Last time I promised to post this, in order to illustrate how a single hero might turn the tables on blackmailing tormentors, perhaps saving the nation, as well as himself. It's a chapter from a novel in-progress. One that stalled, because I am too old now to drop everything for a year just in order to learn FBI procedures and all that.
And yet, after blathering about this for many years -- the plot driver for this story suddenly seems totally real life. And I feel compelled to post at least this one scene...
...because it might - just maybe - rouse someone out there to do the right thing. The heroic thing for our country and our world. And be remembered for it, forever.
== Unbecoming Intimidation ==
Lorenzo Lessig, on the other hand, looked dapper, even professorial, using his briefcase as a seat to protect the rayon of his suit from rough concrete. He stood up, brushing away nonexistent crumbs, then offered me his arm in a courtly, latin manner. I turned it into a manly handshake. A thing we do.
“You didn’t save me any?”
I glanced with a moue toward the crushed and unpromising wrappers.
“Didn’t you just have lunch with your father?” Swire’s headshake rattled a ponytail that might once have been dirty blond, though now it seemed more dirty, with fading hints that presaged early gray.
“Ancient history. Ten minutes ago. Next time, bring me something anyway.”
“Pregnancy, God’s back door to gluttony.”
“That’s not even clever.”
He shrugged. Lessig grinned. “Well I think it is wondrous. And I truly must thank you, Isabel, for giving me the password to view life’s miracle.”
Born in Tampa to a New York retiree and a nurse from Trinidad, he truly had no excuse for putting on these latin airs. But Lorenzo wore the role well. Also, he spent more time undercover than Pete did.
“To view life’s... Oh yeah. The womb cam. Sometimes I forget it’s in there.”
He smiled. Perfect teeth, aquiline nose and dark complexion. “I think perhaps you tell a lie, Isabel. I will wager that you check developments, many times each day. I know that I would, were I you.”
Involuntary blush response. Find a distraction. I spotted one out the corner of my eye.
“Cheez-it, guys. The fuzz.”
They glanced around and saw the same cluster of movement -- half a dozen men and women plus two ambis clustered at the curb, where heavyset drivers in black sunglasses turned to drive away official-looking SUVs after unloading very important cargo. Ascending the broad steps, all of the former passengers were attired in Washington take-me-very-seriously suits. Only a trained eye could tell that the jackets were made of new, bullet-resisting nano-weave. Any conversation was murmured and innocuous. These days, you simply did not discuss business out of doors.
“Deputy fuzz, you mean,” Pete commented. “We all better go in, too, or Her Nibs will assign us to auditing pot dispensaries in Alabama.”
Her Nibs -- Deputy Director Molly Ringwreath Rogers -- glanced briefly my way as she passed with her entourage. A guarded expression crossed her sharply scupted face as she gave the briefest nod, before resuming her upward stride without interruption. Athletic. I admired how high she could lift those knees. My own clamber felt awkward, crablike, by comparison. Though I shrugged off Lessig’s gallant hand off my arm. Not yet, Lorenzo. I’ll manage alone, for now.
Others were converging for the big meeting. Agents, researchers, lawyers and administrators, passing through the great doors and across a broad, polished FBI seal, inlaid across the atrium floor.
“I’ll go and save us some seats,” Pete said, before hurrying ahead. I couldn’t blame him. In fact, it was probably the right thing to do... though it meant that he missed the grand, surprise entrance that folks would be talking about for... well, forever.
Lorenzo and I entered ___ Auditorium almost last, lurking at the back and looking for Swire. Most attendees were already seated as the Deputy Director and her chief aides took to plush chairs, onstage to the far left, leaving plenty of room for today’s speakers. I spotted Pete, waving at us with two empty spaces -- one on the aisle for me. I started to nudge Lessig --
-- when a hand squeezed gently on my shoulder and a rather deep, resonant voice asked: “Would you pardon me, Miss?”
Tall, square of jaw, with peppered hair slicked in a distinguished cut, the newcomer wore an expensively tailored, dark blue suit with an American flag pin and red silk tie. His gaze swiftly encompassed my condition.
“Sorry. I mean, pardon me, Madam.”
“Sure,” I answered, shuffling closer to Lorenzo, wondering. Who makes such distinctions, anymore, because of pregnancy?
With my bulk no longer obstructing his path, the tall man murmured a low thankyou and swept on past with a determined air. He looked familiar. As if I really ought to recognize...
I wasn’t alone in that reaction. Heads turned as elbows jabbed ribs and a wave of sudden silence followed the newcomer, spreading rapidly as he strode down a long aisle toward the front of the hall.
For once, Molly Rogers was slow on the uptake. It took an urgent whisper from her assistant for realization to dawn.
Hurriedly standing, Rogers stepped forward even as the tall man made short work of eight steps leading to the stage, taking them two at a time.
We could all hear every word.
“Senator. My... what an... unexpected honor.”
His smile. Later image analysis would reveal tension mixed with eager anticipation that had the taut skin of his cheek throbbing an eleven hertz beat. At the time, from my great distance away, his grin appeared suddenly both familiar and ingratiating. Confident and absolutely determined.
“It’s Sean fucking McDean!” Swire said, and not just him. The same words skittered around us. Well, pretty much the same. At least the McDean part. Is there an echo in here?
“No shit?” I was sarcastic, which won a glance of mild disapproval from Lorenzo.
“Good afternoon, Deputy Director,” the senior Senator from Delaware said, loudly enough for all to discern, even without the amp plugs that many agents were now pushing into their ears. “I am so sorry to be causing a disruption.”
