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Our President of these United States of America has left this tweet up since 5ᴀᴍ Friday morning. 

Here is a quote from the article that Trump linked to. 

“Jack Dorsey ran downstairs and started smashing as many computers as he could, but he did need to ask for some help, as the hammer was pretty heavy. None of the programmers could lift the hammer, either. Eventually, they managed to program a robot to pick up the sledgehammer and smash the servers.“

People will say Trump only read the headline and didn’t actually click through to the satirical article. But after his town hall last night where he was talking about Joe Biden having Seal Team 6 killed during a *fake* Osama bin Laden raid (despite all of those Navy SEALs being, ya know, alive), I think it’s possible he did read that article and thought it to be absolutely true. 

If the court of public opinion will permit, I have evidence to support my suspicion that the president is actually that stupid. 

President Donald John Trump has a long history in which he developed a clear pattern of rampant stupidity and I believe him to be immune to satire (as opposed to the coronavirus).

He said stealth fighters are *literally* invisible. Multiple times. 

Clearly we have developed Wonder Woman levels of technology. 

He said that Hurricane Florence was “one of the wettest we’ve ever seen, from the standpoint of water.“ 

As opposed to, say, the standpoint of cats. 

It was a Wet Ass Purricane. 

Of course, we all remember the injecting of bleach. 

And sticking UV light up your patoot–which I believe is Dr. Manhattan’s origin story.

The president also has this weird habit of developing what I call “stupidity earworms.” They are foolish notions that no one corrects him on and he keeps repeating over and over. He becomes obsessed and can’t get the siren song of stupid out of his brain. 

One example relates to Hillary’s emails. Trump claims that she “acid washed” 33,000 emails. 

You might be wondering, “Hey Froggie, what is acid washing?”

Well, it’s a denim treatment that makes you look… SUPER RAD. 

As best as I can figure, Trump is talking about the security software called “BleachBit.” It will overwrite your disk drives multiple times with random junk so data cannot be recovered from them. Using software like this is actually standard practice and not that controversial. It’s good security hygiene. 

But Trump must have heard “BleachBit” and his broken noodle somehow converted that into “acid wash.” I think he literally believes that Hillary went into a server room and started pouring acid all over everything. 

I’m not even sure acid is a great way to destroy servers. 

You might just end up making them look… SUPER RAD.

But then there is my absolute favorite example of Trump’s addled brain. 

It is his pièce de résistance, from the standpoint of idiocy. 

He claimed that… the noise… from windmills… causes cancer. 

Not the construction materials. Not the electromagnetic radiation from electricity generation. Not the sun’s UV light that reflects off the blades. 

All of which would be only somewhat stupid claims. 

No, Trump’s stable genius blew right past somewhat stupid, straight through bigly stupid, and crashed directly into YUGE stupid. 

I repeat… he said the *noise* generated by windmills… causes cancer. 

He even did an impression of said noise–which I feel like endangered all the people at the rally. 

I mean, how does he know his super accurate windmill impression is not a carcinogenic sound? You know how you hear a toxic sound and you grow, ummmm… a melaudioma? A tunemer? An aural blastoma? 

Those things are totally real. No need to google it. 

He consistently shows he has no regard for the safety of his acolytes. 

He won’t wear a mask at rallies despite being infectious. He refuses to accommodate social distancing guidelines. And he will callously amplify dangerous sounds right into everyone’s earballs. 

I fear even showing you the clip. 

Please verify you have medical insurance before viewing.

May your auditory cancer death be swift and painless. 

Do you remember during the debate when Trump censured Joe Biden for saying he needed to be smarter about the pandemic?

“Don’t ever use the word smart with me. Don’t ever use that word. Because you know what? There’s nothing smart about you.”  —Donald John Trump, High IQ Man (Woman Person Camera TV)

But I think there is a better quote to sum all of this up. There is a quote from a distinguished educator who demonstrates just how far back this pattern of rampant stupidity goes. 

“Donald Trump was the dumbest goddamn student I ever had!” —William T. Kelley, Wharton Professor [source]

I rest my case.

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Ecosocialist praxis

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Let’s talk about Instagram “influencer” culture. 

