investors first.
WaterGirl
mistermix, there are people on your blacklist who have never asked for money. How / why did they end up as “resistance grifters out to take your money” on your suggested block list?
hrprogressive
AOC just sent an email blast asking for feedback first and money only after the fact.
I answered it honestly, and while I can’t imagine one guy’s opinion is gonna make that big a deal, I feel it’s important to answer those things in a way that allows the person asking the questions to perhaps act on them.
Not gonna sit here and claim AOC is infallible or anything like that, but she’s the kind of young, progressive, “hip without it coming across as disingenuous” type of person we need hundreds and thousands more of if there are hopes of rebuilding a party to combat the Fascist GOP.
More her, less Schumer, Pelosi, Durbin, etc.
BR
And speaking of running behind the top of the ticket — Bernie is still running behind Harris in the Vermont results, and will probably end up getting fewer votes and a lower percent than Harris did.
Belafon
@hrprogressive: The leadership based on seniority, whether documented or institutional, needs to be broken now.
RinaX
I’m enjoying Bluesky but can’t get behind calling posts “skeets.”
gene108
@ArchTeryx:
Twitter being publicly traded didn’t have much choice, since Musk was willing to pay twice what the company was worth. Shareholders were getting a good premium on their investment with Musk’s offer.
Belafon
@RinaX: I call them posts. It’s the pineapple-on-pizza argument for the site.
Gretchen
@BR: Bernie running behind Harris won’t give him the humility to think maybe he shouldn’t be telling the rest of us what we did wrong.
PaulWartenberg
I am also on Bluesky, hope to see you all:
@paulwartenberg.bsky.social
P.S. AOC would make a great President except for the goddamn fact there are too many goddamned sexists who refuse to vote for a woman President. /rage
@mistermix.bsky.social
@WaterGirl:
The list is from another Bluesky person. I don’t know how they got there and you can pick/choose who you block or mute.
cain
@Belafon:
Whatever. Wake me up when they decide to become a public company. I heard all the crap with Google “don’t do evil”.
Never trust a business at their word. Their first loyalty is always to their investors. Every thing comes down to whether they want to grow. If you’re just going to be a liberal bastion then that’s not going to generate much revenue IMHO.
I’m very cynical about any business owning a public space. I have not yet seen it work out.
Trollhattan
Dumb question: can bluesky be accessed in a PC browser window? Can navigate to links but no content displays. Might be a work thing.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@Gretchen: Humility? LOL
cain
@gene108:
They need to declare that they won’t be a public trading company – bet that will fail with their own investors.
WaterGirl
@@mistermix.bsky.social: Was it from a Balloon Juice BlueSky person? it’s good to know the source, particularly when I know there are people on that list who have never asked for money.
It seems wrong to be blasting that out without vetting the list.
cain
I purchased a TPM no-ads subscription o/
I already have a pro-publica one.
balloon-juice and mastodon for the rest.
Belafon
@cain: So, are they evil before they become public, or afterwards?
Kristine
@Trollhattan:
I use a mac/safari, but my laptop link is: https://bsky.ap
I may be answering a question you didn’t ask.
Geminid
The first thing I ask when a Democratic candidate loses is: what was the demographic profile of the district? I’ve seen many good candidates run strong campaigns and come up short because it was an inherently tough district for a Democrat to win.
I’m not sure why Rep. Ocasio-Cortez didn’t mention this. Maybe it’s because she herself could not win these races that Democrats lost this year.
Ocasio-Cortez is priviledged electorally. After winning a low-turnout primary against a complacent incumbent in 2018, she’s had an easy path in one of the safest districts in the country. She ought to acknowledge that if she’s going to critique other Democratic candidates who are not as fortunate.
Central Planning
@ArchTeryx: You can always create multiple accounts, but that can be difficult to manage too.
Baud
@BR:
Wow. That’s something.
Belafon
@Trollhattan: It’s probably a work thing. I access bsky at home on my pc all the time.
Timill
@Trollhattan: Yes – that’s how I do it. https://bsky.app/
Tim
Baud
I wish people with critiques about Dems would name names and provide examples.
Baud
@UncleEbeneezer:
I hope libs learn to understand how much the right wingers needs us in their lives emotionally.
Belafon
@Geminid: She wasn’t going after every candidate. She’s trying to go after the same people we think need to be dumped, specifically those that think we need to move right to win.
