White House demolition begins; "No Kings", "No Dick Tater"; "Ensh*ttification"; Judges don't trust DOJ anymore
It's International Day of the Nacho!
The White House starts demolishing part of the East Wing to build Trump’s ballroom.
The White House on Monday started tearing down part of the East Wing, the traditional base of operations for the first lady, to build President Trump’s $250 million ballroom despite lacking approval for construction from the federal agency that oversees such projects.
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Strength in Numbers: Second “No Kings Day” protests the largest single-day political protest ever*, with 5-6.5 million participants. (*Excluding the 1970s Earth Day events, which aren’t directly comparable as they involved much more planning and weren’t similarly political.)
For days, Republicans have been claiming No Kings protesters are all agitators and terrorists. Well, America had a different message for them, and for their Dear Leader.
“No Dick Tater”: Woman arrested at Alabama ‘No Kings’ rally after refusing to remove inflatable penis costume (includes video).
Trump’s fake video featured ‘Danger Zone.’ Musician Kenny Loggins wants it scrubbed.
Marines investigating errant live-fire blast over California’s I-5.
Judges don’t trust DOJ anymore. Judges are routinely skeptical of the Justice Department’s representations in court. They’ve called out flagrant misrepresentations, scolded prosecutors for irregular decisions and warned that the historical presumption that the executive branch acts in good faith before the court, known as the “presumption of regularity,” has been stretched to the breaking point.
Cory Doctorow’s ‘Enshittification’ describes how tech platforms (and everything else) went down the sewer.
Are we living in a golden age of stupidity?
Why the web was down today - explained by a retired Microsoft engineer. “The cloud is still just somebody else’s computer.” (Video)
Something weird is happening to Earth’s magnetic field.
Florida man returns stolen car after discovering baby inside.
Florida man who says he’s an ICE agent arrested for DUI after traffic stop.
Late Night
“No Kings” protests defy GOP Expectations and Jon gives Trump a royal inspection | The Daily Show (Video)
Sen. Bernie Sanders - harnessing energy from “No Kings” rally to “fight oligarchy” | The Daily Show (Video)
7M attend peaceful “No Kings” rallies | Trump dumps on Times Square | George Santos is a free man- Stephen Colbert (Video)
Massive “No Kings” protests defy Trump; Trump threatens to use Insurrection Act: A Closer Look- Seth Meyers (Video)
(Jimmy Kimmel is dark this week.)
Keep scrolling down. Lots of interesting stuff in On This Day, Birthdays, and Deaths.
Quote of the Day:
Instead of getting married again, I’m going to find a woman I don’t like and give her a house.
--Lewis Grizzard (Wikipedia link)
(More Lewis Grizzard quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
Apple Day, Babbling Day, Back to the Future Day, Celebration of the Mind Day, Check Your Meds Day, Count Your Buttons Day, Garbanzo Bean Day, Global Iodine Deficiency Disorders Prevention Day, Information Overload Awareness Day, International Day of the Nacho, National Mezcal Day, National Pets for Veterans Day, National Pharmacy Technician Day, National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day, National Reptile Awareness Day, National Share the Warmth Day, National Witch Hazel Day, Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity, World Bolognese Ragù Day, and World Iodine Deficiency Day.
Astronomy Picture of the Day from NASA.
(Not currently updating due to government shutdown.)
On This Day:
2021 – A shooting occurred on the set of the film Rust, in which actor Alec Baldwin discharged a prop weapon which had been loaded, killing the director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, and injuring director Joel Souza.
2011 – Iraq War: President Barack Obama announced that the withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq would be completed by the end of the year.
1994 – North Korea and the United States signed an Agreed Framework that required North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons program and agree to inspections.
1983 – The metre is defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.
1967 – The National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam organized a march of fifty thousand people from the Lincoln Memorial to the Pentagon.
1966 – A colliery spoil tip slips onto houses and a school in the village of Aberfan in Wales, killing 144 people, 116 of whom were schoolchildren.
1964 – The film “My Fair Lady” premiered. (Video)
1959 – In New York City, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opened to the public.
1959 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved the transfer of all US Army space-related activities to NASA, including most of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency.
1944 – World War II: The first kamikaze attack damaged HMAS Australia as the Battle of Leyte Gulf began.
1940 – The first edition of the Ernest Hemingway novel For Whom the Bell Tolls was published.
1879 – Thomas Edison applied for a patent for his design for an incandescent light bulb.
1867 – The Medicine Lodge Treaty was signed by southern Great Plains Indian leaders. The treaty required Native American Plains tribes to relocate to a reservation in the western Indian Territory.
1858 – Jacques Offenbach’s operetta “Orpheus in the Underworld” (Orphée aux Enfers) premiered in Paris. Included “Infernal Galop”, the famous “Can-Can” melody. (Video)
1824 – Portland cement was patented.
1805 – Napoleonic Wars: A British fleet led by Lord Nelson defeats a combined French and Spanish fleet under Admiral Villeneuve in the Battle of Trafalgar.
1797 – In Boston Harbor, the 44-gun United States Navy frigate USS Constitution was launched. It remains the world’s oldest commissioned warship still afloat.
(For comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
Some Birthdays:
1995 – Doja Cat, American rapper, singer and songwriter
1988 – Glen Powell, American actor
1983 – Charlotte Sullivan, Canadian actress
1980 – Kim Kardashian, American reality television personality, actress, model, businesswoman and socialite
1978 – Will Estes, American actor
1959 – Ken Watanabe, Japanese actor and producer
1956 – Carrie Fisher, American actress and screenwriter (died 2016) (Video)
1952 – Patti Davis, American actress and author
1949 – Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli captain and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Israel
1942 – Judy Sheindlin, American judge and television host
1941 – Steve Cropper, American guitarist, songwriter, producer, and actor
1940 – Manfred Mann, South African-English keyboard player and producer
1929 – Ursula K. Le Guin, American author and critic (died 2018)
1928 – Whitey Ford, American baseball player and coach (died 2020)
1925 – Celia Cruz, Cuban-American singer (died 2003)
1924 – Joyce Randolph, American actress (died 2024)
1917 – Dizzy Gillespie, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (died 1993)
1911 – William A. Mitchell, American food chemist who invented Pop Rocks, Tang, Cool Whip, and powdered egg whites. During his career he received over 70 patents. (died 2004)
1833 – Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist and engineer, invented dynamite and founded the Nobel Prize (died 1896)
1772 – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet, philosopher, and critic (died 1834)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2024 – Mimi Hines, Canadian singer and comedian (born 1933)
2015 – Marty Ingels, American actor (born 1936)
2014 – Ben Bradlee, American journalist and author (born 1921)
2014 – Nelson Bunker Hunt, American businessman (born 1926)
2012 – George McGovern, American historian, lieutenant, and politician (born 1922)
1995 – Maxene Andrews, American singer (born 1916) (Video)
1992 – Jim Garrison, American lawyer and judge (born 1921)
1985 – Dan White, American assassin and politician (born 1946)
1984 – François Truffaut, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1932)
1980 – Hans Asperger, Austrian physician and psychologist (born 1906)
1969 – Jack Kerouac, American novelist and poet (born 1922)
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
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No Kings got their attention. Time to turn up the heat: General Strike!
Great read, thanks