A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it. Named after the legendary character "Crazy Eddie" in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye." Expect news and views about culture, politics, economics, technology, and science fiction.
Nearly 200,000 small businesses are based in New York City.
Marlene Cintron, the regional director of the U.S. Small Business Administration, talks about how Small Business Saturday impacts vital mom-and-pop shops on PIX11 Morning News.
The National Retail Federation predicts sales this holiday shopping season could hit nearly $1 trillion. As CBS News New York's Alecia Reid reports, a record number of people are expected to shop online and in stores over the next couple days.
One trillion dollars — wow! I won't know if that happens until after Christmas, but I plan on checking sales figures on CyberMonday.
I would usually stop here and tell my readers to stay tuned, but this is a Metro-Detroit-based blog, so I'm sharing CBS Detroit telling its viewers to Shop in Wyandotte for Small Business Saturday as an encore.
Kick off your holiday shopping in Wyandotte for Small Business Saturday.
I'm not going to drive down to Wyandotte today, but I will be shopping at a nearly small business, which is holding a sale on pet supplies today for Small Business Saturday. I am literally putting my money where my mouth (or my fingers typing on my keyboard) is!
While Company Man Mike didn't include low customer satisfaction in his list, he certainly did mention it, implicating unhappy employees as the cause. He also showed the following graph, which ranked Walmart last.
Costco treats its employees well while offering a great shopping experience, so I'm not surprised it's in first. My wife and I would shop there more often if it had a closer location and we ever needed to buy in bulk. On the other hand, the last time I shopped at a Walmart was with my ex-girlfriend in Canada and that was because Target hadn't expanded north of the border yet.* Before that, I shopped at a U.S. Walmart once and didn't like it. I returned to Target.
I'm one of those who call Target "Tar-zhay" and shop there regularly, helping contribute the demise of both Sears and KMart. As I wrote once on my Facebook page, "between Walmart and KMart, I shop at Target."
Too bad my informal boycott hasn't hurt Walmart.
Finally, I'm planning on addressing Walmart's effect on small businesses indirectly tomorrow, when I celebrate Small Business Saturday tomorrow to continue the long holiday weekend. Stay tuned.
*When it did, it failed. That's a story for another Retail Apocalypse post and I have a Bright Sun Films video about it for a Wayback Wednesday/Throwback Thursday/Flashback Friday post next year.
From Avon to New York City, the Avon High School Marching Band is set to represent Indiana on one of the nation's largest stages.
Since being selected to be featured in this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the band has been hard at work to fine-tune every step of their performance set for the morning of Thanksgiving.
Students had one of their final rehearsals Thursday, Nov. 21 before traveling to New York City next week.
One of the country's biggest marching band competitions returned to the heart of the Circle City.
The Bands of America Grand National Championships brought over 110 bands to Lucas Oil Stadium for three days of performances, an expo and more events.
The preliminary round of the competition kicked off Thursday morning, Nov. 14, at 7 a.m. and ran through 10:45 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17.
This year, Avon High School was crowned the winner! They won by just over a point against Carmel High School.
Congratulations, Avon! It's hard enough for a band to perform at either BOA Grand Nationals or the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in a year and Avon will do both in a couple of weeks!
Follow over the jump for the rest of the marching bands in tomorrow's parades as covered by their local TV stations.
The Weathered crew traveled all over the US and abroad to answer pressing questions about our changing climate in our new series, Weathered, Earth's Extremes. Maiya and the team worked so hard on this show -- we can't wait for you to watch it!
Maiya May is on a mission to understand the impacts of climate change and how to stop it. She brings viewers along to learn where we are and where we’re going as greenhouse gasses reach record levels. Have we crossed major climate tipping points? And are there positive tipping points that will help slow global warming faster than expected?
Can coral survive record ocean temperatures? Will thawing permafrost trigger runaway warming? How do we cool our cities and replenish groundwater? Watch to find out!
The first tipping point is the loss of coral reefs through coral bleaching, the subject of Emmy winnerChasing Coral. I haven't examined the subject during the six years since, so thanks to Maiya May and the Weathered crew for getting me to blog about it again.
