Empires are anxious creatures, run by those predatory types with egos vast and awareness minimal. The awareness only gets pricked when risks are posed to the financial returns, military security, what might be called, at a stretch, their way of living. Such risks can come in many forms, and for the US imperium, it’s less Continue reading »
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In his newsletter today, Dan Pfeiffer looks at the bizarre phenomenon of a presidential candidate getting much more popular after he’s indicted four times: A number of theories surfaced to explain this unexpected and deeply concerning outcome — Republicans are a cult, Ron DeSantis sucks, etc. Elections are dynamic enterprises. There are a lot of interrelated factors that lead to an outcome. It’s not as simple as “Ron DeSantis sucks,” even if he is one of the most maladroit candidates in modern political history. Here are X findings from recent polls that help explain why Republican voters are flocking to Trump as his likelihood of spending the rest of his life in prison skyrockets: 1. Republicans Trust Trump Over Everyone Else Donald Trump is one of the most prolific and obvious liars the world has ever known. Here’s how the Washington Post fact checker summarized Trump’s presidency: Trump’s dishonesty is so blatant that most Americans find it disqualifying, but Trump’s voters see only qualifications. They do not believe he is dishonest. They think he is the only honest man in public life.
1 package hot roll mix3 tablespoons olive oil1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste½ cup water¼ teaspoon salt⅛ teaspoon pepper½ teaspoon oregano1 can (4 ounces) anchovy fillets½ pound mozzarella cheese, sliced thin Prepare hot roll mix as directed on package. Let dough rise once. Serve oven for hot, 400°. Turn dough out on a lightly floured […]
In 1961, driving back from a short vacation, Betty and Barney Hill encountered a bright...
. One of Chomsky’s primary critiques of postmodernism lies in its epistemological stance. Chomsky argues that postmodern scepticism about objective knowledge can undermine the pursuit of scientific inquiry, which relies on the assumption that there are objective truths waiting to be discovered. Chomsky’s criticisms are forceful reminders of the pitfalls of extreme relativism and scepticism, […]
On the campaign trail, I get asked a lot of awkward questions: “How did it feel when Trump’s supporters wanted to hang you?”; “What was your plan if they started to hang you?”; “Did you not get in the Secret Service’s car because you worried they’d take you somewhere they could string you up?”; “If it had to happen, what did you want to be hanged from?”
These are challenging and important questions, but I’m here to tell you it’s unfair to paint the January 6 demonstrators with such a broad brush. A wide-ranging collection of people with many different beliefs was involved that day. Yet, in what should come as no surprise, you wouldn’t know it from the slanted coverage.
A new proposal would require the FEC’s investigators to get explicit approval from the commissioners for any investigative activity, no matter how big or small.
The post A Trump Appointee Is Trying to Gut the FEC’s Ability to Investigate Campaign Finance Crimes appeared first on The Intercept.
But he did it anyway McCarthy doesn’t take questions. He told Breitbart 11 days ago he wouldn’t launch an impeachment inquiry without a House vote. Opening one now unilaterally is a major reversal for the speaker. It comes as he doesn’t appear to have the votes to proceed. pic.twitter.com/H0rSVvqLlt — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) September 12, 2023 McCarthy pulled the trigger as we knew he would. He didn’t have the votes for a real inquiry, however, which means that the new rules they say they need will have to be litigated because a full vote of the House is required. So, this may end up being yet another performance art project which the extremists hope will make voters assume there must be something to it and write off Trump’s corruptions and criminality because “both sides do it.” It’s ridiculous but we expected nothing less. Now let’s see if McCarthy bought himself at least an extension to get the government funded. I won’t be surprised if they say, “that’s nice, but we also need to have the DOJ and the “woke” Pentagon de-funded.
With a heart full of joy, sadness, pride, and premature nostalgia, I will be departing the Drupal Association on 21 September, 2023 and will no longer serve on the leadership team as your Director, Programs.
Over the last two years at the Drupal Association, I have had the honor to work with so many incredible change-makers in the non-profit and Open Source world. I’ve grown beyond what I ever imagined in my relationship with the free and open web, and I’m so grateful to this community for trusting me with leading many of the Drupal Association’s most critical programs. I’m also deeply grateful for the entire staff at the Drupal Association for trusting me to help build our workplace into one that is rooted in equity, access, and employee agency. Cultivating a healthy culture at a remote global organization is one of things I’m most proud of leaving behind, and I’m confident that the leadership team will continue to nurture our working environment to be one where everyone can thrive.
