Nick 𐃥
@adjectivalnoun.bsky.social
(He/Any)
General engineer. No, more general than that. Angry we aren’t caring for each other more, trying to fix it.
General engineer. No, more general than that. Angry we aren’t caring for each other more, trying to fix it.
Pinned
Nick 𐃥
@adjectivalnoun.bsky.social
· Oct 26
Things to know about getting from one place to another outside of a car in America:
1. You have no right to do that.
2. If you do it anyway, your fellow citizens will remind you of (1) by helpfully threatening to kill you.
1. You have no right to do that.
2. If you do it anyway, your fellow citizens will remind you of (1) by helpfully threatening to kill you.
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
Former Washington Post journalists have launched a GoFundMe to help repatriate fired staff members who are effectively stranded in foreign countries.
One of the richest men in the world fired them from the paper and didn’t even pay to ensure they got home.
Abolish the billionaire class:
One of the richest men in the world fired them from the paper and didn’t even pay to ensure they got home.
Abolish the billionaire class:
Donate to Support for Washington Post international employees, organized by Michelle Lee
Among the hundreds of journalists laid off by The Washington Post on … Michelle Lee needs your support for Support for Washington Post international employees
www.gofundme.com
February 8, 2026 at 4:37 AM
Former Washington Post journalists have launched a GoFundMe to help repatriate fired staff members who are effectively stranded in foreign countries.
One of the richest men in the world fired them from the paper and didn’t even pay to ensure they got home.
Abolish the billionaire class:
One of the richest men in the world fired them from the paper and didn’t even pay to ensure they got home.
Abolish the billionaire class:
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
thread, read it all
Hey. Here’s what’s eating me alive. For 5 years, I was a paralegal in the Capital Habeas Unit Middle District of Alabama Federal Defender Office. My job was to support appeals of people who were already on death row.
February 8, 2026 at 1:19 AM
thread, read it all
This reminds me of something fro
the Fred Rogers documentary from ~10 years ago, that he was disoriented and lost trying to cultivate kindness in the immediate post-9/11 culture. Also Anthony Bourdain. It’s a tough century to be a humanist.
the Fred Rogers documentary from ~10 years ago, that he was disoriented and lost trying to cultivate kindness in the immediate post-9/11 culture. Also Anthony Bourdain. It’s a tough century to be a humanist.
John's birthday is tomorrow. He's been dead since May. And the thing is this: I can't imagine him living in this world. Forever, "how would John scheme his way through this?" has been my north star, and imagining what he would say has led to some very cool and sometimes successful ideas.
February 8, 2026 at 1:52 AM
This reminds me of something fro
the Fred Rogers documentary from ~10 years ago, that he was disoriented and lost trying to cultivate kindness in the immediate post-9/11 culture. Also Anthony Bourdain. It’s a tough century to be a humanist.
the Fred Rogers documentary from ~10 years ago, that he was disoriented and lost trying to cultivate kindness in the immediate post-9/11 culture. Also Anthony Bourdain. It’s a tough century to be a humanist.
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
From "The True Believer" by Eric Hoffer, which I've been annotating since 2017
February 8, 2026 at 12:06 AM
From "The True Believer" by Eric Hoffer, which I've been annotating since 2017
It was eye-opening to learn that adolf hitler is on the list of people fitting this mold.
Learned from the Posting Through It podcast just how many MAGA-era influencers turned to politics after failing at more glamorous pursuits — theater, comedy, fashion, TV, movies, music. Knowles, if I’m not mistaken, had dreams of Broadway.
Michael Knowles and the other Daily Wire chuds play act at being celebrities because it’s the thing they actually crave
February 8, 2026 at 12:08 AM
It was eye-opening to learn that adolf hitler is on the list of people fitting this mold.
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
Yeah no shit, and the next time a border reporter with experience in counterdisinfo emerges from the borderlands to offer dire warnings of a power grab, you listen to her and spare us all this fucking misery.
As ICE and Border Patrol grow more integrated, aggressive practices shaped by decades of border enforcement are showing up in US cities.
ICE’s Aggressive Urban Tactics Were Forged Along the Southern Border
The convergence of two historically distinct agencies is redefining how immigration law is enforced inside the US.
bloom.bg
February 7, 2026 at 9:24 PM
Yeah no shit, and the next time a border reporter with experience in counterdisinfo emerges from the borderlands to offer dire warnings of a power grab, you listen to her and spare us all this fucking misery.
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
February 7, 2026 at 7:38 PM
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
*That's* what it looks like when US elites care about something & want to advance it. That's the benchmark.
And with that benchmark in mind, we can ask, are they -- or were they ever -- similarly committed to climate or diversity?
LOL.
And with that benchmark in mind, we can ask, are they -- or were they ever -- similarly committed to climate or diversity?
LOL.
February 7, 2026 at 8:51 PM
*That's* what it looks like when US elites care about something & want to advance it. That's the benchmark.
And with that benchmark in mind, we can ask, are they -- or were they ever -- similarly committed to climate or diversity?
LOL.
