Crazy Eddie's Motie News: June 2025

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

'Blink,' 'Brats,' and 'Patrice,' nominees for Outstanding Promotional Announcement Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards

I told my readers to "Stay tuned for the remaining nominees in Outstanding Promotional Announcement - Documentary" at the end of 'Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy' leads Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary nominees at the News & Doc Emmy Awards, but I forecast today's post in 'The Grab' leads both Outstanding Investigative Documentary and Best Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards.

Tsunami: Race Against Time is up against very stiff competition in this category, particularly Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story with six nominations, The Grab with four including Best Documentary, and Blink with two. The rest have just this one nomination. I plan on examining this category at least three more times, so I'm holding off on handicapping the nominees until I see all of them.
I think Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story has an edge over Tsunami: Race Against Time, but that's not enough. I'll pick my favorite when I look at all the nominees.
I found the trailer for The Grab gripping, but I don't know if it's more urgent than Tsunami: Race Against Time's trailer. That doesn't put it ahead of Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story in my book. I expect I'll write a post featuring Blink, Brats, and Patrice: The Movie treating this and its news equivalent as show categories.

I'm passing on the news equivalent today, and beginning the trailers with Blink - Official Trailer (2024) Edith Lemay, Sébastien Pelletier, Mia Pelletier.

Blink is a documentary film distributed by National Geographic Documentary Films in partnership with The Walt Disney Studios.

The documentary follows the Pelletier family, who set out on an epic journey to see the beauty of the world when three of their four children are diagnosed with an incurable eye condition. The film follows the family over the course of a year as they traverse 24 countries, filling their visual memories with breathtaking locations and once-in-a-lifetime encounters. Their destinations included Botswana, Cambodia, Canada (Montreal and Kuujjuaq), China, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Laos, Namibia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Oman, South Korea, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States (New York City), Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Blink stars Edith Lemay, Sébastien Pelletier, Mia Pelletier, Léo Pelletier, Colin Pelletier, Laurent Pelletier, François Lemay and Pauline Sirois. The film is directed by Edmund Stenson and Daniel Roher and produced by Melanie Miller (p.g.a) and Diane Becker (p.g.a).

This beats Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story for being moving, and that's saying something.

Next in alphabetical order is ‘BRATS’ | Official Trailer | June 13 on Hulu.

In the 1980s, everybody wanted to be in the Brat Pack. Except them. Director Andrew McCarthy reunites with Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, and more for the original documentary “BRATS” streaming June 13, only on Hulu.

Oh, that's funny! It also makes me want to watch it, which means it's effective, too. Is it good enough to win? Not with this electorate. Speaking of which, I think the documentary itself would work better at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards; it looks like their kind of show. My readers and I will see if it's eligible and earns nominations next month.

I close the trailers for this category with Official Trailer | ‘Patrice: The Movie’ | Hulu.

‘Patrice: The Movie’ – a documentary rom-com about the next phase of marriage equality – disability. Streaming Sept 30th only on Hulu.

This is right up there with Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story for being moving, and it's about an issue that affects my family, so I care a bit more. Is it enough to beat Blink? I don't know, but this trailer has 3,153,880 views! People are watching and they care! Speaking of which, if the U.S. is "pro-family," should we support disabled Americans in marriage through maintaining their benefits the way we support able-bodied married Americans through the tax code? I say yes.

I'm returning to Outstanding Editing - Documentary, the other category in which Blink earned a nomination, which I last examined in 'We Will Dance Again' leads Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary nominees at the News & Doc Emmy Awards.

Apollo 13: Survival has the most nominations for Outstanding Editing - Documentary with four, followed by Death without Mercy, Blink, and We Will Dance Again, all with two, and Citizen Nation with just this one. It also has an editing nomination at the BAFTA Film Awards, so it definitely has a strong case to win. Besides, it's an archival documentary, so editing is going to be its strong suit.
I expect to return to this category twice before I make a call, once for We Will Dance Again and the other Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary and again for Blink and Citizen Nation when I finish this category and Outstanding Promotional Announcement - Documentary.
I can see how editing of all the survivors' videos made We Will Dance Again what it is. That written, I suspect Blink's editing might be even stronger.

Blink's editing is indeed strong and it's of original photography by the directors instead of "found footage," but I'm watching Citizen Nation (Trailer) | Retro Report before making a call.

Our new series for PBS, "Citizen Nation," is an inspiring coming-of-age story that follows teens from across the U.S. as they compete in the nation’s premier civics competition, “We the People.”

I'm getting strong Boys State, Girls State, and Science Fair vibes from this trailer. That's a good thing, but I don't know if it's enough to beat Blink, which is my choice to win this category.

I plan on resuming this series with the4for the next Sunday entertainment feature. In the meantime, stay tuned for five holidays over three days, Juneteenth, American Eagle Day and Seashell Day on the Summer Solstice, and World Giraffe Day. I have my blogging cut out for me!

Previous posts about the 46th News & Doc Emmy Awards

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

'Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy' leads Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary nominees at the News & Doc Emmy Awards

As I promised yesterday, I'm covering Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy and the other nominees for Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary today. I begin with Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy | Official Trailer | Netflix.

Directed by Emmy-winning writer and filmmaker Nic Stacey, Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy pulls back the curtain on the world’s top brands, exposing the hidden tactics and covert strategies used to keep all of us locked in an endless cycle of buying—no matter the cost.

I've found yet another documentary I can recommend to my students. I can see applications of three of Commoner's Laws: "Everything must go somewhere (There is no away)," "There is no free lunch," and "Everything is connected to everything else." "Nature knows best?" Sorry, no. Still, welcome to blogging as professional development. That will turn out to be a major theme of today's post.

Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy is the only nominee in this category with a second nomination, in this case for Graphic Design – Documentary, and the outstanding animation and special effects are all over this trailer. Also, other outlets have been paying attention to this documentary. YouTube's recommendation algorithm is showing me videos by CNN, CBS News, WGN News, and KCAL, and that's before I search for news reports on it. The TV news people are certainly aware of this nominee, and I'm taking that as a factor in favor of it winning. Remember, electorates matter and television journalists are part of the electorate for these awards. Between that and the 2,051,802 views plus 1,695 comments on the trailer, I'm considering Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy to be the favorite.

The first nominee in alphabetical order with only one nomination for Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary is Bitconned | Official Trailer | Netflix.

Ray Trapani had always wanted to be a criminal, even as a young boy. In 2017, amidst the economic frenzy of the Bitcoin boom, there was no better place for scammers than cryptocurrency. So when Ray's friend approached him with the idea of creating a debit card for crypto, Trapani jumped at the chance. There was only one problem: he had no idea how to do that. But thanks to fake LinkedIn profiles, paid celebrity endorsements, and the online community’s insatiable desire to "get rich quick," Centra Tech was soon raking in millions of dollars a day. Was it real? No. But did it work? Maybe. In this fast-paced, debaucherous documentary from director Bryan Storkel (Producer of The Legend of Cocaine Island + Director of The Pez Outlaw), Ray himself guides viewers through the ups and downs of his dramatic journey, alongside his family, former friends, and the journalist who exposed Centra Tech as the first high-profile fraud case of the crypto era.

This reminds me of McMillion$, an examination of an elaborate scam and the scammers behind it. It also shows the fine line between business and the economy on one side and crime and justice on the other. I'm not surprised the two intersected at cryptocurrency.

Next, Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge | Trailer | Hulu.

The story of the iconic trailblazer known by her initials DVF worldwide. Child of a Holocaust survivor, Princess by marriage, and founder of a fashion brand. Featuring interviews with Oprah Winfrey, Marc Jacobs, Hillary Rodham Clinton and more. Watch Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge on Hulu!

This looks fun and inspiring and is about glamorous and famous people. Those qualities would give it a leg up at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, where the voters would look at Diane von Furstenberg and say "she's one of us." I'm not sure it will have the same effect on the journalists and documentarians here. Again, electorates matter.

I'm continuing with The Hobby - Official Trailer (2024) Card Collecting Documentary from IGN.

A McDonald’s Happy Meal shortage. A security guard escort. Guns pulled in a Target parking lot. All of these are caused by a common factor: trading cards. In 2020, a new BOOM began. For the first time, large hedge funds, celebrities like Logan Paul and Steve Aoki, nostalgic millennials, entrepreneurs like Josh Luber, and billionaires scrambled to add sports, Pokémon, and other hot item cards to their collections and portfolios. Over the next two years, the hobby exploded — even causing card grading services to shut down due to overwhelming customer service. This documentary is a character-driven feel good deep dive into the high-stakes, eccentric world of card collecting, following buyers, sellers, card shop owners, graders, online streamers, auctioneers, and more, who all participate in the hobby in their own unique ways.

This also looks like fun, but it shows that collecting is literally serious business. It also shows that the pandemic is still having lasting effects.

Now for a nominee that the image above lists twice by mistake, MoviePass, MovieCrash | Official Trailer May 29 MAX Documentary.

It was the greatest thing ever. Until it wasn’t.

#MoviePassMovieCrash goes behind the scenes to reveal the meteoric rise and stranger-than-fiction implosion of the theatrical movie subscription app. The @HBO Original Documentary premieres May 29 on @StreamOnMax.

If MoviePass were a retail company with brick-and-mortar locations, it would be a good subject for a Retail Apocalypse entry. It still makes for an engaging story of failure snatched from the jaws of success.

The final nominee in this category is Razing Liberty Square | Official Trailer | Independent Lens | PBS.

Liberty City, Miami, was home to one of the oldest segregated public housing projects in the U.S. Now with rising sea levels, the neighborhood’s higher ground has become something else: real estate gold. Wealthy property owners push inland to higher ground, creating a speculators’ market in the historically Black neighborhood previously ignored by developers and policy-makers alike.

Welcome to climate gentrification, which is having its strongest effect in Miami. This is another documentary I can recommend to my students for extra credit. Again, welcome to blogging as professional development.

Follow over the jump to see the trailers for the nominees competing against Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy for Outstanding Graphic Design – Documentary, a category I haven't covered until now.

'We Will Dance Again' leads Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary nominees at the News & Doc Emmy Awards

I promised I would examine We Will Dance Again and the other Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary nominees today at the end of 'Daughters' and 'Death Without Mercy' lead nominees for Outstanding Social Issue Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards and I'm following through beginning with We Will Dance Again | Official Trailer | Paramount+.

The new P+ Original documentary We Will Dance Again delves into the October 7th terror attack at the Nova Music Festival, a celebration meant for music, life and love that turned into a horrific scene of violence.

We Will Dance Again is told through the eyes of more than a dozen survivors, many of whom recorded their experiences on their cell phones as the massacre unfolded. It is a painful story of unfathomable tragedy, and also of bravery, sacrifice and heroism. Viewer Discretion Advised.

This serves as a terrifying reminder of how the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began, as a terror attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians enjoying themselves.

We Will Dance Again has two nominations for Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary and Outstanding Editing - Documentary and is my pick to win this category. The remaining nominees, 64 Days: The Insurrection Playbook, Bread & Roses, Print it Black, and "A Year of War: Israelis and Palestinians" on FRONTLINE, have just this one nomination. It's time for their trailers, starting with 64 Days: The Insurrection Playbook by Saboteur Media.

JANUARY 6TH.
YOU THINK YOU KNOW THE STORY.
YOU DON'T.

FROM EMMY AWARD-WINNING FILMMAKER NICK QUESTED

64 DAYS: THE INSURRECTION PLAYBOOK
...
Through never-before-seen footage, exclusive access to the proud boys, eyewitness reports, unreported emails, videos, social media posts, interviews with politicians on both sides of the aisle, and unprecedented access to the investigators supporting the January 6 Committee, 64 DAYS chronicles the most important period of our modern republic—the 64 democracy-bending days between the election and the devastating January 6th insurrection.

Four-and-one-half years ago, I wasn't completely convinced this was a coup. It didn't take me long to change my mind. Watching this should convince my readers, if they aren't already.

Next, Bread & Roses — Official Trailer | Apple TV+.

In the shadow of Kabul’s fall, three women fight to reclaim their lives. Bread & Roses is now streaming on Apple TV+ https://apple.co/BreadandRoses_

Bread & Roses directed by Sahra Mani and produced by Jennifer Lawrence and Malala Yousafzai, captures the spirit of Afghan women in their relentless quest for autonomy. A moving portrayal of strength amid struggle, this acclaimed Cannes Film Festival documentary shines a light on their resilience.

