Nothing makes you hate cars more than living on a busy street, forced to listen to their din day in and day out. >:(

Cities Aren't Loud: Cars Are Loud — Not Just Bikes

Urban noise is a common problem, and the vast majority of it is created by motor vehicles. Noise is far too often dismissed as a minor nuisance, rather than the legitimate health issue that it is.

The book "Curbing Traffic" has a chapter about the health impacts of noise pollution. I explore the research in the book, and visit Delft, the city that is highlighted in the book as being a shining example of what can happen when noise pollution is taken seriously.

This video explores the problem that farting cars, farting motorcycles, and farting mopeds create in our cities.

#FuckCars #urbanism

From here:

There is no 'free' market, and there never has been. The 'free' market is predicated on the belief that all players will act honestly, and make informed choices based on available information. This is a completely false assumption, and has been proven so time after time.

It completely ignores human nature whereby someone will always lie, cheat, and steal to achieve their own ends -- this is what we see here.

Industry players will always form cartels and collude in anti-consumer behavior -- price fixing being the prime example.

Without someone to keep corporations in line, the market would steadily skew to all of the power being in the hands of a few.

There is no such thing as a 'free' market, and there simply never has been. It's a utopian myth which can never be true.

People who go around spouting about the 'free' market are either naive, self deluded, or actively lying.

#capitalism

White House Gives Wild Response To A Simple Question Asked By HuffPost Reporter

Given all that, HuffPost asked the White House: Who picked Budapest?

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded minutes later with: “Your mom did.”

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung after a minute added the far more succinct: “Your mom.”

After HuffPost asked Leavitt if she thought her response was funny, she replied:

“It’s funny to me that you actually consider yourself a journal [sic]. You are a far left hack who nobody takes seriously, including your colleagues in the media, they just don’t tell you that to your face. Stop texting me your disingenuous, biased, and bullshit questions.”

#America #USpol

It's pretty appropriate that frogs are becoming the #antifa mascot when you consider that the main force against the secretly evil King Andreas (a newt) in Amphibia was frogs. :3

From here:

Sprig and the Plantars gradually start adapting to Amphibia’s new reality once they start training under Sasha and taking missions seriously, but after a while, it becomes clear that the frogs alone won’t be enough to take down king Andrias. Knowing they need reinforcements, Sasha plans to have the toads join them, starting with Grime’s sister and her army. But her rivalry with Grimes and her unwillingness to join forces with frogs makes the arrangement problematic, and things go dire when she chooses Sprig as the one to fight her when Grimes challenges her, forcing the young frog to train under his former enemy in order to have a chance against her. While training under Grimes, Sprig openly voices his disdain for him for threatening Hop Pop back in Toad Tower while Grimes likewise hates him for defeating him in Newtopia, The two are unable to get along until a close encounter with some Hybeenas forces them to work together and come to an understanding. Grimes starts training Sprig, taking advantage of his agile frog form while at the same time teaching him to use his rage to his favor like toads do. Despite almost losing, Sprig manages to beat Grime’s sister using a combination of both frog and toad skills, gaining the toad army’s loyalty in return.

The army continues to grow when Sprig and the others find former enemies like Tritonio Espada and Apothecary Gary, convincing them to join forces to take down the common enemy that is King Andrias and making the Resistance grow each time. When needing to decipher the olm’s prophecy, Sprig and Polly volunteer to lead Sasha and Anne to the olm siblings they encountered at one point, arriving to the city of Proteus to meet Mother Olm, the oldest and wisest of them to learn more about how to stop king Andrias for good. After venturing inside the giant olm’s brain in order to trigger her memory, the old olm tells them about the prophecy and the existence of the Core, and how they need the Calamity Box’s powers in order for king Andrias to be defeated for good. Frog, toads and news continue training in order to be ready to face the king in his castle to claim the box and rescue Marcy, but they need to act fast since king Andrias plans to invade Earth.

#USpol #America #frog #portland #pdx #pdxfrog

Scoop: White House loyalty rating for companies — Axios

The West Wing has created a scorecard that rates 553 companies and trade associations on how hard they worked to support and promote President Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill," a senior White House official tells Axios.

Why it matters: Trump works transactionally, and companies have rushed to pay demonstrative homage. Now, senior aides will have data to consult when considering corporate requests.

