pjwestin

This article covers it, but it unfortunately doesn't link to the actual poll. I first learned it from a news podcast, so I can't point you to the original source.

The largest plurality (29%) of people who voted for Biden in 2020 but stayed home in 2024 said that Gaza was their biggest reason for not voting. The Democrats aren't considering pulling their support for Israel, but they have been fighting internally over being less supportive trans people. The idea that they lost because they just wouldn't stop fighting for marginalized people is just not connected to reality, and it's very possible they'll be standing up for even less people by 2026.

Yeah, but the Wii was a very underpowered system, and it didn't even have HDMI. That transition wouldn't have been as stark going from PS3 to PS4.

I mean, the largest holodeck ship I can think of was the one from Insurrection, and that was specifically designed to secretly abduct a whole population without their knowledge. I don't think it would work for exploration or combat, just transport. I think they started incorporating holoemiters into systems on all decks by the time of the Enterprise-E, but they were supposed to be supplemental systems, not replacements.

I just don't see how these holoquarters would improve much. Like, what real-world things are you replacing? You've already said that they need to have real-world seating and beds (and I'm going to go ahead and add bathrooms to that list), so what are we phasing out? Clothes and personal effects? Sure, you can replicate a new uniform every day, but it's probably a waste of energy, and you wouldn't have space for sentimental possessions.

Being able to go on some sort if multi-player adventure sounds cool, but I think most people would prefer to able go out to a real bar with their friends rather than go to a virtual bar from their bedroom. This is starting to feel like how Zuckerberg tried to replace meeting rooms with VR meetings. I think most people would rather go to a place and see someone real face-to-face.

And holodoctor or a holographic patient interface is even more risky. Even if you assume that a holodoctor is just as good as a real doctor (and there's really only been one EMH that was), or that a holographic version of your patient is exactly like the real thing, all of the problems with holographic medicine I mentioned get even worse. Imagine being halfway through surgery when your doctor just dematerializes.

1. Energy. In TNG, the holodecks burn a lot of energy. Can't imagine what would happen if you turned every room into one.
2. The holodeck isn't a Tardis. The space inside the holodeck is an illusion created by the room. The room can make the space look infinite, and the floor can function as a hard-light treadmill that let's you explore that infinite space, but the room still needs to be large enough to accommodate all the real-world things in it. That's why they're so large in TNG and Voyager. Holo-quarters would still need to be roughly the size of regular quarters.
3. Same problem with the bar. Sure, you could make anyone's quarters look like Ten Forward, but if your quarters fit 3 people, that's how many people can drink there.
4. The sickbay would still be essential because the problem isn't medical equipment, it's staff. Unless you're going to have the medical staff running all over the ship making house calls, having that staff in a centralized location and having the crew come to them just makes more sense, especially in an emergency. Emergencies are also why that equipment should never be holographic. If the ship is under attack, the last thing you want is sickbay disappearing because of a phaser hit or having to turn off the medical equipment to power the sheilds.

Well, that's true, but the fact that he said, "I'll only do it if they air it unedited!" makes me think he thought they would say, "no," and he'd be able to decline while saving face. My gut tells me he'll make up another excuse now. I'd love to be wrong, though!

He'll find a way to back out. Musk is stupid, but not that stupid.

Everything you just said is factually incorrect. Gaetz didn't even have a confirmation. He gave up the nomination before confirmation hearings could start.

Also, you genuinely need to look up, "unanimous consent." It's a procedural method the Senate uses to speed up votes; if just one Democrat refuses to give unanimous consent to a vote, the Senate is forced to take a roll call vote and open the floor up to debate. It's one of the many procedural hurdles Democrats could be using to block Trump's agenda if they had the willpower.

The number of excuses people are willing to make for Democrats is astounding. I've been watching the Republicans obstruct the Democrats for the last sixteen years. Meanwhile, Trump has been in power for a month, and Democrats are fast-tracking his appointments, even when it's a conspiracy theorist to lead the FBI or an anti-vaxer to head HHS. They've given unanimous consent to Trump's agenda 345 times so far. You should be calling them every day and demanding they act like an actual opposition party, not justifying their collaboration with the fascists. Who knows, maybe if they show voters that they're actually willing to stand up and fight for something, they might actually win a fucking election.

Oh, no worries about my files. I have a pretty thorough backup system going back over a decade. I did a backup a little over a year ago when I bought a new laptop and stopped using the desktop. I already wiped my files this and did a full reset of Windows 10 in preparation of the Mint installation.

Yeah, I think that's about it. I think Russia has been encouraging oligarchs and mobsters to make contact with prominent Americans they thought they could influence, and a lot of those connections went nowhere. When Trump started winning the primary, Putin probably realized he could use him, so he had some oligarchs cut a deal. But this KGB agent's Facebook post about making direct contact with Trump, recruiting him as a spy, and giving him a codename, as well as his claim that he may be assassinated for sharing this? It seems like it's either some sort of disinformation campaign or just some old man embellishing a story for attention.

As someone else already said, there is functionally no difference in terms of what he's doing to our country. But if we elevate unverified nonsense about Trump being a secret sleeper agent, it makes credible evidence of Russian influence seem less credible.