Tootfinder

I need everybody to understand that international law isn't real, doesn't exist, and isn't a thing you can read or cite, BECAUSE (most importantly!) it does not effectively constrain sovereign actors. You can piss and moan on Mastodon all you want, but unless YOU PERSONALLY have a military ready to enforce YOUR definition of morality, countries will continue to just do whatever they want as they have for millennia, and you are (as always) just along for the ride, very much in the…

John Loftus has a comprehensive new paper on #Atheist morality: his peer-reviewed paper, "An Atheist Morality Without God", has been published at Religions. http://www.debunking-…

We Should Talk About The Morality of Political Violence (Ken White/The Popehat Report)
https://www.popehat.com/p/we-should-talk-about-the-morality-of-political-violence
http://www.memeorandum.com/260124/p74#a260124p74

I'm listening to the most recent episode of #YouAreNotSoSmart, David McRaney's podcast @…. It's about the Trolley problem and morality.
They keep talking about a variation of the trolley problem where, instead of pulling the lever t…

YANSS 327 – How save ourselves from ourselves by solving the trolley problem inside us all
Philosopher, neuroscientist, and psychologist, Joshua Greene tells us how the brain generates morality and how his research may have solved the infamous trolley problem, and in so doing created a w…

Trump’s morality problem becomes full-blown crisis as Epstein returns to headlines https://www.ms.now/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/trump-s-morality-problem-becomes-full-blown-crisis-as-epstein…

Trump’s morality problem becomes full-blown crisis as Epstein returns to headlines
Texas State Rep. James Talarico talks with Jen Psaki about why an increasing number of people in the faith community are speaking out against Donald Trump as his already notoriously compromised character is compounded by the cruelty of his anti-immigrant policies and his disturbing association with sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.

Should governments have the right to force people to stay alive, even though no one consents to being born?
#Morality #MoralArgument #Argument

"But it’s become impossible to watch the courage of whistle-blowing everyday citizens putting their lives on the line to fight for the neighbors they don’t even know, or to see the utter depravity of top government officials slandering innocent murder victims while their bodies are still warm, and not conclude: Yes, there is good and evil in this world."

Alex Pretti’s ICE murder is beyond politics. This is about good vs. evil
Trump's inhumane immigration raids and two ICE murders has triggered an American yearning for a return to morality.

Ich würde es mir anschauen, das Rhinozeros im Raum von Itamar Gov in #Magdeburg
Ist leider nur ein bisschen weit weg.
https://www.itamargov.com/projects/the-rhi

The Rhinoceros in the Room. Or: A Tale of Banality and Evil | itamar gov
Eugène Ionesco’s absurdist play 'Rhinoceros' from 1959 depicts a sleepy French town whose inhabitants gradually metamorphose into rhinoceroses and come to peacefully accept the destruction and violence that this collective transformation entails. The piece was a response to the rise of authoritarian ideologies in the period leading up to WWII, and it explored broader themes of conformity, collective and individual responsibility, mass movements, mob mentality, and morality. The concept of �…

Ukraine Update: Intel from the USA reveals more than it intends to show. Ukrainian ingenuity reveals a better way.
US media won't cover this at all.
As the global order is being reset, it is long past due for American dominance to end.
The evils of the current regime shine a startling light on the heart of darkness of American morality: corrupt, fractured, and self-contradicting.
Insanity.
Support Ukraine, and support journalism, by sharing the friend link t…

@… on my worst days I feel like a human autocomplete (with a smidge of pesky morality thrown in)

"President Trump declared on Wednesday evening that his power as commander in chief is constrained only by his “own morality,” brushing aside international law and other checks on his ability to use military might"
https://www.

Rest in Peace
US Constitution
Effective March 4, 1789
Terminated January 8, 2026
On January 8, 2026 trump declared himself dictator (but avoided using that word):
'In a new interview with the New York Times, Trump said the only constraint to his power as president of the US is “my own morality, my own mind”.'
<…

"Don't be evil" is so far in the past, it's not even a memory anymore
(Original title: Google Has Chosen a Side in Trump's Mass Deportation Effort)
https://www.404media.co/google-has-chosen-a-side-in-trumps-mass-deportation-ef…

Google Has Chosen a Side in Trump's Mass Deportation Effort
Google is hosting a CBP app that uses facial recognition to identify immigrants, while simultaneously removing apps that report the location of ICE officials because Google sees ICE as a vulnerable group. “It is time to choose sides; fascism or morality? Big tech has made their choice.”

I feel like this Stop Copaganda project from 2024 didn't get enough love. It certainly made me reflect on how I portray law enforcement. Particularly in Domestic Threats. Some police officers/agents are really trying to do the right thing and the system makes it hard. Some of them just do what they're told because they trust the system, without realizing they might be doing more harm than good. Some are more interested in getting status or power than worrying about morality. These st…

Gee. Such a shock that it's ALABAMA at the center of this travesty of American justice & morality.
Listen to more about this in Maddow's FREE limited podcast, "Burn Order":
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-presents-burn-order
Original post:

“My father warned us, ‘When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind,’” Bernice King, the daughter of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., wrote of Pretti’s murder. “What we are witnessing now (masked raids, people taken without due process, vigilante, Gestapo, and slave patrol-like tactics, normalized under the color of law) is a moral crisis.”
#Trump

Alex Pretti’s ICE murder is beyond politics. This is about good vs. evil
Trump's inhumane immigration raids and two ICE murders has triggered an American yearning for a return to morality.

Trump Lays Out a Vision of Power Restrained Only by 'My Own Morality' (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/us/politics/trump-interview-power-morality.html
http://www.memeorandum.com/260108/p100#a260108p100

Trump Lays Out a Vision of Power Restrained Only by His Own Hubris
On topic after topic, Trump made clear that he thinks he is the arbiter of any limits to his authorities, not international law or treaties.
"My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”
“I don’t need international law,”
he added.
“I’m not looking to hurt people.”
When pressed further about whether his administration needed to abide by international law,
Trump said,

Trump Addresses Venezuela, Greenland and Presidential Power in New York Times Interview
On topic after topic, President Trump made clear that he would be the arbiter of any limits to his authorities, not international law or treaties.

“‘Ownership gives you things and elements that you can’t get from just signing a document,’” Trump told NYT.”
And how, pray tell, does this former real estate developer think ownership of things like real estate is established?
From just signing a document. 🤦‍♂️
His mind is mush wrapped in malicious childhood disappointment.

Trump insists he doesn’t need international law and his power is only limited by his own morality
In an extrordinary interview, Donald Trump defends his record on Venezuela and threats to others nations including Greenland, Colombia and Mexico in the last week

A transatlantic warning. If #NigelTheStockbroker , No Cartoons Jenrick or BadEnoch came to power, this is a taste of what to expect.
"Google removed certain apps used to report sightings of ICE [migration paramilitaries] officials, and “then they immediately turned around and approved an app that helps the government unconstitutionally target an actual vulnerable group."…

Google Has Chosen a Side in Trump's Mass Deportation Effort
Google is hosting a CBP app that uses facial recognition to identify immigrants, while simultaneously removing apps that report the location of ICE officials because Google sees ICE as a vulnerable group. “It is time to choose sides; fascism or morality? Big tech has made their choice.”

“When society’s values are corrupted, it is the duty of the individual to uphold true morality.”
Kaminski MD, Rami. The Gift of Not Belonging: How Outsiders Thrive in a World of Joiners (p. 197). Kindle Edition.