The second tipping point is the permafrost thawing, which is predicted to release enough methane to speed up climatechange. I've written more about this topic than coral bleaching, although my most read entry about it, Vox explains how thawing permafrost is already releasing dangerous diseases, focused on one of the secondary effects, a possible pandemic released from the ice. Considering that I wrote that in November 2019, it was accidentally prophetic, even though COVID-19 didn't come from the Arctic.
The description mentioned groundwater, but the video itself didn't include anything about the subject. Just the same, reading it reminded me that I show a Wall Street Journal video about groundwater depletion to my students and I should embed it here. I should also embed the next episode, which PBS Terra uploaded yesterday. That won't happen until next month. Stay tuned.
The AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation) plays a crucial role in regulating global climate by transferring heat from the warm tropics to the North Atlantic, helping to stabilize temperatures worldwide. However, scientists have raised concerns that it may be slowing down—or even on the verge of shutting down—which could lead to severe consequences, such as more extreme weather patterns and rising sea levels.
This is not a new concern, as Al Gore described it in "An Inconvenient Truth." I asked about it specifically in the worksheet I used in one of my classes, which I reproduced in Hot (not): a cold blast from the past along with an answer.
What is the likely effect of the melting of the Greenland ice cap on ocean circulation and global climate?
In the movie, the idea is that the release of meltwater from a large glacial lake diluted the Gulf Stream, causing the water to become less dense and unable to sink to the bottom of the ocean off Greenland, jamming up the global thermohaline circulation and sending the planet back into an ice age for another thousand years. An analogous melt of water from the Greenland icecap, which is beginning to happen, would do much the same thing, slowing ocean circulation and cooling Europe. Both of those are indeed taking place.
The movie came out seventeen years ago and I wrote the above more than ten years ago. It's not as if we weren't warned.
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story and Will & Harper tied for the top award of the evening, Best Documentary Feature. With a sweep of all six of its nominated categories, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story also scored wins for Best Director for Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, Best Editing for Otto Burnham, Best Score for Ilan Eshkeri, Best Archival Documentary, and Best Biographical Documentary.
The man you knew, the story you didn’t.
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The story of Christopher Reeve is an astonishing rise from unknown actor to iconic movie star, and his definitive portrayal of Clark Kent/Superman set the benchmark for the superhero cinematic universes that dominate cinema today. Reeve portrayed the Man of Steel in four Superman films and played dozens of other roles that displayed his talent and range as an actor, before being injured in a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down.
After becoming a quadriplegic, he became a charismatic leader and activist in the quest to find a cure for spinal cord injuries, as well as a passionate advocate for disability rights and care - all while continuing his career in cinema in front of and behind the camera and dedicating himself to his beloved family.
From the directors of McQueen, Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, this film includes never-before-seen intimate home movies and an extraordinary trove of personal archive material, as well as the first extended interviews ever filmed with Reeve’s three children about their father, and interviews with the A-list Hollywood actors who were Reeve’s colleagues and friends. The film is a moving and vivid cinematic telling of Reeve’s remarkable story.
I teared up while watching the trailer, and so did several of the commenters on the video. If that's what the trailer can do, imagine what the entire film would do. That's why I think it would win Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards if it were nominated. On the one hand, actors compose the largest branch of the Motion Picture Academy and they'll vote for Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story if it's on the ballot; as the trailer shows, Reeve was beloved and probably still is. On the other, getting on the ballot is up to the Documentary Branch and, as I've written before, they have issues.
[T]he Documentary Branch of the Motion Picture Academy...deliberately do[es] not nominate documentaries that will earn votes from the entire academy as a whole that they don't agree [are] the very best. They also don't like documentaries made with archive footage. They also have political axes to grind.
The Documentary Branch may think the other Best Documentary winner, Will & Harper, or one of the other category winners, such as Sugarcane, which won Best Political Documentary and Best True Crime Documentary, is a better nominee and leave Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story off the ballot entirely. Then again, none of these issues prevented them from nominatingSummer of Soul, which won. My readers and I will see if Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story makes the shortlist next month, the next step in the nomination process.
