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.
Michael J. Fox – Shrinking: "The Field" as Gerry (Apple TV)
Brett Goldstein – Shrinking: "Happiness Mission" as Louis Winston (Apple TV)
Hamish Linklater – Widow's Bay: "Seasickness" as Richard Warren (Apple TV)
Christopher McDonald – Hacks: "No New Tricks" as Marty Ghilain (HBO Max)
Rob Reiner – The Bear: "Tonnato" as Albert Schnur (FX)
Connor Storrie – Saturday Night Live: "Host: Connor Storrie" as host (NBC)
Connor Storrie is the only SNL performer nominated at these Emmy Awards and the youngest SNL guest host ever nominated, but that doesn't seem to count for much at Gold Derby, where none of the professionals have picked him to win. Their leader is Michael J. Fox, who has the support of
53.8% of experts and 42.9% of editors along with 60.7% of users. Fox is followed by the late Rob Reiner, the choice of 23.1% of experts, 28.6% of editors, and 22.0% of users and Hamish Linklater, picked by 23.1% of experts, 14.3% of editors, and 7.0% of users. Professional and fan opinion diverge for fourth and fifth, as 14.3% of editors but only 2.3% of users consider Christopher McDonald to be a potential winner while no professionals but 7.5% of users selected Storrie. At least everyone generally agrees that Brett Goldstein has the worst chance with only 0.5% of users.
Dr. Anthony Fauci testified before the Senate in the GOP's hyperpartisan investigation into his "megalomania" and alleged mishandling of Covid, despite the fact that Trump admitted to having “a lot of respect for Dr. Fauci” during the pandemic. Jordan Klepper gets into the hearing’s biggest moments, including Fauci repeatedly invoking the Fifth Amendment, Senator Josh Hawley invoking Fauci’s diary entries, and one Instagram commenter invoking the eggplant emoji.
I'll get back to Brainworm later. Time to return to the hearing and its coverage on Fox News, which is all in on "the Wuhan lab-leak hypothesis." I last discussed that in 2021 and have ignored it since, as I don't want to contribute to the acceptance of what I think is a conspiracy theory. That isn't stopping the Fox News anchors or their guests, particularly ex-coach, current Senator, and likely future Governor Tommy Tuberville, who, if he wants to cite one unofficial idea, might as well cite another, "16 million to 28.1 million with the most likely figure being 21 million, 3.1 times the total of official deaths." It would scare people even more than 9 million and it has better support than the lab-leak hypothesis, which I think is based on xenophobia, partisan wishful thinking, and a questionable intelligence report not supported by scientists. It doesn't help that Fox News undercuts that position by their consistent underplaying of COVID-19. Logic and reason are not their strong suit, but I wrote that the late Jerry Pournelle, himself a conservative, described conservatives as irrational fifteen years ago, so I shouldn't be surprised.
I couldn't agree more that staff cuts at Health and Human Services, the CDC, and NIH are among the reasons the U.S. is "losing a diarrhea war with lettuce." That deserves its own post, but not today. Instead, I'm moving on to Desi Lydic Foxsplains Anthony Fauci's Pandemic Diary | The Daily Show.
Fox News got a hold of Anthony Fauci's Covid-era diary, and Desi Lydic is ready to Foxsplain every evil detail.
HAHAHAHA! All except the lettuce being from Michigan — that hits too close to home, literally.
America might be getting sick of RFK Jr. as health secretary, but much like the worm in his brain, he doesn't appear to be going anywhere. While you won't find his brand of non-professional medical advice on "Grey's Anatomy" or "The Pitt," you can find it on a bold new medical drama: RFK Hospital.
On the one hand, HAHAHAHA! On the other, this is the kind of health care leader Fauci's enemies want to listen to. I'd rather follow Fauci.
Speaking of following, continue over the jump for The Daily Show's Emmy nominations.
