Feral T. Robot, Oil Swamp Utility Bot #7629
@feralrobots.bsky.social
Cis straight borderline-elderly middle-class white man.
Follow implies ABSOLUTELY NO expectation you'll follow back. I block follow-farmers.
https://mastodon.social/@FeralRobots
Follow implies ABSOLUTELY NO expectation you'll follow back. I block follow-farmers.
https://mastodon.social/@FeralRobots
Pinned
The truth is, these are not very bright guys, & things got out of hand.
Rand Paul used to practice as an ophthalmologist so there is no way in hell he doesn't know he's spouting complete & total bullshit.
I was at an event yesterday where Rand Paul spoke via video and talked about how great it was to send ACA money "directly to the people" so that they could work collectively to get better deals on health care.
November 11, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Rand Paul used to practice as an ophthalmologist so there is no way in hell he doesn't know he's spouting complete & total bullshit.
Reposted by Feral T. Robot, Oil Swamp Utility Bot #7629
We have a right wing that’s obsessed with trying to be Achilles, but you can only be born Achilles. You must try to be Hector.
November 11, 2025 at 2:31 AM
We have a right wing that’s obsessed with trying to be Achilles, but you can only be born Achilles. You must try to be Hector.
Reposted by Feral T. Robot, Oil Swamp Utility Bot #7629
no quote about the US political system has ever gone harder than this one
November 10, 2025 at 10:02 PM
no quote about the US political system has ever gone harder than this one
Reposted by Feral T. Robot, Oil Swamp Utility Bot #7629
TIL all Michiganders know (and honor!) 11/10 as the date of the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
November 11, 2025 at 1:25 AM
TIL all Michiganders know (and honor!) 11/10 as the date of the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Reposted by Feral T. Robot, Oil Swamp Utility Bot #7629
This is important to watch, because it illustrates a key point behind the 36% floor support for Trump.
Trump is not as white nationalist as it goes. Not by a long shot. As I've said before, Stephen Miller knows that banning Chinese and Indian students will destroy US higher Ed. He doesn't care.
Trump is not as white nationalist as it goes. Not by a long shot. As I've said before, Stephen Miller knows that banning Chinese and Indian students will destroy US higher Ed. He doesn't care.
Ingraham: "So we're dependent on China to keep our universities going?"
Trump: "No. I think it's good to have outside countries."
Ingraham: "They're not the French. They're the Chinese."
Trump: "What you think the French are better?"
Ingraham: "Yeah."
Trump: "Really…I'm not so sure."
Trump: "No. I think it's good to have outside countries."
Ingraham: "They're not the French. They're the Chinese."
Trump: "What you think the French are better?"
Ingraham: "Yeah."
Trump: "Really…I'm not so sure."
November 11, 2025 at 1:18 AM
This is important to watch, because it illustrates a key point behind the 36% floor support for Trump.
Trump is not as white nationalist as it goes. Not by a long shot. As I've said before, Stephen Miller knows that banning Chinese and Indian students will destroy US higher Ed. He doesn't care.
Trump is not as white nationalist as it goes. Not by a long shot. As I've said before, Stephen Miller knows that banning Chinese and Indian students will destroy US higher Ed. He doesn't care.
Reposted by Feral T. Robot, Oil Swamp Utility Bot #7629
Interesting that NY gov Kathy Hochul felt compelled to put out a statement against Dems' deal to end the shutdown
November 10, 2025 at 3:45 AM
Interesting that NY gov Kathy Hochul felt compelled to put out a statement against Dems' deal to end the shutdown
Reposted by Feral T. Robot, Oil Swamp Utility Bot #7629
One of the things that gets lost in translation is how rhythmic & fun to read the prose of the original Journey to the West is.
Best way I can describe it is "Imagine if Dragonball was Written instead of Drawn"
Esp. when for most of its existence, this is how story would've actually been read:
Best way I can describe it is "Imagine if Dragonball was Written instead of Drawn"
Esp. when for most of its existence, this is how story would've actually been read:
November 11, 2025 at 1:06 AM
One of the things that gets lost in translation is how rhythmic & fun to read the prose of the original Journey to the West is.