And with that benchmark in mind, we can ask, are they -- or were they ever -- similarly committed to climate or diversity?
LOL.
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
But the other piece of evidence -- the point of this thread -- is that we now have an example of what it looks like when US political & corporate elites *really are* obsessed with and committed to something.
Namely: AI.
Namely: AI.
February 7, 2026 at 8:47 PM
But the other piece of evidence -- the point of this thread -- is that we now have an example of what it looks like when US political & corporate elites *really are* obsessed with and committed to something.
Namely: AI.
Namely: AI.
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
photo from a friend at a lego convention right now, amazing 🌭
February 7, 2026 at 6:19 PM
photo from a friend at a lego convention right now, amazing 🌭
Live your life in such a way that you can generally trust strangers to feed you.
Not only did they bring a small private army, but among the waste of taxpayer money was BRINGING A FULL PLANE OF FOOD.
To *Italy*.
To *Italy*.
February 7, 2026 at 9:06 PM
Live your life in such a way that you can generally trust strangers to feed you.
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
The main difference in the West is that plenty of center left parties do in fact possess state power and choose to use it appropriately in one context and then in the other context use power for the exact opposite purpose, to endorse the eliminationism.
February 7, 2026 at 7:12 PM
The main difference in the West is that plenty of center left parties do in fact possess state power and choose to use it appropriately in one context and then in the other context use power for the exact opposite purpose, to endorse the eliminationism.
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
And to this day it remains very under-acknowledged that this is the kind of discrepancy which helped degrade the "rules based order".
February 7, 2026 at 7:13 PM
And to this day it remains very under-acknowledged that this is the kind of discrepancy which helped degrade the "rules based order".
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
I know this is kind of spitting into the wind, but I'd like to make an effort:
Just because ICE calls them "administrative warrants" doesn't make that the most accurate term for them.
They are forms. ICE forms. Signed by an ICE employee. Authorizing an arrest, but still, a _form._
Just because ICE calls them "administrative warrants" doesn't make that the most accurate term for them.
They are forms. ICE forms. Signed by an ICE employee. Authorizing an arrest, but still, a _form._
February 6, 2026 at 12:47 AM
I know this is kind of spitting into the wind, but I'd like to make an effort:
Just because ICE calls them "administrative warrants" doesn't make that the most accurate term for them.
They are forms. ICE forms. Signed by an ICE employee. Authorizing an arrest, but still, a _form._
Just because ICE calls them "administrative warrants" doesn't make that the most accurate term for them.
They are forms. ICE forms. Signed by an ICE employee. Authorizing an arrest, but still, a _form._
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
The hope that the Epstein case might open the public consciousness to the dangers of normalized sex abuse is fading. Instead the louder narrative, over feminists, seems to be that this was a boogeyman situation, only possible due to obscene wealth & powerful connections. Not routine.
February 6, 2026 at 6:17 PM
The hope that the Epstein case might open the public consciousness to the dangers of normalized sex abuse is fading. Instead the louder narrative, over feminists, seems to be that this was a boogeyman situation, only possible due to obscene wealth & powerful connections. Not routine.
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
Was driving my kids to school and the first thing on the radio was reporting about Trump's video depicting the Obamas as apes and I think many people still don't fully appreciate what it means to have to raise Black children in a country where the president is so brazenly and consistently racist
February 6, 2026 at 5:44 PM
Was driving my kids to school and the first thing on the radio was reporting about Trump's video depicting the Obamas as apes and I think many people still don't fully appreciate what it means to have to raise Black children in a country where the president is so brazenly and consistently racist
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
This woman was Ivy League educated and a member of the upper eschelons of society.
I'd spent time in domestic violence shelters and mental institutions.
You know what you learn from mingling with the bottom rung of society that you don't learn at an Ivy? There's a lot of talent being missed.
I'd spent time in domestic violence shelters and mental institutions.
You know what you learn from mingling with the bottom rung of society that you don't learn at an Ivy? There's a lot of talent being missed.
February 6, 2026 at 11:25 AM
This woman was Ivy League educated and a member of the upper eschelons of society.
I'd spent time in domestic violence shelters and mental institutions.
You know what you learn from mingling with the bottom rung of society that you don't learn at an Ivy? There's a lot of talent being missed.
I'd spent time in domestic violence shelters and mental institutions.
You know what you learn from mingling with the bottom rung of society that you don't learn at an Ivy? There's a lot of talent being missed.
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
Child at the podium: “A woo woo woo.”
Mamdani: That’s how I felt when we came up with this plan. Together, we will expand the idea of what is possible in our city—and what sounds and noises we can make at a press conference.
Mamdani: That’s how I felt when we came up with this plan. Together, we will expand the idea of what is possible in our city—and what sounds and noises we can make at a press conference.
February 6, 2026 at 4:11 AM
Child at the podium: “A woo woo woo.”
Mamdani: That’s how I felt when we came up with this plan. Together, we will expand the idea of what is possible in our city—and what sounds and noises we can make at a press conference.
Mamdani: That’s how I felt when we came up with this plan. Together, we will expand the idea of what is possible in our city—and what sounds and noises we can make at a press conference.
