Category: Questions

Items of Interest to Those of Us Who Read Here, and Who Blog:

There’s a lot; some of it we’ve seen discussed 8 ways to Sunday, but some I’ve not yet seen, that involve WordPress, Mastodon, and others. Not all is bad news, much is good. This came from my Werd.i/o newsletter, but there’s not a newsletter link. So, snippets below, with links:

https://werd.io/2025/the-people-should-own-the-town-square

Mastodon is growing up:

“Simply, we are going to transfer ownership of key Mastodon ecosystem and platform components (including name and copyrights, among other assets) to a new non-profit organization, affirming the intent that Mastodon should not be owned or controlled by a single individual.

[…] We are in the process of a phased transition. First we are establishing a new legal home for Mastodon and transferring ownership and stewardship. We are taking the time to select the appropriate jurisdiction and structure in Europe. Then we will determine which other (subsidiary) legal structures are needed to support operations and sustainability.”

Eugen, Mastodon’s CEO, will not be the leader of this new entity, although it’s not yet clear who will be. He’s going to focus on product instead. (snip)

https://werd.io/2025/content-policy-on-the-social-web (snip)

 Content Policy on the Social Web

[Social Web Foundation]

The Social Web Foundation‘s statement about Meta’s moderation changes is important:

“Ideas matter, and history shows that online misinformation and harassment can lead to violence in the real world.

[…] Meta is one of many ActivityPub implementers and a supporter of the Social Web Foundation. We strongly encourage Meta’s executive and content teams to come back in line with best practices of a zero harm social media ecosystem. Reconsidering this policy change would preserve the crucial distinction between political differences of opinion and dehumanizing harassment. The SWF is available to discuss Meta’s content moderation policies and processes to make them more humane and responsible.”

This feels right to me. By implication: the current policies are inhumane and irresponsible. And as such, worth calling out.

#Fediverse

[Link] (snip)

https://werd.io/2025/doj-releases-its-tulsa-race-massacre-report-over-100-years

 DoJ releases its Tulsa race massacre report over 100 years after initial review

[Adria R Walker at The Guardian]

A full century after the Bureau of Investigation blamed the Tulsa race massacre on Black men and claimed that the perpetrators didn’t break the law, the DoJ has issued an update:

““The Tulsa race massacre stands out as a civil rights crime unique in its magnitude, barbarity, racist hostility and its utter annihilation of a thriving Black community,” Kristen Clarke, the assistant attorney general of the DoJ’s civil rights division, said in a statement. “In 1921, white Tulsans murdered hundreds of residents of Greenwood, burned their homes and churches, looted their belongings, and locked the survivors in internment camps.””

Every one of the perpetrators is dead and can no longer be prosecuted. But this statement seeks to correct the record and ensure that the official history records what actually happened. There’s value in that, even if it comes a hundred years too late. (snip-MORE; this is history which should be recalled/learned)

https://werd.io/2025/mullenweg-shuts-down-wordpress-sustainability-team-igniting-backlash

 Mullenweg Shuts Down WordPress Sustainability Team, Igniting Backlash

[Rae Morey at The Repository]

The bananas activity continues over at Automattic / Matt Mullenweg’s house:

“Members of the fledgling WordPress Sustainability Team have been left reeling after WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg abruptly dissolved the team this week.

[…] The disbandment happened after team rep Thijs Buijs announced in Making WordPress Slack on Wednesday that he was stepping down from his role, citing a Reddit thread Mullenweg created on Christmas Eve asking for suggestions to create WordPress drama in 2025.” (snip)

https://werd.io/2025/is-ignorance-bliss

 Is Ignorance Bliss?

[Jared White]

I’ve been thinking about this paragraph since I read it:

“In times past, we would worry about singular governmental officials such Joseph Goebbels becoming a master of propaganda for their cause. Today’s problem is massively scaled out in ways Goebbels could only dream of: now everyone can be their own Goebbels. Can someone please tell me what the difference is between an “influencer” holding a smartphone and…a propagandist? Because I simply can’t see the distinction anymore.”

This brings me back to Renee DiResta’s Invisible Rulers: whoever controls the memes controls the universe.