Music video by Sabrina Carpenter performing Espresso.
I hadn't watched this video until this morning, after I heard a Twitch streamer I follow sing a karaoke version and decided to look for the original. I'm glad I did. It's fun and well-crafted. It also has four GRAMMY nominations for Record of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance, and Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical and is one of three Sabrina Carpenter songs listed for Amy Allen along with "Please, Please, Please" and "Taste" for Songwriter of the Year. Follow over the jump more about those categories and Gold Derby's odds.
Today's evergreen post may not be all that fresh next month because the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season will officially end on November 30. The key word is officially; storms have formed during December, such as Zeta in 2005, which persisted into January 2006, so it could still be topical in December. Besides, the 2025 season will begin on June 1st and this post will definitely be topical then.
Why the right side of a tropical cyclone is the most dangerous.
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The “dirty side” of a hurricane refers to the part of the storm that usually brings the highest impacts: the greatest winds, greatest tornado risk, and greatest storm surge and flooding. In the case of Atlantic hurricanes, which rotate counterclockwise, the “dirty side” is on the right — where the winds are moving in the same direction as the storm, combining their speeds. This is why the greatest risk of storm surge during a hurricane is at the center of the storm, in the “eyewall,” and to the right of it, where the forward-moving winds push water onto shore.
Because the center of the storm is the strongest, forecasters tend to focus on tracking it, using a popular tool called the “forecast cone,” which shows the potential path of the center of a storm, but leaves out the wider impact areas. So many viewers of hurricane forecasts don’t realize a storm’s impacts reach far beyond the cone, and in particular on the right-hand side of the storm.
Vox did a good job of explaining how and why Helene and Milton caused the most damage on the right side of the eye and particularly how Helene hit western North Carolina as hard as it did; the Appalachians wrung even more moisture as the storm moved up the mountains. That's not usually a consideration for hurricanes in the U.S. because they hit low-lying areas.
So far, this season's 18 named storms, including 11 hurricanes and 5 major hurricanes, have borne out NOAA's 'Most Aggressive Hurricane Season Forecast On Record' for 2024, which predicted 17–25 named storms, 8–13 hurricanes, and 4–7 major hurricanes. I might revisit this and other forecasts next month. Stay tuned.
The invention of television was a dynamic process that represented the convergence of many technological innovations and inventors. The medium has been both affected by, and affected, history. The History Guy remembers the forgotten history of the small screen.
In case Philo Farnsworth sounds familiar, he's the namesake and ancestor of Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth from Futurama, whose catch phrase "Good news, everyone" I use here occasionally, but not today. There's little good news to celebrate.
Television has continued to evolve since The History Guy uploaded this video in 2019, in particular the rise of new streaming services like Disney+, Apple TV+, and Peacock during and after the pandemic and continued cord-cutting. That deserves another video, but I have to go to work. In the meantime, stay tuned for another evergreen post worth sharing next month tomorrow.
In 2021, the Pacific Northwest experienced one of the most extreme and anomalous weather events in history: a devastating heat dome that shattered temperature records across the region. Lytton, BC, reached 121°F, and Portland, OR, hit 116°F. Tragically, more than 1,400 people lost their lives during this event.
We know that the Urban Heat Island Effect can make cities particularly vulnerable to extreme heat, but a new study uncovered something even more surprising: cities might actually be able to attract, and even CREATE, storms. In this episode, we explore what scientists know about this phenomenon, and what it might mean for where we live in the future.
Not only have I blogged about urbanheatislands, I've shown the videos from those posts to my students. I might just show this one, too, if I have the time. I lecture about climate change last and sometimes I run out of time, having to rely on Treasures of the Earth: Power and Chasing Ice, which I show in lab, to do the heavy lifting for me.
Speaking of running out of time, I'm going to pass on this opportunity to share my Hurricane Harvey stories. Darn. It's also World Toilet Day but I think I've written all I want to write about it already. See you all tomorrow with another evergreen entry.