As for her district, that’s why she said she did better than Harris.
Baud
@Belafon:
That seems to be common in a lot of places (thankfully).
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@Baud: Us? There’s just a bunch of grey rocks here. Move along…
https://www.wikihow.com/Grey-Rock-Method#:~:text=Grey%20rocking%20is%20a%20self,between%20you%20and%20your%20partner
nickdag
Wait, wut? This list of people you recommend to block?
It includes:
“Jack Smith”
Meuller She Wrote
Meidas Touch
Brooklyn Dad
several more
These people are all grifters?! How, where? I’ve never gotten a request for money from most of them.
Have I just been gullible rube this whole entire time?!
NotMax
Repeating for informational value.
How to deactivate your X account
Baud
@Formerly disgruntled in Oregon:
👍 🪨
RaflW
Even before Mush bought the Xit, it was a site that favored and encouraged savvy cynicism. So far I have built a follow list of folks (+ blocks) that has created a feed of pretty decent reality checks, hope for activism, and some funny stuff and plenty of cute puppers (cats, too, but fewer of them due to my selections).
I hope it can continue to be curated in that way.
CaseyL
It’s exciting to see BlueSky taking in so many new people (though I’m sad for my other social media, Mastodon).
Regarding “How to Move Forward” – my take is, as I’ve said before, focus on the local. There’s very little to be done nationally – the theocrats and kleptos are large and in charge – but local organizations (and local organizing) may have more leverage points.
Along those lines, time will do a lot of the heavy lifting for us regarding the sclerotic Democratic Party leadership. It’s on the way out already, and in 5 years when the country is a smoking crater of brutality, graft and incompetence, some very much. younger and, frankly, more militant Democratic politicians will be poised to take over. I hope AOC is one of them. She’s whipsmart, clear eyed, adaptable, and knows how to get stuff done.
Trollhattan
@Kristine: @Belafon: @Timill:
Thanks all, going with Work Thang but perhaps work will get themselves an account, too. They still use a Twitter for all the good that does.
Jacel
@RinaX: Yes, calling posts “skeets” on BlueSky too often makes me think of this musical number from “Top Secret”. The song “Skeet Surfing” starts about 30 seconds into this clip.
RaflW
@nickdag: My sense is these are click/anger farmers. Bluesky culture as I have experienced it is not into that.
I have blocked some of the accts you mention, but so far I don’t see much from the others, but that’s about who I follow, too, as they’re not promoting skeets from those accts, and I don’t do the algorithm feed.
To my first point, what I mean is that just reading and liking and even reposting a bunch of things that those accts post builds a lot of rather impotent rage. It doens’t organize people. It doesn’t direct people towards useful actions to actually protect ourselves or people we care about.
Of course anyone can follow whoever you want. But that’s my sense of why they’re being held up to review. It’s not helpful to burrow into cynicism. (I say this as someone who has been very cynical at times in my life.)
Geminid
@Belafon:
Yep. Purple district candidates trying to flip seats where Rep. Ocasio-Cortez wouldn’t stand a chance no matter how good a campaign she ran.
It’s a good thing Marie Gluesenkamp Perez won reelection. If she’d lost, we’d never hear the last of it. Slate Magazine would have a special edition dunking on Perez and every other Blue Dog by implication.
BR
@nickdag:
I think the idea is not that those accounts ask for money but they are obsessed with fake drama and emotionally appealing narratives but the info from them is rarely accurate.
The Audacity of Krope
@BR: I don’t know most of those accounts, but that’s exactly why I took Meidas Touch out of my YouTube recommendations.
Geo Wilcox
@ArchTeryx: They have a feed for furry art you might try to locate.
twbrandt
As Adam has pointed out a number of times, Mueller She Wrote (Alison Gill), gets a lot of things wrong a lot of the time. Meidas Touch strikes me as clickbait for liberals. Don’t know about the others.
Belafon
@Geminid: Did Perez get up and say we needed to move right?
Did you even read the whole screenshot? You should probably read the last part again until you understand it, like the fact that she’s pointing out that reps need to actually talk to their constituents rather than running to the cameras. She’s not saying to run as an uber-liberal, she’s saying to actually run a campaign.
gene108
@BR:
Part of the problem is there’s no rational way to explain Trump’s appeal and the inability of him to lose support even with scandals that used to sink politicians.
