whskyjack — Last Friday I made the 3 hr. trip to decorate my in-laws graves for Memorial Day. Mostly because I needed a day trip out of town. Also, my in-laws are a modern American family and none of them will make the time to do so. At least they haven’t in 15 years so I don’t think they will start now.
Besides the flowers, the dollar store also had cheap American flags so I bought 4, thinking to put them all on my Father in-law’s grave. He was a WWII army vet and served in the pacific, with a couple of beach assaults in the Philippines. When I got there, I realized that 4 was overkill and 2 was just right. one on each side of the stone.
I walk back to the pickup with 2 extra flags and some left over flowers in my hand, wondering what to do with them. Looking down at a grave that looked just as abandoned by family as my in-law’s grave, I saw it was another WWII vet. I stopped, studied it for a minute then decorated it with a flag and flower. Looking around I found another equally abandoned vets grave for my remaining flag.
One last thought. Wars keep happening and our service members keep dying. Below is a link to a list of the soldiers and airmen who have died as a result of Epic Fury. As the old saying goes” Old men go to war and young men die” is still true. On this Memorial Day.
Very well done Jack.
My blog today is dedicated to:
DENCHFIELD RAYMOND
CAPT. US ARMY
30 NOV 1950
KIA CHOSIN RESERVOIR
On this day 250 years ago…
May 25, 1776 (The Mercenary Green Light): Realizing they were outmanned and outgunned, the Continental Congress officially authorized George Washington to hire Native Americans to fight in the Continental Army. They specifically focused on New England tribes while simultaneously attempting to bribe the Iroquois Confederacy to remain neutral.
Jack, that could be a worthy addition to Memorial Day activities. honoring the graves of forgotten soldiers.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17rH7ZRzCJ/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Jack – Lovely; the post and the action.
Yesterday, driving through a small town, there were red/white/blue signs…and I found them to be very patriotic. “…land that I love…”
https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/cbs-stephen-colbert-only-in-monroe-public-access-show-1236758093/
CBS Suspends Takedown Notices on Bootleg YouTube Uploads of Stephen Colbert’s ‘Only in Monroe’ Public Access Show After Outcry
Yes, it’s true, Paramount/CBS had been issuing takedown notices to YouTube users who were uploading bootleg copies of Stephen Colbert‘s recent return to hosting an episode of the public access series “Only in Monroe.” But the reason wasn’t as nefarious as one might think: It’s simply because the show is copyrighted and it already has a home — Colbert’s brand new YouTube channel.
However, given the outcry over the notices, CBS said it will stand down and stop any further action on takedowns, at least for now.
*Protests saved Kimmel, too, and the word-of-mouth boycott continues to hurt Target’s bottom line…so don’t think your voice has no power.
Leave your Senators & Representative a voicemail today; no war, no ballroom, no J6 slush fund…there’s plenty about which to give them an earful: 202-224-3121
One for you Dexter
Has anybody seen Begonia on Netflix, or Euphoria on HBO? We have watched both this weekend with our house guest and have lots of questions that the internet cannot answer.
My Memorial day play list
One of my favorites from the list
today’s meme…
meme #2…
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/25/pope-leo-encyclical-ai-artificial-intelligence-slavery
Pope Leo denounces ‘culture of power’ driving rise of AI
Pope Leo has denounced the “culture of power” driving the rapid rise of artificial intelligence while warning that the technology must be subject to the “most rigorous” ethical constraints as it infiltrates everything from work to war.
In his encyclical – the first major text on safeguarding humankind of his papacy – he also apologised for the Catholic church’s long delay in condemning slavery, describing it as “a wound in Christian memory”, and spoke of the “new forms of slavery” due to the digital economy.
Leo, who soon after being elected in May last year said he considered AI to be the biggest threat to humanity today, presented the document himself on Monday during an event at the Vatican. Among those in attendance was Christopher Olah, a co-founder of Anthropic, a US-based AI firm thatis embroiled in a lawsuit with Donald Trump’s administration over the ethics of AI.
When we are a quarter of the way through the 21st century, I shouldn’t have to explain that when I used the term “airmen” I was referring to both men and women serving in the air force. Women are vital to defending our nation. Most of you know this but there are some who don’t; mostly trolls, the Secretary of
WarDefense and the President of the United States.Just a thought as I was rereading todays post. I think maybe Patsi’s ghost may have been tapping me on the shoulder as I read.