Best way I can describe it is "Imagine if Dragonball was Written instead of Drawn"
Esp. when for most of its existence, this is how story would've actually been read:
Best way I can describe it is "Imagine if Dragonball was Written instead of Drawn"
Esp. when for most of its existence, this is how story would've actually been read:
Reposted by Feral T. Robot, Oil Swamp Utility Bot #7629
There are no shortcuts to being a good person, least of all "right belief" (including when that "right" belief is nonbelief).
Pluralism is the lifeblood of democracy. Get over yourselves, antitheists, and start prioritizing people's values and actions over their beliefs.
Signed, an atheist
Pluralism is the lifeblood of democracy. Get over yourselves, antitheists, and start prioritizing people's values and actions over their beliefs.
Signed, an atheist
Atheism is not a magic cure-all for anything, and prosteletizing is not welcome in my mentions.
November 10, 2025 at 9:13 PM
There are no shortcuts to being a good person, least of all "right belief" (including when that "right" belief is nonbelief).
Pluralism is the lifeblood of democracy. Get over yourselves, antitheists, and start prioritizing people's values and actions over their beliefs.
Signed, an atheist
Pluralism is the lifeblood of democracy. Get over yourselves, antitheists, and start prioritizing people's values and actions over their beliefs.
Signed, an atheist
Reposted by Feral T. Robot, Oil Swamp Utility Bot #7629
If you have been framing your work as involving/in relation to "AI", what do you mean by "AI"? How would you describe your work without using that phrase?
>>
>>
November 10, 2025 at 8:33 PM
If you have been framing your work as involving/in relation to "AI", what do you mean by "AI"? How would you describe your work without using that phrase?
>>
>>
Reactions to the daughter of a famous US congressional rep runs for the senate of the STATE OF CALIFORNIA & replies are all about her mother & don't seem to grasp the crucial difference in scope.
Christine Pelosi, daughter of Nancy Pelosi, has announced she’s running for the California State Senate.
November 10, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Reactions to the daughter of a famous US congressional rep runs for the senate of the STATE OF CALIFORNIA & replies are all about her mother & don't seem to grasp the crucial difference in scope.
Just so we're clear a work requirement for Medicaid is insane & should never have even been considered. Ever. It's raw ableism, profoundly ignorant of how disability works. That it was ever regarded as on the table is an indictment of Democratic leaders who let it be put there, who all need to go.
New at Can We Still Govern? New Medicaid work requirements will see an estimated 5 million lose coverage.
Small investments in in-house tech capacity could allow states to start preparing now to expand automatic renewal of clients. Here is the evidence 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/how-a-van-...
Small investments in in-house tech capacity could allow states to start preparing now to expand automatic renewal of clients. Here is the evidence 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/how-a-van-...
Lessons from Pandemic Era Medicaid Automation for Work Requirements
Small tech capacity investments offer big returns
donmoynihan.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Just so we're clear a work requirement for Medicaid is insane & should never have even been considered. Ever. It's raw ableism, profoundly ignorant of how disability works. That it was ever regarded as on the table is an indictment of Democratic leaders who let it be put there, who all need to go.
...Sure, we've got to vote!
But the people we vote into office have to HOLD UP THEIR END.
But the people we vote into office have to HOLD UP THEIR END.
This is an anti-politics that holds voters as the only responsible actors in our political system.
So you're more mad at Schumer than the Dems who "caved" on preventing the lapsing of Biden's "enhanced" premiums expiring?
Y'all should have voted for the Black woman then.
🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️
Y'all should have voted for the Black woman then.
🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️
November 10, 2025 at 4:35 PM
...Sure, we've got to vote!
But the people we vote into office have to HOLD UP THEIR END.
But the people we vote into office have to HOLD UP THEIR END.
