Also, didn’t George Washington MANDATE inoculation of the Continental Army against smallpox. How woke was that?!

A quote comes to mind: By the toll of a billion deaths man has bought his birthright of the earth, and it is his against all comers; it would still be his were the Martians ten times as mighty as they are. For neither do men live nor die in vain. War of the Worlds, HG Wells. Except for these clowns…

Sounds good! I do the scapes (from those that have them). A treat!

A white corrugated metal raised bed holding green stalks and leaves of young garlic growing in brown soil. There is a wooden picket fence behind the bed.

In honor of #NationalGarlicDay2026, April 19, 2026, here is one of our garlic beds growing away. The cold winter had us worried but the garlic stalks finally appeared early in March!

From Ireland: Fluthered, stotious, langered.

Complying in advance. Same with NSF Social Sciences program

Apropos of nothing and the times we live in:
“…And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

A 1950s vintage Air Force jet fighter with yellow stripes situated on a circular concrete pad and supported by black metal poles. There is a granite memorial stone placed in front.

A granite memorial stone with the inscription “Dedicated to Major Rudolf Anderson Jr. U.S.A.F. Sept. 15, 1927 - Oct. 27, 1962 By the Citizens of Greenville State of South Carolina The United States of America In a period of great international stress he performed this duty of great responsibility with honor. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, and gave his life that America could proceed on a course toward peace without the threat of tyrants. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13” Flowers are to the left and right of the memorial stone.

F-86 Sabre jet aircraft memorial for Major Rudolf Anderson, the only US casualty of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, in Greenville, SC. His U-2 plane was shot down while surveilling the missile sites. He and his family were friends/neighbors of my wife’s mother’s family in Greenville.

The victory of the opposition in Hungary yesterday, like the Polish election in 2023, is a victory for democracy, not just in Europe but around the world.

Behold the enshittification of US government, society, and economy for the benefit of Trump-adjacent grifters!

Not a local, but I can recommend the exhibition of Australian Indigenous artists “The Stars We Do Not See” from Melbourne VIC that will be in Denver Art Museum by the time #ARVO2026 begins. Saw it in its last location at NGA in DC. Amazing, not to be missed!

And much of that alfalfa is also exported. Sending all that scarce water abroad!

Why Japan has such good railways - Works in Progress Magazine Japan's railways are the finest in the world. Other countries can copy its formula.

This is good

Langshaw | Why America needs birthright citizenship In his latest column, Langshaw defends the 14th Amendment as a declaration of America's identity.

This is a great piece by a Stanford undergrad. He wrote it after lecture last week. What a privilege it is to teach.

“The President calls birthright citizenship stupid…America is not foolish for honoring birthright citizenship. America is America because of it.”

stanforddaily.com/2026/04/07/a...

A painting, in circular tondo style, of a woman, on the left side, dressed in green and red shirt over a blue dress, with a white and red scarf on her head, surmounted by a halo, sits on an ornate chair. In her arms is a baby in an orange shirt. Both gaze at the painter. Another child, on the right, holding a small cross looks reverently at the others. Surrounded by a gold frame.

On this day, April 6 in 1520, the Italian Renaissance painter Raphael died at the young age of 37. The Madonna della Seggiola, in Pitti Palace, Florence, depicts a Tuscan peasant woman and her children as the Madonna and children. One my most favorite paintings I have ever seen!

Cruelty is the point

My mentor in my youth the great Irish ornithologist Oscar Merne, once was caught in a traffic jam at the canal in Dublin caused by an aggressive swan. He walked to the head of the jam, picked up the bird in the usual ‘swan-hold’, walked over to the water, and dropped it in. Made the papers next day!

The Next Coup Attempt And How to Stop It

We are seven months away from the most consequential midterm election in US history. Meanwhile, we are fighting a war. These are the structural conditions for a coup attempt in which a president tries to nullify elections and take permanent power as a dictator.
snyder.substack.com/p/the-next-c...

Plan to visit this summer, weather permitting!

2 yellow nodding flowers sit atop their stems with maculated long leaves, among fallen dead leaves.

Our go-to Trout Lily bank did not disappoint again this year

Trump Slashed Science Funding. Now the U.S. Could Face a Costly Brain Drain.

This isn’t a “could face” situation.

It’s a “are facing” situation. And brain drain will continue to happen as long as we undermine science in the US.

www.nytimes.com/2026/04/04/b...

I will say it again: American-style “Christians”= Matthew 23: 27-28

Matthew 23:27-28.

Brilliant! We’ve all met people like Lionel!

Then in the US at public transport stations you have the “Kiss and Ride”. Always brings a smile to our Irish visitors!

wow, Trump looking really rough in this one...

Maybe so, but you get in there on the one ticket! A PPP!

It’s called a beard. Modified feathers.

What about the Reagan library? It has a former presidential aircraft (B-707) as well as a former presidential helicopter.

Brave Sir Robin YouTube video by qwertt14

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZwu...