I used to read about countries like this (which we called "banana republics"). I would chortle and feel superior, and wonder how any country could act that way in the modern era.

More looting the treasury. I will not enjoy paying my taxes this year. It used to feel like a civic duty, now it feels like tribute to a tyrant.

This is not what democracy looks like. I believe the technical term for it is "looting the treasury."

This is how it works in a functioning democracy. We too had a president who led an insurrection, but he was not given a life sentence (or any sentence at all, for that matter). apnews.com/article/sout...

And the "Best Dangling Modifier of the Year" award goes to...

Well which is it? Are you for birthright citizenship or against?

Only ~480,000 of you have watched this FCC-banned Late Show interview. Surely another 20,000 of you would like to watch it, if only to teach Brendan Carr about the Barbara Streisand effect. youtu.be/oiTJ7Pz_59A

Agreed. Ditto for coding.

R.I.P. Fred Smith. If you aren't familiar with Television's eponymous debut album, do yourself a favor and listen to it today. variety.com/2026/music/n...

So Penis Station and Dullard Airport? abcnews.go.com/US/trump-pen...

People who should have known better voted for this failed businessman because they thought he'd be good for the economy. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/b...

Shouldn't the latest FBI Epstein document dump (you know, the one that prominently features features Trump and Musk) be called the "pedo-files"? (Asking for a friend.)

Imagine my surprise. This is a kakistocracy, a government that fears expertise and, intelligence, and competence. www.science.org/content/arti...

Today, I am proud to be a Californian. thehill.com/homenews/sta...

All hail the kakistocracy. I am old enough to have seen exactly what polio does to a person. Trust me when I say we don't want to bring this one back. More generally, we don't want to reject expertise in favor of fealty. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/23/h...

Imagine my surprise.

This is not what democracy looks like. Note that the man being kidnapped is a US citizen.

Tim took this picture in Boston last night.

R.I.P. Scott Adams. We all know what he turned into in recent years, but he wrote and drew some damn funny cartoons thirty years ago. This one, from 4/11/1994, is my favorite.

Cindy is knitting a cat hat for Matt.

This is not what democracy looks like. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

R.I.P. Bob Weir

Hmm... I don't think they're immigrants. But they do have customs. www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/ne...

TFW when the country you've lived in for all your 64 years, the country that took your mother in from the Nazi holocaust, the country your immigrant father fought for on the battlefields of WW II, the country that supported your undergrad education and your Ph.D. research, turns into a rogue state.

This was five years ago. The tyrant responsible is now our president, and doing his best to turn our erstwhile democracy into an autocratic oligarchy.

Fellow astrophotography nerds: I need this low-profile rotator to satisfy the back focus of my VC200L www.teleskop-express.de/en/adaptors-.... Sadly it's not available in US, & international purchase is hard due to the actions of our incompetent president. If you know how I can get one, please DM me

...and I am Marie of Romania.

Moon halo!

Imagine watching Sinatra, son of Dolly & Antonini born in Genoa & Sicily, respectively, and Martin, son of Gaetano & Angela, born in Montesilvano, Italy & Ohio respectively, (Angela to parents born in Monasterolo, Italy), and crusading against the value of children of immigrants to the U.S.

Nothing to see here. Ric Grenell continues to be the asshole he's always been. If he follows his idiotic letter with actual legal action, I predict there will be no shortage of lawyers eager to defend Redd pro bono. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Boxing Day rainbow!

This is not what democracy looks like. Also, I think you're supposed to burn them outright.

If you promise someone lingerie for Christmas but give them a parka, have you under-promised and over-delivered?

This is not what democracy looks like.

Christmas is coming, so tonight we're going to watch the Grinch. We're also going to listen to @stevenwilsonhq.bsky.social's wonderful new Atmos mix of the Who's classic "Who Are You." In honor of this holiday paring, I made some artwork with nano banana. It's called "The Who Down in Who-ville."

Here is an image of the Rosette nebula that I took Friday night from my San Jose backyard. It represents 4.5 hours of data (138 two-minute exposures). You can zoom in and it still looks good.

The next time someone tells you that you don't know shit, you can tell them, with confidence, that they're wrong. (HT Joseph Hudson of Pronunciation Studio).

A-effing-men!

Nonsense. Sky-high BTC prices are still with us. It has no intrinsic value, and people still pay tens of thousands of dollars for it. Looks like a bubble to me at present prices. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/t...

Today, Cindy and I walked to Cambridge. We saw a sundog (refraction)....

This image is too cool to be real, but it's real (NGC 6302, the butterfly nebula, www.cbsnews.com/news/chile-t...).

This is not what democracy looks like. Also it's not what they meant when they said "land of the free."

I couldn't resist playing with my aurora photo a bit in lightroom (and GraXpert). Here is the result.

This too is not what democracy looks like. I thought the constitution contained two emoluments clauses.

This is not what democracy looks like.

This is not what democracy looks like. Also, the White House decor has descended well into self-parody.

About to depart on a last minute vacation to Boise. The hope is too see the northern lights tonight and fly back tomorrow.

He pardons only the best people.

Propose insignia for the Democratic leadership (AI generated, as I don't know how to draw). Chuck Schumer / Chuck (Charlie) Brown. More than a coincidence? You decide.

This is not what democracy looks like: www.npr.org/2025/11/10/n...