This trailer is very popular, with 172,905 views and 115 comments. That might count for something, but the YouTube viewers are not the award voters. As I write nearly every time I examine awards shows, electorates matter. Just the same, this is my pick to upset We Will Dance Again.

I continue with Print It Black 2024 Trailer by TV Movie Trailers.

After the Robb Elementary school shooting in Texas, local Uvalde Leader-News journalists are left to report on the fallout - and on one of their staff members. Reporter Kimberly Rubio rises to national prominence as an advocate for gun reform after her ten-year-old daughter, Lexi, is killed in the shooting. Through the journalists' reporting, we witness the social fabric of this small Texas town unravel as Kimberly and other victims' families search for accountability from law enforcement and local leaders. The documentary also shines a light on the critical role of community journalism, at a time when local newspapers are folding rapidly across the country. Print It Black trailer is after the news report.
Cast: Kimberly Mata Rubio, Pete Luna, Craig Garnett, Meghann Garcia, Melissa Federspill, Julye Keeble, Norma Ybarra, Felix Rubio, Dustin Burrows, James Volz, Hal Harrell, Shelia Jackson Lee, Nicole Ogburn, Beto O'Rourke, Pete Arrendondo, John Quinones, Maria Elena Salinas, Mireye Villarreal http://www.imdb.com/title/tt32265065/

This is about both guns and local journalism. If the TV journalists are like the entertainment professionals who vote for the Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards, who will vote for a good nominee about themselves if all else is equal, then they might vote for this. I'm not sure they're like that and that all else is equal. This trailer doesn't help; it looks homemade. I'm sure ABC News, which made the documentary, would have done a better job.

The last trailer today is A Year Of War: Israelis and Palestinians (trailer) | FRONTLINE.

FRONTLINE documents harrowing accounts from those who experienced the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and the ongoing war in Gaza. Israelis and Palestinians directly impacted by the conflict talk about death, despair and the continuing trauma.

This journalism is made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station here: https://www.pbs.org/donate/

I like closing circles and this nominee does just that, looping back to We Will Dance Again with a more balanced perspective.

I conclude with We Will Dance Again's other nomination.

Apollo 13: Survival has the most nominations for Outstanding Editing - Documentary with four, followed by Death without Mercy, Blink, and We Will Dance Again, all with two, and Citizen Nation with just this one. It also has an editing nomination at the BAFTA Film Awards, so it definitely has a strong case to win. Besides, it's an archival documentary, so editing is going to be its strong suit.
I expect to return to this category twice before I make a call, once for We Will Dance Again and the other Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary and again for Blink and Citizen Nation when I finish this category and Outstanding Promotional Announcement - Documentary.

I can see how editing of all the survivors' videos made We Will Dance Again what it is. That written, I suspect Blink's editing might be even stronger. I plan on covering the remaining nominees for this category and Outstanding Promotional Announcement - Documentary on Wednesday. In the meantime, stay tuned for my examination of Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy and the other nominees for Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary tomorrow.

Previous posts about the 46th News & Doc Emmy Awards

Sunday, June 15, 2025

'Star Wars' baby names for Father's Day 2025

Happy Father's Day! I closed 2024's most popular baby names for Mother's Day Monday by telling my readers "I plan on revisiting baby names for Father's Day, so stay tuned." As I did last year and the year before, I'm looking at names from Star Wars to celebrate the holiday and qualify this as the Sunday entertainment feature.

Kylo continues to rise, reaching a record 373rd place with 869 American boys named after Leia and Han's son, Luke's nephew, and Anakin and Padme's grandson last year. On the other hand, after reaching a peak of popularity in 2023, Anakin slipped from 544th to 592nd with 482 American boys given the name in 2024, still its second most popular year ever. That's a pattern the rest of the names follow, as seen below.

Leia and Luke both dropped last year, Leia from 211th to 290th with 1,094 American girls given the name in 2024, and Luke slipping slightly from 31st to 34th last year with 7,039 American boys named after either the Star Wars character, the apostle, or a friend or relative. Luke is a very old name that has been popular for a long time.

The final name I'm tracking today is Cassian. As I wrote in Social Security's top ten U.S. baby names of 2023 for Mother's Day weekend, "I'm briefly calling attention to the fourth-fastest rising name on the boys list, Cassian. It's the given name of the protagonist of Rogue One and Andor and is thus a Star Wars name." Cassian reached a peak in 2023 at 531st, beating Anakin's 544th, but fell to 616th with 462 American boys given the name in 2024. I suspect Andor's popularity, critical success, and likely awards chances — the second season of the series has already earned three nominations at the Critics Choice Super Awards — will buoy the name this year and next, so I doubt it will fall out of the top 1000 names.

The most popular father figure among current Star Wars characters is probably Din Djarin the Mandolorian, who appears with his adopted son Grogu in Am Your Father's Day | Unboxing with Pedro Pascal.

Join Pedro Pascal, AKA Din Djarin himself, as he unboxes gift ideas for Father’s Day from across the Star Wars galaxy!

Yes, it's advertising, but it fits the theme.

That's a wrap for today's holiday celebration. Stay tuned as I return to the News & Doc Emmy Awards for the next three entries.

Saturday, June 14, 2025

The History Guy remembers 'Old Glory' and The Commandant's Own plays 'Stars and Stripes Forever' for Flag Day

Happy Flag Day! I'm taking a break from the state of DC statehood, the theme of the past six years, to examine the history of the U.S. flag, beginning with The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered's Old Glory.*

On September 14th, 1814, Francis Scott Key was awake in the early morning when the sun began rising, revealing clearly the still-flying American flag above Fort McHenry. It was that morning that he began writing the poem that is now so well-known throughout the United States, "The Star Spangled Banner". The story of the Flag of the United States of America is history that deserves to be remembered.

Yes, it is, and, thanks to The History Guy, I'm glad I got around to remembering it.

The Commandant's Own offered its own history of the flag accompanied by music three years ago in Flag Day 2022 - The Stars and Stripes Forever.

In honor of the 245th anniversary of the Continental Congress adopting the Stars and Stripes as the national flag, "The Commandant's Own" presents John Philips Sousa's The Stars and Stripes Forever!

