Another science post

I hope you took part in a rally today.  I did and was thrilled to see the turnout and all the love for this country that we have.  We're not the haters.  Clearly, the haters are Chump and his minions.  To take part today was to have hope for democracy. 

Let me note two science stories.  First up: What's in the water!  Simran Kumari (GREEN MATTERS) reports:

Discovering new species of animals, birds, and even plants is one of the most thrilling moments in the scientific world. Whether it’s a marine animal found in the deep sea or a tiny insect in a rainforest, each discovery expands our understanding of life on Earth. In one such remarkable moment, scientists recently explored the waters off Western Australia and discovered two previously unknown marine species, including a luminous lanternshark and a delicate porcelain crab. These discoveries offer a fascinating glimpse into the extraordinary biodiversity that lies in the depths of our oceans.

The newly identified shark species, called Etmopterus westraliensis, gets its name from the Western Australian waters where it was first discovered. Found nearly 2,000 feet under the ocean surface, this species is nothing like any other underwater predator. Instead of a massive, menacing creature, scientists found it to be a small, bioluminescent species that barely grows 1.3 feet in length, as reported by Popular Science. Like many other deep-sea creatures, E. westraliensis has also adapted perfectly to life in the dark. It has large eyes and a thin body with small dorsal fins and a sharp spine. The details about this exceptional species were revealed in the Journal of Fish Biology.

Dr. Will White, one of the authors of the study and an ichthyologist with the CSIRO Australian National Fish Collection, played a key role in identifying and describing the lanternshark. He said, "Lanternsharks are an amazing group of sharks, and this new species was found at depths to 610 meters during biodiversity surveys for Parks Australia in the Gascoyne Marine Park area off Western Australia." As reported by Science Daily, White added, "Lanternsharks are bioluminescent, with light produced by photophores located on their belly and flanks, which is where their common name comes from."

That's what's going on in the ocean.  What's up above?  Joshua Shavit (THE BRIGHTER SIDE OF NEWS) notes:

More than a decade of satellite monitoring has mapped Earth’s magnetic field as it subtly altered between 2014 and 2025 — and what scientists have learned is remarkable. The South Atlantic Anomaly, a weak region, is expanding, the north magnetic pole is moving towards Siberia, and the unseen shield that protects life against solar and cosmic radiation is evolving at a rate never recorded before.

The Earth’s magnetic field is similar to a huge, constantly changing bubble that shields the planet by deflecting charged particles and radiation from the Sun. It’s created far below our feet in a sea of molten iron that churns around in the outer core some 1,800 miles down. When the liquid metal moves, electric currents result, which produce the magnetic field.

Since 2013, the European Space Agency’s Swarm mission — a trio of satellites known by the nicknames Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie — has been tracking this hidden force with greater precision than ever before. Each of the three spacecraft tracks both direction and magnitude of the magnetic field enveloping the planet, helping scientists to break down signals that reach not only from the core but also from the crust, oceans, ionosphere, and magnetosphere.

The magnetic poles.  That is very interesting.  

"The Snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Friday, October 17, 2025.  The Young Republican group chat was not children, it was adults speaking and their racist remarks are reflected in Donald Chump's policies.

This week, disturbing news regarding a Telegram chat carried out by adults in the Young Republicans was reported on by POLITICO's  Jason Beeferman and Emily Ngo:

Leaders of Young Republican groups throughout the country worried what would happen if their Telegram chat ever got leaked, but they kept typing anyway.

They referred to Black people as monkeys and “the watermelon people” and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies and driving them to suicide and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery.

William Hendrix, the Kansas Young Republicans’ vice chair, used the words “n--ga” and “n--guh,” variations of a racial slur, more than a dozen times in the chat. Bobby Walker, the vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans at the time, referred to rape as “epic.” Peter Giunta, who at the time was chair of the same organization, wrote in a message sent in June that “everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber.”

Giunta was referring to an upcoming vote on whether he should become chair of the Young Republican National Federation, the GOP’s 15,000-member political organization for Republicans between 18 and 40 years old.

“Im going to create some of the greatest physiological torture methods known to man. We only want true believers,” he continued.

The story remains in the news for several reasons including the fact that Vice President JD Vance thought this was another time he could lie.  He's insisted that 'young boys' do things like this -- he's apparently unaware that women were involved as well -- and that this is going to impact his own sons because he's going to have to tell them not to put any statement like that ever on a digital exchange.  He's not going to tell them don't say it, he's just going to say keep it off any digital exchange.  We'll come back to him.  David W. Chen and Megan Mineiro (NEW YORK TIMES) note:

The emergence of the texts and the disparate reactions to them among Republicans revealed not only a split in the party but also, for some, a comfort with rhetoric that once would have been routinely denounced. On the far right, some suggested that any condemnation of the racist, sexist and homophobic discourse was a betrayal of the conservative cause.

And JD can't leave it alone.  Diana Nerozzi, Irie Sentner and Dasha Burns (POLITICO) notes:

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday continued to downplay the bigoted messages in a Young Republicans group chat, 

[. . .]

Vance’s Thursday post marked the third time in two days that the vice president has waded into the firestorm over the trove of texts obtained by POLITICO and shows how the Trump administration’s strategy, articulated in the Art of the Deal, to never apologize and always hit back, extends well beyond the White House walls.

Vance has not defended the posts, which contained more than 250 racist, homophobic and antisemitic slurs, though he did refer to them as “edgy, offensive jokes.” The vice president has called the response to the posts “pearl clutching” and said “kids do stupid things, especially young boys” even though the chat group included men in their 20s and early 30s who hold local, state and federal government posts.

Right there is another reason it remains a news story.  The administration refuses to call out the speech.  It tries to distract and divert.  

Donald Chump is supposed to be the leader of the United States.  If he can't condemn racism -- and he can't -- that's a new story -- especially with all ov his other racist activites.

It's also news because it signals -- yet again -- that JD Vance does not love his children or his wife.  Indians were degraded in these texts.  And JD is married to a woman whose family traces back to India.  JD converted to Catholicism late in life to please his sugar daddy Peter Thiel.  He did so despite having children and a wife who were not Catholic and who have not converted.  What kind of a father, what kind of a husband does that?  One who doesn't really love them.

