rjshae

House gives final approval to Trump’s $9 billion cut to public broadcasting and foreign aid Honestly, the country feels diminished now. Public broadcasting, NPR, and others made it feel like I was getting my money's worth out of the taxes. Now the money is just going to line wealthy tax shelters. Booo!

What we know so far about 3I/ATLAS, the interstellar visitor This is the third interstellar object discovered passing through the Solar System. Based on its hyperbolic orbit, this may be from a thick disk star system and hence it could be (2/3 chance) older than the Sun. They expect it to be a water-rich comet; it's already developed a coma from solar heating. The new VCR observatory is expected to discover many more such objects. Maybe one day we'll be able to get a sample?

Well that's what happens. Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ canceled by CBS, ends May 2026 Uh-huh. Sure, sure.

If they were always evenly distributed, they wouldn't be random events. Disasters can cluster together and there's little that can be done about that fact. That's all the more reason to enjoy life while you can. Sh*t happens.

DJT is still trying to oust Jerome Powell, employing Nixon-level trickery: How Trump could use a building renovation to oust Fed Chair Powell The worrisome aspect is who he'll set in his place, and what impact that'll have on the nation's economy and inflation. The inflationary aspect of tariffs appear to be just setting in, and at least with Powell there's a shot to keep it somewhat managed. Lowering the rate by three points, as desired by DJT, could significantly boost inflation. Didn't they just elect DJT because of the persistent inflation under Biden? Here we go again.

Any male who even remotely flatters Trump is a "terrific guy". As for judging youth, I'm not always certain myself whether an older teen is of legal age. It can be hard to tell without ID.

It's been consistent Trump behavior to bury news that is bad for him or his party so that nobody hears about it, and thus far it's working. Just look at everything he's doing to conceal climate change. I don't think it necessarily means he's doing it to protect people. He just does it primarily to avoid controversy. (Don't mistake my opinion for defending him. I just think it's part of a pattern of behavior.)

Cultural icon Iggy Pop; 78 years old and the guy is still performing

ALS wheelchair-bound Stephen Hawking was allegedly one of the names on the Epstein list, which makes one wonder how much of it is simply guilt by association. I'd need to see more convincing evidence to believe any of it was not simply famous and rich people simply associating with each other.

Since DJT gave up his negotiating leverage early on, I suspect he's just trying to remain relevant to the "peace" process. I very much doubt it's a long-term commitment; he's too much of a flip-flopper. He still hasn't restored the intel sharing with Ukraine, which is a bit of a tell.

I finished watching Devs; it wasn't quite what I was expecting, but still it was enjoyable. The levitating transfer box was an interesting concept.

I had the impression that the mission to the jungles on Janus has been severely truncated. There were perhaps 2-3 areas I didn't need to clear this time, and there was none of that passing through the right order of exits to reach the final fight. Not sure if that is good or bad, but maybe too many players complained? Some of the other fights seem tougher this time, so maybe they've tightened it up a bit, or just padded the enemy hit point tally.

Today in depressingly stupid: News 9 radar damaged in apparent attack by anti-government militia group Well, this is what we've come to. One of Trump's "very fine people", I suppose. Good luck with the tornadoes.

Attack of the cute; redundant version.

The smoke does have health effects on millions of people, so... thanks?

Much improved from their earlier works.

Musk's business interests are heavily dependent on the government. Supposedly these interests were hindered under Biden, which is why he switched to support Trump. Now if Trump were a rational thinker, that would have worked out okay for Musk. But now I agree, Musk is being a bit of a dumba**. Starting a third party would primarily benefit the Democrats, who no longer need Musk.

Supposedly Elon Musk is launching a new "America" party, which I expect will flop. Well it's his money to burn. It seems like a smarter strategy would be to support initiatives to enable instant-runoff voting at more USA locations; that way a third party actually becomes feasible.

Made it through A Handmaids Tale. At first the premise seemed ludicrous, except the same behavior has been practiced by monarchs throughout history. As shown throughout the tale it actually could have been much worse for the protagonist. The situation in D.C. was particularly gruesome. The eventual redemption of Serena didn't quite work for me; it somehow seemed a bit forced. But overall the plot was satisfying, and I liked that it ended unfinished as it was the end of her particular story.

I think the prioritization is understandable. This is one of those rare events that are very difficult to forecast. It's only natural for people to prioritize more immediate concerns. At any rate, it's a horrible tragedy and my sympathies for the families involved.

I'm really enjoying Psycho-Pass; it's been close to the best anime series I've watched (comparable to Attack on Titan). The genre is adult noir with none of the usual goofiness you see in many anime. I could definitely picture it as a live-action series, although it could be expensive to produce. The cyberpunk setting feels similar to Akira, Blade Runner, and Ghost in the Shell.

The loser gets thrown under a bus... then deported.

The USA is (I believe) the only remaining industrialized nation without some form of universal health care coverage. I suppose that's likely because it is viewed as a form of socialism, or anti-capitalist. It's going to be difficult to make that political leap, but doing so will be beneficial to many and should eventually help alleviate a chunk of the deficit spending.

In the USA, expenditure on health care has been steadily increasing over time relative to the national GDP. As of 2022, it is a 17%, compared to most comparable nations being ~11%. This growth is unsustainable, yet our political system seems incapable of switching to a more equitable healthcare approach. In order to motivate a change and overcome the medical industry's lobbyists, I strongly suspect that a significant number of people will need to suffer extreme medical costs (and likely die as a result). This is just an inevitable part of that process.