Kevin Simmons

We've filed 'The Montana Plan' with the Montana SOS. This is your Constitutional Initiative to make Citizens United irrelevant by simply removing a corporation's power to spend in elections.

We are so excited to announce that "THE PRICE OF DEMOCRACY: The Revolutionary Power of Taxation in American History," by @vanessawilliamson.bsky.social, is now available! 

Learn why battles over taxation have always been battles over democracy itself: bit.ly/4nK7J3N 

sound smart about tariffs: buy this book

It's so awesome to have a digital thing you made *on your shelf*. Congrats!

Save 10% on Q-UP on Steam Sick of long queues, unfair matchups, and arbitrary reflex tests? Try Q-UP, the coin flipping eSport. It's one part clicker, one part multiplayer strategy game, one part demented capitalism simulator,...

The biggest day in esports has arrived. Q-UP is out. store.steampowered.com/app/3730790/...

Let me see if I can help you out...

Happened to us too! WTF?!

Screenshot of the archive page on Raddle, showing the list of Raddles in the Halloween Whodunit series

We've got a Halloween Whodunit up on Raddle. Several guests at our Halloween have witnessed a murder. They've given testimony in the form of Raddles. Can you solve them and figure out who done it? raddle.quest

RADDLE The daily word transformation game

There's a third Mystery Theme for the Raddles this week. This one's trickier than the first two.

raddle.quest

I miss those days!

The White House Building Every president since John Adams has occupied the White House, and the history of this building extends far beyond the construction of its walls. From the Ground Floor Corridor rooms, transformed from...

Scroll down to the Major Events Timeline, and nothing will prepare you for what you'll see. I cannot believe it is real. www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-wh...

Reminder: Spooky Express is OUT NOW!

🚂🧟🧛
Take charge of the only rail service willing to carry the undead passengers of deepest, darkest Trainsylvania.

Steam: s.team/a/3352310
itch: draknek.itch.io/spooky-express
iOS: apps.apple.com/app/id673842...
Android: play.google.com/store/apps/d...

I'm noticing a dismaying lack of egg puns in both lists

You do eventually get the ability to make more than one shot a round. It's a slow burn/buildup, but I like the town bit -- feels like a small optimization puzzle between arcade sections. Right up my alley!

The Collector Play in your browser

The Collector: made in two days for Ludum Dare, a clever browser game where you try to collect orbs while fighting off enemies https://split82.itch.io/the-co...

These are the same folks that are vocally against "social justice" and "diversity, equity, and inclusion" and use those terms as epithets, somehow. Boggles my mind.

Dear Madam Secretary, I write in response to your letter of October 1, inviting MIT to review a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.” I acknowledge the vital importance of these matters. I appreciated the chance to meet with you earlier this year to discuss the priorities we share for American higher education. As we discussed, the Institute’s mission of service to the nation directs us to advance knowledge, educate students and bring knowledge to bear on the world’s great challenges. We do that in line with a clear set of values, with excellence above all. Some practical examples: • MIT prides itself on rewarding merit. Students, faculty and staff succeed here based on the strength of their talent, ideas and hard work. For instance, the Institute was the first to reinstate the SAT/ACT requirement after the pandemic. And MIT has never had legacy preferences in admissions. • MIT opens its doors to the most talented students regardless of their family’s finances. Admissions are need-blind. Incoming undergraduates whose families earn less than $200,000 a year pay no tuition. Nearly 88% of our last graduating class left MIT with no debt for their education. We make a wealth of free courses and low-cost certificates available to any American with an internet connection. Of the undergraduate degrees we award, 94% are in STEM fields. And in service to the nation, we cap enrollment of international undergraduates at roughly 10%.

• We value free expression, as clearly described in the MIT Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom. We must hear facts and opinions we don’t like – and engage respectfully with those with whom we disagree. These values and other MIT practices meet or exceed many standards outlined in the document you sent. We freely choose these values because they’re right, and we live by them because they support our mission – work of immense value to the prosperity, competitiveness, health and security of the United States. And of course, MIT abides by the law. The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution. And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone. In our view, America’s leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence. In that free marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences. Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education.

As you know, MIT’s record of service to the nation is long and enduring. Eight decades ago, MIT leaders helped invent a scientific partnership between America’s research universities and the U.S. government that has delivered extraordinary benefits for the American people. We continue to believe in the power of this partnership to serve the nation. Sincerely, Sally Kornbluth cc Ms. May Mailman Mr. Vincent Haley

The president of MIT has declined to sign "the compact". Full letter, as shared with the MIT community:

I sank the 9 accidentally a few minutes later.

Have you watched "Hacks"? It touches on this a bit, I think.

Hope it all goes well!

Did anyone get it from just one? (I didn't even notice it was Mystery Theme week until this morning, doh!)

Q-UP on Steam Sick of long queues, unfair matchups, and arbitrary reflex tests? Try Q-UP, the coin flipping eSport. It's one part clicker, one part multiplayer strategy game, one part demented capitalism simulator,...

We made a new game. It’s called Q-UP. It’s a coin flipping eSport. There’s a free demo! store.steampowered.com/app/3730790/...

Steam screenshot. Baby Steps, Neva and Sworn at discounted prices.

For sale:

Looks great, thanks!

Thank you for coming back here. You were missed.

I think you'll dig Can of Wormholes, hope it's on your to-play list. :)

Haha, no worries. :) Having a weekly "meta" of some sort is great.