Thursday: Hili dialogue

October 15, 2026 • 6:45 am

Welcome to Thursday, October 15, 2026, and National I Love Lucy Day. Why today? The link tells all:

On October 15, 1951, I Love Lucy burst onto the American television scene and immediately began making history. In a revolutionary move, it became the first scripted program to be filmed in front of a live studio audience. To make this happen, the studio famously knocked a hole through a concrete wall, building theater-style seating to welcome fans to see the magic happen in person—for free! This innovative format and the show’s undeniable charm led to five Emmy Awards and countless nominations.

The show ran for six seasons.  Here is what I think is the most famous scene from the show, when Lucy and Ethel (Vivian Vance) are working at a chocolate factory:

It’s also Global Handwashing Day, National Cheese Curd Day, National Chicken Cacciatore Day, National Lemon Bar Day, National Mushroom Day, National Real Sugar Day, National Red Wine Day, National Roast Pheasant Day, and National Roast Pheasant Day.

Posting will be lighter than usual for a while; among the issues with my operated-on eye is the sudden appearance of a small retinal tear, which was repaired with laser surgery two days ago.  More regular checking by doctors, involving trips downtown, will ensue.  On the upside, I saw this rabbit on the way to work this morning; he is always around in the early morning, and I’ve named him Rocky Bun-Bun Coyne:

Here’s a photo taken 12 years ago yesterday: I’m cuddling Hili while wearing the shirt embroidered by Hiroko with Hili’s likeness:

Readers are welcome to mark notable events, births, or deaths on this day by consulting the October 15 Wikipedia page.

Da Nooz:

*The Israeli elections are on Tuesday, October 27, and a lot is at stake, especially whether Netanyahu remains as Prime Minister. Over at the Free Press, Yonah Jeremy Bob, a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, suggests that Gadi Eisenkot, former head of the IDF, might be a likely replacement.

I first met Gadi Eisenkot in March 2017 at Israel’s parliament, the Knesset. At the time, he was the chief of the Israeli military and he was explaining to legislators that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were handling a new challenge from Hamas. The terrorist group was operating freely within the tunnel network it had built beneath Gaza, the extent of which had first been revealed in an assault on Israel a few years before.

As he explained the crisis, Eisenkot struck me immediately as amiable and much more subtle in expression than you might expect from a typical commanding general. And that ability—to be commanding in practice but project the aura of an everyday person—is part of the magic that could make him Israel’s next leader.

As of this week, his Yashar party is topping the polls in the election to be held on October 27, with about 22 percent of the vote compared with 20 percent for Netanyahu’s Likud party. Although the most likely election scenario is a deadlock leading to a second round between Eisenkot and Netanyahu, Eisenkot is widely viewed as having a better chance to build a majority coalition after the election, as a large share of seats will likely go to parties that oppose Netanyahu on similar grounds.

Eisenkot, 66, has a public image that is relatable to less-elite Israelis, including his lack of fluency in English. He is capitalizing on being the un-Netanyahu—someone with little in-your-face charisma but who underneath projects a depth of power that is undeniable.

Eisenkot is from Eilat, which is known globally as a prized resort. But internally in Israel, for locals who live there, it is known as a more depressed development town. He would be the first prime minister of Moroccan descent, as opposed to the European-Israeli background typical of his predecessors.

His background has helped him unexpectedly nab some support from Israel’s large Sephardic population. Though they typically support Netanyahu and right-wing coalitions, many of them see Eisenkot as personally representing them.

Eisenkot’s humble persona and roots also distinguish him from Netanyahu’s other top rival, Naftali Bennett. Bennett, the right-wing pol who was prime minister for just over a year from 2021 to 2022, differs from Netanyahu on policy in many of the same ways as Eisenkot. Yet Bennett has the same smooth delivery and elite background as the current prime minister, while Eisenkot projects a less polished authenticity that may remind some Israelis of simpler times in their history.

. . .Looking forward, the largest policy difference between Eisenkot and Netanyahu isn’t Gaza, but the West Bank.

