Tag: Arthur@AmeriNZ

September rambling: ‘Subsidizing Suicide’

Rebecca Jade in London


CDC Issues Emergency Response for Florida Dengue Outbreak.

Ahead of Biodiversity Summit, UN Chief Warns Countries Are ‘Subsidizing Suicide’ by Backing Fossil Fuels. “I urge governments everywhere to end these handouts once and for all, and to use the savings for people and planet instead,” said António Guterres.

Voters in Oil-Rich Alberta Strongly Reject Leaving Canada.

In Virginia, Racism and Redlining Are Fueling a Flock Camera Backlash.

Expedia amazoned hotel rooms. 

Smart Answers to Stupid Comments About Slavery – Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie.
Dolores Huerta, Labor Leader and Force for Civil Rights, Has Died. She co- founded the United Farm Workers.

Tom Skerritt has died at age 93. I watched him in many movies and TV shows, but my favorite was his run on Picket Fences.

Walter Koenig, Chekov From ‘Star Trek,’ Has Died. As the Russian navigator of the U.S.S. Enterprise, he was a mainstay of the original television series and seven films. He was 90.

Christiane Amanpour Says She Is Leaving CNN After 43 Years.

The Dominican Baseball Factory – A teenage prospect’s family was promised $1.8 million, and most of it was gone within a few years thanks to the moneylenders who circle young players.

A Final Scream at the End of the Movie. Not quite an end credits scene, but worth the wait. 

Churn and Burn

140 Horror Scripts to Download and Study – Share.

What does it mean when someone says, “Roger that”? Incidentally, as of this writing, ROGER is still available for Wordle. 

LOWER AND LOWER

‘I don’t ramble,’ as he sinks to new levels of delusion.

Ohio’s Republican Governor Calls on Vivek Ramaswamy to Take Down Attack Ad. It features the estranged mother of Ramaswamy’s Democratic opponent, Dr. Amy Acton, and has drawn widespread criticism, though FOTUS strongly defended it.
Could House Republicans refuse to seat Democrats? FOTUS might try
FOTUS Signs Order Exempting Russia From Sanctionss Law. The sanctions were part of a measure that was named after Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who died in July.
“I’d Like to Report a Theft”: Bernie Mocks FOTUS’s  Anti-Fraud Tipline. “A man inside our government illegally spent nearly $22 million in taxpayer dollars on bogus campaign ads praising himself. He now resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.”

902 pregnancy-related prosecutions in three years after Dobbs. Pregnancy Justice found that most cases involved child neglect or endangerment charges

FEMA tells states to handle disasters on their own

Women are disappearing from top roles in the regime

CMS rescinds nursing home voting guidance

Musk chose to restrict Ukraine’s access to SpaceX satellite network
Most of Ken Paxton’s Money Can Be Traced to Elon Musk. The world’s richest person, who has become the biggest known midterm donor, gave $158 million to a group that quickly spent that much to help Mr. Paxton’s Senate bid in Texas.
MUSIC

The Smooth Jazz Show on The Soul Of London Radio– Thursday 15th October 2026. The “Album Of The Week” is the latest from vocalist Rebecca Jade. Released in 2022 and entitled “A Shade Of Jade”, Paul Russell features several tracks from the Album on the show. The interview came ahead of her LIVE performance at The Indigo @ The O2 on Friday, 16th October.

The RFK Jr. Lament – A Randy Rainbow Song Parody

Symphony No.10 in F minor “In Autumn” by Joachim Raff

Coverville 1597: The Chuck Berry 100th Birthday Cover Story and 1598: The Hall & Oates Cover Story IV

Favorite Songs by Favorite Artists (Series Four) #12: The Smiths and  #13: Moxy Früvous 

expectations – Olivia Rodrigo (feat. Chappell Roan); video appearance by David Byrne

Bette Davis Eyes – Kim Carnes

Show Me– Pretenders

Ingrid Bergman – Billy Bragg and Wilco

It Never Entered My Mind – Dawn Upshaw

Cinnamon Girl – Los Lobos

Nicole Kidman – ADÉLA

Burning House – Cam 

When I Think Of You – Janet Jackson

From Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot – the title song and If Ever I Would Leave You

Fiddler: A Miracle Of Miracles | Documentary, which I saw at the Spectrum Theatre in 2019; recommended. 

