whskyjack — Phillip Aaberg , American composer and pianist, is a name that has been popping up in my various news feeds this week. He passed away last week at age 77. Born and raised in Montana, his compositions had the feel of the mostly rural state and the great plains. Also a perfect fit for a Sunday morning hangover
Here is an obituary that explains his accomplishments better than I can.
I have put together a playlist of his recordings.
Enjoy, Jack
wonderful, Jack, thanks. he really does capture the feel of the place,
TACO temper tantrum
according to Mediaite Cancel it: Trump calls to scrap Freedom 250 concert — just like he ditched failing and unsafe Kennedy Center
President Donald Trump on Saturday night said the “Freedom 250” concert series should be completely scrapped after a number of “overpriced singers” dropped out of the event, before going off on the judge who ruled that his name must be removed from the Kennedy Center.
The president tied the two issues together in a Truth Social post.
“Cancel it,” Trump posted about the music event, “just like I canceled my involvement with the failing and unsafe to be in Kennedy Center, because a Highly Conflicted, Crooked Federal Judge, said that I should not be allowed to spend my time and money in order to MAKE THE CENTER GREAT AGAIN, actually, far greater than it ever was before! It would have also been nice to see a Republican/Democrat union bring it back to life.”
That came right after Trump suggested there should be a “giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY” to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday. “Instead of having overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain,” he said.
Trump added the Kennedy Center has been “broken, unsafe, and $busted” — that dollar sign being an apparent typo — for years.
He then continued bashing Judge Christopher Cooper, for his Friday ruling on the Kennedy Center; Cooper was appointed by then-President Barack Obama in 2014 as a justice of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Trump said:
Judge Cooper also stated that the highly prestigious Board of the Center was not authorized to add on the name “TRUMP” despite the fact that hundreds of millions of dollars of my time and money will be necessary for its successful reincarnation.
So now, the Kennedy Center will collapse, both structurally and financially. Judge Cooper and his wife, Amy Jeffress (obfuscation anyone?), should be ashamed of themselves. Judge Cooper, like numerous other Crooked Judges on my cases, should be IMPEACHED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DONALD J. TRUMP
The president’s call to abandon “Freedom 250” came hours after he floated the idea of making himself the event’s featured performer. Young MC, Bret Michaels, Martina McBride, are among the artists who all quit the event.
Trump said those artists have “the yips.” But he said luckily there is a star bigger than prime Elvis Presley ready to step in — himself.
The post ‘Cancel It’: Trump Calls to Scrap ‘Freedom 250’ Concert — Just Like He Ditched ‘Failing and Unsafe’ Kennedy Center first appeared on Mediaite.
Attribution: Trump UFC Epstein Event by Rick McKee, CagleCartoons.com
jan 6 all over again but nationwide?
excerpt from the guardian Trump proposes ‘wild’ rally instead of concerts after artists back out of series
is this a call to his newly pardoned storm troopers to crash the nokings events on his b-day?
Yesterday’s meltdown by sfb was epic. It is hard to believe that a normal human would have produced so much word garbage in such a short time, but an abnormal one could.
meanwhile and hopefully, some really good news for a change
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/30/cancer-jab-can-eradicate-entire-tumours-in-patients-trial-shows
Doctors have hailed “unprecedented” trial results that show a triple-action cancer jab can eradicate entire tumours in patients.
In an international trial spanning 11 countries, the injection was offered to patients whose cancer had spread or come back and whose disease had failed to respond to other treatments.
The jab, called amivantamab, shrank the tumours of more than a third of patients, with dramatic changes seen within weeks. In 15 of them, doctors found the drug had melted away their tumours altogether.
Kevin Harrington, professor in biological cancer therapies at the Institute of Cancer Research, London (ICR), said: “These are unprecedentedly strong responses in patients whose disease has become resistant to both chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
“This is a group of patients for whom treatment options are extremely limited, so seeing this level of benefit is very striking.”
Harrington, also a consultant oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS foundation trust, added: “This treatment has the potential to benefit many thousands of patients each year.”
The results will be presented on Sunday in Chicago at the world’s largest cancer conference, the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Asco).
In the trial, 102 patients with head and neck cancer, the world’s sixth most common cancer, were given the jab. Tumours shrank or disappeared completely in 43 patients, including 28 whose tumours shrank significantly and 15 who saw them eradicated entirely.
