I haven’t heard too many fireworks go off in my neck of the woods these past few weeks. Even now on July 3rd there’s hardly anyone blowing any up compared to last year’s cacophony at the same time. People are either being environmentally conscious, too poor, or too ashamed of the US this year to light fireworks. Tomorrow’s gonna be the real way to know for sure though. My town’s hosting an event so I’m gonna poke my head out to see how the crowds are like to get a better feel.

Update for 7/4: Folks around here started setting off everything they had. Car alarms keep going off every five minutes. My dogs are anxiously hiding under the bed. My guess is their budget was a little tighter this year which forced them to hold off until now.

Of course they are. They have connections through RFK Jr’s brain worm.

Meanwhile the Big Beautiful Bill which this rider was attached to passed 51-50 in the Senate.

The one constant with China is change. There have been plenty of dynasties whose power waxed and waned over the years. Much of the current Chinese territory is being held through force, like East Turkestan or Tibet. As long as the people keep experiencing better living conditions they’ll tolerate the tyrannical governance of the CCP. The government’s betting big on censorship and shows of force, but I doubt it’ll suffice if enough civil discontent rises at once. China’s not a very resource independent country and all it takes is a shortage of food or oil to quickly destabilize its economy and its hold on power by extension.

Since much of the world still relies on China’s factories for so many general goods there’s a balance on its power through trade. As production and logistical chains continue to diversify outside its territories though, it’ll have a harder time keeping its citizens in check through economic growth. It’ll either have to start shifting into a service economy with good relations on its trade partners and neighbors for goods, or it may start to take a more nationalistic path. There’s an argument that both paths are actively being followed.

China heavily investing in trade and infrastructure with African countries may keep things peaceful as it continues to grow economically. This prosperity will only delay the inevitable though. People will eventually want to move away from factory work into more lucrative but limited service jobs as inflation starts to take hold due to an ever increasing amount of money in circulation. Its expected population decline will also start to kick in as the much higher population of older citizens would burden the comparatively smaller one child policy generation that would be needed to take care of them.

China promoting nationalism will distract the resentment of its people from the government to outside powers instead, but it would come with some severe geopolitical consequences. It’s already pissed off all its maritime neighbors by trespassing and overfishing in their waters, along with intentionally using its navy to attack fishing vessels. It’s also trying to claim vast swathes of international waters by dumping a bunch of sand and establishing forts on them all over the South China Sea. China and India routinely fight in border skirmishes using sticks and stones to try to keep the conflict from escalating. Eventually all the regional countries might decide to form a coalition and starve China out of its oil via a few strategically placed blockades either on the Strait of Malacca or along Sri Lanka. The economic damage over something like this might provide enough domestic unrest to force the government to change.

The CCP can’t hold its iron grip on power forever. One day HK will regain its ability to choose its own destiny. I only hope these people will still be around to see it.

To be fair I kept buying models that cost $20 to $30 so maybe the higher end ones would last longer. That said, my Moondrops wired headphones cost the same but are way more reliable.

Step 2: Blow out your ear drums.

Same. I can’t find any Bluetooth headphones whose batteries don’t die in 4 or 5 months anyway. Meanwhile my Moondrop wired headphones have been going strong for almost 3 years.

Most of us didn’t vote because we liked Harris. We did so because she was the only candidate forced on us who wasn’t a fascist felon piece of shit who’d hunt down innocent people for racist ideologies. We’re constantly forced to vote against a candidate in this country rather than for someone we actually like. Just admit you like Trump and what’s going on right now. You’re pretty much being the guy in the well:

Fuck every Republican piece of shit who enabled this to happen. Fuck all who refused to vote in the most consequential presidential election so far. Fuck everyone who said Harris wasn’t worth voting for. We’re kicking people out who took a bullet for this country with such callousness and the average American citizen just simply shrugs their their shoulders and carry on. What is wrong with us?

A cube that size of tungsten would absolutely obliterate that countertop… And the back of anyone dumb enough to try to lift it.

Does that mean you’re no longer entitled to social security if your income is too high? I figure the rich can still get it anyway.

We might get another USS Liberty incident to try to fool the US it was attacked by Israel’s enemies.

And yet its P/E ratio is at an astoundingly stupid 181.

Please let this happen everywhere at once. This is the kind of thing we need to get the rank and file in there to stand up to the enemy within. ICE shouldn’t be smart enough to wait for their contracts to end and they can do it quietly away from their comrades in arms.

For those wondering without wanting to click, the title is “Reversed Front: Bonfire”. It’s supposed to depict an independent Taiwan and Hong Kong which is what obviously pissed off the delicate sensibilities of the CCP.

Looks like AutoCAD. You can program coordinates to define the drawing in a lot of ways. I only ever used it for 2D drawings but did employ its coordinate system to speed up the process. I’m guessing a real power user could program some interesting models with it.

Friendly reminder that 54% of Americans can’t even read above a 6th grade level. That’s right, a significant portion of the voting block for the most influential country on earth likely can’t understand the danger all of us are in.

It was a big black unmarked truck full of black armor wearing soldier types hanging off the sides. I’m no expert on cop sightings but I’m pretty sure even they have their emblem on the sides of their heavy duty vehicles. Besides, isn’t it their MO nowadays to go everywhere wearing balaclavas without visible insignias or name tags?

Just saw an ICE truck carrying a bunch of jackboots through Echo Park. Don’t know where they’re ultimately heading to though.