We are now officially 159 days from the midterm elections, Trump’s approval ratings have sunk to an all-time low even though he has “done more” than any President ever, the DOJ is now going after one of Trump’s victims E. Jean Carroll who accused him of sexually assaulting her, in honor of our country’s 250th anniversary the Treasury Department is looking to print special Trump $250 bills, they’re also lining up entertainment for the “Great American State Fair” and the lineup is shaping up to be a real dud, there will be a mass pardoning ceremony as part of the semi-quincentennial celebration, the US and Iran have reportedly reached another tentative deal to potential[ly] end the war he says we won three months ago, the State Department posted a very upbeat message for Secretary of State Marco Rubio, RFK Jr can’t stop picking up snakes, and another edition of This Week in Florida.
That's a good poll result for participation in this November's midterm elections and a bad one for Donald "Pervert Hoover" Trump, whose approval rating is about what I think he deserved all along. Speaking of approval, I don't think a proposed law to allow his face on a new $250 bill would get past the Senate and given how narrow the Republican margin is in the House, it would be a close call there, especially now that Thomas Massie has lost re-nomination. As for "This Week in Florida," "Florida Man" stories usually involve someone doing something criminal, stupid, and outrageous. Not this week — no criminal activity at all and the Florida Man doing something stupid was the cop. Good thing for the woman he pulled over that his body cam was working!
Trump met with his cabinet amid his war in Iran being a mess and his approval rating being in the toilet, Hegseth got an angry phone call from Trump after he cancelled the deployment of 4,000 troops who were about to leave to be stationed in Poland, Jimmy had a brief back and forth with RFK Jr. online that caught the attention of Fox Business, Senator John Cornyn of Texas lost his primary to a Trump-endorsed Ken Paxton, he will now face off against Democrat James Talarico, and Spencer Pratt is running for the Mayor of LA.
I've only mentioned Pervert Hoover's narcissismtwice, but Jimmy mentioning that one out of every six sentences in his Cabinet meetings is either praise or an attack on his enemies reminds me of one of the criteria for narcissistic personality disorder, need for admiration. He displays that and all the other criteria in abundance!
As for Jillian Michaels and Fox Business calling Kimmel not funny, then why does this video have 2,721,170 views, the one above have 1,936,029 and counting, and the one below 3,086,200? Conservatives hate-watching them? Yeah, right.
The latest UC Berkeley-L.A. Times poll of likely voters has the three candidates at the top almost within the margin of error so anything could happen leading up to Election Day. The top two candidates will move on in the race.
In the poll, Mayor Bass is at 26%. Right behind her is Nithya Raman at 25%. Then Spencer Pratt at 22%.
The margin of error for this poll is 3% so this race is wide open with a clear top three.
After hearing Jimmy describe Pratt's reaction to the fakeMayanApocalypse of 2012, I hope he comes in third so I won't have to mention him again except in defeat.
The Knicks completed a second consecutive sweep to earn a spot in the NBA Finals, Don Jr and his new bride Bettina were married on Saturday on an island in the Bahamas and Trump did not make it, they have begun construction on the arena for the big UFC fight scheduled for Trump’s 80th birthday next month, we are now on week thirteen of Trump’s “little excursion” in Iran, he posted a message to social media for Memorial Day, he gave himself a glowing report about his health after his physical, RFK Jr. decided to pick up snakes at Dr. Oz’s house, and after months of delays the Trump Mobile phone is finally shipping to customers.
Dumentia — hah! I'm keeping it.
Follow over the jump for top shares of posts about Kimmel on social media during the 15th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.
You've probably heard the claim that there's a link between acetaminophen aka Tylenol and autism. And there are a lot of conflicting takes about what that claim means, which research is “right”, and what different studies really show. So here’s some of the major studies that are being talked about, their shortcomings, and what it means for all the pregnant and autistic people out there.
Hosted by: Savannah Geary
The study that RFK Jr. is citing and which Donald "Hoover Harding Cleveland" Trump is parroting while mispronouncing acetaminophen says yes, but the other studies Savannah Geary describes say no. In addition, Geary does a good job of summarizing the issues with both the existing research and any studies on the subject. It would definitely be unethical to run a randomized clinical trial, which relates to what I told one of my geology classes yesterday about the limits on the experimental method.* There are some hypotheses that just can't be tested using a controlled experiment; those would require the comparative method.
