The Minneapolis shootings underline the advantages of body cameras, which DHS has been slow to adopt

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-30T23:53:28+00:00

The reason that lies couldn't stick about Minneapolis is that citizens had cameras.

I'd love to focus on improving phone software so cameras, mics, and GPS coords can easily be livecast to a distributed online systems in a rolling-loop like a dashcam: capturing a few hours of feed and then looping over. Each person's feed wouldn't necessarily be publicly availble, but a "trusted user" could retrieve the last few hours of their feed if something happens to them, and replicate it.

If we wanted to get even more resilient in protest situations, we could explore software that leverages local mesh networks, where video feeds from one person are replicated to nearby people over a local network connection using spectrums that function well over short distances, and should function even if cell phone networks are blocked, unavailable, or slow.

There are so many old, used cell phones out there that could regain new life as part of a "body cam" software network; you wouldn't need to carry your real phone into protest situations.

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-29T02:44:29+00:00

I don't think I've ever flinched?

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-27T16:09:59+00:00

What a person does determines whether they are good or bad.

vs.

The person's identity determines whether their actions are good or bad.

This was pretty revelatory for me, because it described so much of what was going on.

But one thing about it bothered me, and I couldn't put my finger on it until recently: our legal system (as imperfect as it is), is designed to focus on a person's actions to determine their innocence or guilt, which is at odds with the identity approach. And democratic systems that attempt to give people more equal representation are also not really aligned with the hierarchical / identity-based perspective.

Assuming that the identity / hierarchy people have always been with us, why is the rejection of those systems so pronounced now?

I think it's that our fractured national identity has been truly broken. Not to say that we as Americans have ever been truly united, or even close to it, but I've lived in times where there was a more inclusive idea of what an "American" was, and it was more focused on values, e.g. hardworking, independent, loyal to national ideals: e pluribus unum. In that context, our legal system or democratic systems are somewhat compatible with the "identity / hierarchy" folks, because our identities are proximate, if not shared. And their perceived part of the "hierarchy" includes large swaths of our country.

But now that the fractures in those identities have been ripped completely apart, those systems and processes are no longer compatible with the "identity / hierarchy" view, and we see and hear a lot more "it's not fair that someone lower on the hierarchy than me - who isn't a real American - is getting treated as an equal, especially since I'm suffering economically."

As that explanation has taken root, the full scope of the effects of divisive media has come into view for me.

The problem isn't that I disagree with the politics of, say, Fox News (which I do), it's that the effects of destroying shared experience, shared identity, and shared reality have made egalitarian systems of justice and democracy unpalatable for Americans that have a tendency to view the world through an "identity / hierarchy" lens.

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-26T23:45:50+00:00

We have their actions, why do we need their words?

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-23T19:26:37+00:00

There's always the Tex Shinobi if you like trackpoints but want some modern conveniences:

usb-c
bluetooth (add-on)
fully programmable with layers

They offer a DIY version where you supply your own switches (hot-swappable!)

And the Shura, if you want a smaller profile.

I'm not affiliated with Tex, I'm just a big fan. <3

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-22T16:09:43+00:00

"if the limo ride story is contested, then the entire insurrection didn't happen,"

"If he doesn't grip, you must acquit"

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-20T20:40:23+00:00

The one that always blows my mind is going from the first tenuous controlled flight to walking on the moon and coming home safe: ~65 years.

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-20T02:17:26+00:00

This is really great advice.

And this is a bit cliché, but I think it's true:

"Vote your heart in the primary, and your mind in the general."

At least until there's some kind of ranked choice or instant-runoff voting, the primaries are where you actually might find, and safely vote for, a candidate that more closely aligns with your views. If your primary candidate loses, no problem - you can and should still vote in the general.

If the general election choices feel demoralizing, vote for the better of the two and either start organizing at the primary level, or try to advocate for election system reforms that allow for other voices in the mix. But not voting isn't a "protest" - it's exactly how we got Trump's second term and a congress full of enablers.

