"Star Wars actress Kelly Marie Tran, who has suffered months of racist and sexist abuse on social media, has deleted all her posts on Instagram." People use fandom just like religion, it justifies their actions. Fortunately mostly in a positive way, but like any crowd there are a certain minority of dicks. And those dicks feel like the franchise they're fans of owe them something more than entertainment. They are also mostly MRAs who can't stand that the world is changing and that what they are fans of is often leading the way of that change. So they do what abusive people have always done, picked the ones they feel are isolated and pour their venom in that direction hoping the rest of us to find out about it (or won't care). Fuck those guys (in the metaphorical sense). These are not "fanboys", they're just useless dicks.
"NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, which flew by Pluto in July of 2015, woke up today from hibernation mode in preparation for its next rendezvous with a space rock at the edge of the Solar System." Although Ultima Thule sounds like a boss monster in some video game.
"Despite its legality, auctioning off dinosaurs is part of a growing trend that threatens to take unstudied, prize specimens away from scientists who can't afford to buy them, said P. David Polly, the president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology and a professor of sedimentary geology at Indiana University."
"The seat can vibrate on the right or the left to call out dangers on either side of the car. In one scenario, we're creeping along, about to enter a road from the parking lot. Bushes are obscuring our view of the car that's about to be in our path. The seat vibrates, and there's this… (SOUNDBITE OF BEEPING)" Dear auto industry, I ask you to learn about "task saturation" and why Air Force pilots turn off many warning systems in the cockpit.
"Ohio's medical marijuana program is supposed to be 'fully operational' by Sept. 8, but state officials acknowledged in April that won't be the case. Twenty-five companies have been awarded cultivation licenses, but none have been given the OK to begin growing plants." So, two dispensaries in Lakewood, two in Lake Country, but none in Geauga, Ashtabula, or Portage Counties.
"On Tuesday, the union announced that members voted more than 90% in favor of going on strike, if a deal is not reached before the current labor contract expires on August 1… UPS employs 260,000 Teamsters, and has added 40,000 union members since its current contract was reached five years ago. The shipments UPS transports equal an estimated 6% of the nation's GDP, which means a labor dispute could disrupt the US economy." Goes and makes more popcorn.
"Ever since a Starbucks in the Philadelphia area came under national scrutiny for calling the police on two black men waiting for a business associate in one of the company’s coffee shops, new attention has been focused on the long list of mundane activities that black Americans can’t confidently engage in without being treated as suspicious or having the police called." Life in post-racial America with Trump (not that he started it, but the pace of it has seemed to accelerate since January 2017).
"A South Dakota state lawmaker argued in a Facebook comment that businesses should be allowed to turn down people based on the color of their skin… The comment from state Rep. Michael Clark (R) came shortly after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple because of his religious beliefs." Oh hello, Slope. My but you are a slippery one. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"The entire graduating class at a Pennsylvania middle school was gifted bulletproof backpack plates as they prepare to head to high school next year… 'I never thought I’d need this,' one student told Fox 29." You shouldn't need it. This is just more examples of how badly the adults in the country have failed you. "Unequal president Rob Vito argued handguns and shotguns are 'useless' against a product like the one the company gifted the students." Dear Rob, it's not a magic shield. It will only protect what the shield is over (and only at a 60° or less angle to the shot if IIRC). So, center mass shots to the book bag will probably be covered. That leaves most of the student unprotected (even if they are able to remove their backpack and use it as a shield in the direction of the shooter). Also, now taking bets on how many of these shields will return to school next fall with some "target practice" damage (note, shooting a "bullet proof" plate damages it's ability to protect against further shots). (Grokked from Kameron Hurley)
"'I cant help but think what if he had had a gun?' Stackhouse said. 'I’m still worried about my personal safety from any kind of retribution that might come back to me about this. It’s definitely a pretty upsetting experience and I feel like it’s going to take a long time to work through all of the feelings that it brought up.'" In a response to an unrelated tweet I talked about how sentencing guidelines really need to be revamped, and in this case where this "road rage" person is involved they will probably get less than a year in jail, if they see any time at all (beyond being detained during arrest). IMHO, they should get 10 years with a minimum of 5 years served in jail. (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"Billionaire conservative icon David Koch is stepping down from the Koch brothers’ network of business and political activities." Several thinky thought. It's still a little too early to sing, "The Witch Is Dead." And I really don't wish that kind of death on anyone (of "declining health"). Note, this argues against the concept of being so sour and vile in old age that the piss and vinegar helps preserve you for a long time. Also, he built his political machine to survive him. So Dave, thanks for warping the political fabric of our country so much as to lead to a despot sitting in the Oval Office (I know he wasn't your choice, but he is the end result of your politics even if you don't see it yet). Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
"The FCC has been unwilling or unable to produce any evidence an attack (during the comment period for reminding Net Neutrality) occurred—not to the reporters who’ve requested and even sued over it, and not to U.S. lawmakers who’ve demanded to see it. Instead, the agency conducted a quiet campaign to bolster its cyberattack story with the aid of friendly and easily duped reporters, chiefly by spreading word of an earlier cyberattack that its own security staff say never happened." (Grokked from Dan)
"A White House contractor wanted by police on an attempted first-degree murder charge was arrested as he came into work on Tuesday, law enforcement officials said… The contractor -- identified by the US Secret Service as Martese Edwards -- was working for the National Security Council, a person familiar with the matter said." Awkward day at the office.
