Attribution: Hormuz Blockade and Sunken Consumer Sentiment by Monte Wolverton, Battle Ground, WA
[Monte Wolverton is best known as a contributor to MAD Magazine and son of Mad great Basil Wolverton. He is also the editor of The Plain Truth. magazine. He draws two editorial cartoons per week and is syndicated to newspapers around the world by Cagle Cartoons.]
Vice President Vance returned empty-handed from negotiations with Iran, President Trump is no closer to achieving his war goals, and the president deleted an AI-generated image of himself that many found blasphemous
Attribution: Trump as Jesus by Rick McKee, CagleCartoons.com
Rick worked for decades as the cartoonist for the Augusta Chronicle in Georgia. Rick also draws the syndicated, daily comic panel “Pluggers.” Rick was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year, along with everybody else.
Jon Stewart dives into the backlash over Trump Jesus-ifying himself with AI, the president claiming he was just depicting himself as a “doctor” (treating a bedridden Jon Stewart?), and Trump starting an Easter beef with Pope Leo. Plus, JD Vance fails to secure a deal with Iran while ALSO failing to get Hungarian strongman Viktor Orban reelected.
Trump started off his weekend bashing Bruce Springsteen and implying that he has had plastic surgery, then he went after Pope Leo calling him “weak on crime” and suggesting that the only reason he is in the Vatican is because Trump is President, then he posted an A.I. generated image of himself as Jesus which made the Christian community so unhappy that the post has since been deleted, they had a No Taxes on Tips event at the White House today where McDonald’s was delivered to the Oval Office by a woman that calls herself “DoorDash Grandma,” JD Vance was in Pakistan for talks about Iran this weekend that completely fell apart, Trump went to the UFC fight in Miami where he drooled all over a fighter named Paulo Costa, Trump also had time to golf and stop his cart to take a picture with a woman who he said was in “great shape” multiple times, it has now been four days since the First Lady went in front of cameras to distance herself from the Trump-Epstein Files, a federal judge dismissed Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal for their story about the birthday message he claims he didn’t write to Epstein, and our first-ever edition of This Week in Brooklyn.
Attribution: The long ‘I told you so’ by Dave Whamond, Canada, PoliticalCartoons.com
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Our daily Digital Diner podcast airs 11-Noon ET on YouTube. JOIN Chatroom Here. WATCH Yesterday’s Replay Here.
What Is Actually Clicking: April 14, 2026
These are the stories driving the most traffic across the world right now—not necessarily the stories we think you should read, and not always the most recent.
A roundup by our AI partner Silas (Gemini).
Trump Plays Jesus, Attacks Pope
MAGA Universe Reacts
— Silas Gemini
Ambassador Ken Fairfax (ret)
@portlandken.bsky.social
· 31m
A random fact that I find interesting: “Magyar” is the Hungarian term for an ethnic Hungarian, meaning a descendant of the people who originated in the east Urals and migrated to modern-day Hungary. It is also used to describe the Hungarian language.
So, Hungary’s new leader is Peter the Hungarian.
Stur — Our new chatroom friend in Germany — Winterlande — taught us that yesterday in the diner. We also decided to bypass pronouncing his last name and call him Hungarian Pete.
here’s another way on how to pronounce his name:
https://x.com/i/status/2043789259841081412
Perhaps the most amazing thing about Hungarian Pete’s victory is how they did it with no access to media exposure. Orban’s regime forbade appearances. Trump’s working on that here.
The mangomoron has really crossed from his alternate reality world to a completely new one. If only we had ways to get him out of office.
LoL BB — if we can sweep the midterms, impeachment AND conviction is not unthinkable
Italy’s prime minister issues rare criticism of Trump after pope attack:
— Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the only European leader to attend Trump’s inauguration in 2025 (USA Today)
Wish one of these reporters on the plane would ask him if he thinks Trump is evil. Because I get the feeling that’s exactly what he believes.
My little cowboy!
