Bitchin Dave's Newsletter - June 17th
As I've noted many times before, the founding fathers weren't particularly religious. As the primary religion in the American colonies was Anglican, that meant that the predominant religion accepted the monarchy. Because the monarch is the head of the Anglican Church.
That certainly didn't fit with the ideals of this fledgling nation, which was trying to free itself from the ties to England.
And that's an important part of how our nation was founded. The Declaration of Independence speaks of "the creator" as a very ambiguous thing. And they do note that there is "divine providence" in the action, which suggests a higher power. But they don't otherwise mention god, and certainly not Christianity.
The constitution makes no reference to god. At all. There is a notation in article vii that reads "in the year of our lord"
done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independance of the United States of America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names
But keep in mind that the British had imposed the Gregorian calendar on all its territories. It has a "starting point" related to the assumed birthdate of Jesus. Any days before that are "BC," or "Before Christ." And anything after are "AD," or "Anno Domini" which is loosely translated to "after the coming of god."
The plucky americans kept the calendar and the nomenclature for convenience. So "year of our lord" is a holdover from that, specifically.
And with no other mentions of god, it's a stretch to fit Christianity into that. Though certainly some people try and do so.
Moreover, it was decided to make the semi-official motto of these new United States e pluribus unum which you may recognize as a Latin phrase (Latin being commonly used in documents pertaining to state, in many British territories). It means "out of many, one."
You may also realize that this is the basic tenet of the declaration that "we the people" are the nation. Not a king. Not a type of tyrant. We. All of us.
You may also wonder about the pledge of allegiance that we all know and recite. Are you aware that it didn't get written until after the civil war? It was 1892 when we started pledging allegiance to the republic. And it did NOT contain the phrase "under god" in its original form.
But along came the Cold War in the 1950s. The red scare. There were communists everywhere, according to some. And we couldn't let the Russians take over our nation. So there were a series of witch hunts.
And a serious discussion about how we could differentiate ourselves from *them* got underway … one way was through religion. The communists didn't believe in god and therefore, if the United States made references to god, we could assure ourselves that the red menace wouldn't affect our way of life. Silly as that sounds.
So in 1956, the pledge of allegiance was changed to add "under god" to it. It's a small, subtle change. But in context, really relevant.
They also adopted an official motto that reads "in god we trust," and stopped using "e pluribus unum" in most official capacities.
Until then, no one much cared about religion in the way we think of it today. Yes, people were religious. And yes there were debates about church and state. But the constitution typically won out because it didn't mention god.
But, with legislation and the stroke of a pen, we started down a long path of religion infiltrating our system of government. People assume that "under god" refers to Christianity. But of course it does not specifically do that.
And our founding fathers never intended for this to happen.
Reference: the constitution
Reference: the Declaration of Independence
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A team of engineers found a way to prevent a chemical layer from forming on Li-ion batteries. This layer prevents fast charging in cold climates. What they did was to coat the batteries with a lithium borate-carbonate material about 20 nanometers thick. And in tests, batteries can charge up to 5x faster. That's cool. https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/fast-charging-ev-batteries-cold-weather/ |
Some researchers at MIT came up with a means to capture images of atoms with detail we've never seen. You can see how bosons bunch up while fermions stay apart, illustrating how the electrons and positive/negative attraction works.  Two types of atoms, bosons on the left exhibit bunching while the fermions on the right display anti-bunching – Credit: Sampson Wilcox / MIT |
Scientists Have Been Studying Remote Work For Four Years And Have Reached A Very Clear Conclusion: "Working From Home Makes Us Happier."Which is why companies and wealthy executives hate it. You have to be miserable in order for them to have power over you. https://farmingdale-observer.com/2025/05/16/scientists-have-been-studying-remote-work-for-four-years-and-have-reached-a-very-clear-conclusion-working-from-home-makes-us-happier/ |
