Tom Swiss, HMSH
@tomswiss.bsky.social
Some say he is a holy man. Others say he is a shithead. Dilettante, jackanapes, adventurer. On-line safety expert (on-line since the 1980s & haven't been killed yet). Blog at https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan & https://theweirdturnpro.substack.com
Show me what democracy looks like? This is what democracy looks like. (Wasn't the context Thorn was addressing; but dealing with this fact in other contexts helps us do it at the political level.)
You can’t look for a community with no conflict, because you’ll always be alone. Instead, look for a community that openly addresses and has processes in place for *handling* conflict in a manner you can support.
March 13, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Show me what democracy looks like? This is what democracy looks like. (Wasn't the context Thorn was addressing; but dealing with this fact in other contexts helps us do it at the political level.)
It’s a simple syllogism: Comfort the dying. Everyone is dying. Therefore, comfort everyone. In this time of increasing anger towards the “other” — whether the “other” for you is the blue-haired non-binary person or the red-hatted MAGA voter — it seems a radical idea.
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
Comfort The Dying; We're All Dying
It's a simple syllogism: Comfort the dying. Everyone is dying. Therefore, comfort everyone. In this time of increasing anger towards the "other" -- whether the "other" for you is the blue-haired non-b...
www.patheos.com
March 13, 2025 at 2:59 PM
It’s a simple syllogism: Comfort the dying. Everyone is dying. Therefore, comfort everyone. In this time of increasing anger towards the “other” — whether the “other” for you is the blue-haired non-binary person or the red-hatted MAGA voter — it seems a radical idea.
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
Amazing chart. Decades from now these Zoomer men will be nostalgic for Trump the way Boomers are for JFK, or the Alex P. Keaton subgroup of GenXers are for Reagan.
February 21, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Amazing chart. Decades from now these Zoomer men will be nostalgic for Trump the way Boomers are for JFK, or the Alex P. Keaton subgroup of GenXers are for Reagan.
Fixing the Mailbox: A Holiday Omen. New post at The Zen Pagan.
"Friends, if you can’t communicate, you can’t work together. If you can’t work together, you can’t solve problems....This viscous...circle runs tighter and tighter until it tears itself apart..."
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
"Friends, if you can’t communicate, you can’t work together. If you can’t work together, you can’t solve problems....This viscous...circle runs tighter and tighter until it tears itself apart..."
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
Fixing the Mailbox: A Holiday Omen
So I'm making that my theme for 2025: communication. Let the way be opened, not just between the realm of spirit and the realm of humanity, but within the realm of humanity.Let's fix our mailboxes so ...
www.patheos.com
January 1, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Fixing the Mailbox: A Holiday Omen. New post at The Zen Pagan.
"Friends, if you can’t communicate, you can’t work together. If you can’t work together, you can’t solve problems....This viscous...circle runs tighter and tighter until it tears itself apart..."
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
"Friends, if you can’t communicate, you can’t work together. If you can’t work together, you can’t solve problems....This viscous...circle runs tighter and tighter until it tears itself apart..."
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
Look, folks: you cannot rationally be against capital punishment but in favor of freelance individuals making themselves judge, jury, & executioner to decide whose crimes merit execution.
Understanding this doesn't make you an apologist for criminals facing execution by the state or by vigilantes.
Understanding this doesn't make you an apologist for criminals facing execution by the state or by vigilantes.
December 14, 2024 at 4:19 PM
Look, folks: you cannot rationally be against capital punishment but in favor of freelance individuals making themselves judge, jury, & executioner to decide whose crimes merit execution.
Understanding this doesn't make you an apologist for criminals facing execution by the state or by vigilantes.
Understanding this doesn't make you an apologist for criminals facing execution by the state or by vigilantes.
Regarding the current panic about "drones", it is worth remembering that during WWII, the USS New York tried to shoot down the planet Venus, its crew of sober, well-disciplined sailors mistaking it for a Japanese balloon.
December 12, 2024 at 5:37 PM
Regarding the current panic about "drones", it is worth remembering that during WWII, the USS New York tried to shoot down the planet Venus, its crew of sober, well-disciplined sailors mistaking it for a Japanese balloon.
