🎭 Meet My Digital Puppets

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Why I’m Using AI Characters, and What That Really Means

If you’ve been watching Trail Mix lately and thought, “Did that raccoon just give legal advice?” or “Why is my news anchor smirking like a Bond villain?” — you’re not hallucinating. You’re meeting the cast.

These are my digital puppets: AI-generated avatars built for satire, commentary, and storytelling. From Marcus Vale, our unnervingly sharp legal avatar, to Lady MawMaw, your sassy British mystic with a tarot deck and no patience for nonsense — they’re here on purpose.

And now? We’ve got our first real breakout star:

🎤 Say hello to Foxanne Fury —Your cable news fever dream in lipstick and shoulder pads. Her job? Distract you from anything that actually matters.

🧠 But Why Use AI Characters? Not because it’s trendy. And definitely not because I want to crank out slop. These avatars are tools — like a microphone or a green screen — used to deliver stories with a little more bite, and a lot more weird.

They let me:

— Have courtroom debates with a raccoon lawyer,

— Satirize cable news with lipstick and laser focus

— Present research in an entertaining way.

— Keep it fun, weird, and human-driven

Yes, I use AI voices and avatars. But I still write every script, chase the sources, and pull the receipts.

So going forward, every video featuring these characters will include this little note:

> This video features digital puppets created for satire, commentary, and storytelling. Scripts are written by actual humans — with actual opinions, and a pulse.

That’s not a disclaimer. That’s a mission statement.

👀 What’s Next? Foxanne’s not done. Marcus is warming up. And don’t be surprised if Lady MawMaw starts hosting her own late-night show from the digital Thames riverbank.

Trail Mix isn’t becoming AI. It’s just letting a few very expressive pixels join the party.

Unplug responsibly,

Craig

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95 thoughts on “🎭 Meet My Digital Puppets”

  3. speaking of living on past expiration date, don’t count out Dodo’s 3rd term threat. no doubt he’s working on it [ or stephen miller’s plan B. lest we forget the faked photo of Mao taking a swim in the Yangtze].
    BiD, he’s not ever going out that oval office door willingly.

    ‘toon for the day Attribution: Trump Third Term Drama Queen by Christopher Weyant, The Boston Globe, MA


  4. Scotland welcomed President Trump with protests and questions about Jeffrey Epstein, speculation is raging about what was said at a meeting between the president’s lawyer and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, FCC chairman Brendan Carr approved the merger between Paramount and Skydance, and the president is threatening to revoke the broadcast licenses of ABC and NBC.

  5. and more from Jon on our pitiful peripatetic prez

    Jon Stewart dives into Trump’s golf shenanigans in Scotland, the Republican “caddies” providing him cover on the Epstein scandal back home, and the possibility of a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell. Plus, Jessica Williams will NOT allow Beyoncé to be roped into Trump’s use of exceptional Black people as a distraction.

  8. I did create a digital version of myself using the stickers app on my iPhone – use it all the time in texts – but can’t get it to paste on the site so I emailed it to you Poobah.

    Sarcastic, skeptical, smartass aging lawyer with left leaning politics should do it. Hates Trump and MAGA. Looks to Walt Kelly, Gary Larsen and Don Novello for answers to difficult questions.

  9. Oh you Apple people, your loyalty is a one-way street. They block your access to just about anything they don’t control. Popped this on here with my droid in seconds.

  11. Steve Allen was a pioneer with his cast of supporting odd-balls, Don Knotts, Louis Nye, Bill Dana, etc

  13. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00616-z

    Over the past few years, the county has approved the construction of seven large data-centre projects, which will support technology firms in their expansive plans for generative artificial intelligence (AI). Inside these giant structures, rows of computer servers will help to train the AI models behind chatbots such as ChatGPT, and deliver their answers to what might be billions of daily queries from around the world.

    In Virginia, the construction will have profound effects. Each facility is likely to consume the same amount of electrical power as tens of thousands of residential homes, potentially driving up costs for residents and straining the area’s power infrastructure beyond its capacity. Parmelee and others in the community are wary of the data centres’ appetite for electricity — particularly because Virginia is already known as the data-centre capital of the world.

