Possible explanations for the Fermi Paradox:
• Sufficiently advanced alien civilizations would be very good at hiding. They’re doing exactly that due to threats from other sufficiently advanced alien civilizations.
• Sufficiently advanced alien civilizations get the f**k out of the cramped confines of our 4-D bubble of spacetime as soon as inhumanly possible.
• Sufficiently advanced, starfaring, alien civilizations wouldn’t communicate with EMF broadcast.
• The speed of light is absolute. Period. Their ain’t no interstellar travel, except for exceedingly rare generation ships or research vessels hopping to nearby star systems. Due to this limitation, there is zero possibility of interstellar civilization, let alone interstellar communication. The universe is filled with intelligent life. But each species is an island unto itself.
• Everything’s alive. The entire cosmos is one big organism—an ocean of emerging self-awareness. The whole damn thing is “intelligent life.”
• Blinkered species that we are, humanity doesn’t recognize intelligent life that doesn’t look like humanity. There are other intelligent life forms on Earth. We eat them, cut them up in labs, and put them in cages.
• Something really, really bad happened on a cosmic scale and wiped out all the sufficiently advanced alien civilizations in our immediate galactic vicinity. Earth is like a remote island in the South Pacific whose inhabitants somehow survived WWIII.
• There are umpteen different templates for life (including intelligent life) aside from the carbon-based model. Humanity wouldn’t recognized a typical alien life form if it bit us in the collective ass.
• The bulk of the cosmos is comprised of dark matter. We’re utterly blind to it—including any dark matter species.
• We’re living in a computer simulation. Earth is the main event. Aside from a few broad strokes, the lazy designer didn’t bother filling in the details of the so-called "Universe" outside the Earth.
• Powers unknown have burned our brains with a mental blind spot that prevents us from seeing evidence of intelligent alien life. We see it—and don’t see it. “It doesn’t look like anything to me,” is our conditioned response.
• 99.999999999% of intelligent life forms evolve into industrial civilizations which relentlessly grow—and refuse to stop growing until they devour and destroy their planetary ecologies and, after a period of cannibalism and degeneracy, destroy themselves. (Props to Piers Anthony.)
• They’re lying to us. The truth is out there, oh yes. But an evil “X-Files”-type conspiracy is covering up the evidence, blah-blah-blah.
• Earth is the alien equivalent of a game preserve. We’ve been deliberately isolated and blocked from contact with other intelligent life forms. Sure, every now and then, some alien pervert breaks through the barrier and gives a redneck in Alabama an anal probe. But, most of the time, we're on our own.
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Manage
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Saturday, July 7, 2018
July 7, 2018
Trump administration halts billions in insurance payments under Obamacare
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Saturday halted billions of dollars in payments to health insurers under the Obamacare healthcare law, saying that a recent federal court ruling prevents the money from being disbursed.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which administers programs under the Affordable Care Act, said the action affects $10.4 billion in risk adjustment payments.
Reuters: Trump halts billions in Obamacare insurance payments
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Saturday halted billions of dollars in payments to health insurers under the Obamacare healthcare law, saying that a recent federal court ruling prevents the money from being disbursed.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which administers programs under the Affordable Care Act, said the action affects $10.4 billion in risk adjustment payments.
Reuters: Trump halts billions in Obamacare insurance payments
Friday, July 6, 2018
July 6, 2018
US Army quietly discharging immigrant recruits
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Some immigrant U.S. Army reservists and recruits who enlisted in the military with a promised path to citizenship are being abruptly discharged, the Associated Press has learned.
The AP was unable to quantify how many men and women who enlisted through the special recruitment program have been booted from the Army, but immigration attorneys say they know of more than 40 who have been discharged or whose status has become questionable, jeopardizing their futures.
AP: Army discharging immigrant recruits
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Some immigrant U.S. Army reservists and recruits who enlisted in the military with a promised path to citizenship are being abruptly discharged, the Associated Press has learned.
