Tootfinder

It's Interesting today that the popularization of @…'s concept of "enshittification" is leading us to really think hard about how various methods of vendor lock-in enable corporations to abuse users. We see how first there's lock-in then quickly abuse follows, and recognize that the only way out of this trap is to build systems where users can leave at will.
But it's interesting that in this time of rising fascism no one is making the connection to fascism, as both increased lock in and enshittification of government. And no one is making the connection between the need to make systems optional to avoid enshittification, and libertarian socialist arguments against the systemic lock-in (and following abuse) of capitalism and the state.

It makes sense that I posted my favorite 20 LPs of 2025 Friday and over the weekend I found another great death metal and punk album from this year, and now today, just Monday of the following week, I stumble across a TROVE of great rap records that just came out also. Yeah, that tracks. 😂
Well, at least now I follow this label and am aware of these bands, etc. (And they're not a secret or anything, I'm gonna post about em here but I'm still going through em all.) Unbelieva…

I’ve seen posts about how Democratic politicians have to be “punished” and then they’ll shape up — even one horrifying post basically arguing that we need a couple more years for fascism to fully materialize in order to reform our political system.
My dude…this “people will wake up when it’s bad enough” trope doesn’t work. It’s never worked. It’s been failing spectacularly my whole life — and if one Trump term didn’t do it…what will? And how many people’s lives will be destroyed along the way?
That thinking will kill us all.
4/

The president of the United States is invading multiple US cities and liberal strongholds, in troop deployments that are now the primary component of his vast, lawless, smash-and-grab efforts to shred the nation’s constitutional and democratic order, all in the service of his personality cult.
And his enthusiasm for doing so is partially, and meaningfully, fueled by how mad he gets while binge-watching hours and hours of TV, current and former Trump advisers tell Zeteo.

Trump’s Addiction to Watching Fox Is Killing American Democracy
Our country is falling apart because one old man, Trump advisers and former administration officials say, won’t stop ‘yelling’ at his TV.

And you don't need to accept the trap of authoritarian masculinity on logic alone, the proof is right there in male influencers like Andrew Tate and their followers. These dipshits get so obsessed with gatekeeping they don't realize that the gates they're tending keep them in, that the more walls they put up to protect their privilege, the smaller their identity can be. They huddle in tiny pens, terrified of crossing imaginary bounds that they imposed *on themselves.*
They have built their own torture chambers and locked themselves inside, and for what? They turn themselves into dragons, hoarding what they see as valuable while repressing every emotion including joy. And if they let themselves experience joy, they would, perhaps, realize that all these privileges are inconsistent with it. They might, perhaps, recognize that they have built up these privileges so they don't have to admit that their suffering and fear are not, in fact, admirable. They might have to face the fact that they have lived lives that are deeply pathetic, might have to face the fact that only empathy can give one access to deep satisfaction, might have to face the fact that they have lived their whole lives on a treadmill, going nowhere.
But I assume that they won't ever do that, because to do so would force them to face the enormity of the emotional debt, the pain and suffering they have inflicted on the world, and those are big feelings. It's far easier to hide in a hole, forever alone, making up silly rules to keep everyone inside scared and keep everyone outside from seeing in.

"In the budget speech this year, commission president Ursula von der Leyen made a bold statement that AI is expected to approach human reasoning by next year."
Die Nächste, nach (bzw. vor) Wildberger.
"Surprised by this statement, I asked the commission to provide me with documents .."
"The commission’s response was not filled with references to the scientific literature. Instead, the Commission referred to the essays and books by tech CEOs."<…

"In the budget speech this year, commission president Ursula von der Leyen made a bold statement that AI is expected to approach human reasoning by next year."
How the #EU commission is basing its #AI policy (and funding) on the wishful thinking of tech bros. Those, which currently use circu…

Christian therapist Kaley Chiles
wants the Supreme Court to rule
that
Christian therapists’ free speech rights outweigh a law that bans therapy aimed at changing a minor’s sexual identity.
The case could affect laws in nearly 30 states.
https://www.was…

Christian therapist seeks right to counsel gay teens to change feelings
The Supreme Court will consider whether therapists’ free speech rights outweigh a law that bans therapy that seeks to change sexual identity. Almost 30 states have such bans.

E.W. Scripps agrees to sell its Indianapolis ABC affiliate station WRTV to Circle City Broadcasting for $83M; Scripps agreed to sell WFTX for $40M in September (Lucas Manfredi/The Wrap)
https://www.thewrap.com/ew-scripps-wrtv-circle-city-broadcasting-sale/

E.W. Scripps to Sell Indianapolis ABC Affiliate WRTV to Circle City Broadcasting for $83 Million
The deal for the Indianapolis ABC affiliate station will close following receipt of regulatory and other customary approvals

U.S. scales back troops on NATO’s eastern flank
The United States has informed its NATO allies that it will scale back its troop presence along Europe’s eastern border with Ukraine as it focuses on security priorities elsewhere in the world, Romania’s defense ministry said on Wednesday.
The U.S. Army later confirmed the move but denied it was a sign of lessened commitment to NATO.
Depending on operations and exercises, around 80,000-100,000 U.S. troops are usually present…