The US will be entering a precarious period in the near future; that much is certain. But to make sense of the inherent uncertainties, this thread will sketch out three different scenarios, admittedly weighted towards sharp discontinuities. It's better to be prepared, after all. First of all, the scenarios described below will use the 2024 election as a lynchpin. My reasoning is simple: the previous election cycles have prepared a Republican playbook of electoral subversion that is close to succeeding. Whether or how it does is thus our primary concern.

A shame about the delay, but this is one of the best Star Wars trailers I've seen in a while. Andor seems to be delivering on the promise of Rogue One, and I couldn't be more excited. This looks better than all the previous shows put together.

https://twitter.com/sw_holocron/status/1554088376550277121

I mostly think that's a matter of a solid creative team and a good amount of production time. But the focus on the early Rebellion itself is exciting, and looks to be a lot more revolutionary than the usual liberal tendencies. Love the AK-style blaster in particular.

The thing about 'regime change' is that it doesn't happen without significant internal discontent, whether popular and legitimate or otherwise. Even the most naked dictatorial power grab is enacted by a specific dissatisfaction (like that they're not the ones in charge). Thus, the problem with a concept like 'color revolution' is that it implicitly denies this agency. Changes in the social order can be wholly ascribed to outside interference rather than any internal defects. It's a betrayal of class analysis.

I've been playing around with OpenAI, and it nailed this description of ABCD on its first try. Its acuity is frightening sometimes. Sticking with the first line, its second attempt starts off well but then goes off the rails in describing its history. Cool alternate history though!

In an anarchistic post-work context, what kind of passions or projects would you like to pursue? I'd definitely stick with most of my intellectual pursuits. They'd be a bit more philosophically abstract, but still try to imagine new forms of social liberation based in a Buddhist-Daoist ethos. I'd also love to do something with spaceflight, but on a cultural basis.

I am thoroughly convinced that we are on the precipice of a prolonged period of global crisis, of which covid was only the dress rehearsal. Yet this crisis will also contain within it the seeds of the next social revolution, which will be equally global in nature. A thread. Part One: Crisis

As I see it, the present moment is marked by two major disruptions: the pandemic on the one hand, and the Russia-Ukraine War on the other. Insofar as a pattern can be discerned, it's one of shock, contraction, and a new (illusory) resumption of the status quo.

People in the US need to realize that the upcoming coup is being planned right out in the open. The messaging is clear and the dates are being set. But just as they have time to prepare in the face of liberal inertia, so do you. Surviving 2024 and after should be your goal now. In case it's not clear yet: whoever the Republicans nominate in 2024 (likely Trump or DeSantis), they're going to use their little 'independent state legislature' notion to send in whatever slate of electors they want. And the Supreme Court now stands ready to legitimize that.

Alright, now that 2019 is nearing its end, I'd like to thread out an overview of my works and writings this past year. That way, I can look back on what I've created and how I've developed, and you may find something you like among them. So let's go! The year started with a rework of one of my older short stories, which also happens to be the first part in an ongoing series. I have started work on its sequel, but the draft is far from complete. I will get back this storyline; it is quite dear to me. theinnermoon.com/2019/01/20/cyc…