The AP was unable to quantify how many men and women who enlisted through the special recruitment program have been booted from the Army, but immigration attorneys say they know of more than 40 who have been discharged or whose status has become questionable, jeopardizing their futures.
AP: Army discharging immigrant recruits
Thursday, July 5, 2018
July 5, 2018
Obama’s wetlands protection rule put ‘too much emphasis’ on science, Trump officials argue.
President Donald Trump’s administration is faulting its predecessor for overemphasizing science in writing a 2015 Clean Water Act rule aimed at defining what isolated wetlands and waterways deserve automatic federal regulatory protection.
At issue: the Obama-era Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers' 400-page review of research on how wetlands and small streams affect downstream rivers, lakes and estuaries.
Science: Trump faults EPA's science-based wetlands protection.
President Donald Trump’s administration is faulting its predecessor for overemphasizing science in writing a 2015 Clean Water Act rule aimed at defining what isolated wetlands and waterways deserve automatic federal regulatory protection.
At issue: the Obama-era Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers' 400-page review of research on how wetlands and small streams affect downstream rivers, lakes and estuaries.
Science: Trump faults EPA's science-based wetlands protection.
Saturday, June 23, 2018
June 23, 2018
Deepwater Horizon led to new protections for US waters. Trump just repealed them.
Trump’s executive order voids an Obama policy that aimed to prevent oil spills.
The Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig exploded on April 20, 2010, killing 11 workers. Gas erupted into a massive fireball, and then the rig gushed 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. It soon became the largest and most expensive marine oil spill in history, with an estimated $17.2 billion in damages to properties, fisheries, and tourism across the Gulf Coast.
Vox: Trump voids Obama oil spill policy
Trump’s executive order voids an Obama policy that aimed to prevent oil spills.
The Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig exploded on April 20, 2010, killing 11 workers. Gas erupted into a massive fireball, and then the rig gushed 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. It soon became the largest and most expensive marine oil spill in history, with an estimated $17.2 billion in damages to properties, fisheries, and tourism across the Gulf Coast.
Vox: Trump voids Obama oil spill policy
Thursday, June 7, 2018
June 7, 2018
Donald Trump called asbestos poisoning a mob-led conspiracy, now his EPA won’t evaluate asbestos already in homes.
The Environmental Protection Agency will not consider the health risks and impacts of asbestos already in the environment when evaluating the dangers associated with the chemical compound, Scott Pruitt, the agency's head, quietly announced last week. That means asbestos used in tiles, piping and adhesives throughout homes and businesses in the United States will remain largely unchecked and unaccounted for. Nearly 15,000 Americans die each year from asbestos-related diseases, but President Donald Trump has called the substance "100 percent safe, once applied."
Donald Trump directs EPA to curb asbestos inspections
Donald Trump directs EPA to curb asbestos inspections
Friday, May 25, 2018
May 25, 2018
Trump takes steps to ease firing of federal workers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday signed a trio of executive orders to overhaul the federal bureaucracy by making it easier to fire federal workers for poor performance and misconduct, requiring that departments and agencies negotiate better union contracts and limiting the amount of time certain federal workers can spend on union business.
Trump to Ease Firing of Federal Workers
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday signed a trio of executive orders to overhaul the federal bureaucracy by making it easier to fire federal workers for poor performance and misconduct, requiring that departments and agencies negotiate better union contracts and limiting the amount of time certain federal workers can spend on union business.
Trump to Ease Firing of Federal Workers
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
May 8, 2018
Trump announces decision to "withdraw" from Iran nuclear deal
President Trump announced Tuesday his much-anticipated decision to "withdraw" from the Iran nuclear deal, in keeping with a longtime campaign promise. The president claimed there is Israeli intelligence proving Iran is not in compliance with the agreement, and said he fears the 2015 deal will allow the Iranian regime to amass nuclear weapons.