Somehow reality became distorted with the rise of right-wing media and the prevalence of people believing various conspiracy theories or doubting basic science like germ theory. We’re taught to cover our mouths when we cough or sneeze to not spread germs from a very young age, but somehow a wearing a face mask during the COVID pandemic does not prevent the spread of germs.
I think part of the issue is so many people operate in their own realities that getting people to agree something is important is nearly impossible now.
If I were a Democratic strategist I’d figure out how to get pro-Democrat content onto Spanish language social media and develop pro-Democratic social media personalities that can get following of a Ben Shapiro. Part of the problem in 2024 was that Democrats were not able to define themselves versus whatever negative spin was put out by Republicans or the MSM.
Belafon
@gene108: I wonder if there are none, or just there’s no place for a left-side Shapiro to run to and say “Give me money so I can do this thing”.
Omnes Omnibus
@nickdag: They are products of Twitter culture. They are seen as seeking “clout” over engagement. Without an algorithm, it is less effective on BlueSky as a way of building a following.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@BR:
Including accounts like “Jack Smith”, Meuller She Wrote, and MeidasTouch? When have they ever done that?
Planetjanet
@Omnes Omnibus: So, why block them?
cain
@Belafon: Almost always after they become public.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@twbrandt:
I recall others saying that Adam has also tried saying that Merrick Garland is a Federalist Society member when that’s misleading
WaterGirl
@nickdag: I asked about the origin on the blacklist that’s being pushed.
cain
@nickdag: Adam has talked about Mueller She Wrote” before.
Dunno about the rest, but I do know that those accounts did a lot to create a ‘bubble’ of happiness. It’s where we go to get “good news”
VFX Lurker
The only lure of another social media platform for me right now could be a Black Twitter migration.
Even then, I might stick to Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram, and read only the excerpts posted here from BlueSky by front-pagers and commenters.
cain
@CaseyL:
I wouldn’t worry about Mastodon. It’ll be fine.
It lost people because it was very stubborn about making sure it centered safety – especially from the LBGTQ+ folks that came over. It didn’t work well for the black folks and other people though for reasons I have pointed out in the past.
It’s moving very slowly and some of the things people need have not been implemented yet. It’s literally just about 4-5 people writing that software.
Ultimately, mastodon is going to be a place of safety especially for the Trump2 years. We’re going to need it. Bluesky will have to prove itself.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: That’s a lot different than saying they are “grifters out to take your $$”.
The Audacity of Krope
@Planetjanet: I think the recommendation is to block them because they are unedifying. I only know one of those posters due to their YouTube presence, Meidas Touch; and they definitely do not do a lot to inform, but plenty to inflame partisan attitudes.
BellyCat
Late to the thread (and have not read it so I might be repeating something) but can someone tell me who the fuck @numb.comfortab.ly is and why they have the definitive word on who and who not to trust?!?!? I mean, forget about Allison Gill and whether you think she’s legit or not (p.s. I do). The Jack Smith twitter account has been SPOT ON for a couple years. This list to me looks like a bit of a circular firing squad?
FlyingToaster
@WaterGirl: Bluesky allows everyone to create lists, starter packs, feeds, etc. It’s your job to choose wisely.
The individual who created this list has created a number of useful resources.
The description of the list is : “Resistor grifters, and conspiracy theorists.” It could also say “ragebait artists” to be comprehensive.
I have found lists designed for blocking to be too inaccurate to wholesale block or mute, but ymmv.
The return of Mo Salad
@PaulWartenberg: Done.
FlyingToaster
@BellyCat: They are yet another internet rando.
As are you.
As am I.
cain
@gene108:
You’ll need all new activists for that. Rush and others have been taking over the airwaves and other than Air America there hasn’t been much there. It’s Dem party’s huge blind spot.
The churches have been doing the same thing both on free access TV and on radio. In fact, it is really really easy to get into the right wing sink hole. LIke cheap food with lots of sugar and sodium.
How do you counter that? I don’t know. Those people are really motivated by divine purpose I suppose.
Omnes Omnibus
@Planetjanet: BlueSky has developed a culture that it wants to keep as extant as possible even as it grows. That block list isn’t an official document. It is something that someone drew up. There are MAGA and Nazi block lists too. It would be like someone posting there pie list here. Except there are millions of users at BlueSky. FWIW I haven’t used any of the block lists. I also haven’t followed any of the accounts mentioned either.
cain
@VFX Lurker:
I would love to have a read only black twitter digest.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: I didn’t create the list.