Last month, FASPE and the Center for Public Theology/Public Policy at YDS hosted a day-long clergy symposium on Public Theology in a Time of Authoritarianism. Videos of the main sessions now available, including this recording of Session 3 https://youtu.be/WgmfW4caDbM?si=g9gVe9G-ihSU6ryt

I don’t need international law’: Trump says power constrained only by ‘my own morality’
#news

‘I don’t need international law’: Trump says power constrained only by ‘my own morality’
President says morality ‘the only thing that can stop me’ in New York Times interview on limits to his authority

Why OpenAI is a prime example of the ethical limits of capitalism https://theconversation.com/why-openai-is-a-prime-example-of-the-ethical-limits-of-capitalism-270407

Why OpenAI is a prime example of the ethical limits of capitalism
Money and morality are a challenging corporate combination.

#SCOTUS conservatives and esp #ChiefJusticeJohnRoberts must be so proud of what they have accomplished.
I, on the other hand, am horrified.
‘I don’t need international law’: Trump says power constrained only by ‘my own morality’

#SCOTUS conservatives and esp #ChiefJusticeJohnRoberts must be so proud of what they have accomplished.
I, on the other hand, am horrified.
‘I don’t need international law’: Trump says power constrained only by ‘my own morality’

The most perceptive question made in this series of Reith Lectures, "So what is this great moral singularity?", that's a paraphrase.
For which there was no answer except human nature.
I would prefer avoiding the cesspit and condemnation of morality and rather turn to the process of Ethics.
#ReithLectures

Trump & MAGA are fundamentally broken. They prioritize greed, ego & wrath over decency, morality & humanity.
That's why everything they do feels so wrong.
☑️ Kristi Noem Slammed For Her Smug Reaction To ICE Agent Calling Renee Good A 'F—king B*tch'
https://www.comi…

Noem Reacts To ICE Agent Calling Good 'F'ing B*tch': VIDEO
The cruelty is the point.

My anecdotal observations suggest to me that since El Cheato has returned to the gilt oval office that regard for laws, ethics, and morals has decreased.
I am noticing a lot more minor things, like spam, phishing, speeding, running stop signs, etc. A more scientific study could look at crime rates and such.
My sense is that the trump disregard of law, truth, and morality has infected a lot of people.

Asked in a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times if there were any limits on his global powers, Mr. Trump said: “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”
“I don’t need international law,” he added.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/us/politics/trump-interview-power-morality.html

Trump now a tyrant restrained only by 'my own morality.' We stop him with our own. (Will Bunch/The Philadelphia Inquirer)
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/trump-powers-venezuela-ice-shooting-20260111.html
http://www.memeorandum.com/260111/p59#a260111p59

Good Morning #Canada
My morning routine includes #CBCRadio with my coffee and this morning they had an interesting segment on Canadian youth returning to church. According #StatsCan 2022 data, 22% of Canadians ages 15-24 attended religious services at least once a month. That's a significant increase compared to ages 25 to 64. Angus Reid found that positive views of religion by #GenZ adults grew from 35 to 40% between 2023 to 2025, while views from every other generation significantly decreased.
This led me to read several news articles from late last year that reported on these studies, one of which is linked below. It appears the trend became noticeable during and after COVID lockdowns. The words of multiple interviewees tells me that young people's were looking for community and human interaction with something grounded with a sense of morality. That's positive even if you don't believe in her holiness above.
#CanadaIsAwesome #Hallelujah
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/return-to-faith-church-attendance-increasing-for-first-time-in-decades/

#USpol #ice #iran #refuge #refugee

When asked why he needed to possess Greenland, he said: “Because that’s what I feel is psychologically needed for success. I think that ownership gives you a thing that you can’t do, whether you’re talking about a lease or a treaty. Ownership gives you things and elements that you can’t get from just signing a document.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/us/politics/trump-interview-power-morality.html

On Thursday, in a rare assertion of congressional authority over the president’s war powers, the Senate agreed to debate a resolution aimed at curbing Mr. Trump’s use of military force in Venezuela. Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, said one factor that may have tipped the vote was the president’s comment during Wednesday’s interview that the United States might remain involved in Venezuela for years
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/us/politics/trump-interview-power-morality.html