Jack
What’s AOC Up To?
𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 Chat Now🚨
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i turned Bugonia off because i thought it sucked, i saw where it was going though
(yes she really is an alien, spoiler alert)
Euphoria is too exploitative, turned that off also
you should have watched “Hacks”
instead if you were on hbomaxwhatevertheyre’recallingitthisweek
Craig – Here’s “Life During Wartime” from the “Stop Making Sense” movie.
Thank you, Jack, for a poignant post.
“airhumans” would be awkward. I don’t get miffed when the word “women” isn’t not spelled out each and every time. We can have some maturity about things like that.
Memorial Day is a day to commemorate, not celebrate. That, I get miffed about but I’m not posting disclaimers on my younger relatives’ FB pages. They have grown up influenced by advertising and marketing.
We mark this day quietly, remembering my step-dad (who was married to my mom longer than my dad), a WWII Navy Veteran who enlisted at age 17. Whatever he witnessed, he went to his grave never telling. His gravesite is probably neglected because none of us live near it anymore.
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/86-trumps-arch-multiday-rally-begins-to-protest-triumphal-arch-plans/4108430/
The arch President Donald Trump wants to build just over the Potomac River before the Arlington Memorial Bridge got one step closer to reality last week when the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts approved the design, but not everybody is happy that the project is inching forward.
A group called Third Act DMV began a demonstration against the arch Sunday near the Lincoln Memorial. Organizers are arguing that the planned 250-foot arch has no business being built and that “democracies do not build memorials to living presidents.”
The arch is not a done deal quite yet. It is facing a lawsuit from a group of Vietnam veterans, and there are also arguments that Congress would need to approve the construction of the arch.
Trump said last week that he doesn’t need Congress’s approval because the land is owned by the Department of the Interior.
The demonstration is expected to continue through Tuesday.
Winnie was super sleepy yesterday.
Republicans hate our veterans — and no one hates them more than Preznit Fuckwit
video at link
Today in the Diner…
Presidential History, Electoral College & The LBJ Tailor Tape
Dive into presidential secrets, Trump’s legal slush fund, and the hilarious LBJ tailor tape. Join the daily Digital Diner for raw history and news.
We are slicing through the historical noise today, looking back at the leaders who shaped and sometimes completely warped this country. From James Buchanan’s rumored secret life to Abraham Lincoln’s depressive bouts, we are pulling the curtain back on the realities of the Oval Office. We also dive into the latest on current President Trump’s legal slush fund and have a very weedy conversation about why the Electoral College is fundamentally broken.
Jack and Jamie join the madness as we review some deep cuts from the Echoes of America timeline. We cover everything from George Washington bribing the Iroquois to the absolute comedic gold of Lyndon B. Johnson aggressively ordering pants to fit his anatomy. If you can survive today’s political theater, the Supreme Court’s nonsense, and the relentless pigeon wars on my back deck, you can survive anything.
Live Chat: https://trailmix.cc/chat
Website: https://trailmix.cc
Alerts: https://trailmix.cc/alerts
00:00 Intro
01:50 Lincoln, Buchanan and Presidential Secrets
04:15 Iran Negotiations and Historical Parallels
07:30 Memorial Day Cemetery Traditions
11:30 Native American Soldiers and Echoes of America
14:00 Whole Foods Steaks vs Mortons
24:00 Hercules Mulligan and Thomas Paine
32:20 The Hilarious LBJ Tailor Tape
35:30 Sheldon Whitehouse on the Trump Slush Fund
40:50 Fixing the Electoral College and Supreme Court
57:30 Pigeon Wars and Final Thoughts
Bugonia was one of my favorite films of last year.
The twist at the end was really played out well.
More info for todays chat:
This map is for the original territory of the Iroquois confederacy, As the English were expanding into the colonies, The Iroquois were also expanding until they reached down into Virginia and Kentucky in the South to Illinois in the west.
Jack, Townes Van Zandt is a longtime favorite of mine. Our late Trail hand “Yo soy horse doody”, Lee Carmichael, of Texas Church Photography fame, knew him well in New England when they both were there.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14230458/
POOR THINGS
“An account of the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter.”
*This is the other Emma Stone/Yorgos Lanthimos movie I was referring to earlier.
