R. Eric VanNewkirk

R. Eric VanNewkirk

@sotsogm.bsky.social

4436

Posts

Retired Public Defender (25 years in the trenches). Would've been a rogue attorney but they didn't even give me a lousy T-shirt when I left.

Posts Replies Media

It's such a terrible movie. It may be the entire reason I constantly have a hard time remembering how good Hanks is in Catch Me If You Can and Philadelphia. More importantly, it's such a sad encapsulation of so many of the Boomer generation's worst tendencies: history as trivia, ignorance as bliss.

I remember going into the movie theater men’s restroom after watching Forrest Gump to find grown men crying over it, saying it was the best movie they’d ever seen, and I thought, WTF, that movie sucked shit

"Stupid is as stupid does": The Gumpification of America, 30 years laterwww.salon.com Robert Zemeckis' "Forrest Gump" is aging poorly. What's worse is how we're creating more bliss through ignorance

Not like this, which is why I hope Biden keeps using the fucking rail. I swear, if the American political press could remember anything from before 2021, we'd be halfway towards having a competent press.

What is the appropriate way to descend a staircase with one's spouse?

President Gerald Ford Trips And Fallsyoutu.be President Fords historic trip and fall down the steps of Air Force One.

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R. Eric VanNewkirk

seriously I cannot get enough. cry more. cry harder. understand that as long as people draw breath the opposition to fascism is stronger than you. whatever your reasons for being a fascist, know every time that your gains will be short ones which you'll relinquish in tears every. fuckin. time

DIRECTLY INTO MY VEINS btw

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R. Eric VanNewkirk

From Guy Maddin’s Instagram, a film for Shelley Duvall’s birthday: youtu.be/i9k5MHSwJbI?...

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R. Eric VanNewkirk

Right. The reason everyone (except, for some reason, the SCOTUS majority) understands Biden can't ST6/drone strike his opponent is because everyone understands it's (a) not authorized (b) not official (c) violates the basic social contract in multiple directions, so would be a gross abuse of office.

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R. Eric VanNewkirk

Brooke Binkowski

the rich people who say that money can't bring happiness are not giving their money away so that they can be happier

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R. Eric VanNewkirk

Viktor Winetrout

This is the one Ben did that got me the most. I was in tears laughing.

Important penguin news

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R. Eric VanNewkirk

ACAB. The penguins are innocent.

Important penguin news

We've now reached the part where me being in total agreement with Al Sharpton is another thing that wasn't on my bingo card. This timeline really does need to be turned off and turned back on again.

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R. Eric VanNewkirk

The thing that's obvious to everyone and that nobody can actually write in the press is that the American (and yes, I'm sure elsewhere too) right wing is led by bad people and the object is to make more people extremely bad in basically every respect. It's anti-society

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R. Eric VanNewkirk

I will bang this drum forever: in THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE FREE: THE GERMANS, 1933-45 Milton Mayer interviewed 10 ordinary Germans after WW2 to learn how fascism took hold. There was never a moment when everyone woke up:

if you’re waiting for everyone around you to wake up, you’ll wait forever. this is how the people grinding our bones to make their bread WANT you to be. paralyzed, alienated & purposeless

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R. Eric VanNewkirk

Me, a month ago: “Democrats, you must create a live controversy over whether the presidential nominee should drop out! Use your official, non-campaign channels! The real, non-performative debate will dominate news coverage!” *a finger on the monkey paw curls*

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R. Eric VanNewkirk

(Trump does literally everything in Project 2025) Trump: “oh i didn’t know that was the name.”

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R. Eric VanNewkirk

I am begging tuned in but anxious Dems/liberals to understand something about news media: it does matter, but the ppl specifically that you are worried about it mattering with—avg, undecided voters—are not sitting at home waiting dutifully to have their brains filled up by CNN, the NYT, Axios etc.

Just figures, doesn't it, that it's a privileged dude who only worries about what other people think about it to the extent it impacts his fragile narcissism might benefit from felony destigmatization, and not some poor dude who's put hard work into personal redemption and deserves a second chance?