#Democracy

[Link]

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

As I said, there is more. From the werd.i/o links, you can navigate to read to your heart’s content. I didn’t want to make too long a post here, so I put the most pertinent ones here, but this week’s newsletter is full of important stuff. -A

Peace & Justice History for 1/10

TGIF? ☮

January 10, 1776

Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine anonymously published his influential pamphlet, “Common Sense”. In it Paine questioned the fundamental legitimacy of the rule of kings, and advocated the doctrine of independence for Americans, and the rights of mankind.
The entire text: 
January 10, 1908 
A prominent young Indian lawyer, Mohandas Gandhi, was jailed for the first time. He had refused to register as an Asian in Johannesburg, South Africa.
He was released three weeks later.

Gandhi, 1906
Gandhi and how his time in South Africa affected his life 
January 10, 1917
The National Women’s Party began regular picketing of the White House, advocating the right to vote for women.


The first suffrage picket line leaving Congressional Union headquarters to march to the White House gates.
January 10, 1920
The League of Nations formally came into being when its Covenant (part of the Treaty of Versailles), ratified by 42 nations in 1919, took effect.
In 1914, a political assassination in Sarajevo set off a chain of events that led to the outbreak of the most costly war ever fought to that date. As more and more young men were sent down into the trenches, influential voices in the United States and Britain began calling for the establishment of a permanent international body to promote international cooperation and to achieve international peace and security.
Though strongly supported by President Woodrow Wilson (who served as Chairman of the Committee that developed the Covenant), the U.S. never joined.
January 10, 1930
In December 1928, Mohandas Gandhi attended a session of the Indian National Congress Party in Calcutta where it called for complete Indian independence from Great Britain. This was to be achieved through peaceful means, specifically complete noncooperation with the governmental apparatus of colonial British rule, known as the Raj.
On this day, Gandhi drafted the declaration, which stated, in part:
“The British government in India has not only deprived the Indian people of their freedom but has based itself on the exploitation of the masses, and has ruined India economically, politically, culturally and spiritually. . . . Therefore . . . India must sever the British connection and attain Purna Swaraj, or complete independence.”
January 10, 1940
Members of the Brethren, Mennonites and Friends religious groups sent a message to Presidend Franklin Roosevelt requesting alternative service in the event of war.

Civilian Public Service workers Clark and Kriebel in the Duke University’s hospital sterilizer room.
The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 proclaimed that all persons who “by reason of religious training and belief were conscientiously opposed to all forms of military service, should, if conscripted for service, be assigned to work of national importance under civilian direction.”
More on those who refused to serve in the “good war” 

January 10, 1946
The first General Assembly of the United Nations convened at Westminster Central Hall in London, England, and included 51 nations. On January 24, the General Assembly adopted its first resolution, a measure calling for the peaceful uses of atomic energy and the elimination of atomic and other weapons of mass destruction.
January 10, 1966
Vernon Dahmer, a businessman and farmer in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, offered to pay the poll tax for those who couldn’t afford the fee that was then required before a citizen could vote (and which was made unconstitutional in federal elections by the 24th Amendment).
Vernon Dahmer (foreground)

former home of Vernon Dahmer
Dahmer was known for saying, “If you don’t vote, you don’t count.” 
The night after a radio station broadcasted Dahmer’s offer, his home and store were firebombed. Dahmer died later from severe burns. The man responsible for the arson attack, Ku Klux Klan Wizard Sam Bowers, was not tried and convicted until 32 years later.
The poll tax and other means of disenfranchising African Americans 
January 10, 1971
The Peoples’ Peace Treaty between the citizens of the U.S. and Vietnam was endorsed by 130 organizations.
Several million North Americans later signed it.


Peoples’ Peace Treaty organizers
The treaty had been signed in December by leaders from the South Vietnam National Student Union, South Vietnam Liberation Student Union, North Vietnam Student Union, and the (U.S.) National Student Association in Saigon, Hanoi and Paris. It was adopted this day by the New University Conference and Chicago Movement meeting.
Text of the treaty 
The People Make the Peace book
Article from New York Review of Books by the National Student Association with the text of the Treaty
January 10, 1994
Guatemalan government officials and leftist guerilla movement leaders agreed to negotiate to end 36 years of violent conflict.

