The Blood Moon, a total lunar eclipse happens this week.
We will be treated to over one hour of the moon turning RED.
The totality of the lunar eclipse will begin around 1:26 AM & end around 2:31 AM CDT early Friday morning & overall the eclipse will occur between 10:57 PM Thursday & 5 AM CDT Friday— Susan DuBose (@houseofbast777.bsky.social) March 10, 2025 at 7:17 AM
The “Blood Moon” is, of course, a totally predictable and not-all-that-uncommon astrophysical occurrence, and it would be silly to assign a larger sociopolitical meaning to this or any other such event. But we’re pattern-making animals, so it’s kinda fun!
Next Friday, March 14, skywatchers are in for a dramatic treat: a total lunar eclipse combined with a blood moon.
Here’s how—and when—to watch it in your area.— WIRED (@wired.com) March 8, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Wired, backstopping its excellent recent political coverage — “How to See the Total Lunar Eclipse and Blood Moon This Month”:
… During a lunar eclipse, Earth blocks the light from the sun that normally illuminates the moon. On the night of March 13 and the early morning of the 14th, the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, called the umbra, will cover the moon during its brightest phase. Partial lunar eclipses are relatively common—but those like this that coincide with a full moon are a relative rarity. On average, each region of Earth has the chance to view a total lunar eclipse only once every 2.5 years…
The moon appears red during a lunar eclipse because of how the sun’s light interacts with Earth’s atmosphere. Visible sunlight appears white, but is actually made up of combination of lights of different colors and frequencies, which can be defracted or scattered depending on how much of the atmosphere they have to travel through. It is for this reason that the sky appears blue when the sun is high in the sky but is often red at sunset, when the sun is low and its light is traveling longer distances through the atmosphere.
When sunlight hits Earth’s atmosphere during a lunar eclipse, light frequencies toward the blue end of the visible spectrum are scattered outward, away from Earth’s umbra, but those with longer wavelengths, toward the red part of the spectrum, are bent inward and cast onto the moon…
To observe the spectacle, astronomers recommend staying away from large cities with high levels of light pollution. They also recommend going to high places without visual barriers such as buildings or trees. “Try binoculars or a telescope for a better view. If you want to take a photo, use a camera on a tripod with exposures of at least several seconds,” NASA suggests.
The Washington Post says that “The eclipse begins at 11:57 p.m. Eastern, starts an hour-long totality at 2:26 a.m. and ends at 6 a.m.”
Unfortunately for those of us in the Northeast, weather forecasters (and my arthritic joints) predict less-than-stellar viewing conditions around here:
======
Speaking of predictable, yet rather more horrifying, events…
Something I've been chatting with someone about in DMs is I think worth bringing up quickly: Regardless of what happens with this CR, this GOP trifecta is quite possibly the most inept legislative governing body I've ever seen.
— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) March 12, 2025 at 2:48 PM
In previous administrations, trifectas have led to multiple legislative priorities being finalized within the first fifty days. Even in 2017, the GOP was ~*doing stuff*~.
Now? They can barely pass a CR! Not a budget, a CR!— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) March 12, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Think to yourself: What win does the Trump administration actually have right now? What can it actually point at?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. No legislation, no real big executive wins (even in immigration or deportations!). Just a bunch of dudes stripping the walls for parts.— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) March 12, 2025 at 2:48 PM
On The Road – TKH – Southern Sierra High Route 3 of 3
Wil
4th season of original Twilight Zone, the season with the hourlong episodes instead of half-hour ones.
“He’s Alive” starring a young Dennis Hopper.
It’s available for free on Pluto (streaming channel)
satby
I’m unlikely to see the eclipse since I intend to be dead to the world those hours. But I look forward to the pictures.
sentient ai from the future
well my gob is certainly smacked. ai is bad at citation. like worse than a college freshman bad.
cjr.org/tow_center/we-compared-eight-ai-search-engines-theyre-all-bad-at-citing-news.php
satby
I’m enjoying all the viral clips of Congressional Democrats reaming out their Republican adversaries, like the one John shared yesterday. Not just Crockett or AOC either, lots of Democrats I’m not familiar with.
mrmoshpotato
@sentient ai from the future: Would a stopper help your smacked gob?
mrmoshpotato
Commie Moon! I shall shake my ass at it.
Fair Economist
On a trip to Eastern Utah, but unfortunately it will be precipitating so no eclipse for me.
TBone
According to that cloud cover map, we’re good to go for viewing. Another knock the horns off and wipe its butt before serving rarity!
But I won’t be awake. I HOPE.
Mousebumples
@satby: same. Especially since cloud cover looks likely in my area. I could maybe stay up until 11pm ish, but I’ll probably just choose sleep.
TBone
@mrmoshpotato: I like yer style.
Nelle
Apparently, Tim Walz is coming to Des Moines tomorrow to hold a town hall. I got a ticket, but I find I’m wary of everything. For example, there were announcements of a widespread (DC and state capitols) veterans march on March 14, but I can’t see who is sponsoring it. My husband relies on VoteVets and he sees nothing there. Is this a result of no real leadership and a lot of people trying to step up?
But I did see the Walz appearance confirmed on CNN and I got a ticket through ActBlue, so I guess it is legit. The two year old will be going home early so I can go.
TBone
PSA for those who celebrate: it’s still Barbara Stanwyck Day on TCM.
Lady of Burlesque right now
Betty Cracker
A point related to O’Bork’s observation above that the GOP trifecta has passed no legislation/achieved no big wins: this is what a post-democracy administration looks like. Authoritarianism has notched some “wins,” such as shuttering congressionally established agencies and decimating programs by executive fiat.
Trump’s largest campaign donor has been able to hoover up data and direct multibillion-dollar contracts away from competitors to himself. So what we’re seeing is a lawless, rightwing kleptocracy. It’s no surprise it doesn’t resemble what we’ve seen in the past.
