Doesn’t mean Trump admin claims about thwarting an attack are definitely false, as if one should assume the opposite is true. It just means we don’t know, there’s always a live chance they’re blatantly lying, and the only sensible reaction is not believing unless they prove it with hard evidence.

Publicly celebrating violence against people on the broadly-defined left is exactly what a lot of MAGA voted for. Even better if lying about the reason for the violence. That’s hardly a secret or surprise. See, for example, the right’s collective laughs and cheers after Paul Pelosi got assaulted.

It’s difficult to get a man to understand why people don’t want to post on his favorite website when the website promotes his stuff and stifles others, making his—but not their—salary dependent on his not understanding. (Apologies to Upton Sinclair)

If moderates, centrists, liberals, and progressives engaging on Twitter/X was actually a good way to prevent or counter far right radicalization, then how did things get here? Those types of users left X primarily *after* the 2024 election, not before. Radicalization happened while they were there.

I'm seriously asking: who on the far right was persuaded to moderate by Twitter/X posts? Or any other formulation along those lines? I ask because I once thought a similar "gotta be in the arena, even if it's unpleasant, that's where the action is," but I see no evidence for it, especially re: 2024.

Bondi Beach terrorists pledged allegiance to ISIS, say Australian media. Looks like "self-starters." They share a terrorist group's ideology, but aren't members, and took action on their own without support or even contact. Like a warped version of the activist mantra: think globally, act locally.

A piece of software spread a bigoted lie on the website run by a bigoted liar, lining up with the openly bigoted claims frequently pushed by its owner. This must be an accidental software error. As were the other recent examples (plural) of the same software doing the same sort of thing. Must be. View quoted note →

It's amazing that an unarmed man stopped one of the Bondi Beach shooters, preventing the attack from being even worse. And it's sad how many feel compelled to note that the hero is Muslim, countering way-too-prevalent bigotry that says hero/villain is inherent to ethno-religious identity.

The theory of power that says conservatives as a whole, and young right-wing men in particular, are victims repressed by the left-wing forces dominating society is, in a word, insane. It cannot possibly be addressed, because it's not true. It's just rationalization for hatred and hurting others. The New Right's Theory of Powe...

But David French, the guys flipping out over Drag Queen Story Hour are the weak men creating hard times. If they think something has gone terribly wrong, and that the thing is people reading books to kids at a voluntary family event, that's insanely weak. And an excuse to act on irrational hatred. https://inkcap.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:756gaaeewovgn4axja34ajne&cid=bafkreihy6ex6ziysmhkcwuxlpi3xhrg7w536wqlc5cdszr3hv7usqw46ai https://inkcap.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:756gaaeewovgn4axja34ajne&cid=bafkreidqyplizmzdu37oxh2c5atwolu2ktxj5at5yemkajgexquh7h3xma