“A Project 2029 should be mostly a blueprint for how to use trifecta power to the maximum extent possible by law and constitution to make thoroughgoing structural changes to the federal government to buttress against authoritarian fascist attack. Reinforcing the structures of civic democracy is a central part of that. To use a sports analogy, that doesn’t mean running good plays. It means reshaping the entire playing field. They’re not the same thing. That means starting as the sine qua non with things like ending the Senate filibuster and reforming the Supreme Court. But those are only the start. Those are the ones that make all the other reform and structural changes possible. They are also the talismans of seriousness. Because if you’re not willing to tackle those, you’re not any kind of player or even on the field.”
“I do think there’s potentially an interesting parallel in that Bohr and company were looking in the wrong place for a solution because of essentially aesthetic concerns (it would be much cooler if this required a radical revision of physics) in the same way that a bunch of mathematicians went down blind alleys on Erdős 1196 because they were drawn to shiny cool techniques. And then I wonder about the difference in approaches to the First Proof problem— does the “repulsive” but successful computer-generated proof suggest that the solution to this problem was delayed by the human need for elegance and narrative logic? Are we getting trapped and passing up potential proofs for essentially aesthetic reasons?”
“For the first time ever, solar is set to generate more electricity than coal in the power market managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.”
“Since the virus took off in mid-March, [Bangladesh] has tallied more than 60,000 suspected cases and 528 suspected measles-related deaths. The vast majority of the sick and dead are children under age 5.
Great story about the effort to identify unknown soldiers and the debate about how to use modern methods to maybe do it more quickly.
“Republicans Sound Like They’re Getting Nervous About Supreme Court Expansion”.
“I’ve seen people voice a lot of frustration with imperfect strategies and tactics that “won’t get us out of this.” I understand the desire for a simple, publicly stated, all-encompassing strategy that is so bold, and so complete in its aims, that we need only adhere to its outline. I desperately want someone to bust out a marker board and draw me a map, so I can organize my life and my community around that sure-footed path. But we are mid-tumble. The impacts are underway, and will continue to unfold. We don’t know what all those impacts will be.”
RIP, Dick Parry, saxophonist who played with Pink Floyd.
“The creator of the iconic soap opera “Dallas” knew next to nothing about the Texas city — and to anyone familiar with Dallas itself, it definitely showed.
“Three Judges Just Dared SCOTUS to Say What It Really Thinks About Black Voting Rights”.
RIP, Sonny Rollins, legendary jazz saxophonist, the Saxophone Colossus.
“But the tax rate of the middle-class barely changes. No matter how one looks at it, billionaires pay much less tax than the average American.”
“This scandal has layers, and each one is more rotten than the one beneath. The multiple legal violations have been well-catalogued. The fundamental illegal core is that the purported settlement was of a collusive lawsuit that couldn’t be brought in federal courts and couldn’t lawfully be the basis of an expenditure from the congressional Judgment Fund. But cataloguing the legal violations risks becoming a fog that obscures something simpler and more fundamental.”
“What litmus tests do is create clarity, truth in advertising. When you vote for candidate X, you know what you’re getting. They’ve given a clear promise that they support a particular thing and will do, if given the opportunity, a particular thing. If they don’t come through, they can be voted out of office.”
“No, Sharon: We Don’t Want a Digital Version of Ozzy Osbourne“.
“Inside the effort to save one of America’s most imperiled salamanders”.
RIP, Bob Horner, former third baseman for the Atlanta Braves, who once hit four home runs in a game.
“After months and months and months, the Trump Mobile T1 phone is finally out.”
“6-Year-Old Boy Finds 1,300-Year-Old Sword During School Trip”.
“So-called artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean.”
This is the proper response to the Trump slush fund.
“I want to also acknowledge how the recent direction of [CBS News] stains the legacy of Mike Wallace, the namesake of this scholarship.”
RIP, Howard Storm, stand-up comic who became a TV director of such shows as Rhoda, Mork & Mindy, and Laverne & Shirley.
RIP, Claude Lemieux, longtime NHL player who won four Stanley Cups, with the New Jersey Devils, Colorado Avalanche, and Montreal Canadiens.
The Trump crime cabal freakshow is now finalizing a formal rule that places all federally funded science at the mercy of a political operative. Grants can be terminated at any time, money for travel and publishing must be approved by the operative, depending on vague criteria such as “national interest” or “woke”. As the article states, it is a blueprint for the final destruction of once-great American science. The trump regime has already done huge damage, much of it irreversible. Recently they blocked publication of a study that showed that vaccination for COVID19 cut hospitalization rates in half. There is a link to comment in the article, please consider commenting on this horrible rule. Many people in the Houston area are employed in research and research-related jobs. Our colleges and universities will be hurt badly if this rule comes into effect.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/05/the-office-of-management-and-budget-tries-again-to-cripple-us-science/
The point of the rule change is the same old sleazy scheme, denying funds to those who do not appear to support right wing extremists while granting funding to vaccine denial kooks and other fringe nuts who support the regime. That is why they have demoted the importance of peer review. And it is not just science grants, it covers all federal grants, so this rule will defund and devastate many other programs that communities rely on. Here is the link to comment, once at the site you should click the link to read the rule and you will see what I am talking about.
https://www.regulations.gov/document/OMB-2026-0034-0001
My apologies for the triple comment, but this is a really important matter and your federal rule comment can make a difference, since Trump’s OMB has to read and respond to substantive comments. So, I have found a guide on how to comment on this specific matter as well as federal rules in general. I sincerely hope this helps. If we can submit enough good comments we can slow down the process, perhaps past the end of this awful Congress. Please note you can comment anonymously, you do not have to give any personal information if you don’t want to.
https://elizabethginexi.substack.com/p/what-we-need-to-do-next-ombs-proposed