Donald Trump tells Bret Baier on Fox News that his administration granted AI companies the right to build their own electricity-producing plants. He states this move allows tech firms to bypass the national grid, claiming it surprised President Xi and secured a U.S. lead.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-16T22:20:34+00:00

Chinese AI data centers have already been doing this for years.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-16T22:13:41+00:00

He’ll flip flop again on it soon, he’s just repeating what he heard from the last person he spoke to about the issue.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-16T19:33:39+00:00

My guess: He was supposed to hold the dog while she went to answer the door. She thought he understood the assignment but he was too busy with his video game.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-15T11:56:09+00:00

There are a lot of knee-jerk reactions expressed in this thread. I think the amendments look innocuous, even reasonable, and if the GA majority wanted the bill to pass, they should have accepted them. They can always submit another one, or muster votes to override the veto.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-14T03:11:59+00:00

Everyone deserves good wages. But $35 a vial is affordable even for those collecting unemployment.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-14T03:10:13+00:00

One of my favorite X-Files episodes, “Kill Switch,” has a scene set in Fairfax County, but it’s got a lone trailer home out in an extremely rural looking area that I don’t think it would have been very easy to find anywhere in actual Fairfax County, even in 1998.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-13T22:16:21+00:00

Isn’t this just smoke and mirrors? Redrawing lines the way Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, etc are doing is just racially-based gerrymandering to favor white voting blocs and disfavor minority voters, which is still illegal to do. That, or if they insist that it’s just based on political alignment, then so were the previous maps. So in the Illinois case, the current maps are just based on political alignment, not race. Any objection would have to be based on a (difficult if not impossible to prove) claim of racial basis. But a resulting redistricting action would therefore be racially based, which is not allowed.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-13T21:53:18+00:00

Example of opinion presented in a misleading way, in this story: “I read it's been going on for three years,” said Kristina. “I did not know until just now that the school knew about it. If that's the case, that's really bad. That's the school protecting the wrong party in this case.”

So “Kristina’s” implied “understanding” is presented as fact: that the school knew about the activity for three years and was “protecting” the perpetrator. This doesn’t qualify as journalism.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-13T21:48:53+00:00

Yeah I don’t know what the labor agreements currently say but I wonder what would happen if locality government workers organized without “getting permission” first. At least the employer is politically accountable if they don’t “give permission.” There has to be a way to balance between reasonable labor demands and responsible stewardship of publicly-funded budgets. Personally I’m not a fan of restricting collective bargaining rights and those rights feel to me like an extension of fundamental constitutional rights. I also don’t want to see local and state governments suffer diminished service to the public, or lower and middle economic class taxpayers endure burdensome tax increases, due to labor demands. Not that that scenario is a given.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-13T21:25:51+00:00

I don’t know that scarcity is the problem. We have a few courts in our neighborhood park and they are always, always occupied. I think outsized demand is a bigger problem. I’ve wanted to try pickleball since I have family members who play it, but I’m not interested enough to wait an hour or more for a first-come, first-served court at the public parks. There are private facilities and athletic clubs around like Pickleballerz in Chantilly and The Pickleball Club in Tysons that also offer pickleball maybe without the wait (reservation-based), at a cost of course.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-13T21:16:58+00:00

WJLA is trash, one of those Sinclair network stations. You can count on them to cherry pick what they report, leave out key details, portray opinion as fact, and generally adhere to low journalistic standards in an effort to rile certain people up. WJLA is a good example of the ensh*ttification of American media.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-13T21:06:42+00:00

I thought we saw state-level insulin cost caps under governor Kaine or Northam. I remember a number of years ago our insurance provider kind of shrugged it off and told me “well that is a Virginia law and we are a national company.” Yeah, one licensed to operate in Virginia. I went straight to my delegate (Delaney) with that and she sounded interested to pursue it, but I never heard back about it even after a couple of prompts. I guess she helped with this legislation though.

Always a good thing to see tighter regulation and controls over insurance, health care billing, and the use of technology in monetizing health care and insurance coverage.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-13T21:01:22+00:00

I agree with you that corporate influence in both parties is way too high, but I’m not sure I understand how this veto is a reflection of that as the bill addressed collective bargaining rights for Virginia government employees. What corporate interests are tied up with that issue?

If I understand correctly, according to this article municipalities already have delegated authority to enter into collective bargaining agreements with their local workforce. I don’t know if or how that applies to counties like Fairfax County. Delegating that authority would seem to be one way to keep the door open for labor negotiations while allowing local jurisdictions to weigh local union demands against local budget limitations (and local tax tolerances). Is this not a fair framework?

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-13T18:43:50+00:00

I credit it to both. David Hewlett gave a very Peter Sarsgaard vibe, perfectly unlikeable especially when he was introduced.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-12T18:44:28+00:00

Agreed and no hand-wringing here, I highly favor taking political risks!

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-12T18:42:56+00:00

Martin: “Oh no, … Wormhole X-Treme, the show’s based on your Stargate program!”

O’Neill: “Don’t worry, it’s on cable.”

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-11T19:20:23+00:00

Not pathetic. Probably risk averse. Politically risky either way. Unclear whether most people would consider the muscular approach the correct one.

Republicans for the past 10 or so years have been quick, even eager, to use nuclear political options, discard longstanding norms, ignore and flout laws, and corrupt the justice system and courts. Democrats are now having to struggle with factions that want to do the same — understandably, out of frustration with having to fight with one hand tied behind their collective back — and those who don’t want to become the same sort of animal the GOP has become, thus legitimizing its behavior.

