Blog Betty (Thomas Friedman is a Great Man was an online novel)

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Science post: Saturn, Jupiter, space

Science post. Victor Tangermann (FUTURISM) reports:

Researchers have found that the thick and hazy atmosphere enveloping Saturn's largest moon, Titan, behaves in a very peculiar way.

As detailed in a new paper published in The Planetary Science Journal, a team of scientists analyzed 13 years' worth of thermal infrared observations recorded by NASA and the European Space Agency's Cassini-Huygens mission.

Their finding: that Titan's atmosphere wobbles like a gyroscope as it shifts with the seasons of its nearly 30 Earth-year cycle, instead of spinning in line with its surface.

"The behavior of Titan's atmospheric tilt is very strange," said lead author and University of Bristol postdoctoral researcher Lucy Wright in a statement about the work. "Titan's atmosphere appears to be acting like a gyroscope, stabilizing itself in space."

The discovery makes the moon, which has already captured the attention of astronomers for its suspected bodies of liquid and planet-like dimensions — it's larger in diameter than Mercury — an even more intriguing candidate for a closer look, since it appears to have its own, independent climate system.

Is that not fascinating? Let's stay with space because there's a lot in the news on that topic. For example? Jessica Bennett (DAILY GALAXY) reports:

A distant galaxy, invisible for billions of years, has reappeared in a surprising form thanks to a rare cosmic illusion captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. As reported by Mashable and confirmed through official findings from NASA’s Hubble mission update, the discovery showcases a perfect example of an Einstein ring, formed by a phenomenon called gravitational lensing. This natural magnifying effect has not only revealed a galaxy from the ancient universe but has also exposed the layered complexity of deep-space structures. The galaxy in question, known as HerS 020941.1+001557, is being viewed as it existed 11 billion years ago.

What might look like a smudge or halo in a Hubble image is, in fact, one of the most visually stunning proofs of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity. The phenomenon at play, known as gravitational lensing, occurs when a massive object distorts space-time around it. Much like a bowling ball pressing into a rubber sheet, the mass warps the surrounding fabric and causes light to bend. In this instance, a relatively nearby galaxy — SDSS J020941.27+001558.4 — acts as a colossal lens, magnifying the light of the more distant, ancient galaxy behind it.

When the distant galaxy, lensing galaxy, and observer align precisely, the background object’s light is bent into a full or partial circle — a glowing loop called an Einstein ring. This optical alignment is rare, and the symmetry achieved here highlights a remarkable celestial coincidence. The image captured by Hubble shows a luminous red arc wrapping around a central galactic dot — an elegant display of cosmic geometry and physics.

What an exciting development. Imagine being the first person to spot that and realize you were seeing a distant galaxy. There are just so many discoveries. Jupiter's in the news. Frank Landymore (FUTURISM) reports:

You don't need us to tell you that Jupiter, which has more than twice the mass of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, is the biggest game in town (other than the Sun, at least.)

But believe it or not, it may have once been even bigger. Try more than double its current size, according to new research from Caltech and the University of Michigan — boasting enough volume to fit 2,000 Earths inside it with room to spare. Over time, the bloated world cooled off, contracting to the relatively humbler size it is today.

The findings, published in a new study in the journal Nature Astronomy, provide a window into the Solar System's early evolution, around 3.8 million years after the first solids formed. Jupiter, with its enormous gravitational pull — and as the first planet to form — would have played an instrumental role in determining how the orbits of the nascent planets eventually settled.

"Our ultimate goal is to understand where we come from, and pinning down the early phases of planet formation is essential to solving the puzzle," co-lead author Konstantin Batygin, a professor of planetary science at Caltech, said in a statement about the work. "This brings us closer to understanding how not only Jupiter but the entire Solar System took shape."

Pretty impressive. But we're not done yet with great and exciting space discoveries. Not yet. Joseph Shavit (THE BRIGHTERSIDE OF NEWS) reports:

What lies at the heart of a black hole has puzzled physicists for decades. Now, a team led by physicist Enrico Rinaldi has taken a bold approach to the mystery. By using quantum computing and machine learning, they’ve begun to map the quantum state of a complex matrix model. This method, Rinaldi says, is helping researchers understand black holes in ways not possible before.

Their work is grounded in the holographic principle—an idea suggesting two seemingly separate realms of physics are actually linked. One describes gravity in a space with three dimensions, while the other focuses on particles existing on a flat, two-dimensional surface. Though these models differ in dimension, they are believed to describe the same underlying reality.

