The incredible self-annihilating creationist argument » « Almost October!

Infinite Thread XXXXI

Behold, the Ugly Palace (il Palazzaccio, aka The Palace of Justice in Rome).

It’s nice to know we aren’t the only country that throws away money on hideous, grandiose buildings with terrible cost overruns and rumors of corruption. Of course, if it were built here, it would be excessively gilded, and would be a deathtrap.

Talk among yourselves about construction projects. Or whatever.

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  1. says

    Links back to the previous set of 500 comments on The Infinite Thread

    https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2026/09/29/infinite-thread-xxxxi/comment-page-2/#comment-2315521
    Trump said $4 billion in U.S. military aid to Israel would be cut off at the end of the year

    https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2026/09/29/infinite-thread-xxxxi/comment-page-2/#comment-2315519
    Russian glide bomb attack on Ukrainian school

    https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2026/09/29/infinite-thread-xxxxi/comment-page-2/#comment-2315510
    Court seems poised to side with Catholic preschools in religious discrimination dispute

  2. says

    New York Times:

    Google announced Tuesday that early next year it would turn off artificial intelligence tools in its popular software for K-12 students, unless school administrators explicitly choose to make such tools available. … But there is a catch: Schools that choose to restrict A.I. entirely will also lose access to Google search.

    Link

  3. says

    Notification from Steve Benen:

    MS NOW’s election night coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET, and we might very well see some notable results in that first hour.

  4. Ogvorbis says

    So, polls around here close at 8:00. Across the river, the voting at the Hoyt library in Kingston, PA has been extended until 9:00 because someone pulled the fire alarm. I hope they catch the asshole. Will it be a Rethuglican Trumpservative trying to derail urban voters?

  6. Tethys says

    Roy Cooper is projected to have won his senate race in NC. They haven’t elected a Democrat senator for 18 years.

    Congrats NC and Georgia! 2 Senate races down and polls just closed for the Central time zone, so we should get results in a few hours.

  7. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    Lynna @496 in the previous 500:

    Reginald @495: So; they want that government money, in the form of vouchers, but don’t want to meet the rules required for them to qualify.

    Yes. And that seems to be standard operating procedure for religion-based private schools.

    Wikipedia – Paul Weyrich

    He co-founded The Heritage Foundation […] and coined the term “moral majority,” co-founding an organization of the same name in 1979
    […]
    In the early 1970s, Weyrich was first able to politically mobilize conservative Protestants after federal courts ruled segregation academies ineligible for tax exemption, and the Internal Revenue Service began revoking tax exemptions of these schools. Most of these private schools were church sponsored and had been founded to serve white students who abandoned public schools after they were integrated. At this time, conservative Protestants were not an organized voting bloc […] Weyrich sought to frame the IRS crackdown on segregation academics as an issue of government intrusion and attacks on religious freedom
    […]
    [In 1978] the IRS proposed a new rule that would have revoked the tax exemption of private schools based on their racial demographic composition relative to that of their respective communities. Weyrich later cited this as the beginnings of the religious right […] The unexpected success of predominantly Catholic anti-abortion activists in the 1978 midterms convinced Weyrich that opposition to abortion might work as a wedge issue to keep evangelicals politically mobilized. […] Prior to this time, the Catholic Church was the only Christian denomination that was staunchly anti-abortion, with many Protestant and evangelical denominations, including the Southern Baptist Convention, either supporting legalization of the procedure, or not taking a stance

  8. JM says

    @1 Lynna, OM: The bit about reducing military aid to Israel isn’t as big a deal as it sounds. There is a plan afoot to combine several parts of the US military and Israel’s.
    Responsible Statecraft: Congress quietly moves to integrate US and Israeli militaries

    Buried in the House’s version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) released on Tuesday, is section 224, entitled “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative.” The provision would arguably do more to intertwine the U.S. military with the Israeli military than the more than $200 billion (inflation adjusted) in military assistance Israel has received from the U.S. since its founding in 1948.
    Section 224 lays the groundwork for bilateral research and development, co-production of weapons, joint ventures, licensing agreements, and seemingly every manner of U.S.-Israeli military-industrial complex cooperation.

