Althouse: Sunrise

April 26, 2025

Sunrise — 6:18.

Talk about whatever you like in the comments. And please support the Althouse blog by doing your Amazon shopping going in through the Althouse Amazon link.

21 comments:

john mosby said...: In Season 5 of Handmaid's Tale now. Some random notes:

- In pre-Covid season 4, the more conservative Commanders in DC muzzle their handmaids with a red mask that looks a lot like the Covid mask.

- heroine June escapes to Canada and has PTSD. She goes to a supermarket and thinks she sees red-cloaked Handmaids. They turn out to be two Muslim girls in full hijab. Not sure if the showrunners meant to be ironic with that.

- When the showrunners run out of ideas, they do long closeups of Elisabeth Moss's face, looking straight at the camera, with some expression of determination or a determined, manic smile.

- The Commanders seem to have taken over with mostly low-tech attacks. When they conquer new territory, one of the first things they do is bring all the women back for sorting into Handmaids (breeding stock), Marthas (domestic servants) and Jezebels (whores). I wonder if this inspired Hamas for October 7.

JSM; 4/26/25, 7:15 PM
Gospace said...: Headline (link to follow):
"Ontario must pay for surgery to give trans resident both penis and vagina: appeal court"
Who should be sent to an insane asylum for this:
A. The judges
B. The plaintiff
C. Both
And I suppose I should include D. in case there's an insane person wishing to answer:
D. None of the above.

Anyone here willing to defend this decision from the courts in our (now) unfriendly, and apparently run by lunatics, neighbor to the North?
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/ohip-coverage-penis-sparing-vaginoplasty; 4/26/25, 8:02 PM
RCOCEAN II said...: watching Twilight zone Season 5. Some good episodes but also some Turkeys. Probably the worst episode of TW Zone, but not surprising. Rod Serling probably burnt out at that point.

Best: No 12 looks just like you, Living Doll, Nightmare at 20 thousand feet, Incident at Owl creek, The Long morrow. Also good: Steel, Old man in a Cave, Ring a ding Girl, You drive, Mr. garrity and the graves.

Bottom Tier: The betwichin' Pool, Whats in the Box, Leather Jackets, The Encounter, Sounds and Silence, and 90 years without slumbering.; 4/26/25, 8:03 PM
RCOCEAN II said...: Even in the bad episodes the acting and direction is well done. The problem is always the story and script. Most Bizarre episode is an episode called "I am the Night - Color me black" which seems to be Serling's anti-racism anti-hate sermon for the season. Goober from Andy Griffith shows up as a nasty sherriff and so does the black guy from Hogan's Heroes.; 4/26/25, 8:09 PM
DINKY DAU 45 said...: It looks as if Menendez wins the prison time award for their behaviors. Only difference, Santos ,just like trump with lies, fraud etc will probably get pardoned where as Menendez will have to be a good puzzle maker and learn Chess to pass the TIME!.. Ahh so many more should be going starting with the SCOTUS CROOKS ALITO AND THOMAS for starters but not in this Golden Era of KAKISTOCRACY in your face.; 4/26/25, 8:12 PM
Peachy said...: Dinky Dicked Dummy(D) - The Menendez brothers viciously killed their parents.; 4/26/25, 8:37 PM
Big Mike said...: Anybody besides me following the NFL draft and the case of Shedeur Sanders, the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders? There are cries of racism that the young, black quarterback didn’t get chosen until the fifth round, but then I read that 80% of the players chosen ahead of Shedeur are black, and I’m aware that the NFL teams have not been shy about drafting black QBs in past years. So the real reason seems to be that the teams evaluate him as a journeyman-level talent and a probable head case.; 4/26/25, 8:37 PM
rosebud said...: RCOCEAN II-

Thanks for your TZ recommendations. I agree with some, disagree with others. But you certainly showed that you didn't catch on to the anti-racism theme in "I am the Niight" when you say "and so does the black guy from Hogan's Heroes."

I understand that you meant Ivan Dixon, who played Kinchloe in HH, was in that episode. But at least when you mentioned George Lindsey (Deputy, not Sheriff), you gave the name of a character also played by the actor. Ivan Dixon didn't even get that courtesy, just "that black guy from Hogan's Heroes".

You are also showing a disregard for Kenneth Washington, who was "that other black guy from HH" after Dixon left the show.

I get that most people would recognize Ivan Dixon from HH rather than some of the other works he was in. But it would have taken you 30 seconds to find the actor's name and/or the character's name in Google or IMDB. "The black guy" carries some real "you people" tones.