Researchers said the injection had also shown similar results in patients with lung cancer. Amivantamab, developed by Johnson & Johnson, is now being evaluated in about 60 clinical trials, primarily for lung cancer, but also for colorectal, brain and gastric cancers.
The smart jab targets cancer in three ways. It blocks both EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor), a protein that helps tumours grow, and MET, a pathway that cancer cells often use to escape treatment. It also helps activate the immune system to attack the tumour.
One of the first patients to benefit was Carl Walsh, 56, who was diagnosed with tongue cancer in May 2024 and joined the OrigAMI-4 trial at the Royal Marsden in July 2025.
“I was initially treated with both chemotherapy and immunotherapy, which unfortunately were not successful,” he said. “At that point, I was recommended for the OrigAMI-4 trial. I’m now on my 17th cycle of treatment and I’m very pleased with the progress so far.”
Unlike many cancer treatments, amivantamab is given as a tiny jab under the skin rather than via an intravenous drip, making treatment quicker and more convenient for patients and much easier to deliver in outpatient clinics.
Most side-effects of the treatment, given once every three weeks, were mild to moderate, with fewer than one in 10 patients forced to stop their treatment.
Walsh, from Birmingham, said: “I now feel able to live a normal life. Before starting the trial, I struggled to speak properly and found eating difficult because of the swelling and pain.
“Since beginning treatment, the swelling has reduced significantly, and my pain levels have improved considerably. I’m also no longer experiencing the same life-impacting side-effects that I had during chemotherapy.”
He added: “When things were at their worst I was eating soup, rice pudding, tins of ravioli and spaghetti and many, many omelettes, all augmented by three prescribed nutritional milk drinks a day. I lost quite a bit of weight.
“After only two cycles of the treatment my diet started to return to normal and I was eating a full diet after six months. The thing I enjoyed most was the first big steak. My speech is completely back to normal and at work I speak regularly on headsets without problems.”
Researchers also highlighted that the trial focused on people with head and neck cancers that did not include those with human papillomavirus (HPV) positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. That is particularly significant, they said, since head and neck cancers not caused by HPV are usually harder to treat, making progress in this group hugely important.
Patients receiving amivantamab lived for a median of 12.5 months overall after starting treatment, despite having a form of cancer with very poor outcomes, once standard treatments stop working.
Prof Kristian Helin, the chief executive of the ICR, said: “This study demonstrates how the development of new treatments through rigorous cancer research may lead to meaningful advances, even for patients with very limited treatment options.
“Achieving this level of tumour response and encouraging survival outcomes in such a challenging‑to‑treat group represents a significant step forward.”
Yes, BB. it’s a plea for help. and the 25th Amendment.
Dumbass could use today’s tunes in his playlist. He needs to chill.
President Donald Trump spent much of Saturday flooding Truth Social with a torrent of memes, AI slop, political attacks, and fan-made tributes. The six-hour posting marathon unfolded on a day when the only item listed on the president’s public schedule was “Executive Time.” Beginning at noon, Trump shared or reposted more than 50 pieces of content ranging from patriotic fantasy art and self-congratulatory graphics to crime memes, military imagery, celebrity tributes, and attacks on political rivals. — Daily Beast
Thank you, Jack
This was beautiful.
The Bottom line for Ohio:
– It’s not a blowout either way. Most late-April data gives Husted a low-single-digit lead, but within the margin of error, and March polls showed Brown ahead 47% to 45% in one 600-voter survey.
– Pollsters describe healthcare costs and insurance affordability as the top issue driving undecideds, which helps explain why the numbers have bounced between 44-51% for both candidates since last fall.
Ohioans will see a lot more advertising this summer — Republicans have already earmarked about $79 million to defend the seat, and outside groups on both sides are pouring in. Expect the next wave of polls after the post-primary push in early June.
Today’s tune makes a fine soundtrack for today’s Diner trailer (courtesy Windham Hill Records) 👇
SFB’s best laid plans for the 250th are going to shit. He had a chance to make it a great occasion but in a true Dumbass manner is fucking it up by trying to make it partisan and personal. And his approval rating continues to plummet, so of course he holds a cabinet meeting so his closest sycophants can praise him and instead of a 250th concert he will hold the Great American State Fair and a rally to feature himself. Second verse, same as the first.