  10. Reginald Selkirk says

    Juliana Stratton makes history with Black women in the Senate

    Democrat Juliana Stratton won election Tuesday to the U.S. Senate representing Illinois, defeating Republican Don Tracy.
    …
    Stratton’s election marks the first time in history three Black women will be in office at the same time in the U.S. Senate. She’ll join two other Black Democratic women — Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, who were not up this election cycle…

    ‘I voted’ stickers left at memorials for Renee Good, Alex Pretti in Minneapolis

  11. StevoR says

    Phew! Looking good so far..

    Live results from Aussie ABC here :

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-11-04/us-midterm-election-results-2026/107235570

    Plus their live blog here :

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-11-04/us-midterm-elections-2026-live-updates/107335560

    As well as :

    Democrats have firmed up as narrow favourites to win control of both houses of the US Congress in today’s midterm elections, according to the US’s top political forecasters.

    The result would open new pathways for the party to frustrate US President Donald Trump’s agenda in his final two years in office.

    Voting is underway across the US, with polls finding many Americans intend to punish Mr Trump’s Republican Party over cost-of-living pressures, including higher fuel costs linked to the Iran war.

    “I think the results are going to be better than you think,” the president told national breakfast television show Fox and Friends in a phone interview shortly after polls opened.

    Many polls say otherwise, with predictions some states that have not elected Democratic senators for decades could flip.

    Source : https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-11-04/us-midterms-voting-underway-as-polls-bad-for-donald-trump/107339316

    Its looking very much that way at the moment and here’s hoping that blue Tsunami trend continues..

  12. Tethys says

    Talarico wins Texas senate seat!
    Annie Andrews beats Darline Graham in SC!
    Ha, how delightful that SC doesn’t want Lindsey’s sister as its Senator.

    Two more Democrat Senators. Woohoo!

  13. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    StevoR @468 in the previous 500.

    SasanianShah (Iranian historian):

    CNN: US military carried out limited strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island […] characterizing the action as defensive […] to protect US assets

    US provoking a war by conducting “defensive” operations 5,800 miles from its closest border: Guam!

    This reminds me of a funny anecdote. During the Constitutional Revolution (CR) in Iran (1906-1911) there was a troublesome pro-CR Majlis MP (also a Mulla) called Modarress who was a bit of a pest. He used to give fiery speeches at the Parliament against the anti-CR faction, particularly the nobility at the court. One of his fav targets was Prince Farmanfarma (the patriarch of the eponymous family), who finally got fed up & passed a message to Modarress, saying “if you please, stop stepping on my tail (Persian equiv of “stepping on toes”), I would be most grateful!”

    Modarress answered: “well, your highness should consider declaring the length of your tail. Wherever I step, your noble tail seems to be there too!”

  15. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    Al Jazeera – Arab parties back Eisenkot: What’s the latest in Israel’s coalition talks?

    The main Jewish opposition bloc, which includes four parties, fell short of the 61 seats needed to form a majority in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, but joining forces with the two main groups that represent Palestinian citizens of Israel could help avoid a political deadlock and another election.
    […]
    But taking support from the Arab parties—whether as part of the ruling coalition or as outside support—also poses a challenge for Eisenkot from the right, at a time when leaders and parties, including Netanyahu, have been openly deploying anti-Arab racism to woo Jewish voters.
    […]
    Netanyahu’s Likud won 53 seats in a Knesset of 120 seats […] The opposition bloc, led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot of the Yashar party, won 48 seats—even further away from a majority.

    Meanwhile, the Arab-led Joint List and Ra’am won more seats than ever [19 total] […] Arabs make up a fifth of the population of Israel. […] Joint List and Ra’am said they’ll collaborate with the opposition bloc to push Netanyahu out but not necessarily […] joining an Eisenkot government […] That would allow Eisenkot to form a “minority government” with fewer than 61 seats.
    […]
    President Isaac Herzog will begin meeting with leaders of the 11 parties […] to know who they want as the next prime minister. […] He will then choose the candidate he thinks is most likely to form a coalition government. […] Eisenkot or Netanyahu will be given 28 days to form a coalition. If that fails, the negotiation period can be extended by 14 days, after which Herzog might ask another candidate to try again.