“Well... sir...” Molly Rogers looked nonplussed. “Is there something we can do for you, Senator? We were about to convene an important meeting --”
“About the Big Deal. Yes. Very consequential, Madam Deputy Director. Even momentous. Still, I feel obliged and compelled to do something impudent. Something shocking and yet that’s urgent for the sake of our republic. May I hijack your meeting and your audience for just five minutes? I promise, on my honor and on my very soul that you will all find it both interesting and worth the time.”
Still rather stunned, Rogers started to stammer a weak objection, but found herself with no one to talk to, as McDean turned and strode, in three lanky steps, to the nearby podium. From a jacket pocket he pulled out his slim pen-phone and laid it into the lectern’s regular receptacle, turning the pen into a microphone. At once, his voice filled the hall.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the FBI, those of you both present and tuning in from afar. Thank you for your kind indulgence and flexibility in allowing me a few brief moments of your valuable time. I’ll let you get back to your scheduled, portentous topic shortly. But first, let me promise this. What I have to say right now will top anything you expected to witness today!”
He didn’t bother introducing himself, I noted. Of course, Sean McDean was moderately well-known, a mid-to-upper ranked senator and committee chairman -- though which committee escaped me. I saw agents and techies nearby and all across the hall whip out their phones and pull open scroll screens, or else slip on GuGlasses in order to start glomming overlay data, adding realtime info-gloss as the senator spoke. Both Lorenzo and Pete did that, but I preferred letting it all wash over me, unadorned.
“I come before you to proclaim and accuse -- as Emile Zola did more than a century ago -- that a terrible crime is taking place! A conspiracy against the United States of America and against the very possibility of open, democratic government around this increasingly vexed world of ours.”
Ah. I realized -- or briefly thought I did -- what he had come to talk about. The thing on everybody’s lips -- the Big Deal -- a world treaty whose legal implications, especially for the FBI, were supposed to be today’s topic. Our scheduled speakers -- one each from Justice, State and Quantico, along with a professor from Georgetown -- sat in the front row. Pre-empted but as fascinated as anybody.
“First though,” McDean lifted a hand. “I must ask a question.” He leaned toward us.
“Are any of you presently aware of major scandals that involve me?”
The non-sequitur made me blink in surprise. I could tell that it rocked back several of those around me.
“Not minor stuff!” he continued hurriedly. “None of the usual complaints about this or that misjudged or badly reported campaign contribution. Or rumors that I fudged a grade while at Princeton. Or tales that my son got favors in his bid for that defense contract. Forget about the usual pile of gritty stuff that any politician compiles after thirty years of public service. Mostly baloney but maybe some minor or intermediate sins to atone for... with most of it by now pretty familiar and chewed over by the press. Putting all of that aside...
“...please raise your hand if you are aware of something really, really big that’s about to pop, concerning Senator Sean McDean!”
He paused, and was not the only one turning to scan the audience. All across the hall, heads rotated. We all looked around. No hands went up.
“Now I know that’s not a perfect test,” he continued, voice quavering a little, on a harmonic that denoted tension, blended with tenacity. “Tomorrow, possibly even as soon as I finish up here, some of you will say that you were aware of such a scandal brewing, but could not raise your hand because of legal protocol, or confidentiality, or proper procedure or some similar, lame excuse. When these colleagues speak, note who they are! It’s important. And I’ll tell you why.
“You see, I am being blackmailed.”
Senator McDean allowed that to sink in. The hall was dead silent.
“I was recently shown ‘evidence’ of something awful.”
He did not lift hands to gesture quotation marks, but his voice put them there.
“Evidence that was concocted using vividly realistic modern methods, even more advanced than those currently used in Hollywood. I was told that these horrid materials would be revealed to both authorities and the public, if I didn’t comply. Help pass or modify certain bills. Block others from becoming law. The choice I was offered was simple. Become their lap-dog, their wholly-owned U.S. Senator... or else face ruin.”
Now, silence gave way to a low murmur. Heads turned and whispers were exchanged. I glimpsed Lorenzo, wearing heavy GuGoggles, use his fingers to pluck at thin air and flick something invisible to the bare-eyed -- something virtual -- past me over to Pete. A link he must have found, online. Pete waved it away and took off his own pair of specs, joining me in the much more fascinating real moment.
“I strung the conspirators along for as long as I could,” McDean continued. “Pretending to play along. I truly was at a loss, you see. Would people believe the nasty, so-called evidence that had been concocted about me? Was my life of service at an end? I confess that -- to my everlasting shame -- the temptation to cave-in, though nauseating, did occur to me. I felt trapped. The possibility of prison or public humiliation can break some men...
“...or else anger can steel the mind!
“And so, I got past my moment of weakness. Discretely, I did some research. and came to a stark, horrified realization.
“I am not the only one!”
Senator McDean gripped the edges of the lectern so hard that I heard the wood audibly complain with a faint crack.
“Let me ask you all something,” he said in a voice suddenly gone both tense and hushed. “Have you ever stopped to wonder why our politics started getting so weird, about a generation ago? I’m not just talking about the cable, web and mesh hate-jockies who keep dividing the people into ever smaller classes of mutual resentment, suckling on the teat of indignant resentment. Nor do I mean the tsunamis of cash that flood through this town, both overt and covert. Indeed, the Big Deal is supposed to partly resolve or reduce that part of things. We can hope. But don’t hold your breath.
“No, by weird, I’m talking about the way some politicians, leaders, civil servants and other figures of importance keep saying one thing and then doing another. They claim to maintain consistency... adherence to a steady philosophy and agenda. Yet, whatever they touch actually winds up heading in a different direction! Social conservatives who claim to be vigorously “pro-life” or anti-gay, but who never deliver anything real and always seem to sabotage their side with some ill-chosen words. Did you ever wonder how they could be so stupid? Or negotiators wrangling new deals for health care or the environment... who somehow leave in place a loophole that lets frackers and frokkers and big pharma companies free to do whatever they please?
