Welcome to the Sabbath for goyische cats: it’s Sunday, September 21, 2025 and National Chai Day, the spicy, sweet, milky, and restorative tea sold everywhere in India. You used to get it on trains for a few rupees in a handmade clay cup, which imparted an earthy flavor to the tea, but now they use plastic or paper. Here’s a video of a special chai, described on YouTube this way:

Pulled chai made by a tea seller, or “chai wallah”. Here’s how masala chai is made at the famous Krishna’s Tea Stall. Ingredients include black tea, fresh whole milk, water, black peppercorns, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. Unlike many milky teas, which are brewed in water with milk later added, traditional masala chai is often brewed directly in the milk.

I’m not sure where Krishna’s Tea Stall is (the sign says “best in Bundi“, which is in Rajasthan) but this would be the place to get your tea: in this case “masala chai” (spiced tea). The elaborate pouring ritual is standard.

All this for about 10-20rupees! )A rupee is about one American cent now. )

It’s also World Gratitude Day, National Beef Stroganoff Day, National Women’s Friendship Day, International Day of Peace, National Brunch Day (Anthony Bourdain said to beware of restaurant brunches), National Pecan Cookie Day, and National Sponge Candy Day.

Readers are welcome to mark notable events, births, or deaths on this day by consulting the September 21 Wikipedia page.

Da Nooz:

*Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air for saying that the MAGA crowd was desperate to show that the murderer of Charlie Kirk wasn’t one of theirs, implying that everyone knew it was. But Kimmel was wrong, as were many others on the Left who rushed to judgement before the facts were in. Andrew Sullivan calls them out, but only before calling out the other side in a post called “The woke Right comes of age.”

The difference between Kimmel and the rest, of course, is that Kimmel is on a broadcast network, which is supposed to serve the “public interest” and is subject to government licensing. And what those networks have done these last few years — especially in late night — has been to become aggressive, partisan opponents of Trump and MAGA and subsequently, much more unforgivably, craven apologists — and even propagandists, in the case of Colbert — for Biden. They decided to cater to only one half of the country, and relentlessly mock, ridicule, and demonize the other half. Johnny Carson, they ain’t.

The networks’ public legitimacy was thereby sacrificed on the altar of these men’s vanity and convictions, and the pretense of neutrality evaporated more explicitly than ever before. I guess it felt good and noble at the time. But the hangover? Not so much. Legitimacy matters — especially when you need to defend yourself, as the tides of opinion shift. But along with so many other institutions dependent on broad public legitimacy — universities, foundations, major corporations, large media entities like the NYT, WaPo, or NPR — the networks chose in the last decade to delegitimize themselves with the center.

Almost all abandoned the veneer of neutrality. The View, anyone? The 1619 Project? “Democracy Dies In Darkness”? The woke screeds that were passed off as news reports for years? And yes, veneers matter. We all became used to soft-liberal bias on TV and newspapers for years like background music, and it didn’t delegitimize them entirely. We let it go. They kept up a veil of respectability, a wispy fig leaf of balance over their leftist privates. We sighed and kept subscribing and watching. But the full-on neo-Marxist propaganda of 2020? And far-left disinformation at the Kimmel level in the wake of an assassination? Well, the veil slipped, didn’t it, and here we are.

. . . This hasn’t come out of nowhere. It’s a ratcheting dynamic of tribal illiberalism, fueled by Trump after 2016, and by the woke after 2020, and now by Trump again — with a vengeance. My hope was always that these institutions could slowly re-balance after Trump, moderate, permit diversity of opinion, win back public trust. They had a chance under Biden — as did Biden, of course — but by then they were drunk on their own supply, and threw that chance away. They went far left — just as Biden did. (For added value, we found out this morning that Kimmel was not planning to apologize for lying, but to go on the offensive against his critics. The Hollywood bubble is tight.)

Sullivan’s point is now both Left and Right are against free speech, but the Right’s opposition is worse, because it has the levers of state power behind it:

. . . . But the tit-for-tat is at Orbán levels now, with state institutions directly canceling private entities. That is a difference in kind, not degree. It’s where cancel culture becomes outright authoritarianism. FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s mob-like threats against broadcast networks this week — we can do this “the easy way or the hard way” — were pure Budapest. Nexstar needs FCC blessing for a merger, so within hours of Carr’s encouragement, they and their 60 affiliate stations balked at Kimmel’s lie. Disney, faced with losing 40 percent of a late-night audience that had already declined by almost half in 2025, swiftly caved.

