reading through the darkness
@ardentreader.bsky.social
Dog lover, amateur chef, bento enthusiast, science fiction nerd.
I work in tech and use words for a living.
I work in tech and use words for a living.
Not sure if it's conscious reasoning in many cases, but a lot of it seems to come down to open revolt against germ theory.
November 10, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Not sure if it's conscious reasoning in many cases, but a lot of it seems to come down to open revolt against germ theory.
Anyone who's watched him talk for 5 minutes can see he doesn't have the attention span to read a book at this point.
He is the epitome of the bookmaxxing by having AI summarize the books for you guy, though.
He is the epitome of the bookmaxxing by having AI summarize the books for you guy, though.
November 10, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Anyone who's watched him talk for 5 minutes can see he doesn't have the attention span to read a book at this point.
He is the epitome of the bookmaxxing by having AI summarize the books for you guy, though.
He is the epitome of the bookmaxxing by having AI summarize the books for you guy, though.
I was at the midnight screening on opening night and that feeling of slowly dawning horror that this was it, it wasn't going to get better, and that Jar Jar was going to have significant screen time, will stay with me forever.
November 10, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I was at the midnight screening on opening night and that feeling of slowly dawning horror that this was it, it wasn't going to get better, and that Jar Jar was going to have significant screen time, will stay with me forever.
The cavers still have enough numbers to make a difference (infuriatingly!), but I think one silver lining of this episode is that it's going to smell so bad in retrospect, between the base backlash and Trump rubbing their faces in it repeatedly, that caving will become increasingly unworkable.
November 10, 2025 at 5:14 PM
The cavers still have enough numbers to make a difference (infuriatingly!), but I think one silver lining of this episode is that it's going to smell so bad in retrospect, between the base backlash and Trump rubbing their faces in it repeatedly, that caving will become increasingly unworkable.
There is no indication the House of Representatives will ever be in session again! He won't even commit to reconvening.
Good job, Senate Dems.
Good job, Senate Dems.
November 10, 2025 at 5:07 PM
There is no indication the House of Representatives will ever be in session again! He won't even commit to reconvening.
Good job, Senate Dems.
Good job, Senate Dems.
Then why did you give up?
You had leverage and you surrendered. AGAIN. All the suffering this shutdown caused, for NOTHING.
Don't act surprised when voters don't trust you. They have no reason to. This is a monumental, historical mistake and you will be remembered for it forever.
You had leverage and you surrendered. AGAIN. All the suffering this shutdown caused, for NOTHING.
Don't act surprised when voters don't trust you. They have no reason to. This is a monumental, historical mistake and you will be remembered for it forever.
November 10, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Then why did you give up?
You had leverage and you surrendered. AGAIN. All the suffering this shutdown caused, for NOTHING.
Don't act surprised when voters don't trust you. They have no reason to. This is a monumental, historical mistake and you will be remembered for it forever.
You had leverage and you surrendered. AGAIN. All the suffering this shutdown caused, for NOTHING.
Don't act surprised when voters don't trust you. They have no reason to. This is a monumental, historical mistake and you will be remembered for it forever.
A significant factor in the 2024 loss was Democratic voters who stayed home because they felt like both parties were the same and their vote didn't matter.
It is completely crazy-making to see Dems prove they have a point. What are we doing here.
It is completely crazy-making to see Dems prove they have a point. What are we doing here.
November 10, 2025 at 8:47 AM
A significant factor in the 2024 loss was Democratic voters who stayed home because they felt like both parties were the same and their vote didn't matter.
It is completely crazy-making to see Dems prove they have a point. What are we doing here.
It is completely crazy-making to see Dems prove they have a point. What are we doing here.
William T. Vollmann is all sorts of problematic, but his book Imperial was, with the exception of his digressions into his adventures with sex workers (a statement that is basically universal to his works), a great history of the Salton Sea.
November 10, 2025 at 8:29 AM
William T. Vollmann is all sorts of problematic, but his book Imperial was, with the exception of his digressions into his adventures with sex workers (a statement that is basically universal to his works), a great history of the Salton Sea.
Reposted by reading through the darkness
i’m just so fucking tired of living through crisis after crisis and feeling like we have to beg for and negotiate with our own representatives to address the crises seriously. they shouldn’t have to be disciplined by the base into mustering an appropriate response to a fucking coup!
October 20, 2025 at 2:21 PM
i’m just so fucking tired of living through crisis after crisis and feeling like we have to beg for and negotiate with our own representatives to address the crises seriously. they shouldn’t have to be disciplined by the base into mustering an appropriate response to a fucking coup!
Wait until she finds out about our health care system!
November 9, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Wait until she finds out about our health care system!
And yet they can't climb down because they've ceded their entire political strategy operation to an ambulatory set of severe psychological issues who may or may not also be developing dementia.