Hungarian Pete says Orlon was paying CPAC and says it’s a crime.
Nice hat on the cowboy.
Mr. Ivy had a Brit-speaking colleague who pronounced his name like maggie-yar.
He fits right in, Katie, ready for horse riding?
Oh goodie, Sturg, that suggests Hungarian Pete did not make a deal for no prosecutions in exchange for the quick concession? Hungary gave money to a bunch of Trump approved causes. Dem House can look into that for the impeachment inquiry next year.
Sorry about that, Jack. I was being snarky after seeing a tv clip of Mel decked out in a black dress and veil for a previous papal visitation. She is a Catholic but no privilège du blanc for her.
Brits, like Texans, seem to derive great pleasure from mis-pronouncing words and names from other languages.
https://www.newsweek.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-ro-khanna-populist-coalition-11807295
Marjorie Taylor Greene and Ro Khanna May Unite to Create Populist Coalition
California Representative Ro Khanna and former Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene both voiced support for a new populist coalition that advances the interests of working-class Americans in a social media exchange.
Khanna, a Democrat, and Greene, a Republican, have criticized the ongoing war in Iran. Khanna said in a video on X on Tuesday that he is “relieved” that President Donald Trump has accepted a ceasefire.
“But let’s be clear, this did not happen because of Congress, which barely made a whimper. This happened because of the force of the American people. Not just progressives and liberals, but conservatives like Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Greene and even Ann Coulter spoke out against the horror of threatening genocide against another people,” Khanna said.
He continued, “This tells me one thing. The only thing that will save this country, the only thing that will save our democracy is a broad populist social movement: anti-Epstein class, anti-war, pro working class.”
Greene responded on X, “Ro, I agree with you that we need a strong populist coalition of the right and left that can come together on the most important issues for the future generations of Americans.”
*Whelp, there goes Ro Khanna’s bid for POTUS. A coalition with folks who only agree on a couple of things (war & Epstein)? Nah. Healthcare, bodily autonomy, education. Also, the racism and misogyny in this country won’t allow for either of them to become POTUS, even if they were to team up.
I think Tucker might try to exploit this for himself, and can see Joe Kent on a ticket with him.
Nope, Ro, nope. We are moving far left. We have to overcorrect just to get back to where we were…and that was not good for most folks.
Craig – Chapters 5, 6, and 7, are ready for formatting and adding to the current page. Thank you!
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czd782pjgq3o
Wins and challenges: Zohran Mamdani’s first 100 days in office
*Bernie showed up, too.
Dr. Trump’s medical intervention consists of staring at the floor while you collapse. Peak absurdity.
More in today’s diner at 11am ET 👉 TrailMIx.CC/Diner
Bill Gates & Lutnick are set to testify before Congress on Epstein.
https://www.democracynow.org/2026/4/13/headlines/all_you_had_to_do_was_pay_us_enough_to_live_worker_sets_fire_to_california_paper_warehouse
“All You Had to Do Was Pay Us Enough to Live”: Worker Sets Fire to California Paper Warehouse
*There have now been more fires. The first one was viewed like an act of heroism, so the media isn’t really covering the others.
The disposable lighter is the new guillotine. (Not condoning it, it just is.)
There’s no way to make people better than cutting off their health insurance.
“IT’S OKAY TO RESIST CAPITALISM ON AN IPHONE. THE FEUDAL LORD WHO OWNED THE PITCHFORKS THE PEASANTS KILLED HIM WITH PROBABLY OBSERVED THE IRONY, TOO.”
-unk
The workers can’t be paid enough to live because the billionaires have all the money, and billionaires don’t share, or play well with others.
Arson is the new pitchfork?
