“But I don’t want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
View all posts by patd
IN THE NEWS: Right-wing tech bros have grown fond of the idea that American democracy should be replaced with a system run by an all-powerful CEO — a king. Their thinking is that government can be run more efficiently and effectively with one person in charge.
With the current president, they seem to be getting their wish, except this CEO has an ignorant and destructive belief in the power of tariffs. And the problem with a king is that no one can stop him from doing dumb and dangerous things.
President Donald Trump underwent a nearly 5-hour physical exam this morning, raising questions about his health following last month’s bruise saga.
According to the president’s official schedule, Trump arrived at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington at 11 a.m. and did not leave until 3:45 p.m. For comparison, former President Joe Biden’s physical exam last about 2.5 hours last year, AP News reported at the time. Although Biden forwent a cognitive exam, those typically take just 15 minutes, according to NPR.
[…]
The latest physical comes less than two months after Trump was photographed with a massive bruise on his right hand. It was captured during a White House meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. One doctor chalked up the cause of the bruise to an “aggressive handshake” while another guessed the president’s tanning habits and potential use of blood-thinning medications could make his skin more prone to bruising.
Many took to social media to share concern around the president’s abnormally long exam. Despite the results, a lot of Americans believe the Trump administration won’t release the real results.
[continues]
Inspired by a line from the book “Commander in Cheat” by Rick Reilly; “Trump doesn’t just cheat at golf,” Reilly wrote. “He throws it, boots it, and moves it. He lies about his lies. He fudges and foozles and fluffs. At Winged Foot, where Trump is a member, the caddies got so used to seeing him kick his ball back onto the fairway they came up with a nickname for him: ‘Pele.’” Executive Producers Don Caron and Jerry Pender
Bill explains himself
Bill shares the details of his recent meeting with President Trump at the White House.
Saturday finally. The idiot had an EO created to dictate shower head design. Great. I found delime the things works good at getting that water flowing again.
Five hours for a full exam is good. Fours hours to teach him the Alzheimer’s screening test so he could answer four words and not scribble mustaches on the pictures would be part of that.
There are more than a handful on the interwebs who are sad that the Simpson’s 4-12-2025 drawing of krasnov in a casket is not happening. To them I say, there are a few hours left of the day.
Today is also Emancipation Day, with events and parades and fun. That sfb is in somewhere else is good. He won’t have a melt down and demand more white supremacy stuff for D.C.
Hard to say which is worse. When dumbass discovered the pardon power or the tariff power.
anonduh, the look on his face made me think that off-camera a couple of masked and black garbed goons were pointing guns at him. the old confessing hostage trick.
certainly can’t trust him now
My astute political summation of the 2024 election. Why Ioe didn’t drop out sooner, etc.
If stump had gone away, Biden probably would have also gone away. When stump didn’t go away Joe, the consummate politician, totally convinced himself that for it to “stick” he’d have to beat him again. He KNEW in his political heart that Kamala could not win, even if she had had years to run her campaign. So he rolled the dice. Fast forward to the wretchedly rigged CNN debate. It was a total multi faceted ambush and Joe fell into the trap.
Ask yourself, at this point, “What would the republicans have done after that debate if it had been THEIR guy who who had been sucked in by CNN’s treachery?”
You know exactly what they would have done, and DID after “They’re eating the dogs!”
But democrats?
Yeah, no.
If democrats had piled on and tripled down on support for Ioe we would have had a chance.
Instead, Joe Biden was excoriated, abused, and publicly humiliated, and then Kamala stepped up to the political guillotine.
my contention: if Joe had stayed in we would have had at least a CHANCE of winning. With Joe being so publically disemboweled like that…….Zero chance
nah Biden would have gotten trounced. politics is showbiz now, Biden couldn’t hack it
did absolutely nothing to bolster our institutions, either, before the they were destroyed, as promised by the right-wingers
welcomed the goon into the White House
the mistake was nominating him in 2020
he no longer understood the game, Mr. S
that he could even be forced out proved he wasn’t a leader
I’m aware of the prevailing theories, but I’ll adhere to mine, as it is so much more astuter.
Also: Trounced like Kamala?
Biden was done the instant he said “we beat Medicare”
you should be angry with him and whoever advised him to run again
No, I’m only angry with republicans…..and Schumerists
I think.
the whole country has gone insane and believes nonsense Mr. S
like i said, if Biden was a leader he couldn’t have been forced out, especially by the kind of pushovers that populate the Dems
“the whole country has gone insane and believes nonsense Mr. S”
Roger that, my dude.
listen, good, sir. I played along because the stakes were so high but Kamala wasn’t ready for primetime.
