Cugel the Clever
@cugel.bsky.social
Seattle-based software engineer with an interest in urbanism and global affairs. Anti-fascist; statist social democrat. Advocate of the Butlerian jihad. 🇺🇸🇺🇦🇵🇸🇺🇳
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
This race could very easily be decided by challenged ballots. Use this link to track your ballot, and remind your friends and family to do the same: info.kingcounty.gov/kcelections/...
November 10, 2025 at 9:08 PM
This race could very easily be decided by challenged ballots. Use this link to track your ballot, and remind your friends and family to do the same: info.kingcounty.gov/kcelections/...
I'm a bit perplexed that the Democrats had a handful of defectors, but the response is castigating the party as a whole.
Refusing to vote for my non-defecting senator is not the right conclusion to draw from this, but people apparently can't see the party as anything but a unitary entity.
Refusing to vote for my non-defecting senator is not the right conclusion to draw from this, but people apparently can't see the party as anything but a unitary entity.
November 11, 2025 at 3:56 AM
I'm a bit perplexed that the Democrats had a handful of defectors, but the response is castigating the party as a whole.
Refusing to vote for my non-defecting senator is not the right conclusion to draw from this, but people apparently can't see the party as anything but a unitary entity.
Refusing to vote for my non-defecting senator is not the right conclusion to draw from this, but people apparently can't see the party as anything but a unitary entity.
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
Let me put it another way: false nostalgia for a better past that didn’t actually exist is a pillar of fascism.
You can (and should) work to help Americans who are struggling without boosting fascist narratives in the process. Both really is possible.
You can (and should) work to help Americans who are struggling without boosting fascist narratives in the process. Both really is possible.
November 9, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Let me put it another way: false nostalgia for a better past that didn’t actually exist is a pillar of fascism.
You can (and should) work to help Americans who are struggling without boosting fascist narratives in the process. Both really is possible.
You can (and should) work to help Americans who are struggling without boosting fascist narratives in the process. Both really is possible.
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
We had fucking congressional hearings over Mortal Kombat.
There are no words for how evil this is
November 7, 2025 at 2:11 AM
We had fucking congressional hearings over Mortal Kombat.
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
The long-running ideological war on libraries, education, and government workers is not separate from AI boosterism. It is the same ideological war on human knowledge and expertise. In some cases AI is being used to directly supercharge this effort:
www.404media.co/ai-is-superc...
www.404media.co/ai-is-superc...
AI Is Supercharging the War on Libraries, Education, and Human Knowledge
"Fascism and AI, whether or not they have the same goals, they sure are working to accelerate one another."
www.404media.co
November 6, 2025 at 4:21 PM
The long-running ideological war on libraries, education, and government workers is not separate from AI boosterism. It is the same ideological war on human knowledge and expertise. In some cases AI is being used to directly supercharge this effort:
www.404media.co/ai-is-superc...
www.404media.co/ai-is-superc...
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
Mamdani: "We can respond to oligarchy and authoritarianism with the strength it fears, not the appeasement it craves. After all, if anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him."
November 5, 2025 at 4:38 AM
Mamdani: "We can respond to oligarchy and authoritarianism with the strength it fears, not the appeasement it craves. After all, if anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him."
The one time I was in the same room with Sara Nelson was a community meeting in which she declared the National Guard should clean up Seattle.
Good riddance.
Good riddance.
For Seattle Council Position No. 9, Dionne Foster has decisively defeated Sara Nelson with 58% of the vote.
November 5, 2025 at 5:10 AM
The one time I was in the same room with Sara Nelson was a community meeting in which she declared the National Guard should clean up Seattle.
Good riddance.
Good riddance.
Picking up a car at Avis and the customer shenanigans are ridiculous.
One guy wants to pick up a car scheduled for a different location. Another can't pick up because their last car was recorded lost or stolen.
Manager dashing from fire to fire.
One guy wants to pick up a car scheduled for a different location. Another can't pick up because their last car was recorded lost or stolen.
Manager dashing from fire to fire.
November 1, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Picking up a car at Avis and the customer shenanigans are ridiculous.
One guy wants to pick up a car scheduled for a different location. Another can't pick up because their last car was recorded lost or stolen.
Manager dashing from fire to fire.
One guy wants to pick up a car scheduled for a different location. Another can't pick up because their last car was recorded lost or stolen.
Manager dashing from fire to fire.
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
The moderate left needs to challenge this kind of nonsense. NATO is a diminished alliance that is finding its feet at a critical moment – pushing back against an actual imperialist power.
October 28, 2025 at 4:20 PM
The moderate left needs to challenge this kind of nonsense. NATO is a diminished alliance that is finding its feet at a critical moment – pushing back against an actual imperialist power.
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
I still can't get over the fact that the people who think Buttigieg briefly working for McKinsey is disqualifying are somehow caping for a blackwater mercenary with a death camp tattoo who said he loved to fight in colonial wars.