The thing about shooting a CEO is, just like shooting a hard-drug dealer on the basis that his actions kill (or incarcerating one if you're less hardcore), there will just be a new one in his place the next day.
"Morally justified" or not, it just doesn't change anything.
"Morally justified" or not, it just doesn't change anything.
December 10, 2024 at 3:32 PM
The thing about shooting a CEO is, just like shooting a hard-drug dealer on the basis that his actions kill (or incarcerating one if you're less hardcore), there will just be a new one in his place the next day.
"Morally justified" or not, it just doesn't change anything.
"Morally justified" or not, it just doesn't change anything.
So an Islamist terrorist group toppled a Russian-backed dictator in the Greater Middle East? Well I'm sure that will work out to our advantage. Maybe we should even send them weapons.
December 8, 2024 at 4:18 PM
So an Islamist terrorist group toppled a Russian-backed dictator in the Greater Middle East? Well I'm sure that will work out to our advantage. Maybe we should even send them weapons.
"How can anyone possibly be celebrating the act of a criminal who killed a member of the oppressive ruling class?" is a question that can only be asked by someone who's unfamiliar with The Hunger Games, Robin Hood, Guthrie's "Pretty Boy Floyd", & a huge chunk of literature & folklore.
December 7, 2024 at 5:42 AM
"How can anyone possibly be celebrating the act of a criminal who killed a member of the oppressive ruling class?" is a question that can only be asked by someone who's unfamiliar with The Hunger Games, Robin Hood, Guthrie's "Pretty Boy Floyd", & a huge chunk of literature & folklore.
Reposted by Tom Swiss, HMSH
It insane that @bsky.app is labeling this as "intolerance." A very bad sign for the future of this app's approach to content moderation.
December 7, 2024 at 1:56 AM
It insane that @bsky.app is labeling this as "intolerance." A very bad sign for the future of this app's approach to content moderation.
To twist JFK a bit, when you make peacefully obtaining healthcare impossible, you make violent retribution on the monsters responsible for denying healthcare inevitable.
December 5, 2024 at 3:48 PM
To twist JFK a bit, when you make peacefully obtaining healthcare impossible, you make violent retribution on the monsters responsible for denying healthcare inevitable.
BS already going down the path of censorship. If you can read this, you are in a bubble; make sure that you peek out of it from time to time.
jewelcitytimes.com/2024/12/02/b...
jewelcitytimes.com/2024/12/02/b...
Bluesky Social suspends far-right ‘Libs of TikTok’ account
SEATTLE, WA — A profile under the handle ‘Libs of TikTok’ was suspended from rising social media platform Bluesky Social on Monday.
jewelcitytimes.com
December 3, 2024 at 2:12 PM
BS already going down the path of censorship. If you can read this, you are in a bubble; make sure that you peek out of it from time to time.
jewelcitytimes.com/2024/12/02/b...
jewelcitytimes.com/2024/12/02/b...
While you're thinking about buying stuff, I have books. infamous.net/books/
Books By Tom Swiss
infamous.net
November 29, 2024 at 8:06 PM
While you're thinking about buying stuff, I have books. infamous.net/books/
"...at this time when we are so divided, as we look with dread to sitting down at Thanksgiving between our MAGA uncle & our uber-woke cousin, e can understand why Lincoln might have wanted to emphasize a story of potential enemies sitting down peacefully at the table"
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
Thanksgiving Isn’t Colonialist…
The 1621 celebration was not identified by anyone as the "First Thanksgiving" until 1841, when Rev. Alexander Young did so in his book Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers. By then the New England Thanks...
www.patheos.com
November 27, 2024 at 11:23 PM
"...at this time when we are so divided, as we look with dread to sitting down at Thanksgiving between our MAGA uncle & our uber-woke cousin, e can understand why Lincoln might have wanted to emphasize a story of potential enemies sitting down peacefully at the table"
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
Apparently Democrats' last ditch plan to stop a second Trump presidency is to start WWIII.
Breaking news: President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use a powerful American long-range weapon for limited strikes inside Russia in response to North Korea’s deployment of thousands of troops to aid Moscow’s war effort, according to U.S. officials.