I couldn't resist drum corps, especially with a history lesson.

That's a wrap for today's celebration. Stay tuned for one more holiday, Father's Day, two if I feel like observing Megalodon Day tomorrow.

*I expect I'll return to DC statehood next year. This year, I wasn't feeling it.

Friday, June 13, 2025

'Superstition' for Friday the 13th and Blame Someone Else Day

Happy Friday the 13th and Blame Someone Else Day! I begin with a song I associate with today, but have never used on this blog before, Stevie Wonder - Superstition (Live on Sesame Street) (HQ).

I didn't know this performance existed until I searched for a live version. Wow! I think I'll be using versions of this song on future Friday the 13th entries.

The first Friday the 13th of every year, which some years is also the only Friday the 13th, is Blame Someone Else Day and I found just the video for it, 20th Century Fox logo (National Blame Someone Else Day edition).

On the first Friday the 13th of the year, there is a national day where people blame someone else for bad luck, hence the name. It was on this day 40 years ago in 1982 that an alarm clock failed to go off, hence creating a domino effect of bad luck events.

To tie in with 2022's first Friday the 13th, I made a special version of the 20th Century Fox logo from the movie Krabat (the storm clouds in that version of the 20th Century Fox logo might be one of the bad luck). I used the percussion of the 1997 TCF fanfare, but added something special to mark the occasion. Yep, it's a melodica cover of the 20th Century Fox fanfare, ripped straight from the Family Guy episode All About Alana.

That's a great preview image! It's also a wrap for today's sort-of holidays. Stay tuned for Flag Day.

Thursday, June 12, 2025

‘Daughters’ and ‘Death Without Mercy’ lead nominees for Outstanding Social Issue Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards

As I promised in 'Mammals' and the remaining nominees for Best Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards, I'm examining the nominees for Outstanding Social Issue Documentary, where Daughters and Death Without Mercy lead with two nominations apiece. The remaining nominees, "Name Me Lawand" on POV, "One With the Whale" on Independent Lens, and "Two American Families: 1991-2024" on FRONTLINE, all on PBS, each have just this one nomination. I'm embedding their trailers in the order above beginning with Daughters | Official Trailer | Netflix.

Four young girls prepare for a special Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C. jail.

After watching this trailer, I want to wish my readers a happy early Father's Day. The title is Daughters, but it's also about fatherhood.

Shifting gears to its likelihood of winning, Daughters has quite the awards track record heading into the News & Doc Emmy Awards, winning seven awards including Best New Documentary Filmmaker(s) at the Critics' Choice Documentary Awards, Documentary Award for Black Cinema & Television at the Critics Choice Awards Celebration of Cinema and Television, Best Documentary from the African-American Film Critics Association, Best Documentary from the Indiana Film Journalists Association, and three film festival awards including two at Sundance. It also has 45 nominations, including BAFTA, Directors Guild of America, NAACP Image Awards, Black Reel Awards, Cinema for Peace Awards, Cinema Eye Honors Awards, five more from the Critics' Choice Documentary Awards, the Astra Awards, and more critics associations and film festivals than I have the time and energy to list. That's much more than the next nominee, Death Without Mercy | Official Trailer from Red Carpet Trailers.

MTV Documentary Films has announced a May 3 theatrical release for Death Without Mercy (working title), a riveting account of the massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria a year ago this week, killing more than 50,000 people.

Like Tsunami: Race Against Time, this is a movie I can recommend to my future geology students. Welcome to blogging as professional development.

IMDB lists only three nominations for Death Without Mercy, including its two nominations at the News & Doc Emmy Awards, which the site doesn't list yet for Daughters. Its director having an Oscar nomination helps it, but I don't know if that's enough to push it ahead of Daughters, which is my pick to win this category. Just the same, its an MTV Documentary Film, and I've learned not to underestimate one of those.

Now for the PBS nominees, starting with Name Me Lawand | Official Trailer | POV | PBS.

Lawand, deaf from birth, seeks a fresh start with his family in the UK after a traumatic year in a refugee camp. At Derby's Royal School for the Deaf, he learns sign language and discovers a way to communicate with the world. As he thrives, his family faces deportation, challenging their stability. Name Me Lawand is a love letter to the power of friendship and community.

That looks touching, inspring, and uplifting. I don't know if it's enough to win.

Next, One With the Whale | Official Trailer | Independent Lens | PBS.

Hunting whales is a matter of life or death for the residents of St. Lawrence. When a shy Alaska Native teen becomes the youngest person ever to harpoon a whale for his village, his family is blindsided by thousands of keyboard activists brutally attacking him online—without full perspective on the importance of the hunt to his community's well-being.

I can recommend this documentary to my current and future environmental science students about the proper place of hunting. Again, welcome to blogging as professional development.

Finally, Two American Families: 1991-2024 (trailer) | FRONTLINE.

Filmed over 34 years, two families struggle to survive in a changing American economy. Through hard times, falling wages, and loss of manufacturing jobs, the continuation of Bill Moyers’ chronicle of perseverance as the American dream slips away.

My students would probably appreciate this documentary as well, although I don't know if I would accept it as extra credit. It does fit the blog's theme of surviving collapse and decline, so it's definitely on-topic here.

Follow over the jump for the second nominations Daughters and Death Without Mercy earned.

PBS Terra examines 'The Real Reason People Move Toward Risk'

I observed a recurring theme in PBS Terra asks 'When Will We Stop Moving to the Riskiest Regions?'

The Cascadia Megaquake and Tsunami isn't the only topic PBS Terra likes to re-examine periodically. Another is THE RISKIEST Places to Live in the US as Our Climate Changes'.

Maiya May and the Weathered crew at PBS Terra returned to the topic in The Real Reason People Move Toward Risk.

Some of the fastest-growing metros in the U.S. are also the riskiest when it comes to climate change. And we’ve long puzzled: WHY? In this episode, we explore how the Great Recession, liberal housing policy and well-intentioned community decision-making have fueled our nationwide housing crisis and helped drive people to move into harm’s way.

We’ll dive into new First Street maps that unveil where people will be living - and fleeing - as the climate warms. So stay tuned to see if your home is on the map, and what we can do to build more resilient communities for the future.

