At the Saturday Night Café...

... you can talk about whatever you want.

Let's just drop in for a moment on the massive squabble between Matt Taibbi and Elon Musk.

1. Substack links were never blocked. Matt’s statement is false.

2. Substack was trying to download a massive portion of the Twitter database to bootstrap their Twitter clone, so their IP address is obviously untrusted.

3. Turns out Matt is/was an employee of Substack.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 8, 2023

"A trove of leaked Pentagon documents reveals how deeply Russia’s security and intelligence services have been penetrated by the United States..."

"... demonstrating Washington’s ability to warn Ukraine about planned strikes and providing an assessment of the strength of Moscow’s war machine. The documents paint a portrait of a depleted Russian military that is struggling in its war in Ukraine and of a military apparatus that is deeply compromised. They contain daily real-time warnings to American intelligence agencies on the timing of Moscow’s strikes and even its specific targets...."

The NYT reports.

"Today’s decision overturns the F.D.A.’s expert judgment, rendered over two decades ago, that mifepristone is safe and effective."

Said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, quoted in "Judge Invalidates F.D.A. Approval of the Abortion Pill Mifepristone/The Texas judge’s ruling was quickly contradicted by another federal judge in Washington State who ordered the F.D.A. to keep mifepristone available" (NYT).

"There was no physical attraction at first. I didn’t even think to be nice to him. I was at another gig and John passed by my table and said, 'Drop dead.'"

Said Nina Foster, in 2004, quoted in "Nora Forster, 80, Who Married (and Stayed Married to) a Sex Pistol, Dies/A German publishing heiress and music promoter, she settled in London in time for the 1970s punk-rock explosion and became the muse to its baddest boy" (NYT).

Despite the mutual hostility, Mr. Lydon was intrigued. “Her nose went 10 feet in the air in her ’40s film star outfit,” he said in the same Sunday Mail interview. “Long blond hair, padded shoulders — that entire femme fatale look, which I was a complete ham for.” 

Eventually she softened. “I fell in love with John because he surprised me,” she said. “He had a sweet attitude. He was more innocent and not like the rest of the group.”... 

“One day he came up and asked why I had never invited him to my house,” she later said of Mr. Lydon. “I replied, ‘People told me you would destroy everything.’”

"One of Ann-Margret’s most famous moments in 'Tommy' involved geysers of baked beans being shot directly at her."

"'They came down a chute and then — pow! — it threw me about five feet back!' she said. 'And it smelled!' She recalled that [Ken] Russell said her character was meant to be experiencing a nervous breakdown during the scene, but to some viewers it looked more like she was having an orgasm. 'That’s fine with me!' she added brightly. Townshend thinks the director, Russell, took a bit too much pleasure in having her do the scene repeatedly. 'Ken loved to have a beautiful woman in his clutches covered in beans,' he said. 'Let’s just do it again!' For the new album, he believes Ann-Margret made a perfect choice in having him perform with her on the Everly Brothers song. 'My acoustic guitar style is loosely based on Don Everly’s,' he said."

From "At 81, Ann-Margret Is Finally Living Her Rock ’n’ Roll Dream/The actress and musician, who first burst out in 'Bye Bye Birdie' in 1963, is releasing a new album of old rock covers featuring guests like her 'Tommy' co-star Pete Townshend" (NYT).

ADDED: As for the beans — to add to the endless succession of beans — Roger Daltrey got there first. Here's Rolling Stone in 1967:

In which I examine my instinct to call Trump "that cosmic oddball."

Half an hour ago, in the depths typing the first post of the day, I felt called to use the expression "Trump — that cosmic oddball."

Now, in the cool fresh start of the third post, I want to examine the words "cosmic" and "oddball" and reflect on the phrase that popped up out of the blue.

The OED tells me that "cosmic," originally and obsoletely, meant "Of this world." In that sense, we're all cosmic, even the most mundane among us. Everybody is a star. (But not everybody is a porn star.)

Non-obsoletely, "cosmic" means "Of or belonging to the universe considered as an ordered system or totality; relating to the sum or universal system of things." Not quite. Ah, this is better: "Characteristic of the vast scale of the universe and its changes...." It's hyperbole for "huge." Fine.

An "oddball" is "An eccentric or odd person; a person of unconventional views or habits."

"Mr. Jones and Mr. Pearson were expelled on Thursday for interrupting debate last week by using a bullhorn to lead a gun control protest in the chamber..."

"... in the wake of a deadly school shooting in Nashville. Republican leaders argued that the two lawmakers and Representative Gloria Johnson, who joined the protest but survived an expulsion vote, had brought 'disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives.' Critics said that the expulsions were an overreaction that defied the will of the voters who had elected Mr. Jones and Mr. Pearson in Nashville and Memphis, the state’s two largest cities, which also have large Black and Democratic-leaning populations. Democratic lawmakers and activists also warned that the expulsions could have dangerous repercussions, including encouraging lawmakers in Tennessee and other states controlled by a single party to use the measure as a tool for silencing dissenting voices."

