About a month ago I got a letter from the IRS saying they'd reviewed my 2023 return and were sending me an additional refund in 7-10 days. I thought that was great, obviously, but haven't received the check.
Not having a functional government kinda sucks.
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Best one I’ve heard 🤣
#Republicans are comparing #Trump to #Jesus Christ.
Fair enough.
Nail him up. If he comes back in 3 days, I'll admit I was wrong.
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From @MeidasTouch
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One frustrating aspect of trying to write about all the incredibly reckless and risky actions taken by this administration with govt data is that by the time you're done writing, half the stuff in your story is outdated already, because they've reversed themselves, or they've been reversed. Or, and this is usually the most frequent cause: Because they've gone and done something even more colossally stupid, cruel and/or unwise.
I have not missed this aspect of reporting on the Trump administration at all. But it is absolutely true that their flood-the-zone-with-stupid approach really can become something like a mental ddos on journalists. And ofc that's intentional.
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It's been truly sickening to read the news today: Trump calls Zelensky a "dictator" who took US money to go to war, making it clear as day that the US president sides with Russia in this conflict. Zelensky says the president lives in a circle of disinformation. That is plain to see, even for Trump's supporters, who live in and help cultivate that same bubble.
Meanwhile, Russian officials are offering American companies the chance to make billions by coming back to Russia. And wouldn't you know it? The White House is open to this idea. Nevermind that just two years ago Russia appropriated a good portion of the brands for the Fortune 100, and then took over their stores and sold them to Friends of Putiny.
nytimes.com/2025/02/19/world/e…
Russian officials are arguing that American companies stand to make billions of dollars by re-entering Russia. The White House is listening.Anton Troianovski (The New York Times)
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Now we are screwing Nepal on a large electrification grant intended to help Nepal balance China's influence.
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I am speechless.
"As far as Mr. Trump is concerned, Russia is not responsible for the war that has devastated its neighbor. Instead, he suggests that Ukraine is to blame for Russia’s invasion of it. To listen to Mr. Trump talk with reporters on Tuesday about the conflict was to hear a version of reality that would be unrecognizable on the ground in Ukraine and certainly would never have been heard from any other American president of either party.
In Mr. Trump’s telling, Ukrainian leaders were at fault for the war for not agreeing to surrender territory and therefore, he suggested, they do not deserve a seat at the table for the peace talks that he has just initiated with Mr. Putin. “You should have never started it,” Mr. Trump said, referring to Ukrainian leaders who, in fact, did not start it. “You could have made a deal.”
nytimes.com/2025/02/18/us/poli…
#USPolitcs #Trump #Ukraine #FreeArticle
As peace talks opened in Saudi Arabia, President Trump made clear that the days of isolating Russia are over and suggested that Ukraine was to blame for being invaded.Peter Baker (The New York Times)
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Imagine if we could liquidate and distribute Elon Musk’s assets…
3-year study finds MacKenzie Scott’s $19 billion in charitable giving has been ‘transformational’ for nonprofits fortune.com/2025/02/18/study-c…
#Philanthropy #MacKenzieScott #ElonMusk #DeportElonMusk
A new report analyzes data from over 1,000 organizations that have received grants from billionaire MacKenzie Scott.Alicia Adamczyk (Fortune)
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Bill Gates warns of millions of deaths if Trump and Musk don’t reinstate axed foreign aid funding
fortune.com/2025/02/18/bill-ga…
#USAid #StopTrump #StopMusk #USPol
Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates warned millions of lives are on the line if foreign aid isn't reinstated.Eleanor Pringle (Fortune)
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You know why we Germans are so pedantic about data protection? Someone around 90 years ago went through all records available, selected people with certain criteria, with the help of IBM, and then killed them all.
We don't want to be on any list.
And now the US Gov and Musk are trying to get access to all data they have about every person and put them into a big fat DB and run AI over it.
I am afraid what they will do with that.
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If you want to know what "DEI firing" leads to, look at the amazing economic powerhouse that is Afghanistan under the Taliban since 2022!
Afghanistan's version of "DEI firing" was directed against women in public life.
It was motivated by religious bigotry (like Trump's anti-DEI bullshit) and it made everything worse, including the economy.
hachyderm.io/@stevel/114021787…
"DEI firing" "A mass firing of all employees of an organisation as means of removing all employees who do not meet the criteria of "white male".Hachyderm.io
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Sensitive content
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In walking limbs, the range of motion and control decreases as you move away from the body. In limbs made for manipulation things are less consistent. The human shoulder is a lot like the coxa in ants, it allows a wide range of movements in multiple dimensions. The elbow only allows one dimension of motion.
Ants have many more joints after that but they are like a stiff chain, no fine control. However, ants can flex their claws and expand and retract their foot pads.
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Ants use their front two legs differently from the back legs. They may use these limbs to dig or hold objects in place when manipulating them with their mandibles. The coxa of the front leg is often longer while all of the other segments are shorter. Ants have a comb on their front legs which they use for grooming—
I don’t think the front legs are used for manipulation in enough ways to have that be their primary purpose but there is a distinction that makes them more like “arms”
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Can't find my video, but this one is better. It's "silver ants" or Cataglyphis bombycina
(no it's not speed up, they really move like that, when they spin in a circle they are looking for the sun so they will know how to get back to their nest. )
They use their mandible with wet soil. The "dog style" sand flicking is only for dry substrate.
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Sec State Rubio pays tribute to Holocaust victims during visit to Yad Vashem.
