Why don't we rob stagecoaches anymore?

Whistleblower org says DOGE may have caused 'significant cyber breach' at US labor watchdog

The NLRB, a New Deal-era agency that is tasked with protecting workers' rights to organize and join unions, has for years been a target of America's corporate titans - including Musk - some of whom are now seeking to have the agency's powers declared unconstitutional.

Way too much galloping around.

 Now we just copy the data and walk away.

Elon and his minions are merely the latest in a long line of hackers and crackers, governments and corporations, who've been siphoning off our data for years now.

They know more about you than you do.

Six is not enough!

How many Peeps are made each year?

On average, about 5.5 million are made each day.

That adds up to 2 billion a year — or roughly 6 Peeps for every man, woman and child across the U.S.

Is eight to much to ask? Come on — it's only once a year. 

Strangely…hard to explain…

NBA sees sport's growth lagging behind potential in Europe

Organisers of the Euroleague, the continent's existing premier club competition, balked at the idea of a new league, however, and said the plans for a new European league amounted to a threat that could fragment the sport.

…Europeans seem insufficiently interested in U.S. basketball. 

But we'll take the winter ones, thank you

US government slapping 21 percent tariff on most tomatoes from Mexico

The United States government announced that it plans to slap a nearly 21 percent tariff on most tomatoes coming from Mexico in the summer…

[Emphasis mine.]

“This action will allow U.S. tomato growers to compete fairly in the marketplace,”, the U.S. Commerce Department says. If, however, Mexico or some other country puts a tariff on our products, that's competing unfairly.

See the difference?

This…

Trump officials push immigrant gang message, but sometimes don't back it up in court

After an FBI SWAT team on March 27 raided the home of a 24-year-old Salvadoran man living illegally in Virginia, Attorney General Pam Bondi, standing alongside FBI Director Kash Patel in a morning press conference, alleged the man was one of the top three U.S. leaders of the violent MS-13 street gang and called him a terrorist.

Less than two weeks later, the Justice Department moved to drop the only charge it had brought against him -- illegal possession of a firearm by an alien -- and Bondi said he would face deportation instead.

[And a whole lot more.]

…is a story about a lawless government out of control. 

What a way to start the week. 

Bernie Sanders?

Coachella continues with Weezer, T-Pain and a Bernie Sanders appearance

Bernie Sanders is the only name I recognize in this entire article.

Except maybe Billie Eilish. Maybe.

What do you want to bet…

US State Department says deported Maryland resident 'alive and secure' in El Salvador

"He is alive and secure in that facility. He is detained pursuant to the sovereign, domestic authority of El Salvador."

…what they are freaking out about in DC is what this guy is gonna say if he gets back home.

The very idea that these guys, who tariffed the entire world in order to get them to negotiate, presumably, and threatened to bomb Iran to get them to negotiate can't persuade El Salvadore to put this guy on a plane is ridiculous. 

Also, "terrorism confinement center"?

What if we had a war and no lip balm?

US businesses already seeing impact of Trump tariffs

"We're constantly dealing with the uncertainty of the future and of our future supply chains," said Steve Shriver, the founder and CEO of Eco Lips, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based company that makes organic health and beauty products with ingredients sourced from more than 50 countries and sold in 40,000 stores nationwide. It has annual sales of around $30 million.

 Or concert seats. Or toys — by the way, Christmas might be 125% more expensive this year. 

This is National Security™ we're talking about here.

The Trump nutcracker (no, I'm not kidding)

Germany's iconic nutcrackers threatened by Trump tariffs

The German company Steinbach Volkskunst has created a popular nutcracker doll depicting Donald Trump at his desk in the Oval Office. Priced at $379, the doll's cost may rise due to impending tariffs imposed by the real-life US president, posing a significant challenge for the manufacturer, which sells over 95% of its production in the US.

"Micro" is a relative term

A micromoon will grace the night skies this weekend

“It’s a very subtle difference,” said astrophysicist Alain Brizard from Saint Michael’s College in Vermont.

"Humanity’s enduring commitment" meets MAGA

US judge will not curb immigration enforcement in places of worship

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington, who was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term in office, found that the organizations [suing over this practice] likely did not have legal standing to bring the case because the claims that they faced harm were speculative.

 Courtesy of Perplexity AI, here's a little essay on the history of sanctuary.

In summary, sanctuary has evolved from a strictly religious concept into a broader social and political practice rooted in moral convictions about protecting vulnerable individuals. Its history reflects humanity’s enduring commitment to mercy and justice across centuries.

The MAGA Deep State

Cybersecurity industry falls silent as Trump turns ire on SentinelOne

Trump on Wednesday ordered the cancellation of security clearances of SentinelOne executives and employees, part of a campaign to use the might of the U.S. government to crush his political opponents.

The entire security apparatus and the granting of security clearances is no longer solely about protecting necessary secrets (although it is still that), it's also about deciding who is allowed to play the game and who is not. There are a lot of people whose livelihood is entirely based on going where only cleared people are allowed. Who are privy to the secrets of the state. License to make this decision is licence to rule. Absolutely. 

This is the very idea of a Deep State.

Sorry. Just couldn't resist.

 

Is our Treasury intern, Scott Bessent, deranged?

Fired Federal Workers Could Work Factory Jobs Created by Tariffs: Bessent

On the other side, we are shedding excess labor in the federal government and bringing down federal borrowings," Bessent told Tucker Carlson on Friday. "And then on the other side, that will give us the labor we need for the new manufacturing."

What a plan! Kick all those worthless work-at-home deadbeats out of their cushy government jobs and put them to work making microchips. 

What could possibly go wrong?

(Yes.)

Just asking

Think Congress Will Stop Trump’s Tariffs? Think Again.

The Constitution assigns Congress the power “To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises.”

But our Commerce Intern, Howard Lutnick, says “Let Donald Trump run the global economy,” Lutnick instructed. “He knows what he’s doing. He’s been talking about it for 35 years…You’ve got to trust Donald Trump in the White House.”

But I can think of a few other things he's been talking about for 35 years — or more. Would you want him to fix any of them?

Yes, Virginia, "government intelligence" is an oxymoron

Gabbard creates task force to probe intelligence community

The group will be “investigating weaponization, rooting out deep-seeded politicization, exposing unauthorized disclosures of classified intelligence, and declassifying information that serves a public interest.”

 Tulsi, is we know, is a recognized expert in declassifying information.

Things have gone from terrifyingly amusing to…

Musk's DOGE using AI to snoop on U.S. federal workers, sources say

The use of AI and Signal reinforces concerns among cybersecurity experts and government ethicists that DOGE is operating with limited transparency and that billionaire Musk or the Trump administration could use information gathered with AI to further their own interests, or to go after political targets.