My younger brother and his girlfriend are Instagram influencers. They aren’t household names with a million fans apiece, but they each have a decent following. They’ve been featured in various lists and roundups of people whose lives and relationships are #goals, and they both earn a steady income from Instagram. Not enough to make a full-time living, but enough to make pouring hundreds of hours into their Instagram careers worth their while. 

Despite being so close to an Instagram influencer - several of the most popular photos on my brother’s account were taken by me - I have some serious qualms about Instragram “influencer” culture as a whole. I studied the impact of platforms like Instagram in graduate school - I have a master’s degree in clinical psychology, and I spent part of my time in grad school working with a professor who studies the impact of social media on mental health. A recent study found that out of all social media platforms, Instagram is the worst for your mental health. I’ve also had the chance to see firsthand what a life lived on Instagram has meant for my brother, and the toll it continues to take on him. 

So what makes Instagram influencer culture so toxic for both the people who create it and the people influenced by it? For starters: It’s faker than you think. Instagram stars intentionally market themselves as “authentic” and “real” - you are led to believe that you are getting an unfiltered glimpse into someone’s daily life as you follow along with their pictures and their daily stories. In reality, however, a huge amount of time, effort and money goes into the images you see. My brother and his girlfriend take hundreds of photos in order to get one or two shots worthy of posting. Outings are often little more than photoshoots; a “hike” is often just a short walk to a scenic location, followed by hours of photos. Ditto for ice skating, beach days and photos from music festivals. They don’t get to enjoy many of the activities they are depicted doing with big smiles on Instagram, because the focus is on capturing the perfect photo. Photos are often planned weeks in advance, vacations are booked based on which locations will make the best backdrops, and the fancy food in their pictures often goes cold while they get the perfect shot. The fact that they want to create beautiful images is not an issue - after all, the pictures in many mainstream ads are stunning. The issue is that they’re specifically pretending not to be models or advertisers; they are intentionally leading you to believe that what you’re seeing is candid daily life. Which leads me to…

It presents unattainable ideals as everyday life. Instagram influencers roll out of bed in perfect and tastefully-decorated apartments, eat nutritious and visually stunning meals, and lead full, active lives of glamour and adventure. Their skin is never flawed, their hair never out of place, and their outfits never tacky. Again, this isn’t a problem if you are creating an advertisement or a TV show - something that your viewers know is manufactured to look perfect - but Instagram stars hinge their success on pretending that that level of non-stop perfect is their average, daily life. In reality, my brother’s girlfriend piles dirty laundry and books in her bathtub so that her bedroom looks “minimalist” in her photos, and the two of them post weeks-old starry-eyed couple photos with gushy captions even when they are on the verge of breaking up. Influencers themselves tend to be young, attractive, white, thin, able-bodied, middle-class cis people - an ideal that is already unattainable for most people - and yet they present themselves as totally average people. When flaws and problems are revealed, it’s often in a very controlled way, and generally tied in with some kind of pithy advice or mantra. Which brings us to…

It encourages people with no credentials to hand out “expert” advice. This is probably one of the most damaging aspects of influencer culture. 22-year-olds with absolutely no formal training in nutrition, mental health, medicine, dermatology or fitness are handing out “expert” wellness advice - or even designing diets, skincare routines, and workout regimens for others - and feeling increasingly comfortable doing it. Vulnerable people who may have very serious issues lap this advice up, regardless of how unsound or untested it may be; after all, these influencers appear to have perfect lives, and it’s easy to assume that they must know the secrets of health, happiness and clear skin. There are a couple of huge problems with this. For one, many people aren’t actually aware of why they are successful - if a conventionally attractive cis white woman whose parents financially support her tells you that the secret to avoiding stress is meditation and mud masks, you should be skeptical of that advice. People in positions of relative privilege are often blind to the many advantages they have, and will attribute their success to their “wellness routines” or “positive thinking”, rather than the social advantages that are not available to many of their followers. Also, influencers are often peddling advice that they themselves do not follow. My brother’s girlfriend makes money by selling advice on how to make a full-time living while travelling the world, despite the fact that she isn’t actually able to do that. Many influencers who promote extremely restrictive diets and health regimes have admitted that they themselves do not follow these diets. People who are feeling deeply insecure about their bodies, relationships, careers, lifestyles and productivity are turning to advice from people who aren’t qualified to help. And why does every Instagram star suddenly seem to be offering themselves up as a “wellness” expert? It’s because…

