Secretive Border Patrol program is detaining US citizens for ‘suspicious’ travel The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious.

Targeting motorists without probable cause is wrong and those engaging in it know it's wrong given the lengths they go to in order to disguise their illicit motives.

Ending this shutdown without a healthcare resolution is an absolute disaster. Now instead of starving, we can die from a lack of healthcare. In the words of Eminem:

"If you had one shot or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment would you capture it or just let it slip?"

A continuing resolution should not pass until healthcare is maintained at a minimum. The shutdown brings a lot of suffering, but it will be so much worse if we do not properly address the healthcare cuts. We cannot afford a collapse of our already tenuous healthcare system. The stakes are too high.

I will happily forgo food assistance if it means preventing a healthcare collapse. What's another metaphorical gun to my head?

Food stamps will not be available until the shutdown is over. If you can, donate to your local food bank. They'll need all the help they can get.

Seeds of contempt only bear sour fruit.

The Long Walk is the best film I've seen in a long time. It was a great adaptation of the novel. I highly recommend it. I forgot how well Stephen King is at crafting relationships between characters. What an experience.

YouTube video by TotoVEVO Toto - Hold The Line (Official Video)

Seems apropos.

YouTube video by Rush Geddy and Alex Send a Message to Rush Fans

Yoooooooo

Are we going to live in a society that alienates us, demonizes others, and keeps us in a perpetual cycle of rage and fear? Or are we going to make the choice to be more neighborly, to uplift others, and to promote peace and well-being, especially towards those that are the least like us?

I am loving that the 70s color palette is coming back into fashion. :3

Just when you think that Electronic Arts couldn't get any more fucked up, they get bought by political entities. Fuck that noise.

We are facing some pretty big problems and they may feel insurmountable by any one person, but they are not. Small acts of kindness not only have big impacts on others, but on ourselves. Live by example.

You see it when people can't afford to get healthcare or when they are left out on the streets or when desperation drives someone to violence. The solution is not more walls and police and military. The solution is kindness and inclusivity.

Society is a construct like any other. If you don't maintain it, repair it, pay your bills, etc., it starts to decay little by little.

Instead of looking in the wrong place for causes of autism, why don't we expand SSDI, expand safety net programs, and offer subsidized employment options for people with disabilities so we can get the accommodation that we need to work? The current system is busted and ADA isn't enough.

We shouldn't just be satisfied with Kimmel coming back. Congress should impeach and convict the Chairman of the FCC for malfeasance. We cannot give an inch when it comes to our freedoms. This is about civil liberties that affect everyone, not party politics.

Algorithms control what you see and by extension how you perceive the world. No Matrix necessary. It is a system of control through curated influence.

As social media changes, be very careful in what platforms you allow to have influence over you.

Chess tactic #wk9x2 - Black to play Lichess tactic trainer: Find the best move for black.. Played by 5783 players.

Pretty good calculating puzzle.

Defunding these hurts our economy and can't be undone. The OCO2 will be deorbited (destroyed in the atmosphere) and the continuity of the data will be interrupted (meaning we can't chart changes in data when there is no more data) if they're closed out.

There's no upside to ending this program.

They cost $750m to build and have been in operation for 11 years. They only cost around $16.4m annually to maintain. The value gained from their use far exceeds what they cost to maintain. They give us an advantage in the global economy and can even have national defense applications.

YouTube video by PBS Space Time The Most Important Satellite You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of

These satellites monitor CO2 and are exclusive to the US. It allows very precise modeling and outperforms the USDA on crop yield predictions both in time and accuracy.

The current administration wants to defund these, which means letting them be destroyed. This will happen if congress approves it.

Comic. [chessboard where one block of 2x2 sliding squares is shifted inward, with a blank next to it indicating the direction of the block’s movement] [caption] Sliding Number Puzzle Chess

Chess Variant

xkcd.com/3139/

This is a really interesting idea. However, there's a symmetry issue. It might need two void areas and/or a handful of single squares to move instead of a chunk.

Those without integrity seek to create division; whether it be physical barriers, social divides, alienation, or gaslighting that makes us doubt ourselves.

Those without integrity can never make us whole.

"Integrity" and "integrate" have the same Latin root word, "integer" which means "whole". To have integrity not only means to be moral, but it means to be undivided. To integrate means to combine or make whole.

*cracks knuckles*

okay so you know how the media has a problem with taking snippets of scientific studies out of context and writing articles which mislead the public?

now imagine a computer program is doing that when you ask it questions about scientific literature but also it makes stuff up.

Chess tactic #9oJeR - White to play Lichess tactic trainer: Find the best move for white.. Played by 13146 players.

This puzzle gave me a good laugh.

Four days until release! Hollow Knight: Silksong will be available on 4th September.

Release times:
7AM PT | 10AM ET | 4PM CEST | 11PM JST

Game price:
USD $19.99 | EUR €19.99 | JPY ¥2300