Gotta get back on the horse…come on, guys!!
Gotta get back on the horse…come on, guys!!
Trump seeks to end federal funding for NPR and PBS : NPR
Trump’s newest order appears to envision a continuation of federal subsidies for public radio and television stations — apart from NPR and PBS. It is unclear how that squares with Trump’s pledge to ask Congress to rescind all funds already approved for public broadcasting.
What an asshole.
Went to a restaurant across the street and there was a jazz band playing, a bit of peace and beauty as the wind and rain picked up outside.
People keep asking me what I want from life at this point. It’s little things like this that I want.
Why Some People Follow Authoritarian Leaders—And The Key to Stopping It | Scientific American
Work from my lab and others reveals that authoritarian followers express a range of anti-democratic attitudes including anti-gay prejudice, anti-immigrant attitudes, generalized prejudice, nationalism and even the belief in conspiracies.
💯checks out.
Photos: The 35th Anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope - The Atlantic
Fascinating images!!
My favorite:
The federal minimum wage is officially a poverty wage in 2025 | Economic Policy Institute
In 2025, the federal minimum wage is officially a “poverty wage.” The annual earnings of a single adult working full-time, year-round at $7.25 an hour now fall below the poverty threshold of $15,650 (established by the Department of Health and Human Services guidelines). The limitations of how the federal government calculates poverty understate how far the minimum wage is from economic security for workers and their families.
Should I cue Lee Greenwood now? Or wait until America is great again?!
What Exactly Do We Owe Young Men? - by Charlotte Clymer
There’s a quote from Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club that I’ve always found interesting and may sum up the “crisis of American masculinity” in fewer than forty words better than anywhere else:
“We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.”
An interesting take on a topic I’ve been genuinely interested to understand. I see it, I hear it, but I don’t get it.
That quote, though. Ooh boy.
“Good Will Hunting” Still a phenomenal movie.
Today, my mom called my sister on the way to my niece’s volleyball match. The CarPlay screen read “[my sister’s name] or ICE1”.
I turned to my mom. “Care to explain?”
She laughed and said “In Case of Emergency”.
Whew!
Columbia Canceled My Course on Race and Media. I’m Going to Teach It Anyway.
Since then, it has been heart-wrenching to watch Columbia’s administration pre-emptively cave to pressure, especially in placing Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies under special provost supervision or receivership. It’s been terrifying to see institution after institution across the country cave on diversity, freedom of speech, and academic integrity, not to protect students and faculty, but to protect donors and reputations.
More of this, please. Fighting it is all we have right now.
In each of these essays, a citizen of Georgia’s capital argues for one way we could make our city better. Sometimes the ideas will be serious. Other times? A little more lighthearted. From infrastructure to food trucks, public transit to wildflowers, nothing is off limits. Consider these essays the wish list of a bunch of ATLiens who want more for their city.
Fascinating idea. I love the ones on automobile dependency and walkable neighborhoods.
I also enjoyed the lighter side of this one on Outkast.
Trump ‘Alarmists’ Were Right. We Should Say So.
Throughout the Trump era I’ve been firmly in the camp unaffectionately dismissed as ‘alarmist’ by most commentators. Put simply: It is that bad. Liberal democracy is in danger. Fascism is a reasonable term for what we’re fighting. For veteran ‘alarmists’ this is a strange moment. People are at a loss. It seems wrong, given all that is at stake, to say “I told you so”. I’ve felt that discomfort. For the longest time I avoided saying that. It felt . . . petty, childish, gauche, it just wasn’t the done thing. One of the big political awakenings I’ve had over the last year, and particularly since Trump’s 2024 victory, is realizing that it’s OK to say “called it”. More than OK. Even if it feels awkward, it’s actually important, perhaps necessary, that we do.
I have no problem saying this. But I do think it’s important to shout it from the rooftops. I also think it’s necessary to have this conversation with your “undecided” friends who swung for Trump because the price of their fucking groceries went up because of a global economic downturn. And even the friends who told you before the election “I think he’s a good person” or “He won’t be that bad.”
No, he is that bad. This administration is that bad. Face the newfound (to you) facts.
Love my Braves and particularly love the “The A” logo.
Cannot do the red hat. Not now. Not even soon. Maybe not ever.
Can’t argue with Glenn here:
It’s like the stock market. Democrats run on decency and fairness and any perceived imperfection can be amplified, even when unjustified, as hypocrisy—like a company claiming it has a great year of earnings ahead, but it dips when an anonymous report claims they are 1% behind their goals.
Trump is a meme stock, in which his cruelty and erratic behavior is priced in. Everybody “knows” how bad he is, so media “price that in” to their coverage.
