Marsh Family sings 'Silicon Valley' plus International Tiger Day

I promised a song by the Marsh Family for today. Watch and listen to "Silicon Valley" - Marsh Family arrangement of traditional American folk song "Down in the Valley".

‘Down in the Valley’ – sometimes also known as ‘Birmingham Jail’ – is a traditional American folk song that was circulating in earnest in the 1920s. Versions have been recorded by a huge set of music icons, with our favourites including those of Pete Seeger, Tex Ritter, the Blue Ridge Mountain Boys, Solomon Burke, and a Glen Campbell version which encouraged us to include modulations up a perfect fourth cos they’re very uplifting.

The song comes from a deep heritage mixing English, Irish, Scottish, Appalachian, and Ozark influences, with its distinctive mournful (perhaps jailhouse) waltz. For our version we’ve stepped away from a love ballad, but there is a lament in the arrangement and it hopefully feels resonant of US pioneer history. It contemplates how some of the more progressive ideas that were kindled by early generations of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have been flamboyantly cast aside by the latest cohort, as they move aggressively to embrace a different set of values – scrabbling for an ever-more concentrated and destructive matrix of resources and power, while backfilling flimsy self-oriented rationales. Not that US tech or Silicon Valley didn’t always have its fair share of corporate greed, competition, and self-promotion, but there was often at least a veneer of social conscience, environmental mindfulness, techno-altruism, and a kind of confidence and coolness that the current crop of tech bros have lost, as they suck at whatever teat will fit with their fantasies of deregulation, accumulation, and self-glorification.

The lyrics referencing The Lord of the Rings remind me of Vox asking 'What would J.R.R. Tolkien think of Palantir?' "[C]yberpunk villain ideas straight out of Snow Crash" and "bad readings of classic fantasy." Also, William Shockley serves as a cautionary tale that Silicon Valley has seen brilliant people go bad in similar ways before.

As for the techbros resembling Bond villains, I've said that before, writing "Musk thinks he's Tony Stark (the "real-life Iron Man"), but he's really a Bond villain, specifically a cooler version of Hugo Drax." I also reacted to a video that is no longer available by referring to a parody of a 007 villain.

That was a hilarious impression of Jeff Bezos as Dr. Evil listing villains both billionaires should be compared to. The only one I thought the DJ missed was Lex Luthor. After all, the same actor has played both Zuckerberg and Luthor.

Just to complete the circle back to The Lord of the Rings, I did so in Colbert and others have a good laugh at Zuckerberg saying his employees call him 'Sauron'. I think Meta's employees are on to something.

Today is International Tiger Day, so I'm closing with International Tiger Day by National Day Calendar.

Ready to protect nature’s top jungle predators? On this episode of National Day Spotlight (https://nationaldaycalendar.com/), Marlo Anderson (https://marloanderson.com/) and co-host Alice Anderson are looking to conservation efforts for International Tiger Day... They’ll focus on vanishing wild habitats and the global efforts underway to ensure a safe future for these animals of majestic stripes. Tune in for an inspiring look at wilderness protection!

I'm not done with environmental holidays, as tomorrow is Earth Overshoot Day for 2026. I'll mention it, but I think it will play second fiddle to the Emmy Awards. Americans are quite clear about our screwed-up priorities, and I'm an American. Stay tuned.

'Last Week Tonight' examines Twitter for Throwback Thursday

Happy Throwback Thursday! I'm going back a few months for Twitter: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO).

John Oliver discusses how an already flawed Twitter got worse under Elon Musk, how it continues to impact us all, and what it has to do with the 30-40 trillion cells humans are composed of. Or, wait, sorry, Twitter doesn’t have anything to do with the cells. It’s about our understanding of the universe. Maybe. You’ll just have to take that last part up with Elon directly.

Elon Musk's comparison of Twitter prior to his purchase to Wormtongue shows that Peter Thiel isn't the only techbro with J.R.R. Tolkien on his brain. I'm sure they and Alex Karp aren't the only ones.

There's a side effect of Musk turning the blue checks into pay for play instead of an actual verification system. In addition to making it difficult to tell real from imitation/parody accounts, it made a lot of statistics inaccessible without paid verification. I noted that last year: "Twitter/X's analytics are now a service for paid subscribers, and I won't pay to support Elon Musk, so they end up being little better than what I can collect from Bluesky for free."

