A Roll Of The Dice

The Israeli elections has come u[p with a basic tie…..and now they scramble to find a coalition so they can be the power…..

Israel’s highest-turnout election in more than 25 years appears to have produced one thing above all: gridlock. Exit polls show opposition parties holding a slim edge over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc, but neither camp seems to have the 61-seat majority in the 120-seat Knesset needed to govern, the New York Times reports. Netanyahu’s Likud is projected to finish slightly ahead of the party of Gadi Eisenkot, the ex-military chief who emerged as Netanyahu’s main challenger. Most Israeli news channels project 50 seats for the current coalition, but Channel 14, described by the Times of Israel as “staunchly pro-government,” puts the total at 60.

  • Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute think tank, says Netanyahu’s bloc, which previously held 68 seats, appears to have suffered a “significant defeat,” the AP reports. “Netanyahu doesn’t have a realistic path for forming a coalition with the current parties,” Plesner says.
  • Yair Golan, leader of the opposition bloc Democrats, expected to win 9 seats, declared victory for the bloc Tuesday night, saying Israel has “fired Netanyahu and Likud.” Arab parties are on track for a record showing of up to 18 seats, making them potential kingmakers—and a flashpoint. Eisenkot and some allies have resisted depending on their backing, while Netanyahu has accused Arab voters of “trying to steal the elections,” though officials say there’s no sign of major irregularities.

Early results from Tuesday’s election in Israel still show no bloc with a clear path to power, reports the New York Times. With more than 75% of the ballots counted by early Wednesday afternoon local time, per the AP’s tally, neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing alliance nor Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition camp appears able to govern alone, leaving both eyeing uneasy partnerships. Eisenkot has ruled out Netanyahu and balked at relying on Arab parties, even as those latter factions look set to win up to 18 of the Knesset’s 120 seats. Some in Netanyahu’s camp are floating a unity government with centrists, while Bibi could also gamble on a second election if coalition talks collapse. Both leaders nonetheless claimed momentum in late-night victory-style speeches. Meanwhile, Politico notes that Americans seem to not care much about this race.

But with no clear winner and around a dozen parties expected to win seats in the Knesset, it could be weeks or even months before a ruling coalition emerges, the AP reports. Analysts are already floating a fraught possibility: an uneasy unity government between Netanyahu and Eisenkot, the Times reports.

Like I said the scramble is on with ass kissing and probably bribes of some sort to build a coalition….

I will it be the murderer BiBi again or that other guy that few of us have ever heard of in daily reports.

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

A Sign Of The Times

Let’s talk about the creeping cancer of ignorance and stupidity….about 8 years ago I wrote about this cancerous growth on our society….

In The Age Of The “Idiotarian”

Sadly this disease has grown exponentially every since about 2009.

There are some that defend the ignorant voter….

Earlier this week I defended media horse-race coverage; this time I’m going to defend…ignorant, and even flat-out stupid, voters.

This comes up because we’re getting voter-on-the-street interviews – not to mention the regular New York Times focus groups – all of which reveals that many voters know very little about lots of things. And in the social media age, everyone gets to insult those voters; I saw one reaction that just said: ”Please just don’t vote.”

To which I’ll respond: Please do.

Not because I disagree about how uninformed voters can be. They certainly are.

So are informed voters, actually. No one in the US is a policy expert in all the things that their national, state, and various local elected officials will have to deal with, or all the policy positions candidates for all those offices hold. It’s simply not possible. There’s way, way too much. And that’s just candidate elections; there are also ballot measures. It’s a lot.

That we feel otherwise, and beat up on voters who don’t measure up, is an unfortunate consequence of US political culture, which values individualism rather than taking group cues. But democracy doesn’t depend on well-informed voters!

There are a couple of ways into this. One is that we expect too much of elections. After all, while we can’t be expert in every policy area, it doesn’t really matter because a vote is incapable of transmitting that much information anyway – all it really does is to say that we prefer this candidate to the other one(s). Not why. It’s true that various people including the candidates may interpret our votes as saying “end the war” or “implement my farm price support program” or “interact with constituents more than what the previous officeholder did,” but the vote itself is silent on that.

https://goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/what-about-stupid-ignorant-voters

For me there is no excuse for being an ignorant voter….but it does take time away from Instagram and god forbid that would ruin one’s day.

Sadly the uninformed make up a very large group of voters….they vote on emotional issues and not what is best for the nation….and thusly we have the era in which we live now.

