Man, the Biden economy is crazy. It somehow managed to do really well--leading the world in COVID recovery--until Trump took office and then it cratered. Crazy a senile old man could engineer all this.

At least 26 people died in encounters with DHS or in their custody in 2025. prospect.org/2026/01/29/i... By their own count, there were 23 illegal immigrants convicted of homicide/manslaughter last year: www.cbp.gov/newsroom/sta... They're more dangerous than the problem they're claiming exists.

Seems relevant this weekend: I've always been a big Punisher fan. Top 5 character for me. One of my biggest pet peeves is police using his logo. Frank is self aware enough to know he's a symptom of social issues, not a solution. If you're a cop rocking his logo, he would hate you.

First it was the George Floyd protests, now it's ICE. Minnesota always understands the assignment.

I committed to doing a Dry January and 3 days in I already regret that choice. I could really use a drink.

There's a lot to hate about what's been happening in the world over the last decade, but the inexplicable transformation of Bob Odenkirk from comedic actor into an action hero is not one of them.

In a very unpredictable twist, it turns out Trump is more pro-Mamdani than the entire Democratic leadership.

If it ends in two separate impeachments, Bill Clinton has the most influential penis in modern history.

As someone who drinks entirely too much coffee, this is extra painful.

Voters on 11/4: Yes, Democrats, we will reward you with massive wins in every notable contest because we want you to fight this Administration tooth-and-nail! Senate Democrats on 11/9: We should probably give up this fight and surrender. It's okay we're getting nothing. People will understand.

A $300k house with 20% down at 6% interest: 30-year: $1439/mo, $278k total paid in interest. 50-year: $1263/mo, $518k total paid in interest. You usually pay higher interest rate for longer mortgage. At 6.25% it's ~$1309/mo and $545k total. Surely this will solve the affordable housing crisis.

Cheney dead and MAGA losing every notable election-- I guess we can still have good days.

RoboCop was set in an authoritarian US controlled by corrupt corporations. Robocop's top directives were still "serve the public trust" and "protect the innocent." Putting the "uphold the law" and "don't cross your masters" directives above those two was seen as too far. My how times have changed.

I am in a parasocial relationship with Patrick Mahomes and I'm not ashamed. I love that goofy looking, waddle-walking, football savant.

Fun fact: if you go far enough left, you end up pro 2A again.

People point to companies working towards AGI for how brilliant Azimov was to think up the Three Laws decades ago. People fail to appreciate how the modern tech bro push for AI in government is laying the groundwork for AI Governance--essentially Multivac, which he also thought through decades ago.

Crippled federal agencies, set back medical research a generation, cut aid that will lead to the deaths of millions, and slashed our social safety net to curb spending yet the deficit is exploding. Because the current Admin doesn't actually give a shit about anything other than self-enrichment.

I have no idea why Hulk Hogan had access to the Epstein List, but I assume that's what this is all about.

I've been waiting my whole life for someone to recapture the magic of Superman I and II and @jamesgunn.bsky.social finally did it. Someone understands Ma and Pa are as much a reason he's a hero as anything he can do, and that his top priority is always helping people no matter what. I loved it.

Measles has a side effect called "immune amnesia." After having measles, you can become susceptible to diseases you were immunity to. One of RFK's biggest failures: The measles approach he's strong-arming the government into (do nothing) will lead to other well-controlled diseases re-emerging, too.

We are being exclusively led by people who would be completely dumbfounded that anyone would ever leave Omelas.

Half the country thought masks were too authoritarian and oppressive for the government to order. Same half now cheers the thought of sending US citizens to foreign gulags where the government says courts have no authority over you once you're there. Make it make sense.

Listen, I know things are looking bad for everyone's investments and the economy and global stability and democracy and all that, but those ~12 trans athletes can't compete in D-1 sports anymore and you just can't put a price on that.

Chuck Schumer: Believes democrats shouldn't fight funding bills. Doesn't want to risk getting blamed for being obstructionist or making the government shut down. Believes fighting isn't worth any risk. Corey Booker: Mountains of praise from everywhere for slowing things down for a single day.

This is maybe the strongest I've ever agreed with any politician. I *never* agree with politicians.

Jesus our country is depressing right now. A long-time DOJ fraud prosecutor fired. A career employee, not an appointee. It came from a WH email instead of normal internal process. He was prosecuting a fast food executive whose lawyers lobbied DOJ to drop the charges.

Last week, PM Carney called for elections in Canada at the end of April. I'm jealous their election cycle is only a month long. Congress' main job is campaigning/fundraising for elections. IMO that's part of why they're happy to push their job to POTUS--so they don't have to actually legislate.

