Scott Dietz
@scottdietz.bsky.social
Reposted by Scott Dietz
Monument to the Unknown Bureaucrat, Reykjavik — Magnús Tómasson, 1994
November 26, 2025 at 5:45 AM
Monument to the Unknown Bureaucrat, Reykjavik — Magnús Tómasson, 1994
Reposted by Scott Dietz
Nice piece from @nikvenkatesh.bsky.social on the basic difficulties of trying to be a Moral Company. It's not about the badness of the individuals in charge (though, you know, that can be a thing) - it's the realities of needing investment in a market economy.
theconversation.com/why-openai-i...
theconversation.com/why-openai-i...
Why OpenAI is a prime example of the ethical limits of capitalism
Money and morality are a challenging corporate combination.
theconversation.com
December 9, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Nice piece from @nikvenkatesh.bsky.social on the basic difficulties of trying to be a Moral Company. It's not about the badness of the individuals in charge (though, you know, that can be a thing) - it's the realities of needing investment in a market economy.
theconversation.com/why-openai-i...
theconversation.com/why-openai-i...
Reposted by Scott Dietz
my main takeaway looking back on 2020 from today and considering <gestures broadly> has been that the main lesson here is DONT HAVE A PANDEMIC
even if you could put aside the massive human toll, basic societal functioning depends on a million little things that a shutdown mucks up
even if you could put aside the massive human toll, basic societal functioning depends on a million little things that a shutdown mucks up
December 8, 2025 at 3:25 PM
my main takeaway looking back on 2020 from today and considering <gestures broadly> has been that the main lesson here is DONT HAVE A PANDEMIC
even if you could put aside the massive human toll, basic societal functioning depends on a million little things that a shutdown mucks up
even if you could put aside the massive human toll, basic societal functioning depends on a million little things that a shutdown mucks up
Reposted by Scott Dietz
During ratification of the 14th Amendment, senators discussed whether the Citizenship Clause would apply to the children of immigrants and resoundingly concluded that it did. The text and history all point in one direction and the counter-arguments are patently fraudulent. I am going to lose my mind
The evidence is the text. All you have to do is read the Constitution.
December 7, 2025 at 7:19 PM
During ratification of the 14th Amendment, senators discussed whether the Citizenship Clause would apply to the children of immigrants and resoundingly concluded that it did. The text and history all point in one direction and the counter-arguments are patently fraudulent. I am going to lose my mind
Reposted by Scott Dietz
This is correct but I'd also add that if you are an insecure, unconfident man, the biggest curse you can possibly give yourself is dating a woman that is impressively attractive to the shittiest dudes in our society - a recipe for being endlessly consumed with paranoid jealousy
This and they're only really interested in very attractive women who use all the artifices to pander to men (often to manipulate them) because ultimately they care more about what other men think about the women they want to fuck/possess than they do about their own (to them unknown/denied) desires.
I think an important thing to understand about brofluencer ideology is that they do not just deny that being toxic and shitty makes you a less appealing partner, they insist that women are only genuinely attracted to toxic and shitty men and being kind will instead make women lose respect for you.
December 7, 2025 at 7:08 PM
This is correct but I'd also add that if you are an insecure, unconfident man, the biggest curse you can possibly give yourself is dating a woman that is impressively attractive to the shittiest dudes in our society - a recipe for being endlessly consumed with paranoid jealousy
Reposted by Scott Dietz
the idea that a handful of conservative legal scholars have an understanding that should supersede a settlement affirmed my generations of american is astoundingly arrogant, and the idea that trump — or any president — can unilaterally overturn that settlement is just despotism
December 7, 2025 at 7:18 PM
the idea that a handful of conservative legal scholars have an understanding that should supersede a settlement affirmed my generations of american is astoundingly arrogant, and the idea that trump — or any president — can unilaterally overturn that settlement is just despotism
Reposted by Scott Dietz
yeah, that's true. it's not 'dominant meta' precisely but something about how recognition of the meta (or the 'solvedness' of the particular game?) allows the space to be flooded with effectively worthless versions
December 2, 2025 at 3:37 PM
yeah, that's true. it's not 'dominant meta' precisely but something about how recognition of the meta (or the 'solvedness' of the particular game?) allows the space to be flooded with effectively worthless versions
Reposted by Scott Dietz
The most insidious thing about slop is that it puts pressure on you the consumer to lower *your* standards
December 2, 2025 at 2:36 PM
The most insidious thing about slop is that it puts pressure on you the consumer to lower *your* standards
Reposted by Scott Dietz
putting it in gaming terms maybe youd say slop is the 'dominant meta' of whatever field
December 2, 2025 at 2:27 PM
putting it in gaming terms maybe youd say slop is the 'dominant meta' of whatever field
Reposted by Scott Dietz
circling around a definition of 'slop' as something like 'fully optimized to the point of texturelessness/characterlessness'... RLHF'd ai product but also: save the cat is scriptslop, aerodynamically efficient crossover suvs are carslop, three true outcomes is baseballslop, crabs are crustaceanslop
December 2, 2025 at 2:25 PM
circling around a definition of 'slop' as something like 'fully optimized to the point of texturelessness/characterlessness'... RLHF'd ai product but also: save the cat is scriptslop, aerodynamically efficient crossover suvs are carslop, three true outcomes is baseballslop, crabs are crustaceanslop
Reposted by Scott Dietz
i'd go even further and say there is a reason even nixon kept this kind of stuff to himself. you would have to go back quite a bit to find a point at which is acceptable for a president to say anything like this *in public*, to say nothing of in the oval office.