I begin my response by recycling what I wrote in January.

I wrote "I just wish that the economics were such that people would move here instead of into harm's way. That would make a great subject for another post" two years ago in PBS Terra asks 'What is the RISKIEST Region in the US as the Climate Changes?' In the case of Louisiana, which 'Weathered: Earth's Extremes' asks 'What Happens When the Land Runs Out?' covered, the answer is a combination of low income and high cost. As long as people are making money, they will continue moving into and living in high-risk states like Florida and Texas, although Miami-Dade County is starting to lose population. That looks like a good story for another day.

Today is that day.

A factor this video examined is that a lot of the safer states and municipalities, although California is both high-cost and high-risk, have made it difficult to build housing, while many high-risk states, like Arizona, Texas, and Florida, allow quicker, easier, and cheaper construction. The combination of more economic opportunity and cheaper housing will drive people to move to high-climate-risk states despite the threat of droughts, fires, floods, heat waves, hurricanes, and tornadoes. What might stop that trend are higher insurance costs, which has already started to drive people out of Louisiana and might be a factor in California and Florida, and the weakening of FEMA as a backstop to insurance. Losing those supports might change the economic equation surprisingly quickly.

The most encouraging aspect of the First Street study May cited involves climate resilience. The map below shows the places First Street considered to be climate resilient.

I've outlined and labeled the parts of Michigan considered to be climate resilient. From west to east, they are Grand Rapids and its western suburbs, Kalamazoo, Mount Pleasant, Lansing and East Lansing, Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti, and the northern suburbs of Detroit — Livingston, Oakland, and Macomb counties. This fits what I told my environmental science students on Monday, that Michigan is the safest state in the U.S. for natural disasters and Oakland County is the best-prepared county in the state. It also fits what I wrote in MLive asks 'Michigan is a climate haven in a warming world. Will everyone move here?' and repeated in FiveThirtyEight examines 'How Climate Change Will Reshape Where Americans Live'.

I'm in favor of getting people to move here, both because it's a safer place to live (but not immune from the extreme weather associated with climate change as the second video mentioned) and because the state has room. Detroit alone lost more than one million people since its 1950 peak and other Michigan cities have lost people as well, so they alone could take up the slack — that is, if they can become better places to live and work. People moved out of Michigan to seek work, so state and local governments need to work with businesses to promote and create sustainable industries to employ the people who move here and rebuild infrastructure to support them in a warmer and, for Michigan, wetter world. Infrastructure and housing construction to accommodate people moving here will provide a lot of jobs by themselves, but that only lasts so long. Ask Las Vegas, for example.
This might happen sooner than many people expect, as the U.S. is warming faster than the global average, so Michigan and other climate havens need to be prepared for it.

This is another lesson I hope my students learn and that they spread.

Ray "CityNerd" Delahanty has his own videos on this topic, so stay tuned for a post featuring them later this month. In the meantime, I have continuing coverage of the News & Doc Emmy Awards and three holidays, Friday the 13th, Flag Day, and Father's Day, planned. I'm looking forward to them.

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Stewart, Colbert, Meyers, and Tomlinson take closer looks at the protests in Los Angeles

I closed Federalized National Guard mobilized against protests in Los Angeles by telling my readers “I expect I will examine the situation through comedy tomorrow, as the late-night talk-show hosts will chime in, especially Jimmy Kimmel, who records his show only a few miles away from the protests. Stay tuned.” Kimmel wasn’t on last night, which I found disappointing, but all the rest of my usual sources were, so I begin with Jon Stewart on the L.A. ICE Protests and Trump's Escalating Response | The Daily Show.

Jon Stewart examines chaos in the MAGA-verse, as escalating ICE raids in Los Angeles erupt in protests, Stephen Miller hunts for nonviolent immigrants, Elon plays the Epstein card on Trump, and the Trump-Elon alpha male war reveals itself as a sensitive baby feud.

If anyone comes out worse than Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump in this sketch, it’s Stephen Miller. He asked why ICE wasn’t raiding Home Depot and where did this all start? At Home Depot. Hoover Cleveland may be exploiting the situation, but Miller is just as responsible for starting it. Too bad Stewart’s joke about what Miller says during sex ignored that Miller’s wife Katie is now working with Elon Musk. She already self-deported.

By the way, protestors summoning Waymo cars just to set them on fire strikes me as a SciFi is Now moment. Didn’t something like that happen in Total Recall?

Next, Stephen Colbert examined the situation in Trump: Insurrectionists Should Be In Jail | Stephen Miller Targets America's Most Vulnerable.

Los Angeles residents pushed back against President Trump's authoritarian immigration raids this past weekend after White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller pushed ICE officials to increase the pace of their deportations.

The tear gas “tasted like Fascism.” Yeah, it’s a line right out of a B movie, but, just like living through the pandemic was like living in a horror movie, the current situation is like living in a bad political thriller. Besides, there is a Smithee Award for that, Best One-Liner. It’s pretty much the only “good” award the Smithees gives out.

It wouldn’t be a closer look post without Seth Meyers, so I’m sharing Trump Sends Troops and Dr. Phil to LA; Kash Patel Squirms on Rogan Over Musk's Claims: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at the Trump administration sending federal troops to Los Angeles in response to protests over immigration raids.

The Trump-Musk feud created another SciFi is Now moment when Hoover Cleveland threatened to cancel Musk’s contracts and Musk threatened to decomission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, stranding astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS). Yikes! Seth is right; billionaires should not be in charge of government and critical space missions should not be privatized.

Moving on to the ICE raids and protests they provoked, Dr. Phil embedding himself with ICE reminds me of what I first wrote on this blog in 2019: "Trump isn't staffing an administration; he's casting a reality show." Too bad all the rest of us are in The Trump Show AKA The Worst Wing, too.

In Kimmel’s place, I’m featuring Taylor Tomlinson Talks Protests in Los Angeles.

Taylor Tomlinson talks about this weekend’s protests in Los Angeles.

This is the first I’ve embedded Taylor Tomlinson and After Midnight and it probably will be the last. Tomlinson is leaving the show and CBS canceled it. Sigh.

That’s too much of a bummer even for doomer me, so I’m closing this post with Donald Trump's Chief Enemy: Stairs, last night’s cold open for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

For President Trump, the enemy is everywhere.

