John Pettus
@johngpettus.bsky.social
Social venture entrepreneur. San Francisco native. Iraq veteran. Economics-trained, MBA liberal. Both more liberal and more conservative than you, in some ways. Working on improving public discourse and teaching & measuring critical thinking at scale.
YouTube is now running ads on mobile ON TOP of and obscuring the video you’re watching.
November 24, 2025 at 6:58 AM
YouTube is now running ads on mobile ON TOP of and obscuring the video you’re watching.
In this case, it's only me, but if a person can turn off visibility / discussion for other people en masse the conversation can't move somewhere else bc it's stripped of all it's context.
Another ex: Tom made a straw man about my thinking. I don't think that! But now I can't rebut his accusation.
Another ex: Tom made a straw man about my thinking. I don't think that! But now I can't rebut his accusation.
November 17, 2025 at 11:09 PM
In this case, it's only me, but if a person can turn off visibility / discussion for other people en masse the conversation can't move somewhere else bc it's stripped of all it's context.
Another ex: Tom made a straw man about my thinking. I don't think that! But now I can't rebut his accusation.
Another ex: Tom made a straw man about my thinking. I don't think that! But now I can't rebut his accusation.
That's not true, I'm afraid.
Conversations *require* context. Turning off replies isn't going into your home, it's breaking up a conversation other people are having on the street.
For example, sadly, after I disagreed with him, Tom made a bunch of personal attacks & blocked me. Now see context:
Conversations *require* context. Turning off replies isn't going into your home, it's breaking up a conversation other people are having on the street.
For example, sadly, after I disagreed with him, Tom made a bunch of personal attacks & blocked me. Now see context:
November 17, 2025 at 11:06 PM
That's not true, I'm afraid.
Conversations *require* context. Turning off replies isn't going into your home, it's breaking up a conversation other people are having on the street.
For example, sadly, after I disagreed with him, Tom made a bunch of personal attacks & blocked me. Now see context:
Conversations *require* context. Turning off replies isn't going into your home, it's breaking up a conversation other people are having on the street.
For example, sadly, after I disagreed with him, Tom made a bunch of personal attacks & blocked me. Now see context:
I will re-iterate that our fascist government is NOT a Nazi government—there were particular attributes that make something "Nazi" and everything you don't like isn't "Nazi".
That said, I'm long called Trump and the modern Republican Party fascist according to Lawrence Britt's 14 characteristics.
That said, I'm long called Trump and the modern Republican Party fascist according to Lawrence Britt's 14 characteristics.
November 14, 2025 at 6:53 AM
I will re-iterate that our fascist government is NOT a Nazi government—there were particular attributes that make something "Nazi" and everything you don't like isn't "Nazi".
That said, I'm long called Trump and the modern Republican Party fascist according to Lawrence Britt's 14 characteristics.
That said, I'm long called Trump and the modern Republican Party fascist according to Lawrence Britt's 14 characteristics.
From the Department of Not Fun Leisure Reading, I'm almost done with The Nazi Mind, by Lawrence Rees. It's intended to be a fusion of history and psychology, but it's 90% history, which is a disappointment and... depressing.
Here are his "12 Warnings from History". They may look familiar.
Here are his "12 Warnings from History". They may look familiar.
November 14, 2025 at 6:50 AM
From the Department of Not Fun Leisure Reading, I'm almost done with The Nazi Mind, by Lawrence Rees. It's intended to be a fusion of history and psychology, but it's 90% history, which is a disappointment and... depressing.
Here are his "12 Warnings from History". They may look familiar.
Here are his "12 Warnings from History". They may look familiar.
I hope BSky has a plan to deal with these bot networks that are growing on the platform. I only want to engage with humans.
November 11, 2025 at 7:29 PM
I hope BSky has a plan to deal with these bot networks that are growing on the platform. I only want to engage with humans.
Dammit. Just realized that this account I've been arguing with is almost certainly a bot.
Social media platforms should equip their users with the info to evaluate whether they should engage with an account at the surface layer, BEFORE we engage.
They're wasting our time, for their profit.
Social media platforms should equip their users with the info to evaluate whether they should engage with an account at the surface layer, BEFORE we engage.
They're wasting our time, for their profit.
November 10, 2025 at 2:49 AM
Dammit. Just realized that this account I've been arguing with is almost certainly a bot.
Social media platforms should equip their users with the info to evaluate whether they should engage with an account at the surface layer, BEFORE we engage.
