Ryan Janus
@ryanjanus.bsky.social
Reposted by Ryan Janus
“The man made the Nazi salute and to offer any plausible deniability means he and his followers can use that doubt and turn it against us, accusing us of overreacting or reading into things that aren’t there.”
Journalists Must Admit Musk Did the Nazi Salute.
In hedging their language and excusing their behavior, journalists are giving Elon Musk a benefit of the doubt he does not deserve.
jeremyfassler.medium.com
January 22, 2025 at 5:18 PM
“The man made the Nazi salute and to offer any plausible deniability means he and his followers can use that doubt and turn it against us, accusing us of overreacting or reading into things that aren’t there.”
Reposted by Ryan Janus
As I wrote last week: "As other information sources fall, Wikipedia’s stubborn independence becomes more vital than ever. The attacks from [the right] aren't just about an online encyclopedia — they're part of a broader assault on any information source that refuses to be controlled."
Scoop: I obtained a confidential presentation outlining how a major conservative think tanks plans to go after volunteer editors on Wikipedia who it says are "abusing their position" and promoting antisemitism
forward.com/news/686797/...
forward.com/news/686797/...
Scoop: Heritage Foundation plans to ‘identify and target’ Wikipedia editors
The conservative think tank told prospective donors that the project was part of its work to combat antisemitism.
forward.com
January 8, 2025 at 12:49 AM
As I wrote last week: "As other information sources fall, Wikipedia’s stubborn independence becomes more vital than ever. The attacks from [the right] aren't just about an online encyclopedia — they're part of a broader assault on any information source that refuses to be controlled."
Reposted by Ryan Janus
I wrote about how the Trumplican court attack on net neutrality is about way more than just "net neutrality"
It's about completely dismantling whatever's left of already feckless U.S. corporate oversight and consumer protection
It's about completely dismantling whatever's left of already feckless U.S. corporate oversight and consumer protection
Trumplican 6th Circuit Just Killed Net Neutrality (And Whatever Was Left Of Pathetic U.S. Broadband Consumer Protection)
The telecom industry (with the help of the recent Trump Supreme Court), has been drooling for months at the prospect that the Trump-stocked courts would soon finally deliver the killing blow to FCC…
www.techdirt.com
January 3, 2025 at 6:43 PM
I wrote about how the Trumplican court attack on net neutrality is about way more than just "net neutrality"
It's about completely dismantling whatever's left of already feckless U.S. corporate oversight and consumer protection
It's about completely dismantling whatever's left of already feckless U.S. corporate oversight and consumer protection
Reposted by Ryan Janus
The US used to export democratic ideals to the rest of the world. Now we export democratic backsliding:
"Yoon's team claims immunity from insurrection charges, citing Trump ruling"
Yoon's team claims immunity from insurrection charges, citing Trump ruling | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Yonhap) -- The legal team of suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol claimed Frid...
m-en.yna.co.kr
January 3, 2025 at 3:47 PM
The US used to export democratic ideals to the rest of the world. Now we export democratic backsliding:
Reposted by Ryan Janus
As ever, the loss of something good and useful for Americans is framed as a loss for Democrats — in the mass media, everything becomes just a political football to be kicked back and forth instead of examined for its impact on everyday citizens regardless of political party.
January 3, 2025 at 12:07 AM
As ever, the loss of something good and useful for Americans is framed as a loss for Democrats — in the mass media, everything becomes just a political football to be kicked back and forth instead of examined for its impact on everyday citizens regardless of political party.
Reposted by Ryan Janus
Something about this has really got to me. It is just such a slap in the face - this is what we're worth, is it? Arguably the largest connector of human beings in the world, flooded with literal friction between each and every one by a billionaire addicted to growth. Death cult shit. Disgraceful.
Meta confirms they plan to add tons of AI-generated users to Facebook and Instagram
They will have bios, profile pics and can share content
(via Financial Times)
They will have bios, profile pics and can share content
(via Financial Times)
December 31, 2024 at 4:25 AM
Something about this has really got to me. It is just such a slap in the face - this is what we're worth, is it? Arguably the largest connector of human beings in the world, flooded with literal friction between each and every one by a billionaire addicted to growth. Death cult shit. Disgraceful.