Biden approves Ukraine’s use of long-range U.S. weapons inside Russia, reversing policy
The Biden administration will allow Kyiv “limited” use of the ATACMS long-range missile system to strike enemy positions in Kursk, a significant reversal of U.S. policy.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 18, 2024 at 12:40 AM
Apparently Democrats' last ditch plan to stop a second Trump presidency is to start WWIII.
Masculine Archetypes: The Magician at Midwinter
"The Magician is the keeper of hidden knowledge, the master of special skills and powers. He is the yin/yang compliment of the King. Where the King is public figure, the Magician is isolated in his tower..."
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
"The Magician is the keeper of hidden knowledge, the master of special skills and powers. He is the yin/yang compliment of the King. Where the King is public figure, the Magician is isolated in his tower..."
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
Masculine Archetypes: The Magician at Midwinter
The archetypal Magician is the keeper of hidden knowledge, the master of special skills and powers. He is the yin/yang compliment of the King. Where the [...]
www.patheos.com
December 21, 2023 at 6:14 AM
Masculine Archetypes: The Magician at Midwinter
"The Magician is the keeper of hidden knowledge, the master of special skills and powers. He is the yin/yang compliment of the King. Where the King is public figure, the Magician is isolated in his tower..."
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
"The Magician is the keeper of hidden knowledge, the master of special skills and powers. He is the yin/yang compliment of the King. Where the King is public figure, the Magician is isolated in his tower..."
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
Symbolic Magic And The Dead In Arlington
"Cemeteries are liminal places loaded with magical energy, and should be treated carefully."
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
"Cemeteries are liminal places loaded with magical energy, and should be treated carefully."
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
Symbolic Magic And The Dead In Arlington
We are in the realm of symbolic magic dealing with the dead, and should tread with care. There is tremendous power in the graves of the war dead. Surely it [...]
www.patheos.com
December 20, 2023 at 4:12 PM
Symbolic Magic And The Dead In Arlington
"Cemeteries are liminal places loaded with magical energy, and should be treated carefully."
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
"Cemeteries are liminal places loaded with magical energy, and should be treated carefully."
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
Reposted by Tom Swiss, HMSH
possible first amendment activity
December 9, 2023 at 9:55 PM
possible first amendment activity
Reposted by Tom Swiss, HMSH
don’t call cops for wellness checks
December 7, 2023 at 7:12 PM
don’t call cops for wellness checks
Reposted by Tom Swiss, HMSH
Went here today. The Westinghouse Atomsmasher, a particle accelerator built in the 30s and shut down in the 50s. It was part of a larger complex demolished in 2015. It lays on its side now floating in a sea of weeds and debris, all particles presumably moving at normal speed.
December 5, 2023 at 2:37 AM
Went here today. The Westinghouse Atomsmasher, a particle accelerator built in the 30s and shut down in the 50s. It was part of a larger complex demolished in 2015. It lays on its side now floating in a sea of weeds and debris, all particles presumably moving at normal speed.
Reposted by Tom Swiss, HMSH
a note to Washington Post readers: On Dec. 7, we ask you to respect our walkout by not crossing the picket line: For 24 hours, please do not engage with any Post content. That includes our print + online news stories, podcasts, videos, games and recipes.
A letter to our readers
docs.google.com
December 5, 2023 at 4:55 PM
a note to Washington Post readers: On Dec. 7, we ask you to respect our walkout by not crossing the picket line: For 24 hours, please do not engage with any Post content. That includes our print + online news stories, podcasts, videos, games and recipes.
Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right
"But it is a deep pathology to be unable to say that both sides in a dispute — whether it is a dysfunctional personal relationship, a political rivalry, or a war — are engaged in wrongdoing."
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
"But it is a deep pathology to be unable to say that both sides in a dispute — whether it is a dysfunctional personal relationship, a political rivalry, or a war — are engaged in wrongdoing."
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right
Mom always said -- and quite likely your mom said it too -- that two wrongs don't make a right.
www.patheos.com
December 7, 2023 at 4:36 AM
Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right
"But it is a deep pathology to be unable to say that both sides in a dispute — whether it is a dysfunctional personal relationship, a political rivalry, or a war — are engaged in wrongdoing."
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...
"But it is a deep pathology to be unable to say that both sides in a dispute — whether it is a dysfunctional personal relationship, a political rivalry, or a war — are engaged in wrongdoing."
www.patheos.com/blogs/thezen...