The time has come, the Walrus said…

 …to speak about bringing this blog to an end. 

The world has become just too mean-spirited from where I sit, and I've become too grumpy as a result, to take much pleasure in blogging about it. 

I've been reading newspapers for 80 years. And I've been blogging about the news since before the word blog was invented. It began on a domain long abandoned named tedsnet, and here's the earliest remnant of that blog that remains on the Wayback Machine. It was posted in 1998, and sites like that were called Weblogs then: in a pre-Google age, denizens of the network (Netizens) would log their travels through the wires (it was also the dial-up era) to help other adventurers find their way. Blog is a contraction of Weblog and, according to Merriam-Webster, first appeared in 1999.

After I dropped the tedsnet domain to save a little money I took up blogging again — this blog, here on Blogger, in 2005. In the 20 years since it's amassed more than 1.66 million hits. In recent years most of them, according to Google, have come from outside the U.S.

It's been fun. But now I'm ready for something new. Like reading more books, maybe, Or watching TV.

Or taking longer naps.

-30-

Well, hey, birthright citizenship

Native American tribes warn members about ICE confrontations

Many Indigenous elders struggle to prove they were born here in the first place, Navajo Nation Councilwoman Eugenia Charles-Newton noted in a recent Facebook video.

Also they look like they might speak Spanish. 

And now this

World’s most popular TikTok star Khaby Lame leaves the US after being detained by ICE

They say they're deporting the worst of the worst crimal gangs (which is fine with me, Bunky, nobody wants them around) but instead they are nabbing guys looking for day work in the Home Depot parking lot and showing up, exactly as instructed at court hearings. And now this.

Lame arrived in the U.S. on April 30 and “overstayed the terms of his visa,” the ICE spokesperson said. 

Lame, whom I've never heard of, is supposedly a big deal on Tik Tok, which I have heard of, but only just barely. It seems to be some internet thing. He was apprehended at the Las Vegas airport — in the act of leaving? — and was then allowed to leave without being deported (huh?) which is a big deal. Because if he were deported for overstaying his visa it might prevent him from returning to the U,S, for up to ten years.

Like he might want to.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles…

Tactics changed to achieve new daily arrest quota of 3,000, up from 1,000, sources say

From Reuters this morning

So, it's a framework for a deal, maybe? 

So, apparently, they have the concept of a plan for a proposal on a framework for a deal to break the latest U.S.-China trade impasse. Which was only needed because President Trump sent that tweet claiming Beijing had broken the old deal.

…At least the Chinese side thought the talks were "rational", which was a step forward.

Things seem to be looking up. Or at least not down. Exactly.

It has to do with rare earths, something something, and export restrictions. 

Also it seems to have stopped raining where I am. For now.

It's baaack

The Bleach Community Is Ready for RFK Jr. To Make Their Dreams Come True

Chlorine dioxide is sold under a variety of names, including Miracle Mineral Solution, Chlorine Dioxide Solution, Water Purification Solution, and God’s Detox.…It has been peddled as a “cure” for everything from malaria to cancer, from HIV to autism to COVID-19. 

[Story also available on Apple News+, here.]

Meanwhile…

WASHINGTON - Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired all members sitting on a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel of vaccine experts and is reconstituting the committee, his department said on Monday.

When two is better than three

Scientists studying impact of painting wind turbine blade black to reduce bird collisions

The Oregon State researchers, working with federal, industry and nonprofit partners, and funded in part by the Oregon Legislature(Link is external), are building on recent research in Norway that found a nearly 72% decline in bird collisions with turbine blades when one blade was painted black. 

[There are typically three blades on a wind turbine.]

From Deutsche Welle:

According to an overview of median estimates of annual bird deaths by the US Fish & Wildlife Service, the main culprits in the US are cats (2.4 billion), collisions with glass buildings (about 600 million) and collisions with vehicles (about 215 million). Collisions with land-based wind turbines are toward the bottom of the list with about 234,000 deaths a year, well after collisions with electrical lines, communication towers or poison.

Wind power makes up about 10% of total electricity in the U.S., 28% in Germany, and 58% in Denmark. 

Be a patriot: Go behind a bush

From research to restrooms: Summer staffing crunch hits national parks after Trump cuts

CODY, Wyoming, June 8 (Reuters) - At Yosemite National Park in California, one of the oldest and most popular U.S. natural preserves, the workforce is stretched so thin this season that nearly all staffers, even scientists, are required to take turns cleaning campground toilets, according to two people familiar with conditions there.

New York Post reports…

Feds mobilize the National Guard as riots over immigration raids wreak havoc on Los Angeles

Lefty pols like Bass are “villainiz[ing] and demoniz[ing ] ICE law enforcement,” leading to the violence that saw roughly 1,000 agitators attack law enforcement officers, deface buildings, slash tires and committing other crimes, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. 

 …"1,000 agitators" in Los Angeles protesting ICE operations to deport immigrants.

Trump deploys (somehow) National Guard troops and Pete Hegseth, Department of Defense intern, threatens to sent in the Marines, calling the protest in LA a “huge national security risk.”

According to Perplexity, "1,000 is about 0.026–0.027% of the City of Los Angeles’s population."

We're deporting birds now?

