Preston Austin

@gl33p
674 Followers
1.9K Following
22.6K Posts

MUSICat architect and founder at Rabble LLC

I work with public librarians who collect and share local music with their communities and visitors.

MUSICat is a turnkey online platform, built with and for public libraries. Each instance is a library-convened locally-governed digital public space to collect, curate, license, and stream local music.

MUSICat is designed to respect artists and support art with its paid artist-friendly licenses for invited album submissions.

https://musicat.co

LocationMadison, WI USA
Tags#Libraries #Local #Music #Public #DigitalPublicSpaces #SocialGood #Prosperity #Hacking #Climate #Cooperatives #Governance #Politics #Cats
Certifications“Preston is one cool guy.” — Preston's Brother, 30 years ago
Pronounshe/him

There is a tree on the way to work that I call the witch king of angmar because it's the witch king of angmar.

When I drive past while paying attention to the road it gives a slight jump scare. Right at that moment I notice it just in the corner of my vision, especially when it starts hissing.

“The Court has invented a right to discriminate—as long as you provide a political pretext—that not only does not exist in the Constitution, but is explicitly prohibited by the Constitution.”

Highly recommend this commentary on Callais and its aftermath. It guides you through the Roberts Court’s thicket of lies about what it is doing. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/06/alabama-racial-discrimination-voting/687448/?gift=Je3D9AQS-C17lUTOnl2W8PXx3PqdVJDy2VNT4oMQvd0

The Supreme Court Has Invented a Right to Discriminate

Alabama gambled on the Court’s partisanship, and won.

The Atlantic

Little Concentration Camp on the Prairie

Area Republican: “If detentions are going to happen and people who came here illegally are going to have due process, this is much better than some of the temporary facilities,” [Torrey] Westrom said. “For people in the Upper Midwest, it’s much closer for family members and attorneys.”

Shuttered Appleton prison will convert to immigrant detention under proposed contract
By Christopher Magan
The Minnesota Star Tribune
https://www.startribune.com/shuttered-appleton-prison-will-convert-to-immigrant-detention-under-proposed-contract/601853735?utm_source=gift

#Minnesota #ICE #UncheckedAggression

When we prioritize, remember to keep asking questions like “Is this fun?”, “Does this help?”, “Is this kind?”
We can’t forget our spirit of protest. The thing to do right now is double down on fixing the problems the capitalist machine won’t solve. Build for the least privileged among us. Build for old hardware, slow internet connections, disability, privacy, consent. Always remember that we can do things they can’t because we do this with genuine care for other people.
Time for some drama.

“The Trump administration plans to spend $425 million to support operations at 13 coal plants in 10 states, arguing the move will help meet rising electricity demand”

“Madison-based utility Alliant Energy...applied for a $19 million grant to extend the life of coal-powered units it owns at the Columbia Energy Center near Portage”

“The utility previously planned to retire the plant’s coal units before the end of the decade”

But remember kids be nice to "AI" advocates 🙄

https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2026/06/05/trumps-425-million-coal-push-could-impact-wisconsin/

Trump’s $425 Million Coal Push Could Impact Wisconsin

Madison-based Alliant Energy hopes to extend life of two coal-powered plants.

Urban Milwaukee

I generally don't click on shortened links, especially on the Fediverse — since *all* links here count as 23 characters no matter what, the main reason to use a link shortener seems to be to obfuscate where the link will take me. No, I'm not sticking my paw in that trap.

But a great way to make me *even less* likely to click a link is for the shortening service to be in a .ai TLD. Like, associating yourself with "AI" makes your link look *even sketchier*;' that takes some effort!

When police spy-tech company Flock Safety went after https://DeFlock.me in an attempt to silence critics, EFF stepped in. Surveillance tech companies will try everything to downplay criticism, but we'll be right there demanding accountability. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/06/get-flock-out-here
DeFlock

Find license plate readers (LPRs) near you.

Lest you had any doubt that the Trump regime is operating concentration camps. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/05/alligator-alcatraz-detainees-denied-food-water
‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detainees say guards deny them food and clean water until they sign English documents

Detainees say they’re given ‘rotten’ water and denied meals for not signing papers in English that they don’t understand

The Guardian