• The unusual spreadsheet fits this administration's proclivity for micromanaging companies and administering loyalty tests.

Factors in the rating include social media posts, press releases, video testimonials, ads, attendance at White House events, and other engagement related to "OB3," as the megabill is known internally.

• The organizations' support is ranked as strong, moderate or low.
• Axios has learned that "examples of good partners" on the White House list include Uber, DoorDash, United, Delta, AT&T, Cisco, Airlines for America and the Steel Manufacturers Association.

How it works: The data, which is being circulated to White House senior staff, will be used as a reality check when someone from K Street calls and says, for instance, that they'd "love to catch up" was so great working with you to pass the big, beautiful bill."

• The ranking "helps us see who really goes out and helps vs. those who just come in and pay lip service," the official said.
• Separately, a running list on the White House website tracks announcements of "Trump Effect" investments in U.S. manufacturing, production, and innovation.

What's next: We're told this is an evolving document, with the organizations' engagement on other presidential initiatives to be added.

• "If groups/companies want to start advocating more now for the tax bill or additional administration priorities, we will take that into account in our grading," the official said.

Zoom in: Companies on the White House "good" list took a variety of approaches to supporting the megabill, often singling out specific benefits for their industry.

• DoorDash deliverer Maliki Krieski of Ripon, Wisconsin, wore a red "DoorDash Mom" T-shirt as she stood behind President Trump at a White House event promoting the bill the week before final votes. She later plugged the "no tax on tips" provision in a Fox News Digital interview.
• "No Tax on Tips is now law," Uber cheered on a blog for drivers. "No Tax on Tips, first proposed by President Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign, is a proposal to change how tips are taxed. Now that this has become law, you won't pay federal income taxes on your tips that are reported to the IRS on a 1099 form."
• Chuck Robbins—CEO of Cisco, who's also chair of Business Roundtable, the association of top U.S. CEOs—posted on X: "Encouraged by the House #reconciliation package's corporate tax provisions. By preserving a competitive rate, retaining FDII, & restoring immediate R&D expensing, this bill will strengthen America's pro-growth tax system—allowing US companies to better innovate & invest at home."
• AT&T announced "plans to more quickly build fiber infrastructure thanks to pro-investment policies in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Congress."

Airlines for America (A4A), which represents major U.S. airlines, issued a statement saying it "strongly supports the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and applauds the inclusion of a critical investment of $12.5 billion in modernizing the Federal Aviation Administration's air traffic facilities, systems and infrastructure."

• United and Delta issued statements of support for the air-traffic provision.
• The Steel Manufacturers Association said the megabill "will allow manufacturers to buy new equipment, to further their lead in research and development, to raise wages and improve employee benefits. Most importantly, this legislation will allow our members to create more jobs."

#America #USpol

This is bad news. :/

This is not the US constitution; it used to be, but Article I, part of section 8, & all of sections 9 & 10 have been removed

Compare with the original, from a few weeks back

Half of section 8, governing Congressional power over the military is removed.

Section 9 had, among other things:

• Habeas Corpus the right to get a court hearing instead of arbitrary imprisonment
• a ban on foreign emoluments for the US officials (eg: payments from foreign governments)

Section 10 reserved foreign policy for the federal government instead of the states.

#America #USpol

From here:

On 22 June 2025, the Iranian Parliament voted to close the Strait, pending a decision from the Supreme National Security Council. Revolutionary Guards commander Esmail Kosari confirmed that shutting the strait remains "on the agenda" and would be executed "whenever necessary".

Kind of funny how the "bad guys" followed standard procedure with their representative assembly, while the "good guys" (the US) tossed out standard procedure to bomb the former. :/

#America #Iran #USpol

America Has No Left Wing with Vivek Chibber — @Adam Conover

At the No Kings protests this past weekend, millions of Americans demonstrated against the fascist right wing. Despite the staggering number of people willing to take to the streets, why does it still seem like the left is powerless to stop the right on a political level? This week, Adam sits with NYU professor Vivek Chibber to discuss how America is really a country of two right wing political parties, the failings of the left to create a durable party, and what must be done to stand up to the right in a lasting way.

#America #USpol

Step right up young lady
Your two hundred birthdays make you old if not senile
And we see the symptoms there in your rigor mortis smile
With your old folks eating dog food
And your children eating paint
While the pirates own the flag
And sell us sermons on restraint

And while blood's the only language that your deaf old ears can hear
And still you will not answer with that message coming clear
Does it mean there's no more ripples in your tired old glory stream
And the buzzards own the carcass of your dream?