And the Trump right isn’t coy or shy about any of this. They love cancel culture, they now declare, and want the state to be fully involved in it. . . =

There’s even fat-shaming of Trump:

Mercifully, some on the anti-woke right have stayed solid. The Free Press should take a bow. Ditto the WSJ and Kimberley Strassel. Taibbi and Greenwald — not on the right — get it. Ditto Tucker Carlson. But Ben Shapiro and Chris Rufo? Yep, you guessed it. Authoritarian frauds.

Then there’s the Big Guy. In his inauguration speech this year: “I will also sign an executive order to immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America. Never again will the immense power of the state be weaponized to persecute political opponents.” Trump now: “The [networks] give me only bad publicity, press. I mean, they’re getting a license. I would think maybe their license should be taken away.” And this: “That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!”

Of course this is no big surprise. Trump is a tyrant in every cell of his lardaceous body.

Sullivan concludes is that both Left and Right are “woke” in the sense of trying to suppress speech they don’t like. And the sad part is that there’s little we can do about it. The Supreme Court can, of course, but they haven’t really weighed in on any meaningful cases against Trump. And, of course, we have the vote.

Trump doesn’t just support shutting down “hate speech” — he wants more of it! He has now sued CBS, the De Moines Register, the WSJ, the NYT, and Penguin Random/House for lèse majesté — something unimaginable for any president before he came along. CBS surrendered and is now busy turning itself into a Trump-Netanyahu network. ABC gave in over Stephanopoulos and CBS surrendered over a Kamala interview — both absurd concessions. The WaPo has killed a diverse op-ed page, in favor of an entirely right-leaning one. The WSJ and the NYT are currently being sued for a total of $25 billion for telling the truth about a public official. And still Trump wants more. Of course he does. Appeasing tyrants merely whets their appetite. And if this is after eight months, imagine what the next three years will bring.

I guess it’s clarifying, at least. Wokeness — with its censorious attempt to control minds by threats — is not dead. It’s just on both sides now — and involves government. Cancel culture has leapt from the social and horizontal to the political and vertical.

*Note that Sully was prescient, as yesterday’s NYT also has an article about the “Woke Right”, with the term meaning the same thing as above. But people on the Right–people you don’t like–are calling out the Woke Right:

“If that does happen, there is never a more justified moment for civil disobedience than that. Ever,” Mr. Carlson added.

His words of caution were the latest indication that a small but growing group of media and political figures on the right have been troubled by recent calls to punish and prosecute those who malign Mr. Kirk.

. . .Ben Shapiro, who has one of the highest rated podcasts in the country, told listeners that while he was no fan of Mr. Kimmel, he did not like the idea of the F.C.C. threatening broadcasters over content that the agency deems false. “Why? Because one day the shoe will be on the other foot,” Mr. Shapiro said on Thursday.

*If your barista at Starbucks is especially nice to you lately, remember, it’s not that you’re an especially nice person: it’s all about money. The company is losing $$. Welcome to America:

Here’s how a Starbucks SBUX 1.37%increase; green up pointing triangle visit is supposed to go today: You walk in the door and the barista looks you in the eye, smiles and says, “Welcome to Starbucks.”

They may call you by name, if you’re a regular. When your drink is ready—in four minutes or less—the barista’s there again, handing it to you. “Your Caramel Macchiato looks so good, it’s one of my favorites,” they say. Making your way to a comfy chair, you notice a smiley face and “Have a nice day!” scrawled in Sharpie across your cup.

It’s all according to a carefully written script. The world’s largest coffee company is mounting a new effort to choreograph the way its hundreds of thousands of U.S. baristas speak, make drinks and hand off orders, down to the word. They are being coached to read customers’ moods, to choose the right gestures, the correct tone of voice.

“Pause for a second to make eye contact. Don’t rush the moment,” reads the “Thank with eye contact” section of Starbucks’s new training material, a copy of which The Wall Street Journal viewed. Employees should be present with customers, even when multi-tasking. If there’s a mishap, baristas need to LATTE: Listen, Apologize, Take action, Thank and Ensure satisfaction.

. . .In the director’s seat is Starbucks Chief Executive Brian Niccol. Now a year into his tenure, he is betting the company’s future lies in making its cafes warm and inviting, and he is leaving nothing to chance.

The company has rewritten its training materials. It’s standardizing uniforms, cafe decor and worker mannerisms. It is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to improve its service and ambience. It’s trying to make its interiors warmer and adding hundreds of thousands of chairs, many of which were stripped out during the pandemic. Mobile-order pickup queues are being better sectioned off, an effort to tamp down on crowding and confusion.

The stakes are high. Starbucks has recorded six consecutive quarterly same-store sales drops, and investors remain cautious on the stock, with shares trading down about 7% this year. Well-funded coffee competitors, including newcomers like Arizona-based Dutch Bros and China’s Luckin Coffee, are picking off Starbucks’s customers and have plans to open thousands of new stores in the years ahead.

I don’t like Starbucks and go only when I’m at an airport at 5 a.m. and have to wake up, so I’m not sad they’re losing money. Plus their drinks are overpriced. And with this new makeover, you can bet that your large latte is going to cost you seven or eight bucks. For that, you get this:

In the lesson covering the handoff of beverages, baristas role-played how to impart warmth to the customer, according to the training material. Baristas could ask a customer what they thought of their drink, encourage them to return tomorrow or note that it means a lot for them to be part of their day.

“Thanks [Name]! I remembered your order today. Hope I got it right,” one suggested outro said.

This all seems fake and patronizing. I prefer the French way, where servers make a decent wage, are professional, and not obsequious. If they’re friendly, it’s usually genuine. “Hi! I’m Todd, and I’ll be your barista today.”

*After I read Andrew Sullivan’s piece above saying that the Washington Post now has an “entirely right-wing” editorial page, I went over there and looked. It didn’t look particularly conservative, what with op-eds damning House Republicans, RFK Jr., and the new CDC. But there was one column that, while not right-wing, at least was against the progressive Left: “New York’s Zohran Mamdani holdout” (subtitle” The state Democratic Party chairman takes a pass on endorsing a socialist for mayor”). Perhaps, though, it’s telling that it was by the entire WaPo editorial board. An excerpt:

More and more Democrats are ignoring their better judgment and joining a partisan stampede to embrace socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. The dwindling number of Mamdani’s copartisans willing to tell the truth about his brand of politics deserve credit. New York State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs is one of them.

“Mr. Mamdani and I are in agreement that America’s greatest problem is the continued growth in income disparity in our nation,” Jacobs said in a recent statement. “On how to address it — we fundamentally disagree.” He cited Mamdani’s views on Israel and added: “I reject the platform of the so-called ‘Democratic Socialists of America’ and do not believe it represents the principles, values or policies of the Democratic Party.”

Some Democrats have acknowledged disagreements with Mamdani’s socialism but endorsed him anyway as a matter of political calculation, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. (Mamdani didn’t return the favor, declining to endorse the governor’s reelection bid.) Other Democrats privately play down concerns about Mamdani and express hope that he will moderate in office. After all, he’s no longer making statements such as “Queer liberation means defund the police.” He just got caught up in the moment in 2020, right?

Moderate in office? Don’t count on it: he’s already moderated what he says  he believes only to get elected. That didn’t work for Biden, who got woker, and of course AOC is worse than ever, though she’s realized she’ll never be a senator if she keeps on with extreme progressive stands. It’s clear that the editorial board doesn’t like Mamdani, so maybe Sullivan is right:

Another story Democrats tell themselves is that even if Mamdani is a radical, New York’s mayoralty doesn’t really matter. But New York has a strong-mayor system, and if the leader of the world’s most famous city is a socialist, people will notice around the country and the globe.

The truth is that Mamdani is a fresh face on a well-trodden political program. Command-and-control economic policies will hurt the city’s poorest residents the most. Rent control of the kind Mamdani supports has created housing shortages wherever it has been tried. Government-run grocery stores aren’t a better idea in the United States than they were in the collapsing Soviet Union. A retreat from policing will degrade public spaces, as it did in cities across the country after 2020.

Jacobs says the Democratic Socialists of America do not represent the values of the Democratic Party. But Axios reported Friday that Mamdani’s fellow Democratic socialist from New York, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is mulling a presidential run. The competition to define the Democrats in 2028 will be intense, and moderates don’t need to preemptively capitulate by falling in line behind Mamdani.

OMG OMG; this is the first time I’ve herd AOC’s name mentioned as “mulling a presidential run”. I would have to write in the name of another Democratic candidate if she got the nod, but if Democrats are smart, they won’t nominate her.

*And there is no news that Ghost, the dying Giant Pacific octopus incubating her eggs in a California aquarium, has died yet, so she’s certainly still at it, starving to death. I find that story ineffably sad, even though nearly all octopuses undergo this kind of “senescence” after they lay their one clutch of eggs. Again, see the movie “My Octopus Teacher” if you want to see this happening (at the end). You will cry, but you will also be amazed and learn a lot of cephalopod biology.

Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, the boys are joking around:

Hili: You should enjoy life at least once a week.
Andrzej: On Mondays or on Tuesdays?

In Polish:

Hili: Co najmniej raz w tygodniu powinieneś cieszyć się życiem.
Ja: W poniedziałki, czy we wtorki?