I don’t want to be pollyannish about the past, but it was basically inconceivable twenty years ago that a president would say this publicly
Trump: "It’s a hellhole right now. And those Somalians should be out of here. They've destroyed our country. And all they do is complain, complain, complain. You have her. She’s always talking about the Constitution provides me with – go back to your own country and figure out your constitution."
December 3, 2025 at 11:04 PM
i'd go even further and say there is a reason even nixon kept this kind of stuff to himself. you would have to go back quite a bit to find a point at which is acceptable for a president to say anything like this *in public*, to say nothing of in the oval office.
Reposted by Scott Dietz
Could not be more contrary to American traditions. A gold-bedecked White House with a massive gilded ballroom and a government-created personality cult around the president complete with giant banners of his face on government buildings and official celebrations of his birthday.
When I saw the story in passing I thought it was the same dumb bit as the army parade, the fig leaf of using Flag Day because it happens to also be his birthday. But no, Trump's birthday as such is now an official commemoration for NPS free admission days.
www.nps.gov/planyourvisi...
www.nps.gov/planyourvisi...
December 6, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Could not be more contrary to American traditions. A gold-bedecked White House with a massive gilded ballroom and a government-created personality cult around the president complete with giant banners of his face on government buildings and official celebrations of his birthday.
Reposted by Scott Dietz
I really can't emphasize enough that if you care about local politics, all you gotta do is show up. Just a regular schmegular person showing up. Literally just show up consistently in person and within a remarkably short amount of time, you will have a shocking amount of influence.
December 5, 2025 at 6:07 AM
I really can't emphasize enough that if you care about local politics, all you gotta do is show up. Just a regular schmegular person showing up. Literally just show up consistently in person and within a remarkably short amount of time, you will have a shocking amount of influence.
Reposted by Scott Dietz
"Brett Kavanaugh had six figures in credit card debt shortly before he was confirmed to the Supreme Court" is one of those things that will live rent-free in my head forever because I quite literally have represented someone in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy over substantially less debt.
December 5, 2025 at 10:01 PM
"Brett Kavanaugh had six figures in credit card debt shortly before he was confirmed to the Supreme Court" is one of those things that will live rent-free in my head forever because I quite literally have represented someone in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy over substantially less debt.
Reposted by Scott Dietz
the birthright clause was not just written to wipe dred scott off of the books, it was written to repudiate the *idea* behind dred scott, you might say the larger *ideological project* of dred scott. and the whole of section 1 of the 14th amendment is a constitutional statement of political equality
December 6, 2025 at 6:03 PM
the birthright clause was not just written to wipe dred scott off of the books, it was written to repudiate the *idea* behind dred scott, you might say the larger *ideological project* of dred scott. and the whole of section 1 of the 14th amendment is a constitutional statement of political equality
Reposted by Scott Dietz
dred scott, in their minds, established the united states as a place of tiered citizenship and permanent inequality among americans. it was a ruling that said, in effect, that all men *were not* created equal and would *never* be treated as such.
December 6, 2025 at 6:03 PM
dred scott, in their minds, established the united states as a place of tiered citizenship and permanent inequality among americans. it was a ruling that said, in effect, that all men *were not* created equal and would *never* be treated as such.
Reposted by Scott Dietz
i think to understand the meaning of the birthright citizenship clause to the framers of the 14th amendment, you have to understand significance of dred scott to the civil war republican party. dred scott wasn't just a bad ruling, it was understood as a rejection of the declaration itself.
December 6, 2025 at 6:03 PM
i think to understand the meaning of the birthright citizenship clause to the framers of the 14th amendment, you have to understand significance of dred scott to the civil war republican party. dred scott wasn't just a bad ruling, it was understood as a rejection of the declaration itself.