This coming election will prove interesting in several ways….will the stupid win the day or will common sense win out?

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Will The Centrist Restore Our Faith?

The easy answer is….Not a Chance!

It is less than a month away from the midterm election and one of the major players are the so-called ‘centrists’ (not a fan) and I have made my thoughts known in the past…..

What To Expect From Centrists

I believe centrists are the reason this country went down the drain when abandoned our belief in the Constitution….and it goes further back than Donny’s politics antics.

The so-called ‘center’ has not brought about all this bi-partisanship that they embrace…..so why keep doing the same thing over and over?  (Einstein had the answer)

The easy answer here is….MONEY!

As long as we have centrists and cash ruling the roost in the government then we are truly and deservedly so…..DOOMED!

+You really should pay more attention to your government than the idiots on Twitter (I refuse to call it “X”) our country could be so much more than it is.

But then I ask do we really want democracy?

Do We Really Want Democracy?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“I Got Your Back”

Pistol Pete has lots to answer for and an impeachment process began but was abruptly stop by that Speaker of the House to save Petey until after the election….the House gets adjourned.

Lawmakers in the House are cutting out early for campaign season—and leaving a politically awkward impeachment vote behind. GOP leaders scrapped Thursday’s voting schedule, sending members home Wednesday night for the final stretch before the November midterms and pushing action on Republican Rep. Thomas Massie’s bid to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth until after Election Day, NBC News reports

Massie had forced the issue by filing his impeachment resolution as “privileged,” which would have required a vote this week. Instead, Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed the move as “a publicity stunt by someone who wants attention,” vowed it would be quickly killed when the House returns Nov. 9, and defended Hegseth’s handling of the six-month war with Iran. Massie, a frequent antagonist of GOP leaders and President Trump on Iran policy, accuses Hegseth of being a continuing “threat to the Constitution” and unfit for office. “And there it is. Just as I predicted. They’re canceling Congress tomorrow to avoid the vote on IMPEACHING” Hegseth, Massie said on X.

Johnson, under pressure to protect a narrow majority, said it was time for Republicans to hit the campaign trail. “The House has done its work,” he said, per the Hill. “It’s time for our members to go home to their districts and make their case to the American people, to go and explain all of the great things we’ve done.” The Senate, meanwhile, will remain in session for the next three weeks, reports NBC.

7 weeks?

So nothing will get done until after the election….with so many problems facing this country the House takes a powder so the members can go home and collect their bribes….my bad….donations from their wealthy handlers.

Johnson is doing this to protect another of the so-called christian members of the admin from having to answer for all their unwise decisions and antics that have nothing to do with the security of this country.

These are the people’s representatives and the saddest bunch of clowns on the planet.

The sad part is most of these corrupt tools will be re-elected.

This is an interview that Rep. Massie gave to Responsible Statecraft….

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/massie-impeachment-hegseth/

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Like a Thief In The Night

With the midterms looming large there are people that think he will somehow steal the election from the voters….my daughter being one of those people.

I have read many blogs and comments that are predicting a Donny move to eliminate the vote altogether.

Of course the GOP is on Donny’s side for they have wanted for decades to control who votes for who…..in other words through gaming the system they have made it so the candidate can pick his/her voters instead of the other way around.

Let’s play with a couple of scenarios….

First let’s say he manipulates the vote in his favor….what can we as citizans do?

It is January 3, 2027. The Democrats, fresh off their sweeping victory in the November elections, are set to take the majority in the House of Representatives.

All that remains is for the House clerk to compile a list of new members from the certified winners of the November races. It is an administrative technicality, a rote task that has gone off largely without incident every two years since 1789.

At least it did before Donald Trump turned the Republican Party into an election-denying cult. Now it has become the latest tool in the GOP arsenal to overturn election losses. Following the Democrats’ triumph in November, House Speaker Mike Johnson replaced the nonpartisan House clerk with a MAGA loyalist. Citing allegations of election fraud, the new clerk announces that he will not accept the documents certifying Democratic wins in key races. As a result, the members-elect cannot take their seats.

The Democratic National Committee unleashes an army of lawyers to challenge the move. But when the matter arrives before the Supreme Court, the Roberts majority, invoking the “political question doctrine,” rules that it cannot interfere in the internal operations of another branch.

And just like that, the Republicans have stolen the midterms.