    Although chances are slim, […] Netanyahu could attempt to pull at least eight members of the opposition bloc. Already, Yashar claimed […] several of its members had gotten calls from Likud, which it said was in a state of “hysteria”.

    Ken Fairfax (Former US ambassador): “it appears that the cruel corruption of Bibi Netanyahu is at an end. […] Is Eisenkot perfect? No. Is he far, far better than Netanyahu? Yes. Yes. Yes.”

    Al Jazeera – Who Israel elects matters

    The government that might emerge from the opposition parties, while far from my ideal, […] would be unlikely to hesitate to halt and reverse the so-called judicial overhaul, which amounted to an assault on the separation of powers […] Another Netanyahu-Ben-Gvir government would risk leaving Israel a democracy in name only
    […]
    It is not unrealistic to assume that a new government might adopt an approach that relies less exclusively on military force in Lebanon and Syria and possibly in relation to Iran while remaining open to exploring diplomatic avenues. It would also be less likely to engage in the constant political theatre designed to appease a far-right, ultranationalist base—as the current government has done […] You might think that this is an exceptionally low benchmark. Indeed, Eisenkot himself opposes Palestinian statehood and favours continued Israeli security control over Palestinian territory
    […]
    At times like these, recognising that politics is the art of the possible and holding a new government accountable for the direction and pace of its promised changes, with a clear sense of urgency, could yield positive results.

  16. Tethys says

    Amy Acton wins Ohio governor, beating the excreable GOP token Vivek Ramaswamy.

    Democrats regain control of the House of Representatives, and on track to take the senate too. Mike Johnson is probably shitting bricks and looking to retain a really good personal lawyer.

  17. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    TheNewRepublic – Pete Hegseth makes over half the military want to quit early
     
    Rando 1: “I can’t believe firing all the generals, mandatory testosterone testing, and starting (and losing) a major land war in Asia made all the professionals want to quit. Sailors were jumping overboard due to poor conditions on an aircraft carrier, and Pete wants the Army to invest in dildozers and truck nutz.”

    Nicholas Slayton (Task&Purpose): “You forgot constant changes to [Physical Training] tests.”

    Rando 2: “I won’t believe them till they actually leave.”

  18. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    Assigned Media:

    the Virginia initiative has been called. Voters have struck down a same-sex marriage ban, a vestige of the pre-Obergefell US. […] the wedge issue Republicans used to drive turnout among reactionaries and the religious right […]

    Greg Abbot and Ken Paxton—two of the most consistently anti-trans politicians in the US—are BOTH OUT in Texas. Talarico will represent Texas in the Senate, and the governor will be Gina Hinojosa. […]

    Evan Urquhart (AssignedMedia): Families of trans youth in Texas experiencing new hope. They’ve been demonized, hunted like criminals. Families who have been living in fear, with go bags and details plans for what happens next if mom and dad are arrested for affirming their kid.

    Missouri voters have defeated the abortion ban/constitutional trans youth care ban! While the abortion question was more central to most of the no on 3 campaign, and trans care remains banned in state law, this is a victory for […] canvassers who are working to establish a durable pro-trans majority in MO.

    NBC has called the Vermont initiative enshrining equal protection for a list of characteristics including gender identity as a yes. Trans people will be guaranteed equal protection under Vermont law!

    This is a huge win for trans rights at the ballot box in a blue state (and a bright light in the initiative races that otherwise, frankly, are not looking great).

    Nebraska Initiative Measure 442 has called as yes by the Associated Press. This makes it unconstitutional for trans girls to play sports with other girls, something that is already illegal under NE law.

  19. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    Daniel Nichanian (BoltsMag):

    Georgia Democrats sweep statewide races.
    They win Senate. They win governor.
    They win secretary of state. They win attorney general.
    They win labor commissioner. They win school superintendent.
    They win the public service commission.

    They also win state House.
    All flips, except U.S. Senate race.
    It does not appear that they will flip the Georgia Senate. That they couldn’t make it despite the unbelievable night they had speaks to the extraordinary gerrymandering of the legislature.

  20. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee: “Democrats just BROKE the GOP’s supermajority in the Indiana House!”

    Stephen Wolf (The Downballot): Indiana Democrats can now block bills (at least temporarily) by denying Republicans the 2/3 majority needed for a quorum.

