Been running hard the last few days, and it caught up with me Sunday. Didn’t get much done, other than a fair amount of reading. Finished Louis Bayard’s “The Pale Blue Eye” and started “Hotel Ukraine,” the final Renko novel by the recently departed Martin Cruz Smith. Soon I’ll go downstairs and make…something for dinner. Can’t decide between chicken-sesame noodles or a New York strip. What would you guys choose? My decision center appears to have gone on strike.
But I’m using the instruction I used to give Kate when she was potty-training: Listen to your body. And mine, right now, is saying Chill.
It also told me to stop reading the news after I made my appalled way through this almost unbelievable NYT piece (gift link), the top of which I’ll paste because FOR FUCK SAKE:
Hours after West Point pulled its offer to have her teach cadets, Jen Easterly posted a short essay in which she laid out what happened to her and what it meant for the country.
“This isn’t about me,” she wrote last week. “This is about something larger.”
Over three decades, Ms. Easterly, 57, had compiled an impeccable résumé as a West Point graduate, a Rhodes Scholar and an Afghanistan war veteran. She had served as a key aide on President George W. Bush’s National Security Council and led a critical cybersecurity agency under President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Now she was blackballed — in her own words, “a casualty of casually manufactured outrage that drowned out the quiet labor of truth and the steady pulse of integrity.”
The source of the casual outrage arrayed against her was Laura Loomer, a right-wing agitator and self-described “Islamophobe,” who has become a powerful and largely unaccountable enforcer in President Trump’s Washington.
This. This is why I can barely look the few known MAGAts in my life in the eye anymore, for fear I might start frothing at the mouth about BALLROOMS and HEGSETH and ROSE GARDEN WTF and JEANINE PIRRO and now booting a woman who has literally given her impressive life to the service of the United States, on the word of a lunatic who was, as one Bluesky user pointed out, banned for life from Uber and Lyft for harassing the Muslim drivers. If I am triggered, well then I am triggered. I’m tipping into despair. Mission accomplished.
At least we’re given some comic relief, in that the president so overweight and out of shape that he drives his fucking golf carts onto the greens of his many courses is the one who is resurrecting the President’s Physical Fitness Test. A million brains lit up the grid with the same thought: You first.
Look at the photo at that last link (it’s a free one). There’s President Tubby, doing the same mommy-lookit-my-pitcher-I-drew thing of holding up the signed executive order (because that’s the only way he knows how to get anything done), while his younger staff of toadies and ass-kissers chuckle in the background. No doubt every one is also thinking: You First. Also note that the one is “WWE Chief Creative Officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque,” no doubt fresh from paying condolences to Hulk Hogan’s family, after the Hulkster, allegedly a picture of strength and power, croaked at the relatively young age of 71. Heart attack, surely not at ALL related to the various drugs he gobbled like candy throughout his adult life.
Such fine role models. Loomer, who isn’t 35 yet, has had enough plastic surgery to resemble the Joker, and young men are gobbling dozens of dodgy supplements to achieve the Chad-like look they think will get women of a higher class than Loomer to fuck them. If that isn’t the Trump administration in a nutshell, I don’t know what is.
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Oh, and let’s not forget Bobby Jr., another one almost certainly juicing. Well, may his shrunken testicles be a testament to his dedication.
Finally, really New York Times?! Here’s another paragraph in the Loomer/Easterly story:
And it raises big questions about the ways power and influence are currently wielded in Washington; what it means to be a patriot; and whether loyalty to Mr. Trump or any sitting president should be a prerequisite for government service.
RAISES QUESTIONS? JFC, no wonder I just want to read light crime fiction these days.
Here’s one lighter item, something new for the Nall/Derringer Co-Prosperity Sphere Back 40. Did you know petunias can come up volunteer? I did not, but several little patches have popped up in the cutest places, like at the foot of our river birch:
It’s kind of like a Bambi forest. I like it.
Anyway, the new week is about to begin. Let’s hope lighting strikes someone who richly deserves it. Oh, and P.S. I’m making the steak. Turned out I didn’t have any peanut butter in the house.
