Singularities

I have been thinking about singularities, classically it is the noiseless big bang as the first in line. But we are all the last domino in a sequence after that incident.
My hierarchy is
1. The big bang.
2. The first self replicating organism.
3. Consciousness.
4. Language.

I am open to additions to this list though subtraction would puzzle me.
I consider agreed facts to be the foundation for sensible discussions.

FIXED. Why I don't vote for Republicans for Congress or the Senate.

Posting again. Fixed the link

Sharing why I don't vote for Republicans for Congress or the Senate. BTW, I actually use to work for a Republican congressmen and a Republican mayor. (Late 70s, early 80s)

There are many reasons why I will not vote for Republicans in Congress. In the past it was simply because they were against the middle class and the poor. The GOP has always been against programs like Medicare, Social Security and a minimum wage. They oppose education and support for scientific research

My reasoning has grown. Today it is now actively opposing Church State separation. It is also brazenly supporting deceit, misinformation and fascism.

But today I watched Congresswoman Katie Porter of California in this 5 minute video.
It clearly demonstrates why I vote for Democrats over Republicans. This happened 5 months ago so maybe you have seen it. But I had never seen it. The linked is fixed. Please watch all the way through.

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Why do you vote the way you do?

Why I don't vote for Republicans for Congress or the Senate.

There are many reasons why I will not vote for Republicans. In the past it was simply because they were against the middle class and the poor. The GOP has always been against programs like Medicare, Social Security and a minimum wage. They oppose education and support for scientific research

My reasoning has grown. Today it is now actively opposing Church State separation. It is also brazenly supporting deceit, misinformation and fascism.

But today I watched Congresswoman Katie Porter of California in this 5 minute video clearly demonstrate why I vote for Democrats over Republicans. This happened 5 months ago so maybe you have seen it. But I had never seen it.

Why do you vote the way you do?


[YT]siFkEWcra10?si=EEb0knV6ooWcZMBC[/YT]

Can't charge USB power pack

I've got a 10000mAh powerpack from Tomax. This company appears to do branded gift type stuff, and the battery pack is just one of the items. https://www.tomaxusa.com/PC-Ten-Thousand-PC10000.html

But because it's just a rebadge (I assume), they don't have any sort of downloadable manuals.

My powerpack won't charge. I rarely use it, but I remember (back when I had the manual), I was able to reset it and it worked (once). Now when I plug it in, it shows the battery charge on a screen and flashes a number, but the number never changes. I can use it to charge my phone, but I seem to have no way to get it to charge back up.

Anyone know a way to tell what the real manufacturer for one of these is so perhaps I can find a manual for it? (I've tried 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5-clicking the power button. I've tried holding it down for more than 60 seconds (both when the charge is displayed and when it's not), doing all of those when it's "charging").

What if money expired?

"A long-forgotten German economist argued that society and the economy would be better off if money was a perishable good. Was he an anarchist crank or the prophet of a better world?"

https://www.noemamag.com/what-if-mon...tm_source=digg

Online Neurodivergence Ecosystems

"For Teen Girls, Rare Psychiatric Disorders Spread Like Viruses on Social Media

Researchers argue that a massive sudden spread of unusual psychiatric problems follows the pattern of “psychosomatic social contagion.”"

https://www.madinamerica.com/2023/11...-social-media/

Quote:

TikTok’s “sick-role subculture” leads to children taking on the characteristics of rare psychiatric diagnoses, according to an article in Comprehensive Psychiatry. Kids—especially teenage girls—are presenting with self-described Tourette’s, eating disorders, autism, and dissociative identity disorder (DID)—but suddenly, and in a way that doesn’t match how these diagnoses have previously been identified.

Quote:

“There has been a recognition of vast online ‘neurodivergence’ ecosystem in which classical mental illness symptoms and diagnoses are viewed less as mental health concerns that require professional attention, but rather as consumer identities or character traits that make individuals sharper and more interesting than others around them,” the researchers write.

I've come across DID groups online that reaffirm the poster's (self- or otherwise) diagnosis. I've also seen three people self-diagnose ADHD, though they have had some contact with psychologists, just not official final diagnoses.

Has anyone else noticed a trend towards self-diagnosis and a drift contrary to the stigma formerly associated with mental illness?

Christian Nationalism

Given Mike Johnson was elected speaker and he is a Christian nationalist I started to wonder more specifically what policies the Christian nationalists would push if elected to a majority. Belonging to some atheist organizations I have seen some take action requests/legislative alerts etc. I’m just trying to wrap my head around what are the specific threats to freedom of belief or non-belief and how far they might go.

There are a number of newspaper articles but I found this Washington Post article helpful.

There are some obvious things they would do immediately if they had the power:

• Federal government declare the US is a Christian nation
• National ban on abortions

There are other policy goals they seem to have but are vague and seem to vary among Christian groups

• Federal government openly advocate for Christian values (and I see the problem with this in defining who’s Christian values - Pentecostal, Baptist, Catholic?)
• Churches allowed to veto legislation (Who’s church? Would they try to amend the constitution to make it possible?)
• Require and oath to Christianity for leadership positions

I find the prospect of what Christian nationalists doing if they gain control pretty scary. At the same time, I do believe they have a long way to go to get this kind of control.

How far would they go?

I could see where if they got control it would be incremental. Smaller things at first until power could be consolidated. Or would they end up following apart under sectarian divides?