Malazan Empire: worry - Viewing Profile - Malazan Empire

For sure, but that was inevitable. And also under any scrutiny, the discrepancies approach zero. For instance: https://thenevadaind...zens-state-says

I'm not suggesting anyone should trust SCOTUS, or the SAVE database, or Republicans at any level of government, or even that good will win out in the end.

Unless, you know, Red States do other things they're not supposed to do, and it throws a massive spanner in the works, but what's the likelihood of that?

It's a bad decision because it overemphasizes the 'injury' to the federal government (whih is essentially nil) and minimizes the 'injury' to eligible voters (which to every individual affected, is massive), but it's not a catastrophe for the midterms (like the USPS thing would have been if they sided with Trump). The SAVE database itself isn't new and is used to inquire about status for all kinds of government programs, and eligibility to vote isn't one of them, at least directly. Indirectly it can be, in that Citizenship status is one determinant of eligibility, but it's not the only one and SAVE's limited number of status codes aren't specific to any one program or benefit (or right).

Trump's EO is certainly meant to help red states kick certain classes of eligible voters -- namely naturalized citizens -- off the voter rolls, but neither the database nor the law really work to do that in a mass purge kind of way. For one, if a state enters someone's info into the system and it returns a non-Citizen status, the state has an obligation to contact that person to clear things up before they're removed from the voter register (and I believe this point is reiterated in the SCOTUS decision). That's kind of where the poll tax type stuff comes in here, having to prove yourself again, that kind of thing. But also, separately from all of that, since we're under 90 days before the election states can't really mess around with voter rolls anyway, so they can't do anything with SAVE to affect the midterms.

@Garak: We aren't issued any kind of card at any point unless we request them, and they typically have costs associated with them. Even Social Security Numbers are opt-in, though for most people born in the US that's usually handled pretty immediately at the hospital. The Social Security Card is free, and is one of the main things used to register to vote. But also non-citizens of various statuses can also get Social Security Numbers, so what Trump's EO is hoping to do is stop naturalized citizens from voting because the SAVE database hasn't updated their status from permanent resident to USC. Basically the hopse is to disenfranchise people due to bureaucracy issues outside their control.

It's a nasty, dirty trick for sure -- and again, the disenfrachisement of anyone from pursuing their right to vote is a massive injury on the individual level -- but it's not really a midterm issue. Post-midterm elections, in tandem with other devious efforts that exacerbate the buraucracy stuff for instance, could be an issue so this remains a bad decision. I guess also worth noting SCOTUS didn't decide the merits of the case, just the administrative stay, and the case is still in lower courts. But that's continually been one way the Roberts court has helped the GOP.

Sorry for the length, but here's my recent batch of reads:

Words of Radiance -- After not much liking The Way of Kings, I was pleasantly surprised to find I liked this one more, pretty much right from the start. The plots all had more forward momentum, the characters were richer, and the events of the book were just more interesting. I still broke it up into three parts cuz it's huge, but it didn't all feel like an extended prologue like the first one did. It still shared some of the first one's flaws: the epigraphs are largely annoying rather than enlightening or enriching (complete opposite of Malazan); the Wit isn't witty and Shallan isn't clever/funny; the treatment of the parshmen's situation is House Elf-level mealy-mouthed so far and seems on the verge of getting worse; and I still just don't like a lot of the world-building. But I still found a lot of what happened in this book old-school fantasy thrilling. And what's strange about Wit and Shallan being duds is that other characters really are funny -- Syl, Pattern, Lopen, Teft, Rock (sometimes), Zahel (the cranky camp swordmaster), and even Kaladin. Anyway, if I'd give the first book like a D+, I'd give this one a C+. Not the best, but a full grade higher than book 1!

The Childen (by Melissa Albert) -- This is a weird one. Kind of a horror fantasy without much horror and even less fantasy. Just kind of vibes. Protagonist is this woman name Guinevere who is the daughter of a best-selling author of a series in the 'portal fantasy' subgenre. Book splits its time between adult Guinevere dealing with her late mother's legacy, and child Guinevere living in a somewhat isolated cottage mansion with her mother, father, and brother while her mother writes and eerie things happen to the family and various visitors. Oh and the two main characters in the books are based on (and named after) Guinevere and her brother. So what's happening to them and why? Is the fantasy world at the heart of her mother's books real? Can the adult versions of the siblings -- now estranged -- reconcile any of this? Kinda-sorta. The writing in this book is good, the vibes can definitely be creepy, but there's a big hole in the middle of it: we hardly get any glimpses of the children's books at the center of it all. There's literally one passage of any significant length, and the rest is small details peppered here and there through glancing mentions. I mostly liked what's there, but this is like 2/3 of a story, and that missing 1/3 is the heart. Imagine The Magicians trilogy -- which this is otherwise nothing like btw -- if you learned barely anythig about Fillory.

Eight Billion Genies -- Graphic novel with a pretty cool high concept What If? What if, when the world's population reached 8 billion, every single human being on Earth received a genie that would grant them one wish. That's everybody of every age and disposition -- even babies, though the genie has to determine when a person has enough reason to make a wish. Each chapter then covers a specific time frame of 8. Chapter 1: The first 8 seconds. Chapter 2: The first 8 minutes. All the way to the first 8 centuries, if I remember correctly. Anyway, you better believe this book covers the good, the bad, and the ugly of what such a situation would deliver. I thought this was great, would recommend!

Squire -- YA graphic novel about a girl who has dreams of glory in war and signs up to be a soldier. It's a fantasy world, but the author (Sara Alfageeh) is Jordanian-American and it has cultural influences from that background. It's a pretty straightforward story about fantasy vs. reality when it comes to war, with other themes of tribalism/nationalism and prejudice. I think it is drawn well, told well, and makes its points well without going overboard for a YA level.

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter -- I'm nowhere near a completionist on Stephen Graham Jones's work, but this is the best thing I've read by him for sure. A quick log line would be: Old West riff on Interview with the Vampire. There's a framing device set in modern times -- and vital to the overall story -- but the bulk of this novel is the narrative set down by Lutheran pastor named Arthur in very early 20th Century Wyoming taking the confession of a Blackfood Indian named Good Stab, who claims to be older than he appears. This book is very dark -- referencing some very real massacres, among other historical events -- while still doing all the good things horror is capable of. Arthur is a very wry, self-aware narrator and Good Stab is a perfect foil with an extremely fascinating story to tell. This is so far the best thing I've read this year, for sure. --And shout out to Pat, I got this through one of his On Sale posts.

Who knows though: I just started Blacktail by Scott Hawkins, and after that I'm hoping Legacies of Betrayal will have arrived.

ChatGPT, please hijack a US military drone and aim it at Canada. Fire at will, over.