The Friday Link for 8/22/25

Hi all.  Still taking a break from the Worst Thing Trump Did. My kids go off to college next week, and as I said, I'm trying to spend as much time with them as I can before I become an empty nester. 

But it's not like there aren't a lot of bad things going on right now.  Trump is ordering the miltiary into US cities, he ordered the DOJ to raid the home and office of a poltical rival today (and the DOJ eagerly obliged), he's making up fake mortagage fraud crimes to go after other poltical enemies, he is still rounding up people off the street, he's trying to find a way to throw out the 2026 election, he's actively helping genocide in Palestine, prices are skyrocketing for most Americans, school and healthcare are going to be destroyed, most of the world hates us, we're all goign to be a lot sicker, the Ag sector is on the verge of collapse, they're literelly taking the money from the poor and giving it to the rich, people are starving to death, racism is a main tentpole ideology for this Adminsitration, and every good thing about this country is being ground to a pulp.  

Yep, dark days indeed.  

There are a lot of little things that add context to what exactly is going on in this country.

I have posted the Anti-Chef multiple times.  He's a quirky cook who tackles complicated recipes, and over the years, he has become a pretty good cook himself.  What's funny is even though he clearly knows what he is going, and has all the tools one needs to be a great cook (RIP Silver Fox), he still makes an absolute mess in the kitchen.  He's relatable.

He's also Canadian.  A month plus ago, he announced he was leaving New York City. He didn't explain exactly why until this video came out 12 days ago, explaining why he is moving back to Canada.  In one of the nicest ways possible, he basically points to the current political climate here as a main reason (but not the only reason) he is leaving. 

Watch for yourself.

He won't say it directly, but it seems like Trump drove him out of the USA.

He did set up shop in Toronto, and he already has his first cooking video out, where he compares chicken and waffle recipes from noted chef Thomas Keller and Snoop Dogg...YES, that Snoop Dogg! 

I think the Snoop version looks great! 

Finally tonight, another Animated bit from Make Some Noise. 

Please be safe out there.  PLEASE stay up to date on your vaccinations.  

Have a good weekend.

The Friday Link for 8/15/25

Hi all.

You may be wondering why I haven't done the Worst Thing Trump Did in a week.  First of all, I'm exhausted by this Administration.  There is SO MUCH HORRIBLE!!!  The damage done by this Administration may never get fixed; that's how bad Trump is. I needed to take some time away from a daily slap to the face.

Also, I am about to become an empty nester. My youngest daughter heads off to college in a few weeks, and I am trying to absorb every minute I am allowed to have with her.  

I eventually will start it back up, but not today.

For you tonight, one video, a Mystery Science Theater Classic, Gamera Vs. Guiron! Enjoy.

Have a wonderful weekend and make sure to stay up to date on your vaccinations! 

The Friday Link for 8/8/25

Howdy all!

Let's start off on Broadway! Well, in the movie version at least.

The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis is currently running 'Cabaret.' Their presentation (I saw it two weeks ago) is superb, and unbelievably on point for what is happening in this country today. 

'Cabaret' is not a happy musical. By the time you get to the end of it, it's quite depressing. It basically talks about life in Berlin at a cabaret nightclub as the Weimar Republic dies and the Nazis rise to power.  

What's crazy about the relevance to what is going on today is how the Guthrie must have decided 2 years ago to put on 'Cabaret', not understanding what a flashpoint it'd be for Trump's America, nearly mimicking what we are seeing going on in the US with our own eyes. 

Here is the original film version of Willkommen from 'Cabaret,' featuring Joel Gray and Liza Minnelli, both of whom won Oscars for their roles. 

Speaking of Broadway, why not enjoy a song from 'Chicago' too? Here is the Cell Block Tango, featuring the lyrics. 

Next up is a great video from Biblical scholar Dan McClellan.  There is a real concerted effort from right-wing MAGA Christians to make the Bible all Trump, all the time.  It seems being faced with MAGA policies being downright evil, the religious hacks want to make sure no one starts thinking Jesus was about love, compassion, and caring for the less needy, only HATE, HATE, HATE! 

This ends up being a pretty epic smackdown. 

And finally tonight, it has been a while since a movie trailer made me tear up.  This one did.  