That's reality and no one wants to say it because of they're afraid of being the first.  It's Chump's orange skin all over again where, throughout his first term, the media pretended like he might have some medical condition.  No, he just had women's make up.  

When I looked at him the first time with that orange crap on his face, I thought of Bette Davis.  She was nominated for an Academy Award for playing Baby Jane Hudson in WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? and the look she came up with for the role was based on observations early in her career of extras who got painted up for a film and they wouldn't wash their faces.  Each day, they'd apply more make up over it.  They often didn't like the way they had looked prior but they thought the make up made them look better.  So they'd just pile on more.  Kind of like Chump who, in a rather well known incident on THE APPRENTICE, looked in the mirror and declared himself "pretty" after hair and make up finished with him.  No, he wasn't "pretty," but that set him down the road he's on where he became the first US president to wear make up off camera repeatedly.  

As for JD's eye liner, I have no idea on that.  Firuge that out on your own.  But JD's attitude towards his own family is an embarrassment.  

His children are Indian-American, his wife is Indian-American and in yet another incident where racists attack people from India, he is found defending those racists and not defending his children and his wife.

Everything is odd in Chump World but maybe TIME magazine can provide a little perspective.  In a piece entitled "Top 10 Memorable Debate Moments," they include this:

Massachusetts Governor Mike Dukakis didn't exactly charm his way into voters' hearts during the 1988 debates with his response about whether he would support the death penalty should his wife, Kitty, be raped and murdered. A longtime opponent of the death penalty, Dukakis responded to the startling question from CNN's Bernard Shaw, "No, I don't, Bernard, and I think you know that I've opposed the death penalty during all of my life. I don't see any evidence that it's a deterrent and I think there are better and more effective ways to deal with violent crime." While some criticized the fairness of the question, to viewers the answer seemed both dispassionate and dismissive. Years later, Dukakis would recall his response, saying, "I have to tell you, and maybe I'm just still missing it ... I didn't think it was that bad."

He gave a very calm response.  And it didn't go over with Americans because we expect people to react when they're children and/or spouse are threatened.

JD refuses to protect them.  And so wonder what that says about the nature of his soul.  At THE NEW REPUBLIC, Alex Shephard offers:

This wasn’t a college group chat. Its members were leaders in the Young Republican National Federation, which includes members up to the age of 40. William Hendrix, the Kansas Young Republicans’ vice chair, used variations of the n-word. Peter Giunta, who was chief of staff for a New York assemblyman until he was fired on Tuesday, joked about murdering his opponents. Hendrix is 25. Giunta is 31. Vance, for what it’s worth, is 41. Before being tapped as Donald Trump’s running mate last year, he was also known to hang out in group chats with other young Republicans, some younger even than Hendrix. Is 41 too old to face consequences for your actions?

Vance’s repeated insistence that young adults should never be held accountable for using racial slurs is notable in and of itself. But his larger refusal to condemn depraved allies or even to distance himself from them is part of a larger trend. Most political norms—and the laws of political gravity that helped keep them in place—are long gone, replaced by an intense tribal loyalty that turns any scandal into an opportunity for whataboutism. This, it seems, is an early preview of Trump’s lasting political legacy: Republicans are no longer apologizing, nor are they pushing out racist, bigoted allies when they inevitably find themselves embroiled in controversy.

The vile contents of this leaked group chat are, as many have pointed out, not especially different from a great deal of what passes for discourse on the MAGA right. What is most notable about it, as Andrew Egger wrote in The Bulwark, is that the people involved are the product of a post-Trump culture that rewards “the most amoral and psychotic political strivers, and has held them up as a professional ideal for the young people coming up behind them to copy and emulate. This is what they know as the ticket to power.”

We might be giving Trump too much credit, however. The radicalization of young Republicans predates his political rise in 2015. The racist, pro-Nazi far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017 that left one young woman dead was full of young Republican leaders, many of whom had taken official positions before the start of Trump’s presidential campaign. As my former colleague Alex Pareene wrote in an extremely perceptive piece shortly after the Charlottesville rally, “Racial resentment has been a driving force behind College Republican recruitment for years, but at this point it’s really all they have left to offer.” Trump was a catalyst of the Republican Party’s transformation, but his rise was also a symptom of its radicalization and turn toward resentment, in other words. But young Republicans’ Nazi turn started long before his fateful trip down the Trump Tower escalator in June 2015.

Where Trump was different—and one reason why he is so uniquely beloved on the right—is that he provided a permission structure for Republicans to be publicly cruel and hateful. His rise came in no small part because he refused to be cowed or, for that matter, to ever apologize. In 2016, he was openly misogynistic to Megyn Kelly (now a staunch supporter), racist toward Blacks and Latinos, and contemptuous of anyone who opposed him (including war hero and former Republican presidential nominee John McCain). The controversy this generated was a virtuous cycle for Trump. He would say something inflammatory, pundits and politicians would criticize him, and he would not only refuse to back down but mock them as well—a media circus that sucked out all the oxygen from rivals and competitors. 

And that is another reason this is a news story.  The party of Abraham Lincoln now has a huge amount of members who live and breathe racism.  They can't get through a day without expressing it and they can't see a future where racism isn't a major component.  Harold Meyerson (THE AMERICAN PROSPECT) noted this week:

Today’s MAGA movement is nothing if not the ideological heir to those Redeemers, as determined to reverse every last vestige of the Second Reconstruction—the civil rights laws and values of the 1960s—as the Redeemers were to extirpate the First.

Yesterday, the Republican justices on the Supreme Court made clear their desire to redistrict Southern states in a way that would eliminate the districts, and the possibility of districts, that send, and could send, Black representatives to Congress. As my colleague David Dayen has pointed out, the more immediate impulse behind the justices’ determination to effectively revoke what remains of the 1965 Voting Rights Act is to ensure that Republicans will pick up a dozen or more House seats through the redistricting the Court will order. They clearly understand, however, that that will mean effectively disfranchising Southern Black citizens. To the extent that Chief Justice John Roberts has adduced a reason for this epochal reversal, it’s that the white racism that the Act’s supporters were combating in 1965 is now, 60 years later, a thing of the past.

