




“The gentle nudge of somewhat later.”
"[Amy Coney] Barrett believes strongly that it shouldn’t, that justices should rule without worrying about public opinion or who happens to be in the White House. But I tend to think real-world politics constantly tests and limits that ideal. So in our conversation, I’m trying to find those limits and the ways in which even justices devoted to the original meaning of the Constitution have to deal with the highly unusual pressures of right now."
Writes Ross Douthat in the introduction to his podcast, which is an interview with Amy Coney Barrett — "Amy Coney Barrett Is Looking Beyond the Trump Era."
I'll let you listen to that and decide if Douthat got what he said he was pushing for. It's a well-worn road, and I was distracted by the phrase "the highly unusual pressures of right now." It made me think of "the fierce urgency of now." It's always now. Is the pressure of the now that happens to be today's now really so highly unusual? There's too much melodrama!
I began to fritter away precious time thinking of mellower alternatives to "the highly unusual pressures of right now"/"the fierce urgency of now." I thought of: The gentle nudge of somewhat later.
For me, this morning, it's "Black Water" by The Doobie Brothers. I don't think I'd ever played a Doobie Brothers song on my own.
It's odd the way old songs that used to be pushed at you endlessly on the radio drift back to mind. I was just thinking about the word "backwater" — not "black water" — after it came up in a podcast: "He suggested that the horde ride west and toward a previously unexplored land that sat on the periphery of the world, a great peninsula jutting out of the Asian land mass, about which The Mongols knew little. These were the lands of Europe. Europe around the year 1200 was something of a backwater...."
"Backwater" began as a literal description of water: "A piece of water without current, lying more or less parallel to a river, and fed from it at the lower end by a back-flow" (OED). But we know it better figuratively: "A place or situation in which no development or progress is taking place." If you're trying to think of a song with "backwater," it might be "Backwater Blues."
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office is weighing whether to close parts of Interstate 5 beginning Friday amid concerns over what it says is a White House-directed plan to use live ordnance "during a military anniversary celebration off Camp Pendleton’s coast in San Diego County — where Navy ships are expected to fire over the freeway onto the base. Newsom’s office has received, but not confirmed, reports that live ordnance will be fired from offshore vessels during the event commemorating the Marine Corps’ 250th anniversary. The event is titled "Sea to Shore — A Review of Amphibious Strength" and will feature Vice President JD Vance.... The military show of force coincides with No Kings rallies and marches across the state on Saturday.... The Times could not confirm whether live ordnance will be fired over the freeway....
Oh, great. The 2 men who are their party's presumptive nominee for President next time around are in a monumental pissing contest. Sea to Shore — A Review of Amphibious Strength indeed.
Calculations from Grok:
Physics of Projection: In reality, a human urine stream is limited by physiology and physics. Studies and anecdotal records (e.g., from urology or informal "contests") suggest a typical male urine stream might reach 1–2 meters (3–6 feet) horizontally under optimal conditions (e.g., high bladder pressure, no wind). A "mythological" stream implies superhuman ability, so we’ll ignore real-world limits but use the distance as the target. Required Distance: To cross 2 miles (3,200 meters), the stream would need to be propelled with extraordinary force, akin to a fire hose or a superhero’s ability. For context:
The headline makes it sound as though human beings cannot be trusted with information. We'll only get confused or descend into shame.
What's the issue here?
On Thursday, Kennedy, the secretary of health and human services, said in a cabinet meeting, “There’s two studies that show children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism. It’s highly likely because they’re given Tylenol.” Was he trying to persuade parents to avoid circumcision, Tylenol (the most popular brand of acetaminophen) or both?...
Why not read it for exactly what it is, an observation that you can take into account when deciding whether to have your child circumcised and, if you do, what form of pain relief do you want? What's confusing or shameful about that? Health info often comes in this form — studies find that a substance is associated with a health problem. It might not be causal, but don't parents have the right to decide if they should take the risk?
"We’ve known about this problem for a long time. Plenty of people pointed it out in 2021 when Dems controlled WH+Congress. But nobody wants to give up power when their team has it."
Sarah Isgur explains the Insurrection Act in 4 quick points — I'm quoting #4 — after somebody on X calls attention to the time she trounced George Stephanopoulos on the topic:
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the hair and makeup team at ABC as well as my hats, sunscreen, and dermatologist. https://t.co/ws0xo8TBOB
— Sarah Isgur (@whignewtons) October 14, 2025
William Hendrix, the Kansas Young Republicans’ vice chair, used the words “n--ga” and “n--guh,” variations of a racial slur, more than a dozen times in the chat. Bobby Walker, the vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans at the time, referred to rape as “epic.” Peter Giunta, who at the time was chair of the same organization, wrote in a message sent in June that “everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber.”Giunta was referring to an upcoming vote on whether he should become chair of the Young Republican National Federation, the GOP’s 15,000-member political organization for Republicans between 18 and 40 years old. “Im going to create some of the greatest physiological torture methods known to man. We only want true believers,” he continued....
Read the whole thing. Politico takes the position "The chat offers an unfiltered look at how a new generation of GOP activists talk when they think no one is listening."
ADDED: I asked Grok, "Is the Politico report accurate or should we be suspicious? Many people think Politico is slanted." What follows is Grok's answer:
Spain’s leading matador has stunned the bullfighting world by staging an unexpected farewell, symbolically cutting off his ponytail in the ring after a “historic” performance.... His departure marks the end of a unique career whose “classicism” and “mysticism” often exhausted critics’ superlatives....
Is it surprising that there is still bullfighting in Spain?
Live action — and don't miss the look on Frelick's face at 0:21:3D tracking of Max Muncy's 404-foot "grounded into double play" pic.twitter.com/xWSIvyWb7S
— David Adler (@_dadler) October 14, 2025
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?!?! #NLCS pic.twitter.com/x7BbmJ6hzX
— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2025