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Created
Tue, 06/02/2024 - 07:00
People would like to know if a jury of Trump’s peers find that he has committed crimes before they vote next November. It’s not too much to ask: Most Americans want to see a verdict on the federal charges former President Donald Trump faces related to election subversion in 2020 before this year’s presidential election, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS. And looking ahead, most expect Trump to pardon himself of any federal crimes he’s convicted of if he wins the presidency – or to refuse to concede if he loses in November. About half of Americans, 48%, say it’s essential that a verdict is reached before the 2024 presidential election, and another 16% that they’d prefer to see one. Just 11% say that a trial on the charges should be postponed until following the election, with another quarter saying the trial’s timing doesn’t matter to them. A 72% majority of Democrats and 52% of independents say it’s essential that a verdict is reached pre-election. Republicans are more split.
Created
Tue, 06/02/2024 - 06:56
Construction of Reality Preview: The Ritual Masters

Continuing from Interaction Ritual

Rituals can fail. The Christmas party where everyone is awkward and not enjoying themselves. The sermon and hymns that are just so plain boring so that you can hardly wait to leave. The concert where no one is dancing. (x-Collins)

Putting on a successful ritual is a skill. Being good at it takes practice in moving the participants’ attention where it should be, in encouraging emotional focus and in physical entrainment. The surroundings should be suitable, the central symbol should be framed, costumes may be needed, and on and on.

Created
Tue, 06/02/2024 - 06:12
Trump will be very busy exacting revenge on his enemies so he won’t even know what’s going on elsewhere in his administration. Also he’s learned that he can just lie and say up is down and black is white and tens of millions of people will believe him so he can do whatever he wants without ever having to be accountable for the horrors he inflicts. You can bet this will happen if he wins. It’s been one of the fundamental goals of the Republican Party for decades and they will shove the sharpie in his hand and he will sign it: LAST YEAR, FOR the first time ever, a majority of Americans eligible for Medicare were on privatized Medicare Advantage plans. If Republicans win the presidential race this year, the push to fully privatize Medicare, the government health insurance program for seniors and people with disabilities, will only intensify.  Conservative operatives have already sketched out what the GOP’s policy agenda would look like in the early days of a new Donald Trump presidency. As Rolling Stone has detailed, the proposed Project 2025 agenda is radically right-wing.
Created
Tue, 06/02/2024 - 05:28
Förhållandet mellan ränta och BNP:s tillväxttakt är central för hur man ska se på den offentliga förmögenhets- och skuldutvecklingen. En positiv ränte-tillväxtdifferens innebär att det finns en intertemporal målkonflikt: ett lägre primärt finansiellt sparande (högre offentliga utgifter i förhållande till offentliga intäkter) idag måste betalas med högre primärt sparande (lägre offentliga utgifter iförhållande till offentliga […]
Created
Tue, 06/02/2024 - 05:00

“Taylor Swift announces surprise album ‘Tortured Poets Department’ at the Grammys.” — CNN

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1. “Adjunct Capacity”

2. “5-5 Courseload”

3. “The Obamacare Website Is Down Again”

4. “Workshop Poems About Dogs”

5. “Office Hours (B+ to A-)”

6. “Avoiding Students at Trader Joe’s”

7. “Encouraging Rejection (The Paris Review)”

8. “The Committee Has Reviewed Your Application, and Unfortunately…”

9. “William Carlos Williams Was a Doctor”

10. “Selling My Plasma”

11. “Rate My Professor / No Chili Pepper”

12. “Alas (Did You Read the Syllabus?)”

13. “Should I Go Back for a PhD?”

Created
Tue, 06/02/2024 - 04:58
The call issued by Bob Carr and Gareth Evans for a ‘comprehensive détente between the US and China is timely and constructive. But as with all things to do with peace and war, the issues are complex and the way forward strewn with difficulties. China-US tensions are indeed a matter of deep concern. They can Continue reading »
Created
Tue, 06/02/2024 - 04:56
The Labor and Liberal parties’ blind pro-Israel policy will haunt them in the next federal election. Australian Labor and Liberal-National Coalition leaders brag about Western values of democracy, liberty, equality, and human rights. Yet, when it comes to Israel, without shame and respect of the public, they abandon their principles and values and find excuses Continue reading »
Created
Tue, 06/02/2024 - 04:00
The House is only getting started As usual these days, the GOP congress is a burbling cauldron of chaos and dysfunction with wild hearings, inexplicable strategy and internal strife. They are all fighting among themselves trying to curry favor with their party’s leader, Donald Trump, and jockeying for power. And it’s an election year, which even in placid times turns politicians into preening posers desperate for money and attention. It is a combustible situation. The budget is still not settled although they managed to extend the deadlines for a short while as they try to hammer out deals on taxes, national security and the border. And they have a lot of work to do on all the investigations they are currently pursuing, which to this point are utter embarrassments. The big show was supposed to be the impeachment of Joe Biden, promised to Donald Trump as payback for the two impeachments he endured. That one’s not looking good at the moment. The House oversight committee chairman. James Comer, who is running the Hunter Biden investigation keeps punching holes in his own narrative every time he interviews another witness.