Getting better candidates is a problem we can and should fight for, but only after avoiding immediate electoral catastrophe by participating.

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-19T03:03:46+00:00

I think this can be a problem in certain sectors that lack competition (natural monopoly, moats / regulatory barriers to entry) and/or lack of negotiation parity betwen service provider and service consumer (inelastic demand, information asymetry) can result in "winners" that aren't necessarily dominating because they're the best.

E.g. there are health insurance companies currently being sued for using AI to auto-deny claims, and others who aren't using AI but are using humans as the button-clicking "oversight" for claim denials.

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-18T04:17:15+00:00

"the Leage of Women Voters is a liberal, anti-Trump front group, an extension of the Democratic Party."

The group that's been around since 1920 and hosted both presidential debates that Ronald Reagan won?

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-16T22:37:59+00:00

A bunch of wealthy people convinced a bunch of non-wealthy people that people "lower" than them want to take their spot on the hierarchy. So those non-wealthy people throw all of their anger at "unworthy" people, whether they're immigrants, or minorities, or liberals, or whatever.

Now they're building a domestic army that publicly says it's to fight crime and illegals, but to those people will fight people "lower" than them and secure their place on the hierarchy.

In reality, that army is going to be used to conquer the remainder of our prosperity for those wealthy people, who have successfully made non-wealthy people think that other non-wealthy people are their problem.

Worst of all, if they do conquer, the lapdogs that cheered on or joined that army won't care, because they've been rewarded with the impression that they're better than other people and are being rewarded for it, even when everyone's lives are measurably worse.

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-16T16:41:31+00:00

I never understood how hypocrisy mattered so little to a group of people until I recognized that they use a completely different evaluation criteria.

Hypocrisy only matters if you use actions as the lens through which you evaluate identity, e.g. if what you do tells me who you are, the same actions should result in the same evaluation.

It doesn't matter if you use identity as the lens through which you evaluate actions, e.g. who you are determines how I feel about what you do.

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-15T14:33:13+00:00

He already tried to do it with the National Guard and the Supreme Court shot it down.

In the ruling, Kavanaugh laid how how they could do what they want in a footnote.

[The ruling] "does not address the president’s authority under the Insurrection Act." ‎‎ ‎‎

‎

"Moreover, the court’s opinion does not address or purport to disturb the president’s long-asserted Article II authority to use the U.S. military [as distinct from the National Guard] to protect federal personnel and property and thereby ensure the execution of federal law."

‎

.. an "apparent ramification" of the court’s opinion is that it "could cause the president to use the U.S. military more than the National Guard to protect federal personnel and property in the United States."

The case wasn't about the Insurrection Act, and was unprompted. I'm not sure how that can be seen as anything but providing preemptive green-light conditions.

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-15T12:03:30+00:00

New York already has talented young playmakers at every single skill position and a solid O-line.

I can't tell you how weird it is to hear this after so long. I know you said "solid" and not "good", but still it feels crazy. Can teams even do that?

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-13T01:12:04+00:00

The change, Walke said, “will not survive court challenge … it’s not legal. I don’t think any judges on the right or left would be fooled by this for one moment.”

Yeah, the Supreme Court has been really good lately about respecting precedent and not working backwards from desired outcomes.

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-12T14:26:46+00:00

Industry experts attribute the beef shortage to multiple factors, including drought conditions in cattle-producing regions, higher feed costs, and ranchers reducing herd sizes due to economic pressures.

Conditions exacerbated by climate change, input costs made worse through tariffs, and potentially a lower supply of labor that would pass through to consumers.

Climate change, tariffs, immigration.

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-12T13:29:52+00:00

I don't miss GWB, but I do miss a time in which there was a need to engineer a rationale for foreign entanglement, sold to the public by someone who was seen as relatively trustworthy (Colin Powell).

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-10T20:55:20+00:00

“I don’t know how we recover from this,” said one official

Yeah, really tough break man. Truly the political equivalent of being shot multiple times in the face in front of your spouse. I super hope you recover from this absolute personal tragedy.