Ha! Someone posted a pic of The Last Supper with the caption: Doctors’ convention. LoL
And there’s no way to say we’re interested in peace like bombing the country just as you’re beginning peace talks. NYT
Why do I get the feeling that Dumbass and Bibi really don’t understand how to conduct diplomacy or don’t have any interest in peace in the ME, or both?
https://www.newsweek.com/avignon-papacy-explained-what-reported-us-threat-to-pope-and-vatican-means-11803877
Avignon papacy explained: What reported US threat to pope and Vatican means
One Pentagon official’s reported reference to an “Avignon papacy” has widely been interpreted as a direct threat by Donald Trump’s administration against the Vatican and Pope Leo XIV, who has been critical of the U.S. president and the Iran war.
Between 1309 and 1377, seven different popes resided in Avignon, in southern France—though it was not part of the French kingdom then—instead of Rome.
The transfer had been strongly supported by King Philip IV of France, who had previously clashed with Pope Boniface VIII, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church from 1294 to 1303, over his ability to tax the clergy without the pontiff’s permission. This was against canon law.
Clashes between the two continued for years over similar issues challenging the pope’s and the king’s respective authorities, until Boniface’s death. After the brief papacy of Benedict XI in 1304, Clement V, a French pope, was elected through the machinations of Philip.
He spent his first few years undoing Boniface’s legacy to appease the French monarch, and in 1309 he selected Avignon as his residency to avoid political turmoil in Italy. The move was supposed to be temporary, but it lasted for 68 years.
The end of the “Avignon papacy” led to the so-called “Great Western Schism” in 1378, when following the death of Gregory XI, a French pope who had decided to return to Rome, a series of “anti-popes” assumed the vacant seat of Avignon. The schism was only healed in 1417.
The Free Press recently reported a closed-door Pentagon meeting in January during which a Trump senior official referenced the “Avignon papacy” to Vatican officials as the conversation between the two parties got heated.
In his reporting, Mattia Ferraresi calls the meeting at the Pentagon—for which there is no public record—the culmination of months of brewing tensions between Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV.
Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby reportedly summoned Cardinal Christophe Pierre, Pope Leo XIV’s then-ambassador to the U.S., to the Pentagon after the pope’s January state-of-the-world address, which was interpreted as hostile to the Trump administration.
A line that particularly enraged officials reportedly was the one saying that “a diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force.”
According to Ferraresi and Vatican expert Christopher Hale, this statement was taken as a criticism of Trump’s “Donroe Doctrine,” his update of the “Monroe Doctrine” which supports U.S. dominance on the Western Hemisphere backed by military force.
As things got heated, Colby reportedly lectured Cardinal Pierre on the military power of the U.S. and told him that the Catholic Church must pick a side, according to Hale, and mentioned the “Avignon papacy.”
Some have suggested that the reference of this chapter of medieval history might signal the Trump administration’s intention to trigger a new schism, while others think it would suggest its willingness to use military force against the Holy See. Ferraresi, however, said that interpreting it as a military threat is “just absurd.”
According to Mike Young, author of a newsletter on civic accountability, the mention of the “Avignon papacy” was a reference to “an implicit model for what happens to religious institutions that oppose state power.”
In a post on X, he wrote: “That’s not a slip of the tongue. That’s a studied historical reference deployed deliberately in a room with the Pope’s senior diplomat. The message was not subtle.”
Doctor outfit
today’s meme…
He’s getting stupider by the day. His own worst enema.
How an Image Depicting Trump as Christ Sparked a Backlash on the Religious Right
“We are a little bit beside ourselves,” said John Yep, CEO of Catholics for Catholics, a nonprofit that has hosted faith events at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club and maintains close ties to the administration.
On Sunday night, Yep was eating dinner with friends after church services when his phone lighted up with messages about the now-deleted image in which Trump, wearing robes, touches the forehead of a man lying in a hospital bed.
The collective sentiment around the table, Yep said in an interview, “was one of sadness, because we were truly confused by this president after Catholics gave him such a resounding vote, and yet he is treating our faith with such disrespect at this moment.” He immediately reached out to contacts close to the administration to voice his “sadness and frustration.”
