The video in the article has some good footage too. The “why is there bright light when I am nocturnal?!” face is a mood I felt on a deeply personal level.

I appreciate you

For sure, I just get antsy when peer review doesn’t come from from external sources

Hm, 5 year old journal, with the editor board, funding and half of the authors all from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, but significant hospital contribution. I remain skeptical of the headline but hopeful of the science.

It annoyed me that I couldn’t see the whole statue. It’s just a statue of the local general but another part of the inscription was also interesting:

THE CONFEDERATE SOLDIER WON AND IS ENTITLED TO THE ADMIRATION OF ALL WHO LOVE HONOR, AND LIBERTY.

Uh huh. From a monument built 50 years after the war ended. Physical copium.

It starts before birth. Low socio-economic status affects the health of pregnant people, which in turn has consequences for foetal development. Stress is a big trigger for various latent congenital issues, and that’s one reason climate change is going to result in increased rates of disease.

Not just a defense witness, a former federal prosecutor. A judge had to tell a former federal prosecutor “And then if you don’t like my ruling, you don’t give me side eye and you don’t roll your eyes.” like he was a pouty teenager.

There’s a person who has been living a mostly normal life with 90% of his brain missing. Perhaps we could just re-examine society’s ableism and how we design our systems of government to allow single points of failure instead? RFK Jr. has terrible opinions, but also had them before having a literal brain worm.

Dennett taught me how to find common ground with very different people in discussions which might otherwise be heated arguments. I was lucky enough to see one of his talks some years ago, and his work and methods are something I frequently think about even today. His writing style was playful and accessible, but it paled in comparison to his presentation which really demonstrated his abundant charisma. His passing is truly a huge loss in a world that increasingly needs his teachings. My condolences to his family and the communities he fostered.

Vale, Daniel C. Dennett. I hope I can continue to do even a shred of justice to your contributions.

Edit with link: Dennett (somewhat accidentally) created a community for interdenominational Christian clergy who are also secret atheists. It started with a research paper with interviews and some analysis of their similar/different experiences. Ignore the abstract if academic language isn’t your thing, the rest of the paper is a much easier and interesting read:

Dennett, D. C., & LaScola, L. (2010). Preachers Who are Not Believers. Evolutionary Psychology, 8(1), 122-150

very good mental healthcare

No, it’s just better than other places. It’s overstressed, underprioritised, acute-focussed and failing the population at large. Better than the US, even exponentially, doesn’t mean good.

Switching to what alliance? It’s not like they’re going to join BRICS.

I’m glad she has finally been acquitted but I am so sorry that she ever had to go through any of this

I finally gave in and watched it after multiple independent recommendations from people who had strong educated opinions on quality nuanced literature and media. The last series sort of declined a bit, but overall I was in no way disappointed. It was exceptionally well done, and importantly for me, not too watered down with tired tropes, stereotyped single dimensional characters, painfully predictable plots and neatly tidied moral threads.

I mean, there were definitely some, but, it’s TV. It holds up extremely well even with age.

For sure, but insults are just (nicely crafted in this case) words, and unless the insulter is in a certain position, they ultimately don’t affect much. It’s not like Simon’s statement is going to change Baltimore policy or shipping or things for the citizens, or Greene’s actions. And it’s not like Greene will be able to make funding decisions about Baltimore or declare war on the city.

Like, I enjoy some dramatic shit-slinging, but I wish “news” were more about objective things happening than someone expressing an opinion on social media that doesn’t have any obvious real consequences for anyone.

I don’t consider a TV producer insulting a (obviously terrible) politician to be news, but I do enjoy this particular insult. It’s nicely crafted. It’s a pity he continues to use Twitter.

Thanks for understanding and being willing to consider a stranger’s point of view, I appreciate it.

what happened was a logical and known potential outcome and consequence of signing up

It certainly is, but when the burden of responsibility is only placed on the person at the end of the line, it lets the fuckers at the top with the unequal power skirt their responsibility. Perhaps “blame” is too far, but it doss seem like you’ve perhaps disproportionately assigned blame to thus one shouting guy and his kid.

You make it sound as if the choice is binary between starving and joining the military: it’s not.

Not at all, but I do acknowledge that for many, and in increasing amounts, the decision has indeed become very close to that binary. US hegemony relies on people to do the enforcement. That’s obviously dangerous, and thankfully, despite pervasive cultural conditioning, most people aren’t interested in killing others overseas while living in an overcrowded dorm eating slop. So the conditions have been put in place by the ruling class to force people into doing it.

If you’re unlucky enough to be born in Podunk Nowhere, where disaster capitalism has resulted in the only employers being Walmart, mcdonalds or the shady abattoir that “hires” minors, you don’t start with many options. Add in an “education” from a system that has been rotted from within by zealots, complete with in-school army recruiter. Add in a culture that loves guns. Add in a family member in debt from medical accident (probably at the abattoir), or an unplanned pregnancy because of no access to abortion. Maybe they’re also living at home with a parent who is addicted to meth out of desperation to avoid their poverty and misery… and the military starts looking like a very tempting option.

You have the chance of dying and disability in the military, and the likelihood that you’re forced to murder, but also the glimmer of hope of an education, family healthcare and a way out of Podunk’s cycle of poverty. That’s a powerful motivator for someone who doesn’t see any other realistic options. It’s a deliberate funnel into committing murder through economic coercion and military worship culture, and the fault lies with the trap makers, not the trapped.

The only thing that makes the last 80 years different is the efficiency of murder and the new murder weapons they have access to.

And the extent of its reach. A century ago, the US was pretty limited to war on North American soil, and land it claims. When the war is that close, the realities of suffering are hard to conceal from the people whom you need to inflict it. Wars in other continents though can be sanitized by the media, and the people who are caught in the military funnel trap find out after they’ve signed the contract.

Thankfully the prevalence of video tech has allowed us to mitigate some of that media sanitization, but again, putting the burden of responsibility on the 18 year old who has never been taught critical thinking skills allows the 65+ year old networked decision makers at the top to slide off the hook.

Tl;dr I think it’s OK to acknowledge everything on all fronts is fucked for everyone except the ruling class. I also think it’s OK to shout at the ruling class, even in their house, when you were invited to be there.

In what way? The RNC will be funnelling cash before the election, and nothing has been done about Trump beyond some civil suits since his presidency. What has happened to make you think his cash flow has been restricted enough to prevent churning new loans that he won’t pay? He’s been doing it his entire life.

Blaming the people who need to eat instead of the people creating an economy out of death and misery is counter-productive. US foreign policy and economics have centered around war for at least 80 years, Biden has played a crucial role in facilitating it for a few decades.

And the fact a person has been arrested for shouting at the president in the same location where people literally stormed it and engaged in literal violence and walked away free that day? Amazing.

Biden might be infinitely better than the alternative for most citizens of the US (and likely the entire world) - but the non-US part of the world has been bearing the costs of the US military economy that has provided the privileges US citizens currently enjoy.

But fuck the guy who lost his kid, right? He’s the real problem. /s

the only beneficiaries will be his victims

He’ll be using most of the funds in his closed circle economy of lawyers and lackies who are tasked with preventing his victims from receiving a penny. Those people then pay him and his expenses to keep him and themselves in power and ensure funds keep flowing. Not to mention the constant targeting of opposing parties for harassment by the people he has successfully radicalized.

His victims might get a few pennies, but almost definitely they’ll get a whole world of death threats. “Give him everything” is the same short-sighted policy of appeasement they tried on one of his role models.