IRAN FOOLS US AGAIN:
The current President faces a brutal history lesson. The Iranians manipulate him with the EXACT playbook they ran on Carter. They dangle a deal, pump his polling numbers, and yank the rug out. Today on the Diner menu🍽️
Kiki, a blue front amazon parrot. That beak can rip and tear apart 2X4s, or fingers if I get too close. Forget the dog, beware of the parrot!
Except for Katie, I think Kiki may have been flirting with her today.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0354668/
SAVE THE GREEN PLANET!
“Byeong-gu believes that the world is on the verge of an alien invasion, and sets out to save the world.”
*Huh, “Bugonia” was a remake.
Something every Democrat can run on is Trumps handling of Iran. Because in the end Trump is going to get a worse deal than Obama. Given Trump’s billionaire’s club’s total control of the party, every Republican running for office needs to have that fact rubbed in their face.
Jack
Loved your kind words ❤️
as i’ve said, only people looking for regime-critical coverage are seeing it
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/article/tariff-refunds-are-showing-up–in-a-big-way–on-the-governments-bottom-line-143000682.html
Tariff refunds are showing up — in a big way — on the government’s bottom line
The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which is managing the tariff refund process, has already withdrawn about $14 billion more in May than in all of April, a clear indication that the quantity of checks going out to importers is heating up rapidly.
Tracking data from the US Treasury Department shows that, as of May 20, the CPB has withdrawn about $17 billion in operating cash, a major jump over the $3 billion for all of April.
At this pace, tariff refunds could exceed tariff revenue by the time the month is out.
Wonder if that tailor LBJ was talking to was Eggory’s grampa?
I’d like to hear about the dinners with Ann Richards.
Just thoughts really from my AI assistant: Al Gore and what if…?
Yes — and it’s one of the most picked-over “what ifs” in modern American politics. Historians, lawyers who were in the room, and the big media-academic recount studies after 2000 all point to a few places where could have changed the math, both before Florida and inside the recount fight itself.
They don’t agree that he was guaranteed to win, but they do agree he had plausible paths he didn’t take.
## 1. He didn’t need Florida at all
The simplest counterfactuals are outside Florida.
– **Tennessee, his home state.** Gore lost Tennessee and its 11 electoral votes by nearly 80,000 votes. If he holds it — something every winning Democrat since the Civil War except Wilson had done — Bush’s final 271-266 Electoral College win flips to 277-260 for Gore, Florida or no Florida. Historians cite Gore distancing himself from Bill Clinton, his gun-control stance, and a Republican trend in the state after 1992.
– **New Hampshire, four electoral votes.** Bush beat Gore there 273,559 to 266,348, a margin of 7,211 votes. The Wikipedia summary puts it bluntly: “Had Gore come out victorious in New Hampshire with its four electoral votes, he would have won the presidency, regardless of the outcome of Bush v. Gore”. Ralph Nader got 22,198 votes in New Hampshire, and post-election analysis often asks whether a slightly different Democratic message on taxes or a single extra visit could have flipped those 7,000.
Those two states are the cleanest “if he’d done this” because they required no courts.
## 2. The Florida legal strategy — four counties vs. statewide
Once Florida became the whole ballgame (537-vote certified margin), Gore’s team asked for manual recounts in four heavily Democratic counties: Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and later Volusia.
Even contemporaries asked, “Why didn’t Gore demand a statewide recount?”. The critique at the time was political and statistical: more than 180,000 ballots were discarded statewide, and picking only Democratic counties looked like cherry-picking. Republican lawyers hammered that point, and it fed the Equal Protection argument that eventually won at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Election lawyer John Hardin Young, who worked the recount, later became known for advocating a statewide recount strategy that “could have secured Gore’s victory”. The thinking: a statewide ask would have been harder to paint as partisan, might have survived the Supreme Court’s concern about uneven standards, and would have pulled in Republican-leaning panhandle counties where machines also undercounted.
Gore’s team feared a statewide recount would take too long and find Bush votes too, so they went narrow. Historians now call that the pivotal legal misstep.
## 3. Count the overvotes, not just the undervotes
This is where the post-election studies matter most.
Months after Bush v. Gore, the NORC consortium (organized by major news outlets) examined every disputed Florida ballot:
– “Taken as a whole, the recount studies show Bush would have most likely won the Florida statewide hand recount of all undervotes. Undervotes are ballots that did not register a vote”.