Suzanne
@Nelle: I am happy to see some of this next generation of Democrats getting positive attention. Not that Walz is young or anything, but he’s got a different vibe than the longtime leadership. Just on a personal level, this is what I mean when I say that I want to vote for leaders who better reflect me and my kids.
These are dark political days, but one sliver of light in this darkness may be the emergence of a different kind of opposition.
Fair Economist
I had dreams about Republican Senators supporting the Dems on the CR last night. That’s really messed up. I need to dream about more normal stuff.
no body no name
I have a question. Why is schnorkles so popular here? I love him but it seems odd.
Schnorkles is on a couple forums and he’s hard Berniebro leftist as are most there. Anti Democratic party because they won’t get what they want. Full automated gay space communism advocate. Genocide Joe and Kamala is a cop. Very much an accelerationist. I thought that was off limits here? Hilary was a mistake and did it to herself.
Now that group obviously agrees with us here on everything but economics. Yet to say they aren’t liked here is understating it. It’s not just him I’ve seen promoted here but he’s the biggest one. I guess this shows like AOC the best advocates we have right now are the Sanders crowd. Just don’t expect all of them, including Schnorkles, to be on our side if we don’t nominate someone who’s actually to the left of Sanders and laser focused on economic issues.
I’m very curious on this.
satby
@Nelle: it’s being promoted by this organization. Not sure if other vet groups will be joining.
satby
@no body no name: stay curious, my friend. Eventually you may even get a clue.
Glory b
@no body no name: Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and again.
sentient ai from the future
I only just found out about this.
youtube.com/watch?v=zS7fMLA4dQ4
you’re welcome.
Baud
@no body no name:
I don’t usually pay that much attention to the names on the posts, so this is the first I heard of him or her, despite apparently being popular here.
lowtechcyclist
There’s a bathroom on the right. /mondegreen
satby
@Baud: We all appreciate a concise way of recapping things.
Not sure a couple of cites indicates “popular”. I didn’t take the question @16 to be cast in particularly good faith, given the way it was phrased.
Baud
@Suzanne:
I love my country too much to vote for someone who reflected me.
Baud
@satby:
Maybe if schnorkles earns a bad reputation with me, I won’t care for even his or her sensible posts. But I’m not going to spend time doing a background check on people AL chooses to feature in her posts.
Motivated Seller
Nope! The GOP is doing exactly what it was hired to do: wreck the “Administrative State”. It is actually been very productive!
oldster
@sentient ai from the future:
Here’s another entry in the list of AI blunders.
I asked google for a five-letter word containing the letters B, F, and G. (The answer is “befog”.)
It replied, “A five-letter word containing the letters B,F, and G is “buggy”.
Granted, this may have just been a moment of introspective self-assessment.
But why in the name of all that is wholly does it not take a nanosecond to check its answers?
(And don’t ask me, “wholly what?”)
lowtechcyclist
@Betty Cracker:
This. Totally this. What do they need legislation for? They really don’t even need it to make these changes permanent, because of how long it’ll take to repair the damage once the Dems are in a position to govern again, assuming we’re so lucky.
oldgold
The politics of the moment have rendered me schizophrenic.
Each day I smugly strut around with an I told you so attitude, except when I am raging with my hair on fire disclaiming “OMG can you effin’ believe what he just did.”
This political tumult is not sustainable. Soon, something is going to give.
Baud
@sentient ai from the future:
As every Republican knows, confidence is worth the price.
lowtechcyclist
@oldster:
Yep, AI will take over the world any day now. /s
[Digression] ‘Befog’ is gonna kill me on whatever day it finally pops up as a Wordle solution, with all those low-frequency consonants. Definitely 5 or 6 territory.
Another Scott
@TBone: I can’t see the name “Barbara Stanwyck” without instantly hearing:
THE BIG VALLEY (the big valley)
(I cannot find any audio clips of that, so maybe it’s all in my head.)
Best wishes,
Scott.
Professor Bigfoot
@satby: Are you sure they’re not doing it wrong? ;)
Wil
@oldgold:
It’s a nice idea, but there are plentiful examples of right-wing dictatorships and strongman-rule lasting decades before something gives.
Baud
@oldster:
There’s nothing to check. Consumer LLMs provide information based on complex statistical probabilities.
I’d be curious what answers you’d get if you asked the same question 10 times (anonymously so the AI isn’t saving your search history).
Professor Bigfoot
@Betty Cracker: I’m reading “The Peripheral” now (okay, it’s been out for a while, I tried to read it twice before and just couldn’t get to it, but this time it was like a revelation and) it refers to “klepts,” families descended from the kleptocracy during “the jackpot.”
Like everything I’ve been reading lately, it’s been a massive cautionary tale, and it’s given me the heebie jeebies no lie.
oldgold
@Wil: It is not necessarily a “nice idea.” That depends on which way it gives.
Professor Bigfoot
@no body no name: I’ve only seen their stuff on Bluesky; and I’ve agreed with almost everything of theirs I’ve seen.
Gin & Tonic
If you’re feeling cooped up today, spare a second to think of my daughter, who right now is about halfway through a non-stop DXB-LAX flight.
Baud
@Gin & Tonic:
Dang. That’s a long one.
oldster
@Baud:
It could check the question, “Does “buggy” contain the letters B, F, and G?”
yes, I wondered about repeatability, too. Give it a try and let me know!
Professor Bigfoot
@Another Scott: SO glad to see I’m not the only one!
“Miss Barbara Stanwyck!”
Matt McIrvin
@no body no name: This is honestly the first I’ve ever heard of this person.
rikyrah
Good Morning Everyone 😊 😊 😊
Baud
@rikyrah:
Good morning.
Professor Bigfoot
@rikyrah: GOOD MORNING!!
catclub
They say we are made in the image of God. Not a perfect image, necessarily.
Likewise, maybe if those leaders reflected your best parts rather than your worst parts.
Also, not reflecting the pantsless parts.
catclub
@oldster:
The AI bot is relating bugfuck to buggy.
