Monday, October 12, 2026

Stickin’ The Fork In It 🍴

And then it all went to shit, and Elmo relented: Elmo even let Al Camino back on: Nick didn’t keep up with the news: Al did, though: Mostly it was such inside baseball, it was under the stitches: I don’t recognize any of those accounts (I had to look up Sorter and Camino). I haven’t seen anything from Texas Tribune about it (good for them). It might be on MS NOW (lots of hours to fill), but honestly, when Elmo relents, well… guys, you’re done. Eh. Twitter is America’s back fence. Nobody pays that much attention to it, and the worst people there suffer from megalomania. It’s why they’re there. I mean, now that we’ve heard of him.
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“I Felt A Great Disturbance In The Force”

Evidence of absence  Is not absence of evidence.
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What’s The Frequency, Kenneth?

I can’t get past the fact any crime related to the father’s actions is moot because he’s dead. That seems to be the line HSI is bruting about, but it only reinforces a rogue operation. Especially since HSI did this, not DOJ. It looks like even Blanche’s DOJ wouldn’t touch this turkey .

Or maybe it’s because there’s an alleged violation of immigration law. But the father is dead, so we’re back to the marriage allegations Going after a candidate this close to the election is one thing (and not an insignificant thing). Conducting a search for evidence of a criminal violation of immigration law, in this situation (a naturalized citizen MOC who is an outspoken critic of the POTUS) , veers strongly into “who will rid me of this troublesome priest?!” territory.

There is another problem here. HSI just ain’t that distinguishable from ICE.
There are at least 36 known affidavits attested by HSI agents targeting Democrats or Trump opponents that have included false claims, and when you count all the shenanigans in Minnesota, probably well over 50.
The real problem is hiding in plain sight: what’s the crime? And why isn’t DOJ investigating it?
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The Rule Of Incompetency

Search warrants are usually issued before charges are filed. A criminal case can’t be filed (i.e., set for trial) until there is evidence establishing probable cause for a crime. A search warrant issues on reasonable suspicion. But of what? Omar is a naturalized citizen. She can’t be denaturalized any easier than I can. As citizens, we stand on equal footing to our claim to citizenship.

Speculation is that Trump wants to denaturalize Omar, and then deport her. My honest opinion is, that could take more time than he has in office. For one thing:
“This allegation,” there, is that her father failed to reveal a prior marriage. Under 212(k), minors who enter the country on the representations of a parent, are not held responsible for material misrepresentations. So there’d have to be a proceeding to denaturalize (a civil action), which could combine with grounds that override 212(k), but all that before deportation proceedings could begin.

And yet they’re pursuing a criminal investigation. Which could eventually fuel the civil actions (they want to deport her), but won’t speed them up any. So the strategy here looks more like another Trump special: utterly specious incompetency.

It won’t be the usual ICE snatch, grab, and hide, in other words.

I don’t know how any of this gets to a DHS level criminal investigation, unless they’re trying to prove she married her brother for immigration purposes (that theory is slightly less credible than Talarico away in a mental health crisis in Ohio). Which would seem to be easily established by finding the marriage certificate on file in the state where the marriage allegedly occurred. I’m guessing that’s the alleged violation of immigration laws that would interest DHS (illegally helping her brother’s immigration status, IOW). And somehow (it obviously ain’t hard. Remember the search in Fulton County for evidence of election fraud?) DHS convinced a federal judge to issue the warrant. It would be helpful to know what crime they told the judge they were looking for evidence of. Because that’s the $64 question right now.

My guess is nothing comes of it, except to prove that those who complain most what was done to them, are most likely to do it to others. And very, very incompetently.

We’re gonna find out one day that DOJ got the pen register for Omar’s phone.
BREAKING: Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) responds to federal raid of her DC home this morning. The search warrant was approved by a federal judge & sources tell @FoxNews it is in connection to an ongoing criminal investigation into potential immigration fraud, including the immigration paperwork filed by the Somali-born Congresswoman’s late father when she was a child.
What her father did is irrelevant to a criminal charge (he’s dead). She was a minor, and is protected by 212(k), in any case. And she’s a citizen, something that won’t be unzipped because of the paperwork more than a decade ago. So whatever he did, it can’t be the basis for a criminal investigation now.

