Links (2 minutes)
The best media I’ve consumed in the last few months:
The Two Popes – An absolute gem of a movie. Not only is it perfectly crafted, it’s the right movie for right now. You’ll know what I mean when the airplane door opens mid-flight.
SuperfastMatt – An automotive engineer, his videos are about joy and resilience. Please begin with:
Hbomberguy – An important voice for our times. Consider starting with:
but you won’t really enjoy yourself until you try
Bluesky – It is a 1:1 replacement for Twitter. It is essential. You must use it.
To quote Roxanne Gay:
Mr. Trump's voters are granted a level of care and coddling that defies credulity and that is afforded to no other voting bloc. Many of them believe the most ludicrous things: babies being aborted after birth and children going to school as one gender and returning home surgically altered as another gender even though these things simply do not happen. Time and again, we hear the wild lies these voters believe and we act as if they are sharing the same reality as ours, as if they are making informed decisions about legitimate issues. We act as if they get to dictate the terms of political engagement on a foundation of fevered mendacity.
We must refuse to participate in a mass delusion. We must refuse to accept that the ignorance on display is a congenital condition rather than a choice. All of us should refuse to pretend that any of this is normal and that these voters are just woefully misunderstood and that if only the Democrats addressed their economic anxiety, they might vote differently. While they are numerous, that does not make them right.Oldies but goodies. Movies are soufflés. Most fall apart on their first screening. A tiny percentage remain perfect on infinite screenings. Here are a few I have been fortunate enough to watch again recently:
District 9, South African politics made human via a fictional documentary about aliens. Our youngest, who loved it, said in praise “I don’t know how to feel.”
Sexy Beast, Ben Kingsley as a gangster. You’ll recognize some of the men in charge now.
Blow Out, John Travolta in a political thriller. Its ending had impressed me greatly on first viewing but it’s seamless throughout.
China
The US model of liberal politics is failing. The Chinese model – authoritarian politics, technocratic competence, spoils – is succeeding.
A decisive factor for the collapse of the US was the invasion of Iraq, aka, the Great War on Terror.
Whether or when China will repeat the mistakes of the US is not clear to me.
Best Case Scenario
I read a “worst case scenario” that suggested the USA will become like the European Union and I said “from your lips to God’s ears.”
Now is the time for patriots.
You’re going to learn who is willing to sacrifice their comfort for the Constitution. Expect the worst, prepare for the best.
On links
We must remember that the Internet came out of DARPA. That the Web came out of academia, and that links invoke a chain.
Bullies and cowards think of chains as constraints. Builders and explorers think of chains as anchors. HTML code refers to the latter.
Sharing links is good for humanity.
take care,
Jose