…simply outrageous.  

Not to mention illegal, if that matters anymore.

It's not utter confusion, it's…

White House Official Acknowledges ‘Conflicting Narratives’ on Tariffs

…conflicting narratives.

Thanks, White House Official, for clearing that up.

The latest word in fraud-busting

National Weather Service no longer translating products for non-English speakers

Not being able to read urgent weather alerts could be a matter of life or death, said Joseph Trujillo-Falcón, a researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who has worked with NOAA researching how to translate weather and climate information to the public, including the use of artificial intelligence.

 The question of who's commiting fraud on whom remains open.

In the meantime, take care of your neighbors.

Finally, something to worry about

It’s springtime in Germany and people are obsessing about white asparagus

There is no other vegetable that Germans obsess about as much as white asparagus. They can discuss for hours whether it should be eaten with melted butter or Hollandaise sauce, served with smoked ham or schnitzel, or should come with a side of potatoes boiled whole or peeled, cut into slices and fried with bacon and onion.

 

And put on a happy face

How Trump’s tariffs could finally help Americans win their war on clutter

Americans have a lot of crap lying around.

New York Post sees the sunny side. 

A visit from our National Health Intern

School-age child dies in Texas measles outbreak; health chief Kennedy visits family

Kennedy has previously also recommended Vitamin A as a measles treatment, along with good nutrition. While Vitamin A has been shown in some studies in developing countries to lessen the severity of symptoms, it can lead to liver toxicity in high quantities.

But "the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine," he says now, On X.

X.

At least, no violin

Trump Golfs, Fires Off Social Media Posts as Markets Convulse

On Thursday, he dined with LIV Golf players celebrating the start of a three-day tournament at Trump National Doral Golf Club. On Friday he spent nearly six hours at Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach. On Saturday he played in a tournament at his golf club in Jupiter, Fla., winning his second-round matchup of the Senior Club Championship and advancing to the championship round on Sunday, the White House said. Trump said on Sunday that he won the tournament.

Nero fiddled as Rome burned, says the legend. 

(During a meeting at the Kennedy Center, President Trump shared an anecdote about his childhood musical potential, reportedly stating he had a "high aptitude for music.")

 But Nero never won a Senior Club Championship.

That special place called DC

Inside Boston’s Luxury Brothel Scandal

Eager to gain access to an exclusive establishment near Harvard University, biotech executives, doctors, lawyers and politicians filled out applications and handed over IDs, work badges and personal references.

But…and WSJ buries the lede on this one…

The brothel, where young Asian women used names like Tulip and Tiki, also operated just outside Washington, D.C., but Virginia prosecutors said they declined to pursue charges against johns there.

Military attack plans (hello, signalgate!) are not classified but this definitely is.

Ooops, tripped over that long red tie again

US egg imports meant to drive prices down could be hit by tariffs

The U.S. has increased imports of eggs from Turkey, Brazil and South Korea in an attempt to increase supplies amid an ongoing bird flu outbreak that has killed nearly 170 million chickens, turkeys and other birds since 2022.

A new U.S. baseline tariff of 10% would affect imports from Turkey and Brazil, and South Korea is facing a 26% tariff, according to figures released by the White House.

So much winning. 

And I'm just hearing about this now?

PRESS RELEASE: Doomsday Clock set at 89 seconds to midnight, closest ever to human extinction

Of course all these guys are scientists and probably vaccinated as well, so they will all soon be living in NATO or some other place we don't worry about any more. Maybe Norfolk Island.

Carry on,

[Reading X too early in the morning makes me grumpy – ED.]

On, Wisconsin

Democratic Spending Group Encourages Elon Musk to Campaign for GOP Candidates in 2026

“HMP greatly encourages one of the most unpopular men in America to campaign with Republicans across the country,” says Katarina Flicker, a national press secretary for the House Majority PAC, a spending group that spends millions each cycle to elect Democrats to Congress. “His efforts will be crucial to Democrats taking back the House in 2026.”

[Or Apple News] 

Is our National Security Intern just another DOGE bro?

Not just Signal: Michael Waltz reportedly used Gmail for government messages

The [Washington] Post wrote that "US officials say Trump is much more upset about the inclusion of a liberal journalist on a confidential group chat than he is about exposing secrets to foreign adversaries. But White House officials have found Waltz's denials increasingly hard to believe."

Where do they find these guys? 

Do you feel lucky?

Trump gambles on tariffs as nation braces for economic fallout

But in fulfilling a key campaign promise, he also ignored warnings that targeting key trading partners – from the likes of China, Japan and the European Union – will raise prices at home and risk the eruption of a global trade war.

The guy did own a casino, after all. For a while. 

People too

Trump makes history by pardoning a corporation

On Friday, Trump issued full and unconditional pardons to four individuals and a related cryptocurrency exchange, BitMEX.

Corporations are.

And Trump, he's just a crypto kinda guy. Multiple millions worth of kinda guy. 

That's what social media are for

Frustration grows with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick ahead of Trump tariff announcement: ‘Loose cannon with half-baked ideas’

“TV interviews aren’t just a forum to test-run your latest thought bubble.”

No baking necessary there. 

Hug your cat

Trump health layoffs include staff overseeing bird flu response, source says

The center's Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network tests raw pet food for bird flu. In recent weeks, the FDA has issued several pet food recalls after detecting bird flu contamination.

 

The perils of international trade

Chipotle Went on a Seven-Year Quest to Find Avocados Outside of Mexico

Guacamole lovers flinched when President Trump threatened a trade fight with Mexico, which accounts for roughly 90% of U.S. avocado imports.

SPOILER: Still working on it. 

They go.back to the office now

NASA astronauts from Starliner mission readjust to Earth, resume work with Boeing

Wilmore and Williams, the first crew to ride Boeing's faulty Starliner spacecraft last summer, spent days undergoing routine medical checks by NASA's astronaut office after returning to Earth on a SpaceX capsule in March and before they reunited with their families.

They've been working remotely — from, you know, orbit — for nine months. Great to be back, guys!

I hope they got a cake. Or something.

One of the two, Suni Williams, said they have a "very unique perspective" on their recent adventure.

Brainiacs

Meet DOGE’S patriotic Musketeers — led by Elon and the belief that America needs their expertise, now

Most Americans know very little about Elon Musk’s team of brainiacs at the Department of Government Efficiency, and may have misconceptions about who they are.

It's a fawning op-ed from the New York Post. And yeah, at least some of it's true. But incomplete.

