#risk and work permits system

[nightingale-prompts]

Health Code Violation- DC x DP prompt

"Hold on there. You're not permitted beyond this point." The floating teenage boy said as he tucked his clipboard under his arm.

After a battle with another world-ending villain Superman was killed in action and after a short debate the decision to revive him using the Lazarus Pit was made. However, the league members who were carrying his body to the pit didn't expect it to be blocked off with caution tape. A teenage boy with stark white hair and wearing a hard hat and orange construction vest.

"What are you doing out here kid? And what is with the tape?" Barry asked shifting Clark's heavy ass body from crushing him.

"I'm here to take a look at the leak." He said pointing a thumb in the direction of the green pit.

"The leak?" Diana echoed in confusion.

"Yeah, your planet has a leak. A few actually. Our realm hasn't been managed well and now that the old king is gone we need to fix some things. Right now the leaks need to be sealed." He said. "Also what's with the dead guy?"

"We were bringing him to the Lazarus Pit to revive him." Barry said blankly.

The teen shook his head in astonishment almost dropping his clipboard.

"You are what?! With the what?!"

"The Lazarus pit...?" Hal laughed nervously his face in a half-quirked smile.

"You call it a Lazarus Pit? Guys this is a pool of contaminated ectoplasm. Basically sewage. This thing is full of dead people juice. All those leftover emotions and obsessions are stewing in there. You toss that body in these pool and you'll make a revenant full of anger. It doesn't even have an ecosystem to cleanse it. It's like stagnant water." The teen said waving his pen around before pausing "Wait a minute....you people have been using it? No wonder it's so polluted! What is wrong with you?! Are you trying to contaminate your planet? Do you want zombies?"

It was kind of weird to be scolded by a kid, for everyone but Bruce. He thought of a more pragmatic approach. He didn't like the pit but he acknowledged it's usefulness.

"I understand. But we do want to save our friend and the only way is to use the pit."

"That's a big ask. The pit is one thing but bringing back the dead willy nilly? ...But I guess that's my domain now.. "

The teen mumbled to himself before sighing.

"Look, I want to help. I really do. But the pit is unstable and there are many more on this planet with the same issue. We can't risk an apocalypse and the chance they get into the wrong hands. This is for the safety of your planet." The teen said as mannerly as possible as he dismissed the heros.

"Come on, please. Our friend is dead. You don't want our friend to die." Barry said pleadingly.

"Very mature of you. A bit of shame might help you...alright fine but don't badger me again." The silver-haired being said taking out a small syringe and taking a sample of his own blood.

"It's diluted compared to the pure stuff but 10x stronger than the stuff in the pool. It's safer and once he's kicking again it'll drain out of his system." He tossed the needle to Barry and returned to taking samples of the pit. "This biohazard requires an ecologist. I'll have to import some blob feeders to clean up the toxins. Then either seal this up or link it to the network. But these dumb mortals are just going to keep dumping bodies into it."

The teen mumbled to himself as he tried to find a solution.

A week later all the Lazarus pits had disappeared. The Al Ghuls were scrambling as the source of their powers dried up.

Clark was alive and feeling better than ever. No pit rage at all.

Eventually the boy returned.

"I had a talk with the ancients and they agreed to let you have one ecto pool. Only one thought and it has to be managed by me. As long as you don't try abusing it by going into it while alive or not asking permission I'll allow you to use it. Also, be mindful of my cleaning wisps, they work very hard to keep the natural flow of the ecto cycle going." The teen said holding up a green little ghost blob and petting it.

[globalnewscollective]

The U.S. Department of Education Is Collapsing—Here’s What That Means for You

If you're in high school, college, grad school, or you owe student loans. Listen to this. It concerns you. This isn't a drill, and I want you to stick around to the end. I'll tell you exactly how it's going to impact you.

The U.S. Department of Education is going to lay off half of its more than 4,000 employees today, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. Earlier today, the department told staff that DC offices would be closed on Wednesday and they would reopen on Thursday for security reasons. Employees were told to take their laptops home with them and to work remotely on Wednesday. They were also told that they would not be permitted in any education department facility on Wednesday for any reason.

Now combine this with the news that Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order directing the Secretary of Education to take steps to close the department. Maybe you think that it's not going to matter to you, but it does.

The Department of Education allocates billions of dollars in aid to colleges, to universities and to public schools at the K through 12 level. It also issues about $100 billion in student loans and more than $30 billion in Pell grants every single year. Cutting 50% of the staff makes it more likely that colleges, universities, and K through 12 schools won't receive their institutional aid. Pell grants may not be issued. Student loans may not be funded. FAFSA information may not be sent to your school, which means that other aid may also be held up. Without that money, millions of students won't be able to start next semester on time, or maybe not at all. Colleges may not have the funds necessary to remain operational. Student loan repayment plans will expire. Forgiveness applications won't be processed. The entire system is collapsing in real time, and nobody knows what happens next.

What’s Happening?

The U.S. Department of Education is experiencing massive cuts, leading to fears of widespread disruptions in student aid, school funding, and loan services. This move comes as part of a broader effort by conservatives to dismantle federal oversight in education, pushing responsibilities to individual states. With over 2,000 employees being laid off and the department’s ability to operate severely weakened, the ripple effects will be felt nationwide.

How This Affects You

Student Loans & Financial Aid: The Department of Education is responsible for distributing federal student aid, including Pell Grants, subsidized loans, and debt forgiveness programs. With half the workforce gone, these processes will slow to a crawl, leaving students unsure if they’ll receive their expected financial support.

Public School Funding: Many K-12 schools rely on federal funds to support special education programs, free and reduced lunch initiatives, and low-income student services. The disruption of these funds could devastate public school districts already struggling with tight budgets.

FAFSA & College Admissions: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a crucial step for students seeking tuition assistance. Without proper staffing, FAFSA applications may be delayed, and students could face uncertainty about their tuition costs.

School Closures & Higher Tuition: Colleges and universities that depend on federal funding to operate may be forced to raise tuition, cut programs, or even shut down entirely. Students at risk of losing their financial aid may drop out or delay their education indefinitely.

Why Is This Happening?

Trump and his allies have long pushed for the elimination of the Department of Education, arguing that education should be handled at the state level without federal oversight. This latest move to slash the department’s workforce is a step toward that goal. Trump’s expected executive order would accelerate this process, stripping the agency of its power to distribute funds, regulate schools, and enforce civil rights protections for students.

The Bigger Picture

This isn’t just a bureaucratic reshuffle—it’s an attack on the foundations of accessible education in America. The Department of Education exists to ensure that all students, regardless of income or background, have access to quality education. Its dismantling would disproportionately harm marginalized communities, lower-income students, and those relying on federal aid to pursue their education.

What Can You Do?

Stay informed and share this information with those affected.

Call your representatives and demand action to prevent further cuts.

Support organizations that advocate for student rights and education funding.

Vote in upcoming elections to hold policymakers accountable.

This isn’t a drill. The dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education is happening in real-time, and its consequences will be felt for years to come. If we don’t take action now, an entire generation’s access to education could be at risk.