It exists to sell you things, while pretending otherwise. As much as the influencer community presents itself as being all about “authenticity”, “expression”, “empowerment”, or “wellness”, at the end of the day, it is all about trying to sell you things, even if that means exploiting your deepest insecurities. A company that employs plus-sized models to represent their $90 leggings is still a company that, at the end of the day, is trying to sell you $90 leggings, and if they have to pay someone to convince you that these leggings are the only thing standing between you and finally loving your body and having the courage to chase your dreams, then that’s exactly what they are going to do. It is an advertisement, dressed up as self-help and inspiration from an ordinary person who just wants you to succeed. If you find that you feel bad about yourself after a couple of minutes of scrolling through your instagram feed, that’s the impact that the app is meant to have on you. People who are completely satisfied with themselves and their lives don’t buy things they don’t need - making you feel like your life should be better is the key to selling you a wide variety of products. 

Does all this mean that Instagram is evil, or that influencers are bad people? Of course not. They are people trying to make money through self-expression, and many produce interesting and engaging content. Many of them are very young, and may not think about the impact that they might be having on their followers. I certainly don’t think that any of them set out to deceive people. But it is important to think critically about the media we consume, the purpose of that media, and the message it carries. I have known many people, both personally and professionally, who find that they feel worse about themselves after spending an afternoon scrolling through social media, and I think it’s important for all of us to examine why that may be, and take steps to protect our own mental health.

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DON’T SCROLL PAST THIS

for the last 2+ weeks, the Amazon has been catching fire. Yes, it’s the season where that’s normal but because of the sayings (aka incentive) of our new president, some farmers are taking advantage of that and intentionally setting the trees on fire. Yesterday, because of this, the sky of São Paulo looked like this. AT THREE IN THE AFTERNOON.

Hospitals of the northern states are filling up with people (especially children and seniors) claiming they can’t breathe properly. ALREADY ENDANGERED ANIMALS ARE DYING. THIS IS SERIOUS.

Germany and Norway, huge donators to the Amazon cause will stop sending money because they don’t see results (that can also be credited to our president, who has been tweeting angrily ever since - not because he cares about the environment, btw). That money gives this guy and his team equipment to save little guys like these:

THIS AFFECTS EVERYONE, NOT JUST BRAZILIANS. The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world, and it’s being destroyed. WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.

If your country is holding elections, vote for someone who cares about this. Don’t let another Bolsonaro or another Trump have the power to do something and then do nothing. This is going to shape our future — if we have one.

PLEASE REBLOG, EVERYONE NEEDS TO SEE THIS!!

side note: not to sound bitter or ungrateful but also like what’s up with Europe… y’all exploited South America for centuries but just because you “aren’t seeing results” you stop helping altogether?? if you really wanted to help you wouldn’t stop because you think you aren’t helping lol

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Fuck Trump, and fuck everyone who supports him.

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When I see my neighbours putting UCP signs on their lawns.

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3.25.19

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#Repost @hasanminhaj ・・・ #NewZealandShooting https://www.instagram.com/p/BvFJJk3Adu6/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1gefxbkvsx00k

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(cartoon by Rob Rogers)

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Rutger Bregman is the Dutch historian who became a global sensation after an appearance at this year’s Davos summit, where he accused attending billionaires of ignoring taxation. Now he has created another viral moment in an extremely uncomfortable interview with Fox News’s Tucker Carlson.

Bregman so riled Carson with his accusations of hypocrisy, critiques of Fox’s conservative agenda, and attacks on Donald Trump that the TV host called him a “moron” and angrily told him: “Go fuck yourself.”

Source

Lot more people around the world are going to watch this now than if it actually aired. Speaking truth to power is the best viral content!

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KANYE WEST: Wants This Photo Removed From The Internet. So Share It Around

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(via That’s a whole new way of patriotism 🔥 : MurderedByWords)

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The John Birch Society pretended to be bastions of free speech until people ridiculed them and exposed their shallow views. Then they were all for censorship. They were co-founded by the manufacturer of Junior Mints and the father of the Koch Brothers. As they finished high school, the Koch Brothers enlisted in their dad’s dumb political organization. And the rest is history.

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YES

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