The vision
Dries has lined up what’s next for Drupal’s roadmap. Drupal is for ambitious site builders. At this point everyone should know or should have heard his vision.
Rephrasing Dries words, Drupal “[…] has become much bigger than a CMS alone”. But what does “bigger” really mean? Is it a tool to build apps? Could it become an AI toolset? Could it be much more?
For those who don’t know me, I have been involved in Drupal for nearly two decades (pretty much my whole professional career), in roles that span from Software Engineer, Technical Lead, Technical Architect, Solutions Architect, Developer relations, and more recently, Program Manager of the Innovation Program in the Drupal Association (DA).
Designed-in countermajoritarian features contribute to minority rule Michelle Goldberg speaks with Harvard government professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt. The authors of “How Democracies Die” (2018) released “Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point” this morning. What shocked them since 2018 was how swiflty the GOP slid sown the behavioral sink into insurrection. They did not consider the Republican Party an authoritarian party in 2018, and “did not expect it to transform so quickly and so thoroughly.” Goldberg writes: “Tyranny of the Minority” is their attempt to make sense of how American democracy eroded so fast. “Societal diversity, cultural backlash and extreme-right parties are ubiquitous across established Western democracies,” they write. But in recent years, only in America has a defeated leader attempted a coup. And only in America is the coup leader likely to once again be the nominee of a major party. “Why did America, alone among rich established democracies, come to the brink?” they ask.
The ruling classes always work to keep the powerless from understanding how power functions. This assault has been aided by a cultural left determined to banish "dead white male" philosophers.
The post Chris Hedges: The Pedagogy of Power appeared first on MintPress News.
Listening for those voices from the deep.
It’s an ocean of conflict and ecological decline. Despite its vast size — 1.3 million square miles — the South China Sea has become a microcosm of the geopolitical tensions between East and West, where territorial struggles over abundant natural resources may one day lead to environmental collapse. While the threat of a devastating military conflict between China and the United States in the region still looms, the South China Sea has already experienced irreparable damage. Decades of over-harvesting have, for instance, had a disastrous impact on that sea’s once-flourishing fish. The tuna, mackerel, and shark populations have fallen to 50% of their 1960s levels. Biologically critical coral reef atolls, struggling to survive rising ocean temperatures, are also being buried... Read more
They’re making every effort to prove it First thing this morning, up pops a Kaitlan Collins CNN interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.). Collins posts: Rep. Nancy Mace says she supports a House impeachment inquiry. Asked isn’t it supposed to be the evidence that leads you to pursue an impeachment inquiry, Mace responds, “That’s what the inquiry is for, to get more evidence.” Marcy Wheeler (@emptywheel from Ireland) responds: BREAKING: @NancyMace admits, 1) She hasn’t read Biden’s tax releases, which unlike Trump, Biden releases 2) she’s willing to engage in a constitutional abomination of impeaching BECAUSE there’s no evidence of wrongdoing. Trump wants his retribution NOW Let’s cut to the chase. Digby summarized what’s behind this nonsense on Monday: It’s absolutely the case that they are doing this for Trump because he has demanded it. That goes without saying. But since they are all bent on destroying democracy and the constitutional order, de-legitimizing the impeachment process is a no brainer.
Here's a preview for Big Finish's David Tennant & Michelle Gomez-starring Doctor Who - Once and Future: The Martian Invasion of Planetoid 50.
My son is ten, and recently he asked me something about racism.
And in the middle of it, he farted.
“Dad, with racism, are there like, y’know, different typ—BRRRRRrrrrRRRRppp.”
Breaker of winds, first of his name, my son has no self-consciousness about producing some natural energy. For him, the sound of flatus rippling flesh is a precious gift, an “easy button” for laughs when bored. Of late, he has taken to using his booty as a weapon, pointing it at me and firing whenever I do something he doesn’t approve of. Say, “iPad time is over,” for example, and blocka-blocka, he lets his nine-millimeter heinie spray that potent tear gas. Give him Nacho Cheese Doritos instead of Cool Ranch for a snack, and you’ll receive a rapid-fire rat-a-tat-tat rat-tat-tat.
In today's BCTV Daily Dispatch: AHS: Delicate, Stranger Things, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Loki, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and more!
What are the forces driving refugees across the Channel? What are they fleeing? What are they hoping for?
New Kremlin purges only cement Russia's hardline commitment to the disastrous invasion