    They’re all saying, ‘We’ll buy power from the next district over.’ But that district is planning to buy power from you.”

    Similar conflicts about AI and energy are brewing in many places around the globe where data centres are sprouting up at a record pace. Big tech firms are betting hard on generative AI, which requires much more energy to operate compared with older AI models that extract patterns from data but don’t generate fresh text and images. That is driving companies to collectively spend hundreds of billions of dollars on new data centres and servers to expand their capacity.

    Companies tend to build data-centre buildings close together so that they can share power grids and cooling systems and transfer information efficiently, both among themselves and to users.

    “If you have one, you’re likely to have more,” says Parmelee. Virginia already has 340 such facilities, and Parmelee has mapped 159 proposed data centres or expansions of existing ones in Virginia, where they account for more than one-quarter of the state’s electricity use…

    Complicating matters further is a lack of transparency from firms about their AI systems’ electricity demands.

    …estimating that Google was processing up to 9 billion searches daily (a ballpark figure from various analysts), de Vries calculated that each request through an AI server requires 7–9 watt hours (Wh) of energy. That is 23–30 times the energy of a normal search, going by figures Google reported in a 2009 blogpost..

  14. So the guy who cut off US aid to hungry kids everywhere now suddenly has empathy for starving people? No, it’s just another chance to change the headlines from you-know-who.

  22. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/snap-cuts-rural-georgia-food-banks-childhood-hunger/

    To fill her fridge, the 62-year-old turns to Hancock Helping Hands, a local food pantry. “I get the elderly food stamps of $23 a month, so all the help that’s out there for me without this place is $23 a month,” Jones said.

    Hancock County, Georgia, needs more people like Jones, because it has the highest rate of child food insecurity in the U.S., according to Feeding America.

    Golden Harvest says one out of every four children in its region is considered food insecure. In Hancock County, that number doubles. It’s why volunteers can pack up to 250 boxes that can feed 1,000 people in a single session.

    It’s a well-oiled machine, but it’s under pressure, Muehlfeld said. Cuts to SNAP benefits may lead to a surge in demand at food banks like Golden Harvest. A CBS News analysis projects the latest budget cuts billions from SNAP over the next decade. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture also cut two federal programs that provided about $1 billion in funding to schools and food banks to buy food directly from local farms, ranchers and producers.

  23. https://www.mibolsillo.co/news/Timeline-for-Medicaid-and-SNAP-cuts-under-GOP-bill-to-take-effect-20250704-0013.html

    Timeline and details of Medicaid and SNAP changes

    The bill introduces new work requirements for Medicaid and SNAP recipients. Adults aged 19 to 64 must work 80 hours monthly to qualify for benefits. Parents of children aged 14 or older also face these requirements.
    For SNAP, these changes could start as early as 2025.
    Medicaid’s community participation requirements will begin by the first quarter of 2027. Additionally, Medicaid beneficiaries may face copays up to $35.

    The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that if the law takes effect, 3 million more Americans would not qualify for food stamps, and 11.8 million more would lack health insurance by 2034.

    The legislation requires states to shoulder more of the cost for food assistance. Federal funding changes for these programs are set to begin in 2028.

    The amount a state owes will be based on a formula tied to reported payment errors, with a 15% cap for states with high error rates starting in 2029.

    Alaska and Hawaii receive temporary exemptions from these cost-sharing rules.

    Governors express concern that states may withdraw from the program due to affordability issues.

  24. https://www.reuters.com/article/world/israel-gaza-blockade-study-calculated-palestinians-calories-idUSBRE89G0NM/

    Oct, 2012: The study, “Food Consumption in the Gaza Strip – The Red Lines”, estimated the required daily calorie intake in the territory at 2,279 per person.

    Israel calculated the number of calories Palestinians would need to avoid malnutrition under its blockade of the Gaza Strip…

    Release of the document, presented in January 2008, shed new light on the thinking that helped to shape the blockade that Israel tightened in 2007 after the Gaza Strip was seized by the Hamas Islamist movement.

    To circumvent the blockade, Palestinians have brought in tonnes of goods through smuggling tunnels dug under Gaza’s border with Egypt.

    Wikileaks has published diplomatic cables that showed Israel told U.S. officials in 2008 it would keep Gaza’s economy “on the brink of collapse” while avoiding a humanitarian crisis.