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryjanuary.htm#january10

Yesterday’s asshat news headlines.

Hi Everyone.  I woke at 12:22 last night.  But I got up at 1 am and started making posts and doing things.   So I just finished the asshat yesterday news posts.  So now before I answer the comments … and I love comments everyone sends to me, I have to make a red sauce.   Ron promised to make me a grand lasagna if I make the sauce.   So with ear buds in, off I go to make the sauce.   Hugs and loves to everyone.  Remember that I really care for everyone.  Add any questions or comments in the comments and I will reply there.   Hugs.  

Kirk Host: Denmark Has No Legal Right To Greenland
House Passes Anti-Migrant Act As First Bill Of 2025
Watters: My “Imperialist Thirst” Says “Invade Canada”
Trump Bible Gets New “Inauguration Day Edition”
Hannity: Don’t “Soak The Rich,” They’re Good Tippers
Giuliani Barks At Sketch Artist: “I Look Like My Dog!”
Trump Seeks To Block Release Of Final Smith Report
Trump Vows To Replace National Records Archivist
Trump Dispatches Junior To Visit “MAGA Greenland”
Meta To End Fact-Checking, Launch “Community Notes”


JoeMyGodModa day ago

Two months ago Fat Hitler vowed to imprison Zuckerberg.

This is the result.

Fox Claims New Jersey Now Hires Illiterate Teachers
Graham: Canada Will Be Part Of “Next” Electoral Count
NOM: Trump Says Eastman Was Right, Send Him Money
EU May Sanction Musk For German Election Meddling

If you criticize the dear leader of the maga cult then you are forever an enemy.  Death to the nonbelievers.   This is why the current republicans and maga is very much a cult.  Hugs. 

Georgia GOP Expels Trump Critic Former Lt Governor
Felon-Elect: “We Are Going To Be Changing The Name Of The Gulf Of Mexico To The Gulf Of America” [VIDEO]
Judge Blocks Release Of Jack Smith’s Final Report
Trump: We May Take Greenland And Panama By Force
Trump Claims Hezbollah Took Part In January 6 Riot
Beetleboob Introduces Bill To Abolish The ATF [VIDEO]

This is great.  The tRump world crowed about this citizen of Greenland who praised tRump’s plan to take over Greenland.  Yet the truth did come out … He was a tRump  loving fanboy violent felon drug dealer prison escapee.   Hugs.

Trump’s Greenland Fan Boy Turns Out To Be Violent Drug-Dealing Multiple Felon, Prison Escapee [VIDEO]
Zuck Wore $1M Watch To Unveil End To Fact-Checking

Can we try to get the memes out on time this week

I have a question of the people who like these meme posts.  What day should I do them on.   I can post them on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.   It makes no difference to me.  I do enjoy if others can use any of the memes or cartoons I post, and I know that Jill and I share a few back and forth.   So let me know what day gives you the most for enjoyment and ability to use them, and I will go with the majority.   I love the meme / cartoon posts also.   Hugs

————————————————————————————————————

Thumbnail

The Nancy Mace baby picture. In all these years nothing whatever has changed. What a tragedy that she never grew up!

Timely Toon

Bezo’s Sacrifice by Clay Jones

This one’s for Ann Read on Substack

“Democracy dies in darkness” is a phrase popularized by Washington Post investigative reporter Bob Woodward who used it in an article about government secrecy. After billionaire and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos purchased The Washington Post and Donald Trump assumed the presidency (sic), it became the newspaper’s first slogan in its 140-year history. Today, democracy is dying.

When Bezos purchased the paper, many felt he was saving the Post and journalism. He stood out of the way and allowed his journalists to defend democracy because there is no democracy without journalism.

After Trump lost the 2020 election by being soundly and squarely defeated by Joe Biden, the Post started to get a little flaky. It laid off and bought out prominent journalists. It started running whimsical New Yorker-like cartoons by Edith Pritchett on its opinion page. It hired right-wing Nixon/Reagan lover Michael Ramirez to draw political cartoons for its opinion page. It refused to make an endorsement in the 2024 election. but it still had Ann.

Herblock Award, Pulitzer Prize, and Rueben Award-winning political cartoonist Ann Telnaes had been freelancing for the Post for years. She was freelancing for the Post when the excellent Tom Toles retired in 2020. The Post promised to hire a full-time cartoonist to replace Toles who had replaced the legendary Herblock. Many felt the Post would hire Ann full-time as she was the most qualified and deserving. But the Post backtracked (lied) and didn’t hire a staffer. Instead, they brought in a freelancer who worked from Canada.

No offense to Michael de Adder, but this is the legendary Washington Post. The person filling Herblock’s spot should be expected to live in Washington, DC, or at the very least, the United States. I believe political cartoons are better if the person drawing them is actually affected by the issues he or she is drawing about. Ann was living in Washington at the time.

For the past few decades, Ann has been one of the best political cartoonists in the world. The Washington Post never fully respected that, and they disrespected her again this week.

During the 2024 presidential campaign, The Post has been flaky. Bezos issued statements before election day about having high expectations from a second Trump administration. Never mind that Donald Trump has attacked the Post, calling it the “Amazon” Washington Post. Never mind that Trump continues to call journalists the “enemy of the American people.” Never mind that Trump calls legitimate news “fake news” while pushing lies over and over again. Never mind that Trump sues journalism outlets for reporting facts about him. Never mind that Trump threatens and wants to do away with the basic tenets of democracy.

After the election, Bezos and other tech billionaires started dumping money into Trump’s “inauguration” fund with many, such as Bezos, making treks to MAGA-Lardo to kiss Trump’s ass.

As the owner of Amazon, which has government contracts, and with the threat of Elon Musk in a position to make cuts to government spending, it’s in Bezos’ financial interest, or so he believes, to play up to Donald Trump. Jeff Bezos had dinner with Trump, probably sitting in the same spot as all the white nationalists who had dinner with Trump at MAGA-Lardo. Trump was launching a lawsuit against the Des Moines Register for a poll while Bezos was sitting at MAGA-Lardo chomping on his Cobb salad.

This week, Ann drew a cartoon that depicted the billionaires groveling to Trump, and among them was Jeff Bezos. Guess what her editor did with that cartoon? He killed it. Guess what Ann did. She quit.

That’s right. Ann Telnaes got up and quit working for the most prominent publication for political cartoonists. In her substack piece, Why I’m Quitting The Washington Post, Ann, who has been with the Post since 2008, writes, “In all that time I’ve never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at. Until now.”

Ann called the spiking of the cartoon a “gamechanger,” that was “dangerous for a free press.”

She’s correct. When newspaper owners are afraid of presidents to the point they start killing critical political cartoons, a free press is in danger. Bezos and Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong both killed editorials endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president over Trump. Why? Because it was bad for business.

Ann’s editor, David Shipley, called her a liar for her “interpretation of events and said in a statement, “Not every editorial judgment is a reflection of a malign force,” Mr. Shipley said in the statement, “My decision was guided by the fact that we had just published a column on the same topic as the cartoon and had already scheduled another column — this one a satire — for publication. The only bias was against repetition.”

As a political cartoonist who’s worked with editors, I smell bullshit. In my experience, editors LOVE it when cartoons coincide with editorials. Now, these are columns but still, they typically like it when they run together or close together. Shipley says one of those columns had already been published and the second is scheduled for publication. Since one of those hasn’t been published yet, then he should have given deference to Ann’s cartoon, that is if he’s not lying. Ann is a Pulitzer Prize winner. Why would he kill her piece for something else?

Shipley said he respects Ann but he clearly doesn’t.

His excuse is nearly as bad as the paper’s when Bezos killed its endorsement of Kamala Harris.

Trump spent his entire campaign promising to weaponize the Justice Department to go after his enemies. Look at his nominees to lead the DOJ. First, it was Matt Gaetz and now it’s Pam Bondi. His pick to lead the FBI is Kash Patel. These are goons.

