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Created
Thu, 16/01/2025 - 04:53
In his unofficial election policy launch this week, Peter Dutton re-announced his promise to cut the migration program and to cap overseas students at metropolitan universities. Without a hint of embarrassment, he also said he was a strong believer in the ‘rule of law’. His record shows he has little belief in the rules embodied Continue reading »
Created
Thu, 16/01/2025 - 04:52
Half a century ago, governments around the world ditched their old psychiatric hospitals for something they said would work better. It didn’t. Australia has a poor record in treating the massive mental health problems in the population. More and more money is spent, without achieving any overall improvement in either the mental health of the Continue reading »
Created
Thu, 16/01/2025 - 04:50
By blocking Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion purchase of US Steel, the Biden Administration has turned international economic policy inside out. On this point, the incoming Trump Administration is in rare agreement. Like many conflict-prone moves in recent years, this action has been justified on the basis of alleged national security concerns. Yet in the end, Continue reading »
Created
Thu, 16/01/2025 - 04:00

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Created
Thu, 16/01/2025 - 04:00
When President-elect Trump held a press availability as he was speaking to Republican Governors last week he rattled off a number of big names who’d made the pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago to kiss the ring of the new Don. He actually sounded rather surprised by it, saying, “they all came. Jeff Bezos came, Bill Gates came, Mark Zuckerberg came, many of them came numerous times, the bankers have all come, everybody’s coming. I haven’t had anyone say anything bad about me. I’m not used to it.” He believes they come because they are dazzled by the power and strength of his massive electoral victory (like nobody’s ever seen before!) but none of them are as dumb or as deluded as he is so that’s obviously not the case. I’m going to guess they’re dazzled by the richest man in the world’s proximity to him and they want a piece of that action. Elon Musk has opened the door to a new style of oligarchy, American style. The history of Russia after the fall of communism is instructive here.
Created
Thu, 16/01/2025 - 00:57
I love pepperoni rolls. I loved selling them door to door to raise money for my high school marching band, and I have fond memories of Uncle Dave bringing a giant platter of rolls to our Christmas Eve celebrations. They make excellent pepperoni rolls at the Bella Roma Italian Deli in Colonia, NJ. And, althoughContinue reading The Gran Centurions’ L’Amore Della Cucina: Pepperoni Bread (1990)
Created
Thu, 16/01/2025 - 00:30

GARY: Hey Cindy, remember the other day when we were talking about optimizations?

CINDY: Yeah, I wanted to circle back on that.

GARY: Me too. You said you wanted to see hockey-stick growth. Well, I’ve realized that I want to see hockey-stick growth too—in our relationship.

CINDY: Unpack that for me.

GARY: This relationship has been such a value-add. Some of my friends were worried that it would take too long for us to get into alignment. But you have been an absolute rockstar.

CINDY: I feel the same way, Gary. The ROI on this relationship has been unbelievable. You’ve really given 110 percent.

GARY: So I wanted to close the loop. In addition to the other deliverables, I have one more. (He takes a knee, and holds out his hand.) It’s this wedding ring. Cindy, will you marry me?

CINDY: I will, Gary. You have been an absolute ninja. This moves the needle in a significant way.

Created
Wed, 15/01/2025 - 22:43
The Competency Crisis Is Not About DEI

That DEI (women and brown people) are responsible is a constant right wing cry.

The competency crisis is a result of an economy where making money without making a product is easier than making something. We prioritized financial profits—multi generational rises in asset prices that were faster than inflation. Housing went up. Stocks went up. Private equity earned money buy buying companies, larding them up with debt, and running them into the ground. Profits were juiced by moving production offshore and engaging in regulatory and labor arbitrage.

Created
Wed, 15/01/2025 - 16:00

New Drupal CMS makes Drupal's powerful features accessible to marketers and content teams through an intuitive interface and smart defaults

Drupal today launched Drupal CMS, an innovative platform that empowers marketers and content teams to create exceptional digital experiences. This initial release marks a significant milestone in Drupal's mission to democratize enterprise-grade web development while maintaining its commitment to open source values.

Drupal CMS introduces an intuitive, marketer-friendly interface built on Drupal's robust foundation, significantly lowering the learning curve, barrier to adoption, and cost of maintenance for Drupal sites. The platform features smart defaults for common marketing tasks, AI-powered tools for faster implementation, and seamless integration with popular marketing technologies—all while preserving Drupal's renowned flexibility and scalability.

Created
Wed, 15/01/2025 - 11:30
Imagine that The Canadians and Panamanians aren’t too thrilled by it either which, considering our own colonial origins, shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. Nobody’s taking these threats very seriously and I hope that’s correct. But even the rhetoric is toxic. America is now seen by the rest of the world as a bully and a threat. We are very powerful so I suppose most people think there’s no need to worry. But it the rest of the world allies against us, as they might if Trump follows through on his ridiculous tariff scheme or he decides to confront a fellow NATO country like Denmark and seize their protectorate it could get ugly fast.
Created
Wed, 15/01/2025 - 11:30

“Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Defense Department, faced senators at his confirmation hearing on Tuesday, where he fielded tough questions from Democrats over his views on women in the military and an allegation of sexual assault.” — CBS News, 1/14/25

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As a conservative, I believe Hegseth is the perfect person to address the most pressing issues in the military, because they’re all issues he’s been accused of perpetrating himself.

For years, sexual assault has been a problem in the military. So, who better to address sexual assault than someone who has been accused of sexually assaulting women? When it comes time to brainstorm policies to put in place to prevent sexual violence, Hegseth just has to think, “What would I do in this situation?” and then establish rules that would prevent people like him from doing what he would’ve done.