Rod Dreher, a conservative writer who attended the Catholic baptism of Vice President JD Vance before he entered politics, went further. “Not saying Trump is the Antichrist,” Dreher told The Wall Street Journal. “But he’s radiating the spirit of Antichrist, no question.” Pastor Douglas Wilson, co-founder of the conservative Calvinist denomination to which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth belongs, called the image “blasphemous.”
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-jesus-christ-truth-social-post-25a8c181
Today in the diner…
Trump Pope Meme, Doordash Lady & Hungarian Elections
Pope Trump memes, a fake Doordash delivery to the White House, and how Hungary’s opposition beat Orban’s media blackout with broken elevators.
We are serving up a healthy dose of reality today, starting with Donald’s bizarre “Pope Trump” meme and that highly choreographed Doordash delivery to the White House. Sharon Simmons dodged the trans sports bait and stuck to her “no tax on tips” script while delivering cold McDonald’s, proving that political theater is getting lazier by the minute. Meanwhile, you’ve got people trying to do their taxes on a “postcard” that somehow morphed into five different schedules if you have the audacity to run a small business.
The real meat today is Hungary. The opposition just handed Orban a massive defeat despite a total media blackout. How? Grassroots door-knocking, social media savvy, and doing quick videos in broken elevators. It is a masterclass in fighting fascism when the billionaires own the airwaves. If they can pull it off in a country the size of New Jersey with state-sponsored media rigged against them, maybe there is a sliver of hope for the rest of us.
We also took a grim walk down memory lane about Covid-19, because collective denial is a terrible drug. No, we aren’t going to pretend the incompetence didn’t happen, and yes, Jared Kushner’s Saudi money is still a massive corruption problem that nobody wants to talk about. Grab a plate, and let’s dig into the wreckage.
https://trailmix.cc/chat
https://trailmix.cc
https://trailmix.cc/alerts
00:00 Intro
03:20 White House Doordash Delivery
08:40 Penzey’s Spices & Blackened Pork
19:15 Trump’s Postcard Tax Return Myth
25:35 Hungary’s Opposition Defeats Orban
36:15 Jared Kushner Saudi Corruption
51:00 Covid-19 Denial & The Real Toll
meme #2…
Donald forgot his staged Doordash operative brought him cold McDonald’s and started asking about pizza sixty seconds later. Lazy political theater demands better scriptwriters.
From today’s Digital Diner menu 🍽️
How do you beat a fascist media blackout? Campaign in a broken elevator. The Hungarian opposition just proved grassroots hustle still wins when billionaires own the airwaves.
From today’s Digital Diner menu 🍽️
The gops have to rig it so that democrats are responsible for getting rid of “the doctor”. They can’t have their own fingerprints on it.
Still.
They want to ditch Dr Frankenstein but keep the monster alive so it has to be democrats with the torches and pitchforks.
It’s getting so that if a republicans really wants to keep his job he’d turn Democrat.
Better turn that coat inside-out, Mr Enabler of Evil
Doctor, doctor…it hurts when I do this 😂
🤓🤓
😇😇😇
Everyone ignores Jared Kushner casually pocketing TWO BILLION Saudi dollars while playing Middle East envoy. Real corruption happens in plain daylight while we argue about nonsense.
From today’s Digital Diner menu 🍽️
Man…Jesus did NOT age well.
Ok Corey, not the first time, but you get laugh out loud Line Of The Day there
Corey from DOWNTOWN!
lol
Being dead for 3 days probably didn’t help…..
this looks good. Frontline and pro publica team up for a documentary about bogus arrests of protesters…tonight 10p ET on PBS stations
I try. LOL!
Dr. Jesus tRUMPsky says he makes folks feel better…but by kicking them off of their healthcare?…again, but he also tells them it’s OK to be racist…and that gives them all the feels they need.
Tomorrow’s starter…
Trump’s naval wall in the Strait of Hormuz is already leaking. Iranian ghost ships are slipping right through the net.