But the actually existing Republican Party that the justices mean to keep in power is a veritable storehouse of white racism, reviving and initiating policies for which white racial bigotry is the only plausible explanation. The Trump administration has already made that clear by stipulating that the only foreign refugees it welcomes to our shores are a subset of South African whites, concerned that that nation’s elected leaders (predominantly Black) may use eminent domain powers to repurpose some land for public purposes. By contrast, refugees fleeing for their lives from the Taliban, the ayatollahs, or Central American gangs have had, and will have, America’s doors slammed in their face.

Yesterday, the Times reported that the Departments of State and Homeland Security had sent proposals to the White House for new refugee rules that would favor Europeans seeking to leave their homelands because they’d been “targeted for peaceful expression of views online such as opposition to mass migration or support for ‘populist’ political parties.” In other words, reducing our refugee policy exclusively to an ingathering of white Europe’s far-right and neo-fascists.

Trump’s administration and the Court’s Republicans still occasionally cling to the contention that they are simply reverting to policies of racial neutrality by striking down DEI and affirmative action policies. Trump’s actions, however, belie that argument with each passing day. He has fired, or tried to fire, Black, and female, leaders of prominent institutions—the armed services, regulatory agencies, the Federal Reserve—on either the slimmest pretexts or for no stated reason at all, while populating his administration with very disproportionately white male appointees, as if matching the demographic composition of the Eisenhower administration was his desired goal.

The Telegram chat was not some abhorrent diversion, it was a manifestation of what has become the heart of today's Republican Party.   At TALKING POINTS MEMO yesterday, Josh Marshall noted:

I read a group email from Capitol Hill yesterday essentially predicting the extinction of the Democratic Party after what is predicted to be a decision from the Supreme Court overturning what remains of the Voting Rights Act. A less apocalyptic but still daunting version of this argument appeared in an evening piece published by Nate Cohn in the Times. Before getting to the partisan and vote count implications, let’s first discuss what this means, which is essentially ending African-American political representation in the states of the old Confederacy. Most if not all majority-minority districts disappear and Republican state legislatures are free to draw up districts which spread/dilute African-American voters into safely Republican districts. Cohn thinks it’s plausible that Democrats could permanently lose (as much as anything can ever be permanent) 12 House seats. And this is on top of the strong-arm restricting happening in a number of states across the country. The overall scenario is one in which the House becomes an even bigger electoral challenge than the Senate, one that is possible to win but only in a generational wave style election.

Racism is not a manufacturing flaw for today's Republican Party, it's a built-in feature, planned, intended, installed.

Now not all.  Mike noted last night how Senator Markwayne Mullin (a Republican) has denounced the Telegram exchange. But Mullin's common sense approach does not represent all of the Republican Party and certainly not the majority of them on social media. 

Chris Walker (TRUTHOUT) notes:

Explicitly racist language and symbolism is becoming increasingly common in Republican spaces.

Just this week, an image of an American flag with a Nazi swastika embedded in the stripes was spotted during a Zoom call behind Angelo Elia, the legislative correspondent to Rep. Dave Taylor (R-Ohio). Congressman Taylor claims he asked Capitol Police to investigate how the flag was placed in his office, but given the placement of the symbol, it’s unlikely that Taylor or his staffers wouldn’t have noticed it before the Zoom call.

Notably, President Donald Trump’s own rhetoric has frequently included racist dog whistles and explicit bigotry. Trump has also borrowed rhetoric from Nazi officials, including publicly claiming that immigrants are “poisoning” the blood of the country, and calling his political opponents “vermin.”

These adults in the chat demonized others and that's what Chump does.  To destroy special education?  You have to demonize.  To destroy healthcare?  You have to demonize.  Every policy he's for is built around the premise that  someone unworthy is getting something and you're not.  It's grudge f**k politics and that's all these professional victims in MAGA can do, pretend that they're wronged and others are in a line that's moving while they're being left behind. 

As we did in yesterday's snapshot, we're noting some video coverage of this issue with the hope that any drive-by reader (as opposed to a community member) who might not get what's going on will better understand it coming from someone other than me.

In other news, this morning at THE NEW REPUBLIC, Daniel Boguslaw reports:

Fifteen minutes east of Senator Bernie Sanders’s headquarters in Burlington, Vermont, sit the nerve centers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s national efforts to target immigrants for deportation. Two of ICE’s three main targeting facilities, in addition to its tip line, are located in the hamlet of Williston, which has seen mounting protests in recent weeks over plans to hire round-the-clock analysts to aid the Trump administration’s deportation goals.

The targeting centers are fueling an unprecedented immigration crackdown across the country, one that has drawn widespread condemnation from politicians and citizens alike. Harrowing videos have captured masked ICE officers  arresting U.S. citizens, shooting at clergy, and threatening first responders with lethal force. And while ICE has abandoned some of its focused targeting practices in favor of broad sweeps, the targeting that remains is driven by two offices in Williston. 

One of these facilities is the National Criminal Analysis and Targeting Center, or NCATC, which serves as the nexus for intelligence that is sent to ICE’s 25 enforcement and removal operations, or ERO, field offices across the country. The intelligence packaged by the NCATC for ERO “door kickers” includes biographical information, criminal history, immigration history, custody data, immigration benefit information, naturalization information, and vehicle and insurance data. Thanks to a memorandum of understanding signed in April by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, it now also includes IRS data, the legality of which is being contested in court. 

Chump's war on immigrants continues across the United States but especially in Illinois.  Too bad for him, Governor JD Pritzker is not intimidated by Chump.

.'

ICE needs to get out of Chicago.  They are neither wanted nor needed.  Danny Postel (IN THESE TIMES) explains:

If there’s one thing President Donald Trump and the people of Chicago might agree on, it’s that America’s third-largest city is currently a ​“war zone.”

But for most Chicagoans, it’s the Trump administration that has made it so, with its military-style ​“Operation Midway Blitz,” led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and ​“Operation At Large,” which Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched in Los Angeles and brought to the Windy City in September.