As for Alex Jones getting his Twitter/X account back, it doesn't change my giving him an honorary Kenny McCormick Memorial Medal for losing at least five accounts because of abuse. No backsies! Besides, his losing Infowars to The Onion is worthy of a Bobo Award, the highest (dis)honor on alt.usenet.kooks.

Donald "Pervert Hoover" Trump apparently taking his cue from Zero Hedge via Musk shows why I'm glad I stopped citing Zero Hedge in 2011 and have blocked Musk, but also Pervert Hoover's susceptibility to conspiracy theories. It turned out that much worse things resulted from Pevert Hoover and his administration paying attention to Musk and the accounts he promoted, like what Bruce Springsteen, Billy Bragg, and the Marsh Family sang about Minneapolis, Minnesota. No wonder Marcy "Emptywheel" Wheeler calls Twitter/X "Xitter" with the X pronounced as sh and "a machine for fascism." This makes me glad I now call Bluesky my primary social media site, where I've gone from zero to 21,849 followers in a little more than 18 months.

Since today is Throwback Thursday, follow over the jump for my most read post about Twitter/X and Bluesky during the 15th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News along with my top shares on each platform that aren't about holidays that I haven't shared yet.


PBS Terra shows 'We Saw What AI Data Centers Don't Want You to See'

Today's brief educational entry I can share in June features Overview on PBS Terra showing We Saw What AI Data Centers Don't Want You to See.

We investigated one of the world’s largest AI data centers, using thermal drone footage to reveal the hidden pollution powering the AI boom. As companies race to build the future of artificial intelligence, residents and experts warn that fossil fuels, secrecy, and weak regulation may be putting communities at risk.

I reproduced my usual warning about AI in TODAY reveals TIME's people of the year for 2025.

I'm repeating what I wrote about the Economics Nobel Prize in Science, peace, economics, and literature winners for Nobel Prize Day 2025.

This award is as much about technology as it is about economics. May it mean that AI be a net benefit for the economy. Right now, it looks like it's doing more destruction than creation.

If the projections are correct, it will be doing both, with 20% of people losing their current jobs while quintupling GDP. Yikes! That's an outcome the residents of Richistan would approve of. As for the rest of us, I'll repeat what I wrote a dozen years ago in Robots are coming for our jobs, "the loss of jobs to robots will be the major effect of the Singularity, not everyone becoming cyborgs or the machines enslaving or killing off humanity." It's not like we weren't warned.

That would be an end result. Joe Hanson is showing that getting there is already a risk in terms of increased consumption of land, water, materials to make the data centers and the power plants to run them, and natural gas, as well as increased production of waste in the form of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants. It reminds me of an equation I teach my environmental science students to describe environmental impact: "I=P*A*T, where I is impact, P is population, A is affluence, and T is technology." A.I., or at least the data centers to support it, are becoming an example of a technology that supports affluence but increases the impact of the population on the environment. I prefer technology that decreases the impact of an affluent population by being more efficient. Data centers aren't that, not until they use sustainable energy.

Overview's video is a follow-up to Floodlight News reporting We Caught Elon Musk’s AI Company Defying Federal Law two months ago.

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, is fueling its data centers with unpermitted gas turbines, according to a Floodlight visual investigation. Thermal drone footage captured in late January 2026 shows xAI running the unpermitted turbines at its custom-built power plant in Southaven, Miss., nearly two weeks after the Environmental Protection Agency reiterated that doing so requires a state permit in advance. The ad hoc gas plant's sole task is to power the data center behind Grok and an example of AI's growing reliance on fossil fuels. Investigative Producer Evan Simon breaks down the investigation and what the findings could mean for the AI buildout occurring across the country.

**UPDATE** Mississippi regulators approved xAI's permit application to run 41 gas powered turbines at its Southaven gas plant on 3/10/26. The decision comes despite heavy pushback from local community members and will result in the creation of one of Mississippi's largest fossil fuel power plants.

This got me to subscribe to the Floodlight News YouTube channel, "The only U.S. newsroom with the specific mission to investigate climate polluters." Expect to see more from them.

Another lesson I teach my students is about the principles for environmental policy. Two of them are human rights, in this case the right to clean air and an environment not permeated by harmful noise, and public participation. The United States is supposed to be a democracy within a republic, where the people decide and the government represents the people. The Floodlight News video shows that the way data centers are being installed and operated respects neither. That's also the point of yesterday's MS NOW video, Erin Brockovich on AI data centers: 'People aren't being heard'.