Deborah said on August 3, 2025 at 5:33 pm
I commented in the last thread from the previous nn.c post but when when I finished typing and hit submit, I saw that a newer nn.c post was up. So I’m repeating my comment from there which was about my prior comment ending about the snake line in NM:
Sorry, I should have said climate change is making the snake line higher. Warmer temps obviously are making higher altitudes warmer too, which makes it more comfortable for animals/reptiles in more southern areas to move north. We’ve noticed that with desert rats too. Creepy.
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NancyF said on August 3, 2025 at 7:36 pm
How are they planning to enforce the physical fitness test in the absence of a Department of Education?
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Kristen said on August 3, 2025 at 8:04 pm
They’ll either do absolutely nothing with the Presidential Fitness Test data or they’ll manipulate it and claim that Croaky’s genius ideas are working!
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Brandon said on August 3, 2025 at 8:36 pm
The ‘Triple H’ stood for Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_H#World_Wrestling_Federation_/_Entertainment_/_WWE_(1995%E2%80%93present)
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Deborah said on August 3, 2025 at 10:03 pm
Trump thought the job numbers were off so he fired the head of the department that keeps track of those numbers. Then today he says that he’s lowered drug prices by 1500%. Isn’t he a genius with numbers?
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Heather said on August 4, 2025 at 1:19 am
Apparently Texas Democratic lawmakers have fled to Illinois to prevent the state legislature from redistricting in a way that would favor Republicans even more. Gov. Abbott is threatening to have them arrested and replaced. This is what Balkanization looks like.
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David C said on August 4, 2025 at 5:58 am
We just paid $394 for Mary’s Parkinson’s prescription. We’ll eventually bump up against the $2100 annual limit, passed by Joe without any help from the Rs. Thanks for nothing Trump.
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Jeff Gill said on August 4, 2025 at 7:07 am
Driving back and forth to Indiana on I-70, I listen to lots of podcasts (on 1.25 speed), but default to satellite radio often, a mix of 40s Junction, The Bridge, & CNN. The ads on CNN are different than the ones you get on television.
Recently, I heard Charlie Kirk, he of Turning Point USA fame, friend of Loomer, doing a full ad voiceover for a product that seems to be a bag of what’s probably factory seconds of oregano or kale and sweet potatoes you add to your dog’s kibble, which helps make even the dreaded “processed dry dog food” a health feast for canines. Then there’s a rush of words in an undertone by another voice clarifying that he’s not a veterinarian, that none of this has been tested or shown to be effective, etc.
We’re down to DOG additives. As we are expected to honor steroid addled, plastic surgery disfigured characters as role models for healthy living. Who gave the script writing gig for this era to Carl Hiaasen? (Make sure to read his last three or four. I won’t call them a corrective to the headlines, but they certainly relate to them.)
Edit: I found part of the disclaimer online: “If your pet has a medical condition, consult your Veterinarian before use. Use only as directed. Dr. Dennis Black is a Naturopathic Doctor and not licensed to practice human or veterinary medicine in any state.”
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Suzanne said on August 4, 2025 at 9:34 am
One of the many things in life I will never understand is why so many are willing to spend untold amounts of money to contribute to the billions of dollars that supplement companies rake in every year for untested stuff that is supposed to make you healthy but bitch and moan about spending $30 on a prescription that has been tested and tested. “Big Pharma doesn’t want to cure [insert disease or condition here] because they just want to make money off of keeping us sick!” But pay $50 for a small vial of essential oils or a colon cleanse kit? Not a problem!
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Deborah said on August 4, 2025 at 10:25 am
After graduating from the Lutheran college, a lot of my classmates supplemented their meager teacher salaries by selling supplements that were from one of those giant pyramid schemes. Some of them did so well selling the supplements that they gave up teaching and had a bunch of gullible underlings working for them. Church members were their main customer base. Somewhere I read years ago that those supplement pyramid companies preyed on religious people because they figured if you believed in the virgin birth and turning water into wine etc, you’d believe anything. My former in-laws bought that crap for years and raved about how good it was.