Baud
@oldster:
I don’t care enough to try.
I’m not a programmer but I don’t think it’s feasible for AI to create a new routine to check every answer it gives using a different method than the one it used to come up with the original answer.
Professor Bigfoot
Open thread, so pulling something up from a dead thread way down below, referring to Ohio gerrymandering: this is my Ohio House district, and it’s fucking ridiculous on its face.
Baud
@catclub:
The correct answer.
narya
@Professor Bigfoot: waving at you from Elyria this morning. 3-hour road closure on WB I80 yesterday so we didn’t make it to Toledo.
lowtechcyclist
@Gin & Tonic:
Had to look up DXB. Holy shit, they have nonstops from Dubai to L.A.
ETA: I wasn’t gonna ask, which way do they go, but it’s closer to being a good question than I realized. It’s ~174 degrees of longitude going west from Dubai, and ~186 degrees going east.
Matt McIrvin
@oldster: The AI systems don’t know how to check anything because they wouldn’t have any way to even start–they don’t understand anything. They’re just running a very fancy “predict the next word” algorithm.
With models intended to generate code, they can at least do some checking to make sure the code is well-formed, etc. But natural language doesn’t work that way.
They’re particularly bad with questions that involve words considered as collections of letters, because they don’t model words that way at all. Words get converted to tokens (an identifier kind of like, say, a library catalog number) at the beginning of the operation, and then back to spelled-out words at the end. All the intermediate dealings are with the tokens.
Another Scott
@catclub: Lots of interesting stuff in that old book.
[ cue Monty Python Lumberjack song ]
Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be…
Best wishes,
Scott.
Wil
@oldgold:
If it doesn’t ‘give’ then we are in for decades of right-wing dictatorship-in-all-but-name, so you’d better hope it ‘gives’ no matter which way it ‘gives’
Gin & Tonic
@lowtechcyclist: Yup. I’ve done LAX-MEL, but I think this one is a little longer.
Suzanne
@Gin & Tonic: That’s nutty. When I flew to Cairo in October, I flew JFK to CMN and changed there.
Layer8Problem
@Baud: If we don’t ideologically vet our linked material we will never be a proper echo chamber with commenters marching in lockstep toward our shining doctrinaire future.
Professor Bigfoot
@narya: Holy crap, the toll road is almost NEVER closed— I always call it the one best maintained road in all of Ohio!
Good luck out there!
Gin & Tonic
@lowtechcyclist: They go north, pretty much over the North Pole. Look up EK215 on Flight Tracker.
Professor Bigfoot
@Gin & Tonic: I did EWR-DEL pretty regularly “back inna day,” and that was quite long enough for me.
Soprano2
@Wil: I’m not sure there are any successful examples where the population has a long history of being used to freedom of expression and other freedoms.
Baud
@Layer8Problem:
We should form a committee!
lowtechcyclist
@Professor Bigfoot:
Easy to tell which areas they went out of their way to include and exclude, that’s for sure.
Since it’s apparently still possible to pass amendments to the Ohio constitution, maybe someone should write one that put a max on a district’s perimeter-to-area ratio? (Actually perimeter to square root of area, but you get the idea. Just some measure to limit how irregular the boundaries of a district were allowed to be.)
Professor Bigfoot
@Layer8Problem:
“We can disagree and still love each other, unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression, in the denial of my humanity and my right to exist.” -Robert Jones Jr., “Son of Baldwin”
THE MOMENT some on our side are ready to trade away the rights and lives of unpopular minorities, our disagreement becomes rooted in oppression and the denial of someones humanity and right to exist, and FUCK THAT SHIT.
Professor Bigfoot
@lowtechcyclist: We passed one to have an independent commission to redraw the lines and the GOP dominated legislature just ignores it.
The only power capable of reining in the Ohio GOP would be the Feds, and well, that shit’s over, too.
Almost Retired
@Gin & Tonic: LAX – MEL was my personal longest flight, and we did it with two prepubescent boys. By hour 12, If the pilot had announced that we would be making an emergency stop in the Solomon Islands to offload any children you’d like to abandon, I would have given it some thought.
WereBear
@Wil: My fave of those was :
M31
and if it takes more than 3 years, it’s “throw the bums out” time
Suzanne
@Almost Retired: I did SEA to CDG with the two older Spawns when they were 11 and 4, and was absolutely fried by the end. Younger one wanted to stand by the bathroom for the whole flight.
lowtechcyclist
@Gin & Tonic:
Yeah, I guess that would be the shortest way to the other side of the world. Great Circle routes, and all that. When we adopted the kiddo from Russia (back before Russia turned so overtly expansionist), the JFK-SVO flight took us over Greenland, but that didn’t involve nearly as many degrees of longitude.
WereBear
@no body no name: Some of the Sanders crowd is sane. And he’s doing rallies in Wisconsin, drawing crowds.
Speak up now. Argue later.
Scout211
Wut?
. . .
. . .
Not sufficiently crazy? He was a proponent of the mercury in vaccines cause autism nonsense. Why pull him? Hmmm.
Baud
@Gin & Tonic:
@lowtechcyclist:
You round-Earthers crack me up.
WereBear
@lowtechcyclist: ‘scuse me while I kiss this guy
catclub
@M31: 22 months from jan 2009 to november 2010
WereBear
@Scout211: They acknowledge bad optics.
They are having measles parties in Texas..
eclare
@oldster:
I still cannot believe AI’s answer to keep cheese from sliding off of pizza: glue.
Put me in the “this thing is overhyped so consultants with no understanding of the business can sell their services for millions” camp. Yes I used to work at a Fortune 100 company, that is how I know. The product that mgmt bought wasn’t AI, but it was equally ridiculous and useless.
rebelsdad
@sentient ai from the future: the way my jaw did not drop, as the kids say
catclub
@Scout211: Trump’s default health policy (formed during covid) is to shut down any public reporting of health info and statistics by the agencies. Maybe he was too good at math?
lowtechcyclist
@Baud:
Say hi to Lord Vetinari for me. :D
Omnes Omnibus
@satby:
But I was told that no Dems except AOC, Crockett, Raskin, Murphy, and Warren were fighting.* Could people have misinformed me?