Didn’t help that she’s a black woman and half of the elections were run by Nazis
and like i said, if Biden did absolutely anything to install bulwarks, especially after SCotUS telegraphed they wouldn’t be a check on trump, i might concede your point, but he faded away instead, didn’t campaign for Kamala hardly at all, fuck him
it’s like we went to war with Captain Kangaroo
you might not be aware of how loathed Biden is in Scranton, his hometown in a state we needed and lost, but i heard all election season, so i was relieved when he dropped
the nazis are really good at infecting rabble with propaganda and them hills are full of rabble
Joe served no one well for the transition. He should have
Well, he shoulda lot of things.
He did a lot of fuggin up….like appointing Garland. Insipid glaring mistake.
He’s no superguy…. I think he just knew that Kamala couldn’t win
Reminds me of The King and I
anon du jour,
Kamala wasn’t ready for primetime.
Didn’t help that she’s a black woman and half of the elections were run by Nazis
You and Mrs. P are singing off the same hymnal.
I hate to say it… but I don’t see myself voting for a woman in the NH primary for the forseeable future. I’ve become convinced that this country just doesn’t want a woman president… of any color.
April fools came late this year around here… woke up to 6 inches of snow.
“I think he just knew that Kamala couldn’t win”
i’d entertain that notion but the problem is narcissists don’t groom talent, and anybody seeking that office is one
All of this discussion needs to be colored with the fact that Kamala was the better, more responsible candidate and only in a post-reality reality should we be criticizing her campaign
i don’t regret voting for her for a single second
the argument we’re ultimately having is “why aren’t we better at manipulating juvenile morons”
cuz we’re not juvenile morons
Love your headline, Pat!
I find myself adhering to Mr. Sturge’s adherence.
reprise Bill Maher’s tête-à-tête with Mr. Disgusting aka Steve Bannon: Dodo running interminably by overturning the Constitution is his next royal grift.
Bink… I don’t regret voting for Kamala either. I felt euphoric after that vote. Too bad the feeling was short lived. I do think the next Democratic candidate should be a male… I want to win. (and notice.. I do think there will be another presidential election).
…Trump’s margins — both in raw votes and in percentages — were small by historical standards, even for the past quarter century, when close elections have been the rule, including the 2000 Florida recount election and Trump’s previous two races in 2016 and 2020.
however, now while the house is burning down is not the time to quibble over who didn’t take out the garbage.
The Trump administration announced late Friday night that smartphones, computers and other electronic components are exempt from reciprocal tariffs, days after the United States imposed the highest levies on foreign goods in a century.
The directive, issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, lists nearly two dozen exemptions, including chips and smartphones.
The announcement comes after Beijing responded to President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war with a 125 percent tariff on all U.S. goods early Friday. “If the U.S. insists on substantively damaging China’s interests, China will firmly retaliate and fight to the end,” China’s State Council said in a statement.
For makers of electronics, particularly Apple, the break on tariffs is likely to be a huge relief. Apple has faced the prospect of a new import tax of roughly $700 or more on each $1,000 iPhone imported from China, based on tariff rates the White House increased to at least 145 percent.
At least for now, Apple won’t have to decide whether to take a hit to its profits or possibly raise prices significantly for iPhone buyers. The exemption for Chinese-made phones and laptops may also raise questions about why some U.S. businesses were singled out for tariff breaks and others like apparel and furniture retailers must still pay a whopping tariff rate on Chinese-made goods.
[continues]
My original support in the run-up to Joe’s choice of VP had been for Val Demings with her police officer experience. I thought that had a better appeal to more law-and-order types. Plus I like her. Or one of the lady mayors for their executive experience. I eventually warmed to Kamala and became enthusiastic but that was well into her campaign. In hindsight, idk. Our fate was to be punished further by endless trump.
today’s meme…
Doodoo is both the shooter and the messenger.
With all the pauses and exemptions these tariffs are a disappearing act, except that we can clearly see the magician’s hands. Nobody is fooled.
Pat
That wasn’t blinked again, that was bribed again. Half of the purpose of the Trump tariffs is money for favors, If you see Trump give anybody a waiver on tariffs it is a safe bet he got something out of it.
It is all about the grift.
Jack
it is not about who didn’t take out the garbage. It is selecting a person who knows the difference between garbage and steak. Team Biden obviously didn’t except for minor exception the same can be said for team Kamala. I suspect that the Democrats problem isn’t the politicians but people they hire to help them run a campaign.
Jack
There are reports that the collection of duties or tariffs is screwed up. False. I have talked about the difficulties of changing tariffs in the computer systems. It is complex, it is time consuming and it takes at least a two or three days.
With sfb changing his mind, sometimes several times in a day, there is very little hope of getting things right every day. We used to schedule tariff changes to occur at a midnight of a certain Sunday. Slower computer workings, slower communication traffic from users, allowing the shutdown, patch and restart to annoy the fewest people.
Right now there have been so many changes that trying to maintain the necessary documents is failing. Brokers, agents, shippers, receivers all rely on the tariff documents to charge the customer the correct amount. Which has to agree with what the product shipped is.
