[politics “aside”] related thought from last week-

If (and it is!) the internet is used by the (nicest^max + smartest^max) people whose careers and lives owe so much to the web

Why isn’t The Internet Archive fully funded for a few lifetimes?

Think of all the people you respect who are wealthy and love being able to pull up stuff on TIA & are convinced generally they should be people who pay their fair share. Some of you MUST know plenty I figure… where are the donations?

(I would’ve thought we’d be to the point of the big thing being how to prevent archives of your content with also dozens of GhostArchive.org -like alternatives all also well funded who all devise workarounds of blocking schemes, & how to prevent content watermarking from getting archiver accounts/IPs banned. Instead it’s “hey remember us please send $10 to the Archive.org “ meanwhile we are literally all here, on the web)

Most people seem to think the 1.8B slush fund Trump wants is for rewarding Jan 6 defendants who participated in the insurrection.

I think it is for something worse: it is for rewarding those who participate in the next insurrection. If you look at how dictators such as Kim Jong Un operate, a wannabe dictator needs two things. (1) A compliant military that is willing to punish people who oppose the dictator, and (2) a slush fund for rewarding people who support the dictator.

For (1): The gathering of generals and top military leaders on September 30, 2025 was to make it clear to them what is expected of them (be willing to attack democrat-controlled cities when called to, and quit if they aren't willing to do that). For (2): that's what the 1.8B slush fund is for.

Feels like we're in the realm of extra-judicial justice more and more every day.

ref unpersons