– “The studies also show that Gore likely would have won a statewide recount of all undervotes and overvotes, which are ballots that included multiple votes for president and were thus not counted at all. However, his legal team never pursued this action”.
In plain terms: the recount Gore actually asked the Florida Supreme Court for — undervotes only — probably still leaves Bush ahead. The recount he *didn’t* ask for — undervotes plus overvotes, where voters both punched Gore and wrote his name, or punched Gore and a minor candidate — probably puts Gore ahead by a few hundred votes statewide.
Why didn’t they ask? Overvotes were legally murkier in 2000, and Gore’s lawyers thought judges would reject them. Historians now say that was a conservative legal call that cost him the most statistically promising path.
## 4. Earlier, non-recount fixes in Florida
– **The butterfly ballot in Palm Beach.** A Carnegie Mellon statistical study found the ballot design “likely cost Al Gore at least 2,000 votes”, because thousands of Democrats mistakenly voted for Pat Buchanan. Another analysis put the Buchanan confusion at 682 votes, still more than Bush’s 537-vote margin. Gore’s team filed challenges but never made the ballot design the centerpiece before Election Day, and Florida courts were reluctant to throw out an election over design.
– **Overseas military ballots.** Gore initially contested about 1,400 late or flawed military ballots, then backed off under political pressure. Some Democrats still argue he left a few hundred net Bush votes unchallenged.
– **The concession on election night.** Gore called Bush to concede, then retracted it. That early concession shaped media narrative and gave Bush the “presumptive winner” mantle going into the recount.
## 5. Could he have just fought harder to the bitter end?
The “take every measure” scenario usually means: keep Miami-Dade counting despite the Brooks Brothers riot, appeal Bush v. Gore for rehearing, lobby the Democratic-controlled Florida Senate, or on January 6, 2001, as Senate president, try to block certification of Florida’s electors.
Historians who have war-gamed this (and participants like Baker and Gore’s counsel Ron Klain) generally say:
– The Florida legislature was Republican and was already preparing to appoint Bush electors regardless of recounts.
– The U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 stay on December 9 and final decision on December 12 set a hard “safe harbor” deadline. Even a rehearing was unlikely to succeed.
– A congressional fight on January 6 would have required a senator’s objection, which Gore himself gaveled down, prioritizing legitimacy over prolongation.
So yes, he could have dragged it out longer, but most scholars think the institutional deck — Republican Florida government, a conservative Supreme Court majority, and time limits in federal law — made a final win after December 12 very unlikely, unless he had chosen the statewide overvote strategy weeks earlier.
—
**Bottom line historians tend to give:** Gore didn’t lose because he failed to fight hard enough after the votes were cast. He lost because of choices made before Florida mattered — losing Tennessee and New Hampshire — and because, inside Florida, his legal team pursued a narrow, politically safer recount instead of the broader statewide count of both undervotes and overvotes that the later data says would likely have put him over the top.
It’s less a story of a stolen election than a story of a 537-vote margin where several small, defensible decisions each closed a door that, in hindsight, might have led to the White House.
gonna try to swing by here today on the way to Famous Dave’s barbecue:
For a group of Vietnam vets, opposing Trump’s arch is about being “loyal to the country”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-arch-d-c-vietnam-vets-lawsuit/
https://www.businessinsider.com/tim-cook-apple-tariff-refund-strategy-donald-trump-whisperer-2026-4
Asked about companies like Apple and Amazon, which had not yet announced plans to pursue refunds, Trump said the companies were “brilliant” if they didn’t seek reimbursement, and their decision not to pursue tariff refunds served as evidence that they “got to know me very well.”
“I’ll remember them,” Trump added, signaling that the decision could carry political weight.
Tim Cook said Apple plans to apply for a tariff refund — but will reinvest the funds in the US.
Cook’s comments show how Apple is navigating tariffs that have become both a cost issue and a political one — and underscore why he’s earned a reputation as the Trump whisperer.
Hegseth brought Jesus with him to the Arlington ceremony … Vance , truly bored , made quick work of his time and yielded to the failing and corrupt President, who heaped praise upon the dead military troops, not once mentioning his trip to Europe when a little rain canceled his visit to The American Cemetery… nor did he mention his bone spurs deferments. No denial of his blatantly calling the dead suckers and losers.