[najia-cooks]

[ID: A purplish-grey stew topped with olive oil and garnished with piles of pomegranate seeds. Plates of green peppers, bitter olives, olive oil, taboon bread, green onions, radishes, and za'tar surround the dish. The second image is a close-up of the same stew. End ID]

رمانية / Rummāniyya (Palestinian pomegranate stew)

Rummaniyya (رُمَّانِيَّة; also transliterated "rumaniyya," "rummaniya," and "rummaniyeh") is a Palestinian stew or dip made from lentils, eggplant, and pomegranate seeds, flavored with nutty red tahina and a zesty, spicy دُقَّة (dugga) of dill seeds, garlic, and peppers. A طشة (ṭsha), or tempering, of olive oil and onion or garlic is sometimes added.

"Rummaniyya," roughly "pomegranate-y," comes from رُمَّان‎ ("rummān") "pomegranate," plus the abstract noun suffix ـِيَّة ("iyya"); the dish is also known as حبّة رُمَّانَة ("ḥabbat rommāna"), or "pomegranate seeds." It is a seasonal dish that is made at the end of summer and the beginning of fall, when pomegranates are still green, unripe, and sour.

This stew is considered to be one of the most iconic, historic, and beloved of Palestinian dishes by people from Gaza, Yaffa, and Al-Ludd. Pomegranates—their seeds, their juice, and a thick syrup made from reducing the juice down—are integral to Palestinian cuisine and heritage, and images of them abound on ceramics and textiles. Pomegranates and their juice are sold from street carts and cafes in the West Bank and Gaza.

Today, tens of thousands of tons of pomegranates are grown and harvested by Israeli farmers on stolen Palestinian farmland; about half of the crop is exported, mainly to Europe. Meanwhile, Palestinians have a far easier time gaining permits to work on Israeli-owned farms than getting permission from the military to work land that is ostensibly theirs. These restrictions apply within several kilometers of Israel's claimed borders with Gaza and the West Bank, some of the most fertile land in the area; Palestinian farmers working in this zone risk being injured or killed by military fire.

Israel further restricts Palestinians' ability to work their farms and export crops by imposing tariffs, unexpectedly closing borders, shutting down and contaminating water supplies, spraying Palestinian crops with pesticides, bulldozing crops (including eggplant) when they are ready to be harvested, and bombing Palestinian farmland and generators. Though Palestinian goods have local markets, the sale of Palestinian crops to Israel was forbidden from 2007 to 2014 (when Israel accepted shipments of goods including tomato and eggplant).

Gazans have resisted these methods by disregarding orders to avoid the arable land near Israel's claimed borders, continuing to forage native plants, growing new spices and herbs for export, planting hydroponic rooftop gardens, crushing chalk and dried eggplants to produce calcium for plants, using fish excrement as fertilizer, creating water purification systems, and growing plants in saltwater. Resisting Israeli targeting of Palestinian food self-sufficiency has been necessary for practical and economic reasons, but also symbolizes the endurance of Palestinian culture, history, and identity.

Support Palestinian resistance by calling Elbit System's (Israel's primary weapons manufacturer) landlord; donating to Palestine Action's bail fund; and buying an e-Sim for distribution in Gaza.

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients:

For the stew:

1 medium eggplant (370g)

1 cup brown lentils (عدس اسود)

600g pomegranate seeds (to make 3 cups juice)

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1/4 cup red tahina

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt, to taste

Citric acid (ملح الليمون / حامِض ليمون) (optional)

Red tahina may be approximated with home cooking tools with the above-linked recipe; you may also toast white tahina in a skillet with a little olive oil, stirring often, until it becomes deeply golden brown.

For the دُقَّة (dugga / crushed condiment):

2 tsp cumin seeds, or ground cumin

1 1/2 Tbsp dill seeds ("locust eye" بذور الشبت / عين جرادة)

5 cloves garlic

1 green sweet pepper (فلفل بارد اخضر)

2 dried red chilis (فلفل شطة احمر)

People use red and green sweet and chili peppers in whatever combination they have on hand for this recipe; e.g. red and green chilis, just green chilis, just red chilis, or just green sweet peppers. Green sweet peppers and red chilis are the most common combination.

For the طشة (Tsha / tempering) (optional):

Olive oil

1 Tbsp minced garlic

Instructions:

1. Rinse and pick over lentils. In a large pot, simmer lentils, covered, in enough water to cover for about 8 minutes, or until half-tender.

2. Meanwhile, make the dugga by combining all ingredients in a mortar and pestle or food processor, and grinding until a coarse mixture forms.

Dugga and components.

3. Cube eggplant. A medium-sized eggplant may be cut in half lengthwise (through the root), each half cut into thirds lengthwise, then cubed widthwise.

Cubed eggplant, red tahina, and pomegranate seeds.

4. Add eggplant to simmering water (there is no need to stir).

5. While the eggplant cooks, blend pomegranate seeds in a blender very thoroughly. Strain to remove any gritty residue. Whisk flour into pomegranate juice.

Pomegranate juice being strained.

6. Taste your pomegranate juice. If it is not sour, add a pinch of citric acid or a splash of lemon juice and stir.

7. Add dagga to the pot with the lentils and eggplant and stir. Continue to simmer until the eggplant is very tender and falling apart.

8. Add pomegranate juice, tahina, and olive oil to the pot, and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until stew is very thick and homogenous.

Bright pink pomegranate juice in stockpot.

9. (Optional) In a small skillet, heat a little olive oil on medium. Fry minced garlic, stirring constantly, until golden brown. Add into the pot and stir.

10. (Optional) Mash the stew with the bowl of a ladle or a bean masher to produce a more homogenous texture.

Serve rummaniyya hot or cold in individual serving bowls. It may be served as an appetizer, or as a main dish alongside flatbread, olives, and fresh vegetables such as radishes, green peppers, green onions, carrots, and romaine lettuce. It may be eaten with a spoon, or by using كماج (kmāj), a flatbread with an internal pocket, to scoop up each bite.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

A lot has happened this week. On Tuesday, April 1st, several hundred people woke up to an email letting us know we’d lost our jobs working for the federal government. I never believed the claims from the administration that it would only be “waste” that would’ve been eliminated, but after the promises that scientists would be safe I didn’t expect to immediately lose my job on a random Tuesday at 5:10 AM. Since that moment, I have cycled through anger and sadness and grief, knowing that what we worked so hard to achieve is gone forever.

I am a West Virginia girl, through and through. I grew up here. I attended West Virginia University for undergrad and my PhD. When I finished my PhD in Immunology and Microbiology in 2021, I immediately started working at CDC NIOSH in Morgantown, as an Associate Service Fellow. NIOSH was founded to understand diseases that were being seen in coal miners, and as a West Virginian the importance of protecting worker safety is something that you understand really young and really personally. I was beyond thrilled to find an opportunity to use my doctoral education in my home state, conducting research that directly benefits American workers and helps our people live safer, healthier lives. I have been with NIOSH since 2021, working in the building every day as a scientist, studying how exposure to particles and microbes interacts with immune systems.

The type of research that we were doing is not being done anywhere else in the world. And now it’s not being done at all.