“I have lived here for 28 years and I have never felt so profoundly unsafe until this week,” one resident recently posted on social media. ​“And it’s not because of gangs or crime or unhoused people or drug users or migrants. I feel unsafe because there are militarized units with loaded guns in the school parking lots of my district, kidnapping my neighbors.”

The statement echoes a citywide sentiment. Over the last five weeks in Chicago, federal agents have shot at least two people, killing one (Silverio Villegas González, a father of two who had just dropped one of his children off at school when ICE agents shot him); descended on an apartment building with a Black Hawk helicopter and used flash-bang grenades; tear-gassed protesters and first responders; smoke-bombed a street full of people; reportedly zip-tied children and separated them from their parents for several hours in the middle of the night; shot protesters with rubber bullets; handcuffed a city council member in a hospital; and fired a chemical weapon at a TV reporter as she was driving away, burning her face.

In one of the more shocking moments in this mayhem, on September 19, agents perched on the roof of an ICE detention center in the suburban village of Broadview shot the Rev. David Black, lead pastor at the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago, in the head and body with pepper-spray projectiles known as pepper balls. Just moments earlier, Black, dressed in his clerical garb, had both arms up in the air and was ​“praying, verbally, for the ICE officers and those detained inside,” as he later recalled to CNN.

Other protesters were shot with pepper balls during the incident. They were chanting, singing and praying — peacefully, Black stressed. ​“We could hear [the agents] laughing as they were shooting us from the roof,” he told CNN. ​“It was deeply disturbing.”

Meanwhile, self-deluded MAGA types keep telling themselves that Chump's only targeting violent criminals -- you know, people like Radule Bojovic.  Who?  One of the latest targeted by ICE.  A police officer.  Luke Barr and Meredith Deliso (ABC NEWS) report:

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a suburban Chicago police officer who is accused of being in the country illegally, according to the Department of Homeland Security. 

Radule Bojovic, a native of Montenegro, was working as a sworn officer for the Hanover Park Police Department, according to DHS.

He was "encountered during a targeted enforcement action" as part of "Operation Midway Blitz," a surge of immigration enforcement in Illinois that began last month, DHS said in a press release Thursday announcing the arrest.

[. . .]

The Village of Hanover Park said its police department hired Bojovic in January "in full compliance with federal and state law" and that the village "confirmed that he was legally authorized by the federal government to work in the United States."

In other disturbing news, Maanvi Singh (GUARDIAN) reports:

Queer and trans immigrants at a detention facility in south Louisiana have alleged that they faced sexual harassment and abuse, medical neglect and coerced labor by staff at the facility, and that they were repeatedly ignored or faced retaliation for speaking out.

In multiple legal complaints, immigrants detained at the South Louisiana Ice Processing Center (SLIPC) in Basile, Louisiana, said they were recruited into an unsanctioned work program that forced them to perform hard manual labor for as little as $1 per day. Detainees also alleged that queer people were targeted by an assistant warden who stalked, harassed and sexually assaulted them.

Three current and former detainees who spoke to the Guardian said that, between 2023 and 2025, they endured months of abuse from an assistant warden named Manuel Reyes and his associates. In their complaints to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), the detainees also said that they faced retaliation for reporting the abuse to authorities, alleging that Reyes and other staff beat them and denied them medical treatment.

Let's wind down with this from THE BLACK COMMENTATOR.

The Black Commentator

 Issue #1059

 is now Online

October 16, 2025

     

Read issue 1059

Our email address is BlackCommentator@gmail.com

Our voicemail number is 856.823.1739

The Black Commentator | P.O. Box 2635, A weekly publication dedicated to economic justice, social justice and peace.,
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Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "What's Weighing On The Administration's Mind?"  and  "Bribes Or Tips?"  went up yesterday.  The following sites updated:

• 
  Music

  Experimental cellist Clarice Jensen finds inspiration in Bach, and a few electronics

  1 hour ago
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  NPR Topics: Home Page Top Stories

  Experimental cellist Clarice Jensen finds inspiration in Bach, and a few electronics

  1 hour ago
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  America First? No, Billionaire Buddies First

  3 hours ago
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  Latino USA

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  3 hours ago
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  The New Republic

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  3 hours ago
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  TAP : The American Prospect

  Dollar Store Workers Fight to Improve Jobs, Even Without a Union

  4 hours ago
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  Mikey Likes It!

  Even Markwayne Markwayne refuses to play the idiot like JD Vance

  6 hours ago
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  Ruth's Report

  We must remember how we got here (so we are never in this position again)

  6 hours ago
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  Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude

  robert kennedy junior doesn't know the difference between a male and a female

  6 hours ago
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  SICKOFITRADLZ

  The failure that is Dr Phil

  6 hours ago
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  Thomas Friedman is a Great Man

  Science post -- discoveries

  6 hours ago
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  Like Maria Said Paz

  Kristi Noem's perfected her lying strategy

  6 hours ago
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  Oh Boy It Never Ends

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  6 hours ago
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  Ann's Mega Dub

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  7 hours ago
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  Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills)

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  14 hours ago
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  15 hours ago 

Science post -- discoveries

Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "What's Weighing On The Administration's Mind?"  

and  "Bribes Or Tips?" 

Science post tonight.  New species?  Yes, I will gladly bypass the Crooked Court to cover that instead.   Aspen Pflughoeft (THE STATE) reports:

At a cave of northern Thailand, a "dragon"-like creature with "long" legs moved across the rock wall to reach a potential mate. The pair blended in with the stone but not quite enough to avoid detection.

Visiting scientists found the mating animals - and discovered a new species.

A team of researchers visited Pha Daeng Cave in 2024 as part of a project to survey wildlife "in unexplored areas of (Thailand), especially karst" rock habitats, according to a study published Oct. 14 in the peer-reviewed journal Tropical Natural History.

During their fieldwork, researchers climbed up some rock formations and found dozens of unfamiliar-looking millipedes on the walls and in crevices, the study said. They took a closer look at the animals and soon realized they'd discovered a new species: Desmoxytes chaofa, or the princess dragon millipede.

Princess dragon millipedes have about 20 body segments and can reach just over an inch in length, researchers said. Their antennae are "slender," and their legs are "long." Each of their body segments has several bumps and a pair of "wing-like" spike structures.

Each discovery enriches our understanding and impacts how we see the world.  That's why I do not get Chump and his attacks with Dogpatch Linda McMahon on education.  The goal should always be to learn but clearly knowledge frightens the right-wing.  

Rachael Funnell (IFL SCIENCE) reports on another discovery:

One of the most complete sea monsters on record had been discovered along the UK’s Jurassic Coast, being perhaps the world’s most complete reptile fossil dating back to the Pliensbachian period. The rare and impressive specimen offers unprecedented insight into a period of time we know little about, and bridges a gap in our understanding of a strange and complex faunal turnover that was occurring at the time, around 190 million years ago.

The new-to-science species is an ichthyosaur nicknamed the “Sword Dragon of Dorset”, and its scientific name is equally impressive: Xiphodracon goldencapensis. It's estimated to have been 3 meters (9.8 feet) long in life, and was discovered by fossil collector Chris Moore, who you may remember from that enormous pliosaur skull discovery a little while back.

In most ichthyosaurs, the bones often become flattened and fairly two dimensional, but this had stayed completely in three dimensions.

Chris Moore

“I spotted a section of tail vertebrae sticking out and then covered it up and got permission to dig in and have a look at what was there,” he said. “I followed the vertebrae and which carried on, and then found the rear paddles, and it carried on going: the rib cage was there, the front paddles, and then I got to the skull.”

“I hit this hard object, which turned out to be the skull, and it was preserved in three dimensions. In most ichthyosaurs, the bones often become flattened and fairly two dimensional, but this had stayed completely in three dimensions. The skull had the two eyes either side, and then this massive, long, sword-like rostrum with hundreds of tiny needle teeth.”

That excellent preservation is a trademark of the region that used to be a shallow tropical sea that was teeming with life. As well as being home to a lot of ichthyosaurs' favorite foods like ammonites, fish, and belemnites (hence why so many are found here), it also had a mostly anoxic seabed. That meant when animals died and sank to the bottom, they fell into poisonous mud where there was nothing to disturb their remains. A top tip if you want to become a fossil.

So many discoveries lately.  Alexander Clark  (MORNING OVERVIEw) reports:

Archaeologists have recently made a remarkable discovery in South Africa: a 200-year-old rock painting that may depict a creature unknown to modern science. This creature, if it indeed existed, is believed to have gone extinct around 250 million years ago.

The discovery of this rock painting is not just a significant archaeological find, but it also opens up a new avenue of inquiry into the history of life on Earth. The painting’s depiction of a creature that supposedly went extinct millions of years ago challenges our understanding of the timeline of life on our planet. It also raises intriguing questions about the knowledge and understanding of the indigenous people who created the painting. Did they have access to information about extinct species, or is the creature a product of their imagination or cultural mythology?

The rock painting was uncovered under unique circumstances. Archaeologists were conducting a routine excavation in a remote region of South Africa when they stumbled upon this intriguing artifact. The painting, etched on a large rock surface, immediately caught their attention due to its peculiar subject matter. The location of the discovery has not been disclosed to the public, likely to protect the site from potential vandalism or theft.

Upon closer examination, the archaeologists estimated the age of the rock painting to be approximately 200 years old. This estimation was based on the style of the painting, the materials used, and the weathering of the rock surface. The age of the painting suggests that it was created by indigenous people of the region long before European colonization.[

The discovery of the rock painting has sparked a flurry of interest and speculation in the scientific community. The painting’s unique subject matter and its potential implications for our understanding of prehistoric life have made it a subject of intense study. Researchers are now working to decipher the painting’s meaning and to determine whether it truly depicts an extinct species. This involves a detailed analysis of the painting’s style, technique, and iconography, as well as a comparison with other known rock paintings and with fossil records.

So many things we're learning of late.  It would be nice to be able to sit back and reflect on what they mean.  But each day we have to deal with the crazed monster in the White House and what law he's broken and how The Crooked Court works to protect him -- not the Constitution, not We The People, they just work now to protect the Convicted Felon. 

But one more science story about a bird we all need in our neighborhood. Julie Hambleton (THE GARDEN MAGAZINE) reports:

The barn swallow is truly one of nature's most efficient mosquito hunters, and it's a bird that can be found in all 50 states. With their striking blue and rust-colored plumage and acrobatic flying skills, barn swallows are not only a joy to watch but also an incredible asset in the battle against pesky mosquitoes. Imagine having a natural, winged ally that can consume more than 800 mosquitoes a day, keeping your yard more comfortable during the warm months!

In this article, we'll explore the habits and behaviors of barn swallows, including how you can attract these beneficial birds to your property. Whether you're a bird lover or simply looking for a natural way to control mosquitoes, learning more about barn swallows will make you appreciate these little creatures even more. Let's dive into the world of barn swallows and discover why they're so valuable to our environment! 

Barn swallows are known for their graceful, darting flight patterns as they catch insects on the wing. These birds are incredibly agile, and their ability to swoop and glide through the air is a key factor in their mosquito-hunting prowess. They are most active during the day, especially in the early morning and late afternoon, when mosquitoes and other flying insects are abundant. Their diet primarily consists of insects, with mosquitoes being a favorite snack, making them a natural pest control solution.

Barn swallows are also highly social birds, often seen flying in flocks and nesting in colonies. They prefer open areas like fields, meadows, and bodies of water where insects are plentiful. Their aerial acrobatics are not only mesmerizing to watch but also an essential part of their hunting strategy. By understanding these behaviors, you can appreciate just how effective barn swallows are at keeping insect populations in check, particularly mosquitoes.

Attracting barn swallows to your yard can be a great way to naturally reduce mosquito populations. These birds are drawn to open spaces with plenty of insects, so if your property has areas of open lawn or is near water, you're already on the right track. To further entice them, consider adding a pond or birdbath to provide a water source, which will attract not only swallows but also the insects they feed on.