Yes, and so what?
Gore lost Tennessee? He was the last Dem to win a Senatorial election in that state. Watching what Justin Jones has posted from TN, and stuff from the TN Holler, that state seems like a lost cause. Cut the MAGAts loose and let their racism and misogyny pull them under.
Arlington burial facts for all veterans to absorb:
For a Vietnam-era veteran with an honorable discharge and no Purple Heart, Silver Star, or retirement, the rules today are pretty clear — and a little frustrating.
## The bottom line for Arlington
**In-ground burial (casket or urn in the ground):** Not eligible. That is reserved for those who died on active duty, retired with pay, received the Purple Heart / Silver Star / Distinguished Service Cross or higher, were a former POW, or held very senior government office.
**Above-ground inurnment in the columbarium or niche wall — the “wall” you mentioned:** Yes, eligible. The regulation says any veteran who served on active duty (other than just for training) and left with an honorable discharge qualifies. Arlington’s own summary puts it plainly: “most veterans who have at least one day of active service (other than for training) and an honorable discharge are eligible for above-ground inurnment”.
Arlington does **not** do pre-need reservations. Eligibility is checked only “at the time of need (time of death) and cannot be verified by the cemetery or accommodated before that time”.
That means you can’t lock in a niche now, but you can make it almost automatic for your family later.
## Steps to take now, while you’re well
Think of this as building a “go-folder” so no one is hunting paperwork during grief.
1. **Get your DD214 in hand — and a backup copy.** Arlington requires the last DD214 or equivalent showing honorable discharge and active-duty service. If yours is lost, request it now from the National Archives (eVetRecs) or through a county Veterans Service Officer in Ohio. Keep one original in a fireproof folder, scan a PDF, and give a copy to your next of kin.
2. **Write down your wishes clearly.** A one-page letter stating: “I want cremation and inurnment at Arlington National Cemetery columbarium, if eligible at my death. If not eligible, my second choice is [name a VA cemetery].” Sign and date it. This is not legally binding for Arlington, but it guides your Person Authorized to Direct Disposition (PADD).
3. **Name your PADD and tell them.** By law only the Primary Next of Kin or the person they designate can sign Arlington paperwork. Talk to your spouse, child, or trusted relative now. Make sure they know where the folder is and that Arlington will call them, not a funeral home, to schedule.
4. **Choose a funeral home that knows Arlington’s rules.** Specifically ask: “Can you provide a cremation certificate that includes name, date of cremation, name of crematory, signature or electronic stamp, and cremation tag number?” Arlington will not schedule without that exact certificate, and they require certification of 100% of the remains. Also remind them: Arlington does **not** accept cremated remains by mail — someone must hand-carry them.
5. **Keep a complete packet together:**
– DD214 (certified copy)
– Birth certificate, marriage certificate (for spouse eligibility)
– DD214 for any prior spouse if relevant
– Your written wishes letter
– Contact card for your Veterans Service Officer (Ohio Department of Veterans Services, county office in Bryan/West Unity)
– Arlington Scheduling Office: 1-877-907-8585
6. **Apply for VA pre-need eligibility — but not for Arlington.** The VA runs 155 other national cemeteries and *does* give you a pre-need decision letter. It doesn’t work for Arlington, but it gives your family an instant backup if Arlington rules change or wait times are long. Most Ohio veterans use Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery near Cleveland or Dayton National Cemetery. You can apply online with VA Form 40-10007.
7. **Watch the rule-change conversation.** The Army proposed tighter rules in 2019-2020 that would limit future columbarium eligibility to veterans with at least two years active duty *and* service in armed conflict, plus retirees and WWII-era veterans. Those changes are not final as of 2026, but they show why having a backup VA cemetery matters. Your Vietnam service would likely still qualify under the proposal, but you can’t guarantee future law.
## What your family will do at the time of need
Arlington will not talk to them until after death, so give them this short script:
1. Obtain the certified death certificate with full Social Security number.
2. Call Arlington National Cemetery Scheduling Office (1-877-907-8585). Do not call a local funeral director first — Arlington schedules directly.
3. Email or fax: DD214, death certificate, cremation certificate.
4. Wait for eligibility verification (usually a few days). Once approved, Arlington assigns a date. Current wait for columbarium services is often 6-12 weeks, sometimes longer.