It's happened before.

The last time we had a squad of brainiacs in the government they were called Whiz Kids.

Whiz Kids was a name given to a group of experts from RAND Corporation with which Robert McNamara surrounded himself, in order to turn around the management of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) in the 1960s. The purpose was to shape a modern defense strategy in the Nuclear Age, by bringing in economic analysis, operations research, game theory, computing, as well as implementing modern management systems to coordinate the huge dimension of operations of the DoD, with methods such as the Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System (PPBS). They were called the Whiz Kids, recalling the group at Ford Motor Company that McNamara was part of in the 1940s and 1950s.

That from a stub article in Wikipedia. More here. Sound familiar?

McNamara and his Whiz Kids got us into the Vietnam War. And kept us there.

Just mentioning.

Just so nobody gets bored

Trump says he is not joking about third presidential term

George Washington in 1796 set the precedent for a two-term presidency, a self-imposed limit that was observed by most U.S. presidents for more than 140 years until Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940.

Roosevelt, a Democrat who was president during the Great Depression and World War 2, broke tradition and served a third term, then died months into his fourth term in 1945. This paved the way for the amendment on term limits in 1951.

So serving a third term, now, is against the law. Which doesn't seem to have deterred this guy much so far.

One hopes the law will grow a spine.

(Also…are you listening, Congress?)

Maybe he's just jealous…

Trump says "there will be bombing" if Iran does not make nuclear deal

In a telephone interview with NBC News, Trump said U.S. and Iranian officials were talking but did not elaborate.

…about how J.D. gets to go around playing soldier all the time.

[I'm so old I can remember when we had real soldiers in the government (can you spell "Ike"?) and these ain't them.] 

Pull up your socks…or bootstraps…or whatever

Why Trump's auto tariffs will hurt his working-class supporters

A Reuters review of data from two auto research firms found just 16 models with an average sticker price less than $30,000 and only one, Toyota's Corolla, that is assembled in the United States. All others are made in Mexico, South Korea, or Japan.

The cat with the telling tail

Minnesota cat's 18.5-inch tail earns Guinness World Records title

Amanda Cameron said her family's 2-year-old cat, Mr. Pugsley Addams, has always had a long tail, and the subject even came up during his first visit to the vet.

 

We don't want no more of your equitable cheese

US warns French companies they must comply with Trump's diversity ban

"We inform you that Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-based Opportunities, signed by President Trump, applies to all suppliers and service providers of the U.S. Government, regardless of their nationality and the country in which they operate," reads the letter, according to a copy that French newspaper Le Figaro published on its website.

Forget the bleu. 

What is COP30, you may ask

Love motels and converted ferries: Brazil gets creative to host COP30

No, it's not an old-fashioned TV show about police. That was Car 54. It's the upcoming United Nations climate summit, to be held in Belem, Brazil.

The convention is expected to attract 60,000 visitors; Belem boasts only 18,000 beds — including the above-mentioned love motels. But, not to worry.

Lula [Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva] shrugged off the hotel crunch in a recent visit to Belem, suggesting those who cannot find accommodation should sleep "looking at the sky – it will be wonderful."

No room service but plenty of bugs, one imagines. And, hopefully, free. (Currently, rooms are averaging $1,500 per night.) 

The house guest from…well, you know

JD Vance rips into Denmark’s government, urges Greenland to embrace US for security and economy: ‘You have not done a good job ‘

“A lot of people are interested in it, a lot of people are making a play. We hope that they [Greenlanders] choose to partner with the United States because we’re the only nation on earth that will respect their sovereignty…

No kidding. He said that. 

The Vances are making an important State Visit™ to the U.S. Air Force base at the north of the island. They are accompanied by National Security Intern Mike Waltz and miscellaneous other officials.

Usha Vance originally was due to attend Greenland’s annual dog sled race farther south, but that visit was canceled after a hostile reception from local politicians and businesses.

After Canada and Greenland and Gaza and Panama

Trump Organization eyes multi-billion-dollar projects in Vietnam amid tariff risks

HANOI, March 28 (Reuters) - The Trump Organization and its partner in Vietnam are working on multiple investments worth billions of dollars in golf courses, hotels and real estate projects in the Southeast Asian country, a spokesman for the consortium told Reuters.

Saigon Greens has a nice ring, doesn't it? A little revisionist, perhaps. But it's a new, new world. 

How new, we are rapidly finding out. 

The new way to sell privacy: It might not be

Signal Ascends From Hacker Passion Project to Washington’s Top Messaging App

“There are so many great reasons to be on Signal,” he said on X. “Now including the opportunity for the vice president of the United States of America to randomly add you to a group chat for coordination of sensitive military operations.”

 If you're lucky. And then you can be called a sleezebag by the President.

But that's a (rather awkward) joke. Signal offers rock-solid encryption. (Meta's WhatsApp also runs on Signal encryption.) And it's free to use. A lot of people do. For various reasons. (And yes, some are criminal.)

But it's not approved for government-classified information because if the device on either end of the communication is hacked, the communication is too. Which is true of any messaging app.

And now, a little MAGA porn

Photos Show Kristi Noem's Visit Through Notorious El Salvador Prison

Got that? US Secretary of Homeland Security.

How it's done, right here

 

Yep, it'd work on me

Police wrangle loose donkey with mints

"He's a cheeky one and had escaped from his field before. He was causing a nuisance on the roads for motorists so my officers had to find him and take him back to his field. He loves mints and once he had chomped down on one he was braying for more and was happy to come back with us," Beards said.

There'll always be an England. 

When it hits the fan…

DOGE staffer, 'Big Balls', provided tech support to cybercrime ring, records show

WILMINGTON, Delaware, March 26 (Reuters) - The best-known member of Elon Musk's U.S. DOGE Service team of technologists once provided support to a cybercrime gang that bragged about trafficking in stolen data and cyberstalking an FBI agent, according to digital records reviewed by Reuters.

…things get…messy. Fast.

And who is this guy?

"He [Coristine] is now working at Musk’s behest inside DOGE and we looked into his background, and so we found, you know, several notable things, Erin. One of which is that this individual has founded multiple companies, including one with another unfortunate name, uh, “Tesla Dot Sexy LLC,” which he established in 2021. He would have been around 16 years old," the reporter said.

[He's 19 now.] 

The escalating cost of dumb

Secretive Chinese network tries to lure fired federal workers, research shows

Asked about the research, three intelligence analysts told Reuters the network appeared to be a prime example of how foreign-linked entities are trying to gather intelligence from staff fired or forced into retirement by President Donald Trump and billionaire tech tycoon Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.