CBS: Trump to withdraw from Iran nuclear deal
President Trump announced Tuesday his much-anticipated decision to "withdraw" from the Iran nuclear deal, in keeping with a longtime campaign promise. The president claimed there is Israeli intelligence proving Iran is not in compliance with the agreement, and said he fears the 2015 deal will allow the Iranian regime to amass nuclear weapons.
CBS: Trump to withdraw from Iran nuclear deal
Monday, April 16, 2018
April 16, 2018
President Trump directs EPA to ease air quality rules he says suffocates industry.
WASHINGTON — President Trump's latest effort to boost the nation's manufacturing sector is an industry-friendly rewrite of air quality regulations he says pose "unnecessary and outdated barriers to growth."
But environmental advocates warn it would be another damaging step by an administration obsessed with deregulation at the expense of hard-fought public health protections.
The proposed loosening of air quality standards came in the form of a directive Trump issued Thursday instructing the EPA to work with states that have metro areas which failed to attain clean air standards. The president's primary aim, the directive states, is "promoting domestic manufacturing and job creation."
USA Today: Trump directs EPA to ease air quality rules
WASHINGTON — President Trump's latest effort to boost the nation's manufacturing sector is an industry-friendly rewrite of air quality regulations he says pose "unnecessary and outdated barriers to growth."
But environmental advocates warn it would be another damaging step by an administration obsessed with deregulation at the expense of hard-fought public health protections.
The proposed loosening of air quality standards came in the form of a directive Trump issued Thursday instructing the EPA to work with states that have metro areas which failed to attain clean air standards. The president's primary aim, the directive states, is "promoting domestic manufacturing and job creation."
USA Today: Trump directs EPA to ease air quality rules
Thursday, March 29, 2018
March 29, 2018
EPA prepares to roll back rules requiring cars to be cleaner and more efficient.
The Trump administration, handing automakers a victory, is preparing to announce an effort to weaken strict Obama-era pollution standards.
NYT: EPA Auto Pollution Rollback
The Trump administration, handing automakers a victory, is preparing to announce an effort to weaken strict Obama-era pollution standards.
NYT: EPA Auto Pollution Rollback
Monday, March 19, 2018
March 19, 2018
Trump pushes drug-dealer death penalty as opioid crisis response.
President Donald Trump, targeting the U.S. opioid epidemic, called again on Monday for the execution of drug dealers, a proposal that so far has gained little support in Congress, amid criticism from some drug abuse and criminal justice experts.
President Donald Trump, targeting the U.S. opioid epidemic, called again on Monday for the execution of drug dealers, a proposal that so far has gained little support in Congress, amid criticism from some drug abuse and criminal justice experts.
March 19, 2018
Trump signs bill that kills Obama-era rule targeting wage theft, unsafe working conditions.
President Donald Trump signed a bill Monday that killed an Obama-era worker safety rule that required businesses competing for large federal contracts to disclose and correct serious safety and other labor law violations.
Earlier this month, the Senate voted to eliminate the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces rule, which applied to contracts valued at $500,000 or more. Votes on the bill in both the House and Senate divided along party lines.
Trump signs bill killing Obama-era worker protections
President Donald Trump signed a bill Monday that killed an Obama-era worker safety rule that required businesses competing for large federal contracts to disclose and correct serious safety and other labor law violations.
Earlier this month, the Senate voted to eliminate the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces rule, which applied to contracts valued at $500,000 or more. Votes on the bill in both the House and Senate divided along party lines.
Trump signs bill killing Obama-era worker protections
Saturday, March 17, 2018
March 17, 2018
Andrew McCabe, Trump’s foil at the FBI, is fired hours before he could retire.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions late Friday night fired former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, a little more than 24 hours before McCabe was set to retire — a move that McCabe alleged was an attempt to slander him and undermine the ongoing special counsel investigation into the Trump campaign.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions late Friday night fired former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, a little more than 24 hours before McCabe was set to retire — a move that McCabe alleged was an attempt to slander him and undermine the ongoing special counsel investigation into the Trump campaign.
