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blogging every day since January 14, 2004
Major Scandal Breaking! Apple iPhones now replace the word racist with Trump! pic.twitter.com/buaqR3AxY1
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) February 25, 2025
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 25, 2025
PREVIOUSLY: I had this:President Donald J. Trump welcomes French President @EmmanuelMacron to the White House. 🇺🇸🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/puvyxx3Kmk
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 24, 2025
"... in the evening, and he ended his meal with a cup or two of excellent black coffee without sugar."
From "A Hungry Little Boy/Pears had a special appeal for Balzac; he often kept bushels of them at home and could eat as many as forty or fifty in a day (one February he had 1,500 pears in his cellar)" (NYRB).That was while writing a book. When he was done, “he sped to a restaurant, downed a hundred oysters as a starter, washing them down with four bottles of white wine, then ordered the rest of the meal: twelve salt meadow lamb cutlets with no sauce, a duckling with turnips, a brace of roast partridge, a Normandy sole, not to mention extravagances like dessert and special fruit such as Comice pears, which he ate by the dozen. Once sated, he usually sent the bill to his publishers.”
The NYT drums up sympathy for completely unsympathetic rich people who've been relying on illegal immigration to serve their various needs!
The rich are not the "They" in the headline, "They Help Make the Hamptons the Hamptons, and Now They’re Living in Fear/Latino immigrants care for some of America’s most lavish beachside mansions. Their disappearance would affect the wealthy, too."
Heavens! Affecting the wealthy too. Oh, my!
Maybe the NYT is mocking these people? Nope! The article is well larded with empathy for the migrants who face deportation, but the travails of the rich are presented soberly:
It was a great honor to attend this evenings Governors Ball at the @WhiteHouse, hosted by @FLOTUS Melania and @POTUS @realDonaldTrump—thank you! pic.twitter.com/NPHHz6jDfA
— Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) February 23, 2025
Messed up https://t.co/jaQhFe2U1H
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 21, 2025
It was never about pulling him up....it was about you joining him down there🤣 pic.twitter.com/P9kq1yjJJV
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) February 21, 2025
Isn't it Soros plan electing his bag "person" Susan Crawford to our highest court?
— Gregory Jon (@gregoryjon) February 22, 2025
🚨Update: Secretary Marco Rubio: Canada becoming a US state is a real possibility! “If you balance out our trade, Canada will cease to exist as a country!”pic.twitter.com/UUPArryP32
— US Homeland Security News (@defense_civil25) February 21, 2025
Reporter asks US AG Pam Bondi: Will you really be releasing the Epstein files?
— Thomas Sowell Quotes (@ThomasSowell) February 21, 2025
Bondi: "It's sitting on my desk right now to review."
Wow. pic.twitter.com/sjXlATAYSa
Riley Gaines gets trans activist to say he believes we should let Olympic athletes compete in the Paralympics pic.twitter.com/9OTsh9Aghz
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 21, 2025
ADDED: In the same vein, here's Victor Davis Hanson:Want to see a murder?
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 20, 2025
Libs in the White House press corps screamed at Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller that Elon Musk is “unelected!”
What happens next is a fatality.
I promise you - this is the single best video on the internet today:pic.twitter.com/Nxcw0qTtj1
Legalize comedy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 20, 2025
pic.twitter.com/uKr6fiRI3K
Must Watch Video: Elon Musk Has Been Knighted At CPAC After Receiving The Chainsaw For Bureaucracy
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) February 20, 2025
» WATCH/SHARE THE LIVE X STREAM HERE:https://t.co/7NYWKPuERO pic.twitter.com/mFe0unDA7u
On this day, February 21 1964, the Rolling Stones released the single Not Fade Away in the UK. Originally a Buddy Holly track, the Stones recorded their version at London’s Olympic Studios and it became the band’s first Top 10 hit in the United Kingdom! 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/kkM69cBxUz
— The Rolling Stones (@RollingStones) February 21, 2025
It’s like, you know, [the Democrats] don’t learn because, you know — like, men in women’s sports. I say we’ve become the party of common sense. Men in women’s sports is not a winner for them. But I saw somebody fighting like hell for the fact that a man should partake in women’s sports, a Democrat, a radical left lunatic. And they’re still going at it. And we shouldn’t really fight them too hard until just about a week or two before the election. Just let them go. Don’t convince them not to. You know, I’m always saying that they haven’t learned. I don’t want to say that. Don’t say that. Let them keep going. And then about a week before the election, just blast the hell out of them.
And yet, he is saying it, so he's got another plan. He's taunting them now — to lure them into speaking or to lull them into not speaking? Even if the Democrats saw it in their interest to just shut up, some of them would speak.
Pete Buttigieg is abandoning ship on DEI, admitting that it often amounts to "making people sit through a training that looks like something out of Portlandia."
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) February 20, 2025
Buttigieg is like a LibBot2000, fine-tuned by McKinsey consultants. The tide is turning.pic.twitter.com/5IFC5zqb3V
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 20, 2025ADDED: In the same interview, a joint interview with Trump, Trump also used an illness metaphor. From the transcript:
They never talk about where the money is going. They just talk about, “It’s a constitutional crisis.” It’s so sad. And honestly, I think they’re bad people. I used to give them the benefit of the doubt, but you almost think they hate the country. I think they hate the country. They’re sick people.
I can't figure out who said this first — but I heard it from one progressive who was describing other progressives — They're sick people stealing each other's medicine.
But watch out for reasoning by metaphor... especially this metaphor of disease (see "Illness as Metaphor" by Susan Sontag)... and especially if you've got enemies hot to frame you as a Nazi (Hitler called Jews "a racial tuberculosis" and said "We must exterminate the Jew as one exterminates a pestilent bacillus").
I asked Grok to check my memory, which surfaced as I was talking with Meade about the gold in Fort Knox and the movie "Goldfinger," which both of us saw when it first came out. We also saw the next new James Bond film, "Thunderball," and thought it was boring and spelled the end of the James Bond craze. All I could remember of "Thunderball" was that there were scenes underwater, and, I said, "Underwater scenes are always boring. Only Lloyd Bridges could make underwater scenes interesting. But the only episode of 'Sea Hunt' I remember is the one where somebody was growing marijuana underwater."
Hence, my question to Grok, and I was delighted by the answer:
Yes, there was an episode of "Sea Hunt" where someone was growing marijuana underwater. In Season 3, Episode 34, titled "Underwater Narcotics," which aired on August 27, 1960, Mike Nelson (played by Lloyd Bridges) encounters divers who are cultivating a hybrid form of marijuana underwater. The episode involves Mike tangling with these divers as he uncovers their unusual operation.
I don't know what your next question/"question" would be, but mine was:
And, yes, please check on the gold in Fort Knox. A walk-though, live-streamed, would be so reassuring. Let's all grimace playfully. It's the new whistle a happy tune.A livestream of Fort Knox would be 🔥🔥
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 20, 2025
pic.twitter.com/hFJXMnEjvy
BREAKING: Commerce Secretary Lutnick just confirmed that the Trump Administration is looking to ABOLISH the IRS!
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) February 20, 2025
This is not a drill!
Let's get it done! pic.twitter.com/9XdMIkYu2q
"CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!"
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 19, 2025
–President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/IMr4tq0sMB
"King of New York" can refer to different things depending on the context. Here are the most common meanings:
1. Cultural/Historical Figure: Historically, it might evoke someone like Alexander Hamilton or other influential New Yorkers who shaped the city or state, though no one is officially titled "King of New York." It’s more of a colloquial or symbolic label for someone who dominates or represents New York’s identity.