Both intend to crack down on Palestinian terrorism there, which according to Israel’s Shin Bet security service involves 1,000 attempted attacks per year, and between around 30 to 170 successful attacks.

Yet Eisenkot also accuses Netanyahu of letting the West Bank transform into a chaotic maelstrom of Jewish extremist violence against innocent Palestinians. The prime minister, Eisenkot says, has empowered right-wing allies who are encouraging the trend, including ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir and Shin Bet director David Zini.

. . .Whether or not he chooses it, the gaze of every Israeli prime minister is inevitably drawn overseas, with Iran looming as the largest adversary. Eisenkot says he would focus on two major direct threats: nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

He has an innovative approach to the nuclear issue, which involves persuading the U.S. to enforce a “kill zone” around the few areas where Iran’s 60-percent enriched uranium (close to weaponized levels) is still underground.

. . .Eisenkot is more open to working with other political interests to replace Hamas. For example, he dislikes the PA, but he concurs with most of Israel’s defense establishment that Hamas is much worse than the PA—if stuck choosing between the two.

While Eisenkot wants to preserve a Gaza security corridor, he would likely accept a smaller corridor than Netanyahu, if it preserves the military high ground. He is ready to agree to the thrust of the Trump deal or other initiatives which would be a step toward partial Hamas disarmament. That might require Israel, for example, to commit more aid for the rebuilding of Gaza, but it could also help regain the confidence of foreign allies.

In Lebanon, the largest difference between Netanyahu and Eisenkot would probably be the role of a third party: France. Eisenkot is committed to restoring Paris to a significant mediation role in Lebanon while Netanyahu has looked to pick fights with France and other traditional European allies nonstop in every arena. The split reflects Eisenkot’s belief that he can vigorously pursue Israel’s security interests while also inviting European cooperation in ways that could rebuild trust over time.

. . . If American diplomats are greeted by an amiable Israeli prime minister who wants to say yes to Western normalization initiatives, Eisenkot believes, possibly naively, that the current hostile dynamic can be changed fundamentally, even if he cannot endorse all Western priorities.

I’m pretty sure that even if Eisenkot becomes PM, the worldwide damnation of Israel won’t abate, despite the fact that he’s more receptive to Western suggestions and the governance of Gaza by the PA. The damnation will continue not because of Netanyahu, but because Israel is a Jewish state.

*And on that subject, over at It’s Noon In Israel, Amit Segal gives four reasons why Trump hasn’t endorsed Netanyahu.

So why, 13 days before Israelis vote, is he sitting this one out? I’d suggest four reasons.

The first is Budapest. Trump did everything he could to get Viktor Orbán reelected in Hungary, and Orbán lost. Trump does not like being seen with losers. He likes it even less when he’s photographed endorsing them. He will put his name on an Israeli candidate only if he is sure his name is what gets them over the line. Currently, neither candidate in Israel looks likely to be one Truth Social post from victory.

Trump may be especially conscious of that risk. A week after Israelis vote, Americans go to the polls for the midterms, with all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats up for grabs. If Trump’s writ runs overseas, it’s a show of strength. If Israelis reject his candidate, it could be a preview of more rejections to come.

The second is the polls. The numbers sitting on desks in the White House veer closer to the majority of Israeli polls than the more rare ones predicting a comfortable Netanyahu win. The White House runs its own polls in the country. If those surveys begin to show Netanyahu closing the gap in the final week, the math could change.

The third is the cat. Hebrew has an idiom for a falling-out: a black cat has passed between them. I wouldn’t go so far as black. But a dark shade of gray cat has certainly passed between Trump and Netanyahu. In July, Netanyahu flew to Washington hoping for a public show of support. According to Axios, when the race came up, Netanyahu hesitated, and an adviser stepped in: “Mr. President, he is winning.” The endorsement never came. Since then, Trump has kept pressing Israel to halt the targeted strikes in Gaza that are stalling his 20-point plan.

