Trade war 'win'; Trump says eliminate filibuster; 6-7 a word?; critical penny shortage
It's National Breadstick Day!
How We Lost the Trade War - Paul Krugman’s Substack
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Trump says Senate should scrap the filibuster to end the government shutdown.
Americans blame Trump and GOP more than Democrats for shutdown, poll finds. Independents hold Trump and Republicans responsible for the shutdown by a 2-1 margin, according to a poll conducted by The Washington Post, ABC News and Ipsos.
Judge says she’ll likely order Trump administration to send SNAP funds to states. “Congress has put money in an emergency fund, and it is hard for me to understand how this is not an emergency,” the judge said.
Trump push to restart nuclear tests could take years, cost millions, experts say. The Nevada Test Site — where the U.S. last tested a nuclear explosive more than 30 years ago — now relies on computer modeling, not physical explosions.
Banks and retailers run short on pennies as the US Mint stops making them.
Canada is likely to lose its measles elimination status. The U.S. could be next. Neither country has been able to stop continuous spread of the highly contagious virus within the past year.
Dictionary.com’s word of the year is ‘6-7.’ But is it even a word and what does it mean? “It’s meaningless, ubiquitous, and nonsensical. In other words, it has all the hallmarks of brainrot,” Dictionary.com said.
AI is causing a grim new twist on the Dunning-Kruger effect. AI users are lacking in self-awareness.
AI models designed to automate tasks — if not entire jobs — turn out to be incredibly unproductive compared to the humans they’re replacing.
Florida!
Nashville Predators roll out “Florida Man Cam” for tilt against Tampa Bay Lightning.
Florida woman films herself driving at and then pulling gun on neighbor in ‘dispute over her speeding’.
Nudists arrested for stripping outside designated zone in Florida.
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.
Trump forces a playdate with Xi Jinping and MTG makes too much sense for Desi Lydic | The Daily Show (Video)
Where is South Carerdddd? | Date night with Kash Patel | Embracing “67” | Andrew is a prince no more-Stephen Colbert (Video)
Trump orders tests of nukes, Halloween at the White House and Ted Cruz vs Marjorie Taylor Greene-Jimmy Kimmel (Video)
Trump rants about catapults, calls Schumer criticism “almost treasonous”-Seth Meyers (Video)
Keep scrolling down. Lots of interesting stuff in On This Day, Birthdays, and Deaths.
Quote of the Day:
I’ve always been a big supporter of the constitutional right of the people to peaceably assemble and petition government for redress of grievances. It’s just that I never envisioned it taking the form of thousands of people screaming, ‘You asshole, you asshole,’ at me.
-Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. (Wikipedia link)
(More Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
Books for Treats Day, Carve a Pumpkin Day, Frankenstein Friday, Girl Scout Founders Day, Halloween, National Bandanna Day, National Breadstick Day, National Caramel Apple Day, National Doorbell Day, National Increase Your Psychic Powers Day, National Knock-Knock Jokes Day, National Magic Day, Reformation Day, Samhain, Scare a Friend Day, Sneak Some of the Candy Yourself Before the Kids Start Knocking Day, Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF Day, World Cities Day, World Lemur Day, and World Savings Day.
Astronomy Picture of the Day from NASA.
(Not currently updating due to government shutdown.)
On This Day:
2022 – Taylor Swift became the first artist in history to claim all top ten slots on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart with ten tracks from her album “Midnights.”
2014 – During a test flight, the VSS Enterprise, a Virgin Galactic experimental spaceflight test vehicle, suffered a catastrophic in-flight breakup and crashed in the Mojave Desert, California.
2011 – The global population of humans reached seven billion. This day is now recognized by the United Nations as the Day of Seven Billion.
2010 – “The Walking Dead” television series premiered on AMC. (Video)
2008 – Satoshi Nakamoto published a paper introducing Bitcoin.
1999 – Yachtsman Jesse Martin returned to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.
1998 – Iraq disarmament crisis began: Iraq announced it would no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.
1984 – Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two Sikh security guards.
1968 – Vietnam War October surprise: Citing progress with the Paris peace talks, US President Lyndon B. Johnson announced to the nation that he has ordered a complete cessation of “all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam“ effective November 1.
1963 – A gas explosion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum in Indianapolis killed 81 people and injured another 400 during an ice show.
1963 – Ed Sullivan witnessed Beatlemania firsthand, paving the way for the British Invasion.
1962 – The film “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” premiered. (Video)
1961 – Joseph Stalin‘s body was removed from Lenin’s Mausoleum, also known as the Lenin Tomb.
1956 – Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France began bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.
1941 – After 14 years of work, Mount Rushmore was completed.
1926 – Celebrated illusionist Harry Houdini died.
1922 – Benito Mussolini was made Prime Minister of Italy.
1913 – The Lincoln Highway was dedicated, the first automobile highway across the United States.
1864 – Nevada was admitted as the 36th U.S. state.
1837 – Hundreds of Creek Indians died in the Monmouth steamboat disaster.
1776 – King George gave his first parliamentary address after the Declaration of Independence.
1517 – Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg.
(For comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
Some Birthdays:
1976 – Piper Perabo, American actress and producer
1967 – Adam Schlesinger, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (died 2020)
1967 – Vanilla Ice, American rapper, television personality, and real estate investor
1966 – Mike O’Malley, American actor and comedian
1964 – Frank Bruni, American journalist and critic
1963 – Dermot Mulroney, American actor
1963 – Rob Schneider, American actor and comedian
1961 – Peter Jackson, New Zealand actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1957 – Brian Stokes Mitchell, American singer and actor
1954 – Ken Wahl, American actor and screenwriter
1950 – Jane Pauley, American journalist
1950 – John Candy, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 1994)
1947 – Deidre Hall, American actress
1945 – Brian Doyle-Murray, American actor and comedian
1943 – Brian Piccolo, American football player (died 1970)
1942 – David Ogden Stiers, American actor (died 2018)
1941 – Sally Kirkland, American actress
1939 – Ron Rifkin, American actor
1937 – Tom Paxton, American folk music singer-songwriter and guitarist
1936 – Michael Landon, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1991)
1931 – Dan Rather, American journalist
1930 – Michael Collins, American general, pilot, and astronaut (died 2021)
1928 – Andrew Sarris, American critic and educator (died 2012)
1926 – Jimmy Savile, English radio and television host (died 2011)
1926 – Narinder Singh Kapany, Indian-American physicist and fiber optics pioneer, coined and popularized the term “fiber optics”. (died 2020)
1922 – Barbara Bel Geddes, American actress (died 2005)
1912 – Ollie Johnston, American animator and voice actor (died 2008)
1912 – Dale Evans, American singer-songwriter and actress (died 2001)
1896 – Ethel Waters, American singer and actress (died 1977)
1887 – Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese general and politician, 1st President of the Republic of China (died 1975)
1795 – John Keats, English poet (died 1821)
1632 – Johannes Vermeer, Dutch painter (died 1675)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2023 – Ken Mattingly, American astronaut (born 1936)
2020 – Sean Connery, Scottish actor (born 1930)
2008 – Studs Terkel, American historian and author (born 1912)
2000 – Ring Lardner, Jr., American journalist and screenwriter (born 1915)
1995 – Rosalind Cash, American actress and singer (born 1938)
1993 – River Phoenix, American actor and singer (born 1970)
1993 – Federico Fellini, Italian director and screenwriter (born 1920)
1991 – Joseph Papp, American stage director and producer (born 1921)
1988 – John Houseman, Romanian-born American actor, producer, and screenwriter (born 1902)
1984 – Indira Gandhi, Indian politician, Prime Minister of India (born 1917)
1926 – Harry Houdini, American magician and stuntman (born 1874)
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
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The new “word”, “6-7”, must have been done or accepted by a trump toadie. It has no meaning/ a nothingness…..
The catapult ramp is a carryover from his 1st term. The Navy is developing an electromagnetic launch system & as is typical when developing new technology, there are problems. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_Aircraft_Launch_System