*Sanders is not a Dem. Just ask him.
Suzanne
Mr. Suzanne just texted me that Washington County, PA, is about to get a giant Costco. Replacing a blighted dead mall. I for one welcome our new Costco overlords.
rebelsdad
@mrmoshpotato: I needed this laugh right now!
Almost Retired
@Suzanne: Ha! It’s a pity that pediatricians get all judgy when you ask them if you can drug the children for the flight.
Scamp Dog
Huh? “Partial lunar eclipses are relatively common—but those like this that coincide with a full moon are a relative rarity.” This is backwards: lunar eclipses only occur at a full moon.
catclub
Like the fake moon landing images? Naked eye or it does not exist. Hence my policy on cells not existing.
Also UV or IR light.
WereBear
@Omnes Omnibus: Votes with Dems, unlike Sinema.
Gin & Tonic
@Suzanne: I wish there were one in RI.
eclare
@lowtechcyclist:
Plus airplanes try to stay over land as long as possible in case they have to make an emergency landing.
WereBear
I fell into love with Ms Stanwyk watching Big Valley.
That black riding outfit. I see her with a riding crop somehow, like a scepter.
She was awesome.
catclub
@Suzanne: I agree with younger spawn, the longer the flight, the more I want to stand up and walk around.
I was amazed at the people who just drugged up and stayed in their seats 14 hours to Dubai.
Geminid
@Gin & Tonic: Fun Dubai facts: in 1975, the United Arab Emirates city had a population of 380,000. By 2005, Dubai had grown to 1.2 million residents. Its current population is around 3.64 million.
eclare
@Scout211:
Just saw that.
Matt McIrvin
@Scamp Dog: Definitely an editing fail.
I suppose that technically the Moon is full-er during a total lunar eclipse than at any other time. But it’s not a big difference.
I consider myself fortunate to have been able to see a total solar eclipse during my lifetime (last year!) But I’ve seen a lot of total lunar eclipses. I might give this one a pass in favor of sleep.
Deputinize America
@Baud:
I do have to watch it like a hawk and fix things, but it can whip up a dandy set of depo questions when fed a complaint or set of interrogatory answers.
eclare
@Almost Retired:
My parents used to drug me for car trips. I guarantee we were all happier for it (I have never been a good napper, no way could I sleep for eight hours on my own).
Layer8Problem
@Professor Bigfoot: That should be a solid hard deck. “We’ll peel off a Significant Fraction if we just toss this or that group over the side” might as well have been written by a Republican consultant.
eclare
@catclub:
I took a flight from Amsterdam to Nairobi that was maybe 25% full. My friends and I stretched out on empty middle rows, taking the whole thing.
I wondered why KLM flew such an empty plane, I found out on the return, every seat taken.
Betty
@Nelle: Not sure who is organizing it, but my brother is attending the one in PA. This is unusual for him to do. The vets are very angry.
Suzanne
@Gin & Tonic: Costco is fantastic. There’s gonna be a new one in Sharon, MA, is that driveable?
Baud
@Deputinize America:
I’ve found use cases. But agree about double checking everything.
lowtechcyclist
@Scamp Dog:
Indeed! How do they goof that one up? You get a full moon when the moon and sun are on opposite sides of the Earth. And that’s obviously the only time the moon can be in the Earth’s shadow, which is what a lunar eclipse is.
And the “region of Earth [that] has the chance to view a total lunar eclipse” is pretty much the entire night side of the Earth when the eclipse happens. It’s not like a solar eclipse, which has a very limited viewing area. Very strange article.
pacem appellant
I have been planning for over six months to watch the lunar eclipse tonight. Campsite, camera, and everything. But the cloud cover at midnight PDT is going to 100% :-( The gods hate me.
narya
@Professor Bigfoot: it was closed in PA—tractor trailer fire, I think. Around mile 81 in PA. Took 3 hours to go 6 miles. Luckily I’m with someone who doesn’t throw tantrums at such delays AND luckily we had just completed a full pit stop. And had snacks in the car.
lowtechcyclist
@eclare:
I remember flights like that from back in the days before deregulation. Since then, the only time I can remember a flight like that was coming back from Hawaii in November 2001, when everyone was still leery of getting on a plane.
zhena gogolia
@WereBear: BARBARA STANWYCK IS QUEEN
Geminid
@Scout211: Another former Republican Congressman has a confirmation hearing scheduled for today. That would be Michigan Rep. Peter Hoekstra, who’s gonna be US Ambassador to Canada.
Old Man Shadow
Those dudes stripping the walls for parts are doing a lot of damage. Damage that may take decades to fix just to get us back to the status quo. Decades we won’t necessarily have. Decades the public may not give us to fix it all before “eggs are spensive” voters vote the nihilist termites back into the wood palace of power.
Gin & Tonic
@Suzanne: Yeah, the one in Sharon opened yesterday, I think. It’s about 35 minutes away (drove past it on Sunday going up to Boston.)
Incidentally, we went to Boston to see the Japanese drumming group called Kodo, which I’ve wanted to see for years now. Absolutely fantastic show, if anyone ever has an opportunity. I think they usually come to the US in the spring for a month or two every year.
Gretchen
@Professor Bigfoot: That’s crazy, but unfortunately not the only one. Didn’t Ohio pass something to have a neutral committee draw districts, and then the legislature got around it somehow?
Scout211
Good timing, Republicans. Hoekstra to Canada. Oh my.
Omnes Omnibus
@Old Man Shadow: Getting back to the status quo is impossible. Whatever come out this will be very different. What we need to be working towards is making sure that it is better.
Old School
@Omnes Omnibus:
Book tour season is over.