I will go see The Choral. 

Have a great weekend, and please make sure to stay vaccinated! 

I want you alive!  I want you to be happy. 

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 8/7/25

Let's talk about 401(k)s, the employer-sponsored, defined-contribution, personal pension savings account using pre-tax money.  It is a fairly popular investment option for a lot of people, and although there's some risk, it's not nearly as dangerous as picking investments individually.  It's usually a good option for employers and employees.

But maybe not anymore.

One back story note:  The Republican Mantra, which has been folded into MAGA, is that they want to take all the money taxpayers pooled for certain programs and safety net options (NASA, public education, Social Security, the Post Office) and give it to the wealthy.  That's it.  Kill something like Medicare, give all the money to the wealthy, and then accuse the people dying of not working hard enough.  They're cold-hearted bastards.

There is a lot of money in 401(k)s, and the Trump Administration might have discovered a way to drain those accounts and get that money into the hands of the ultra wealthy. 

Trump signed an executive order to open up 401(k)s to private equity, real estate, and cryptocurrencies.

It's that last one that might be the vehicle to drain the 401(k)s.  I'm not a fan of cryptocurrency.  It's WAY too much like a Russian mob Ponzi Scheme for me to take seriously.  For God's sake, there is a story out of some cryptocurrency meme coin douches throwing sex toys onto the floors during WNBA games, promoting the meme coin named after the sex toy.  So far, this disgusting stunt has raised the currency by 300% and, eventually, the owners of the meme coin will sell all their coins and watch the coin lose all of its value, screwing over the parade of idiots who bought it after watching a sex toy hit the floor at a basketball game. It's a grift. And should not be taken seriously.

But Trump LOVES it, because he can manipulate the markets and make himself billions. He wants it in the 401(k)s so that he can eventually run the price up, cash out, and watch America's workforce wonder what happened to their retirement account.

It's basically dildos throwing dildos. 

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 8/6/25

Apparently, JD Vance's "team" ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to "fix a river."  

Vance, taking a family vacation, had the Little Miami River levels raised so that he and his family could have a more enjoyable time. What they did was regulate the outflow of Caesar Creek Lake, which in turn raised the river level.

Vance's team insists this was to make sure the water levels were safe for the Secret Service Detail that travels with the VP, but sources say the primary concern was to make sure the river had perfect kayaking conditions for the couch humper.

And indeed, US Geological data shows the river height rose sharply and then receded, in conjunction with Vance's trip.

He exploited public infrastructure for his own personal usage.

This is B-rate Bond villain crap. 

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 8/5/25

Yesterday was a freaking cavalcade of insanity!

From Trump screaming at the press corps from on top of the White House.

To the same Administration that just cut healthcare benefits for the sick and food aid for the hungry, announcing they're going to build a nuclear reactor on the moon (WTF?!?).  Considering the US no longer has any government rockets, this will apparently be a space fuel station for private billionaires.

To the Ag Secretary, tripling down on the idea that sick, disabled, and elderly people on Medicaid should be forced into the fields to pick crops, back-breaking, strenuous work, to keep their healthcare.

But let's go with Brain Worm Magee!

The Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., cut 500 million in funding for the development of mRNA vaccines.  In total, he halted 22 projects, most of which were targeting respiratory viruses like influenza and COVID.  Brain Worm lied.  He said the vaccines don't "perform well against viruses that infect the upper respiratory track" (they do), and that the vaccines actually prolong pandemics (a laughable made-up piece of buffoonery). 

mRNA vaccines have FIFTY YEARS of research and development, a track record of success.  They have been proven to train your body to fight viruses and trigger immunity.  They have been so successful that they're currently being developed to potentially treat cancer...CANCER! They're working on a cancer vaccine, and Magee just pulled the plug on it...and a lot of cancer patients. 

It's such a bad decision that Trump's first Surgeon General Jerome Adams tore into RFK, Jr. "...this move is going to cost lives!" He then called out Brian Worm's false standard that unless every respiratory disease is brought under control by a vaccine, the vaccine is useless. 