I’m still going with the marriage conspiracy theory. These people are stumped enough to pursue that.
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How You Actually Do It

It is clear that Putin does not read Truth Social, and his “shahed” drones follow a different set of instructions. But we in Ukraine immediately supported the idea of an energy ceasefire, as we did more than once for months when we ourselves put forward this idea. We agreed to an energy ceasefire. The American team knows very well what this means for us.

We do not have major oil reserves, large oil export capacity, or dozens of oil refineries. In Ukraine, we have just one oil refinery, and it was badly damaged by Russian strikes long ago. We import large amounts of diesel and other oil products. And I am grateful to all our neighbors, especially Poland, for helping us with our energy needs. For us, the key issue is electricity. Russia started its campaign of strikes against our power generation and power grid years ago. And every winter, including this one, Russians try to make these attacks even more intense – we have power cuts every single day.

For Russia, of course, gasoline shortages and burning oil refineries – because of our strikes in response – are painful. And these are not the same volumes that could be lost because of the crisis in Hormuz. But if Russia wants us to stop our long-range strikes against its oil refineries and oil exports, then Russia must stop its strikes against our energy system and critical infrastructure. This is only fair.

From a speech at the Warsaw Security Forum.
Trump is the clown 🀑 who turned the Presidency into a circus.πŸŽͺ 
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Early Voting In Texas Starts October 19, 2026

I've heard credible reports that Ken Paxton has a serious medical condition that causes clinical levels of cowardice.

That's why I haven't heard from him after 85 days when I first challenged him to a debate publicly. And I think people are concerned — it's really good for us all to figure out what condition Ken Paxton may have that's preventing him from debating.

Fox News has said that Ken Paxton should debate. President Trump has said Ken Paxton should debate. The people of Texas have said Ken Paxton should debate.

We're awaiting his answer. He has asked for proof of life from me. I'm asking for proof of spine from him.
Q: President Trump said that you and Ken Paxton should debate... What are your thoughts on that?

@JamesTalarico : I agree with President Trump. I think Ken Paxton should debate. The president is saying he should debate. Fox News has said he should debate. The people of Texas have said he should debate.

And I think it's mysterious that Ken Paxton hasn't responded to a request for a debate in 85 days. I hear that people are getting really concerned about the Attorney General. I’ve heard rumors that he has a rare medical condition that causes clinical levels of cowardice.

I know Ken Paxton has asked for proof of life from me. I'm asking for proof of spine from him.
And the saddest part is telling Texans what they won’t put up with.
JUST IN: Ken Paxton says James Talarico does NOT have the strength to serve as US Senator of Texas

"I don't know whether to believe him about the flu or NOT, I just know that almost EVERYTHING he says has been false about the campaign!" 🎯

"ABSOLUTELY NOT. He's not strong enough!"

"No. He's NOT capable. The only thing he's capable of is lying to the voters!"

Disappears for 2 weeks in the final stretch, constantly changing his positions, wants us to not question anything and take him at his word

NOT GONNA FLY IN TEXAS.

Texans deserve a senator who is honest with them, not one who disappears and expects nobody to ask questions! What happens if he actually gets elected?

TEXAS NEEDS KEN PAXTON πŸ”₯
Texans can be mulish, and the best way to piss ‘em off is to tell them what they won’t tolerate. We’ll tell you what we find unacceptable. We don’t need you to tell us.

And one week from the polls opening? Minds are pretty well made up.
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Sunday, October 11, 2026

Every Time You Think…

... they can’t get more pathetic….
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COLOSSAL Fuck Up

IOW, Russia will supply somebody.
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😈

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The Value And Virtue Of AI…

There are two issues here.
Adam Serwer of The Atlantic reported on how Texas Tech University is implementing artificial intelligence to help the university root out suspected "woke" texts from its curriculum, a move that has caused roughly a quarter of the university's staff to look for work elsewhere. The chatbot was developed in response to a state law that requires academia to represent that there are only two genders, male and female.

At times, the university's AI chatbot has completely mischaracterized perspectives about certain works and has hallucinated some reasons for excluding material, Serwer noted.

"The difference between 'advocating' and 'teaching' is not clearly defined, but the way the censorship policy is being implemented makes the situation pretty clear: If you’re using material that state lawmakers agree with, that’s teaching; if you’re talking about something they object to, that’s advocacy, and you have to stop," Serwer noted.

