Diaries

Saturday Open Thread - 4/26/25: Odds and Ends

Good morning, good people! I wish for everyone good health, good financial security, good air and water, and good times as the day, and as our future progresses!

It seems the judiciary is fighting for balance of power here and there, against the incessant Executive Orders and arbitrary DOGE directives, and are also being called out when they fail in their duties. The FBI arrested a Milwaukee Judge they believe hindered ICE in some detentions. We shall see. The media colors everything, so the truth comes to the fore later. I am extremely curious and concerned about the facts of what the judge did or didn't do. My life, your life, and our system is affected by this.

Friday Night Photos Auto Art: Lowrider Edition

Welcome to Friday Night Photos everyone. Your once a week break from the daily madness of the crazy world we live in. Post any photos, memes, music, or whatever else you find of interest that helps you escape the madness.

On the first weekend of this month I went to the Goodguys hot rod and custom car show at the Del Mar fairgrounds. This was the 24th year for the event and my 6th or 7th time attending. This year there was a noticeable drop in the number of cars and spectators. I don't know if the ailing economy had anything to do with it or if it was just an off year. Whatever the reason, there was still a large variety of beautiful cars and works of auto art. In tonight's FNP I highlight the Lowriders.
(NOTE: do to the decrease in the number of cars, some of these images are from 2022)

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Open Thread - 04-25-25 - What Comes After?

Democracy in the West is withering on the vine. European political parties are jailing their opponents and banning opposition parties from elections. How soon will that happen here in the US?

Democrats put up candidates that no one voted for. Republicans fight to restrict voting rights. Does that even matter when we essentially have a uni-party anyway?

Both sides champion restricting free speech.

Government corruption is rampant and ubiquitous.

The law is used as a weapon. Does anyone really think that the Republicans wont use the same lawfare tactics to stall the function of government against the Democrats when they regain power? If so, then what good is democracy?

If democracy is on life support, what comes after?

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New York Times Email Urges More War With Trump Hate

The Morning
April 24, 2025

Good morning. The U.S. is urging Ukraine to take a deal that favors Russia. . . .

Ukraine’s concessions
Author Headshot
By German Lopez

Russia invaded Ukraine, but you wouldn’t know that from the peace negotiations. At every step, President Trump has pushed the victim to give ground, while the aggressor has given little of substance.

Open Thread - Thurs 24 Apr - 2025 - What Comes Around Goes Around

What Comes Around Goes Around

Long, long, long ago, I worked at AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) when the company first started exporting production to Asia. Us little workers, those of us who ran the machines that made the chips, or tested them, or packaged them up for shipping, us... well, WE were pretty upset. We knew this meant that there would be less jobs, that regular workers would be screwed over and that AMD was going to go from a company that proudly cared about things like keeping production in the USA and workers' rights, to yet another typical American business.

So, TPTB exported shipping to Asia. About this time, my father retired from AMD; he didn't like a lot of these changes. I stopped working there because I was going to Grad school in PA. And... everything we, the workers, predicted came true. Thanks Reagan! Thanks Clinton! Thanks Nixon! And everyone else!


Cartoon from a while back, by John Pritchett

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