Fires are getting bigger and more homes are burning each year. Firefighters are having to change tactics when it comes to the most destructive fires, but why? Jennifer Blach, Ph.D., just released a new study in the journal, Science, and her findings point to a new type of fire that is the culprit for all this destruction.
In this episode, we dive into this groundbreaking new study to learn why fires are getting more dangerous to humans and what we can do about it. Plus we have never-before-seen animations from NASA that show us exactly how these new fires behave. So tune in to learn about the future of fires and how to protect yourself and your home as fires change.
I found out last week that the home where I grew up was in a mandatory evacuation zone. In the 25 years I lived there, that never happened. In addition, I don't recall my family ever telling me that had happened during the three decades I've lived in Michigan until this past week.*
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*I case anyone is wondering, the house is O.K. It was more than a mile from the edge of the fire at its greatest extent.
I saw the damage up close in January 2019, when my mom and I drove from her California house to the sea and back. Once we hit the burnt area, we didn't leave it until we got to Malibu; the fire burned all the way to the coast. I was astounded. It's one thing to watch the news reports; it's another to see it up close and in person.
PBS Terra mentioned the Camp Fire being driven by wind. Strong winds also blew the Woolsey Fire all the way to the sea.
I have another PBS Terra video to share, so stay tuned for it tomorrow.
I told my readers to "stay tuned for evergreen and holiday posts through the rest of November." I'm following through by sharing Amy Shira Teitel of The Vintage Space explaining When Republicans Were Democrats: The Party Flip, which is about as evergreen as it gets.
Those who have been reading this blog since 2012 may be surprised at Amy using The Vintage Space to examine history that isn't about space, science, and technology, so I'll let her explain in the introduction to the Medium post that accompanies and features this video.
The Republican party today is unrecognizable from when it was established in 1854. The party that abolished slavery and extolled the virtues of individual liberties for all Americans doesn’t quite feel like the same one that celebrated overturning Roe v. Wade. The same is true of the Democrats; the party of slave-owning secessionists and segregationists is hardly the party that today stands for minority, women’s, and trans rights, to name a few. Both parties have evolved, but the significant change came in the mid-20th century with the Party Flip. And it’s not a myth like I’ve seen some people claim.
As a mid-century historian, I work almost exclusively in this politically strange era where nothing aligns with what we know today, and the lines aren’t quite as black and white as readers expect. It confuses people, and frankly, I sometimes need to get it reframed in my head. Especially as a born and raised Canadian; this isn’t anything I ever learned in school. It’s a fascinating history, and like so many big topics, it needs a lot of context. To start unpacking the Flip, we’re going to look at how the two party system came to be, how their ideologies developed, and how those two major parties flipped in the 20th century. And we’re going to start right at the beginning.
Both the video and blog post compose a comprehensive summary of the evolution of party systems in the U.S. so far. It's a good place to start, especially since it looks like the U.S. looks like it's undergoing another realignment as a result of the re-election of convictedcriminalDonald Trump. That's a topic I plan on returning to, but only after the Sunday entertainment feature, which will not be highlights of tonight's Saturday Night Live; that would be topical other than the Thanksgiving sketches and I'm not writing topical posts until the end of the month.
Aluminum is infinitely recyclable, but Americans throw out millions of tons of it every year — mainly aluminum cans and other post-consumer scrap. At the same time, US can-recycling rates are falling drastically behind several countries. We went to New York City to meet a career can recycler and to Michigan to visit companies revolutionizing post-consumer aluminum recycling.
The recycling lab I run focuses on recycling aluminum, but I've never posted about it here before. My predecessor wrote it up, which is why I haven't posted the worksheet for it here; I only post theworksheetsIwrote. This is also why I've decided not to post the worksheet for Selva Verde: The Green Jungle; I didn't write that one, either.