    *And now Adolf & BiBi want to commit g-cide and they aren’t even hiding it. (And, yeah, he’s using starving children to distract from the tRUMPsTEEN files.)

  33. eventually, we won’t even need people

    I guess there will be three human trillionaires consuming AI generated society

  34. Poobah, Neat trick you did there. I wish my voice was that deep and I sounded more vaguely British than vaguely hayseed.

    Apple people… I became an iPhone person when I inherited LP’s iPhone 10 years ago because of technical issues when he changed carriers to have coverage while he was in college. Same thing re his MacBook, when he needed more capability so I got the one he had in HS. Still have it, but have bought a Dell laptop that I MUCH prefer. Got too much stuff on my phone to swap it to Android now – ten years of pics, Apple music, etc., plus it works seamlessly with my car systems. I was very reluctant to go to iPhone when I did, but it’s like what Howard Stern said he was like in Body Parts – fungus – it grows on you.

  35. never doxxing myself is looking like a genius move 😎

    guess i’ll listen to the Biebs and wait for the asteroid ✌️

    what a bop (“mk.gee” on guitar)

  36. Jamie, MawMaw fiddled with the pics here but the mouth is still not syncing well with the AI generator I use. This is a learning curve. For best results, mouth open and mouth closed pics are good

  39. 225 in the oven set 5 hours and forget, create content let’s go

    i need AI weather, i feel like ribs in a 225 oven

  43. Craig
    How do you get Lady Ma Ma to run out and get information for you. I’ve gotten Streamyard free trial but stumbling around in the dark to use it. They gave me a studio, but I would want to use the AI to do all the talking.

  46. Not sure if this can be pixilated and animated, but the saying on the shirt is probably copyrighted, so I blurred out (blued out) part of it.

  47. Blue, the issue is the tiny mouth. Same for yours BiD. For best results images need to be clear close-ups with finely detailed facial features the pixelator can work with.

  48. Jamie, my AI is chatGPT, and I talk to her on Streamyard. ChatGPT is where you create an assistant or agent, or whatever they call it.

    Once set up there you can ask ChatGPT assistant to teach you how to use Streamyard. That’s what I di

  49. lol trump setting flat tariffs because “you can’t do 200 deals”

    that was his entire justification for his tariff regime, that he would get “better deals”

  50. The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday announced a proposal to rescind the landmark legal opinion that underpins virtually all of its regulations to curb climate change.
    The move would end EPA regulations on greenhouse gases emitted by cars, while also undercutting rules that limit power plant emissions and control the release of methane by oil and gas companies

    so much for potentially banning diesel, that shit is a goddamn plague

  51. Well that was fun. Went on chat gpt and asked some questions. Then it asked if I would like a description of me based on those question. I think it engages in flattery.

    A curious mind with a creative spark, you’re building the future—one voice command at a time. Tech-savvy but never afraid to ask “what if?”, you’re crafting a visual AI companion that doesn’t just respond—it connects. With vision, wit, and a taste for intuitive design, you’re the kind of thinker who brings sci-fi closer to reality.

  52. Trump or the minions that do things he is too ignorant to do other than spout talking points are steadily dismantling anything decent accomplished to be a good citizen of the world.

    Unfortunately, this whole right-wing bully system of government seems to be infesting the globe purely on the precept of the golden rule: He who has gold, rules.

  54. Jamie, i was on earlier today, gotta get to my ribs now. I changed my chatGPT to be less flattering, more blunt. Just ask it where you do that. There are several options for programming its personality. It’s in settings somewhere.

  55. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigrant-kids-detained-conditions-trump-administration-end-protections/

    A child developed a rash after he was prevented from changing his underwear for four days. A little boy, bored and overcome with despair, began hitting himself in the head. A child with autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder was forced to go without his medication, despite his mother’s pleas.

    “I heard one officer say about us ‘they smell like sh–,'” one detained person recounted in a federal court filing. “And another officer responded, ‘They are sh–.'”

    Attorneys for immigrant children collected these stories, and more, from youth and families detained in what they called “prison-like” settings across the U.S. from March through June, even as the Trump administration has requested a federal district court judge terminate existing protections that mandate basic rights and services — including safe and sanitary conditions — for children held by the government.