In this view, a black hole’s mass distorts space-time, creating a deep gravitational well. That pull stretches out across three dimensions, yet it connects with particles on a flat, two-dimensional plane. From far away, the black hole may look like a projection made only of particles. But beneath that illusion lies a tightly woven connection between space, time, and matter.

Some researchers think this holographic idea could apply to the entire universe. If true, space itself might be a projection from a more basic set of quantum laws.

I believe the scientific term for that is "trippy." :D

Of course, not all is great in space news. Not when you have the loser Musk. Anthony Robledo (USA TODAY) reports:

SpaceX's latest uncrewed Starship launch at first went off without a boom May 27 but eventually broke up almost an hour after it took off.

After two test flights ended in dramatic explosions earlier this year, SpaceX's ninth test of its Starship vehicle experienced a "rapid unscheduled disassembly" on May 27, SpaceX confirmed on X. That's the same language used when Starship's January and March flight tests unexpectedly exploded in the sky.

"The Snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Wednesday, May 28, 2025. Chump's deportation dementia continues as he attacks the wife of a US military service member, a young kid supporting his family, a gay man who came to the US as a refugee, and so many more while ignoring Pete Hegseth's claim of carrying out an illegal wire tap.

Let's start with a view of Chump Land. Isabel Keane (INDEPENDENT) reports:

An Australian woman who was deported from the US after visiting her American husband stationed in Hawaii says she was detained in prison overnight alongside murderers before getting sent home.

Nicolle Saroukos, 25, of Sydney, says she was held in federal prison overnight after trying to enter the country with her mother so the two could visit her husband, Matt, a US army lieutenant stationed on Oahu, Hawaii News Now reported.

Saroukos, who has visited three times since getting married last December, said things quickly turned chaotic after border officials at Daniel K Inouye International airport flagged her for extra screening.

The officer checking passports “went from completely composed to just yelling at the top of his lungs, telling my mother to go stand at the back of the line and to excuse my language, ‘shut up’,” Saroukos recalled.

“So I automatically started crying because that was my first response,” she said.

After Saroukos and her mother were taken to a holding room where their bags and phones were searched, she was bombarded with questions, including about her former work as a police officer and whether her tattoos were gang-related to her marriage to an American.

“When I did say that I was married to somebody in the US army, the officers laughed at me. They thought it was quite comical. I don’t know whether they thought I was telling the truth or not,” she said.

That is how this great country is now seen around the world thanks to the criminal doofus Donnie Dementia. And it impacts everything including travel to this country, including spending in this country. Hotels are suffering, airlines are suffering, eateries, rent-a-car places, you name it.

We used to be seen as a land of dreams.

People came here in need, they came her for safety. John Russell (LGBTQ NATION) reports on one such person:

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to return to the U.S. a gay asylum-seeker it wrongfully deported.

In his Friday, May 23, ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Brian Murphy, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, noted that the man, identified only by the initials O.C.G., has no known criminal history and was the victim of multiple violent anti-LGBTQ+ attacks in his home country of Guatemala prior to seeking asylum in the U.S. last year. As the Guardian reported, a U.S. immigration judge ruled earlier this year that O.C.G. would likely face persecution and torture if sent back to his home country and granted a withholding of removal protecting him from deportation to Guatemala. But two days later, with no warning, the Trump administration loaded O.C.G. onto a bus to Mexico, a country where he said he has also experienced violence.

Murphy noted that during previous immigration proceedings O.C.G. had expressed fear of being sent to Mexico, presenting evidence that in April 2024, while traveling through the country to reach the U.S., he was raped and held for ransom there.

“The immigration judge told O.C.G.—consistent with this Court’s understanding of the law—that he could not be removed to a country other than his native Guatemala, at least not without some additional steps in the process. Those necessary steps, and O.C.G.’s pleas for help, were ignored,” Murphy wrote.

Given the choice to remain in Mexico or return to Guatemala, O.C.G. chose to return to his home country.

As Advocate reported, in a declaration submitted to the court last week, O.C.G. said that for over two months he has been essentially living in hiding in Guatemala, largely staying indoors and relying on family to bring him groceries and other necessities for fear of being recognized by those who had previously attacked him.

Need another example? Matthew Chapman (RAW STORY) notes 'tough' guy Chump deported a young man who's carrying his family on his back:

A New York City high school student who managed to get his Venezuelan family off the streets through hard work was unexpectedly arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and had his asylum-seeker protections revoked during a routine immigration hearing, The Daily Beast reported on Tuesday evening.

