rjshae

The Starfinder: Afterlight Kickstarter has wrapped. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/epictellers/starfinder-afterlight/posts/4533285 The final stretch goal (Mechanic class) made it in under the bar.

From a mile-high perspective, the fundamental problem is that illegal immigrants are deeply embedded in the US economy, and trying to extract that component is going to have negative consequences for everybody. It would be less impactful if they focused on avoiding new illegal immigration and extraditing the newest arrivals before they become entrenched. But either way the optics won't look pretty.

Speculation: AI will gradually become a fourth branch of government. I could see it starting out in an advisory role, then the politicians steadily offload more and more responsibility to AI. Eventually it will become like the government in Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

In the US, many people vote for a particular party because they don't like the other side. Given the political division in this nation, they are too far apart for many people to switch. That doesn't necessarily mean they like the direction of their own party. Personally, at this point I don't particularly favor either party; they have both diverged too far from the mainstream.

Greg Newby of Project Gutenberg fame

Trump threatens to cut New York funding if ‘communist’ Mamdani elected Everything is a transaction with DJT, including implicit vote buying.

I watched Vinland Saga on Hulu; it wasn't bad for a semi-historical drama (and it lacked anything resembling anime goofiness). Unfortunately, the second season isn't available yet.

At least he passed away peacefully in his sleep. May he rest in burrito.

What are you suggesting then? Many countries have food subsidy programs for their poor. Are they okay but the US is not? My understanding is that SNAP is just 1.5% of the federal budget. Many European nations spend much more of their GDP than the US on public social welfare programs. What are they doing wrong?

Perhaps. But it's good to know there's a safety net available for hard times.

DJT wants to append a massive dance hall to the White House for $300 million. Well, okay. Washington D.C. was designed to impress foreign powers, so if a dance hall serves that purpose then it's in line with the founders intent. What I don't see a need for is a surface hallway connecting the two structures. It looks tacky. A more suitable approach would be to connect them with an underground tunnel. Rather than a dance hall, I think the structure will evolve into a multi-purpose events hall for things like concerts and other happenings.

I keep coming back to a quote by MacArthur about Roosevelt: "...a man who would never tell the truth when a lie would serve him just as well." I don't think DJT is an idiot; nor is he a genius. He's crafty, manipulative, and, at his age, still intelligent enough to retain a glib tongue. Given that his mental grasp of reality is highly questionable, I'd say we've never had a more dangerous President. Let him take all the cognitive tests he wants. That still doesn't mean he's a rational thinker.

DJs threat to declare the mythical antifa as a terrorist organization got me to thinking about the future... when MAGA is declared a terrorist organization. He's laying the groundwork for that event. What was 1/6 if not a domestic terrorist act? Should be fun.

Went back to replay D:OS 2. I guess one thing I don't like about it is the number of times I have to refight every battle until I get a result where I don't need to resurrect half the party. It gets a little tedious, but I persevere.

Trump decides to bribe himself: Trump seeking $230 million from Justice Department over investigations into him, report says Ethics, schmatics. Nothing to see here, move along.

Heh, "humble Trump" is an oxymoron. He probably views the deals as a side benefit of his tariff program. Yes, allies matter, but for Trump every relationship is a transaction.

It's been that way for decades now; there's just more and more layers where systems can break. Companies rely on everything running efficiently most of the time, to counter the infrequent times when it breaks. But, “there are only nine meals between mankind and anarchy” still holds true.

Flo is back with her machine

Breaking news: Mexico has agreed to pay for the wall, and Canada wants one too.

Fat Shady just got a little shadier... "Trump says he has commuted sentence of former US Rep. George Santos in fraud case" They say that people usually get the government they deserve. I suppose we had this coming.

The justification is flimsy since most drug trafficking takes place by land. This repeated murdering of civilians is more about imagery; he's playing to his party followers.

With the government shut down, DJT now wants to build a French-style arch in time for the nation's 250th anniversary (2026). So... that would be in nine months. Uh-huh. BTW, the Arc de Triumphe took 30 years to build, but I suppose ours could be 3D printed. 😛

I have no idea what he's saying; something about a wine gal. But he sounds good as always.

If so, I must admit I can't fathom the connection. Some sort of supernatural tether, perhaps.

It's still sunny in Seattle. In October. This never used to happen. October was always cold and grey. Anyway, time for my morning walk.