 Hey, they said they wanted transparency. 

A singular moment

 

This is our national security apparatus looking like two children who just got caught stealing cookies.

Great news!

The Space Station Is Too Clean, and It’s Making Astronauts Sick

Well, not for them. But I am canceling my spring cleaning project. 

Maybe next year.

No more bikes, you mopes

States push to shift road funds to transit and bike projects as Trump threatens cuts

CHICAGO (AP) — Hundreds of bicycle advocates were at an annual summit this month in Washington, D.C., when their cellphones lit up over breakfast with an urgent email warning that President Donald Trump’s transportation department had just halted federal grant funding for bike lanes.

Start your engines.

It's a scientific fact that oxygen causes rust. Stop breathing so much of it.

When is a president like a fiddle?

Putin gifted a portrait of Trump to the US president

The gift was first mentioned last week by [Trump special envoy Steve] Witkoff in an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Witkoff told Carlson that Trump “was clearly touched” by the portrait, which he described as “beautiful.”

When Putin plays it. 

[As opposed to whoever did that Colorado thing.]

The clown car gets a little too crowded

Top Trump Officials Debated War Plans on Unclassified Chat Shared With Journalist

Senior Trump administration national-security officials held detailed discussions of highly classified U.S. plans to launch airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthi militants using a commercial messaging service and mistakenly included a journalist in the conversation, U.S. officials said Monday.

Brian Hughes, spokescritter for the National Security Council, said — and I am not making this up — “The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials."

The classified, thoughtful policy discussion continued over the course of two days.

Next time they should put it on pay-per-view. At least make a buck. 

Well, you paid for it

Genetic testing company 23andMe declares bankruptcy

At stake is the fate of genetic data from the company's 15 million customers. The company has secured enough funding to continue operations while a buyer is found, and even though US law limits how genetic data can be used, the pending sale has raised significant privacy concerns.

Wait. You paid for it?

The way things are going it might not be long before the government does it for free. Think of it as just another benefit. 

Then, of course, the privacy concerns might be more than merely "significant."

Gotta love the headline

Universities Sprint from ‘We Will Not Cower’ to Appeasing Trump

Next, the Chick-fil-A White House Easter Egg Roll

White House seeks corporate sponsorships for Easter Egg Roll: Report

Sponsorships range from $75,000 to $200,000, with the promise of logo and branding opportunities, a report viewed by CNN found.

 Make America Ridiculous Again.

Don't try this at home — just yet

A Piece of Glass Thinner Than a Credit Card Could Solve America’s $25 Billion Energy Problem

Despite being lighter, these new doors can pass the most stringent hurricane testing in the country: Miami Dade’s building codes for hurricane resistance. This involves withstanding ​​air pressure equivalent to a major hurricane, and a two-by-four fired from a cannon at 34 miles an hour…twice.

Unless you live in Miami. Maybe.

But, wherever you live, it might be worth noticing this one observation:

Historically, the biggest reason that energy-efficient technologies get adopted is that building codes require them…. Without explicit regulations that enforce minimum standards, builders often seek deals on materials so that they can maximize profits, and businesses and individuals who rent out properties often have little incentive to reduce tenants’ month-to-month energy bills.

Regulations aren't all bad. Some are very good. For most of us. 

Civilization screeches to a halt

 Fom a story about Kendall Jenner (why???) in Sports Freaking Illustrated.

Her makeup was minimal yet radiant, enhancing her natural beauty. A luminous, dewy base let her natural skin shine, while a peachy-mauve blush added a soft flush to her cheeks. Her signature feathered brows framed her face, with wispy lashes accentuating her brown eyes. A balmy highlighter added a delicate glow to the tip of her nose, and a glossy taupe-brown lip completed the sultry look.

We are lost. 

Promises, promises

CEO of AI ad-tech firm pledging “world free of fraud” sentenced for fraud

The real question is…

Trump revokes security clearance for Joe Biden and entire family, Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton and other political foes

"Other political foes" include former Biden officials Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, and Lisa Monaco, Republicans Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

…the real question is, why do any of these people, as of now, require security clearances anyway? (OK, maybe the two New York prosecutors do, but surely not at the highest level.)

Alas, Donald ("If I Know It It's Not a Secret Anymore") Trump is not the guy to ask it.

Just not in the mood

Donald Trump's Impact on US Birth Rates

America's fertility rate is now projected to average 1.6 births per woman over the next three decades, according to the Congressional Budget Office's latest forecast released this year. This is well below the replacement level of 2.1 births per woman required to maintain a stable population without immigration.

Which fascinating fact gave rise to to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's exhorting his minions to favor "communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average" in doling out transportation services — with this masterpiece of beaurcratic obfuscation.

To wit:

"To the maximum extent permitted by law, DOT-supported or -assisted programs and activities, including without limitation, all DOT grants, loans, contracts, and DOT-supported or -assisted State contracts, shall prioritize projects and goals that ... to the extent practicable, relevant, appropriate, and consistent with law, mitigate the unique impacts of DOT programs, policies, and activities on families and family-specific difficulties, such as the accessibility of transportation to families with young children, and give preference to communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average."

And if that doesn't kill your buzz, nothing will.

 

It turns out…

The World Happiness Report Is a Sham

At most, [it could be] called a World Self-Reported Life Satisfaction Report—and it’s easy to see why such an honest title wouldn’t entice many journalists to write about it.

 …yesterday was the International Day of Happiness.

Sorry if you missed it. The rest of the days aren't.

[ADD]

A recent NBC News poll says just seven percent of voters who are registered as Democrats feel "very" positive about the party.

See what I mean?

Means "falling off"

Tesla recalls most Cybertrucks due to trim detaching from vehicle

Tesla is recalling the cars because of the risk of a stainless-steel exterior trim panel detaching from the vehicle, causing a potential road hazard and raising the chances of a crash, it said.

This is the eighth recall for the cybertruck — classified as an SUV — in the last 14 months.

I'm no expert on trucks — or SUVs — but that seems a little excessive.

The protection racket

Trump Floats Idea of U.S. Owning Ukrainian Power Plants as He Pushes Cease-Fire

Trump’s proposal during a phone call Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is a new twist in peace efforts, which included a still-unsigned deal that would give the U.S. rights to hundreds of billions of dollars of rare-earth minerals.

We're only here to keep you safe. 

And another way to cut taxes…

IRS Retreats From Some Audits as Agency Slashes Workforce

…would be to just, you know. not collect them.

Green in the river

Chicago dyes its river bright green as it opens St. Patrick’s Day celebrations

While the river stays bright for several hours, some trace of color can remain for days.

