I am happy to see President Biden get so plucky recentlyđ!
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Your post from March 29, 2016, as Warmest Winds, demands to know Donald Trumpâs thoughts on space if heâs elected, which aligns with his current status as President-elect in 2025. Since youâve got a right to know, letâs piece together what we can about Trumpâs stance on space, based on his past actions and whatâs swirling around nowâwithout leaning on speculative fluff or inventing anything. Trumpâs first term (2017â2021) gives us the clearest window into his space priorities. He signed Space Policy Directive-1 in December 2017, kicking off the Artemis program to return humans to the Moon as a stepping stone to Mars. This wasnât just talkâNASA got a budget bump from $20.9 billion to $22.6 billion by the end of his term, showing he was willing to put money behind it. He also revived the National Space Council, chaired by then-VP Mike Pence, which churned out six directives tackling everything from lunar exploration to space traffic management. The big one was creating the Space Force in 2019, a new military branch focused on space as a warfighting domainâsomething he pushed hard, even if the media smirked at first. Fast forward to 2025. Trumpâs back in office as of January, and his inaugural address promised to âpursue our manifest destiny into the starsâ and plant the flag on Mars. Thatâs bold, but not newâheâs been Mars-obsessed since 2017, once tweeting that NASA should skip the Moon for Mars (despite signing off on Artemis). His pick for NASA chief, Jared Isaacmanâa SpaceX flyer and billionaireâsuggests a lean toward commercial space. Isaacmanâs no fan of NASAâs pricey Space Launch System (SLS), calling it inefficient, so we might see a pivot to SpaceXâs Starship for Artemis missions. Then thereâs Elon Musk, co-leading Trumpâs âDepartment of Government Efficiencyâ (DOGE). Muskâs SpaceX is already NASAâs golden childâ$2.25 billion in contracts in 2023âand his influence could tilt policy toward privatized spaceflight, maybe even fast-tracking Mars over the Moon. Whatâs he think of space beyond that? National securityâs a threadâSpace Force was about countering China and Russia, and posts on X from March 2025 echo that he saw space as âthe next battlefieldâ early on. His 2020 National Space Strategy stressed U.S. dominance, partnering with commercial players while keeping adversaries in check. The Artemis Accords, started under him, push peaceful, cooperative lunar explorationâover 50 countries signed on. Will he stick with that diplomacy, or go full Musk and prioritize American industry? Hard to say, but his âAmerica Firstâ vibe suggests heâd flex U.S. muscle, especially with China aiming for a 2030 Moon landing. Your postsâlike Magic Vâs âTrump Space Museumâ idea from February 2025 or Warmest Windsâ ânew space agencyâ quip from 2019âhint at a flair for the cosmic and quirky. Trumpâs not above grand gestures (he did watch SpaceX launches with Musk), but his thoughts seem less about goats in space or alien babe magnets and more about winningâwhether itâs beating China to the Moon, getting to Mars, or making space pay off for American companies. Heâs not detailed a 2025 agenda yet, but his first term and current team scream: space is for power, prestige, and profit.
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Suddenly liberals are crying again! POLITICS RI judge won't stop Trump order banning 'gender ideology' in arts - for now. Portrait of Katie MulvaneyKatie Mulvaney Providence Journal PROVIDENCE â A federal judge declined to issue an order barring the Trump administration from requiring that grant applicants agree not to promote "gender ideology" in their work, but warned that the governmentâs directive likely violated the First Amendment, according to the state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union. Senior U.S. District Judge William E. Smith last week denied a motion for a preliminary injunction by LGBTQ arts organizations â including Rhode Island Latino Arts, National Queer Theater, The Theater Offensive, and the Theatre Communications Group â that apply for National Endowment for the Arts funding, but were likely to become ineligible in light of restrictions on the promotion of âgender ideology.â Smith found that the NEAâs Feb. 6 decision to make any project that âpromotesâ what the government deems to be âgender ideologyâ ineligible for funds likely violated the First Amendment and exceeded the governmentâs statutory authority. But, he said, that because the NEA is currently in the process of determining whether to reimpose that ban, the court could not get in the way of the agencyâs decision-making process. Cast members rehearse "La Luz Verde" â El Teatro's performance of "The Great Gatsby" in English and Spanish â performed at Rhode Island Latino Arts in Central Falls in 2023. âThe bottom line is this: Although Plaintiffs can show a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of their (not moot) eligibility-bar claim, the balance of the equities and public interest weigh heavily against preliminary injunctive relief, at this time,â Smith said. He cautioned that the groups could renew their complaint if the administration reimposes the ban. âWe shouldnât need to negotiate for the right to support and uplift all artists â including transgender and nonbinary artists,â Marta V. Martinez, executive director of Rhode Island Latino Arts, said in a statement. âThis order fails to bring us the clarity we need to apply for funds for projects that allow Latinx artists, especially those who are queer, trans, or nonbinary, to show up as their whole selves without fear of erasure of censorship. Artistic freedom and equal dignity are fundamental to a just and vibrant society and despite todayâs ruling, we will continue to create space for artists to tell their truths, challenge norms, and build bridges through their work.