There’s a lot of pressure to avoid telling your boss “No.” It even begins in compulsory education. Do what you’re told or suffer the consequences.

Reads like a strategy to discourage “complex white-collar or national security investigations”.

The article doesn’t mention it, but how’s that 60-day war powers window progressing? Aren’t we getting well past that? Beginning was when? February 2026? That’s 4 or 5 months, 120 to 150 days. If the rest of us respected the law similarly, we’d be living in the anarchy of a MadMax world.

On the subject of democratic progressives: Carville’s judgment, “Left wing idiots”; Trump’s judgment, “Communists”.

When will Rubio decide to hold elections?

Speaking to QueerAF Dr Natacha Kennedy, lecturer in Educational Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London said “The government’s new schools guidance is not about protecting trans children, it institutionalises the practices that research shows causes them harm. In my view the government’s schools guidance constitutes a form of ‘Ambient Conversion Therapy’ by embedding systemic pressures that will undermine trans children’s identities and wellbeing 24/7. It will increase minority stress and make their lives much harder.”

Beating down on kids. And they wonder why some of us chose not to have children.

The continuing triumph of oligarchs-billionaires over average citizens while founding documents proclaim “all men are created equal”.

It’s always nice to have a little bit of good news mixed in with all the rest.

Murdoch’s presses are why Trump got elected the first time. Trump has threatened broadcasting licenses, which strikes at one ventricle of the First Amendment. If Newsom is on the ballot for president, I’ll happily vote for him.

California. Even in Florida gas prices increased from $3 to nearly $4 per gallon as a result of a non-congressionally authorized war. Now that there’s some kind of MOU between Trump and Iran, Florida gas prices dropped back to about $3.60 (but not to $3 pre-war levels). The highest gas prices in the US are in Hawaii and California.

I was watching a video about the Chumash Indians, how they were moved to and congregated around the missions of Southern California (to save their souls) where they got European diseases and died. I’ve visited several of those missions multiple times, those stories are not advertised. It seems the concept of hiding our truths has a deep and storied history, just like in this Smithsonian story. Meanwhile, one of the oldest works of fiction on the planet, the Holy Bible, cannot be touched by the US government by First Amendment mandate.

“America is back, and we want to keep America great, and we will do so by approving the SAVE America Act,” he said to a crowd gathered on the National Mall, which included several Republican lawmakers.

Ridiculous. We’re all paying lots of money for gasoline, in my town $5+ per gallon, food costs are up, and the GOP congress has failed to hold the Trump admin responsible for starting a war without congressional approval.

China has in recent years suffered from a spate of what have been called “revenge against society” attacks – deadly rampages committed by people apparently driven to breaking point by personal grievances. Authorities are reluctant to acknowledge such incidents, and when they do, the perpetrator is often described as an isolated, unstable individual.

Intriguing. In the US media, many stories are written from a personal perspective, and if there isn’t a grievance, there typically is no story. The US First Amendment even uses the word “grievances”.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Apparently it’s not a good place to be an atheist either. Wikipedia says Indonesia is 87% Islamic. Believe in their imaginary friend or be called a threat to the state.

In Beyond Supernature, Lyall Watson claimed trees could mount a defense against attack (by raising tannin levels in their leaves), and communicate to neighboring plants they were under attack, so neighboring plants would also raise their tannin levels.

He said Desrochers’ film, called Des arbes et des arts convinced citizens that trees are living entities that breathe and communicate with each other through their root systems.

U.S. military regulations impose strict limitations on service members’ political activities, especially in uniform, and Article 88 forbids officers from using contemptuous words against the President or Vice President.

As a civilian I don’t think calling for legal impeachment is contemptuous, nor is peaceful First Amendment Activity. The GOP-majority congress has let us all down, choosing party and Trump over country.

As a tiny cultural adjustment, the bible should be rewritten with all the references to child abuse deleted (such as Proverbs 23:13). Adjust the text so it agrees with our best scientific understanding of abuse. Editing the bible was done long ago in a negative sense, in the service of slavery, the Slave Bible. Thus, it should be entirely permissible to rewrite it in a positive sense, such as editing out any advocacy that may be interpreted as advocating the beating of kids. Then future Christian families won’t be able to as easily justify child abuse because “it says so in the bible”. One cultural ripple effect that minimizes harm to children is thus eliminated.

Hegseth isn’t a doctor, but he can direct military medical policy? The US leadership system is broken.

Just drain it and leave it dry. Stop spending money on vanity.

The Trump administration has gutted key elements of the nation’s election security infrastructure. Experts warn that the changes could reduce visibility into nationwide cyberattacks and foreign influence campaigns while making it more difficult for state and local election officials to coordinate defensive operations.

Interesting to think of foreign influence campaigns in the context of Trump v. Slaughter and the possibility that any president could potentially turn to the darkside and work against the good of the country as a whole.