The university's use of AI to enforce state law has rankled many of the university's tenured staff. For instance, Alan Berenberg, who specializes in Soviet Union history, told Serwer that the university's AI concocted a "completely inaccurate" reason to exclude readings from Princeton historian Joan Scott and the French philosopher Michel Foucault.

“The fact that the system AI doesn’t work, that it makes inaccurate pronouncements—that’s a feature, not a bug. They don’t care if it’s accurate or not. They just want to be able to say, Look, we’re making sure that your children are not being exposed to these horrible ideas from these radical professors,” Barenberg said. “A key part of how authoritarian systems often work is that, through the vagueness and sending up signals and vibes, they’re essentially saying, You know what not to do, but being deliberately vague about it.”

William Wenthe, a poetry professor, told Serwer that the university is demeaning its students by using AI for this purpose.

“They’re old enough to vote. They’re all old enough to fight and die for this country. And you’re treating them like babies," he said.

Lisa Limeri, a biology professor who recently received tenure, was more curt. “We are not allowed to teach them scientifically, accurately," she said.

“America has risen to global prominence in science and scientific research because of the strength of our system,” Limeri said. “If these kinds of censorship policies were implemented everywhere, we would have a generation of students who are not learning to think critically, are not learning to think for themselves, and are not learning full and accurate scientific information.”
That’s the second issue. The State of Texas has lost its fucking mind and is determined to take every man, woman, and child down with it. It was bad when I was in school; I never imagined it would get worse.

But the first issue is AI, my hobbyhorse (I wonder if they still let Tristram Shandy be taught. I doubt it. But the double entendre about nose size might get past AI.
Then again, AI would treat “A Modest Proposal” as an economic text; or a business manual.) Again, I wonder at the value of AI. A large language model is still just a database running a keyword search. I used to tell my students not to rely on such searches for research, because keywords will not find the information necessary for true research. Using it as a replacement for research, for actually reading and understanding and finding and learning, is to avoid learning at all costs. Something most of my students did without the aid of technology.

Turning these matters over to AI is an excuse for cruelty without taking on any responsibility. No one is responsible for reprehensible decisions: AI decided, and AI doesn’t have an agenda! Well, that, and it provides the brute force to ensure the state’s agenda is rigidly followed. But is this what Texas needs nearly 600 data centers for?
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“Is Our Children Learning?”

The value and virtues of Twitter. If you haven’t heard, Talarico wasn’t holed up in his house in Austin with the press camped outside for 9 days (or 12 days, or 14 days. There are as many timelines as there are conspiracy theories.), and wasn’t followed from his house to the ACL festival in Austin on Friday night by the same press. Because Talarico was holed in a mental health care facility in Ohio until Saturday morning. October 10th. Or so says MAGA Twitter.

MAGA Twitter says this means Talarico must withdraw and allow Paxton to win by default. Except…
There it is. A Nick Sorter special. Well, one thing is true: there is a big, fat lie here. Yes, there was a “recording” of the call (who wouldn’t record their HIPPA violation?). It was revealed, on Twitter, to be AI generated. The account that revealed that, has been suspended. All Community Notes correcting Sortor’s claims have been taken down.  Elmo wants this story out there. 

Raw panic.πŸ™€ 

And now you see why the timeline matters, and where the “details” are coming from. 
It appears the comms team later decided they’d better come in on Sunday. Yeah, this whole thing is just covered in stupid. There’s that; and… Also, too, as well. The whole MAGA Twitter melee has been MAGA trying to cope with the fact Paxton is very, very likely to lose. At this point, they can’t even cope with basic logic.

😈
Elon Musk and MAGA influencers tried to push a “BOMBSHELL” to destroy James Talarico.

Then their smear fell apart under the most basic scrutiny.

Now THEIR tactics are raising serious legal questions—and one admitted “public humiliation” was the goal.

This backfired spectacularly.
LATER: The tweets I used have now acquired community notes. After the clinic in Ohio denied Talarico had ever been there, even Elmo threw in the towel.

And wading through this post the next morning, the whole thing really is a farce. A complete waste of time and energy.
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Watching The Donuts

Rick Wilson:
The news of Ukraine attacking Yandex data centers across Russia will have bigger implications for the 2026 election than most people understand yet. Ukraine is dismantling Donald Trump’s biggest online flamethrower: an AI-driven troll army that distorts, divides, and amplifies the worst voices. Once more, Ukraine might be saving the world.
Meanwhile: Ukraine saves the world. Trump lies about everything.