The fourth is Tucker Carlson. Not the man himself, but the impression he has helped create that a slice of Republican voters is allergic to Israel. Whether or not that electorate is real, it is doubtful that the conversation in the Oval Office centers around how to bring Bibi into the national conversation before the midterms.

A senior White House official put the odds to me plainly. A 60 percent chance we stay out. A 30 percent chance we help Netanyahu. A 10 percent chance we help the other one.

Trump’s endorsement woiuld likely help Netanyahu in his goal to remain PM, for Trump has historically appealed to those who supported Netanyahu in Israel: the right-wingers.  When I asked Grok about Netanyahu’s chances, it told me this:

Roughly 30–40% chance of heading a new majority government, but a substantially higher chance (likely 60–80%+) of remaining in office in the near term as caretaker prime minister if there is a deadlock.
It added that on betting platforms, Eisenkot is the favorite (48% chance among all candidates) to replace Netanyahu.
*Anonymous sources have provided more information on why the government is investigating Ilhan Omar; apparently it has to do with immigration matters rather than her family finances. (There’s apparently a separate investigation of finances.)

The federal investigation that prompted the search of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s D.C. residence on Monday centers on claims that she or her late father may have lied on decades-old immigration paperwork to secure legal status and eventually U.S. citizenship, three people familiar with the matter said.

Omar — a Minnesota Democrat who was born in Somalia and fled civil war there with her family before eventually immigrating to the United States in 1995 — has repeatedly rejected such allegations, which have circulated in conservative media for years. She dismissed them again in a statement Monday as “baseless lies and smear campaigns.”

It is extremely unusual for federal agents to take public investigative actions related to a member of Congress just weeks before an election because doing so could cast a candidate who is not criminally charged in a negative light.

In Omar’s case, the investigation is notable for other reasons as well: It involves long-ago paperwork from when she was a teenager, and Omar is a lawmaker who has frequently been singled out for criticism and vitriol by President Donald Trump and his allies.

The president condemned her again in a social media post Tuesday, after U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro told Fox News that her office had launched a separate inquiry into Omar’s financial disclosure forms — a matter that has previously drawn the attention of House Republicans.

The immigration-related inquiry, which could result in fraud charges and potentially an attempt by the Justice Department to strip Omar of her citizenship, is based on a renewed look at her immigration history launched earlier this year by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the investigative arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the people familiar with the matter said.

The agency had declined to move forward with such a probe years earlierbased on similar allegations, said one of the individuals, who is a former immigration official.

That person and a Trump administration official said agents now are especiallyfocused on whether Omar or her father, Nur Omar Mohamed, intentionally misstated her birth date on immigration paperwork so she could be eligible to derive citizenship through him as a minor when he was naturalized in 2000.

Both of them, and a third person familiar with the investigation, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not been made public.

Investigators have also scrutinized whether Omar’s father may have purposefully lied or omitted information on his past military service as he sought legal status in the United States before he became a citizen, the Trump administration official said. Mohamed died in 2020.

I suppose these things are worthy of investigation if there is any credible evidence for them, but two things make me doubtful. First, it smacks of retribution from Trump, who dislikes Omar (to be sure, I do, too), and is a non-urgent matter that was publicly announced within the 60-day window preceding her re-election sate—a window that the feds have traditionally avoided. Second, I thought this had all been hashed out and settled long ago.  If there are new data suggesting illegal activity, by all means investigate them after the election. If not, it’s a waste of time.

*Joni Mitchell has become an American citizen after more than 6 decades of living in America.

“Joni Mitchell, Canada.” Loud applause surrounded this call-out at a U.S. citizenship ceremony on Tuesday morning, as Ms. Mitchell was summoned to the front of a room to take her oath.

Wearing a red beret and a navy blue floral shirt, she had been sitting in the front row waiting her turn. Ms. Mitchell, the folk singer known for defining the genre with anthems like “Big Yellow Taxi” and “Woodstock,” later shared a video of the moment on social media, alongside a photo of herself with a U.S. flag in hand and a larger one behind her.

She captioned her post: “A journey that began 62 years ago.”

