Wotan’s Day.

Purple was unusually easy (for Purple) today, especially if you’re of a certain age.

Connections
Puzzle #906
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟨🟨🟨🟨

I came, I saw, I herped my derp.

Wordle 1,628 4/6*

🟨⬛⬛🟨⬛
🟨🟨🟨⬛🟩
⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Rescue workers extracted him using the Schlong of Life.

The two times that’s happened to me (on two different laptops), it was because the power adapter had gone bad. So replacing the adapter fixed it.

I hope you’re right DMM, but I’m not holding my breath for anything more than Strongly Worded Statements and angry podcasts. Please let me be proven wrong—and I do think we’re seeing cracks now in the Magasphere and intimations of a post-Trump political order, for whatever that’s worth.

Regarding the Honduran ex-prez: he wrote Trump a sob story about how he’s just a poor innocent despot who’s been victimized by the US justice system and it was all a big political witch hunt and it’s fake. For some reason this resonated with Trump. I think most everyone knows that Trump doesn’t give a fuck about drugs or anything else that affects actual people, but he does feel warmly toward his fellow despots and like them, he hates and fears the rule of law and he wants to undo it. This pardon is part of the undoing.

The killing of people on boats isn’t even war crimes because there’s no war, it’s just murder on the high seas. And the killings do nothing to combat illegal drugs in the US—only a tiny percentage of imported illegal drugs come into this country by sea (and none via short-range speedboats based in Venezuela, 1500 miles away)—most are smuggled in vehicles passing thru authorized border crossings.

But a lot of the MAGA base love these killings. It’s exactly what they signed up for. Some of them want to see extra-judicial killings of anti-Trump people at home, too (they’ve said it). I think enlivening the MAGA base is the main reason for this shit, along with Hegseth cosplay.

Of the people who don’t support the killings, I don’t think many of them care about it that much.

But still, here’s hoping for real blowback on this.

Do I see two bicycles?

Also: Warhol and Basquiat at the Palladium! And Keith Haring. Different times.

Also also: you’ve done the hard work, now it’s—nesting? Congrats and Happy Nesting. And I was glad to see (the other day) Suze looking settled and at home.

Stuffing for breakfast Friday.

Connections
Puzzle #901
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟪🟪🟪🟪

Fearful symmetry.

Wordle 1,623 4/6*

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛
⬛🟩⬛🟩⬛
🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Stating the obvious here (I know it’s not news): the main point of these deployments from the start has been to provoke a violent response that would give the regime a pretext for escalation—more oppression, more crackdowns, more troops, more deportations, amplified MAGA rage. That people haven’t taken the bait (protesters in inflatable frog suits are by design not menacing) has been a big letdown. Now they finally have something to work with. So, mission accomplished. The WH and pro-MAGA media have been on standby waiting to exploit something like this since the deployments began.