This is where I came into this picture.
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One Has To Think Very Hard…

... to realize what a COLOSSAL fuck up Donald Trump is.
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The Adults Are Coming

"He made us shoot him when he pulled away from the curb after a guy in a mask started beating in his car window.”
Mamdani: "There is a reason why the NYPD would not be shooting at a moving vehicle. There is a reason why law enforcement agents are supposed to wear identifiable information and uniforms. What you could see in the videos is bystanders outside unsure as to what they were even seeing. Because in that imagery, it feels as if you’re almost looking at a mass shooter as opposed to seeing someone who’s purportedly representing a federal agency."
Mamdani: "We are talking a federal agency that is ripping families apart, that is willing to endanger the lives of a 5 year old child as well as any New Yorker in the surrounding area, and then after the fact, seeks to blame the person and the city at large as opposed to reflect upon their own actions"

So if some random, masked stranger started beating on your car window while your kids are in the car, you’d drive away?
BRENNAN: Nidal Hasan is in a wheelchair. Doesn't the administration risk livestreaming this and making him a martyr? Couldn't this be a risk to the homeland?

MARKWAYNE MULLIN: No one has to watch it

BRENNAN: Well then why are you livestreaming it?

MULLIN: The president is restoring American values
A firing squad shooting a man in a wheelchair?πŸ‘¨‍🦽 That livestream is never gonna happen.
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But Russia Can Still Attack Apartment Buildings?

Or it’s just more πŸ‚ πŸ’©.
Analyst Comment:

It should be noted that both sides have reasons to not abide by such a ceasefire, with Ukraine looking to beggar Russian energy export ventures and Russia looking to tax Ukraine’s energy grid during the winter months. Amongst others, it’s these reasons why the past 4-5 “energy ceasefire” announcements have amounted to very little if anything at all.
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All Over But The Shoutin’

Every time you think the GOP can’t go any lower:
Talarico, 37, has Type I diabetes, a diagnosis he received during his 2018 campaign for the Texas House. During that race, he went into a state of ketoacidosis and fell asleep for 36 hours after walking the length of his district for a set of town halls. Earlier this year, Talarico’s campaign aired TV ads promoting legislation he championed that caps monthly out-of-pocket insulin costs.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with diabetes, an autoimmune condition, have a higher risk for “serious flu complications,” and are more prone to getting sick and staying sick for longer.

“I guess I’ve been shaking too many hands on the campaign trail, and so I want to keep everybody safe,” Talarico said Sept. 30, when he called into an event with the U.S. Hispanic Business Council while appearing sickly. “If I was passing on this illness to somebody and got someone’s grandmother or someone’s baby sick, I couldn’t live with myself.”

Talarico added during that event that his sickness sent him to urgent care in Dallas the night before.
Talarico was out 9 days. Paxton exaggerated it into two weeks, and then demanded “proof of life.” One still wonders how many public appearances Paxton has made. He makes more news for leaked tapes from private fundraisers where he complains about how hard he has it. To recap: Talarico is a diabetic. For his own health, and the health of others, he took 9 days off the campaign trail. 

And Ken Paxton still won’t debate him. 

Early voting in Texas starts Monday, October 19, 2026.
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Trumpenomics

Keeping it simple for the simpletons. Yes, one ship. Not even a noticeable drop in the bucket of U.S. consumption.  Trump has repeatedly bragged about “billions” of barrels of Venezuelan crude on its way to America, but gas prices remain stubbornly high. And yes, he made the arrangement for the one shipment of diesel with Putin some time ago, not in a phone call last week. International trade agreements don’t actually work that way. But how much diesel did Russia agree to deliver? Is this it?

And then there’s this “blockbuster:”
Except it’s just Bessent being an ass to a U.S. Senator and former Harvard professor:
Exclusive: FOX Business obtained the response from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to the latest request for information from Senator Elizabeth Warren.

