According to Joanna Thompson, writing in Science. a species of mite might be the perpetrator in the great bee die-off around the world.

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Claims that US President Donald J. Tr$mp is in cognitive decline have recently circulated. We asked AI (Perplexity) whether this could be true.

PROMPT: Act as a gerontologist. Evaluate concisely any convincing evidence that can be adduced suggesting that US President Donald J. Tr$mp is suffering from cognitive decline. For each item, offer rebuttal evidence that questions the assertion. Limit the answer to 300 words or less.

Read the reply

We asked the Web, "How much did the US airstrikes this week in Iran cost the US?"

The Web answered:

Cost of US Airstrikes on Iran (June 2025)

Summary of the Operation

The US airstrikes on Iran this week, codenamed "Operation Midnight Hammer," targeted three major Iranian nuclear sites: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The operation involved seven B-2 stealth bombers, which deployed 14 bunker-buster bombs, and a submarine that launched over two dozen Tomahawk missiles. In total, about 125 US aircraft were involved, including bombers, fighters, tankers, and support planes.

Estimated Direct Costs

According to detailed breakdowns and defense analysts:

Munitions:
14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs at $5 million each: $70 million
30 Tomahawk missiles at $2 million each: $60 million

Flight Hours:
Seven B-2 bombers flew a 37-hour round trip at $170,000 per hour, totaling: $44 million
Total Direct Cost Estimate:
$174 million for the initial US airstrikes, covering munitions and bomber flight hours.
"Operation Midnight Hammer... estimated cost is $174 million, broken down as follows: 14 GBU-57 bombs at $5 million each ($70 million), 30 Tomahawk missiles at $2 million each ($60 million), and seven B-2 bombers flying a 37-hour mission at $170,000 per hour ($44 million). This figure excludes costs for support aircraft, personnel, and logistics, which could increase the total."

Additional Considerations
The $174 million estimate does not include costs for support aircraft, logistics, or personnel, which could raise the total further.
The operation was a single, high-profile strike rather than a sustained campaign, so ongoing costs remain limited unless the conflict escalates.
Broader US military expenditures in the region, including support to Israel and regional security postures, are much higher but not directly attributed to this specific strike.

Conclusion

The US airstrikes on Iran this week cost an estimated $174 million in direct operational expenses, primarily for munitions and bomber flight hours, with the total potentially higher when factoring in full support and logistics.

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(And it's only Wednesday!)

(May 5) at a meeting to announce that Washington, D.C., will host the 2027 National Football League draft, Pres. Tr$mp confirmed that he suddenly decided to announce he was reopening Alcatraz because the word sounded strong.

“It represents something very strong, very powerful in terms of law and order, he said, adding "Our country needs law and order. Alcatraz is uh, I would say the ultimate, right? Alcatraz. Sing Sing and Alcatraz, the movies.... Nobody's ever escaped from Alcatraz and just represented something, uh, strong having to do with law and order. We need law and order in this country. And so we're going to look at it. Some of the people up here are going to be working very hard on that, and, uh, we had a little conversation. I think it's gonna be very interesting. We'll see if we can bring it back. In large form, add a lot. But I think it represents something. Right now, it's a big hulk that's sitting there rusting and rotting, uh, very, uh, you look at it, it's sort of, you saw that picture that was put out. It's sort of amazing, but it sort of represents something that's both horrible and beautiful and strong and miserable, weak. And it's got a lot of it's got a lot of qualities that are interesting. And I think they make a point.”

—As quoted by H.C. Richardson

MAGA supporters and believers in pseudoscientific myths appears to be significant, with several overlapping characteristics between the two phenomena. For example, MAGA supporters and pseudoscience adherents both demonstrate belief-dependent realism, where understanding is based on faith rather than empirical observation. This manifests in the MAGA movement through unwavering devotion to Trump despite contradictions or controversies.

Read more about this...

White House - Jun 2 2023 - Both India (2019) and China (2023) have now landed autonomous spacecraft on the "dark side" of the moon.