FlyingToaster
@Planetjanet: If you want to keep your blood pressure down, you block ragebait.
I don’t block many people (109 per clearsky.app), but every damn one of them turned up in either my Skyline or a Feed I follow and I do NOT need their bullshit in my life.
And (again, per ClearSky), 43 people block me. I imagine for exactly the same reason. Good for them.
BellyCat
@FlyingToaster: Haha… but which one of us is in our mother’s basement (possibly in Russia) eating Cheetohs? LOL
twbrandt
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Adam is not wrong about Mueller She Wrote.
I didn’t see his comment about Garland, it’s not clear to me if he said Garland was a Fed Soc member or was criticizing Garland for speaking at some of their events.
Omnes Omnibus
@FlyingToaster: You still haven’t blocked me.
Planetjanet
@Omnes Omnibus: Thank you. I always look to you as a voice of sanity. Just want you to know you are appreciated.
BellyCat
Genuinely curious: Why? Adam took his ball and went home downstairs. ‘Splain to us why this is a genuine claim and not just misogyny. I’m not saying A.G. is right 100% of the time, but damn, her track record on calling where things are going is better than most of us here.
ETA: Of course, she and most of us here (including me) did not predict the election results correctly.
FlyingToaster
@Omnes Omnibus: And I can’t imagine I ever will.
I even included you in the Feed before anyone knew about it. And (heh) they can’t do anything about it.
twbrandt
@BellyCat: it isn’t the definitive word, just one person’s opinionated list. People on bluesky can use it or not. I personally don’t.
lowtechcyclist
@Geminid:
It seemed clear to me that she was comparing her campaign to those of other NYC Dems.
FlyingToaster
@BellyCat:
?
I left my parents’ home in 1979. I’ve been a Jackal since before Hurricane Katrina. In fact, I’m part of the reason that the Blogfather called us Jackals (ref. the Boston meetup at Asgard).
Go play in Storrow Drive traffic.
Omnes Omnibus
@FlyingToaster: Now I have a challenge.
BellyCat
@FlyingToaster: Woah… Easy there! Total joke.. Take no offense. Was just riffing on your anonomity observation. Always like your posts! <peace>
Geminid
@Belafon: When you say “the same prople we think need to be dumped” you do not speak for me. I am not neccesarily part of your “we.” But without names of actual candidate this is only an abstract discussion anyway.
As for Reprentative Perez, as far as I know she doesn’t talk about how we need to move right. I see very few House members give general advice on best campaign practices like Rep. Ocasio-Cortez does here, and Rep. Perez is not one of them.
But Rep. Perez does in fact run right for a Democrat, and there are plenty of people who would have applauded Perez’s defeat because they value liberal Democrsts and devalue moderate ones. In the formula of “More and Better Democrats,” Liberals are the “Betters” while Moderates are the “Mores.”
I’m really don’t about this debate of whether we should “move right” or “move left” anyway, because I think it’s a sterile, abstract exercise.
But real election strategies and tactics interest me in general, and if I wanted to get advice on winning Congressional seats, I would look to some of Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s fellow 2018 Classmates, like Sharice Davids (KS), Lauren Underwood (IL) and Abigail Spanberger (VA).
That’s because they have flipped red seats and held them through tough reelections, like Rep. Perez just did. They could not have done that without good campaigns.
zhena gogolia
I just got my first e-mail from TPM, and although I haven’t liked Marshall much in the past, I must say it was invigorating.
RevRick
I, for one, will remain on X. There are those there who need moral support. And every now and then I venture into the GOP cesspool to drop a “Trump is a God-damned fascist “ bomb.
dr. luba
@Trollhattan: I access it on my Mac. I access pretty much everything on my Mac. Only use the phone/apps when I’m away from home.
Works well as a website.
FlyingToaster
@Omnes Omnibus: Dude, I publicly endorsed @baud20xx.bsky.social for president.
I have no shame. No scruples. No goddamn sense.
This is the Kobayashi Maru. There’s nothing to win.
Besides, I actually like you. So there!
Omnes Omnibus
@FlyingToaster: Well, shit. ::kicks rocks::
FlyingToaster
@RevRick: I have no problems with people remaining over there. If a community is still there, that’s where you have to be.
I am 3/4 of the way through with the final parking of the X account.
