VA pauses billions in cuts lauded by Musk The cuts would affect everything from cancer care to the ability to assess toxic exposure.

"Contracts to calibrate radiation detection equipment, to support cancer care and veterans cemetery management, among others were also targeted..."

Just restating that for a sec here:
-- calibrating radiation detection equipment
-- cancer care
-- veterans cemetaries
www.politico.com/news/2025/02...

Don’t Blame Zelensky The Ukrainian president isn’t the problem.

The NYT article blaming Zelensky for annoying Trump was wrongheaded and I thought it needed a response.

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

this dude was being sarcastic...it wasn't his message...it was like a retweet, or whatever the hell they're called here

Ah yes, focusing on the issues that impact regular Americans.

Trump administration firing hundreds of FAA employees despite four deadly crashes in four weeks President moves to cut Federal Aviation Administration workforce, including safety workers, as critics say public could be endangered

“The Trump administration has begun firing hundreds of employees at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), including some who maintain critical air traffic control infrastructure, despite four deadly crashes since inauguration day.”

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Books mentioning slavery, civil rights removed from shelves at Fort Campbell schools - ClarksvilleNow.com At an elementary school at Fort Campbell, home of the 101st Airborne Division, librarians are hard at work scrubbing the shelves for books that contain references to slavery, the civil rights movement...

This is where we are now: An elementary school at Fort Campbell has removed all books from its library that so much as *allude* to slavery or the civil rights movement.

The wholesale erasure of history in real time.

1/29: First plane crash in 16 years in DC
1/31: Crash in Philly
2/5: Delta flight struck in Seattle
2/6: Flight wrecks in Alaska
2/10: Crash in Scottsdale
2/12: Military jet crashes in San Diego
2/16: Crash in Covington, GA

7 crashes since the WH congratulated itself for “restoring aviation safety”

Republican lawmakers in Utah are advancing a bill that would allow schools to fly swastika flags and Confederate flags while banning Pride flags.

www.sltrib.com/news/politic...

Man With Fogged-Up Glasses Forced To Finish Soup Using Other Senses ST. GEORGE, UT—With the water vapor causing condensation to form on the lenses and impair his vision, local man Patrick Whittle was reportedly forced Thursday by his fogged-up glasses to finish his soup using his other senses. “In my blinded state, I must rely on my other senses if I’m ever going to eat this […]

Man With Fogged-Up Glasses Forced To Finish Soup Using Other Senses
theonion.com/man-wit...

chorizo & eggs not available.

allow me to be the 18,000th-and-something person to say, welcome aboard.

"The enormity of Defendants’ actions cannot be overstated."

Please read this paragraph in court case filed on Monday.⬇️

Details the devastating, immediate and far-reaching, real-world impacts of the #USAID funding freeze.

From famine to counternarcotics and counter-terrorism programs, more.

Monday thought:

Trump’s Foreign Aid Freeze Leaves Millions Without HIV Treatment President Trump’s pause on aid, and the gutting of the primary aid agency, could jeopardize the health of more than 20 million people worldwide, including 500,000 children, experts say.

Two weeks into Trump’s sweeping freeze on foreign aid, H.I.V. groups abroad have not received any funding, jeopardizing the health of more than 20 million people, including 500,000 children. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/h...

Go Birds

Trump just took down rural.gov—the main site helping small towns and rural communities access funding to create jobs & run critical services.

Democrats made the largest investments in rural communities since the New Deal, Trump abandoned them in less than a month.

A tweet by Michael McFaul (@McFaul) that reads: "In 2012, when I was the US ambassador to Russia, Putin shut down USAID inside Russia. Why? Because their work supported free markets, democracy, human rights — ie causes that threatened Putin's dictatorship. Shutting down USAID is exactly what autocrats all over the world want."

Putin is full out celebrating our idiocy.

Trump, asked if he plans to visit the crash site:

"What's the site, the water? You want me to go swimming?"

Local aviation expert says midair collisions are ‘extremely rare’ despite tragedy in Washington D.C. After seeing a tragedy like this, aviation experts want to remind everyone how rare this was.

I had the opportunity to talk to @boston25 yesterday about handling the stress around this terrible tragedy www.boston25news.com/news/local/l...

I see your feline…and raise you two canines

Good writing.

Thanks to George Conway for posting Caroline Kennedy's letter so everyone is informed about RFK Jr. Please repost far and wide.

This is grossly irresponsible reporting by the AP. What’s being offered is not a buyout. The deal is if you agree to resign in September you can continue working remotely until then. There is no buyout or severance.

hell to the capitalized YES! (not the band...although they're fine)

The January 6 pardons are turning out great.

Welcome aboard.

good writing

doesn't pass the haiku test, but it aces the most important ones.

you clobbered that softball deep into the seats