Hasnain says:

This echoes a lot of my feelings.

“Podhorzer isn’t predicting another civil war, exactly. But he’s warning that the pressure on the country’s fundamental cohesion is likely to continue ratcheting up in the 2020s. Like other analysts who study democracy, he views the Trump faction that now dominates the Republican Party—what he terms the “MAGA movement”—as the U.S. equivalent to the authoritarian parties in places such as Hungary and Venezuela. It is a multipronged, fundamentally antidemocratic movement that has built a solidifying base of institutional support through conservative media networks, evangelical churches, wealthy Republican donors, GOP elected officials, paramilitary white-nationalist groups, and a mass public following. And it is determined to impose its policy and social vision on the entire country—with or without majority support. “The structural attacks on our institutions that paved the way for Trump’s candidacy will continue to progress,” Podhorzer argues, “with or without him at the helm.””

Hasnain says:

“I don’t want to hear anything about how voting in November is now more important than ever. Spare me, I am begging you. As I’ve written before, my entire career voting at the national level, for my whole life, has been a reaction to Democrats’ emotional blackmail: If you care about Roe at all, hold your nose and vote for us. We now all see where that’s gotten us, and we see how little elected Democrats are willing to do to protect us. Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer can barely be bothered to say the word “abortion.” But don’t worry, Pelosi has already blasted out a fundraising email. (She says she’s “absolutely sick to my stomach” and needs “25,000 Democratic gifts in the next 24 hours.”) And the Senate has promised to…hold a hearing. In July. A real sense of urgency there!”

Hasnain says:

This is the worst timeline. A fully corrupt Supreme Court doing whatever it can without any regard for the rights of millions of Americans; or even the appearance of self consistency. It’s so blatant.

Yesterday; NY’s ban on concealed carry was repealed because it’s too important to leave to the states (among other arguments); today, abortion was “left up to the states”.

“Writing for the court majority, Justice Samuel Alito said that the 1973 Roe ruling and repeated subsequent high court decisions reaffirming Roe "must be overruled" because they were "egregiously wrong," the arguments "exceptionally weak" and so "damaging" that they amounted to "an abuse of judicial authority."

The decision, most of which was leaked in early May, means that abortion rights will be rolled back in nearly half of the states immediately, with more restrictions likely to follow. For all practical purposes, abortion will not be available in large swaths of the country. The decision may well mean too that the court itself, as well as the abortion question, will become a focal point in the upcoming fall elections and in the fall and thereafter.”

Hasnain says:

Been a while since I found a good sci-fi short story randomly and I have to admit this one was pretty good - a flash fiction on the end of the universe.

Hasnain says:

“There is simply no excuse for why these vaccines are not being hyper-aggressively pursued, particularly given the trajectory of relentless increased SARS-CoV-2 immune-evasiveness (and resultant enhanced transmissibility), the new worry about reinfection sequelae and Long Covid, and the known unknown next Greek letter variant we may well be seeing in the months ahead. The lack of priority and resource allocation stems from the illusion that the pandemic is behind us, which is obviously off-base. If ever there was a callout for don’t just stand there, do something, this is it.”

Hasnain says:

Extremely long and equally valuable. I’m going to find myself going back to this from time to time for insightful career advice. This also reminds me I need to get back to my own writing at some point.

“Invest in friendships and relationships with folks you can learn from. Be open to their guidance, mentorship, their successes, and their failures. Never be afraid to ask for help or insight. In a lot of cases, it's just a question away.

At every stage, remember that mastery over technology, business domain, and human resources at a given organization has to be cultivated over time. An organization cannot hire masters from another and expect them to be productive from day one. If you are a good engineer, you will contribute to your organization's growth. In return, new avenues will be available to you, allowing you to acquire new skills and grow yourself.”

Hasnain says:

This was a fun little historical tidbit I wasn’t aware of.

“They were so sure about their "unique differential" that they based their entire product around its function. It is, really, what most companies should do with their products, and the amount of thought that every major company deserves, yet rarely gets. Not only did they innovate a packaging style, but they did it to prove a point that their invention did. The packaging, product, slogan, and branding, then, all tell one story -- which is brilliant. “

Hasnain says:

I’ve said this many times and will continue to say this again, but this story keeps getting worse as more information comes out. At least this has more truth to it than most of the info out there so far which has been lies coming from the cops.

“The first to reach the victims inside pulled motionless, bloodied children onto the hallway’s linoleum flooring as they tried to assess their vital signs. None of the children appeared to make a sound. One child whose still body was placed on the floor had to be gently pushed to make room for others streaming in and and out, his blood leaving a wide swath of crimson across the hallway floor.”

Hasnain says:

This was quite enlightening. I hadn’t seen enough of the referenced content to pick up on the biases but now that they’ve been pointed out, uh…

“When I think of how to eradicate this phenomenon, the word that comes to mind is consent. I was born into this world with these lies alive and well, yet I never consented to them. How many more generations of Asian women will be damned before they’re even born, seen first and foremost as a type in someone else’s story? Why is our humanity seen as something to be earned, as Tiffany’s awkwardly is in Senior Year, rather than as a given? And when will Asian actresses finally have access to roles that respect their talent rather than waste it?”

Hasnain says:

This is crazy - police didn’t like what these activists were doing so they hacked them, planted evidence, and then arrested them for it.

““We generally don’t tell people who targeted them, but I’m kind of tired of watching shit burn,” the security analyst at the email provider told WIRED of their decision to reveal the identifying evidence from the hacked accounts. “These guys are not going after terrorists. They’re going after human rights defenders and journalists. And it’s not right.””