…

Freedom-loving people need to plan ahead to counter any Trumpian coup. Fortunately, there is an effective blueprint that we can follow.

https://newrepublic.com/article/216179/non-violent-rebellion-stolen-election

Non-violent rebellion?

Personally I do not think the people have it in their DNA for any mobilization to that extent…..I want to be proven wrong.

Second Donny attempts to use the military to do his bidding against the will of the people….

Recently, I discussed how Donald Trump’s associates have been urging him to do anything necessary to maintain power. Anything. This includes even preemptively claiming the midterm elections will be tainted — and declaring martial law. Let’s pause to let that sink in.

I’ve been thinking about our military and what they are, and are not, prepared to do to protect — or undermine — democracy, and I’ve had some illuminating discussions with a range of individuals, some with military backgrounds, including very high-level retired officers.

The role of the military under a deeply flawed, unhinged commander in chief is very much on their minds and being intensively explored, albeit carefully — and quietly.

Trump’s desire to turn the military into his personal strike force is no secret. It’s likely not coincidental that Secretary of Defense (“War”) Pete Hegseth just announced that he plans to fire one out of every five top commanding officers in the military. At a time when we are at war — in fact, losing a war we should never have started, through no fault of the commanding officers about to get the ax.

That is in addition to an alarming development I previously reported: top Trump officials moving onto military bases.

Why is that alarming? Because it’s part of a broader movement to militarize the government, and turn the country’s armed services into the private army of a dictator. Hegseth has of course played a central role.

Will the Military Help Trump End Democracy in America — or Help Save It?

Now I ask….is this scenario a possibility?

Pistol Pete has been getting rid of any officers that will not bow to the will of Donny….so will those career offices then follow the Constitution and their oath or will they side with Donny and throw the election into the White House?

Is it a possibility?

I say yes it is a good one at that….but once again I hope to be proven wrong….but I get a terrible smell coming from the Pentagon.

Please let me know what you thoughts are on these scenarios.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

What Do Dems Support?

The clock is ticking down to the midterm elections and now is a good time to ask this question.

So far all their chest thumping has been about impeachment…..and how will that benefit you or I?

We know what the Repubs stand for….the same as they have for decades…..kill entitlements, de-regulate business, so on and with Donny their dreams are coming true.

Now ask yourself….what do Dems actually stand for?

I have been asking this question for years but it seems to be more important these days as we close in on the mid terms…..

The DSA is making in-roads and the corporate Dems are trying as hard as the GOP to throw manure at the voters and the DSA candidates…one idiot recently said….

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), writing that the DSA “are not Democrats.”

“The Democrats have a big tent,” Gottheimer wrote. “That’s our strength. We embrace a range of ideas — but there’s no room for anti-American bomb-throwers who oppose our ideas, values, & leaders.”

There you go!

What are those wide ranging ideas?

What are those ever important values?

My guess Gottheimer gets substantial funding from AIPAC….if so his comment is bullshit.

Do Dems support universal health care?

Do Dems support the continuing wars of aggression?

The MAGA morons are trying desperately to resurrect the Red Scare…..but will it work?

McGovern, Dem from Mass says….“I don’t think people are going to be fooled by another Red Scare,” McGovern said. “They can try to resuscitate the ghost of Joe McCarthy. But the bottom line is that’s because they don’t want to talk about issues of affordability.”

Good point….but when are the Dems truly talking about the issues that you and I think are important?

I have been asking these question for a very long time and even blogged about it ten years ago…

What’s A ‘Democrat’ Anymore?

I realize I have used this post before…..but it still is an unanswered question in desperate need of a damn answer.

All indicators point to a sort of “Blue Wave” if Congress does fall under the Dem spell…..what will that mean?

Please riddle me this….Does anyone have an accurate answer?  If so please share.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Trouble In Paradise?

I think not!

The people of this country have had enough of BiBi and Israel….their blood lust has proven to be substantial and it is not being met with approval….

Polling published Wednesday revealed that a majority of voters in six key swing states that are expected to decide who controls the Senate after next month’s midterm elections want their senators to block the transfer of US bombs to Israel as it wages a genocidal war on Gaza.

YouGov queried more than 3,200 voters in Georgia, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas for the Institute of Middle East Understanding (IMEU) Policy Project poll. A majority of respondents in all six states said they approve of “Senate measures to block the transfer of bombs to Israel.” Approval ranged from 51% in North Carolina to 65% in Maine. In no state did the percentage of people who disagreed with blocking bomb transfers to Israel exceed 31%.

Respondents were also asked if they “approve or disapprove of cutting $3.3 billion in taxpayer-funded weapons to Israel.” In all six states, approval of cutting armed aid far exceeded disapproval. Two states—Georgia and Ohio—had a margin of 22%, while the gap between those who support and oppose cutting off weapons transfers to Israel was widest in Maine, at 40 percentage points.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/swing-state-voters-israel-aid

With this disapproval translate to a change in policy?

I am not convinced.

Then there is the money machine known as AIPAC….they have seen their support for politicians as something bad and they have changed direction mid-elections….

The pro-Israel political organization AIPAC, or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, announced on Wednesday that it will no longer issue endorsements, make direct PAC contributions or earmark funds for candidates.

A longtime influential lobbying group, AIPAC started its direct political involvement five years ago. Since then, particularly this midterm election cycle, AIPAC has been met with mounting resistance. The group has faced criticism over its stances on various issues, including the wars in Gaza and Iran.

Candidates endorsed by AIPAC have also faced tough opposition from both the political right and the political left for accepting the organization’s support and financial contributions as public opinion on the U.S. relationship with Israel has shifted. In order to tame the criticism, some AIPAC-endorsed candidates said they won’t accept any money from the organization.

AIPAC first announced the changes in a letter to members, stating “the challenges we are confronting will continue to grow in the years ahead.” In the letter, AIPAC said it wouldn’t stop funneling money to candidates that align with the group’s mission by mobilizing individual donors.

“We will prioritize increasing direct, organized contributions from individual Americans to candidates—expanding upon our current efforts—and maximizing the emerging political fundraising tools,” the letter said.

https://www.npr.org/2026/10/21/nx-s1-6011531/aipac-campaign-contributions-israel-democrats

They have changed their actions because they are extremely unpopular and AIPAC is just trying to head off any problems with elected candidates that have been bribed.

This will not change a thing….they will still own politicians and get their agenda passed but from behind a false front.

Then there is the popularity, or lack there of, of BiBi….

Tens of thousands of Israelis poured into central Tel Aviv on Saturday night, turning the streets into a loud voice vote on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s candidacy just three days before national elections. The rally, led by the October Council—formed by families of those killed or abducted in the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023—pressed for a state commission of inquiry into the security failures that preceded the assault and the subsequent Gaza war, per AFP. Leaders of the four main opposition parties, including chief rival Gadi Eisenkot, joined the march from Rabin Square to Hostages Square, long a hub for protests over captives held in Gaza.

Although all of the hostages or their remains eventually were released, Netanyahu has been accused of delaying deals to free them sooner, per the AP. Polls suggest neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition is on track for a clear parliamentary majority, per AFP, even as rivals slam the incumbent’s talk of a new “digital economy” as a path toward international isolation. Naama Bitterman, 18, said at the rally that the anti-Netanyahu bloc she supports will be able to improve Israel’s international standing—which she said has been harmed by war in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran and increasing violence in the West Bank. “I think that if we win—and we are going to win—we can change how other people in the entire world see us,” the first-time voter said.

Could this possibly be the end of the criminal BiBi?

Or does he have a Trump-esque trick up his sleeve to stay in power?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Bastard Is At It Again

Warning:  This is an emotional issue and may use some language that some may find offensive.  If the use of raunchy words is offensive then I suggest that you move on this post will offend.

It is not bad enough that BiBi and the Gestapo-like IDF is committing genocide in Gaza and for many years terrorized and allowed those fucking criminals that some call ‘settlers’, the curly hair machine gun totting orthodox Jews…..these pricks have attacked individuals just because they can and destroyed crops of Palestinians and BiBi looked the other way.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened a major military offensive against the West Bank four days before he stands for re-election after two Israeli soldiers were killed today in Hebron.

Consortium News yesterday predicted that Palestinians killing an Israeli on the West Bank could trigger an all-out war against the Palestinian Authority.

It is still unclear what led to the Israeli soldiers being killed after a clash with what early reports call Palestinian “gunmen.” The men, identified by the Israelis as Firas and Hamouda al-Jaaba, did not appear to be members of the PA security forces.

Israel Has Its Pretext for Total War on West Bank

Something is rotten in the Land of Milk and Honey….

And now he wants to expand his pathetic little anemic empire by making the West Bank a major target.

Israel is threatening “total war” against the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

With just days to go before the Israeli general election on Oct. 27, Israel’s prime minister and defense minister have threatened a full-scale attack if an Israel settler or soldier is killed by a member of the Palestinian security forces.

Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened all-out war against the West Bank at a government security meeting on Oct. 6 held to discuss lessons learned from Oct. 7, 2023. He said that the IDF was waiting for PA security personnel and associated groups to “turn their guns” against Israeli settlers and IDF troops in the West Bank.

Katz said:

“In such a case, war will be declared against the Palestinian Authority, and the IDF will launch a comprehensive offensive in accordance with an organized plan that was formulated and approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and by me, according to the principles outlined for the IDF.”

Katz added:

“The campaign will be short and powerful, and will include the use of ground and air forces, and the use of special means, the targeting and expulsion of senior officials, the destruction of weapons and military equipment, and the extensive evacuation of residents and destruction of terrorist infrastructure inside the cities and in all refugee camps in Judea and Samaria[West Bank] , in accordance with the Gaza and Lebanon model, alongside reinforcing forces and defending the Israeli communities.”

Israel Threatens Total War on the West Bank

The truly sad part is that Donny and the US will allow this asshole a free rein to destroy and murder innocents in the West Bank.

Bibi has been allowing some minor actions in the region but now they will use this false flag to go into a more total destruction mode to make room for more of those worthless lame ass settlers.

Some one needs to put a boot on the neck of BiBi and send this son of a bitch to the ICC for trial.

How long will the world look the other way while Israel fucks up the Middle East?

A petty player that hides behind Donny’s skirt and wins approval for fucking up the region and causing the deaths of countless civilians.

Fuck BiBi!  Fuck Israel!  And fuck any country that allows this to continue!

Did I make my point?

***I am sorry if you were offended and you were warned ….so if so it is on you not me***

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Last Week At The Sh*t Show–25Oct26

The “Show” returns after a week hiatus and nothing has really changed….nothing at all….with the exception of my temperament.

We begin this week’s edition with his, Donny’s, propensity to rename things ….this time it is a state…

President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Monday and seemingly floated a new name for a U.S. state after 176 years of being in the U.S.

In his post, the president ranted that New Mexico should “immediately” change its name to New America. “We are not Mexico, we are the United States of America!” he wrote on Truth Social.

“The name would add great value and prestige to the State!” Trump said, adding without explanation that home values and incomes would rise. “And you would be even prouder while saluting our beautiful American Flag! Maybe even the Crooked Elections that New Mexico is known for would become honest again!“

https://www.themirror.com/news/politics/donald-trump-new-mexico-rename-2076000

I know I am an old fart and sort of old-fashion but should that not be left up to the people of New Mexico?

Now he has a new idea for thew White House….it was not enough to rip up the rose garden and destroy the East Wing for his gaudy pathetic ballroom now he wants to punish the press corps and turn the press room into a swimming pool….

Back in the day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had an indoor White House pool meant to ease the pain in his polio-ravaged legs. The swimming pool was later covered over in the Nixon years to make way for the White House press pool, but President Trump has an eye on returning the James S. Brady Briefing Room to its former glory and evicting the media from the White House. As the New York Times reports, that once-theoretical idea has morphed into a serious internal push to relocate reporters across the street to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Former press secretary Karoline Leavitt was urged by Trump to make it her “last legacy,” and allies have circulated mock-ups of the briefing room restored to the FDR era. Trump recently amplified the concept on Truth Social, contrasting a photo of the current briefing room labeled “Fake News” with a glitzy “FDR Pool.”

Reporter Maggie Haberman and her Times colleagues frame the move as more than a simple renovation: It would be hard for future presidents to reverse and would cap an escalating campaign against major outlets, from revoked credentials and lawsuits to Justice Department inquiries and FBI subpoenas. “All options remain on the table,” White House communications director Steven Cheung says, “and we will make an announcement when appropriate.” The article lays out who is driving the effort and what it could mean for press access. Read the full piece in the New York Times.

It would be nice if he spent as much time on the economy and repairing the damage he has already done and less time re-arranging the White House to his tacky taste.

With the coming election Vance has shown his ignorance and his lack of tact….

As Republicans struggle to convince Americans to vote for the party whose policies have made workers’ lives more difficult and expensive, they’ve increasingly invoked the tried-and-true bogeyman of socialism—a word for which Vice President JD Vance offered a bizarrely inaccurate definition during a Thursday press conference.