 Rare cliff swallow colony to be removed from Rowe Town Hall

Cliff swallows are migratory, reports Duck.ai. And who wouldn't believe a duck? Especially given the options.

What's more they migrate from Central America. 

They do eat mosquitoes. 

But is it great TV?

Steve Bannon calls on Trump to deport Elon Musk and ‘seize’ SpaceX: ‘Strong belief that he is an illegal alien’

First we have Stevie Miller, White House assistant assistant, playing Donnie's hatchet man, and then former White House assistant assistant Stevie Bannon enters to attack boy wonder and occasional assistant roommate Elon, who ran off with the other Stevie's wife, urging Donnie to deport Elon and take away his toys. While NATO hangs in the balance. And where is China?

And the first season is just getting started .

"Never seen anything like this"

US faces vape shortage as China tariffs, seizures hit Geek Bar

One retailer, who asked not to be named because their business sells unauthorised vapes, told Reuters that one of the store's vape suppliers normally receives 100 boxes of Geek Bar vapes per week, but is now getting just ten.

Never. And how will we survive without our unauthorized vapes? 

Taco chips

 Trump Extends Tariff Exemption for Chinese-Made Chips Through August

The exemption covers key technologies such as graphics processing units (GPUs), which are central to the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. First enacted in 2019 under Trump’s initial term, the tariff has remained on hold to avoid disrupting tech supply chains.

[Emphasis mine]

[I won't resist at least occasionally sucumbing to the initialism TACO, which stands for Trump Always Chickens Out. Sorry.] [Not really.]

Plenty, over the years

Germany: 20,000 evacuated in Cologne as WWII bombs defused

The evacuated area includes the entire old part of the city, 58 hotels, three Rhine bridges, the town hall, the railway station in the district of Deutz, which lies across the Rhine from the city center, museums, a hospital and two care homes. 

 WWII ended 80 years ago.

The DOGE dodge

Trump Frees Medicare Fraudster Behind $200M Scam Targeting Vulnerable Patients

He and his partner, Marianella Valera, submitted 866,000 false claims and collected more than $87 million, exploiting patients incapable of basic functions, according to prosecutors.

After all the talk about rooting out fraud and corruption… 

Well, that didn't last long

What 'Russia's Pearl Harbor' Says About Trump's Golden Dome 

With drone swarms now capable of crippling billion-dollar military infrastructure for a fraction of the cost, military analysts who spoke to Newsweek say the United States must reevaluate whether its missile defense priorities are geared for the future—or stuck defending a past that no longer exists.

"Russia's Pearl Harbor" was nothing at all like Pearl Harbor except for the fact that a large number of aircraft were destroyed on the ground. But that aside.

The Golden Dome (because iron is not Trumpy enough for Trump) over North America was a useless idea to begin with; it's inevitable obsolecence has just been dramatically accelerated. 

Not clear is not good

FEMA staff confused after head said he was unaware of US hurricane season, sources say 

The remark was made by David Richardson, who has led FEMA since early May. It was not clear to staff whether he meant it literally, as a joke, or in some other context.

The U.S. hurricane season officially began on Sunday [June 1] and lasts through November.

Forecasters say it might be more active than usual.

Better find out.

I'm just guessing…

Russia and Ukraine to hold more peace talks after Kyiv hits nuclear-capable bombers

 

…this is going to be quite the jolly affair. Not. 

Or is. It may be going on right now. (Right now is 10:25 UTC, June 2.)

Would it be fun to listen in?

And no more Lucky Penny Day?

See a penny, pick it up? In the future, probably not as often — and, some say, that matters 

For example, a bedrock of American culture is the price tag ending in $.99, somehow trying to convince buyers that the 1-cent difference keeping the cost from the next dollar makes it a good deal…. What happens to that price now?

Lucky Penny Day is, or was, May 23. 

Who was Miss Atomic Bomb?

The woman, the mystery and the man who solved it 

Las Vegas sought to capitalize on [the atomic] craze, and in 1957 sent a photographer out on assignment to shoot a promotional ad for nuclear tourism. He got an idea to capture the lead dancer at the Sands Hotel in a swimsuit in the shape of a fluffy mushroom cloud. In the photo, the high-heeled showgirl is smiling with arms outstretched as the desert unfolds behind her like a stage.

Hard to imagine getting that idea, but the rest is history. 

When curiosity knows no bounds

Astronomers discover strange new celestial object in our Milky Way galaxy

Located 15,000 light-years away in a region of the Milky Way brimming with stars, gas and dust, this object could be a highly magnetized dead star like a neutron or white dwarf, Curtin University’s Ziteng Andy Wang said in an email from Australia.

Or it could be “something exotic” and unknown…

A single light-year is 5.8 trillion miles. 

Bee careful in Seattle

250 million bees escape after semi-truck overturns in Washington State: ‘Don’t go anywhere near them’

"But they’re honeybees, so the sting isn’t as severe as some other bees, so, so far, everybody is fine,”

Small comfort.

"Don't go anywhere near them" sounds like good advice.

This is not good…not, not, not

Miranda Devine: The left’s assassination fixation only further normalizes political violence

Miranda Devine is a New York Post columnist who's been on the leading edge of every conspiracy theory of the last decade, as far as I can see — and she's nowhere near alone. Certain social media is flooded with this kind of talk. And here's Kash Patel, chief intern at the FBI, complaining about serial seashells. 