Since he's one of my senators & my name isn't "Bailey" the appeal will likely fall on deaf ears, but it's on my to-do list.
anyone have recommended scripts for calling our senators and asking them to support getting-schumer-out-of-leadership? i cannot ramble at these staffers for the sixth time in 24 hours.
November 10, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Since he's one of my senators & my name isn't "Bailey" the appeal will likely fall on deaf ears, but it's on my to-do list.
Reposted by Feral T. Robot, Oil Swamp Utility Bot #7629
It's 15:45 here. I bet you a dozen donuts that before I wake up tomorrow, I get at least 3 thieves begging me for money so they can really fight for healthcare.
November 10, 2025 at 3:47 PM
It's 15:45 here. I bet you a dozen donuts that before I wake up tomorrow, I get at least 3 thieves begging me for money so they can really fight for healthcare.
Reposted by Feral T. Robot, Oil Swamp Utility Bot #7629
💥New from me in @jacobinmagazin.bsky.social
“Monuments, museums, and cultural institutions were often created in the image of “militarist realism”—presenting colonialism as eternal. Undoing this legacy is not erasing the past but combating a pernicious ideology”
jacobin.com/2025/11/brit...
“Monuments, museums, and cultural institutions were often created in the image of “militarist realism”—presenting colonialism as eternal. Undoing this legacy is not erasing the past but combating a pernicious ideology”
jacobin.com/2025/11/brit...
One Day, Britain’s Monuments Will Fall
Monuments, museums, and cultural institutions were often created in the image of “militarist realism,” presenting colonialism and enslavement as eternal. Undoing this legacy is not erasing the past bu...
jacobin.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:47 PM
💥New from me in @jacobinmagazin.bsky.social
“Monuments, museums, and cultural institutions were often created in the image of “militarist realism”—presenting colonialism as eternal. Undoing this legacy is not erasing the past but combating a pernicious ideology”
jacobin.com/2025/11/brit...
“Monuments, museums, and cultural institutions were often created in the image of “militarist realism”—presenting colonialism as eternal. Undoing this legacy is not erasing the past but combating a pernicious ideology”
jacobin.com/2025/11/brit...
OTOH I just got an idea for a story about telling an allegedly-repentant ghost to just fuck the hell off.
We cannot let “haunted ICE agent regretfully explores his feelings/past/guilt” become a genre the way we did with every bad actor since the Confederates.
This is why they were in downtown Chicago today.
"one agent shouted, “Everyone say, ‘Little Village!’”"
Nuremberg Trials are the moderate stance
blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/10/b...
"one agent shouted, “Everyone say, ‘Little Village!’”"
Nuremberg Trials are the moderate stance
blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/10/b...
November 10, 2025 at 4:03 PM
OTOH I just got an idea for a story about telling an allegedly-repentant ghost to just fuck the hell off.
Reposted by Feral T. Robot, Oil Swamp Utility Bot #7629
We cannot let “haunted ICE agent regretfully explores his feelings/past/guilt” become a genre the way we did with every bad actor since the Confederates.
This is why they were in downtown Chicago today.
"one agent shouted, “Everyone say, ‘Little Village!’”"
Nuremberg Trials are the moderate stance
blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/10/b...
"one agent shouted, “Everyone say, ‘Little Village!’”"
Nuremberg Trials are the moderate stance
blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/10/b...
November 10, 2025 at 3:48 PM
We cannot let “haunted ICE agent regretfully explores his feelings/past/guilt” become a genre the way we did with every bad actor since the Confederates.