“That’s the sort of thing my blackmailers wanted me to start doing! Maintain my public pose as a fighting reformer! But effectively make sure their subtle agenda kept moving forward! And I realized, it would kill me. I would die inside, if I went along.
“So I looked around.
“Hey, you all know I had a background in computer tech, before seeking public office. I dusted off some of those skills and did a pretty darned sophisticated statistical analysis, based on existing studies of cause and outcome here in Washington. And what do you know? I found clear signs!”
He leaned forward, intensity in his eyes. “There are hundreds of cases... maybe more! And that’s when I started putting it all together.
“While we were all obsessed trying to pass legislation to reduce the poisonous effects of money in politics -- from campaign contributions to outright bribery -- we forgot that blackmail is more powerful than other forms of corruption. If you bribe an official, he may then say “that’s enough for this year.” She may be satiable. There will be limits to how far they’ll sell out their principles.
“But envision this. What if you have pictures of an under-secretary with a donkey?”
That roused titters of nervous laughter, especially from prudish Lorenzo.
“Or a congressman caught with -- what’s the expression? With a live boy or a dead girl? Suppose you have evidence that can send a major official to prison?
“Do you actually send him to prison? Or do you use it for leverage. Make him work for you, forever?
“That’s probably how it all started. Take some starry eyed idealist determined to clean up this town... a freshman congressman or a brilliant administrative appointee. Invite him or her to a high-class party on a yacht. Separate him from the ones who keep him steady or who provide wisdom in his life. Maybe slip him some drugs or cater to a brief-bad impulse, snap some incriminating pictures, and you’ve got him in your pocket!
“Realizing this, I looked back at the number of times that I must’ve almost fallen for that kind of trap. In fact, as many of you know, I did fall once, many years ago, back when I was in the State Assembly! Though it was a simple, clean, consensual lapse, it still makes me twinge with shame. Only the forgiveness of a good woman -- and the people of my district -- let me put that episode behind us and -- with God’s help -- I’ve been a straight arrow, ever since.”
The Senator shook his head and suddenly veered in tone. I half jumped out of my seat when he pounded the lectern. Bang-echoes bounced around the auditorium.
“That’s why they resorted to faked evidence, using fantastic tools of image processing, so good that...”
McDean stopped, perhaps realizing how whiney he was starting to sound. Petulant and self-pitying. So he stood up straight. Letting go of the lectern, he took a couple of breaths, then resumed in a deeper timbre of flat determination.
“... fakery that’s so masterful, I hold out zero hope that my denials will be believed. I am resigned to facing a firestorm. Denunciations in the press. Repudiations by my colleagues. The curses of betrayed constituents.... And then there’s my faithful and beloved wife, who will endure hell standing by my side --”
His voice cracked at that point. Looking down at his hands. And I felt awed.
Either he is one hell of an actor... or else psychotic... or the bravest man I ever saw.
Silence ensued. It bore on and on. Mere seconds that felt much longer, till Sean McDean finally lifted his gaze to sweep the room, steely-eyed.
“So why am I here? What reason could I possibly have to hector you fine, skilled professionals with this sad tale? The answer is simple.
“You see, I know my career is toast. I have just now sacrificed it, rather than succumb to evil plotters and become their tool. Their toy. But I don’t matter. Let me say that again. I don’t matter at all!
“I’ve come here today, spilling my guts and proclaiming the likelihood -- though I cannot prove it -- of a terrible conspiracy. Or maybe it’s being done by several different groups. My analysis was pretty crude and subjective. But I brought my accusation here, because you, here in this room, may be America’s last, best hope. Because, if I’m right, our republic is being suborned, and has been for a long time. And the plotters by now have inveigled their way through all the paths and portals and gears of power, taking control over the greatest nation on Earth.
“I came here today in order to spring their trap upon myself, before your very eyes, daring them to do their worst, and hoping that you --” he pointed into the audience, somewhere on the left side. “-- or you --” he pointed again. “Or you, or you, will be stirred to investigate all this, perhaps out of curiosity or patriotism or both, despite whatever your superiors tell you! Because some FBI officials may have good reasons to divert you from this matter. And others may be among the suborned... but they can’t get to all of you!”
Turning left and right, I saw a great many faces transfixed. Captivated. So -- apparently -- was Deputy Director Molly Ringwreath Rogers, who sat staring at the Senator, a look on her face that combined amazement and fascination with... could it be admiration? Was she actually swallowing this fantastic story? I saw her hand go to her ear, listening to something being said by a speaker bud. Muscles tensed along her throat and jaw as she subvocalized a reply, sensed by the pretty -- and functional -- hematite necklace that she wore. The sole accessorized adornment of her severe skirt-suit.
“I came here...” McDean continued, in a tone I recognized. That of an experienced stump speaker, cranking up the drama toward a big, concluding climax. “I came to ask some of you -- as many as may accept the challenge, the risk, the duty -- to investigate the charges that I’ve raised today! Find proof. Uncover the conspiracy! Reveal this plot and pillory the bastards in the harsh light of truth.”
McDean spread his arms.
“But there is another group I’m appealing to right now. Folks who aren’t in this room, but who will doubtless see the recordings later, as they splash and slosh around the world.
“I’m talking about... I am talking to... all you other blackmail victims out there. Men and women who now find yourself mired in a snare of threats and despair.