It should go without saying any talk of assassination, of anybody, for any reason short of all-out war (and then, grudgingly) is out of bounds.

But here we are.

The cost that comes later

Illinois wants to protect the Great Lakes from invasive carp. A toxic mess stands in the way.

The state still needs to acquire some additional land along the river bank to be able to build the barricade. It’s got its eye on a piece of land nearby where a coal fired power plant once stood, but there’s a problem: The ground is contaminated by coal ash, a byproduct of burning coal to generate electricity that is known to cause cancer.

Power — energy — has always been relatively cheap in the U.S. because the true cost of producing it — cleaning up the land, water, and air polution it creates, for starters — isn't included in the price of the product. The government, which is to say taxpayers, get stuck with it in the end. 

And in this case it's not just the cost of cleaning up contaminated land, it's also the cost of further environmental damage if it's not cleaned up.

But that's OK.because…

 AI could spark bloodbath for white collar jobs — and send unemployment to 20%: Anthropic CEO

“Most of them are unaware that this is about to happen,” Amodei told Axios in a Wednesday interview. “It sounds crazy, and people just don’t believe it.”

…we're gonna need a whole lot of people to screw all those little screws into those U.S.-made iPhones. Which are gonna be using that AI. Unless, of course, the AI. learns to screw the screws in too.

But that could never happen, could it?

The fire next time

5-year forecast sees more killer heat, fires and temperature records

There’s an 80% chance the world will break another annual temperature record in the next five years, and it’s even more probable that the world will again exceed the international temperature threshold set 10 years ago, according to a five-year forecast released Wednesday by the World Meteorological Organization and the U.K. Meteorological Office.

The U.S. government, of course, believes all this is a hoax and advocates for burning more [big beautiful] coal. [Everything is big and beautiful in the U.S. now, we are told.] So there's that.

The government wants to take over Harvard but don't worry, the Speaker thinks he's Moses

The Government Details Its Demands 

A general requirement to overhaul Harvard governance would involve its form of incorporation under the Commonwealth charter of 1650 and subsequent interpretations—a significant legal matter, not a snap of the fingers. The Corporation was enlarged and its internal operations were strengthened in 2010, but this new government request is a singularly sweeping, ill-defined demand, not susceptible to “immediate” change.

It's nearly incomprehensible, but then it's the government. And Harvard Magazine. Here's a somewhat less rigorous report from the New York Post, a decidedly right-leaning publication.

Meanwhile, about the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, a Republican and second in line of succession to the throne presidency.…

And now, cheese news

German rolls past rivals in madcap English cheese chase 

The unofficial Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake in the English county of Gloucestershire drew thousands of spectators and scores of competitors to chase a speeding wheel of dairy product down a steep grassy slope.

The "chaotic but beloved annual fixture" was officially discontinued 15 years ago — for safety reasons. of course — but has been unofficially continued by rebels. Rebels. Police no longer intervene, they only observe. 

There'll always be an England.  

But where are the eggs?

Wild chickens take over Miami while some embrace roosters as a cultural symbol 

Not only found in residential neighborhoods like Little Havana, Little Haiti and Wynwood, the fowl families are also making their home among the high-rises and government buildings downtown. And while some people find the crowing to be a nuisance, many have adopted the rooster as an unofficial mascot for the city.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

 Everything You Need to Know About Memorial Day

Out of this world

Strauss’ ‘Blue Danube’ waltz is launching into space to mark his 200th birthday 

That will put the music past the moon in 1 ½ seconds, past Mars in 4 ½ minutes, past Jupiter in 37 minutes and past Neptune in four hours. Within 23 hours, the signals will be as far from Earth as NASA’s Voyager 1, the world’s most distant spacecraft at more than 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) in interstellar space.

 Vienna tourist board calls it a fix to a cosmic mistake.

Specifically

CDC can no longer help prevent lead poisoning in children, state officials say

On April 1, the staff of the CDC's Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program was terminated as part of the agency's reduction in force, according to NPR. The staff included epidemiologists, statisticians, and advisors who specialized in lead exposures and responses.

The current administration's Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative, headed by the unable Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is based not only on junk science but on junk execution as well. 

Real-world damage is occurring right now.

Exposing kids to a well-understood threat like lead poisoning is abhorrent.

That didn't take long

US Citizen Detained by ICE and Told His REAL ID Is 'Fake'

Leonardo García Venegas, a Florida-born U.S. citizen with a REAL ID, was forcibly arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at an Alabama construction site after agents claimed his identification was "fake," Venegas told Noticias Telemundo in Spanish on Friday.

REAL ID cards (we were told they were foolproof) just became — on May 7 — officially required to fly on commercial airlines and to enter certain federal buildings in the U.S. 

And now, less than a month later, ICE is claiming this guy's REAL ID is fake? I'd like to know how many other fake ones are floating around already. Am I going to need another ID to prove my REAL ID is real?

Or is there something unreal about ICE?

Bad news for me

So what happens to America’s 114 billion pennies once the US stops making them? 

The US Treasury Department announced Thursday that it plans to start winding down production of the one-cent coin it has been minting for more than 230 years. But the penny will still remain legal tender, and will still be in use at thousands of retailers around the country for sometime to come.