HAHAHAHA!

Monday, June 9, 2025

Federalized National Guard mobilized against protests in Los Angeles

When I told my readers to “stay tuned” because “I plan on writing something more topical and less involved” today, I didn’t think it would be about Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump federalizing and mobilizing the California National Guard to quell protests against immigration enforcement, but here I am. Watch MSNBC report Trump wants 'these images, but it's for all the wrong reasons': analyst yesterday.

Members of the California National Guard arrived in Los Angeles Sunday morning in response to Friday and Saturday's protest against federal immigration raids. President Donald Trump moved to deploy the 2,000 members over the opposition of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who called the move inflammatory and unnecessary. Julian Castro, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and now an MSNBC political analyst, along with Don Calloway, host of The Caucus Room Podcast and CEO of Pine Street Strategies, and republican strategist and MSNBC political analyst Susan Del Percio discuss these latest developments, and more.

Hoover Cleveland has not invoked the Insurrection Act, but I’ve been worried it about since last June, when I wrote: “I think the parts of Comstock Act that are currently unconstitutional need to be repealed, restricting the ability of anti-choice advocates to reanimate them. I have the same opinion of the Insurrection Act, which is also being touted as a way for the more extreme right-wing activists, including Hoover Cleveland, to suppress dissent.” I quoted that in MSNBC examines Project 2025, part 1, where I added “The Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups have decided to revive zombie laws to consolidate their power given the opportunity.” It’s not as if I and others didn’t warn people!

Hoover Cleveland mentioned the Insurrection Act in the opening to 500 Marines on standby to deploy to Los Angeles amid protests.

Roughly 500 Marines are prepared to deploy if needed to help authorities in Los Angeles amid protests. NBC News' Courtney Kube discusses.

Deploying the Marines would be a major escalation. That fits the theme of the next segment from MSNBC, Trump wants a fight, not trying to calm tensions: Senator slams president's handling of protests.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., joins Morning Joe to discuss the president's handling of Los Angeles protests and why he says Trump is trying to distract the public from the impact of his big bill.

I’m with Mika; “many things can be true at the same time.” Hoover Cleveland is exploiting the situation in my old hometown, but it isn’t just a distraction from the budget bill that Elon Musk called “a disgusting abomination” or the Trump-Musk feud. My wife thinks the latter is a distraction, albeit a very entertaining one. That’s what I was thinking of blogging about today, but I decided that Hoover Cleveland escalating domestic tensions was more important.

I expect I will examine the situation through comedy tomorrow, as the late-night talk-show hosts will chime in, especially Jimmy Kimmel, who records his show only a few miles away from the protests. Stay tuned.

Sunday, June 8, 2025

'Mammals' and the remaining nominees for Best Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards

I return to the News & Doc Emmy Awards for today's Sunday entertainment feature by looking at Mammals and the nominees for Best Documentary I haven't already examined yet. I begin with Mammals | Official Preview ft Coldplay | BBC Earth.

We're bringing you a first look at the brand new BBC Earth series: Mammals.

Found on every continent, and in every ocean, Mammals are some of the most adaptable animals on our planet. Join David Attenborough as he follows the journeys of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom.

Born to survive. Built to thrive. #Mammals. Coming Soon.

Coldplay's ‘Paradise’ interwoven with the Mammals score by Thomas Farnon, performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

How this earned a nomination for Best Documentary but not Outstanding Nature Documentary is beyond me. Then again, that category already has seven nominees, two more than usual, so maybe there just wasn't room.

Follow over the jump for the trailers to The Commandant's Shadow, Queendom, and The Sing Sing Chronicles plus the two craft categories in which Mammals earned nominations.

Closer looks at the Trump-Musk feud from Colbert, Kosta, Kimmel, and Meyers

I told my readers "the Trump-Musk feud is too shiny an object to pass up" yesterday and I'm following through with Stephen Colbert's Thursday night monologue, Musk-Trump Feud Goes Nuclear | DHS's 22-Year-Old Terrorism Chief.

A full-scale flame war has broken out between the world's most famous besties, causing their former buddy Kanye West to wade into the fray, and an intern is running Homeland Security's terrorism prevention unit.

Yes, it's bad when Kanye West is the voice of reason. As for Thomas Fugate, the 22-year-old former Heritage Foundation intern now in charge of terrorism prevention, I bet he submitted his resume through Project 2025. Only the best people.

Mike Kosta covered it as the top story in Trump and Musk Feud Goes Nuclear, Threats Fly, Kanye Calls For Ceasefire | The Daily Show.

Michael Kosta unpacks the latest in Musk and Trump’s messy bromance breakup: Elon doubling down on critiques against the Big Beautiful Bill, Trump’s parent-level guilt, Kanye West calling for a ceasefire, and threats of an Epstein files leak. Plus, Grace Kuhlenschmidt explains that the president is merely playing a game of 7D chess.

"The thing that was always going to happen is now happening." It was always a matter of when, not if. I'm just surprised at how quickly matters escalated.

BTW, the right-wingers thinking this is what wrestling calls a work, not a shoot have bought into the kayfabe. Remember, Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump is in the WWE Hall of Fame and, while Elon Musk started it and I think that's real, what I described as Hoover Cleveland's "feral instincts for self-promotion, dominance, and survival" have kicked in and he will exploit the situation for his benefit. How, I don't know yet, but keep watching to see.

Jimmy Kimmel chimed in with Elon Goes NUCLEAR on Trump, Claims He’s in Epstein Files & MAGA Nuts Downplay the Rift Between Them

The new head of U.S. Terror Prevention is a 22 year old who graduated from college twelve months ago, Elon went nuclear on Donald Trump - said that he’s in the Epstein Files which is why they have not been made public and Musk agreed with a post that said Trump should be impeached and replaced with JD Vance, the MAGAs are hard at work trying to downplay the rift between their king and benefactor, and the judge at the Diddy trial in New York threatened to ban him from the courtroom.

This is a surprisingly concise and focused video description for Jimmy K, which tells my readers and me how much the feud is taking up all the oxygen in the room. About the only new take is Musk agreeing with a call for Hoover Cleveland's impeachment and JD Vance replacing him. I expect Vance will keep his mouth shut, especially if he agrees. Maybe Sean "Diddy" Combs should follow Vance's example.