2. Hip-Hop Culture: In rap and hip-hop, "King of New York" is a fiercely debated title among artists claiming dominance in the New York rap scene. Notorious B.I.G. famously used it, especially tied to his track "Juicy" and his Brooklyn roots. Others like Nas, Jay-Z, and even 50 Cent have been in the conversation, with fans and critics arguing over who truly holds the crown based on influence, lyricism, or commercial success.
3. Film: It’s the title of a 1990 crime movie directed by Abel Ferrara, starring Christopher Walken as Frank White, a drug lord who returns from prison aiming to reclaim power in New York City. The film’s a gritty take on power and redemption, and its title ties into the idea of ruling the city’s underworld.
4. Sports: Occasionally, athletes like Derek Jeter (for his Yankees legacy) or Patrick Ewing (with the Knicks) get dubbed "King of New York" by fans or media for their outsized impact on the city’s sports culture.
5. Slang/Bravado: More broadly, it’s a flex—someone calling themselves or being called the "King of New York" is asserting they’re the top dog in whatever field or scene they’re in, from business to street cred.
Which one are you thinking of, or did you have a specific context in mind?
At that point I revealed my interest in the Trump tweet.
Some top U.S. officials at the time had privately expressed misgivings that the measure could damage relations with Mexico.... Another concern was that the designations could make it easier for migrants to win U.S. asylum by claiming they were fleeing terrorism. Some analysts have said the terrorism designations could expose asylum seekers who pay cartels to be smuggled to the possibility of prosecution or being barred from the U.S....
Said Steve Bannon, quoted in "Bannon Calls Musk a ‘Parasitic Illegal Immigrant’/Stephen Bannon, a top adviser during President Trump’s first term and a popular figure among his supporters, said Elon Musk wants to 'play-act as God' as part of his push to overhaul the federal government" (NYT).
He appeared to be referring to news reports that Mr. Musk, who was born in South Africa and who has become an aggressive voice against undocumented immigrants, overstayed his visa as he built a company in the United States. Mr. Musk has denied the accusation....“It’s pretty evident the president’s using [Musk] as an armor-piercing shell that’s delivering blunt force trauma against the administrative state,” Mr. Bannon said in the interview....
MUSK: I think President Trump is a good man. The President has been so unfairly attacked in the media. It's really outrageous. At this point I've spent a lot of time with the President and not once have I seen him do something that was mean or cruel or wrong. Not once....
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, American officials did not dwell on Russia’s violation of international law in attacking Ukraine, its alleged war crimes or the three years of devastation that Russian shelling and bombardment had wrought in parts of Ukraine. Instead, they repeatedly lauded Mr. Trump for trying to stop the fighting by talking to Russia in a way that his predecessor did not.
“For three years,” Mr. Rubio said, “no one else has been able to bring something together like what we saw today, because Donald Trump is the only leader in the world that can.”...
“We were not invited to this Russian-American meeting in Saudi Arabia,” Mr. Zelensky said while on a visit to Turkey. “It was a surprise for us — I think for many others as well.”
The 60,000 people who got cut loose when the Keystone XL pipeline extension was canceled after Biden took office know the feeling. Except they weren't bureaucrats. They were skilled construction workers and engineers. https://t.co/5Xv18C84u9
— Joel Engel (@joelengel) February 17, 2025
AND: There's also this, from Seneca (at page 46-47 of this collection (commission earned)):Everybody dies, but not everybody lives https://t.co/rYtoq01ygH
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 17, 2025
When the plane finally came to a stop, Nelson recounted[,]... the cabin was suddenly quiet before the 80 people onboard -- most of whom were hanging upside down [like] bats in the cabin – attempted to “make a sense of what just had happened. We released the seat belts. I kind of fell to the floor, which is now the ceiling...."
I would have said "I fell to the ceiling, which was now the floor," but I get it and he was there. Do we have video of the scene with 80 people silent, but hanging like bats?
