the appeals court left them in place to give SCOTUS time to review them
Software engineer, tinkerer, cyclist, amateur astronomer, photographer
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the appeals court left them in place to give SCOTUS time to review them
Fiery Furnace. Arches NP, Utah
Great horned owl, on the Utah Lake trail in Saratoga Springs
What I don't get is, why don't they use one of the redistricting commission's maps? Why draw a new one?
realistic Star Trek
šØBREAKING! The ruling in the gerrymandering decision is out. The judge ruled that the Utah Legislature violated the Utah Constitution when it repealed Prop. 4, which established an independent redistricting commission. The ruling restores Prop. 4 in its entirety.
Delicate Arch, at Arches NP this morning. Definitely worth the hike!
This reminds me of Susan Sto Helit from the Discworld books. Can you freeze time and kill monsters with a fireplace poker?
Juvenile California Quail
They can do that without a quorum?
If he replaced the Dems by decree and passed the gerrymander, there is a very strong argument against its legitimacy. Itād probably be tied up in litigation for a long time. I think Abbot is bluffing.
Milky Way at Balanced Rock. Arches NP, Utah. The rock is faintly lit by the headlights of a passing car. Having seen many night photos of light-painted rock formations at Arches, I was a little surprised to learn they disallow this. I guess it became too much of a nuisance!
This past week, the 79-year-old president announced heās ended six wars (some that have been going on for centuries), asserted that windmills drive whales insane, called for BeyoncĆ© to be prosecuted, claimed Obama committed treason and complained a convicted pedophile āstoleā teenage girls from him.
I see they couldnāt be bothered to include a photo of the aircraft involved in the incident (an Airbus A330). The picture on the article is a much smaller A319.
Balanced Rock, at Arches National Park
Entering Arches National Park, early in the morning. Reminiscent of the iconic Monument Valley shot, which I havenāt taken a picture of.
This is the first time Iāve seen these kind of āyou donāt know what you donāt knowā issues in coding to a degree that Iāve seen them in law, and itās the same structural issue ā when you get down to it, you have to be the kind of expert that the AI promises to replace to be able to use it safely
Buying bike parts on Amazon is fraught. Counterfeits abound. And my review of a derailleur that said āThis isnāt a genuine Shimano part. Itās as sturdy as wet manicottiā was taken down because it doesnāt meet ācommunity guidelinesā.
Unsolved Physics Problems xkcd.com/3115/
![Comic. The Three Types of Unsolved Physics Problem (First panel) Vague. PERSON [next to curved diagram] What is the nature of time in quantum gravity? Is it a background parameter, a dynamic aspect of spacetime, or an emergent phenomenon? (Second panel) Precise. PERSON 2 with short hair [device with equation below: 71Ga + Ī½e ā 71Ge + e- .] Why does the *S.A.G.E.* Gallium Neutrino Capture Experiment produce only 75% as much germanium as predicted? (Third panel) Cursed. PERSON 3 with white hat [rectangular block with hairs growing out of it labeled Zinc Whiskers] Why does some metal randomly grow hairs? It keeps causing short circuits and we have no idea whatās going on. OFF-PANEL: Is this a joke? PERSON 3: No! Please help!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreiguoi672ahbrlp4eewfdz6v2ynlajbtpmucqed6fl4npoeu3uypkm@jpeg "Click to view full size")
He also bragged about walking in on naked teenage girls. Iāve never understood how the Miss Teen USA thing wasnāt disqualifying (among 10,000 other things).
This is genuinely the news every day
The Supreme Court has lacked legitimacy ever since McConnell blocked Obama's nominee. Does it matter? It exercises its power just the same.
if Bondi takes the fall, Trump will hire a new AG who will fabricate some Epstein files that implicate all of Trump's favorite enemies, and the conspiracy will continue
Didnāt know that either, and at the time the lawsuits were going on I lived in walking distance from the SCO Group HQ.
It's a kangaroo court, it's un-American, it's a horrific abuse of power... and also Comey deserves this. I feel sorry for Brennan though.
Light-painted rusted hulk in Leamington, Utah
Havenāt played Wordle in over a year, but my son told me todayās was impossible so I had to give it a shot. Wordle 1,475 5/6 ā¬šØā¬ā¬ā¬ š©ā¬ā¬šØā¬ ā¬ā¬ā¬ā¬š© š©ā¬šØā¬š© š©š©š©š©š©
I donāt think anyone is prepared for what they just did w/ ICE. This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined. It is setting up to make whatās happening now look like childās play. And people are disappearing.
