The thing is, I think with just a tiny shift in perspective, that part of the song becomes about food desserts, and how social programs are often designed to keep people in the system, not help them get out of it.

When you're too racist even for black Republicans, you know you screwed up.

I ended up being ok with the weirdly retconned Klingons - after all, Next Generation "butchered" the Klingons from TOS. The thing that kept me with Disco until season 4 was Michelle Yeoh's character, because I fucking love her. That said, it does not really get much better than S1, and I gave up after S3.

...this little bit of cooperation between the Federation and the Orions probably improves their relationship a bit, which will eventually lead to Orions joining the Federation, which is how Tendi is friends with Boimler in the first place, which is how Boimler knows that not all Orions are pirates which is why Pike tones down his hostile response which gets them to a deal with the Orions which leads to...

OMG! They managed to make that scene just so hilarious and poignant at the same time. Watching her facial expressions as she realizes what Boimler is telling her made me want to just scream at him to shut the fuck up and slap the shit out of him...but he's just being dear sweet clueless Boimey. :(

Theme-wise, I think they're setting up a comparison between Pike knowing his doom and Christine/Spock knowing their relationship is doomed. Knowing that, what do you do in the meantime?

Yes! Boimler is a great example of an ally here - he tells Pike, who he spends all episode worshiping, directly and politely that his bias against Orions is wrong.

I'm still giddy about this episode. Possibly the best thing I've ever seen.

One thing I noticed particularly in this episode is how respectful both SNW and LD are of canon and fandom in general - the bit about not all Orions being pirates, for example. I know it originates w/Tendi from Lower Decks, but just in the context of this episode they take the one-dimensional nature of the Orions from TOS, poke a little fun at it, but then make it about the bias that the Federation/Star Fleet has against a culture they really don't understand. The SNW writers effortlessly take what could be considered a flaw or one-dimensional writing from TOS and actually use it to flesh out the ST universe, all while telling a great story.

fwiw, it is also an "attack" from Republicans who claim the economy is a disaster. The Biden admin co-opted the term - similar to what they did with the "Dark Brandon" meme.

People on the "right" are vastly more accepting of authority than people on the left. For example, the people who didn't wear masks were willing to die because Tucker (or whichever right-wing shitgoblin they listen to) told them to. It wasn't some sort of anti-authoritarian expression, it was pure authoritarianism.

Hey now! As the headline says, the layoffs were painful. Those execs deserve some compensation for all their pain!

OK, can someone help me out? I had major deja-vu with the scene where Spock tells Ortegas she can't go on the ~~field trip~~ away mission. Wasn't there another episode where Ortegas was about to get to go on an away mission and got told she couldn't at the last minute? Or did I maybe see that scene in a preview or something?

Prune juice. Just be sure to clear your calendar and plan to spend the next couple of hours near a clean bathroom.