Useless Fact Dept.: A baby racoon is called a “kit.”
………………
More news sites online are requiring users to subscribe and pay to see their stories.
Some of these are:
CNN
MSNOW
BBC
NBC
Washington Post
Some still free are:
ABC
CBS
ESPN
It looks more and more like this is the trend. I will probably have to give in and subscribe to a couple, but am holding out for now…
……………….
From Robert Reich:
“I date the start of the American public’s furious distrust of big government and big business to the Wall Street bailout of 2008.
Millions of Americans lost their homes, their savings, and their jobs — while the bankers were bailed out and not a single Wall Street executive went to jail for turning Wall Street into a giant gambling casino. [me—and we know how well Trump runs a casino]
As we all now know, Trump was — and remains — a puppet of that wealthy corporate establishment.”
………………………
Wine sales have decreased by more than 20% over a five-year period, causing prices paid for grapes to drop and prompting California growers to take roughly a quarter of the state’s vineyards out of production. Many growers are having to decide whether to harvest at a loss, leave grapes on the vine or replace vineyards with crops more in demand such as almonds, walnuts, pistachios and olives. [me—almonds take a lot of water to grow]
Article said people are drinking less.
…………………..
‘/’
………………….
-From a news story: The sheriff highlighted that Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology “played an important role” in the case by helping “detectives quickly develop critical information.” This comes as the use of the controversial ALPR camera systems has come under fire across the U.S.
–this about how police were able to arrest a murderer…so, license plate readers are all bad because??? What do you have against the ones that are only used for traffic?
……………….
Lindsay Clancy’s attorney asks judge to investigate the lone juror who wanted to convict her
–I have never heard of someone doing this . . .
………………..
So, Trump goes to the U.N., and in front of 130 representatives from countries all over the world, says he might “annihilate Iran.” How many of those countries do you think will sign up to be our ally?
…………………
Trump administration to welcome up to 17,500 more White South Africans as refugees
–CBS News
No surprise. Remember when, years ago, Trump said we should have more immigrants from Norway (99% white there)?
…………….
Redrawn Missouri congressional map lands before Supreme Court for third time
September 23, 2026 / 5:18 AM EDT / CBS/AP
–I thought when the Supremes decided something, that was the end of it?
…………………
From Robert Reich:
“It’s the neofascist playbook: Take over the media and silence criticism. Even better (because it’s less out in the open), have your cronies take over the media and have them silence criticism. Better still, make deals with your cronies so when they take over the media, they have ongoing financial incentives to silence criticism. If they’re billionaires, they can keep buying up media and silence criticism as they make even more money.
Jeff Bezos has defanged the editorial page of The Washington Post. Elon Musk has turned Twitter into global neofascist X. Trump suck-up Mark Zuckerberg controls Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads. And now the Ellisons, and CBS News and CNN (and Comedy Central and HBO).
What do you get when you combine the richest people in America with the biggest media corporations in America with the thinnest-skinned and most corrupt president in American history?
One thing you don’t get is an informed public.”
–The signs are ominous to me – control the media, own the government, government invests in private businesses, ignore the Constitution, control voting, etc. Is this Italy in 1935? Germany? 1984?
……………………
‘/’
………………….
From ABCNews: Federal immigration agents have shot at least 21 people during Trump’s 2nd term. Eight of the shootings were fatal, including three who were U.S. citizens. – But the ICE agents are not trigger happy, oh no, just doing their jobs. — I wonder how many were unarmed?
…………………..
We just got our publicity booklet for the fall election. Of course, there are several propositions. One way I look at them is to see who is listed as supporting or opposing each measure. It can be a bit confusing, for example, if one labor union opposes a measure, but another supports it. The old expression? “Follow the money.” Part of what amazes me but should not is the millions ultra rich people are spending to try to defeat a Prop. That would generate a one-time 5% tax on them. To paraphrase the Great Gatsby, “the rich are different from you and me – they don’t want to pay any taxes at all.”
……………….
Trump’s next distraction?
U.S. military lays groundwork for potential action around Cuba
………………………
Huffpost: Claims of widespread voting by noncitizens by President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin took a major hit Thursday after Nevada officials could not identify a single noncitizen on a list DHS sent them.
The rebuke of the Trump administration came in a bombshell report from The New York Times, in which Nevada election officials said all 185 names DHS claimed were noncitizens were, in fact, U.S. citizens.
–This reminds me of Trump’s Attorney General, Bill Barr, saying that Trump’s claims of cheating in the 2020 election were “bullshit.” Rethugricans never talk about him.
…………………
Dad:
I burned my Hawaiian pizza last night.
Should have cooked it at aloha temperature.
…………………..
From the High Speed Rail Alliance (which I support):
On why trains don’t make a profit, etc.:
“So, cars and planes have been propped up by a century of massive public investment in roads, airports, and traffic control. They were built and are maintained at taxpayer expense. Meanwhile, the financial model for trains asks passenger railroads to do something no other mode of transportation is required to do: build its own highway, borrow billions at market rates to pay for it, and compete against industries whose infrastructure costs have been socialized for generations.”
–Sad to say that Senators and Congressmen take care of themselves first. And they are busy people and fly all over. More for the airlines!
……………………
President Trump moved to cancel almost $1 billion in spending that was approved by Congress, the White House said late Friday, marking the second time the administration has employed a rarely used tactic that some lawmakers in both parties have called illegal. –CBSNews
…………………….
What Paul Krugman thinks will happen if the Dems take Congress in Nov.:
Krugman, a former New York Times columnist, wrote, “Mad King Donald … won’t feel that he has failed America, he will believe that America has failed him and try to punish the nation accordingly. Thus, he will use his remaining power vindictively not just against the victorious Democrats, but also against the American people.”
And every day it seems, he does something that ignores the law . . .
…………………..
Sports note: Now that football season is in go mode, an observation:
The average number of points scored in an NFL game is about 24. So, anytime my team scores 24 or more, I suspect them to win. If they don’t (like happened today) you know what I blame – the damn defense!!!
……………….
‘/’
Enough. Going to heat up here again this week. I thought summer was over. And the planet is not getting warmer, right? Must be my imagination.
All take care,
Kevin
You must be logged in to post a comment.