"California Democrats overcame quirks in the state’s electoral system and managed to mount challenges to Republicans in most key Congressional races, as voters in eight U.S. states chose candidates for November’s midterm elections." It's not a "quirk" that the top 2 vote getter advance to the general election, that's the way it's supposed to work in California.
"A playbook known as Project Blitz, developed by a collection of Christian groups, has provided state politicians with a set of off-the-shelf pro-Christian 'model bills'." Based on the success of ALEC, this group is attempt to subvert the separation of Church and State. And this is why evangelicals love Trump, because they know he'll do nothing to stop them. "The bills are seemingly unrelated and range widely in content—from requiring public schools to display the national motto, 'In God We Trust' (IGWT); to legalizing discrimination against LGBTQ people; to religious exemptions regarding women’s reproductive health. The model bills, the legislative strategy and the talking points reflect the theocratic vision that’s animated a meaningful portion of the Christian Right for some time. In the context of Project Blitz’s 116-page playbook, however, they also reveal a sophisticated level of coordination and strategizing…" This is the side that has a real agenda (of which they've accused LGBTQ and feminists of for decades), and that agenda would take this country to a place abhorrent to anyone who understands the founding of the country. These people pose a clear and present danger. (Grokked from Sheila)
The NFL learns the lesson that once you're found to be "less pure" in your adulation of the despot, you can never appease them. The only time the authoritarian will forgive you is over your coffin, which they put you in. This is they only way they can ensure answering obedience. Before that happens he will force you to sacrifice everyone and everything. By making your act of genuflection by passing your "respect" policy, he will now demand your players, one by one. Then he'll take your property (possibly ending your cherished protected monopoly). It will never be enough to appease him until finally he takes you.
Also, as to the NFL policy, you tried to be clever with "show respect" in the policy statement, knowing that any prescribed actions could be worked around, but trust me there are still ways to comply and show solidarity with Black Lives Matter and demonstrate that the players believe they (their family, their fellows, other citizens, and in particular minorities) don't have the protections, rights, and opportunities that should comes as citizens. If you believe this is over, you are unprepared for what will happen this fall.
"The United States is pressing its European allies to get more NATO battalions, ships and planes ready for combat, officials say, in a fresh move to shore up NATO’s deterrence against any Russian attack." So that's an interesting gambit. However it feels like an opening move to express "US disappointment" in NATO's readiness plans. This would also require increased defense spending from our allies at a time where we are engaging in a new trade war with them and when they've just averted two major catastrophes for the Euro and are facing two more (Brexit and whateverthefuck is happening in Italy - waves to all my "Italian" friends - you all get up early to read me). And then there is this. "President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia arrived in Austria on Tuesday sensing an opportunity almost unimaginable just months ago: to overhaul frosty relations with a European Union infuriated by President Trump on a host of issues, from climate and Iran to, most recently, tariffs and trade." It's almost like these things have been timed to coordinate. And then you have the bizarre statement of our German Ambassador. "German politicians have criticised Donald Trump’s new ambassador to Germany after he said he wanted to 'empower' anti-establishment rightwing forces throughout Europe." You know, those same rightwing groups that want to break up the EU and have close ties with Putin.
Jesus, I feel like I'm right back in the 80s again.
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