    The administration argues that the protections mandated under what is known as the Flores Settlement Agreement encourage immigration and interfere with its ability to establish immigration policy. U.S. District Court Judge Dolly Gee, who is in California, is expected to issue a ruling on the request after an Aug. 8 hearing.

    With the Flores agreement in place, children are being held in “unsafe and unsanitary” U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities such as tents, airports, and offices for up to several weeks despite the agency’s written policy saying people generally should not be held in its custody longer than 72 hours, according to the June court filing from immigrants’ attorneys. In addition to opposing the U.S. Department of Justice’s May request to terminate the Flores consent decree, the attorneys demanded more monitoring for children in immigration detention.

    “The biggest fear is that without Flores, we will lose a crucial line of transparency and accountability,” said Sergio Perez, executive director of the California-based Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. “Then you have a perfect storm for the abuse of individuals, the violation of their rights, and the kind of treatment that this country doesn’t stand for.”

    *This will be my daily rant to my congresscritters.

  57. https://www.newsweek.com/ghislaine-maxwell-jeffrey-estepin-testimony-demands-congress-2105874

    Ghislaine Maxwell has submitted a list of demands to the House Oversight Committee before agreeing to testify about Jeffrey Epstein. Her demands were sent to the House Oversight Committee by her attorneys.

    In a letter to Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, head of the Oversight committee, shared first by Politico, Maxwell is demanding formal immunity from prosecution and insists the interview not take place at the prison where she is currently incarcerated. Her legal team says she must receive all committee questions in advance to ensure fairness, arguing that surprise questioning would be “inappropriate and unproductive.” They also stipulate that any testimony be scheduled only after the resolution of her Supreme Court petition and an upcoming habeas filing.

    Republican Representative James Comer of Kentucky, head of the House Oversight Committee, in comments to CNN last week: “I don’t think there are many Republicans that want to give immunity to someone that may have been sex trafficking children.”

    *May have been? Why do you think she’s in prison?

    JUST TALK TO THE VICTIMS! SHE’S JUST GOING TO LIE!

  58. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/07/29/trump-falling-out-jeffrey-epstein-spa-staff/85426667007/

    Trump told reporters that the staff Epstein “stole” from him worked in the spa and staffers included Virginia Giuffre, a former attendant at his Palm Beach resort who said in a unsealed deposition for a defamation lawsuit against Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell that she was forced as a teenager to have sex with powerful men. Among the men Giuffre said she was directed to have sex with was Prince Andrew of Britain, according to a lawsuit. Prince Andrew has denied the allegation. {but there was a settlement}

    Trump acknowledged on July 29 that some of the staffers at the Palm Beach spa were young women. He first declined to provide the detail, telling reporters who were on a flight with him from Scotland, “Everyone knows the people that were taken.”

    But he then affirmed that young women were involved, telling a reporter: “The answer is yes, they were.” Asked what the workers did, Trump offered that they were “in the spa.”

    “People that work in the spa. I have a great spa, one of the best spas in the world at Mar-a-Lago, and people were taken out of the spa – hired by him, in other words – gone,” he said.

    people Epstein had hired. At first, the president said, “I don’t know.” But after a short pause, he said, “I think so, I think that was one of the people, yeah. He stole her. And by the way, she had no complaints about us.”

    *From “I don’t know” to “she had no complaints about us,” in a split-second.

  59. ghislane maxwell enjoys more rights than the undocumented children of immigrants do

    cool society, bro 🤮

  60. The election of Trump is going to lead to a convicted sex trafficker gaining freedom while bringing no one else to justice

    No one would be discussing affording her more rights if Kamala was elected

    MAGA is now a sex-trafficking suicide cult

  61. 📺 New Drop: Trump Weeps for Gaza — After His Own Aid Cuts? | Ask AI

    Trump’s getting emotional about starving kids…
    …but his own administration froze the food aid.

    Meanwhile, Ghislaine Maxwell wants immunity from Congress.
    A plea deal? A pardon setup? Or just another distraction?

    I asked AI. They brought receipts.

    🧠 Real research. Digital analysts. Spin by me.