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
March 7, 2018
Department of Justices files launches lawsuit against California “sanctuary” laws.
California tried to make it harder for ICE to round up immigrants. So the federal government is suing the state. The Department of Justice has just filed a lawsuit against the state over three laws it passed in 2017 that limit government officials’ and employers’ ability to help federal immigration agents, and that give California the power to review conditions in facilities where immigrants are being detained by the feds. Sessions, in a Wednesday speech to the California Peace Officers’ Association, a law enforcement union, is giving the message in person.
Vox: Federal lawsuit against California "sanctuary" laws
California tried to make it harder for ICE to round up immigrants. So the federal government is suing the state. The Department of Justice has just filed a lawsuit against the state over three laws it passed in 2017 that limit government officials’ and employers’ ability to help federal immigration agents, and that give California the power to review conditions in facilities where immigrants are being detained by the feds. Sessions, in a Wednesday speech to the California Peace Officers’ Association, a law enforcement union, is giving the message in person.
Vox: Federal lawsuit against California "sanctuary" laws
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
March 6, 2018
Trump administration reverses promise to ban elephant hunt trophies.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has quietly begun allowing more trophy hunting of African elephants, despite President Donald Trump’s pledge last year to uphold a ban on importing parts of animals killed by big-game hunters.
The agency issued a formal memo Thursday saying it would consider issuing permits to import elephant trophies from African nations on a “case-by-case” basis, effective immediately. The new guidelines, first reported by E&E News and later by The Hill, end U.S. bans on the import of such trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia.
HP: Trump administration reverses elephant trophy ban
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has quietly begun allowing more trophy hunting of African elephants, despite President Donald Trump’s pledge last year to uphold a ban on importing parts of animals killed by big-game hunters.
The agency issued a formal memo Thursday saying it would consider issuing permits to import elephant trophies from African nations on a “case-by-case” basis, effective immediately. The new guidelines, first reported by E&E News and later by The Hill, end U.S. bans on the import of such trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia.
HP: Trump administration reverses elephant trophy ban
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Feb. 28, 2018
Trump directs EPA to begin dismantling clean water rule.
President Trump stepped up his attack on federal environmental protections Tuesday, issuing an order directing his administration to begin the long process of rolling back sweeping clean water rules that were enacted by his predecessor.
LAT: Trump administration begins roll back of EPA clean water rules
President Trump stepped up his attack on federal environmental protections Tuesday, issuing an order directing his administration to begin the long process of rolling back sweeping clean water rules that were enacted by his predecessor.
LAT: Trump administration begins roll back of EPA clean water rules
Friday, February 16, 2018
Feb. 16, 2018
Trump signs resolution to permit dumping mining waste into waterways.
This resolution reverses an Obama-era rule aimed at blocking coal-mining operations from dumping waste into nearby waterways.
This resolution reverses an Obama-era rule aimed at blocking coal-mining operations from dumping waste into nearby waterways.
Monday, February 12, 2018
Feb. 12, 2018
Trump's budget plan cuts funding for arts, humanities and public media.
President Trump's proposed budget calls for big cuts in a wide array of domestic programs — among them, agencies that fund the arts, humanities and public media.
Funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would be cut to zero under the proposal, and the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities would be eliminated entirely, the first time any president has proposed such a measure.
NPR: Trump's budget plan slashes arts, humanities funding
NYT: Trump proposes eliminating NEA endowments
The Hill • Trump proposal eliminates funding for PBS, NPR
President Trump's proposed budget calls for big cuts in a wide array of domestic programs — among them, agencies that fund the arts, humanities and public media.
Funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would be cut to zero under the proposal, and the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities would be eliminated entirely, the first time any president has proposed such a measure.
NPR: Trump's budget plan slashes arts, humanities funding
NYT: Trump proposes eliminating NEA endowments
The Hill • Trump proposal eliminates funding for PBS, NPR
Feb. 12, 2018
Trump wants to slash food stamps and replace them with a ‘Blue Apron-type program’
The Trump administration wants to slash food aid to low-income families and make up the difference with a box of canned goods — a change that Office of Management and budget director Mick Mulvaney described in a Monday briefing as a “Blue Apron-type program.”
“What we do is propose that for folks who are on food stamps, part — not all, part — of their benefits come in the actual sort of, and I don't want to steal somebody's copyright, but a Blue Apron-type program where you actually receive the food instead of receive the cash,” Mulvaney said. “It lowers the cost to us because we can buy [at wholesale prices] whereas they have to buy it at retail. It also makes sure they're getting nutritious food. So we're pretty excited about that.”
Let them eat "Blue Apron"
The Trump administration wants to slash food aid to low-income families and make up the difference with a box of canned goods — a change that Office of Management and budget director Mick Mulvaney described in a Monday briefing as a “Blue Apron-type program.”
“What we do is propose that for folks who are on food stamps, part — not all, part — of their benefits come in the actual sort of, and I don't want to steal somebody's copyright, but a Blue Apron-type program where you actually receive the food instead of receive the cash,” Mulvaney said. “It lowers the cost to us because we can buy [at wholesale prices] whereas they have to buy it at retail. It also makes sure they're getting nutritious food. So we're pretty excited about that.”
Let them eat "Blue Apron"
Thursday, January 25, 2018
Jan. 25, 2018
Trump administration ends EPA clean air policy opposed by fossil fuel companies
The Trump administration announced it is doing away with a decades-old air emissions policy opposed by fossil fuel companies, a move that environmental groups say will result in more pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it was withdrawing the "once-in always-in" policy under the Clean Air Act, which dictated how major sources of hazardous air pollutants are regulated.
WSJ: EPA withdraws air pollution policy
CBS: EPA ends clean air policy
The Trump administration announced it is doing away with a decades-old air emissions policy opposed by fossil fuel companies, a move that environmental groups say will result in more pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it was withdrawing the "once-in always-in" policy under the Clean Air Act, which dictated how major sources of hazardous air pollutants are regulated.
WSJ: EPA withdraws air pollution policy
CBS: EPA ends clean air policy
Monday, January 22, 2018
Jan. 22, 2018
Trump imperils fledgling solar industry with 30% import tariff on solar panel technology.
In the biggest blow he’s dealt to the renewable energy industry yet, President Donald Trump decided on Monday to slap tariffs on imported solar panels.
The U.S. will impose duties of as much as 30 percent on solar equipment made abroad, a move that threatens to handicap a $28 billion industry that relies on parts made abroad for 80 percent of its supply. Just the mere threat of tariffs has shaken solar developers in recent months, with some hoarding panels and others stalling projects in anticipation of higher costs. The Solar Energy Industries Association has projected tens of thousands of job losses in a sector that employed 260,000.
TIME: President Trump slaps tariffs on solar panels.
In the biggest blow he’s dealt to the renewable energy industry yet, President Donald Trump decided on Monday to slap tariffs on imported solar panels.
The U.S. will impose duties of as much as 30 percent on solar equipment made abroad, a move that threatens to handicap a $28 billion industry that relies on parts made abroad for 80 percent of its supply. Just the mere threat of tariffs has shaken solar developers in recent months, with some hoarding panels and others stalling projects in anticipation of higher costs. The Solar Energy Industries Association has projected tens of thousands of job losses in a sector that employed 260,000.
TIME: President Trump slaps tariffs on solar panels.
Thursday, January 18, 2018
Jan 18, 2018
U.S. government to shield health workers who deny treatment or refuse to perform medical procedures based on their religious beliefs.
Thursday, January 4, 2018
Jan. 4, 2018
Attorney General Jeff Sessions nixes Obama-era rules leaving states alone that legalize pot.
Jan. 4, 2018
Trump administration announces plan to widely expand drilling in U.S. continental waters.
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