uncle of the second class
@nerves.bsky.social
I have just read Against the Day, and I will not be taking questions at this time. Chicago, he/him.
Reposted by uncle of the second class
Another way that the USA is a global backwater in transportation.
After bicycles, elevators are the most energy- and space-efficient form of transport on earth; when you use them you gain all kinds of second-order public health and environmental benefits.
So naturally, we mostly ban them.
After bicycles, elevators are the most energy- and space-efficient form of transport on earth; when you use them you gain all kinds of second-order public health and environmental benefits.
So naturally, we mostly ban them.
The Americas see about 3% of global elevator installations as of 2020. The U.S. & Canada: even less.
But we've stuck with our own unique set of elevator codes, as if elevator companies still have no choice but to beat a path to our door.
Nope! "Everywhere else" is a bigger common market now.
But we've stuck with our own unique set of elevator codes, as if elevator companies still have no choice but to beat a path to our door.
Nope! "Everywhere else" is a bigger common market now.
January 1, 2026 at 7:50 PM
Another way that the USA is a global backwater in transportation.
After bicycles, elevators are the most energy- and space-efficient form of transport on earth; when you use them you gain all kinds of second-order public health and environmental benefits.
So naturally, we mostly ban them.
After bicycles, elevators are the most energy- and space-efficient form of transport on earth; when you use them you gain all kinds of second-order public health and environmental benefits.
So naturally, we mostly ban them.
Reposted by uncle of the second class
For eight days, Sudanese farmer Ibrahim Hussein led his family through treacherous terrain to flee the fighting in southern Kordofan -- the latest and most volatile front in the country's 31-month-old conflict.
u.afp.com/S8DZ
u.afp.com/S8DZ
January 1, 2026 at 9:30 PM
For eight days, Sudanese farmer Ibrahim Hussein led his family through treacherous terrain to flee the fighting in southern Kordofan -- the latest and most volatile front in the country's 31-month-old conflict.
u.afp.com/S8DZ
u.afp.com/S8DZ
Reposted by uncle of the second class
On my things to watch in 2026 (probably after mid term wipeout)
Will this group decide to create some distance from Trump? And/or will the consumer and public writ large start to pay attention and demand it?
Will this group decide to create some distance from Trump? And/or will the consumer and public writ large start to pay attention and demand it?
These businessmen have shown no shame in kowtowing to the president—and he has richly rewarded their sycophancy.
trib.al/LijwYFl
trib.al/LijwYFl
Trump’s 10 Biggest, Most Shameful Billionaire Toadies
These businessmen have shown no shame in kowtowing to the president—and he has richly rewarded their sycophancy.
trib.al
January 1, 2026 at 9:01 PM
On my things to watch in 2026 (probably after mid term wipeout)
Will this group decide to create some distance from Trump? And/or will the consumer and public writ large start to pay attention and demand it?
Will this group decide to create some distance from Trump? And/or will the consumer and public writ large start to pay attention and demand it?
Reposted by uncle of the second class
Rupert Murdoch ran the NY Post for 40+ years at a financial loss. Because it’s critical (and priceless) messaging and influence infrastructure.
pressgazette.co.uk/news/new-yor...
pressgazette.co.uk/news/new-yor...
Murdoch's New York Post achieves first profit 'in modern times'
New York Post in profit: CEO Robert Thomson praises title for press freedom victory over Twitter as it posts first profit in modern times.
pressgazette.co.uk
January 1, 2026 at 8:21 PM
Rupert Murdoch ran the NY Post for 40+ years at a financial loss. Because it’s critical (and priceless) messaging and influence infrastructure.
pressgazette.co.uk/news/new-yor...
pressgazette.co.uk/news/new-yor...
Reposted by uncle of the second class
Our project, “Chicago Under Siege,” is a permanent record of what happened in Chicago when the federal government used violence on its own people. blockclubchi.co/3Ye4GGa
January 1, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Our project, “Chicago Under Siege,” is a permanent record of what happened in Chicago when the federal government used violence on its own people. blockclubchi.co/3Ye4GGa
Reposted by uncle of the second class
like 75% of dem messaging right now should be “the party led by epsteins best friend is breaking into pre-k childcare centers so they can record your toddlers and put the videos on internet”
uhhh yeah I can see why these childcare properties weren't eager to let in some rando dudes asking "where are the kids?"
January 1, 2026 at 2:49 PM
like 75% of dem messaging right now should be “the party led by epsteins best friend is breaking into pre-k childcare centers so they can record your toddlers and put the videos on internet”
Reposted by uncle of the second class
Curtis Yarvin, JD Vance’s friend & ideological influence, ended 2025 by claiming “only Hitler spoke the truth” about “too many subjects” & “Hitler was a genius.”
Extremism isn’t fringe on the right. Once marginal online extremists like Yarvin are influential at the highest levels of government.
Extremism isn’t fringe on the right. Once marginal online extremists like Yarvin are influential at the highest levels of government.
January 1, 2026 at 2:49 PM
Curtis Yarvin, JD Vance’s friend & ideological influence, ended 2025 by claiming “only Hitler spoke the truth” about “too many subjects” & “Hitler was a genius.”
Extremism isn’t fringe on the right. Once marginal online extremists like Yarvin are influential at the highest levels of government.
Extremism isn’t fringe on the right. Once marginal online extremists like Yarvin are influential at the highest levels of government.
Reposted by uncle of the second class
~<Every single institution> we have is counter-majoritarian:
- A hyper-gerrymanded House
- A hyper-malapportioned Senate with staggered elections
- FPTP SMDs in a continent-wide country with our urban/rural population distribution
- The EC
Stop it. We need <checks on counter-majoritarianism>
- A hyper-gerrymanded House
- A hyper-malapportioned Senate with staggered elections
- FPTP SMDs in a continent-wide country with our urban/rural population distribution
- The EC
Stop it. We need <checks on counter-majoritarianism>
Chief Justice John Roberts touted the independence of the federal judiciary as a “counter-majoritarian check” and urged Americans rattled by partisan politics to keep faith with the Constitution. https://cnn.it/3LsloyF
January 1, 2026 at 4:20 PM
~<Every single institution> we have is counter-majoritarian:
- A hyper-gerrymanded House
- A hyper-malapportioned Senate with staggered elections
- FPTP SMDs in a continent-wide country with our urban/rural population distribution
- The EC
Stop it. We need <checks on counter-majoritarianism>
- A hyper-gerrymanded House
- A hyper-malapportioned Senate with staggered elections
- FPTP SMDs in a continent-wide country with our urban/rural population distribution
- The EC
Stop it. We need <checks on counter-majoritarianism>
Reposted by uncle of the second class
Happy New Year! We love sharing these pro-book posters from the Works Projects Administration Poster Collection in the Library's Prints and Photographs Division. Of the 2,000 WPA posters known to exist, the Library of Congress's collection of more than 900 is the largest.
January 1, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Happy New Year! We love sharing these pro-book posters from the Works Projects Administration Poster Collection in the Library's Prints and Photographs Division. Of the 2,000 WPA posters known to exist, the Library of Congress's collection of more than 900 is the largest.
Reposted by uncle of the second class
God, I love this so much.
If you’ve ever interacted with a public institution in New York, this is the most New York thing that ever New Yorked.
If you’ve ever interacted with a public institution in New York, this is the most New York thing that ever New Yorked.
Watch Zohran Mamdani pay a $9 fee to the City Clerk to officially file his oath of office and legally begin his first term as the mayor of New York City.
January 1, 2026 at 2:31 PM
God, I love this so much.
If you’ve ever interacted with a public institution in New York, this is the most New York thing that ever New Yorked.
If you’ve ever interacted with a public institution in New York, this is the most New York thing that ever New Yorked.
Reposted by uncle of the second class
It is kind of wild that no big media outlet has busted open the story of who is making DHS' posts on X. Whoever that may be is certainly plugged into hardcore white supremacist internet propaganda with a harder edge. "Groyper" would be underselling it. This is Daily Stormer-tier sludge.
January 1, 2026 at 2:01 AM
It is kind of wild that no big media outlet has busted open the story of who is making DHS' posts on X. Whoever that may be is certainly plugged into hardcore white supremacist internet propaganda with a harder edge. "Groyper" would be underselling it. This is Daily Stormer-tier sludge.
Reposted by uncle of the second class
Visits to emergency rooms are up; health officials say holiday travel and gatherings are helping spread the virus. The H3N2 variant can cause severe symptoms in the elderly as well as younger healthy people.
Health officials see spike in flu cases in Cook County, say it's not too late to get shots
chicago.suntimes.com
January 1, 2026 at 1:31 AM
Visits to emergency rooms are up; health officials say holiday travel and gatherings are helping spread the virus. The H3N2 variant can cause severe symptoms in the elderly as well as younger healthy people.
Reposted by uncle of the second class
Nick Shirley at the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021.
December 31, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Nick Shirley at the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021.
Reposted by uncle of the second class
this is one of the themes we'll see if and when a historical view of Trumpism becomes possible; note that academic turf wars almost always involve status anxiety
I mentioned this in a thread earlier today, but if you want to know a piece I think is one of the most important I’ve written (this year and ever really), it’s this one at @thebulwark.com
www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-secr...
www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-secr...
Trump’s Secret Weapon Has Always Been Status Anxiety
In a phone-powered age of diminishing social capital and growing identitarianism, the president knew just which fears to activate to get him back into the White House.
www.thebulwark.com
December 31, 2025 at 6:47 PM
this is one of the themes we'll see if and when a historical view of Trumpism becomes possible; note that academic turf wars almost always involve status anxiety
Reposted by uncle of the second class
The final Calvin and Hobbes, which appeared in papers 30 years ago today.
December 31, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The final Calvin and Hobbes, which appeared in papers 30 years ago today.
I've wondered how much AI will look like the railroads, with extensive bankruptcies related to the initial buildout, and second order players consolidating and profiting.
GS: The AI Spending Boom Is Not Too Big Relative to Investment Cycles Associated With Other General Purpose Technologies
GS Bankers Report that Clients Expect Modest AI-Driven Headcount Reductions over the Next Year, Moderate Headcount Reductions Over the Next Three Years
GS Bankers Report that Clients Expect Modest AI-Driven Headcount Reductions over the Next Year, Moderate Headcount Reductions Over the Next Three Years
December 31, 2025 at 6:58 PM
I've wondered how much AI will look like the railroads, with extensive bankruptcies related to the initial buildout, and second order players consolidating and profiting.
Reposted by uncle of the second class
The takeaway is not that journalists make absurd predictions. This was a blunt, but reasonable headline in 1996. It's that outcomes that seem highly unlikely/wildly optimistic do happen occasionally due to agency. Bulgarians and Europeans took forks in the road over the yrs that made today reality.
An article from December 1996 warns that Bulgaria has no chance of joining Europe and the euro would replace the lev only after the second coming of Christ. Brace yourselves, the euro replaces the lev tonight at midnight! 🤣(and, of course, Bulgaria did join the EU in 2007).
December 31, 2025 at 5:45 PM
The takeaway is not that journalists make absurd predictions. This was a blunt, but reasonable headline in 1996. It's that outcomes that seem highly unlikely/wildly optimistic do happen occasionally due to agency. Bulgarians and Europeans took forks in the road over the yrs that made today reality.
France complaining about getting Clooney is the most French thing yet.
Georges Clooney naturalisé français : il n’y a aucun « deux poids deux mesures », assure Laurent Nuñez après les réserves de la ministre déléguée à l’intérieur
Georges Clooney naturalisé français : il n’y a aucun « deux poids deux mesures », assure Laurent Nuñez après les réserves de la ministre déléguée à l’intérieur
Mercredi matin, Marie-Pierre Vedrenne avait considéré que la naturalisation de l’acteur américain n’envoyait pas « le bon message » et qu’il y avait « un sujet d’équité ». Le Quai d’Orsay a, de son côté, défendu une « procédure rigoureuse ».
www.lemonde.fr
December 31, 2025 at 6:44 PM
France complaining about getting Clooney is the most French thing yet.
Reposted by uncle of the second class
the white supremacist ethnic pogroms are here, it is already happening. it is only a question of how much we step up and organize to stop them.
This is the impact of networked incitement. And now every other “citizen journalist” wannabe Nick Shirley is on the ground in Washington, Ohio, and I assume elsewhere trying to break/make the next viral story. There’s potential for this to spin further out of control, hoping it doesn’t
Somali-run day care in Minneapolis broken into, vandalized
www.fox9.com
December 31, 2025 at 6:34 PM
the white supremacist ethnic pogroms are here, it is already happening. it is only a question of how much we step up and organize to stop them.
Reposted by uncle of the second class
good piece with an incidental insanely brutal takedown of klein
December 31, 2025 at 2:51 PM
good piece with an incidental insanely brutal takedown of klein
Reposted by uncle of the second class
Elon Musk promised a lot of things by 2025
- colonists arriving on Mars
- xAI achieving AGI
- Tesla robotaxis serving half the U.S.
- completely driverless robotaxis
- a Tesla Roadster demo
- DOGE cutting trillions
none of them happened
mashable.com/article/elon-mus...
- colonists arriving on Mars
- xAI achieving AGI
- Tesla robotaxis serving half the U.S.
- completely driverless robotaxis
- a Tesla Roadster demo
- DOGE cutting trillions
none of them happened
mashable.com/article/elon-mus...
Everything Elon Musk promised in 2025, but didn't deliver
Musk is now infamous for his false promises, but even this is excessive.
mashable.com
December 31, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Elon Musk promised a lot of things by 2025
- colonists arriving on Mars
- xAI achieving AGI
- Tesla robotaxis serving half the U.S.
- completely driverless robotaxis
- a Tesla Roadster demo
- DOGE cutting trillions
none of them happened
mashable.com/article/elon-mus...
- colonists arriving on Mars
- xAI achieving AGI
- Tesla robotaxis serving half the U.S.
- completely driverless robotaxis
- a Tesla Roadster demo
- DOGE cutting trillions
none of them happened
mashable.com/article/elon-mus...
Reposted by uncle of the second class
Banning soda and candy from SNAP is about getting retailers to pull out of SNAP and denying low-income people access to *all* food. And boosting administrative costs to direct benefits.
newrepublic.com/article/2048...
newrepublic.com/article/2048...
Republicans Have Found Another Insidious Way to Cut SNAP
The GOP created a rural health fund to try to limit the damage from Trump’s budget bill. And now, the fund is being weaponized against poor Americans.
newrepublic.com
December 31, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Banning soda and candy from SNAP is about getting retailers to pull out of SNAP and denying low-income people access to *all* food. And boosting administrative costs to direct benefits.
newrepublic.com/article/2048...
newrepublic.com/article/2048...
Reposted by uncle of the second class
If you've ever been to a gun show, you understand how fucked up this will get. They want exponential Rittenhouses.
Exclusive: ICE officials plan to spend $100 million to recruit gun-rights supporters and military enthusiasts through online influencers and a geo-targeted ad campaign, part of what the agency called a “wartime recruitment” strategy to hire thousands of officers, according to an internal document.
ICE plans $100 million ‘wartime recruitment’ push targeting gun shows, military fans
An internal ICE document shared among immigration officials details plans to use influencers and geo-targeted ads to rapidly hire thousands of deportation officers.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 31, 2025 at 1:48 PM
If you've ever been to a gun show, you understand how fucked up this will get. They want exponential Rittenhouses.
Reposted by uncle of the second class
“I don’t know what he is or is not, but no one cares for him,” one anonymous GSA staffer told Politico in a story published Tuesday, adding that Ingrassia hasn’t been given anything “meaningful” to do because “[GSA] leadership doesn’t really want him.”
December 31, 2025 at 12:36 AM
“I don’t know what he is or is not, but no one cares for him,” one anonymous GSA staffer told Politico in a story published Tuesday, adding that Ingrassia hasn’t been given anything “meaningful” to do because “[GSA] leadership doesn’t really want him.”
Reposted by uncle of the second class
This government loves white people (proven) fraud and hates black people (unproven) fraud
Trump granted clemency to the biggest Medicare fraudster in history. Well, the guy was just re-arrested and charged with domestic violence. Here, via @motherjones.com, is the wild, sordid tale of how Phil Esformes made a fortune screwing taxpayers and nursing home residents.
Donald Trump freed a convicted Medicare fraudster. The Justice Department wants him back.
The cautionary tale of nursing home mogul Philip Esformes.
www.motherjones.com
December 31, 2025 at 12:33 AM
This government loves white people (proven) fraud and hates black people (unproven) fraud