Join Our Tea Time With Abigail
Wednesday, June 3 on the Digital Diner
I’m working on our next Echoes of America video, “TODAY 250 YEARS AGO”, for Wednesday when Abigail Adams griped about inflation in a letter to John, refusing to buy her favorite tea in a dispute with her grocer over price “gouging”.
For a tribute to her (she is one of the Founders in my opinion), I have ordered Abigail’s favorite tea and will be “toasting” her on our livestream Wednesday.
If you’d like to join me, here’s what I ordered but any Lapsang Souchong (Chinese black tea) will do. This is the most accurate modern equivalent to the 1776 “Bohea” tea that Abigail Adams boycotted. I ordered this — https://a.co/d/0hChTLIk
http://falken.nabu-nellingen.de/de
Trump’s White House UFC fight is darker than just mindless violence
Thinking this is appropriate for all those that just believe everything that comes out of his mouth.
🎶🎵
Plummeting.
My approval rating’s plummeting.
They’re all really getting sick of me.
Oh, how I long for yesterday.
In addition to Abigale, there were other Founding Mothers
Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation by Cokie Roberts is a non-fiction book that highlights the crucial, often overlooked roles of women during the American Revolution and the early years of the United States, revealing their political activism, support roles (like spies, nurses, and cooks), and management of the home front, proving they were essential to the nation’s founding. Drawing on personal letters and journals, Roberts profiles figures like Abigail Adams, Martha Washington, and Phillis Wheatley, showcasing their contributions beyond the traditional narrative of male founders.
Key themes and content
Beyond the domestic sphere: The book argues that women were not passive bystanders but active participants in the Revolution, enforcing boycotts, managing farms and businesses, and even serving as soldiers and spies.
Political influence: It details how women used their social circles, like hosting dinner parties, to foster political discourse and keep the fragile new country from falling into partisan discord.
Inspiration from personal sources: Roberts uses letters, journals, and ledgers to bring the stories of women like Mercy Otis Warren, Deborah Read Franklin, and Eliza Pinckney to life.
Inclusion of diverse women: The book includes the story of Phillis Wheatley, a slave who became a celebrated poet, and acknowledges the contributions of women from different backgrounds.
A companion for young readers: A separate, illustrated version titled Founding Mothers: Remembering the Ladies was published for children, based on the adult book.
Phyllis Wheatley on Christians who kept her people enslaved:
But how presumptuous shall we hope to find
Divine acceptance with the Almighty mind
While yet o deed ungenerous they disgrace
And hold in bondage Afric: blameless race
Let virtue reign and then accord our prayers
Be victory ours and generous freedom theirs.
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Not going to let Dodo cancel my serenity but I hope he cancels everything else, including the rest of his miserable presidency. He’s really out of his mind.
Today, my WWII Navy step-dad would have been 100 years old.
Thanks, Jack, for your sweet serendipity.
Jill’s interview with Rita Braver was good.
suddenly
we’re not half the land we used to be
there’s an asshole ruling over me
dystopia came suddenly
New Jersey ICE protests live
Today in the Diner…
Trump Meltdown & 2026 Senate Poll Shockers
Trump’s epic Truth Social meltdown takes center stage, plus Zuckerberg’s yacht, 2026 Senate polls, and a $100K bounty for a new political party.
We tried to have a Trump free Sunday, but his 50 post meltdown on Truth Social was too chaotic to ignore. From missing letters on six hundred dollar gold watches to deep dives into his ancestral baggage, the Sunday Serendipity vibes were definitely tested today. We also track Zuckerberg docking his massive superyacht in Seattle right after laying off hundreds of workers.
Down in the political trenches, the Senate map is getting messy. We break down the latest polling from Ohio to Texas, including a bizarre race in Alaska where both candidates share the exact same name. Plus, a prominent personal injury lawyer in Florida is so fed up with the two party system that he is offering a hundred grand to anyone who can successfully name his new political party. We are officially taking suggestions in the chat.
To round things out, we look at escalating protests in New Jersey, Trump abruptly canceling his great American fair, and the Secret Handshake collective dropping a satirical Epic Furious arcade game right on the National Mall. Grab your Lapsang Souchong tea and let us get into it.
Live Chat: https://trailmix.cc/chat
Website: https://trailmix.cc
Alerts: https://trailmix.cc/alerts
00:00 Intro
01:38 Trump Truth Social Meltdown
03:30 Defective Trump Gold Watches
06:38 Zuckerberg Superyacht in Seattle
08:10 2026 Senate Races and Polls
14:10 Abigail Adams and Historical Inflation
30:05 Political Sexting Scandals
41:30 Hundred Thousand Dollar Party Name
45:45 ICE Protests in New Jersey
50:40 Satirical National Mall Arcade Game
From today’s Digital Diner menu 🍽️
lol fat chance with you lot
i’ve been reading more Platner criticism from the left, because the left loves to lose on principle
well the white left because there’s really no consequences for them personally
Here’s what Democrats should talk about instead of Platner…
Ken Paxton’s Epstein-style sweetheart deal for a child sex abuser.
see if you had a leader, you could distance yourself from this amorphous online virtue signaling left
Can’t let every two bit Atlantic writer and clout chasing Twitterer derail candidates chosen by voters, it’s fucking bonkers
Anon, I’m not sure this is a leftist thing against Platner. Might be a last ditch Schumer ploy to revive Janet Mills. She’s still on the ballot.
First it’s gradual, then it’s all of a sudden.
Will he shitcan JD before he’s finally forced out?
(Because THAT train is rolling. People get ready—there’s a train a’coming, and then it’s a hard rain’s a’gonna fall)
It ain’t fur off.
He’s losing all the ones who ain’t blackmailed and/or bribed.
Ok so he ain’t losing so many yet…..but it’s a steady trickle.
well that’s a helluva conjecture CC
Here’s our discussion about it…
Platner Watch: His wife rats him out to his own campaign aides for sexting multiple women, but now she defends him. Will this spook Maine voters back to safety with Susan Collins?
From today’s Digital Diner menu 🍽️
People my age are very prone to strokes. We try to avoid stress.
You know—easy come, easy go; live and let live and all that…..we don’t much care if they won’t give us the big ballroom and we have to use the Elks Lodge down the street a bit.
My old man was an Elk. Now he’s one of their Absent Brothers when the heart of Elkdom swells and throbs at 11 pm.
I guess being a Elk is kind of like being a card carrying member of Local #257, AFofM.
Now the UFC event is falling apart? Joe Rogan says it’s dangerous to fight outdoors in DC heat. Pentagon trying to fill the seats. And this UFC fighter calls Trump the “anti-Christ”…
death warmed over
Abigail’s favorite tea just arrived. Ready for Wednesday’s tribute. (Any Chinese black tea will do).
Pentagon demands “no fatties” for his White House UFC fight, and his own fighters are calling him the Antichrist. The wheels are completely off the president’s massively expensive June parties. Join us at The Digital Diner 11am ET.
For those in our chats who occasionally get booted I asked Silas to investigate possible cause and solution:
The Browser Guillotine (Most Common Cause): The guest clicks over to another tab to read an article or check notes. Modern browsers (especially Chrome and Edge) automatically put inactive tabs to “sleep” to save memory. The second the tab goes to sleep, StreamYard severs the connection.
Tab Discipline: Tell guests they must pull the StreamYard tab into its own dedicated, visible window. If they need to read an article or notes, tell them to open a new window and put it side-by-side, keeping StreamYard in its own window.
Only Dodo could besmirch, belittle, and befoul such a monumental occasion as our 250th Anniversary of Independence.
It sounds like the treads are coming off of Squeaky Tank 2.0.
Good. He deserves nothing.
https://newrepublic.com/post/211041/trump-skips-visit-soldiers-injured-iran-war-walter-reed
Trump visited soldiers Tuesday at Walter Reed Military Medical Center, but chose not to meet with 14 who were injured in the war in Iran.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/31/us-measure-to-deepen-israel-military-cooperation-faces-bipartisan-pushback
US measure to deepen Israel military cooperation faces bipartisan pushback
Democrat Ro Khanna and Republican Thomas Massie say they will try to remove the pro-Israel section from US defence bill.
Their effort comes amid outcry against the latest draft of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a bill that sets the budget for the US military.
It includes a provision, dubbed Section 224, that would boost ties between the two militaries through the appointment of an “executive agent” to oversee joint technological development and coordination.
On Sunday, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna said he would use his seat on the House Armed Services Committee to put forward an amendment to remove Section 224 from the bill.
His Republican colleague Thomas Massie also warned that, if the bill is approved by the committee, he would work to oppose it on the floor of the House of Representatives. He framed the issue as a question of US independence from foreign governments.
“We are a sovereign country,” Massie wrote on the social media platform X.
Ossoff: ‘He’s trying to put his face on the money. He’s building a monument to himself . But see, he’s doing these things now because no one will honor him when he’s gone… because he’s a failed president and a national disgrace”.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/28/politics/james-talarico-texas-senate-fundraising
James Talarico campaign says it raised more than $3 million in 24 hours since Texas primary runoff
***
And, he suspended campaign activities last night, so everyone could watch the San Antonio Spurs game.
spend every dime on Paxton attacks
Those old social organizations are interesting. My father was a member of the Lions, I am not sure why but he was. There was one I have not quite understood the reason he was not is the Knights of Columbus, a Roman Catholic club. Several friends of his/our family were, but my father refused to join. Never did learn why not.
I was a member of the American Legion for a number of years, but I moved away from walking distance (IYKYK) and never renewed. I am a member of the Disabled Veterans of America, they do good work. All the rest of them I visited but never joined.
There is one that does so much and is often misunderstood, I am a card carrying member of the ACLU. Which is not the same as saying I am a card carrying member of the XXXX Bunny Club.
A small and frightened man as President is not a safe thing for the country.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/trump-reacts-artists-ditching-freedom-250-concert-cancel-it-1235569479/
“We should have a giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY, for 250, instead of having overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain,” he posted on Truth Social late Saturday afternoon.
“Cancel it, just like I canceled my involvement with the failing and unsafe to be in Kennedy Center, because a Highly Conflicted, Crooked Federal Judge, said that I should not be allowed to spend my time and money in order to MAKE THE CENTER GREAT AGAIN, actually, far greater than it ever was before!”
“It would have also been nice to see a Republican/Democrat union bring it back to life. The Kennedy Center is broken, unsafe, and $busted, and has been for many years! Judge Cooper also stated that the highly prestigious Board of the Center was not authorized to add on the name ‘TRUMP’ despite the fact that hundreds of millions of dollars of my time and money will be necessary for its successful reincarnation. So now, the Kennedy Center will collapse, both structurally and financially. Judge Cooper and his wife, Amy Jeffress (obfuscation anyone?), should be ashamed of themselves. Judge Cooper, like numerous other Crooked Judges on my cases, should be IMPEACHED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
How do folks follow this whiny-assed loser? Not just the self-branded red caps, but members of Congress are just…
watching how much coverage this Platner sexting thing is getting I gotta wonder if schoomer is trying to get him pushed out and talk Janet back into the campaign. she is still on the ballot.
How did this stuff not blow up on Platner before now?
Also, Usha is giving an interview. Are they prepping us for a new, worst couple?
Quote I missed earlier:
“Being MAGA isn’t just about being Stupid. It’s about showing the World how proud you are to be Stupid.”
Craig – I go with the dinosaur trying to effect the election.
My dad was an Elk! My son enjoys his VFW Thursdays. Way back when almost all men belonged to one of the social/charitable organizations. Almost all of them had women’s auxiliaries. I don’t know if they still divide that way.
There does seem to be an organized effort to stop Platner before the June 9 primary.
Yep
Glad i saved this when the Republican Senate campaign committee ran it. Because of course it’s now gone from their site — over six minutes all about Paxton’s criminality.
I actually think Talarico should go against type and drop an F-bomb, scorched Earth — next time he’s asked about transgender, or whatever culture war crap they throw at him, just say, “The people of Texas don’t need a lecture about values from a fucking criminal”
If Talarico can’t bring himself to drop the F-bomb, he can just say convicted criminal.
Sunday night sweep of New Jersey ICE detention facility protesters ❓
When no one is paying attention…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/05/31/trump-name-may-come-off-kennedy-center-he-could-still-destroy-it/
NEW THREAD