T Nixon

CARTOON OF THE DAY

(From @adamzyglis.bsky.social )

Hike this remote mountain for one of the best views in Maine Barren Mountain is in the 100-Mile Wilderness, considered the most remote section of the Appalachian Trail.

Barren Mountain is in the 100-Mile Wilderness, considered the most remote section of the Appalachian Trail.

Is the U.S. Becoming an Autocracy? Other countries have watched their democracies slip away gradually, without tanks in the streets. That may be where we’re headed—or where we already are.

In its first 100 days, the Trump Administration has relied heavily on ambiguity, misdirection, and plausible deniability to accomplish its aims. It’s a model that has parallels to other countries that have slid into autocracy, Andrew Marantz writes.

The American Age Is Over Emergency Triad: The United States commits imperial suicide.

"We cannot overstate what has just happened. It took just 71 days for Donald Trump to wreck the American economy, mortally wound NATO, and destroy the American-led world order"
from @jvl.bsky.social
www.thebulwark.com/p/the-americ...

What About “The Breakfast Club”? Revisiting the movies of my youth in the age of #MeToo.

“When my daughter proposed watching ‘The Breakfast Club’ together, I had hesitated, not knowing how she would react,” Molly Ringwald wrote, in 2018. “But I hadn’t anticipated that it would ultimately be most troubling to me.”

I’m so tired of him as well.

• Galaxy Name: Hoag’s Object • Galaxy Type: Ring galaxy • Constellation: Serpens • Distance: ~600 million light-years • Age: ~13 billion years • Stars: Estimated billions • Apparent Magnitude: 16.0 • Radius: ~120,000 light-years • Discovery: 1950 by Arthur Hoag #DidYouKnow: Ring galaxies are relatively rare, constituting about 1 in 10,000 of all observed galaxies. According to NASA, it’s possible that the blue ring of stars may be the shredded remains of a galaxy that passed nearby. Some astronomers estimate that the encounter occurred about 2 to 3 billion years ago. Image Description: A rare ring galaxy featuring a nearly perfect outer ring of young, bright blue stars surrounding a yellowish, densely packed core. The dark void between the core and the ring enhances its distinct appearance. The image captures the galaxy against a backdrop of faint stars and distant galaxies, highlighting its symmetry and uniqueness. Media Credit: NASA/ESA, Processing: Benoit Blanco. Transparency: For educational use only. This account is not affiliated with the aforementioned creditor(s), nor does this imply endorsement from either entity.

One of the Universe’s prettiest mysteries — Hoag’s Object, a ring galaxy around 600 million light-years away in the constellation Serpens.

Image Credit: NASA/ESA, Processing: Benoit Blanco

Here's a nice New Year resolution for 2025.
🧪 🌍

But don’t worry. Oklahoma is buying thousands of Bibles for their public schools.

“He doesn’t want you to notice the kleptocracy.”

Stocks Plunge as Fed Forecasts Fewer Rate Cuts Next Year The Federal Reserve cut rates for a third time this year, but investors shuddered at revised forecasts suggesting only two cuts in 2025.

Breaking News: The S&P 500 fell 3% in its worst day since August after the Fed dialed down expectations for interest rate cuts next year.

What we know so far about the Kitakyushu stabbings Authorities are analyzing surveillance and dashcam footage from the area in an effort to identify and locate the attacker.

Authorities are intensifying their search for a suspect who fatally stabbed a junior high school girl and injured her male classmate at a McDonald’s in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Saturday night.

Just a reminder that the GOP relied on the testimony of a man who just plead guilty to lying about a bribery scheme between Joe and Hunter Biden .

This was the main witness and story the GOP relied on in impeachment committee

CEO pay is out of control. It would take a worker more than FIVE career lifetimes to make what a CEO makes in one year.

Corporate greed is hurting workers everywhere. Check out our latest Executive Paywatch report.
aflcio.org/paywatch

Self-Driving Taxis Will Hit Tokyo Streets on a Test Run in 2025 - Unseen Japan To help combat its chronic taxi shortage thanks to an increase in tourism, Japan will start experimenting with self-driving taxis.

Waymo is partnering with two taxi companies in Japan to pilot self-driving "robotaxis" in seven cities in Tokyo next year. The experiment could provide more taxi capacity in the face of a chronic labor shortage - but Waymo's US record raises questions about its safety.

https://buff.ly/3BnFipK

Passage from Carl Sagan’s A demon-haunted world book.

Some folks are pretty good seeing things coming.

🚨CBS NEWS: A California man who was charged with lying to the FBI about fake criminal allegations against President Biden and his son Hunter pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday.

I forgot about this & I'm curious how significant it is? Seems like there's only 1-2 studies since 21 & 23? 🧪 ⚕️

Not a huge natto fan tbh, even as someone who'll eat nearly anything. But I do like them layers, iykwim 🧀😷

No excessive levels of PFAS found in tap water across Japan No drinking water suppliers nationwide had PFAS levels in excess of the limit of 50 nanograms per liter of tap water in fiscal 2024.

No excessive levels of PFAS, which are potentially carcinogenic chemicals, were found in drinking water supplied across Japan as of Sept. 30, according to a survey the environment and infrastructure ministries released.

This is a big deal: The National Counterintelligence and Security Center, FBI, and four other US agencies are jointly warning US defense companies to bolster security precautions in anticipation of possible Russian sabotage.

Not an alarm to hit snooze on.

Throw in reality TV, social media, book bans, and all that anti-smart talk, and you've got yourself a permanent, clueless underclass. This isn’t just a problem; it’s a damn catastrophe in the making. If we don’t wake up and stop this trainwreck, we’re headed straight for an irreversible disaster.

The Triumph of Stupidity
The public education system has been gutted like a fish for decades. Now, we’ve got a whole generation of people who can’t think their way out of a paper bag. And why? Because uneducated folks are so much easier to control.

If incivility prevails, we may face a future of distrust and intellectual isolation. But by acknowledging this trend and challenging it, we can steer society back toward compassion and reason, placing collective growth over bitterness.

As Asimov warned, 'There is a cult of ignorance…nurtured by the notion that democracy means "my ignorance is as good as your knowledge."' Ignorance finds fertile ground in today’s world of sensationalism. Let’s resist and value empathy, truth, and reason instead.

An era of 'incivility'—marked by self-centeredness, disdain for empathy, and resistance to reason—is on the horizon. Ignorance is not only tolerated but encouraged. Let’s hold firm, resist this tide, and build a society that values compassion, empathy, and knowledge.

1. It's impossible to control whether GOP Senators rubberstamp Trump's nominees

But it is possible to make more people aware of exactly who Trump is trying to install in these powerful positions

Here are 13 things everyone should know about Pete Hegseth, Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense

🧵

I, like many of you, have been contemplating our predicament since election night.

We are in a losing war for our democracy and I'm not sure we collectively know who our true adversary is.

It's not the voting blocks...white women, Latinos, Gen X. It's not MAGA. It's not even Trump.

🧵

Biden: I will leave my successor and my country with a strong foundation to build on if they choose to do so. It's true, some may seek to deny or delay the clean energy revolution that's under way in America, but nobody, nobody can reverse it.

👍