That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for a more involved post tomorrow as I begin a four-day weekend for MLKDay.
*I was scheduled to give the same lecture to my other geology class today, but the college closed because of weather. Snowday!
The Trump administration released new dietary guidelines that will shape everything from school lunches to medical advice. The guidance puts a bigger emphasis on eating more protein and dairy, something Health Secretary Kennedy has long sought. William Brangham discussed the recommendations with Lindsey Smith Taillie, a nutrition epidemiologist and co-director of the Global Food Research Program.
16. What in ultraprocessed foods drives appetites/overeating?
...
19. How much of U.S. calorie intake comes from ultraprocessed food? France? Brazil? Italy?
I haven't shown Food, Inc. 2 either enough times or that recently to have the answers to both questions memorized in detail, but generally the response to the first involves additives to make ultraprocessed food more appetizing while that for the second is that Americans get the majority of our calories from ultrprocessed food while citizens of the other countries eat much less, generally around a quarter. Americans should eat less ultraprocessed food and more whole foods. Yes, I'm agreeing with RFK Jr. on this issue. File that under a stuck clock being right twice a day, and RFK Jr. is definitely a stuck clock.
That's the good news about the food guidelines. The bad news is the recommendation to eat more meat and dairy. That's not good for either health or the environment. Here are the questions I ask my students about the effects of meat and dairy on the environment.
9. Why are dairy farms moving from Wisconsin to California and Arizona and what are the environmental costs, especially on water? Answer both parts of the question.
...
24. Which food contributes most to climate change?
Dairy production requires a lot of water, which is in short supply in California and Arizona, where dairy farmers are moving to because those states have lower non-water costs. As Smith Taillie mentioned, beef has very high environmental costs, including being the food that contributes most to climate change.
The Secretary of State says America's goal is not to invade Greenland but to purchase it from Denmark, President Trump said he will sell 50 million barrels of Venezuela's oil and that he will determine where the profits go, and the FDA removed its own guidance on how much alcohol is safe to drink on a daily basis.
Ultraprocessed food, meat, and dairy may be more important, but booze is funnier. Why do my readers think I post so many cocktail recipes? Because they're fun; I actually drink very little, as I lost interest in alcohol once I developed diabetes. Priorities.
Speaking of priorities, I have to do some maintainence then go to work to prepare for the new semester. See you all tomorrow!
It's been five years since Donald Trump's failed coup at the U.S. Capitol, the assault on Venezuela might be just the beginning of the president's territorial aggression, and Stephen Colbert's audience size was three times bigger than Trump's when hosting The Kennedy Center Honors.
Yesterday was Eric Trump's birthday? Now I can't forget it! Thanks, Stephen — not!
Returning to Venezuela, I wrote the following yesterday.
Is he that petty? Yes. Witness what he and the people around him are saying about the Nobel Peace Prize winner; she'd be invited to run the country if she had declined it and given it to Hoover Cleveland.
As Stephen pointed out, sharing probably wouldn't be enough for Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump. Besides, even if MarÃa Corina Machado gave the medal to Hoover Cleveland and split the money, the Nobel Prize committee would never recognize it; Machado would be the official winner and Hoover Cleveland would not.
Even before Hoover Cleveland's maladministration has digested Venezuela, they are moving on to Greenland. I'm glad Stephen Colbert schooled Stephen Miller on the basis of Denmark's claim to Greenland. This is a profoundly stupid idea, and not just for the reasons I outlined five year's ago.
What TFG is alleged to have proposed would not have been possible in Pax Brittanica and would have been a stupid deal even if it were. First, Denmark was not one of the minor powers in the game (Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal were) and Greenland was not one of the available territories, so there would be nothing to swap for. Even if it had, I expect Greenland would have had an economic value of 1 or 2, while Puerto Rico, which is in the game, has a value of 5. This would have been a bad economic deal. Then again, if he actually did want to do this, it would have been for irrational reasons. That doesn't surprise me.
Today is the fifth anniversary of the events of January 6th when Donald Trump tried to overthrow the government in a pathetic and illegal attempt to stay in power, Speaker Mike Johnson refused to hang the official plaque to honor the law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol, Trump took the time to post his TikTok stats instead of wishing his son Eric a happy birthday, he spent 84 minutes delivering a pep talk to Republicans in the House which we whittled down for tonight’s edition of "Real Moments in Presidementia," Congress is back in session and looking to avoid another government shutdown, Trump continues to make it up as he goes along when it comes to Venezuela, sources close to the White House say that the reason Trump doesn’t support Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Machado is because she didn’t give him her Nobel Peace Price, his Legion of Dumb is gunning for Greenland again, Trump continues to claim he is in perfect health, the CDC is reducing the number of vaccines recommended for kids thanks to RFK Jr, and Trump has a brand new set of products right in time for the fifth anniversary of the Insurrection.
Jimmy K. mentioned the flu epidemic, which is happening while RFK Jr. and his CDC is recommending fewer childhood vaccinations. Covering that is now on my to-do list. In the meantime, I'm closing with Critics Choice's Jimmy Kimmel WINS Best Talk Show for "Jimmy Kimmel Live".
Congratulations to Jimmy, Guillermo, and the writers and crew of Jimmy Kimmel Live! This is now an awards show post, so here is the linkspam to the rest of the previous posts about the 2025 Critics Choice Awards.
I told my readers to "Stay tuned for comedy" today and do I have comedy for them! Randy Rainbow uploaded RFK! A Randy Rainbow Song Parody yesterday, so sing along with Randy!
Parody of “Cabaret” (Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb)
President Trump (James Austin Johnson) addresses grocery prices skyrocketing, Zohran Mamdani winning the New York City mayoral election and more after someone collapses in the oval office.
At least this version of Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump tells the truth about things, even if the truth isn't all that funny.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like someone collapsing in the oval office during a press conference, Zohran Mamdani becoming the new mayor of New York City and Dick Cheney passing away.
I think the actual clip of RFK Jr. fleeing the press conference was funnier than the recreation in the cold open. In fact, all of the news covered in both sketches was funnier here. Speaking of which, what happened to Dick Cheney passing away? I either missed it or it was in the video description but not the video itself. Finally, the mention of Michael is enough to earn today's entry's status as the Sunday entertainment feature, but Weekend Update: Pete Davidson Talks About His and Colin Jost’s Staten Island Ferry had more show business news, even if it was Davidson talking about doing a show in Saudi Arabia and taking pot shots at Lorne Michaels.
Pete Davidson stops by Weekend Update to discuss him and Colin Jost losing money on their Staten Island ferry.
Thanks to Davidson, I now know what's good about Staten Island, the pizza. I'm still a fan of Detroit-style pizza.
Follow over the jump for the monologue from last night's show plus the rest of the variety special Emmy Awards.
This may not be one of Paul Simon’s most successful songs, but it was a fun vibe to work up at the start of a new school year – getting instruments out for the first time since a summer holiday. The original was the second single from the album “Paul Simon” (released 1972) and the inscrutable story in the lyrics is set in the Queens neighbourhood where he grew up. By coincidence, it was apparently performed with Stephen Colbert in 2015 on The Late Show – the programme that this week tore into Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s record and showed some of his fiery testimony in the Senate, an episode which also made it into European news coverage (story here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c....
Needless to say, the world is watching with alarm the compromising of America’s public health systems, including the dismantling of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) – which has now lost its chief medical officer, director of immunisation, and director of emerging diseases (among many others) - while misinformation spreads, rates of vaccine uptake plummet, new outbreaks of measles kill again, and some states gallop headlong towards removing mandates that had the overwhelming backing of the scientific and medical communities.
Vaccine denier RFK Jr. is now the head of Health and Human Services, and it is going about as well as you would expect, with measles cases (and even deaths) breaking out across the country.
Song parody of "It's Not Unusual" written by Les Reed and Gordon Mills, first recorded by a then-unknown Tom Jones. The music here is from The Knickerbockers cover: • It's Not Unusual
=== Lyrics ===
It’s not unusual to get measles anymore
They’re not unusual, these diseases anymore
And when I learn about the vaccines that you forswore
It’s not unusual to be notified
Your kid has died
It’s not unusual to elect a Kennedy
But when a brain worm’s there it affects his sanity
If you should ever need help disposing of a bear
It’s not unusual
To drop it in the park
Just wait ‘til after dark
Your alibi is bulletproof
And if you have a whale
This trick will never fail:
Take it and strap it to your roof
It’s not unusual to be sick a day or two
Until you find out you have contracted the bird flu
And if you’re wondering just exactly what to do
The CDC will recommend you take Ivermectin pills
Whoa-whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh
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.
I shared this at my DreamWidth, where I wrote "If the National Forest Service had been hiding in the bunker, the National Park Service might have been snotty to it." I know, I worked for the National Park Service.
The “big beautiful bill” is actually the ugliest piece of anti-environmental legislation and deepest cut to Medicaid in our nation’s history. Time to call our senators!
It's too late for the "Big Brutal Bill," but it's not too late to affect theshutdown. I couldn't avoid the subject entirely!
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.
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.
The new US secretary of Health and Human Services has a long history of spreading misinformation about vaccines.
...
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been called the most unqualified health secretary in the history of the US. Before his confirmation, over 22,000 doctors signed a letter urging the Senate to reject his appointment. During the confirmation hearing several senators grilled him on his concerning history related to vaccine misinformation: things like his founding of an anti-vax organization, his concerning anti-vax rhetoric, and his history of suing vaccine manufacturers, something he stands to make a lot of money doing.
The former environmental lawyer was propelled to the nation’s highest health office largely by the “MAHA” movement, a play on Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan (“Make America Healthy Again”). As health secretary, Kennedy wants to solve the chronic disease epidemic in the US, which plenty of doctors can get behind. The issue is that he aims to do it at the expense of infectious disease research. And therein lies the problem. Most people can agree when he says things like “I’m supportive of vaccines” and “I want good science.” The trouble is that his definition of “good” is, well — let’s call it historically shaky. In March, he appointed a well-known vaccine skeptic to head a study on the long-debunked potential link between vaccines and autism.
So what’s next? Can RFK Jr. take away vaccines that are already on the market? It’s unlikely, but he doesn’t need to. Kennedy sits at the helm of the very department he’s been undermining for years. In that position, the power he has over vaccine policy isn’t limitless, but the changes he can make could ripple for decades.
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 (Elon Musk as the effective head of DOGE may be just as big right now, but he's not Senate-confirmed and probably isn't there for the long term). Vox's video helps me by showing how and why he can threaten health research and policy.
Plus, why Utah banned fluoride in public drinking water and the potential fallout from the FDA’s top vaccine official’s resignation.
Utah answered no to 'Should fluoride be in our water?' I hope that doesn't adversely affect my mom, sister, and nephew who live there. Also, the Reduction In Force (RIF) of 20,000 HHS employees shows how both RFK Jr. and Musk combine to be threats to health and science.
The measles outbreak in Texas continues to spread, with 422 cases reported since January, an increase of 22 cases since Friday. Most cases are in West Texas, where one child has died. Dallas County Health and Human Services has cut 21 workers, including 10 temporary workers, leading to the cancellation of 15 vaccine events, including measles vaccination clinics. These cuts are part of the Trump administration's effort to reduce federal spending.
Birdflu may be a bigger potential threat, but measles is a menace right now.
Seriously, that supposed ideological diversity probably comes from former Democrats Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr., who I called cases of failing upwards. I thought I was done with both of them when they dropped out of the 2020 and 2024 Presidential contests, respectively. Instead, I could be writing about them for the next four years. Ugh. At least my readers and I have Randy and others to keep us sane. May they be like Ben Carson AKA Doctor Pyramid, about whom 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 Gabbard and RFK Jr.
So far, they've been making news. At least they're not boring.
Follow over the jump for the top post of mine about RFK Jr. during the 14th year of this blog.
Some Trump voters regret sending him back to the White House because he's doing nothing to lower prices on everyday items like coffee and potato chips, and there's a new medicine that might extend your dog's lifespan by years.
Elon Musk is still going with his Chainsaw Massacre of our federal workforce, Guillermo lists the five things he did at work this week, a group of Republican Senators met privately with the White House to complain about Elon’s impulsive and haphazard cuts, companies owned by Elon Musk have been the recipients of more than $30 billion from our government, Trump is now hocking dollar bills made of gold, and he is meeting with President Zelensky of Ukraine to discuss what is being called a “reconstruction investment fund,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced that a list of Epstein clients and his flight logs would be released today (they were not), instead they released a binder full of information everyone already had, people keep forgetting that Trump and Epstein were good friends, and in honor of the Oscars we took to Hollywood Blvd for a new edition of “Breaking the News.”
You pointed out four years ago that Elon Musk's fortune and the success of his companies were both built on government subsidies. American liberals may not have liked Musk for being a billionaire, but they generally quietly ignored what you pointed out as long as they thought he was on their side. Now that he is trying to buy Twitter, potentially ruining their venue for activism and entertainment, then announced that he wasn't on their side, they are all over that fact. They've also called into question the purported technological achievements of his companies and realized a lot of their value springs from faith in Musk himself. His companies' stock prices are now collapsing, which was one of the "black swan" events Lathechuck postulated in the comments four years ago. I don't suppose you are surprised by any of this, are you?
He wasn't. In fact, he joked that he was bored by it. Just the same, liberals and progressives were right about his effect on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. It's one of the main reasons we've moved to Bluesky.
[O]ne of the recurring themes in the comments to No More Mister Nice Blog, particularly from Yastreblyansky at The Rectification of Names, that a lot of the "working class" supporters of Trump based on their educational levels are actually small business owners, the petite bourgeoisie. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene come to mind. Both were small business owners before being elected to Congress, which adds new meaning to "petty bourgeoisie."
Desi Lydic rates the Democratic Party's methods of opposing Trump on the cringe-o-meter: from off-key protest chants to interpretive dance to podcasts. Plus, with so many Dems saying "F**k Trump," Grace Kuhlenschmidt thinks that might just be a great idea.
Michael Kosta on the tragic Washington D.C. plane crash and Trump's baseless blame of DEI for the catastrophe. Plus, the Best F**kin' News team breaks down which of Trump's nominees was least qualified at their Senate hearings.
Paraphrasing what I wrote in Pete Davidson hosts as 'Saturday Night Live' returns, the crash is not funny, but the reactions to it can be, and Hoover Cleveland's qualifies as worthy of mockery and scorn. It also came right on schedule, as I posted the following on Bluesky yesterday.
Mrs. Betty Bowers missed "National Disability Employment Awareness Month" in her post, but I caught it. I wasn't watching C-SPAN at the time, but I posted that within minutes of Hoover Cleveland making his ableist remarks, so I'm not surprised — appalled, but not surprised.
Seriously, that supposed ideological diversity probably comes from former Democrats Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr., who I called cases of failing upwards. I thought I was done with both of them when they dropped out of the 2020 and 2024 Presidential contests, respectively. Instead, I could be writing about them for the next four years. Ugh. At least my readers and I have Randy and others to keep us sane. May they be like Ben Carson AKA Doctor Pyramid, about whom 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 Gabbard and RFK Jr.
I also think that the announcement of Kash Patel's nomination for a position that isn't open yet — Christopher Wray's term doesn't expire for another three years — and Joe Biden's pardon of his son Hunter are more closely connected than he lets on. Patel might just have gone after Hunter even after he had gone to prison just to please convictedcriminalDonald Trump.
The science isn’t so straightforward.
...
RFK, Jr. has put the decades-old debate over water fluoridation back on the table. As Donald Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary, he might be the most powerful public health figure in the US who believes we should take fluoride out of our water.
The US has been fluoridating public water systems since 1945, when the children of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and three other cities became the first to experience how fluoridated water can fight tooth decay. Ever since, other municipalities have followed suit. Today, 63 percent of Americans drink fluoridated water from their taps. The US is one of 11 countries worldwide where more than half the population has fluoridated water. Some countries opt for fluoridating salt or milk instead.
Fluoride is essential for our oral health. But there is a growing debate about whether water fluoridation is still necessary now that most toothpaste has fluoride in it. Right now, epidemiologists are looking into whether US water fluoridation doses are safe for developing brains — and how some levels of fluoride in the water may affect child IQ.
Producer and host Laura Bult added the following in the video's pinned comment.
Hello! Something I didn't get into in the video is that part of the difficulty of the science on fluoride is that when it comes to studying its risks, there has never been a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study — the gold standard in science for proving causation. All of the studies we mention in the video are observational. Observational studies are typical in epidemiology when researching something that could be harmful in some doses. But surprisingly, there’s never been this kind of trial on the benefits of water fluoridation, either. The Undark podcast alerted me to the first study of this kind — studying water fluoridation’s benefits — currently underway at the University of North Carolina.
Medical experts warn that the study’s results shouldn’t be a major concern for parents in the U.S.
As both Vox and ABC News pointed out, the levels of fluoride in the study were double that in U.S. drinking water, so the findings don't necessarily apply to Americans. Arizona's Family (3TV/CBS 5) provided more opportunity for dentists to push back in Arizona experts call latest study on fluoride misleading.
A recent study reportedly found a link between high doses of fluoride and lower IQ scores among children, but experts say that's not the whole story.
Concern about fluoridation has historically been the province of cranks and conspiracy theorists, and RFK Jr. is no exception. That written, a stuck clock is still right twice a day, and RFK Jr. is a stuck clock. Those of us who accept science might have to be prepared that this is one of those times, as unlikely as it is. We also have to be prepared that this will encourage him and his anti-science supporters about vaccines, where science and history have repeatedly shown him to be wrong. I don't want this fight, but I'm willing to wage it against RFK Jr. and his supporters, including and especially the ones I needled 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. Yes, them, too.
Parody of “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here” from ANNIE (Music by Charles Strouse, Lyrics by Martin Charnin)
Parody Lyrics by Randy Rainbow
Song Produced, Orchestrated, Mixed, Mastered by: Michael J Moritz Jr @michaeljmoritz
Vocal Arrangement - Brett Boles @thebrettboles
Lead and Backing Vocals - Randy Rainbow
Piano, Synths - Michael J Moritz Jr
Drums/Engineer - Billy LaGuardia
Brass - James Canty
Winds/Reeds - Andrew Snapp
Seriously, that supposed ideological diversity probably comes from former Democrats Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr., who I called cases of failing upwards. I thought I was done with both of them when they dropped out of the 2020 and 2024 Presidential contests, respectively. Instead, I could be writing about them for the next four years. Ugh. At least my readers and I have Randy and others to keep us sane. May Gabbard and RFK Jr. be like Ben Carson AKA Doctor Pyramid, about whom 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 Gabbard and RFK Jr.
Randy's plug of Ground News reminds me of what I wrote in Future Proof examines 'The RISE and FALL of Malls in America,' a tale of the Retail Apocalypse, "the paid promotion by Ground News reminds me that I promised a comparison and contrast between AllSides and the Media Bias Chart three years ago." I still haven't done that, but it really is time. Maybe when I make my monthly page view goal and write evergreen entries near the end of the month.
That would make a good post to share next month. Stay tuned to see if I actually write it.
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.