Asked at the White House how he defines socialism “personally” and why he thinks “socialist candidates are popping up everywhere across the country,” Vance replied, “Oh man, you know, I guess, it’s honestly, it’s a hard term to define these days.”

“Because very often socialism, you know, classically, you would think socialism is about prioritizing workers, and yet in reality I guarantee that most of the self-described socialists running across the United States of America are going to howl about this announcement today, which is prioritizing American workers over foreign workers,” the vice president said, referring to President Donald Trump’s new actions targeting alleged fraud and abuse in the H-1B/J-1 visa system.

“So I don’t know what the term means anymore,” Vance added. “I think in reality what it actually means in the American context is that you want to replace American workers with foreign workers and you want boys to play in girls’ sports. That’s what unites the socialists that I see running across the United States of America today.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/jd-vance-defines-socialism

Geez!  This guy is a moron!

Here’s one for the batcrap crazy file…..

A televangelist has revealed a premonition of what may happen to people who don’t vote in the next election.

Kenneth Copeland, 89, is the founder of Eagle Mountain International Church Inc. (EMIC) in Texas, but is best known for his televised sermons and for being part of the evangelical executive advisory board that Donald Trump assembled during his campaign for the presidency.

During a recent broadcast, he issued a stark warning for those that aren’t planning to vote in the next election, presumably for Trump – and how they’ll spend the rest of eternity.

Copeland claimed: “I saw this in the spirit – literally. Judgment day, and Jesus stood there and he said, ‘those of you that didn’t vote, I put you in that nation and you didn’t vote. So you will hear or you didn’t pray and vote like I told you to.

“‘You will listen to the names of all the babies that are here and never got any life. And it’ll take a while, because there’s over 65 million of them, but you are gonna listen to every one of them and you are gonna be held responsible for their death.'”

https://vt.co/news/us/televangelist-vision-people-who-didnt-vote-trump-judgment-day

This guy is an irritating twat like most of these types of parasites.

These ‘christians’ are starting to grit on my nerves.

Here is one for the believe it or not file….we all knew that Lindsey Graham was never married well does this explain why?

A explosive documentary put out by the Young Turks and Swamp Watch Studios alleges that the late senator Lindsey Graham paid off several male escorts for sex, one of whom was 17 at the time.

“My name is Kelvin, and I had sex with Lindsey Graham when I was 17,” one of the escorts says in the clip from The CLOSETocracy, shared by The Young Turks on Thursday.

The film features “firsthand accounts from three men who allege paid sexual encounters with the late Sen. Lindsey Graham” and “examines the contrast between his alleged private conduct and his longstanding political opposition to LGBTQ+ rights,” according to a press release put out by The Young Turks.

https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/breaking-lindsey-graham-paid-off-3-male-escorts-including-one-who-was-17-at-the-time-explosive-documentary-alleges/

Is this true?  Or is it just a smear campaign before an election?

You decide.

That Was The Week That Was

To try an soften the disgusting news I will follow up with a humorous video….animals make me smile….enjoy….

 

I hope everyone has a marvelous Sunday and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

IST Saturday News Dump–24Oct26

I am back with the weekly “Dump” and the world continues and the news as well.

Local–Finally we have had some cool nights and cooler days so the A/C has not been on for over a week….I can only hope this lasts….still not rain and it is drier than one would think….and it does not look good for any moisture any time soon.

Personal–Finally it has been decided by my doctors that the second shadow on my left lung is scar tissue from the radiation….not cancer!

 

I will begin as usual with some health news….

An obscure fungus that targets the brain is no longer staying so obscure. A CDC report says cases of Cladophialophora bantiana, a black, melanin-containing mold, have climbed sharply in recent years, and it’s not just hitting people with compromised immune systems, per Fox News. About half of known infections have been in otherwise healthy patients, and the fatality rate hovers between 60% and 70%, even with aggressive treatment. “Where people get it from and why it primarily goes to the brain ‘remain a little bit of a mystery,'” according to Dr. Joshua Lieberman, who helped put together the CDC’s latest report, per MedPage Today.

Data from a University of Washington lab shows detections almost quadrupled between 2023 and 2025, with cases identified in 21 states and Washington, DC, and the highest numbers in California, Florida, Texas, and Pennsylvania. The fungus is thought to enter via inhalation or skin wounds, then travels to the brain, where it typically appears as a hard-to-diagnose abscess. The CDC is pushing for national case reporting and urging doctors to consider fungal causes when evaluating patients’ brains.