I was hoping that giant bowl of pennies on my chest of drawers would suddenly become more valuable. Like rare coins. Actually be worth something. 

But no. 

Me, I see no reason…

Musk’s DOGE expanding his Grok AI in US government, raising conflict concerns

One of the three people familiar with the matter, who has knowledge of DOGE’s activities, said Musk's team was using a customized version of the Grok chatbot. The apparent aim was for DOGE to sift through data more efficiently, this person said. “They ask questions, get it to prepare reports, give data analysis.”

…why Elon Musk or any of his technogoons should have any access whatsoever to any information about me stored on any government servers, all of which is personal and some classified, And that includes his artificially intelligent chatbot.

I feel the same about your info, Bunky, but you can speak for yourself.

So that's what happened

Uncommon May nor’easter brings rain and snow to New England states just before Memorial Day weekend

Drivers were stuck in floodwaters in Cape Cod and fallen trees blocked some streets.…

Some higher elevations saw snow, with New Hampshire’s Mount Washington reporting 3.4 inches (8.6 centimeters) as of Friday morning.

And would it really be May in Maine?

Not that bad here, and looking to get better today. And maybe, by some time next week, we'll break 70º (F) again.

Memorial Day is Monday, May 26.

And in what world is that world "the real world"?

 I'm looking at the picture at the top of this article.

That wasn't the real world even when the world was real.

How it works…

The Trump administration seems laser-focused (sorry, just couldn't resist) on pushing responsibility down to the several states — for disaster relief, for school funding, etc. While meanwile the Republican governor of Michigan…

Maddock Cheers Michigan Revenue Loss, Says It Forces Democrats to Cut Budget

“I’m actually glad there will be less taxes collected,” Maddock said, arguing the decline leaves Democrats no option but to cut spending, not raise taxes. “We’re not going to let them increase taxes.”

…or doesn't.

Smaller than the big one

Started out the morning contemplating the Golden Dome missile defense system, modeled after Israel's Iron Dome, Trump has announced he wants to build, some $25 Billion in start-up costs for which is included in current budget discussions. Total construction cost is projected to be a pitifully insufficient $175 Billion.

According to army-technology.com Israel's Iron Dome is a truck-mounted defense system that protects against artillery shells, rockets, and short-range missiles. Israel posesses ten batteries of Iron Dome equipment, enough to protect the country's major population centers, of which there are several.

The country of Israel is less than half the size of the United States' Lake Michigan.

It's gonna take a whole lot of dome to protect the whole U.S. And even if this "golden" version does get built, eventually (the current plan calls for 10 years but projects like this are famous for running behind schedule), it'll be obsolete before it's done.

[Lake Michigan is the largest of the Great Lakes by area. Lake Superior is the largest by volume. Lake Superior is, needless to say, superior.]

Civilization has nearly died; can it be recovered still?

 The semicolon had its moment; that moment is over

We must resist this decline. Like napkins, black tie and having a glass of champagne before lunch, the semicolon remains a bulwark against civilisational decline. We mustn’t let a generation ape the meaner writers (!) Pause, rest, think; and encourage this most noble of punctuation marks to flourish anew.

 [H/T Shawn]

Want a chicken?

Shipment of thousands of chicks found abandoned in USPS truck now overwhelming an animal shelter

Last Tuesday, the shelter began offering the birds for adoption, but only a few hundred out of thousands have been picked up. There is no complete count of the chicks, as the shelter has no feasible way to do so, but Parana estimates there to be more than two thousand available.

 Meanwhile the U.S.Postal Service is investigating what it describes, in postalspeak, a process breakdown.

[The birds are at the First State Animal Center in Delaware. Apparently it's a no-kill shelter, and if you want to adopt one you have to promise not to eat it.]

I thought this was a sick joke but…

Is the Department of Homeland Security Considering a Reality Show Where Immigrants Compete for U.S. Citizenship? 

Worsoff claimed during his interview that the DHS appears to be “seriously considering” the show—which he said would include a series of elimination challenges across America. Examples he gave of such challenges included a “pizza-making challenge” in New York, a “rocket-launching challenge” in Florida, and a “gold rush challenge” in California. Per his vision, each episode would culminate in a town hall-esque style vote, one he said is akin to a “presidential election.”

…turns out it's just, well, sick. No joke.

Yet. 

Serial speeding?

 Duck triggers speed camera exactly 7 years after identical incident

The Municipality of Koeniz said on social media that the speed camera was triggered April 13 and captured an image of a male duck traveling at 32 mph in a 12 mph zone.

Carried way

 Melania Trump statue in Slovenia sawed off, stolen: Police

The original wooden statue was torched in July 2020. The rustic figure was cut from the trunk of a linden tree, showing her in a pale blue dress like the one she wore at Trump’s presidential inauguration in 2017.

The replica bronze statue has no obvious resemblance to the first lady.

DOGE did it

 FEMA ‘not ready’ for hurricane season: document

Agency presentation says “resources are reduced” and the “quality of people lost cannot be replaced right away”; readiness “has been derailed this year due to other activities like staffing and contracts.”

 So nail things down. Be great again on your own,

Chicago's shrinking Maxwell Street Market

 

The picture on the left (click here) is how the market looked in the late 1940s. I was there. 