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DavidC said on August 4, 2025 at 11:35 am
My aunt and uncle were early investors in a ponzi scheme started by a guy they met through their church. They were making something like 8% a month before it was taken down. When they unwound, it they had to pay back thousands they had already spent. They’re still pissed at Obama because the guy who started it told them he was about to hit it big when it was stopped and it was stopped by Obama’s DOJ.
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Icarus said on August 4, 2025 at 12:35 pm
Ms. Loomer, a podcaster and persistent social media presence, has run for Congress, but never served in government. Senior White House officials, who view her as unmanageable and often toxic, have blocked her from serving in the Trump administration.
a quantum of good news.
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Dexter Friend said on August 4, 2025 at 1:12 pm
The grey ghoul stated how appreciative he is of Cheryl, who fills up the empty spaces in his life. Credit the following to Gail Bennington of XM’s The Bennington Show, who just said how nice of him to thank her for 11 years of marital pegging.
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Jessica W said on August 4, 2025 at 6:31 pm
My niece Mary Elizabeth who works in the fraud department of a big bank says that these things are called “affinity frauds” because they exploit what the fraudster and the victims share and the trust advantage of being in the same affinity group. They’re very common according to Mary Elizabeth, but most don’t get too large.
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Deborah said on August 4, 2025 at 7:53 pm
The high was 89º today but the amazing thing to me was the humidity was only 7%. That’s one of the lowest I’ve ever experienced in Santa Fe. I mean I’d rather have that than high humidity but with wind too it’s kind of dangerous. My hands are so dry my skin feels like it shrunk a few glove sizes. I keep slathering on lotion and drinking lots of water.
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Julie Robinson said on August 4, 2025 at 8:59 pm
It’s still 95° here, but going down to 77 overnight so we’re excited about that. 75% humidity but my hands are still dry. If I lived in New Mexico I’d dry up like a tumbleweed and blow away.
Has anyone here been tested for Lipoprotein(a)? The cardiologist thinks D’s heart troubles may be caused by genetics, which could be shown by this test. I found out Medicare doesn’t cover it, but online Labcorp says it’s only $49, so I’m going to call around to confirm that. I’m getting an education in cardiology.
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alex said on August 4, 2025 at 9:49 pm
Julie, I saw the recent news about Lipoprotein(a) and I want to get checked out as I have hereditary high cholesterol that’s refractory to diet and exercise and family histories as well.
As for affinity frauds, we have a local financial advisor who was writing off-the-wall “guest columns” advancing what I interpreted to be international Jewish conspiracy theories. The paper where these were published, having fallen so low as to rely on such content, ultimately folded. He also frequents various smoke-n-mirrors megachurches on Sunday mornings while his TV infomercials play to the ignoscenti who expect to find their golden ticket in bed rather than the nave or narthex. That’s one punchable motherfucker. I get constant junk mail from him inviting me to “free” dinners at the Ruth’s Chris in this podunk where they probably serve more live ones than paying customers.
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Julie Robinson said on August 4, 2025 at 10:09 pm
I get at least one of those every day, sometimes two. Usually they’re for a steak house, which shows for sure it’s from a list they bought, because I don’t even like steak. Listening to someone prattle bullshit is even lower on my list. Obviously they get enough fools to make it worth sending them out, which is sad.
Curiously, they always come addressed to me, not my husband.
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Mark P said on August 4, 2025 at 11:53 pm
Deborah, about 25 years ago I spent a few weeks in the summer in New Mexico. The inside of my nose dried out so much it cracked and bled. It would scab over, then the scab would come off and it would crack and bleed again. Ever since then I have to keep petroleum jelly around to use inside my nose to keep it from bothering me.
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Deborah said on August 5, 2025 at 4:06 am
Mark P, that always happens to me the first week I’m back in NM. That and getting used to the altitude, we’re at 7,200 ft. The first week my nose is bloody and I’m dragging ass tired. Somehow I adjust. I always have dry eyes, even in Chicago. I use eye drops that my ophthalmologist says I can use 4 times a day, it’s over the counter.