One of the best ways to encourage barn swallows to take up residence is by providing suitable nesting sites. Barn swallows typically build their nests in sheltered areas like under eaves, in barns, or on ledges. You can create an inviting environment by installing a simple ledge or shelf under the eaves of a building. They construct their nests from mud and grass, so having a small patch of bare soil nearby can help them with nest-building materials. Once they've established a nesting site, barn swallows are likely to return year after year.

I had never heard of barn swallows before coming across that article. 

"The Snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Thursday, October 16, 2025.  As Chump's shutdown continues his 'peace plan' implodes as though it was the American economy,  the Young Republican hate chat, 

As we noted yesterday, Donald Chump was trying to take a victory lap  -- one.  He's still trying today.  He's made it about half way round the track.  You've seen his body, you know how much weight he's hauling.  He may never complete that lap.  Even with people cheering him on -- even with people who know better (Dan Abrams, I'm looking at you) cheering him on.

But it doesn't matter at this point.  

Now you go your way, baby, and I'll go mine
Now and forever, 'til the end of time
I'll find somebody new, and baby, we'll say we're through
And you won't matter anymore

-- "It Doesn't Matter Anymore," written by Paul Anka, first covered by Linda on her HEART LIKE A WHEEL album

As Linda Ronstadt sang, "And you won't matter anymore."  That's where we are now with Donald Chump.  That's because the crowd has drifted, the stadium is empty and it's just a fat and wobbly man trying to complete that lap as he huffs and puffs, sweating causing his orange foundation to drip onto the track.

No one even cares enough to holler, "Come on, fat boy, you can do it!"

And the time window is collapsing as well.  Bel Trew  (INDEPENDENT) explains:

And less than 24 hours after Donald announced this “everlasting peace”, Palestinians were still being killed in Gaza, aid trucks stopped from going into Gaza and a row broke out about the failure of Hamas to return the bodies of dead Israeli hostages.

All of these grim, and sadly all too predictable factors, threaten to topple the whole ceasefire process.

Again, cease-fire.  Not a peace plan.  A lot of lying and fooling, shaking and baking took place.  There was never a peace plan -- thanks to the British press which pushed back on that lie repeatedly.  Pablo O'Hana (UK's METRO) observes, "It’s a shallow 20-point ceasefire and hostage agreement, devoid, in my view, of any meaningful content.  This isn’t a peace deal. It isn’t even a peace process."

Some Americans are slowly learning what Fred Trump sussed out in a matter of days: Donald is an all around failure.  Anna Commander (NEWSWEEK) reports:

A new poll released on Tuesday shows that 57 percent of Americans believe the U.S. economy is getting worse—the highest percentage in over a year.

Public sentiment about the U.S. economy has grown increasingly negative in the closing months of 2025. According to recent polls, a majority of Americans now believe that economic conditions are deteriorating, a trend that coincides with a government shutdown, inflation concerns, and widening partisan divides.

Analysts note that such pessimism can impact consumer confidence, policy decisions, and political outcomes in the lead-up to the 2026 midterm elections.

Why do they think that?  Because their own eyes are stronger and far more reliable than anything they could ever see on FOX "NEWS."  Chump has tanked the economy.  Christopher Kuo (WALL STREET JOURNAL) reports:

During a recent trip to the supermarket, Kelvin Lin was surprised to see that the price of a rib-eye steak had jumped to $32.99 a pound.

It had been several dollars cheaper two weeks earlier, he said.

Lin, a 33-year-old software engineer who lives in New York City, complained to the butcher but ended up buying the steak anyway. “It feels terrible,” he said.

Inflation in the grocery aisle is picking up, and stinging consumers. Consumers said they are cutting back on purchases, stockpiling certain foods or exploring more-affordable stores.

“It’s perturbing and upsetting,” said Mark Bookbinder, a 68-year-old engineer who lives in Cincinnati. He has been struck by steady increases in the prices of sliced turkey, cereal and yogurt.

Albertsons Chief Executive Officer Susan Morris said on a Tuesday earnings call that shoppers are choosing smaller package sizes and using more coupons to reduce their grocery bills. She said the supermarket company is looking to cut costs to help counter inflation.

“We see them sticking closer to their shopping list, maybe not buying that extra item, that extra bottle of whatever,” Morris said.

He's a failure.  He's destroyed everything.  Remember his promise that his tariffs (taxes on American consumers) would result in 90 deals in 90 days.  If you're generous, he got seven deals in 90 days -- if you're generous. His failures have harmed the country.  Chris Brennan (USA TODAY) explains:

China, which until 2024 was the biggest importer of American soybeans, has retaliated against Trump's chaotic trade war tariffs by refusing to buy the crop from our country now, shifting its purchases to other countries.

Farmers like Bartman watched with dismay as China, on Sept. 23, bought 7 million metric tons of soybeans from Argentina, a quarter of that country's crop this year, after Argentina suspended export taxes to make the deal.

This happened on the same day that Trump met with a political ally, Argentine President Javier Milei, at the United Nations, just before U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a $20 billion buyout, an infusion of U.S. dollars into Argentina's central bank to try to stabilize that country's tumultuous economy.

And where was Milei on Oct. 14, on the same day Bartman spoke from his tractor? The Argentine president was being welcomed at the White House by Trump. The two men stood for pictures, flashing big smiles and thumbs-up gestures.

A journalist asked Trump what his message was for the people of Argentina. His answer: "We love them. We'll be there for them. They have a great leader, a very great leader."

He'll be there for them.  He just won't be here for you or for me or for any of the American people.

While Americans suffer for his actions, he's bailing out Argentina.

Senator Elizabeth Warren is rightly calling it out. 

 

Chump is not serving the American people.  

He lies and lies and hopes that the American people forget the lies.   Robert Davis (RAW STORY) quotes US House Rep Ro Khanna stating:

He sold the American people on lowering prices on day one.  He sold the American people that he's a business guy, that he's going to get the economy moving, and he's done nothing for America's farmers. Grocery prices are up. You know what I would do with that $20 billion? I would give that money to the American people who have had a 26% increase in coffee tariffs and coffee prices because of the irrational tariffs on coffee. He's made food prices go up. He's hurting America's farmers, and then he's giving the money away to Argentina. We're adding insult to injury by then taking the business away from American farmers and selling it to China.