“Perhaps you thought you were the only one. Or among just a few trapped souls. You may even have joined the conspirators by now, rationalizing that their goals are somehow right, as a way to escape self-loathing. A psychological retreat -- your own, personal Stockholm Syndrome.
“Still, in your heart, you know it’s wrong. And beneath it all, you felt helpless, alone... so terribly alone!
“But let me tell you now -- you aren’t alone! Moreover, there is still redemption, it can be yours!
“Just follow my example. Stand up for your country. Find a way to turn the tables. Denounce the sons of bitches and take the resulting heat bravely.
“Who knows, there may be rewards beyond reckoning, for the first few to come forward! Whistleblower prizes? Book deals? Even forgiveness for whatever drove you to desperate submission. Especially if you’re among the first to step up.
“The biggest reward of all? The wondrous feeling that will come with release from your prison! From doing the right thing at last.
“You don’t believe it works that way?
“Look at me!”
At that point, Senator McDean surprised us all by smiling. By grinning.
“I am about to be ruined, yet I have done my duty ... and I am the happiest man right now on the face of this Earth.”
255 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 255 of 255E. Jean Caroll did. Won three times, at least.
They will soon realize that cheating alone won't prevent a Red Collapse in 14 months. Their only hope is a Reichstag/Gleiwitz pretext for martial law. And firing most of the top counter-terror folks is surely part of that.
Peer-reviewed R1 paper indicates that the DeepSeek miracle is real.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03015-6
We didn't skip elections during the Civil War, WWI, or WWII. If they try to pull shit like that now because of the "threat" of the Democratic Party, then I will have no problem with blue state secession. If there are no House elections in 2026, then as of Jan 3 2027, there will be no legitimate sitting House members.
Plus, Trump's whole schtick is "winning". His excuse for cracking down on the tv networks is that they misled the public by being against him, and his winning all seven swing states proved that they were lying. It would hurt him personally to be in need of quashing elections, proving once and for all that he knows he would lose them. That's not to say he won't do so, but it would put him in a "don't know who to root for" situation.
Yes, I know.
But what about Kilmar Abrego Garcia?
Or any other person they lie about?
I mean, there is enough material to absolutely drown the administration in civil defamation suits (which are exempt from the executive privilege and supreme court decision, If I am not mistaken.)
The supreme court ruling on immunity for "official acts" did not cover civil liability. As far as I know, DJT can still be sued in civil court.
What I don't remember exactly is whether the court said that he can't be sued while in office. I kinda/sorta recall them ruling that such suits would be too disruptive of his ability to run the country.*
So lawsuits against DJT might have to wait until Jan 20, 2029, or be moot if he shuffles off this mortal coil before then. E. Jean Caroll's lawsuit was already in progress before this latest election.
* Not that such nicety was given to Bill Clinton with regard to Paula Jones's lawsuit. But then that was a different president and a different Supreme Court**.
** I'll still capitalize the name when referring to the court back then.
Russia has tested Nato resolve, again:
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/19/europe/estonia-airspace-russia-jets-latam-intl
What makes this incident special is that those fighters were armed with air-to-ground missiles and did not just scratch the border, but entered Estonias airspace for a distance of 100-150 miles.
If we do not answer harshly, one of the next tests might be an invasion attempt.
https://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2025/09/kimmels-suspension-isnt-worst-thing.html
There's a line that's been haunting me from Tony Kushner's "A Bright Room Called Day", a frighteningly prescient play about artists facing the rise of Hitler in Germany. A character comments on how he and his circle are not ready for what's coming, "This age wanted heroes. It got us instead."
There is no justice. There's just us.
Obviously this is another minor error by our Russian friends, and rumpT will threaten to, um, apply tariffs! That's the ticket! Not that there is significant trade to tariff at this point....He may also make another phone call to his boss, Putin, and ask him to not be so obvious about his intent to reconstitute the USSR/Imperial Russia, and be ignored.
His targets need to sue him at once! In NY courts and hope for jury nullification. Which blatantly will happen.
This will sound like snark, but I mean it as a legitimate question.
Who do they have left to invade with?
As far as I can say that, the armed forces in Russia are divided in military districts with their own pool of ressources. While they have depleted much for the "3 day Operation", build-up for the northern district started in 2023.
There is a small window of opportunity for Putin. Our arms production will be on Russia's level and higher in 2027, and the new draft system starts in 2026. After 2027, the EU arms production outpaces Russias.
France prepares civilian infrastructure for a war in early 2026.
Uhh..."next Democratic dictator." I don't want authoritarians no matter what party they belong to.
My usual news sources are arguing with each other. I like that. Less risk of an echo chamber.
Regarding FCC chairman Carr's statement, I actually heard the whole thing. He spent more time qualifying and limiting his opinion than in promoting it. Still, I don't want FCC leaders threatening broadcast media, even if it is just on a podcast that I've never heard of.
Uhh..."next Democratic dictator." I don't want authoritarians no matter what party they belong to.
On the risk of being shouted at, "dictatorship pro tempore" is exactly the system you have, with an executive not restrained by the other branches, which is able to legislate through executive Orders and can execute persons by declaring them terrorists (thereby bypassing the courts.)
Also, the authoritarianism in American culture predates Trump.
Sorry. Russia is SO seriously f*cked if they go to war with NATO.
I think Putin has to put on a show at home and possibly create a bargaining item. "I shall stop that if you..."
Stonekettle has misread Musk.
It's not that Trump had the real power. The wall Musk ran into was the one built by Congress. The power Musk was usurping belonged to Congress. THAT is where the real pushback was... because Musk is not Trump.