Redshift
@satby:
The page says basically nothing about who’s organizing it, but on the other hand, the 50501 protests were like that, and they seem okay. I live in the DC area and I heard nothing about it until today, so I can’t say I’m expecting it to be massive.
April 5 is the day to be in DC, from what I’m hearing. There should be news about that soon.
WaterGirl
@pacem appellant: Oh that must be beyond disappointing.
Eunicecycle
@Professor Bigfoot: we’re neighbors. I’m in the district next to yours.
Nelle
@eclare: In tge days (years) that I lived in New Zealand and my kids were in the States, I had many flights between the West Cosst (US) and NZ, though I often saved money by going via Australia. I had a whole routine down, as I rarely slept. From take off to landing, it is water below all the way. I had to develop powers of ignoring potential catastrophe. I employ those powers in short bursts now, just to keep my sanity in these catastrophic times.
Layer8Problem
Apropos of nothing, the guy who revealed the purpose of Room 641A has died.
eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/memoriam-mark-klein-att-whistleblower-about-nsa-mass-spying
Belafon
@oldster: I just asked our local chat copy and it gave me the correct word.
NotMax
Obligatory?
;)
NotMax
@oldster
The F is silent.
//
CaseyL
What I like most about lunar eclipses is that, because of the red shading, the moon actually looks like a sphere (instead of a bright white disk). The first time I noticed that, it was mind-blowing. It’s one thing to know, objectively and abstractly, that moons and planets are round. It’s another to directly see and perceive the roundness.
Suzanne
@Nelle:
That’s a long way of spelling “Xanax”.
Planetjanet
I hope EVERYONE gets on the phones today and ask their Senators to vote NO on the CR. Our best hope is for our Congress to assert its own power. Sen Tim Kaine is a HELL NO. Sen Warner needs some motivation. I am begging you for 10 minutes of your time today to call or leave an online message.
NotMax
@CaseyL
A SHAZAM moon.
(One of the original Capt. Marvel’s nemeses, Dr. Sivana, called him the Big Red Cheese.)
:)
TBone
I have two words to add
Matt McIrvin
@Baud: As Kay said a while back, I’m probably more sympathetic to theatrical lefties than most people here.
But there’s one thing they do sometimes that I don’t like at all, which is the “no war but class war” stuff: dismissing civil rights and feminism as some kind of corporatist distractions that need to be set aside for the class struggle. See also the Green Party “I don’t vote with my vagina” stuff. That’s often a sign that someone is going to flip to the hard right eventually (Matt Taibbi was like this).
As long as they’re not doing that, I’m usually OK with them. There seem to be a lot of nerdy Marxist trans women out there, for some reason. They don’t do that–they have a damn good reason not to.
Hoodie
@eclare: My son has several classmates who went into the big consulting firms. I always thought it was laughable that a 20-something graduate with a BS in management could “consult” about anything. His description of what they do sounds a lot like the entry level associate billing entities that biglaw used to generate big leverage from doing stuff like document discovery. The consulting firms have essentially been delivering AI in meat form for quite a while already, so might as well eliminate the middleman. The main purpose is to provide a justification for the management to do what they want to do without bearing responsibility. AI could certainly do that given it’s excellence at generating plausible-sounding bullshit.
sixthdoctor
This statement from Mark Warner (D-VA) against the CR and cloture is encouraging (includes video that hits a lot of good points including the budgetary attack on DC). Called my senators in MD this morning to express the same sentiments (both went to voicemail, will try local offices at lunch).
TBone
@Planetjanet: these Toolkit talking points on that subject may assist (use Table of Contents entry for “Shutdown and Budget Fight” to jump to):
docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1s0JbXhND7-1iqABNcUNL031NQLxkLfr-USkCKGZTidI/mobilebasic
#HandsOffAmerica!
Destroy Oh Boy
@Betty Cracker:
While this is low-order authoritarianism, we have not descended into the autocratic state until there is legislation or, at least, budgets. A government shutdown would, after time, prevent checks from going out to the military and other areas of the government that Trump needs to enforce his will. The dysfunction is not part of the overall strategy but a sign of weakness in the form of blunders. Trump’s maximalist approach has caused harm, but it still lacks the energy and efficiency of a truly fascist state.
Betty Cracker
With Trump calling Tesla Takedown protesters “domestic terrorists” and disappearing people for expressing views that “aren’t consistent with U.S. foreign policy,” I don’t blame protest organizers for being cagey. But you can find yourself with some strange bedfellows if you show up to something organized by randos.
I was in Boston during the first Gulf War and participated in a demonstration or two on Boston Common. There was much controversy about the Int’l ANSWER group organizing, speaking, etc. Their overall representation was tiny, IIRC. I had never heard of them before.
NotMax
@TBone
“By Marx.”
:)
TBone
@Betty Cracker: I thank teh gawds we have professionals here!
actiontogethernepa.org/
I hope this model spreads across the nation.
actiontogethernepa.org/we-believe
Betty Cracker
@sixthdoctor: That is encouraging, especially since Warner is such a squish!
@Destroy Oh Boy: I agree.
RevRick
@TBone: Lunar eclipses. Such mundane science. And you know what else is mundane science? The greenhouse gas effect of carbon dioxide. The Swedish chemist, Svante Arrhenius, who went on to win a Nobel Prize for his pioneering work in the field of physical chemistry, presented a paper documenting this in 1896. We have known this fact for 129 years.
But Lee Zeldin, head of the EPA, announced that he was “driving a dagger through the heart of climate change religion.” Science has nothing to do with belief. It either describes reality or it doesn’t.
The only religious belief is that of climate change deniers, who believe that we can defy the laws of physics and chemistry.
An equivalent belief would be to claim that you have no idea what will happen when you step on the gas pedal in your gas-powered car.