Ann took a principled stand that will cost her financially. I can’t think of an outlet that would hire her and pay more than the Post. It may have hurt her professionally as I can’t think of an outlet that would hire her and be more prominent than the Post. But she’s established that she’s a badass.

The last time something like this happened was when the Pittsburgh Gazette fired Rob Rogers for refusing to stop criticizing Donald Trump. His replacement was goosestepping Steve Kelley (who was later quietly let go). Someone should tell the Post that Steve’s available, who’s probably already FedEx’ed his resume.

I drew a cartoon in 2015 when Ted Cruz attacked Ann which provoked thousands of death threats and threats of other despicable things I won’t mention here.

I drew a cartoon in 2019 that featured the firing of Rogers. When Rogers was fired, Michael Cavna, who wrote about cartoon issues did a piece about that. He’s not there anymore to write about Ann’s departure.

I drew a cartoon in 2023 about McClatchy laying off three Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonists on the same day.

And last June, I hit the Post’s editor.

This profession needs more journalists with backbones like Ann Telnaes and Rob Rogers.

When I stand up and speak out for my colleagues, I’m not just speaking out for my profession. I’m also standing up for journalism.

Drawn in 30 seconds: (snip-go watch!)

I Would Not Have Thought To Measure This-

(It’s been decades since I’ve lived in a place with public transit; when I read the title, I thought they meant human jerks. I was pleasantly educated.)

The device that measures jerks on public buses

December 11, 2024 Ellen Phiddian

A jerking, lurching bus ride can be enough to put someone off their lunch – or even dissuade them from using public transport.

But just how much do public buses jostle passengers?

Measuring this, according to one team of researchers, might help to make the vehicles more comfortable.

The researchers, from University of Technology Sydney, have published a recent study in Scientific Reports.

According to co-author Dr Anna Lidfors Lindqvist, bumpy bus rides aren’t just annoying. They can carry health risks.

“Passengers, especially if they’re a little bit elderly or if have a pre-existing injury, those sorts of sudden changes can actually make it worse,” she tells Cosmos.

“If that’s a blocker for elderly people to take public transport, that’s a great area to further look at.”

In addition, studies on frequent or professional drivers and passengers have suggested that long-term exposure to engine vibrations could be linked to chronic pain conditions like lower back pain.

The team set out to measure the speed and direction of vibrations and sudden movements on public buses, to give them a baseline for improving bus bumpiness.

One of the researchers – Md Imam Hossain – took rides on 30 public buses driving different routes around Sydney, carrying an inertial measurement unit (IMU).

“An IMU can gather the acceleration in vertical and longitudinal as they’re ported backwards, side to side, and up and down, as well as then being able to measure the rate of change in those directions,” says Lidfors Lindqvist.

They were particularly keen to measure “jerks” – jolts caused by sudden acceleration or braking – which are a strong indicator of bus ride discomfort.

They found that, on average, passengers experience 0.12 times the force of gravity in acceleration, with peaks at 0.44 times.

They’ve got several different ideas for reducing jerks.

“There’s a lot of different sorts of suspension – like where they use air suspension, rather than pneumatic suspension, that’s usually a softer ride,” says Lidfors Lindqvist.

Softer seats – like those used in coach buses or for truck and bus drivers – are also more comfortable.

“Cushioning a seat is enough for it to be a softer ride in terms of the overall vibration from the seat. Whereas, the jerk itself is a little bit more difficult to have a mechanical solution because your body will still move the same.”

Lidfors Lidqvist says that the transition to electric buses is a mixed bag – they don’t vibrate like diesel engines, but they can accelerate much faster.

“This is really another open question: does that then introduce another sort of jerk?”

But buses don’t need to be wholly redesigned for more comfort. The team thinks that driver training can also help.

“Bus driver behaviour is also a factor, and so is the traffic environment that they’re exposed to. Peak hour traffic looks very different than if it’s off peak,” says Lidfors Lindqvist.

In this study, Hossain sat at the same seat on the bus each time for consistency. But there are more and less comfortable zones on a bus, according to Lidfors Lindqvist.