Just the same, I can use this video, or at least the facts from it, in that lab. What's disturbing is that the U.S. recycling rate has declined since my predecessor wrote it 22 or so years ago. Then, it was 50%. It's now 45%. That means that one of the facts in the worksheet description, that the U.S. throws away enough aluminum to build its entire commercial airplane fleet ever three months, is almost certainly still true, too.
Learning that New York has had a five cent deposit on many aluminum cans since 1983 makes the episode that inspired Life imitates 'Seinfeld' in Michigan recycling scam even more ridiculous. I doubt the five cent per can and bottle difference between New York and Michigan would be enough to recoup the transportation costs, even 30 years ago. Still, seeing that Michigan has an 89% can and bottle return rate is encouraging. I didn't know either of those facts before watching this video, which means I learned two things new today. As I'm fond of writing, it's always a good day when I learn something new, which makes today a good day.
Measles, mumps, and polio are things we can prevent with vaccines, but scientists are looking to add a surprising entry to that list: Type 1 diabetes.
When I first developed diabetes, I attributed it to stress over the election of convictedcriminalDonald Trump, including attending protests. I went to the Women's March, then the March for Science, and People's Climate March. Those were fun and I felt like I was doing something useful, but they wore on me. That, along with my condition, are why I'm not planning on attending any protests this time. It turns out I was blaming the wrong trigger; I probably had an infection that I didn't notice by a virus I hadn't even heard of.
Speaking of which, CVB stands for Group B Coxsackieviruses, which I found out from Vaccines against Group B Coxsackieviruses and Their Importance at the National Library of Medicine. It was published last year, so the research into human vaccines SciShow described is still ongoing. I'm not up to examining the paper in detail, but the abstract mentions that CVB has been implicated in the development of not only type I diabetes, the disease I have, but also myocarditis, which I don't have but which runs in my family. It may be too late for a vaccine to prevent me from developing diabetes, but it could save me from myocarditis.
Immerse in a day of compassionate gestures and appreciative reflections in this episode of Destination Celebration, aired on November 13, 2024. We initiate the day with World Kindness Day, as hosts Marlo Anderson and Latoya Johnson highlight the transformative power of kindness, encouraging small acts of goodwill that can make a significant difference in our world. Then, in the spirit of National Gratitude Month, we explore the profound impact of expressing gratitude, fostering an attitude of thankfulness that can enhance our wellbeing and relationships. Whether you're an advocate for fostering kindness or a believer in the power of gratitude, this episode offers a heartwarming mix of humanity at its best. Join us on Destination Celebration for a day of kindness in action and gratitude in abundance.
Here's the description of National Gratitude Month from National Day Calendar.
National Gratitude Month in November encourages us to embrace the power of gratitude. What are you waiting for? Give gratitude a try!
#NationalGratitudeMonth
Gratitude is more than simply saying “thank you.” Gratitude’s amazing powers have the ability to shift us from focusing on the negative to appreciating what is positive in our lives. Practicing daily gratitude gives us a deeper connection to ourselves, the world around us, and to our Creator.
Everything in our lives has the ability to improve when we are grateful. Research has shown that gratitude can enhance our moods, decrease stress, and drastically improve our overall level of health and wellbeing. On average, grateful people tend to have fewer stress-related illnesses and experience less depression and lowered blood pressure, they are more physically fit, they are happier, have a higher income, more satisfying personal and professional relationships, and will be better liked. Grateful kids are even more likely to get A’s in school.
If everyone practiced daily gratitude, we could change ourselves and the planet for the better. Everyone would be much happier. Love would grow and hate would decrease. And the world would know true peace.
Seth takes a closer look at the progressive political world pointing fingers over Trump’s victory, with Bernie Sanders saying Democrats abandoned the working class and pundits saying Democrats were too woke.
Seth takes a closer look at Trump's campaign confirming he will begin mass deportations on day one of his presidency, his allies promising to get revenge on their enemies and the Justice Department winding down the criminal cases against him as Democrats descend into fighting and finger-pointing.
DCI normally uploads their videos on November 10th, the Marine Corps Birthday, but that was a Sunday. I expect they'll get around to it today. If so, I might replace this video with theirs. At least it should have a good description!
