tobie

My interests vary wildly from politics to poetry and philosophy. I'm a born contrarian but my bark is worse than my bite, and I appreciate detailed posts, sharp commentary, verbal repartee and quirky habits. Some of my quirks are #FountainPens, #birding, and all manners of idealist thought. Committed to fairness, democracy, and environmental stewardship. Proud lifelong #Dem

I was on another server but it was closing down, so I switched to this instance. I'll say in advance, "Happy to meet you."

Last Notes

2025-06-27 14:26:13 UTC

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Fuck. I woke up dreading this decision. It's worse than I imagined. It tells me that after the first decision on Garcia Abrego, the conservatives on SCOTUS have been told to overrule any decision hostile to the Trump admin and they have all fallen in line. The coup is complete. John Roberts has given lawlessness the seal of judicial approval. We are so fucked.

2025-04-14 13:48:17 UTC

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The Green New Deal never passed the Senate. It passed the House in 2019--before Biden was Pres--but failed in the Senate.
More importantly, the Green New Deal is a non-binding resolution, a statement of principles. It doesn't commit any funds.
The Infrastructure Bill passed during Biden's term does commit funds. It was the largest investment in green technology and climate mitigation in US history.

2025-04-13 23:12:59 UTC

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Bernie's whole shtick is that he's a scold who can't be bought. He has a knack for channeling people's rage but not deploying it for legislative action.

2024-12-12 02:19:16 UTC

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Biden's picking his battles. He's doing the right thing. There's a lesson in there for us. The next four years are going to be so disturbing, depressing, and enraging that we need to figure out what's important to respond to.

2024-11-27 00:35:00 UTC

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Paywalled so I can't read the article but I'm sick of reading that one group's irritation is a legit reason to throw out scientific research in virology, immunology and public health.
The US had a higher mortality rate than any other developed nation because we didn't have protocols in place. That was under Trump.
Were some mistakes made as we were learning in real time about the virus? Sure. Was refusing the vaccine a stupid choice? Yes.
https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/covid-vaccines-reduce-long-covid-risk-new-study-shows#:~:text=Interestingly%2C%20while%20the%20overall%20risk,COVID%20compared%20to%20earlier%20groups.

2024-11-04 16:08:22 UTC

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I recall reading the DOJ was investigating Trump from May 2021 on. One day we'll get the full historical record. Meanwhile here's this from a very pro-Trump publication upset that the DOJ was involved in the stolen document case at all.
"The new disclosures indicate the DoJ was in touch with NARA during much of 2021."
https://highlandcountypress.com/opinions/unredactions-reveal-early-biden-white-house-involvement-trump-documents-case#gsc.tab=0
@npub1ejx…afye Do you have a clue when the DOJ opened investigations of Trump for Jan 6 or stolen documents?

2024-10-30 14:20:59 UTC

#SCOTUS gives the green light for VA to purge 1600 voters from the rolls. Only Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson dissented. This is an ominous sign for how the 6 conservative Justices will rule on any other election case. They are partisans. The law does not matter to them.
#ExpandtheCourt #USPolitics #Disenfranchisement #USElection
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-virginia-voter-rolls/

2024-10-25 01:39:56 UTC

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Good grief. How can the Pentagon continue to use Musk as a contractor? I thought the DoD was looking to develop its own satellite internet service. This is not vanguard technology.