It wouldn't be a closer look post without Seth Meyers, so here is Musk-Trump Feud Goes Nuclear as Musk Lobs Epstein Accusations, Trump Threatens SpaceX: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at Trump threatening to take away Elon Musk's government contracts and Musk saying Trump was in the Epstein files.

I'm glad to see some focus on the House Republicans who voted for the bill and Joni Ernst ("Joni Hearse") getting grief from their constituents. They deserve it. Also, I was wondering when the other late night hosts would follow Jimmy Kimmel playing 'TACO Man' for Trump. It took a week!

I close the circle by returning to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's cold open, Donald And Elon Attend Couples Therapy.

As the song says, breaking up is hard to do.

Colbert satirizing the feud as an episode of Couples Therapy isn't just brilliant comedy. It's also cross-promotion of another Paramount property, as Couples Therapy is a Showtime series. As I wrote most recently in 'SNL' celebrates Mother's Day 2025, "'It's not just news value that's driving it.' Or comedy value, for that matter."

Stay tuned as I return to the News & Doc Emmy Awards for tomorrow's Sunday entertainment feature.

Friday, June 6, 2025

'The Sixth' leads nominees for Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards

As I promised twice, it's time for the next installment in my coverage of the News & Doc Emmy Awards by examining The Sixth and the rest of the nominees for Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary. The Sixth on the sixth!*

Since it is the only nominee in this category with another nomination and that is for Best Documentary, I begin with THE SIXTH | Trailer from Change Content.

THE SIXTH (www.thesixthmovie.com) is a feature documentary produced in collaboration with A24. From Academy Award® winning filmmakers Andrea Nix Fine & Sean Fine, THE SIXTH takes you inside the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol through six personal accounts, including Rep. Jamie Raskin and MPD Chief Robert Contee. This harrowing yet hopeful film, is a powerful reminder that the fate of democracy is in all our hands.

This isn't the first time the News & Doc Emmy Awards recognized coverage of January 6th; for starters, CNN's 'Live from the Capitol: January 6th, One Year Later' won two News & Doc Emmy Awards in 2023. It is the first time I've covered a nominated documentary about the event, although it probably won't be the last. In the meantime, this is still my favorite to win this category, although it is facing worthy competition and isn't a guaranteed winner. After all, Good Night Oppy had six nominations and was my pick to win Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary two years ago, but lost to How to Survive a Pandemic. Something similar could happen here.

Follow over the jump to watch the trailers or the equivalent for the rest of the nominees in this category and another look at Best Documentary.

Company Man asks 'The Decline of Weight Watchers...What Happened?' A tale of the Retail Apocalypse (and Ozempic)

Change of plans — I'm revisiting WeightWatchers files for bankruptcy, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse (and Ozempic) today with Company Man asking The Decline of Weight Watchers...What Happened?

One of the oldest names in weight loss has lost most of its value and filed for bankruptcy. This video explores the brand's history while identifying some of the biggest reasons behind its decline.

As I usually do, I'm sharing Company Man Mike's list.

Rebranding strikes me as a milder version of Hooters' identity crisis with a side helping of external factors including the pandemic — bad timing, indeed! Speaking of external factors, Weight Watchers had been able to weather its competition until weight loss drugs like Ozempic came along. It didn't take them long to drive Weight Watchers into bankruptcy. As I wrote last month, "WeightWatchers decided that if they couldn't beat Ozempic and other weight loss drugs, they'd join them. Too bad things moved so quickly that they were [too] late to that party."

Oprah Winfrey leaving the company followed by its bankruptcy demonstrates that it was the loss of celebrity influence that may have been the last straw. The company had been depending on celebrity endorsers for decades and without its last one, it declined rapidly.

While I've often seen private equity as a cause of debt leading to failure, I've come across stock buybacks by themselves just three times, and only seen both once in the case of Ruby Tuesday. Now I can say I've run across the combination twice.

I close by quoting a comment and my response on last month's post.

fry1laurie: So Weight Watchers is trying to shed 751,471,011.70 pounds (of debt).

Me: Welcome to Crazy Eddie's Motie News! HAHAHA! I'm glad the United Kingdom didn't abandon the pound for the Euro just so you could make this joke!

Stay tuned for the promised next installment in my coverage of the News & Doc Emmy Awards tomorrow, when I plan on examining The Sixth and the rest of the nominees for Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary. I decided blogging about The Sixth on the sixth would be more appropriate than today.

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Elon Musk calls budget bill 'a disgusting abomination' — MSNBC reports

Sorry, no results of the primary elections in New Jersey and Virginia today. Those will happen in two weeks. Instead, I'm revisiting Elon Musk leaving with MSNBC reporting Lawrence: And on day 134, Musk turned against Trump.

Democrats can now call the Donald Trump-Republican budget bill a "disgusting abomination" and they’d be quoting Elon Musk every time they do it, says MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell. Now that the budget bill is in the Senate, Lawrence explains that Republican senators are now able to stop the bill or risk Musk funding an opponent in their reelection campaign to the Senate next year.

When I read or heard speculation on when, not if, Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump and Elon Musk would have a falling out, the assumption would be that Hoover Cleveland would initiate it. Nope. I guess Musk is the bigger prima donna. Surprise! What's not a surprise is that Musk is doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. What Musk wants will probably make the final result crueler, not kinder.

The drama continued on MSNBC's Morning Joe, which uploaded Musk ‘wrecked the White House’s afternoon’ savaging Trump’s signature agenda this morning.

Elon Musk issued a blistering criticism of the massive Republican bill for President Donald Trump’s agenda Tuesday, posting on X that it is a "disgusting abomination." "I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore," Musk wrote. "This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. The Morning Joe panel discusses.

MSNBC quoted Axios's reporting, which listed four reasons for Musk opposing the budget bill, none of which involve increasing the deficit, and all of which harm him, or at least make him look and feel bad.

With Hoover Cleveland withdrawing Jared Issacman, I might get my wish that he'd appoint Newt Gingrich as NASA Administrator. As I wrote seven years ago, "I could live with that."