Everyone is looking to collect data on everything we do. Its a weird world, where our digital footprint is used for literally everything. And every big company wants to control that data and profit from it. Apple has car play, and Google has android auto. These are both nicely coded software, built to give a great customer experience - and collect data that Apple and Google can use to their advantage. And Apple has created the capability to take over most current cars infotainment and displays - allowing them to control the interface and obviating the need for the car company's software. But the auto manufacturers aren't too happy with this arrangement. I've noted in the past that your car collects all manner of data about you and your car - from driving habits, to location, to speed, to what you say inside the cabin. And they can - and do - sell this to anyone who is interested, including insurance companies, who have started to use this data to individualize your insurance rate. And the worst of it is that you can not opt out. As this continues to evolve, the car manufacturers are hiring some number of people that write software that isn't that great in customer experience, and for which they can charge you more to use, all while selling all the data about you - thus profiting on every part of it. And the aim is to stop you from using Apple and Android products on their infotainment systems. Its a strange time isn't it? Everyone wants to profit off our data. |
Disney hadn't said much about the Cars themed land slated for the magic kingdom, after their initial announcement. The reason for that is: Florida politics. Disney proposed filling in the Rivers of America and using that as additional space for their new land. But Disney no longer controls its own waterways. They are now under the purview of the state's water management district. So, when Disney proposed their changes, the state rejected it outright. It's hard to tell what their reasoning was, but presumably it's about their ongoing feud. Disney tried negotiating, but they met a lot of resistance. I personally assumed the project died quietly. But in the first week of June, they came up with this statement. "Since the early days of Magic Kingdom, adventurous guests have traveled across space and time as they pass from Liberty Square to Frontierland. "At the heart of all these stories are heroic characters with a belief in themselves that helped forge a path to their dreams. "To continue this journey in great American storytelling, Piston Peak National Park will be part of the largest expansion in the history of Magic Kingdom. "Visitors will be able to see and explore the visitor lodge, Ranger HQ, trails and more all set within the Disney and Pixar Cars universe. "To make sure these buildings fit naturally within the surrounding majestic landscapes, Imagineers are using a style of architecture called 'Parkitecture,' which was developed by the National Park Service to create structures that harmonize with the natural environment. "From the outside, trees will provide a natural barrier between the off-road rally and other parts of Frontierland and Liberty Square. Rugged mountains with dramatic peaks will be nestled along a calming waterway across from Grizzly Hall, and soaring geysers from the famed Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will stretch into the trails of our off-road rally." Which means that they found a way to make it work. And if you look at the new rendering, you'll note that the waterway surrounds the land. So in effect, they reshaped the Rivers of America slightly, but left it intact. I'm not quite sure who won and lost here. But it seems a reasonable compromise. I think, anyway. But my one question remains: why did they put it there, and not over by the Tomorrowland speedway? That seemed to be a more natural tie-in. But what do I know? Original artist rendering - no waterways shown:   |
Japan's Resilience Lunar Lander apparently crash landed on the moon. Everything was looking good after its time in space, and the engineers were excited and confident about landing. As it was 20m above the surface, and about 2 minutes from landing, the thrusters fired to move it to a vertical position, but it didn't successfully complete the maneuver, and the craft didn't slow down. iSpace lost contact with it and later determined that it had crash landed. And that means its iSpace's second failed attempt to land on the moon.  |
Bonus: The one thing that DOGE shone a light on was how taxes, and distribution of wealth works. But the one thing we also learned is that the maga-aligned crowd really don't understand how the economy works - and more importantly WHY it works.
This story is about Florida, but probably applies to other states as well. Of the 67 counties in the state of Florida, 8 of them are very populated, and would mostly be considered "blue." And of course, they have most of the industry in the state, including tourist destinations. The other 59 counties you might think of as being in the deep-red south. They don't get much activity tourism-wise, and are fairly rural.
Sales tax is how the state gets funding for all the services provided. It's collected disproportionately in the 8 counties, and re-distributed to all 67 counties.
So, in effect, these red counties have services and available funds because of the larger counties.
Which is socialism. Exactly what some rail against. And if they stopped, then there would be a whole new conversation.
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