The Senator has sent more than 100 letters to Treasury asking for information in the past 21 months. The Secretary snarky at times in the response saying, "Rather than take my suggestion of studying introductory economics, you have continued your letter-writing crusade and participation in tabloid fodder about the Treasury Department." Secretary Bessent also added a hand-written note at the bottom of the letter. (Picture attached)

Senator Warren sent a letter dated October 10th asking for more information about what the Trump Administration is doing to lower borrowing costs for average Americans. In the letter the Senator accuses the Treasury Secretary of increasing costs saying, "The surge in Treasury yields is self-inflicted and follows the Fed's decision to raise the federal funds rate by a quarter of a percentage point, driven by concerns about inflation." The Treasury Secretary refuted that characterization in his letter, adding, "It is difficult to treat your concern as sincere." Adding, "As the federal funds rate climbed from near zero to its highest level in 22 years, with inflation hitting a 40-year high, you were a cheerleader for the Biden Administration's reckless spending."

The Secretary finishes the letter offering "a Foreign Exchange for Dummies tutorial still, and if you receive a passing grade to the Yale metric, not the Harvard curve, I would be happy to also include a Fixed Income for Dummies."
All it proves is that Bessent is looking up to see bottom (especially the childish and gratuitous Yale  v. Harvard rivalry swipe, that would embarrass children on a schoolyard). Oh, and the FoxNews “exclusive” fail: This is really all they’ve got. A Treasury Secretary reduced to childish taunts because he’s failed so thoroughly, and a President who leads that effort with his failures.
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Saturday, October 10, 2026

This Really Seems To Be All They Have

😹
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American Exceptionalism

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner raised the possibility of cutting off intelligence sharing with Ukraine if Kyiv does not stop striking Russian oil refineries, according to the Financial Times, citing people familiar with Friday's talks in Miami. The special envoys made the point during nearly eight hours of talks. Ukraine uses U.S. intelligence for the strikes, the FT reports.

The meeting was derailed when President Donald J. Trump announced a deal with Russia to release diesel onto the world market, three people with direct knowledge told the FT. The Ukrainian team was blindsided. One person said the envoys told them the U.S. was poised to lift sanctions on Russian diesel and that Moscow intended to lift its export ban. The FT reports President Trump has pressed Zelenskyy to halt the drone strikes, citing strain on global energy prices from the Iran war.

Zelenskyy called the move "a weak decision made by strong partners." A senior Ukrainian official said, "We will burn refineries." Hours later, Ukrainian forces struck the Yug Rusi oil terminal in Rostov-on-Don, according to Russian authorities (video below). Ukraine's team cut its trip short. Witkoff said in a post on X that the talks were "productive" and the sides agreed to continue diplomacy.

Ukrainian officials viewed the request to halt strikes without Russia doing the same as unfair, the FT's sources said. The Trump administration paused intelligence sharing for eight days in March 2025 after an Oval Office clash with Zelenskyy, per the FT.

Ukrainian authorities say a Russian glide bomb attack on Zaporizhzhia on Saturday killed at least 15 civilians, including three children. Russian ballistic missiles and jet powered drones also attacked Kyiv.
Meanwhile:
It is literally against the law to buy oil from
Russia until the war with Ukraine has ended, Russia has withdrawn, and disavowed all claims to Ukrainian territory. Not that the diesel is coming anytime soon, anyway. If at all. What’s Trump going to do? Sue Putin for specific performance?

Ah, here it is:
Citing actual text of the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act, signed into law on April 8, 2022 (Public Law 117-109):

Section 3 requires the president to certify to Congress that:

Russia has reached an agreement to withdraw its forces and end hostilities, accepted by Ukraine's independent government.

Russia poses no immediate military threat of aggression to any NATO member.

Russia recognizes Ukrainians' right to freely choose their own government.

Two important details: The law requires an agreement to withdraw, not necessarily a completed withdrawal. It also requires a 90-day waiting period after certification, during which Congress can block the termination of the ban.
😈 πŸ‘‡
Hillary Clinton: When I was at the opening of the Obama library—Michelle Obama gave that speech about all of the things that her husband had done that the other guy has not, when she got to the Nobel peace prize, I just burst into laughter. I thought it was so perfect. Barack Obama turned around and grinned at me. I leaned forward and said I really hope that Donald Trump is watching this. Barack said, “me too”
I still wonder how different American history would be if we hadn’t been afraid to elect a woman president. Twice.

And then I realize it wouldn’t be American history.

American exceptionalism is our curse and our weakness, not our greatest strength and source of pride.
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“Let My Diesel Go!”

