Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photo: Getty Images/Shutterstock
Elon Musk is the richest man on the planet, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, and now, the prospective owner of one of the internet’s worst websites. Ever since he moved to acquire Twitter for $44 billion, it seems like nobody, or at least nobody who works in the media, can shut up about the man. (“Whereas the Twitter news cycle used to be determined by Donald Trump’s tweets, it’s now determined by Elon Musk’s,” observed New York Times reporter Katie Rosman.)
2/. Joe Biden at the White House's Correspondents dinner....15 surprisingly good minutes, Joe had some good zingers for Republicans
and Fox, and some inspiring words at the end.....what a relief! He did good!
3/. This is the most important story of the week - "How the Last 10 Years Of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid".
The author details the problems in our society, what is causing them and how they can be fixed. It's persuasive, really worrying and raises serious concerns about whether our society can survive......
Read this, bearing in mind it was written before Elon Musk bought Twitter.....
what would it have been like to live in Babel in the days after its destruction? In the Book of Genesis, we are told that the descendants of Noah built a great city in the land of Shinar. They built a tower “with its top in the heavens” to “make a name” for themselves. God was offended by the hubris of humanity and said:
Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.
The text does not say that God destroyed the tower, but in many popular renderings of the story he does, so let’s hold that dramatic image in our minds: people wandering amid the ruins, unable to communicate, condemned to mutual incomprehension.
4/. Interesting article about how Republicans plan to steal the 2024 election that's unusual because it was written by a very
senior and well respected conservative Judge, J. Michael Luttig..
But is anybody listening? Merrick Garland?
J. Michael Luttig, appointed by President George H. W. Bush, formerly served on the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit for 15 years. He advised Vice President Mike Pence on January 6. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion at CNN.
Nearly a year and a half later, surprisingly few understand what January 6 was all about.
Fewer still understand why former President Donald Trump and Republicans persist in their long-disproven claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Much less why they are obsessed about making the 2024 race a referendum on the "stolen" election of 2020, which even they know was not stolen.
5/. Bill Maher New Rule - American Kleptocracy....Maher details how a huge percentage of the Covid relief funds given out over the last three years were stolen by scammers......eye opening, and reinforces my impression of how corrupt this country is....8 excellent minutes....
6/. Really interesting story on how rentals in Florida have gone through the roof, and how Florida has become the most
expensive place to live in the nation.....thanks Ron........
Sally Starkey thought moving from Chicago to Florida would be easy. The 33-year-old publicist moved to Naples, Florida, when her husband got a nearby job. Familiar with the area from friends and family who vacationed there, the couple was excited to move, she said.
"We thought we would have no problem finding a place to live," Starkey said.
She was wrong. The couple inquired into two dozen apartments before agreeing to lease a townhouse in north Naples — sight unseen. "It took us up until two weeks before we were out of our apartment in Chicago," Starkey said.
7/. Why did Floriduh reject math textbooks - this story from the Times has some clues....the books are trying to teach children how to think.....
But what the article doesn't mention is that one of the factors could be racism....have a look at the examples in the article and "say it ain't so"....
8/. Trevor Noah at the White House Correspondents dinner.....his full speech, 25 minutes of biting jokes......very good indeed....
9/. NBC News story on DeSantis and why he is much more dangerous than Trump....
So it’s come to this in Florida: censoring math books. Last Saturday, the state’s education board banned 54 of 132 books submitted for inclusion in public schools’ math curricula.
10/. Remember Louis De Joy? He's still with us, and is screwing us all again.....
16 states, Earth Justice, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the United Auto Workers are all suing the Post Office over its order for new mail delivery trucks to replace its aging fleet.
I took a stroll through my archives to refresh my memory on this issue. It’s been festering since last year.
If you would also like to take a stroll through my archives to see what I have written about the illustrious career of our postmaster general, you can find my articles here, here, and here
11/. The Lovely Madison Cawthorn, Congressman from Asheville.....
12/. Excellent column from Bob Lefsetz......he really gets it.....
