DOGE Is Planning a Hackathon at the IRS. It Wants Easier Access to Taxpayer Data
Oh, and they’re bringing in right-wing military contractors Palantir. This will be just fine for your personal data.
Her advice to anyone planning to travel to the US is simply not to go.
An update on our economic outlook
J.P. Morgan goes on the record predicting a recession for this year. Folks who are too young to remember what 2007 was like are about to learn. I hope those of us who are too young to remember 1929 don’t get a similar and worse lesson.
“The Road Ahead”
Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 14-42 kit lens @ 14mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 1250. In the North Bank Habitat Management Area.
Divided Supreme Court sides with Trump to block teacher grants
File under “No, the courts are not going to save us.”
“Roads Not Taken”
Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 14-42 kit lens @ 14mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 160
Apparently the unitary executive theory includes “you can make up whatever laws you want and Congress won’t say a word.”
Trump’s top prosecutor in Washington compares Jan. 6 charges to Japanese internment
Because why should a little thing like an understanding of history get in the way of any of Trump’s minion’s wild claims?
“This Way to the Clear Cut”
Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 40-150mm f/4.0-5.6 lens @ 150mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 320. Seen from the North Bank Wildlife Management Area.
Yesterday I learned that Americans spend roughly 10 times as much on lottery scratch tickets as they do on pizza. This baffles me. I don’t eat pizza any more, but I’ve never purchased a scratch ticket (and expect I never will). Further proof that I’m an outlier, I guess.
Finished: Orange is the New Black 📚. I’ve never seen the TV show, and given that I watch zero TV, I never will. To be honest, I wasn’t real impressed. I already knew the prison system was badly broken, so I didn’t need a privileged white gal to tell me so. I hope reform gets a push from it though.
“All Your Pollen Belongs to Me”
Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 Macro lens @ f/6.3, 1/400s, ISO 1250. At the North Bank Wildlife Management Area.
Tesla is sitting on $200 million worth of Cybertruck inventory
Swasticars are not doing well. Boo hoo. Buried in the article is the fact that even Tesla won’t take them as trade-ins.
Kennedy suggests 20 percent of HHS cuts may be reversed
I so want someone who thinks a 20% error rate is acceptable to be in charge of the nation’s health.
Trump Tariffs Hit Antarctic Islands Inhabited by Zero Humans and Many Penguins
Presumably the tariff will be lifted when the penguins stop sending us fentanyl.
The NaNoWriMo organization is shutting down
Sad news. I completed NaNoWriMo 4 or 5 times - never anything really publishable, but I always enjoyed it.
If I thought anyone in the Trump administration could read, I’d recommend that they read this classic essay.
Musk downplays Wisconsin results, saying he ‘expected to lose’
What’s that smell? Oh, it’s sour grapes mixed with horseshit.
Liberal candidate wins Wisconsin Supreme Court race in blow to Trump, Musk
More good news from the Badger State. Looks like Elon failed to buy a state Supreme Court justice to go with his President. Thanks, Wisconsin. (This is super important because of potential effects on redistricting maps).
Finished reading: The Mother 📚. Another of Pearl S. Buck’s novels of rural China in the pre-Communist era, this one is mainly a pretty depressing account of a life that spirals ever downward into age and loss. There is a bit of redemption on the very last page, but it’s not a fun read.