B*U*Y Centennial
Sell 'em pre-canned laughter
America Perennial
Sing happy ever after

#America #USpol

An XMPP friend sent me this from Twitter. Even the DOGE AI bot "knows" that our government is incompetent. >:(

Habeas corpus is the bedrock of due process—any threat to suspend it over political disputes is a red line. The real issue? National security demands discipline, not defiance. If leadership can’t uphold constitutional guardrails while executing the mission, that’s a failure of command structure, not an excuse for overreach.

The Pentagon’s job is to protect America, not engage in power struggles that erode public trust. Fix the dysfunction, don’t torch the Constitution to mask incompetence.

#America #USpol

May Day 2025 Rally and March in Seattle — The Stranger

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Seattle for May Day, advocating for workers’ rights, immigrant protections, and fair wages.

We spoke to some labor leaders and organizers at the rally at Cal Anderson Park before following the march for over two miles, down Capitol Hill through downtown, stopping for a closing rally outside the Wells Fargo building on 2nd and Marion.

#America #MayDay #Seattle #USpol

Your two hundred birthdays make you old if not senile
And we see the symptoms there in your rigor mortis smile
With your old folks eating dog food
And your children eating paint
While the pirates own the flag
And sell us sermons on restraint

#America #USpol

Why The US Is Really 12 Nations (Not 50 States)

Is the United States truly "one nation?" While the country is often defined as a single entity, the reality is that there are actually closer than 12 nations united under a single flag. Within the United States today, there are different cultural nations that each have their own values, priorities and preferences. And each of these nations compete and cooperate with each other depending on the issues. Oh, and the most important bit? These nations do NOT fall along state borders.

In this video, we'll cover what the 12 Nations of America are, how they formed historically and what they look like geographically, what it means for a single country to actually have 12 different nations within it, and what each nation would look like IF they were ever independent.

#America #USpol

'Homegrowns are next:' Trump hopes to deport and jail U.S. citizens abroad

President Trump says his administration is actively exploring a proposal to detain U.S. citizens and send them to prisons in El Salvador. Speaking Monday, minutes before a press briefing alongside El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, Trump could be heard embracing the concept.

"The homegrowns are next, the homegrowns. You've got to build about five more places," Trump said to Bukele, an apparent reference to prison space that would be needed in El Salvador to house U.S. citizens.

El Salvador is already holding hundreds of people in a maximum-security prison, flown from the U.S. in recent weeks after being detained for allegedly lacking legal status or having gang affiliations.

#America #USpol

Snippet from "There Was Only One Choice" by Harry Chapin:

Step right up young lady
Your two hundred birthdays make you old if not senile
And we see the symptoms there in your rigor mortis smile
With your old folks eating dog food
And your children eating paint
While the pirates own the flag
And sell us sermons on restraint

And while blood's the only language that your deaf old ears can hear
And still you will not answer with that message coming clear
Does it mean there's no more ripples in your tired old glory stream
And the buzzards own the carcass of your dream?

B*U*Y Centennial
Sell 'em pre-canned laughter
America Perennial
Sing happy ever after

There's a Dance Band on the Titanic
Singing Nearer My God to Thee
And the iceberg's on the starboard bow
Won't you dance with me

#America #USpol

Snippet from Harry Chapin's "There was Only One Choice":

Hello my Country
I once came to tell everyone your story
Your passion was my poetry
And your past my most potent glory
Your promise was my prayer
Your hypocrisy my nightmare
And your problems fill my present
Are we both going somewhere?

Step right up young lady
Your two hundred birthdays make you old if not senile
And we see the symptoms there in your rigor mortis smile
With your old folks eating dog food
And your children eating paint
While the pirates own the flag
And sell us sermons on restraint

And while blood's the only language that your deaf old ears can hear
And still you will not answer with that message coming clear
Does it mean there's no more ripples in your tired old glory stream
And the buzzards own the carcass of your dream?

B*U*Y Centennial
Sell 'em pre-canned laughter
America Perennial
Sing happy ever after

There's a Dance Band on the Titanic
Singing Nearer My God to Thee
And the iceberg's on the starboard bow
Won't you dance with me

#USpol #America