What I want to understand is why when oil producers announce a price hike the cost of gasoline goes up at the station on the very same day. But didn’t they buy that gas LAST WEEK?
Culture issues. If you’ve been paying attention, the latest furor is over grooming. And I’m not talking about hair and makeup. You need to live for the news to understand the petty wars being fought between the political parties. And they’re almost always cultural issues, because D.C. is bought and sold to the corporations, companies are people, don’t you know? And the corporations have the money and keep the officials in business. Go against the corporations and you forgo the big money you need to get elected, especially in a world where it’s nearly impossible to reach your constituents.
13/. Tom Tomorrow on Parallel Earth.....seems like a good place....
14/. Excellent story from the Times on Mary Grundel, a Dollar General store manager who was fired for speaking
out about DG's horrible way they run their empire....
In January 2021, Mary Gundel received a letter from Dollar General’s corporate office congratulating her for being one of the company’s top-performing employees. In honor of her hard work and dedication, the company gave Ms. Gundel a lapel pin that read, “DG: Top 5%.”
15/. This is one of Mary Grundel's videos that got her fired....
16/. Select your obsession!
17/. God I hate Texas....evil bastards.....
Melissa Lucio is scheduled to be executed on 27 April, but a mounting body of evidence suggests her daughter died after an accidental fall. Photograph: The GuardiaO n the evening of 15 February 2007, a team of five police officers in Cameron county, Texas, began an interrogation of a Mexican American mother whom they suspected of having murdered her two-year-old child.
Melissa Lucio was in a vulnerable condition. She was pregnant with twins and in the grip of shock and grief. Just two hours earlier her youngest child Mariah had been pronounced dead having fallen unconscious.
The officers did not let the suspect’s vulnerabilities get in the way of the inquisition. Over almost six hours, stretching late into the night, they applied to Lucio the notorious “Reid Technique” – a controversial interrogation method that has led to numerous wrongful convictions in the US.
18/. Bob Lefsetz's personal list of good series' on Netflix....
A. This is a first pass, the rankings are fluid.
B. Reviews do their best to reveal as few plot points as possible.
C. Foreign shows should be watched with subtitles. It’s easy to go into the settings and choose them.
______________________________________
1. “Happy Valley”
A British crime drama starring the inimitable Sarah Lancashire,
Unfortunately it’s no longer on Netflix, but when it was this was my number one recommendation in all of streaming television.
Review: https://tinyurl.com/4k6umnpx
2. “Borgen”
A political drama, illustrating how the sausage is made, as well as personal relationships and… More meaningful than “Happy Valley,” I’m having a hard time not making this number one. Sidse Babett Knudsen is so magnetic, she could carry the series all by herself, but she does not have to. Pilou Asbæk as Kasper Juul is so conniving and creepy, a man who believes the end justifies the means in all cases. If you haven’t watched this, turn it on TONIGHT!
19/. I watched every single episode of "The Wire", so I am really looking forward to seeing "We Own This City"....
In the 14 years since The Wire concluded its run as one of the most acclaimed dramas in television history, fans have pleaded with the series’ co-creator, journalist-turned-producer David Simon, for an additional season or three. Simon and Ed Burns made The Wire as much to politically agitate as to entertain, and Simon has said that the show’s inability to make so much as a dent in the systemic problems of America left him uninterested in revisiting Jimmy McNulty, Bunk Moreland, and friends.
20/. A documentary on PBS Frontline.....how the oil companies have destroyed the planet....
There is a moment in the revelatory PBS Frontline docuseries The Power of Big Oil, about the industry’s long campaign to stall action on the climate crisis, in which the former Republican senator Chuck Hagel reflects on his part in killing US ratification of the Kyoto climate treaty.
21/. Definitely a guy movie....."The Northman"....