K-Chuck Radio: When it was more than tainted love

How Bernie Taupin and Elton John Became The Greatest Songwriting Duo – Rick Beato interviews Taupin

Sept. rambling: end of the American age?

Songs In The Key Of Life: The EP

AI Giants Probe ‘Tens of Thousands’ of Security Incidents—Some Involving Government Sites

At the End of the American Age

Jon Stewart: The City Began Covering Their A**es Three Weeks After 9/11

The Nerd Reich

Amazon drones are overwhelming a Texas suburb

UnitedHealthcare & UnitedHealth Group, and Brazil Elections 2026: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver;  John Oliver is a Lawsuit Gremlin, and LegalEagle loves it

The High Crime of ‘LMAO’: Cops Are Treating Flock Mass Surveillance Like a Joke

The great American road trip is in peril

Nik Durga: In defense of Mississippi, the place where I became a writer, which has a poignant mention of Emmett Till

They Kept Outsiders Away for 500 Years. Their World Is About to Change.

Meet the First Brand-New Cat Species Identified in More Than a Century

Peter Max, Trippy Artist of Counterculture Era and Beyond, Dies at 88

In Memoriam – 78th Emmy Awards

Taylor Swift joins Mariska Hargitay for a very special episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Bob Pettit, who was the N.B.A.’s first M.V.P., dies at 93

From MLB.com: Looking at the 2026 playoff teams, you might notice something: Three of them have never won a World Series. That’d be the Brewers, Rays, and Padres, who are three of the five teams that have never won it all. (To the other two, the Rockies and Mariners: There’s always next year.)

How One Trick Play Tells The History Of Football

Getting Rich and Going Broke, One Pack of Sports Cards at a Time

When First Comes in Third and Free Money’s Fine Print

Everything is better when you add Godzilla to it

Oy

U.S. rejects U.N. declaration on preparing for pandemics

A quiet ICE surge that unfolded “everywhere all at once” this summer

Supreme Court lets regime use flawed database for voter purges

EPA says repealing power plant emissions rules will save billions – but its estimate leaves out health and climate costs

Officials eject 750,000 people from Obamacare, claiming fraud

RFK Jr Assures Vaccine Skeptics That They Have a ‘Friend at the White House’

Kennedy Center delayed the repairs it now cites for its closure

FBI blindsided as hackers claim to steal data on ‘all employees’

Snipers and drones on his giant arch?

Who’s A ‘Communist’? Trump TV State News Channel

Unprecedented: Most Supreme Court Decisions Issued On ‘Shadow Docket’ 

Call for action on the Census 2030 plan

You may all have heard about a Federal Register Notice changing rules for the 2030 Census.

The proposed rules and a Preliminary Regulatory Impact Analysis can be found in the documents section of https://www.regulations.gov/document/USBC-2026-0628-0001

This is also where you can submit your comments and read others’ comments.

The biggest changes that might impact us all are:

  • Many residents are excluded from the count. The proposal only counts US citizens and Legal Permanent Residents
  • The proposal suggests that people should be counted where they spent most of the winter months
  • The proposal suggests not asking about race/ethnicity, but asks for comments on including a citizenship/legal status question

 Some of the potential impacts:

  • Funding inequities because of a mismatch between Census counts and numbers of people present
  • No census data on communities of color
  • Limited data for smaller communities (especially combined with the plans for a new disclosure avoidance system)
  • Lower quality population estimates and downstream impacts for survey controls, funding distributions, denominators for all kinds of rates, etc.
  • Loss of seats in the House of Representatives

A group of expert stakeholders created a website: Hands Off Our Census

There you can read all about the proposal, how you can comment, and many other resources.

MUSIC

Songs In The Key Of Life: The EP – Stevie Wonder

Dummy with a Wig on Top – Randy Rainbow

In An Autumn Garden by Toru Takemitsu 

The 1999 London West End production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! starring Hugh Jackman

The musical Annie in Korean

Come From Away: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert (2019)

You’ll Be Back from Hamilton –  Lemon Squeezy

Coverville 1594: The Chrissie Hynde/Pretenders Cover Story IV and 1595: Tributes for Duncan Sheik, Tim Curry, and Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory

Typewriter – Brandenburger Symphoniker

Rocket “88” – Jackie Brenston, sometimes cited as the ‘first’ rock ‘n roll record, from 1951, 75 years ago

Birdland – Quarantine Big Band Helsinki 

Favorite Songs By Favorite Artists (Series Four) #9: The Pogues 

Autumn Leaves – Nat King Cole

Peter Sprague Plays Good Vibrations featuring Leonard Patton

A Town With An Ocean View by Joe Hisaishi, a cue from Kiki’s Delivery Service

Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana, in honor of the 35th anniversary of the album Nevermind; also Smells Like Nirvana – Weird Al Yankovic

Footloose (dancing in the movies)

Songs Mark Evanier’s mom sang to him

Take My Breath Away – Berlin

K-Chuck Radio: What happened to Timothy?

Stuck With You – Huey Lewis and the News 

Rick Beato Finally Defeated Every Copyright Claim on His Channel (ft. LegalEagle

The Beatles UK vs. US Albums: The Compleat Chart

Sept. rambling: Murdering 60 Minutes

Baseball Walk Up Song Database

Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian, at the Natural History Museum. Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post via Getty Images

UN rights chief Volker Türk raises alarm over AI’s ‘existential’ risk to humanity

What students lose when they stop writing

“Murdering 60 Minutes” is what it would look like if “60 Minutes” covered what happened to itself after Bari Weiss took over. The film is available to watch for free on YouTube and at www.murdering60minutes.com.

It’s Not Just Flock. Police Can’t Be Trusted With Our Data

Gloria Steinem Dies at 92. She challenged sexist assumptions, helping women develop self-worth and gain a measure of equality at work, at home, and in society at large. Somewhere in the attic is my copy of the premiere issue of Ms. magazine.
Americans Agree on Almost Nothing. Except Data Centers. Three-fourths of Americans oppose them.

As A Teen, I Wrote A Famous Musician A Fan Letter. 23 Years After His Death, I Finally Got A Response.

Bob Mackie, Designer Who Bedazzled Carol Burnett and Cher, Dies at 87

It’s One of Our Greatest and Most Controversial Novels. How Should “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Be Taught?

He Was a Top Lawn Care Influencer on YouTube. Then Everything Went Haywire.

I Study Successful People. They Have One Habit in Common.  The habit is asking for help when you get stuck.

The Glare

The 92-Year-Old Mathematician and the Teenage Apprentice

Any Human Ever

To Protect and Swerve and All Price Tags Go To Heaven, and Denim Dresses Were the Old Black and How Hippos Swim:

Hmm…

‘Beware my power’: White House shares AI-generated video of FOTUS as Green Lantern

EPA Takes ‘Yet Another Sledgehammer’ to Clean Water Act

Vance lies through his teeth about regime’s military missteps

Hegseth vs. the Deep Pentagon

Dozens of Joint Staff members subject to polygraph tests in leak hunt

At $5.85 a Gallon, Diesel Price Hits All-Time High thanks to War on Iran

RFK Jr.’s vaccine lies finally catch up to him

Regime to rescind rule protecting old-growth forests. “The public has until 21 September to comment on the plan.”

Why did FOTUS order up 660 million pounds of mystery meat?

Russian Businessman Paid for DT Jr.’s Lavish Wedding After-Party

U.N. approves Equal Earth map in 164-1 vote as U.S. slams it as ideological

Lonnie G. Bunch III has announced his decision to depart as Smithsonian’s Secretary after 38 years of service to the institution. With a storied career dating back to the 1970s, Bunch leaves a remarkable legacy, most notably the founding of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which we visited in 2024. I heard him speak in 2019 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
MUSIC

Baseball Walk Up Song Database

You’re Not Alone – Mavis Staples

Canticle of Light by Akira Nishimura

Best Albums of 2026 (Third Quarter) Report

Brahms’ Academic Overture –  The Cleveland Orchestra

Coverville 1592: The Dolly Parton Tribute and 1593: The Bee Gees Cover Story V

Sunshine Boots – Johnson Mkhalali

Gumboots -Paul Simon featuring The Boyoyo Boys

Nightflyer – Alison Russell

Joan Osborne issued an album of 12 Bob Dylan covers circa 2017; she performed some of them live. Full Session – 8/31/2017 – Paste Studios – New York, NY

A Song For You – Donny Hathaway

Beautiful Dawn – The Wailin’ Jennys

Harvest Moon – Cassandra Wilson, jazz star, who died at 70, which reminds me of my late friend Donna