āThis is something I had to learn later in lifeā -A 22-year-old on TikTok
It is not āstress eating.ā It is the ancient instinctive urge, honed over millions of years, to prepare for times of hardship and strife by stockpiling calories. Stuffing your face with oreos has made you the pinnacle of evolution
Laser Danger xkcd.com/3108/
![3-panel comic. (1) PERSON WITH SHORT HAIR to Person 2: Shining laser pointers at planes is a federal crime. Itās incredibly dangerous. PERSON 2: Oh, because it can blind the pilot? SHORT HAIR: Thatās one reasonā¦ (2) [Laser pointed at flying airplane] (3) [Cat close to the size of the plane pouncing on airplane and taking it down]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreicdr4m3a7s2i232wlvcu7dkwytnrh3tlqfbojtmyg3pzr7a6ibxra@jpeg "Click to view full size")
Cartoon
Justice Jackson said todayās Supreme Court ruling is an assault on our democracy. Sheās wrong, it is an assault on our republic.
John Roberts really is the exact antithesis of Earl Warren. Warren said the SCOTUS has a duty and authority to do whatever is necessary to serve the public good. Roberts says the SCOTUS has no power to help people or restore rights, only hurt them or take them away.
The left better start figuring out how to weaponize today's decision rather than just (rightfully) criticizing it. - Go back into Judge Kaczmaryk's court to dissolve all of his nationwide orders. - Pass gun bans and insist any order applies only to plaintiffs.
Justice Sotomayor dissenting on birthright citizenship case: "The gamesmanship in this request is apparent and the Government makes no attempt to hide it. Yet, shamefully, this Court plays along. Because I will not be complicit in so grave an attack on our system of law, I dissent."
I think other presidents might have been stretching some prior Congressional authorization, and Trump didn't even bother with that fig leaf... but you're right, this is probably barely in the Top 10 Impeachable Offenses Committed By Trump In His Second Term
Iād seen elsewhere on social media that the shooter fired from a parking garage, but having fled there afterward seems more consistent with there being one victim. Ugh, this makes me sick. I took my daughter protesting earlier in the day. Worst we saw was bird-flipping and coal-rolling.
Every elected Republican should be asked if they think the president has the power to send in military in to āliberateā a state or city from its elected government.
Stonewall everything in the Senate until Noem and Miller are out of government.
It's a horrible crash, one of the worst aviation disasters in a long time. I feel for the families of the passengers as well as those on the ground. That said, it's a bit early to blame Boeing for this one. It's the first 787 hull loss since that model entered service 14 years ago.
It is 100% carrying water for the opposition to participate in this collective delusion that Dems for some reason need to answer for every teen who throws a rock rather than hold the Trump admin accountable for intentionally creating chaos and breaking the law to stoke violence. They are in charge.
Theyāre not dice rolls. The Trump administration is behind this one way or another.
Well this couldnāt have come at a better time www.bbc.com/news/article...
āHarboring riotersā. Is that as bad as pardoning them?
I suppose another way this could go is, Congressional Republicans blow up the filibuster and pass a law making Trumpās tariffs retroactively legal after all. But Iām not sure theyāve got those votes. Several Rs have criticized the tariffs (but none would spend real political capital against them).
I hope youāre right, but itās the same tune I heard when Trumpās immunity argument failed in the court of appeals. The Roberts court always finds a way to screw up straightforward questions.
HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHHAHHAHHAHAHA ******breathes****** HAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHHAAHAHAHHAHHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAH www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
As much as I hope SCOTUS would deny cert, I think itās more likely they stay the injunction, grant cert, drag out the tariffs for a year, and invent new presidential powers. Itās what they always do (when the President is a Republican).
Utah Lake trail in predawn twilight
That sounds like something that isnāt permissible in a budget reconciliation bill. I canāt say I expect the GOP to abide by that though.
š (the smooth gray background is just the sidewalk)
The political media is obsessively relitigating the issue of Biden being too old and out of touch while the current president babbles incoherently at press conferences and regularly admits he's not the one making decisions on key policy matters.