UPDATE:
White House - Mar 20 2025 - China has also (2023) landed a spacecraft on the far side of the moon. The presence of Indian and Chinese equipment, possibly of military design and intent, on the dark side of the Moon, which is forever turned away from earth, giving them a platform from which they might launch an attack on the USA at any time, is of increasing concern to perceptive, forward-looking military minds like those of Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard and Pres. Donald Tr$mp.

Complete story...

After Washington Post 6 March 2025 — "Due to a DOGE*-driven spending freeze on federal credit cards, some offices can’t pay phone bills, the employee said, while one office was forced last week to cancel three disability hearings because the staff could not use charge cards to pay for interpreters who speak foreign languages or American Sign Language. One claimant has a terminal illness, and another is in danger of losing their house, the employee said. No new hearings have been scheduled.

"Meanwhile, a DOGE-led campaign to cancel contracts deemed “wasteful” across the government is also hurting Social Security. The agency lost a contract that paid for medical experts to testify at disability hearings, the employee said, along with another contract for mold removal from offices.

"The elimination of the entire civil rights office is causing further chaos and uncertainty; the staff there was responsible not just for processing discrimination cases, but for obtaining office equipment for blind employees — accommodations that are required under federal disability law. No one has explained who will be taking over this type of work, employees said.

"As the agency prepares for a mandated return to in-office work, space constraints in some offices have left supervisors to consider assigning employees to work at desks in supply closets, the worker said.

“'It’s just chaos, people are terrified, and no one knows anything, including our supervisors,' the employee said.

"Another employee said they were briefed on a call last week in which managers received instructions to come up with cuts of half the agency’s staff and the same number of contractors by the end of March. Word of reductions on that scale spread throughout the agency, the employee said. In an internal announcement, Dudek said staff cuts of 50 percent were inaccurate, causing still more confusion.

"For his entire nearly 30-year career at SSA, one employee said, changes came slowly and were accompanied by a barrage of information explaining to staff exactly what was being altered and why. However, since DOGE took hold, changes have come so fast that they are impossible to follow, the employee said.

“'No one really knows what they’re doing, no one has answers, and at some point something is going to break.'

“'Morale is in the toilet, (one) employee said. 'We all know what DOGE wants to do, which is just break us, so they can privatize us.'"

* DOGE is the so-called Dept. of Government Efficiency created by Pres. Donald Trump and his major politcal donor-sidekick Elon Musk.

Source

From our smirking MAGA fratboy department: The worst of the worst are not only imposing pain and tribulation on their sisters, they're laughing about it.

History

About the meme

Nuance? Hardly

Impact

Cruelty is the whole point

Defense (A-ho Department)

A prince of a fellow.

(No one else dares.)

More on Topic

Suggested by...

The intriguing world of artificial intelligence (AI) has called most producers of online content seductively to its bedside. Some have dipped a toe; others have leapt joyfully. It all bears much more examination than will be possible in a few short lines.

So far I have fenced my own playground around a few simple cartoons, graphs and inquiries into simple facts. Without doubt, the products have on occasion been superior in several ways to what some of my former students and clients could have created for themselves.

Simple cartoons are already equal to what the average commercial art program's students produce, though they are limited to the styles already extant on the Web and exhibit none of the individuality of great cartoonists. The best use file formats allowing them to be scaled for multiple output media.

Graphs based on mathematical equations are for the most part accurate. Rendering is consistent, allowing the visual presentation of complex relationships in two or three dimensions based on tables of data that can themselves be called forth by textual inquiries.

So far these results imply no threat, except to the least competent of artists and graphics technicians. That leaves the formulation of inquiries and statements of problems as the probable core of any issues we might have with the beast(s) in the machine.

I asked Perplexity.ai "what is the variability in price of three-quarter inch ball bearings in the USA from 1950 to the present?" The system answered that it did not have enough information on the specific values required to construct an answer. So it gets an A for humility.