If you doubt this, you might want to hear it in Musk's own words. He said he despaired that the problems he saw were EVER fixable. He blames Congress.
Why might I believe this? Because that pushback was exactly what I expected a naive political operative (Musk) would face. Congress partially surrenders to Trump, but Musk sure as heck ain't Trump.
Bwa-ha-ha!
Looks cheaper to train it than raise a child in the US. 8)
Because the Supreme Court, in its 6-3 wisdom, ordained the President as being above the Law.
Uhh..."next Democratic dictator." I don't want authoritarians no matter what party they belong to.
I'm doing the same thing Governor Newsom does when he tweets in the same manner that Trump does, and then Republicans complain about his lack of decorum unfitting for a government leader.
It's not that Trump had the real power. The wall Musk ran into was the one built by Congress.
I'll accept that Stonekettle misreads Musk, since Musk has a goal independent of being wealthy--getting to Mars.
However, I don't think Musk misread Paramount or Disney. DJT's ability to capriciously deny their respective mergers is more significant to them than the loss of popular late night talk shows.
Also, the authoritarianism in American culture predates Trump.
It does seem specific to the Republican Party, though. They call it the "unitary executive theory". Dick Cheney was a big proponent. And it somehow only applies to Republican presidents.
Republicans in congress certainly asserted their power when the president was Biden or Obama, even in 2009 when the only power they had was the filibuster. Remember how President Biden was not even "allowed" to forgive student loans?
How did the Republicans go from minority status in Congress with 41 Senators to where they hold all the levers of power? One reason is the 2010 midterms. In that year, they did a concerted ad blitz to convince liberals and Democrats to abandon Obama and not bother voting. They swept the board in state legislatures which allowed them control over the mechanics of future elections, including but not limited to gerrymandering after the 2010 census.
Orwell might have said, "Whoever controls the states controls the federal government," or something like that.
I don't think STONEKETTLE misread Paramount or Disney. (Sigh)
even in 2009 when the only power they had was the filibuster.
Before 2009, no one would have said that any bill in the Senate requires 60 votes to pass. Since 2009, everyone says that.
Filibusters used to be few and far between, saved for the most bitter of battles, such as integration. Now, they're essentially a part of the regular order.
Some good news, perhaps? More science-y than political.
https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2025/Items/Sep19-6.html
And now an item that's pretty wild. There is a Finnish startup called Solar Foods that has developed a new protein powder made (primarily) from air. They start with a single microbe, and hit it with lots of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and (renewable) energy. This eventually produces a slurry that is dried out and turned into a highly nutritious protein powder.
How nutritious? Well, it has all nine essential amino acids, along with unsaturated fats, dietary fiber, and vitamin B12. Food & Wine tested it in a lab, and found that it has 75g of protein for every 100g of powder, which is the same basic ratio as with the protein powders currently on the market (which are usually made from whey, egg whites, or soy). And it's very eco-friendly; in addition to being produced with renewable energy, it takes 600 times less water and 200 times less land to produce one pound of Solein protein as compared to one pound of beef protein.
Of course, this is considerably less useful if it tastes like bull cookies. The bar here is not THAT hard to clear, since existing protein powders taste pretty poor and chalky, and are usually hidden within other ingredients. The Solein, apparently, has a slight umami flavor, and that is it. Various folks have put it to the test in various applications, and they say it tastes just fine.
Food scientists, at least the ones not trying to figure out how to get you to drink more Coke, or exactly how much red dye #5 they can get away with, are doing some pretty remarkable work these days, and this is one example. If this catches on, it could not only offer health-conscious people a more eco-friendly (and better-tasting?) option for after their workouts, but it could also help to combat global hunger, and maybe could inspire innovation in the production of other foodstuffs. Indeed, this process is obviously slower, but besides the time lapse, is there all that much difference between what Solein is doing and what the replicators on Star Trek ships do ?
.
a new protein powder made (primarily) from air.
While I liked the above article, the quoted bit here concerns me. Dilbert once did a gag about someone discovering a way to turn water into food, and how that would lead to a scarcity of fresh water. I'd hate to see a scarcity of air.
Russia is already f*cked because they went to war with Ukraine. That does not stop him from continuing. And this time I'd rather not like to be surprised again.
The "Show at Home" could possibly be true. As of lately, there have been protests:
https://youtu.be/XKHFjO2T-Xw?si=B0RANWhuU1WajYjX
The funny part is who organizes those protests.
It does seem specific to the Republican Party, though.
Yes, but I believe that goes deeper. It started with the end of the moratorium on the death penalty, the wars in drugs and terror (which both were failures in terms of outcome), mass incarceration and the nationalism after 9/11.
Hmmm, I remember when everyone was talking about Elon Musk, but I kept saying that the oligarch that concerned me more was Peter Thiel. My rationale was that Musk's primary interest wasn't power. Instead, his true goal was to become a real-life D.D. Harriman (get to space).
OTH, Thiel was systematically grabbing power. First, he knows what we buy through paypal. Then he fueled a lot of black budget data mining for governmetn agencies with Palantir. Then he's followed up by incubating policians in Thiel Capital (such as VP JD Vance and Senate candidate Blake Masters from Arizona, who lost in 2022).
Interesting to see the consensus here coming into agreement with where I was months ago.
SO, by continuing to bang the "Trump is Hitler" drum, you do realize you're whipping up more political violence, right? And, I'm thinking it's not a good idea. The failed assassination attempt on Trump only helped his campaign. Assassinating Charlie Kirk's turned him into a martyr.
Ugly videos of progressives celetrating Kirk's death has tanked DNC approval rating to all-time lows. Now, only 28% of the public has a favorable opinion of the Democrat party. Fortunately for the Demos, Republicans aren't very popular either. Right now, a plurality of voters identify as independent, seemingly due to disgust with all politicians.
One of the reasons Charlie Kirk had influence among the young is their dissatisfaction with the long-term cost of college loans and their dimming hopes of ever owning a home.
Celt isn't right about the impending demographic death of Repubs, because he's forgetting that the Dems have become the status quo position on college campuses. Thus, Repubs can catch "rebel appeal." The harder woke ideology grips campus thought, the more they create incentives for pushback. That's why political obits that envision long-term one party dominance fail rarely come to pass.
Interesting to see the consensus here coming into agreement with where I was months ago.
It's a good feeling, isn't it? I feel the same way that I was using words like "feudalism" and "fascism" to describe the white supremacist wing of the Republican Party for years when everyone else thought that was hyperbole. Now, even those on that side don't bother to deny it--they just claim those terms as good things, much preferable to messy democracy.
Ugly videos of progressives celetrating Kirk's death has tanked DNC approval rating to all-time lows.
While I don't necessarily doubt your statistic, I wonder often why the opposite is never true. Why gleeful mockery of Paul Pelosi after his assassination attempt (by Charlie Kirk, among others) or outright dismissal of school-shooting victims as "crisis actors" don't cause the Republicans to lose approval. I guess it's because people who vote Democratic prefer their leaders to act humanely, while those who vote Republican prefer bullying assholes.
The more injustices they perpetrate, the more support they get, and the more we push back on injustice, the more support we lose. How do we fight that?
SO, by continuing to bang the "Trump is Hitler" drum, you do realize you're whipping up more political violence, right?
No, banging the "Trump is [doing exactly what] Hitler [did to consolidate power" drum is a call to stop him from doing so while there's still time. Pretending that that's not what's happening because saying so is impolite is not a strategy.
It's also not clear at all that the Kirk shooter was angry at Kirk because of left-wing associations with Hitler. If he was a follower of Nick Fuentes (for which there is some evidence), then that crowd believes Kirk and Trump aren't Nazi enough. The so-called assassin in Butler, PA was a MAGA white male, and who knows what his motive was, but I'm not even convinced he was aiming at Trump. He was shooting up a crowd, just like a school shooter. And do you really believe that an AR-15 style bullet actually hit DJT's remarkably pristine ear? Me, I'm convinced that was someone else's blood spattered on it. They can prove me wrong by actually releasing any analysis that resulted from the investigation.
You know what encourages more political violence? Absence of consequences for the right wingers who perpetrate political violence. The right attacks the left with official sanction from all three branches of government, and you want to say it's because our skirt was too short?
"Now, I'm...whatayacall...half-finished."
Agreed. I suspect a decision was made at the Board level (some time ago) about which fights were worth fighting.
Musk is wealthy and able to spend cash to make some things happen, but he's a political neophyte and a utopian at that. No doubt there is an appropriate Hamilton quote about being in the room where it happens. He was never invited to the correct one because that room is on The Hill.
JV,
I've been online more than usual because of this CK thing, and i have yet to find any liberal commenters celebrating the assassination. Most of them deplore any political violence, including this piece of it; they just aren't particularly heartbroken. Nearly ALL of them are more worried about what hay the GQP will try to make of it, and would rather it not have happened.
Do you have any web addresses of content of celebratory nature? Repeating CK's more pungently racist ,sexist and pro-violence words is not that.
About the only thing I ran into in that ilk was one guy who mentioned that if you don't like seeing the low-key liberal reaction to CK's death, wait until rumpT's demise, timely or untimely. That's likely to dwarf what happened in British streets after Maggie Thatcher passed. He recommended binging Duck Dynasty and avoiding the block parties. And I will toast my wife, who has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, with at least a bowl of ice cream for outliving the Trump regime.
LH actually said it pretty well - CK was a lot like Brother Jed, who used to go on US campuses and harangue small crowds of students in the Name of Jesus, or Cthulhu, or someone (he didn't have a sound system). It's just that CK attracted billionaire backing, so he wore a nice suit and had an organization and a tent with furniture.
Pappenheimer
P.S. I am also of the opinion that Trump is in the Epstein Files
Addendum - CK's comment on the disturbed dude who broke into Rep Pelosi's house and fractured her husband's skull (and was looking for Nancy, but had a target of opportunity) was to show no sympathy, but instead to call for people to bail the guy out. Has anyone on the left called to bail out CK's assassin? Again, web data please.
Pappenheimer
I have a range of wines that I could bring up from the cellar when Trump or Murdoch carks it. I would need to make an appropriate roast or casserole to go with them.
Re the Epstein Files
I suspect that we are well out of luck with them - to be used in court there needs to be a controlled chain of evidence
These files have been in the hands of the GOP - nothing in them is believable any more!
In other news: Following the example of Trump, the right-winger Geert Wilders has proposed a bill to ban "the Antifa" as a terrorist organization.
It passend yesterday with the votes of the governing parties.
Also, their parliament has decided to conduct new elections by the end of Oktober.
Let me be clear. There are right-wingers who have hurt our politics so badly and so permanently that I have metaphorically danced on the graves of the ones who have already passed (Falwell, Scalia), anticipate doing so soon (McConnell) and am ready with a chorus of "Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead!" when the sonofabitch I'm looking for is on the front page.
What I do not celebrate is murder. I'm not sorry that CK is no more, but I'm chilled at the way he was removed from this earth, especially since that sort of killing is literally "terrorism". And that's what I have heard no prominent influences from my side of the aisle celebrating.
