How the tech world turned evil; AI psychosis; why diesel and jet fuel are big problems; insider betting on national security issues; MJ worse than Epstein?
It's National Hairball Awareness Day!
I’m publishing on Friday (a normally “dark” day) because of missing Monday and Tuesday of this week for medical reasons. My next infusion treatment is Monday, and they tell me things should go a lot better. Considering they’re going to dose me with enough corticosteroids to stun a moose, I should hope so.
I’m not certain what next week’s publishing schedule will be; it depends on how lucid I am when I get home on Monday afternoon. Of course, that’s never stopped me in the past…
Thanks for your kind notes and expressions of concern. Maybe kick in a buck or two so I can pay for the subscriptions and continue providing free links?
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The newsletter is published Monday through Thursday (holidays and medical procedures excepted).
—Kevin G. Barkes
(Most) everything you need to know for today:
April 24 is the 114th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 251 days remain until the end of the year. As of this writing, 1,001 days remain in Trump’s term of office.
Knee-deep in the hoopla:
The latest on the Iran war from the Associated Press.
John Phelan refused to accept his dismissal as Navy Secretary until he heard from the President. (Wall Street Journal gift article)
The posting will continue until morale improves. Generally speaking, people who are not under pressure rarely have to (1) issue frantic, all-caps claims that they are not under pressure, or (2) promise that they will quickly deliver a deal that will cause them tremendous embarrassment if it fails. (The Atlantic gift article)
Today’s tumult in the Strait of Hormuz may be a dress rehearsal for tomorrow’s war in the Pacific, according to Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. While tensions slowly mount between these two counties, Balakrishnan indicated that if forced to choose one power over another, Singapore would prioritize its own needs without taking a side. (Fortune)
Why diesel has become a much bigger economic problem than gasoline. Before the war, refineries in the Persian Gulf exported much more diesel and jet fuel than gasoline — and no other countries have the capacity to make up for that loss.(New York Times gift article)
U.S. soldier charged with using classified information to bet on Maduro’s removal. The Polymarket trade netted the U.S. Army special forces member more than $400,000. (NPR)
Trump threats against Iran are a boon for prediction markets, including some backed by his son. Online betting companies that allow people to wager on Trump policies and statements are profiting — including some backed by his oldest son. (AP)
How the tech world turned evil. Once upon a time, they were counterculture idealists bringing power to the people. Today they’re greedy monopolists who’d sooner destroy our democracy than be reined in by government in any way—and they have to be stopped. (The New Republic)
The unflattering secrets revealed so far in Elon Musk’s latest legal feud. Hundreds of court filings have revealed cringey texts, emails or private diary entries of Musk, Sam Altman, other OpenAI founders and other public figures. (Washington Post gift article)
Certain chatbots vastly worse for AI psychosis, study finds. “There’s no longer an excuse for releasing models that reinforce user delusions so readily.” (Futurism)
“Leaving Neverland” director says Michael Jackson was ‘worse than Jeffrey Epstein,’ fans want to forget abuse claims. (Entertainment Weekly)
Late Night:
Suspension saga wins Jimmy Kimmel Live! first-ever Peabody Award. he ABC late-night mainstay will be recognized at the 86th annual Peabody Awards, which celebrate the most compelling and impactful stories in media. This year’s 36 winners—selected unanimously by a 28-member jury from more than 1,000 entries—span a wide range of storytelling, from prestige drama to animation and experimental comedy.
The Daily Show: Michael Kosta dives into America's naval blockade of Iranian ports to pressure Iran as the U.S. Navy quietly falls apart on the home front. After Pete Hegseth's firing of Navy Secretary John Phelan, Trump replaces the unqualified rich guy with the technically more qualified Hung Cao, who is famous for his hatred of witches and calls for more "alpha males and alpha females" in the military. (Video)
Jimmy Kimmel Live: Jimmy Kimmel roasts trump and his MAGA Minions at our Alternative White House Correspondents’ Dinner. (Video)
Late Night with Stephen Colbert: President Trump is planning to attack the press at the White House Correspondents' dinner, there are currently no negotiations going on between the U.S. and Iran, the government might rescue struggling budget airline Spirit, and RFK Jr.'s congressional testimony was hard to listen to. (Video)
Cold Open: Operation Pubic Fury (Video)
Late Night with Seth Meyers: Seth takes a closer look at Republicans fuming over Donald Trump's failed gerrymandering strategy, which could cost them their jobs in November. (Video)
Keep scrolling… 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.
