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Democrat senator thwarts GOP effort to pass bill detaining illegal immigrants charged with violent crime

Deplorable!

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Taylor Swift breaks Ticketmaster

With staggering demand for her 50 date concert tour, Ticketmaster put the brakes on sales before the vast majority of the public had an opportunity to buy a ticket. Secondary markets are now pushing individual ticket up into the $20,000 range.
Members of Congress and multiple state AGs are now promising to break up the monopoly Ticketmaster holds over concert sales. It's a pretty diverse group from AOC, Amy Klobuchar, Mike Lee and the AG of Tennessee.
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Did I miss the post about a NATO head of state almost getting whacked by Russia?


Keep ****ing around with money and weaponry as political props maga, we will be sending your sons and daughters before you know it.
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What if all the vast wealth suddenly got distributed evenly among everyone?

Imagine if all the vast wealth accumulated by the top fraction of society suddenly got distributed evenly among everyone.

What would honestly happen? Sure, there'd be fewer billionaires and more comfortable folks, but how would it all function? Who'd be left to do the not-so-glamorous gigs? Who'd pick up our trash if no one needed to do it for a paycheck? Shows like The Orville toss around the idea of a money-less society where everyone's working for the greater good. But seriously, how does that even function?

Spreading the wealth might give everyone a fair shot at a better life, but would it really work without incentive? How long could it last? Who will do the grunt work? What about entrepreneurs and innovators? Would they still bother if there's no jackpot waiting at the end? Maybe we'd figure it out, get all altruistic and stuff, but it would completely upend society as we know it.

What say you men and women of GIAOT?
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Opinion In 2016, Trump was lucky to win. In 2024, he’s desperate.

This time around, there will be no ambivalence.
Not from the party that eight years ago tried to mount a hopeless last stand against him. And not from the candidate himself, who never seemed all that jazzed about becoming president in 2016 and almost certainly didn’t expect to win.

This time, watching Donald Trump romp through the Super Tuesday primaries on his way to the Republican nomination, I see a man who is running as if his survival depends on winning back the White House — because, in a very real sense, it does.

I’ve been wrong a lot when it comes to Trump, but I’m pretty sure I was right about one thing: Trump didn’t begin his presidential campaign in 2015 with some Wile E. Coyote-type plan to upend the party and take over the country. Like everything else Trump had done in his life to that point, that campaign began as little more than a Barnumesque exercise in self-promotion, a chance to further the family brand.


ADVERTISING


It was happenstance, really — a collision of celebrity and social media, a nativist backlash against the Obama era, and a seething resentment toward the Clintons, the Bushes and the bankers — that made Trump’s rise possible. He didn’t need much by way of strategy or money. He needed only to break through the fourth wall of politics — to look directly into the camera, like the practiced reality-show star he is, and channel the rage of the audience.


It must have surprised Trump to find that the Republican Party could be acquired and replaced as easily as a failing hotel chain. In the eight years since that election, culminating in Mitch McConnell’s decision to step aside as the Republican Senate leader this year, Trump has done something that only presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan managed to do in the century before: remake a party and reorder the electorate.
By attracting large numbers of alienated independents and driving out some corresponding faction of old-line conservatives, Trump has fundamentally changed what it means to be a Republican — isolationist instead of muscular, chillingly nationalist instead of ruggedly individualist. The real RINOs (Republicans in name only) now are the party’s Trumpist leaders themselves, who fly the tattered flag of their predecessors but embrace an entirely different agenda.