. . .Ms. Mitchell, now 82, was a young Canadian folk singer with no record deal and only a handful of songs to her name when she arrived in Detroit in the mid-1960s, alongside her husband, Chuck Mitchell, also a musician. They had wed in June 1965 and were looking to make it as artists in America.

Two years later, when their marriage dissolved, Ms. Mitchell traded her sprawling five-bedroom apartment in Detroit (she called it her “tenement castle” in the song “I Had a King”) for a one-bedroom in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. It was there that she wrote “Chelsea Morning.”

. . .Around that time [1968], she moved to Los Angeles, first to Laurel Canyon in 1968, then to Bel Air in 1975. She would travel between California and British Columbia, Canada, where she had at one time bought a seaside property. She resides in Santa Barbara.

Ms. Mitchell has made no public mention of why she had chosen this moment to embrace U.S. citizenship, and a request for comment to her representative went unanswered.

She had, however, touched upon the issue in 2024 at a performance in Los Angeles roughly two weeks before the presidential election. “I wish I could vote,” she said onstage.

Here’s her tweet:

It’s kind of late for her to begin voting now!

*The WSJ reports (in big print!) that inflation rose to 3.7% in September, though within the last decade it’s been a lot higher than that. A lot of the rise is due to higher energy prices (i.e., gasoline), which affects many other prices. And have you been to the grocery store lately?

Inflation picked up in September, a sign that high energy prices are tightening their squeeze on consumers ahead of next month’s midterm elections.

Consumer prices were up 3.7% in September from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday, hotter than August’s gain of 3.4%.

That was above the 3.6% rise expected by economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal.

There were signs that high energy prices are starting to leak into other parts of the economy.

Prices excluding food and energy—the so-called core prices, which economists watch to gauge underlying trends—rose 2.6%, above forecasts for a 2.5% increase. Month over month, core prices rose by 0.3%, surprising economists who had expected a 0.2% increase.

“At this point we’re at dangerously elevated levels of inflation,” said Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at Stifel.

High prices have been a political flashpoint for Americans, who have grown fed up with more than five years of inflation. Prices rose much faster in September than average hourly earnings, which increased 3% from a year earlier, marking the sixth month in a row of inflation outpacing wages. That means many Americans are seeing their real incomes fall.

. . . Energy costs drove inflation in September, and high retail prices in October suggest pain at the pump will continue. Prices have soared since the Iran conflict started at the end of February

Gasoline prices last month rose 9.1% from the prior month—a faster pace than August’s 3.9% increase—and are up 34% over the past year. Fuel-oil prices, meanwhile, are up 74% since last September.

Well, a few tenths of one percent doesnt seem so serious to me, but economists worry about and prognosticate about such things. If you look at the record over the last 15 years, though, the rate doesn’t look so large. Here’s the chart from the WSJ.

But there’s more to the story. Here, from today’s NYT email newsletter, is the rate of inflation of particular items and services.  Gas, fuel oil, and airlines fares have far outstripped the general inflation rate.

Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili is plumping for beef again:

Andrzej: I’m going to sit here.
Hili: Make yourself some coffee first, and while you’re in the kitchen, get something nice for me from the pantry.

In Polish:

Ja: Zamierzam tu usiąść.
Hili: Zrób sobie najpierw kawę, a jak już będziesz w kuchni, to wyjmij ze spiżarni coś dobrego dla mnie.

*******************

From Stacy:

From CinEmma:

From Give Me a Sign:

From Masih: another peaceful protestor sentenced to death:

The Number Ten Cat shows himself off despite the scar from his recent operation to remove a cyst:

From Luana; this appears to be true (see here).

Two from my feed. Look at this beaver!

Here’s a video of some brave women athletes.  You can read the backstory in The Chronicle. Here’s an excerpt:

On Sept. 15, there was something more important to Skyview High School cross country athletes Charlie Garrett and Sierra Retzlaff than their race at Camas High School. The girls felt it was important to make a statement in support of the rights for girls like them not to be forced to compete against biological males.

