Blogaround

Links not related to the antichrist:

1. Problems with the Asexuality Identification Scale (May 27) "The AIS is not bad research. But the potential uses are few, while the potential misuses are greater."

Also from Siggy: Why loans cost money (May  28) "If you’re keeping track, that means that not only is it expensive to be poor, it is nonlinearly expensive. Poor people have a greater need for loans, and they tend to pay higher interest rates on loans."

2. I Transferred a Pokemon from Gen 1 to Scarlet & Violet. Here's How... (March 12) [16-minute video] "Was this worth it? Umm, not really. Was it cool? Yes." Wowww this is fantastic. I have so much nostalgia- the pokemon games I played back in the day were Pokemon Blue, Pokemon Gold, and Pokemon Diamond. Of those, I spent the most time on Pokemon Gold. Pokemon Gold was my game.

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Links related to the antichrist:

1. A certain man went down to Jericho and fell among leopards (May 28) "This clarifies how grossly misleading and stupid-making that language of “illegal aliens” turns out to be, creating a false impression of invaders and interlopers when the overwhelming reality is that most “illegal aliens” are people like Eriksen — good neighbors who work hard, follow the rules, care for their families, pay their taxes, and live responsibly, but who will also, inevitably, have some equivalent to a missing Form I-751 somewhere in their past."

2. Federal trade court blocks Trump's emergency tariffs, saying he overstepped authority (May 28) "In their ruling, the court's three-judge panel wrote that Trump's worldwide tariffs had exceeded his power under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, or IEEPA, which the Trump administration cited in imposing those tariffs."

But apparently some of the tariffs are still in effect? I can't even keep up any more.

3. Rubio says U.S. will 'aggressively' revoke visas for many Chinese students (May 28) WTF?

And related to that: U.S. stops scheduling visa interviews for foreign students (May 28)

And also: An Own-Goal of Historic Proportions (May 29) "For decades, a degree from a U.S. university was the golden ticket, and not just for the prestige and the improved job prospects back home. It was often the start of a lifelong affinity for America, its values, and its people. Some of China’s best-known reformers and tech founders were educated in the U.S. They returned to China with not just skills and credentials, but admiration for an open society that welcomed them. Those days are ending. We are actively teaching the next generation of global talent that America is hostile, capricious, and unwelcoming. We are ceding the moral high ground — one that was, I’ll grant, already eroding fast — with alarming speed."

I just don't get this. Wasn't Marco Rubio friends with any international students when he was in college?

(Also, anyone remember during the campaign, a video surfaced where that felon floated the idea of giving international students US green cards on graduation? See this is why you shouldn't take anything he says seriously.)

4. Trump administration cancels plans to develop a bird flu vaccine (May 28) "Jennifer Nuzzo, the director of Brown University's Pandemic Center, said the decision was 'disappointing, but unsurprising given the politically-motivated, evidence-free rhetoric that tries to paint mRNA vaccines as being dangerous.'"

Remember when that felon was president the first time, and the actual greatest accomplishment of his term was the programs that produced the mRNA vaccines for covid? But I guess now the MAGAs think that's bad.

5. Marco Rubio said no one has died due to U.S. aid cuts. This mom disagrees (May 28) [content note: child death] "Babagana's doctor at the clinic — Edifre Jacob — says he'll never know exactly what happened to the youngster because he did not get medical help before dying, but Jacob feels confident his team could have prevented his death."

6. Judge says Rubio 'likely' violated Constitution in ordering Mahmoud Khalil deported (May 28) "In a statement issued by the ACLU, Khalil's lawyers vowed to keep fighting for his release."

(Marco Rubio has really done a lot to restore my belief in hell.)

7. The White House is sued over lack of sign language interpreters at press briefings (May 29) Good. 

8. Trump administration seeks to end basic rights and protections for child immigrants in its custody (May 22) "The protections, which are drawn from a 1997 consent decree known as the Flores Settlement Agreement, limit the amount of time children can be detained by immigration officials. It also requires the government to provide children in its custody with adequate food, water and clean clothes." Children. Children.

9. Ice arrests at immigration courts across the US stirring panic: ‘It’s terrifying’ (May 22) "Arrests near or in the immigration courts, which are part of the US Department of Justice, are typically rare – in part due to concerns that the fear of being detained by Ice officers could discourage people from appearing. 'It’s bad policy,' said Lindsay Toczylowski, president of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef). 'By putting immigration officers in the courtrooms, they’re discouraging people from following the processes, punishing people for following the rules.'"

And Wonkette explains how exactly this loophole is being used: ICE's One Weird Trick To Deport Asylum Seekers Who Come To Court! (May 30) "Isn’t that great, especially how the people being grabbed were dumb enough to think that following the law and attending their scheduled court hearings would do them any good? They couldn’t be 'following the law' anyway, because after all they’re illegals, dummy."