“We need someone who’s bitter and funny, like Joan Rivers or Don Rickles. You don’t need to understand government or politics, just show up and be a kind of lovable asshole 24 hours a day.”
Category Archives: Politics & Government
Scott Adams (1957-2026)
[see comment below]
For many years I was an ardent fan of cartoonist Scott Adams. Between 2002 and 2016 I posted more than one hundred times. I read five of his books and count God’s Debris as one of my all time favorites.
In 2016 Adams became a vocal supporter of Donald Trump and —as far as I know— remained one until he died a couple of weeks ago. I asked Gemini if Adams’ support for Trump affected his career. Continue reading
No Kings Rally
Barb’s photos from No Kings Rally in Jefferson City, MO.
“No one voted to deport moms”
A Missouri Town Was Solidly Behind Trump. Then Carol Was Detained.
Published May 28, 2025 in the New York Times
The first sign of trouble came early this month when Carol didn’t show up for her shift at John’s Waffle and Pancake House.
She was as reliable as the sun rising over rice and melon fields in her adopted hometown, Kennett, Mo., a conservative farming hub of 10,000 people in the state’s southeastern boot heel, where “Missouri” becomes “Missour-uh.”
In the 20 years since she arrived from Hong Kong, she had built a life and family in Kennett, working two waitressing jobs and cleaning houses on the side. She began every morning at the bustling diner, serving pecan waffles, hugging customers and reading leftover newspapers to improve her English.
“Everyone knows Carol,” said Lisa Dry, a Kennett city councilwoman.
That all ended on April 30, when federal immigration officials summoned Carol, 45, whose legal name is Ming Li Hui, to their office in St. Louis, a three-hour drive from Kennett. Her partner, a Guatemalan immigrant, had voiced suspicion about the sudden call. But “I didn’t want to run,” Ms. Hui said in a jailhouse phone interview. “I just wanted to do the right thing.”
She was arrested and jailed to await deportation. Continue reading
“You are who you hang with”
Singer Sheryl Crow, 63, waved goodbye to her Tesla as she sold the electric car and blasted billionaire “President Musk” in a viral clip. “There comes a time when you have to decide who you are willing to align with. So long Tesla,” Crow captioned an Instagram post rebuking Elon Musk’s intensifying political power as leader of the Department of Government Efficiency as well as President Donald Trump. Crow pledged to donate the money generated from the sale to NPR, “which is under threat by President Musk,” in hopes that “the truth will continue to find its way to those willing to know the truth.” About her decision to sell the car, Crow wrote, “My parents always said … you are who you hang out with.” (The Daily Beast)
Day After Thoughts
Today I live in a new country. I am now an ex-pat with fond memories of a better place. Grateful that I lived there for so long. Yesterday I was the most fortunate person I know. That is no less true today.
For the past ten years I have been riding the Doom Roller Coaster, dreading the worst thing that could happen. Now that it has happened, I can get off.
I’m reminded of an old joke that ends with, “I know there’s a pony in here somewhere.” I choose to believe that. No idea where or when the pony will be, but I plan to keep shoveling.
I’ll never look at them the same way again
“It depresses the hell out of me that people I grew up with or l am related to have turned into people that I wouldn’t tell where Anne Frank was hiding.”
“Who the hell wants to listen to questions?”
Because nobody will believe it without video.
Dave Bautista checks Trump’s masculinity
Might be the best political attack (humiliation?) ad I’ve seen. Had to look up Dave Bautista.
NEXUS: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI
I have read and enjoyed each of Yuval Noah Harari’s previous books. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind; Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow; and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. As the titles suggest, he writes about history and persuaded this reader that is the only context to fully understand what is happening in the world.
This book scared the shit out of me. I grew up during the early days of the Cold War, watching B-52 bomber packed with nukes flying overhead. As a teenager, I held my breath with the rest of the world during the Cuban Missile Crises. But Harari makes a compelling case for AI (assuming we fuck it up and we will) as a greater existential threat.
Like all of Harari’s books, this one (about 400 pages) got a loft of highlighter. More excerpts after the jump. Or you can watch this 40 minute discussion with Sam Harris. Continue reading