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.
This year marks the 60th annual Cinco de Mayo parade in Southwest Detroit, which commemorates Mexico’s victory over France in the Battle of Puebla in 1862.
Looks like the attendees in both St. Paul and Detroit had a fun time in defiance of Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump'sxenophobicimmigration policies. They didn't allow Hoover Cleveland and his Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to mess with their entertainment. As I first wrote in 2011, "America is quite clear about its screwed up priorities. My experience has convinced me that the surest way to get Americans to act is to mess with their entertainment."
That was a positive ending to this sad story. Let's see if it's happy enough for me to skip ahead to Revenge of the Sixth or if I feel like I need to write a drum corps holiday post to cheer me up more. Stay tuned.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week’s biggest news, like Uber offering free rides for teens to prom.
So does the minting of Superman coins and medals, which has been in the works since last year. Hoover Cleveland deserves neither credit nor blame. That goes to Joe Biden.
Two Applebee's Barflies, Darlene and Duke (Bowen Yang, Sarah Sherman), stop by Weekend Update to discuss the recent string of casual dining restaurants declaring bankruptcies.
“We don’t have the right to tune out when previous generations fought and fought and fought.” Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, the youngest Democratic female serving in the U.S. Senate, joins Michael Kosta to share her perspective on the current state of national security and the Democratic agenda moving forward. The senator explains why voters are looking for Democrats with alpha energy (“You don’t have to be a male to [have] alpha energy,” she says), how President Trump’s tariff policy is “slow-rolling us into a recession,” responsible vs. reckless change, and the importance of tuning in during challenging times.
I think Senator Slotkin did well in one of the friendlier interviews I've seen on The Daily Show — fellow Michigander Jordan Klepper might have been as cordial, but Desi Lydic and especially Jon Stewart might have grilled her harder — but Kosta avoided asking about her suggesting that Democrats should avoid mentioning oligarchy, which got Bernie Sanders and AOC to tell her off. It also garnered a lot of hostile comments on the YouTube upload, only one of which I'll repeat, eyuin5716: "Slotkin needs to go home. I’m not interested in playing footsie with the modern day Kyrstin Sinema." EYuin, you have no idea, especially which Senator Sinema, the Democrat or the independent, you're comparing Slotkin to. If it's Sinema the Democrat, the better comparison in the current Senate would be John Fetterman, who Voteview describes as "the most conservative Democrat of the 119th Senate." He's moved up and to the right since 2024. If it's Sinema the independent, then you're on to something. Slotkin is not only the youngest female Democratic Senator, she's also the most "establishment" (conservative on Voteview's second dimension) Senator, Democrat, Republican, or independent. Look at the chart below.
This is nearly identical to her position on the second dimension when she was in the House, so her Senate voting record should come as no surprise.
It should also come as no surprise that Slotkin would come into conflict with AOC, who, along with the rest of "The Squad," are at the opposite extreme along the second dimension, making them the most anti-establishment members of the House. The establishment politician would support the current power structure, especially regarding national security and foreign policy, while the anti-establishment ones would oppose it. The current power structure would oppose mentioning oligarchy, while its opponents would make it a central issue.
I have two "for what it's worth" observations about this. First, at least between Slotkin and "The Squad," this is not a Left-Right (first dimension in Voteview) issue. Slotkin's ideological (first dimension) score both as a Senator and as a House member is -0.338, more conservative than 63% of Democrats in the 119th Senate and more conservative than 65% of Democrats in the 118th House. In contrast, AOC's ideological score is -0.319, more conservative than 66% of Democrats in the 119th House and 71% of Democrats in the 118th House. Yes, AOC is to the right of Slotkin, at least according to Voteview's algorithm. Surprise!
Second, this is a fight over tactics and tone, not goals. Slotkin, Sanders, and "The Squad" all oppose Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump and the threat to democracy and the rule of law he poses; they're just arguing over the most effective way to do so.
President Trump ousted National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and gave the job to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, officials are hoarding supplies ahead of an expected spike in prices, someone needs to check Attorney General Pam Bondi's math, and Stephen weighs in on a question that is burning up the internet.
First, as I wrote in John Oliver examines RFK Jr. & HHS, "Hoover Cleveland will only do the right thing for the wrong reasons." Instead of firing Waltz for using Signal instead of government email, I'm sure he replaced him with Marco Rubio because he included Editor of the Atlantic Jeffrey Goldberg and let the public know about the chat. Second, nominating Waltz to be Ambassador to the United Nations is a promotion, not a firing. I don't know if he'll be an improvement over Elise Stefanik. Probably not.