The guy is insane, as people who have had to deal with him are saying. He believes he is a king or some kind of dictator. The magat Congress and magat court that used to be supreme are responsible for that. The “gave” sfb things that should not have been given. Shame on them.
The 3 Metamophoses
FWNeetch.
The Camel: The camel represents the stage of accepting burdens and existing within established moral frameworks. It is a “load-bearing spirit” that takes upon itself heavy things, like self-abasement and the hunger of the soul. The camel is a metaphor for the individual who accepts the “thou shalt” of society and tradition.
The Lion: The lion symbolizes the rebellion against these established norms and the assertion of one’s own will. It represents the stage where the individual, having found the “thou shalt” insufficient, rejects it and embraces freedom. The lion, in confronting the “great dragon” (representing the “thou shalt”), is a force of liberation and the beginning of creating new values.
The Child: The child represents the stage of innocence and forgetfulness, a new beginning, and the ability to create new values. It is a state of playfulness and a “sacred yes” to life, enabling the individual to dictate their own will and create their own world. The child is the embodiment of the Overman, who has overcome the burden of traditional morality and created a new set of values, according to Nietzsche.
The Difference Between Legal and Illegal Protestsby Civics Nation Admin | Apr 2, 2018
*However, this is 2025 and several states are trying make protests illegal.
The last protest allowed, April 19th, may not be legal in all states. They are using facial recognition to see who participates. No masks? Wear a fake nose and glasses. Actually, if everyone did that it would be spectacular. 🥸
Fingers crossed for The Simpsons’ prophecy to come true, but a lot of other 🫏 🕳️ 🕳️ have to go, too.
Bell peppers, shallots, thyme & rosemary in the ground. Some doofus in a car with doors, fenders, and hood of various colors gave the “seek help” sign from his car window. No litter came out of the window, and the arm came out/no wave. I guess that’s a thing now? Out in the open?
just bought me a “hot lips” salvia
(don’t forget stuff like that to attract pollinators)
“Some doofus in a car… guess that’s a thing now? Out in the open”
Social Security’s announcements are leaving its website and moving to X: reports
The Social Security Administration, or SSA, has used press releases on its own website to share news — especially in the middle of the major changes announced in the last two months, including staff reductions and suggestions it pays out benefits to dead people.
But the agency “will be using X to communicate to the press and the public — formerly known as Twitter,” Linda Kerr-Davis, SSA Midwest-West regional commissioner, said in a call with employees on Thursday, according to Federal News Network. “This will become our communication mechanism.”
BB – Wouldn’t that make it extremely easy to link someone’s other media platforms if they had to set up an account in X for their SSA announcements? How much is the South African princess getting in taxpayer dollars to prop up his failing X with new users?
Watching a travelogue in Sweden. You can camp anywhere, even on someone’s lawn.
RFK Jr. says Deep State ‘is real,’ called FDA employees ‘sock puppet’ of industry
The HHS secretary’s remarks shocked staffers at the Food and Drug Administration, prompting some to walk out.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s visit to the FDA Friday was supposed to introduce him as a trusted leader to agency employees. It did anything but.
Over the course of 40 minutes, Kennedy, in largely off-the-cuff remarks, asserted that the “Deep State” is real, referenced past CIA experiments on human mind control and accused the employees he was speaking to of becoming a “sock puppet” of the industries they regulate.
By the end of the event, billed as a welcome from the new commissioner, Marty Makary, several FDA staffers had walked out of the rooms where the speech was being broadcast at the agency’s headquarters in White Oak, Maryland, according to two employees granted anonymity for fear of retaliation.
“President Trump always talks about the Deep State, and the media, you know, disparages him and says that he’s paranoid,” Kennedy said, according to a transcript and audio of his remarks obtained by POLITICO. “But the Deep State is real. And it’s not, you know, just George Soros and Bill Gates and a bunch of nefarious individuals sitting together in a room and plotting the, you know, the destruction of humanity.”
Kennedy last week called the culling of roughly 10,000 employees a necessary action, promising that HHS would find ways to “do more with less.”
In an apparent effort to encourage FDA employees to stay true to their mission of making Americans healthier, Kennedy later also referenced the CIA’s Project MKUltra — a notorious human experimentation program from the 1960s — and the Milgram experiment, a well-known study meant to test people’s willingness to obey authority even if it meant inflicting pain on others.
*Dead bear. Whale head on station wagon. He seems demented.
Sturgeone: Thus Spake Zarathustra
They’re just now figuring this out???
Wall Street Worried Trump Not ‘All There’
CNN’s Abby Phillip:
“Some people on Wall Street are starting to question whether Trump isn’t just erratic, but actually maybe isn’t all there. They’re actually concerned this is so irrational it cannot be explained by a person in their right mind”.