The student's mother, identified only as Raiza, said her 20-year-old son Dylan "had done everything right when he came to America from his native Venezuela," according to the report. "Dylan arrived at the U.S. southern border in April 2024 and was permitted legal entry through a program established by the Biden administration. He applied for asylum and was granted protected status while awaiting a court date, which allowed him to apply for a work permit and a driver’s learner permit," according to Chalkbeat New York.

"Dylan graduated from high school in his home country but still enrolled at a school in the Bronx that caters to older newcomers, as he was determined to attend college in America eventually, his mom said," per the report. He managed to find work as a part-time delivery driver while going to the English Language Learners and International Support (ELLIS) Prep Academy, all while acting as a parental figure for his two siblings in elementary school. According to Chalkbeat, his income let him “scrape together enough money to move the family out of a city-run homeless shelter and into their own apartment.”

However, when Dylan showed up to the Manhattan courthouse for what was supposed to be a routine hearing, "A judge dismissed the deportation case against him at the hearing — something that initially appeared as good news. However, Dylan quickly learned the dismissal meant the government could now open an 'expedited removal' case against him, thrusting him into a sped-up deportation process with fewer legal checks."

Despite having no criminal record according to Raiza, he was immediately ordered against the wall by ICE agents, then escorted into an unmarked car with his family powerless to help him, according to The Beast: "She said it has been hard to get in contact with Dylan since his arrest because he has been transferred around the country, including stops in New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania. What will happen to him next is unclear."

A large number of Latinos voted for Chump. And some whine now that they didn't know Chump would deport like this. They insist that they just thought it would be the 'criminals.'

Sorry to break it to you, but it is the criminals.

Any immigrant that did not come in per code is seen as "illegal" by Chump. Illegal means criminal. You never should have trusted Chump to begin with and that's on you. Let's hope you're learning a lesson and never get fooled like that again. But the reason they refer to undocumented immigrants as "illegal immigrants" is because Chump and his cronies translate "illegal" as "criminal" when it comes to immigration. If, however, they were White anglo sheriffs that carried out actual illegal actions, Chump would be rushing in with pardons.

And they're not backing down. Brittany Gibson and Stef W. Kight (AXIOS) report this morning:

In a tense meeting last week, top Trump aide Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanded that immigration agents seek to arrest 3,000 people a day, according to two sources familiar with the meeting.
Why it matters: The new target is triple the number of daily arrests that agents were making in the early days of Trump's term — and suggests the president's top immigration officials are full-steam ahead in pushing for mass deportations.

The increased pressure on agents comes as border-crossing numbers have plummeted in Trump's first four months. It signals an increasingly aggressive approach to making arrests in non-border communities nationwide.
It also comes as the Trump administration's heavy-handed tactics in rounding up unauthorized immigrants — and in some cases, legal residents and even U.S. citizens — appear to have contributed to President Trump's slipping poll numbers on immigration.

Zoom in: Miller, the White House's deputy chief of staff and leading architect of President Trump's immigration policy, laid into top immigration officials during the May 21 meeting at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters in D.C., according to four people familiar with the meeting.

Dog Eat Dog
On prime time crime the victim begs
Money is the road to justice
and power walks it on crooked legs
Prime Time Crime
Holy hope in the hands of
Snakebite evangelists and racketeers
and big wig financiers

Where the wealth's displayed
Thieves and sycophants parade
And where it's made
the slaves will be taken
Some are treated well
In these games of buy and sell
And some like poor beasts
Are burdened down to breaking

Dog Eat Dog
It's dog eat dog ain't it Flim Flam man
Dog eat dog you can lie cheat skim scam
Beat' em any way you can
Dog eat Dog
You'll do well in this land of
Snakebite evangelists and racketeers
You could get to be
a big wig financier

Land of snap decisions
Land of short attention spans
Nothing is savored
Long enough to really understand
In every culture in decline
The watchful ones among the slaves
Know all that is genuine will be
Scorned and conned and cast away

-- "Dog Eat Dog," written by Joni Mitchell, first appears on her DOG EAT DOG album

The US was seen as a place of promise and freedom. Now Chump has sullied our image on the world stage and it you're not worried about our image? Maybe you'll worry over the financial damage. Now we're seen as petty and crooked as Convicted Felon Donald. And that's having an impact. Christy Bieber (MONEY WISE) notes:

There's a long-standing tradition of Canadians crossing the border to shop at outlets and malls in the U.S.

This is especially true in Erie and Niagara County, which are located near the border and feature top shopping destinations such as the Walden Galleria Mall and the Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls.