Here's another view from the outside:
This is INSANE
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 18, 2025
pic.twitter.com/qegJ1P3wCa
Grok 3 answered (so this is the first thing Grok 3 ever said to me):
In what is likely to be the Trump administration's first Supreme Court emergency appeal of his second term, the solicitor general is expected to ask the high court to permit Dellinger's firing, according to documents obtained Sunday.
Dellinger = Hampton Dellinger, "who oversees the office that investigates whistleblower complaints"
The 90-year-old case = Humphrey's Executor. Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Neil Gorsuch, called Humphrey's Executor "a direct threat to our constitutional structure and, as a result, the liberty of the American people," and said he "would repudiate what is left of this erroneous precedent."
(It's Humphrey's Executor because the man, who was fired by FDR, had died, and the family was suing for back pay.)
And what's going on here — mostly typos?!:The logic flow diagram for the Social Security system looks INSANE. No one person actually knows how it works.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 17, 2025
The payment files that move between Social Security and Treasury have significant inconsistencies that are not reconciled. It’s wild. https://t.co/BQUyxG72AC
PASSENGER STARTS FILMING IMMEDIATELY AFTER UPSIDE DOWN DELTA JET CRASH AT TORONTO AIRPORT.
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) February 17, 2025
80 people on board, minor injuries reported, no deaths.pic.twitter.com/BCxA6yblU3
ROGAN: The real kooky people probably think you're my handler or something. Because you created podcasting. Because there's that thought that... there's a whole financed and backed right-wing ecosystem that's created these podcasts.... This is just stupidity. This is the problem where when you look at some conspiracies, you think, oh, well that applies to all things.... There's actually some things that are organic for some weird reason.
I asked Grok, and it set out 4 "key attributes" : "1. Charisma and Media Savvy.... 2. Outsider Status or Unconventional Background.... 3. Clear, Bold Vision.... 4. Connection with the Base...."
Grok then came up with 5 individuals who might have the attributes, and I'll put this below the fold so you can guess before you look — guess, then laugh... or cry:
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 7, 2025You can see the hat as it is — large — or you can perceive the optical illusion that Musk is a tiny person, a child. Musk famously tweeted: "I love @realDonaldTrump as much as a straight man can love another man." And I've been thinking the love is a boy's love for the father he never had. Musk real father was — as Musk tells it — "a terrible human being" who has done "almost every evil thing you could possibly think of." The giant hat is a bid to be seen as a boy, to be loved by a father.
"And sorry to put it so harsh, but it seems to me like we lost a good portion of a few generations of men who've just turned into complete fucking pussies."
Said Kid Rock, getting the last word in a discussion — with Bill Maher, Tim Ryan, and Pamela Paul — that started out with a criticism of the Boy Scouts changing its name to Scouting America.
Wrote Albert Camus, in my favorite of the 8 responses I got when I asked Grok "List similar quotes to 'He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.'" (The quote is something Trump put up, without context, on Truth Social.)
Is that a "similar" quote? Eh. "Similar" is a weak word. What's not "similar"? And what does it mean to "save" your country?
Here are the other 7 quotes:
1. Why did Trump write "He who saves his Country does not violate any Laws"?
2. Who originally said "He who travels alone travels fastest but he who travels with a good companion travels best"?3. At what speed is the Earth traveling through space?4. List quotes similar to "He who saves his Country does not violate any Law."
ADDED: In the discussion I had that began with question #1, I came up with this motivation (which Grok had not noticed):
A former reporter for the New York Times, Fox Butterfield, became a bit of a laughingstock in the 1990s for publishing a series of articles addressing the supposed quandary of how crime rates could be falling during periods when prison populations were expanding. A number of critics sarcastically explained that crimes rates were falling because bad guys were behind bars and invented the term “Butterfield Effect” to describe the failure of someone to put 2 + 2 together.
There's also this WaPo headline: "ICE struggles to boost arrest numbers despite infusion of resources/Trump has ordered a wartime effort to increase deportations, but ICE statistics show arrests have dipped so far this month." It's harder to say Fox Butterfield Effect about that.