That’s literally the equivalent belief, because both your car engine and the climate run on heat.
satby
@Omnes Omnibus: and Bernie is basically an opposition guy. Now he shines because opposition is needed. But I never forget when he says “working class” he means “white working class”. Just like the other allies we may have, we don’t need to agree totally with each other as long as we agree with saving democracy. But I hope the old goat doesn’t think he’s going to run again.
TBone
@NotMax: like most little girls, I had a huge crush on all things horse for quite a while. Those horses were very popular at Aronimink Elementary School! Thanks for the memories…
Suzanne
@Matt McIrvin: I view theatrical lefties as I do any other form of avant-garde.
Omnes Omnibus
This is a very good point.
NotMax
@eclare
Short version: it sucks.
All this bad AI is wrecking a whole generation of gadgets.
Old School
@Scout211:
Reuters says the nomination was pulled because the he lacked the votes to be confirmed as CDC Director. It doesn’t specify why some Republicans were voting against him. Maybe the pressure is getting to them?
eclare
@Nelle:
That would make me nervous!
NotMax
@TBone
How ya feel about poodles?
:)
Eunicecycle
@Old School: probably yesterday’s nutty RFK Jr. statements didn’t help.
Old School
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Eunicecycle:
Yeah, him saying the child who died from the measles would have survived if they were “healthier”. Straight up eugenics and social darwinism
eclare
@NotMax:
Paywall.
NotMax
@eclare
Hm. No such thing on this end.
eclare
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Also saying as many people die from the measles vaccine as from measles. That is a flat out lie.
He will get people killed.
eclare
@NotMax:
That is curious.
TBone
@NotMax: no paywall for me on Duck Duck Go.
Planetjanet
@sixthdoctor: That is good to hear. I called and wrote to him just to be sure he got the message.
Planetjanet
@TBone: Thanks
TBone
@NotMax: hahahahaha!
Nope.
Soprano2
@Omnes Omnibus: I heard Greg Casar from Texas’ 35th district on 1A this morning talking about the CR. He hit all the right talking points, so he’s certainly fighting. Their framing of this issue on their Web site is atrocious – “Do the Dems blink? Or take the blame?”. I posted on FB to ask why that framing, why not something like “Republicans are in a precarious position as they have put several “poison pills” in the CR that they know Democrats cannot vote for. Will they agree to remove them, or will the government shut down?”. That framing is just as valid as the one they used, except in mine Republicans have agency to do something about it!
TBone
@Planetjanet: there are some great suggestions and ways to stay cohesive in that Toolkit!
We need a unified popular front.
TBone
@NotMax: ask mom for some whip!
m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld3KEXROObQ
Wonder why it never caught on…
Ohio Mom
@lowtechcyclist: We Ohio voters passed TWO issues for fair re-districting, the legislature ignored us, the state Supreme Court got involved, the clock ran out and here we are, with a couple of new Democratic districts—Cincinnati, which had been split in two, has mostly been made whole, I finally can send a Democrat to the House—but otherwise, as gerrymandered as we ever were.
After Ohio traded Sherrod Brown for that crooked Republican (was that redundant?) car dealer, I’m not convinced redistricting would make much of a difference. Our population skews old and cranky.
TBone
@RevRick: almost missed seeing that – glad I didn’t! As always, I find your comments very valuable.
NotMax
@TBone
I can hazard a guess….
:)
NotMax
@RevRick
I once had a car like that.
;)
M31
yeah the Black president doesn’t get the 3 year window, got about 3/5s hmmmmmm
got himself reelected though, *phew*
still amazed that the ACA happened (every once in a while I’m reminded of who the margin Dem Senators were at the time (Lieberman + other fuckers) and get amazed all over again
TBone
Action Together NEPA Alert
bsky.app/profile/actiontogethernepa.bsky.social/post/3ljsyvegmyc2p
bsky.app/profile/actiontogethernepa.bsky.social/post/3lji7x7qxe222
japa21
@RevRick:
When people ask me if I believe in climate change (man made) or evolution I always answer “no”. Then I tell them that “I know” both of those, it’s not a question of belief.
Doug R
Here’s the moon without the Earth blocking the Sun, taken a little over 12 hours ago:
bsky.app/profile/did:plc:zof37bt63a6ixlzutrxgngob/post/3lka5ahkbms2y
TBone
@NotMax: man o man I remember Mom tryna teach me to drive stick in the high school parking lot one Saturday. One.
I ended up teaching myself by necessity a few years later on the open road, and received many middle fingers in the process.
RevRick
@NotMax: Ha!
Belafon
Dow down 330 on tariff worries.
YY_Sima Qian
Absolutely nothing surprising from the Trump DHS official in this NPR interview:
Probably the most chilling exchange:
RevRick
@japa21: No versus know!
Belafon
@YY_Sima Qian: Sounds like a great set of information for the judge. “Someone had better answer what he did that was illegal.”
Belafon
@Belafon: Now down an additional 112 points.
Baud
@Belafon:
Tesla falling too.
oldster
@Belafon:
right — it may be that you have a different version (I was just using whatever Google offers straightaway), or it might be that if I ran the test a few times, I’d get different answers.
oldster
@NotMax:
Now that is funny!
Scout211
Another lawsuit filed by state Attorneys General. This time the lawsuit is for cuts in the Department of Education.
. . .
TBone
@Belafon: jfc
Be still my heart. Instapoor will not be pleasant and I’m already sick enough today. I would go back to work, but couldn’t be dependable enough for a full time job in my specialty. Hubby is completely disabled from working.
GAH
Bill Arnold
Why red? (NASA) (bold mine)
(It might be bright enough to damage the eyes without a filter; I haven’t done the computation.)
Old School
@YY_Sima Qian: Just listened to the interview. It was like the host had a hard stop and wouldn’t let the Deputy Secretary answer the “what was the illegal activity?” question.
Captain C
@Belafon:
@Baud:
The Trump Slump and the Tesla Crash. The latter also nicely insinuates that Musk’s cars aren’t safe.