Peter Sprague Plays The Wind Cries Mary, featuring Lisa Hightower, and George, Tell It Like It Is, featuring Sinne Eeg

STAR TREK edition

Do You Miss Me Darlin’ – The Guess Who

This Time Tomorrow – Brandi Carlile

Higher Love – Steve Winwood

We Shall Be Known – MaMuse

Venus – Bananarama

Dopamine (Jamie xx Remix) – Robyn

Something To Love – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

August rambling: Guinnevere

A David Crosby song from the first CSN album

Maps and Images Show the Devastation in Nepal’s Flooding
What the Measles Betting Market Does Not Measure. Polymarket is currently running a $7.8 million betting option on the number of measles cases in the U.S. in 2026. It runs a detailed analysis of the bets. It does not measure the real impact of those numbers.
Texas became a powerful magnet for American Muslims seeking affordable homes, good schools, and thriving congregations before Islamophobia’s rise there.
Police Chief in Mississippi Regularly Used Racist Slurs, Private Texts  Reveal. Exchanges obtained by reporters show troubling messages sent by the chief of a Mississippi police department facing an uproar over the fatal shooting of a 1-year-old boy in June.
Flock Cameras. Canoodling Lawyers. How Much Surveillance Are We Comfortable With?
States Claim to Invest in “Humane” New Prisons — But Prisons Were Never Humane
A Manhattan-Sized Ice Island Just Broke Off Greenland
Fetal Personhood and Subscriptions: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
The biggest home shutout in 141 years
NFL eliminating Pro Bowl Games, but will still name Pro Bowlers
Sartorial observations from the Erie County Fair
Don’t Use This “Random” Password
The regime

The millstone of $40 trillion in national debt is a major contributor to the national affordability crisis. Economists Blame It on GOP Ineptitude and Tax Cuts for the Rich

The Average ACA Marketplace Deductible Grew by About $1,000 Per Person in 2026, With More Enrollees Shifting to Higher-Deductible Plans as Enhanced Tax Credits Expired. Marketplace Enrollment Could Fall to About 17.5 Million in 2026

The Pentagon Fired the Editor and Publisher of Stars and Stripes, which also claimed a Middle East correspondent. They are the Pentagon’s latest effort to diminish the news outlet’s editorial independence.
The regime is planning to remove the name of an aircraft carrier meant to honor a pioneering Black military hero, a report from CNN revealed.  The USS Doris Miller is currently under construction, but Navy leadership is reportedly discussing removing the name and possibly using FOTUS’s name on the ship instead.
Purge of Top Generals Leaves the Army Rudderless. The leadership vacuum comes as the Army is trying to adapt to a new kind of war dominated by deadly drones.
Tacky Superstore closes because the economy sucks for MAGA too
New album by Peter Sprague features Rebecca Jade

Peter Sprague Plays Guinnvere. The title track of the new album features Rebecca Jade, the first niece. Sprague: “In learning to play Guinnevere, I got a closer look into how they came up with such a unique sonic vibe. The main guitar part is played in a special ‘tuning’ that delivers gorgeous chords that aren’t available in standard tuning. I call them ‘magic chords,’ and it happens when most of the strings are not fretted and instead are ringing free. Mix that in with a few fretted notes that rub against the other notes in a good way — cluster chords as they’re known, and the whole sum sparkles in the air.  The Guinnevere recording is available at all of the streaming services, including: Spotify, Apple Music,  PS Online Store, and YouTube Music 

MORE MUSIC

I Do The Rock – Tim Curry. Tim Curry, Star of ‘Rocky Horror’ and Much More, Dies at 80

Johnny Angel – Shelley Fabares. Shelley Fabares, ‘Donna Reed Show’ Actress, Dies at 82. She also starred in Elvis Presley movies and the sitcom “Coach.”

Sharp Dressed Man – ZZ Top.  Frank Beard, Beardless Drummer for ZZ Top, Dies at 77
That’s All I Want From You – Jaye P. Morgan (1954). Mutual Admiration Society – Eddy Arnold & Jaye P. Morgan (a song from 1956 that I actually remember). Jaye P. Morgan, a Jack-Of-All-Trades Entertainer Who Was a Pop and TV Star, Dies at 94.
Favorite Songs By Favorite Artists (Series Four) #10: Camper Van Beethoven
Concerto for Marimba ”The Crossed Sonar of Dolphins” by Takatomi Nobunaga (b. 1971) 
Coverville 1590: The Ben Gibbard Cover Story II and 1591: The Tanya Donelly Cover Story
Japanese Festival Dances by Yasuji Kiyose
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – DEVO
K-Chuck Radio: Rare Pop Music from Western Australia
Until the Last Moment – Yanni, Live At The Acropolis, 25th Anniversary
Stairway To Heaven – Dolly Parton

July rambling: Lord of Misrule

Code for the People is a new documentary short about the fight for the open web.