History highlight:
1964 – Gene Roddenberry registered the name and concept of Star Trek with the Writer’s Guild of America.
The truth that makes men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear.
-Herbert Sebastian Agar (Wikipedia link)
(More Herbert Sebastian Agar quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, Childcare Professionals Day, Fashion Revolution Day, Global CRSwNP Awareness Day, International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace, International Sculpture Day, International Viognier Day, National Arbor Day, National Hairball Awareness Day, National Historic Marker Day, National Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day, New Kids on the Block Day, Undiagnosed Children’s Awareness Day, World Blind Sports Day, World Corrosion Awareness Day, World Day for Laboratory Animals, and World Meningitis Day.
On This Day:
2023 – Tucker Carlson and his executive producer were fired by Fox News.
2011 – WikiLeaks started publishing the Guantanamo Bay files leak.
2005 – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Benedict XVI.
1990 – STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope was launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery.
1980 – Eight U.S. servicemen died in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis.
1979 – Georgia designated Ray Charles’ rendition of “Georgia on My Mind” as its official state song. (Video)
1967 – Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov died in Soyuz 1 when its parachute fails to open. He is the first human to die during a space mission. (Video)
1964 – Gene Roddenberry registered the name and concept of Star Trek with the Writer's Guild of America.
1957 – Suez Crisis: The Suez Canal was reopened following the introduction of UNEF peacekeepers to the region.
1955 – The Bandung Conference ended: Twenty-nine non-aligned nations of Asia and Africa finished a meeting that condemned colonialism, racism, and the Cold War.
1953 – Winston Churchill was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
1918 – World War I: First tank-to-tank combat, during the second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux.
1916 – Easter Rising: Irish rebels, led by Patrick Pearse and James Connolly, launched an uprising in Dublin against British rule and proclaim an Irish Republic.
1915 – The arrest of 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Istanbul marked the beginning of the Armenian genocide.
1913 – The Woolworth Building, at the time the tallest building in the world, was opened in New York City.
1895 – Joshua Slocum, the first person to sail single-handedly around the world, sets sail from Boston, Massachusetts aboard the sloop Spray.
1885 – American sharpshooter Annie Oakley was hired by Buffalo Bill’s Wild West.
1800 – The United States Library of Congress was established when President John Adams signed legislation to appropriate $5,000 to purchase “such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress“.
1704 – The first regular newspaper in British Colonial America, The Boston News-Letter, was published.
(For more comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
Some Birthdays:
1995 – Kehlani, American singer-songwriter
1994 – Jordan Fisher, American singer, dancer, and actor
1992 – Jack Quaid, American actor
1992 – Joe Keery, American actor
1982 – Kelly Clarkson, American singer-songwriter, talk show host
1974 – Eric Kripke, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1973 – Damon Lindelof, American screenwriter and producer
1964 – Cedric the Entertainer, American comedian, actor, and producer
1955 – Michael O’Keefe, American actor
1953 – Eric Bogosian, American actor and writer
1952 – Ralph Winter, American film producer
1946 – Phil Robertson, American hunter and television personality (died 2025)
1942 – Barbra Streisand, American singer, actress, activist, and producer (Video)
1942 – Richard M. Daley, American lawyer and politician, 54th Mayor of Chicago
1936 – Jill Ireland, English actress (died 1990)
1934 – Shirley MacLaine, American actress, singer, and dancer
1930 – Richard Donner, American actor, director, and producer (died 2021)
1914 – William Castle, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1977)
1905 – Robert Penn Warren, American novelist, poet, and literary critic (died 1989)
1815 – Anthony Trollope, English novelist, essayist, and short story writer (died 1882)
1581 – Vincent de Paul, French priest and saint (died 1660)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2017 – Robert Pirsig, American author and philosopher (born 1928)
2004 – Estée Lauder, American businesswoman, co-founded Estée Lauder Companies (born 1906)
1997 – Eugene Stoner, American engineer, designed the AR-15 rifle (born 1922)
1997 – Pat Paulsen, American comedian and activist (born 1927) (Video)
1986 – Wallis Simpson, American socialite, Duchess of Windsor (born 1896)
1974 – Bud Abbott, American comedian and producer (born 1897) (Video)
1967 – Vladimir Komarov, Russian pilot, engineer, and cosmonaut (born 1927)
1962 – Milt Franklyn, American composer (born 1897)
1947 – Willa Cather, American novelist, short story writer, and poet (born 1873)
1731 – Daniel Defoe, English journalist, novelist, and spy (born 1660)
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
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