YY_Sima Qian
@Belafon: I am not confident SCOTUS will defend the common interpretation of the US Constitution. Probably will not junk the 1st Amendment, even de facto, but will likely find a way to allow USG to deport Khalil, & push a step further toward the end goal of reactionary authoritarianism.
TBone
@YY_Sima Qian:
bald headed chicken fuckers
Soprano2
@YY_Sima Qian: It sounds like their allegation is that he’s a terrorist because he participated in protests against what Israel was doing in Gaza. That’s in no way the definition of what a terrorist is. This is Chinese dictator stuff.
TBone
Mahmoud Khalil Rapid Response suggestions in Toolkit at #132. For all students and all protestors.
Better link:
docs.google.com/document/d/15mGb1v6UuNEFuf_mDVg5KtaLCqKdOqx5BejOE1nbLZ4/edit?usp=drivesdk
I hope
YY_Sima Qian
Well, one more person over whom the PRC has influence in Trump’s orbit
Russia, Israel, the Gulf States, the PRC, India, it’s a free for all (well, a select group of countries).
pacem appellant
@WaterGirl:
It is very disappointing. :-( Thanks for acknowledging. I don’t have a consolation plan yet. I have to get through the work day first.
YY_Sima Qian
@Old School: It’s a 5 min segment. However, the host gave plenty of opportunities to Edgar to answer, & the response was a word salad of a jish gallop. I am not sure if it’s because Edgar is a committed Fascist bent on crushing dissent, or a cynical charlatan looking to kiss Trump’s *ss, or an incompetent fool that hasn’t a clue, or a combination of all 3.
PaulWartenberg
(blood moon rising on March 14)
(looks at the calendar for March 15)
…
…
Oh yeah, nothing ominous about the Ides of March…!!!
J. Arthur Crank
@lowtechcyclist: As an astronomer, I injured myself reading that article. Your summary is very succinct, so I will head off to class now instead of correcting the record.
Professor Bigfoot
@narya: My mantra on those trips: Stop and pee as soon as you feel it, because *who knows what’s up ahead.*
(Snax are a requirement. ;) )
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@eclare:
Damn I didn’t see THAT. He will definitely get people killed.
Probably most people I know, including those I grew up with, had the measles vaccine, and we’re all still alive
Professor Bigfoot
@Gretchen: They didn’t get around it, they flat ignored it.
That’s what we’re up against.
Omnes Omnibus
@YY_Sima Qian: It’s at least two of the three. Which two? I leave that to the reader’s choice.
Omnes Omnibus
@PaulWartenberg: Stabbing a tyrant in the name of the republic?
Mr. Bemused Senior
@Omnes Omnibus: I go with “cynical charlatan” for $500.
YY_Sima Qian
@Soprano2: Edgar seems to be suggesting the people coming to the US on student visas should stay quiet & do nothing but study, & don’t engage in political speech or any form of activism. Anything more & they risk being charged w/ lying on visa application – i.e., coming to the US to be a student, versus being an activist. He is either too dumb, too cynical, or too malevolent, to realize that anyone in the US is protected by the US Constitutions, except for those rights specifically limited to citizens (such as the right to vote).
Old School
@YY_Sima Qian: Maybe it was the editing, but I thought the host came off worse than the guest.
Although I agree that his answers were unlikely to be satisfying no matter how long he spoke.
YY_Sima Qian
@Old School: I thought the host was trying to cut through the torrent of BS & pin Edgar down on specifics to support the claims he made, which he resolutely refused to do.
Geminid
A high-powered delegation of Turkish officials just showed up in Damascus: Foreign Secretary Fidan, M.I.T intelligence chief Kalin and Defense Minister Guler. They and Syrian officials have plenty to talk about.
JBWoodford
@RevRick: Hard agree, but I can’t resist the opportunity to push one of my favorite little-known scientists. Before Arrhenius, Eunice Foote (1856!) and John Tyndall (1859) had experimentally demonstrated heat retention by CO2 and water vapor; in Foote’s 1856 paper she even hypothesized that changing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere would change the climate (this from the Wikipedia article on her). Her research work was elegant, and it sucks that it wasn’t recognized sooner. (Not to take anything away from Tyndall, who correctly identified the combination of visible transparency and infrared absorbance as the key to atmospheric heat retention. He had a much more advanced experimental setup, though.)
jonas
@lowtechcyclist: One time when I was a kid the family flew from Seattle to LA. I remember the flight because there must have been only 10-15 people on board and I had a whole row to myself. It was magnificent. They also served salmon for lunch, which was a real delicacy for me at the time.
Now I’m the fish on most flights. A sardine, to be precise.
YY_Sima Qian
@Bill Arnold: Have you seen the latest from OpenAI?
Reads like the most risible & self-serving petition to corrupt power, full of Orwellian doublespeak.
Jackie
To the surprise of no one…
YY_Sima Qian
@Geminid: Such as regaining control of the militias & militant groups semi-aligned w/ the new government, & stop the massacre of Alawite (& other minorities) civilians, while suppressing an Alawite insurgency along the coast?
jonas
@Soprano2: If they had evidence he was actually, materially supporting Hamas somehow, which would be a federal crime, they would have had a warrant and shown up with the FBI. They didn’t have shit, which is why he was detained by ICE agents purely for the thoughtcrime of opposing the Gaza war and in gobsmacking violation of the First Amendment.
sentient ai from the future
Every time I am taken aback by the depths of my abject hatred for these worthless oxygen thieves, they do something that makes me hate them even more.
aol.com/news/u-citizen-child-recovering-brain-224212467.html
jonas
@YY_Sima Qian: JFC I just read that. The only thing they don’t ask for is unfettered access to every American’s individual genome so they can train AI on it.
Eunicecycle
@jonas: that will be next!
RaflW
@Suzanne: Walz strikes me as someone who isn’t consultant-poisoned. Watching him in the debate against JV Dance, I sure thought he was struggling because the Harris campaign drilled him on focus-tested, poll-driven dreck and he couldn’t use the zingers that he clearly honed on cable hits.
