August 10th, Already! Moses Fleetwood Walker, & Harry Hay, Show Up For Equality, + More in Peace & Justice History For This Date

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryaugust.htm#august10

Up On The Roof

Roof-Top Idiot by Clay Jones

Unfortunately, he didn’t fall off Read on Substack

I had a Beagle years ago, Chubbs, and he was a character. For example, one day I came home and he was on the roof.

Why was the dog on the roof? It’s something you don’t see every day. Chubbs was on the roof because he was roof pooping. Yes, the dog was crapping on the roof. But I figured out that he made it to the roof by jumping from a balcony. My sister was home, and she figured she could leave the second-floor balcony door open because it was on the second floor. But the reason you ask, “Why is the dog on the roof?” because he doesn’t belong there.

When you see Donald Trump on the roof of the White House, you have to ask, “Why is the president (sic) of the United States on the roof of the White House. When reporters discovered he was there, one shouted the question, “Sir, why are you on the roof?” And then, in idiotic Trump fashion, he conducted a press conference from the roof, shouting down answers to reporters.

Stephen Colbert asked on his canceled show, “That’s not a question you hear asked for a world leader that often.” He said, “It’s right up there with ‘Your Majesty, where are your pants?”

This is like when grandpa gets lost and ends up on the roof. How he got up there is a mystery, but you still have to call the fire department to get him down. But do you really? Couldn’t we have just left Trump on the roof? We could just toss him a Big Mac now and then, and he should be OK. Right?

Colbert asked rhetorically, “What does any of this mean? How are you the guy in charge? Why do we have to pretend? Why do we have to pretend it’s normal when an old man wanders around a roof and shouts at us?”

I wonder if Trump gets that question every time he meets a foreign leader. How are you the guy in charge?

This is not normal, and it’s not just the roof thing. How did a stupid grifting carnival barker end up in the White House….TWICE? And the reason Trump was on the roof isn’t normal either. (snip-MORE, and it’s great)

Austrian CO Executed, Fatman Dropped, Rocky Flats, & More in Peace & Justice History for 8/9

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryaugust.htm#august9

Good Ideas Within

“Who’s Gonna Stop Him?” by Donna Schwartz Mills

Don’t ever say that to Karoli. Read on Substack

Image credit: Whitehouse.gov

Snippets:

(BTW – the image we’ve all seen of the exterior of the new addition is an unofficial AI rendering. I believe last week we said it was real. The REAL one is at the top of this newsletter. We apologize for the error.)

We are now long past lamenting that this stuff is not normal. The yahoos who have been installed in government have no interest in making our lives better – but they’re super good at coming up with crap to make them worse.

“Nothing is normal,” Karoli agrees. “but some things are so out of the realm of – like, for example…today’s executive order by Trump ordering a new census to be based on 2024 data with no non-citizens in the census. All of which is entirely illegal, unconstitutional.”

“Why is it that newspapers cannot say it’s unconstitutional? I mean, the Washington Post came close to saying that but they couldn’t actually say it,” she says. (NOTE: NPR does a good job here. Which is a good reminder to give to your local NPR station, if you can.)

When Karoli pointed out on social media that this latest EO was unconstitutional, someone came back at her with “Who’s going to stop him?”

That is exactly the kind of thinking that makes the authoritarian takeover complete. We still have the possibility of returning this nation to a functioning democracy – as long as we resist the temptation to become fatalistic about MAGA’s burrowing infestation of our government.

Just look at what has happened since the regime ordered Texas to engage in a highly irregular mid-cycle redistrict session to give the Republicans five more seats. The only reason this is happening is because the regime expects to lose the House in 2026, so they are doing everything they can think of to rig the election in their favor.

And we are fighting back. Those Democratic Texas legislators who fled the state to deprive Governor Abbott of a quorum are heroes in the fight for democracy. The Democratic governors who are assisting them and arranging for retaliatory re-districting are champions of democracy. And the House Democrats on the Oversight Committee who figured out they could force Chairman James Comer into subpoenaing the Epstein Files are golden.

And do you know what happens when we don’t meekly accept MAGA’s crazy maneuvers as done deals? They back down. Just look at the highest profile cases of people who have been kidnapped by ICE. Community outrage and publicity have helped get some of these folks released. But – as Aliza points out – the key to winning that battle is engaging the community.