Beyond the lecture--you've given some interesting TZ episodes to watch. Thanks for your thoughts on those.; 4/26/25, 8:44 PM
wildswan said...: I was cruising the Net when I came across a list of words which allegedly are banned on grant applications to the National Science Foundation since Trump's Executive Orders on DEI. Some of these banned words were: activism, Black and Latinx, BIPOC, community equity, diversify, female, implicit bias, inclusive, LGBTQ, marginalize, justice, social justice, systemic, victim, women. Naturally I do not claim that something I read on the Net is true. But it's interesting.
Here is what is said:
"Banned and Trigger Words in Federal Grant Writing in the Trump Administration 2.0
The NSF came out with a leaked list of banned grant words. Much of this elimination of language is based on Executive Order 14151, “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing”.
Even if the nonprofit client you have does not have explicit DEI programs, you may have been using certain words that are very common when using grant language or just the English language.
According to our latest information on releases from federal project officers at National Science Foundation, here are words that will trip a wire for more scrutiny (and potential stop order before reviews). "
The list follows. You can see the whole thing at
https://grantwritingandfunding.com/banned-and-trigger-words-in-federal-grant-writing-in-the-trump-administration-2-0/
One interesting thing about the article is that the writer explains that by changing these words in grant applications one might be able to sneak DEI projects past the ban and continue on as before. I quote:
"Some nonprofits and organizations may choose to play the federal grant game (some may have to as their funding is already allocated or they are really embedded in federal grant funding) and replace these words with the thought that their missions can continue but they may have to change words and approaches to get funding."
...
"It’s more of finding synonyms to switch out the approach to language without changing the end result or impact."
And then this writer allegedly asked ChatGPT for synonyms to use as replacements for the banned words in grant applications. "Female" or "women" could become "child-bearing adults"; "BIPOC" could become "Americans"; "minorities" could become "smaller demographics"; "underserved" could become "insufficiently catered to."

Well, it's all amusing. It's probably a parody that I'm not quick enough to get but it's fun.; 4/26/25, 8:45 PM
heyboom said...: There's a theory about Shedeur that you sign him, you sign his dad, Deion. Similar to the Ball brothers and their dad in the NBA.; 4/26/25, 8:48 PM
Peachy said...: Sex Ed Summer Camp for kids - It's been cancelled.; 4/26/25, 9:05 PM
Peachy said...: A small glimpse into the evil character of Democrats in power.; 4/26/25, 9:09 PM
Howard said...: Wildswan: The list of Red Flag words sounds realistic to me. Especially since they sound like former green light words under the previous administration.

JSM: I admire your fortitude and endurance watching Handmaid's Tale. I appreciate the summary so now I never have to watch it.; 4/26/25, 9:55 PM
Gospace said...: Video on X, with explanation: Homosexual socialist politician Víctor Sáez visits a kebab shop in his locality in Spain to shoot a propaganda video to show that Muslims are tolerant people, but gets beaten up by the shop owner and his staff and thrown out for being gay.

Quick lesson in Reality 101. Maybe the Reconquista needs to start up again.
https://x.com/voivodmedia/status/1916053320352878991; 4/26/25, 10:44 PM
Original Mike said...: @Big Mike - I read that Sanders' team interviews went poorly. Apparently he was dictating terms. 'Worst interview I've ever been associated with' and 'he made me feel small' were comments from coaches involved.; 4/26/25, 10:56 PM
gadfly said...: It is all Coach Prime's fault that Shedeur didn't get drafted until Round 5 because Deion gave him every QB slot that he ever filled. The same thing happened to son Shilo who plays safety and was not drafted at all - although word has it that Tampa Bay signed him as a free agent. Deion's terrible AFLAC commercials ticked everyone off because no one was told how expensive the worthless insurance really is.; 4/27/25, 1:33 AM
wendybar said...: "- When the showrunners run out of ideas, they do long closeups of Elisabeth Moss's face, looking straight at the camera, with some expression of determination or a determined, manic smile"

That's her Scientology smile.; 4/27/25, 3:02 AM
Breezy said...: I know nothing about Shedeur Sanders’ history. However, the images of him waiting for a call, ears, chest, and wrists covered in diamonds, made him look more like a pimp than a QB. How can anyone throw a football accurately with all that extra plumage? I can understand why teams were reluctant.; 4/27/25, 4:57 AM
Saint Croix said...: So this kangaroo has a dog in a headlock, and then a man shows up. So the kangaroo drops the dog to take on the man. And the man smacks the kangaroo in the nose. And the kangaroo is like, "what the fuck?"

Kangaroos can't box; 4/27/25, 6:08 AM
Rusty said...: Morels are starting here. Look in the leaf litter in sunnier places. Places that get sunlight for longer periods.; 4/27/25, 6:26 AM
Mason G said...: "There are cries of racism that the young, black quarterback didn’t get chosen until the fifth round..."

You want to hear cries of racism? Draft him and should his performance not be satisfactory, try to cut him loose. The howling would be deafening.; 4/27/25, 1:32 PM