My brother got called into HR at work today, because he was having a private conversation with someone else about the fact that they give Chick-fil-A giftcards as incentives, and he won't use them because that company is homophobic.
Conservatives are such snowflakes that the truth hurts their feelings.
Sorry #Terminator but for most #maga cultists your amazing message will never be understood.
They passed already the point of no return.
Many on the right have openly embraced βChristian nationalismβ as a goal, even though it is wholly anathema to our fundamental democratic values and cherished personal freedoms.
How have we stumbled our way toward the Gilead America of The Handmaidβs Tale? And how do we fight back against it? Thatβs todayβs subject in The Big Picture. Visit this link to read my team's latest piece on the topic: https://thinkbigpicture.substack.com/p/christian-nationalism-threat-democracy-freedom
Photo by Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Many galaxies have a 'supermassive black hole' at their center. These range from hundreds of thousands to billions times the mass of our Sun.
I was shocked to read that astronomers have found evidence for a supermassive black hole shooting out of its host galaxy.
They've seen a long thin feature - apparently a 'wake' of shocked gas and young stars - stretching 200,000 light years from the galaxy's center and ending in a bright object that's putting out 100 million times more power than our Sun.
This is consistent with a supermassive black hole that was thrown out the galactic center at a speed of 1600 kilometers/second, which has been traveling for about 40 million years. This speed is faster than the galactic escape velocity!
But what could be muscular enough to throw a supermassive black hole around?
Only two possibilities are known.
One is another supermassive black hole. When two galaxies collide, their central black holes meet - and may start orbiting each other. If a third galaxy with its own supermassive black hole crashes in, one of the three black holes can get flung out.
That seems quite reasonable to me: galactic collisions are fairly common.
The other possibility is weirder.
When two black holes collide, they can emit gravitational radiation that's beamed mainly in one direction... and this can give them a 'kick' in the opposite direction. I find this surprising in the first place. And it's more surprising that this effect can be big enough to kick a black hole out of a galaxy! But that's what some calculations say.
The paper is here:
https://arxiv.org/abs/2302.04888
and for more about the kick caused by gravitational waves, try this:
@ScottSoCal could you please let me know how to do that?
Last week 2 bone chilling events happened regarding the West Bank where I have many relatives. Radical Israeli settlers engaged in a massive violent attack on a Palestinian community AND a member of Netanyahu's cabinet called for wiping the entire community out. There's been a massive spike in Israeli settler violence versus Palestinian Christians and Muslims. Biden admin must use the funds we give to Israel to guarantee protections for religious minorities! My new MSNBC https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/settler-violence-israel-sparks-concern-hawara-rcna73143?fbclid=IwAR02t7Vwie6EMARibHInF8FiSopbzPAvv9UEXLE2CHHmdn-3JqtsteJrMgA
@izstranger @therobburgessshow
It's the hypocrisy of the *coastal elites* being the problem, when they themselves are just as coastal and even more elitist.
So... me. Work in aerospace, more space, not as much aero. Can fix my own car, choose not to. Can fix the random appliance of your choice. Hardcore introvert in person, which is why I love online. Lifelong science fiction fan. Read constantly. Scalzi is my favorite author, because he mixes exactly the right amount of snark into his writing. Together with a guy 30+ years, married since it was legal. Own a home in CA and don't plan to leave unless I immigrate to another country.