Roasting Marshmallows and Other News for Saturday

Cross-Dressed at Really? Seriously?

Good morning from my office betwixt two stadiums here in the SODO district of Seattle. It is Oh-Dark-Thirty, and I am here before everybody else so I can have a couple-few hours of alone time before the circus crew arrives, chattering in high-speed Spanish. I can speak French (thanks to a bad choice in junior high) and Hebrew. I can swear at you pretty harshly in Spanish, but that’s about the extent of it. Old dog, new tricks and all that.

I had a break through on my coding last evening. I had pretty much given up until I decided to send it through the AI chat tool. In less than ten seconds it found the problem and re-wrote the entire code. Now I can move on to the next part of the project…

But first, let’s get this out of the way.

Headlines That Caught My Eye This Morning

Item 1: Netanyahu’s government splinters as security minister calls attack on Iran ‘lame’

Netanyahu’s government NEEDS to splinter — and dissolve. The Far Right is what has gotten the country into most of its problems, and the only reason Bibi hooked up with them was to save his own ass.

Item 2: Opening statements in Trump’s historic trial set to begin Monday

Twelve jurors and six alternates have been seated and sworn in. Now comes the meat and potatoes…

Item 3: Trump Falls Asleep in Court Again

“Sleepy Don”. There is some speculation that he’s been tranquilized like a zoo animal in order that he sits there quietly, with his picture book and not rile the court.

Item 4: Alleged Manifesto of Man Who Set Himself on Fire Outside the Trump Trial Posted Online

I’ve been working on my ‘manifesto’ for a long time. How is it that all these guys can just crank one out like this?

Item 5: Democrats in Trump Districts Are Outraising Republicans in Biden Districts

Just because you can raise money doesn’t mean that any of it will translate into actually winning the district. But still, it doesn’t bode well for Republicans in 2024. Like it or not, abortion is on the ballot, and we are about to see the power of the woman scorned.

Item 6: 300 candidates in Mexico request protection amid skyrocketing political violence

More than 270 political candidates in Mexico have requested government protection ahead of June’s general election, underscoring a spiral of political violence that is tarnishing Mexican democracy.

How many more election cycles will we go through before this becomes our story also?

Remember the assassinations in 1968? We ended up with Richard Nixon, and we haven’t been quite right since.

Item 7: Another Republican joins effort to oust Johnson, putting the speaker in real peril

Without help from Democrats, the House will probably fall into Democratic hands before the election. There is nobody left on the Republican roster who can garner enough votes to take the gavel. Democrats can easily save Johnson’s hide, but it will come with a cost that will absolutely piss off the FreeDumb Cocks.

Also, if history is any indicator, when a Speaker is removed or resigns his position, they usually end up leaving the House altogether within a few weeks. Republicans cannot afford to lose one more person, or they lose control of the House.

Item 8: Matt Gaetz attended 2017 party where minor and drugs were present, woman’s sworn statement obtained by Congress claims

This is a story that has been following Gaetz around for several years. It’s persistent enough that it is probably true — otherwise it would have been quashed a long time ago.

Item 9: Something strange has been happening with jobless claims numbers lately

The fact that the new unemployment figures hasn’t change in several months? Yeah, that’s strange.

Item 10 Welcome to ‘peak boomer’ era: A wave of retirees is about to blow through their savings and cling to Social Security to stay afloat

Savings? What savings? A lot of us lost a shitload of our retirement savings thanks to the various economic upturns over the past thirty years or so.

Remember pensions? Lost two of those myself. 401K? Lost three of those. Medical issues ate up a lot of my savings, and put me into bankruptcy. If it wasn’t for my Canadian Social Security, I would be fucked.

Item 11: Bank of America Boycott Calls Grow After MAGA Accounts Closed

John Eastman was ‘debanked’ by B of A and USAA, and it had NOTHING to do with his political leanings and EVERYTHING to do with fraud. But the MAGA idiots out there are gullible enough to believe that the bank is out to “get them”.

Need help with substance use disorder or mental health issues? In the U.S., call 800-662-HELP (4357) for the SAMHSA National Helpline.