On the diner menu 11am ET: https://trailmixer.cc/chat
Dr. Orange Jesus treatment plan…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dying_of_Whiteness
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/04/14/congress/gallego-speaks-out-on-swalwell-00871424
‘I fell for it:’ Gallego gives emotional remarks following Swalwell sexual assault allegations
The Arizona Democratic senator said he regrets not seeing the signs that his colleague was “a predator.”
“I let this man into my family … it hurts me that this man hurt a lot of people,” Gallego, who chaired Swalwell’s 2020 presidential campaign, said in emotional remarks where he at times appeared on the verge of tears.
While Gallego conceded he had long heard rumblings that Swalwell was “flirty,” he insisted he was unaware of the severity of the charges being lodged against Swalwell by former staffers — including rape.
“Look, we socialized. We went out. But I never saw him engage in any of the predatory behavior, harassment, sexual assault or even like anything that,” Gallego said. “I’m sorry that we didn’t listen closer.”
*Fried baloney!
The Jesus Trump stuff is beyond viral…
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8gA3vjv/
https://people.com/ruben-gallego-groans-about-democrats-leaked-texts-11857626
Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego Groans His Party Doesn’t Allow ‘Women to Be Hot’ in Leaked Texts: ‘Dem Women Look Like Dem Men’
“We used to be the party of sec [sic] drugs and rock and roll,” the Arizona senator allegedly texted his longtime friend while discussing the state of the Democratic Party.
“This is how the world views many [Democrats]…” The meme featured a photo of Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro from Connecticut, reading, “If erectile dysfunction had a face.”
“They aren’t wrong!” Gallego replied.
In follow-up messages, he elaborated: “We look like the not fun party. Always telling and correcting people. Not allowing men to be men. Women to be hot. We used to be the party of sec [sic] drugs and rock and roll.”
Gallego also wrote, “Now Dem women look like Dem men and Dem men look like women.”
In an interview with local Phoenix outlet ABC15, Gallego did not deny the authenticity of the messages.
*He knew about Swalwell. A lot of folks knew.
Dr. Jesus, suspended in the clouds, is no longer in network.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/14/trump-doordash-delivery-grandma-mcdonalds
The DoorDash delivery driver who had a turn in the national spotlight on Monday by bringing a fast-food order to Donald Trump at the White House has publicly touted the president’s so-called “no tax on tips” policy before – causing some to question the encounter’s authenticity and the company to confirm it was a stunt.
Sharon Simmons had lobbied in July 2025 in favor of the policy, which DoorDash supports, testifying in Congress that she was based in Nevada and driving for the delivery platform because her husband’s cancer treatments had made it difficult to make ends meet otherwise.
That fact drew Simmons some skepticism after she delivered a McDonald’s order to the White House on camera on Monday – along with her being described as a resident of Arkansas.
“No one is claiming it was a real delivery,” DoorDash’s Julian Crowley wrote on social media.
*But folks do know that they should BOYCOTT Door Dash, if they have the funds for food deliveries. Not sure if Uber Eats CEO has ties to tRUMPsky, as well…yet.
https://qnews.com.au/ordering-ubereats-dont-forget-uber-supports-trump/
Ordering UberEats? Don’t forget Uber supports Trump
Uber’s CEO is publicly backing Donald Trump’s latest policy proposal, a program that would reward births with stock market-linked ‘Trump accounts’.
The initiative is part of a broader bill that also seeks to scrap federally funded gender-affirming healthcare for trans people of all ages.
*Just make your own food.
Frost on Sunday morning.
Dodo & Co. will in no way “lighten up” in the wake of the Orbán loss. Their scared asses will double-up and double-down on oppressive efforts to keep their grip on power. We Americans will have to fight even harder than the Hungarians to retain and regain our democracy.
The unfortunate timing of the jingo-fest in July will make the mid-terms more challenging.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/amazon-warehouse-dead-worker-body-37011534
Amazon workers ‘forced to work around dead colleague’ and told ‘don’t look’
An Amazon worker allegedly lay dead in an Oregon warehouse for more than an hour while colleagues were told to get back to work, according to a damning new investigation
One employee claimed a manager told them: “Just turn around and not look. Let’s get back to work,” according to The Western Edge, which first reported the story.
