Interesting News, Articles & Stuff

[macbill]

The Opposite of Déjà Vu Is a Thing, And It's Even More Uncanny

Repetition has a strange relationship with the mind.

www.sciencealert.com

Scientists Identify The Optimal Number of Daily Steps For Longevity, And It's Not 10,000

Conventional wisdom would have us believe the journey to a long and healthy life begins with 10,000 steps.

www.sciencealert.com

 

[macbill]

Ron DeSantis ends presidential campaign, endorses Trump​

https://wapo.st/3S5ImuH

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is ending his once-promising presidential campaign, which steadily deflated as he struggled to connect with voters and convince Republicans to swap Donald Trump for a younger, more disciplined champion of his ideas.

Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Presidential Race

Ron DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 presidential race on Sunday, two days before the New Hampshire primary, where he badly trailed Republican frontrunner Donald Trump and Nikki Haley.

www.bloomberg.com

]

 

[florduh]

Ron DeSantis ends presidential campaign, endorses Trump​

https://wapo.st/3S5ImuH

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is ending his once-promising presidential campaign, which steadily deflated as he struggled to connect with voters and convince Republicans to swap Donald Trump for a younger, more disciplined champion of his ideas.

Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Presidential Race

Ron DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 presidential race on Sunday, two days before the New Hampshire primary, where he badly trailed Republican frontrunner Donald Trump and Nikki Haley.

www.bloomberg.com

]

Rhonda didn't even make it to New Hampshire! So fucking pathetic.

Live shot from Rhonda's concession speech:

I probably said this before. But we need to tax the living fuck out of rich people. They blew $100 million on a Presidential campaign and didn't stop to make sure the candidate wasn't the weirdest, most off-putting guy in the country first.

 

[Bologna]

 

[cybrguy]

probably said this before. But we need to tax the living fuck out of rich people. They blew $100 million on a Presidential campaign and didn't stop to make sure the candidate wasn't the weirdest, most off-putting guy in the country first.

I think they did know. But look who it was they were competing with. They were trying to out Trump Trump. What a fool's errand. They deserve to lose all their money. But yeah, it would be nice if they did something useful with it rather than dumping it in the crapper.

 

[macbill]

Billions of cicadas will emerge in the U.S. this year in a rare double-brood event

This year's dual emergence is a rare, synchronized event that last occurred in 1803.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[florduh]

I always knew Rhonda's campaign would end in total failure. But I could never have predicted how humiliating this is.

Ron DeSantis ended his campaign on an optimistic Churchill quote that's actually fake

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts," reads the quote. However, there's no evidence Churchill said it.

www.businessinsider.com

Not only did Little Ronnie use a fake Churchill quote. He apparently accidentally quoted an old Budweiser ad:

6 months ago Rhonda decided to use Floridian tax dollars to investigate Budweiser for sending a single rainbow Bud Light can to a trans tiktok influencer.

DeSantis announces inquiry into Bud Light's parent company over partnership with trans influencer

The GOP governor of Florida and 2024 presidential contender said the state is considering legal action against AB InBev.

www.nbcnews.com

It's not all bad news for DeSanctimonius today though:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1749225627398324594

 

[Radwin Bodnic]

2020's - 2030's sound like 1920's - 1930's but not just in Europe. And this doesn't sound good.

Random thought :
1933 : Hitler won the elections in Germany and no civil war happened. Later Germany initiated WW2.
1936 : republicans won the elections in Spain and in reaction, nationalists started a civil war. After a blood bath Franco became dictator.

I don't know how USA can avoid one or the other scenario. Either Trump is elected and I don't want to think further of what could happen worldwide in a decade or two, either he looses the elections and his supporters start a civil war...

Sad times ahead...

 

[cybrguy]

There is no way Trump wins this presidential election. The probability is not zero, but it is nowhere near what it would have to be to actually eliminate America's democracy, which reelecting Trump would result in. Primaries in Iowa and/or New Hampshire really have nothing to do with the reality of the country in a general election. I am not suggesting one shouldn't be concerned. The idea that it is anywhere near close enough that we even should have the conversation is disturbing enough. But when the reality hits on what the choices really are, America does not elect a fascist.

To be clear, I am not saying there will be no violence. There are enough crazy, stupid people in this country right now that may act out violently. But they are a small percentage of Americans. Larger than ever before in my lifetime, but not large enough to create a civil war. And part of the reason they will not act out is they have a very recent historical example of what will happen to them. Many of the worst of them are already serving time for January 6th...

 

[anome]

America does not elect a fascist

uhm, history would seem to indicate otherwise.

 

[cybrguy]

Who is America's other fascist?

 

[florduh]

Anywhere between 20-30% of Americans have always been fascist or have had fascist tendencies. This image isn't from Berlin. It's from Madison Square Garden in NYC in 1939:

There is no way Trump wins this presidential election.

I know it's only January. But polling says it's 50/50. I tend to think as Americans see more of Trump and remember how annoying every day from 2016-2020 was, the chances will be more like 60/40 in favor of Biden.

But let's not kid ourselves. There is a significant chance Trump will be elected again. Biden is now less popular than Hillary. He's the least popular President since they invented polling. It is frankly baffling to me that not a single Democratic Senator or Governor had the balls to attempt a primary challenge. Since this is The Most Important Election of Our Lifetime™: Part 3.

If Dems can keep saying "ABORTION" over and over again for the next 10 months, I still think they're the slight favorites. But just barely.