Americans on both sides of the aisle have found common ground opposing construction of AI data centers in their communities. In Texas, one lifelong conservative voter told MSNOW reporter Josh Einiger that the issue could flip the Senate. And longtime consumer advocate Erin Brockovich joins to lay out what she's learned since she started tracking the issue.

I'm surprised I've never mentioned Erin Brockovich in 15+ years of blogging. It's about time I did.

That's a wrap for today. I'm sure I'll have more to say on the matter. In the meantime, stay tuned for the Sunday entertainment feature.

Stewart, Colbert, Kimmel, and Meyers take closer looks at Trump and others in the Epstein files

I told my readers, "Stay tuned for more closer looks from the late night talk show hosts" today, so I begin with Jon Stewart at The Daily Show's DOJ Protects Trump From Epstein Accountability as MAGA Attacks "Sanctuary Cities".

Trump declares himself "absolved" by the latest release of Epstein files, while Elon Musk’s Christmas wish for a trip to the sex island is put on blast, and Jon Stewart finds himself on Epstein’s list… for documentary voiceovers. Plus, as MAGA continues to shield the president from all accountability, Jon Stewart shines a light on the double standard of sanctuary given to Trump vs. immigrants.

Yes, releasing these files in installments really does seem like Groundhog Day. Things repeat and they don't seem to change. Sigh. At least we got a funny, if puerile, image out of it and some schadenfreude out of Stewart making a cameo in the files. Hey, at least it wasn't his doing.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert opened with more Groundhog Day jokes — the holiday, not the movie — in Trump Is All Over The Epstein Files | DOJ Exposes Epstein Victims | Trump Admin Won't Investigate.

President Trump is referenced thousands of times and accused of hideous crimes in the latest release of documents from the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the Department of Justice failed to redact the identities and personal information of many of Epstein's victims, and the DOJ announced that there will be no investigation into any of the prominent men implicated in the files.

Like Stewart, Stephen also mentioned Elon Musk emailing Epstein on Christmas morning — top of the next year's naughty list, indeed! Too bad Todd Blanche, who I haven't mentioned here before, declared there is no one new who could be prosecuted. No one Blanche, Pam Bondi, or Donald "Hoover Harding Cleveland" Trump is willing to prosecute, that is. Again, sigh.

Jimmy Kimmel opened with Groundhog Day jokes as well in Trump’s All Over the Epstein Files, Attacks Jimmy Kimmel After the Grammys & Don Lemon Gets Arrested.

Today is Groundhog Day, the ironically-titled Department of Justice released about half of the Epstein files, there were many disturbing accounts about a lot of famous people including Bill Gates, Steve Bannon, Richard Branson, and Elon Musk is in there too - more than a thousand times, Donald Trump’s name was mentioned 4,896 times, Trump’s Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick’s name pops up 138 times, there appears to be an email to Ghislaine Maxwell from Melania, Trump had the audacity to play the old “Jeffrey who?” card pretending they weren’t actually friends, Trump went after Jimmy in a late night Truth Social post criticizing Trevor Noah who hosted the Grammys, Trump is suing the IRS for $10 Billion, he also announced that he's closing The Trump Kennedy Center for renovations, Melania the movie made $7 million over the weekend, and journalist Don Lemon was arrested on Thursday night for covering an anti-ICE protest at a church in St. Paul.

I can understand Jimmy K's kids not believing Groundhog Day is a thing; they're growing up, like me, in southern California. Winter is not the oppressive presence there that it is here in Michigan or much of the rest of the Midwest and Northeast; in fact, it's relatively pleasant. It's not too hot and the hills are green. Only after I moved here did I understand the appeal of the day.

Thanks to Jimmy K and the Epstein files, Howard Lutnick makes an appearance in my blog for the first time. Since he's both Commerce Secretary and Epstein's former next-door neighbor, I'm sure it won't be the last.

It wouldn't be a closer look post without Seth Meyers, so here's Musk's Emails to Epstein Revealed; Trump Sues IRS for $10 Billion, Rakes in UAE Money: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at Trump and his family getting a large investment from an Abu Dhabi royal for their private crypto company as he's named in the new Epstein files along with many other wealthy and powerful people.