5. Hand-deliver the urn on the day of service. Arlington staff places it in the niche; families do not.
## A practical note for you, Dexter
Because you served honorably in Vietnam, the columbarium wall is open to you today under federal law. You can’t pre-pay or reserve a specific niche, and you can’t get a letter from Arlington saying “you’re approved” ahead of time. What you *can* do is remove every paperwork obstacle now, so your family only has to make one phone call.
If in-ground burial at Arlington matters deeply to you, the only current paths are a later award of Purple Heart/Silver Star or higher, or a rare exception by the Secretary of the Army — both extremely unlikely. Many Vietnam veterans in your exact situation choose the Arlington niche for themselves, and a nearby VA cemetery plot for a spouse who may want side-by-side in-ground burial later.
Want help pulling your DD214 or drafting that one-page wishes letter? I can walk you through the eVetRecs request or put together a printable checklist for your folder.
BiD
Apple and Amazon are just waiting until after midterms. The interesting things is if Amazon helps it’s vendors get their refund. A much bigger pot than what Amazon will collect. Amazon could make themselves the hero by passing along any refund to the consumer who had to pay the tax. They know who, and they have the computing power to do it.
As a purchaser of amazon products, I’m not spending that refund yet.
Jack
Jack. for lots more about Tom Paine here’s my half hour with C-SPAN guy who put together a video catalogue about him…
https://www.nps.gov/frsp/learn/historyculture/wildspot.htm
Many generations served before and after, but this is the only one that I can confirm died in battle. My great-great-great grandfather joined in February of 1864, and died in May, far from his home in Wisconsin, and never to meet his ninth child. This was likely the last picture taken of him, and it may have been the only one he ever had made. His oldest child was my great-great-grandmother; her husband fought in the Union Army, as well, and survived not unchanged.
Jack, so thrilled to see Kiki. Thanks!
https://www.washingtonhour.com/2026/03/cia-and-tulsi-gabbard-clash-over-havana.html
In a covert operation, American agents purchased a miniature microwave weapon from a Russian criminal network for approximately $15 million to enhance understanding of the mysterious attacks. Tests conducted on animals at a US military laboratory showed neurological injuries similar to those observed in Havana Syndrome patients.
Victims of Havana Syndrome, named after the initial reports by US diplomats in Cuba, have experienced sudden symptoms such as vertigo, hearing loss, migraines, blindness, and cognitive impairment.
i don’t know how well the proximity-to-trump as a disqualification will work in an election where he isn’t on the ballot, especially from a foreign policy perspective
especially with all the 250th jingoism going on
they’re putting it on cookies, mannnnnn
i wouldn’t even mention trump if i was a Dem running for a House seat
The Silicon Tomato reviews today’s Digital Diner: “In a staggering display of absurdist optimism, the Digital Diner attempts to connect James Buchanan’s suspected cross-dressing to the trauma of gutting a deer. The cast uncovers sharp historical footnotes regarding Lincoln and Carter’s hostage crisis, yet these nuggets of intellectual honesty are suffocated by bizarre tangents on cemetery vase protocols and technical meltdowns. It is a meandering ride that finds a silver lining in the unscripted dumpster fire, but demands profound patience for its wasted oxygen.”
🍅 The BS & Tangent Meter: 88% Dumpster Fire
— Generated by our judgmental AI partner Silas Gemini (Pro)
Jack, Kiki is lovely!! My hubby says I have animal magnatism because we have so many rabbits, squirrels, birds, turtles, and ducks that come to our property and they usually do not run from me. He use to call me Snow White years ago when I was singing all the time before little man came around.