VPOTUS Vance meets with AfD leaders, who deny and minimize Holocaust history and rail against those who highlight Germany’s obligations and duty to remember.
POTUS floats ethnic cleansing for Gaza and forced annexation of new territories.
We are governed by a clique that pretends to respect human rights AND pretends not to pretend.
The free world will rightly turn their backs on this collapsed democracy.
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Say goodbye to the Rose Garden at Trump’s White House
dailykos.com/story/2025/2/18/2…
When President Donald Trump isn’t busy signing executive orders, gutting the federal government, or instigating trade wars, he’s taking aim at another enemy: grass.� Trump reportedly plans to ...Daily Kos
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One guy posted a panicked rant about losing his USDA job at 9 PM on Valentine’s Day after 22 years of service. He still loves Trump but desperately wants his job back.
“I voted for you, Sir, three times, and I still support you.”
Stop begging, dingus. It’s pathetic.
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We aren’t just defending the right to read anymore. We’re defending… *checks notes* facts. Great. We’re now defending facts. They’re rewriting history before our eyes and they’re conveniently leaving out anything that makes white men look bad, like slavery. We all need to have a talk with ourselves and figure out how far we are each willing to go to preserve the truth.
clarksvillenow.com/local/books…
At an elementary school at Fort Campbell, home of the 101st Airborne Division, librarians are hard at work scrubbing the shelves for books that contain references to slavery, the civil rights movement and anything else related to diversity, equity an…Chris Smith (ClarksvilleNow.com)
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The ad that the Washington Post refused to run.
If you don't have the balls to be a newspaper owner, don't.
#JeffBezos #WillLewis #WashingtonPost #WaPo #Journalism #FreePress #BoycottAmazon #BoycottWholeFoods #EatTheBillionaires #USPol
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Obviously Jeff Bezos never really understood the responsibilities & duties of the free press as an essential part of a democratically governed society.
And possibly arising conflicts of interests with his other businesses dependent on contracts with politically changing administrations.
#FreePress #UnfreePress #WaPo #JeffBezos #Cowardice #Cluelessness #Corruption #CivilCourage #Law #Justice #Freedom #Democracy #USPol #USPolitics
Seguridad! ¿Quién está ahí?
#streetphotography #photography #street #photooftheday #photo #photographer #streetart #streetstyle #picoftheday #urbanphotography #life #streetphoto #streetphotography_bw #bnw_captures #fujistas #fujifilmxt5 #lovelystreets #huelva
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It’s a shame I have neither the skill or inclination to grift as we are entering a true golden age of grifting.
*found on Reddit
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It wasn’t just a few people—it was the entire arena, sending a message loud and clear: America has lost the respect of the world.
thegodpodcast.com/p/canadians-…
Americans should envy Canadian national unity.God (Letters from God)
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My latest 'Field Notes' are out, with some of the places my adventures in sign painting have taken me recently on the world wide web.
bl.ag/fieldnotes/field-notes-f…
#FieldNotes #SignPainting #SignPainters #Lettering
Pounce wheels, backwards letters, Spanish sign painters, and more goods and goodness from the field.Better Letters (BLAG Magazine: Adventures in Sign Painting Craft, Community & Culture)
Hope so.
With the Trump tariffs planned for this Spring we can already see a slow down in the sale of American made goods.Companies like Coca Cola, McDonalds, Starbucks and AirBNB are also seeing a slow down. In the next few weeks, tourism is expected to decline as the rest of the world vacation elsewhere.
#tariffs #economy #trump #musk #MAGA #gop #LeavingMAGA #canada #mexico #china #tourism
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With the Trump tariffs planned for this Spring we can already see a slow down in the sale of American made goods.
Companies like Coca Cola, McDonalds, Starbucks and AirBNB are also seeing a slow down. In the next few weeks, tourism is expected to decline as the rest of the world vacation elsewhere.
#tariffs #economy #trump #musk #MAGA #gop #LeavingMAGA #canada #mexico #china #tourism
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Pretty morning but the wind overnight was fierce. Took down this white pine across several driveways.
Still windy — not safe for running in the woods.
Be careful, wherever you are.
#photography #photo #foto #fotografie #fotografia #running #nature #trees #morning #winter #sunshine
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Most famous as a surfing icon!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Kah…
Swimmer Duke Kahanamoku, Chicago (1918)
Photo: Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum
Elon Musk’s DOGE wants access to the tax information of every American, and Trump plans to give it to him
fortune.com/2025/02/17/elon-mu…
#StopTrumpNow #TrumpDidThis #RepublicansDidThis #RepublicansOwnThis #GOPKakistocracy #GOPWeirdos #NoRepublicansEverAgain #USPol
Elon Musk’s DOGE team is seeking access to sensitive taxpayer data held by the IRS. A 25-year-old staffer is reportedly set to gain access to it.Beatrice Nolan (Fortune)
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Bedenken Sie, dass nur 30 % der wahlberechtigten Amerikaner für Trump gestimmt haben.
Jarjantifa
in reply to God • • •en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Every_…
song
Contributors to Wikimedia projects (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.)Jens Ljungkvist
in reply to God • • •For that I’m bringing back a classic!
toots.nu/@jens/109529904364861…
Jens Ljungkvist (@jens@toots.nu)
Toots.nukasperd
in reply to God • • •OMU that's too true.
Except I thought it was more like it was ending when somebody shows up at school with a gun.
kasperd
Unknown parent • • •