From Marine Barracks Washington, D.C., the United States Marine Corps Battle Color Detachment features “The Commandant’s Own” United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, The United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon, and the Official Color Guard of the Marine Corps. These featured units kicked off the NightBEAT edition of the 2023 Drum Corps International Tour, July 30, 2023, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The unofficial video I used cut off before the "Star Spangled Banner" and march off the field, so this makes up for it.
The United States Marine Corps West Coast Composite Band performing The Marines' Hymn at the 135th Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade on Monday, January 1, 2024. This composite group brings three Marine Bands together from around Southern California; Marine Band San Diego, the 1st Marine Division Band and the 3D Marine Aircraft Wing Band. The band members are fully combat-trained and many have been on combat deployments. This fine band has marched in the Rose Parade for over 20 consecutive years.
Before the band, we have the USMC Mounted Colo[r] Guard. It is the only equestrian unit that carries the American flag.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Trump promising a "Golden Age of America" in his presidential victory speech.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Starbucks releasing their "Merrier Together" holiday cups.
Every time I hear "40 monkeys" (actually 43), I think of 12 Monkeys, which makes this both on topic for collapse and decline and, along with the news about Diddy and the simultaneous release of Gladiator 2 and Wicked, qualified this post as the Sunday entertainment feature.
Follow over the jump for more highlights of last night's show.
Here’s the thing: there actually is an island of garbage in the ocean – but the only person who mentioned it during the whole campaign was Trump's insult comic.
I'm taking a break from election results to revisit what I wrote what I wrote four years ago: "In addition to Denny’s and Applebees, the report named The Cheesecake Factory, Outback Steakhouse, TGI Fridays, and IHOP as restaurant chains at risk of filing for bankruptcy as a result of the pandemic." The pandemic may have officially ended last year, but it's still having an effect, as Company Man Mike explains while he asks and answers The Decline of TGI Fridays...What Happened?
TGI Fridays has filed for bankruptcy. This video looks back at the company's history while trying to identify five of the biggest reasons behind its decline.
Here's Company Man Mike's list.
At least Company Man Mike isn't listing private equity, which I last discussed in 'Bankrupt - 99 Cents Only Stores' by Bright Sun Films, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse, as one of the reasons for the decline of TGI Fridays. Also, I found it perversely refreshing that three of the causes for failure were concepts that TGI Fridays pioneered and originally reasons for its success before its competitors followed their examples and the trends played out. On the other hand, I can see how the rise of fast casual did in casual dining restaurants like TGI Fridays and Ruby Tuesday. I haven't gone to a TGI Fridays or Chili's since the GreatRecession, a Ruby Tuesday since my wife and I ate in one when we drove to Mt. Pleasant in April 2015, and an Applebee's shortly after that. On the other hand, I ate regularly at Panera until just before the pandemic and would still do so given the opportunity.
That's the latest about the RetailApocalypse for now, although I stand by my opinion that "I feel like no bankrupt company's story is fully told until both Company Man Mike and Jake Williams of Bright Sun Films have weighed in." Should Jake follow through with a video of his own, I'll post it here. In the meantime, stay tuned for a follow-up to John Oliver on corn for National Food Day about the winners of the Environmental Media Association (EMA) Awards then a special election edition of highlights of tomorrow night's Saturday Night Live.
I closed Jon Stewart's message to his viewers about the election by telling my readers "Michigan still hasn't been called for either President or U.S. Senate as I write this, so stay tuned for those results..." convictedcriminalDonald Trump won the Great Lakes State, but Elissa Slotkin won election to the U.S. Senate. Most of the rest of the results were like that, which makes me think that a lot of people voted for Trump and left the rest of the ballot blank or voted for Jill Stein and then Democrats down the ballot. I promise I'll get to that, but I'm not feeling like it today. Instead, I think my readers and I deserve some comfort via comedy, beginning with Stephen Colbert telling his audience You Are Not Alone / The World Reacts To America's Decision.