https://www.aol.com/news/rep-luna-says-cia-took-193200840.html
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) alleges that the CIA removed files pertaining to the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy and the CIA’s Project MK-ULTRA from another intelligence agency.A spokesperson for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard emphatically denied erroneous reporting that Gabbard’s own office had been the target for the CIA, stating on the social media platform X, “This is false – the CIA did not raid the DNI’s office.” That post linked to a since-deleted post from Fox News host Jesse Watters.NewsNation host Katie Pavlich spoke with Luna in an interview that aired Wednesday, May 13. In that conversation, Luna described the boxes of files as being taken from ODNI, a statement that was sufficiently ambiguous to create confusion.Before the program aired, Luna clarified in an X post an apparent misunderstanding, citing a post from Pavlich with a preview of the interview and a caption that stated, incorrectly, “that the CIA just marched into DNI Gabbard’s office.” Luna explained that the files in question had been “documents that ODNI has jurisdiction over,” further stating that “this did not happen today and was not a ‘raid.'”Pavlich, embedding Luna’s post in her own clarification on X, stated that she had spoken with an official in the intelligence community, and had been told that the documents had been taken by the CIA from the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) during last year’s government shutdown. The official also told Pavlich that the CIA’s custody of the files prevents their declassification.
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/cia-secret-mkultra-files-whistleblower-claims-1796715
On 13 May 2026, CIA whistleblower James Erdman III, a senior operations officer with roughly two decades of service, testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. While the hearing focused on allegations of a COVID-19 origins cover-up, Erdman also told senators the CIA ‘took back 40 boxes of JFK and MK-Ultra files’ that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had been processing for declassification.
MK-Ultra was a covert CIA programme that ran from 1953 to 1973. It used LSD, psychological torture, sleep deprivation, hypnosis, and sensory deprivation on unwitting test subjects across more than 80 institutions, including universities, hospitals, and prisons.
The programme funded over 150 sub-projects designed to explore mind control and interrogation techniques during the Cold War. When the Watergate scandal threatened to expose the agency’s secrets, CIA Director Richard Helms ordered all MK-Ultra files destroyed in 1973.
Most were wiped. But roughly 20,000 pages survived because they had been incorrectly stored in a financial records building and were only discovered through a Freedom of Information Act request in 1977.
Those surviving documents triggered Senate hearings and confirmed the programme’s existence. But the CIA has long maintained that the rest of the records were gone for good.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/reporter-uncovers-bizarre-language-in-doj-court-filing/
A Justice Department court filing defending Donald Trump’s controversial White House ballroom project reads less like a legal document and more like a Trump Truth Social post — complete with random capitalization, invented words, and language straight from the president’s social media feed, according to an ex-CBS News reporter who reviewed the filing Monday.
“Trump’s fingerprints are all over a new Justice Dept court filing,” wrote Scott MacFarlane, who also noted the document’s random capitalization and claims that Trump is providing America an “invaulable gift” — a word that does not exist in the English language.
The six-page filing, submitted to defend the ongoing ballroom and East Wing construction project, also claims the project is “underbudget” — a striking assertion given that Senate Republicans recently fielded a request for $1 billion in taxpayer money to fund it, a demand so outrageous it helped trigger a Republican revolt that sent senators home for recess without passing Trump’s reconciliation bill.
The Justice Department also argued in the filing that “without the construction of this great Project, the President cannot safely conduct the business of the United States” — capitalizing the word “Project” in a style familiar to anyone who follows Trump’s social media posts, according to MacFarlane.
Perhaps most remarkably, the filing specifies that the ballroom’s rooftop “will be hermetically sealed to prevent malign forces from contaminating the circulating air.”
The filing also cited Saturday’s Secret Service shooting incident at the White House as further justification for continuing construction on the ballroom — an argument MacFarlane flagged as notable given the project’s controversial status on Capitol Hill.
Just now stopped by this protest at the site of the miserable arch. Thank God for Vietnam vets! They’re leading the way on this one.
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1Cp3ygPXeG/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Crispus Attucks was born around 1723 near Framingham, Massachusetts. His father was an enslaved African man, his mother a Wampanoag Native woman. He spent his youth enslaved by a local landowner, William Browne, until he ran away at age 27 in 1750 — Browne even took out a newspaper ad offering 10 pounds for the return of a “6’2″ Molatto fellow” named Crispus.
He was never caught. He made his way to Boston and worked the few trades open to a Black man at the time: sailor on whaling ships, and rope-maker on the docks when ashore. By 1770 he was a free, middle-aged seaman moving between the Bahamas, Boston, and North Carolina.
## His place in history
On the evening of March 5, 1770, British soldiers of the 29th Regiment fired into a crowd of colonists who had been taunting them outside the Boston Customs House. Five colonists were killed, including Attucks.