I'll get to Pam Bondi later. In the meantime, officials hoarding toilet paper is a bad sign of trouble ahead, even if China has very little to do with toilet paper. Also, I'm a biologist, so I'm supporting what the experts are saying about gorillas, as much fun as 100 men vs. a gorilla sounds.
Seth takes a closer look at turmoil and confusion in Trump's White House after he announced he was moving his scandal-plagued national security adviser to a different job.
"Once a leaker, always a leaker, often a leaker." Yeah, Kegseth, you'd know.
Hoover Cleveland's callous remarks about Christmas presents is another bad economic sign. It's also enough to earn him the nickname "Donnie Two Dolls." Now I'm thinking of Sugar and Spice, Two-Face's girlfriends from Batman Forever.
That may not be as effective as comparing Hoover Cleveland to The Grinch or Marie Antoinette. I'm looking forward to the memes already.
Michael Kosta continues TDS coverage of Trump’s 100th day in office with reports from NewsNation’s town hall, where the president racially slighted Stephen A. Smith, as well as details on Mike Waltz’s exit and subsequent United Nations promotion, and Pam Bondi’s ridiculous claims about fentanyl deaths.
Stupid racism from Hoover Cleveland at a town hall? I'll let Iago respond for me.
Speaking of stupid, Bondi's math on fentanyl rests on very shaky assumptions, and it just gets worse. That doesn't stop him from believing it. As I've said before, "the voices in his head are not reliable sources. Neither are the real people he listens to." That includes Bondi.
Thousands of concerned citizens joined shoulders across America to protest our dear leader and his minions, employees at the FEC will soon be required to report their location every day, Trump headed to Mar-A-Lago today for another three day weekend, Elon is dialing back his DOGE duties to focus on his own disaster of a company, Don Jr is co-founding an exclusive members only club in Washington D.C., all of America’s most prominent religious figures were at the White House today for a “National Day of Prayer,” Dr. Phil claimed that Trump is a man of deep faith, NewsNation had a town hall where Trump talked about how much people who are “Black” love him, a deal was signed with Ukraine for rights to their rare earth minerals, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz is OUT, longtime anchor Steve Doocy made a major announcement this morning on Fox & Friends, and it’s time for our now-beloved tradition, the “Can You Believe What Month it Is” montage for May.
I'm glad to see Jimmy K. report on the May Day protests. All the other late-night hosts missed them in their monologues, but they're on the East Coast. Jimmy is southern California, so he has three more hours to catch up on the news.
Crossmen's final run through at Canyon High School.
Sorry if it's a bit shaky here & there, holding my phone up for almost 15 min. while trying not to shake gets a bit challenging after awhile haha, anyways i hope you guys enjoy!
Taco did just fine with their smartphone.
Here's the program's repertoire from DCXMuseum, which is where I also found the left half of the preview image: "The Prophet's Song * She's Too Good For Me * The Sound of Silence * They Don't Care About Us * Some Nights * We Shall Overcome * Goodbye Blue Sky * Find The Cost Of Freedom." It works for this show theme.
Follow over the jump for a retrospective of last year's top posts featuring drum corps, nearly all of which were also top posts on Facebook.
Jon Stewart takes a look at Trump’s first 100 days: from plummeting approval ratings to unfulfilled promises on immigration, health, and the economy, to destroying his reputation as a shrewd negotiator with China and Ukraine[.]
"Suck it, Herbert Hoover!" That's yet another reason for me to call him Hoover Cleveland, although Hoover wasn't unpopular until after the Great Depression hit. That took a year; we're not waiting that long.
Hoover Cleveland claiming things are going great because he's making bank while posting record low poll numbers is enough to repeat what I wrote in George Santos sues Jimmy Kimmel and Trump sells sneakers, "[H]e has long had a very bad case of 'L'État, c'est moi.' As far as he's concerned, he is the country. He's also the worst president..." I may have more opportunities to connect those two thoughts.
I'm letting davidarcherd9868's comment on the video speak for me about what the economy.
Donald Trump promised that if I voted for Kamala Harris, I would experience the worst economy in recent American history. Turns out, he was right. I voted for Kamala Harris and am experiencing the worst economy in recent American History.
I voted for Harris, so I can say it's not my fault. On the other hand, I'm repurposing what I wrote at the end of John Oliver examines RFK Jr. & HHS, "Trump supporters like the Archdruid and his readers actually approve of what he's doing. I have another post planned about them."
John Oliver discusses the budget and staffing cuts being made to public health agencies in the U.S. under RFK Jr.’s new leadership, the many ways those cuts will impact all of us, and how WWII really ended. Trust us, it’s not how you think.
I'm repeating what I wrote earlier this month: "If I have to concentrate on criticizing any of Trump's Cabinet Secretaries, it will be RFK Jr. I'm a scientist and he's the biggest threat to science of anyone actually confirmed by the Senate..." I don't find his statement that "Our purpose is not to reduce any level of scientific research that is important" reassuring. I don't trust his judgment of what's scientifically important, especially in the context of cutting funding to diabetes research at the University of Michigan. That's doublypersonal!
Oliver and his writers also demonstrated how cuts at and by HHS pose short- and long-term threats to health. Bird flu and measles, both of which Oliver addresses later in the video, come to mind on top of the example of lead paint. It's not just in drinking water!
Vox showed its viewers how RFK Jr. could mess things up. Oliver shows how he already is. As Oliver quoted the experts, "This is a disaster. People will die because of the mistakes we're making right now." I'm calling for his impeachment and removal, because I'm sure he won't resign and doubt Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump will fire him because of what he's doing to science and public health.* Hoover Cleveland will only do the right thing for the wrong reasons. Even so, that will take until 2027 because the House won't have a Democratic majority until then. Sigh.
Stay tuned for Wayback Wednesday tomorrow.
*Trump supporters like the Archdruid and his readers actually approve of what he's doing. I have another post planned about them.
Purdue All-American Marching Band halftime performance at Ross–Ade Stadium, vs. Wisconsin, 10/23/2021, all about Superheroes!
That's quite the collection of superhero music from the 1960s to the 2010s! The show included both Spider-Man and Underdog, which have lasted far longer than I would have expected as a kid.
Have you ever been rescued from a risky situation or saved from injury or death? Those who come to our aid are called heroes. Some heroes happen to be in the right place at the right time. Others choose to be a hero as a career (though they wouldn't call themselves heroes.) And others still are fictional creations that inspire us with hope. Each year on April 28th, National Superhero Day honors superheroes, both real and fictional.
I've linked to National Day Calendar on this day before, but I've never embedded one of their videos for today until now. It was about time.
Amy Poehler presents Peter Straughan with the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for 'Conclave' at the 97th Academy Awards.
This was no surprise.
Best Adapted Screenplay:Conclave won the Golden Globe as well as the Critics' Choice Awards and WGA Awards, so it's a prohibitive favorite here; again, all eleven editors voted for it to win.
Just the same, congratulations to Peter Straughan on winning Conclave's only Oscar out of eight nominations.
Once the period of mourning for Pope Francis is done, the centuries-old tradition of selecting a new pope, known as the conclave, gets underway. NBC’s Keir Simmons reports for TODAY about the process that’s shrouded in secrecy.
Saturday’s funeral and burial of Pope Francis mark the beginning of nine days of official mourning at the Vatican, with cardinals leading masses each day. The words of their homilies will be closely examined and analyzed for clues about what’s on their minds as they prepare to elect a new pope. John Yang speaks with John Allen, editor of Crux, for more.
LOL, Spaceballs. That's not a flattering comparison, but it gives me the opportunity to mention the movie on this blog for only the second time.
I expect I'll return to the topic once the real conclave elects a new Pope. In the meanwhile, follow over the jump to see how Gold Derby's Oscar predictionsfared.
The controversial restaurant has recently filed for bankruptcy. This video explores the brand's history while highlighting some of the biggest reasons behind its decline.
Here's Company Man Mike's list.
Red Lobster's and TGI Fridays' bankruptcies were and still are such big deals that they made a joint cameo under "External Factors." Company Man Mike also featured his videos about them in the outro. The pandemic also made an appearance. Check out 2020 in this chart.
That's quite the drop! In retrospect, Hooters did well lasting five years; Chuck E. Cheese, Ruby Tuesday, and Sizzler filed for bankruptcy in the middle of 2020.
Company Man Mike added the "Free Toyota/Free Toy Yoda" lawsuit, which was a bad joke, to controversies, so I'm mentioning the one time I patronized a Hooters. It was in Orlando in 2003. I went with a late friend of mine, who suggested the place. I had a good time, but never went back. I just didn't want to be associated with the brand.
Moving on to competition, Company Man Mike posted this chart.