Timeline: LoneSmuk shut down 3rd party Tweet readers in January 22. I changed my location to “Croatoan”, left a final screed, and stopped using it.
Spent months trying to find a new joint. Tried to find a Masto server that wouldn’t throw me off, failed. Never got an invite to Spoutable. Didn’t like Post.
I got a Bluesky invite in July 22; set it up, spent a couple weeks frantically searching for folks I’d followed at Twitter. Also found Faine and Alf Hog. It worked. I logged into Twitter/X periodically and deleted tweets that might id me in meatspace.
Last week: Paid BlueArk.app to move my Tweets (not ReTweets, alas) over to BlueSky. Finished yesterday.
Today: Deleted tweets back to the 1st Trump administration (minus the final screed). Will continue until done. Then log out and walk away.
FlyingToaster
@Omnes Omnibus: {{{hug}}}
gene108
@cain:
This is why I say the focus needs to be on social media. I don’t know what the startup costs are to creating podcasts or TikToks or YouTube content but it can’t be that astronomically high.
One thing the Trump campaign did in 2016, which is a blind spot for Democrats, is hire Cambridge Analytica and Peter Thiel for dating mining to fine tune their social media ads and optimize social media algorithms. CA is out, but tech people like Thiel are still onboard.
I think the biggest problem Democrats would have is to fine tune a message that can connect with normie voters, infrequent voters, and non-voters. Basically how does ‘x’ benefit me directly.
That’s something Trump and Republicans did this year, they connected their misinformation about illegals coming into the country with taking low skill jobs from people here legally.
I know Democrats can’t deal in the level of bullshit Republicans do, but they need to do a better job in explaining how something that’s not kicking my butt right here and now, which is a Democratic priority, is important like the rent being too damn high.
dc
@Geminid:
She acknowedges this. Her district’s numbers didn’t go down because she actually works, is engaged with her constituents and canvasses, despite knowing that if she wins the primary, she’s in.
nickdag
Thank you to everyone who responded to my question about the suggested block list. That makes a *lot* of sense.
This particular comment from @RaflW seemed to get to the heart of the matter.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@WaterGirl:
The list says who created it at the top: https://bsky.app/profile/numb.comfortab.ly
I looked at the list and saw some obvious grifters on it, and figured it was good enough for our readers to decide which to block and which to keep. I spot-checked a couple and one was asking for a full forensic recount — instablock.
Important point, as mentioned above, is that it’s your choice what to do with the list. It’s not a “do this or else” list…
gwangung
@Geminid:
Yes, that’s the REAL point. The content of the campaigns differ, because they run in different districts. But the nuts and bolts shouldn’t change. They should be applicable universally.
Fair Economist
My thought on blocking relatively sensible ragebaters like Meidas Bros is that RW analogues seem key to the apparently highly successful propaganda machine they’ve built up. Why do we want to deny ourselves one of the most successful social media tools?
Dr. Jakyll and Miss Deride
@twbrandt: He has repeatedly called Garland a Federalist Society member, citing no evidence.
Geminid
@lowtechcyclist: Now I wonder which ones underperformed. I didn’t hear that Reps. Grace Meng, Nydia Velasquez, Greg Meeks, Hakeem Jeffries, Dan Goldman or Jerry Nadler underperformed. They are all in safely blue districts though, like Rep. Ocasio-Cortez.
I guess George Latimer is a NYC Congressman in a technical sense, since a small part of his district is in the Bronx. But I think Latimer did well in his first Congessional election.
Maybe Richie Torres underperformed. His outspoken support for Israel certanly angered some progressives and they would have taken it out on him at the polls. But I’m not sure this is a left/right issue exactly, even though it’s an emotionally charged and divisive one.
Torres started out as a Progressive Caucus member in 2018, same year as Rep. Ocasio-Cortez. So he’s sort of a Benedict Arnold figure for some. Rep. Jamaal Bowman might run against Torres next cycle, and if he does there will be a strong contrast in the race.
But I’m sure New York Democrats will work that one out amicably and with a minimum of rancor, like they always do..
WaterGirl
@@mistermix.bsky.social: Yeah, I don’t listen to the MeidasTouch guys because it feels like the Ruch Limbaugh of the left, and they hawk their coffee or whatever it is. And they sometimes present their stuff as facts when they really aren’t facts.
That’s what I like about Andrew McCabe – he is very careful to clarify when he is presenting information and when he is presenting opinion.
Some of the folks on that list are not grifters out to take anyone’s money or waste anyone’s time, so I felt like I needed to speak up.
LadySuzy
@BR: Bernie behind Harris ? Wow. It may be only his age, but it should humble him a bit. He’s been trashing democrats this week. That was to be expected. Not helpful.
bjacques
@FlyingToaster: “Croatoan”. Nice. I’m still on Xitter for reasons but took inspiration from that and just now changed my location to “Schlaraffenland”, after my favorite Pieter Bruegel painting (and “Bernhard The Conqueror”, a comic novel that’s basically “Candide” In Space).
WaterGirl
@Geminid:
Is that perhaps tongue-in-cheek?
Ned F
@RinaX:
Why skeets? posts should be called “bloops”. Like the little popups that would go bloop!
bluesky, post, bloop?
-not bloopers though.
Geminid
@WaterGirl: Oh yeah, it was tongue in cheek. New York Democrats more often remind me of the Hatfields and the McCoys. They’re a feudin’ bunch for sure.
BellyCat
@WaterGirl: With you 100%. Thank you. Love Andy McCabe!
WaterGirl
@BellyCat: I get cranky when people diss Alison Gill because “she’s not an attorney”. Benjamin Wittes is not an attorney, either, but no one challenges him about that.
I am not her biggest fan, but I think Alison Gill is very smart and she does her homework and she generally knows what she’s talking about. And she’s a pretty good explainer.
And complaints because she put up a GoFundMe related to her cat? Fuck that. That’s no different from what we have done here, and no one thinks Cole or Adam is a grifter. I hate double standards.
I am definitely in the crabby/cranky phase after the election.
I think there’s a lot of misogyny even on our side, even from good people, and it’s been jumping out at me like neon lights since the election.
Chris Johnson
@BR: So that’s probably gonna age like milk or Truss lettuce, but it’s certainly an aspirational take. I feel like when a bunch of his friends are dead he might be more strident. But you do you.
I’m in recovery. I make friends with struggling addicts, alcoholics, have done for years. A bunch of my friends are already dead BEFORE the election, because it happens when you’re too close to the nasty edge of reality and all. I do the best I can with those I’ve still got.
I just want something to focus on that’s beyond reproach so I can put all my energy into helping others in a way that won’t get me killed. We’ll see how that goes, ask me in ten years how it went :)
Chris Johnson
@BR: Malloy had signs all over the place, with like hawk pictures and ‘DEPLOY MALLOY’. He wasn’t even slightly subtle, he was the MAGA dude that MAGAs would crawl over broken glass to vote for, and he was very much in evidence where Bernie was just sort of there expected to win. I don’t remember Bernie campaigning in any way. So that’s what happened there. Bernie Hillaryed. He expected he’d just win without campaigning, or something. I worked for him in 2015 and didn’t hear from him once, this time.
Geminid
@Geminid: But that said, I have a lot of respect for New York Democrats. They seem more informed and engaged than the average voter. I’m looking forward to next year’s Mayoral primary because of this.
But those Democrats sure are a feuding bunch! Some people carry hard feelings about fights lost 10, 20 or even more years ago. This seems to extend to statewide politics as well.
There is a real difference in the political culture there and in my own state 300 miles to the south. I saw this in the 2022 midterms, when New York Democrats experienced a frustrating setback. When I looked into to the reporting afterwards, I found an avalanche of recrimination and blame-casting.
Virginia Democrats had a serious setback the year before, when they lost the House of Delegates and Foungkin’ Youngkin beat Terry! McAuliffe. I thought it was for same reasons: the Republicans were hungry, the Democrats were complacent, and the Indies swung. But there wasn’t the intra-party backbiting I saw in New York a year later. We were more like, “Let us not speak of this again.”
I’m not saying one culture is better than the other, just that they are different.
Greg Ferguson
@WaterGirl:
I wondered the same thing. What were the criteria for being included?
Ella in New Mexico
@nickdag: Yeah, no. Sounds like a personal dislike vs. a grifter thing. Many of these have been pretty informative, too, so not blocking just cuz someone else dislikes them.
Ella in New Mexico
@WaterGirl: agreed
Ilias
I saw your article about Bluesky and I saw you mentioned Bluesky Directory.
The tool is great but I made a much better one, that is a lot more user friendly.
Here’s mine: https://blueskystarterpack.com/