Dead Ex-Presidents Hate Trump. Where The Live Ones At? Plus
Science! Why everything sucks, plus The Happiness Index plus music
Dead Ex-Presidents Hate Trump. Where The Live Ones At?
I’m not going to dwell on this because I think all the ones with a pulse suck and I’m not sure I’d want to hear from them in any event, but it does seem odd that while our most famed dead presidents are shrieking from their graves about authoritarianism, the live ones are silent.
Maybe they’re plotting a counter-coup on behalf of our raggedy little faux democracy?
Maybe they recognize that “pull up your pants and vote” is insufficient unto to the day?
Maybe they think it would be rude to comment on a colleague’s work outside the free-for-all of the campaign season?
I can see the latter better than the former two; saving one’s powder for the midterms could be a savvy move, in the event that we’re allowed to have meaningful midterms, and who knows what level of self-awareness those folks possess.
Science! Why everything sucks
Our entire universe is stuck in a beyond-supermassive black hole, is why. Maybe, anyway. Optimistically, we could be expelled from our black hole into the larger, possibly less stupid universe in which it is contained. (Unfortunately that would necessarily be as part of a super-heated gas jet.) Otherwise we’re permanently stuck in this universe in this timeline although, as my older sibling says, “permanently” might not be all that long for humans specifically.
More science!
A twin study on cognition found a link between two inexpensive dietary supplements and improved cognition in the older folk. (Disclosure: I am an older folk.) The article reporting the research uses the delightful phrase, “[t]he gut has its fingers in a lot of pies.” Well, I know mine has had.
The World Happiness Index
The annual world happiness report is out, and we here in the home of manifest destiny are not happy. Kinda surprising that we’re ranked as high as 24th, but of course the data were collected well before the current regime sank its teeth into our collective id.
Here’s a sentence from the Samafor story that struck me: “Predictably, the Nordic nations dominate the rankings, with Finland, Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden maintaining the top four spots.”
The story includes pocket descriptions of a few of the countries ranking higher than us, with robust social welfare systems featuring prominently, but it somehow does not mention the lack of same in the analysis of our woes. I’ve not read the full report yet—you can find it here—but I’m certain that lack will be a major feature in explaining our plummeting state of grace.
Music
Still vibing on The Bats: Foothills, “Another Door” official video;
Love The Bats. Also enjoying the new-to-me Lives of Angels, Hole in the Sky, “Popuar Violence.”
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Take care; be well.