Even at its 2008 height, Hooters with ~400 locations would have been less than a third of Buffalo Wild Wings and less than a fifth of Wingstop. Now I feel like seeing where the nearest Wingstop is to me.
Why am I not surprised that private equity became one of the changing owners?
What happens when a study goes viral? After the “trillion tree” campaign captured the internet's imagination, YouTube sensation, MrBeast, raised 20 million dollars to plant 20 million trees. But did they survive? We went to check in on them… and were shocked.
In this episode of Weathered, we get into the surprising origins of the viral “trillion tree” campaign, why it nearly ended the careers of the scientists behind it, and what actually works when it comes to storing carbon and fighting climate change. Spoiler: it’s not as simple as planting trees.
Planting trees will definitely make the local environment cooler and relatively soon, but it will take decades for the trees to have a positive effect on global carbon dioxide. As May pointed out, we don't have decades. Conserving forests will have more of an effect now.
NBC News National Political Correspondent Steve Kornacki joins Meet the Press NOW to discuss the early state of play in California's gubernatorial race as former Vice President Kamala Harris weighs a run for governor.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris would have a wide lead over the rest of the field if she were to enter the 2026 race for California governor, according to an Inside California Politics/Emerson College poll released Thursday. April 17, 2025.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris is the runaway front-runner in the California governor’s race – but voters are split on whether the failed 2024 Democratic presidential candidate should even enter the fray.
Harris has the support of 31% of Californians who plan to vote in the Golden State’s June 2026 gubernatorial primary election, according to an Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics/The Hill survey released Thursday,
But half of likely voters, 50%, believe that the former vice president, California senator and state attorney general should not run for the governorship.
Harris’s closest competitors are former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), who only mustered 8% support, and Republican Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco, who garnered a 4% backing.
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a recent entrant into the race, received 2% support.
That's a really good preview image, but I'm suspicious of the channel itself. I wonder who's behind it.
Follow over the jump for a retrospective of the relevant top post plus the most commented posts between March 21, 2024 and March 20, 2025 for today.
English has unusual linguistic features most other languages don't! These skills really make English unique compared to other languages around the world.
Other languages have unique features that English just doesn't have access to. So, English, why don't you level up your skills with these linguistic tricks from around the world?
Here's Josh R's partial list.
I expressed my gratitude about something Josh R didn't list.
I'm glad you didn't mention gender for nouns or number for articles and adjectives in addition to nouns and verbs. The former can be arbitrary and not necessarily improving understanding and the latter would be redundant.
On the other hand, I think English could use a standard second person plural. Because I live near Detroit, I use y'all, but there are other ways of saying it. What do you use?
Follow over the jump for a retrospective of the relevant top post for today.
Unlike the Trump administration, The Daily Show acknowledges the existence of climate change. In this collection of segments honoring Earth Day, Ronny Chieng breaks down rising global temperatures, Michael Kosta discovers an environmental safe haven in Duluth, Minnesota, and Troy Iwata investigates solutions to the climate crisis, including a trip to Mars and a woolly mammoth resurrection.
Michael Kosta is complaining about snow? He was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, just like my younger daughter! We know snow! On the other hand, he spent long enough to Los Angeles to know about the people there. He may be telling a joke, but he's not kidding! On a more serious note, Duluth is on CNBC's list of safest places in the U.S. from climate change, but so is Detroit, and we already have better weather than Duluth!
Troy Iwata managed an interesting transition from 2024 being the world's hottest year on record to a space ark to mammothde-extinction. Re-establishing the mammoth steppe would help keep methane from permafrost in the ground, but that's an entire biome; bringing back one species would not be enough, which is part of why Colossal Biosciences also revived dire wolves, although those are Game of Thrones dire wolves, not the real ones. George R.R. Martin is even listed as a co-author on the paper!
That's a wrap for Earth Day. Stay tuned for Wayback Wednesday.
Lore of the ghostly whale skeleton, Bake-kujira, brings an ominous twist to stories of the revered marine giants in Japan. The entity is an omen of misfortune that emerged during the rise of industrial whaling in the 20th century. Is it a simple ghost story, or a warning of ecological collapse? And is Bake-kujira’s legend as relevant now as ever?
One of the projects I'm considering pursuing in my retirement is a horror mystery series set in Oakland County. I thought I would ignore the Nain Rouge because it was concerned with Detroit proper, not the suburbs. Hearing that the Nain Rouge protects the suburbs as well as the city means that I might have to incorporate the imp in my stories. Hmm. Maybe in the sequel. I have another supernatural entity planned to bedevil my protagonists in the first collection of tales.
In 1927 excavations for a new schoolhouse in Oscoda turned up a Late Pleistocene fossil rib that may have belonged to a bowhead whale of the genus Balaena. The specimen is now catalogued as UMMP 11008.[15] 1930 saw Hussey publish the first scientific paper on the Michiganian whale fossils curated by the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology.
...
The 1950s saw paleontological attention return to Michigan's whale fossils. In 1953, Handley tentatively referred the rib discovered in Oscoda during the 1927 schoolhouse excavation to the genus Balaena.[15] He also reported the discovery of an Arkonan-aged[clarification needed (possibly referring to Thedford-Arkona region)] rorqual rib of the genus Balaenoptera. The fossil had been discovered upright in the sand during the excavation of a cellar in Genesee County.[18] Handley also reported the discovery of another walrus fossil, a skull catalogued as UMMP 32453 found in a Mackinac Island gravel deposit.[13] Handley also reported the discovery of sperm whale ribs and a vertebra from Lenawee County.
While I've read at least one author explain these findings as the result of early Native Americans transporting them from the coast, I think it's just as likely, if not more so, that the whales swam up the early Mississippi or St. Laurence into the forerunners of the Great Lakes. Whales swim into rivers from time to time, and it usually ends poorly for them.
Last week the results of study found the township bones were baleen whale vertebrae and radiocarbon dated the age at 220 +/- 30 BP (Before Present), as such, it is similar to a previous date of 190 years old for a sperm whale bone found in Michigan. The baleen whales have baleen instead of teeth which they use to collect shrimp-like krill, plankton and small fish from the sea. The report also included that all the dated whale bones found to date from Michigan are far too young for whales to have entered the Great Lakes. Bones of a sperm whale, finback whale, and a right whale where reported found in Michigan were dated between 190 and 810 years old,
John Zawiskie, the Curator of Earth and Life Sciences at Cranbrook Institute of Science commented on the results of the whale bone discovery.
“Whales could only have entered the Great Lakes when the sea level was higher during glacial and post-glacial times more than 10,000 years ago,” said Zawiskie. “The whales are all too young – the oldest are only 800 years old.”
Why the bones were found in the township is uncertain, however one suggestion is that the bones may have been brought to Michigan by Hopewell culture people from the Atlantic coast, or maybe even a long running elaborate hoax, where someone else placed the whale bones on the landscape.
“The Hopewell people lived on the Atlantic Coast and they may have brought the whale bones to Michigan as they brought many shells and other marine items with them,” added Zawiskie. “It is unlikely that the Hopewell people scattered whale bones across Michigan and of course the recent find is only 220 years old – the other whale ages range from 190 to 800 years old.”
Darn. On the other hand, these findings make it more likely for whale spirits to haunt Michigan, not less, as they've been moved relatively recently. Just the same, I think I might refer to the legend of Bake-kujira, but choose another angry animal apparition for my antagonist, like a mammoth or mastodon. Time to look for African and south Asian stories of ghost elephants as inspiration.
Enough weirdness. I already have more conventional videos for tomorrow's celebration of Earth Day. Stay tuned.
Whoever came up with our Easter traditions must have been really stoned, Italy’s new prime minister paid a visit to the White House, scientists may have discovered living organisms on a distant planet, and idiots online are insisting that Gayle King and Katy Perry didn’t really go to space.
Being stoned has little to do with our Easter traditions conflicting with each other. GaudyMarko explained in a comment.
Fun fact but Easter used to be a pagan holiday that celebrated the spring equinox and fertility before it got rebranded as a christian holiday. The rabbits, eggs, and even the name are all cultural reminants that predate christian influences. Hence the weird mismatch in themes.
Trueflights reinforced the point.
To be fair, most of the traditional Easter symbolism was stolen from the Pagan fertility holiday that happens around the same time. That is why you have bunnies (who reproduce quickly), chocolate (which is an aphrodisiac), and eggs (another fertility symbol).
This sounds familiar, as something similar happened with Christmas trees.