While Melania had a record opening for a documentary, I'm sure it won't save it from a Razzie nomination or two. Being the highest grossing documentary of 2016 didn't save Hillary's America from winning four Razzies. Here's to hoping that history rhymes.

In closing, I return to The Late Show for Trump Is All Over The Epstein Files, just to drive home the point of today's post.

President Trump's name is mentioned over 1,000 times in the latest release of documents from the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

*Snork!*

That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for something topical tomorrow.

Listening to people worry about lower birthrates on World Population Day is enough to drive me to drink on National Mojito Day

Happy World Population Day and National Mojito Day! I begin the holiday observances with Newsweek's Singles Pandemic: Why Global Birthrates Are Falling—and What It Means for Our Future.

Birthrates are falling fast—and the impact could reshape the future of economies, families, and entire nations.

In this episode of Blind Spots, we explore the global fertility crisis, from Japan and South Korea to the United States. Why are fewer people having children? How do economic pressure, changing cultural norms, and government policy play a role? And what happens when aging populations outnumber the young?

Singles Pandemic breaks down one of the most urgent demographic trends of our time.

It was time to put the world back in World Population Day after concentrating on U.S. trends since 2020. Japan and especially South Korea have it worse than the U.S., while the French seem to have it better.

Speaking of focusing on the U.S., I'm looking at the other side of American population equation before examining birth rates with TODAY reporting U.S. life expectancy rose to 78.4 years in 2023 early this year.

U.S. life expectancy rose to 78.4 years in 2023, hitting its highest level since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Well, that's good news, although U.S. life expectancy still hasn't risen to its 2014 value of 78.9 years. It sank most of the years since, which I started blogging about in 2016, before collapsing during the pandemic and recovering afterwards. If U.S. life expectancy reaches 80 years, I might post Professor Farnsworth. That might be awhile.

Follow over the jump for videos about the situation in the U.S., including what, if anything, can be done about it, plus a video about National Mojito Day.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Jimmy Kimmel says good-bye to Musk and plays 'TACO Man' for Trump

I told my readers to "stay tuned for last night's monologues from late-night talk show hosts to close out May," but only Jimmy Kimmel was broadcasting new shows this week; all the rest took the week of Memorial Day off. Without any further ado, I'm sharing Kimmel's Thursday night monologue, Trump Blows Up Over TACO Nickname, Demands Apology from 60 Minutes & Elon Leaves Washington.

Elon Musk’s time as a Special Government Employee has come to end, the court of International Trade ruled unanimously that Trump did not have the authority to implement the big, beautiful tariffs he slapped on everyone, Trump blew up at a reporter for asking about his new nickname “TACO” that’s been making the rounds on Wall Street which stands for “Trump Always Chickening Out,” he is now reportedly one step closer to settling the ridiculous lawsuit he filed against 60 minutes, he now says he plans to give Russia “two weeks” to prove they are serious about a peace deal with Ukraine, America’s Mayor Rudy Giuliani wore a crazy outfit, FBI Director Kash Patel sat for an interview with Fox News, RFK Jr made an announcement about COVID vaccines and Cousin Micki teaches us where babies come from.

I'm glad "Elon Musk's...Chainsaw Massacre of our federal workforce" is finally over. It was even worse than I expected from Project 2025, and that was bad enough. I don't think Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump is done with tariffs, but the U.S. Court of International Trade ruling is good news. So is the TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) meme taking off — something stuck! As for sore winner Hoover Cleveland suing CBS over the 60 Minutes interview of Kamala Harris, it earned a News & Doc Emmy nomination for Outstanding Edited Interview. I will take great pleasure in repeating that when I get to the news categories in my coverage of those awards.

Kimmel has instituted a new feature since I last embedded one of his monologues, The Rabbit Hole, a parody of conspiracy theory shows. Here's the one my wife and I watched last night, The Rabbit Hole with Jimmy Kimmel: Is Trump a Time Traveler?

Jimmy Kimmel is deep down the Rabbit Hole again digging through history to prove that Donald Trump is more than he seems.

Trump is a man out of time, but that's just because he's learned very few new tricks since the 1980s. Just the same, Kimmel and his writers found an amusing set of coincidences.

Now for The Rabbit Hole with Jimmy Kimmel: Exploring Elon, which I haven't watched until now.

Jimmy Kimmel explores The Rabbit Hole into the most enigmatic man on the planet and discovers that Elon Musk is hiding two small things with huge implications.

