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Thoroughly Unclean

47th US President Donald J Law Abider insists that Roger Clemens should be allowed into the Baseball Hall of Fame because allegations of his PED use remain unproven. 47th US President Donald J Due Process Respecter insists that Lisa Cook of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors resign her position due to thus far unproven allegations of mortgage fraud.  There's no need to waste time reconciling these two contradictory positions. They are perfectly consistent and expected considering the source. For small minds, it boils down to whom they like, and whom they dislike. President Doofus likes Clemens and dislikes Cook.  In addition to the obvious perils of electing a whiny, petulant, vindictive hammerhead to one of the world's most powerful positions, a staff of sycophantic buffoons has exposed a flaw in the American political system. Let Presidents hire more or less whoever they want emerged as the default standard decades ago, based on the not unreasonable notion that if voters...
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June Bugs Him

You think you've got problems? Imagine you're the richest man in the world. Sounds rough already, right? And yet, it gets worse.  First, you get into a tiff with your bestie, another petulant jerk with money and power, but you've got more money, and he's got more power, but neither you has enough of either to satisfy your boundless lust for validation and praise. Anyway, it's the usual stuff. You imply he's a sex offender, he threatens to cancel your government contracts, because it turns out he's the head of a government or something. You recant and try to make up, but it's never going to be the same as the good old days when the two of you bonded over dislike of immigrants. Unless they're rich.  Then, later the same month, your rocket ship explodes. This sucks because you keep talking about a human mission to Mars, a cold, dusty place without breathable air or potable water, but all you really need is a tree and one of those fridges with a tap, and...
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More To the World

For those living in North America and Europe, crises in Israel and Ukraine, and the political melodrama unfolding in the United States tend to suck up most of the news oxygen. As compelling as these stories are, the world doesn't revolve solely around three megalomaniacs in Moscow, Jerusalem, and Washington DC respectively.  Myanmar has been roiling since a military coup in early 2021. Despite the existence of a tenuous ceasefire, the junta conducted over 500 airstrikes between March 28 and May 30, killing 462 civilians, according to news agency Myanmar Now.  Remember Bangladesh? Once one of the world's poorest countries with a life expectancy under 30 years, Myanmar's neighbor to the northwest has witnessed a remarkable standard of living increase, with life expectancy now above 70, and a per capita GDP ahead of both India and Pakistan. These strides have further debunkerated the already questionable "overpopulation" theories of the past few decades. Managing lim...
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Two Nations, One Ignorance

As an immigrant to the United Kingdom, I have a message for the Reform Party: Try me. This applies to any other political party who interprets a few Reform victories around the country as an indicator to shift policy toward an anti-immigration bent. Suit yourselves, but don't pretend it's a risk-free approach.  During my childhood in the United States of America, I learned to embrace immigrants from around the world. Two little Cambodian boys showed me a hand-clapping game similar to Patty Cake. Only years later did I realize their family had probably fled the murderous regime of Pol Pot. The man who ran the recycling center came from Jamaica. On a visit to Boston, our shuttle driver hailed from Haiti. I attended school with students from West Germany, Brazil, France, Sweden, Mexico. In early adulthood, I worked alongside people from Laos, Niger, Pakistan, Morocco, Kenya, Hungary, Liberia, South Africa, India, Canada, just to name ten.  We benefit from interactions with other ...
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Straight Outta Low Trash

  YouTuber Pat Finnerty recently posted a video about a song that shouldn't exist. Country duo LoCash, formerly known as LoCash Cowboys, listened to Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely," a song written about the birth of his first child, and decided it was pretty good, but needed more pickup trucks. Early in 2025, this remarkable synergy produced "Isn't She Country?"  Finnerty's material, all of it, is exceptionally funny and insightful. Watch it. "Isn't She Country" is an abomination. To the credit of YouTube commenters, most of the feedback on the LoCash video is negative, with some calling it the worst song ever. Tragically, this isn't true for the same reason Kid Rock's "All Summer Long" isn't the worst song ever: there's still a good melody.  In about half an hour, Finnerty breaks down the creative bankruptcy of LoCash, as well as other recent interpolations by Machine Gun Kelly, Jake Owen, among others....
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Nickel For Your Knowledge

The world's fastest growing economy is at risk of plunging back into war. South Sudan, an independent nation for fewer than 15 years, and at relative peace for barely five, faces rising tensions after President Salva Kiir confined First Vice President Riek Machar to house arrest.  https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/african-union-mediators-arrive-south-sudan-try-rescue-peace-deal-2025-04-02/ What does it mean, then, to have the world's fastest growing economy? In this case, not very much. South Sudan's 2024 growth was driven primarily by oil revenues; the country remains, per person, one of the world's poorest. https://gfmag.com/data/economic-data/poorest-country-in-the-world/  Misleading growth numbers aside, the collapse of stability in South Sudan behooves nobody. New country, old problems.  Thousands of miles to the south, the much stabler nation of Botswana entered a new era with the election of Duma Boko in 2024. Since independence in 1966, the Botswana Democrati...
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The Political Party Like It's 1899

Nations of the world have yet to learn, and may never learn, not to put evil dullards in charge. Russia and Israel have twice elevated to power a pair of clearly sinister megalomaniacs, this despite relieving each of duty once, only to somehow allow them back into office. In Russia's case, it's possible Vladimir Putin was the guiding hand all along, that Dmitry Medvedev never wielded any real power. Israel, though, appeared to kick Benjamin Netanyahu to the curb around the turn of the century, subsequently electing multiple Prime Ministers of different political parties before deciding, apparently, they liked the jerk.  Not to be outdone, the United States of America has now twice handed the keys to somebody who not only never learned to drive, but also believes learning to do things is for suckers. The key to strong leadership is to be a weak, whiny liar who pretends to know everything.  Every relevant and influential figure within the current United States Government shares ...
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