Reposted by Scott Dietz
The way to understand the second Trump administration is as a content generation machine. They aren’t implementing fascism, they’re creating fascism-flavored content. They aren’t implementing real policy, they’re signing executive orders to post about them. Anything that gets attention is the goal.
I don't really know what the administration hopes to gain by picking fights with the most well-liked pop artists in the United States. You're just generating backlash for no discernible reason outside of owning the libs.
Sabrina Carpenter ratioed the White House after it used her song in an ICE video.
The WH deleted the post…but now it’s back with a new ICE video, this time using an altered clip from Carpenter’s SNL monologue.
The WH deleted the post…but now it’s back with a new ICE video, this time using an altered clip from Carpenter’s SNL monologue.
December 6, 2025 at 3:17 PM
The way to understand the second Trump administration is as a content generation machine. They aren’t implementing fascism, they’re creating fascism-flavored content. They aren’t implementing real policy, they’re signing executive orders to post about them. Anything that gets attention is the goal.
Reposted by Scott Dietz
every goddam time we talk about policy positions and electoral outcomes on the microblogging apps
December 3, 2025 at 4:06 PM
every goddam time we talk about policy positions and electoral outcomes on the microblogging apps
Reposted by Scott Dietz
Exactly. This election let us see what the GOP defense looks like against a rising blue tide, and it showed that the blue wave might be bigger than anything we’ve seen to date
For additional context here, these are the relative turnout levels of each of the congressional special elections we've had this year
This race got super nationalized - relative turnout ended up being huge
But to me, that makes this the most encouraging special for Ds so far
This race got super nationalized - relative turnout ended up being huge
But to me, that makes this the most encouraging special for Ds so far
December 3, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Exactly. This election let us see what the GOP defense looks like against a rising blue tide, and it showed that the blue wave might be bigger than anything we’ve seen to date
Reposted by Scott Dietz
Identical turnout to 2022, but a completely different universe
13% to the left of 2022/2024 despite midterm-level turnout
13% to the left of 2022/2024 despite midterm-level turnout
December 3, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Identical turnout to 2022, but a completely different universe
13% to the left of 2022/2024 despite midterm-level turnout
13% to the left of 2022/2024 despite midterm-level turnout
Reposted by Scott Dietz
The worst thing to happen for the GOP would have been to lose TN-07
The second worst thing is for Dems to significantly overperform with high turnout.
Which is what happened.
There is some massive cope on the GOP side going on
The second worst thing is for Dems to significantly overperform with high turnout.
Which is what happened.
There is some massive cope on the GOP side going on
December 3, 2025 at 3:24 PM
The worst thing to happen for the GOP would have been to lose TN-07
The second worst thing is for Dems to significantly overperform with high turnout.
Which is what happened.
There is some massive cope on the GOP side going on
The second worst thing is for Dems to significantly overperform with high turnout.
Which is what happened.
There is some massive cope on the GOP side going on
Reposted by Scott Dietz
IIRC 40+ House Districts were won by Republicans in 2024 by 15pts or less... hmm...
December 3, 2025 at 2:38 AM
IIRC 40+ House Districts were won by Republicans in 2024 by 15pts or less... hmm...
Reposted by Scott Dietz
Looks like TN-07 will end up around R+8, or a 13-point shift toward the Democrats from 2024.
What should worry Rs is that this one is hard to dismiss as a special election. It ended up nationalized, and turnout will be ~95% of 2022. It looked like a midterm general electorate.
What should worry Rs is that this one is hard to dismiss as a special election. It ended up nationalized, and turnout will be ~95% of 2022. It looked like a midterm general electorate.
December 3, 2025 at 2:49 AM
Looks like TN-07 will end up around R+8, or a 13-point shift toward the Democrats from 2024.
What should worry Rs is that this one is hard to dismiss as a special election. It ended up nationalized, and turnout will be ~95% of 2022. It looked like a midterm general electorate.
What should worry Rs is that this one is hard to dismiss as a special election. It ended up nationalized, and turnout will be ~95% of 2022. It looked like a midterm general electorate.
Reposted by Scott Dietz
It’s interesting that Rs don’t even seem to be attempting a Leslie Nielsen this is fine, nothing to see here, news cycle coming out of their win in TN07. Usually you get at least a day of trying to make that stick.
“.. The surprisingly-tight race .. ‘is a sign that 2026 is going to be a bitch of an election cycle,’ one House Republican told POLITICO.”
@politico.com #TN07
www.politico.com/live-updates...
@politico.com #TN07
www.politico.com/live-updates...
December 3, 2025 at 1:17 PM
It’s interesting that Rs don’t even seem to be attempting a Leslie Nielsen this is fine, nothing to see here, news cycle coming out of their win in TN07. Usually you get at least a day of trying to make that stick.