It's an annual thing. (And St. Patrick's Day was yesterday, of course.)

Dump Canada and Mexico, and who needs Europe anyway…we've got El Salvador on our side

Trump, Deportations and the Law

The U.S. is paying [El Salvador strongman Nayib] Bukele $6 million to handle the 300 gang members, and Mr. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have praised him as if he’s an American hero. “We will not forget!” Mr. Trump declared.

Or, well, we're paying El Salvador to be on our side.

I rarely read editorials in newspapers. I look for straight reporting (here's a starting point) and have opinions of my own.

Here's one: No one needs to shed a tear over violent criminals who have entered the country illegally getting kicked out again. But it is imperative that even they be treated according to the law. Because it's that same law that keeps us safe.

That, to me, is a simple proposition. It does not take a great deal of intelligence to understand.

Where would we be without science?

Physicists unlock another clue to brewing the perfect espresso

This latest work focuses less on the chemical changes that occur during the brewing process and more on the mechanical and physical processes. "To a physicist, brewing coffee is a reactive flow through a complex porous medium that undergoes dynamic reconfiguration—a fascinatingly complex phenomenon," Maciej Lisicki, a physicist at the University of Warsaw in Poland, told Ars.

Just drinking a regular old cup of joe, is where we'd be. 

How low the bar

Trump ties for highest approval he’s ever had

The bad news is that Trump still has not won over a majority of Americans, and 54% said they disapprove of his handling of the economy — the first time he’s lost a majority on that issue in NBC’s poll.

Hard times at the New York Post. 

She never bothers with people she'd hate*

French MEP demands the US 'give us back the Statue of Liberty'

"The second thing we're going to say to the Americans is: 'if you want to fire your best researchers, if you want to fire all the people who, through their freedom and their sense of innovation, their taste for doubt and research, have made your country the world's leading power, then we're going to welcome them,'" continued Glucksmann.

 *The Lady Is a Tramp.

Another view

Michael Lind: Why Tariffs Are Good 

In 2023 China produced roughly half of the world’s crude steel. China is the world’s largest automobile maker, accounting for a third of the global total. China’s state-backed aerospace company, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), threatens to take global market share from America’s Boeing and Europe’s Airbus. China is also the world’s largest commercial shipbuilder, responsible for more than half of all shipbuilding. America’s share of the global shipbuilding market is 0.10 percent. …During the Covid pandemic, Americans were shocked to learn how dependent the U.S. is on medical supplies from China, which provides around 30 percent of active pharmaceutical ingredients used in drugs by value and 78 percent of the vitamins in the U.S. A single Chinese company, DJI, controls 90 percent of the American drone market, including 90 percent of the drones used by American police departments and first responders.

"Like the Hunger Games"

Cockroaches and working in a closet: Inside Trump's return-to-office order

Reuters also viewed three back-to-work memos sent to staff, informing some of them that they won't have a workspace or internet access when they return. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration told staff this week it cannot guarantee desks or parking spots for the roughly 18,000 employees expected to report to offices on Monday.

OK, I confess I didn't see the movie. Not the whole thing. I quit after about 20 minutes. But I take the comment (from the linked Reuters article) to mean pretty messed up.

If that's not what it means, it should. 

There'll always be an England

How to Fix a Pothole the British Way: Public Shaming

Teenager Ben Thornbury designed a putt-putt golf course around the potholes in his hometown of Malmesbury, with a sign that read “High Street Crazy Potholes Golf: Now Open.” A month after a British tabloid did a story on the “cheeky” teen, the road was fixed. When more appeared, he set up roadside pothole fishing.

Also there'll always be a teenager, but that's a whole different thing. 

Don't mess with them, eh

Canada has ‘nuclear weapon’ in trade war — ban Pornhub in US

“If they take away my access to Pornhub, I’m moving out of the US,” one concerned Manhattan user told The Post.

And you thought they're "nice."

What's going on?

Could Fog Harvesting Solve California's Water Shortages?

Fog harvesting is the practice of capturing tiny water droplets from fog with specialized mesh nets.

I'm pretty sure I heard, just the other day, Trump say he broke in ("broke in" is what he said) to the water in California and now it's running down. "Running down" is what he said. They have more than they know what to do with, is what he said.

And now they're wanting to use nets to catch fog?

O brave new world.

It's not just drugs any more

Eggs Are So Expensive People Are Smuggling Them In From Mexico

First-time offenders get a $300 fine—equivalent to roughly 50 dozen U.S. eggs (or 150 in Mexico).

 Meanwhile, U.S. is importing eggs from Turkey. But they're not (this is confusing) turkey eggs.

Not enough shame to go around

Amazon forest felled to build road for climate summit

Along the partially built road, lush rainforest towers on either side - a reminder of what was once there. Logs are piled high in the cleared land which stretches more than 13km (8 miles) through the rainforest into Belém.

These guys don't have any, it seems.

 

Happy Pi Day

What Is Pi, and How Did It Originate?

By the start of the 20th century, about 500 digits of pi were known. With computation advances, thanks to computers, we now know more than the first six billion digits of pi.

(One million are here,) 

If Twinkies go, we are lost

Shoppers Are Skimping on Cigarettes, Doritos and Twinkies

Hershey is trying to boost sales across at least 40% of its convenience store customers with its so-called “gold standard planogram,” which uses data to determine details like the best mix of king- and standard-size candy bars on shelves in a given store. The company is also boosting marketing for core convenience-store brands like Heath, Almond Joy and Mounds, Hershey said.

They may insist on bringing measles back. And, you know, nuclear war. But a world without Twinkies is a horror to great to bear.

Polution*

EPA Chief Says 31 Actions Being Taken to Roll Back Environmental Regulations

“Today is the greatest day of deregulation our nation has seen,” Zeldin said. “We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate-change religion.”

*The lyrics. 

It's dangerous out there

A Swiss politician was fined for buying pink water pistols online

Prosecutors ordered him to pay a fine totaling 6,500 francs ($7,390) for a violation of weapons law, arguing that it applied even though the pistols were imitations “because they could be confused for real firearms due to their appearance” — despite the pink color.

Trouble in paradise so soon?

MAGA already calling on Trump to fire AG Pam Bondi. Here’s why

"I don’t think we can trust Blondi [sic],” says self-described free thinking investigative journalist Laura Loomer.

Why stop there?

Emphasis on "person"

The Civil War started and ended on the same person’s property

An interesing tidbit. (And that's the U.S. civil war, of course.)