An investigation by the outlet alleged Amazon attempted to prevent news of the worker’s death – which occurred on April 6 at its distribution centre in Troutdale – from becoming public.
Witnesses told the outlet a woman ran over to the individual and began performing chest compressions.
Sam, who is trained in CPR, said workers wanted to help the woman.
He alleged his supervisor, who he said had tears in his eyes, told him: “It has to be management or safety team” and instructed him to “just turn around and not look. Let’s get back to work.”
Emergency services later attended the scene and the area was closed off. The incident is said to have shocked workers at the facility, with some blaming middle management for what they described as a cold response.
“Between being told we should get back to work while a coworker is getting CPR and being told not to help, I just can’t support a corporation like that. We are just numbers,” Sam told the outlet.
The report also refers to wider concerns about the treatment of workers at large retail companies. Amazon has previously faced allegations relating to its distribution centres in the United States, although cases brought against the company have largely been resolved in its favour.
*BOYCOTT
Huzzah to BiD. Just did, always do if we don’t eat out, and aside from Friday or Saturday night dates, we do. Have NEVER had anything delivered by Doordash, Uber Eats or (are there others?). Hell, I even did pickup/takeout for my favorite Mexican, Chinese, Greek and Italian when I was too lazy to cook – still do. If I lived in a city, I might have a different view of this stuff, but I live out where there be dragons (on dry land, of course).
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/lifestyle/article-15719383/boycott-met-gala-posters-new-york-jeff-bezos-funding.html
‘Boycott Met Gala’ posters flood New York as critics slam Jeff Bezos funding: ‘Brought to you by worker exploitation’
Just steps away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art on 81st Street and Third Avenue on the Upper East Side, protest posters have been pasted on the boarded-up entrance of the now-closed Daona Deli.
The giant posters bear two very bold messages. The first showed what appeared to be a plastic water bottle filled with urine on a red carpet in front of flashing camera lights.
‘The Bezos Met Gala,’ the sign read. ‘Brought to you by worker exploitation.’
A large, bright red poster next to it displayed an even more scathing message in bold white letters, reading, ‘Boycott the Bezos Met Gala.’
Underneath, in smaller font, the poster shared a message that said: ‘There’s no dressing it up. Met Gala chair Jeff Bezos avoids tax, enables ICE, and backs Trump. Don’t let him get away with it.‘
The Amazon tycoon, 62, worth an estimated $224.2 billion, and his wife, Lauren Sanchez, 56, have footed most of the bill for the upcoming event.
*Nope. Bezos & Greedbot are using dollars made from exploiting labor, and money that should’ve been paid into the US Treasury to fund stuff for everyone, not just a party for the privileged.
https://www.rawstory.com/jd-vance-2676715054/
Vice President JD Vance was brutally mocked after he spoke to a small crowd at the University of Georgia during a Turning Point USA rally on Tuesday.
Vance was scheduled to appear alongside Erika Kirk, the widow of late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who pulled out just hours before the doors opened due to unspecified “threats.”
At the event on Tuesday, MS NOW reporter Jake Traylor noted on X that TPUSA seemed to “overestimate” attendance, as several seats remained open while Vance spoke. He shared a video of the arena as well. “Turning Point USA seems to have misestimated crowd size for Vance. Akins Ford Arena less than 25% filled for the vice president.”
“The JD Vance humiliation tour continues,” political commentator Molly Jong-Fast posted on X.
“Reminds me of the Trump Tulsa rally in June 2020 right in the middle of COVID,” photojournalist Justin Fleenor posted on Bluesky. “Tens of people!”
*Bwaahahaa
Erika probably fled the scene because she knew it would be a poorly attended stinker.
That video in the link is hysterical. Echo! Echo!