Exactly.  Chump's destroyed our economy.  He's destroyed the job market.  Adam Downer (DAILY BEAST) notes:

Trump-tapped Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran broke ranks with the MAGA administration and admitted that the economy is sinking under President Trump.

Miran on Wednesday undercut the president’s rosy view of the economy, pointing out that the labor market has become weaker since Trump took office.

“The economy was weaker in the first half of the year versus where it was last year,” Miran told CNBC anchor Sara Eisen at the network’s Invest in America Forum.

Though Miran, 42, didn’t directly criticize Trump for the issues with the economy, he did blame the weakened economy on factors directly caused by his administration.

“Yes, the labor market continued to weaken in the first half of the year,” he said. “I think part of that was due to uncertainty over policy. We might have had the biggest tax hike in history, so maybe there were firms that were holding off on investing until the tax hike was done.”

Fed Chair Jerome Powell spoke Tuesday in Philadelphia to the National Association for Business Economics.  Eleanor Pringle (FORTUNE) notes:

 Powell suggested the employment side had weakened further, saying: “While the unemployment rate remained low through August, payroll gains have slowed sharply, likely in part due to a decline in labor force growth due to lower immigration and labor force participation. In this less dynamic and somewhat softer labor market, the downside risks to employment appear to have risen.”

He added that while official data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is delayed given the government shutdown, “available evidence suggests that both layoffs and hiring remain low, and that both households’ perceptions of job availability and firms’ perceptions of hiring difficulty continue their downward trajectories.”

All of the above combines to explain the news Martha McHardy (NEWSWEEK) reports:

President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen below water in every major swing state for the first time since taking office, according to a new set of state-level polls.

The latest Morning Consult survey shows the president’s net approval is now negative across all seven battlegrounds expected to decide the 2026 election—Pennsylvania (-2), Michigan (-5), Wisconsin (-8), Arizona (-2), Georgia (-1), Nevada (-3), and North Carolina (-3).

Trump’s slipping approval in every swing state highlights growing voter unease in the regions most likely to decide control of Congress and the balance of power in Washington. His declining support could weaken Republican prospects ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Regrets collect like old friends

Here to relive your darkest moments

I can see no way, I can see no way

And all of the ghouls come out to play

And every demon wants his pound of flesh

But I like to keep some things to myself

I like to keep my issues drawn

It's always darkest before the dawn

-- "Shake It Out," written by Florence Welch and Paul Epworth, first appears on Florence & The Machines' CEREMONIALS. 

Lesley Abravanel (2PARAGRAPHS) reports:

Vanity Fair magazine has published an exclusive excerpt of the forthcoming memoir of the late Virginia Giuffre, a victim of late Jeffrey Epstein, whom she met while working at President Donald Trump's Palm Beach country club.

Giuffre, Vanity Fair writes, completed work on the manuscript for “Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice” in October 2024.

Just weeks before her death by suicide in April 2025, Giuffre wrote to her collaborator on the book, Amy Wallace, “the content of this book is crucial… It is imperative that the truth is understood and that the issues surrounding this topic are addressed, both for the sake of justice and awareness. In the event of my passing, I would like to ensure that “Nobody’s Girl” is still released.”

The excerpt Vanity Fair has published takes place in 2000, when a 16-year-old Giuffre worked in the spa at Trump's Mar a Lago.

Giuffre's father, she wrote, "was responsible for maintaining the resort’s in-room air-conditioning units, not to mention its five-championship red-clay tennis courts, so he knew his way around, both indoors and out."

Giuffre got her job at the spa after passing a drug and polygraph test, she wrote. She also detailedTrump's employee handbook.

The ones assaulted often forgotten and/or ignored by the press.  Virginia refuses to be silenced.  Does Chump think she was a 'hoax'?   And what happens when Speaker of the Closet Mike Johnson is unable to stall any further to protect Chump? What happens when he has to seat Adelita Grijalva?   Annie Karni (NEW YORK TIMES) reports:

The Arizona secretary of state on Tuesday certified the election of Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat who won a special election 22 days ago in her state.

But Speaker Mike Johnson is still refusing to seat her while he keeps the House out of session during the government shutdown.

So on Wednesday morning, a group of Arizona lawmakers gathered in front of the Capitol and accused Mr. Johnson of protecting pedophiles, obstructing the will of voters and taking an unprecedented political action in refusing to perform the simple ministerial duty of swearing in an elected member of Congress.

“This delay is not procedural, it is intentional,” said Ms. Grijalva, who is poised to provide the final signature needed to force a floor vote on whether to demand that the Trump administration release the Epstein files. “He is doing everything in his power to shield this administration from accountability. That is not leadership, that is obstruction.”

Makes you wonder what Chump has on Mike -- photos of Mike as a wedding guest with a man kissing him on the cheek?  Who knows?  Senator Ruben Gallego is quoted in the report stating, "Speaker Johnson is covering up for pedophiles, did you guys get that? Speaker Johnson is covering up for pedophiles." 

As we've noted for weeks now -- yes, it has been weeks, she was elected September 23rd  -- refusing to seat her is denying her district a voice in the House of Representatives.  She was duly elected.  But Our Lady of Conversion Mike Johnson refuses to swear her in. The American people have had enough of princess' nonsense and the calls for the princess to seat Grijalva are growing louder. Jacob Wendler (POLITICO) reports:

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes threatened legal action against House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday for failing to seat Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva.

In a letter to Johnson, Mayes accused the House GOP leader of violating the Constitution by unnecessarily delaying the Democrat’s swearing-in ceremony.

“Arizona’s right to a full delegation, and the right of the residents of CD 7 to representation from the person they recently voted for, are not up for debate and may not be delayed or used as leverage in negotiations about unrelated legislation,” Mayes, who is also a Democrat, wrote in the letter.