Timeline cleanse.⚰️
November 10, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Timeline cleanse.⚰️
Reposted by Feral T. Robot, Oil Swamp Utility Bot #7629
a lotta yall still dont get it
Senators can use multiple slurp juices on a single senate
so if you have 1 astro Senator and 3 slurp juices you can create 3 new senates
Tonight's slurp juice mint event is essentially a minting event for both Lab Monkes and Special Forces
Senators can use multiple slurp juices on a single senate
so if you have 1 astro Senator and 3 slurp juices you can create 3 new senates
Tonight's slurp juice mint event is essentially a minting event for both Lab Monkes and Special Forces
Durbin said critics of his vote “need to understand how the Senate works”
November 10, 2025 at 3:54 PM
a lotta yall still dont get it
Senators can use multiple slurp juices on a single senate
so if you have 1 astro Senator and 3 slurp juices you can create 3 new senates
Tonight's slurp juice mint event is essentially a minting event for both Lab Monkes and Special Forces
Senators can use multiple slurp juices on a single senate
so if you have 1 astro Senator and 3 slurp juices you can create 3 new senates
Tonight's slurp juice mint event is essentially a minting event for both Lab Monkes and Special Forces
Reposted by Feral T. Robot, Oil Swamp Utility Bot #7629
This has stirred up a lot of these bot-like accounts but the last point I wanted to make here is how this makes the elections that happened last week totally invisible in the “voters need to do more” narrative. They did, they went out and did the thing in droves. This is their reward.
November 10, 2025 at 3:52 PM
This has stirred up a lot of these bot-like accounts but the last point I wanted to make here is how this makes the elections that happened last week totally invisible in the “voters need to do more” narrative. They did, they went out and did the thing in droves. This is their reward.
"Pundit" is a weird job. It basically means being famous for being famous. That's how I can differentiate between, say, Ezra Klein & Josh Marshall:
Ezra wants more clicks so he can be more famous.
Josh wants more clicks so he can pay his employees.
Different goals.
Ezra wants more clicks so he can be more famous.
Josh wants more clicks so he can pay his employees.
Different goals.
November 10, 2025 at 3:57 PM
"Pundit" is a weird job. It basically means being famous for being famous. That's how I can differentiate between, say, Ezra Klein & Josh Marshall:
Ezra wants more clicks so he can be more famous.
Josh wants more clicks so he can pay his employees.
Different goals.
Ezra wants more clicks so he can be more famous.
Josh wants more clicks so he can pay his employees.
Different goals.
Reposted by Feral T. Robot, Oil Swamp Utility Bot #7629
Instead of capitulating, why didn't Dems use their vast e-mail fundraising network to encourage people to contribute to food pantries or do "canvassing" with fliers that show where people can assistance?
November 10, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Instead of capitulating, why didn't Dems use their vast e-mail fundraising network to encourage people to contribute to food pantries or do "canvassing" with fliers that show where people can assistance?
Reposted by Feral T. Robot, Oil Swamp Utility Bot #7629
The International Olympic Committee is set to ban trans and intersex women from competition. This is despite the fact that for 20 years, the IOC has allowed trans athletes to compete and only 1 has ever competed and none have ever won a medal.
www.the-independent.com/sport/olympi...
www.the-independent.com/sport/olympi...
IOC set to introduce blanket ban on transgender women in female sport
The ban is reportedly expected to come into effect early next year
www.the-independent.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:23 PM
The International Olympic Committee is set to ban trans and intersex women from competition. This is despite the fact that for 20 years, the IOC has allowed trans athletes to compete and only 1 has ever competed and none have ever won a medal.
www.the-independent.com/sport/olympi...
www.the-independent.com/sport/olympi...
[WorstGuyYouKnowMakesValidPoint /]
Sure, some wild-eyed leftists like [check notes] Nate Silver and Matt Yglesias think Democrats were winning the shutdown and shouldn't have caved....
November 10, 2025 at 3:24 PM
[WorstGuyYouKnowMakesValidPoint /]
Shutdown demonstrated "Democrats can go to the mat when the public is behind them and not pay a political price. It dramatically damaged Donald Trump. It cued up the central arguments of the 2026 campaign. It just didn’t go far enough. The ball was fumbled at the end. So we need to demand more."
November 10, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Shutdown demonstrated "Democrats can go to the mat when the public is behind them and not pay a political price. It dramatically damaged Donald Trump. It cued up the central arguments of the 2026 campaign. It just didn’t go far enough. The ball was fumbled at the end. So we need to demand more."