I was in jr. high school. It was a Sunday, and I need a new pair of shoes. Stores all around Chicago were closed on Sundays, back then, but the Maxwell Street Market was open, so my dad took me there. 

Buddy, can you spare a dime?

 US aid cuts leave food for millions mouldering in storage

The food stocks have been stuck inside four U.S. government warehouses since the Trump administration's decision in January to cut global aid programmes, according to three people who previously worked at the U.S. Agency for International Development and two sources from other aid organisations.

Go Gluesenkamp

Democratic Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez won in a Trump district. Now she faces an uprising from the left

 “In a district like Washington 3, you win or lose by being able to get independents and moderate Republicans to cross over the vast chasm that has opened up between the parties and vote for you,” said Sandeep Kaushik, a Seattle-based political consultant who worked on Gluesenkamp Perez’s first campaign in 2022. “And Marie has been almost uniquely successful in doing that in her first two campaigns.”

She can also fix your car. 

We'll see about that

Trump gripes about aging Air Force One, declares ‘new ones are coming’ amid outcry over Qatar jet gift

It’s unclear if Trump’s declaration that new versions of Air Force One are coming signals he changed his mind about accepting the $400 million Qatari “palace on wings,” which Trump previously said “only a fool” would refuse.

Clarity aside (clarity is never clear), the formerly royal flying palace does seem perfect for watching Fox News.

[YouTube/Spotti Flight]

 

Tactical burgers

Happy Meal Team Six

Consider the following report from Trump’s state visit to Saudi Arabia this week, posted by the foreign-affairs journalist Olga Nesterova: “As part of the red-carpet treatment, Saudi officials arranged for a fully operational mobile McDonald’s unit to accompany President Trump during his stay.” 

[The full story is also available on Apple News, here.]

Tell us what you really think, NJ

‘Dipsh*t simpleton’ Trump roasted for historic gaffe that disrespects ‘greatest generation’

Thank you.

Not like in the movies

India-Pakistan: 125 Jets Clash in One of Largest Dogfights in Recent History

A total of 125 fighter jets engaged in an hour-long aerial battle, with both sides confined to their own airspace as long-range missiles were exchanged at distances surpassing 100 miles, CNN said.

If an all-out war erupts between these nuclear-armed states, that won't be like in the movies either. 

Stuck in Antalya

Ukraine updates: Putin to skip peace talks in Turkey

Speaking at an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Antalya, Turkey, [U.S. State Department intern] Rubio said, "Obviously, we're in a very difficult spot right now, and we hope that we can find the steps forward that provide for the end of this war in a negotiated way and the prevention of any war in the future."

The current president, Trump, of course promised during his campaign to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours, but he was speaking in RUMP hours (see the story below, about the watch), not mine and thine.

Putin, meanwhile, seems to be having a good time. 

Adventures in the real deep state

Why security officials keep using the Signal app despite risks

While Signal is now considered one of the best encrypted apps on the market, its real appeal is that it is far easier to use than the current classified government systems. Those government systems have failed, critics say, to evolve with the technological times – a bipartisan point of frustration.

And its other real appeal is enabling users to evade federal laws about record retention and, somewhat ironically, transparency. 

There are two kinds of classified information in the present system. One kind is critical to national security, the other kind is critical only to the security of politicians and bureaucrats. The Wizard had nothing on these guys when it comes to maintaining the illusion of omnipotence by operating behind a thick curtain of secrecy.

The real deep state is the state behind that curtain.

You just can't win 'em all

Rhode Island man bummed out by ‘RUMP’ typo on $640 ‘limited edition’ president-themed watch: report

The “RUMP” watch was a pink Inauguration First Lady model, which is billed as attracting “prosperity and love while enhancing intuition and creativity” and is purportedly one of just 250, Trump Watches claimed on its website.

The company, Triump Watches, sells products under a licensing agreement with the president, according to this NY Post story. 

Wait…

Tariff truce sparks hopes for Halloween orders in China

The 25-year-old, whose family has been making Halloween decorations in Yiwu for 28 years, warned they would have to scramble to produce and ship their hanging skeletons and costume props to America in time for the October 31 holiday.

…don't we have plenty of scary stuff already? And if we don't. wouldn't it be better to have well-crafted near-indistructable American scary things than just cheap Chinese stuff?

In know, it's still 170 days before Halloween but in today's world it's best to start worrying early.

The alchemist…

Tiny Company With China Ties Announces Big Purchase of Trump Cryptocurrency

…the latest business with foreign ties to seize on Mr. Trump’s crypto venture, which channels profits directly to the Trump family and has generated conflicts of interest that have alarmed ethics experts. (Memecoins like $TRUMP are a type of cryptocurrency based on an online joke or celebrity mascot and have traditionally not had any utility beyond speculation.)

 …turning make-believe money into gold.

Now it's sheep

Flock of mystery sheep found wandering near Texas school

The Leander Police Department shared photos on social media showing more than a dozen sheep loitering on a sidewalk and walking across a road.

What happened to the little green men? 

OK then

US health officials advise older travelers not to get a chikungunya vaccine

Look, I'm not an anti-vaxxer. I've had a list of vaccines literally as long as my arm. And most of the other.

