I may have a bit of a rose-colored view of the US, or at least its potential to have its conscience pricked by the notion that tomorrow can be freer than today, but if we don’t care about that anymore, then whatever it was that made America a more palatable hegemon than the USSR or China is gone. The USA is just another transactional actor, and not even a particularly reliable one. At this point, Trump has literally threatened more individual souls with annexation than China has.
Trump: No longer states that we do not support Taiwan independence.
Also Trump: Mulls crippling tariffs because they “stole” the semiconductor industry.
If it were to happen the way it’s “supposed” to, if Canada were admitted as one state it would instantly become the largest state and gain FIFTY electoral votes, as a state gets the same number as they do Senators and Representatives combined. Again, barring the very shenanigans that would likely be the only way this could happen, those fifty votes would be Democratic-leaning for at least a generation. Alberta and the Prairies combined don’t have many more people than the GTA.
You could mitigate the presidential-electoral hit by letting them in as 13 provinces, but then you’re probably adding 16-18 Dem Senators versus 8-10 Republican. The only real hope is to get the Canadians to vote against their interests and split their Electoral votes when almost no other states (and no other large states at all) do so.
That’s assuming it happens aboveboard, of course, which naturally it wouldn’t, and would instead plunge the entire continent into violent misery if not outright war.
We’re just literally in the phase where Elon is operating Trump as a puppet via his distended asshole to achieve every pet project imaginable. I assume that Ketamine legalization is next, followed by changing the name of the country to the Xnited Xtates of Xmerica.
I didn’t really mean it was ever an explicit position, beyond possibly your Carville strategist types in smoke-filled rooms, but the fact remains that Roe v. Wade was always being chipped away at, in courts and statehouses and law schools, and at several points in the 50 years that it was in effect the Democrats had the power necessary to put up a legislative firewall (see, e.g. Obamacare), but they took no action while reminding voters every election who supported choice. They didn’t even have to lie, but there was always a “better” use of political capital, and nothing was done until it was too late.
Labour is in a somewhat analogous situation, in that they have taken power, and they can blame the hardships of Brexit on Tories, and they know the UK is better off in the EU, but they have other priorities. I am fully aware that they need to be prudent, and maybe repairing relationships is meaningful progress, but this could also be tickmark #1 on a ledger called “Times that Labour could have fixed Brexit but didn’t.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer aims to improve relations but won’t re-enter the single market, as both sides cautiously rebuild ties.
I get that right now feelings are still raw in Europe and the UK would get a shit deal that would probably undo the (imminently sensible) desire to forget Brexit happened, but Labour needs to be careful they don’t follow the US Dems down the same path they took in never codifying abortion. It’s more politically expedient to have a persistent bludgeon to use on the other party than it is to fix the mistake, but eventually there are political consequences either way.
You see, jimmy, sometimes the words ‘tangible,’ ‘fragile,’ and ‘fungible’ love each other very much…
It’s even worse because he thinks he’s charming, so he’s smug and cringe while being old and boring.
I had to look this up. The plane crashed into a concrete barrier that was installed to lift the “localizers,” lightweight radio beacons on sticks that help pilots navigate the airport. Normally they have to be completely “frangible,” meaning that a plane would barrel right through them with no problem.
The issue here was that the ground was a bit low so they had to be raised up high enough to get a proper signal, and these were 10 meters outside the 240 meter safety zone where everything had to be frangible. I assume 240 was chosen for some reason, and I hope to hell it wasn’t just to save money by avoiding a retrofit somewhere, but either way this looks like a classic case of “regulations are written in blood.”
It’s [email protected] and this happened in the US. Some people find that frustrating, and fair enough. Still, this one… everybody everywhere needs to see about this one. It’s relevant.
So I guess the drought finally eased, and the reservoir that supplies the fresh water for the locks is doing better, but yeah, even with a new dam that should finally get started soon, the canal probably has 50 years or less as a viable commercial route, though honestly 150+ years isn’t a bad run as an economic project, and one of Jimmy Carter’s most humane legacies was overseeing its transfer back to the people who were dominated into letting Americans build it in the first place.
Being the most overrated player of his generation due to playing in NYC and the Colts thinking they could cakewalk through Super Bowl III? Definitely.
Also yes, he does look a bit hobbitty. The hair helps a lot.
The hair and the mud help too, but until I saw which comm this was in, I was hunting for random weirdness and not finding it.
Given Trump’s tendencies, I’m not sure I want us jumping in right away. He’d probably pick the worse side.
The Silmarillion is definitely the “Bible” of Middle Earth, and its structure, content, and style all reflect that. I was mostly just cracking wise about the similarities.
I read it in High School. It sated any desire to read translations of bronze and iron age holy texts, so that was a benefit. As far as its being an enjoyable read, however…
Poetry. Sheer poetry!
Well, millers are historically thought of as corrupt. Can’t make ol’ Geoff Chaucer look like a liar.
It says Radio Liechtenstein had an average 11,400 daily listeners in the country in 2021, the last year for which figures are available. Liechtenstein is a principality of about 39,000 people that borders Switzerland and Austria.
I’m honestly kinda impressed they’re getting almost 30% of the country’s population to tune in.
Jesus. Rose is dead and did 6 months at “Camp Fed” minimum security in 1990 for tax evasion related to horse-racing winnings, and memorabilia/autograph sales. There’s somebody that needed a pardon. 😑
Meanwhile we’re blowing up the entire Post-WW2 order, making the world much more dangerous, and destroying America’s standing in the world in favor of powers that are (for now) much more autocratic.
Yay baseball!