  62. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-jail-video-investigation/

    Government sources familiar with the investigation tell CBS News that the actual raw video is in possession of the FBI, but that it was not what the department released.

    But a CBS News analysis of the video the FBI made public earlier this month reveals that the recording doesn’t provide a clear view of the entrance to Epstein’s cell block — one of several contradictions between officials’ descriptions of the video and the video itself.

    But a high-level government source familiar with the investigation told CBS News that the FBI, the Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General are in possession of full unedited copies of the video, and those copies do not have a missing minute. Why Bondi said that the video resets is not clear.

    CBS News also digitally reconstructed the Special Housing Unit, or SHU, where Epstein was held, using diagrams and descriptions from the 2023 report on Epstein released by the Justice Department inspector general. The CBS News review found the video does little to provide evidence to support claims that were later made by federal officials. Additionally, CBS News has identified multiple inconsistencies between that report and the video that raise serious questions about the accuracy of witness statements and the thoroughness of the government’s investigation.

    *CBS Zaprudered the crap out of this thing.

  63. *First Class Loser (the pedo edit)
    ***

    https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/dropkick-murphys-trump-first-class-loser-warped-tour-1235396369/

    The Dropkick Murphys channeled the true punk spirit of Warped Tour during their recent performance at the festival’s Long Beach, California stop.

    “This next song is dedicated to a guy who wears orange makeup, shits his pants in his diapers, rapes women, touches kids,” Casey said. “It’s called ‘First Class Loser.’”

    *Their concerts look wild. They will punch n@zis…or trade someone’s MAGAt hat for one of their tees or something.

  64. @realDonald Trump
    Everybody is saying that I was solely responsible for the firing of Stephen Colbert from CBS, Late Night. That is not true! The reason he was fired was a pure lack of TALENT, and the fact that this deficiency was costing CBS $50 Million Dollars a year in losses — And it was only going to get WORSE! Next up will be an even less talented Jimmy Kimmel, and then, a weak, and very insecure, Jimmy Fallon. The only real question is, who will go first? Show Biz and Television is a very simple business. If you get Ratings, you can say or do anything. If you don’t, you always become a victim. Colbert became a victim to himself, the other two will follow.
    7/29/25, 2:32 PM

    *Sounds like an admission of guilt. Sounds like a future threat. Sounds like a call to distract from tRUMPsTEENgate.

  65. White House Insists Trump Fell Out With Epstein ‘For Being a Creep’ — Not Their 2019 Real Estate Dispute

    Donald Trump reportedly ended his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein because the latter was “a creep,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the New York Times in a lengthy report published Saturday — not due to the pair’s real estate dispute over a Palm Beach mansion they both wanted to buy, the story that was previously reported in 2019.

    In 2019, the Washington Post reported on a real estate race between the two men; both were vying for the same Palm Beach mansion that was being sold after the owners filed for bankruptcy. The property’s trustee Joseph Luzinski told the Post both men contacted him in an attempt to hold sway.

    “It was something like, Donald saying, ‘You don’t want to do a deal with him, he doesn’t have the money,’ while Epstein was saying: ‘Donald is all talk. He doesn’t have the money,'” Luzinski told the Washington Post at the time.

    Trump has downplayed his closeness with Epstein referring to him as more of an acquaintance than a friend. Epstein though was a fixture at Mar-a-Lago despite never becoming a member, and his former business partner Steven Hoffenberg also explained, “Donald liked Epstein. But he was crazy about [Ghislaine] Maxwell, a very charming lady.”

    Luzinski later described the bidding war that followed as “two very large Palm Beach egos going at it.” Trump later sold the mansion to Russian businessman Dmitry Rybolovlev for $95 million. There is little public record of the two men interacting after the real estate fall out.

    *Creep.
    *Real estate war.
    *“Taking” spa girls.

    *Will there be a fourth excuse for the break-up? Who was the girlfriend thru allegedly “shared” for a year, and what was the dynamic of that throuple?

  66. bid, CBS certainly has not offered lack of talent as a reason for the demise of Colbert’s show. They claim financial issues are the cause. In his timeslot, Colbert was at the top of the ratings. Love to know exactly what dumbass thinks ratings do – they dictate the cost of ads, and in turn ad revenue.