The opposite of a footgun. A problem solved. Solved by respect for the customer.
Couldn’t agree with Casey more here.
Trump Officials Blame Mistake for Setting Off Confrontation With Harvard - The New York Times
A senior White House official said the administration stood by the letter, calling the university’s decision to publicly rebuff the administration overblown and blaming Harvard for not continuing discussions.
“It was malpractice on the side of Harvard’s lawyers not to pick up the phone and call the members of the antisemitism task force who they had been talking to for weeks,” said May Mailman, the White House senior policy strategist. “Instead, Harvard went on a victimhood campaign.”
Do they ever take responsibility for ANYTHING?! Always playing the blame game, you fucking cowards.
Also, you’re calling out Harvard for playing the victimhood game?!? Your fucking boss is the king of the victimhood game. Don’t believe me? Just ask him.
I’m so sick of hearing the blaming of the Democratic Party for their “lack of vision”. Because the “Republicans” had a vision? They simply said “The economy is shit. Groceries are too expensive!” And then elected someone who has NO plan to truly fix that.
How is that a vision? Where was the “lack of vision” argument when Trump ran again? How did that “vision” go from 2016 to 2020?
Just stop.
Good god, the official US government website for Covid (covi…
Good god, the official US government website for Covid (covid[dot]gov) now redirects to a page on the White House site called “Lab Leak, The True Origins of Covid-19”. Our country is being run by conspiracy theory.
What Jason said.
Yep, that checks out. Totally normal!
Gotta hand it to the Amazon driver on this one. Much props, dumb ass.
I found this on an Instagram reel, and I thought it was spot-on:
What’s the difference between Democrats and Republicans? Democrats will feed 100 people for fear that one person may starve. Republicans will NOT feed 100 people for fear that one of them doesn’t deserve it.
Real-life behavior that I’ve witnessed says this is 💯
Have to hand it to Zaxby’s. They’re the only restaurant (that’s not McD) that has not asked me to tip anyone.
Kudos!
Ken Griffey Jr. lauded for excellent photos of Rory McIlroy at the 2025 Masters - Yahoo Sports
Griffey — who took up photography after his baseball career ended — is getting praise after a few of his pictures from the 2025 Masters went viral. In particular, Griffey’s photos after Rory McIlroy won the event are being lauded by fans.
Finally, some uplifting news! I adore that he has found his hobby and turned it into a life-after-baseball kind of thing. Absolutely love it!
I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. President Donkey Kong’s entire platform was that he smashes things.
McSweeney’s is just nailing it.
On April 3rd’s episode of Jon Stewart’s podcast “The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart”, Michael Lewis puts a statement of fact as succinctly as I’ve ever heard it:
Government is the place that all the problems the private sector can’t solve go.
So smart, and so true.
Something just lifted my spirits this morning. I ran into someone I used to work with at Romanoff years ago in my local grocery store. She is retired and working on the side for some extra money. So nice to see Janet is doing so well!
Florida Teacher Loses Job Over Trans Student’s Name, But Community Fights Back
On April 8, the board—composed of a conservative firewall including Megan Wright, Gene Trent, John Thomas, Katye Campbell, and Matt Susin—voted unanimously to dismiss Calhoun at the end of her contract in May, ending her decade-long career at Satellite High School. Their stated reason was that Calhoun had called a student by a name different than that on their birth certificate, which violates a 2023 statewide policy requiring written, parental consent before a teacher may do so.
A student’s parent evidently discovered the discrepancy and escalated it to the board. Calhoun’s case marks the first publicly known case of an educator losing their job due to the naming provisions of this law.
Imagine being so not busy that you have the bandwidth to not only find out someone called this person “this” vs. “that”, but then being so pressed that you escalate it to the fucking school board. Because? Reasons.
What if…just imagine with me…what if that parent MINDED THEIR OWN FUCKING BUSINESS?!?!
What a world that would be.
Good point.
We watched the replay of the goal taken back from Almiron today in the Atlanta United game.
I officially give up as what is actually offsides.
Everything I’ve ever heard is about intent. It is so clear Latte had no intention of passing that ball to Amador. In fact, Amador wasn’t even in the play until the NE guy stuck his foot out to block it, and it went directly at Amador.
What a fucking joke that call was. No, I can’t even say that. That would imply that anyone on the actual field made a fucking call.
The AR didn’t. The center ref didn’t. Not even New England called for it.
No one did. Tell me again how VAR is only supposed to assist in these games?!?!
Trump announces $600 million in new deals with five law firms
Kirkland & Ellis, Allen Overy Shearman Sterling, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and Latham & Watkins all agreed to perform $125 million each in pro bono legal work — the highest figure seen yet in any of the agreements brokered by Trump with various legal firms. In exchange, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will withdraw letters sent to each of the firms asking questions about their hiring practices and implying firms’ efforts to diversify their workforce could violate employment laws.