On the left: Hegseth's message. On the right: the applicable CENTCOM classification guide provisions. This is all very plainly classified at the SECRET level. They all lied. They should all lose their jobs.

My tyke learned what a penis is. Amazed I have one and tells me to do things with it. I tell her I'm starting her bath and she'll yell back "do it with your penis!" Now I'm terrified to take her places. I don't want to be out and tell her to wipe her nose for her yell at me to do it with my penis.

So, elderly people who can't use the internet have to go to local offices to prove their identify. The same offices they're closing a ton of, and de-staffing others. All to "solve" a problem they can't actually show even exists in the first place. Yeah, this screams "efficiency."

You're planning for your family's future. Your biggest worries for long term stability are a surging measles outbreak, the long term impact of tariffs on your employment, and the whims of the most influential robber barons on the government. Are you living in the year: a) 1876 b) 2025

A big coming problem, imo. Going further, I work in a technical field. A big push for AI use in the near term is to summarize technical work to make it easier to use. One way you build expertise is by actually reading that stuff. I'm legitimately worried about the long term effects of that push.

So this will probably get lost in the weeds because it's pretty meaningless to someone not in-the-know, but it's huge. Congress creates these agencies and gives them some ability to create laws. It's Congress saying "this is complex, we're not experts, so we're using a group of experts to do it."

looking back, AOL had it right. 30 hours of internet per month was the right amount.

In his first full month, Trump is on track to arrest/deport roughly 25,000 illegal migrants. With largely the same laws, resources, and way less emphasis, in Nov 2024 the Biden Administration did almost double that - just a bit shy of 50,000. Now trump wants $175B from Congress to catch up.

Under DOGE, NIH is going to cap "indirect costs" paid by research grants to 15%. The norm was 30%. "Indirect costs" are vital keep a sophisticated lab running. The Administration will pretend it's a scam, but funding those costs is what keeps us a world leader.

Probably just a big misunderstanding that Trump/Musk are almost exclusively spreading misinformation and not mentioning USAID's actual work while they celebrate (probably unconstitutionally) dismantling it.

NEW: Sources tell my office that Treasury Secretary Bessent has granted DOGE *full* access to this system. Social Security and Medicare benefits, grants, payments to government contractors, including those that compete directly with Musk's own companies. All of it.

Breaking News: A New York doctor was indicted in Louisiana for sending abortion pills to a resident there, in a major test of abortion “shield laws.”

For Feds considering the "buyout," know that ex-Twitter employees sued Musk for not paying them what they were promised to quit. The whole government is on a CR through March. There's no budget for this at all. You probably shouldn't expect to fare much better.

A whole bunch of people right now are shocked that they're getting exactly what they voted for. But surely crippling healthcare, science, the military, agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and the federal civil workforce will make eggs cheaper at some point, right?

The older I get, the more I think the wisest thing Yoda did was fuck off to the woods to let other people deal with society's problems.

Okay, I'm not usually an "lol, young people" person but does everyone under 30 think it's okay to talk on speaker at the gym? It's not. This year's crop of resolutioners is unacceptable. I don't care what machine you're clogging up doing your useless tiktok lifts--but please, just shut up.

Lord Toby Young has posted a rehashing of the "CO2 is saturated" meme. It sounds plausible, and some eminent scientists believed it back in history. But we've known for 100 years that the atmosphere isn't saturated with CO2 And one very simple observation shows it beyond doubt.

It's definitely not aliens, but if the drones over NJ *are* aliens, they're either going to destroy humanity to steal all our resources, or they're going to elevate us into a galactic utopia. No in-between. I'm okay with either outcome. Humans aren't doing so great for humanity on our own, imo.

U.S. senator blocks press freedom bill Trump said the GOP ‘must kill,’ Shauneen Miranda reports lailluminator.com/2024/12/10/d... via @statesnewsroom.com

Millions will see rise in health insurance premiums if federal subsidies expire, @chatlanis.bsky.social reports lailluminator.com/2024/12/11/h... via @stateline.org

It seems like a lot of people don't realize that lots of the gender gaps that were historically holding young women back go the opposite direction now. Lots of the left either doesn't know or doesn't care. And that's a big part of why young male voters are veering right.

The Sierra Club estimates that Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry’s decision to leave the Industrial Tax Exemption Program untouched during a recent special session to overhaul state tax code will cost communities as much as $21B in lost funding over the next 15 years. Via @lailluminator.bsky.social

"That guy is a really handsy, physical DB." Things you can say that are compliment in football, but an insult in any other context. #NFL