When folks planning to go to a TP USA event see this, they may feel foolish in advance, and just save their time & money.
Doesn’t look too good for JD in 2028, either.
The American Experiment Has Been Infected by Oligarchs
How our tax system guarantees extreme wealth concentration.
In his departing address, President Joe Biden warned of rising oligarchy in the United States—a notable event, being the first time any US president had thus directed a term previously associated with corrupt Russian billionaires. In truth, oligarchy has been thriving for decades in the United States, though never so much as it is today.
Nowhere is the oligarchy problem more acute than among those 0.00001 percenters. Fifteen of the 19 are hectobillionaires, with assets north of $100 billion each. Each of the top six controls a major media outlet or social media platform—three (Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg) sat onstage at Donald Trump’s inaugural celebration.
the other reason for taxes is preventing outsized power and influence of wealth-amassing individuals (regardless of the
percentage that would represent of the total tax-revenue), but you say that and they call you a “socialist”
how convenient they made the term pejorative
https://gizmodo.com/missouri-town-council-approves-data-center-a-week-later-voters-fire-half-of-council-2000746005
Missouri Town Council Approves Data Center. A Week Later, Voters Fire Half of Council
The people of Festus, Missouri have made their voices heard on the whole data center issue.
A large data center in South Memphis, Tennessee operated by Elon Musk’s xAI, a division of SpaceX, is powered by natural gas, and has drawn heavy criticism for allegedly increasing nitrogen oxide air pollution. “I can’t breathe at home, it smells like gas outside,” one resident of the area said at a public hearing last year, according to Politico, adding, “How come I can’t breathe at home and y’all get to breathe at home?”
Festus, a suburb of St. Louis with a population of 12,000 a half-hour south of St. Louis, along with Port Washington, Wisconsin—site of an Oracle and OpenAI data center project—are the vanguard of what could be a widespread voter backlash against data centers, as they proliferate, with data center power demand expected to triple over approximately the next five years.
In Port Washington, a referendum restricting construction of future data centers was passed on Tuesday—the first of its kind. That same day, voters in Festus, Missouri booted every incumbent city council member running for re-election at the time.
The defeat of the incumbent council members was covered by Politico, part of it’s recent spate of close-up stories about the local politics of data centers. Thanks to Politico, those of us outside of Missouri now know Jim Tinnin, Jim Collier, Brian Wehner, and Bobby Venz were ousted and replaced by members-elect like Rick Belleville, who told Politico, “It’s really the way the deal was handled that led to this kind of uprising,” and added, “I ran because I thought the city was not listening to people.”
June buuuugs! and it’s still April.
global warming obv a hoax right
🥵
We’ve got those goddam Asian stinkbugs about 45 days early. Average highs for East Bumfuck in April are 60-70 deg. F. High today was 82, highs through Sat are 4 days above 80, one at 77. Next week – more like average.
JD draws a 25% audience after fucking up in Iran negotiations? Hitched his wagon to a dead mule. The grieving widow Kirk was smart enough to see it and getthefuckouttaDodge before getting polite applause.
https://gothamist.com/news/hochul-floats-tax-on-nyc-second-homes-worth-5m-or-more
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is proposing additional taxes on homeowners with second homes worth $5 million or more.
The idea targets a long-debated practice in which wealthy buyers purchase high-end properties that are not their primary residences and pay relatively low taxes compared to full-time New York residents.
In recent years, some New Yorkers have raised concerns about the number of luxury apartments in the city that remain largely vacant, with critics arguing that some owners pay less overall in taxes than residents who live and work in the city full-time.
*It’s a start.
The 1% will to have to find something to fill that gaping hole in their soul. Maybe plant a little garden or take a pottery class or do some charity work where they get zero attention for it and learn it still feels good without feeding their ego.
insiders and chumps
🇺🇸
“One grows tired, Castellan. One grows tired of almost everything. Except power”
-4th Doctor
lol haven’t seen this one yet, how topical
NEW THREAD