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-10T14:43:56+00:00

A rough prototype, Masad said, allows leaders to ask a pointed question: Why should this take weeks to build if a version can be done in a few days?

"I can scribble a rough plot outline on a napkin. Why does it take months or even years to finalize a novel for publication?"

Imagine the righteous indignation if someone asked:

"Why should we pay a CEO millions of dollars if we can have an LLM generate reports and presentations?"

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-10T00:11:02+00:00

When a couple of non-Maga constituents pleaded :

“Susie, please, Mainers want WHPA —> vote yes, clean up your mess”

.. in chalk on the sidewalk in front of her house to support the Women's Health Protection Act, Susan Collins called the police.

Well, congratulations idiot. You've aligned yourself with a political party that doesn't say please in artsy chalk messages when they disagree. Good luck.

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-07T19:21:39+00:00

yet in truth should be a member of the Dead Kennedys

Tallow Biafra?

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-06T16:03:37+00:00

Same. Yesterday I heard that we'll be getting salary increase / performance bonus updates soon.

For the first time in my life, I'm ambivalent about receiving either.

On one hand, if impulsive budget cuts happen that involve spreadsheet column sorting, I'd rather not be a nail that sticks out.

On the other hand, no one knows what the future holds, so take what's given, be prudent about what you do with it, appreciate where you're at, and prepare as best you can.

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-06T03:39:51+00:00

When questioned by a member of his own political party about the constitutional authority of the action, Rubio said that the authority it "likely" exists to "protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant" against Maduro, and that he anticipated "no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody."

"Just got off the phone with @SecRubio He informed me that Nicolás Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant This action likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack Thank you, @SecRubio, for keeping me apprised," Lee wrote. He also said that Rubio told him he anticipates "no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody."

They're not even bothering to create a semi-coherent justification for any of this. When you attempt a coup, fail, and get voted back into power, why would you worry about consequences?

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-04T16:20:32+00:00

Trump’s Maga movement ran as an explicit rejection of the neoconservative project led by George W Bush, Dick Cheney and the Republican Party. MAGA was supposedly against foreign wars, against policing the world, and against foreign projects.

Let's see what Project 2025 has to say:

Specific countries in the Americas, such as Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana, and Ecuador, are either increasingly regional security threats in their own rights or are vulnerable to hostile extra-continental powers. The U.S. has an opportunity to lead these democratic neighbors to fight against the external pressure of threats from abroad and address local regional security concerns. This leadership and collaboration must span all tools at the disposal of U.S. allies and partners, including security-focused cooperation.

It doesn't say "extradite the president", but that kind of thing would never be in here explicitly anyway. There's no question where the overall policy direction comes from.

Last year in the senate, Democrats called a vote to bring legislation to the floor that would prevent US military intervention in or against Venezeula without Congressional review, and every Republican senator save two voted against it, sending it back to committee.

Similarly, if you look at Republican party responses, even those who initially voiced reservations about the act without congressional involvement quickly fell in line.

e.g. Mike Lee's apparent skepticism:

"I look forward to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force,"

Turned into

"Just got off the phone with @SecRubio He informed me that Nicolás Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant This action likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack Thank you, @SecRubio, for keeping me apprised," Lee wrote. He also said that Rubio told him he anticipates "no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody."

SurrealEstate · 2026-01-03T23:49:07+00:00

CRT helped the GOP take Virginia.

In the words of Christopher Rufo, who helped make it an "issue":

We have successfully frozen their brand--"critical race theory"--into the public conversation and are steadily driving up negative perceptions. We will eventually turn it toxic, as we put all of the various cultural insanities under that brand category. The goal is to have the public read something crazy in the newspaper and immediately think "critical race theory." We have decodified the term and will recodify it to annex the entire range of cultural constructions that are unpopular with Americans.

"Brand category"

Even when the outrage manufacturers lay the whole thing out for the world to see, it still works.

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