For Trump, however, all that conquering has come at a cost. His name, once a gaudy but coveted asset among hoteliers and resort-builders, is now anathema to a lot of the high-end customer base. Trump’s brand seems to have more value now on a pair of spray-painted sneakers than it does on the front of a high-rise.
Even as he finds it harder to leverage his name for cash, Trump’s liabilities keep mounting. Thanks to recent court verdicts, he now owes more than half a billion dollars in damages, and he won’t be able to operate what remains of his New York business for three years. He still faces two federal prosecutions; for the first time in his fast-dealing, illusion-conjuring career, Trump faces the very real possibility of trading his red tie for an orange jumpsuit.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...c_magnet-op2024elections_inline_collection_19

Politically speaking, all of this is a gift. New York City’s trivial prosecution about hush money for an affair, along with the circus that now threatens to overtake Trump’s prosecution on election-meddling charges in Georgia, have helped Trump’s public cause immensely, allowing him to credibly portray himself as the victim of a leftist legal establishment.



But Trump must know that his Al Pacino routine (“The whole trial is out of order!”) won’t insulate him from the reality of multiple verdicts. His chances of riding out this storm as a private citizen — without incurring some serious damage in the form of financial ruin or a prison term — aren’t good. There is only one sure way out.
If you want to worry about autocracy in America, this is what you should worry about. It’s never a good betting strategy to predict Trump’s behavior, but at heart, he’s always been more of a craven entertainer than a scheming monarchist. He might not care very much about the principles of a democracy, but neither is it clear that he cares enough about the things he does care about — immigration, trade, white nationalism — to try to impose his will on the courts or the military.
But if there’s one thing we can infer from Trump’s career as a con man, it’s that he will do whatever it takes to save himself. The presidency would cloak him in a temporary immunity, which he desperately needs. Would he use his control over the Justice Department to shut down prosecutions? Absolutely. Would he attempt the legal contortions of issuing himself a blanket pardon? Bet on it.



Within days of his second inauguration, Trump would turn the executive branch into his sanctuary and his law firm, an instrument of protection and retribution. Everything else — and everyone else — would come second.
In 2016, Trump’s improvised campaign was a lark. Eight years later, he is running with the ferocity of a desperate man. For the star of politics’ greatest reality show, cancellation is no longer an option.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...super-tuesday-victories-desperation-survival/

New England Journal of Medicine: Long Covid and Impaired Cognition — More Evidence and More Work to Do

It’s an interesting read and there’s more at the link. But I think this is the part most will find interesting.

Modest cognitive decline occurred with the original virus and with each viral variant, including B.1.1.529 (omicron). As compared with uninfected participants (control), cognitive deficit — commensurate with a 3-point loss in IQ — was evident even in participants who had had mild Covid-19 with resolved symptoms. Participants with unresolved persistent symptoms had the equivalent of a 6-point loss in IQ, and those who had been admitted to the intensive care unit had the equivalent of a 9-point loss in IQ. Of importance, these deficits were associated with many of the other symptoms that have been reported by persons with long Covid. The greatest deficits in cognitive function were associated with the original strain of the virus (before December 1, 2020) and the early B.1.1.7 (alpha) variant (from December 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021). Longer hospital stays and durations of acute illness were predictors of persistent global deficits. Memory, reasoning, and executive function (i.e., planning) tasks were the most sensitive indicators of impaired function, and scores on these tasks tended to correlate with brain fog. Vaccinations provided a small cognitive advantage. Reinfection contributed an additional loss in IQ of nearly 2 points, as compared with no reinfection.

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'Working my tail-end off just to get by’: This Walmart worker blasted older Americans for calling young folks lazy — blamed them for 'creating' the inflation crisis, ruining the economy.​


In recent years, the belief that younger generations are reluctant to engage in traditional 9-5 jobs has risen. It’s thought by some that Gen Z is seeking more flexibility and a work-life balance that aligns with their personal values and lifestyle. While this may be true for some, it's not the case for everyone.

BB1jmgCo.img


The frustrations of Gen Z​

In her candid video, Chailyn, a Walmart employee, stated, “I cannot stand how the news has been dogging Gen Z and calling them lazy for not wanting to work 9-5 for the rest of their lives… I work five days out of the week, 40 hours a week. I [still] do not make enough to live on my own.”

