Scott

My biggest beef with it is that the writers didn't credit Clark Ashton Smith's short story "Phoenix" as inspiration, it's obviously the same basic plot with some interpersonal drama added (because the sun dying and self-sacrifice to save it isn't enough).

Who knows, maybe they don't either, and will opportunistically take either option if they look feasible.

And since he can pardon anyone for killing a legislator in DC, he can then just wait for things to take their course.

But bringing back American manufacturing may not even be Trump's goal. Maybe he *wants* a few dozen Republicans to break rank and join the Democrats in curtailing his tariff power. And then he'll BLAME them because the tariffs were "about to work" to make things so much better.

I didn't understand the tariffs at first; not only will it tank the economy and increase inflation, it cannot even improve the USA job market. For no business could count on it to build more manufacturing given the grave uncertainty about its continuation.

An underappreciated movie, which despite a few flaws (role of Latinos) is a good portrayal of the mind of a privileged white man who confronts his life difficulties with violence against the world, contrasted with another white man who responds to his life difficulties differently.

So I've just realized that bluesky has a 300 word limit. Which means long-form discussion is out; this is really just a slightly beefed-up twitter, and cannot replace facebook. I also have no confidence that it won't get as bad as FB in other respects once more people join. 😒

The only way the other branches can defend themselves now is either to grow a backbone and impeach him (which will not happen), or beef up their security and SHOOT TO KILL anyone trying to intimidate them. This is not a good solution, but it is the best one for a very, very bad situation.

It is now effectively legal to try to kill any members of Congress or SCOTUS as long as you have reason to think that Trump will pardon you because you're promoting his agenda of intimidating other branches of government into submitting to his will, even when his will is to violate the law.

This is stunning given the progressiveness of his art. I would have been little less surprised to hear the same revelations about, say, Morgan Freeman or Marc Maron. But the evidence seems overwhelming.

Are you surprised? I’m not alive!
My body’s animated even though I really died!
I had all my life to live, but now I walk the earth again
Although I died
Oh yes I died!
Hey, hey!

Why do you run? And grab your gun?
I’ll only eat your brain and then we both can have some fun.
It’s not so bad to shamble up out of the grave like me,
Oh don’t you recognize me, or else why would you flee?

And now I'm back
Back from the dead
I'm walking in, no longer just a mem’ry in your head
You should have brought me to the crossroads
Locked me down inside the grave
‘Cuz now I’m coming at you, moving slow as if I’m lame.

At first I was decayed,
I was putrefied.
Thought I’d rot into the earth without formaldehyde.
I've spent too many nights dissolving underneath the ground
And I smelled strong
But necromancy moved along