Hegseth passes buck; Trump image collapsing; give thanks for incompetence; worries over China's robot army; the power of peanuts
It's National Fritters Day!
Please like, share, and subscribe. It really helps!
Subscriptions are free. There are no paywalls hiding stuff. Everything is visible to all levels of subscribers. That said, a paid subscription will help keep the lights on and, more importantly, keep the puppies and kitties in kibble and litter.
If you like what we’re doing but don’t want to go the paid subscription route, please consider donating a buck or two. Every little bit helps. In this case, it’s not a cliché, but the truth.
—Kevin G. Barkes
White House confirms Hegseth authorized second strike on drug boat.
Hegseth throws admiral under the bus, says Navy leader ordered boat survivors killed.
Transcript: Trump fury erupts at NYT as mental decline visibly worsens. As Trump’s rage at the paper of record reveals too much, the author of a piece on Trump as a “lame duck dictator” explains how devastating it is for him that his carefully cultivated illusion of strength is collapsing.
Give thanks for incompetence destroying Trump’s second term. Rising autocracy is headed off by rank incompetence.
Trump dealt major blow as Europe threatens ‘nuclear option’ if Ukraine deal goes left. European leaders are considering dumping $2.34 trillion in US debt if Trump abandons Ukraine, potentially triggering an economic crisis worse than 2008.
The tariffs are raising $100 billion less than Trump expected.
Only one president was less popular than Trump is right now: poll.
White House said Trump underwent MRI on heart and abdomen in October, with his physician saying all was ‘normal’.
Big Short investor mocks Elon Musk and calls Tesla ‘ridiculously overvalued’ in blazing newsletter. Right now, a single share of Tesla costs more than $428. Investors are paying more than 200 times what the company actually earns per share — essentially betting that Tesla’s future profits will explode far beyond what it makes today.
Video: Sci-fi-like march of China’s humanoid robot ‘army’ sparks debate in US.UBTECH says skepticism over the dramatic footage stems from a “lack of understanding” of China’s robust manufacturing and supply-chain strengths.
This common snack enhanced memory and brain vascular function in a 16-week trial. TLDR: regular consumption of unsalted, skin-roasted peanuts.
Florida!
Florida Keys trio arrested for alleged sexual acts in Winn-Dixie parking lot.
Florida man arrested after stealing Cybertruck during test drive, causing $20K in damages.
Florida woman Melania Trump unveils production company ahead of ‘MELANIA’ film debut.
Late Night:
Why is there a Late Night section? Because late night comedians, unfettered by institutional journalistic and corporate inhibitions, often provide observations and analysis that are more thorough and comprehensive than network or cable news. And the humor helps.
MTV co-founder Tom Freston: late-night TV is the new rock ’n’ roll of dissent.
Trump berates reporters, gets mystery MRI and closes border to (non-white) immigrants | The Daily Show-Jon Stewart (Video)
Trump’s holiday cash grab | Release the MRI results | The President won’t exercise | “Kill them all”-Stephen Colbert (Video)
Trump lashes out in unhinged Thanksgiving message and Hegseth in hot water over possible war crimes.-Jimmy Kimmel (Video)
History highlight:
1942 – During the Manhattan Project, a team led by Enrico Fermi initiated the first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.
Bookmark KGB Report Notes and check periodically for cartoons, memes, news, commentary and other stuff that didn’t fit or broke between e-mail newsletter issues. It’s also a great place to comment and chat.
Keep scrolling down. Lots of interesting stuff in Quote of the Day, Holidays, On This Day, Birthdays, and Deaths. I can pretty much guarantee you’ll learn something new.
Quote of the Day:
School has become the world religion of a modernized proletariat, and makes futile promises of salvation to the poor of the technological age.
--Ivan Illich (Wikipedia link)
(More Ivan Illich quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
Business of Popping Corn Day, GivingTuesday, International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, National Fritters Day, National Mutt Day, National Skip School Day, National Special Education Day, Play Basketball Day, Safety Razor Day, World Computer Literacy Day, World Nuclear Energy Day, and World Trick Shot Day.
Astronomy Picture of the Day from NASA.
On This Day:
2001 – Enron filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
1999 – Scientists announced they had sequenced the DNA of a human chromosome for the first time.
