Hard Pass

Crow babies have your back

I was in the disabilities program, but now I write endless, long reports, so this one hits a bit close to home.

More than one way to the top I guess...

Some of the worst people in the country. I was raised evangelical, even the folks I know who were decent on an interpersonal level would never consider voting for anyone other than Republicans.

I found this photo in an eBay listing for a batch of used pinball-machine balls in July of 2000.

I didn't bid, but I messaged the seller letting them know they absolutely made my day with this photo and they replied with gratitude. I even set it as the desktop image on a computer I used in the arcade workshop I worked in at the time.

It's been sitting on my hard drives for 26 years, and I no longer wish to keep it to myself.

President Donald Trump's political supporters have long been described as cult-like, from their willingness to change their ideology based on Trump's whims to their reflexive distrust of established experts. In light of the Republican leader's politically devastating losses in the 2026 midterm elections, these same true believers are now angry at every voter who did not stand by their man, at least according to a recent in-depth study.

"Last week we assembled a focus group of Republicans who voted for President Trump in both 2020 and 2024, and who, except for some local elections, voted straight-ticket Republican in this year’s midterms," wrote polling expert Sarah Longwell in The Bulwark on Sunday.

"In my conversation with these voters, one thing became abundantly clear in their cacophony of cope: They were not blaming Trump," Longwell added. "Instead, they were blaming the GOP candidates on the ticket for being terrible. They were blaming social media for pushing Trump Derangement Syndrome. And they were blaming their fellow Americans, who they insisted were just too brainwashed and emotional to just hold their noses and vote for the terrible candidates that Republicans offered them."

A coalition of advocacy groups are preparing to mount a legal challenge against a Washington state ballot initiative that bans transgender girls’ participation in girls’ school sports, which voters approved in last week’s midterm election and will go into effect next month.

The challenge is poised to set off a protracted legal battle over the rights of trans youth in Washington, which has functioned as a safe haven for thousands of trans people fleeing states that have enacted anti-trans laws in recent years.

If enforced, the ballot measure, Initiative 638, would be “the most extreme” trans sports ban of its kind, according to its opponents. The initiative’s official text says it would require all girls participating in school sports to “verify biological sex”, which could include confirming their “reproductive anatomy”.

Some Democrats are promising to push for more clean energy to help tackle rising energy costs when they take control of Congress in January, though Donald Trump says he will use his veto power aggressively.

With new majorities in the House and Senate after last week’s midterms, Democrats can set an agenda boosting clean energy and addressing climate change. While those are traditionally core priorities of the party, climate was not a central topic in this election cycle.

Democrats can begin investigations and hold hearings into climate policy rollbacks and elimination of green energy grants by the Republican administration, potentially trying to undo some changes and restore renewable energy incentives.

I've been asked to write a (hopefully short) opposition paper on datacentres to circulate among councillors and other activists here in the UK to help oppose them. I have a whole lot of notes already in mind from what I've been reading over the years, but it would certainly help to have specific cases to reference when speaking to various pro-datacentre arguments. I'm going to be doing my own research of course, but any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

For example, if you have knowledge of cases where datacentres have been erected with negative outcomes like diminished water quality or massive energy price hikes, I would really appreciate it if you could share some links to news sources.

I've heard for example that often these are pitched as "closed loop" but then they're installed using the cheaper "open loop" model, but I don't know of specific cases. If you do, please share. If you have evidence of other dodgy stuff done in support of these things, I want to hear that too.

I think I have the societal damage angle covered, as well as the distinction between "AI" datacentres and traditional ones, but any official stats about the number of actual (permanent vs. temporary) jobs produced would be good too.

As I said, I'll be doing my own research here, but I figure some of you may want to contribute in your own way. Local-level opposition is where a lot of these projects go to die, and at the moment, I'm getting the distinct impression that many local councillors are lacking basic understanding of the subject matter.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said on Saturday that she hopes the court’s decision granting former presidents broad criminal immunity will be overturned, saying her colleagues have done some “crazy things.”

Appearing for a civics education talk at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate, the liberal justice also publicly commented for the first time on this week’s midterm contests, when Democrats swept control of both chambers of Congress.

The justice specifically singled out the court’s 6-3 decision along ideological lines that former presidents enjoy at least presumptive immunity for their official acts. At the time, the justice wrote that it made Trump and his successors a “king above the law.”

Cross-geposted von: https://lemmy.world/post/54146464

I already sent it to my group chats and encourage you to do the same.

Democrats are seeking to check Trump’s power and are preparing for early fights on government spending. Other challenges include chronic budget deficits, tariffs, artificial intelligence and difficult choices about a Social Security system that could run short of money in as little as six years.

But as long as rising prices keep making middle-class lives less affordable, Democrats and Republicans alike face the risk of angering and alienating voters in the next election cycle.

“Until inflation and interest rates are under control, the likelihood of change elections is going to be high on an ongoing basis,” said Marc Goldwein, senior vice president at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.