TIL the term " white elephant gift exchange " comes from a legend about the King of Siam giving rare albino elephants as gifts to those who displeased him. The idea was that the upkeep costs would financially ruin them.

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_elephant_gift_exchange
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1edj05d/til_the_term_white_elephant_gift_exchange_comes/

The story about Trump's remarks where he told a rally to vote for him so that they wouldn't have to vote anymore in the future is "above the fold" on WaPo's website, but the headline they used is baffling given everything else he said: "Trump Calls Harris a 'Bum,' Complains About Biden" misses the mark by a wide margin.

Trump being a big baby and calling people names is not new. To my knowledge, this is the first time he has actually voiced his ideas about an authoritarian government.

I, a normal, actually want to be able to vote 4 years from now and after that too. Voting is cool and fun ya weirdos

https://www.europesays.com/1364489/ Ukraine hackt Geldautomaten in ganz Russland im Rahmen eines anhaltenden massiven Cyberangriffs #Nachrichten #News #WorldNews

The Biden-Harris climate laws made clean energy cheap, including energy storage. And now energy storage installations are booming!

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did😛lc:6ml4nxrk45cy23jay5hc2npp/post/3ky6o5pw37d2x

Observation: Americans keep buying larger and larger trucks

Observation: truck beds are shrinking

Observation: truck cabs are growing

Conclusion: The Minivan is the ideal American vehicle

#Urbanism #TheWarOnCars

Trump tells Christian group that "you won't have to vote anymore" if
he's elected president, "it'll be fixed."

https://www.mediaite.com/trump/trump-cryptically-declares-you-wont-have-to-vote-anymore-if-he-wins-second-term/

https://www.europesays.com/1364473/ We’re throwing a birthday party for a friend and we made him a cake. How do y’all like it? #UnitedKingdom #Wales

One of the lead authors of #Project2025,
the disturbing blueprint for a potential second Trump presidency,
has close ties to a controversial international Catholic group, #Opus #Dei.

The Guardian reports that #Kevin #Roberts, president of the #HeritageFoundation,
receives weekly spiritual guidance from the 🔸Catholic Information Center 🔸( #CIC ) in Washington, D.C., led by an Opus Dei priest.
He attends the institution weekly for mass and religious guidance.

In a speech last year at the CIC, Roberts echoed some of the same extreme measures that the Project 2025 manifesto is infamous for,
such as outlawing birth control,
and called on conservatives to adopt “radical incrementalism” to achieve their policy objectives.

Opus Dei has been criticized as radical, cultlike, and secretive.
The organization was founded in 1928 in Spain to combat the anti-Catholic left in the country,
and was later granted special rights and privileges by Pope John Paul II to respond to the rise of progressive liberation theology in Latin America.

Opus Dei does not believe in the separation of church and state,
seeing a symbiotic relationship between the two,
and its American adherents view the United States as the last stronghold of Christianity.

Roberts’s ties to Opus Dei don’t end with the CIC.
He founded a school in Louisiana, John Paul the Great Academy,
that recognizes the organization’s founder, Saint Josemaría Escrivá,
as its patron.
He also was involved in an Opus Dei–affiliated high school leadership program in Austin, Texas,
and has spoken at other Opus Dei-linked schools.

Roberts isn’t the only leading conservative close to Opus Dei, either.
#Leonard #Leo, the Federalist Society co-chair who has led the conservative takeover of the judiciary up to the Supreme Court,
is also linked to the CIC, even accepting an award from the organization in 2022.
In his acceptance speech, Leo praised the center and called his political adversaries
💥“vile and amoral current-day barbarians, secularists, and bigots” 💥influenced by the devil.

Donald Trump and the GOP have been trying, unconvincingly, to distance themselves from the radical Project 2025,
and now comes the news that
⭐️the 900-page document’s leading author also has ties to a powerful religious organization opposed to the separation of church and state.

Leo’s involvement only appears to be stronger evidence of
⭐️the conservative movement seeking to impose a radical religious agenda if Trump wins the presidential election in November.

https://newrepublic.com/post/184307/project-2025-architect-kevin-roberts-ties-radical-christian-group-opus-dei

Harris is holding her first fundraiser as the likely Democratic nominee as donors open their wallets - ABC News

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/harris-holding-fundraiser-democratic-nominee-donors-open-wallets-112331411

#Harris #Harris2024

Ukrainian M2A2 Bradley hammering a Russian BMP. The precision of the 25mm Bushmaster cannon even in automatic-fire mode is really impressive. Almost every bullet is a hit. The Russian crew must be going through hell if not being killed already.

The war, which Russia has started against Ukraine, couldn’t have exposed in a clearer way the superior quality of Western weapons in virtually every metric.

Source of video: X-Twitter / Osinttechnical

Asking for help with small things is a great way to build up the confidence to ask for help with bigger things, too!

Tomorrow marks 100 days until the election. With Biden out, Harris in, & the fallout of the attempt on Trump’s life, the race is unpredictable. Tomorrow, @MSNBC has a full day of special coverage. I’ll be on 10a-12p and again 7pET, talking the race and the danger of #Project2025.

Windermere in the morning.

📷 Pentax KX
🎞️ Fuji Superia X-tra 400
🔭 Pentax M 50mm/1.7
⚗️ Come Through Lab

#BelieveInFilm #FilmPhotography #AnalogPhotography #35mm #TheLakes #LakeDistrict #Cumbria #Windermere

In einer Nike-Kampagne erwähnte ein Rapper Kurdistan. Jetzt ist der Song entfernt. Kein Wunder! Mit Rückgrat kennen sich Konzerne einfach nicht aus. https://taz.de/!6023654

Just texted with my super pessimistic kid who now actually has hope for the future. They said young people are “extremely animated” and that there would be "massive turnout if the momentum keeps up." They said they had great hopes for down ballot candidates. The other twin said he’d never been politically optimistic in his adulthood before. They’re 29.

Meine Frau hat mich innerhalb 4 Stunden kaputt gespielt.
Nicht was ihr denkt.
Ich bin einen Berg rauf und wieder runter.
Einen kleinen Berg.
Glaube der hatte so ca 500 Höhenmeter.

Who else agrees Trump will try and be a dictator if he gets back in the White House?

https://www.dworkinsubstack.com/p/trump-is-desperate-begging-for-votes

"Und, wie war deine Woche so?"
Hier kommt wieder mein #wochenmedley: 100 Bilder meiner vergangenen Woche. Mit viel #wandklex, #bloomscrolling ausm #klexenhaus, allerhund #Atelierhütehund und von @Friesenfliesen bemalte Keramik als unverzichtbare #MoinWelt Ausstattung.
Viel Spaß!

Even as a kid I preferred the Caturday morning cartoon where they replaced the dog with a car. #Cartoons #Saturday #Speedbuggy

“Fixed” as in rigged, you fascist fuck?
#VoteBlueGoddammit

“And again, Christians: Get out and vote! Just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore! Four more years, you know what? It’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore. In four years you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not gonna have to vote.” - Donald Trump, 27 July, 2024

https://www.alternet.org/trump-supporters-vote/