Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

People are complicated. Love is not.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

Republicans do not pay their debts.

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

Let there be snark.

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38Comments

  3. 3.

    Radon Chong

    These pictures are our civilization’s answer to the pyramids, and are perhaps even more mind blowing.

  6. 6.

    Don't Mess With Texas

    Talk about another world.

    In the conference room, the very first protester to speak said that if the country dissolved, he would move to the first state that seceded.

    You heard it here first – Texas may be the capitol of the New Confederate States of America. Makes sense with Governor Rick Perry and Dubya already there.

    thinkprogress.org/2009/12/15/tea-bag-bunning/#comments

  9. 9.

    Keith G

    @CaseyL: Somewhere out there is a civilization which many light years from now will receive our off-cast communications. Once translation achieved, they will be seriously thinking “WTF?”

  10. 10.

    Redshirt

    For those wondering where the mystical elements of any future, rational based Religion will come from – you’re looking at them. Our reality is wondrous beyond belief. This wonder can fulfill that craving many people have for something bigger than themselves.

    We need a new Carl Sagan to guide us.

  14. 14.

    colleeniem

    These are truly amazing, I should look at this type of stuff more often.
    It makes my problems seem a lot smaller.

  19. 19.

    flukebucket

    @Dave C: I’ve never read Bad Astronomy before. I picked up on the ten best pictures from a comment somebody left in one of the threads downstream.

    Balloon-Juice is always a treasure trove of links from commenters.

  27. 27.

    growingdaisies

    Heh heh. I work for Hubble. Really cool to see this thread on what has otherwise been a pretty crappy day.

  29. 29.

    freelancer

    @MR Bill:

    It’s sometimes depressing that modern religion is not celebrating these images as the sign of a creator’s creativity.

    “In some respects, science has far surpassed religion in delivering awe. How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, “This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant. God must be even greater than we dreamed”? Instead they say, “No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way.”
    -Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot

  31. 31.

    canuckistani

    The lunar landing image is my fave, a) because it’s a gold mine of snarky jokes and b) it is a truly awesome achievement.

  34. 34.

    Leeds man

    Well, as long as no-one thinks this is what the Butterfly Nebula would actually look like to the naked eye, yeah, it’s pretty.

  37. 37.

    growingdaisies

    @freelancer:

    We get a lot of e-mails from religious people thanking us profusely for the pictures and talking, often eloquently, about the wonder and awe they feel looking at them. So I can’t speak for the major religions, but many of the individuals in ’em seem to feel the way Sagan wished they would feel.

  38. 38.

    S. cerevisiae

    growingdaisies, as an amateur astronomer I am green with envy that you get to work with the most amazing scientific instrument ever made. I watched Atlantis lift off on the last service mission in May and I was SO grateful that the service mission went so well (after wondering if it was even going to happen at all).

    Stunning photos and great science – keep up the good work.

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