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Tuesday, May 5, 2026

Post #7671 M: Triumph The Insult Comic Dog’s Heroism at the White House Correspondents' Dinner; McClanahan on Corruption is the Key; Stossel on Nicotine Pouch Panic

 Quote of the Day

Truth nevër hurts the teller.
Robert Browning  

Triumph The Insult Comic Dog’s Heroism at the White House Correspondents' Dinner 

McClanahan on Corruption is the Key


Stossel on Nicotine Pouch Panic

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Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Matt Davies via Politico

Musical Interlude: 1964 Top 100 Hits

The Beatles "I Want To Hold Your Hand"

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Monday, May 4, 2026

Post #7670 M: Dumb Bleep of the Week; McClanahan on Neo-Nationalists?

 Quote of the Day

Rather than love, 
than money, 
than fame, 
give me truth.
Henry David Thoreau

Dumb Bleep of the Week Pt. I

Pt II

McClanahan on Neo-Nationalists?

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Political Cartoon

Courtesy of David Horsey via Politico

Musical Interlude: 1963 Top 100 Hits

 Hey, Girl - Freddie Scott

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Sunday, May 3, 2026

Post #7669 Social Media Digest

 Facebook

X/Twitter

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Post #7668 M: Jimmy Kimmel Roasts Trump & His MAGA Minions; SOHO Debate: Can Zohran Mamdani Make NYC Affordable?; Californians Move To Texas

 Quote of the Day

Do not waste a minute-not a second-
in trying to demonstrate to others the merits of your performance. 
If your work does not vindicate itself, 
you cannot vindicate it.
Thomas W. Higginson  

Jimmy Kimmel Roasts Trump & His MAGA Minions

SOHO Debate: Can Zohran Mamdani Make NYC Affordable?

Californians Move To Texas | Season 2 

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Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Matt Davies via Politico

Musical Interlude: 1963 Top 100 Hits

Green, Green - New Christy Minstrels

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Saturday, May 2, 2026

Post #7667 J

 Endemic Report

The latest COVID-19 CDC weekly stats:




The Sick Times:

The winter sure continues to fade with the virus up in one state, Arizona. Probably the most reported story was a former Fauci adviser, David Morens, being indicted:

is accused of using his private email account to intentionally circumvent public records laws while employed at the National Institutes of Health. The Justice Department alleges that he concealed or destroyed records of discussions related to COVID-19 research grants, including an effort to revive a controversial coronavirus grant.

Morens faces charges of conspiracy against the United States; destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations; concealment, removal or mutilation of records; and aiding and abetting, according to a Justice Department news release. If convicted, he could face decades in prison. 

The indictment reflects Republicans’ long-held belief that the federal government covered up key information about COVID-19 as the pandemic unfolded. Despite numerous probes, the origins of COVID have never been proven. Scientists are unsure whether the virus jumped from an animal, as many other viruses have, or came from a laboratory accident. A U.S. intelligence analysis released in 2023 said there is insufficient evidence to prove either theory.

Blanche said Morens’ alleged conduct was part of an effort to “suppress alternative theories” about COVID-19’s origins. The Justice Department also accused Morens of having an improper relationship with a collaborator, including allegedly accepting a gift of wine and discussing COVID-19 research and potential publications in a prominent medical journal.

Other COVID-19 news items:

  • "Princeton University professors criticize COVID-19 lockdowns at Rockefeller Center event....Princeton political science professors Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee argued that COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns negatively impacted students and failed to reduce mortality rates."
  • "Long-term study of COVID lockdown and family life shows unexpected, lasting effects on fatherhood"
  • Scientists Say This Surprising OTC Medication [nasal spray] Lowers Your Risk of COVID. It may shorten how long you’re sick, too."
  • "The Beloved Grocery Store Experience [free samples] COVID-19 Nearly Killed"

Other Notes

The blog dubiously picked up thousands of pageviews over the long-term trend over the past week. I finally put out my Iran essay this past week to reach 40 posts in April. The last few essays have been difficult to rate, in part because I needed to succinctly sketch a brief history of US-Iran relations while explaining my evolution toward a more direct opposition to POTUS in the context of proactive neocon interventionism. I tried to make it comprehensive, detailed, and readable. Every writer likes a wider audience; as I write, it still hasn't reached 2 dozen readers yet. On X/Twitter, I've had a minor recovery in followers, which was trending below 200.