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
Good. "But DHS isn't just ICE, it's also..." nope, wrong. DHS no longer serves any useful functions, the whole thing has been reassigned to repression. FEMA isn't even paying out to states. All DHS does is shooting, teargassing, facial recognition, and administrative warrants. Shut it down.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday that demands made by Democrats for new restrictions on federal immigration officers are “unrealistic” and warned that the Department of Homeland Security will shut down next week if they do not work with Republicans and the White House.
Homeland Security shutdown grows more likely as Republicans rebuff Democratic demands for ICE
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday that demands made by Democrats for new restrictions on federal immigration officers are “unrealistic” and warned that the Department of Homeland Secu…
trib.al
February 5, 2026 at 9:44 PM
Good. "But DHS isn't just ICE, it's also..." nope, wrong. DHS no longer serves any useful functions, the whole thing has been reassigned to repression. FEMA isn't even paying out to states. All DHS does is shooting, teargassing, facial recognition, and administrative warrants. Shut it down.
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
I'm sure we all remember the assertion by our right-wing friends during the Obama administration that FEMA was going to turn abandoned Wal-Marts into mass detention center.
Currently, it is a truism that every accusation is a confession. If you rewind a bit, every accusation was an aspiration.
Currently, it is a truism that every accusation is a confession. If you rewind a bit, every accusation was an aspiration.
February 5, 2026 at 6:33 PM
I'm sure we all remember the assertion by our right-wing friends during the Obama administration that FEMA was going to turn abandoned Wal-Marts into mass detention center.
Currently, it is a truism that every accusation is a confession. If you rewind a bit, every accusation was an aspiration.
Currently, it is a truism that every accusation is a confession. If you rewind a bit, every accusation was an aspiration.
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
A resident named Walter calmly took the mic and recounted an April 9, 1945 newspaper clipping about the liberation of the Ohrdruf concentration camp...
"And we don't know exactly how ICE will use this warehouse. But we know enough."
www.welcometohellworld.com/a-surprise-z...
"And we don't know exactly how ICE will use this warehouse. But we know enough."
www.welcometohellworld.com/a-surprise-z...
February 5, 2026 at 4:12 PM
A resident named Walter calmly took the mic and recounted an April 9, 1945 newspaper clipping about the liberation of the Ohrdruf concentration camp...
"And we don't know exactly how ICE will use this warehouse. But we know enough."
www.welcometohellworld.com/a-surprise-z...
"And we don't know exactly how ICE will use this warehouse. But we know enough."
www.welcometohellworld.com/a-surprise-z...
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
The American media has never been weaker, but thanks to the first ammendment it can't really be stopped. There will always be people publishing in some form. But it can be drowned out. That's what's happening now. And there still is not a totally clear framework for combating that.
February 5, 2026 at 6:35 PM
The American media has never been weaker, but thanks to the first ammendment it can't really be stopped. There will always be people publishing in some form. But it can be drowned out. That's what's happening now. And there still is not a totally clear framework for combating that.
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
Modern apartments have lower fire death rates than houses.
Yet codes require fourplexes to install commercial sprinklers, build dual staircases, and hire architects—while similar-sized single-family houses are exempt.
These costs block building smaller apartment buildings.
Yet codes require fourplexes to install commercial sprinklers, build dual staircases, and hire architects—while similar-sized single-family houses are exempt.
These costs block building smaller apartment buildings.
Apartments are safer and more affordable than single-family homes. Why do we treat them like a hazard? www.vox.com/future-perfe...
The hidden double standards driving our housing crisis
Apartments are safer and more affordable than single-family homes. Why do we treat them like a hazard?
www.vox.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:03 PM
Modern apartments have lower fire death rates than houses.
Yet codes require fourplexes to install commercial sprinklers, build dual staircases, and hire architects—while similar-sized single-family houses are exempt.
These costs block building smaller apartment buildings.
Yet codes require fourplexes to install commercial sprinklers, build dual staircases, and hire architects—while similar-sized single-family houses are exempt.
These costs block building smaller apartment buildings.
Reposted by Nick 𐃥
Some US soldiers dropped Ace of Spades cards to mark kills in Vietnam. It's a move that got picked up by some white supremacist accelerationists, and now by ICE. They are dropping death cards when they disappear people and building concentration camps. We need to be very plain about the severity.
February 4, 2026 at 11:27 PM
Some US soldiers dropped Ace of Spades cards to mark kills in Vietnam. It's a move that got picked up by some white supremacist accelerationists, and now by ICE. They are dropping death cards when they disappear people and building concentration camps. We need to be very plain about the severity.
Sure seems like the US oligarchy is aligned on wanting the general public to know less about the world outside the US.
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...
Spotlighting The World Factbook as We Bid a Fond Farewell
Somewhat devastating news today from the CIA: One of CIA’s oldest and most recognizable intelligence publications, The World Factbook, has sunset. There's not even a hint as to why they …
simonwillison.net
February 5, 2026 at 4:49 AM
Sure seems like the US oligarchy is aligned on wanting the general public to know less about the world outside the US.