Reposted by Ryan Janus
Interesting.
A court in South Korea cleared the way for the police to detain President Yoon Suk Yeol for questioning, as the authorities investigated whether his declaration of martial law this month, which plunged the country into political crisis, amounted to an insurrection.
South Korea Clears Way to Detain President in Martial Law Inquiry
The police are investigating whether President Yoon Suk Yeol tried to lead an insurrection when he declared martial law and plunged the country into crisis.
www.nytimes.com
December 31, 2024 at 5:21 AM
Interesting.
Reposted by Ryan Janus
20 years ago we were suing teenagers for millions of dollars because they were torrenting a single Metallica album and now billionaires are demanding the free right to every work in history, so that they can re-sell it.
The law only ever serves capital.
The law only ever serves capital.
‘Impossible’ to create AI tools like ChatGPT without copyrighted material, OpenAI says
‘Impossible’ to create AI tools like ChatGPT without copyrighted material, OpenAI says
Pressure grows on artificial intelligence firms over the content used to train their productsBusiness live – latest updatesThe developer OpenAI has said it would be impossible to create tools like its groundbreaking chatbot ChatGPT without access to copyrighted material, as pressure grows on artificial intelligence firms over the content used to train their products.Chatbots such as ChatGPT and image generators like Stable Diffusion are “trained” on a vast trove of data taken from the internet, with much of it covered by copyright – a legal protection against someone’s work being used without permission. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
January 8, 2024 at 4:34 PM
20 years ago we were suing teenagers for millions of dollars because they were torrenting a single Metallica album and now billionaires are demanding the free right to every work in history, so that they can re-sell it.
The law only ever serves capital.
The law only ever serves capital.
Reposted by Ryan Janus
Me, a public health person, just sitting over here reflecting on the fact that the US has experienced a 7% increase in infant mortality post-Dobbs.
Like, do you realize what that says about this society from an ethical perspective? That we made policy choices that caused this?
#PHEthx
Like, do you realize what that says about this society from an ethical perspective? That we made policy choices that caused this?
#PHEthx
Infant Mortality Increases Across US Following Dobbs Decision
The Dobbs decision was associated with a 7% absolute increase in overall infant mortality—equivalent to 247 excess deaths—and a 10% increase among infants with congenital anomalies, corresponding to 2...
www.ajmc.com
December 17, 2024 at 6:29 PM
Me, a public health person, just sitting over here reflecting on the fact that the US has experienced a 7% increase in infant mortality post-Dobbs.
Like, do you realize what that says about this society from an ethical perspective? That we made policy choices that caused this?
#PHEthx
Like, do you realize what that says about this society from an ethical perspective? That we made policy choices that caused this?
#PHEthx
Reposted by Ryan Janus
In a sense, this is the real culture war and the rest is window dressing. The GOP has rebranded itself as the Trash Party. Their fundamental promise isn’t really anything about policy. It’s that you have permission to be vulgar and stupid and hateful and not feel bad about it anymore.
Problem was, they were full of shit. And being full of shit makes people eventually ignore anything good you say. Hypocrisy kills norms.
Say what you want about the Focus on The Family people of the 90s, but this shit wouldn’t have gotten past them.
December 18, 2024 at 1:54 AM
In a sense, this is the real culture war and the rest is window dressing. The GOP has rebranded itself as the Trash Party. Their fundamental promise isn’t really anything about policy. It’s that you have permission to be vulgar and stupid and hateful and not feel bad about it anymore.
Reposted by Ryan Janus
My last thread of confidence in the judiciary snapped when the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitutional Convention, the Federalist Papers, George Washington, John Adams, Teddy Roosevelt, and US law were all wrong about the presidency; only Richard Nixon and Donald Trump understood it correctly.
December 17, 2024 at 2:42 PM
My last thread of confidence in the judiciary snapped when the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitutional Convention, the Federalist Papers, George Washington, John Adams, Teddy Roosevelt, and US law were all wrong about the presidency; only Richard Nixon and Donald Trump understood it correctly.
Reposted by Ryan Janus
Why would Americans have confidence in the judiciary when the highest court repeatedly demonstrates that it doesn’t care what the law says?
