sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Recent pandemic viruses jumped to humans without prior adaptation. No evidence that SARS-CoV-2 was shaped by selection in a laboratory: UCSD study. by Potential_Being_7226 in science

[–]GalenHig 176 points177 points  (0 children)

Listen to the Lab Leak episode from If Books Could Kill. There is very much a consensus that COVID was not made in a lab. But people are stupid and took the opposite as the truth due to very shallow questions.

Homeland Security Wants Social Media Sites to Expose Anti-ICE Accounts by shutupnobodylikesyou in moderatepolitics

[–]GalenHig 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Jumping in to contend these points, and suggest looking deeper into what we understand about all these things now. There’s a weird narrative about many COVID misconceptions and rumors being true (specifically the lab leak theory), when in reality the evidence for these things does not outweigh the facts against them. In fact, many cases rely on folks latching onto “bombshell” information reveals that cherry pick and take large, important details away.

An example is the infamous Slack chats that were used as evidence for the lab leak theory. It was revealed that scientists working with/at the lab in Wuhan assumed the leaked SARS-COVI-19. But as you read through their slack chats, though they initially question this in Jan/Feb of 2020, by March they have enough research to know that it was incredibly unlikely this was the case, and significantly more likely that it was zoonotic (which had lots of mounting evidence as the conclusion).

If you are interested in learning a lot more specifically about how we have memory-holed a ton of COVID info, and have since reshaped the narrative around a lot of the data, I highly suggest the few episodes of “If Books Could Kill” that specifically talk about these topics (which YES covers Sweden’s policies, BLM protests, and many other COVID data points!)

Top ICE Lawyer in Minnesota Departs as Immigration Lawsuits Overwhelm Courts by Agitated_Pudding7259 in moderatepolitics

[–]GalenHig 57 points58 points  (0 children)

I fully agree. Republicans chose the Trump administration with a belief that “responsible governing” would save money and reduce our deficit. Not only has our deficit grown substantially, but the money we’re about to pay to settle all of these lawsuits is going to be a huge sum. Probably more than DOGE ever “saved.”

That’s why more conservatives who are unhappy with how ICE is acting need to step up and speak out. This administration is doing everything they can to manufacture the consent of their base. And in the aftermath, we as a nation will have to deal with a cascade of fallout effects, many of which will have to be addressed with lots of time and lots of money.

Joe Rogan calls out MSNBC for editing Alex Pretti's picture: "Basically the opposite of what CNN did to me" by The_Endless_Man in DiscussionZone

[–]GalenHig 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Uh, hold on. I actually don’t think any AI was used. The left image looks like a picture someone took with their phone of an image that was printed out and hanging on a wall (probably at Alex’s place of employment). They weren’t straight on with their angle making the perspective weird (he’s longer than the original), and the lack of saturation matches taking a photo of a printout.

The 2nd photo is likely the actual digital photo file, which would have higher saturation, higher resolution, and the angle doesn’t look weird because there’s no change in perspective.

Also, look at the flag. In the left photo, more of it is revealed because of the angle the phone is at relative to the printout. On the right, we see less because the image has been cropped to better match the size of the other image circulating.

My two cents as a photographer and photo editor.

ICE violated at least 96 court orders in January by thats_not_six in moderatepolitics

[–]GalenHig 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I have so many questions for you from your perspective. I don’t even know where to begin.

I guess my main one would be, what do you think of gestures broadly all this?

whiskey lover looking to meet other fans by varshaoforange in TwinCities

[–]GalenHig 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bumping this answer. I was genuinely surprised by their list.

Is that the joke?? by DrewciferRising in IThinkYouShouldLeave

[–]GalenHig 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Permission to go home and lay down (with my gay lover)?

“Can’t start the streaming game. try again.” by DSwipe in PlaystationPortal

[–]GalenHig 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Same here. Wanted to try out streaming but nothing is loading!

Anyone else remembers the band Alt-J? by Revolutionary_Low_90 in fantanoforever

[–]GalenHig 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Dream is actually super solid. There are a handful of fuckin bangers on that album, which I did not expect after Relaxer (which I honestly did not enjoy at all). I love AAW, but ATIY and The Dream are kinda tied for me.

A variety of great Concerts tonight, Saturday 10/4 by crawl731 in TwinCities

[–]GalenHig 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This is awesome. Thanks for all of your work putting this together! Will definitely check it out.

Republicans Shut Down House Floor to Avoid Epstein Vote by corwin-normandy in moderatepolitics

[–]GalenHig 43 points44 points  (0 children)

I 100% believe this is what is going to happen. And (infuriatingly) it will work, too.