    Rando: “And there goes the ability to redistrict Indiana.”

    In 2026, seven out of the nine Republicans who voted against redistricting retired or lost renomination.

  22. birgerjohansson says

    Non-political stuff.
    I have noticed that in Japanese comedy, it is much ‘cringe’/ embarrassment jokes while in America (judging from Family Guy and South Park) it is a lot of gross-out comedy.
    Like the South American steaks [with American flags] that cause explosive diarrhea: They make people transform into diarrhea and then explode.

  23. birgerjohansson says

    Gross humor in South Park (the latest episode)

    -Since the suspicious steaks have American flags on them, people have to eat them despite seeing that “explosive diarrhea” has a new meaning.
    “South Park has BEEF with Performative Patriotism”
    .https://youtube.com/watch?v=JsdGDELF_U4
    .
    A sample of cringe humor from a parody of anime high-school romcoms.

    Ume is recommended for the student council by the lazy, chain smoking homeroom teacher. 
    Mirakomo is the small, accident-prone kid. Otori-Tan is the tech-savvy genius femboy, unfortunately he gets off on pranks. 
    The treasurer has a quite violent side (and has a dad that apparently makes dinner in only an apron).

    Every episode the tech kids zoom by with some new crazy gadget.
    The tea club complains about noise from the music club. A locked-room disaster, at 18 minutes in an ED with upcoming imagery. Planning the student council retreat  (spoiler: it will be a disaster).
    “Even The Student Council Has Its Holes”
    .https://youtube.com/watch?v=WslYgTIMVPs

  24. birgerjohansson says

    Pete Hegseth can be impeached.
    RFK Jr. can be impeached.
    Stephen Miller can be impeached.
    Markwayne Mullin can be impeached.
    (purrs like an evil cat, looking forward to finally nailing Jerry)

  26. johnson catman says

    re Reginald Selkirk@25: The Orange Turd is too stupid to realize that he WAS on the ballot, but is too narcissistic to take the blame for it.

  27. Reginald Selkirk says

    Early Results Suggest 473 Million Dollars’ Worth of Buyer’s Remorse for Elon Musk

    … And that makes it a good time to remember that Elon Musk paid an estimated $474 million for these results. He is the largest single donor in these midterms (whose activities are known to the public)…

    If Musk Were Mad About the Election, Would He Be Posting These Hilarious Jokes?

    … His pinned post at the time was a diatribe about what he thought would happen if the Democrats won (the end of Democracy), and his most recent political post was one from early on Election Day simply saying “Vote red today!” But for hours his silence was deafening.

    Then he posted some (I guess) jokes:

    Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now

    About a minute after that, he posted this:

    Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time

    …

  28. Reginald Selkirk says

    Speaker Mike Johnson says GOP will keep working ‘to make America great again’

    “While the outcome of this midterm is not what we’d hoped and fought for, a new battle is just beginning,” the Republican speaker said overnight on social media.

    Johnson is expected to face a challenge from Republican rivals if he tries to stay on as GOP leader in the new Congress, which Democrats will control after the midterm rout. He did not immediately address his plans.

    He said, “come 2028, we WILL take back the House and we will finish the job.”

    Chortle. I plan to do a lot of chortling today.

  31. Reginald Selkirk says

    Jared Diamond: What if Darwin had died at birth?

    recently listened to Jared Diamond interviewed on an episode of The Michael Shermer Show: How Much Can One Person Change History? Diamond is probably best known for his book Guns, Germs, and Steel, which I had read when it came out. His newest book, published this fall, is Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings: (When) Do Leaders Matter? The content of the book is well summarized in the Shermer Show and also reflected accurately in the titles. That said, when someone as bright as Diamond wonders about Darwin, I have to take notice, so I picked up the book and read it, followed by three reviews, in the Times, the Guardian, and the Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail article was favorable, the Guardian article mixed, and the Times article properly critical but sometimes perhaps a bit catty.