December 17, 2024 at 2:02 PM
Why would Americans have confidence in the judiciary when the highest court repeatedly demonstrates that it doesn’t care what the law says?
Reposted by Ryan Janus
Judith Butler is 100% correct. The word "woke" is pure reactionary bullshit. Its contemporary meaning also distorts history by making it seem as if every positive cultural change of the past 200 years has happened naturally, without agitation by people considered, at the time, dangerously "woke."
December 16, 2024 at 6:33 AM
Judith Butler is 100% correct. The word "woke" is pure reactionary bullshit. Its contemporary meaning also distorts history by making it seem as if every positive cultural change of the past 200 years has happened naturally, without agitation by people considered, at the time, dangerously "woke."
Reposted by Ryan Janus
so are we gonna get 70 Atlantic/NYT essays scolding this clear celebration of an unrepentant killer and noting it as an indicator of nihilistic societal breakdown or naw
December 13, 2024 at 8:54 PM
so are we gonna get 70 Atlantic/NYT essays scolding this clear celebration of an unrepentant killer and noting it as an indicator of nihilistic societal breakdown or naw
Reposted by Ryan Janus
I am going to depose these self-involved, half-baked shills. There isn't a damn thing either of them can do about it. 8 figures for two people that exist only to reinforce the powerful - many of whom are their friends - while pretending to be bold truth tellers. Pathetic! Loathsome!
Sources: Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway seek up to eight figures from new partners, possibly CNN, for Pivot and other podcasts; their Vox deal ends in 2025 (Ashley Carman/Bloomberg)
Main Link | Mediagazer Permalink
Main Link | Mediagazer Permalink
December 13, 2024 at 6:52 PM
I am going to depose these self-involved, half-baked shills. There isn't a damn thing either of them can do about it. 8 figures for two people that exist only to reinforce the powerful - many of whom are their friends - while pretending to be bold truth tellers. Pathetic! Loathsome!
Reposted by Ryan Janus
Fascinating paper. "In eight of the twelve cases under study, inequality was trending downward in the years before the elections that brought to power leaders who moved against democracy."
Research indicates anti-democratic backsliding was not because democracies didn't make enough progress fixing social probs, but because they didn't do enough to protect against predatory rw populist, anti-dem. party attacks
#cdnpoli
#Nevervoteconservative
www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/mis...
#cdnpoli
#Nevervoteconservative
www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/mis...
Misunderstanding Democratic Backsliding | Journal of Democracy
If democracies did a better job “delivering” for their citizens, so the thinking goes, people would not be so ready to embrace antidemocratic alternatives. Not so. This conventional wisdom about…
www.journalofdemocracy.org
December 13, 2024 at 2:53 PM
Fascinating paper. "In eight of the twelve cases under study, inequality was trending downward in the years before the elections that brought to power leaders who moved against democracy."
Reposted by Ryan Janus
if you kill a disfavored person in the street the leaders of the republican party will try to make you a national hero. absolutely not an ominous sign for the future.
If there were an RNC coming up, Daniel Penny would absolutely be a speaker.
December 13, 2024 at 3:28 PM
if you kill a disfavored person in the street the leaders of the republican party will try to make you a national hero. absolutely not an ominous sign for the future.
Reposted by Ryan Janus
Luigi got them shook.
North Carolina’s Atrium Health says it will forgive the debts of 11,500 people — less than a week after NBC News reported that the company has aggressively pursued former patients’ medical debts, placing liens on their homes to collect on bills.
'Like a miracle': N.C. couple free of nearly $100,000 medical debt after 15 years
The lien on Donna and Gary Lindabury's home for a 2009 heart surgery debt was among 11,500 wiped away by Atrium Health after an NBC News report.
www.nbcnews.com
December 13, 2024 at 12:37 AM
Luigi got them shook.
Reposted by Ryan Janus
"regulations are bad" is one of the biggest PR coups of the right, because it does the neat trick of sidestepping what the regulations are actually for
the vast majority of regulations are easy to defend on their own merits, so you pivot to attacking the entire concept instead
the vast majority of regulations are easy to defend on their own merits, so you pivot to attacking the entire concept instead
The U.S. press writes about the "deregulatory agenda" as if real people simply don't exist.