Being glad someone is dead is not the same thing as calling for their murder or actually murdering them. If it were other, then every Republican politician is guilty of murdering Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
CK was a lot like Brother Jed, who used to go on US campuses and harangue small crowds of students i
OMG! Brother Jed was one of the quad preachers I've mentioned before from my time at the University of Illinois -- very late 70s to mid 80s.
Small world.
i'd like to see a law passed (or a Democratic executive order, which is like the same thing) outlawing the word "antifa" and requiring instead that the entire term "anti-fascist" complete with hyphen be used at all times.
We (Germany) have currently a discussion whether to use Palantir on the federal level. Three states have made deals with Palantir already.
It becomes an iceberg quickly with different levels of political scandal.
First, every procurement of the government must be advertised throughout Europe for the cheapest offer. The Minister of the interior simply says there is no one in Europe who could achieve the same, which is, frankly, a lie. Not speaking of wasted money we put into AI research If we buy elsewhere.
Second: We have severe data protection concerns, and it is even possible that the use of Palantir itself is unconstitutional (mostly a states' rights thing).
Third: It is possible that it get's introduced, and banned later - in which billions of taxpayer euros are thrown out of the window. Like the last time this same minister (Alexander Dobrindt) had a federal office.
Finally, of course, buying a product from someone who is an enemy of our state and will, if given the chance, betray us, is unforgivable stupidity after all we went through with Russia.
Or unforgivable corruption.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/style/consequence-culture-kirk-kimmel.html
...
“When a person says something that a ton of people find offensive, rude, dumb in real time and then that person is punished for it, that’s not cancel culture. That is consequences for your actions,” Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, wrote on X on Wednesday.
In an email, Mr. Portnoy declined to elaborate on his comments.
The term has been gaining traction in conservative media, in a headline in National Review (“‘Consequence Culture’ Comes for the Angry Left”) and posts on X from conservative activists like Riley Gaines, who wrote on Wednesday night: “Cancel culture? No. Consequence culture.”
...
I see. So "cancel culture" is when a conservative is intimidated or shunned for their expressed views, while "consequence culture" is when the same thing happens to liberals. Got it.
Der Oger:
Finally, of course, buying a product from someone who is an enemy of our state and will, if given the chance, betray us, is unforgivable stupidity after all we went through with Russia.
Or unforgivable corruption.
My guess would be misguided cowardice. Of the same sort we had over here when ambitious Democrats (like Hillary Clinton) felt that the only way to stay relevant was to be in favor of the war in Iraq.
I don't know Europe as well as you know the US, but I suspect there is a subset over there who thinks that the only way to stay in the game is to stay on Donald Trump's good side.
The latest outrages, now becoming routine and banal.
https://bsky.app/profile/rudepundit.bsky.social
"sinclair pulled its kirk tribute six minutes before it was set to air on its abc affiliates"
Were they afraid because it had actual quotes from Charlie Kirk?
* * *
Trump administration has canceled the USDA’s annual food insecurity survey, ending a decades-long effort to track how many Americans struggle to access enough food, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
* * *
"Trump criticizes Pam Bondi for not charging his adversaries quickly enough, in a Truth Social post that looks a lot like a DM."
If Joe Biden had even whispered that Merrick Garland's Justice Department should be prosecuting Trump, Republicans would have burned down DC in performative outrage.
* * *
"Cambodia and Armenia woke up not knowing they’ve been fighting each other "
My favorite thing is that the live closed caption pauses for a moment, as if the AI is asking, “What the fuck?”
* * *
"Trump suggested people shouldn’t feel sorry for Biden over his cancer diagnosis:
'Biden was always a stupid guy. A mean SOB.. Not working out too well for him right now. So, when you start feeling sorry for him, remember he’s a bad guy'"
Do you think that there are days that Biden wishes he had taken advantage of that free pass the Supreme Court gave him on drone missile murdering his enemies?
They're killing comedy by making real life un-satirizable.
From the book How the States Got Their Shapes mentioned here a while back. The section on the state of Maine, page 124 in my paperback edition:
Today, England and Canada are among America's closest allies. It is difficult to picture us as antagonists.
"For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: 'It might have been!'"
To be fair, a lot of righties are pushing back against Bondi's hate speech campaign. Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, Scott Adams, and others have all said Kirk would have despised a hate speech campaign pushed under his name and called out the hypocrisy after years of right-wing attacks on cancel culture.
JV,
I quite agree on your statement - I made a similar point re: Tucker Carlson, but that doesn't answer my question - what sources can you provide of liberal online celebration of CK's killing? You stated that this was lowering Democratic approval rates - but is that actually the case, or is it reactionary accusations that this is happening? I would seriously like to be sure, and my searches are coming up empty - save for a Washington Times article about some Bluesky users.
Pappenheimer
@Pappenheimer,
My sense is that viewers who get their news from FOX or Newsmax or OAN are being told that liberals are openly celebrating Kirk's murder. And because of what they've already been told about us, it feels to them as if yes, that's the kind of thing those evil liberals would do.
To say that our celebrating Kirk's murder is what's causing us to lose support isn't much different from saying that our drinking the blood of babies is costing us support, and that if we don't want to lose elections, we'd better stop advocating for the drinking of babies' blood.
Point being, it is a mistake to believe that our actual behavior is driving their opinion of us or of the Democratic Party. The right-wing bubble would tell the same lies about us no matter what we actually do.
Yes, but I believe that goes deeper. It started with the end of the moratorium on the death penalty, the wars on drugs and terror (which both were failures in terms of outcome), mass incarceration and the nationalism after 9/11.
I very much agree, Oger. It's not just about the President acting authoritarian. It's even down to daily-life encounters with police. Police officers have become extremely militarized in part because they're recruiting a lot of veterans of our two forever wars.
It's gotten so bad, there's no safe way to talk to police anymore. Seriously, I keep telling my friends and family how to engage with police, which is pretty much immediately ask them, "Am I detained?"
If the answer is, "Yes," assert your 5th Amendment right to silence and inform police that, "I do NOT agree to any searches, and will make no statements until I have an opportunity to consult a lawyer." If police insist on further questions, remind officers that any further attempts to question you are harrassment, and you intend to vigorously pursue all available legal remedies.
Oh, and record everything. Ignore any demands to stop recording any police encounter (but, in many states, police CAN demand you maintain a distance of 20 feet or so if you're recording a 3rd party encounter).
Ideally, you're uploading your stream to an internet server so that seizing your phone won't "disappear" the video.
Here's a recent police encounter, which shows how bad it's gotten from March of 2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDSaGewq_7I
The key to understanding this encounter is that police DO NOT have an arrest warrant. They come to this doctor's house and try to talk him into coming outside his home. The citizen is not belligerent or threatening. His tone is polite and non-confrontational.
However, an officer REACHES INTO this guy's house and grabs his arm when the citizen withdraws into his home. Note that HE NEVER LEFT THE DOORFRAME OF HIS HOUSE.
When the cop reaches into the house to grab his arm, it's an unlawful entry. Centuries of common law precedents say that you have a legal privilege to defend against unlawful entry into your home with deadly force.
Then the cops start screaming, "Drop the gun!" However, I don't see a gun in the body cam video. There's a struggle, and the officers end up shooting him 12 times, and the Dr. dies.
Unlawful entry into the home is felony trespass. Thus, we have a felony murder, because the unlawful entry created the altercation that led to the citizen's death. Self-defense doesn't work here, IMHO, because a felony committed by police led to the struggle. In short, the officers CREATED the dangerous situation.
What's truly disturbing is how the media reported this encounter. You get the police dept spin about how this encounter "suddenly turned violent." They get a family member of the victim who said, "The police gave him every opportunity to choose a different outcome."
The media implied this was the victim's fault for, "Not cooperating." You have no duty to step outside your home just because officers want you to leave.
I did hear police say, "Drop the gun!" but that is HEARSAY. Notice that there have been incidents of bad actors disguising themselves as police. Busting into a house without presenting a warrant is EXACTLY the kind of thing a fake officer might do.
Police have also stuck their foot in the door to prevent a citizen from closing it. That is a clear case of illegal trespass, which puts the citizen in an almost impossible dilemma. Do you slam the door on the armed police officer's foot?
Probably not a good idea. After seeing this video, you now know that slamming the door on an intruding officer's foot could lead to your death.
After this video, I'm advising people to NEVER open the door to police.
https://www.threads.com/@stonekettle
We know Tom Homan takes bribes, right? We also know neither Trump nor Congress are going to do anything about it.
Okay. Then lets use it to our advantage. I say we take up a collection, go fund me, whatever, and bribe Homan ourselves. If we can't impeach 'em, lets out bid 'em! Look, Tom, here's $200 million to get the fuck out of our cities and stop deporting kids with cancer. And there's another $50 million in it if you give Trump a wedgie and tell him you're embracing DEI.
Heh.
@John Viril,
I honestly don't understand you some times. I know we can't all fit into neat little political bubbles, but you almost always seem to be asserting pro-Republican points against the anti-Republican majority here in these comments.
And then you go on a screed here against police violence which could have been delivered by a BLM or antifa supporter. I mean, I don't disagree, but where's this coming from?
BTW, if a police officer answers "no" to the "Am I detained" question, you leave. Don't talk to them. It's much safer.
Really, you need to consider police wild animals that might decide to kill you.
Put me on a right-wing site, and a lot of people will perceive me as liberal. Part of it is because I'm more likely to write something when I hold an opinion that isn't getting represented.
In the case of police encounters, its one of the times when I agree with a lot of the consensus here, but I still think I've got something to contribute. I've been watching A LOT of police encounter videos in recent years and have been disturbed by what I've been seeing.
More aggressive police encounters have been going on for years and aren't dependent on political parties. Part of it is the growing use of data in society. With more information processing power, employees are increasingly evaluated by "objective" data analysis.
Pair promotions based on arrest and conviction rates, and more police training to push the edges of court rulings, you get some rather ugly outcomes that abuse the spirit of the rules.
Pappenheimer, I'll admit, my sources have been 3rd parties reporting on liberal celebrating. The videos they show don't seem like deep fakes to me. If they are, they'd be WAY EXPOSED for defamation and libel actions.
I'll cite this video from the NY POST: https://nypost.com/video/sickos-cheer-charlie-kirks-death-following-horrific-assassination/
I'll say that I'd been watching a lot of Charlie Kirk videos before his assassination because I was thinking about going to one of his events to see if I could debate him.
I'm about twice his age, and he'd have A LOT more trouble with me than with college students who don't know anything. Whereas I have been to two graduate schools and have been specifically-trained in trial advocacy. Plus, i still think quick, and have plenty of charm.
One of the things I wanted to show is that there are women with XY chromosomes. Since I've forgotten more molecular biology than Kirk ever knew, he'd have had REAL problems debating me. I could bombard him with knowledge. My big advantages would be I could prepare for him and my extensive speaking experience, whereas he'd not be able to do the same with me. His advantages would have been it's his crowd and his microphone.
A lot of my prep would be to learn his typical rhetorical traps and devise ways to nullify them.
Jeepers Stonekettle is clueless. You can't out bid blackmail.
onward
onward.
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