Offer a good deal to California and New York, where those states create an universal drugcare program, officially powered by Canadian supplies. On the condition that these states are very vocal about why they got Canadian Drugcare, and why the Red States are getting zip.

Possibly a Dark Crystal situation. If one goes, their opposite number follows...

The Crassus treatment, but with maple syrup.

What probably lead to the ultimate destruction of the neanderthals was a lack of calories. They are like a SUV: Big, and powerful, but takes a lot of energy to keep going. Odds are that they are just as smart as us, but the human brain is very expensive. Combine that with an ice age, and an economical competitor, it is pretty likely for the more efficient critter to become numerous.

Also, their raw power might have disincentivized the adoption of technology. They were just better than us at surviving trauma and in athletics, so things like bows, spears, and so forth, likely weren't a big priority. Why bother with fancy sticks, when you can walk up to a giant sloth and cave in its brain with a heavy log?

AKA, the ones with integrity.

The five oldest professions will be forever: Farmers, soldiers, kings, courtesans, and accountants. The first three rely on the bean counters to make sure that everything is where it belongs.

You have job security.

Viruses eventually evolve to be less deadly to their host. It just takes many failed viruses to get there. In that context, the collapse of the US and the rise of the EU, and China, just means that we are seeing one breed dying out.

I think that humanity will do fine, it is just that some societies will not be around in the centuries to come.

I encourage the conversion of books to digital formats, it is just that the method here is shortsighted. The physical copies can be useful if something goes wrong, and can be appreciated by some humans after the digital archival has redundancy.

You can use RUFUS to install Windows, and preemptively remove restrictions. MASGravel lets you activate Windows once you got an internet connection. ShutUp10 for configuring your privacy, and also for uninstalling AI stuff. I recommend the premium version if you want ShutUp10 to automatically revert Microsoft's meddling after updates.

I recommend MASgravel's Windows Enterprise 25h2 GAC .iso for your RUFUS, it has the right balance between debloat and still being usable by a typical person.

The Trump Regime is making history rhyme. I hope that he and the rest of his ilk end up in a room, and never come out.

Always was...

Setting aside the bad ethics of destroying rare books, the capitalist in me is very confused: Wouldn't you put in some effort to save the rare books, if only to sell them?

If you already have the data inside the books, you can put them up for auction, donating to libraries, and so forth. You get money, a reputation for ensuring that they find a home, have a physical backup if the storage drives fail, and so on.

...my inner capitalist is disillusioned. 🤨

Nope. I never really got into phones. The only reason I bought my smartphone, is because society demanded it. You can't access many things without one.

My first and only smartphone is an iPhone 16, all the previous cellphones were cheap dumbphones for about $20. If possible, I prefer using email and a PC browser, because desktop computing is my natural habitat.

Phones suck. I have to pay a subscription for something that I don't like using, and barely touch most weeks.

My feet slip and slide on pergo. Socks actually improve my traction, and I have been wearing them ever since a bad fall.

Hopefully my personal router isn't being used by the ISP for this sort of thing. Odds are, they probably just do it, because capitalism is sucktackular by default.

That is disappointing for me. I suck at talking, and often forget the finer details of a verbal discussion.

Marching into the stock exchange and telling people what the numbers should be, probably...no, almost certainly. 😦

It wouldn't be surprising to me if California or NYC ends up being the new capitals of a refreshed America. They still have sane leaders who aren't bankrupt in all the ways.

Thatcher, like any capitalist dickhead, is a liar and malignant.

They shouldn't have shock gloves in the first place.

In fact, I will go so far to say that police should be unarmed by default. They can carry a baton, but a remote operator has to give the okay to unlock the baton for extension. A squad car can have a shotgun with rubber slugs, but the trunk also has to be remotely unlocked. Police should also receive permission from an operator for turning off their camera.

Bluntly, the police cannot be trusted with power.