She then highlighted the stark financial disparities that exist between her generation and previous ones.

“Twenty years ago, when you were getting started [with your career], you could live on your own. Twenty years ago when you first started, you were able to do everything that I am now struggling to do,” she said.

The video has struck a chord, amassing more than 6.6 million views, 1.4 million likes and almost 39,000 comments at the time of this writing.

Chailyn's frustration was palpable as she voiced the sentiments of Gen Z when confronting the criticisms often directed at her generation.

“You can sit here and call Gen Z lazy all you want, but I have been working my tail-end off just to barely make it by, and respectfully, I don't want to do that for the rest of my life,” she said. “I don't want to work my tail-end off, wasting all of my life working, just to barely be able to pay my bills.”

Chailyn concluded her message with a pointed argument, shifting the blame to previous generations for the current state of the economy and the burden it places on Gen Z.

“You tell me how it got ruined. We can sit here and we can call Gen Z lazy all you want. But you let the economy turn into what it did.”

She added, “You let it all run to hell, and now it's Gen Z's ‘fault’ because we don't want to work to fix your mistakes.”

The generation war​

Chailyn's assertion that older generations have allowed the economy to "run to hell" may seem somewhat harsh. However, she raised a valid concern by drawing attention to the significant changes in the economy over the past two decades; changes that have left the numbers stacked unfavorably against younger generations.


A prime example is the transformation in the housing market. The surge in real estate prices have created a landscape vastly different from what previous generations encountered.

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau underscores this trend: the median sales price of houses sold in America went from $191,900 in Q3 of 2003 to $431,000 in Q3 of 2023, marking a staggering 125% increase over 20 years.

Wages have seen growth during this period. Between 2002 and 2022, the median personal income in the U.S. rose from $22,120 to $40,480, according to Census Bureau data, which is an 83% increase. However, when juxtaposed with the housing price surge, this wage growth appears insufficient.

Consequently, today's young adults, who are often starting their careers with modest salaries, are now finding themselves grappling with the challenges of uncovering affordable housing — a struggle that is emblematic of the broader economic hurdles they face. This struggle is intensified when also considering the escalating costs of other essentials such as food, health care, and education.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mar...&cvid=6883cadf2c5848d58977af23c5c7fe64&ei=25#

WNBA Tickets - Caitlyn Clark Effect

Living in NJ, I was looking for 3 tickets for the first time Indiana played at NY Liberty on June 2. Lowest ticket (for 3 together) on Ticketmaster is $192ea, StubHub $162ea.

The game before against the Washington Mystics on May 31 start at $38 & $34 respectively to TM & SH.

Anybody else in other regions experiencing the same?

Go Caitlyn, go hawks!

Nikki Haley to exit Republican presidential race

Nikki Haley has reportedly ended her long-shot Republican presidential primary bid after losing 14 of the 15 "Super Tuesday" contests to Donald Trump.

The former South Carolina governor, who became Trump's United Nations ambassador and the first prominent woman of color to seek the Republican nomination for president, is due to deliver remarks near her South Carolina home at 10am ET on Wednesday.

The suspension of her campaign was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, quoting people familiar with her plans.

Haley has endured a long string of losses, which began with Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and her home state of South Carolina. On Tuesday, when voters in 15 states cast ballots in contests known as Super Tuesday, Haley lost every state apart from Vermont. She had previously only won in
Washington DC.

Among Trump's prominent primary rivals, Haley was the last candidate left standing, so her withdrawal ensures that Trump will capture the Republican nomination.

The WSJ reported that Haley won't announce an endorsement on Wednesday, but will encourage Trump to earn the support of Republican and independent voters who backed her.

The move leaves Trump clear to claim the Republican nomination for a third election running – even though he faces 91 criminal charges, attempts to remove him from the ballot for inciting an insurrection, and civil court rulings requiring him to pay more than $400m over allegations of financial fraud and defamation.
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