 

It is time for Johnson to stop lying and to stop hiding.  Ailia Zehra notes:

House Democrats marched through the halls to Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R‑La.) office Tuesday evening, chanting in unison: “What is he afraid of? Epstein!” Their protest targets Johnson’s refusal to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D‑Ariz.), despite her election being certified by Arizona officials.

[. . .]

Opponents point to earlier instances this year when he promptly administered the oath to Republican members during pro forma sessions — something he has declined to do for Grijalva.

Kate Santaliz and Andrew Solender (AXIOS) report that Johnson has wet his Pampers and adults in the room are rolling their eyes as he throws a tantrum:  

"Is Speaker Johnson saying Members can no longer walk in the halls of the people's House to express our viewpoints?" Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), the chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus, said in a statement to Axios.

"The real question everyone should be asking is why Rep.-Elect Adelita Grijalva has not been sworn in. Speaker Johnson keeps changing the story of why he can't swear her in, and this is his latest attempt to distract us," she said.

"We will keep calling attention to his failure to swear her in. We will keep showing up in the halls of Congress demanding that we return to work so we can address the Republican health care crisis."

A Women's Caucus spokesperson stressed that the protest was "peaceful" and denied the characterization that lawmakers "tore down" a poster. Video shows Barrágan removing the poster and placing it on the ground.

Adelita Grijalva spoke with Jen Psaki last night on MSNBC. 

We noted the scandal of The Young Republicans chat yesterday that glorified Hitler, the Holocaust, racism, sexism, homophobic and violence.  Miss Sassy JD Vance always has a lie -- remember, he knew he was lying about Haitians when confronted during the campaign.  He has no respect for the truth.  He's jut a fat man in a girdle -- which Ruth pointed out, please remember, his spanx were on display in a photo during the campaign.  

Let's stop for a minute.  The press failures.  I'm just so damn sick of them.  Fir four years, Chump was president and we had to read crap nonsense from serious outlets suggesint ght Chump's organe skin was most likely due to some illness.  No, it was make up.  Only no can mainstream press admit that.  JD Vance wears eye liner.  The mainstream press didn't want to admit that during the campaign.  Why can't they just be honest?

JD Vance is ons tage with his hands in the air and his shirt rides up revealing he is wearing Spanx.  That is news.  Only Ruth covered it ("Does JD Vance wear SPANX?").  That is news.  And it's news for any number of reasons including vanity but especially considering that Chump and Vance were attacking drag queens, cross dressers and transgender people while both 'men' were wearing make up and JD was in a girdle. 

Back to the point we were on.  JD is cheap little liar who now thinks he can lie to protect the adults -- not young boys, not children -- who were part of the chat reported on by POLITICO's  Jason Beeferman and Emily Ngo:

Leaders of Young Republican groups throughout the country worried what would happen if their Telegram chat ever got leaked, but they kept typing anyway.

They referred to Black people as monkeys and “the watermelon people” and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies and driving them to suicide and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery.

William Hendrix, the Kansas Young Republicans’ vice chair, used the words “n--ga” and “n--guh,” variations of a racial slur, more than a dozen times in the chat. Bobby Walker, the vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans at the time, referred to rape as “epic.” Peter Giunta, who at the time was chair of the same organization, wrote in a message sent in June that “everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber.”

Giunta was referring to an upcoming vote on whether he should become chair of the Young Republican National Federation, the GOP’s 15,000-member political organization for Republicans between 18 and 40 years old.

“Im going to create some of the greatest physiological torture methods known to man. We only want true believers,” he continued.

This isn't a one day story.  JD Vance's lies alone means it's not a one day story.  Pam Bondi screeches when the entire country doesn't want to pretend Charlie Kirk wasn't a racist.  She hisses and threatens and forgets what free speech is as did panty waist JD Vance.  (I know 'panty waist' is an insult but not sure what it means but if you're a man wearing girdles in secret, it seems like "panty waist" is a word that would apply to you.)

Chump and Vance cannot be allowed to succeed in their efforts to normalize hate.  As Mike noted,  "Those chat files are disgusting and represent the worst of America.  People defending it or minimizing it are disgusting. "

Let's note a variety of reports and reactions. 

 

The following sites updated:

• 
  Paul Krugman

  Medical Leave Day

  2 hours ago
• 
  The New Republic

  The Black Outside

  2 hours ago
• 
  TAP : The American Prospect

  The 2026 Election Is Being Decided at the Supreme Court

  3 hours ago
• 
  NPR Topics: Home Page Top Stories

  80-year-old grandmother becomes oldest woman to finish the Ironman World Championship

  3 hours ago
• 
  Music

  Fans and scholars flock to New Jersey for 'Born to Run' 50th anniversary symposium

  3 hours ago
• 
  Mikey Likes It!

  Idiots JD Vance, Jim Johnson, Tim Sheehy and Young Republicans

  6 hours ago
• 
  Ruth's Report

  Someone bought Chump a full length mirror

  6 hours ago
• 
  Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills)

  The Administration's Beauty Queens 'Manly' Chump, Vance and Hegseth

  6 hours ago
• 
  Like Maria Said Paz

  UnAmerican Mike Johnson spews more lies

  6 hours ago
• 
  Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude

  remebering what made me stop watching general hospital

  6 hours ago
• 
  Thomas Friedman is a Great Man

  Watching the Supreme Court destroy democracy

  6 hours ago
• 
  Oh Boy It Never Ends

  MATLOCK and ELSBETH

  6 hours ago
• 
  SICKOFITRADLZ

  Donald's dementia worsens

  6 hours ago
• 
  Ann's Mega Dub

  Con Man

  6 hours ago
• 
  Trina's Kitchen

  Creamy Chicken, Cabbage & Mushroom Casserole in the Kitchen

  6 hours ago
• 
  PBS NewsHour - The Latest

  Palestinians return to ruins where homes once stood as Israel awaits remains of hostages

  13 hours ago
• 
  TPM – Talking Points Memo

  Charlie Kirk’s Show Is Now the Trump Admin’s Forum for Detailing How It Wants To Target the Left

  14 hours ago
• 
  Gorilla Radio

  To Readers & Listeners

  2 days ago