    Before we get to Darwin, let us back up a little bit and discuss what Diamond calls the Hamlet test…

    Thus, Diamond asks, if you remove a person from history, would history be different?
    …
    That conclusion seems fairly weak. Without Darwin, we would not have been deprived of a theory of natural selection; Wallace would have provided it (if not Patrick Matthew, though that is a longshot). Would scientific progress in and public acceptance of evolution have slowed and by how much, if Darwin had died of smallpox at age 6? What would evolutionary biology be like today? What other scientists actually changed the history of science? …

  32. says

    DEMS FLIP CONTROL OF HOUSE AND SENATE

    A blue tsunami drowned the GOP Congress. Here’s what comes next.

    Related video hosted by Rachel Maddow is available at the link.

    […] Amid a surge in Hispanic, Black and young voter turnout, Democrats flipped the House and the Senate and won seats they haven’t won in decades. But whether the victory is short-lived or long-lasting depends on what comes next.

    From the beginning of this election cycle, history leaned toward Republicans losing their narrow House majority. But the size of the Democratic victory was far from preordained. “This is shaping up to be the biggest House popular vote victory for any party since 1974,” MS NOW contributor G. Elliott Morris wrote. MS NOW projects Democrats will have at least 245 House seats come January.

    The bigger question entering Tuesday was control of the Senate. After Trump’s inauguration, the Senate GOP’s campaign arm set a goal of 55 seats, and at that time, Democrats, who have 47 seats, likely would have been happy with merely adding one or two seats more. But as of early Wednesday morning, Senate Democrats had already won at least 54 seats, including Texas, Kansas and South Carolina.

    For the first time in either Trump presidency, then, Democrats hold both chambers of Congress. They have the power not only to pass laws but also to investigate and hold to account those inside and outside the White House who have aided and abetted the corruption of the past two years. […]

    First, though, Democrats must fight efforts to corrupt the results — efforts that are already underway. […]

    Once the new Congress is sworn in, voters will expect Democrats to address affordability: by reversing the tariffs and the cuts to SNAP and Medicaid, raising the minimum wage and restoring the Biden-era child tax credit. [I snipped more details related to health care.]

    […] These bills are unlikely to become law; Trump has already said he will “become Mr. Veto” should Democrats control the next Congress, and his inclination toward compromise, to the extent it ever existed, has declined precipitously since his first term. But simply passing these bills can help Democratic lawmakers establish trust with voters […]

    And the president’s foes are not without leverage, thanks to the “power of the purse.” The House’s power over spending means Democrats can demand a say in everything from ending the Iran war to halting Trump’s many vanity projects.

    “Because Trump is so lawless,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., told The New Republic’s Greg Sargent, “We have got to use the appropriations power as carefully as we can to prevent violations of people’s constitutional rights.” Democrats can use this power to limit the administration’s politically motivated prosecutions, levy new restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other parts of Stephen Miller’s white nationalist project, and end the National Guard deployments to Washington, D.C.; Memphis; and elsewhere. [!]

    And with House and Senate majorities come new investigative and oversight powers. The White House will no doubt resist, but Democrats can investigate the Trump family’s business dealings, the administration’s stonewalling on the Epstein files, corporate corruption and profiteering, and the conduct of the Iran war. Congressional hearings could also buttress the case for impeachment, whether of the president or Cabinet members, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, though the odds of conviction and removal remain low, if not nil.

    The hearings can also rebut Trump’s attempts to shield his underlings and allies from accountability. The president has long warned of issuing pre-emptive pardons to members of his staff, before Democrats even launch any investigations. This week he suggested he would look at pardoning GOP megadonor Elon Musk as well — another likely target of Democratic probes.

    […]Establishing not only that criminal behavior took place but that pardons were issued to stop prosecutions will help Democrats make the case that these pardons should be treated as null and void.

    The last item is Senate-specific and simple: no more judges. Tuesday’s results do not change the fact that the judicial branch, led by the conservative Supreme Court, has enabled Trump, opened the floodgates for billionaire donors and gutted the Voting Rights Act. Whether the vacancies are on the Supreme Court or lower courts, Democrats must hold the line on these lifetime appointments (while demanding a new and binding ethics code for the Supreme Court).

    […] Above all, Democrats must remember. Remember who came out Tuesday, and who came out every day the last two years: to vote, to protest and to do the hard work of democracy. Remember the millions of everyday Americans who stood up and spoke out while the wealthy and powerful bowed and cowered. Remember Kilmar Abrego Garcia and Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero. Remember Renée Good and Alex Pretti.