We read Graham Platner’s whole Reddit archive. The vilification of the Maine candidate for Senate doesn’t square with what he actually wrote in his posts.
You’re Being Lied to About Graham Platner
We read Graham Platner’s whole Reddit archive. The vilification of the Maine candidate for Senate doesn’t square with what he actually wrote in his posts.
jacobin.com
October 28, 2025 at 12:50 AM
I still can't get over the fact that the people who think Buttigieg briefly working for McKinsey is disqualifying are somehow caping for a blackwater mercenary with a death camp tattoo who said he loved to fight in colonial wars.
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
Moving to New York and pulling the ladder up behind myself, but wokely
October 25, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Moving to New York and pulling the ladder up behind myself, but wokely
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
I do think we have a pretty good chance of turning gambling into a genuine popular moral crusade 19th century style, because it's becoming a social evil that's destroying young men's lives in particular but also making sports coverage really shit.
Almost every major news story this week is about how the entire economy is now gambling, scams, bribes and theft.
October 24, 2025 at 7:46 PM
I do think we have a pretty good chance of turning gambling into a genuine popular moral crusade 19th century style, because it's becoming a social evil that's destroying young men's lives in particular but also making sports coverage really shit.
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
TEMBA, HIS ARMS WIDE!
October 23, 2025 at 9:14 PM
TEMBA, HIS ARMS WIDE!
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
Just disgusting.
October 23, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Just disgusting.
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
Andrew Cuomo’s campaign just posted — and quickly deleted — this AI-generated ad depicting “criminals for Zohran Mamdani.”
Features a Black man in a keffiyeh shoplifting, an abuser, a trespasser, a trafficker, a drug dealer, and a drunk driver all declaring support for Mamdani.
Features a Black man in a keffiyeh shoplifting, an abuser, a trespasser, a trafficker, a drug dealer, and a drunk driver all declaring support for Mamdani.
October 23, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Andrew Cuomo’s campaign just posted — and quickly deleted — this AI-generated ad depicting “criminals for Zohran Mamdani.”
Features a Black man in a keffiyeh shoplifting, an abuser, a trespasser, a trafficker, a drug dealer, and a drunk driver all declaring support for Mamdani.
Features a Black man in a keffiyeh shoplifting, an abuser, a trespasser, a trafficker, a drug dealer, and a drunk driver all declaring support for Mamdani.
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
I'm beyond desperate for the decision-makers in the Democratic Party to
1) actually recognize that this is happening, and
2) commit to punishing every single person who donated in this manner or in any other way paid to play with this administration.
1) actually recognize that this is happening, and
2) commit to punishing every single person who donated in this manner or in any other way paid to play with this administration.
Trump's ballroom donors include:
-Google, whose CEO thanked Trump for "resolution" of an antitrust case
-Palantir, which has lucrative contracts with ICE
-Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzman, who would profit from Trump's regulatory rollbacks for private equity
Pay-to-play.
-Google, whose CEO thanked Trump for "resolution" of an antitrust case
-Palantir, which has lucrative contracts with ICE
-Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzman, who would profit from Trump's regulatory rollbacks for private equity
Pay-to-play.
October 22, 2025 at 9:57 PM
I'm beyond desperate for the decision-makers in the Democratic Party to
1) actually recognize that this is happening, and
2) commit to punishing every single person who donated in this manner or in any other way paid to play with this administration.
1) actually recognize that this is happening, and
2) commit to punishing every single person who donated in this manner or in any other way paid to play with this administration.
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
Me 10 years ago: You know people are always calling political opponents Nazis even if they aren’t anything like Nazis, I wish that would stop
Monkey‘s paw:
Monkey‘s paw:
October 21, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Me 10 years ago: You know people are always calling political opponents Nazis even if they aren’t anything like Nazis, I wish that would stop
Monkey‘s paw:
Monkey‘s paw:
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
Whatever you think of the White House as a building or a symbol, the fact is that the image of it being torn apart on a whim two days after 7 million people hit the streets against autocracy is going to make a HUGE amount of people really, really angry, and that's an energy that should be harnessed.
October 20, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Whatever you think of the White House as a building or a symbol, the fact is that the image of it being torn apart on a whim two days after 7 million people hit the streets against autocracy is going to make a HUGE amount of people really, really angry, and that's an energy that should be harnessed.
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
Let us know if you see these around New York tomorrow on your commute. “Life After Cars” comes out on Tuesday!
October 20, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Let us know if you see these around New York tomorrow on your commute. “Life After Cars” comes out on Tuesday!
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
1/ We need to have a chat about Seattle Police and how they're handling the No Kings protests. They've been really… good. It's a marked departure in both tone and tactics from SPD's approach to protests in the past, and I think it could be a model for police forces nationwide.