The Late Show checked in with America's allies and enemies to see how they're reacting to Donald Trump's reelection.
Stephen gauged my mood correctly. I hope he did the same for my readers.
Stephen Colbert delivers his first monologue following Donald Trump's victory over VP Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
I'm tempted to share cute animal videos, too, and it might come to that, but I'm not there yet. Just the same, I understand why Stephen is showing them and his audience appreciates them.
Seth takes a closer look at Donald Trump winning the 2024 election, making him the oldest person to take the oath of office and the first person convicted of felony charges to assume the presidency.
What upset me most about this segment was RFK Jr. being in charge of health, which he's bad at, while Trump is keeping him away from energy and the environment, which he's actually good at. It's enough to make me create a label for him, Brainworm. I expect I'll use it a lot during the next four years, although I thought the same of Doctor Pyramid for Ben Carson, who would be better for health than RFK Jr. Instead, I ended up writing "At least you were too boring to write about for the past four [years]" after Carson's service as HUD Secretary. May we be so lucky with RFK Jr.
Desi Lydic unpacks Donald Trump's big presidential election win over Kamala Harris and the subsequent fingerpointing from media pundits. Plus, The Best F**kin' News Team joins Desi to try to muster up some optimism.
We Americans could have elected the first woman as President. Instead, we elected the first convicted criminal. Ugh. The misogyny is real.
Last night we had the choice between a prosecutor and a criminal and we chose the criminal, more than half of the country voted for Donald Trump, it turns out the election wasn’t rigged even though he said it was while people were in line voting, Jimmy’s kids were very upset at the news, Jimmy received a lot of texts from anxious friends and family members, President Biden watched all of the action from the White House and he called Trump today to congratulate him, Kamala Harris also called Donald Trump to concede and she gave a speech at her alma mater Howard University, the voting itself went relatively smoothly despite a number of bomb threats that were sent into heavily democratic precincts, it was a terrible night for so many in America, Jimmy offers some thoughts about how we move forward, Cousin Micki shares something positive, and we head out to Hollywood Blvd to ask people if they voted in the election today (even though it was yesterday).
I think Jimmy is right to be worried. I am, too. I would be surprised if I weren't already on some list, although it gives me cold comfort that I'm probably so far down that list that Trump and his coming administration probably won't get to me in the next four years.* Now I'm wondering if people will protect Jimmy, Stephen, Seth, and the rest of the late-night talk show hosts. If so, it would be another example of the surest way to get Americans to act is to mess with their entertainment. As I first wrote in 2011, "America is quite clear about its screwed up priorities." Tuesday night just reinforced that.
I've had three posts removed from the Crazy Eddie's Motie News Facebook page this month for "spamming." I'm not doing anything different at that page since I created that page years ago. Instead, I think a new follower is reporting me for potentially (too) popular political content. It's likely a U.S. conservative, but Marcy "Emptywheel" Wheeler reported that Russia has compiled a list of over 1,900 “anti-influencers” and I'm wondering if I got on that list. If so, yay, the right enemies, but boo, they might be causing me trouble with Facebook. Either way, it's annoying. Let's hope this stops after the election.
It ended up being five posts, four of which featured either Saturday Night Live or Colbert, before I changed the format of those posts to avoid having them removed.
Julián Castro discusses evolving Latino support for Donald Trump.
Latino support for Trump was even more pronounced in Michigan, where exit polling showed 62% of Michigan Latinos voting for Trump. That could be enough to swing the state to him. If the uncommitted movement does it, I'd know what my agenda would be, denounce Jill Stein and the Green Party and support a quality primary opponent to RashidaTlaib, although if she wins the primary, I'll still vote for her in the general. I'm not going to be like my neighbors, who voted for the Republican nominee. I have limits and standards. For Latinos, there is nothing I can do that Trump and his core supporters would do more effectively except be a positive example. Who knows, Trump might actually overcome his bigotry and cater to his new voters. We should be so lucky.
Michigan still hasn't been called for either President or U.S. Senate as I write this, so stay tuned for those results tomorrow.