Not a fleeting HINT in this article that letting billionaires dismantle labor, consumer, and environmental standards might have some downsides
it's so bad it feels satirical
Not a fleeting HINT in this article that letting billionaires dismantle labor, consumer, and environmental standards might have some downsides
it's so bad it feels satirical
How the tech right wants to run America
www.politico.com
December 12, 2024 at 4:21 PM
"regulations are bad" is one of the biggest PR coups of the right, because it does the neat trick of sidestepping what the regulations are actually for
the vast majority of regulations are easy to defend on their own merits, so you pivot to attacking the entire concept instead
the vast majority of regulations are easy to defend on their own merits, so you pivot to attacking the entire concept instead
Reposted by Ryan Janus
Not to put too fine a point on it, but the claim that "culture war" issues like integration or "the gay agenda" were arms of a nefarious "Marxist conspiracy" against white Christian American "patriots" was the central, animating narrative of Cold War US fascism. www.cnn.com/2024/12/12/p...
Pete Hegseth, Trump’s Defense pick, says allowing gay troops to serve openly reflects a Marxist agenda | CNN Politics
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, has repeatedly criticized policies allowing gay people to serve openly in the US military, calling them part of a “Marxist” ...
www.cnn.com
December 12, 2024 at 6:03 PM
Not to put too fine a point on it, but the claim that "culture war" issues like integration or "the gay agenda" were arms of a nefarious "Marxist conspiracy" against white Christian American "patriots" was the central, animating narrative of Cold War US fascism. www.cnn.com/2024/12/12/p...
Reposted by Ryan Janus
simply can't make it up
December 12, 2024 at 7:33 PM
simply can't make it up
Reposted by Ryan Janus
This was my main takeaway from my spine surgery saga last year. I spent *hours* on the phone, coordinating between the hospital and UHC, scouring Reddit for tips, asking to speak to supervisors, etc. It was a more challenging puzzle than anything I’ve done at work, as a lawyer or a journalist.
From one of my book interview subjects: "If you want to live, you have to be able to fight these battles. You have to have a level of literacy that is master’s degree or higher in public health or a legal background in order to navigate this. You have to get creative and look for back doors."
If you, or a family member, are seriously ill, you are stressed and exhausted. This is the point where America, unlike most other countries asks you to also be your own health care administrator. People intuitively regard this as unfair and enraging.
www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/o...
www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/o...
December 12, 2024 at 4:21 PM
This was my main takeaway from my spine surgery saga last year. I spent *hours* on the phone, coordinating between the hospital and UHC, scouring Reddit for tips, asking to speak to supervisors, etc. It was a more challenging puzzle than anything I’ve done at work, as a lawyer or a journalist.
Reposted by Ryan Janus
Inbox: ‘Wanted’ posters of healthcare CEOs wheatpasted around lower Manhattan ahead of today’s Goldman Sachs Financial Services conference.
“Those who would steal from us have names, faces, and addresses. Justice will only come from the working class,” per anon communique.
“Those who would steal from us have names, faces, and addresses. Justice will only come from the working class,” per anon communique.
December 11, 2024 at 6:55 PM
Inbox: ‘Wanted’ posters of healthcare CEOs wheatpasted around lower Manhattan ahead of today’s Goldman Sachs Financial Services conference.
“Those who would steal from us have names, faces, and addresses. Justice will only come from the working class,” per anon communique.
“Those who would steal from us have names, faces, and addresses. Justice will only come from the working class,” per anon communique.
Reposted by Ryan Janus
just try and read this without also picturing a hot dog suit. i dare you
Mitch McConnell: “We’re in a very, very dangerous world right now, reminiscent of before world war two,” he says. “Even the slogan is the same. ‘America First.’ That was what they said in the ’30s.”
Mitch McConnell: ‘We’re in a very, very dangerous world right now’
The Republican Senator on his plans to spend the last two years of his term fighting back against an increasingly isolationist GOP
www.ft.com
December 11, 2024 at 7:42 PM
just try and read this without also picturing a hot dog suit. i dare you