nerd

April 3, 2026

Some Interesting Things I Read Today (3 April)

The State vs. the Emma Goldman Book Club by Sara Van Horn (2 April 2026)

This whole case has been infuriating, but I also don't like giving the first amendment nonprofits any excuse. The ACLU has literally come out in support of Nazis in the past, and they can't handle the fact that there was a gun present in a protest in a state where guns are very legal? That seems like they'd rather pick and choose who gets first amendment rights, despite their claims otherwise.

The above article is a pretty good rundown of the Pairieland trial.

How the Prairieland ‘Antifa’ Verdict Threatens the Anti-Trump Resistance by Steven Monacelli (19 March 2026)

Same topic as above, immediately after the verdict, and discusses the repercussions of this decision. While I don't usually like engaging with former intelligence dorks (which this article does), they do make good points about what'll happen (that, btw, most people who didn't do any of this to other people... already had made).

School book banning escalates in the UK as Greater Manchester secondary school censors scores of books by Katie Dancey-Downs (20 March 2026)

Ridiculous use of AI to ban books, but also just a bunch of absurd censorship choices. Children are being weaponised again for “their own safety.”

April 2, 2026

Some Interesting Things I Read Today (2 April)

related tags: #ShortReading

I don't want to take notes on these, but I do want to keep track of and share some of the interesting things that I've read. (I'm not going to bother keeping track of things that felt annoying or awful to me.)

On The Enshittification of Audre Lorde: “The Master's Tools” in Tech Discourse by Tara Tarakiyee (28 March 2026)

Using Cory Doctorow's usage of Audre Lorde as a jumping off point, Tarakiyee delves into the context and history of Audre Lordes comments on “the master's tools” and how it is utilised in tech. This particular quote is something that I like, and I think it'll stick with me (probably because it feeds into my frustration for people using the work of others as a means to shut people up):

From my perspective, in free software and adjacent communities, the phrase has taken on a life entirely detached from its origins. I myself have probably engaged with it that way, to be completely honest. Micah White described it as “the atomic bomb of discussion enders,” a phrase so potent it can be applied to absolutely any argument about strategy and method, often by people who have never encountered the full speech. White's concern is not with Lorde's argument but with what has been done to it: a revolutionary provocation flattened into a reflexive shutdown. It shows up most often as a thought-terminating cliché: using corporate infrastructure, proprietary platforms, or mainstream legal mechanisms to advance liberation goals is self-defeating by definition. The master's tools. End of conversation.

The Technofascist Technology Quiz by Catherine D'Ignazio (28 February 2026)

Somewhat useful, though I feel that it is lacking because it doesn't do enough to recognise that even centralising around the government (not just military or law enforcement*) enables technofascism. Seems like it could be a good starting point, but it really needs to engage specifically with governments and not just some of the institutions they offer.

This also includes that she needs to have people think about connections between corporations and other institutions (e.g., Palantir's use in health services).

I feel similarly about the post she wrote previously, trying to figure out how to define technofascism.

The AI climate hoax by Ketan Joshi (17 February 2026)

Greenwashing is always something I'm reading about when it comes up, especially because it's such a major problem. There's also one on a “green” and “privacy-focused” search engine that added AI, despite the fact that their claims were nonsense.

I don't think regulations are going to save us, so I don't agree with those proposals because it's so easy to undo policy (as we see everywhere). I really do think more direct action and dismantling of these industries and companies is the best way to deal with this.