April 13, 2025

Workplace “flexibility” isn’t

As Data Centers Sidestep Tribal Consultations, Tribal Nations Are Fighting Back

A gripping documentary about the most courageous, legendary clean water activist anywhere: Texas’ own ‘Hellcat’ Diane Wilson

The Disappearing Las Vegas Buffets Hold a Mirror to the American Soul

Civil war erupts between Disabled American Veterans and its local chapter over $39k bequest

Hiker trekked 10 miles to safety after immpaling himself on pole

Some of the US aid money which left Afghanistan over the peaks of the Hindu Kush would eventually return to the UK, finding an unlikely safe haven on the streets of London.

The case for year-round Standard Time

The Pan Am Clipper Endeavor Is Found After Over 70 Years

Students at the University of Florida Discovered a 400-Year-Old Intact Pot That Reveals Conflict Among Indigenous, Spanish and English Powers

The Oatmeal: Oracle Scars

Ray

Cheryl Bentyne shines a new light

The Fugitive: The greatest ending to a serialized TV drama

What @ Meant Before Email

The Salt Shaker

“I just enjoy the moment I’m in. For me, life is a whole experience, not just a series of isolated moments. It’s like submerging yourself into a warm bath rather than sticking your toe under the faucet.” – Alex Trebek

A Date with Destiny and A Hateful Glass of Wine and Wheel of Fortune… or Divorce? and The Pokémon That Got Banned for Something It Didn’t Do

Internet

The internet can belong to all of us. Code for the People is a new documentary short about the fight for the open web. Who built it, who’s trying to close it, and what you can do about it.

Directed by Bao Nguyen (Be Water, The Greatest Night in Pop, BTS: The Return) and featuring Matt Mullenweg, Linus Torvalds, Jensen Huang, and builders from around the world, the film is now streaming free at codeforthepeople.com.

Why everything seems to be getting worse

Google Is Censoring Reviews of ICE Detention Centers

The government at “work”

What blind Lord of Misrule keeps showing he can’t avoid wrack and ruin, leans hard on dumb Big Lies, and expects different outcomes?

Officials admit to canceling grants to states that did not vote for FOTUS

These Americans say they’d be disenfranchised by SAVE Act

What if he gave an election fraud speech and nobody came?

His version of sex ed: More teen pregnancies, please.

Slashing CDC food safety efforts

HHS Changes Two Vaccine Committee Charters

The number of measles cases in the U.S. has surpassed the record-breaking tally for all of 2025, with five more months of 2026 still to come; the worst year since 1991

He Orders Warnings Placed at ‘Inaccurate’ Smithsonian History Museum

Army scales back legal services for soldiers in disability evaluation process

Regime narrows Endangered Species Act protections by removing habitat destruction rule

Regime Taps Climate Science Critic to Oversee Flagship Report

Republicans Are Trying to Give Big Oil Immunity for Causing Climate Chaos

FOTUS BOMBS at WH DINNER as CROWD GOES SILENT!!!

VS.

The impacts of the 2021 expanded child tax credit on family employment, nutrition, and financial well-being

MUSIC

Fantasy for organ and orchestra by Atsutada Otaka

When You Wish Upon A Star– Voctave

WHCL’s reggae past: Dead At The Controls, circa 1983-1985

Home To Us -Paul McCartney with Ringo Starr

Chinese Satellite – Phoebe Bridgers

Chromatic Symphony “Maria-Magdalena” by Kosaku Yomada

Circling The Sun – Peter Sprague, featuring Allison Adams Tucker

Les Cactus – Jacques Dutronc

Holding Back The Years – Simply Red

Come On – the Rolling Stones

Blue Bayou – Linda Ronstadt

Build Me Up, Buttercup – Cynthia Lin and her All-Ukulele Band

Gloria – The Shadows Of Knight

There’ll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry) – Billy Ocean

Invisible Touch – Genesis

Heatwave – Phil Collins