Dan Lipka Web Log

Here is the best, realistic, outlook for the future of our economy. An effective vaccine is identified and distributed to "first-world" countries by spring 2021, with the rest of the world by the end by 2021. The US economy is currently in shambles, but is being held together up by a trillions of federal dollars artificially infused into the economy. Hiding the economic despair is that the status of local economies are often overshadowed by the success of huge businesses (as expressed in the Dow Jones). The unemployment rate is hovering around 10% and tens of thousands are small businesses have already closed and many are soon to follow. Assuming a vaccine works and is distributed (which is far from assured), we will still need another massive infusion of cash from the federal government to prevent a long-term recession, combined with wide-ranging local government shortfalls. This is setting up the next President for failure. If the government doesn't continue to blast mo

Lindsey Graham was revealed as a complete hypocritical liar (when he had specifically said he wouldn't vote on a Supreme Court Judge in an election year, than recently said he is going to do the exact opposite. Now, when asked if he will go on the record to say that he will support a peaceful transition on power after the election, Lindsey Graham (S.C.) told "Fox & Friends" that he "can assure" there will be a peaceful transition of power, adding that "if the Republicans lose we will accept that result". How does his word mean anything to anyone. The press needs to follow up with something like "Senator Graham, how to we know you are not lying now, like when you specifically lied about the Supreme Court nominating process. You know that you no longer have any credibility, you know that right?" Every time he ever says anything they press should remind him that he cannot be trusted. This is the only way for there to be accountability.  On a

It should come as no surprise that the Republican majority in the Senate will go against their own precedent and push through a Supreme Court nominee just months before the election. Anyone who is surprised should be ashamed of themselves. This is 100% consistent with their values of staying in power and pushing a conservative agenda at any cost. However, confirming a Justice before the election is just bad politics. If they were smart they would... Step 1: Announce that they are going to start the process of reviewing the Justice as soon as possible, but will not vote on that person until after the election. This will help motivate people to vote on this single issue. If you want a conservative country, you have to vote Republican. From this prospective, middle of the road Republicans and independent voters can ignore the disaster that is Donald Trump, by justifying their vote on Supreme Court issues only. The election won't be about the tens of millions who are unemployment, our

The computer revolution would have been impossible to predict 75 years ago. The idea that almost every person would be carrying around a super-computer, with access to almost all the information in existence, would have been inconceivable. As I guess what life will be like 50 or 100 years from now, I foresee that our understanding (due to advances in genetic manipulation combined with AI) of human biology will lead to our ability to completely manipulate who were are. Technology will finally eclipse anything our body can do on its own. This would start with fundamentally changing how we are physically, like our ability to heal, our strength, and aging. But it would quickly move towards our ability to manipulate our minds and body chemistry. Some people believe in a "soul" that exists beyond our bodies, but I don't. We are the products of our brain and how our brain controls the chemical inside us. You are not "happy" because of something you experience, you are