But Bill Maher says he’s sweet-natured and nice.*
*nothing to worry about
“Anon – The thing Elon did twice.”
thanks, trumpers
*
**
The use of twit for official communication is probably illegal. He can’t just go in and say the only communication is on my site and I get your data to sell (or give away) because you need an account to read anything. The use of twit for unofficial communication has been going on for a number of years.
Twit is considered to be a direct link to russia, much of the propaganda is copied from russian sources, word for word. Some occupations or professions prohibit use of twit, FB, and other social media due to the insecurity of the systems and known access by non-friendlies.
I retain my account so I can enjoy the pleasure of irritating russian bots, support Ukraine, and communicate with those who cannot use BlueSky.
Trump Denies FEMA Aid Extension in State He Won Three Times
Democratic Gov. Josh Stein announced Friday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has denied North Carolina’s request to extend the full reimbursement period for Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which struck in September 2024, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump voiced sharp criticism of FEMA’s response in the swing state of North Carolina, accusing the agency of being too slow to release recovery funds and failing to coordinate effectively with state officials. Trump repeatedly claimed that federal bureaucracy was delaying critical aid, saying in one press briefing, “The people of North Carolina deserve faster, better action. FEMA needs to cut the red tape and get the job done.”
Helene was the deadliest hurricane to strike the mainland U.S. since Katrina in 2005, with Florida, Georgia, North Carolina South Carolina and Virginia particularly badly hit.
Key industries, including agriculture and manufacturing, suffered severe losses, and dozens of counties were declared federal disaster areas. The storm put immense pressure on both state and federal resources.
Recovery efforts remain ongoing months after Helene made landfall, with many communities still working to repair roads, rebuild housing and restore public services. While FEMA and state agencies have deployed aid, delays in federal reimbursements have slowed progress.
North Carolina officials continue to call for extended financial support, particularly for rural areas where rebuilding has been slow. Nonprofits and volunteer groups have played a crucial role in filling gaps left by strained government resources, while local leaders emphasize the need for long-term investment in resilient infrastructure to better withstand future storms.
In the aftermath of the storm, Trump alleged that the federal government and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper were, “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.”
“I think that when there’s a problem with the state, I think that that problem should be taken care of by the state.” <— We are no longer the United States.
The White House moves to cancel thousands of immigrants’ Social Security numbers using a ‘death master file,’ NYT reports Sources including family members, funeral homes, financial institutions, and more report deaths in the U.S. to Social Security, which the agency records in the so-called death master file database. Once there, outside financial and medical agencies as well as other governmental agencies are notified, and banking and financial institutions scour the list themselves to prevent identity theft.
The Trump administration hopes that adding migrants to this list—which will cut them off from most financial services—will make them more likely to “self-deport,” the Times reports. These Social Security numbers were legally obtained under a program created by President Joe Biden, which gave some migrants temporary legal status in the U.S. that allowed them to work.
“The goal is to cut those people off from using crucial financial services like bank accounts and credit cards, along with their access to government benefits,” the Times reports.
*The economy is going to keep contracting if they keep cutting off immigrants. 🤪🫏🫏!
“[RFK Jr] said ‘every institution that’s created by human beings’ is inevitably captured by powerful interests”
DOGE Arrives at FDIC but Doesn’t Have Access to Bank Data
The DOGE team at the FDIC is made up of full-time federal employees with necessary clearances working with FDIC management under formal interagency agreements. according to the email.
“The DOGE team has neither requested nor been granted access to sensitive bank information,” Bendler said.
The FDIC had approximately 6,200 employees at the start of the year.
The FDIC has already lost 500 employees to the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program, which allowed people to be put on administrative leave and paid through September before their termination.
Around 75,000 of the 2.4 million-strong federal civilian workforce accepted the offers earlier in the year.
Several government agencies, including the Treasury Department, have recently givenemployees a second chance to apply.
How DOGE may have improperly used Social Security data to push voter fraud narratives
State-levelaudits of voter data have found few examples of noncitizens voting, which is a federal crime punishable with prison and deportation.
Using Social Security data to imply that noncitizens are breaking the law also could have violated a court order that prevents DOGE staffers from handling sensitive SSA systems.
It’s the latest example of concerns among privacy activists that DOGE’s sweeping access to personal and financial information of millions of Americans may violate privacy laws and may be used for inappropriate purposes.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been tasked with reviewing voter registration information as part of an executive order signed by President Trump. This order aims to enhance the verification of voter eligibility, potentially impacting how states manage their voter rolls. -ai (Or as the Secretary of Education calls it, “a one.”
A new report has detailed some of President Donald Trump’s plans to acquire Greenland, including a potential $10,000 annual payment to each of the island’s more than 50,000 residents.
Could he be more pathetic?
No.