Reminds me of a hymn*

Live updates: Trump says he hates to ‘predict things like that’ when asked if he expects a recession

A long-ago political mentor told me in the early 1960's when the Democrats are in power they always get us into a war, and the Republicans always screw up the economy. The two parties have almost entirely switched sides since then, except apparently on this one thing.

*Christ, Jesus, forever the same.

Nothing even artificially intelligent about this

War heroes and military firsts are among 26,000 images flagged for removal in Pentagon’s DEI purge

In some cases, photos seemed to be flagged for removal simply because their file included the word ”gay,” including service members with that last name and an image of the B-29 aircraft Enola Gay, which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II.

Authentically stupid is more like it.

Something I know nothing about happens in a place I do

The Problem With Hosting ‘Love Is Blind’ in Minnesota: Everything

“Leave it to Minnesotans to be too stable and even-tempered to deprive us of the early train wrecks that have been so satisfying in previous seasons,” Laura Yuen, a columnist for the Minnesota Star Tribune, wrote last month.

I don't do reality TV. Not even TV news, which is, in the end, still TV. If you've ever been on a TV location shoot, or in a TV editing suite, you know how unreal reality can be.  

But I did all my most important growing-up years in Minnesota, so that.

Some train wrecks take a lot longer than others, is all. Maybe it's the cold.

Where is the second shoe?

Elon Musk to be let inside Fort Knox depository to inspect gold reserves

Elon and his Dogies are worried about the gold stored on a heavily guarded military post in Kentucky, but no concern yet — none that I can find, anyway — for a Trumpian plan…

Trump signs order to establish strategic bitcoin reserve

…to bury a "strategic reserve" of pretend money in a pretend hole — maybe a make-believe abandoned salt mine — in some pretend U.S. location. Iowa? Who knows?

Which may not be the craziest thing to have emerged from the seemingly endless 47 days since the last Presidential inauguration — confusing "transgenic" and "transgender" is still in the running — but it's close.

Some day this might be funny

DOGE website offers error-filled window into Musk's government overhaul

"Anyone can put numbers and words on a website," Gimbel said in an interview. "In order to be transparent, the numbers and words have to be accurate. They've already been shown not to be accurate so why should I trust it?"

Someday this might be funny, maybe material for a Broadway show like The Music Man or a movie like Tin Men. Who knows?

But it's not funny now.

"Game" may not be the best word here

Putin Played a Long Game. It’s Starting to Pay Off.

Even Putin’s most hawkish advisers have been surprised by the speed with which the tone coming from the White House has changed in recent weeks, according to people who travel to Moscow and speak with Russian officials.

But otherwise… 

A modest proposal

Democrats disrupt, protest and wear pained expressions for Trump’s speech

If we're going to right this ship, we need to send some grownups to Congress. Not a bunch of petulant six year olds.

The Kennedy calls it "poison"

RFK Jr. and His Allies Target Trump’s Beloved Soda

At both state and federal levels, the Kennedy-led Make America Healthy Again movement is backing efforts to prevent people from spending food-aid benefits on sugary, carbonated beverages. Now, they are gaining momentum with an administration led by a man who enjoys soda so much that he had a red button installed on his desk for a valet to bring him a Diet Coke.

"Beverage companies are nervous," reports WSJ. 

OK, maybe Diet Cokes are only diet poison.

Peace through surrender

U.S. Pauses All Military Aid to Ukraine

“The president has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution,” a White House official said in a statement.

 In 1938 then English Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain flew to Munich to discuss with Adolph Hitler a plan Adolf had to annex just a little part of Czechoslovakia. 

Hey, Hitler said, they already speak German there. They ought to be part of Germany. That's all we want to do, really, just bring them home.

Well, OK, said Chamberlain. If that's all you want to do, we won't stand in your way,

That's all I want to do, Hitler replied. Trust me.

So Chamberlain flew home and, landing in London, announced that he had achieved. "peace in our time"

What followed is what we came to call World War II.

2025 Florida Man Games

(AP video shot by Daniel Kozin)

When the inmates are running the asylum

Trump layoffs hit key 'air traffic control for space' unit

Roughly a third of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 25-person Office of Space Commerce, a little-known body relied heavily upon by the space industry, were given a few hours' notice of their termination on Thursday by acting NOAA chief Nancy Hann and were forced out of the office by the end of the day, two of the sources said.

Also booted, maintainence people who keep the weather radars running, 

When does tornado season start?

Is it too much to ask, really?

Donald Trump Freezes Credit Cards of Federal Workers: What To Know

DOGE has got its math wrong before. For example, this week it said it had saved $8 billion from slashing a contract with ICE. That contract was actually $8 million.

Counting zeros is a simple skill. 

 

Exactly so

How Donald Trump Is Bending America's News Media

"This is not just a Trump problem. It's a media problem."

When the press covers events by sitting in a stuffy room while the current government spox instructs them the day has been lost and ignorance spreads.

Can't wait to see his plan for Ukraine

Trump shares AI video of his vision for Gaza — featuring giant gold statue and him lounging poolside with Netanyahu

Scenes of destruction suddenly morph into a sunny beach resort destination, as a lively dance track with the lyrics “Donald Trump will set you free, bringing the life for all to see, no more tunnels, no more fear, Trump Gaza is finally here” starts to play.

Dancing in the streets. And more. 

Forget the payroll, we want the shoes?

Thieves targeting freight trains in California and Arizona deserts make off with $2M worth of Nikes

It was one of at least 10 heists targeting BNSF trains in remote areas of the Mojave Desert since last March that authorities are investigating, the Los Angeles Timesreported. All but one resulted in the theft of Nike sneakers, according to investigators.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid would be ashamed. 

It was a lot more fun to blow the door off the safe in the mail car than to purloin a passel of Air Jordan 11 Retro Legend Blue sneakers.

Moreover, who'd want to watch the movie?

Meanwhile in the fun house

Trump Selects Dan Bongino as Deputy FBI Director

The announcement sent shock waves through the FBI, whose new director Kash Patel had offered Republican senators private assurances that he would name a special agent with bureau experience to be his deputy, rather than a political outsider. Patel was sworn in at the White House on Friday.

The new guy, Bongino, has never worked for the FBI, although he has worked for the NYPD and the Secret Service and is a…wait for it…podcaster. Who once proclaimed, “my entire life right now is about owning the libs.”

Retirement living in Cyprus

Retired hens revitalise Cyprus olive groves

"We provide them with an old hens' home, they come here and retire," said Christoforos, surrounded by clucking chickens while emptying bins of food waste donated by schoolchildren.

Let's try to write a headline nobody will understand

Walmart drops bag of fear into trolley of greed

Good one, Reuters.