I'm pleasantly surprised ABC's Standards and Practices allowed this to air, not because of what it says about Elon Musk, but what it shows about animal sex. Cue the Bloodhound Gang!

Finally, Seth Meyers may not have been making new episodes of his own show this week, but he was still on TV. Watch Jimmy Kimmel & Seth Meyers Release Attack Ads Against Each Other.

Emmy voting season is upon us and Jimmy finds it a little odd that Seth would come here to try and score a nomination when they’re competing in the same category. Jimmy had no choice but to take action.

Those got a little too personal for my taste, but they were still hilarious.

This concludes May's blogging. Stay tuned for an examination of the nominees for Outstanding Crime and Justice Documentary as the Sunday entertainment feature to kick off June.

BBC News asks 'Will Bluesky be able to rival X or Twitter?' A Wayback Wednesday special

Happy Wayback Wednesday! I'm continuing my retrospectives about the 2024-2025 blogging year with another roundup of the popular posts on social media, this time on Bluesky and Twitter/X. Before I do, I'm sharing BBC News asking Will Bluesky be able to rival X or Twitter?

You may have seen the word "Bluesky" popping up on your social media pages.

It is an alternative platform to Elon Musk's X and the company said it is growing rapidly with users and new sign-ups.

So, what is it and why are so many people reportedly joining?

While BBC's subject line asked about Twitter/X, Bluesky CEO Jay Graber compared herself and her running of Bluesky to Mark Zuckerberg of Meta. I plan on getting to Zuckerberg and Meta's legal fight with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Flashback Friday, when I finish this series with the blog's year on Instagram and Threads. For a comparison focused on Twitter/X, I turn to Fast Company explaining Why Everyone Is Leaving X for Bluesky!

The breakdown of Bluesky's ascendant year and what they plan to do next.

That's a good capsule summary that accords with my experience. For more detail, I turn to Virtualization of the Public Sphere - Exodus of Users from X to Bluesky by Atmiki Pai.

Today, we will be discussing the virtualization of the public sphere, taking a deeper dive into the rise and fall of social media platforms.

I agree with the findings about why users left Twitter/X for Bluesky, although the numbers show that Bluesky's growth has slowed. That indicates that the answer to BBC News asking "Will Bluesky be able to rival X or Twitter" is no, not any time soon. That's O.K., for reasons I described in CNBC describes 'How Bluesky Grew From A Twitter Side Project To An X Competitor'.

I've grown my followers faster on Bluesky than I ever did on any other platform. It took me 13 years to get to 1,000 followers on Twitter/X. It took me one month on Bluesky. I now have nearly 3,000 followers two-and-one-half months after I joined. That's almost triple the 1,075 friends and 174 followers I have on Facebook, the next largest audience I have on social media, and that took 17 years to achieve. I'm also getting more engagement in the form of likes, reposts, and replies on Bluesky than X, although Facebook still beats both, but not enough link clicks from Bluesky to register, while X ranks in the top five. I'm not deactivating my X account for just that reason; it's still useful.

Six months after I joined Bluesky, I now have more than 6,300 followers. Bluesky's growth may be slowing down, but mine isn't and I'm getting even more engagement there than on Twitter/X, particularly since only post on the latter once a day while I'm consistently active on Bluesky. It doesn't help that Twitter/X's analytics are now a service for paid subscribers, and I won't pay to support Elon Musk, so they end up being little better than what I can collect from Bluesky for free.

Follow over the jump for the blog's top shares on Bluesky and Twitter/X between March 21, 2024 and March 20, 2025, the 2024-2025 blogging year.

CNBC explains 'How The IRS Layoffs Will Impact Your Taxes And Refunds' for Tax Day

For Tax Day, I'm sharing CNBC explaining How The IRS Layoffs Will Impact Your Taxes And Refunds.

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 Inflation Reduction Act 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 the debt ceiling? Because I've been watching Washington long enough to see history rhyme, if not repeat.

When Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump became President the first time, the result was the 2017 tax bill, the tax cuts from which will expire in 2026. Those will almost certainly be extended, so history will repeat again. What's different this time is Trump's "shock and awful" and especially "Elon Musk's...Chainsaw Massacre of our federal workforce." It feels like any good deed Biden (and Obama and Clinton, if possible) did must be undone, if not destroyed, just like Hoover Cleveland crashing the plane of the economy after Biden piloted to a soft landing. Ugh.