I'm reading "Outrage at G.O.P. Could Propel Expelled Democrats Right Back to House/A day after two young Black lawmakers were expelled from the Tennessee legislature, momentum was building to reappoint them directly back to their seats" (NYT).

What a bad mistake by Republicans! Did they not foresee this backlash? It is so plainly undemocratic to use the expulsion power so suddenly and crudely — and for the offense of speech. 

We've been talking a lot lately about the problem of speakers shouting down speakers. Some of us — and I am not one of them — have become overly righteous about preserving the forum of the official speaker on any given occasion.

We have a tradition of protest in America and a treasured right that entails toleration of disruptive speech. It's not easy to deal with the colliding issues, and some remedies are needed, but don't pick the most aggressive solution!

This "predicament" was completely foreseeable, so the Republicans were and are fools not to have gamed this out.

I spent Wednesday morning ranting on this subject. I don't want to hear that this is some sort of surprise.

But I'm trying to read "The Abortion Ban Backlash Is Starting to Freak Out Republicans" by Michelle Goldberg in the NYT.

"Starting"? Is that some kind of joke?

But having made the criminalization of abortion a central axis of their political project for decades, Republicans have no obvious way out of their electoral predicament....

They've had decades to observe the arrival of the "predicament." What was the plan? They spent 50 years taking advantage of millions of voters who are committed to a clear moral principle that is not subject to compromise. 

Sunrise — 6:31.

What a difference an arraignment makes.

Link.

"The hospitality we have extended to the Thomases over the years is no different from the hospitality we have extended to our many other dear friends."

"We have been most fortunate to have a great life of many friends and financial success, and we have always placed a priority on spending time with our family and friends."

Said Harlan Crow, quoted in "Lawmakers Call for Tighter Ethics Code After Revelations About Justice Thomas/An investigation by ProPublica revealed that Clarence Thomas accompanied Harlan Crow, a conservative donor and real estate billionaire, on a series of luxury vacations without disclosing them" (NYT).

Could ProPublica — or some other organization (the NYT?) — do the same investigation into the hospitality accepted by the other Supreme Court Justices? Was Clarence Thomas focused on because he was known to be way outside the norm or for political reasons? Anyone who at all likes Clarence Thomas is going to be highly suspicious — if not already convinced — that they're going after him because they already hate him. 

What is the usual experience of visiting wealthy friends and at what point should we object? Do we want monkish judges? I intensely admire the Justice Souter lifestyle. As Sandra Day O'Connor described it:

"The longer I reviewed restaurants, the more I became convinced that the unknown customer has a completely different experience from either a valued patron or a recognized food critic."

"For all practical purposes, they might as well be in different restaurants."

Wrote Mimi Sheraton, quoted in "Mimi Sheraton, Innovative Food Critic at The New York Times, Dies at 97/She was the first to wear a disguise in order to get a normal diner’s experience for her Times reviews and worked for many publications in a six-decade career" (NYT).

What sort of disguise did she wear? You might wonder if the different treatment she received had to do with her method of disguise. We're told she used wigs and colored glasses. Were the restaurants discriminating against the ordinary person or was it anti-wigism?

"Do you want to be helped, heard or hugged?"

That is the question, per "When Someone You Love Is Upset, Ask This One Question/Offering support can be tricky, but experts say this technique helps" (NYT).

Each option — an embrace, thoughtful but solicited advice or an empathetic ear — has the power to comfort and calm. Receiving a hug from your partner increases levels of oxytocin, the bonding hormone, and helps dial down stress. There’s evidence that being heard, known as “high-quality listening,” can reduce defensiveness during difficult and intimate conversations. And some research suggests that couples who give each other supportive advice have higher relationship satisfaction.

"Governor Brad Little, a Republican, signed legislation on Wednesday that prohibits an adult from helping a minor travel to receive an abortion..."

"... or access abortion medication without their parents’ consent. A person convicted of 'abortion trafficking' under House Bill 242 could face a sentence of two to five years in prison.... In a letter to state legislators, Little said the legislation does not 'criminalize, preclude, or otherwise impair' interstate travel or prevent an adult from seeking an abortion outside state lines. 'Rather, the "abortion trafficking" provision in the bill seeks only to prevent unemancipated minor girls from being taken across state lines for an abortion without the knowledge and consent of her parent or guardian,' he wrote.... Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates West [said]... 'This legislation is despicable, and we’re going to do everything in our power to stop it'...."

 
From "Idaho Finds a New Way to Criminalize Abortion" (NY Magazine).

"That person I love is still there every minute of every day and that is my life. It’s unfortunate that she forgets things, well, don’t we all."

Said John Lydon in 2020, quoted in "Sex Pistols frontman Johnny Rotten’s wife dead at 80 after Alzheimer’s battle" (NY Post).