No, try another country, a little closer to home. Also starts with a “U,” if that helps. We do need their diesel. OOP! Not supposed to say that, am I? Trump has a vision of the future. I’m sensing a pattern here. Tennessee. πŸ‘† New York. Even Texas.  No shit. Well, now we know what he’s worried about. They’re in a line a mile long outside, watching on a Jumbotron.

They’ve all moved down to the floor.
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Walking It Back

"Wealth" defined as property has always been disproportionately distributed to the old, who are more likely to accumulate it. The house I’m sitting in is paid for,  which means I have that much more wealth (no debt) than I had for nearly 40 years. It has also increased in value, adding to my “wealth” without me doing a thing except being fortunate. (My grandparents moved from the house I knew in childhood to another because the neighborhood declined.  My grandfather worked all his life, and if I had lived as long as he did, I’d be three years dead. He never accumulated any real wealth. Not by this standard.) My father accumulated more wealth than his father ever had. I’m pretty sure that the post-war years were the aberration in American history, and we foolishly let it revert to the mean. States made education available, and Boomers took advantage of it. My education kept me away from stoop labor (I did enough of that between semesters), but it better me up for life.  So we (the Boomers) decided education was too expensive, and not producing enough “A” students, so we quit investing in it. Well, except for our kids. You know, Hid fearing white kids. Rich white people don’t want to pay to educate non-whites.

And Boomers all but invented generational animosity. “The Grneration Gap.” “Never trust anyone over 30.” We sowed the dragon’s teeth; now we reap the whirlwind.  But the lesson of the Prodigal applies here, too. Impatient child that he was, he told his father to give him his inheritance while he was young and could enjoy it. The framing in that tweet has some of that flavor. 

I worked hard all my life, suffered many setbacks and reversals. I’ve fallen ass backwards into a retirement I never really anticipated. Should I apologize to people under 35 who are being forced backwards? More properly I should sympathize, because I went through that when I was under 35. What, you thought everything came up roses until 2000?

I mean: “Been there, done that.” But why should you go through it? It was unjust and unfair when I had to struggle with it, and that struggle didn’t “make me a man.” It was bullshit. It was a broken system working for the benefit of the system and the few, not for people and all of us. So the real problem is not the rich taking from the poor (oh, they are; but “poor” is a very relative term in that analysis), or the old taking from the young (as my parents and grandparents and ancestors built the world I enjoyed in youth, do too I built it for today’s youth). But that raises the question: could it have been built more equitably?

Aye, there’s the rub. It’s not always a matter of taking; sometimes it’s a matter of structuring. Maybe it’s a matter of restructuring; and if I need to make some sacrifices to make this society more equitable, I will.

But there’s the other rub, the one Niebuhr recognized: a society cannot require sacrifice for meaning and belonging. That’s coercion, not morality. Except, of course, we do require sacrifice by some, so the rest of us can be comfortable. This is Omelas, after all.

Maybe, instead of bitching about who has and who has not, we address that root problem. It’s not like we can walk away. And we don’t have to act like the bargain of Omelas us absolute and irrevocable.
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The Rule Of Law Is A Quaint Concept

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🧊

And what they see is construction workers and random rabbis standing around, holding guns. Come ‘27, burn it to the ground, fire everyone involved, start over from scratch. With severe restrictions that keep Miller from ever getting his hands on it again.
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We Could Still Import Diesel…

... that could get here before Election Day.
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No Wonder People Were Leaving

Trump does an incoherent ramble as a confused audience listens in complete silence:

"And you know what they're doing? They go straight down, you know, you can make those drill bits talk. You can make 'em sing, you can make them go, they go down. New York's over here, Pennsylvania-- they go down and they take a sharp left. And they suck our oil out. Can you believe it? Lines of different states, and you'll see one has Cadillacs, because they like Cadillacs better than they like Mercedes, but one has an Escalade, and one has a 50 year old Chevy. And you're talking about 3 ft. It's a line that goes right up. One has some beautiful drilling plants, and one has no drilling plants, it's got no money, it's got poverty.
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Did Trump Really Think Ukraine Didn’t Have A Vote?

To Ukraine, the American money for Russian diesel would fuel Russia’s war effort. And Russia is not attacking industrial sites in Ukraine:
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Vote Like You’re As Gullible As An Infant πŸ‘Ά

 According to my stats, there’s suddenly a flood of interest in my posts from 7 years ago. This is one of them, which reaffirmed my conviction that Jefferson is overrated. He thought farmers the backbone of American democracy. I can’t help but see them as useful idiots to… well, not we, the people.