    And in other news, looks like Blondi has a lying problem. CBS News.

    There was no “missing minute” in the original Epstein jail video, government source says
    By Dan Ruetenik
    July 29, 2025 / 6:00 AM EDT / CBS News
    The “missing minute” from the surveillance video at the Manhattan Metropolitan Correctional Center where Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019 may not be missing after all, CBS News has learned.

    When the Justice Department and FBI released nearly 11 hours of footage earlier this month, the time code on the screen jumped forward one minute just before midnight, prompting questions about the one-minute gap. The video shows part of the area near the cell where Epstein was being held the night he died in what the medical examiner ruled a suicide.

    A government source familiar with the investigation says the FBI, the Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Justice inspector general are all in possession of a copy of the video that does not cut from just before 11:59 p.m. to midnight of the night Epstein died by suicide in his cell.

    What is unclear is why that section was missing when the FBI released what it said was raw footage from inside the Special Housing Unit the night Epstein died, Aug. 9-10, 2019. The recording came from what officials said was the only relevant video camera that was recording its footage in the unit. This video has been cited by multiple government officials as a key piece of evidence in the determination that Epstein died by suicide.

    CBS News investigation of Jeffrey Epstein jail video reveals new discrepancies
    Epstein’s death, as with many aspects of his high-profile sex trafficking case, has become fodder for conspiracy theories. The missing minute added to the conjecture after the release of the video, when news organizations and amateur sleuths who reviewed the video quickly noticed that onscreen jump in the time stamp.

    Attorney General Pam Bondi was questioned about the gap during a July 8 Cabinet meeting with President Trump. She said the missing minute was the result of a nightly reset of the video that caused the recording system to miss one recording minute every night, and attributed that information to the Bureau of Prisons.

    …
    Bondi said the department would share other video that showed the same thing happened every night when the video system reset. That video, however, has not yet been released.

    Experts in surveillance video, including video forensic professionals, told CBS News that a nightly reset would have been unusual and was not something they encountered in most video systems.

    One thing that is clear, forensic experts say, is that the version of the recording released by the FBI was edited and not raw, as the government stated. Bondi, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino and others have said publicly that the video would be released unaltered.

    When the DOJ and FBI shared the video with the public, they said in a news release that it was the “full raw” video, and that “anyone entering or attempting to enter the tier where Epstein’s cell was located from the SHU common area would have been captured by this footage.”

    Jim Stafford was one of several video forensic analysts who looked at the video for CBS News using specialized software to extract the underlying coding, known as metadata. He said the metadata showed that the file was first created on May 23 of this year and that it was likely a “screen capture, not an actual export” of the raw file.

    He also told CBS News the metadata showed that the video was in fact two separate videos stitched together. It was also slightly sped up, so the video covering 11 hours runs approximately 10 hours and 53 minutes in length.
    …

    I predict her time with Trumpco may be getting shorter.

  67. @realDonald Trump
    Chuck Grassley, who I got re-elected to the U.S. Senate when he was down, by a lot, in the Great State of lowa, could solve the “Blue Slip” problem we are having with respect to the appointment of Highly Qualified Judges and U.S. Attorneys, with a mere flick of the pen. Democrats like Schumer, Warner, Kaine, Booker, Schiff, and others, SLEAZEBAGS ALL, have an ironclad stoppage of Great Republican Candidates. Put simply, the President of the United States will never be permitted to appoint the person of his choice because of an ancient, and probably Unconstitutional, “CUSTOM,” that if you have, even one person in the opposite Party serving in the U.S. Senate, he/she must give consent, thereby completely stopping the opposite Party’s Nomination. The only way to beat this Hoax is to appoint a Democrat or, a weak and ineffective Republican.
    Therefore, I would never be able to appoint Great Judges or U.S. Attorneys in California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Virginia, and other places, where there is, coincidentally, the highest level of crime and corruption — The places where fantastic people are most needed! Senator Grassley must step up, like Crooked Joe Biden did, when he openly broke, at least two times, the “Blue Slip” SCAM, and like others have done over the years, and let our Great Republican Judges and U.S Attorneys BE CONFIRMED. He should do this, IMMEDIATELY, and not let the Democrats laugh at him and the Republican Party for being weak and ineffective. The Democrats have broken this ridiculous custom on us, it’s time that we break it on them. Chuck, I know you have the Courage to do this, DO IT!