    And then remember: The damage done by this president will not be undone overnight. How Democrats act will determine whether Tuesday was but a flicker of light, or the dawn of a new era.

  33. says

    From text quoted by Sky Captain @18:

    Greg Abbot and Ken Paxton—two of the most consistently anti-trans politicians in the US—are BOTH OUT in Texas. Talarico will represent Texas in the Senate, and the governor will be Gina Hinojosa.

    Talarico was outspent by Republicans two to one. Gina Hinojosa was outspent by Abbott’s campaign five to one. And that’s just the money spent on advertising that we can track. There’s probably more dark money we can’t track. Democrats won despite the inequality in funding. It is encouraging to see that.

  34. says

    After sweeping GOP defeats, what becomes of Trump’s transactional promises?

    “The president told the electorate he was prepared to deliver goodies if Americans voted the way he wanted them to. That didn’t turn out well.”

    […] Donald Trump headlined a campaign rally in Ohio and dangled an offer to the state’s voters: If Republican Sen. Jon Husted won, the president said, he would agree to put the U.S. Space Academy in the Buckeye State.

    Trump added, however, that if voters disappointed him, he would deliver the benefit to some other state.

    The president, in other words, envisioned a straightforward transaction: He was prepared to deliver a treat to Ohio, but it was conditioned on his satisfaction with a specific election that had nothing to do with the Space Force or its academy.

    Husted lost by roughly 5 points. I guess that means Ohio will go without.

    But the related list was much longer. Trump told a North Carolina audience he wouldn’t approve federal disaster relief funds for the state unless they elected former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley to the Senate. (Whatley lost by 20 points.) He later told a Kansas audience he was prepared to approve a yearlong waiver for selling fuel blended with 15% ethanol (the E15 policy), but if Kansans elected a Democratic senator, “I’m not doing it.” (The Rev. Adam Hamilton soon after became the first Democratic Senate candidate to win in Kansas since 1932.)

    In any normal American election, candidates tell voters about the priorities they’ll advance if elected. That’s not controversial in the slightest. What Trump said was qualitatively different — and vastly worse. The incumbent Republican president effectively told voters, in state after state, that he could deliver for them, but if he wasn’t satisfied with the election results, he simply wouldn’t bother.

    Will the president now betray these states for ignoring his wishes? Time will tell, but let’s also not overlook his vows to send $5,000 checks to every American adult — but only if the election results made him happy.

    As a practical matter, the campaign promise was foolish from the outset, and it probably won’t surprise anyone to learn that these payments were never actually going to materialize.

    […] If the White House was prepared to spend nearly $1.3 trillion on these $5,000 checks, can we initiate a new conversation about how best to spend those resources, now that the checks aren’t going to happen?

  35. says

    […] In the early evening, Trump published an item to his social media platform in which he accused Fox News of conducting “hit job” polls with “BULLS—!” responses. Soon after, Trump published a follow-up post, condemning Fox News for “spending too much time covering the Trump Deranged Dumocrats!”

    Shortly before midnight, Trump abandoned all subtlety, writing online that Fox News “bears responsibility for these losses by constantly and consistently putting on the Dumocrat opposition, and worse.”

    It’s not surprising that the president who never accepts responsibility for anything wants to pass the buck, but if he seriously expects anyone to blame the midterms on the cable news outlet aligned with Republican politics, he’s going to need a Plan B. [True]

    As the GOP’s blame game begins, Trump points the finger at … Fox News?

  36. says

    New York Times:

    Elon Musk has given more money during the midterm elections than any donor has ever spent in a single election cycle, apart from wealthy candidates who have funded their own runs for office.

    He has contributed a stunning amount: $474 million, or nearly half a billion dollars.

    Commentary:

    […] The world’s wealthiest person, however, wasn’t alone. Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein spent $150 million in support of Republicans this year; Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, the founders of the Silicon Valley firm Andreessen Horowitz, invested $116 million in support of Republicans; and Jeff Yass spent $110.4 million in support of Republicans and conservative causes.

    Some may very well argue that the midterms would have been even more catastrophic for Republicans were it not for the money that billionaire GOP megadonors threw at the elections. There’s probably some truth to that.