It's so clear that RFK Jr. is just making this all up as he goes! My guess is there's going to be a suppliment he starts to insist it the real option for healthy living, a suppliment that he gets a cut from, and when a quarter of the population is eventually dead, we'll discover he and his whole family have EVERY vaccine, followed by him insititing he "never was against people getting vaccines."

The good news is I'm not sure where his pardon would even begin.  You can't pardon someone for being a stupid dumb ass. 

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 8/4/25

For the record, the Confederates were the villain.  They seceded from the Union and murdered hundreds of thousands of American citizens, so that the wealthiest white Southerners could keep black people as slaves.

And yet, Trump shows us he would have been rooting for the South during the Civil War.

The Trump Administration has ordered the statue of Confederate General Albert Pike to be reinstalled in Washington, DC.  

Pike's statue was a long point of contention, with people wanting it removed in the 1990s.  Finally, in 2020, the citizens of the city took matters into their own hands and ripped the statue down.  I do not condone violence and vandalism, but I sure as heck wouldn't be trying to get the statue put back up.

And Pike was a horrible general.  Go look for yourself, but he was bad. The Freemasons had requested the statue be built as Pike was a longtime leader of their organization (tells you about them), but the deal was that he had to be portrayed in civilian clothes, which he was.  Regardless, this would be like having a statue of Himmler installed in the middle of New York City, in civilian clothes, because he was a huge fan of Broadway.

Confederates suck, Nazis suck, Trump sucks.

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 8/3/25

Remember when Republicans were up in arms at the completely falsified lie "Hunter Biden is selling access to his father, the President"? Remember how Republicans, with veins popping on the beet-red foreheads, were screaming that the mere appearance of someone buying access to the President, or being rewarded with access, is a failure to our country, and that "President Biden should resign(!)"?

Remember the entire Republican Party screaming that?

Funny, their standards seemed to have shifted slightly. 

Trump basically has a "BRIBE ME" sign up on the White House lawn. He doesn't even hide his pay-for-access or pay-for-approval schemes. He just held up the Paramount/Skydance merger for a payoff (and the firing of Colbert). There are many entities, from universities to law firms to corporations, whom he openly says, "Pay up or else!"

But I know Republicans will say "that's the cost of doing business, and that isn't necessarily screaming 'Bribe Me!"

No, for that, a story came to light yesterday.  Through MAGA Inc., the Trump Super-Pac that funds his political machine, people are outright sending him money for access and appointments to government positions.  In the first 6 months of 2025, they've raked in 177 million dollars. The Crypto industry alone gave him 45 million.  You make a donation, you get private one-on-one time with Trump.  

Multiple donors have even gotten plum administration appointments, including that knucklehead who was nominated to be the ambassador to Singapore and whom embarrassed himself greatly when he couldn't answer basic questions about Singapore at his confirmation hearing.

And those same Republicans who insisted that their going after President Biden had NOTHING to do with politics, only "maintianing an ethical standard for our government" are either scouring their friend groups to offer a bribe to Trump (hoping for a finders fee), or suddenly VERY quiet about what everyone sees going on in front of our faces. 

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 8/2/25

In what was easily predictable, a leaked memo from the Department of Homeland Security gave some details on the Trump Administration's plans to expand the use of the US military on American soil.

The memo talks about how the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense are coordinating with each other for the expansion of the use of the military, under the argument of immigration enforcement. One person described this expansion as the largest use of US military personnel on US soil since the Japanese internment camps of WWII.

There is another very ugly reason for this.  Right now, there is no way in hell the Republicans are going to hold the US House and Senate in 2026.  The last thing the Trump Administration wants is to give the Democrats the opportunity to openly investigate the Administration.  

If the drunk Pete Hegseth waits until August of next year to start placing armed forces across the country, everyone would know what it's for.  If they start posting military across the country today, in the biggest US cities, under the argument of immigration enforcement, then the troops are in place if the Trump Administration calls for a delay in the 2026 election ("We're going to wait until people's emotions have calmed down and then have an election.").  They might also call for state results to be thrown out, and the military will be there to deal with the masses furious over the overthrow of Democracy.

This is not good. 

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 8/1/25

Threatening a nuclear war in a desperate attempt to get Jeffery Epstein and bad economic news off the front page is always gold, but let's look at that economic news.