But unfortunately, things have changed. Cars traveling across the border into the U.S. are down significantly in 2025, and counties like Erie and Niagara are paying the price through a drop in sales tax revenue.

In February and March of 2025, 35,619 fewer cars crossed the Peace Bridge that connects Canada to Buffalo, NY, compared to the number of cars that crossed the bridge during the same months in 2024. During the same period, 29,537 fewer cars crossed the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls.

And that's another way Chump is harming the economy. We warned about it repeatedly. From the April 15th snapshot:

Other damage he's doing? The United States makes a lot of money from foreigners traveling here for various events, conventions and sight seeing journeys. Dallas, TX? A magnet for people around the world who want to remember President John F. Kennedy. And a ton of people do because President Kennedy was a monumental and historical figure -- unlike his nephew Tiny Balls Junior who is an embarrassment. Florida? The incredible beaches. Key Largo, Key West. DISNEY WORLD, UNIVERSAL STUDIOS FLORIDA THEME PARK, Daytona Beach, The Dahil Museum, etc, etc. California? DISNEYLAND Park, the wineries, the film studios, the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, Alcatraz Island, Pier 39, the beaches, the San Diego Zoo, Catalina Island, Big Sur, Joshua Tree, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Santa Monica Pier, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Mission San Juan Bautista . . . New York has the Statue of Liberty, the Museum Of Modern Art, Central Park, Empire State Building, Time Square, Grand Central Terminal . . . That's just a few things in a few states. Most of the states have major tourist attractions. And tourists from outside the US coming here accounts for a lot of money each year.

Do you get how much money that is? How many industries that impacts? You've got the airline industry, you've got the car industry if the visitors rent a car, you've got taxis and Ubers, you've got hotels and motels, you've got eateries, you've got bars, many of the points of interest have fees visitors have to pay, you've got the clothing industry since travelers often purchase an outfit or two (or a t-shirt or two) in addition to what they've packed, you've got shops -- souvenir and regular shops.

Or it did.

Do we grasp how much money Chump's running off?

In 2023, international travelers poured an estimated $213 billion -- billion -- into the US economy. That amounted to approximately $584 million a day.

And now Chump's making us pariah around the world. See, sending people to a gulag in El Salvador doesn't really argue for freedom and democracy. And since Chump declares these deportations and imprisonments require no trials, if you're in Paris, you really think Las Vegas or whatever is worth seeing when, while you're visiting the US, you might accidentally get caught up in one of Chump's dragnets and end up being taken not back to France but a to prison -- one where the are no rules or guidelines and people are tortured.

What's the slogan these days? "Come to America! You may have a great time! Or you might get kicked out of the country? We might disappear you in a facility in Louisiana or disappear you to a prison in El Salvador! Come roll the dice! It's just your life!"

Americans are registering Chump's inhumane actions. Here's a letter to the editors of THE LOS ANGELES TIMES:

To the editor: The human cruelty displayed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, under orders from the Trump administration, in arresting immigrants as they leave a courtroom with their family after having a case against them dismissed is beyond the pale of what should occur in any law-abiding nation (“Father ripped from family as agents target immigration courts, arresting people after cases dismissed,” May 24). Has our current government sunk so low that due process is ignored, court orders repeatedly violated, while the will of one man’s executive orders become the law of the land?

It seems apparent that the executive branch itself is the one acting lawlessly, creating its own orders in disregard of due process. Its arrogance is exceeded only by the human suffering that it is willfully imposing on others.

Bill Hessell, Culver City

Let's move on to Pete Hegseth. It wasn't enough that he risked national security by repeatedly using the Singal app and repeatedly revealing top secret information on this unsecure app, now he's supposedly illegally wiretapped.

Blaise Malley (SALON) reports:

Ongoing investigations into leaks at Pete Hegseth’s Department of Defense have led to mistrust between the Pentagon and the White House, per a new report from The Guardian.

Last month, three high-level Pentagon staffers were removed from their posts due to their suspected involvement in leaks surrounding military plans to retake the Panama Canal. All three men denied any wrongdoing in a joint statement. An investigation into the firings unearthed an even more alarming detail: the aides had been outed by a warrantless wiretap.

Unnamed White House advisers who spoke with the Guardian said they raised the issue with aides close to Vice President JD Vance, only to find that the wiretap story was bunk. The outlet said the advisers "complained that they were being fed dubious information by Hegseth’s personal lawyer, Tim Parlatore," the man in charge of the leaks investigation.