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ROGirl said on August 5, 2025 at 6:02 am
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/new-york-times-style-guide-substitutions-for-the-president-violated-the-constitution
I get unsolicited dinner invitations from investment planners all the time, for Ruth’s Chris and other fancy schmancy restaurants.
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Jeff Gill said on August 5, 2025 at 7:40 am
A big thing experienced trek leaders at Philmont, which is in northeast New Mexico on the other side of the Sangre de Cristo range from Taos, tell new adults to prepare for: nose bleeds. People come with ultralight gear and lots of blister defense material, and get baffled by a kid having chronic nosebleeds to where sometimes they have to come “off the trail” to recover. Low humidity plus high altitude leads for some to find out they have tiny blood vessels in their sinuses that never gave them a problem back in Ohio.
That super low humidity is part of how the Dragon Bravo fire complex got so big and dangerous; still going weeks after it torched most of the North Rim (sob, sniff). They’ve kept it off of Jacob Lake Inn & Kaibab Lodge so far, but that whole region of southern Utah & northern Arizona is going to have a tourism crisis for a few years.
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Julie Robinson said on August 5, 2025 at 9:14 am
Our son was particularly prone to nosebleeds as a lad, and we found a few things that helped him. Getting enough vitamin C, using a saline spray through the day, and Ayr saline gel at night. Note that I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV.
D is on anticoagulants after the heart surgery and if he blows his nose too hard he gets a bleed. I’ve already given him the saline spray but he doesn’t enjoy using it, so it may be a long road.
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Suzanne said on August 5, 2025 at 9:40 am
The latest Trumpian grift:
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/04/nx-s1-5492557/state-department-visa-applicants-bond
“The State Department is proposing requiring applicants for business and tourist visas to post a bond of up to $15,000 to enter the United States…”
The countries involved have yet to be named, probably to give the State Dept time to shake down their leaders.
Good-bye to the tourism industry!
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JodiP said on August 5, 2025 at 12:25 pm
I finally canceled my subscriptions to the NYT and WaPo. They do some good stuff but that paragraph Nancy quoted is a great example of their crappy dilution of our current situation.
With cuts to public radio and TV the news situation is dire.
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susan said on August 5, 2025 at 1:13 pm
Jodi, I subscribe to The Guardian US version. It’s pretty good for news, and doesn’t suck up to Orange Menace or his posse.
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Dexter Friend said on August 5, 2025 at 3:33 pm
Most of you travel by air much more than I, but I know US aviation is broken, in need of a strong leader to begin fixing it.
So the current leader is pig-tailing as head of NASA now, and has proclaimed the USA will have a nuclear reactor on THE MOON !! in 4 years or so…supposed to be used as a way-station-jumping off base for Mars bound craft.
For the record, I have always been against spending funds on foolish space exploration when our planet is burning and drowning at the same time. Life on Mars by humans like us? Why would anybody want to live on fucking Mars?
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Sherri said on August 5, 2025 at 4:27 pm
Nobody is going to live on Mars. Maybe, humans might go to Mars, but living there is not going to happen in any reasonable time frame, despite what Elon Musk might say. Too many unsolved problems, the biggest of which is exposure to lethal radiation due to the lack of atmosphere. The soil is also toxic.
So, theoretically you could build underground environments to live in, but you’d still be dependent on resupply missions from earth, which take months, have limited launch windows, and can fail.
Other solutions, like re-establishing a magnetic field on Mars to allow an atmosphere to build, and terraforming the planet, are way beyond current capabilities and incredibly energy intensive.
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jim said on August 5, 2025 at 4:41 pm
Sherri and Dexter: the only caveat is nuclear fusion research. IF it ever becomes viable to produce we can emigrate to the Moon and Mars while fixing Earth issues at the same time. Still hoping.
On a fun note, saw 25(!) cormorants today on my morning hike.
