These monsters crave power. They see oppressive regimes all over the world, stepping on people in a variety of ways, and think: “yeah, that’s the stuff.”

From the charging hole.

Can do, boss! Not sure what this means though.

Humor is important.

Laughter doesn’t erase our better sensibilities about real topics. In fact, it’s the sweetener that makes that medicine go down. Otherwise, all we have is the horror of stark and bleak realities that have already pushed many of us to the edge of burnout. These people aren’t making light of our situation, or being insensitive about the plight of those effected, they’re being kind while reminding us of the core message: there are people in charge that believe in cruelty as a valid form of governance. Without humor, we’d all be looking away most of the time as it’s simply too much.

Also, your mind will work overtime to block things that hurt or shock you. But you’re far more likely to remember a good laugh. Jokes get the message out, and help make it stick.

I’d like to take a moment to appreciate the overall range, style, and quality of protest signs on display this past weekend. If you compare all this activity to all the republican¹ rallies in the last few years, the difference is stark. The left really does have all the creative² power.

1. Do not use his name.
2. “MAGA” is re-used from the regan era which in turn is kinda/sorta re-used from an older UK campaign: “Make Britian great again”. Jerks can’t even come up with a decent slogan on their own with half that much typographical impact.

Nazi punks dealerships fuck off.

Now I’m wondering if there such a thing as a decentralized private company?

I’ve been thinking about this all week. I have no idea if that exists or not. A few things sprang to mind though:

• It might be possible to have lightweight companies that all adopt the same incorporation boilerplate, not unlike a computer operating system. That, in turn, would be developed by a distinct entity and would publish updates to improve said OS over time. So, open-source but for legal docs that matter. This would make companies unified in principle, but ultimately, distinct.

• It’s possible for companies to operate “at arm’s length” but still share useful information or coordinate towards similar goals. One must be well-versed in anti-trust law to do this though.

• A franchise is the only existing model I can think of that comes even close. But that’s still centralized. I suppose a non-profit parent company and for/non-profit franchise operations might come closer.

Even he can’t believe it happened.

i did not know what all those bins of tiny electronic hobby parts were for, but I desperately wanted to learn.

From what I understand, prior to the personal computer boom of the 1980’s, HAM radio was kind of a big deal with nerds. The parts were there for all manner of electronics tinkering, but a big mainstay was building and modifying radios. Yeah, you had people tinkering with computers in the 1970’s too, but it was more niche (until it wasn’t).

How… how do they not have a smooth on-ramp for what is basically a straight upgrade to the same service?!

Heaven only works for them if they imagine that they will be able to look down and see hell.

See, this is the part I can’t get behind. An eternity of that disparity with even the smallest scrap of empathy would eventually be unending torment. Every day is just more “oh yeah, hell is a thing and I can’t do anything about it…”

How do I join the MGU (MacGyver Union)? I have to cobble together some kind of device that hacks me in, don’t I?

I agree. The environment in which this must function is corrosive to the very idea, hence why I’m asking it openly here. It’s a pretty dense minefield.

I’m no lawyer, but I’ve mused a lot about some kind of legal “dead man switch” that somehow renders the company value-less if it deviated from the intended path. Something built into the company’s charter and founding documents, not unlike some kind of constitution.

Real question here: is it possible to walk all this back from the edge with more ethical companies? I’m thinking co-ops, Mondragon corps, union shops, etc. Basically build businesses that have motivations other than deepening the pockets of VC’s and the like, yet have some kind of growth trajectory (or federate with other corps) to gradually subsume the market.

I get that massive funding makes certain things possible, like disrupting the market, or aggressively buying your competitors. And yes, the company charter would have to be bulletproof against hostile takeover, buyouts, and enshitification, in order to go the distance. But is that really all it takes, or am I missing something huge here?

Please tell me that a lower circuit court can do this, and that we’re not depending on the SCOTUS to pull this off.

Yup. Consider the role of NORAD and the missile defense shield. USA is not only a poorly run meth lab, but it also provides armed security for the whole building.

As far as I can tell, the contingency plan is to continue pushing places like Dubai as a tourist destination and business hub. And, honestly, as long as that place continues to function as a major regional air-traffic hub, that might actually work.

Following the path of other regimes around the world, the USA builds their own “great firewall”, segmenting most people here away from the global internet. At around the same time, personal VPNs become explicitly illegal. We might also see the government seize control of at least one certificate registrar, if they don’t fire up their own, thereby “owning” TLS online.

On the upside, there’s a chance we will see more grass-roots efforts to reboot a lot of institutions that were co-opted by the rich. You’re just never going to hear about that through conventional channels. For instance: local newspapers with real journalism behind them. Or more small businesses with the intent to last, rather than sell. It’s possible that more of those things will be co-ops, union shops, or even Mondragon inspired. Either way, there’s a path forward for more community, real communication, and eventual prosperity, provided folks keep their heads and take things offline where necessary.

The fact that Ask Jeeves isn’t an AI-only search engine is just beyond me. It was laughable that someone thought to personify a search engine 25 years ago, but now is pretty much the right time for that.

More than zero, which is too many for my taste.

It’s a needle in a haystack, but that’s a really valuable needle. It might actually be worth it.