 

[cybrguy]

Anywhere between 20-30% of Americans have always been fascist

20 or 30% does not win an election. And polling at this point for an election ten months away is fairly meaningless. Hey, the weekend before the election, Hillary Clinton was still going to win by a significant margin, according to the polls.

The polls that matter are the ones when people actually vote. And so far, virtually all elections since R v W was overturned went to Democrats.

 

[anome]

Could have sworn he had already won once.

 

[florduh]

20 or 30% does not win an election.

No, but Trump already won once. Because he has support outside of committed fascists. Regular suburbanites might not be Nazis, but there are plenty of Hitler particles emanating from American suburbs. There's a whole social network demonstrating this called "Nextdoor".

 

[cybrguy]

Could have sworn he had already won once.

If you're talking about 2016, while those of us paying attention knew that he was a slimy piece of shit, we did not know he was a fascist.

And many were not paying attention. But no one today can miss who Donald Trump is unless they choose to.

 

[Farid]

Michigan is a critical state to win, and Biden has really alienated a key base there. That cannot be overstated.

 

[cybrguy]

I'm not happy about what's happening in the Middle East either. But do you really believe that anyone who is upset with it is more likely to vote for Donald Trump? They may stay home, but they're not going to vote for the fascist.

 

[TigoleBitties]

So, my understanding is that some states prohibit felons from running for state and local office but these laws do not apply to federal offices. I don't think most would agree with allowing felons to hold public office. Certainly there might be very narrow exceptions but the president? The highest public office in the land?

Individual states are already declaring him ineligible invoking the 14th Amendment (rightly so I think) but some aren't. Guess who gets to ultimately decide? Oh, yes... that stacked supreme court. He did significant damage to government in his **single** term.

 

[Grass Yes]

I don't think most would agree with allowing felons to hold public office.

I strongly believe in allowing people convicted of a crime to run for office, vote, etc. What possible benefit would there be to permanently removing someone's rights permanently? I realize that the Supreme Court disagreed with me in Richardson v. Ramirez, but that was based on an incredibly tortured read on Section 2 of the 14th amendment.

Now of course section 2 does specifically call out "rebellion" as a reason that one can be disenfranchised.

At any rate, I think a felony is not reason enough to remove someone's right to run for office or vote. Especially in a country where we choose to apply these systems against marginalized groups and people with no power.

 

[Canna Chameleon]

At any rate, I think a felony is not reason enough to remove someone's right to run for office or vote. Especially in a country where we choose to apply these systems against marginalized groups and people with no power.

First I totally agree with you in principle. But with a few caveats.

1. there was a point at which I hoped this country had the values to self exclude someone legitimately guilty of an act like murder or rape or other heinous acts.

2. For a general trial our country believes 12 guilty people should go free before a single innocent man goes to jail. I‘d like to say we should have a separate debate about whether preventing one real bad criminal being president is worth the risk of 12 marginalized felons not getting to run.

 

[Grass Yes]

First I totally agree with you in principle. But with a few caveats.

1. there was a point at which I hoped this country had the values to self exclude someone legitimately guilty of an act like murder or rape or other heinous acts.

I think even for "heinous" crimes we don't typically have the death sentence or LWOP. So when even those people have finished their sentence does it make sense to keep punishing them?

2. For a general trial our country believes 12 guilty people should go free before a single innocent man goes to jail. I‘d like to say we should have a separate debate about whether preventing one real bad criminal being president is worth the risk of 12 marginalized felons not getting to run.

Could not disagree with this more. I do agree with the idea that specific actions require specific consequences/justice. That is why the sedition and insurrection portion the 14th amendment exists. However, I think it is very likely that powerful and rich people do not have to face any justice, but most enforcement is targeted to those other groups I mentioned.

This isn't just theoretical. Following the passage of the 14th amendment, anyone who could have been barred from office or disenfranchised was pardoned. However Jim Crow was allowed to continue unabated until the civil rights act.

 

[Canna Chameleon]

I hear this guy is running for office…

Freckle-faced killer Eric Smith, freed on parole at 42, says he's engaged

Smith was 13 when he murdered a child in 1993. After 28 years behind bars, he has a new life and says he's a changed man.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[florduh]

It was very funny turning on Fox every time Trump was arrested. Hearing conservatives talk like prison abolitionists.

There's precedent for felons running for President.

Eugene Debs: When a prisoner ran for president | BrandeisNOW

Thomas Doherty is a professor of American Studies at Brandeis. This article originally appeared on The Conversation.

www.brandeis.edu

Eugene Debs. The GOAT. He was imprisoned for sedition against the United States after speaking out against World War I. Ran for President as a socialist and received about 3% of the vote.

Something to keep in mind. Trump is the only Republican Biden has a chance at beating. Replace Donnie with Nimarata and it's a blowout.

I frankly find her scarier than Trump. In office, Donnie spent about 12 hours per day watching TV. He staffed his admin with whoever said the nicest things about him on Fox. Mostly, fucking idiots. Nikki will staff her admin with Senior Analysts from The Melting Poor People into Biofuel Institute.

 

[Grass Yes]

I hear this guy is running for office…

Freckle-faced killer Eric Smith, freed on parole at 42, says he's engaged

Smith was 13 when he murdered a child in 1993. After 28 years behind bars, he has a new life and says he's a changed man.

www.cbsnews.com

I'm not sure what you are saying. Should we have executed him when he was 14? Or just wait until he had been in prison for 28 years and then do it? How do you feel about him being free in general? Do you think it serves our society to keep him in prison forever? Do you feel that he is particularly dangerous as a politician or voter? Are you worried he wants to make murdering a child legal?