White House Moves Obama Portrait to Make Room for New One of Trump
David Horsey yesterday at By royal decree: Tariffs! | The Seattle Times
Trump’s Nearly 5-Hour Physical Exam Raises Questions About His Health After Massive Bruise Saga | IBTimes
Inspired by a line from the book “Commander in Cheat” by Rick Reilly;
“Trump doesn’t just cheat at golf,” Reilly wrote. “He throws it, boots it, and moves it. He lies about his lies. He fudges and foozles and fluffs. At Winged Foot, where Trump is a member, the caddies got so used to seeing him kick his ball back onto the fairway they came up with a nickname for him: ‘Pele.’”
Executive Producers Don Caron and Jerry Pender
Bill explains himself
Bill shares the details of his recent meeting with President Trump at the White House.
Saturday finally. The idiot had an EO created to dictate shower head design. Great. I found delime the things works good at getting that water flowing again.
Five hours for a full exam is good. Fours hours to teach him the Alzheimer’s screening test so he could answer four words and not scribble mustaches on the pictures would be part of that.
There are more than a handful on the interwebs who are sad that the Simpson’s 4-12-2025 drawing of krasnov in a casket is not happening. To them I say, there are a few hours left of the day.
Today is also Emancipation Day, with events and parades and fun. That sfb is in somewhere else is good. He won’t have a melt down and demand more white supremacy stuff for D.C.
Hard to say which is worse. When dumbass discovered the pardon power or the tariff power.
It’s all worse. And worst.
brat worst
Rumor claims Trump will declare martial law on April 20. Here’s what we know
“Mr. Maher Goes to Washington”
-captured media
anonduh, the look on his face made me think that off-camera a couple of masked and black garbed goons were pointing guns at him. the old confessing hostage trick.
certainly can’t trust him now
My astute political summation of the 2024 election. Why Ioe didn’t drop out sooner, etc.
If stump had gone away, Biden probably would have also gone away. When stump didn’t go away Joe, the consummate politician, totally convinced himself that for it to “stick” he’d have to beat him again. He KNEW in his political heart that Kamala could not win, even if she had had years to run her campaign. So he rolled the dice. Fast forward to the wretchedly rigged CNN debate. It was a total multi faceted ambush and Joe fell into the trap.
Ask yourself, at this point, “What would the republicans have done after that debate if it had been THEIR guy who who had been sucked in by CNN’s treachery?”
You know exactly what they would have done, and DID after “They’re eating the dogs!”
But democrats?
Yeah, no.
If democrats had piled on and tripled down on support for Ioe we would have had a chance.
Instead, Joe Biden was excoriated, abused, and publicly humiliated, and then Kamala stepped up to the political guillotine.
my contention: if Joe had stayed in we would have had at least a CHANCE of winning. With Joe being so publically disemboweled like that…….Zero chance
nah Biden would have gotten trounced. politics is showbiz now, Biden couldn’t hack it
did absolutely nothing to bolster our institutions, either, before the they were destroyed, as promised by the right-wingers
welcomed the goon into the White House
the mistake was nominating him in 2020
he no longer understood the game, Mr. S
that he could even be forced out proved he wasn’t a leader
I’m aware of the prevailing theories, but I’ll adhere to mine, as it is so much more astuter.
Also: Trounced like Kamala?
Biden was done the instant he said “we beat Medicare”
you should be angry with him and whoever advised him to run again
No, I’m only angry with republicans…..and Schumerists
I think.
the whole country has gone insane and believes nonsense Mr. S
like i said, if Biden was a leader he couldn’t have been forced out, especially by the kind of pushovers that populate the Dems
“the whole country has gone insane and believes nonsense Mr. S”
Roger that, my dude.
listen, good, sir. I played along because the stakes were so high but Kamala wasn’t ready for primetime.
Didn’t help that she’s a black woman and half of the elections were run by Nazis
and like i said, if Biden did absolutely anything to install bulwarks, especially after SCotUS telegraphed they wouldn’t be a check on trump, i might concede your point, but he faded away instead, didn’t campaign for Kamala hardly at all, fuck him
it’s like we went to war with Captain Kangaroo
you might not be aware of how loathed Biden is in Scranton, his hometown in a state we needed and lost, but i heard all election season, so i was relieved when he dropped
the nazis are really good at infecting rabble with propaganda and them hills are full of rabble
Save today on Prime Rib and get my easy Sear & Wait guide.. https://youtu.be/Lf-Nj0mejW8?si=lxehjY_4s8yHTC2e
Joe served no one well for the transition. He should have
Well, he shoulda lot of things.
He did a lot of fuggin up….like appointing Garland. Insipid glaring mistake.
He’s no superguy…. I think he just knew that Kamala couldn’t win
Reminds me of The King and I
anon du jour,
You and Mrs. P are singing off the same hymnal.