November 9, 2025 at 6:16 PM
And yet they can't climb down because they've ceded their entire political strategy operation to an ambulatory set of severe psychological issues who may or may not also be developing dementia.
Theory 4: They are all psychologically damaged, morally deformed people incapable of taking the L even if it benefits them in the long run, especially since ideologues who want to destroy SNAP are running the show.
It's probably a combination of all these things, TBF.
It's probably a combination of all these things, TBF.
November 9, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Theory 4: They are all psychologically damaged, morally deformed people incapable of taking the L even if it benefits them in the long run, especially since ideologues who want to destroy SNAP are running the show.
It's probably a combination of all these things, TBF.
It's probably a combination of all these things, TBF.
The amount of interest you'd end up paying on a 50-year loan is insane. And because of that interest, the monthly payment wouldn't be *that* much lower, although it would definitely make a difference for some people.
A lot of people would be passing this mortgage on to their heirs.
A lot of people would be passing this mortgage on to their heirs.
November 9, 2025 at 5:49 PM
The amount of interest you'd end up paying on a 50-year loan is insane. And because of that interest, the monthly payment wouldn't be *that* much lower, although it would definitely make a difference for some people.
A lot of people would be passing this mortgage on to their heirs.
A lot of people would be passing this mortgage on to their heirs.
I had a car for 22 years that had the gas tank on the driver side. Then, five years ago, I replaced it with a car that has the gas tank on the passenger side, and I *still* sometimes pull into the gas station on the wrong side. One of life's underrated petty annoyances.
November 9, 2025 at 5:42 PM
I had a car for 22 years that had the gas tank on the driver side. Then, five years ago, I replaced it with a car that has the gas tank on the passenger side, and I *still* sometimes pull into the gas station on the wrong side. One of life's underrated petty annoyances.
I think it's their dominance culture. Since they can't take a L in any form, even when it allows them to climb down from unpopular positions, they're going to keep ratcheting it up.
Combined with a sealed info bubble impenetrable to real public opinion, it could get really awful.
Combined with a sealed info bubble impenetrable to real public opinion, it could get really awful.
November 9, 2025 at 5:32 PM
I think it's their dominance culture. Since they can't take a L in any form, even when it allows them to climb down from unpopular positions, they're going to keep ratcheting it up.
Combined with a sealed info bubble impenetrable to real public opinion, it could get really awful.
Combined with a sealed info bubble impenetrable to real public opinion, it could get really awful.
The GOP has been able to capitalize recently on Latino voters' assumptions that immigration enforcement was for lawbreakers, i.e. not them. ICE going absolutely hog wild on anybody who looks slightly Latino has shattered that illusion, and I don't think it will be easy to rebuild.
November 9, 2025 at 5:25 PM
The GOP has been able to capitalize recently on Latino voters' assumptions that immigration enforcement was for lawbreakers, i.e. not them. ICE going absolutely hog wild on anybody who looks slightly Latino has shattered that illusion, and I don't think it will be easy to rebuild.
My teammate has her visa appointment in India at the end of November. She already wasn't sure it would happen because of the shutdown. Now she's also not sure she'll even be able to get there in time. This is torturing people, and some of them are going to decide it's not worth it.
November 9, 2025 at 5:08 PM
My teammate has her visa appointment in India at the end of November. She already wasn't sure it would happen because of the shutdown. Now she's also not sure she'll even be able to get there in time. This is torturing people, and some of them are going to decide it's not worth it.
This is interesting because a lot of the foot soldiers in the woo movement that MAHA/RFK Jr. rode to power were radicalized by bad experiences with the US health care system: insured, but had difficulty with diagnoses, felt ignored by Drs., etc., looked for alternatives, fell down the rabbit hole.
November 9, 2025 at 5:04 PM
This is interesting because a lot of the foot soldiers in the woo movement that MAHA/RFK Jr. rode to power were radicalized by bad experiences with the US health care system: insured, but had difficulty with diagnoses, felt ignored by Drs., etc., looked for alternatives, fell down the rabbit hole.
Definitely, there are still good journalists at the Post. The Times/Post coverage of Biden's age vs. virtual silence on Trump so far this year has been really striking, so it feels like a bit of a tipping point that Trump's issues are starting to get coverage.
November 8, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Definitely, there are still good journalists at the Post. The Times/Post coverage of Biden's age vs. virtual silence on Trump so far this year has been really striking, so it feels like a bit of a tipping point that Trump's issues are starting to get coverage.
Which is kind of amazing in and of itself and a sign that he's gotten so bad that they feel they can't ignore it any more.
November 8, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Which is kind of amazing in and of itself and a sign that he's gotten so bad that they feel they can't ignore it any more.
Weird, it's almost like a lot of the J6 rioters are violent, antisocial weirdos with impulse control problems.
November 8, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Weird, it's almost like a lot of the J6 rioters are violent, antisocial weirdos with impulse control problems.