The Guardian reports that wiretap claims have harmed the credibility of Hegseth's office, saying the back-and-forth "fueled a breakdown in trust between the Pentagon and the White House," where Trump advisers "no longer have any idea about who or what to believe." One adviser reportedly told Hegseth that he didn't believe a word of the Cabinet member's justifications for the firings, alleging that the former Fox News host cooked up the story to win an intra-office struggle.

Trump’s national security team has been awash in controversies throughout the early months of his second term. Hegseth and others famously discussed classified war plans for Yemen in a group chat that included the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, a scandal that became known as “Signalgate.” The Defense head allegedly sent classified military plans in a separate chat channel that included his wife and brother.

We'll wind down with this from Senator Tammy Baldwin's office:

4 out of 5 veterans are worried about cuts impacting care

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) released a new report on how President Donald Trump’s reckless cuts to staff and services are hurting our veterans.

“When Americans serve and sacrifice for our freedom, it’s our duty to have their back when these brave men and women return home,” said Senator Baldwin. “As we spend this weekend remembering those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for us and honoring the families of the fallen, we also recommit ourselves to taking care of those in uniform, those who returned home, and the loved ones of our troops. I will work with anyone to do right by our veterans and survivors but this Administration is failing to keep their end of that sacred promise.”

President Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE are enacting deep cuts across the federal government that continue to cost veterans their jobs and jeopardize essential care through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that veterans and their caregivers rely on every day. VA Secretary Doug Collins announced they plan to cut 83,000 jobs, slashing the essential workforce by over 17 percent at the federal agency. These cuts come on top of staffing shortages at the VA, including having 66,000 vacancies across the health system, and further outlined in a 2024 report that found that 137 of 139 VA health centers nationwide report a severe staffing shortage in at least one area, particularly nursing and psychology.

NPR found that 11,273 VA employees nationwide have applied for deferred resignation, which the Trump administration is offering as part of its DOGE initiative to cut the VA's workforce. The top positions across all networks that are requesting deferred resignation are nurses (about 1,300), medical support assistants (about 800), and social workers (about 300). In a recent poll by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, more than 4 out of 5 veterans said they are concerned that recent federal cuts could impact veteran benefits and health care.

Veterans are also being hit hard by cuts across the federal agencies, where they make up 30 percent of the nearly 2.3 million civilian federal workforce. DOGE’s stated goal to eliminate 75 percent of the federal workforce could mean that up to 500,000 veterans could lose their jobs.

Read the full report.

###

The following sites updated:

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

The courts

Let's focus on the courts tonight. First, via REUTERS, some Supreme Court news, "The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Tuesday to hear a student's challenge on free speech grounds to a Massachusetts public school's decision to bar him from wearing a T-shirt reading "There are only two genders" due to concern about the message's effect on transgender and other pupils. The justices turned away an appeal by the student, who was 12 at the time of the 2023 incident, of a lower court's ruling upholding the ban as a reasonable restriction and rejecting his claim that the school's action violated the U.S. Constitution's protections against government abridgment of speech." Oh, the little hateful brat didn't get his way. Boo-hoo. The whole school didn't have to be upended so that he could sport his hate. Greg Stohr (BLOOMBERG NEWS) adds:

The dispute took place in 2023, when L.M. was a seventh grader at Nichols Middle School. After he arrived at school wearing the shirt, Tucker pulled him from class and told him he couldn’t return unless he took it off. When L.M. declined, the principal called his father, who took L.M. home.

L.M. later tried to wear the same shirt with a piece of tape over the words “only two” and “censored” written on top. L.M. removed that shirt after he was confronted by school officials. He wasn’t disciplined for either incident.

LM stands for Little Man and that's all LM will ever be. He's a little Eddie Haskill ass kisser.

As we all know, Donald Chump threatens judges constantly and eggs on his mob to go after them. Now prissy pants Miss Sassy has joined Chump in doing this. Reanna Smith (IRISH STAR) notes:

JD Vance has warned that the courts need to be "deferential" to Donald Trump as he accused them of attempting to "overturn the will of the American people" in a scathing attack on the judicial system.

The Vice President hit out at Chief Justice John Roberts during an interview with the New York Times’ Ross Douthat in which the pair discussed the Trump administration's string of immigration court losses. Vance referenced Robert's recent comments about the role of the judiciary, blasting it as a “profoundly wrong sentiment."

Earlier this month, the Chief Justice defended the importance of judicial independence in the wake of relentless attacks on judges, including repeated rants by the president himself.