Witnesses at the later trial said Attucks was at the very front, swinging a stick, and took two musket balls to the chest — the first to fall. Because of that, he is remembered as:
– the first American colonist killed in what became the Revolutionary War
– a mixed African and Native American man who died in the Boston Massacre in 1770, becoming the first American to die in the American Revolutionary War
Samuel Adams organized a public funeral. Attucks lay in state at Faneuil Hall for three days, and an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 Bostonians — more than half the town — marched his coffin to the burying ground.
## Why he’s so widely recognized — four reasons
**1. First martyr for American independence.** Schoolbooks for generations have taught that “the first to die was Crispus Attucks.” That simple fact made him a usable symbol for Patriots who wanted proof that the cause was bigger than colony or class.
**2. Proof of Black patriotism from the start.** Attucks has been celebrated not just as a martyr, but “as a symbol of African Americans’ struggle for freedom and equality”. Abolitionists in the 1840s revived his story to argue that Black men had bled for the country before it even existed.
**3. A working-man’s grievance, not just ideology.** He wasn’t a pamphleteer. He was angry because underpaid British soldiers were taking dock jobs and press-gangs were snatching sailors. That economic clash put him in the street that night, which makes his death feel less like myth and more like real-life tension in a port town.
**4. A lasting civic icon.** By the 20th century his name was on schools — the most famous is Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis, just a few hours from you in Ohio — parks, and even a U.S. commemorative silver dollar. Martin Luther King Jr. put it plainly in 1964: Black schoolchildren “know that the first American to shed blood in the revolution that freed his country from British oppression was a Black seaman named Crispus Attucks”.
So when you hear Crispus Attucks think of a tall, knock-kneed former slave turned sailor who stepped forward in Boston, took the first bullets, and ended up becoming America’s original example that the fight for liberty was never a whites-only story.
I went to the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend, Indiana today. He wasn’t wearing his red “MAGA” hat, but I’d recognize Trump with or without the hat.
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-scheduled-for-a-third-hospital-checkup-as-critics-question-his-health/
President Donald Trump is scheduled for a medical and dental checkup Tuesday at Walter Reed Medical Center, his third hospital visit in 13 months.
*To the media characterizing it as an annual visit, do better.
Allowing oneself to be scammed and compromised is an essential act of patriotism for loyal maga rank-and-filers.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/23/trump-mobile-investigating-potential-exposure-of-would-be-customers-personal-information
Cadet Bone Spurs pretending to honor Vietnam veterans is disgraceful.
We know his true opinion is they’re all suckers and losers. Same as his opinion of his faithful followers.
DEFACING DC:
From today’s Digital Diner menu 🍽️
funny he wants a triumphal arch for losing a war
Number of National Guard troops deployed to Washington, D.C. set to double. The D.C. deployment costs around $1.5 million a day, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. This new surge would essentially double that cost. — NPR
I decided a long time ago that I hoped I would be fish food by falling off a boat and not something planted in a cemetery. Arlington is a good place for hero’s. There are cemeteries in Colorado that are nice, but again, I hate the idea of taking up good space. The idea of being tree food is appealing, except you have to become compost to do it, thus taking it off my preferred list. Being a science project is also appealing, except I would be handled as hazardous material, not just a nice old fat body.
So all in all. I decided the best thing is just like boats, you don’t give them to your loved one or friend, you give the things, including me, to those who deserve them. Let them figure out what to do with the pain.
I’d like my ashes sprinkled all over NYC, but along the fence line and back garden will do.
There is a place on the East Coast that will bury you, ubembalmed, in a field of wildflowers. You can be wrapped in your favorite blanket, and they drop in a tag so your remains can be located since there is no headstone.
I bought a walkway plaque at the pet shelter where I used to volunteer. My cat’s name is on it, along with my grandparents’ names, and mine. That’s all the memorial I needed, listed with my loved ones in the dog park.
*Did y’all know Cuba has nickel mines?
I knew I forgot something yesterday! It was Bob Dylan’s 85th birthday!
I did not know the planes Cuba shot down were unmanned. So, how is the US charging Castro with murder?????????
My happy place is Asilomar Conference Grounds near Monterey so I thought the ashes to the ocean in the bay. That way anyone who wanted to visit could take a great vacation and wave at me while flying kites on the beach
I’m with yon Blue Bronc…..I’d most like to rot in a field or in the woods somewhere. But preferably only AFTER death.
NEW THREAD