“It is way past time for white people to do this job and this heavy lifting. It has to come from us. It HAS to. We have been reliant and allowing the people who we’ve oppressed and allowed to be oppressed save us every single time. And it is our turn… we have to have the difficult conversations with our families, with our neighbors, with our friends, with our fellow white people. We need to call these people, you know – we have to call them on their biases, and their flawed thinking. It has to happen. They can’t sit in comfort while all this shit’s happening around us,” she says.

Down That Rabbit Hole

Here’s a few of the resources I looked at while trying to understand if there actually is anyone to stop Trump from building his monstrosity of a ballroom:

Architectural Digest has this handy dandy timeline of all the many renovations that have been undertaken at the White House over the years.

The White House Historical Association has numerous articles on all things White House History.

One of the biggest changes to the White House occurred during the Truman Administration, which added the East Wing to the building in order to cover up an underground security bunker that was added during the war. Wikipedia’s got a deep dive into that one.

Finally: Karoli (who is a much better researcher than I) found a New York Times article (gift link) with the answer to the question we originally posed: It turns out that there IS a standing Committee for the Preservation of the White House – and it’s made up of the director of the National Park Service, representatives from the White House, the Smithsonian Institution, the Commission of Fine Arts, the National Gallery of Art and more appointees of the president.

As it turns out:

Mr. Trump has not nominated a park service director, a position that requires Senate confirmation, or announced the appointments of individuals to serve on the committee. The terms of 13 individuals that former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. appointed to the committee in 2023 expired when Mr. Trump began his second term, according to a government database. Jessica Bowron, the comptroller of the National Park Service, is currently serving as its acting director.

So the answer to that question is – No, there appears to be no one who will stop him from this one. (snip-MORE on the page, including the podcast)

“Nest Helpers”

Maui ʻAlauahio

I Don’t Know What This Says

about the day, or my mood, or maybe even the moon phase (full at around 2:30 tomorrow morning,) but I LOL’d at this top one. I’m including a few others for a little more fun.

https://www.gocomics.com/heathcliff/2025/08/08

https://www.gocomics.com/foxtrotclassics/2025/08/08

https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2025/08/08

https://www.gocomics.com/jerry-king-comics/2025/08/08

(For me, it’s my watch. I even bought a simpler one so I wouldn’t obsess, but I’ve found a way to obsess, anyway. sigh 😄 🏃 It just now buzzed me, so I gotta go do my 10 at 10!)

https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2025/08/08

A Couple Of Clay Jones’s Posts

Only one is a toon, today:

A Chat With Ed Wexler by Clay Jones

Meet Ed Read on Substack

Today’s Zoom talk is with Ed Wexler, who draws for Cagle Cartoons. Join us as we talk about cartoons, art supplies, caricatures, SoCal weather, and Duck Tales.

(The Zoom chat is on the page, linked at “Read On Substack” above. It’s an hour & 15 min.–A.)

You can find Ed on Facebook and X/Twitter.

If you’re a fellow cartoonist and would like to do one of these with me, let me know. I’d love to talk to you.

=============

Dr. Robert by Clay Jones

RFK Jr is going to stick it in our butts Read on Substack

On Tuesday, it was announced that the Trump Regime, which is a petri dish of conspiracy theories, is canceling almost $500 million in contracts to develop mRNA vaccines to protect the nation against future viral threats.

The federal Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA, which is also the noise Pete Hegseth makes when throwing up in a back alley dumpster), which oversees the nation’s defenses against biological attacks, is terminating 22 contracts with university researchers and private companies to develop new uses for the mRNA technology, because the Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is not a doctor or medical expert, but a conspiracy-theorist whack job.

Lunatics who believe vaccines cause autism and come with tracking chips so the Deep State Illuminati baby-eating reptillians can keep track of you are ecstatic. Actual scientists, doctors, and public health experts, not so much.

Showing evidence that the brain worm may have eaten more than we first believed, RFK Jr. said, “Let me be absolutely clear: HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them. That’s why we’re moving beyond the limitations of mRNA vaccines for respiratory viruses and investing in better solutions.”

This is like when Trump tried to get rid of Obamacare with “something better.”

The first COVID vaccine was developed during the first Trump regime, but that administration never had a plan to roll it out to the public. They were planning to hide it all behind a toilet at MAGA-Lardo. Thankfully, Joe Biden won the 2020 election and made the vaccines effective. Now, the same regime that took credit for the vaccine is trying to destroy it.

Michael Osterholm, who runs the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said, “This may be the most dangerous public health judgment that I’ve seen in my 50 years in this business. It is baseless, and we will pay a tremendous price in terms of illnesses and deaths. I’m extremely worried about it.” He’s worried.

Every single MAGAt who yelled “Go get another booster, soy boy” during a losing argument responded with, “Yee-hay, yee-haw, yee-haw.”

Mary Holland, the president and CEO of The Children’s Health Defense, said, “While we believe the mRNA vaccines should be taken off the market, the announcement is a positive move towards protecting public health.” By the way, the Children’s Health Defense was founded by RFK Jr, but I’m sure the people running that organization are totally credible (insert rolling eyes here).

I had a feeling it was bad to make the nation’s top health official a guy who believes in chemtrials and likes to tool around town in a car with a whale’s head strapped to it. (snip-MORE, and it’s good/not good. Clay’s commentary is what’s good; the news is not.)

2 Anniversaries in Peace & Justice History for 8/7

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryaugust.htm#august8

Dancing “Jerks”

(“Jerks” is a joke on another blog.)

Dancing cockatoos more common than previously thought

Velentina Boulter

White cockatoos on a tv antenna — A group of Little Corellas (Cacatua sanguinea), a species of white cockatoo native to Australia and southern New Guinea, perch on a suburban TV antenna. Credit: Lea Scaddan / Moment / Getty Images Plus.

A new study shows cockatoos in captivity dance more often than expected, with the birds pulling out moves like the “body roll” and the “moving jump”.

The researchers observed cockatoos showing off a total of 30 distinct dance moves. Some stylish birds showed off unique moves not seen in any other bird.

“The work suggests that playing music to parrots may provide a useful approach to enrich their lives in captivity, with positive effects on their welfare,” says lead researcher Natasha Lubke from Charles Sturt University, Australia.

Lubke and colleagues analysed 45 videos of cockatoos dancing that had been posted to social media.

Across the videos, the researchers established 30 distinct dance moves like the “headbang” or the “sidestep”. Of these dance moves, 17 had not been previously described scientifically.

The “downward movement” was the most common motion, appearing in 50% of the birds’ repertoire. Routines involving just wings, like “flapping” and “wings back”, were the least common.

Each cockatoo species had a unique top 10 most common dance moves, and the researchers observed that closely related species did not display similar dances.

Illustration of cockatoo dance moves — *Illustration of the 10 most common recorded dance movements. Ethogram descriptors based on Keehn et al. [3] and illustrations by Zenna Lugosi. Credit: Lubke et al., 2025, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0.*

The researchers then followed up their initial video analysis by investigating the behaviour of 6 cockatoos at Wagga Wagga Zoo in Australia.

The cockatoos were then played either music, an audio podcast or no audio at all. All cockatoos performed dance moves whether there was music playing or not.

“I showed that dancing behaviour is more common in cockatoos than previously thought and was seen in 10 of the 21 cockatoo species,” says Lubke.

“My analysis also indicated that dancing is far more complex and varied than previously thought, recording 30 different movements seen in multiple birds and a further 17 movements that were seen in only one bird.”

Some of the dance moves observed were similar to those displayed by wild parrots when they are in the process of courtship. This suggests captive cockatoos may have redirected their courting dance toward their owners.

More research is needed to understand whether the cockatoos actually enjoy dancing in order to improve the welfare of captive cockatoos.

“The similarities with human dancing make it hard to argue against well-developed cognitive and emotional processes in parrots, and playing music to parrots may improve their welfare,” says Rafael Freire, a professor in animal behaviour and welfare at Charles Sturt University.

“Further research would be beneficial to determine if music can trigger dance in captive birds and serve as a form of environmental enrichment.”

All 30 of the cockatoos’ groovy dance moves are listed in the research paper published in PLOS One.

Originally published by Cosmos as Dancing cockatoos more common than previous thought