…
…
Nearly 90,000 join Seattle’s ‘No Kings’ march
Rep. Pramila Jayapal called the moment a test of whether America can keep its republic.
www.king5.com
October 19, 2025 at 4:53 AM
1/ We need to have a chat about Seattle Police and how they're handling the No Kings protests. They've been really… good. It's a marked departure in both tone and tactics from SPD's approach to protests in the past, and I think it could be a model for police forces nationwide.
…
…
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
Unlike the their brutal escalation of the 2020 protests, Seattle police were incredible chill at the last No Kings march. Kept a low profile, and nearly all the officers I saw were POETs ("Police Outreach Engagement Team"). No reason to fear Saturday's march won't be as peaceful and safe.
Did you get the sense that folks were hearing that online? I’ve seen a ton of fear mongering aimed at young adults on there. And I don’t mean actual civil rights organizers sharing protest safety tips I mean people saying “stay home because everyone is going to get beaten by cops”
October 17, 2025 at 5:47 AM
Unlike the their brutal escalation of the 2020 protests, Seattle police were incredible chill at the last No Kings march. Kept a low profile, and nearly all the officers I saw were POETs ("Police Outreach Engagement Team"). No reason to fear Saturday's march won't be as peaceful and safe.
I dabbled in AI for coding early on in the delusional hype cycle and dropped it quickly. Why use a fundamentally broken tool when I can just apply my skill set?
In the years since, I've closely observed colleagues who are deep into AI coding and my perspective has been reinforced again and again.
In the years since, I've closely observed colleagues who are deep into AI coding and my perspective has been reinforced again and again.
There are basically only two positions in the debate about AI.
1. I’ve barely invested any time in learning how to use it effectively. AI sucks.
2. I’ve invested in learning how to use this tool. Holy cow, it’s transformational.
Position #1 has lower barriers to entry.
1. I’ve barely invested any time in learning how to use it effectively. AI sucks.
2. I’ve invested in learning how to use this tool. Holy cow, it’s transformational.
Position #1 has lower barriers to entry.
October 17, 2025 at 12:40 AM
I dabbled in AI for coding early on in the delusional hype cycle and dropped it quickly. Why use a fundamentally broken tool when I can just apply my skill set?
In the years since, I've closely observed colleagues who are deep into AI coding and my perspective has been reinforced again and again.
In the years since, I've closely observed colleagues who are deep into AI coding and my perspective has been reinforced again and again.
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
one thing that has been obvious for a while is this aspect of the authoritarian internationale: they recognize that their allies abroad are not *countries* but *political movements* within foreign countries.
time we liberals woke up and recognized this--because it's the truth.
time we liberals woke up and recognized this--because it's the truth.
Or maybe, just maybe, what was obvious in 2024 was correct: Netanyahu fully backed Trump and would not deal with Biden because Trump would give him a free hand to escalate the starvation, bombing, and do full ethnic cleansing. Which he then did, until Netanyahu embarrassed him by bombing Qatar.
October 13, 2025 at 3:43 PM
one thing that has been obvious for a while is this aspect of the authoritarian internationale: they recognize that their allies abroad are not *countries* but *political movements* within foreign countries.
time we liberals woke up and recognized this--because it's the truth.
time we liberals woke up and recognized this--because it's the truth.
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
This is such an astoundingly bad idea that I kinda think it’s a false flag or an op of some sort
Merits aside, it is insanely easy to be caught if you do this and the punishment for doing this is much more severe than you’d guess.
(@faineg.bsky.social often writes on stuff like this)
Merits aside, it is insanely easy to be caught if you do this and the punishment for doing this is much more severe than you’d guess.
(@faineg.bsky.social often writes on stuff like this)
October 12, 2025 at 9:28 PM
This is such an astoundingly bad idea that I kinda think it’s a false flag or an op of some sort
Merits aside, it is insanely easy to be caught if you do this and the punishment for doing this is much more severe than you’d guess.
(@faineg.bsky.social often writes on stuff like this)
Merits aside, it is insanely easy to be caught if you do this and the punishment for doing this is much more severe than you’d guess.
(@faineg.bsky.social often writes on stuff like this)
😫😵💫🤢🤮
I have enough faux-AI BS shoved down my throat on my computer, he can fuck all the way off with the thought of polluting public spaces with it.
I have enough faux-AI BS shoved down my throat on my computer, he can fuck all the way off with the thought of polluting public spaces with it.
Like every mayor before him, Harrell wants arts and culture events downtown. The difference is that "you're going to see a lot of AI in it."
October 12, 2025 at 3:05 AM
😫😵💫🤢🤮
I have enough faux-AI BS shoved down my throat on my computer, he can fuck all the way off with the thought of polluting public spaces with it.
I have enough faux-AI BS shoved down my throat on my computer, he can fuck all the way off with the thought of polluting public spaces with it.