Joe Flaherty

@joef-3.bsky.social

851 Followers 235 Following

Ní neart go cur le chéile. He/him.

A paragraph from Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter From A Birmingham Jail: “I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”
The FIFA Club World Cup trophy sitting on a black pedestal labeled “Club World Cup 25” in a football field. It looks vaguely like a golden gyroscope.
A simple line drawing four panel comic on a yellow square. It’s titled “it’s a living” and is signed Buttpoems. In the first panel, a person says “I’m trying”. In the second, a different person with long hair says “your best?” In the third, the first person says “God, I hope not”. In panel 4 they say “but yeah, probably”
An image of a shiny, futuristic city
A Calvin and Hobbes comic strip. In the first panel, Hobbes, a tiger, is sleeping peacefully on his back with all four paws in the air. In the second, he is awoken by Calvin, diving from above the panel and yelling “YAAHH!” With a menacing look. In the third panel, Hobbes is baring his claws and teeth and Calvin is desperately flailing, but gravity will do its work. In the last panel, Calvin is walking away looking cartoon injured (covered in lots of black lines with stars coming off him) and saying “I keep forgetting that five of his six ends are pointy when he lies like that”.
A screenshot of two posts with “View full thread” between them. The first is from Kevin Kruse and is about knowing how to change a flat tire. The second is the post this is replying to, from hilzoy, about the reasons the U.S. lost the Vietnam war. Full text follows: Kevin M. Kruse • @kevinmkruse.bsky... • 7h Reminded that a colleague of mine, not that much younger, once confessed to me that he didn't know how to change a flat tire. And I said: "Don't ever admit that to another human being." Rob Sheridan • @rob-sheridan.... • 2d Saw a meme of GenZ baffled by how pre-internet travel worked, and realized we've crossed an enshittification threshold where IRL services that once seemed outdated, like travel agents, now seem luxurious: "You meet with a human expert who plans out your whole trip with you" sounds incredible now toh لها 121 10 117 942 View full thread hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social • 52m → Replied to Voted for Hubert and Kamala Though I think that the problem in Vietnam was not vast superiority in numbers and resources, but being completely mistaken about the nature of the war, trying to support people whose actions guarant that they would hemorrhage suppor doing stupid things no one would do
The opening text of the MOU between Iran and the U.S. that is the basis for the current peace talks. It reads in full: “The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America have jointly agreed, in good faith, on ........ 2026, at........ on the following: 1. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, and their allies in the current war, by signing this MoU, declare the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and undertake from now on not to initiate any war or any military operation against each other, and to refrain from the threat or use of force against each other, and ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon. The final Deal will confirm the permanent termination of the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and other provisions of this paragraph.” The clause about refraining from threats is highlighted.
Sid Rosenberg, the guy in the photo earlier in the thread, being interviewed by a blonde woman on the streets of NYC during the Israel parade/event that was held recently. There is a caption that says “radio host defends telling Jews that Mayor Mamdani ‘wants them dead’”. He is either very tan bordering on sunburned or very flush with emotion, as his skin tone is quite red, but not as absurdly purple looking as the photo earlier in the thread.
Hearts of Iron Bumblebee, an alternate history Transformers story set during the railroad era. Bumblebee is shown in his robot and train forms. Both are yellow and black with silver/grey accents. The robot is a vaguely steampunk looking humanoid, the train form is a very compressed steam engine. It looks roughly in scale with the small train engine in the retweeted photo. A
A screenshot of two posts. The first is from Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog.xyz) and says “I do not want to ‘chat with my files’” in all caps, above a screenshot of an unidentified program that reads “create a PDF space - chat with your files and links to get quick insights” with an icon of an open box of files and the little stars icon that is often used to represent AI. The second post is the post this replying to, from Jules (@pussy.fan) reading “becoming increasingly convinced all ai execs have never used a computer and simply got their assistant to do it, because why the hell would anyone want this”
A tweet from Elon Musk dated 2/8/26 that reads: For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years. The mission of SpaceX remains the same: extend consciousness and life as we know it to the stars. It is only possible to travel to Mars when the planets align every 26 months (six month trip time), whereas we can launch to the Moon every 10 days (2 day trip time). This means we can iterate much faster to complete a Moon city than a Mars city. That said, SpaceX will also strive to build a Mars city and begin doing so in about 5 to 7 years, but the overriding priority is securing the future of civilization and the Moon is taster.