    Jul 29, 2025 at 3:13 PM

    *Senator Grassley, third in line for the presidency, is 91-years old. Asking him to “step up” is something he’ll probably do, because he’s planning to run, again.

  69. they dictate the cost of ads, and in turn ad revenue.

    youre leaving out production costs from the equation

    “late night” shows are antiquated in an on-demand ecosystem

    honestly this is the biggest “who gives a shit” story, an example of a poorly-picked battle

    …and i’ll be the first to concede that Colbert’s criticism of trump probably didn’t benefit Colbert in renewal decisions

    every media company is getting more trumpy because we live in trumpistan, the people voted for it

  70. “Denial” can be outright lying to oneself and others about obvious facts, or it can be “not seeing” the reality of what’s happening in front of your own eyes. Either way, Dodo in denial.

  71. Chuck Grassley is running for re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2028, having won his most recent term in the 2022 election. -ai

    He’ll be 92 this September. Maybe.

  72. https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5426045-emil-bove-whistleblower-senate-vote/

    Senate Democrats are seeking clarification about whether there is an ongoing investigation into Justice Department official Emil Bove after three different whistleblowers came forward with information ahead of his confirmation vote for a lifetime appointment to the bench.

    The request from Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) comes as a third whistleblower filed a complaint against Bove, alleging the nominee misled the Senate Judiciary Committee.

    “As the Senate approaches a final vote this week on Mr. Bove’s nomination to serve as United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit, it is imperative that Senators exercise their constitutional duty of advice and consent with full knowledge of Mr. Bove’s actions,” they wrote.

    “We therefore request that you clarify for Senators whether your office is undertaking any investigations of or related to Mr. Bove. In the event these whistleblower complaints and other reports have not already prompted investigations by your office, we urge you to undertake a thorough review of these disclosures and allegations.”

    They argue the three different whistleblower complaints “paint a picture that Mr. Bove likely violated laws and Department regulations, and abused his authority while acting as one of the Department’s most senior officials.”

    Bove, previously one of Trump’s personal defense lawyers, serves in the No. 3 role at the Justice Department and has been nominated to sit on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.

    He has already been accused by whistleblower Erez Reuveni of suggesting the Justice Department defy any court orders blocking the Trump administration from deporting migrants to a foreign prison under the Alien Enemies Act, saying the Justice Department might have to tell the courts “f‑‑‑ you.”

    A second whistleblower has stepped forward with information they say corroborates Reuveni’s allegations.

    “A new whistleblower, whose disclosures have not been publicized, has strong evidence that Emil Bove was not truthful to the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing for his nomination to serve on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals,” Peter Carr, a spokesperson for Justice Connection, said in a statement.

  73. JD saying no one cared about the Epstein files during the Biden administration- yeah, no shit, because Biden wasn’t implicated in the scandal, JDouche, your boss is, oh, and literally campaigned on releasing the files

  74. No reason why Republican voters in Iowa shouldn’t vote for Chuck G. even if he croaks the day before he’s sworn in. They will just appoint another Republican.

  75. another good episode of pod saved today, concluding with an interview of an anti-Netanyahu regime Israeli October 7 Kibbutz victim

  77. “We all are going to die.” Senator Joni Ernst

    Senator Chuck Grassley: Not today, Satan. (perhaps)

  78. “In denial” is my theme-of-the-day

    Today’s theme seems to be Republican leadership digging into positions that are directly contradicted by facts.

    On Sunday, David E. Sanger and Eric Schmitt of the New York Times reported that the price tag for renovating the “free” Boeing 747-8 President Donald J. Trump accepted from Qatar appears to be close to a billion dollars of taxpayer money. The reporters explored a “mysterious, $934 million transfer of funds” from a program to modernize the country’s ground-based nuclear missiles to an unnamed classified project. Air Force officials told them privately that the transfer is for upgrading the plane for use as Air Force One.

    Yale historian Joanne Freeman posted: “He’s using our money to buy himself a gift. A billion dollar gift.”