Oh great first it was a brain eating bug and now a fungus….please do not ask what next….

Dementia is an ever growing health problem….

If current trends hold, the world is heading toward roughly 25 million new dementia cases every year by the year 2050. That’s more than double the 11.4 million people estimated to have developed the condition in 2023, according to a new analysis in JAMA Neurology that tracked more than 38,000 adults across 18 nations, reports USA Today. The spike is largely tied to aging populations, but it won’t hit evenly: Women are developing dementia at higher rates than men, and people in low- and middle-income countries see far more new cases than those in wealthier nations—13.6 vs. 8.3 per 1,000 people, respectively.

Researchers say nearly half of cases may be linked to modifiable factors such as inactivity, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, smoking, and social isolation, making prevention a central focus. Meanwhile, a geriatrician reveals the No. 1 “modifiable” risk factor for dementia, reports Today: hearing loss.

A recent study also ties napping to dementia risk, per US News & World Report.

My mind is all that keeps working in good order (well most of the time) and I worry that dementia may sneak up on me.

I love my coffee and now there is so weird news….

Margaret Ellison is 64 and has made coffee the same way every morning for over forty years. Open the bag, pour a handful of beans into the grinder, press the button. Two cups, sometimes three.

That morning she opened a fresh bag and poured a handful of beans out next to the grinder. On one of them she noticed something white — a tiny pale speck right in the crease of the bean.

A woman walked into my lab with a paper bag of coffee and two split beans wrapped in a napkin. I expected to tell her it was mould or a roasting defect. It was larvae. Then I put a sample of the ground coffee from her grinder under the microscope. I found eggs.

So we kept going. We bought coffee everywhere people actually get it — supermarket bags, a busy café, a local roaster, a bulk office supply, a gas-station machine, a premium online order. We split the whole beans and examined the grounds. Twenty-two of thirty-one samples came back positive for larvae or parasite eggs.

— But the coffee is ground. Surely the grinder destroys everything?

— The grinder destroys the larvae, yes. It turns them into the same brown powder as the bean, so you never see them. It does not destroy the eggs. A parasite egg is a fraction of the size of a single particle of ground coffee. The blades simply do not hit something that small. The eggs go through the grinder whole and end up mixed into the grounds.

That is the cruel part of it. Grinding does not make the coffee safer — it only removes the evidence. A bean with larvae in it you can at least see. The eggs, after grinding, nobody will ever see.

https://ustrustgo.com/click.php?

I am not sure that this is a ‘real’ story or some fake crap…..

This is for all my tea drinkers….

You might want to let the kettle cool a bit before pouring your next cup of tea. A study tracking nearly 500,000 adults in China for an average of nine years found that drinking tea at least three times a week was linked to an 11% lower overall risk of vascular disease, including stroke and heart attack, with the risk of ischaemic stroke falling by 37% and cerebrovascular disease by 19%, according to the study published Wednesday in the Journal of Internal Medicine. But temperature mattered: tea described as burning hot was tied to a 16% higher risk of vascular disease, per Euronews, a finding that follows research linking very hot drinks to esophageal cancer.

Though the lowest estimated risk was observed with six to eight cups of tea per day (based on self-reported, non-standardized measurements), per the Independent, researchers don’t recommend drinking that much, not least because of the potential caffeine consumption. They view moderately strong, non-scalding tea as best; black tea showed the strongest association, likely due to the anti-inflammatory theaflavins it contains, followed by green. All tea contains natural compounds called polyphenols, which act as powerful antioxidants and may protect the cells lining blood vessels and help arteries expand, an outside expert tells CNN. Researchers say the public can boost heart health by pairing tea consumption with exercise and not smoking.

Just a little FYI….

The big question and a new theory….since humans have been walking upright the question they ask is ‘why do we exist’?

For years, scientists have been troubled by a central question: how matter was able to win out over antimatter, after the Big Bang. Current theories suggest that they each should have annihilated each other after a huge explosion, leaving a universe made up of pure energy.

That clearly did not happen, given that we are here. But physicists have never been able to explain exactly why.

Now, researchers say that a clue might have been hiding in a neutrino, one of the universe’s lightest particles. A neglected relative of those particles – called a ‘decoupled’ heavy neutrino – could have helped matter to survive as the universe was coming into existence.

https://www.independent.co.uk/space/universe-exist-why-neutrino-study-b3070108.html

That does it for me on this Saturday…..I hope everyone has a great day and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”