But this one I can't even spell. I'm not going any place tropical, either. 

If you are, be careful.

Even the Murdoch newspapers…

From the New York Post:

President Trump’s 145% tariffs on China ran smack into Stein’s law, the late economist Herb Stein’s famous axiom that “if something cannot go on forever, it will stop.

From the Wall Street Journal Journal [via Apple News]:

Rarely has an economic policy been repudiated as soundly, and as quickly, as President Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs—and by Mr. Trump’s own hand. Witness the agreement Monday morning to scale back his punitive tariffs on China—his second major retreat in less than a week. This is a win for economic reality, and for American prosperity.

…are catching on. 

Puzzle me this

Trump administration fires top copyright official days after firing Librarian of Congress

Perlmutter’s office recently released a report examining whether artificial intelligence companies can use copyrighted materials to “train” their AI systems and then compete in the same market as the human-made works they were trained on.

In today's world, Perlmutter's dismissal isn't much of a puzzle — she has a foreign-sounding name and the wrong color hair.

But this one: If an AI is "trained" on copyrighted works do the original copyrights still apply to the AI-generated product?

Or, even more so, this one: Who owns the rights to an AI-generated document? 

And, if I pay a subscription price for the using the AI, can I claim the rights to its output as a work for hire?

O brave new world.

Getting a glow on

Pink squirrels and green sharks—why do so many animals ‘glow’ in UV light?

“You’d stop by the side of the road and find something dead and turn your torch on it, and it was just dazzling,” she says. “And just time after time, going through the freezers at the university… it was like a box of chocolates!”

Well, the chocolates thing might be a bit of a stretch. But still

[You have to provide an email address to read this National Geographic article. Getting disposable email addresses has become easy with Apple's Hide-My-Email service or SimpleLogin, among other options.] 

When foreigners invade

Could US students help solve Florence’s tourist problem?

The result has been massive rent increases. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, rents have gone up by 50% in Florence, according to data from Italian real estate site Idealista. “The rental market is in crisis,” said Vicenzo De Tommaso, head of Idealista’s research department, in a release on the company’s website. Finding affordable housing, he says, “has become almost impossible.”

Solving all our problems by make-believe

Mexico sues Google over Trump's renaming of Gulf of Mexico

Mexico can still call that body of water the Gulf of Mexico on their maps, just like Italy calls Florence Firenze on theirs, Austria calls Vienna Wien on theirs, Germany calls Munich Müchen on theirs, and so on,

We could change the name of Greenland to Trumpland on our maps and — see? — no problem there. We could change the name of China to Amazonia (Amazon is already taken) and before you know it, everyone would be subscribing to Amazonia Prime.

It's easy if you just pretend.

Bringing new meaning to the word, disaster

New FEMA head says he will 'run right over' staff who resist his changes

"I, and I alone in FEMA, speak for FEMA. I'm here to carry out the president's intent for FEMA," Richardson, who was most recently assistant secretary for DHS' office for countering weapons of mass destruction, told the staff.

Sometimes it's just too much

Columbia Journalism Review editor fired after insisting on ethics, deadlines: report

Chan (pictured) is the former editor of the Texas Tribune and also worked for the Los Angeles Times and New York Times.

A fond farewell

Up to 1,000 transgender troops are being moved out of the military in new Pentagon order

Klinger. It worked.

Origins

"Poor John Dennis. In 1709, the playwright devised a novel technology to simulate thunder to accompany his drama Appius and Virginia. The play flopped and was promptly booted out of the theatre. To add salt to the wound, Dennis’s thunder-generating technique was stolen and inserted into a staging of Macbeth. He accused the producers of ‘stealing his thunder’, birthing the phrase that has long outlived his work."

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-tech-ruined-theatre/

H/T Shawn

Chimney cam

Watch Live Chimney Cam: Conclave Votes to Elect New Pope

Ain't the internet grand?

Running up the numbers

Federal judge blocks Trump administration from removing migrants in Massachusetts

The filing comes as numerous outlets have reported the Trump administration is exploring sending migrants to Libya despite long-standing State Department warnings about conditions in the country. CNN also reported Wednesday that an Air Force flight was being arranged from Texas to Libya.

The U.S. government has taken to grabbing people wherever they can find them and dumping them wherever they can dump them, never mind sorting them out. It's just numbers that count. 

Where we are now

Literacy Statistics 2024- 2025

• On average, 79% of U.S. adults nationwide are literate in 2024. 21% of adults in the US are illiterate in 2024.
• 54% of adults have a literacy below a 6th-grade level (20% are below 5th-grade level).
• Low levels of literacy costs the US up to 2.2 trillion per year.
• 34% of adults lacking literacy proficiency were born outside the US.

The U.S. Department of Education currently budgets $715.5 million to support adult literacy programs.

Shaken, not stirred

Michelangelo meets James Bond: high-tech in Sistine Chapel to keep conclave secret

Other security measures to make sure no one is eavesdropping or trying to get information out reportedly include film on the window to block cameras on drones and special tiles to block signals from cellphones, which are banned anyway.

Also, nearby cell towers will be shut down. No chance of a Signal chat (DOD take note).