We were permitted to come in and gather our belongings, but our building is left vacant, and for what? We have backlogs of samples we were unable to process because of purchasing freezes since January. My data, which is really data that belongs to the American people, is sitting in files that I can only assume will be deleted at the earliest convenience of the administration. We are grieving the senseless loss of our laboratory animals, euthanized because we can’t finish studies. Their lives ended without cause, exacting further torment on the scientists that value animal life so deeply, a core principle held in all animal research. The cruelty and waste in the administration’s plan to “reduce redundancy and government waste” is disgusting and offensive.

What scares me now is not my own job security or what’s next for my career. It’s not what happens next for me as an individual, or even the impact on the larger scientific community, but the ripple that will impact every single American and American worker. Without NIOSH to study the effects of occupational safety and health risks or to study the health hazards that appear and grow and evolve every day, who is going to do that? Who is going to care about the American worker in a way that’s not biased by a company’s bottom line? Who is going to certify respirators and masks? We don’t know. And maybe the answer is no one. That is what scares me most.

[Catherine Blackwood]

+

This is so many kinds of devastating and a microcosm of what the 47 crew are doing.

[Rebecca Solnit] 

[notasapleasure]

It's not just the in with an alibi out with an alibi thing for me (and hoo boy when you put it like that doesn't the writing of the scene in S2 look even ropier) but there's something in it about the way the system keeps tabs on people and how it uses this to make those who move around vulnerable.

What's at risk in both cases is their legitimacy in the system: Cassian's Festian identity (what is that if not his own fake visa) and Brasso and the Ferrixians's lack of documents for Mina Rau.

Luckily for Cassian, when he's challenged on it, he's among a tight knit community that rallies round - sure it took the deliberate actions of one of them to rat him out, but Ferrix still looks after its own, and those it's adopted as its own.*

On Mina Rau, although the locals do try to look after the Ferrixians, it's not as close-knit a community (people are spread out, even Talia has only been there eight years, maybe the city is different, but in the fields things are more disconnected). They have no mechanism in place for hiding people from the census because the census wasn't a threat before. Ferrix, on the other hand, was used to threats.

They know that running is what's getting people arrested in the other districts. They can try to make plans so it looks like they're not running. But in the end there's no choice.

When Brasso comes up with an alibi for Cassian and takes out the corpo pilot he's helping Cass to get away with murder; when he lies to take the heat off Kellen and runs for the speeder he's done nothing, and all Kellen's done is change some dates on a work permit.

When Keef Girgo runs in S1 he's picked up and thrown in jail. When Brasso runs in S2 he's gunned down by half a garrison.

I also keep thinking about how their downfall on Mina Rau is in some senses a result of the community they're seeking out. Kellen runs the store, he's the hub and the heart of the local area - it makes sense to befriend him, he'll have the best intel, he knows everyone, he can help you move around and make sure you get credit when you need it. Unfortunately, by living in such close proximity to the store, they're on the radar of the census takers before they need to be, and Lieutenant SA (does he have a name? Do I care?) sees Bix and determines to come back for her no matter what.

I don't really have a conclusion to these thoughts. The show made its points about the hypocrisy of the visa system pretty clear, after all. Just pulling at a few more threads here and seeing how they come together.

-

*I think the Ferrixian attitude to Cassian is generally 'yes he's a lying cheating shitbag but he's OUR lying cheating shitbag and if someone else kills him/locks him up we're never getting paid'.

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #60 – Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World by Henry Grabar

This is a book I heard about because the cranky old communist who runs the local daily paper recommended it in some editorial I’ve long since forgotten the actual point of. Which is generally a very high-risk way to get book recommendations, but in this case it worked out! Though I came into this as the friendliest possible audience for the arguments Grabar is trying to make, so I’m genuinely not that sure how convincing a work it is for a less sympathetic reader. It is at least full of fun and somewhat memorable anecdotes.

The book is about, well, (almost) exactly what it says on the tin – the economics and politics and logistics of parking infrastructure in American cities. Specifically, how it is an all-consuming, economy-warping, environment-destroying, city-killing cancer that is the primary causes of decaying urban cores and the lack of affordable housing in gentrifying neighborhoods. The book is loosely organized, with each different chapter approaching the question of and ills caused by parking from a slightly different angle, or considering the history and psychology that has made it such a mighty force, or showing case studies of how different places have started fixing it.

The two main thrusts of the book are a) parking as an un- (which is to say privately-) regulated privilege and entitlement which the great mass of the American public expects to be provided for free (or for an at-most nominal fee) wherever they happen to want to go and b) parking as possibly the least efficient use of developed real estate in the world, and one that absolutely dominates most American cities.

The latter is a bit less interesting to me, just because it’s broadly things I either already knew or could have pretty quickly puzzled out from what I do. It’s still quite well-presented, and quite rage-inducing – the number of square miles of space set aside for the sole use of free parking on every urban street, the eye-watering amount of money cities spend and give up in revenue to subsidize driving and parking, the hundreds of thousands of units of housing whose economics don’t pencil out because of mandatory parking minimums or that are killed by neighbors and ‘community engagement’ out of (ostensible) concern over their effect on parking availability in the neighborhood, and so on. It’s all well-told, but none of it’s exactly groundbreaking (which Grabar is entirely forthright about, to be clear. A large chunk of the book is combination synopsis and advertisement for the older and more more rigorous The High Cost of Free Parking, also cited as one of the main reference texts).

The former is much more interesting reading for me, just because (as a lifelong and involuntary non-driver) the psychology of it is just a bit foreign to me. The sheer fact that so much parking is both free and unregulated means that instead of market pricing or government permitting all manner of fascinatingly dysfunctional private systems to allocate and ration it out develop instead. Fist fights and murders over stolen parking spots, the self-proclaimed vigilantes patrolling condo parking lots for anyone overstaying their welcome, outright criminal conspiracies and organized violence between ice cream truck companies over poaching each others most lucrative routes – many less morbid and attention-getting things too, to be fair, but it’s still all just fascinating. And if ‘explains the world’ is a bit much, does function as an excellent window into a great many neuroses and dysfunctions of American public life.

One of the points the book repeatedly hammers home is that ‘parking shortages’ are, except in a few extremely select neighborhoods, basically a myth. The parking is almost always there – the average American city has more free or subsidized parking spaces and lots than are filled (at least) 360 days of the year. Drivers just expect parking that is simultaneously no more than a couple blocks from their destination, available the moment they pull up, and (almost) free. Garages go half empty while thousands of road-miles are driven every month circling blocks looking for free spots – terrible for the climate, for the roads being driven on, and for traffic and the utility of driving through the city in the first place. Reducing or eliminating free curbside parking (either charging market-clearing rates, or using the real estate for loading zones or patio seating or any of a thousand other things that serve more people in a period than the same amount of parking) thus often makes traffic better, not worse.