A little cartoon I drew in MS Paint fifteen years ago, after a long road trip
Lake Mountain reflections
I, for one, am tired of [gestures broadly]. I have grown weary of [points in all directions simultaneously].
www.thelastamericanroadtrip.com
This meeting could have been a walk in the sunshine
Great Horned Owlets near Utah Lake
Ruby skulking around behind the grill
macOS Sequoia is exactly what the old "I'm a Mac" ads accused Windows Vista of being.
āYellow-headed blackbird breathā sounds like an insult. But itās an accurate description of this photo.
Barn owl in the woods near the north shore of Utah Lake
okay now that you all have gotten a taste of America's rational and predictable new trade policy, everyone who wants to build your new factories here just form an orderly line
Great horned owl in a wooded area near the north shore of Utah Lake
SCOTUS overturns Boasberg's TROs. Sotomayor's dissents on the "extraordinary threat to the rule of law." "That a majority of this Court now rewards the Government for its behavior with discretionary equitable relief is indefensible."
Trump loves to save the public from a crisis he caused but also hates showing weakness but also loves to make a deal but also loves to inflict pain, you can imagine the emotional tumult this is causing, my heart aches for him
More photos from the #HandsOff protest in Provo, Utah
From the #HandsOff protest in Provo, Utah
How can this possibly work? Does NC not have a secret ballot?
A reminder to reporters: Because Trump tariff numbers are made-up nonsense, using the phrase āreciprocal tariffsā is lying to your audience. The phrase itself is propaganda. They are not reciprocal.
If we were conquered and under hostile occupation, what would the government do differently? Would an occupation government that wanted to crush the United States as a vibrant, prosperous country with influence around the world do anything differently?
Weāve all been there, desperately waiting until the stock market closes to announce a really good idea
"Age verification" laws are actually "upload your ID or get your face scanned to access every website, ending anonymity and associating your identity with everything you do online" laws and if more people understood that they would not be down for this authoritarian nonsense
We had a revolution to fight monarchy. So, why are we allowing one to form now in America? We paid for our social security, it is our money. Why are we letting them steal it? Why do people elect others that oppress us, not uplift us? Is our hatred more compelling than love and empathy?
If Trump issued an Executive Order requiring all newspapers to send articles to the WH for review before publication, would newspapers report it is a ārequirementā or āmandateā? Or would the fact itās preposterously illegal and unconstitutional make right into the lede and headline?
WOW. Watch a constitutional law expert completely DEBUNK Republicansā censorship crusade, while articulating exactly how Donald Trump is threatening freedom of speech. š„
I took the Twitter spelling test and scored: 100% (A+) su.pr/1T8Z4G from @theoatmeal.bsky.social
Moon over reflections of Saratoga Springs city lights from the north shore of Utah Lake
Opinion | Liberals say Trump has replace our democracy a fascist autocracy. They are wrong: he has replaced our republic with a fascist autocracy.
Hereās how I avoided doomscrolling this weekend: I connected some floppy drives to Raspberry Pi Pico GPIOs and used PIO to drive their stepper motors at the right frequencies to play music (taking commands from a PC over USB).
Navajo Loop trail. Bryce Canyon NP, Utah
Twilight on the hoodoos. The Milky Way over Sunset Point, Bryce Canyon NP, Utah
I think some in the Senate have convinced themselves that the backlash to folding will be limited to āthe leftā and therefore ignorable. Those people are deeply and profoundly misreading the moment and the stakes. Virtually every swing district House Dem walked the plank to vote NO for a reason.
trying to understand why PC needs to retain another law firm for this
Venus and the zodiacal light at Bryce Point. Bryce Canyon NP, Utah
When tripping over and then catching the tripod makes accidental art
Milky Way rising at Inspiration Point. Bryce Canyon NP, Feb 28 2025. 7-minute exposure
Donald Trump is a lousy pilot. He couldn't even land Air Force One by himself. And he definitely is too weak and scared to try it with Vance and Musk and Thomas and Alito aboard. Sad!
Milky Way rising at Inspiration Point. Bryce Canyon NP, 28 February 2025. If it looks cold, that's because it is.
Our editorial line is to support free markets. Hereās why we will never criticize Trumpās tariffs. by Jeff Bezos
Slack has been down for almost five hours now. Not great in the remote-first culture my employer has embraced since Covid.
Jared Isaacman seems to have broad support as Trump's pick to be the next NASA administrator. I have questions. ridingwithrobots.substack.com/p/questions-...
The Cabinet doesnāt write bills, the Legislature does. And the NDAA requires 2/3 of the Senate to approve leaving NATO. That isnāt going to happen.