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Brandon said on August 5, 2025 at 6:46 pm
So the current leader is pig-tailing as head of NASA now, and has proclaimed the USA will have a nuclear reactor on THE MOON !! in 4 years or so…supposed to be used as a way-station-jumping off base for Mars bound craft.
I heard about that yesterday, and thought it would elicit comment here much sooner. From early last year: NASA’s Fission Surface Power Project Energizes Lunar Exploration
The timetable here is less ambitious than Duffy’s.
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tajalli said on August 5, 2025 at 8:47 pm
We’d all get more bang for our bucks (re-)reading Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars Trilogy than hoping Frump and Busk will establish human colonies on Mars.
I’m making Alex’s skillet chicken tonight – in the last throes while I type.
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David C said on August 6, 2025 at 6:18 am
Lately, they’ve had trouble landing probes the size of refrigerators on the moon. Good luck landing a nuclear reactor. The moon’s gravity is notoriously lumpy. The Apollo LMs managed to stick the landing every time because the astronauts took over every time.
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alex said on August 6, 2025 at 9:01 am
Tajalli, is that the one with the caramelized onions? I’m eager to do that one again, so thanks for reminding me of it.
Happy to gift it once again:
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022068-skillet-chicken-with-mushrooms-and-caramelized-onions?unlocked_article_code=1.cE8.HjxZ.hH9ABWxauOcP&smid=share-url
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Mark P said on August 6, 2025 at 10:09 am
Talking about colonizing Mars is just more distraction. And saying we should be worrying about fixing Earth is just more pipe dreaming. The current regime is moving backwards on that, intending to roll back CO2 emission standards and deactivating climate monitoring satellites. The only reason to investigate Mars is scientific curiosity, and we have already demonstrated incredible success with remote investigations. Musk may be sincere, or as sincere as he can be, about his reasons for colonizing Mars, but he also stands to profit greatly by the effort (Surprise!). And he doesn’t plan to go himself. I don’t know what a realistic estimate of the total cost of one mission to Mars would be, but you know all those billions of dollars don’t leave Earth, they end up in someone’s pockets right here.
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David C said on August 6, 2025 at 10:51 am
The problem with Musk and Mars is the problem most tech bros have. They read science fiction and forget the fiction part. They think everything can be fixed with magical sciency stuff. It’s pretty much their religion and they all want to be our god who we have to revere and fear.
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tajalli said on August 6, 2025 at 11:00 am
Alex, yes indeed! As I was enjoying my efforts last evening, it popped into mind that chicken livers or cubes of calf liver would also work well in this recipe.
This time I used older mushrooms I’d neglected – turns out very flavorful.
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Sherri said on August 6, 2025 at 11:45 am
The way to tell the US isn’t serious about going to Mars, regardless of what is announced, is that Trump, aided by DOGE, is destroying academic science. Maybe Musk truly believes that AI is going to replace all of academic science in the next few years, but he’s a ketamine-addled huckster who has to keep the marks buying stock in Tesla and investors plowing money in whatever crazy thing he says for all the plates to keep spinning.
It’s not just health-related sciences that have been hit, it’s all sciences. Trump’s NSF slashed the overhead rate on grants, in addition to their keyword slashing. We’re losing a generation of scientists.
China is more likely to go to Mars than the US, thanks to Musk and Trump gutting US capabilities.
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Mark P said on August 6, 2025 at 6:00 pm
Musk might really believe he’s going to sell AI to the government to replace all the fired workers. That’s part of the plan to destroy Medicare and push everyone into for-profit Medicare Advantage plans. They plan to institute requirements for prior authorization for certain Medicare procedures in six states, and use AI to determine whether to authorize them, as part of a test. I have no doubt that this will be extended to all states.
I really can’t figure out what the Trump regime’s ultimate plan is. Does he really want to destroy the government and, by the by, the entire country? Does he want to turn us into a dysfunctional Russia clone? Is the expectation that the oligarchs will rule the country after the entire functional bureaucracy is destroyed?
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