I get that the audience for a debate is broader than cable, I’m sure even he understood he’d need to tone down. But he appeared stifled and too focused on hitting rehearsed points that weren’t natural to him.
Glad he’s back in fighting form now.
eclare
Great photo Betty Cracker! Is that a limpkin?
Geminid
@YY_Sima Qian: I think the uprising by Assad remnants was largely suppressed by the end of last weekend. Reports are the massacres also ended by then, with a death toll of over 800 civilians and combatants.
Among other issues, the Turkish officials probably want to talk about implementation of the agreement signed recently by President al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi; the new common anti-ISIS strategy announced at the five nation summit in Amman Sunday; also, what to do with the Israelis and their attempts to start a fight with the new Syrian government.
Omnes Omnibus
It looks like DOGE just lost on the VA firings.
RaflW
@Jackie: One way we know the corporate press will never save us: They utterly refuse to put together the blinkingly obvious narrative of corruption.
Yeah, they’ll report this or that thing with a “concerned government watchers say this is unprecedented and could appear to bend rules about…” but the big boys just never connect any dots.
I’m now convinced it is on purpose.
Mr. Bemused Senior
“Greed is good” might as well be their motto.
rusty
It’s hard to be absolutely sure, but following TPM and it looks like the Democratic senators are going to cave. Take a meaningless vote on a 30 day continuing resolution, and then let the Republicans have their 7 month CR, and let the administration continue to tear apart the government, country and more. What callow, empty, shells of leaders. I hope to hell TPM is wrong.
snoey
@Omnes Omnibus: More than just the VA
That is one pissed off judge
Suzanne
@RaflW:
Agree 100%! Honestly, a lot of Dems don’t sound like normal humans. (Neither does the GOP, but for different reasons.)
Speaking normally, not focus-group-y, not academic-jargon-y….. I would say that Dems need to practice that, but they actually need to un-practice it!
Omnes Omnibus
@Omnes Omnibus: Judge Alsup applies his order to all fed agencies.
ETA: Dang you and your fast fingers to heck, snoey!
cain
Why are these folks still protesting the Democratic Party?
politico.com/news/2025/03/12/pro-palestinian-groups-dnc-00225896
Geminid
The New Jersey Globe reports that veteran Congressman Frank Pallone has endorsed Rep. Mikie Sherrill for Governor. This follows county convention victories for Sherrill in Monmouth and Middlesex Counties. Pallone represents both.
The primary will be held June 10. The Globe– which seems to be a decent source for Garden Stste political news– also reported that former Governor John Corzine and Rep. Sarah McBride from neighboring Delaware have also endorsed Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot and attorney.
Old School
@cain:
Sending a letter doesn’t strike me as much of a protest.
Geminid
@cain: Why are they still protesting the Democratic Party? My cynical side says it’s for the same reason Willie Sutton robbed banks: that’s where the money is!
japa21
@Omnes Omnibus: The judge didn’t mince words in his decision. The use of the word “sham” in describing the government’s actions is rather prominent.
Betty Cracker
@eclare: It is a Limpkin. I love those screamy birds. ;-)
RaflW
It feels like a shout into a hurricane, but I called Sen. Smith again this morning and said “A vote Yes on Cloture and No on the House budget is the same as a yes on both. It is essential to be no on both because Cloture means final passage and ruin for the nation.”
Suzanne
@Geminid: I think it’s for the same reason some people here pick on white women but not white men. It feels like some people should be on your side and thus feels like more of a betrayal when they aren’t.
Geminid
@Suzanne: That may be so. This white male has noticed all the rhetorical brickbats flying back and forth over my head, directed at other groups.
But having observed a couple of the groups that signed the letter, I attribute some of the motivation to maintaining political relevance, and fundraising is a neccesary part of that. I’m interested in what their next step will be if the DNC does not make a positive response. I guess we’ll find out before too long.
cain
@Geminid: Sounds like they might rattle their drums as midterms or other special elections come.
The protest so to speak is they still aren’t getting the love from the DNC. Given all that has happened they seem tone deaf.
Geminid
@cain: Justice Democrats is one of the four (I think) groups behind the letter. They will definitely be involved in the midterm primaries next year, although the closely related Brand New Congress group may take the lead role.
cain
@Geminid: Lovely. I dont know what kind of leverage they have given the current administration’s stance on Gaza.
cain
@Old School: It’s a formal declaration that they have issues with the DNC.
sixthdoctor
Chris Van Hollen announces no on the CR and no on cloture.
Geminid
@cain: I think this effort is less about current US policy than it is about Democratic Party governance.
Bill Arnold
@YY_Sima Qian:
I just read the pdf version. This part could be considered the core of their argument:
Interesting summary of “democratic”. Each bullet point is BS, IMO. The general jingoism about the CCP is … I’m not even sure that the OpenAI people believe it, i.e. some of it smells like attempts to manipulate susceptible US government people.
The part in the pdf about using the Defense Production Act (DPA) to accelerate buildout of large AI datacenters, including natural gas pipelines, illustrates the urgency that AGI-focused tech leaders have convinced themselves to feel.
ETA the hardware is probably impossible to export-control at this point. Both the EU and China have made public bets on RISC-V based AI (and general HPC) systems. China will catch up with chip production technology in a few years.
different-church-lady
A cult consisting of nearly half the country and over half of the legislative branches.
Citizen Alan
And it was only possible because Bush was such a catastrophic failure that it led to a filibuster proof Senate majority, probably the last I will see in my lifetime.
YY_Sima Qian
@Bill Arnold: Death thread, but thank you for the response. Pretty much confirmed my impressions. When I see “freedom” & “democracy” thrown so liberally around, it is clearly a cynical exercise, & transparent one at that. In fact, I wonder if they used ChatGPT to write the proposal.
Kayla Rudbek
@sentient ai from the future: and in the legal profession, accurate citation is the name of the game.