AmericaBall!

John Oliver on income inequality, "class warfare," talent shows, and the estate tax. Good, sadly illustrative stuff.

Reshared post from +Les Jenkins

John illustrates wealth inequality via a lottery.

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***Dave Does the Mastodon

1 hour ago

#MikeHuckabee, the US ambassador to #Israel is shocked, *shocked*, that there are violent settlers on the #WestBank trying to steal Palestinian property, and he wants that to Stop. Right. Now.

Well, mostly he's shocked regarding property there belonging to #PalestinianAmericans. 'Cause, y'know, *that's* the only worrisome aspect of it. He's fine with Israeli settlements all over the West Bank, just not if they take from folk with American connections.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-envoy-huckabee-tells-israeli-settlers-not-take-palestinian-americans-land-2026-08-20/

42 minutes ago

#Texas Governor #GregAbbott had decided that washing stations at Texas airports used by #Muslims before prayer are religious #discrimination against good ol' Christian boys like him because, well, *he* doesn't use them.

Also because he's an #Islamophobe and thinks it plays well with his #Republican base, which it probably does.

https://wapo.st/3UIOdel

4 days ago

The funny/tragic part of this is that #Trump has blown any credit to his accusations, even if in this instance they were true. Except among his fanatical followers, who would believe him if he claimed it was commie space aliens responsible.

Trump blames vandals for damaged grass where he held July 4 celebration | AP News
https://apnews.com/article/trump-vandalism-claim-world-war-ii-memorial-f37b3fe1daae73d00f4faad29a5df80e

4 days ago

Kimchi Dip (aka Hawaiian Kimchee Dip) https://hill-kleerup.org/blog/margie/kimchi-dip-aka-hawaiian-kimchee-dip.html

6 days ago

And in other not-at-all-a-surprise news, #DonaldTrump is a nasty, vindictive #bully who is always happy to use the power of the #federalgovernment as a #weapon against anyone he wants to punish (or a boon for anyone he wants to reward).

In this case: organized, coordinated action against #Colorado for having the temerity to keep imprisoned a Trumpist who broke a state #electionsecurity laws after 2020. (Our governor eventually caved on the matter.)

https://www.denverpost.com/2026/08/14/colorado-donald-trump-tina-peters/

1 week ago

One of the things #AI is actually fantastic at is detecting, modeling, and intensifying human biases in its source materials.

#storytelling #sexism #fable #writing #bias

https://www.sciencealert.com/virtually-absent-ai-models-practically-erase-female-characters-from-kids-stories

2 weeks ago

Wherein I babble about #ballotmeasures, ballot #propositions #goodgovernance #principle and #hypocrisy . As one does.

https://hill-kleerup.org/blog/2026/08/09/propositioning-and-good-government.html

2 weeks ago

So, not only are #AI companies rampantly stealing IP, they are apparently bulk purchasing physical books , including rare volumes, and "destructively" scanning them, with a notional goal of eliminating all the books in the world in favor of Ai spitting out #slop on command.

Snopes: Are AI companies scanning and destroying millions of books, including rare titles?
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ai-companies-destroying-rare-books/

2 weeks ago

You know Donald's thrashing a bit when he plays the populist card against oil companies. Though I'm sure he'll forgive them if they just give *him* the money. On behalf of the public, of course.

#Trump says #Exxon and #Chevron made 'too much money' during #Iran conflict https://share.google/GOP 330 X PA I'm VIC Pio 345

2 weeks ago

The New York Times: #Blanche Gives G.O.P. Senators Written Assurances on Trump’s I.R.S. Deal
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/us/politics/todd-blanche-trump-irs-fund-order.html

Even without impuning Blanche's character, his making any promises about something #Trump decides he wants is meaningless. Trump has made it clear that the AG works for him, and is expected to follow any commands given by the POTUS. Blanche can't give reliable assurances about anything.

3 weeks ago

"The #Constitution is not a suicide pact"... unless you're #RFKjr

RFK Jr. tells CNN host that #constitutionalrights take priority over #publichealth - POLITICO https://share.google/vAwH5RviC010tvD7C

3 weeks ago

The only positive thing I can say about #LindseyGraham is that his "never met a #war I didn't like" attitude may have kept the US supporting #Ukraine against Putin's invasion (and Trump's indifference).

Aside from that, he was always eager to send troops anywhere at the drop of a hat, and the brief moments of treating #Trump as the ass he is were followed by utter collapse and brown nosing to a point that folk wondered what kompromat Trump had on him.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-says-graham-liked-war

3 weeks ago

Federal prosecutors are charging an American traveler under a federal law against damaging or destroying property before the government can seize it.

His "crime?" Providing a #DuressPasscode to wipe his phone contents when the US #CustomsAndBorderPatrol folk demanded access to the mobile on his reentering the country.

#byhookorbycrook #cbp #tsa #searchandseizure

https://www.thetravel.com/us-customs-and-border-protection-faces-first-ever-type-incident-after-travelers-phone-search-goes-wrong-due-to-passcode-hack/

4 weeks ago

It's "Shakespeare in Love" at the refurbbed Rippon Outdoor theater at #CUBoulder, Colorado Shakespeare Festival!

#COShakes

4 weeks ago

"Nearly 150,000 mail ballots rejected in California’s primary despite efforts to count every vote"

The AP headline's headline should read (since it's largely what's in the story):

"California mail voting rules worked, 150K ballots rejected"

Trump objections have always been "votes come in late and still count, anyone can send in a ballot" etc. The article makes it clear California is preventing that, despite the headline.

#mailballot #mailvote #votebymail

https://apnews.com/article/california-primary-rejected-mail-ballots-voting-2291684fe4544cab2301f8965abc8f79

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Views expressed by others are, well, theirs. I reserve the right to delete them, but it’s usually better to let the marketplace of ideas hold sway, even if some packages are long past their expiry date.

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