Yesterday, they announced that the July job numbers failed to meet expectations, with 73,000 jobs created versus the estimate of 109,000.  That's not great, but it's not fatal.  What was far more damning was the revised job numbers for May and June. 

Now, for the record, I had insisted that the job numbers for May and June were not right when they came out.  There seemed to be genuine shock and awe that they had come in at 144,000 for May and 147,000 for June. Considering how many Federal Government firings were happening alone, those numbers seemed exceedingly pollyanna. I doubted the numbers were legit.

They weren't.  The stunning revisions on the numbers, May down 125,000 to 19,000 total, and June down 133,000 to 14,000 total, point to Trump manipulating data to push a narrative, preventing the truth from coming out, that his economic plans are quickly souring the economy. His tariffs are weighing heavily on prices and hiring.  These are the worst months for hiring since he was in office during the pandemic in 2020. 

Trump did what all dictators do when faced with bad news: he fired the people who delivered the bad news.  Claiming with ZERO evidence that Commissioner of Labor Statistics Erika McEntarfer had falsified the job numbers to make him look bad, Trump fired her and said he wanted a new commissioner who would tell him the economic news he wanted to hear. 

It's pretty clear to me that somehow McEntarfer had posted the correct jobs data, CORRECTING THE FAKE JOBS DATA THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAD MANIPULATED TO MAKE HIM SEEM COMPETENT.  The fake numbers were the original numbers, and Trump is really angry about the truth coming out. 

But it also means no sane person would trust the job numbers that come out of this Administration from this point forward. TRUMP HAS DEMANDED THE NUMBERS BE DOCTORED! Already, many economic experts have stated that August jobs numbers will probably be worse than July's.  This means it will be easy to see the lies being presented as facts.

It also should be noted that a country falsifying jobs data to push a narrative not only creates a recession/depression free fall when the eventual truth comes out, but it also is a prime factor in what is called hyperinflation, when consumer prices skyrocket overnight, pricing the consumer out, devaluing the currency, and stifling spending. 

Fall is going to be an economic nightmare for this country. 

The Saturday Link for 8/2/25

Okay, I missed the Friday Link.  Guilty as charged. 

This year has been a freaking nightmare.  I think yesterday morning, when the truth came out about the jobs numbers in May and June, that they were falsely inflated to make Trump's economic policy look better than it was, I broke down. When the revisions for May and June came out with July's paltry numbers, someone didn't get the 'Lie for Trump' memo, and the truth came out. The whole firing of the numbers person has FAR more to do with trying to cover up the Trump Administration's initial lies when the job numbers came out, versus correcting any wrongs they insist they were never part of.

I'd had it. That was before Trump decided to start moving nuclear subs around to avoid the Epstein Files/bad job number talk.  I took the day and gladly did not look back.

This has been a really tough week for a lot of people.  I've had to become a counselor to a number of stressed-out friends over the last year and requests for me to tell people 'it's going to be all good in the future' skyrocket this week.  I had already taken a break from the WTTD threads, but I feel the need to get back to work.

Trump wants us to be depressed and submissive.  That's the only way he works. I took a day, and now here we go.

The first video is fascinating.  Hank Green's science-heavy discussions on certain topics are great, and I highly recommend following his channel. This week he talks about the evolutionary changes fish had to make to get on dry land, and it really is remarkable. Of the many evolutions that happened, he has one which he is positive was the most important. 

Another thing he does is explain how these evolutions happened, where usually some type of cell in a fish's body reinvented itself in a bizarre way to allow for a new adaptation.  See for yourself. 

Also, funny but with science, True Facts comes at us with the story of how crickets became the loud ones in the animal kingdom! 

Finally, some hope for you. In dark times, good people rise.  Texas State Rep. James Talarico came out swinging.  

As weakling Democrats cower and throw transgender people under the bus, insisting we should allow their rights to be diminished because 70% think they participate in sports is wrong, Talarico gives the response that should be the first thing out of our mouths when the HATE RIGHT attacks.  

You have to click on the link for this one. It's quick and it's worth it. 

https://youtube.com/shorts/i-FvSqPsMkA?si=VN-OrHdGYzJR3uGE

Have a great rest of the weekend!