A screenshot from the linked Tolarian Community College video. It has magic the gathering products in the background and says: “Total releases since September 2020 - 27 Standard Sets, 8 Jumpstart sets, 16 Premium sets, 110 Commander Precons, and ~400 Secret Lairs”
Digit the muppet from The Jim Henson Hour
A screenshot from Hot Mulligan’s music video for “I Don’t Think It’s the Right Time for Emojis”. The band’s lead singer, Tades, is sitting in an old leather chair singing. The lyric from the song “separate your church out of my fucking state” appears as white text along the bottom third.
A screenshot from the movie Starship Troopers. Neil Patrick Harris stands with his hand on a just captured brain bug. The text says “It’s afraid”, the line Harris said to cheers from the surrounding soldiers.
A screenshot of a news article from shortly after Trump’s victory in 2024 that reads: “Even the way people on Wall Street talk and interact is changing. Bankers and financiers say that Trump's victory has emboldened those who chafed at "woke doctrine" and felt they had to self-censor or change their language to avoid offending younger colleagues, women, minorities or disabled people. "I feel liberated," said a top banker. "We can say 'retard' and 'pussy' without the fear of getting cancelled... it's a new dawn."
A tweet from comedian Tig Notaro dated 8/1/19 that reads “All the wrong people hate themselves.”
A member of the U.S. military in uniform speaking at a podium. He has a large number of ribbons and medals, including the Medal of Honor, which sits suspended from a blue ribbon around his necks just above the top button of his uniform jacket.
A headline from a story in the satirical paper The Onion from before the start of the Iraq War. It is labeled Point/Counterpoint and reads “This War Will Destabilize The Entire Mideast Region And Set Off A Global Shockwave Of Anti-Americanism VS. No It Won't”
A product photo for blue smoke detector covers, similar to a disposable shower cap.
A news photo of Governor Newsom personally destroying the belongings of a member of his community.
A screenshot of the Bluesky timeline. At the top, a post that is cut off but shows a preview to a news story and a link. The news story has a mugshot of a mediocre white dude with the headline “Ohio GOP mayor accused of sniffing underage relative’s underwear”. Below that is a post by Hilzoy with a thinking emoji above a quoted post from Jay Willis that says “The Free Press is discovering new levels of Telling On Yourself that scientists previously thought could not exist, with a screenshot of the Free Press website below it displaying the headline “Why Is No One Having Sex?”
A screenshot of a review of the film Star Trek Into Darkness attributed to Branson Reese in August of 2022. It reads: “Abrams isn't a man so much as he's an avatar of cultural entropy. If you make something popular enough eventually you will die or sell it off and and a person in thick rimmed glasses whose main artistic vision is that he loves to have meetings will take it and sandblast it until it's nothing. I hate to see this happen here but maybe it's good that this happened. Maybe every franchise should collapse into a version of itself that makes shareholders nod and shake each others' hands. We should learn to speak in a language that rich people who don't dream can't comprehend.”
Elliott Gould as the character Ruben from one of the modern Ocean’s movies. He is wearing a black overcoat, blue sweater, and a yellow bow tie. He has thick rimmed glasses and short gray hair.
A yellow field with the face of Jake the Dog from the show Adventure time, implying a close up of him, with a quote of his from the show: “Dude, sucking at something is the first step to being sorta good at something”
A screenshot of a text post that reads: “My friend: what're you smiling about ;) Me: nothing My head: tutant meenage neetle teetles”
A close up photo of a tuxedo cat making a scrunched up face. He has a cold and is congested and is very unhappy about it.
A European ad for a mail order Transformers branded watch, showing drawings of the face, which looks like an Autobot logo, splitting open to reveal a simple digital watch face.
The handshake meme with r/catbongos on one side and r/MassiveCock on the other, with “Abolish ICE” where there hands are joined.
An image of a text statement from Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, reading: Sen. Cortez Masto Statement Opposing Current DHS Funding Bill "The Trump Administration and Kristi Noem are putting undertrained, combative federal agents on the streets with no accountability. They are oppressing Americans and are at odds with local law enforcement. This is clearly not about keeping Americans safe, it's brutalizing U.S. citizens and law-abiding immigrants. I will not support the current Homeland Security funding bill. We have bipartisan agreement on 96% of the budget. We've already passed six funding bills. Let's pass the remaining five bipartisan bills and fund essential agencies while we continue to fight for a Department of Homeland Security that respects Americans' constitutional rights and preserves federal law enforcement's essential role to keep us safe."
A bologna and cheese sandwich is being held in the foreground, with a very small bite missing from the edge of the balogna. In the background, a long haired black cat is sitting on a desk looking annoyed at the person holding the camera/sandwich.
A photo of Martin Luther King Jr, along with a quote: “I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate ...the white moderate, who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice.”
A headline from the satirical news website The Onion after the mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017 that says “‘No Way To Prevent This’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens” with a picture of emergency vehicles at the scene in Vegas.
A screenshot of a tweet from Tig Notaro dated 8/1/19 that reads “All the wrong people hate themselves.”
A tweet from the day after the 2024 election, from Matt Ramsey (@OneNerdyOpinion): Yeah. I was pretty full of despair but I went ahead and replaced that with spite. I can't give up yet. I've got graves to dance on that haven't been dug yet.
A screenshot of a quote attributed to Martha Wells in her novel Network Effect, book 5 in the series The Murderbot Diaries. The quote is from an internal monologue of the titular character, Murderbot. “If I got angry at myself for being angry I would be angry constantly and I wouldn't have time to think about anything else.) (Wait, I think I am angry constantly. That might explain a lot.)”
A screenshot from the series premier of Star Trek the Next Generation. Patrick Stewart, playing Captain Jean Luc Picard, is facing off with John DeLancie, playing Q, in front of an out of focus crowd in the background. The Q Continuum is putting humanity on trial with Picard standing in as their representative/advocate.
A tweet from Nov 6, 2024 from Matt Ramsey that reads: “Yeah. I was pretty full of despair but I went ahead and replaced that with spite. I can't give up yet. I've got graves to dance on that haven't been dug yet.”
A screenshot of the main headline on CNN.com: “Enough Democrats caved, paving the way for shutdown to end”. There is a photo of a street with the Capitol building in the background in morning light, then a subheading that reads “The compromise was opposed by some key Democratic leaders and is already igniting a firestorm of protests”
A tweet from 2019 by @Merman_Melville that reads: “Being a billionaire must be insane. You can buy new teeth, new skin. All your chairs cost 20,000 dollars and weigh 2,000 pounds. Your life is just a series of your own preferences. In terms of cognitive impairment it's probably like being kicked in the head by a horse every day”
A screenshot from the linked article that reads: “Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) last week demanded the feds "review every naturalization of the past 30 years - starting with Mamdani." "I just think we need to take a hard look at how these folks became citizens, and if there is any fraud or any violation of the rules we need to denaturalize and deport," Fine told the Post.”
A black long hair cat sitting under a computer monitor with an annoyed look on her face. In the foreground, a bologna and cheese sandwich with a small, cat sized bite missing from the balogna.
A promotional photo of Bill Russell in his green Celtics #6 jersey.
A screenshot of the linked article that reads “To get the statue built, Calvin first needs President Donald Trump to reclassify Alcatraz, already a national park, as a national monument. He put the project on the back burner while Joe Biden was in office but expects that Trump, who has long fixated on aesthetics, will be on his side. "Luckily, my business allows me to have some extra access," says Calvin, who lives in Denver and runs a Bitcoin mining business with operations in the Middle East. He's planning to present Trump's team with a pitch - renderings of the…”
A tweet from 2019 by the account @Merman_Melville Being a billionaire must be insane. You can buy new teeth, new skin. All your chairs cost 20,000 dollars and weigh 2,000 pounds. Your life is just a series of your own preferences. In terms of cognitive impairment it's probably like being kicked in the head by a horse every day
A tweet from August first, 2019 by comedian Tig Notaro that reads “All the wrong people hate themselves.”
A woman in a Minnie Mouse themed sweater in front of a wall of bespoke Disney mouse ear headbands. On the desk in front of her is a large stack of leftist and anti-fascist books: The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein, The Small and The Mighty by Sharon McMahon, The Blood of Emmett Till by Timothy Tyson, A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn, American Negro Folktales by Richard Dorson, Schindler’s Lost by Thomas Keneally, The Diary of Anne Frank, Maus by Art Spiegelman, Adolf Hitler by John Tolland, Life in a Jar by Jack Mayer, White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, Ordinary Men by Christopher Browning, and On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder.