He just wants more parades…

Trump declares national holidays to celebrate WWI, WWII victories

“Therefore, I am hereby declaring a National Holiday in celebration of the Victories of World War I, where the Armistice was signed on Novegmber 11, 1918, and World War II, where the Victory date was May 8, 1945.”

…and a place in Washington sort of like Red Square (Golden Square?) to march the troops and the missiles through.

He could use one of his golf courses but it would spoil the grass.

Yes but…but…

Trump changes his tune on the economy

At first, the president suggested tariffs will “make us rich” — similar to sentiments he’s expressed when touting his economic policy. But in the next turn, he suggested that American children, for example, do not need as many toys and that Americans do not need to spend as much money on “junk we don’t need.”

Hey, nothing is forever. Maybe a month or two would be nice, but…

The coins are imaginary but the money is not

Trump’s meme coin business racks up fees as buyers jump at the chance for access to the president

“You don’t really care about what happens to the price. You only care that there is continuous volume,” said Nicolai Søndergaard, a research analyst at the blockchain analytics firm Nansen. “Because the more volume there is, that means more trades and therefore more fees for you.”

Everything is for sale in Trumpworld, including thee, me, and them. 

When nothing else makes sense…

The Best Public Restrooms in America [2025 Survey]

…we're here for you.

The Vatican Derby

New Pope Update: Latest Odds on Who Will Replace Francis

Maybe you thought Kentucky was a big deal (a horse named Sovereignty won that). 

But no. 

Movies attack

Trump announces 100% tariff for movies produced outside US: ‘National Security threat’

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick posting on X said: “We’re on it.”

Try as it might…

 …the New England weather can't quite kill spring.

Voice of…Maybe

US court halts ruling ordering Voice of America employees back to work

The U.S. Agency for Global Media placed over 1,000 employees on leave and told 600 contractors they would be terminated after the agency abruptly shut down the broadcasts in March under a directive from Trump.

U.S.station, National Public Radio, is aso on the block.  Silence, apparently, is the new news.

Does anybody ask them?

Keeping Russian control of Crimea? Crimean Tatars respond

"Throughout the years of the occupation of Crimea and Russian aggression, we have relied on the United States. In the minds of most Ukrainians and certain residents of Crimea, the US has always been a leader in protecting human rights and a bastion of democracy. And now we are experiencing a U-turn, such commercial pragmatism," he says.

It was a long 100 days

Trump's 100 days, I mean.

I am taking next week off.

Call it a break from the news.

Back the first week in May.

Lake Superior is the superior lake

Explorers discover wreckage of cargo ship that sank in Lake Superior storm more than 130 years ago 

The only survivor was wheelsman Harry W. Stewart, who swam a mile (1.6 kilometers) to shore after his lifeboat capsized.

Average water temperature in Lake Superior in late August is about 69ºF. 

Lake Superior holds about 10% of the world's fresh surfaee water.

There's a Duluth in Georgia too. And a goat.

Loose goat evades pursuing police in Georgia

The Duluth Police Department said on social media that numerous calls came in Tuesday reporting a loose goat "trotting" on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard "like it had somewhere very important to be."

Also about a million streets named Peachtree. 

Video from across the pond

Trump says Russia not conquering Ukraine is a 'concession'

The US has proposed a deal between Russia and Ukraine, in which the front would be frozen where it is, meaning Ukraine would cede 20% of its country. US President Trump said Russia had made a major concession by not seeking to conquer all of Ukraine.

More artful negotiating from our Intern-in-Chief

Trump on Russia strikes on Kyiv: 'Vladimir, STOP!"

"I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing," Trump wrote in a social media post a day after saying Ukraine's leader was hampering peace talks on ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

Now if Vlad can just get the timing right… 

The merriment never ends

Musk's X sues to block Minnesota 'deepfake' law over free speech concerns

"This system will inevitably result in the censorship of wide swaths of valuable political speech and commentary," X said in its complaint.

Musk's X (by now we all know it's "formerly Twitter," right?) is of course widely known for its "wide swaths of valuable political speech and commentary" if, by valuable speech and commentary, you mean mindless meanderings valuable only to Musk himself. 

Now he's lobbying for even faker fake news — deeply faker, in fact — because, hey, he's got a big loan to pay off there.

And the faker the more valuable on X.

The clear unclear

Education secretary says she spoke to Columbia, Harvard presidents about ‘abiding by the law’

“And I made it very clear. I said, these are not First Amendment infractions. This is civil rights.”

Look. Maybe these presidents of Ivy League universities know what she's talking about here. Also, maybe she does. She is, after all, the former CEO of some professional wrestling league or other. But that's too many maybes for me.

The whole kerfuffle is about federal funding of research projects at various universities around the country (not all of them are Ivy — some are just plain crabgrass); the universities are suing the government and the government is suing them back, and it's just another day in America.

Whaduya want, everything?

As Trump eyes coal revival, his job cuts hobble black lung protections for miners

Nobody'e got a ritght to be healthy, says our new health inter, that guy fron Wicked.

Anyway, at least they won't have to be putting those little screws into iPones like the rest of us.

Don't be so nice

Saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to ChatGPT costs tens of millions of dollars, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman admits

A 2024 survey revealed that approximately 67% of American users regularly employ courteous language when interacting with chatbots.

Within that group, a majority (55%) believe politeness is ethically correct, while another 12% humorously indicated that their polite language serves as insurance against potential AI rebellion.

Of…wait. Maybe… 

Civilized weather is news in New England

Northeast to enjoy classic spring weather for Easter weekend

After weeks of weather whiplash, bouncing between winterlike chill and brief teases of spring, residents across the Northeast may finally be ready for a stretch of consistently pleasant conditions.

Any time now. 

Not your father's Buicks — or maybe anybody's — any more

Buick finally had cars Americans wanted to buy - then came tariffs

"The latest wave of Buick vehicles is affordable, are good quality, are decent vehicles, and ruining that with a cost disadvantage could upset Buick as a going entity in the U.S.," said Sam Fiorani, vice president of research firm AutoForecast Solutions.

The Buick models in question may be affordable, good quality, and decent but they are also SUVs. SUVs and trucks are the best-selling vehicle types in the U.S. these days.This may be — I'm just saying may be — they're not so popular outside the U.S. as some people — I'm just saying some people — would like.

But decent is good. 

It's your fault if you're sick, you mope

Trump’s New Medicaid Chief Has Boneheaded Idea to Lower Drug Costs

“It is your patriotic duty, I’ll say it again, the patriotic duty of all Americans to take care of themselves because it is important for serving in the military, but it is also important because healthy people don’t consume health care resources,” Oz said during a ceremony at the White House.

“The best way to reduce drug spending is to use less drugs ’cause you don’t need them, ’cause you’re healthy. And it feels a lot better, as well.”

The new medicaid chief is, of course, Dr. Oz. In that capacity he will work for noted health nut RFKJr, who in turn works for a guy who once suggested drinking Clorox to cure covid. 

You are in the very best of hands.

Feeding the legendary crave

White Castle’s new spring merchandise line includes a bounce house

“White Castle is helping customers take their legendary Crave to new heights with the launch of a brand-new line of merchandise,” a spokesperson for the restaurant chain said in a news release.

Being a kid ain't what it used to be. Although it's not entirely clear this bounce house is for kids. In case you're wanting a bounce yourself, the house is $3 grand.

Meanwhile White Castle hamburgers, known by the cognizenti as sliders, begin at an outrageous $1.45 (with ketchup). 

The zombie disease

Michigan and Pennsylvania join six other states with measles outbreaks. Here’s what to know

Measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000. (Elimination is a technical designation, as this article in Scientific American explains.)

Now it's baaaack.

Wanna guess why?

Take-a-deep-breath-ism

No, the President Has Not Defied a Supreme Court Ruling

[CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins' Oval Office questions] are only one egregious example of the over-the-top and inaccurate way in which this case has been framed by Trump critics. But the administration has also engaged in serious distortion of this case, for example when it says that it won in the Supreme Court 9–0.

Hyperbole is the new disinformation. We all should take note. (Yes. including me. Take-a-deep-breath-ism will be our policy going forward.)

I don't know how much of the article linked above you can read without a subscription but the gist is, it's not pretty but it's not what either side claims. Exactly.

(And, on the subject of disinformation, here's another article from the same publication, The Free Press.)

Not in Kansas any more

A beloved pet tortoise is reunited with its family weeks after disappearing in a Mississippi tornado

“He’s been through a lot,” said Myrtle’s grateful owner, Tiffany Emanuel. “I know that he knows just as much as I do that every step of the way I’m going to be there helping him, caring for him, making sure he gets, you know, the help that he needs.”

Myrtle the turtle. OK, tortoise. Back in Mississippi. 

Home.

Tariff 'em! Quick!

Scientists find strongest evidence yet of life on an alien planet

The two gases - dimethyl sulfide, or DMS, and dimethyl disulfide, or DMDS - involved in Webb's observations of the planet named K2-18 b are generated on Earth by living organisms, primarily microbial life such as marine phytoplankton - algae.

Who knows what those algae might be up to? 

Pentagon unswats (What?)

Pentagon’s ‘SWAT team of nerds’ resigns en masse

Several other digital modernization efforts within the government have met similar fates. The U.S. Digital Service, which helped the government modernize its technology and attract tech talent, has now been subsumed by DOGE, amid mass layoffs and firings. A program called 18F, a technology unit within the GSA, was eliminated by DOGE as well.

An unnamed official at the Pentagon called DOGE's efforts at the Defense Department "damaging and unproductive."

There's always a catch

A jungle route once carried hundreds of thousands of migrants. Now the local economy has crashed

Pilots like Olea, known as lancheros, would earn up to $300 a day, far above the $150 a month many had made from crops. The work grew so lucrative that towns along the river struck a deal to take turns transporting migrants, so each community would have their share.

As some guy (was it Milt?) once said, there's no such thing as a free lunch. 

The pain, it cuts both ways

US yacht industry thrown into turmoil by tariffs, crew crackdowns

“My client has a yacht being built in Italy, and it would be subject to the tariff charge; so he is canceling the order. My client also canceled on a pair of Ferraris he was going to buy there and have shipped to the United States.”

Meanwhile, a Bloomberg story tucked so far behind a paywall there's no link to it here:

About 90% of Migrants Deported to El Salvador Had No US Criminal Record

• Men were accused of ties to Tren de Aragua criminal gang
• US court records show just a few charges for serious crimes

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.