I hate to say it… but I don’t see myself voting for a woman in the NH primary for the forseeable future. I’ve become convinced that this country just doesn’t want a woman president… of any color.
April fools came late this year around here… woke up to 6 inches of snow.
“I think he just knew that Kamala couldn’t win”
i’d entertain that notion but the problem is narcissists don’t groom talent, and anybody seeking that office is one
All of this discussion needs to be colored with the fact that Kamala was the better, more responsible candidate and only in a post-reality reality should we be criticizing her campaign
i don’t regret voting for her for a single second
the argument we’re ultimately having is “why aren’t we better at manipulating juvenile morons”
cuz we’re not juvenile morons
Bink… I don’t regret voting for Kamala either. I felt euphoric after that vote. Too bad the feeling was short lived. I do think the next Democratic candidate should be a male… I want to win. (and notice.. I do think there will be another presidential election).
politics aside, we love RR! Hooray! ❤️
The results of drill baby drill
On Tuesday, to the surprise of nobody who follows these things, the Keystone pipeline spilled again, dumping around 3,500 barrels of oil onto an agricultural field in North Dakota. The very same day, the federal government rolled back environmental protections, opening nearly 60% of our national forests to logging. And all of this occurred just a day after 8,000 Indigenous People marched in Brazil to demand a fair say at this year’s COP30 climate conference.
Nothing planned today, just Lazy Thoughts..
I’m proud to have voted for Harris-Walz; but as Renee observed, the country isn’t ready to elect a woman no matter how qualified.
lest we forget it was NOT a landslide. he only won popular vote by 1.6% so give Kamala some credit for losing by a very very slim margin.
The size of Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory, explained in 5 charts | PBS News
however, now while the house is burning down is not the time to quibble over who didn’t take out the garbage.
blinked again
Phones, other electronics exempt from new tariffs, Trump administration says
My original support in the run-up to Joe’s choice of VP had been for Val Demings with her police officer experience. I thought that had a better appeal to more law-and-order types. Plus I like her. Or one of the lady mayors for their executive experience. I eventually warmed to Kamala and became enthusiastic but that was well into her campaign. In hindsight, idk. Our fate was to be punished further by endless trump.
today’s meme…
Doodoo is both the shooter and the messenger.
With all the pauses and exemptions these tariffs are a disappearing act, except that we can clearly see the magician’s hands. Nobody is fooled.
Pat
That wasn’t blinked again, that was bribed again. Half of the purpose of the Trump tariffs is money for favors, If you see Trump give anybody a waiver on tariffs it is a safe bet he got something out of it.
It is all about the grift.
Jack
it is not about who didn’t take out the garbage. It is selecting a person who knows the difference between garbage and steak. Team Biden obviously didn’t except for minor exception the same can be said for team Kamala. I suspect that the Democrats problem isn’t the politicians but people they hire to help them run a campaign.
Jack
Well we missed it Last year was the year of the camel.
Here is an article on everything you ever wanted to know about camels
There are reports that the collection of duties or tariffs is screwed up. False. I have talked about the difficulties of changing tariffs in the computer systems. It is complex, it is time consuming and it takes at least a two or three days.
With sfb changing his mind, sometimes several times in a day, there is very little hope of getting things right every day. We used to schedule tariff changes to occur at a midnight of a certain Sunday. Slower computer workings, slower communication traffic from users, allowing the shutdown, patch and restart to annoy the fewest people.
Right now there have been so many changes that trying to maintain the necessary documents is failing. Brokers, agents, shippers, receivers all rely on the tariff documents to charge the customer the correct amount. Which has to agree with what the product shipped is.
The guy is insane, as people who have had to deal with him are saying. He believes he is a king or some kind of dictator. The magat Congress and magat court that used to be supreme are responsible for that. The “gave” sfb things that should not have been given. Shame on them.
The 3 Metamophoses
FWNeetch.
The Camel: The camel represents the stage of accepting burdens and existing within established moral frameworks. It is a “load-bearing spirit” that takes upon itself heavy things, like self-abasement and the hunger of the soul. The camel is a metaphor for the individual who accepts the “thou shalt” of society and tradition.
The Lion: The lion symbolizes the rebellion against these established norms and the assertion of one’s own will. It represents the stage where the individual, having found the “thou shalt” insufficient, rejects it and embraces freedom. The lion, in confronting the “great dragon” (representing the “thou shalt”), is a force of liberation and the beginning of creating new values.
The Child: The child represents the stage of innocence and forgetfulness, a new beginning, and the ability to create new values. It is a state of playfulness and a “sacred yes” to life, enabling the individual to dictate their own will and create their own world. The child is the embodiment of the Overman, who has overcome the burden of traditional morality and created a new set of values, according to Nietzsche.
https://www.civicsnation.org/2018/04/02/legal-and-illegal-protests-first-amendment/
The Difference Between Legal and Illegal Protestsby Civics Nation Admin | Apr 2, 2018
*However, this is 2025 and several states are trying make protests illegal.
