I hate TikTok too, but it’s not going away without comprehensive legislation regulating social media. Until then, a fediverse alternative that’s not ruled by corporate algorithms would at least be a form of harm reduction. Think of it like a Safe Injection Site program; it’s not great that they’re still using, but at least they’re getting clean needles.
Someone on Bluesky pointed out that, even if you ignore the morality of this argument, AI is trained on human content, so if we’re going to start examining the human energy cost, we’ll have to factor in the cost of every single human whose work was used by ChatGPT on top of the data center costs.
I did not know that, I just knew he liked French prostitutes.
Franklin would have, for sure, but I’m pretty sure the rest of them would have just kept raping their own slaves.
And your husband knows what he’s doing on a skateboard. Learning at my age will destroy my knees and make me look like an idiot. Part of me will always want to know the thrill of zooming down a half-pipe, but it’s just not worth it. Someone suggested longboarding, that might be fun, or maybe surfing.
Oof, that is my nightmare. I’m a runner, and so far I’ve never torn a ligament or anything, but as I get older I get more worried about it. I always stretch before and after each run, but I know any damage I do will take 10 times as long to heal as it did in my 20s, if it even does heal.
Oh, no, I agree that I’m primed for a midlife crisis, but it’s way too late to start skateboarding. I’m in pretty good shape, eat fairly healthy, exercise regularly, etc., but I can’t shake off an a injury like I did in my teens or twenties. I’m not risking permanently messing up my knees learning how to ollie.
Skateboarding. I was into punk in middle/high-school, some of my friends were skateboarders, but I never bought a board. I’m pushing 40 now and it’s way too late to start, even as a midlife crisis.
OK. Weird it took five comments on the potential of Democrats adopting Democratic Socialism for you to realize you don’t like Democratic Socialism, but I’m glad we got there in the end, I guess.
What makes you think the party elites give a shit what they think?
As I said, I think they’ll be out on their ass. Schumer will not get another term in leadership. Jefferies might, since he kept the House together on shutdowns, but his polling is still underwater and his days are numbered. The rank and file will go where the wind blows. We’ve already seen this when normie-centrists started dumping AIPAC money because of their base. I’m sure leadership will fight it until they’re ousted, and donor class will pivot to Republicans, but the average Dem politician would rather adopt a Democratic Socialist platform than lose their seat.
One anomalous Mamdani cannot reasonably justify hope in electoral reform.
Platner is also polling ahead or Mills despite the whole, “having a Nazi tattoo,” thing. Kat Abughazaleh is in a dead heat with Biss despite Biss having the establishment backing. Richie Torres is getting a DSA primary challenge after he had to drop his bid for governor against Hochul, and Hochul herself had to pivot to supporting Mamdani (she saw how the wind was blowing). There’s also Donavan McKinney primarying Shri Thanedar in Michigan, but I’m not following that one closely enough to say much about it. The point is, it’s not just Mamdani, there are several strong DSA or DSA-aligned challengers that are doing well.
Capital will do all it can to extinguish Socialism as it always does. This system was made by and for capitalists and cannot be used as the sole means of establishing a socialist system.
OK, well, the entire philosophy of Democratic Socialism is blending public ownership with heavily regulated private businesses using the current system of democratic institutions. If you think that Democratic Socialism is impossible, fair enough, you’re entitled your opinion and I’m not really interested in debating political theory. But even if you’re right, and Democratic Socialism will be a failure, I don’t think that means that the Democrats won’t adopt it.
Polling shows capitalism is on a downswing while socialism is on an upswing, especially within the Democratic party. Socialism is losing its status as a boogeyman. Beyond that, Mamdani’s Democratic Socialist platform is broadly popular across the country, and even as voters are voting heavily against Republicans in special elections, the democrats are still at historically low favorability levels.
Again, when I say Democratic Socialism will be the norm, I’m not saying that the majority of Democrats will identify as Democratic Socialists. I’m saying thst the majority of Democrats will adopt the policies of the Democratic Socialists or be primaried by candidates that do (and, again, they’ll probably frame it in the context of the New Deal rather than socialism). But the NYC mayoral election has made it clear that the corporate Democrats can no longer control the narrative, and I think it’s just the beginning.
There’s a reckoning coming for Democrats as well. Their poll number are still rock bottom in their own base. Primaries are coming for Torres and Jefferies, and it’s basically assumed Schumer won’t have a Minority (or, dare to dream, Majority) position in the next Congress. Despite the entire Democratic establishment lining up against him, Mamdani won. I think, with a little luck, Democratic Socialism will be the norm by '28 (though they’ll probably call it, “Getting back to our New Deal roots,” or some shit).
Based on the reports of torture and abuse out of, “Alligator Alcatraz,” (God I fucking hate having to use that stupid fucking name), we are certainly heading there. They described torture techniques similar to CECOT, including denial of medical treatment. We don’t know what’s happening inside ICE detention facilities, but an alarming number of detainees are dying. We just kidnapped a sovereign head of state, and Trump is actively talking about doing the same to other nations.
Things don’t start at the end. There were six years between Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor and the invasion of Poland. It was five years between the opening of the first concentration camps and the mass interment of Jews, and another three years before they opened the gas chambers in Auschitz. If anything, 2025 has shown that this administration is moving faster than the Nazis, and the midterms will probably be our last chance to purge these people (including the Democrats who refuse to fight them) from our government before they kill what’s left of our democracy.
Alright, I’m prettty sure the only reason you’re so bitchy about this is because my second reading of the meme is what you actually believe, and you’re pissy that someone called you our for defending propaganda. Block me if you want, it’s really more of a mute button anyway. Enjoy being media literate.
There is no dichotomy…
This is just making fun of liberals in the US who comment on lemmy threads about RT being unreliable and not much else. The implication is really that the western media is equally unreliable.
This is the false dichotomy: RT and western media. You’ve even stopped distinguishing between western corporate media and western media in this comment, because you boiled it down to this false binary. What about Common Dreams? ProPublica? Democracy Now? Those aren’t western media?
If the point here is, “Liberals think CNN/MSNBC/NYT isn’t biased because its not state media,” fine, but with no context, this just as easily reads, “RT is fine because corporate news is also biased.” That’s why this is sitting at 59% upvotes.
All that’s present is a false dichotomy between state propaganda and corporate propaganda, and the implication that people who choose corporate propaganda are idiots. This reads as apologia for consuming state propaganda, framed as media literacy. If it’s not, it needs more context.
I guess media literacy is when you think those are the only two options.
Scientists: One desperate plan we are considering to combat climate change is a series of gigantic mirrors to deflect sunlight away from the planet.
These assholes: OK, but what if, like, the opposite of that?
Yeah, the bloated police state and anonymity of most real estate moguls makes this is logistically impossible. That being said, the reaction to the United Healthcare CEO’s killing and the number of ICE, “assaults,” that can’t get grand jury indictments makes me think this spirit is still alive.
Look, I don’t want to blame the victim here, but I probably wouldn’t let my wife make me a cocktail if she once gave me a sandwich so strong I blacked out.