    But this doesn’t change the fact that these breathtakingly wealthy contributors were powerless to stop the Democratic tsunami, which has left Republican megadonors with little to show for their efforts except disappointment and regret.

    In the fight between voters and billionaires’ campaign contributions, voters won in a landslide.

    Link

  37. says

    Milestones:

    […] For the first time ever, at least 100 Democratic women are expected to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives simultaneously.

    […] Republican gains among Latino men were completely wiped out. At 58%, Latino men voted for Democrats by the largest margin since 2020.

    […] College educated voters across races also helped drive the blue wave, supporting Democrats at a rate not seen since 2018.

    […] Before Last Night, Only Three Black Governors Had Ever Been Elected…
    …now five will serve at the same time. That’s David Crowley in Wisconsin, Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, Aaron Ford in Nevada, Wes Moore in Maryland and Byron Donalds in Florida (all Democrats but the last).

    […] Quinnie Pérez (Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District Seat 1) is the first openly transgender person elected to public office in Florida.

    Allison Montgomery (state House) is the first openly transgender person elected to public office in Alabama

    […] in 33 of the 34 measures fully in, voters chose to restrict data centers. We obviously saw this at the candidate level too, with Sherrod Brown hanging them around Jon Husted’s neck.

    […] Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, [pulled off] a win in the Michigan Senate race. […] He will be the first Muslim American elected to the upper chamber. Refreshing to hear him and the crowd embracing it so much as he gives his speech. The joy and excitement in the room is palpable. [video]

    Link

  38. says

    More historic firsts, and/or milestones:

    Chris Pappas won an open New Hampshire Senate seat, becoming the first out gay man elected to the upper chamber. […]

    Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan became the first Native American woman elected to the U.S. Senate after securing a Minnesota Senate seat. […]

    29-year-old democratic socialist Melat Kiros won the race to represent Colorado’s 1st Congressional District, becoming the first Gen Z woman to serve in Congress. […]

    Also noteworthy, Illinois will be the first state to be represented by two women of color in the upper chamber — Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Sen-elect Juliane Stratton (D-IL) […]

    […] Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson (R) in Georgia, becoming the first Black female governor in U.S. history. The former mayor of Atlanta is also the first Democrat elected governor in the Peach State in more than 25 years.

    New Mexico’s Deb Haaland will be the first Native American woman governor. […]

    Democrat Xavier Becerra — a former Biden administration official — became California’s first elected Latino governor. He will succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom after defeating Republican Steve Hilton.

    Meanwhile Gina Hinojosa came out on top for the Texas governorship, becoming the first Latina governor of Texas. […] Hinojosa will be Texas’ first Democratic governor in more than 30 years.

    Democrat Amy Acton took down Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, securing herself the distinction of being Ohio’s first female governor and first Jewish governor. Acton will be the first Democrat to serve in the role in two decades.

    Similarly, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D- MN) will become the first woman to be governor of Minnesota […]

    Democrat Stacey Plaskett also became the first woman elected to be the governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Her historic win also makes her the first Black woman elected to be the governor of any U.S. territory.

    Democratic candidate David Crowley will be Wisconsin’s first Black governor. […]

    Democrat Aaron Ford will be Nevada’s first Black governor […]

    Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) defeated Democrat David Jolly to become the first Black governor of the Sunshine State.

    Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) became the first woman to win a gubernatorial race in Tennessee.

    Link

  39. Reginald Selkirk says

    Japanese Bank to Stop Allowing ATM Cards, PCs For Account Access

    Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group plans to launch Emut Bank in early 2027 as the first digital bank affiliated with a major Japanese financial institution to eliminate ATM cards, “instead having customers confirm identities using the bank’s smartphone app for additional security amid a rising tide of cyberattacks,” reports Nikkei Asia Review. The smartphone app will also be the only way to manage deposits, with no PC-based banking. From the report: …

  40. Reginald Selkirk says

    @28

    House Speaker Mike Johnson will not stay on as Republican leader after GOP losses

    A day after Democrats captured the House majority, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told his staff Wednesday morning he will not stay on as Republican leader in the new Congress, according to four sources on the phone call.

    His announcement follows massive losses for his party in House races Tuesday.