The last protest allowed, April 19th, may not be legal in all states. They are using facial recognition to see who participates. No masks? Wear a fake nose and glasses. Actually, if everyone did that it would be spectacular. 🥸
Fingers crossed for The Simpsons’ prophecy to come true, but a lot of other 🫏 🕳️ 🕳️ have to go, too.
Bell peppers, shallots, thyme & rosemary in the ground. Some doofus in a car with doors, fenders, and hood of various colors gave the “seek help” sign from his car window. No litter came out of the window, and the arm came out/no wave. I guess that’s a thing now? Out in the open?
just bought me a “hot lips” salvia
(don’t forget stuff like that to attract pollinators)
“Some doofus in a car… guess that’s a thing now? Out in the open”
…am confused but want to know what you’re saying
Wall Street fears Trump isn’t all there. What took them so long?
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-erratic/
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/social-securitys-announcements-are-leaving-its-website-and-moving-to-x-reports-4ef61a96
Social Security’s announcements are leaving its website and moving to X: reports
The Social Security Administration, or SSA, has used press releases on its own website to share news — especially in the middle of the major changes announced in the last two months, including staff reductions and suggestions it pays out benefits to dead people.
But the agency “will be using X to communicate to the press and the public — formerly known as Twitter,” Linda Kerr-Davis, SSA Midwest-West regional commissioner, said in a call with employees on Thursday, according to Federal News Network. “This will become our communication mechanism.”
BB – Wouldn’t that make it extremely easy to link someone’s other media platforms if they had to set up an account in X for their SSA announcements? How much is the South African princess getting in taxpayer dollars to prop up his failing X with new users?
Watching a travelogue in Sweden. You can camp anywhere, even on someone’s lawn.
Anon – The thing Elon did twice.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/11/rfk-jr-hhs-fda-deep-state-00286826
RFK Jr. says Deep State ‘is real,’ called FDA employees ‘sock puppet’ of industry
The HHS secretary’s remarks shocked staffers at the Food and Drug Administration, prompting some to walk out.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s visit to the FDA Friday was supposed to introduce him as a trusted leader to agency employees. It did anything but.
Over the course of 40 minutes, Kennedy, in largely off-the-cuff remarks, asserted that the “Deep State” is real, referenced past CIA experiments on human mind control and accused the employees he was speaking to of becoming a “sock puppet” of the industries they regulate.
By the end of the event, billed as a welcome from the new commissioner, Marty Makary, several FDA staffers had walked out of the rooms where the speech was being broadcast at the agency’s headquarters in White Oak, Maryland, according to two employees granted anonymity for fear of retaliation.
“President Trump always talks about the Deep State, and the media, you know, disparages him and says that he’s paranoid,” Kennedy said, according to a transcript and audio of his remarks obtained by POLITICO. “But the Deep State is real. And it’s not, you know, just George Soros and Bill Gates and a bunch of nefarious individuals sitting together in a room and plotting the, you know, the destruction of humanity.”
Kennedy last week called the culling of roughly 10,000 employees a necessary action, promising that HHS would find ways to “do more with less.”
In an apparent effort to encourage FDA employees to stay true to their mission of making Americans healthier, Kennedy later also referenced the CIA’s Project MKUltra — a notorious human experimentation program from the 1960s — and the Milgram experiment, a well-known study meant to test people’s willingness to obey authority even if it meant inflicting pain on others.
*Dead bear. Whale head on station wagon. He seems demented.
Sturgeone: Thus Spake Zarathustra
They’re just now figuring this out???
Wall Street Worried Trump Not ‘All There’
CNN’s Abby Phillip:
But Bill Maher says he’s sweet-natured and nice.*
*nothing to worry about
“Anon – The thing Elon did twice.”
thanks, trumpers
*
**
The use of twit for official communication is probably illegal. He can’t just go in and say the only communication is on my site and I get your data to sell (or give away) because you need an account to read anything. The use of twit for unofficial communication has been going on for a number of years.
Twit is considered to be a direct link to russia, much of the propaganda is copied from russian sources, word for word. Some occupations or professions prohibit use of twit, FB, and other social media due to the insecurity of the systems and known access by non-friendlies.
I retain my account so I can enjoy the pleasure of irritating russian bots, support Ukraine, and communicate with those who cannot use BlueSky.
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-denies-fema-aid-extension-state-he-won-three-times-2058906
Trump Denies FEMA Aid Extension in State He Won Three Times
Democratic Gov. Josh Stein announced Friday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has denied North Carolina’s request to extend the full reimbursement period for Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which struck in September 2024, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump voiced sharp criticism of FEMA’s response in the swing state of North Carolina, accusing the agency of being too slow to release recovery funds and failing to coordinate effectively with state officials. Trump repeatedly claimed that federal bureaucracy was delaying critical aid, saying in one press briefing, “The people of North Carolina deserve faster, better action. FEMA needs to cut the red tape and get the job done.”