The Northman, Robert Eggers’ biggest and most expansive (and expensive) feature to date, is also his best so far. It’s an oft-stunning visual feast and an entertaining peek into Eggers’ instincts as a choreographer not only of historical detail but of bloody action. It is also an instructive example of how the most visionary intentions can’t always enliven an otherwise rote story. The Northmanopens in AD 895, when Amleth, the Northman of the title, is a boy (played at this stage by Oscar Novak). But it is primarily set in 914, during the latter stages of the settlement of Iceland, before the establishment of a parliament. Lawlessness rules the way. Spare us your wild West and give us, instead, your wild, ravenous, revenge-seeking North.
Today's video - "The Gunfighter" - a short western that's clever, funny and a little violent
all at the same time.....excellent.....
This one is a candidate for the best short film, ever.....
Today's judicial joke....
A forest ranger sees a campfire burning in a no-camping area and goes to investigate. To his horror, he sees a man sitting by the fire, eating a bald eagle, roasted on an open spit. The ranger arrests him on the spot.
At the trial, the judge asks, "Do you know that eating a bald eagle is a federal offense?"
He launches into his tale of woe: "Well, you see, I got lost and I was wandering in circles for two weeks. I was so hungry. Next thing I see is a giant bird swooping down at the lake for some fish. I was hoping I could steal some fish and I was trying to scare the eagle into dropping the fish, so I threw a rock at it. Unfortunately, my aim was off, and the rock hit the eagle right between the eyes, and he dropped dead, then I thought long and hard, but figured that since it was dead already, I might as well eat it as it would be a shame for it to have died in vain."
The judge is moved by this harrowing account, and decides to dismiss all the charges. Before it, he leans across the bench and whispers, "If you don't mind my asking, what does a bald eagle taste like?"
The defendant replies: "Well, your honor, the flavor is basically a cross between a california condor and a spotted owl."
Today's blonde jokes
A blonde stormed up to the front desk of the library and with a screaming voice said, “I have a complaint!”
“How can I help you?” said the librarian looking up at her.
“I borrowed a book last week and it was horrible!”
Puzzled by her complaint the librarian asked “What was wrong with it?”
“It had way too many characters and there was no plot!” said the blonde.
The librarian nodded and said, “Ahhh. So YOU must be the person who took our phone book."
..............................................................................................................
We went to see a movie the other night. I sat in an aisle seat as I usually do because it feels a little roomier.
Just as the feature was about to start, a blonde from the center of the row got up and started working her way out.
“Excuse me, sorry, oops, excuse me, pardon me, gotta hurry, oops, excuse me.”
By the time she got to me, I was trying to look around her and I was a little impatient, so I said, “Couldn’t you have done this a little earlier?”
“No!” she said in a loud whisper. “The ‘TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONE PLEASE’ message just flashed up on the screen and mine is in the car.”
Today's wonderful Steven Wright quotes.
The Quotes of Steven Wright:
1 - I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.
2 - Borrow money from pessimists -- they don't expect it back.
3 - Half the people you know are below average.
4 - 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
5 - 82.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
6 - A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good.
7 - A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
8 - If you want the rainbow, you got to put up with the rain.
9 - All those who believe in psycho kinesis, raise my hand.
10 - The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
11 - I almost had a psychic girlfriend, ..... But she left me before we met.
12 - OK, so what's the speed of dark?
13 - How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink?
14 - If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
15 - Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
16 - When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
17 - Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy.
18 - Hard work pays off in the future; laziness pays off now.
19 - I intend to live forever ... So far, so good.
20 - If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?
21 - Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
22 - What happens if you get scared half to death twice?
23 - My mechanic told me, "I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder."
24 - Why do psychics have to ask you for your name
25 - If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.
26 - A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.
27 - Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
28 - The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread.
29 - To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.
30 - The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.
31 - The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up.
32 - The colder the x-ray table, the more of your body is required to be on it.
33 - Everyone has a photographic memory; some just don't have film.
34 - If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.
35 - If your car could travel at the speed of light, would your headlights work?
36 - I played poker last night with tarot cards. three people died
37 - I had to change shirts this morning. I lost a button hole
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