“Other research, will tell you that you’ll find that the ride is often a little bit softer if you sit on top of the wheel axis, for example,” she says.

“But that jerk movement, when you move back and forth when the bus takes off or stops – that will remain pretty much the same, because it’s just your body in relation to the vehicle itself.”

The team is now interested in looking at the connection between buses and human injuries, as well as optimising bus comfort with efficiency of the ride, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Originally published by Cosmos as The device that measures jerks on public buses

Peace & Justice History for 1/1

January 1, 1831

William Lloyd Garrison first published The Liberator (four hundred copies printed in the middle of the night using borrowed type), which became the leading abolitionist paper in the United States. He labeled slave-holding a crime and called for immediate abolition.
From the first issue: “I will be harsh as truth, and uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or speak, or write with moderation. “Assenting to the ‘self-evident truth’ maintained in the American Declaration of Independence, ‘that all men are created equal, and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights—among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,’ I shall strenuously contend for the immediate enfranchisement of our slave population.”
Selections from The Liberator 
January 1, 1847
Michigan became the first state – the first government in the English-speaking world – to abolish capital punishment (for all crimes except treason). This was done by a vote of the legislature, and was not a part of the state’s constitution until 1964.
How it happened (it’s a .pdf)
January 1, 1959
32-year-old lawyer Fidel Castro led Cuban revolutionaries to victory over the corrupt government of Fulgencio Batista who had fled the island the day before. Batista, a former army sergeant, had seized power in a coup, canceling an election, in 1952.
 
Fidel Castro
More on pre-Castro Cuba
The news at the time
Perspective of a U.S. intelligence agent
January 1, 1983
44 women scaled a 12-foot fence at dawn, breaking into a cruise missile base at Greenham Common in Great Britain, and danced on a missile silo.
The lyrics to their “Silo Song”  
January 1, 1987
Ten anti-nuclear activists were arrested for trespassing at the Nevada Test Site, the culmination of a 54-day encampment at the main Test Site gate. The camp established momentum for what became a movement ultimately involving over 10,000 arrests in numerous Test Site protests over the following years in the campaign to achieve a freeze of all nuclear weapons testing.

Nevada test site landscape
The Nevada site includes more than 14,000 sq. km. (nearly 6000 sq. miles, larger than the state of Connecticut) of uninhabited land where atmospheric, and later underground, nuclear testing had been conducted since the 1950s.
About the the Nevada Test Site 
January 1, 1989

Kees Koning
Kees Koning, a former army chaplain and priest, and Co van Melle, a medical doctor working with homeless people and illegal refugees, entered the Woensdrecht airbase (for a second time), and began the “conversion” of NF-5B fighter airplanes by beating them with sledgehammers into ploughshares. The Dutch planned to sell the NF-5B to Turkey, for use against the Kurdish nationalists as part of a NATO aid program which involved shipping 60 fighter planes to Turkey. Koning and van Melle were charged with trespass, sabotage and $350,000 damage; they were convicted, and both sentenced to a few months in jail.
Read more about the plowshares movement
January 1, 1991
Early in the morning Moana Cole, a Catholic Worker from New Zealand, Ciaron O’Reilly, a Catholic Worker from Australia, and Susan Frankel and Bill Streit, members of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker community in Washington, D.C., calling themselves the ANZUS (Australia, New Zealand and U.S.) Peace Force Plowshares, entered the Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, New York.

