From a strategic standpoint, we are fighting a proxy war with one of the world “superpowers” without putting a single American soldier at risk. We are straining the resources of said “superpower”, exposing their military weaknesses, and thus indirectly strengthening our position of military power on the world stage.
From an economic standpoint, the war being in Ukraine is fantastic for the US military industrial complex. This is a rare case of public support of increased arms production. It’s an opportunity to offload old weapon inventory, and gives manufactures the luxury of honing logistics of new weapon production without the threat of conflict to the United States. Weapon manufacturers currently have live-fire test zone in conflict with a superpower to test old and new weapon systems.
It’s all red-state, support our troops, big-business war profiteering touted by conservatives for the last two decades safely bottled up on the other side of the world. Why would conservative-minded politicians not support the war?
Every headline of “We gave $X of new aid to Ukraine” is windfall subsidy for one of the strongest sectors of the US economy - weapons manufacturing.
The leaders of three branches of the U.S. military slammed Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) over his monthslong blockade of senior military promotions Tuesday, with one accusing the Republican senator of “aiding and abetting communists.”...
At the ‘height’ of their career, Smash Mouth and Harwell were responsible for one of the funniest and most bizarre concert experiences of my lifetime.
Smash Mouth performed at Universal Studios during one of the Mardi Gras theme nights. The concert took place at an outdoor stage just after the nightly parade.
They were terrible. Smash Mouth refused to play either of their one hit wonders, instead they chose to struggle through a bunch of unknown songs. The crowd grew more and more agitated as the set list wore on. Eventually, enough was enough.
Freshly armed with Mardi Gras beads, the audience switched from booing to hurling the beads at Harwell. It wasn’t just one guy. Beads were flying at the band from all corners of the audience. In defiance, Smash Mouth continued to play whatever shitty song they were on about while actively dodging incoming bead fire.
Finally, Harwell took a string of beads center-mass. That was it. The crowd emerged victorious. The horrible Smash Mouth music stopped. Harwell ran off stage with the band following close behind. Beads continued to rain in from the crowd as Smash Mouth made their escape.
But it wasn’t over. Chants of “All-Star” echoed through the audience-turned-angry-mob. The people wanted their pound of flesh, in the form of a early 2000’s radio pop song. Someone backstage convinced Smash Mouth that running away from their fans was a bad look. The band returned several minutes later and angrily performed ‘All-Star’. The beads continued to rain in, and the band played on.
TLDR: I watched Smash Mouth get pummeled with Mardi Gras beads during a shitty, halfhearted performance.
Teachers told a group of Black elementary schoolers that having lower grades gave them a higher chance of going to jail, getting shot or getting killed, parents said.
A short story on how something like this happens in the first place:
A decade ago, give or take, nearby Seminole County, FL public schools created a department (called “Choices”) specifically to desegregate the school population. This was at the behest of the federal government applying pressure on the school board.
Due to Central Florida’s long history of geographical segregation, Seminole County was one of the most segregated school systems in the country. Even today, some areas within the county randomize school populations to eliminate geographic segregation.
School systems identify low social-economic status students (referred to as “low-SES”) based off free and reduced lunch applications. To the school systems’ credit, they provide additional services to low-SES students (ie. partnership programs with ISP’s for free internet). Low-SES students within Seminole Country are primarily located in geographically segregated African-American communities.
Central Florida has a long history of institutionalized segregation. Hell, I-4, the main highway that bisects Orlando, was routed through African-American communities and around white communities.
I’ve lived here 30 years. Anecdotally, I think things are getting better. However, we have such a long way to go to undo the social damage caused by our ancestors. It does not surprise me that school officials and teachers in predominantly white geographic locations would do something as stupid as this assembly. Institutional segregation and racism lingers on for generations after those who originally perpetrated it are long dead.
If you are reading this in the US, civil rights and social equality will be a constant evolutionary struggle throughout your lifetime. No one person can wave a magic wand and repair hundreds of years of racism. Be a kind person. Treat others who think, act, or look different from you with the same respect you have for yourself. Those who perpetrate racist ideals or philosophies should be admonished, and considered to be socially unacceptable.
The FBI has joined an investigation into a barrage of threats against Fulton County officials in recent days, including members of the Atlanta-area grand jury that voted to indict former president Donald Trump and 18 of his allies in a sweeping criminal case focused on alleged 2020 election interference.
Under Georgia law, names of grand jurors are publicly listed on indictments — an effort at transparency that some have questioned in light of ongoing threats in the aftermath of the charges against Trump and 18 others accused of conspiring to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results.
To a layman, publishing the identities of grand jury members involved in high profile cases seems incredibly stupid. Average people called to perform a civic duty are put in harms way for …better transparency?
Anyone care to play devil’s advocate and explain why grand juror identities are publicly relevant information? Why does this law exist?
I visited Yellowstone last year. The National Parks Service has an excellent walkway system which allows visitors to get an close-up view of the hot springs. All along the walkways are signs that say something along the lines of: “Step off this walkway and you will be boiled alive.”
The sheer number of people visiting these areas on an average day, and the quality of workmanship put into the park walkways projects a false sense of security. A few times I had to remind myself that I was standing above something that could kill me. Imagine being in a crowd of people seeing and experiencing something beautiful. Nobody there is unhappy, everyone is strolling along taking pictures and enjoying spectacular views of the hot springs. But in reality, it is a bunch of people standing on heat-resistant walkways above boiling lakes of death.
These warning signs are placed every few feet, but I can completely understand how idiots and children would ignore them and get themselves killed. Some walkways have railings, others don’t. Yellowstone is one of the most beautiful places on earth. The possibility of getting killed is not something actively going through your mind while you experience it.
Also, people taking photos of bison are incredibly cavalier about distance and safety. It makes sense that attacks and deaths are common enough not to make headlines.
Zelenskiy secures $325m in new US aid even as Republican support wanes (www.theguardian.com)
Ukraine president delivers upbeat message on war progress during second White House visit since Russian invasion...
GNOME 45 Release Notes (release.gnome.org)
Study finds human-driven mass extinction is eliminating entire branches of the tree of life (phys.org)
California Sues Giant Oil Companies, Citing Decades of Deception (www.nytimes.com)
Secretary of Navy: Tuberville ‘aiding and abetting communists’ with military blockade (www.politico.com)
The leaders of three branches of the U.S. military slammed Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) over his monthslong blockade of senior military promotions Tuesday, with one accusing the Republican senator of “aiding and abetting communists.”...
Smash Mouth frontman Steve Harwell in hospice care, representative says (www.cbsnews.com)
Former Smash Mouth lead singer Steve Harwell is receiving hospice care treatment at home, a representative confirmed to CBS News Sunday....
Florida school district apologizes for assembly singling out Black students over low test scores (www.nbcnews.com)
Teachers told a group of Black elementary schoolers that having lower grades gave them a higher chance of going to jail, getting shot or getting killed, parents said.
FBI joins investigation of threats to grand jurors in Trump Georgia case (www.washingtonpost.com)
The FBI has joined an investigation into a barrage of threats against Fulton County officials in recent days, including members of the Atlanta-area grand jury that voted to indict former president Donald Trump and 18 of his allies in a sweeping criminal case focused on alleged 2020 election interference.
Woman gored by Bison at Yellowstone (abcnews.go.com)
Officials have been warning visitors not to get close to the animals.
This is Blaze. He's a good boy. (lemmy.world)