Erinn O'Dear
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erinnthered.bsky.social
Erinn O'Dear
@erinnthered.bsky.social
Redhead. Texan. Vagabond.

Expect typos she/her
Pinned
Reposted by Erinn O'Dear
The African Literature Association has its roots there with the founding members including Berenth Lindfors, Chinua Achebe, Wole Solinka, & Denis Brutus in the early 1970s in response, in part, to apartheid.
September 18, 2026 at 1:38 AM
Reposted by Erinn O'Dear
Anyway UT Austin had the largest African and African Diaspora Studies program in the country sure wish there was as much energy for it when it was running as there is now for condemning its closure.
September 17, 2026 at 11:26 PM
Reposted by Erinn O'Dear
“New students enrolling at the University of Texas at Austin can no longer major in studies focusing on Africans and the African diaspora, Mexican Americans and Latinos, or women and gender.”

Puts a lot of “regain trust” rhetoric into proper relief.
Majors related to race, gender cut at University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin rejected a department’s plan to keep the majors, a decision that came without public knowledge, an interim department chair told faculty.
www.texastribune.org
September 17, 2026 at 10:00 PM
A second thread on the real philosophy behind all those AI dudes has hit the timeline.
some middle rat history, w/clarifications:

1) I should have titled my previous "AI Safety Is Mostly A Sex Cult In Berkeley, California" so people would stop arguing with me about people who aren't in Berkeley, California.

2) The sex cult part of this is both predatory and integral to what they do.
September 18, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Reposted by Erinn O'Dear
I learned this week that the New York Times was founded 175 years ago. There is a useful set of pieces floating around on this for journalism history buffs. But what struck me is that means the Times was founded 25 years *after* the black press which will celebrate its 200th birthday in a few months
September 18, 2026 at 11:37 AM
Reposted by Erinn O'Dear
This is eugenics
September 17, 2026 at 11:30 PM
Reposted by Erinn O'Dear
My grandfather, who is 102 and a medical doctor, has told me about the times before polio was cured. Most years, upon returning to school after summer’s break, there would be some children would didn’t make it back to school because of polio.
“On Thursday, Mr. Gorton said that “the success of the polio vaccine was a massive medical fraud” and that widespread vaccination was a “public health disaster.” He received a standing ovation…

Mr. Kennedy spoke next, linking arms with the group even as measles cases continue to rise”
RFK Jr. Assures Vaccine Skeptics They Have a ‘Friend at the White House’
The health secretary spoke at a conference featuring misinformation about vaccines, including a claim that the success of the polio vaccines was a “fraud.”
www.nytimes.com
September 18, 2026 at 1:56 AM
Heads up on Wendy's and the makers of Honey Nut Cheerios and Count Chocula (bastards).
Chipotle, Wendy's, General Mills, and Tyson are working with Palantir. Cut 'em out if possible.
September 18, 2026 at 8:07 AM
I don't think Chipotle realizes they are not the only burrito in town.
September 18, 2026 at 8:05 AM
They turned off comments because they know the headline is a lie. Aussies, please make some noise in their direction. Do y'all have an Ofcom/ FCC?
September 17, 2026 at 10:52 PM
Hot
This is the most masculine video on the internet right now
September 17, 2026 at 10:49 PM
If you can't see through trans panic you won't see through the AI sex cult, or the "protect the children" internet bills, or the lies about negative outcomes of taxing billionaires, or the myth of lack of US skill in tech, or the immigration myths, or the sports bill, or the permanent daylight savin
If you are so extraordinarily stupid that you fall for a standard Republican trans panic ruse, I cannot trust you to represent me in office. This is like media literacy 101. Your colleagues are going to run circles around you. Dupe you into anything. I'd be safer running and representing myself.
September 17, 2026 at 10:47 PM
Reposted by Erinn O'Dear
People saying "transgender ideology" in 2026 sound like people saying "race-mixing ideology" in 1956, and their kids and grandkids will feel embarrassment at their feckless cowardice.
Marcy Kaptur is the incumbent with a 5 point polling lead so I must assume she put out this ad because this is what she believes.
September 17, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Another thread on AE and longtermism. Aka that other SV philosophy that's related to the Harry Potter fanfiction cult, but a bit different and still not thst death cult you might have heard of.

These people are very influential and impact policy decisions on the federal level.
September 17, 2026 at 10:10 PM
Reposted by Erinn O'Dear
Great system, no notes

www.propublica.org/article/scho...
September 17, 2026 at 8:04 PM
Reposted by Erinn O'Dear
Interesting that they don’t apply “we’re not smart enough to regulate this” to, for example, abortion.
Rick Scott: "With regard to destroying mankind, these companies need to do the right thing on their own. We're not going to get smart enough to regulate them. We're not going to get something done up here."
September 17, 2026 at 7:56 PM
Reposted by Erinn O'Dear
Defector as a paid subscriber I promise I will not get into the habit of posting user comments but I had to on this one
September 17, 2026 at 6:56 PM
Reposted by Erinn O'Dear
a lot freaks me out about AI but 0% of my anxiety is about AGI. i think this is the part that freaks me out the most right now -- the many many indications that no one is at the wheel and no adults are present
September 17, 2026 at 7:32 AM
I'm against the surveillance state except this one time.
footage is making the rounds on Facebook of a canvasser wearing a Stronger Maine shirt (a super PAC that supports Susan Collins) stealing a package yesterday
September 17, 2026 at 7:12 PM
Reposted by Erinn O'Dear
Great piece by @xriskology.bsky.social on how the effective altruism cult has helped destroy actual philanthropy - with dangerous and deadly results for many people in need:
Effective Altruism Is a Dangerous Cult — Here's Why
Understanding the "Scientology of Silicon Valley." (7,700 words)
www.realtimetechpocalypse.com
September 17, 2026 at 1:43 PM
Reposted by Erinn O'Dear
they were very subtle about it, but if you looked closely you could see the signs
September 17, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Reposted by Erinn O'Dear
have I mentioned lately that oligarch-owned media consolidation is bad
Universal Is Getting Cold Feet on Releasing the Elon Musk Documentary (Exclusive)
The Comcast-owned studio is not yet committing to rolling out Alex Gibney's movie that it paid millions to acquire for non-North American release before the political winds shifted.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
September 17, 2026 at 12:25 PM
So there are separate systems of justice for people of different backgrounds? Wonder if there's a word for that?

For some reason, can't figure out why, this reminds me of the fact that two South African billionaires have been trying to shape our governance, regulatory state.
Americans do not understand that the United States is currently a dual state, in which the 'immigration system' (& spending via OMB, etc.) is operating as a lawless totalitarian prerogative state, alongside more normal processes of the normative state in other areas of law & policy.
September 17, 2026 at 5:30 PM
If you are a journalist or normie this thread explains a lot of what's going on in the US right now, but you'll need a primer first.

May I recommend this video. It's short-ish, to the point, and skips the mostly irrelevant death cult offshoot. Things are weird. It's time to understand why.
September 17, 2026 at 5:25 PM