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.

'SNL' laughs at Trump's tariffs and stock market crash

I closed the body of 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' for First Contact Day, a holiday special with a program note.

In the meantime, Stay tuned for the highlights of tonight's Saturday Night Live. Let's see how they make tariffs and a stock market crash funny.

Watch Trump Tariff Cold Open to find out.

President Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) addresses his tariffs and their impact on the stock market during a speech.

That explanation of the tariff equation made about as much sense as the real one and was a lot more fun. Also, James Austin Johnson's Donald Trump will be very disappointed to find the real McDonald Island is a cold place inhabited by penguins, not a tropical paradise with fast food. That's ironic since my original nickname for Hoover Cleveland was The Penguin. Weekend Update acknowledged that fact in Trump Tariffs Cause $6 Trillion Loss, Tesla Stock Plummets 10%.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Trump imposing worldwide tariffs.

Six trillion dollars lost in one week? Yikes! Speaking of lost money, the next segment featured Retail Apocalypse news, Hooters Files for Bankruptcy, Subway Unveils Footlong Doritos Nachos.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like a 1-year-old eating his grandfather's ashes.

Hooters' bankruptcy deserves more than a one-liner declaring the chain's business model a bust, so I plan on blogging about it tomorrow or Tuesday. Stay tuned.

Follow over the jump for the rest of last night's highlights.

Colbert, Kosta, and Meyers take closer looks at tariffs, Wisconsin, and Cory Booker

It's been a minute since I compiled the monologues of the late-night talk show hosts, so I'm returning with Stephen Colbert laughing at Trump Risks Historic Economic Damage | Musk Crushed In Wisconsin | Sen. Booker's Marathon Speech so he and his audience don't have to cry.

President Trump announced new tariffs which economists warn could plunge the world into a depression, Wisconsin voters overwhelmingly rejected Elon Musk's preferred candidate for the state's Supreme Court, and Senator Cory Booker spoke for a record-breaking 25 hours on the Senate floor in protest of Trump's actions.

I call Trump Hoover Cleveland because he was the first president since Herbert Hoover to leave the Oval Office with fewer Americans employed than when he entered. His tariffs could repeat that. The only thing that could save him is that he's doing it so early in his second term. Still, it wasn't necessary for the good of the country. As I wrote in Forever 21 files for bankruptcy and will close all U.S. stores, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse and repeated in CNBC explains 'What’s Scaring Americans Into Shopping More':

If the U.S. does go into recession this year, it won't be because of internal economic forces, but because of government interference, which normally tries to cushion against economic downturns. Biden piloted the U.S. economy to a soft landing, then Hoover Cleveland tries to crash the plane anyway!

I'm not even sure it's good for Hoover Cleveland, although he might think so. As I wrote in George Santos sues Jimmy Kimmel and Trump sells sneakers, "he has long had a very bad case of 'L'État, c'est moi.' As far as he's concerned, he is the country." Maybe it's good for his fellow billionaires, including Vladimir Putin, his partner in a bad bromance. I have long had my suspicions.

Michael Kosta at The Daily Show covered the same stories with the assistance of Desi Lydic, but scrambled their order, in Trump Launches "Liberation Day" Tariffs & Cory Booker's Speech Breaks Senate Record.

Michael Kosta recaps surprising wins for the Democrats, including a victory in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race despite Elon Musk's financial interference, and a record-breaking 25-hour speech by Cory Booker. Plus, Trump launches his "Liberation Day" tariffs, and Republicans scramble to supply cover.

Since Kamala Harris lost, I've been wondering who would step up to be the next leading candidate for the 2028 Democratic Presidential nomination. Cory Booker might have just made his move.

I conclude with Seth Meyers' Musk and Trump Lose Big in Wisconsin After Spending Millions to Buy Votes: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, trying to buy a seat on the Wisconsin state Supreme Court.

Can Elon Musk buy an election?

I'd like to think Democrats still have the turnout advantage in off-year elections they've had since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Hoover Cleveland won states like Wisconsin and Michigan through "bullet ballots" — people voting for him but no one else. They didn't vote for downballot contests and aren't likely to vote in an election where Trump is not on the ballot. That reminds me of an answer to the question I asked in I ask The Archdruid and his readers 'Can you show us on the doll exactly where the educated professionals hurt you?' The answer is turn against Republicans and deny them downballot victories. I hope that happens tomorrow in Wisconsin and other states where there are off-year and special elections.

I got my wish. The answer to "can Elon Musk buy an election?" was "NO!"

I know I promised a retrospective for Throwback Thursday, but I decided I would catch up on my sleep, so I ran out of time. Definitely tomorrow for Flashback Friday, when I don't have to go to work. Stay tuned.

Can Elon Musk buy an election? Silly and serious takes on the Wisconsin Supreme Court contest

I'm closing out March's blogging by sharing silly and serious takes on tomorrow's election for Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice, beginning with The Daily Show's Elon Musk & Billionaires Flood the Zone in Wisconsin Supreme Court Race.

Ronny Chieng covers the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court election, including Elon Musk’s $20 million intervention in Republican Brad Schimel’s campaign, attack ads against the wrong Susan Crawford, and alternating pro-pedophilia smear campaigns. Plus, Grace Kuhlenschmidt sees how billionaires are turning elections into games.

The preview image asked "Can Elon buy a Wisconsin election?" That was the silly take. I begin the serious takes with Democracy Now! asking the nearly identical question, Can Elon Musk Buy Wisconsin? Ari Berman on Billionaire-Funded Attempt to Flip State Supreme Court.

After spending over a quarter of a billion dollars on Donald Trump's presidential election campaign, Elon Musk is pouring money into a Supreme Court election in Wisconsin. Musk has spent more than $18 million to support Trump-backed candidate Brad Schimel over liberal Susan Crawford and has been paying Wisconsin voters $100 to help flip the state's top court. This election could impact abortion rights, unions and Republicans' ability to keep gerrymandered districts in place to control Congress. "The level of corruption at play here, the level of money at play here, really is a warning sign for what's happening to our democracy," says Ari Berman, voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones magazine.

Amy Goodman and Ari Berman are right; this is part of a larger project that includes Hoover Cleveland's power grab in the form of an executive order regarding elections. The voters can stop it, but only if they demonstrate that the answer to The Daily Show's and Democracy Now's question is "no." To that end, I'm embedding NBC News's Steve Kornacki: Wisconsin Supreme Court race will test Democrat’s off-year turnout 'advantage'.

NBC News National Political Correspondent Steve Kornacki digs into battleground Wisconsin ahead of the state’s Supreme Court election.

I'd like to think Democrats still have the turnout advantage in off-year elections they've had since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Hoover Cleveland won states like Wisconsin and Michigan through "bullet ballots" — people voting for him but no one else. They didn't vote for downballot contests and aren't likely to vote in an election where Trump is not on the ballot. That reminds me of an answer to the question I asked in I ask The Archdruid and his readers 'Can you show us on the doll exactly where the educated professionals hurt you?' The answer is turn against Republicans and deny them downballot victories. I hope that happens tomorrow in Wisconsin and other states where there are off-year and special elections.

That concludes March's blogging. Stay tuned for a retrospective about holidays on April Fools Day.

Trump mediates between Musk and Rubio in cold open plus Lady Gaga on 'SNL'

As I promised yesterday, I'm sharing the highlights of last night's Saturday Night Live. I begin, like the show, with Trump, Musk and Rubio Meeting Cold Open.

Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) attempts to keep the peace between Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernández) and Elon Musk (Mike Myers) during a meeting at the Oval Office.

While I still appreciate Michael Meyers playing Elon Musk's as an Austin Powers villain, as I've written three times before, "'I know you are but what am I?' was a lot funnier when Pee-wee Herman said it." At least James Austin Johnson as Trump called him out on it.

Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump and Musk both made headlines in Weekend Update: Trump Causes Tariff Confusion, Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship Explodes.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Donald Trump Jr. considering a presidential run in 2028.

That's one of the best responses to Weekend Update I've heard from an SNL audience in a long time. I chalk it up to a great week for material, good writing, and the Lady Gaga fans being vocal. Being "little monsters" isn't all bad!

Weekend Update continued with Heterosexual Man Sues Starbucks for Discrimination, Scientists Create "Woolly Mouse".

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like research suggesting men who have stronger sperm tend to live longer lives.

On the one hand, I was right to be worried about Sesame Street; I just didn't think it would happen this soon. On the other, I'm glad to see progress being made on mammoth de-extinction — science!