Helene was the deadliest hurricane to strike the mainland U.S. since Katrina in 2005, with Florida, Georgia, North Carolina South Carolina and Virginia particularly badly hit.
Key industries, including agriculture and manufacturing, suffered severe losses, and dozens of counties were declared federal disaster areas. The storm put immense pressure on both state and federal resources.
Recovery efforts remain ongoing months after Helene made landfall, with many communities still working to repair roads, rebuild housing and restore public services. While FEMA and state agencies have deployed aid, delays in federal reimbursements have slowed progress.
North Carolina officials continue to call for extended financial support, particularly for rural areas where rebuilding has been slow. Nonprofits and volunteer groups have played a crucial role in filling gaps left by strained government resources, while local leaders emphasize the need for long-term investment in resilient infrastructure to better withstand future storms.
Last month, the Trump administration also turned down a request from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp for a second deadline extension to apply for relief from the state following Hurricane Helene.
In the aftermath of the storm, Trump alleged that the federal government and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper were, “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.”
“I think that when there’s a problem with the state, I think that that problem should be taken care of by the state.” <— We are no longer the United States.
https://fortune.com/2025/04/12/trump-administration-migrants-social-security-death/
The White House moves to cancel thousands of immigrants’ Social Security numbers using a ‘death master file,’ NYT reports
Sources including family members, funeral homes, financial institutions, and more report deaths in the U.S. to Social Security, which the agency records in the so-called death master file database. Once there, outside financial and medical agencies as well as other governmental agencies are notified, and banking and financial institutions scour the list themselves to prevent identity theft.
The Trump administration hopes that adding migrants to this list—which will cut them off from most financial services—will make them more likely to “self-deport,” the Times reports. These Social Security numbers were legally obtained under a program created by President Joe Biden, which gave some migrants temporary legal status in the U.S. that allowed them to work.
“The goal is to cut those people off from using crucial financial services like bank accounts and credit cards, along with their access to government benefits,” the Times reports.
*The economy is going to keep contracting if they keep cutting off immigrants. 🤪🫏🫏!
“[RFK Jr] said ‘every institution that’s created by human beings’ is inevitably captured by powerful interests”
lol, that irony is lost on the dummies i’m sure
he said that at his FDA lie-a-thon btw
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/doge-team-arrives-at-fdic-but-doesnt-have-access-to-bank-data
DOGE Arrives at FDIC but Doesn’t Have Access to Bank Data
The DOGE team at the FDIC is made up of full-time federal employees with necessary clearances working with FDIC management under formal interagency agreements. according to the email.
“The DOGE team has neither requested nor been granted access to sensitive bank information,” Bendler said.
The FDIC had approximately 6,200 employees at the start of the year.
The FDIC has already lost 500 employees to the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program, which allowed people to be put on administrative leave and paid through September before their termination.
Around 75,000 of the 2.4 million-strong federal civilian workforce accepted the offers earlier in the year.
Several government agencies, including the Treasury Department, have recently givenemployees a second chance to apply.
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/11/nx-s1-5352470/doge-musk-social-security-voting
How DOGE may have improperly used Social Security data to push voter fraud narratives
State-level audits of voter data have found few examples of noncitizens voting, which is a federal crime punishable with prison and deportation.
Using Social Security data to imply that noncitizens are breaking the law also could have violated a court order that prevents DOGE staffers from handling sensitive SSA systems.
It’s the latest example of concerns among privacy activists that DOGE’s sweeping access to personal and financial information of millions of Americans may violate privacy laws and may be used for inappropriate purposes.
Gracias, the billionaire chief executive officer and chief investment officer of Valor Equity Partners, is one of 10 DOGE staffers embedded in the Social Security Administration. That description matches “Employee 4” in court records filed Wednesday in a case challenging DOGE access to sensitive SSA systems.
*It gets worse, potentially:
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been tasked with reviewing voter registration information as part of an executive order signed by President Trump. This order aims to enhance the verification of voter eligibility, potentially impacting how states manage their voter rolls. -ai (Or as the Secretary of Education calls it, “a one.”
A new report has detailed some of President Donald Trump’s plans to acquire Greenland, including a potential $10,000 annual payment to each of the island’s more than 50,000 residents.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/11/us/politics/trump-obama-portrait-assassination.html?
https://newrepublic.com/post/193794/trump-approval-rating-plummets-young-people-poll
Pink moonrise, soon.
((((John Prine))))
Still have the goosebumps, 11 years to the day.
https://www.al.com/entertainment/2014/04/john_prine_birmingham_concert.html
thx for moon alert
NEW THREAD by our Trail friend Jack