Well, it's easy to explain the latest topic to discuss in this segment this week. I've recently lost 2 multi-TB hard drives; I have others (I'm a professional DBA, and I'm obsessed with backups, including multiple cloud drives). Over the last several months, we've seen sharp rises in prices:

SSDs are more expensive than more traditional HDDs. For example, I bought a 2 TB SSD for about $89 on Amazon last June. Today, the same vendor sells a half-TB for a few dollars more. In contrast, you can order an internal 4-TB HDD for about $130. In early 2024, I bought a 12-TB external drive from the same HDD vendor for about $260. (Now, to be clear, the newer disks may have slightly better quality, performance, etc.; it's not just cost per TB, and HDD cost gets cheaper per TB as you scale in size, but this is still in the context of cheaper, better hardware. I remember buying my first PC clone as a junior professor for about $3000, and I bought a vastly more powerful budget "no frills" HP laptop last year for about $130. 

Now, all of this is to set the stage for a similar scam I've repeatedly seen on YouTube and Facebook over the past week, offering a 16-TB drive at a nominal price (see the first image below).  I didn't capture the pitch. The fraudsters know that  $44 is not realistic for anything near a large-capacity drive (in today's market). A more reasonable, realistic ad is in the second image below. So they try to explain the context as something like a huge order falling through, and they're stuck with inventory they're ready to dump at fire sale prices

If it sounds too good to be true... If legit, I would have backed up the truck and bought every one I could get my hands on. I tried to Google the purported reseller and found the scam seems to recycle (at least every couple of years). I've probably seen close to a dozen YouTube videos or more on offers from other scammers debunking a similar gimmick, cracking into the case to see what's in it (sometimes a small SD card like for your phone); they apparently tweak the firmware so it looks like it shows it has claimed storage, but if you try to copy big files, it like takes forever or it loops through file copy and you won't find the copy on said device.

Even Walmart's own platform has some similar gimmicks (high storage under $50 deals) I think I found near the bottom of webpages browsing through data storage (maybe sold through the site by others?) They might need to filter what others are selling to avoid unhappy customers getting scammed.

  
WARNING! THIS IS A SCAM! DO NOT BUY!





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Post #7666 M: Trump Drags Out Iran War as Hormuz Blockade Pokes Holes in the Condom Industry; Prison Doesn’t Work the Way You Think; Why is it ILLEGAL to Sell This Box?

 Quote of the Day

If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, 
and will promote the General Welfare, 
the Government is no longer a limited one, 
possessing enumerated powers, 
but an indefinite one, 
subject to particular exceptions.
James Madison  

Trump Drags Out Iran War as Hormuz Blockade Pokes Holes in the Condom Industry


Prison Doesn’t Work the Way You Think

Why is it ILLEGAL to Sell This Box?

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Political Cartoon

Courtesy of M. Wuerker via Politico

Musical Interlude: 1963 Top 100 Hits

Twenty Miles - Chubby Checker

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Friday, May 1, 2026

Post #7665 M: Trump Extends Iran Ceasefire Again; McClanahan on Has the Playbook Been Revealed?; This isn't a Republic. It's a Coup.

 Quote of the Day

Let no man imagine that he has no influence. 
Whoever he may be, and wherever he may be placed, 
the man who thinks becomes a light and a power.
Henry George  

Trump Extends Iran Ceasefire Again

McClanahan on Has the Playbook Been Revealed?

This isn't a Republic. It's a Coup.

Choose Life

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of PX Millina via Politico

Musical Interlude: 1963 Top 100 Hits

Detroit City - Bobby Bare

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