The principle reason I decided to show up and get yelled at for having any optimism is that fuckin' bullshit laserpin thing. I needed the gift link for that bullshit article because the NYT, true to form, wrote a sweeping, allegorical narrative about transformative tech with a couple casual asides about potential difficulties at some hypothetical point down the road.

Any optimism is 100% welcomed, and if you have some to spare, I might apply directly to forehead. I'm sorry about that blowup, and my general pessimism. Still honing my ability to channel things into an absurdist stoicism instead of defeatist nihilism. A lifetime endeavor, for sure.

Which article? (update: nvm) I've recently found that archive.is seems to work quite nicely if you're not looking to distribute a NYTimes-friendly link past their paywall.

We are in total agreement about Vance. When I pontificate on what he "actually" believes, yes, the infinitely more likely scenario is that he "actually" believes nothing.

Sad to say, but our not feeling remotely owned is an abject MAGA policy failure. Not that I'm a lib. I'm worse. I'm flirting with going full card-toting DSA even after Nolan re-tells the story of Oppenheimer.

Definitely also agree with the "oppositionalists vs. apologists" lens. I'm very much inclined to support some pretty drastic institutional reform, but I'm not going to attempt compromise with a cult of serial liars. Over on the more "leftist" contrarian side of things, it's hard to accept being labeled a "genocide apologist" when my current position is "imprison Netanyahu et al. for genocide and give Gaza statehood to hold Hamas accountable", but I know how it is out there. It gets easier to ignore when you see the same people doing the labeling e.g. blaming the democrats for politicizing masks by... wearing masks and advocating mask use. I mean, I'm "am_Unition", and I filmed a video on 1/9/2021 pointing out that Joe Biden calling for unity would be used to discredit the idea of unity. I'm wayyyyyy fuckin' done with calls for unity. Nowadays, I will happily shout any neo-Nazi shitstain back down into the lower rungs of society where they belong. Buncha motherfuckers who just figured out in Season 4 that The Boys was making fun of them the entire time aren't hard to clown on. Yes, many of them are no longer capable of experiencing shame, but a relatively unbiased observer knows when someone's had circles run around them, and the dems would be wise to embrace satire and humor as a potent weapon against the right-wing. Instead, it's still "they go low, we go high (read: lose)". You can't turn the other cheek to a Nazi. They will strike as many cheeks as they are presented with.

Hillbilly Elegy. Ron Howard

After thinking "how've I never heard about this?", I've read some reviews. Ah, I see now. How hilarious to have that come out in 2020, really. I still might watch it someday soon while keeping in mind the relationship between Hollywood and the left-behinds (oh this is ripe for puns with the cheek-turning of yesterparagraph) of rural America. For sure, I'm not going to give JD any book money, and I would personally consider checking out "Hillbilly Elegy" from a public library to be a criminal offense. And not just for this content, but increasingly, the torrent scene is beckoning me back towards it.

Fast forward fifteen years and we're at "yeah, Donald Trump can't form a coherent sentence with eight aides and a teleprompter but People Are Talking about Joe Biden's mental acuity that one time."

A few years ago, I was pretty convinced the "mainstream liberal media" would rally to Biden's support, and instead we're out here with twelve hundred thousand twenty two thinkpieces doing almost anything except supporting Biden. Dem messaging is poor, yes, but it exists. It does not, however, sell clicks and subscriptions. And it damn sure doesn't extend the Trump tax cuts for the wealthy. What a big, oligarchical surprise. As NYTimes pitchbot is increasingly finding, it's very difficult to out-satirize our current reality. But I'll try.