According to the constitution, the judiciary “is a co-equal branch of government, separate from the others, with the authority to interpret the Constitution as law and strike down, obviously, acts of Congress or acts of the president,” Roberts noted.

“Its job is to, obviously, decide cases but in the course of that check the excesses of Congress or of the executive, and that does require a degree of independence,” he added.

Do you think Miss Sassy cries at night as he realizes that he's still cheap trash and no one with a brain respects him? I think so.

I hope he runs for president in 2028. I can't wait to see Chump torpedo him day after day -- the way Chump will go after anyone and try to destroy them so he can continue to pretend he's great. The minute the GOP gets a new president, Chump is gone and forgotten.

"The Snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Tuesday, May 27, 2025. Donnie Dementia's cognitive decline grows more and more obvious.

It was a long and tough weekend for Donnie Dementia as he embarrassed himself in public over and over.

Saturday, Chump dragged his fat ass to West Point. He basically crapped himself in front of the young cadets. Hillary Hanson (HUFFINGTON POST) notes:

President Donald Trump went on a tangent about “trophy wives” during his commencement address at West Point Military Academy on Saturday.

Speaking to graduating cadets, Trump told a story about William Levitt, the real estate developer who pioneered mass-produced homes in suburban developments known as Levittowns.

Trump brought Levitt up as an example of someone who had “momentum” in his career and then lost it. While discussing the life of the “great, great real estate man,” Trump made a point to comment on his marital history.

“He ended up getting a divorce, found a new wife,” Trump said. “Could you say a trophy wife? I guess we can say a trophy wife. It didn’t work out too well, but that doesn’t work out too well, I must tell you. A lot of trophy wives, it doesn’t work out. But it made him happy for a little while at least. But he found a new wife.”

None of that had anything to do with reality or West Point or the cadets. We did note that it had to do with racism. Chump's talking about himself and connecting himself with 'poor' Levitt. Levitt wasn't brought down by any of his three wives. He had a promising career up until his racism began to kill it in the early sixties. Does no one remember The Civil Rights Movement? That's what destroyed him. Racism wasn't going to be accepted and overlooked anymore. Refusing to sell homes to Black people was no longer acceptable.

That simple observation sent some MAGAs into a tizzy and they stormed the public e-mail account insisting Levitt wasn't a racist. He was. We judge people by their actions and by his actions? Levitt was a racist.

And that racism is still felt today. I'm sorry that MAGA is too lazy or stupid for a GOOGLE search. You can read David Kushner's LEVITTOWN: TWO FAMILIES, ONE TYCOON AND THE FIGHT FOR CIVIL RIGHTS IN AMERICA'S LEGENDARY SUBURB for starters. It will walk you through the 1957 Civil Rights case. Or you can just skip ahead to a 2019 report by Rachelle Blidner (NEWSDAY):

The current demographics of Levittown reflect its history, residents said. The developers of Levittown prohibited people of color from moving in through contract clauses, a common practice at the time. Restrictive racial covenants were recommended by the Federal Housing Administration to create homogenous communities. The U.S. Supreme Court struck them down in 1948, but William Levitt kept them.

Levittown’s restrictive racial covenant read: “The tenant agrees not to permit the premises to be used or occupied by any person other than members of the Caucasian race. But the employment and maintenance of other than Caucasian domestic servants shall be permitted.”

Levitt developed more than 17,400 partially prefabricated Cape Cods and ranch-style houses in planned communities with parks, pools and schools.

The media all ducked their heads on the racist being mourned by Chump. Even an article laughably entitled "Who Was William Levitt? Trump Recounts Real Estate Mogul's 'Trophy Wife' Story In West Point Speech" failed to note the racism Levitt trafficked in and profited from.

Chump connects with Levitt because he's a racist. And they both had three wives. And, like Leavitt, Chump is being brought down by his racism.

Apparently, the closest CNN has come to calling out Chump's praise for and defense of racist Levitt is to term the remarks a speech for "a political rally." Like the one he gave at Madison Square Garden?

Naomi LaChance (ROLLING STONE) reports:

Over and over again, courts have ruled that the Trump administration's actions are unlawful. Speaking before the West Point cadets, Trump expressed hope that judges will stop standing in the way and allow him to continue his lawless deportations, framing them as necessary to stop a criminal "invasion" at the border. "It's not easy, but hopefully the courts will allow us to continue," he said.

Trump separately praised his record so far as president.

Every speech is about Chump, every remark. There's never been a bigger self-promoter or anyone as vain as Chump. He demonstrated that on Memorial Day as well.