Because this is normal. Jesus Christ.
Wise words from Charlie in The West Wing episode Arctic Radar:
I don’t think you can reasonably ask someone to control who they fall in love with.
Can I Teach the First Amendment If I Only Have a Green Card? - The Atlantic
As I prepare my lecture notes, the Trump administration is working to deport immigrants, including green-card holders, for what appears to be nothing more than the expression of political views with which the government disagrees. These actions are chilling. They also make it difficult to work out how to teach cases that boldly proclaim this country is committed to a vision of free speech that, right now, feels very far away.
She’s not wrong.
From 2002 to 2025, the tuition for Notre Dame jumped from $25,850 to $62,693. With room and board, $31,640 to $83,300.
My god.
While the economy fell apart, just remember who went golfing for the weekend.
“Thought leaders” exhaust me. That is all.
If the next Democratic nominee for President doesn’t use the motto: “Is America Great Again?”, they’ve picked the wrong strategy.
ICE Can’t Bring Back Maryland Man Deported to El Salvador in Error, Agency Says - WSJ
The Trump administration said the court didn’t have the authority to order his return
So it’s just “tough shit”, huh?
Got it.
We’re so lost as a people.
It puts me at ease to know that our social media platforms are bringing back free speech from the bitter confines of the past. Gone are the days of the radical left’s agenda to silence the conservative voice. Gone are the days of hearing only from the “mainstream media” and “fake news”.
Rest easy, dear patriots. The good folks at Facebook, X, and Truth Social are there to teach our young ones the truth. The word of Our Leader. The word of Our Savior. Praise be to Trump, and long may he reign.
Trump tells NBC News ‘there are methods’ for seeking a third term
When asked whether he has been presented with plans to allow him to seek a third term, Trump said, “There are methods which you could do it.”
And after switching over to watch the (woeful right now) Braves, I just saw a prep-er commercial. Because of course I did.
Wtf.
When you’ve immersed yourself in watching soccer for a while now, coming back to watching American-based sports (like college basketball, for instance) is exhausting. Why?
Commercials. They’re abundant.
Man City’s font choice on their uniforms is a poor one. Comic Sans, not a great look. 🤣
Such a smart thought
Utah bans fluoride in public drinking water | AP News
The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the past century: one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent tooth decay on a large scale.
The war on proven science continues…
Florida mulls scrapping property taxes in US first
Florida already doesn’t have a state income tax, so according to the nonprofit Florida Policy Institute…Property taxes provide 18% of county revenue, 17% of city/town revenue, and 50%-60% of school district funding. Florida sales tax would need to at least double to 12% to make up for property tax losses. But…DeSantis said he doesn’t want to raise the sales tax. Instead, he’s proposed cutting spending or taxing tourists more.
What is their hard on for cutting educational funding? Why do these MAGA idiots think removing funding from an already-strapped educational system in this country is going to make it better?
Pam Bondi signals probe into Signal chat is unlikely | AP News
She repeated Trump administration talking points that the highly sensitive information in the chat was not classified, though current and former U.S. officials have said the posting of the exact launch times of aircraft and times that bombs would be released before those pilots were even in the air would have been classified.
Bondi also quickly pivoted to two Democrats, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Joe Biden, who found themselves under investigation but never charged for allegedly mishandling classified information. Indeed, the department has conducted multiple high-profile investigations into government officials accused of mishandling classified information or leaking it, albeit with significant differences in underlying facts and outcomes. There’s also precedent for public officials either to avoid criminal charges or be spared meaningful punishment.
So, we’re going to ignore the situation eight now because it’s politically prudent to do so. AND we’re going to point back to the same old MAGA talking points of (Hillary) Clinton and Biden where they should be investigated.
Got it.
No fucking shame whatsoever.
Apple’s AI isn’t a letdown. AI is the letdown | CNN Business
Apple, like every other big player in tech, is scrambling to find ways to inject AI into its products. Why? Well, it’s the future! What problems is it solving? Well, so far that’s not clear! Are customers demanding it? LOL, no.
Apple may have made a mistake in not delivering on something they committed to. And they should be held accountable for that.
But the larger mistake was committing to an unproven, and often error-prone, technology.l because they felt the pressure from Wall Street and the tech media. Normally, they rise above that. Not this time.
Wisdom = Intelligence + Life lessons and experience
If it weren’t for three things, I’d go back to school today:
I guess the idea of wishing your college Alma mater was like it is now when you were in school is pretty universal.