Moana Cole
After cutting through several fences, Frankel and Streit entered a deadly force area, and hammered and poured blood on a KC-135 (a refueling plane for B-52s), and then hammered and poured blood on the engine of a nearby cruise missile-armed B-52 bomber. They presented their action statement to base security who encircled them moments later. 
About Moana Cole 
January 1, 1994
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) took effect. A treaty among Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, it called for all three countries to follow similar policies for environmental, safety and investment regulation, apart from laws passed by their respective legislatures.
January 1, 1994
On the day NAFTA (see above) took effect, more than 2,000 native Mayans in Mexico’s Chiapas state marched into the state capital, San Cristóbal de las Casas, and five neighboring towns, and seized control. Calling themselves Zapatistas, or the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), a “declaration of war” was issued.
Chiapas is among the poorest parts of Mexico. The indigenous peoples of Mexico long suffered as second-class citizens due to the dominance of the Roman Catholic church and the traditional Mestizo (mixed Spanish and Indian ancestry) political leadership of the country. The EZLN was certain that NAFTA would permanently lock in the top-down economic situation in Mexico. The Zapatistas’ slogan was !Ya basta! (“Enough is enough”).
Employees at the Mexican stock exchange were evacuated by riot police. 25,000 Mexican soldiers arrived in Chiapas equipped with automatic weapons, tanks, helicopters and airplanes. 145 deaths were reported, mostly civilians. Massive arrests and subsequent torture of prisoners by the government took place.

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryjanuary.htm#january1

It’s Topical Entertainment!

New Year’s Twilight Zone Marathons (we’ve got 3 separate ones here, on lifeline cable, even! -A.)

The weather outside is frightful, but The Twilight Zone is… also frightful.

By Josh Weiss Dec 27, 2024, 1:24 PM ET

The weather outside is frightful, but The Twilight Zone is… well, also pretty frightful on occasion. But we can’t think of a better way to ring in 2025 than with SYFY‘s annual New Year’s marathon featuring three uninterrupted days of back-to-back episodes from Rod Serling‘s classic and groundbreaking anthology series between December 31 and January 2.

“It’s interesting, because The Twilight Zone has never been off [the air]. It’s always been there. It’s never died,” Rod’s elder daughter, Jodi Serling, told SYFY WIRE while speaking about her father’s lasting impact. “It’s because the message that he’s sending is so apparent today. Everything that he predictively wrote about is coming back to us. It’s just an honor to know that his legacy will continue to live on forever. He was such a humble kind of guy, I don’t think he realized what an impact that he was going to make on our society.”

“When the original Star Trek debuted, when I was 10, I recorded it on reel-to-reel audio tape in case it never aired again. You couldn’t watch a show whenever you wanted to. There was no way to revisit the shows you loved unless they were in syndication and then they’d be cut up,” adds Marc Scott Zicree, author of The Twilight Zone Companion, during a separate conversation. “We live in a blessed age where you can watch anything you want, anytime you want. I really love these marathons, because I’ve heard from so many people that they just leave the TV on and glance over. It’s like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s the one with Talky Tina! That’s The Howling Man!’ The great thing about Twilight Zone, is that it’s also a family show. You can literally sit down with your kids, and it may scare them, but you know that they’re not going to see something inappropriate. They know what they’re signing up for. I really love the fact that there are Twilight Zone marathons. I think it’s terrific.”

For More on The Twilight Zone (snip)

https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/syfy-the-twilight-zone-new-years-marathon-2024-25-how-to-watch

A Few Laughs for the Evening

Here, it’s gotten windy, and the wind was chilly, now cold. Enjoy some giggles and maybe eye candy, and have a nice evening!

Cover Snark: Vintage Snark!

Diminished People Holding Elected Office

There’s a discussion on another post, and I think all of us have brought it up here at one time or another, and I know I’m too soft-hearted and worry about elder abuse, and now finally others are calling it out for the abuse of people that it is. I used to say it often before Trump finally left the White House, that he was being abused for nefarious reasons; he’s so disliked that few cared about him being abused. Here’s a story from a publication that’s been around for generations, always bringing me important info, first on recycled newsprint paper, now online. And I’m still pleased I spent 6 hours phone banking for Annie Kuster* a few years back, even though I’d hoped for her more liberal primary oppo. She’s been a fine US Rep. (I also phone banked for Marcy Kaptur under the same condition-different election, and it was time well spent. But Annie Kuster is one subject of this story, so I had to fix that. It was late when I scheduled this, my apologies.)

Elder Abuse Is No Way to Run a Government

The corridors of power increasingly resemble a nursing home—if not a hospice.

Jeet Heer

This year, two veteran members of Congress, Republican Representative Kay Granger from Texas and Democratic Representative Annie M. Kuster of New Hampshire, announced that they were retiring from public service, but the story of their last days played out very differently, illustrating the dangers of a political system that enables both gerontocracy and elder abuse.