That's when Donnie Dementia spoke at Arlington National Cemetery. Graeme Demianyk (HUFFINGTON POST) reports:

President Donald Trump on Monday suggested that his two terms in the White House had moved in mysterious ways as he addressed thousands of veterans on Memorial Day.

Delivering remarks at Arlington National Cemetery, Trump mused on how he is only in the White House for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles and soccer’s 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, as well as next year’s events to mark the U.S. signing the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago, because he “missed that second term.”

Andrew Gamble (IRISH STAR) adds:

United States President Donald Trump unashamedly used his Memorial Day address to boast about upcoming major sporting events coming to America.

On Monday, Trump took to the podium to give an interesting speech on Memorial Day. Rather than talking about the sentiment of the day as he visited the Arlington National Cemetery with Vice President J.D. Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump took his opportunity to gloat about the World Cup and Olympics coming to American shores across his second term.

United States President Donald Trump unashamedly used his Memorial Day address to boast about upcoming major sporting events coming to America.

Benedict Smith (THE TELEGRAPH) observed, "Donald Trump told a Memorial Day ceremony attended by families of war dead that he had 'everything'." Jack Blanchard (POLITICO) offers this recap of the weekend:

On Saturday — as is traditional — the president delivered the annual commencement address at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Except most presidents would not don a baseball cap emblazoned with a political slogan and then veer off for the best part of an hour with a campaign-style rally speech attacking “drag shows” and “critical race theory,” complaining about their treatment by law enforcement and offering musings on — checks notes — “trophy wives” to the watching cadets.

On Sunday — less traditional, though becoming commonplace — Trump abruptly canned the 50 percent tariffs he’d announced barely 48 hours earlier on one of America’s closest allies, the European Union. (The two sides now have six weeks to cut a deal.) A few hours later, Trump was tearing into Russian President Vladimir Putin for killing civilians in Ukraine, insisting that “something has happened” to send his former friend “CRAZY” … while ignoring the fact Putin has been doing exactly this for the past three years.

Then on Monday — back to tradition — the president delivered a solemn Memorial Day tribute to the fallen at Arlington National Ceremony … except most presidents maybe don’t get quite as political as he did. And they certainly don’t precede the occasion with a 174-word ALL-CAPS social media post which starts “HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL, INCLUDING THE SCUM THAT SPENT THE LAST FOUR YEARS TRYING TO DESTROY OUR COUNTRY …” and takes in “MENTALLY INSANE” migrants, “WARPED RADICAL” Democrats and “USA HATING” judges, among others.

Finally, Trump wrapped the long weekend … by pardoning former Sheriff Scott Jenkins, of Virginia, who was facing 10 years in prison after being convicted by a jury of accepting more than $75,000 in bribes. (Jenkins blames a Joe Biden-appointed judge for his plight, and it seems the current president agrees.) Despite the jaw-dropping nature of this move, it will barely register in the context of the past six months of American politics.

He covers so much but leaves out Donnie Dementia. Others were not so circumspect. Elle Griffis (IRISH TIMES) points out:

The aggressive tirade comes after a week in which his mental and cognitive abilities were called into question during public appearances.

On Saturday. Trump appeared to show his age during his commencement speech at the West Point Military Academy. Some observers felt he seemed uncertain about where to go after his wandering speech.

Social media users criticised also criticised his conduct at the prestigious event , as he didn’t stop to shake hands with or salute any of the graduates.

Then on Sunday he made a blunder during an interview about US steel. The Republican leader was asked about Nippon Steel’s $14.3 billion investment in US Steel.

The Japanese steelmaker will partner with US Steel, keeping its headquarters in Pennsylvania. However, the recent blip had him mixing up Nissan and Nippon Steel. He said: “But they're going to invest billions of dollars in steel. And it's a good company. Nissan is a very good company.”

Sabrina Haake (RAW STORY) explains:

To ensure that the United States will always be led by a coherent, functioning President, the Twenty-Fifth Amendment provides for the prompt, orderly, and democratic transfer of executive power in the event the president is incapacitated, physically or mentally. Trump’s tariff debacle, where he thrust out his chest, flung economic incoherence at the world, then flip flopped only two days later, was the strongest evidence yet- in a roiling sea of evidence- that he is mentally incapacitated.

Despite inheriting the strongest post-covid economy in the world, Trump keeps insisting that the US economy is broken and in need of saving.He insists global trading partners who sell us more than they buy from us- even countries that are a fraction of our size- are “taking advantage.”