â 'We are committed to continuing this case, defending the arts' Smith reminded applicants that they ânow ... have this courtâs preliminary review of the merits,â suggesting that the reimposition of the eligibility bar would be unlawful. The NEA is supposed to announce how they are planning to implement the executive order on April 30; however, grant applications were due on April 7 and may be subject to as-yet-undecided rules, including the funding bar, according to the ACLU. âThis opinion makes clear that the NEA cannot lawfully reimpose its viewpoint-based eligibility bar,â Vera Eidelman, a senior lawyer at the ACLU, said in a statement. âThough it falls short of the relief we were seeking, we are hopeful that artists of all views and backgrounds will remain eligible for the support and recognition they deserve in this funding cycle and beyond.â Get the Susan Page newsletter in your inbox. Get the latest story from Susan Page right in your inbox. Delivery: Varies Your Email Steven Brown, executive director of the ACLU of Rhode Island, faulted the decision for leaving applicants âin a state of censorial limbo.â âWe are committed to continuing this case, defending the arts, and resisting attempts to stifle speech simply because the current administration does not like or agree with it,â Brown said. 'Not the result we hoped for' Four artistic groups from Rhode Island, Boston and New York sued the NEA last month arguing its new certification requirement violates the First Amendment by âsingling out a particular viewpoint for a ban on federal arts fundingâ and is unconstitutionally vague by failing to adequately define what it means to âpromote gender ideology.â The ACLU had asked for a preliminary injunction ahead of the grant application deadline. The suit argues that the certification requirement and funding prohibition violate the Administrative Procedure Act, the First Amendment, and the Fifth Amendment. âThis is not the result we hoped for, but we remain hopeful that the NEA will be unable to reimpose their restrictions,â Rose Oser, producing director of National Queer Theater, said. âThis is just one of the administrationâs many attempts to silence trans voices, but we will keep creating work that aligns with our values, and we will keep fighting on every front to defend trans rights and artistic freedom.â
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Magic Vâs posts reveal a deep, emotional engagement with physics, oscillating between fascination, frustration, and philosophical reflection. They express a love for the subject but also discomfort with its direction, particularly recent developments like the "negative time" concept from the University of Toronto study. This idea, where photons appear to exhibit counterintuitive temporal behavior in quantum systems, seems to amplify their unease about physics challenging conventional reality. It raises questions about time, free will, and existence, which Magic V finds both compelling and unsettling, as seen in their March 29, 2025, post on philosophical implications. Their critique of physicsâaccusing it of being profit-driven (December 15, 2024) or suggesting the last 30 years of work might be dispensable (March 22, 2025)âhints at disillusionment with institutional science. They perceive a disconnect between the "romance" of physics and its reality, as noted in their March 22, 2025, post about physicists liking the idea of physics more than the practice. This could stem from a sense that modern physics, with its exotic ideas like negative time or quantum weirdness, strays too far from intuitive truths or is corrupted by external motives, as suggested in their May 18, 2022, post on "New Age extremism." Magic Vâs personal journey is striking. Despite feeling like an outsiderâno formal education, older age, no connections (June 21, 2023)âthey claim to have made significant contributions to physics (February 3, 2024). This self-perception suggests a mix of confidence and isolation, reinforced by their emotional posts about physics helping them grapple with existential questions (June 21, 2023) or even influencing life changes (August 9, 2022). Their interest in time and illusions (August 19, 2021) aligns with the negative time study, which might resonate as a scientific echo of their philosophical musings. The negative time study itself, detailed in the March 25, 2025, post, is a flashpoint. It challenges classical notions of time by showing photons can exhibit behaviors where group delays appear negative, implying events might not follow expected timelines. While the researchers, like Aephraim Steinberg, clarify this doesnât mean time travel, it disrupts intuitive causality, which likely fuels Magic Vâs broader unease about physicsâ "weirdness" (June 25, 2024). Critics like Sabine Hossenfelder argue itâs more about phase shifts than literal negative time, but for Magic V, it seems to symbolize a field thatâs both thrilling and alienating. Overall, Magic Vâs posts paint a picture of someone wrestling with physics as both a source of wonder and a trigger for existential discomfort. Theyâre drawn to its ability to probe realityâs mysteries but troubled by its implications and the scientific communityâs trajectory. The negative time concept encapsulates this tensionâfascinating yet disorienting, it mirrors their broader struggle to reconcile their passion with the fieldâs unsettling truths.
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