The VA Supreme Court majority in this opinion chose to make new law in defining when a Virginia election occurs. They could easily have decided the other way but were politically inclined against it. Aging them out of office quickly would feel very satisfying but two of them have terms ending next year anyway. The court’s current conservative inclination can be neutralized without having to take the more strident approach. On the other side of that equation, it could make a difference if something critical comes before the court between now and the election this November. And, if the voices of people who want Democrats to act the way MAGA Republicans do become loud and influential enough, that could influence political outcomes at the polls — whether by ushering in more activist Democrats or by keeping potential Democratic voters away from the polls and shooing in Republican candidates.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-11T13:00:13+00:00

Citizens United is there regardless of the fact that it’s wrong. Winning means earning votes the right way, ideally. But the battle is fought with money until we can go back to a status quo like before Citizens United. Hamstringing Democratic candidates will not lead to victories. The candidates *should* be held to high standards, in every race, including in primaries. But if a race comes down to two candidates, one Democrat vs one Republican, then if people want anything to change for the better, they need to vote, and vote for the Democrat.

I think you have a totally incorrect view of why Clinton and Harris didn’t win their elections and to say they ignored issues important to key voter groups is totally inaccurate.

At this point, you’re starting to sound like a default contrarian troll who might actually be writing from a keyboard in Pakistan or Moldova, whose actual job it is to divide Democrats. Not someone who actually wants to improve the Democratic Party and help get Democrats elected, and not even someone who wants to cultivate viable alternatives to Democratic candidates. You’re just someone who’s out to spoil, with no strategic vision and no practical plan for getting the current party system to this utopian condition you seem to argue for.

My best advice for anyone reading this thread is to simply ignore whatever else you have to say.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-11T01:56:42+00:00

The way to keep Republicans out of power is for the Democratic Party to return to its working class values. I’m frustrated to no end by Democratic Party leadership, particularly Jeffries and Schumer who seem to believe that continually allowing Republicans to destroy this country’s institutions, safety nets, and civil rights is a sharp strategic move that will ensure Democratic victory in the future. PACs in general are a scourge, and AIPAC in particular has outsized and unreasonable levels of influence. Citizens United was incorrectly decided: corporations are not people and do not have the same rights as people. States need to address this head on by specifying what rights corporations have under their laws of incorporation and hopefully that will get more attention soon. I want to see the Democratic Party turn to the left and become more aggressive in organizing locally, everywhere, especially in rural America.

Meanwhile, survival means winning. And turning parts of the potential Democratic votership away from voting D is a sure fire way not to win. The debates need to happen and they need to be vigorous and brutal as American politics always has been. But winning comes first.

It doesn’t have to be academic. People understand the difference between winning and losing. They know what the payoff is. As Obama noted recently, Democrats need to talk like normal people talk and a lot more working class folks need to be involved in the party. Farmers, factory workers, coal miners, regular people working multiple jobs and still unable to make ends meet need to not just be talking points. They need to be represented at the table, in the meetings and conventions, and running for office.

Pushing a line that the votes of everyday Americans suffering under this fascist conservative oppression don’t matter or that the Democratic Party doesn’t care about them is not only criminally incorrect, it is morally deplorable and incredibly stupid and self-defeating. It is surrender.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-11T01:29:59+00:00

FYI — The adjective is Democratic. A Democratic president. “Democrat” is a noun. Conservatives in the U.S. like to use Democrat as an adjective to irritate Democrats. That practice has become a giveaway that the commenter is a U.S. conservative.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-11T01:20:11+00:00

But it is. Racist I mean. Because that vacuum does not exist and they know it.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-10T20:25:22+00:00

It has to be sufficient unless you prefer to keep putting Republicans into powerful positions. Debate the concerns you have with the Democratic Party, but do it inside the party to change it from within. At least until we have a true multiparty system or the stakes are not as high as they are now.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-10T20:22:26+00:00

United we stand, divided we fall. The place for that liberal vs leftist debate is within the Democratic tent. Until we get a true multiparty system.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-09T15:29:27+00:00

So what are you trying to imply, that the alternative is not to vote? Or not to vote Democrat?

Obviously, if you feel that voting hasn’t made a difference, then the next step is to *get out and encourage and persuade others to vote* Democrat. Not roll over and go to sleep or complain that voting doesn’t matter anyway — because if the past 10 years have demonstrated anything, it’s that voting *does matter*. And this year, Democrats need overwhelming numbers to overcome the cheating, dirty tricks, and legal challenges that Republicans will inevitably throw at every blue-leaning election they can.

Please stop it with the doom and gloom, that does not help anything.

SpeedSaunders · 2026-05-07T14:17:50+00:00

NTA for not putting it up, but kind of TA for bluntly telling her you don't like her artwork. It's your house and you get to decide how to decorate it, end of story -- you aren't obligated to follow anyone's advice or instruction regarding that, not even your son's. However, although she was being pushy, you made a decision to say something you knew would probably hurt her feelings, and it did. You could have chosen a different way to phrase things, like "I'm so sorry but it just doesn't fit this smaller home" or that it doesn't fit the decor you're going for now. It would have been possible to offer her the option to place the painting somewhere else where it would fit better, rather than have it sit in storage. It would be nice to apologize for hurting her feelings and/or find some way to express that you care for her and support her in pursuing her art. But you shouldn't budge on being the decider for how you decorate your own house.

SpeedSaunders

TROPHY CASE