In electoral politics, at least, farmers are, by popular definition, insane. They keep doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different outcome.

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“I Ain’t Readin’ All That”

"Sorry it happened to you, though. Or I’m happy for you.”
“This is the woman who received the Nobel Peace Prize over the Great United States of America, whose Representative, ME, settled eight Wars, and many other things,” Trump wrote. “I know nothing about this woman, and neither does anyone else!”
Which clearly should be the deciding factor.
“In actuality, I should have won 8 Nobel Peace Prizes, not just 1,” he wrote, before listing the eight conflicts he claims to have ended. “Egypt and Ethiopia” made the list, even though the two countries haven’t been at war. So did “Israel and Iran,” with his own administration still fighting Iran.
Was he just running through the alphabet? Poor Shouty Grandpa didn’t get a pony for Xmas again this year.
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“It Was A Pleasure To Burn.”πŸ”₯

 I worked in a small, independent bookstore for a few years, what now seems many years ago. I went back yesterday to see friends and browse again, and celebrate the owner’s 30th anniversary of the store. 

Part of her success (and I hasten to add, pre-emptively, that business is good), was selling books to local school libraries. She told us she doesn’t do that anymore. Not because she fell out with the schools (there was some friction years back with a local school board that went MAGA, but that only lasted ‘til the next election), but because the schools have all fired their librarians. Every single one. 

Budget constraints, in part. But largely due to state law, which now requires every book on the shelf be probationary. It must be available first for review by the parents for 30 days. If no one objects, it can go on the library shelves for the students. If they do, well…it never gets there. I’m not sure of the finer points of the law, but that’s how it works in real time. 

Later, the Lovely Wife pointed out that it would take a librarian to keep track of which new books had passed their probationary period, and which had just started. I pointed out that was another reason the schools didn’t have librarians. It was a feature, not a bug. I pointed out to my friend the bookstore owner that, when I was young, I read Fahrenheit 451, but I never imagined I’d be living in it one day.

If my daughter ever has a child, I’m going to make it my life’s last work to see it goes to a good private school. It’s the only hope I would have for my grandchildren.

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Friday, October 09, 2026

Everybody Owes Trump

Three year olds are less self-centered. 🀦‍♂️ Uh-huh. (He "got” what we already had.) And the sun comes up to shine on his countenance, and the tide comes in and goes out to pay him homage. But does Norway care? Do they show respect? 🫑  πŸ™„ Nobody does, Grandpa. Just to prove he’s as dumb as a box of rocks…. It was $90. By next week it’ll be $900 he sent out. To every man, woman, and child in America. Grandpa needs his nap. They’re moving down to the floor. Right, Grandpa? This election is going to be over by Election Day. Lagniappe.
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I Should Have Realized….

Trump: "I have just concluded a highly successful discussion with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, wherein it was agreed that Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace, another 500,000 Tons during the month of November, and 1,000,000 Tons immediately thereafter. Additionally, based on the condition of their Diesel Refineries, Russia will then deliver, within a short period of time, 3,000,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel."
... Trump has no idea what the fuel consumption is in this country. No idea at all:
On an average day, the U.S. transportation sector consumes about 2.94 million barrels of diesel.

Russia has historically been a major diesel exporter. A year ago, it was shipping about 2.5 million tons per month, but had been estimated to be shipping around 1 million metric tons in June, Reuters reported.

Andy Lipow, president of consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates, said he was “skeptical” that Russia would be able to come up with the promised barrels.

“I’m quite skeptical about those type of volumes being exported, given that currently Russia has imposed a diesel export ban in October,” Lipow told The Hill.

“Now, it’s certainly possible that once the harvest season ends in Russia, that we do see an increase in diesel exports, but I believe that Ukraine is going to continue to attack Russian refineries to impact on their ability to produce transportation fuels,” he said.

If Russia is able to come up with the barrels, Lipow said that the 300,000 ton and 500,000 ton figures are “quite small” compared to the entire global diesel market, though he said 3 million tons was more significant.

He says that if Russia does come up with the diesel to export, he expects there will be “some relief on diesel prices.”
Not soon; if at all. Certainly not before Election Day.

Trump really has no fucking idea what he’s doing. 
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