Continues...

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This looks like one to watch. Some cable companies are showing it in their listings as "The Rachel Maddow Show," but it's actually a documentary on the cast of characters in the first Tr*mp impeachment. Mark your calendars!

Advance word suggests that the "Burisma Scandal" was largely a Tr*mp campaign scam.

Watch the trailer: From Russia with Lev

Every party in a political year claims to be the one that will boost employment.

The adjacent graph shows unemployment rates for the USA by year for 1901-2021. Blue indicates Democratic (D) rule and red indicates Republican (R). Darker colors show years in which a ruling party experienced rising unemployment.

Unemployment declined in 76 of 121 years, 43 times under Democrats and 33 times under Republicans.

Under Democrats unemployment declined 43 times and rose 13 times. Under Republicans it rose 32 of 65 times.

Thus rising unemployment in any year was over twice as likely under Republican administrations (32:13), and Democratic eras experienced employment gains three times as often as losses (43:13 vs 33:32).

Unemployment fell in 43 years of (D) administrations compared to 33 years of (R) administrations, a difference of 30%.

In sum, claims that Republican policies are conducive to lower unemployment are not supported by these 121 years of data.

All employment analysis should consider ratios, not workforce size. The number of employed persons tends to grow by the addition of new workers through population growth and immigration regardless of government policy. In addition, it is likely that non-political factors influenced employment at least as much as government decisions.

Keep this handy; you'll need it before November 5.

If necessary, click image to enlarge for printing or sharing. Click again to maximize.

Despite the best efforts of (R)ight wing conspiracy theorists and (R)evisionist self-described historians, it is clear that the United States and/or states and earlier colonies paid bounties for the killing of Indigenous people at various points in its history. This practice was part of broader campaigns of violence and displacement against Native American communities. Although the term genocide was not invented until after World War II, that earlier behavior would appear to look, walk and quack like a duck. There are many easily discovered examples.

This policy and others like it were part of a larger, tragic pattern of violence, displacement, and genocide against Native American populations throughout the history of the United States. The (R)ecent (R)evisionism is clearly intended to normalize such behavior in the current era. Any who deny this history should be ashamed of themselves and deemed unfit for public office.

Continues...

Fossil Fuel Lovers Unite! You have nothing to lose but your stains. In recent years many adherents of petroleum power have gleefully broadcast every possible negative aspect of conversion to solar and other electric power. What they have shown is that it's easy to create any case with selective facts.

One can probably be sure that the facts cited in the adjacent graphic that appeared in 2023 in Facebook are true. However, one must consider the scale and effects of their complaints. Of course we could point out that the author does not know how to spell nickel and that if one capitalizes some chemical elements one should capitalize all, but we would never go there.

If one accepts that mining, transportation and manufacturing of batteries consume the vast amounts described, one can also add "so what?" The absolute numbers tell us nothing about the relative environmental effects.

One can assume that the effects cited are highly localized. Mining at Thacker Pass, wherever that is, has no effect on horse ranchers in Mongolia. In contrast, the exhaust from fuel burning, being hotter than air, rises into the admosphere and spreads around the globe. Like the butterfly's wings, its motion has unknown effects, and it is conceivable that some Mongolian or his horse might be sickened by atmospheric hydrocarbons, but never by transcontinental diffusion of acid. In any event, sulphuric acid is well understood, even by high school chemistry students, and can be safely stabilized across its "life cycle." (Ref. attached.)

This is but one of many such Save internal combustion! screeds that have appeared in the last couple of years. Our guess is that they originate either with oil-company shills or with aging, unreconstructed high-school boys who still want to rev their engines at traffic lights to hear the sound of their detuned mufflers.

The cost of safely migrating our energy and transportation models away from fossil fuels will not be cheap, Worse however is that a Planet Earth with prevailing temperatures of 140ºF will not be survivable.

Sulphuric acid safety

Fox News or wherever the interviewer works now.