Trump’s tariff drama was so asinine, he’s either self-dealing or insane. Frankly, although they are not mutually exclusive, I’d prefer the former. I only wish that rumors swirling in the media today, suggesting Trump’s tariffs were a hustle, an insider scheme meant to enrich his backers, were true. Trump being a self-dealing crook poses less danger to the world than him making than no sense at all.

Leaders of the EU are too intelligent to sneer out loud at Trump’s flip flop on tariffs. Aware of his deranged lust for revenge, they are reluctant to utter the truth about his economic ignorance. But the world is aware, even if Americans aren’t, that our president is deranged.

Because Trump’s administration hasrefused to release his medical records, other mental health professionals have come forward with their own assessments. The emerging consensus is that Trump, showing cognitive decline, is presenting signs of advanced dementia.

Dementia. Dementia Donald.

.Back to that pardon, Jared Gans (THE HILL) reports:

President Trump issued a full pardon Monday to a former Virginia sheriff who had been convicted of bribery, alleging that he was a victim of a “weaponized” Justice Department under the Biden administration.

Trump announced his pardon of Scott Jenkins, who was convicted in December of accepting more than $70,000 in bribes in exchange for appointing local businessmen as auxiliary deputy sheriffs in the office.

Why did he pardon him? Because Chump doesn't see it a crime. He's so corrupt and crooked that he thinks bribery is perfectly normal and doesn't give a damn that the he violated not just ethics, not just laws but the public's trust as well.

BLUESKY on the pardon.

We'll wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray' office:

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement on the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) decision released this morning, which concludes that President Trump is illegally impounding funding approved by Congress in violation of the Impoundment Control Act (ICA):

“This legal decision affirms what we’ve long known: the President is breaking the law to block funding Congress passed on a bipartisan basis and that is owed to the American people—simply because he disagrees with it. This plain fact is unacceptable—and it cannot stand any longer.

“Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law by wide margins and specifically provided funding for every state to build out a network of chargers for the electric vehicles that families are increasingly turning to and that are being made right here in America. These investments should be getting out the door—creating new jobs and helping Americans get where they need to go without interruption—but President Trump has illegally choked this funding off.

“These bipartisan investments need to start flowing immediately—as do the hundreds of billions of dollars in other investments President Trump is holding up. I don’t care about Russ Vought’s personal interpretation of our spending laws; the Constitution is clear, and President Trump simply does not have the power of the purse—Congress does.”

Presidents do not wield the power to unilaterally withhold or block investments that have been enacted into law through what’s known as “impoundment.” This foundational principal has been affirmed time and again. The Impoundment Control Act (ICA) of 1974 makes this plain and establishes limited procedures the president can and must follow to propose delaying or rescinding enacted funding—procedures Trump has not sought to use.

The Impoundment Control Act also charges the GAO with the responsibility to investigate and report to Congress when the president illegally withholds funding—as it has done today. In recent testimony to the Committee, the GAO acknowledged that it has opened 39 impoundment investigations and counting. Today’s announcement marks its first decision in one of those investigations. The ICA also authorizes the Comptroller General to file suit when the president illegally impounds funding.

Since his first hours in office, President Trump has illegally blocked funding owed to communities across the country through a variety of different means. Senate and House Appropriations Committee Democrats have been tracking Trump’s illegal funding freeze and found that, as of April 29^th, President Trump is blocking at least $430 billion in funding owed to the American people. More information is available HERE.

In today’s decision, the GAO concluded the Department of Transportation (DOT) violated the Impoundment Control Act when it delayed expenditures for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program that were required by law to be spent. Its decision states in part: “DOT is not authorized under the ICA to withhold these funds from expenditure and must continue to carry out the statutory requirements of the program. If DOT wishes to make changes to the obligation and expenditure of funds appropriated under the NEVI Formula Program, it must propose funds for rescission or otherwise propose legislation to make changes to the law for consideration by Congress. …. DOT’s withholding of NEVI Formula Program funds violates the ICA.”

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided $5 billion in funding from fiscal year 2022 through 2026 for NEVI. The program provides funding to states to strategically create an electric vehicle (EV) charging network, which is critical to meeting new demand from American consumers. A 2024 study projected the U.S. would need 182,000 direct current fast chargers to accommodate the growing EV market—nearly triple the current capacity of just over 55,000. But President Trump has blocked all new obligations of funding for the program—blocking states from using these investments and hurting communities across America.

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Kat's "Kat's Korner: Bruce and Melanie -- a better music industry would be getting the word out" went up yesterday. The following sites updated over the long weekend: