Well, rest in peace, Pope F, but the crazy merry-go-round of news moves so fast you could have slipped away a month or two ago. But after all, you were 88.
For that matter, by mid-afternoon the stock market was down again — but only by another 900+ points; I, mean, Ho-hum, right? 401k panic is so last week.
The big late Monday news buzz was a growing swell of oddly-camouflaged, anonymously-sourced reports that the SuperLethal Crusader SecDef Pete Hegseth is on the way out.
It’s true: for decades (well, at least since 2013), Guacamole only gained national recognition indirectly, via National Avocado Day, which was set for July 31 by the self-anointed authority of the National Day Calendar.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has reported that the end is near —
Tulips-purple-PEI
—for the annual crop of tulips in this small but historic province:
“For full bloom and perfect photos, visit around May 25th or later. Tulip season typically lasts about 21 days and is projected to end by June 10th. Bloom percentages are 25-40% from May 18-24, 50-80% from May 25-31, and full bloom from June 1-10, though the season’s end is nearing. Continue reading We Interrupt Your Jury Vigil for An Urgent Bulletin on — Canadian Tulips!→
Protesters in the state legislative building, 2016.
I Woke up this morning to find my (adopted) home town & state made the big-time news AGAIN over our 2024 state election campaign.
Anybody who recalls the NC political scene in 2016 — especially business people and boosters — likely still feels twinges of trauma when the phrase “Bathroom bill” is mentioned. NC lost billions of dollars in investment and bad press after the Republican-dominated legislature passed the notorious HB2 anti-trans “bathroom bill.”
Anybody, that is, except those topping the 2024 GOP ticket. Their candidate for governor, incumbent Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, is a certified fire-breather of anti-trans rhetoric. His latest headlines trumpet a pledge to arrest trans folk who dare to use the “wrong” facilities. His running mate, Michele Morrow, aiming to become state superintendent of schools, mixes a record of QAnon conspiracy postings with her culture war platform.
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, GOP candidate for NC Governor
Who cares about this offensive blather? According to today’s big Washington Post story, NC business cares.
Not that our local barons of commerce are all rainbow-flag wavers; their favorite color remains cash green. Yet they remember how bad the business backlash got last time, before the current, term-limited governor, Democrat Roy Cooper, was elected. He got HB2 repealed enough so folks could get some relief.
The U.S. Army vessel General Frank S. Besson prepares to depart Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia on Saturday en route to the eastern Mediterranean.U.S. Central Command photo via The Associated Press
Good news! The U.S. logistical support ship General Frank S. Besson Junior has just sailed from Norfolk, Va., carrying the equipment needed to build a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza. That will enable the U.S. to deliver food to the starving (yes, literally starving) Palestinian population of the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip
Once U.S. President Joe Biden finally decides to do something, it happens fast. Only three days after the White House’s announcement, the General Frank was at sea, and in only 15 more days it will reach the Gaza coast.