This is very much a book written by a journalist rather than an academic, for both good and ill – not that it doesn’t seem densely researched or well-cited (the endnotes run north of 50 pages), but there’s definitely a prioritization of being approachable and readable over being detailed or rigorous. Hence every chapter having at least one and usually several interviews or deeply characterized anecdotes there to be case studies and examples. Sometimes this anecdotes are incredibly interesting and something I’d probably read a book entirely devoted to – the above mentioned New York City ice cream truck feuds, or the fascinatingly blatant and eye-popping amount of corruption around parking ticketing and violations also in NYC, or how the city of Chicago sold the right to operate all its parking meters through the end of the century to Morgan Stanley – but just as (if not more) often it’s just a few pages sketching a sympathetic portrait and life story of someone suffering the travails of some aspect of parking infrastructure so the reader will have someone to empathize with as the problem is described. A trick that does start t get old the more often it’s repeated.

The book’s long digressions into history were (perhaps unsurprisingly) more interesting for me than the contemporary anecdotes. Partially just because the evolution of things like the car garage and how public streets are conceived of is always interesting to learn more about, and partially because of just how long we have at this point known about things like ‘induced demand’ and the various morbid inefficiencies of car-first, -only and -always culture. Literally generations! It's bleak.

Though having said that, this was funnily enough one of the only works of nonfiction I can remember reading in a long, long time that ended on a positive note in a way that didn’t sound like transparent cope. As is mandatory in all works of pop-sociology, -economics or -poli-sci, this one also ends in a chapter or two of examples of Doing It Right and ways society can fix itself going forward. Grabar just actually weaves together a narrative through most of the book of a slowly-increasing pushback and growing political coalitions who are (in the book’s framing) more interested in cheaper housing and more usable public space than traffic jams and parking lots. The COVID lockdowns and sudden need for as much outdoor space as possible – leading to parking lots being repurposed as church pews, curbside parking as patio seating, and a dozen other things – serve as a case in point. The book ends reiterating the point that the USA’s most desirable and expensive neighbourhoods are very often the ones that are dense and walkable enough (and/or sufficiently well-served by public transit) to comfortably live in without owning a car, and the confident belief that such neighbourhoods are only going to grow more common.

All that said, Grabar’s actually much more sympathetic to the pro-car, pro-parking viewpoint than most authors or pundits I have seen make similar points are. Sometimes to a mildly cringe-inducing ‘no don’t run, I promise I’m normal like you!’ way, being entirely honest. But then, one can at least hope that it helps the book actually function as a persuasive text instead of so much elegant preaching to the choir.

[ficoandleo]

The comical realization that the only houses in which the captain and vice captain both probably mostly do their jobs are Hotarubi and Vagastrom.

You might think Leo would refuse all the administrative work but Leo's big into fucking up the powerful systems in place--his pre-prologue dialogue about making the people responsible for making the life suck pay suggests as much. He would approve lower ranking missions so Vagastrom students can actually go outside now and then, even though Alan/Dante wouldn't approve permits. Hell in Chapter 8 he refuses to let the PC have the document they were asking for because it was their only copy and it'd be a problem if they lost it--so he made them copies instead. He seems like he wouldn't because he's selfish, but I really think he would do his job as vice captain if it came up, or if it seemed like Alan was struggling with the load. Or if the general students were too afraid of Alan to get his help and they found him much less intimidating to ask for things.

You might think 'what about Mortkranken' but either Yuri would push everything off onto Jiro because it's not worth his valuable research time, or he wouldn't let Jiro handle anything because 'you don't understand how to do this'(or because one time Jiro abruptly got sick all over very important paperwork and he'd rather not risk that again.)

Every other house? Either the captain does everything(Jabberwock) or the vice captain does everything(Frostheim; Sinostra; Obscuary.) Hell even in Hotarubi, Subaru tries to do a lot of the work but Haku takes it upon himself anyway, but at least he's willing.

[ardhasneoehs]

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[carionto]

Too tough for paradise

One peculiar side effect of Humans hailing from a Deathworld is that their biological well-being is partly dependent on some degree of microscopic hostility from the environment and what they consume.

It is normal among most species that, should their surroundings change to more hospitable conditions, their minds and bodies would feel relief and be under less stress. However, as with any changes, if they deviate too far too quickly from their normal, you risk damage from a sudden shock to the system.

___________________________

Abigail "Abby" Hostaz had been legally grounded by the Gyin-Trov due to her, ahem, "expansion of business" without the right permits. Not that she bothered to learn that nobody outside Human controlled space in the Galactic Coalition would allow the creation of a deadly asteroid race track AND let sentient beings directly pilot ships through it.

Hell, finding an Alien crazy enough to partake in an activity even most Humans consider insane is one in a trillion. She still did find seven non-Humans, so that math actually is within a reasonable margin. Everything else is not reasonable.

The local Gyin-Trov government learned of the true nature of her activities when a rogue asteroid suddenly appeared on their threat detection systems. The unnatural change of course quickly pointed to where she had set up her latest "thrill track", which the authorities rapidly dismantled, impounded her vessel, named "Victor", and put her under house arrest in the Human embassy awaiting the conclusion of the investigation and subsequent trial.

While station based embassies are effectively fully contained perfect habitats for the respective species, planet based ones tend to adopt a lot of the local elements and integrate what they can simply due to proximity and availability.

Humans, the resourceful buggers that they are, used everything the planet had to offer (that wasn't outright lethal to Humans, which in the case of the Gyin-Trov homeworld were only a few pollen producing crops found in the poles of the planet).

A combination of a almost perfect temperature range (near constant lows of 14C at night, highs of 21C mid-day), slightly higher moisture levels, and bio-engineered local flora that made the water into this somewhat thicker soup containing virtually every nutrient, vitamin and mineral a carbon-based lifeform could ever want, leaving little for the digestive system to tackle. Heck, just being within a field of such plants lets the body absorb everything for healthy survival.

In short, the Gyin-Trov homeworld, also named Gyin-Trov, is as close to Utopia as you can get.

Aaaaaaand Abby is not having a fun time there.

It's not like she was imprisoned - she was allowed to wander around the city and surrounding area under light supervision, she even had her cat, Hector, with her. But there just wasn't enough excitement to be found anywhere.

They had arcades and various physical activities, but she never felt her body grow tired after hours of competitive gaming and contests. No feeling of hunger or exhaustion ever disturbed her focus. The only thing that kept Abby from becoming, essentially, a zombie perpetually engaged in whatever activity was most fun at the moment was the inherent nature of the Human brain - it gets... wobbly after a while and needs sleep.

Not even a week had passed and people noticed Abby had become... different. No strong reactions to anything, no outbursts of some crazy ideas, just a general positive but not quite cheerful apathy. The Human ambassadors had experienced a much milder version of this, and it is theorized that they did not deem it as concerning due to the simple fact the ambassadors always had something to do, and more importantly - something that put their minds, if not bodies, to the test. Regular challenges, worries, and stress from work in general kept them on edge in some ways.

Abby was just waiting around, "put on vacation" as one of the ambassadors had put it. After a couple of more days of this peace, she seemed more like a automaton than anything else. Mindlessly going from place to place, trying out whatever activities were available, but clearly none offered anything close to the level of excitement and danger she had grown so used to. Not even the flawed thirty year old Human body she was in offered any surprises or discomforts.

Everything was just perfectly fine.

When the paperwork finally cleared and she was issued a fine and formally banned from engaging in any construction efforts in Gyin-Trov controlled space, she was reunited with Victor, and the personality changes she had undergone during her short time were seemingly instantly reversed.

Once she was in her ship and the self-diagnostics showed a few blinking lights, Abby immediately became energized and took action. Breathing in the recycled air with a hint of dry rust made that old bruise on her right side make itself known again. She pulled an all-nighter making repairs and "adjustments" to Victor and collapsed from exhaustion on the hard floor.

The next day, she was already near the border to neutral space when she noticed a dwarf planet with a rock formation in the shape of a trebuchet (very vaguely, if you squint really, really hard, and imagine half of the parts), and that gave her an idea.

All the while, Hector the cat did not exhibit any noticeable changes during his stay with Abby on Gyin-Trov. Maybe just a few more hours of sleep per day than normal.

[personalmoshiakh]

so i've been reading The Comfort of the Knife, this one Western xianxia revenge story — Western as in, Anglophone and set in the West. The system and setting are derived from several different traditions, however, and i'm like, hesitant to really pin it down regionally. CotK leans quite a lot on mystical traditions though, which i find really cool.

the chief conceit as far as power sources go is that everyone on Earth can make a contract with an Entity from the realm of ideas. humans have carefully categorized the various Entities into Courts, of course, and each Court has a hierarchy, because well, of course — humans have an unfortunate tendency to see three sets at different heights and assume that obviously the most important person should be standing on the highest one. and then sometimes they'll go and find a Most Important Person, too.

but what i wanna talk about is actually an Entity we meet in Chapter 2:

“Settle down,” Mrs. Fizeri said. Her voice wobbled as if underwater. A sign that she had exerted an edict over the room. One of the sorceries she possessed due to her entity being from the Court of Tyrants. My eyes leaned toward it, a child-sized stele with a relief of a six-eyed bull’s face carved into its lapis surface. One of its eyes opened and held all us all in its gaze. Ready to spot—and punish—any who refused to settle and thus denied the edict she set. “Now, I know that what has happened to our town is shocking and appalling. No doubt you all have questions, but your desire to make sense of this will not come at the loss of the peace in this classroom. Nor will you deny Ms. Temple’s own peace,” she then turned to me, “I do apologize for my rudeness when I walked in. Are you well?” I shrugged, “Who can say? All I know is I just want to finish out the year. Not much time left.”

this bull. this bull is what sold me on the story and i'm still rotating the bull in my head occasionally.

and like ... recently, as i've been reading Dr Susan A. Handelman's The Slayers of Moses, i've been able to start articulating just how the many implications of and possibilities opened up by the bull Entity contracting with a high school teacher (a competent and good teacher, too).

a brief aside about Dr Handelman's characterisation of the Rabbinical mode of interpretation —interpretation without a firm word/object distinction, where a word doesn't point towards an abstracted single Truth but has multiple non-exclusive, non-competing meanings. i suggest reading The Slayers of Moses for the full context on how that all relates to late 20th century critical theory and literary criticism, if you're curious. but the thing is, The Comfort of the Knife as a text is especially good for that whole register of interpretative approaches.

let's talk about the many things the bull is, in this scene, using an approach that's loosely modeled on Dr Handelman's framing of Rabbinical etymological/philological interpretations. i say "loosely" because i can't really do the etymological unfolding of meanings with English, it only works with Afro-Semitic languages (Hebrew, Arabic, Ge'ez, Aramaic, Amharic, etc.).

the bull is a bull, a dangerous and willful animal. the bull is a tyrant, at the head of the class, watching. the bull is a Royal Bull, the Golden Calf, a misjudged way of showing reverence. the bull is itself a judge, in its role as tyrant. this is a world where things and words are intertwined, objectively, so the fact there's a tyrant bull in the fucking classroom says a lot about the society that would permit it, right? but—

the bull is also an Entity the teacher chose and bargained with. the bull isn't just about the inescapable risks of the teaching profession, or the petty tyranny of pedagogues, it's also about a society that is willing to consider edge cases and take risks on people who aren't doing things "the way they're done".

and on top of all of that, the teacher isn't awful but she's also just good and competent and effective in a regular way. she's not Nadia's mentor. she doesn't need to be exceptional to be permitted in the classroom. a regular competent teacher is trusted despite having an Entity from the Court of Tyrants. the world is adaptable. the society has neutered tyrants.

and then the teacher, like, what's her story? or the Entity itself, what it implies about the Court of Tyranny, if it's content to bargain with a student teacher. etc.

there's so much just in that one thing of a teacher with an Entity from the Court of Tyrants. this is like, such a fantastic moment but it's not even the best moment that really shows off the dense layering of potential meanings and interpretations, none of which seek to annihilate each other's source of meaning — even when they come into conflict! it's just the earliest such moment that i've latched on to.

really, really cannot overstate how much i'm into the story and the world.

you guys should go read it. for real.

[mariacallous]

At first, she didn’t think much about the Nicaraguan asylum-seekers who began moving into town a few years ago. Rosa was an immigrant too, one of the many undocumented Mexican immigrants who’d settled nearly 30 years ago in Whitewater, a small university town in southeast Wisconsin.

Some of the Nicaraguans had found housing in Rosa’s neighborhood, a trailer park at the edge of town. They sent their children to the same public schools. And they got jobs in the same factories and food-processing facilities that employed many of Rosa’s friends and relatives.

Then Rosa realized that many of the newcomers with ongoing asylum cases could apply for work permits and driver’s licenses — state and federal privileges that are unavailable to undocumented immigrants. Rosa’s feelings of indifference turned to frustration and resentment.

“It’s not fair,” said Rosa, who works as a janitor. “Those of us who have been here for years get nothing.”

Her anger is largely directed at President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party for failing to produce meaningful reforms to the immigration system that could benefit people like her. In our reporting on the new effects of immigration, ProPublica interviewed dozens of long-established Latino immigrants and their U.S.-born relatives in cities like Denver and Chicago and in small towns along the Texas border. Over and over, they spoke of feeling resentment as they watched the government ease the transition of large numbers of asylum-seekers into the U.S. by giving them access to work permits and IDs, and in some cities spending millions of dollars to provide them with food and shelter.

...

Among those residents is one of Rosa’s friends and neighbors who asked to be identified by one of her surnames, Valadez, because she is undocumented and fears deportation. A single mother who cleans houses and buildings for a living, Valadez makes extra money on the side by driving immigrants who don’t have cars to and from work and to run errands. It’s a risky side hustle, though, because she’s frequently been pulled over and ticketed by police for driving without a license, costing her thousands of dollars in fines.

One day two summers ago, one of her sons found a small purse at a carnival in town. Inside they found a Wisconsin driver’s license, a work permit issued to a Nicaraguan woman and $300 in cash. Seeing the contents filled Valadez with bitterness. She asked her son to turn in the purse to the police but kept the $300. “I have been here for 21 years,” she said. “I have five children who are U.S. citizens. And I can’t get a work permit or a driver’s license.”

When she told that story to Rosa one afternoon this spring, her friend nodded emphatically in approval. Rosa, like Valadez, couldn’t vote. But two of Rosa’s U.S.-born children could, and they cast ballots for Trump. One of Rosa’s sons even drives a car with a bumper sticker that says “Let’s Go Brandon” — a popular anti-Biden slogan.

Rosa said she is glad her children voted for Trump. She’s not too worried about deportation, although she asked to be identified solely by her first name to reduce the risk. She believes Trump wants to deport criminals, not people like her who crossed the border undetected in the 1990s but haven’t gotten in trouble with the law. “They know who has been behaving well and who hasn’t been,” she said.

...

Mike Madrid, a Republican strategist, said it’s wishful thinking to believe Trump will give any special treatment to undocumented immigrants who have been living and working in the U.S. for a long time. But he’s heard that sentiment among Latino voters in focus groups.

“They believe that they are playing by the rules and that they will be rewarded for it,” Madrid said. “Republicans have never been serious about legal migration, let alone illegal migration. They’re allowing themselves to believe that for no good reason.”

...

Some of the Haitian migrants were eventually deported; others were allowed into the U.S. to pursue asylum claims and given notices to appear in court in a backlogged immigration system that can take years to resolve a case. “That to me is offensive for those who have been living here for more than 10 years and haven’t been able to adjust their status,” Garza Castillo said.

He hopes Trump seizes on the opportunity to expand support from Latino voters by creating a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who’ve been here for years. “If he does that,” he said, “I think the Republican Party will be strong here for a long time.”

Immigrants’ Resentment Over New Arrivals Helped Boost Trump’s Popularity With Latino Voters

[notwiselybuttoowell]

In the mountains of Transylvania, a Canadian company makes plans for a vast gold and silver mine. The proposal – which involves razing four mountain tops – sparks a national outcry, and the Romanian government pulls its support.

After protests from local communities, the Italian government bans drilling for oil within 12 miles of its shoreline. A UK fossil fuel firm has to dismantle its oilfield.

Beneath the grey whales and sea turtles of Mexico’s gulf, an underwater exploration company gets a permit to explore a huge phosphate deposit. Before it can begin, Mexico withdraws the permit, saying the ecosystem is “a natural treasure” that could be threatened by mining

Such cases appear to be part of the bread and butter of governments – updating environmental laws or responding to voter pressure. But every time, the company involved sued the government for lost profits and often, they won (Romania prevailed in its case, Italy and Mexico were forced to pay out).

They are among more than 1,400 cases analysed by the Guardian from within the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) system, a set of private courts in which companies can sue countries for billions. There have been long-held concerns about ISDS creating “regulatory chill” – where governments are scared off action on nature loss and the climate crisis by legal risks. Now, government ministers from a range of countries have confirmed to the Guardian that this “chilling” is already in effect – and that fear of ISDS suits is actively shaping environmental laws and regulations.

In April 2018, New Zealand banned new offshore oil exploration projects, but stopped short of an outright ban or revoking existing concession. James Shaw, who was climate minister at the time, said it was because of the risk of being sued by foreign oil and gas companies. “When we implemented the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration, we had to construct that incredibly carefully in order to avoid the risk of litigation. The way that we did that was to leave existing permits in place,” he said. As a result, New Zealand was unable to be a full member of the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance.

Toby Landau, who has been a leading arbitration lawyer for 30 years, said acting in accordance with the Paris agreement could result in “very significant claims” for countries. He said: “It matters hugely because of the climate emergency that we are in – we’ve got an imperative under the Paris agreement to act quickly and decisively.”

The idea that this does not create a chilling effect is an “outdated and inaccurate view”. He says: “My impression from working closely with governments is that ISDS is now increasingly on their radar, that is it’s increasingly an issue for them to consider: whether implementing a particular policy might give rise to claims.

“We’re left with two regimes that conflict: the Paris agreement requires (broadly) that fossil fuels be phased out, and the ISDS regime provides guarantees for investors that protect their investment – even if it is a fossil fuel investment. That’s the conflict – it’s as simple as that.”

Rob Davies, who was minister of trade and industry of South Africa from 2009 to 2019, withdrew the country from a number of treaties with ISDS clauses from 2013 onwards. He says ISDS posed “significant risk” to the government’s legislation.

“Companies have got the right to challenge any policy … that will impact their expectation of profitability in the future, no matter what the regulation is, no matter what its motivation is, no matter how well designed it is or anything,” he says. Davies believes more recently fossil fuel companies are using the ISDS provisions to “thwart regulations on green transition”. He says: “It has a chilling effect, particularly on developing countries.”

In 2021, the International Energy Agency released a report saying the 1.5C pathway requires no new oil, gas or coal. But the issue of regulatory chill has been acknowledged by a number of international bodies, including the 2022 IPPC report on climate change. “Numerous scholars have pointed to ISDS being able to be used by fossil fuel companies to block national legislation aimed at phasing out the use of their assets,” the authors wrote. The UN, Council of Europe and European parliament have all raised similar concerns about climate action being delayed or watered down by ISDS.

“There can be astronomical costs associated with these cases,” says Kyla Tienhaara, an associate professor at the School of Environmental Studies at Queen’s University in Canada. Countries are afraid of implementing environmentally friendly policies because they can’t afford the cost of ISDS, says Tienhaara. “Governments don’t even have the funding to deal with the case in the first place.”

The Guardian investigation into ISDS reveals $84bn in payouts from governments to fossil fuel companies. More than $120bn of public money has been awarded to private investors across all industries since 1976. The average payout for a fossil fuel claim was $1.2bn.

Some cases can cost countries a significant portion of their total annual budget. For example, in 2015 Occidental Petroleum received a $1.1bn payout from the Ecuadorian government. The country’s budget was $29.8bn in 2016. Honduras faces 11 claims, with one seeking damages equal to 30% of the country’s GDP.

The problem is increasingly being discussed by climate ministers and heads of state. On the campaign trail in 2020, US presidential candidate Joe Biden said he opposed ISDS clauses in trade agreements because they allow “private corporations to attack labour, health and environmental policies”.

The Danish government set a deadline to stop fossil fuel exploration by 2050 as opposed to 2030 or 2040 because it would have had to pay “incredibly expensive” compensation to companies, on top of lost revenue for the Treasury, then-climate minister Dan Jørgensen said.

A 2023 UN report by David Boyd, the special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, found Denmark, New Zealand and France had limited their climate policies because of the threat of ISDS, with the Spanish government saying it has slowed its transition away from fossil fuels over “fear of being sued by a foreign investor”. The report stated that this threat has become a “major obstacle” for countries addressing the climate crisis.

[shabbytigers]

i have a functioning german business bank account that is permitted to receive payments on invoices

the degree to which this has been an opaque, anxiogenic, and verging on hostile process that ass-raped precisely the most questionable bits of my executive function really cannot be overemphasized. but here we are, and now i can get fucking paid without risking excommunication by my personal bank, which sucks and needs to be abandoned with prejudice if and when i pull together what it takes to tackle opening yet another new account.

(more specs for those with pathological interest levels)

ing direct, the Legitimate Global Bank, Right?, is bad actually (extremely monolingual and impenetrable, sent me death threats for getting paid, did not suggest that i open a business account or offer help of any kind)

revolut, the Online-Only Eastern Bloc Outfit Targeting Expats Hmmm, is good actually (has honest to god english language versions of everything. i still had to figure out what the fuck jesse was talking about a couple of times by googling things but mostly wrt types of documentation, which is sort of fair bc those are not, fundamentally, things that have translations. in any case it was helpful enough at pointing to gaps that i did eventually manage to connect the dots and take steps to fill them. it also was very nice and accepted the piece of paper that says i’ve applied in lieu of the actual new Gewerbeanmeldung. just, like, has Any customer service orientation or sympathy whatsoever)

the piece of the berlin government where you re-register your business: not too bad actually. they try to offer english (!). admittedly it doesn’t work — weird alt-text pop-up methodology that failed by screen three of a many-screens online form — but i appreciated the gesture. anyway the instructions are simple enough to manage with a sufficiently robust army of spite, stubbornness, terror, and machine translators. ux was hinky but ultimately functional

most of this nonsense is kind of on me for not figuring out how a whole bunch of shit works in a timely manner, but in my defense, it is not in any way intuitive, and guidance is hella scarce. allaboutberlin and portal are good resources that i used to open the business in the first place but, like, i didn’t have accounts with them, there wasn’t any “the noob is moving, better alert them that they have to do x, y, and z about it, even though they literally just got the new business in order and are still feeling triumphant doneness!” flag in their systems, and nothing on my end clued me in that i wasn’t dotting all the is and crossing all the ts, so why exactly tf would i have gone back to those sites looking up shit i didn’t know i didn’t know? to be clear, i was not just drifting along in lala land, i was in fact very busy being brave and proactive on other bureaucratic fronts like “how to invoice a client. no, but correctly” and “what do i have to do about vat despite having figured out that all of this is vat-exempt” and so on. anyway it was a nice classic fucking several stages of difficult unraveling with each stage gating the next stage immigrant’s puzzle

[sngl-led-auto-lights]

In Europe, cars need to be well maintained: correctly positioned headlights, no headlight tint or windshield tilt, working headlights, etc. Why doesn't the US enforce this the way Europe does?

The disparity in vehicle maintenance enforcement between Europe and the U.S. stems from differences in regulatory frameworks, cultural priorities, and legal structures. Here’s a detailed analysis:

Regulatory Philosophy and Standards

Europe’s Harmonized System:

Europe follows UN Regulations (e.g., ECE R112 for headlights), which standardize vehicle safety across member states. These rules mandate periodic technical inspections (e.g., MOT tests) to ensure headlight alignment, proper functionality, and restrictions on tints or modifications . Focus on Proactive Safety: EU regulations prioritize preventing accidents through strict maintenance checks, including headlight beam patterns and glare control .

U.S. Self-Certification Model:

The U.S. relies on self-certification by automakers under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). Once a vehicle is sold, enforcement shifts to states, with inconsistent inspection requirements. Only 31 states mandate annual safety inspections, and rules for headlights (e.g., alignment, tints) vary widely . Emphasis on Post-Market Liability: The U.S. system prioritizes addressing issues after accidents occur, often through litigation rather than preventive measures .

Legal and Jurisdictional Fragmentation

State Autonomy in the U.S.:

Vehicle regulations are largely state-controlled. For example: Some states ban headlight tints entirely, while others allow limited tints (e.g., Texas permits non-reflective tints) .

Windshield tilt rules depend on local interpretations of "obstruction" .

This fragmentation creates loopholes and uneven enforcement. Europe’s Centralized Oversight:

EU directives (e.g., Roadworthiness Package) require member states to implement uniform inspections, including checks for headlight misalignment and illegal modifications .

Cultural Priorities and Public Perception

Europe’s Safety-Centric Approach:

European drivers and regulators view vehicle maintenance as critical to collective safety. Strict lighting rules (e.g., anti-glare headlights) align with dense urban environments and high pedestrian traffic . U.S. Emphasis on Individual Freedom:

American culture often prioritizes personal choice over regulatory mandates. Aftermarket modifications (e.g., tinted headlights) are popular, and efforts to standardize inspections face resistance as "government overreach" .

Technological and Economic Factors

Cost of Compliance:

Europe’s inspection regimes (e.g., Germany’s TÜV) are costly but funded through fees. In the U.S., many states avoid inspections to reduce taxpayer burden . Automaker Influence: U.S. automakers historically resist stricter regulations to avoid production costs, whereas EU policies incentivize innovation (e.g., adaptive LED systems) .

Legacy Infrastructure:

U.S. vehicle safety standards (FMVSS 108 for lighting) have lagged behind Europe in adopting adaptive technologies like matrix LEDs, reducing the impetus for maintenance rigor .

Enforcement Mechanisms

Europe:

Regular inspections include dynamic headlight testing to ensure beam alignment and intensity .

Non-compliant vehicles are barred from roads until repaired.

U.S.:

Enforcement is reactive (e.g., ticketing for broken headlights after a traffic stop) .

Aftermarket modifications often escape scrutiny unless they cause visible safety risks .

Key Takeaways Factor Europe U.S. Regulatory Framework Centralized UN standards with strict inspections Decentralized, state-led rules with weak federal oversight Safety Priority Collective safety via preventive maintenance Individual freedom with post-market liability Inspection Rigor Mandatory, technology-driven checks Limited to no inspections in many states

Conclusion Europe’s rigorous enforcement stems from harmonized regulations, cultural emphasis on preventive safety, and centralized oversight. In contrast, the U.S. system reflects historical autonomy, economic pragmatism, and a preference for individual liberty over uniformity. While Europe prioritizes avoiding risks through maintenance, the U.S. often addresses them after the fact through litigation or fines. Bridging this gap would require the U.S. to adopt more cohesive federal standards and invest in inspection infrastructure—steps that face significant political and cultural hurdles .

[misfitwashere]

We thank you, Joe

Tonight is for you

Robert Reich

Aug 19, 2024

Friends,

Tonight’s opening of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago will be an opportunity for the Democratic Party and the nation to take stock of Joe Biden’s term of office and thank him for his service.

He still has five months to go as president, of course, but the baton has been passed.

Biden’s singular achievement has been to change the economic paradigm that reigned since Reagan and return to one that dominated public life between 1933 and 1980 — and is far superior to the one that has prevailed since.

Biden’s democratic capitalism is neither socialism nor “big government.” It is, rather, a return to an era when government organized the market for the greater good.

The Great Crash of 1929 followed by the Great Depression taught the nation a crucial lesson that we forgot after Reagan’s presidency: markets are human creations. The economy that collapsed in 1929 was the consequence of allowing nearly unlimited borrowing, encouraging people to gamble on Wall Street, and permitting the Street to take huge risks with other people’s money.

Franklin D. Roosevelt and his administration reversed this. They stopped the looting of America. They also gave Americans a modicum of economic security. During World War II, they put almost every American to work.

Subsequent Democratic and Republican administrations enlarged and extended democratic capitalism. Wall Street was regulated, as were television networks, airlines, railroads, and other common carriers. CEO pay was modest. Taxes on the highest earners financed public investments in infrastructure (such as the national highway system) and higher education.

America’s postwar industrial policy spurred innovation. The Department of Defense and its Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration developed satellite communications, container ships, and the internet. The National Institutes of Health did trailblazing basic research in biochemistry, DNA, and infectious diseases.

Public spending rose during economic downturns to encourage hiring. Antitrust enforcers broke up AT&T and other monopolies. Small businesses were protected from giant chain stores. Labor unions thrived. By the 1960s, a third of all private-sector workers were unionized. Large corporations sought to be responsive to all their stakeholders.

But then America took a giant U-turn. The OPEC oil embargo of the 1970s brought double-digit inflation followed by Fed Chair Paul Volcker’s effort to “break the back” of it by raising interest rates so high that the economy fell into deep recession.

All of which prepared the ground for Reagan’s war on democratic capitalism. From 1981 onward, a new bipartisan orthodoxy emerged that markets functioned well only if the government got out of the way.

The goal of economic policy thereby shifted from the common good to economic growth, even though Americans already well-off gained most from that growth. And the means shifted from public oversight of the market to deregulation, free trade, privatization, “trickle-down” tax cuts, and deficit reduction — all of which helped the monied interests make even more money.

The economy grew for the next 40 years, but median wages stagnated, and inequalities of income and wealth surged. In sum, after Reagan’s presidency, democratic capitalism — organized to serve public purposes — all but disappeared. It was replaced by corporate capitalism, organized to serve the monied interests.

**

Joe Biden revived democratic capitalism. He learned from the Obama administration’s mistake of spending too little to pull the economy out of the Great Recession that the pandemic required substantially greater spending, which would also give working families a cushion against adversity. So he pushed for and got the giant $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.

This was followed by a $550 billion initiative to rebuild the nation’s bridges, roads, public transit, broadband, water, and energy systems. He championed the biggest investment in clean energy sources in American history — expanding wind and solar power, electric vehicles, carbon capture and sequestration, and hydrogen and small nuclear reactors. He then led the largest public investment ever made in semiconductors, the building blocks of the next economy. Notably, these initiatives were targeted to companies that employ American workers.

Biden also embarked on altering the balance of power between capital and labor, as had FDR. Biden put trustbusters at the head of the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department. And he remade the National Labor Relations Board into a strong advocate for labor unions.

Unlike his Democratic predecessors Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Biden did not reduce all trade barriers. He targeted them to industries that were crucial to America’s future — semiconductors, electric batteries, electric vehicles. Unlike Trump, Biden did not give a huge tax cut to corporations and the wealthy.

It’s also worth noting that, in contrast with every president since Reagan, Biden did not fill his White House with former Wall Street executives. Not one of his economic advisers — not even his treasury secretary — is from the Street.

The one large blot on Biden’s record is Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden should have been tougher on him — refusing to provide him offensive weapons unless Netanyahu stopped his massacre in Gaza. Yes, I know: Hamas began the bloodbath. But that is no excuse for Netanyahu’s disproportionate response, which has made Israel a pariah and endangered its future. Nor an excuse for our complicity.

***

One more thing needs to be said in praise of Joe Biden. He did something Donald Trump could never do: He put his country over ego, ambition, and pride. He bowed out with grace and dignity. He gave us Kamala Harris.

Presidents don’t want to bow out. Both Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson had to be shoved out of office. Biden was not forced out. He did nothing wrong. His problem is that he was old and losing some of the capacities that dwindle with old age.

Even among people who are not president, old age inevitably triggers denial. How many elderly people do you know who accept that they can’t do the things they used to do or think they should be able to do? How many willingly give up the keys to their car? It’s not surprising he resisted.

Yet Biden cares about America and was aware of the damage a second Trump administration could do to this nation, and to the world. Biden’s patriotism won out over any denial or wounded pride or false sense of infallibility or paranoia.

For this and much else, we thank you, Joe.

[letters-from-dekarios]

Gale;

By the time this letter arrives in Waterdeep I will have already departed from Candlekeep. I have found several tomes relevant to your interests and have copied what I can, though given my inability to withdraw books from the athenaeum it may be wise for you to visit yourself.

We should return together, when you are free of your students.

You may tell Tara to stand down - I have been informed that my good friend Arnold the Dog already has an owner, and that if I try to smuggle him out of the city again neither you or I would be permitted entry in future.

Be grateful I prefer you to the dog.

To say that I have missed you would be an understatement. These few tendays I have spent within the library have been the longest I can remember.

I remain unsure that my research will be seen as adequate. I do not doubt your faith in me my love, though I am forever uncertain about what the world may think of an academic Bhaalspawn. I fear that you may be the only learned man who forgives me my lineage, and though I am not surprised I am…

Distraug-

Devast-

Disappointed.

We will be passing through Baldur’s Gate soon enough, I will give Jaheira your best. It will be strange to see the city without you beside me.

With all the love I have to give;

Dreuer.

P.S. if you try to trick me into using a filing system again I will start moving the bookmarks around in your books when you aren’t looking.

P.P.S. i look forward to seeing what part of you you inadvertently dyed purple. I have several ideas, none of them suitable to be committed to ink and parchment.

Loveliest Dreuer,

It pleases me greatly that you were able to find such information. Even the smallest of copied words is enough to begin another journey in my studies. I am sure it is plenty to begin with and will provide a good starting point to search for more if I ever have the chance to visit myself.

Once the summer sun rises and the students have taken their break, perhaps we can make the journey. I still have much to do, and much to prepare, but I can never pass down an adventure for the literary arts.

Tara will be pleased to know this! However, I have several questions as to how exactly you found out Arnold had an owner. If you risk my chance to visit the Athenaeum, I shall be thoroughly disappointed.

I have missed you greatly so, my love. The longer I spend within my books without your embrace, the more weary I become. Though I know you are safe, I only wish to be by your side.

Trust when I say that your lineage is likely the least surprising thing any academic society could come across! They simply judge others for where they cannot judge themselves. I understand your perception of it is and will forever be worlds different than my own, but you truly have nothing to become anxious over. I know you may hate that I would do so, for pride or ego, but I would use my name in a heartbeat if anyone attempted to discredit your research. I know, as well as any other person, how much effort you’ve put into this- if that doesn’t change the minds of even the most heartless, I’m not sure what will.

What matters the most is not what others think, my love, but what you think. Be satisfied with your works, and be joyous in your research. Only you can pave your path forward to academic achievements- and I know you well enough to have full confidence that you will accomplish all you set your heart to.

I’ll send coin for you to use within the city. I know I don’t have to, but I want to. Buy Jaheira a drink, or yourself something if you’d like. I have gone too long without spoiling you since you’ve been away, allow me to make up for it even in such a small dose.

The heart that belongs to only you,

𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒌𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒔

P.S. If you even think of moving my bookmarks I will force the Netherese orb back into my body and use it. [ there is a small angry face drawn next to the text to convey that he is joking. probably. ]

P.P.S. Now I am going to lock you out of the tower until it returns to normal. I shall also solely blame this on you for not letting me label things. This is why we need the filing system.

[ there is an half-inked feline paw-print stamped at the corner of the page, some small splashes of ink surrounding it, indicating Tara was very much a part of the process in writing the letter. ]

text reads: gale dekarios