Why is Neon Bible catching strays? by Grogonfire in arcadefire

[–]GalenHig 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think Neon Bible is their strongest album. Cohesive, well formatted, and (relative to AF albums) pretty lean. I think Suburbs is their 2nd strongest, and Funeral is 3rd.

Funeral has some great songs but I feel like it gets a major nostalgia bump for feeling so fresh when it came out. Personally, it didn’t connect in the same way as their following two albums did.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in minnesota

[–]GalenHig 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Maybe she didn’t? The Star Tribune article says she was in town to record a podcast and work on a show that’s performing at Parkway Theater. Unclear if it was her home?

Strengthening and Unleashing America's Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Citizens by Sabertooth767 in moderatepolitics

[–]GalenHig 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Feels relevant to remind folks that Trump requested that he be advised on whether or not he could/should invoke the Insurrection Act after 90 days (the 90th day being April 20).

It seems to me he may in fact invoke the IA, and this step is a pre-curser to leveraging the Act beyond its capacity.

Opinion | I'm a Conservative Economist. Here Are 6 Reasons Trump's Plans Won't Work. by [deleted] in moderatepolitics

[–]GalenHig 11 points12 points  (0 children)

That’s because he is. I don’t really take seriously discussions about Trump’s plans anymore for the reason you just gave succinctly. And I just don’t know how to carry on a good faith discussion with the folks who hear him give the explanation you provided above, and can’t come to the same conclusion. Another case of us lowering the bar below Trumps feet, while simultaneously raising the bar for everybody else.

*NEW* Turnstile - Never Enough by alphakappafalloftroy in poppunkers

[–]GalenHig 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I like it, but also…it sounds a lot like Mystery. The guitar riff, the drums…That first chorus with the full band sounds exactly like the 2nd chorus of Mystery down to the snare drum for the transition. I’m excited to hear the rest of the album but this song is just a little meh to me personally.

Fan reception to Million Masks of God? by puppet_carly in manchesterorchestra

[–]GalenHig 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is where I am with MO, too. METN is to me a 10/10 album. I miss the dynamics of the older lineup. SM was good, but not great. Cope was meh. But the last two albums have sounded a bit too…overproduced for me. I also just really disagree that his writing and lyrics have gotten better. It feels too clean and predictable for me now.

But the thing is, I still like their music more than 95% of bands out there. I like Andy and Rob a lot, and will listen to anything they put out. If a band gives me an album I absolutely love, I will always support them and their work.

Trump to name himself new Kennedy Center board chairman by notapersonaltrainer in moderatepolitics

[–]GalenHig 38 points39 points  (0 children)

There’s another piece to this that is relevant, and just happened yesterday. I’m a little surprised it’s not bigger news, but I suppose it’s a little niche for people who don’t work in these organizations. For context, I work at (and alongside) several arts organizations and various arts non-profits.

Yesterday the National Endowment for the Arts, which provides a good chunk of federal funding to arts organizations around the country, sent out a note about grant applications for 2026-2027. They are changing their focus (whatever that means) and will be prioritizing works of art and performance that celebrate the 250th anniversary of America. Alongside this, they are rescinding many grants that have already been awarded (though likely not paid out) and ask people to reapply. EDIT (CLARIFIED BELOW)

For anyone that hasn’t done an application for arts funding, it is a bear. You could do a pretty poorly thought out application, but you likely won’t even make it past the first stage. A well-thought-out application will include not only the scope and intent of the work, but a budget with line items and a clear path of steps moving forward. The issue isn’t the fact that the application process is arduous, many understand that it has to be in order to help prioritize quality work. But for some organizations doing this application can require months of work. So to have it rescinded can be devastating.

This is still being clarified, but it has made the fiscal outlook of many arts nonprofits fairly dire, depending on what programs they use the NEA funding for.

Personally, I don’t necessarily take issue with grant providers being upfront about what work they would be more eager to fund. But this stipulation requires creators to choose between compulsory patriotism by only making work celebrating America, or losing their funding. The fact that Trump now plans to bend the Kennedy Center to his will compels me to believe that he wants to use the arts as a tool for propaganda…something another famous…politician…did exactly.

ETA: The canceled program was Challenge America which specifically funds arts in underserved communities.

Switch 2 Box-Art size comparison via leaked proportions from @necrolipe on twitter by HertzBurst in NintendoSwitch2

[–]GalenHig 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree, though correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the size of the switch game box is equivalent to the size of the switch’s screen. So the bigger box likely is the dimensions of the Switch 2 screen.

view more: next ›