A selection from Lincoln’s address at Cooper Union: “Will they be satisfied if the Territories be unconditionally surrendered to them? We know they will not. In all their present complaints against us, the Territories are scarcely mentioned. Invasions and insurrections are the rage now. Will it satisfy them, if, in the future, we have nothing to do with invasions and insurrections? We know it will not. We so know, because we know we never had anything to do with invasions and insurrections; and yet this total abstaining does not exempt us from the charge and the denunciation. The question recurs, what will satisfy them? Simply this: We must not only let them alone, but we must somehow, convince them that we do let them alone. This, we know by experience, is no easy task. We have been so trying to convince them from the very beginning of our organization, but with no success. In all our platforms and speeches we have constantly protested our purpose to let them alone; but this has had no tendency to convince them. Alike unavailing to convince them, is the fact that they have never detected a man of us in any attempt to disturb them. These natural, and apparently adequate means all failing, what will convince them? This, and this only: cease to call slavery wrong, and join them in calling it right. And this must be done thoroughly - done in acts as well as in words. Silence will not be tolerated - we must place ourselves avowedly with them. Senator Douglas' new sedition law must be enacted and enforced, suppressing all declarations that slavery is wrong, whether made in politics, in presses, in pulpits, or in private. We must arrest and return their fugitive slaves with greedy pleasure. We must pull down our Free State constitutions. The whole atmosphere must be disinfected from all taint of opposition to slavery, before they will cease to believe that all their troubles proceed from us.”
A screenshot from the mid 90s X-men cartoon of Wolverine lying in bed in full blue and yellow costume, looking longingly at a picture frame.
A screenshot of the 90s c-men cartoon featuring Wolverine in his yellow and blue costume laying in bed looking longingly at a framed photo.
A screenshot of an old tweet, framed as a dialog. It starts “my friend: you can always talk to me, I’m here for you” which is followed by “me:” and a screenshot of a news story showing a man in a hospital with a nail sticking out of his chest just below and inside his nipple. The headline reads “‘I don’t like to bother people,’ says man who drove himself to the ER with a nail in his heart”
Two tweets from 2016. The first is from right wing media personality Matt Walsh, saying “I would kill every ape in the world to save one human, because humans are more important. This is a very simple concept, folks.” Followed by a reply by the cartoonist and writer K. Thor Jensen asking “would you suck every ape’s dick to save one human”
The POLITICO-UC Berkeley Citrin Center survey conducted by TrueDot found that 70 percent of Democrats believe gerrymandering is "never acceptable." But a strong majority of Democratic voters across the country think California Democrats should "fight back" and create more favorable House districts if Texas Republicans do, embracing the exact idea likely to.go before California voters.
A scene from the comic book Preacher, where the main character is confronting a group of white supremacists. He angrily asks “why is it the greatest champions of the white race always turn out to be the worst examples of it?” Then confronts a confused looking man with a pathetic expression and no chin: “you! Where the fuck is your chin?” The man is left blubbering “wh-wh-wh-?”
A listing of the published murderbot diaries short stories, novellas, and novels, listed in chronological order. 1 Obsolescence; 2 Compulsory; 3 All Systems Red; 4 Artificial Condition, 5 Rogue Protocol; 6 Exit Strategy; 7 Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory; 8 Fugitive Telemetry; 9 Network Effect; 10 System Collapse
A headline from the site Techspot that reads: ChatGPT gets crushed at chess by a 1 MHz Atari 2600 Al models have no clue about what chess actually is, or which moves are valid By Alfonso Maruccia Today 12:50 PM There’s a close up photo of chess pieces below the headline.
An image labeled Audubon Society Bird of the Week, showing a small gray bird with black accents in the wings and tail perched on a narrow branch. It is labeled “ash-breasted tit tyrant” and includes the following facts: it is found in the high Andes mountains of Peru and Bolivia, and it is endangered. There are only 150-700 in the wild and that is decreasing. Its scientific name is Anairetes Alpinus.
A closeup of Elon Musk’s face turned partly to the right. What appears to be bruising is visible on the outside of his eye.