1997 – The film “Good Will Hunting” premiered in Los Angeles. (Video)
1993 – Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was shot and killed by police in Medellín.
1991 – Canada and Poland became the first nations to recognize the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union.
1982 – At the University of Utah, Barney Clark became the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart.
1976 – Fidel Castro became President of Cuba, replacing Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado.
1972 – The Temptations earned their final #1 hit with “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone”. (Video)
1971 – Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, and Umm al-Quwain formed the United Arab Emirates.
1970 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency began operations.
1961 – In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist–Leninist and that Cuba will adopt Communism.
1954 – The United States Senate voted 65 to 22 to censure Joseph McCarthy for “conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute”.
1942 – During the Manhattan Project, a team led by Enrico Fermi initiated the first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.
1939 – New York City’s LaGuardia Airport opened.
1927 – Following 19 years of Ford Model T production, the Ford Motor Company unveiled the Ford Model A as its new automobile.
1867 – At Tremont Temple in Boston, British author Charles Dickens gave his first public reading in the United States.
1865 – Alabama ratified the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, followed by North Carolina, then Georgia; U.S. slaves were legally free within two weeks.
1859 – Militant abolitionist leader John Brown was hanged for his October raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia).
1845 – Manifest Destiny: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President James K. Polk proposed that the United States should aggressively expand into the West.
1823 – Monroe Doctrine: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President James Monroe proclaims American neutrality in future European conflicts, and warns European powers not to interfere in the Americas.
1804 – At Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of the French.
(For comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
Read for free with Kindle Unlimited!
Some Birthdays:
1981 – Britney Spears, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
1978 – Nelly Furtado, Canadian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
1973 – Monica Seles, Serbian-American tennis player
1968 – Lucy Liu, American actress and producer
1946 – Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer, founded Versace (died 1997)
1945 – Penelope Spheeris, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1944 – Cathy Lee Crosby, American actress and tennis player
1925 – Julie Harris, American actress (died 2013)
1924 – Alexander Haig, American general and politician, 59th United States Secretary of State (died 2010)
1924 – Jonathan Frid, Canadian actor (died 2012) (Video)
1923 – Maria Callas, American-Greek soprano and actress (died 1977) (Video)
1914 – Adolph Green, American playwright and composer (died 2002)
1906 – Peter Carl Goldmark, Hungarian-American engineer, developer of the LP record, (died 1977)
1863 – Charles Edward Ringling, American businessman, co-founded the Ringling Brothers Circus (died 1926)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2002 – Ivan Illich, Austrian priest and philosopher (born 1926)
2000 – Gail Fisher, American actress (born 1935) (Video)
1999 – Charlie Byrd, American guitarist (born 1925) (Video)
1995 – Roxie Roker, American actress (born 1929)
1993 – Pablo Escobar, Colombian drug lord (born 1949)
1990 – Robert Cummings, American actor, director, and producer (born 1908) (Video)
1990 – Aaron Copland, American composer and conductor (born 1900) (Video)
1986 – Desi Arnaz, Cuban-American actor, singer, businessman, and television producer (born 1917) (Video)
1982 – Marty Feldman, English actor and comedian (born 1934) (Video)
1892 – Jay Gould, American businessman and financier (born 1836)
1859 – John Brown, American abolitionist (born 1800)
1814 – Marquis de Sade, French philosopher, author, and politician (born 1740)
1594 – Gerardus Mercator, Flemish mathematician, cartographer, and philosopher (born 1512)
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
If you like KGB Report, please share with a friend.
Subscribers get all content for free. If you sign up for a paid subscription, you get my eternal gratitude, and maybe some occasional photos of the dogs and cats here at the South Park Casa de Pelaje y Cajas de Arena.
Old KGBReport.com archives (not the stuff here on Substack), all the way back to the previous century.
Current weather in South Park, PA (Personal station on Weather Underground)
KGB Quotations Database Search (KGB Quote-A-Matic)
DCL Dialog Online (an archive of my DCL Dialogue columns which appeared in DEC Professional (later renamed Digital Age) magazine from March, 1987 through December, 1995.)
And then there is Sean Duffy. Never one to leave incompetence behind: