Young GOPers "love Hitler"; mass movement needed; covert disability cuts; Hamburger Helper implications; Dr. Phil's collapse; scary AI stuff.
It's National Mushroom Day!
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‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat.
Kansas Young Republicans shut down after Politico report on racist, violent encrypted chat.
America needs a mass movement—Now. Without one, America may sink into autocracy for decades.
The Trump administration’s plans to covertly cut Social Security disability benefits. An upcoming regulatory proposal would change the rules of Social Security disability programs to make it harder to qualify, particularly harming older adults.
Distrust of federal officers takes spotlight at DC trial of anti-ICE protester. Nearly a dozen people in the federal jury pool said they couldn’t be impartial in the case because of their feelings.
LA County declares state of emergency to aid residents hit by immigration raids. The move allows the LA County Board of Supervisors to provide rent relief for tenants who have fallen behind as a result of the crackdown on immigrants.
Recession warning signs to watch: Goodbye lipstick, hello Hamburger Helper. TLDR: Cardboard box production, Hamburger Helper sales, big truck sales down, thrift stores booming, no job hopping, home equity loans up, residential business permits down.
Supreme Court rejects Alex Jones’ appeal of $1.4 billion defamation judgment in Sandy Hook shooting.
Ex-special undercut case against James Comey in interview with prosecutors: Sources. He was unable to uncover evidence that would support false statements or obstruction charges against the former FBI director.
Elon Musk is making Cybertruck sales look better by selling a huge number to himself. Musk has started selling unsold Cybertruck inventory to his own companies, as Electrek reports; SpaceX has taken delivery of hundreds of the trucks and is expected to receive thousands more. Carriers were also seen delivering trucks to Musk’s AI startup xAI’s offices.
Dr. Phil faces ‘total collapse’ after MAGA makeover backfires spectacularly. Dr. Phil’s MAGA media empire collapses under lawsuits, layoffs, and bankruptcy.
“They warned us it was speeding up”: Earth’s climate engine is shifting so fast scientists fear glaciers, storms, and seasons may never return.
Guess I’m doomed dept.: The human mind isn’t meant to be awake past midnight, scientists warn.
Humans may be among the first intelligent beings in the universe. Which makes you wonder what the stupid ones are like…
AI Psychosis: Al drove him crazy. Now he has a warning for all of us. (Video)
An AI became a crypto millionaire. Now it’s fighting to become a person.
What’s up with Peter Thiel and the Antichrist? AI seems to be generating a lot of religious discourse because it seems almost precisely engineered to replace humans, both in an economic and existential sense.
Late Night:
Keep scrolling down. Lots of interesting stuff in On This Day, Birthdays, and Deaths.
Quote of the Day:
Insanity in the individual is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.
--Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (Wikipedia link)
(More Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
Breast Health Day, Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day, Global Dignity Day, Global Handwashing Day, Hagfish Day, I Love Lucy Day, International Day of Rural Women, International Pronouns Day, Love Your Body Day, My Mom Is a Student Day, National Aesthetician Day, National Cheese Curd Day, National Chicken Cacciatore Day, National Fossil Day, National Grouch Day, National Lemon Bar Day, National Mushroom Day, National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day, National Pug Day, National Real Sugar Day, National Red Wine Day, National Roast Pheasant Day, National Shawarma Day, National Support Your Local Chamber of Commerce Day, National Take your Parents to Lunch Day, National White Cane Safety Day, Sewing Lovers Day, and SUDEP Action Day.
Astronomy Picture of the Day from NASA. (Not currently updating due to government shutdown.)
On This Day:
2024 – Researchers discovered seven new species of tree frogs in Madagascar that make strange, high-pitched whistling calls like sound effects from the sci-fi series “Star Trek.” The species were named Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, Archer, Burnham and Pike. (Video)
2017 – Actress Alyssa Milano‘s tweet “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’” prompts a flood of replies across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
2016 – One hundred and ninety-seven nations amended the Montreal Protocol to include a phase-out of hydrofluorocarbons.
2008 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 733.08 points, or 7.87%, the second worst percentage drop in the Dow’s history.
2003 – China launched Shenzhou 5, its first crewed space mission.
2001 – NASA’s Galileo spacecraft passed within 112 miles (180 km) of Jupiter’s moon Io.
1997 – The Cassini probe launched from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn.
1991 – The “Oh-My-God particle“, an ultra-high-energy cosmic ray measured at 40,000,000 times that of the highest energy protons produced in a particle accelerator, was observed. (Video)
1991 – Clarence Thomas was confirmed to the Supreme Court.
1990 – Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to lessen Cold War tensions and open up his nation.
1973 – Debby Boone’s single “You Light Up My Life” hit #1 where it remained for ten weeks. (Video)
1966 – The Black Panther Party was created.
1965 – Antiwar demonstrations were staged in 40 U.S. cities; first draft card burning.
1959 – “The Untouchables” premiered on ABC. (Video)
1956 – FORTRAN, the first modern computer language, was first shared with the coding community.
1954 – Hurricane Hazel devastated the eastern seaboard of North America, killing 95 and causing massive floods as far north as Toronto.
1951 – “I Love Lucy” premiered on CBS. (Video)
1939 – The New York Municipal Airport (later renamed LaGuardia Airport) was dedicated.
1928 – The airship Graf Zeppelin completed its first trans-Atlantic flight, landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, United States.
1910 – Airship America was launched from New Jersey in the first attempt to cross the Atlantic by a powered aircraft.
1888 – The “From Hell” letter allegedly sent by Jack the Ripper is received by investigators.
1886–Modest Mussorgsky‘s musical fantasy “Night on Bald Mountain” premieres at Kononov Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia (Video)
1878 – The Edison Electric Light Company began operation.
1815 – Napoleon began his exile on Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.
1793 – Queen Marie Antoinette of France was tried and convicted of treason.
1783 – The Montgolfier brothers‘ hot air balloon made the first human ascent, piloted by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier.
1582 – Adoption of the Gregorian calendar began, eventually leading to near-universal adoption.
(For comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
Some Birthdays:
1959 – Sarah, Duchess of York
1959 – Emeril Lagasse, American chef and author
1955 – Tanya Roberts, American actress (died 2021)
1953 – Tito Jackson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2024)
1946 – Richard Carpenter, American singer-songwriter and pianist
1943 – Penny Marshall, American actress, director, and producer (died 2018)
1937 – Linda Lavin, American actress and singer (died 2024)
1935 – Barry McGuire, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1926 – Ed McBain, American author and screenwriter (died 2005)
1924 – Lee Iacocca, American businessman and author (died 2019)
1920 – Mario Puzo, American author and screenwriter (died 1999)
1917 – Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., American historian and critic (died 2007)
1908 – John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian-American economist and diplomat (died 2006)
1900 – Mervyn LeRoy, American actor, director, and producer (died 1987)
1881 – P. G. Wodehouse, English novelist and playwright (died 1975)
1858 – John L. Sullivan, American boxer, actor, and journalist (died 1918)
1844 – Friedrich Nietzsche, German composer, poet, and philosopher (died 1900)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2018 – Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, philanthropist, owner of the Seattle Seahawks (born 1953)
2010 – Johnny Sheffield, American actor (born 1931)
2008 – Jack Narz, American game show host and announcer (born 1922)
2008 – Edie Adams, American actress and singer (born 1927)
2000 – Vincent Canby, American journalist and critic (born 1924)
1983 – Pat O’Brien, American actor (born 1899)
1976 – Carlo Gambino, Italian-American mob boss (born 1902)
1964 – Cole Porter, American composer and songwriter (born 1891)
1946 – Hermann Göring, German general and politician (born 1893)
1930 – Herbert Henry Dow, Canadian-American businessman, founded the Dow Chemical Company (born 1866)
1917 – Mata Hari, Dutch dancer and spy (born 1876)
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
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Barry McGuire’s birthday! Digging out “Eve of Destruction” for todays play list.
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