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ecib  ·  1267 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: October 7, 2020

My dad came over for coffee today. Due to a medical condition, he has a severely compromised immune system. He railed against our governor's mask mandate that was just overturned by our state Supreme Court (because it was issued by executive order) and repeated the GOP talking point that it was on him to wear a mask since he was the one who was older and more at risk.

It's taking all of my patience not to paint all Republicans with a broad brush.

ecib  ·  1434 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: TNG PODCAST: COVID-19 Part 1

Unfortunately, expanded surveillance initiatives only flow in one direction historically. Bums me out that amidst a crisis like this there are a lot of cynics among the people that are supposed to be serving us that are using the crisis to further deteriorate our rights.

Haven't seen anything as egregious as what happened after 9/11 yet though.

ecib  ·  2942 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Ask Hubski: How are you? Tell Hubski: I'm doing alright...

I've had a secret belief for a while now that the left is in for a nasty little surprise should Trump be the GOP nominee in the general.

These are all positions Trump has publicly taken in the GOP primary:

1) He thinks the rich should pay more in taxes.

2) Wants to erect massive barriers to free trade (including placing a 45% tax on ever single item large or small that China exports to the US).

3) Wants to restrict American capital access to overseas labor markets and force American companies to on-shore their manufacturing.

Those are all populist/leftist positions. That's straight out of an anti-NAFTA, anti-WTO leftie wishlist. Bernie Sanders has said these things.

It's besides the point that for any given thing he's said, he's said the opposite only days before. The GOP primary has clearly demonstrated that that fact doesn't actually matter for a significant number of voters.

You already saw in Trump's victory speech on Super Tuesday his softening of tone and pivoting towards the center. Watch as this drags on as he continues that pivot and goes after angry and disgruntled independents and blue dog dems in the rust belt and elsewhere. He's been telling pissed off people whatever the fuck they want to hear for months now, just tweaking it for the particular group of angries he happens to be talking to that day. He'll be tweaking for the blue collar left next.

Mark my words, there is a strong possibility that there will be a lot of people on the Left horrified at at how many of their own perceived voters he peels off.

A lot of us, including me, have been pretty glib and mocking of someone that really deserves more serious consideration than we've given him. We imagine ourselves as a group, as a sort of saintly firewall. I think we could find that we've been egotistical and condescending to the point of peril if we don't watch it.

ecib  ·  3172 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: I'm getting divorced and dating is crazy now

That's funny, cause I Netflix and chill all the time with my wife, and I can assure you it does not lead to anything.

ecib  ·  3337 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: How Many White People Does It Take to Ruin a Good Joke?

    The jokes themselves aren’t necessarily less funny; it’s just that the bitter pill goes down easier when not delivered by someone benefiting from the privilege they’re trying to lampoon.

And that's really it. Not complicated really.

ecib  ·  3356 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Thenewgreen rounds up his friends in one big circle and says,

Dude I AM still roasting coffee. Also my palate is developing to the point where I can tell the region the coffee came from more or less by taste. That is ridiculous and kind of funny to me. In spite of myself, I now have strong origin preferences (love me some Costa Ricans) from various roasters, and the stupid flowery language people use to describe artisanal roasts make sense as a descriptor and upon tasting. I'm still a bit surprised by this.

ecib  ·  3374 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: December 31, 2014

Happy new year Hubski.

As is our tradition, tonight my wife and I will get dressed up and head downtown to one of the finest restaurants with no reservations on NYE. We've never missed getting immediately seated at the bar and having a great meal and drinks. It's actually more fun than having reservations IMO, -more of a casual fun vibe. Fingers crossed to keep the streak going, but there's plenty of nice joints with long bars so we're not worried. Gonna try a new place called Selden Standard tonight...all the chefs in the area are freaking out about it and I confirmed on Yelp that it does indeed have a good sized bar ripe for the crashing.

Peace!

ecib  ·  3722 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Ohio inmate’s death called ‘horrific’ under new, 2-drug execution

    It's a dishonest attempt to make the forcible taking of another life clean, neat and non-violent.

Similar to how the Bush administration forbid the photographing of caskets of dead US soldiers. Anything that makes the horrors of state sponsored death more visceral and real is on the table for censorship. When the truth works against your desires, hide it from view.

ecib  ·  3792 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Weekly photo challenge: Water

Hopefully this isn't cheating, but I used the water itself as a lens.

I shot this with my iPhone, which does not have a macro lens and therefore cannot take pictures of things up close. I beaded a drop of water atop the lens and took a portrait of Lincoln on a penny, -the water droplet magnifies and acts as a macro lens for the phone.

ecib  ·  3922 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: [48 hours] Edward Snowden's Half-Baked Revolution

That was tremendously good. Thank you.

I can't tell if it was first a startling peek into Russia's gears of oppression, a compelling rebuke of our misplaced priorities that worship messengers over message, or the most fabulous buildup to a good old fashioned literary takedown I've read in years. Fuck.

Badged for its awesomeness and to increase the sense of loss for those who don't get to it in time.

ecib  ·  3934 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Most truffle oils are not made from actual truffles

I don't know about you guys, but I've enjoyed many a plate of 2,4-Dithiapentane fries on an evening out with friends over the years. Sometimes I like to kick it up a notch and enjoy the slightly finer things, you know?