In March, Granger, age 81, announced that she was stepping down from her powerful post as chair of the House Appropriation Committee and would not seek reelection, even though she would finish out her term. She cast her last vote on July 24, and has appeared in Washington only once since. For all intents and purposes, Granger had disappeared from public visibility.

On December 20, The Dallas Express, a conservative online publication, revealed that Granger had been living in an independent living facility. Prior to that discovery, Granger’s office was not returning phone calls to the Express or anyone else. Visiting her office, reporter Carl Turcios found “the door locked, the front door glass window covered, no one inside, and no sign of the office continuing to be occupied.”

Responding to these reports, the congresswoman’s son, Brandon Granger, stated that his mother suffered from “dementia,” a condition he claimed was diagnosed in September. Granger’s office shared a statement where she purportedly said that “since early September, my health challenges have progressed, making frequent travel to Washington both difficult and unpredictable. During this time, my staff has remained steadfast, continuing to deliver exceptional constituent services, as they have for the past 27 years.”

This version of Granger’s story, which places the onset of dementia in September, makes little sense, since, as Ken Klippenstein reports on his Substack, there is evidence that as early as March she had difficulty reading even from a prepared statement without painful effort. Further, she sold her home in early July, which indicates that her move to the independent living facility was already in the works at that time.

Granger eventually resigned her seat—but too late. If she had left public service a few years ago, she’d be remembered as a pioneer, the first Republican woman to lead the House Appropriations Committee. Now, there is a pall on her legacy since, as The New York Times reports, she has “brought renewed attention to how Capitol Hill is powered by a crop of septuagenarians and octogenarians, including some who refuse to relinquish power even far past their primes.”

Granger’s fellow congresswoman Annie M. Kuster, age 68, offers a telling contrast. In an interview with The Boston Globe, Kuster made clear that she is leaving Washington not just for personal reasons but also to show that lawmakers do in fact have the ability to reject gerontocracy. According to Kuster, “I’m trying to set a better example. I think there are colleagues—and some of whom are still very successful and very productive—but others who just stay forever.”

The Granger case, along with new reporting making clear that Joe Biden has served as a diminished president, is forcing gerontocracy onto the agenda in Washington. Aside from Biden and Granger, there are now increasing expressions of concerns about the advanced age and healthcare struggles of former House speaker Nancy Pelosi and outgoing Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (both of whom, despite formally giving up powerful posts, remain kingmakers in Washington). Questions have also been raised about Democratic Representative David Scott of Georgia, with even fellow Democrats expressing skepticism about his ability to serve. The decision to sideline young congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the House Oversight Committee on behalf of Gerry Connolly, who is 74 and suffers from cancer, has been criticized even by centrist Democrats such as Jen Psaki as proof of entrenched gerontocracy.

This is a major shift from recent years, when a bipartisan code of silence protected elected officials and judges from being criticized even though there was ample evidence that age had made them incapable of serving.

Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky responded to the Granger story by tweeting, “I’m more concerned about the congressmen who have dementia and are still voting.”

Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California tweeted:

Kay Granger’s long absence reveals the problem with a Congress that rewards seniority & relationships more than merit & ideas. We have a sclerotic gerontocracy. We need term limits. We need to get big money out of politics so a new generation of Americans can run and serve.

Khanna’s statement has the virtue of moving the discussion beyond just the individual choices of lawmakers and into the wider system that has made gerontocracy possible. Republican firebrand Kerri Lake, who rarely agrees with Khanna on anything—and is seldom a voice of reason—also offered a systemic analysis, tweeting, “Washington D.C. shouldn’t be a retirement home, but the entrenched forces there are so desperate to hold on to power that they will reject fresh voices while pulling stunts like this.”

Khanna and Lake are accurate in seeing the problem as entrenched systems. The rules of Congress reward seniority with more power, which also makes it logical for voters to keep voting for longtime lawmakers even past the decline in their capacity. Those lawmakers have staff who can make sure that the perks of power are still shared with constituents.