One part of the monologue that the video description missed involved Hoover Cleveland's proposed budget cutting FDA inspectors and NIH and CDC research. Three commenters weighed in on both. First, PC-kd7dj wrote, "No food inspection in U.S.? Now that should get other countries to increase food imports from us :_D" The other two reacted to the clip of RFK Jr. AlliePetty wrote, "That clip of RFK Jr talking about taking LSD just so he can see dinosaurs would be sufficient evidence against him to have kept him from becoming a cabinet member in any normal administration..." Too bad this is not a normal administration. Finally, SuperNov4 spoke for me with "I really need a warning before the rfk slaps on the screen, it's like nails on a chalkboard. What he says and how he speaks it's all garbage." I second that emotion.
Meanwhile… A new machine can tell how much fat is in tuna meat, wild salmon exposed to anxiety drugs took more risks, ancient Romans fed tax evaders to leopards, and scientists grew real “chicken” meat in a lab.
Science, animals, and more drugs! Also, the Webby Awards qualify today's post as the Sunday entertainment feature. I love awards shows!
Jesus Christ (Mikey Day) and his disciples (Kenan Thompson, Andrew Dismukes, Sarah Sherman, Ego Nwodim, Emil Wakim, Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow, Jane Wickline) get interrupted by President Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) during the cleansing of the Temple.
Phantom Regiment opens their 1980 production with Rimsky-Korsakov's "Russian Easter Overture." The corps finished in 5th place at the DCI World Championship Finals in Birmingham, Alabama.
I was in the audience for this performance, so imagine you can hear me cheer. For all I know, you can.
Tipsy Bartender uploaded a new Easter drink recipe for the first time since 2020, Double Spicy Easter Bunny.
Drink responsibly!
*I might still feature this year's Easter sketch tomorrow along with other comedy appropriate for both Easter and 4/20. Stay tuned.
President Trump distanced himself from Project 2025’s radical conservative vision on the campaign trail. Now, more than half of his executive orders including some on immigration and DEI policies align with recommendations made in the Heritage Foundation’s blueprint. Trump has even hired multiple key architects and contributors of Project 2025 to be in his administration.
WSJ explores some of the notable ways Trump’s first few months are aligning with Project 2025 – and what that can tell us about his second term.
As for Hoover Cleveland (un)truthing "I have no idea who is behind [Project 2025]," check out MSNBC's list of chapter authors.
All of them have worked for him, so of course he's lying. He's not fooling anyone but himself and his most devoted followers.
...
I leave my readers with the following list Digby embedded in Incomplete Cheat Sheet.
As I've written before, yikes! No wonder it's unpopular!
On the campaign trail, President Trump distanced himself from the writers and content of Project 2025, but just two months into his presidency, much of what was laid out in the sprawling document has been enacted. Atlantic staff writer David Graham, who has written on Project 2025, joins Katy Tur to discuss how far along the Trump administration is in the conservative playbook.
Project 2025, the conservative policy project, became a flashpoint during the presidential campaign. Angelo Carusone of Media Matters studied the 900-page document and spoke with Geoff Bennett for our series, On Democracy, where we hear a range of perspectives on how government should function, what led to this moment in American history and where the country goes next.
Carusone and PBS News host Geoff Bennett also shared this graphic.
That illustrates the problem for Democrats and other resisters; a lot of people get their news and views from podcasts and videos and the overwhelming majority learn right. The stat that 32% of Americans get their news from YouTube now compared to 23% in 2020 shows the effect of the pandemic on Americans' media diet. I resemble that remark, as I'm using YouTube uploads of mainstream media here on my blog instead of watching the newscasts directly. I hope my curation helps direct my readers to good sources of news!
Thousands of employees at the Internal Revenue Service have lost their jobs in recent months as part of widespread cuts to federal spending by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The layoffs could impact essential functions at the agency during the height of tax season, from audits and collection enforcement to processing tax returns and refunds.
I'm repeating what I wrote two years ago.
Why am I not surprised that the "Satan Sandwich" budget sequestration deal and 2017 tax bill both played major parts in the shrinking of the IRS, that the InflationReductionAct is restoring that lost funding and staffing, and that the Republicans in Congress are seeking to reverse the IRA's increased funding of the IRS as part of raising thedebtceiling? Because I've been watching Washington long enough to see history rhyme, if not repeat.
So far, as CNBC pointed out, the cuts have not affected service for middle-class Americans. My wife filed our taxes last week and we should get our refund tomorrow, for example. They will reduce enforcement on the weathiest 1%, resulting in non-collection of $1 billion. Way for Hoover Cleveland and Elon Musk to look after themselves and their fellow billionaires. That's not the kind of class solidarity we need.
Enough about taxes. Stay tuned for Wayback Wednesday tomorrow. I have something fun planned.