They're wasting our time, for their profit.
Social media platforms should equip their users with the info to evaluate whether they should engage with an account at the surface layer, BEFORE we engage.
They're wasting our time, for their profit.
November 8, 2025 at 1:37 AM
This is an actual ad from YouTube, but I don’t think it hits the way they intended…
November 6, 2025 at 9:03 PM
This is an actual ad from YouTube, but I don’t think it hits the way they intended…
lol. Cute. At least yours was funny.
Muted.
Muted.
October 6, 2025 at 9:09 PM
lol. Cute. At least yours was funny.
Muted.
Muted.
I don’t think that’s correct.
There was resistance and dissent in both Germany and Italy.
I use the criteria laid out by Lawrence Britt and other scholars of fascism in 2003:
ratical.org/ratville/CAH...
But also, there are levels; it’s not binary. Many people already self-censor. More will soon.
There was resistance and dissent in both Germany and Italy.
I use the criteria laid out by Lawrence Britt and other scholars of fascism in 2003:
ratical.org/ratville/CAH...
But also, there are levels; it’s not binary. Many people already self-censor. More will soon.
October 5, 2025 at 10:57 PM
I don’t think that’s correct.
There was resistance and dissent in both Germany and Italy.
I use the criteria laid out by Lawrence Britt and other scholars of fascism in 2003:
ratical.org/ratville/CAH...
But also, there are levels; it’s not binary. Many people already self-censor. More will soon.
There was resistance and dissent in both Germany and Italy.
I use the criteria laid out by Lawrence Britt and other scholars of fascism in 2003:
ratical.org/ratville/CAH...
But also, there are levels; it’s not binary. Many people already self-censor. More will soon.
I laughed so hard. Where has this been all my life.
I need a macro for this meme.
I need a macro for this meme.
October 5, 2025 at 12:39 AM
I laughed so hard. Where has this been all my life.
I need a macro for this meme.
I need a macro for this meme.
I’m anti- conspiracy theory, but there sure are a lot of actual, convicted pedophiles around Donald Trump.
Right?
Right?
October 4, 2025 at 8:48 PM
I’m anti- conspiracy theory, but there sure are a lot of actual, convicted pedophiles around Donald Trump.
Right?
Right?
We’re all just suffering through the latest capital deployment hype cycle.
They don’t care that nobody wants it. That’s how decadent and profitable big companies are these days.
They don’t care that nobody wants it. That’s how decadent and profitable big companies are these days.
October 3, 2025 at 6:28 PM
We’re all just suffering through the latest capital deployment hype cycle.
They don’t care that nobody wants it. That’s how decadent and profitable big companies are these days.
They don’t care that nobody wants it. That’s how decadent and profitable big companies are these days.
Use the checklist (Lawrence Britt, et al, 2003) to decide for yourself:
October 3, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Use the checklist (Lawrence Britt, et al, 2003) to decide for yourself:
There's a new "Editor's Note" at the top of that @dailycaller.bsky.social article explicitly calling for violence against their political opponents, lying about what it says in black and white beneath it. I'll screenshot the note and the article text IMMEDIATELY BENEATH IT.
A culture of dishonesty.
A culture of dishonesty.
September 29, 2025 at 6:27 PM
There's a new "Editor's Note" at the top of that @dailycaller.bsky.social article explicitly calling for violence against their political opponents, lying about what it says in black and white beneath it. I'll screenshot the note and the article text IMMEDIATELY BENEATH IT.
A culture of dishonesty.
A culture of dishonesty.
Another classic San Francisco sunset
September 17, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Another classic San Francisco sunset
Bertrand Russell, at 89 years old, to Sir Oswald Mosley, a man most famous for founding, in 1932, the British Union of Fascists.
I'm all for civil discourse. But everyone can and should draw a line at who they will talk to.
Notice that Russell did not demean himself with incivility, either.
I'm all for civil discourse. But everyone can and should draw a line at who they will talk to.
Notice that Russell did not demean himself with incivility, either.
September 16, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Bertrand Russell, at 89 years old, to Sir Oswald Mosley, a man most famous for founding, in 1932, the British Union of Fascists.
I'm all for civil discourse. But everyone can and should draw a line at who they will talk to.
Notice that Russell did not demean himself with incivility, either.
I'm all for civil discourse. But everyone can and should draw a line at who they will talk to.
Notice that Russell did not demean himself with incivility, either.