    – from Dr. Heather

  79. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nancy-mace-sounds-like-a-cartoon-villain-while-revealing-1-of-her-favorite-things-to-do_n_6887a713e4b0b5f7e90824b5

    After spending her days terrorizing her colleagues and constituents, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) apparently likes to unwind by doing something that’s so cartoonishly evil it sounds like something “The Simpsons” would’ve written for Mr. Burns.

    On Sunday, Mace appeared on “Fox Report Weekend” and shared one of her new “favorite” hobbies with host Jon Scott.

    “I have to tell you, one of my favorite things to watch on YouTube these days are the court hearings where illegals are in court, and ICE shows up to drag them out of court and deport them,” Mace said, presumably while stroking a white cat on her lap like a James Bond villain.

  81. Anon, your 7:57 – absofuckinglutely.

    All the late night talk shows have similar production costs, at least I assume so. It may very well be that model is no longer sustainable. I don’t know that, but it’s plausible. I’m not arguing for or against the genre – I’m saying it’s unusual to kill off the best rated one of the bunch first. I can’t look at all the bullshit going on in TRumpco and believe announcing Colbert’s show’s demise a couple of days before his FCC approving a massive merger involving his parent corp is a coincidence. I do not believe in coincidences, btw.

  82. What do they do with that time slot? The Star Spangled Banner & them static until morning, like the old days?

  87. South Park trailer just hit: On tomorrow’s episode they go after ICE, Charlie Kirk, and more.

  88. BB – Just over-the-air TV here, except I subscribed to Peacock to watch the live SNL concert (which NBC still has never aired). They had a sale; one year for $30.
    Pretty happy with the selection of movies and TV series, but plan to cancel at the end of the term.

    No house internet except phones, so a laptop plus the hotspot on my phone work if it’s not just me watching. Otherwise, I watch on my phone. I grew up without hot water or an indoor toilet, so it’s not a hardship.

    Anyone in need of more input should see if their library uses Hoopla. Lots of TV and movies.

  89. South Park trailer just hit: On tomorrow’s episode they go after ICE, Charlie Kirk, and more.

    lol i smell a Saddam Hussein cameo coming

  90. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refeeding_syndrome

    Refeeding syndrome (RFS) is a metabolic disturbance which occurs as a result of reinstitution of nutrition in people who are starved, severely malnourished, or metabolically stressed because of severe illness. When too much food or liquid nutrition supplement is consumed during the initial four to seven days following a malnutrition event, the production of glycogen, fat and protein in cells may cause low serum concentrations of potassium, magnesium and phosphate.[2][3] The electrolyte imbalance may cause neurologic, pulmonary, cardiac, neuromuscular, and hematologic symptoms—many of which, if severe enough, may result in death.

    *That’s the next thing survivors in Gaza will face. They don’t just need calories.

  91. https://www.wsbtv.com/news/national/sirens-are-going-off-hawaii-amid-tsunami-warning/VBQ5FLEKKRBVVOKLHDNDMKKABU/

    Tsunami warning sirens were blaring Tuesday in Honolulu, and people were told to move to higher ground.

    This comes after an 8.7-magnitude earthquake off Russia’s Far Eastern coast, the Associated Press reported.

    A Tsunami Warning has been issued for the Hawaiian Islands, arrival time of the first wave is estimated to be 7:17 pm HST (1:17 am EDT).
    There is no estimate on the tsunami wave heights. Tsunamis wrap around islands efficiently and all shores are at risk, according to the Tsunami Warning Center tsunami.gov.

  93. https://www.npr.org/2025/07/29/nx-s1-5482837/american-eagle-sydney-sweeney-jeans-ad

    The campaign’s tagline —”Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” — plays on the word “genes” which naturally leads viewers to think about the genetics of the blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman.

    “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My genes are blue,” Sweeney says in one video.

    The campaign has sparked backlash online. Some social media users have accused American Eagle of teasing at eugenics, a discredited scientific theory popular among white supremacists that the human race could be improved by breeding out less desirable traits.

    *Seeeney was at the Bezos x Greedbot wedding, so she’s on the inside of the Nutzi party. I was unaware that American Eagle still existed. It will probably be extinct as soon as it receives the Target treatment.

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