    Johnson’s departure will leave open the position of House minority leader. Republicans are scheduled to hold an internal election to select their candidate for the position Nov. 10.

    Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who is the No. 2 GOP leader, a close Johnson ally and a fellow Louisiana Republican, announced his bid for minority leader in a letter to GOP colleagues on Wednesday.
    …
    Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a conservative leader in the House and staunch defender of President Donald Trump, is also running for GOP leader, he told colleagues in a letter Wednesday.
    …
    And in a surprise, Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the largest caucus of conservatives on Capitol Hill, said he would challenge Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., for the GOP whip spot, the No. 2 leadership job in the minority.
    …

    The GOP leadership job will be much easier now that they are no longer in the majority and are not expected to actually accomplish anything.

  41. says

    There are now many responsible, decent people in a position to halt the murder and destruction. However, we need leadership that will work hard for the people and who aren’t owned by the fossil fuel and zionist billionaires. We spent a huge amount of our resources to help accomplish this a little.

    Everyone must realize, the work to improve things has not yet begun. And, there has been so much injury, murder and destruction it will take a very long time and sustained herculean effort to remediate most of it. While we must admit, some of the destruction cannot be undone.

    PZ has also written about this: https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2026/11/04/oh-yeah-alsoblue-wave/

  42. Reginald Selkirk says

    Is faith feminine? Why US churches have men in pulpits, women in pews

    Working as a Christian minister years ago, Landon Schnabel noticed a paradox common to many U.S. churches: Men filled leadership roles, implying that religion is masculine and patriarchal, but many more women participated in services, Bible study and other activities.

    Now an associate professor of sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences, Schnabel learned that researchers have long interpreted this disparity as evidence that women are inherently more religious than men, and have treated that idea as a universal fact.

    But not all religions demonstrate gender gaps in religiosity, Schnabel argues in a new book, “Is Faith Feminine? What Americans Really Think About Gender and Religion” (Oxford University Press 2026), and gender gaps are shaped by external forces rather than internal natures, he writes.

    Drawing upon gender theory, social psychology and new national surveys that oversample Jewish, Muslim and secular Americans, along with international data, Schnabel introduces a new theory that distinguishes between organized and individual faith and reveals differences across faith traditions. The analysis connects gendered religion to political polarization and the rise of individualized spirituality.

    “The same gendered forces that created the original ‘men in the pulpit, women in the pews’ paradox are, in the 2020s, driving a historic transformation,” Schnabel writes. “The paradox is resolving itself through a sorting that separates those who find meaning in managed religious environments from those who seek dynamic and expressive encounters with the sacred.”
    …
    Q: How did you determine that this assumption that women are universally more religious was flawed?

    A: By looking beyond Christianity. For decades, researchers called the gender gap in religion “universal,” but most of the research had studied Christians, and when exceptions turned up, some studies set them aside. One, in a footnote, dropped Turkey, Albania and Bulgaria as “deviant cases.”
    …
    A difference rooted in biology, such as the hormone explanation some scholars proposed without measuring hormones, should look much the same everywhere, and this one does not.
    …
    Q: Is America becoming more secular and less religious?

    A: Less attached to religious institutions, yes. In the General Social Survey, which has tracked Americans since 1972, the share with no religion has risen sharply, while weekly attendance and calling oneself “very religious” has fallen or held flat. But belief in an afterlife has held steady, and more Americans call themselves “very spiritual.” To me, that looks more like migration than just secularization, with faith moving out of institutions.
    …

  43. Reginald Selkirk says

    Most sources are stating that Democrats will have at least 54 Senate seats (51 needed for majority) and 239 House seats (218 for majority).
    link
    This is great, because it insulates against the likelihood of another Joe Manchin or Kyrsten Sinema. You know that John Fetterman isn’t going to stand up for core Democratic ideas.

  44. Reginald Selkirk says

    Pennsylvania reports 6th measles-associated death amid outbreak: Health officials

    A sixth person in Pennsylvania has died of measles, state health officials said Wednesday.

    The person was unvaccinated and a resident of Jefferson County, according to the officials.

    This brings the nation’s total to seven measles-associated deaths this year, which includes six in Pennsylvania and one in New York.

    Pennsylvania has reported 1,467 cases so far this year, becoming the largest outbreak in U.S. recent memory…

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