While the news about Sesame Street and Amazon already qualifies this entry as the Sunday entertainment feature, the next segment solidifies it, since I treat sports as entertainment. Watch Kendrick Perkins on the 2025 NBA Playoffs.

Kendrick Perkins (Kenan Thompson) stops by Weekend Update to discuss the 2025 NBA Playoffs.

That was complete nonsense and utterly hilarious! Let's see if Lord Gaga on His Unwavering Support for His Wife Lady Gaga, a premise I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone use before, works as well.

Lord Gaga (Mikey Day) stops by Weekend Update to discuss supporting his wife, Lady Gaga.

Once again, this continues the tradition of making Colin the butt of the joke. Also, it worked. Lady Gaga's fans loved it.

Follow over the jump for more.

Randy Rainbow sings 'Defy Democracy' and 'Unpopular'

Change of plans. Instead of "more about the State of the Union," I'm sharing Defy Democracy - A Randy Rainbow Song Parody, which Randy uploaded yesterday.

Parody of “Defying Gravity” from WICKED (Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz)

"I hope the next four years don't suck" — you and me both, but they're not off to a good start.

"Defying Gravity" isn't the first song from Wicked that Randy has parodied. That honor goes to "Popular," which Randy turned into UNPOPULAR! - Randy Rainbow Song Parody during Hoover Cleveland's first term.



THE RANDY RAINBOW SHOW: "Unpopular"
Randy now has both Elphaba and Glinda covered. As for Hoover Cleveland, I'm sure he'll have much more to say about him!

Stay tuned as I return to holidays, or at least days I treat as holidays, as I'm thinking of grousing about Daylight Saving Time early, followed by International Women's Day, then Lady Gaga on Saturday Night Live. Priorities!

Elon Musk crashes the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting in last night's cold open

Happy Sunday! As I promised, here are the highlights of last night's Saturday Night Live beginning, like the show, with Elon Musk Cold Open.

Elon Musk (Mike Myers) interrupts a heated meeting with Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson), JD Vance (Bowen Yang), Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernández) and Ukraine President Zelensky (Mikey Day).

I'll let the top comment on the video speak for me: "This was less chaotic and embarrassing than the real thing." That's even with Mike Myers playing Elon Musk as an Austin Powers villain crashing the meeting.

The satire of the event continued in Weekend Update: Trump Scolds Ukraine President Zelensky, Kisses Elon Musk's Feet in AI Video.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like a U.S. appeals court blocking a Biden-era student debt relief plan.

That was a good summary of this week's "shock and awful" and "Elon Musk's...Chainsaw Massacre of our federal workforce."

Weekend Update covered even more ridiculous news in Couple Sits Next to Dead Body on Plane, Man Hides $10K Worth of Cocaine in Wig.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Dunkin' Donuts announcing they will stop charging more for plant-based milk.

The stories about the ceiling collapsing during a screening of Captain America: Brave New World and the CBS soap opera Beyond the Gates alone qualified this entry as the Sunday entertainment feature, but there was more movie content in The Movie Guy Shares His 2025 Oscars Predictions.

The Movie Guy (Marcello Hernández) stops by Weekend Update to discuss his predictions for the 2025 Oscars.

No, it's not going to be Wicked winning Best Picture tonight. Maybe next year.

Weekend Update closed with Jane Wickline Gives Dating Advice.

Jane Wickline stops by Weekend Update to share some tips about wooing potential love interests.

On the one hand, I'm recycling what I wrote in 'SNL' spoofs the VP debate in its cold open, the first time I saw Wickline sing: "Now I'm wondering if this song is eligible for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics at next year's Emmy Awards. I'll have to wait until July to find out!" On the other, I don't think that's a good solution to the Trolley Problem if you want to favorably impress a potential romantic partner.

SNL was not done with making fun of the news, so I'm closing this entry with Mid-Day News 2.

Things go off the rails as anchors of a news channel (Shane Gillis, Kenan Thompson, Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim) cover the latest news.

Listening to all that reminded me of Science confirms my opinion of life in the country: "I've lived out in exurbia and semi-rural areas for more than a decade. In that time, I've witnessed more crime and depravity there than in all my time in the city." I'm with Kenan and Ego on this one.

That concludes today's comedy entry, where my readers and I laugh at the news because it hurts too much to cray. Stay tuned for World Wildlife Day.