On springing up and falling back

Daylight saving time 2025: These states are trying to ‘lock the clocks’

Some people seem to hate it, some people seem to love it, and me, I don't care. Daylight Saving Time. It starts on March 9.

In the US it's established – the springing up and falling back – by federal law. States can opt out of the plan but they can't change it. It's either do it or don't.

Some states do want to opt out – stay on Standard Time year round, no more springing up. California is one. California claims it's healthier. Massachusetts is another, but only "if two or more of the following states: New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York or Maine" agree. The state that claims to have started the American revolution is not going it alone this time.

Some states want to stay on DST and never fall back again, but can only do that if Congress approves. 

I don't care. I have spent my entire life unhealthy springing up and falling back annually, and sometimes day by day – living in a place in one time zone, working in another zone, and driving through a state that couldn't make up its mind – looking at you, Indiana. I have never so much as noticed that extra hour of sleep one is supposed to get at one end or the other, nor felt deprived by the hour I was supposed to miss.

I do enjoy those long, summer evenings, though.

You could cut your household expense by unscrewing one of those light bulbs

DOGE Claims It Has Saved Billions. See Where.

More than a quarter of the contracts listed by DOGE were actually already paid, the Journal found, saving no money. For instance, DOGE listed $168,000 in savings for terminating a contract with HHS for an Anthony Fauci museum exhibit. It had already been fully paid.

Or where not.

Some of these saving are difficult to evaluate. One hundred thousand dollars for subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal, for instance — the newspaper cited above — is an almost invisibly small share of the federal budget but probably enough for the paper to sit up and take notice of. Similar amounts have been going to subscribe to other newspapers. [See details of this and a lot of other stuff here.]

But most of it doesn't seem to be about saving money at all. It seems to be about cutting things that somebody — not naming names here — just doesn't like.

I have never been a fan of roller coasters

Delta offers $30,000 to each passenger on jet that flipped in Toronto

Remarkably, all 80 people on board survived. As of Wednesday morning, one passenger remained in the hospital, the airline said. Delta said 21 passengers were brought to hospitals with injuries after the crash.

Or horror movies. I don't crave being scared and I don't see any point in paying for it. There are plenty of scary things that can happen in one's life for free.

Rarely, however, does a scary thing pay you.

[From the Washington Post via Apple News.]

The last voyage

Luxury liner SS United States departs South Philadelphia Wednesday afternoon

Among its esteemed passengers were comedian Bob Hope, actor John Wayne, Princess Grace of Monaco, artist Salvadore Dali, actress Rita Hayworth, former President Harry Truman, jazz composer and pianist Duke Ellington and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

And me. I sailed to Europe on this ship in 1958. Didn't meet any of those guys and never got near the luxury deck but it was still quite an adventure for the teenager I was then.

The SS United States then held — and still holds — the record for fastest passenger ship crossing of the Atlantic ocean, in both directions. Now it'll become the largest artificial reef in the world. So, at the end, still something special.

There's a web site about the ship — with lots of pictures — here.

No shoes are above the law

Can sandals be art? Birkenstock says yes, but a German court says no

The appeals court said it was unable to establish any artistic achievement in the wide-strapped sandals with the big buckle.

That buckle is no big deal. Just pointing out. 

The bounty hunters

Philippine village battles dengue by offering bounties for mosquitos — dead or alive

As the campaign began, about a dozen mosquito hunters showed up at the village office. Miguel Labag, a 64-year-old scavenger, handed a jug with 45 dark mosquito larvas squirming in some water and received a reward of nine pesos (15 U.S. cents).

In Florida, a python brings a bounty of $50 and a feral hog in Texas goes for $5 plus 40 cents per pound. Other bounties in the U.S. include racoons, wolves, coyotes, bears, skunks, and, in the Pacific Northwest, a fish called the Northern Pikeminnow.

 

From the No-Conflicts-of-Interest department

Exclusive: FDA staff reviewing Musk’s Neuralink were included in DOGE employee firings, sources say

The cuts included about 20 people in the FDA’s office of neurological and physical medicine devices, several of whom worked on Neuralink, according to the two sources, who asked not to be identified because of fear of professional repercussions. That division includes reviewers overseeing clinical-trial applications by Neuralink and other companies making so-called brain-computer interface devices, the sources said.

Maybe if you're not planning to get your brain implanted it's no big deal.

 

You can almost see this coming, can't you?

FEMA's flood insurance program to borrow billions to pay 2024 post-Hurricane claims

FEMA's flood program has been reauthorized 32 times; its current reauthorization expires March 14.

 Pi Day, I mean. March 14 is Pi Day.

Ooops

Trump Administration Struggling to Find Fired Nuclear Safety Staff: Report

These layoffs were part of broader reductions at the Department of Energy, but officials allegedly did not seem to realize that this agency oversees the U.S. stockpile of nuclear weapons, CNN reported.

Energy department mouthpiece Ben Dietderich objects, says it's only a handful (50) and they were newbies anyway. But still. Nuclear stockpile?

Problem is, nobody seems to know how to get in touch with them, now that they've been axed. Maybe they fired the personnel records department too.

If you know where any of these guys are, please contact the National Nuclear Security Administration. 

[You'd think the name of the agency might have been a clue.]

The Brits give it a go

How to stop the government splurging our cash

Inspired by [Elon Musk's] example, we at The Spectator are launching our own war on wasteful spending. We’ve established a search engine to help Spectator readers join us in hunting down areas that are in need of the axe. Where the US has Doge, we can have the Spectator Project Against Frivolous Funding (Spaff).

Americans and British are one people separated by a common language, Churchill famously observed. And united, it appears, by certain wasteful ways.

[H/T Shawn]

In search of the two-minute clean

The Quest to Make the Perfect Toothbrush

Blue is the most popular toothbrush color. Some people don’t brush on weekends. Even though dental hygienists recommend smaller brush heads, Americans usually choose the biggest one. And they’re always after something new.

 Everybody has a dream.

An exploding market

The Hottest Job in a World at War: Gun-for-Hire

Soldiers of fortune were common across Europe from the fall of the Roman Empire to the rise of the modern nation-state around the 1600s.

Itinerant fighters’ ranks shrank in the modern era and were largely replaced by conscripts and career soldiers. But they never disappeared. Some fought for ideology in the Spanish Civil War. Most were ex-soldiers seeking a paycheck during the Cold War. WatchGuard International, among the first private military companies, was formed by British special forces veterans in 1965. Now, proliferating conflicts have stoked demand for hired guns.

 Old ways compound new dangers.