Let’s Go Washington officials and news personality Brandi Kruse each reported this week that an athlete at Camas High School had competed on both the boys’ cross country and the girls’ cross country teams in the same season. Clark County Today also published an opinion written by Editor Ken Vance about this news.

Garrett, a junior captain of the Skyview team, and Retzlaff, a sophomore, are two of the top runners on their team. Garrett is a past state meet participant. Each of the two have goals they hope to accomplish this season.

But they set those goals aside at that meet three weeks ago.

“We found out a biological boy would be in our race running for Camas,’’ Garrett said. “I decided to step off the line with one of my teammates (Retzlaff) and protest against this. We lined up on the start line like we normally do. Once the gun went off, me and my teammate walked about five meters and then stepped off the course.

“I felt that it was unfair for me and that girls were having our opportunities taken away by something we couldn’t control,’’ Garrett said. “The kid started as a biological male at the beginning of the season and then a week later decided they would like to be entered in girls’ races. It troubles me that spots are being taken away from me at bigger meets like districts, regionals and state. Athletes’ spots are being taken away and scholarships are being taken away.’’

One I reposted from The Auschwitz Memorial:

And two from Professor Emeritus Cobb. I haven’t read these volumes by Darwin and now won’t even try. He corrected the date to 1868:

Having slogged my way through both volumes of Darwin’s 1866 VARIATION OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS UNDER DOMESTICATION all I can say is I’m glad I won’t ever have to read it again. What a load of confused, boring tosh. Not his fault, in a way, but he really didn’t need to go on so.

— Matthew Cobb (@matthewcobb.bsky.social) 2026-10-13T17:57:51.946Z

Sound up for this one:

yall ever just watch a wombat eating grass

— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew.bsky.social) 2026-10-14T14:07:37.633Z

5 thoughts on “Thursday: Hili dialogue”

  2. I read a biography of Desi Arnaz by Todd S. Purdum—not usually my thing. It was interesting! Arnaz was the architect of the show; Lucille Ball the comedic star. Unlike other live shows, Arnaz insisted that the show be put on film using three cameras—a difficult and expensive operation—and that Desilu own the rights to the film. This meant that the film could be used for rebroadcast later. Arnaz and Desilu studio ran reruns of the show, extending its lifespan and creating a new revenue stream. According to the bio, Arnaz pioneered reruns—and the rest is history. (I have not independently confirmed that the content of the biography is true.)

    Eisenkot seems to be getting the most attention on the English-language Israeli news outlets. Israeli elections and the subsequent juggling to form a viable government is nothing like what we have in the U.S. We’ll see.

    Reply

  3. On Ilan Omar, a woman I can’t wait to see the back of as she’s taken to jail:

    Previously I’d mentioned that right-wing calls to have her “deported!” because they don’t like her … are stupid.
    Even her alleged brother marriage for immigration benefits are shaky. They could land her in jail (please!) but they won’t get her deported.

    The latest scandal about her immigration history (re her father) -could- get her potentially deported, however her being a minor at the time of this alleged fraud means it’s unlikely she would be deported.

    In denaturalization and deportation proceedings politics comes into it, so she won’t be deported is my bet.

    In the Somaliland (NOT Somalia) community where I have some friends there’s a lot of talk about her family being the actual genocidiers in the Somali civil war, killing between one and two hundred thousand Somalilanders. Finally talking about this horror.

    There’s also her financial shenanigans…

    I’d rather see her in an American jail than in a mansion in Mogadishu.
    D.A.
    NYC

    Reply

  4. Somehow Lucy came up the other day while my wife and I were driving. She looked it up: “I Love Lucy” (1951-57), “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” (13 episodes) (1957-60), “The Lucy Show” (the one with Vivian Vance) (1962-1968), and “Here’s Lucy” (the one with Lucie and Desi Arnez, Jr.) (1968-74) (not to mention “Life with Lucy” (1986)). I had no idea that any of her series last that long. Basically, she was on TV for over twenty years straight. (I’ve found that my impression of how long a series lasted was generally wrong when I watched it in syndication.)

    Reply

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