Sadly, I have to admit I do know where to begin: as a retired public defender I would like to be clear that when lots of us wanted the rest of you not to judge people by their records, this is not what we meant. At all. Not even close.

Sadly, I have to admit I do know where to begin: as a retired public defender I would like to be clear that when lots of us wanted the rest of you not to judge people by their records, this is not what we meant. At all. Not even close.

I don’t even know where to begin with this.

Pretty sure that the story is, in fact, that there are clear policy differences between a Biden Administration and a Trump Administration and they'd be virtually the same issues if both men were actually factually comatose.

Say what you will about the various Democratic party actors in the fight over whether Biden stays on the ticket, but I can understand all of their behavior much better than I can the journalists who are trying to write their way into the camps

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R. Eric VanNewkirk

also Trump's supporters have no idea what he's saying half the time! no one does! there's no need to overthink this. Trump is popular because he channels vibes-based grievances and wants to punish those groups who his supporters feel have wronged them. That's it.

Trump has never had a speech impediment, and if you read a transcript of his speeches, they make very little sense, if any. It is apparently elitist to point this out, because "his supporters know what he's saying." When you read what he says, this is basically advancing Trump as telepath.

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R. Eric VanNewkirk

My favorite part of the West Wing fantasies about replacing Biden is the idea that there wouldn’t immediately be a new fatal flaw with whoever replaced him.

I don't take the age thing seriously. THEY PICK A LIE ABOUT EVERY DEM, and the press knows it's some BS but plays along. They know that the other guy is worse in every way, especially his brain. They turned being a war hero into a liability against a fortunate son draft dodger.

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R. Eric VanNewkirk

The discourse around biden needing more sleep is fully insane. Does no one remember "Executive Time," the thing Trump spent the majority(!) of his schedule on where he would just watch TV and tweet? Dude was categorically unable to fulfill any of the demands of the office and the press barely cared

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R. Eric VanNewkirk

Larry the cat now holds the record for Prime Ministers a single Chief Mouser to the Treasury has tolerated. 6 PMs: Larry (2011-present) 5 PMs: Peter III (1947-1964) and Peter (1929-1946) 4 PMs: Wilberforce (1973-1987) 3 PMs: Humphrey (1989-1997) and Peta (1964-1976)

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R. Eric VanNewkirk

I would argue that modern conservatism demands rights without any corresponding obligation or duty to each other and society. And rights without that reciprocity engenders oppression, lawlessness and disorder;

i really hate how Duty is often portrayed as a right wing virtue we all have a duty to our families, loved ones, friends, to each other —even strangers, and also a duty to fight for a better world, even when it seems hopeless

Ironically, the scope of his actual interest in government (personal profit and legal immunity) is so small he may have no idea what the people he's bringing in to do the work for him are actually up to and he certainly doesn't care as long as it doesn't bite him. That makes it worse, not better.

The ramped-up hits on Project 2025 must be landing — Trump just shoved it right in front of the bus

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R. Eric VanNewkirk

I adore Halloween. It starts on October 1. Dilution does not make something better.

I feel like you can just be goth. Feeling like this is a long workaround based on the assumption you can't be goth

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R. Eric VanNewkirk

"The members of the mainstream media are human beings (despite frequent appearances to the contrary) and human beings respond to incentives. There is an enormous personal financial incentive to another four years of Trump in the White House" www.oliverexplains.com/p/the-media-...

The Media Rigs The 2024 Electionwww.oliverexplains.com History Continues To Repeat Itself

Just saw a thing about the 25th Amendment that made me go take a look at it again because I'd forgotten about Section 2. Right. So everyone suggesting Biden resign the Presidency is also overlooking the fact that Harris' VP appointment would have to be confirmed by the House. That'll happen.

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R. Eric VanNewkirk

It's fairly insane that MOST political journalists exhibit no understanding that being President and running for President are not the same thing, and often a President who is effective at making policy may not titillate their beltway gossip machine, which reflects on THEIR competence, not his.

Karma police, arrest this man. His Hitler hairdo is making me feel ill and we have crashed his party.

lol. lmao even

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R. Eric VanNewkirk

It's fine, we have their number now.

fellow canadians: two more hours until the yanks are sufficiently soused and the strike begins