Promises, promises

Discovered on X (what they call Twitter now):

TRUMP: "We won't let Elon Musk do anything where there is a conflict of interest. I am personally checking to make sure there is no conflict."

Feel better now?

An easy answer

Why Do AI Chatbots Have Such a Hard Time Admitting ‘I Don’t Know’?

Wrong answers [from AI bots] are known as hallucinations because AI apps like ChatGPT and Gemini express them with total confidence. As AI is integrated into our workplaces, schools and personal lives, they pose increasing risks for the people who use the technology. Researchers who once dismissed hallucinations as a relatively minor problem are now working on numerous potential fixes.

Why? Because the geeks who design them can't admit they don't know.

Believe me. I've spent a lot of years working around geeks — professional geeks, even geekier than I am (I know that's a stretch but hear me out) — and almost (note that ungeeky word) all have an unshakable belief they're right about everything (no backing down on that). 

You can see that playing out right now on the national stage. Hallucinations everywhere. 

You might see it as kind of cute — precocious — in a six year-old.

Until they figure out a way to fix that it's up to the rest of us to do the knowing.

Can't wait for the movie

A New Spy Unit Is Leading Russia’s Shadow War Against the West

Known as the Department of Special Tasks, it is based in the Russian military-intelligence headquarters, a sprawling glass-and-steel complex on the outskirts of Moscow known as the aquarium. Its operations, which haven’t been previously reported, have included attempted killings, sabotage and a plot to put incendiary devices on planes.

 Who'd stand in line for a movie named DOGE?

When you set out to burn it down you might burn it down

Trump funding freeze halts wildfire prevention work

Feb 14 (Reuters) - The Trump administration has halted funding for federal programs to reduce wildfire risk in western U.S. states and has frozen hiring of seasonal firefighters as part of broad cuts to government spending, according to organizations impacted by the moves.

Seems it was a bad idea to let the kiddies have the matches.

A penny here, a penny there

The Donald, as you no doubt know, has instructed the mint to quit manufacturing pennies. But not to worry. It appears there are hundreds of billions of them already in circulation. A couple thousand of them, maybe more, are in a bowl on my chest of drawers. And I am willing to sell them, if you are running out, for a mere three cents apiece. They cost 3.75 cents each to mint, apparently, so that's a bargain. You're welcome.

In other cost-saving news, Elon's hit squad has a web site now. Gaze upon it and feel enriched.

It's here.

(How it winds up with a .gov URL I can not say.

(But I can guess.)

A cautionary tale

A humpback whale briefly swallows kayaker in Chilean Patagonia — and it’s all captured on camera

“I thought I was dead,” Adrián told The Associated Press. “I thought it had eaten me, that it had swallowed me.”

Try not to get too tasty. 

The last (possibly very last) word on common cents

Is Trump’s order to the U.S. Mint penny-wise or pound-foolish?

Tracking Trump

 Somebody's gotta do it.

Actually, a lot of organizations are.

Here's one.

Starting to seem a little James Bondy here

Why Dealers Are Flying Gold Bars by Plane From London to New York

Security firms shuttle bullion to the airport in London in high-strength vans. Comex contracts require a different size of bar, so traders need to send gold to Swiss refiners to recast it before flying on to the U.S. Sometimes, they cut out the first European leg by handing the refiner gold in London in exchange for the right size of bar, or flying bullion in from Australia instead.

And a few molecules might wind up in your next smartphone.

When everything else is out of control, this seems ho-hum

Mewing, Beta Maxing, Gigachad, Baddie: Parents Are Drowning in New Lingo

Parents have taken to wearing noise-cancelling headphones to drown out what they consider nonsense chatter. Others simply wish they could decipher whether they’re being insulted. The bravest among them have taken an “if you can’t beat ’em join ’em” approach, diligently researching the latest vernacular and becoming fluent in young-people speak.

This too shall pass. Groovy, right? 

 

Meanwhile, in culinary news

How Dave’s Hot Chicken Beat Rising Labor Costs

For customers seeking cheaper eats, Dave’s started selling bites of chicken starting around $6.99.

Rising costs for whom? 

Trump tariffs aluminum and steel; EU fights back with hogs, pants, and peanut butter

EU vows countermeasures to US tariffs; bourbon, jeans, peanut butter, motorcycles easy targets

Well, also booze.

Nobody seems to know where all this will end. It's not clear, even, if anybody wants to find out.

Worth remembering…

Inside Trump’s hectic day-to-day schedule

Musk is leading a team of young high-IQ whiz kids at the new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE.

…the last time we had whiz kids transfoming the government.

 Guess who:

History mostly knows him as the disgraced architect of the Vietnam War, but McNamara first made his mark in the corporate world with his mastery of numbers before it was as fashionable as it is today.

Yep, this guy.

Going steady ain't what it used to be

I Can’t Track You? We’ll Have to Break Up

Mihika Nagpal broke up with a boyfriend three months ago because he didn’t want to share his location. They had been dating for four months.

How did it used to be? It used to be you can wear my class ring. Or my letter sweater, if it's really big-time serious.

It is a special world…

Jayden Daniels Wins 2024-25 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award over Nabers, Nix

…where being named an offensive rookie is a compliment. And being cited as also pretty offensive, but not the absolute most, is worth at least a laudatory mention.

The first-year passer received Offensive Rookie of the Year honors over fellow contenders including New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers, Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers, Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr. and Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix.

 It may (or may not) be worth pointing out that there were no offensive Chicago Bears.

On the eyebrows of Hollywood

The Oscars Hit an Antiwoke Land Mine, Karla Sofía Gascón

The star of ‘Emilia Pérez’ hasn’t been signaling much virtue.

A search on X.com (formerly Twitter) turned up such eyebrow-raising comments as this one, from 2020, originally written in Spanish: “I’m sorry, is it just my impression or are there more Muslims in Spain? Every time I go to pick up my daughter from school there are more women with their hair covered and their skirts down to their heels. Next year instead of English we’ll have to teach Arabic.”

 Given the general tenor of news in the recent week, this red-carpet crisis seems refreshing. 

Elon making problems go away

Disappearing Data:
Trump Administration Removing Climate Information from Government Websites

And also any claim to credibility.

Washington, D.C., February 6, 2025 - In the first two weeks of President Donald Trump’s second term, the administration has begun to scrub critical environmental resources and datasets from federal agency websites. To combat this effort to suppress and censor public data, the National Security Archive’s Climate Change Transparency Project today publishes a selection of materials on climate change and environmental justice that have been deleted from agency web pages and spotlights the environmental and archivist organizations working to identify, scrape, and preserve these critical data.