I've seen a great deal of presidential drama over the years…

…Kennedy's assassination and Reagan's almost one; massive protests against the Vietnam War during LBJ's administration; Nixon's Watergate imbroglio; Jimmy Carter and the Iranians; Bill Clinton and That Woman; a list of invasions now to long to recall, let alone recite; three impeachments; family dramas galore…so the current hubbub over the Manhattan Indictment does not leave me shaken, or even much stirred.

And I find it difficult to contemplate campaign finance law with a straight face.

I am reminded of the old publicist's axiom: It doesn't matter what they say about you as long as they get your name spelled right. 

We may at least find out if that still holds true.

 

You don't need to be a fan, exactly…

 …to find this little primer on the history of German royalty in England fascinating. IMO.

How German are the British royals?

–Deutsche Welle

Where have all the editors gone?

Signs of pain as easy cash era ends are growing

–Reuters

Signs of pain are growing as easy cash era ends

– ?

And in yet more virus news…

A new flu is spilling over from cows to people in the U.S. How worried should we be?

If you have a respiratory infection in the U.S., doctors can identify the pathogen causing the infection only about 40% of the time.

Sounds a little…precarious. Doesn't it?

But maybe it won't matter much:

Data published in 2020 by the Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that the U.S. could see a shortage of 54,100 to 139,000 physicians by 2033.

When the stars align…and eggs

 I was groping for the oatmeal box this morning, again, when I encountered an eye-popping thought. I had eggs, a piece of ham, and a nice little bowl of boiled potatoes right there in my kitchen all at once.

How often does that happen? Almost never. At least, not any more.

Once in a previous century ham, eggs, and fried potatoes were, duh, breakfast. And dinner was beef, more potatoes, and maybe a chunk of iceberg lettuce covered in Thousand Island. Those of us lucky enough to have survived it are now consigned to oatmeal.

Except this morning, which was grand.

Tik…Tik…Tik

SASC INVESTIGATION FINDS CHINESE INTRUSIONS INTO KEY DEFENSE CONTRACTORS

–Senate Armed Services Committee

Chinese Gas Pipeline Intrusion Campaign, 2011 to 2013

– Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI

China state-backed hackers compromised networks of at least 6 U.S. state governments, research finds

–CNBC

Leading College Republicans and Dems Draft Open Letter Urging American Universities to Combat Chinese Influence

–National Review

China’s global campaign to win friends blossoms in unlikely place: Utah

–Portland Press Herald

TikTok

–Really?

What happened to National Cookie?

How the AR-15 became a powerful political, cultural symbol in America

One Republican lawmaker, Rep. Barry Moore of Alabama, introduced a bill in February to declare the AR-15 the “National Gun of America.”

[Washington Post article may be paywalled on web site; is available from Apple News here,] 

Drop that fruit

Woman Arrested For Domestic Avocado Attack

Biswanger was arrested for battering a victim aged 65 or older, a felony [in Florida, at least –ED]. She was released from the county jail without bond late Sunday night.

 

After you

Berliners vote down referendum on tighter climate goals

The referendum was a test of whether Germans, or at least Berliners, want Germany's climate policy, which now aims to make Europe’s biggest economy carbon-neutral by 2045, to be more ambitious.

 Meanwhile, we're on the brink of catastrophic warming, says the Washington Post (as well as the UN).

Is there still anything we can do? Sure. But it's not unscrewing one more lightbulb in your kitchen.

It's more like unscrewing Times Square.

And nobody wants to do that.

Another War on…and on and on

Progress report: McGovern addresses steps needed to end hunger in 7 years at western Mass. strategy session

I don't remember when the War on Hunger started. Was it before or after the War on Poverty? Somewhere in there with the War on Crime and the War on Drugs? After the War on Terrorism?

Well, whenever. It's got seven years to go. Here, at least. It won't end before the new War on the Internet, which is what the current War on TikTok is all about. We, or at least the members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, are not about having a bunch of dopey teenagers acting like dopey teenagers. Right there in Public. Where the world can see.

(Socrates worried the invention of writing would corrupt the younger generation by exposing them to too many wacky ideas. That's where it all started, I guess.)

We can protect ourselves against China by being China, the thinking goes. China, like North Korea, Russia, Iran, and just about every other authoritarian country on Earth protects its citizens by blocking the Internet. What, are we supposed to be different?

A lot of people seem to think we're not.

At least we won't be hungry if we can just hold out another seven years or so. Assuming we win the War on Climate Change.

Peanut butter: Leave it at home

The TSA Just Issued Its Final Verdict on Peanut Butter

But "My mom talked her way into bringing on her pasta sauce by starting to cry when they called her sauce liquid or gel."

It's complicated.

Also, How to Sneak Weed Onto an Airplane