Hoover Cleveland hasn't responded directly to Musk's criticism of the bill as I'm writing this, but he did something related, as MSNBC reported White House sends Congress request for $9.4B in DOGE cuts.

The White House sent congressional leaders a request Tuesday to claw back $9.4 billion in approved spending, most of it for foreign aid.

This would codify much of "Elon Musk's...Chainsaw Massacre of our federal workforce" and is a sign that what Musk wants would indeed make the budget bill crueler. Ugh.

That's a wrap for today's topical post. Stay tuned for the next installment in my coverage of the News & Doc Emmy Awards tomorrow, when I plan on examining The Sixth and the rest of the nominees for Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary.

Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Stewart, Colbert, Meyers, and Kimmel take closer looks at Musk leaving, Joni Ernst, and 'robot Biden'

Happy TACO Tuesday! The late-night talk-show hosts all returned last night and I'm not up for a long awards nomination post, so topical comedy it is, beginning with Jon Stewart on Elon Musk's Black-Eyed Exit & Trump's Insane New Biden Conspiracy | The Daily Show.

Jon Stewart tracks Elon Musk's White House crash, from the high of being Trump's "first buddy" to the low of his black-eyed DOGE send-off. Now that the 100-day honeymoon is over, Jon also checks in on Trump's other struggling cabinet members, like the FBI's burned-out deputy director, Dan Bongino.

As I wrote last week, "I'm glad 'Elon Musk's...Chainsaw Massacre of our federal workforce' is finally over." Relieved is more like it, although the rest of Project 2025 is still coming. I'm not looking forward to it.

I'm also not looking forward to Palantir, the company named after the all-seeing crystal balls in The Lord of the Rings, establishing a surveillance state. I've been paying attention to Palantir founder Peter Thiel mostly through his pet bad philosopher Curtis Yarvin and his protégé JD Vance. Now I'll have to start paying attention to Palantir CEO Alex Karp, too.

Moving from real sources of suspicion to conspiracy theory, Stephen Colbert covered Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump's latest as well in Joni Ernst: We’re All Going To Die | Elon’s Cocktail: Ecstasy, Ketamine, Shrooms | Biden Robot Cl[one].

Sen. Joni Ernst horrified constituents with a heartless comment about people who will lose Medicaid coverage under the GOP’s budget bill, Elon Musk denied reports that he is a heavy user of ketamine and psychedelics, and President Trump reposted a wild conspiracy theory about his predecessor.

I've never mentioned Joni Ernst on this blog before, but I've known she had a mean streak that she portrayed as toughness since she first ran for U.S. Senate in 2014. It looks like what I wrote in I ask The Archdruid and his readers 'Can you show us on the doll exactly where the educated professionals hurt you?' A Festivus airing of grievances came true for her.

Greer's premise/conceit is that Trump is like The King in Yellow and drives mad all who oppose him. I'd say he drives just about everyone mad by giving them permission to be their worst selves.

I'd say Senator Ernst succumbed to the curse. May the rest of us not follow suit.

I'm moving past Elon Musk's alleged drug use to Hoover Cleveland's re-"truthed" kooky claim that Joe Biden was replaced by a "robot clone" in 2020. As Stephen points out, robots are not clones, and the imagined replacement would have been worse than the original, both of which remind me of one of the lines in The Way of the (Political) K00K, "Never allow logic or reason get in the way of a good k00k." It also shows Hoover Cleveland's vulnerability to conspiracy theories. I wrote that in 2017 and repeated it immediately before the election. The old dog, and by that I mean Trump and not Biden, is still performing his old tricks.

It wouldn't be a closer look post without Seth Meyers, so here is his Musk Turns on Trump After Leaving DOGE in Disgrace; Trump's Insane Biden Clone Theory: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at President Trump reposting a far-right conspiracy theory that former President Biden was executed five years ago and is a robotically engineered clone, The New York Times reporting that Elon Musk was engaged in increasingly intense drug use during the Trump campaign and more.

Here's a term Seth could have found in his thesaurus to characterize the week's news, dystopian. That would have covered it.

Jimmy Kimmel got solo billing last week because he was the only late-night host putting out new material. Today, he gets the last monologue slot, although not the last word, with Trump Pushes Crazy Conspiracy Biden is a Robot Clone, Weighs in on Diddy Pardon & Elon Says Goodbye.

Elon Musk is out of the White House and Trump held a farewell press conference for him, Elon had a mysterious black eye, the New York Times published a crazy story about him claiming that he has been taking a wide variety of drugs, Trump blew the lid off a bombshell cover-up by reposting a theory claiming that Biden was cloned and replaced by a robot, he took time over the weekend to weigh in on whether or not he would pardon Diddy, reality TV stars Todd & Julie Chrisley are already back to shooting their show after Trump pardoned them, Iowa Senator Joni Ernst had a town hall in Butler over the weekend where she told her constituents we’re all going to die, Stephen Miller was on Lara Trump’s show over the weekend where he took a rare break from deporting children to talk about his own, and while many Americans are now buying food on credit, some companies are trying to capitalize on that desperation.

The Truth Social user Hoover Cleveland re-"truthed" is even more confused than I thought. While there is a football player named Michael Robinson, he went to Penn State, played for the 49ers and Seahawks in the NFL, and is now an analyst for the NFL Network. That's not who I think the original poster meant. Instead, I think he meant Michelle Obama's brother, Craig Robinson, who was the men's basketball coach at Oregon State from 2008 to 2014, when Michelle was First Lady. Wow, they were in two places with two identities at the same time! Explain that, conspiracy theorist, while maintaining they're the same person. They're not.

I'm letting The Late Show with Stephen Colbert have the last word with last night's cold open, Joe Biden Proves He’s Not A Clone.

The former president pushed back against Trump’s claim that he is a robot clone of himself.

*Snork*

On a more serious note, there is a method behind the madness of Hoover Cleveland spreading this. It's an even more bonkers version of Biden using an autopen to sign pardons for Hunter Biden and others. "That wasn't really Biden" would be even more effective than "Biden didn't actually sign the pardons" — if it were true. It's not, not that it being BS will stop Hoover Cleveland.

Stay tuned to see what I write tomorrow. Maybe it will be the results of the primary elections in New Jersey and Virginia, which could be good news. I hope so.

Crazy Eddie's Motie News