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

From Things With Faces, by Herla MBang. A face in spreadable butter!:

From Jesus of the Day.  Do you know what this is? The first person to guess correctly gets my warm congratulations:

From CinEmma:

From Masih; another brave Iranian woman who gave her life (and right before her wedding) protesting the murderous and oppressive regime of Iran. You can read about the murder of this 23-year-old at this site.

If your wedding was just a week away, what would you do?
She chose to take to the streets to protest the killing of Mahsa Amini in the hand of morality police in Iran. The regime killed her before she could celebrate her own wedding.
Say her name:#HananehKia
: #حنانه_کیا pic.twitter.com/wO1UzXuXiL

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) September 20, 2025

*Luana sent this tweet from Emma Hilton. The original Guardian article is here,  and here are a few paragraphs:

Between 50 and 60 athletes who went through male puberty have been finalists in the female category in global and continental track and field championships since 2000, according to a senior World Athletics official.

World Athletics has introduced SRY screening, a gene test that uses a cheek swab to assess if someone is biologically male or female, for the world championships in Tokyo.

In a presentation to a scientific panel in the Japanese capital on Friday, Dr Stéphane Bermon, head of health and science at World Athletics, outlined why the sport’s governing body believes such screens are necessary as he presented data collected over the past 25 years. He said it showed that athletes with differences of sex development (DSD), who have a 46 XY karyotype with male testes but were reported female at birth, were significantly “over-represented” in major finals and that it “compromises the integrity of the female competitions”.

World Athletics reveals the scale of the issue of male athletes with DSDs competing in the female category in international track and field.

I am not surprised at the number (I suspect the true figure is higher).

Nobody working in this area will be surprised at the number. https://t.co/KP3ZhEoTQA

— Emma Hilton (@FondOfBeetles) September 20, 2025

From Simon, Rechavi likes to take memes and give them a laboratory them. And he’s right about the ice buckets:

There are never enough ice buckets in the lab

— Oded Rechavi (@odedrechavi.bsky.social) 2025-09-20T13:24:55.159Z

Two from my feed. Maarten Boudry, my Belgian friend, will be interested in this one (actually, I found that he reposted it on his feed):

He comes from Gaza to Belgium, applies for asylum, and wants to strike the throats of all “kuffars.”

Consider the ideology of this young asylum seeker from Gaza.

“When I finish fucking Israel, I’m gonna come and fuck Brits. We are coming, bro. We are Islam. Allahu akbar. God… pic.twitter.com/Vf2Oary6lD

— Darya Safai MP (@SafaiDarya) September 19, 2025

This is what raccoons do when they’re frightened and trying to make themselves look bigger:

“We got caught Brian, just act normal” 😅 pic.twitter.com/b0SibUSbYX

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) September 19, 2025

One I reposted from the Auschwitz Memorial:

This 35-year-old Polish man lived but twelve days in the camp before he died.

— Jerry Coyne (@evolutionistrue.bsky.social) 2025-09-21T10:29:04.274Z

Two posts from Dr. Cobb. Of the first one Matthew says,    “These Public Information Films (PIFs) were shown on 70s kids TV in the UK. Vid in tweet. . . . There’s a reason the account is called Scarred for Life – it’s full of the alarming things we had in the late 60s early 70s.”  Oy!

LONELY WATER (1973): Legendary child-frightener, and one of the most influential and effective PIFs ever made. Donald Pleasence's voice helped lower the number of child deaths by drowning and opened the door to the scary, deadly PIFs of the 70s & 80s. A folk horror film condensed into 90 seconds.

— Scarred For Life (@scarredforlife.bsky.social) 2025-09-20T17:31:26.986Z

And a bizarre male fish, who is “pregnant.” There must be three sexes!!!!

The next generation is safe behind those teeth! Yesterday, I spotted this pregnant dad Tiger #Cardinalfish (#Cheilodipterus macrodon) #mouthbrooding his eggs. #tigercardinalfish #cheilodipterusmacrodon #tulamben #tulambenbali #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug

— Chris Gug (@gugunderwater.bsky.social) 2025-09-18T12:31:00.253Z

Lagniappe from me:

Everyday this gentle deer waits patiently at her doorstep for a treat. pic.twitter.com/69EidehpGJ

— The Figen (@TheFigen_) September 20, 2025

Welcome to CaturSaturday, September 20, 2025, the sabbath for all good Jewish cats and National String Cheese Day. I love the stuff but never buy it (it’s a great snack). Here’s how they make it:

It’s also International Eat an Apple Day, International Red Panda Day, National Fried Rice Day, National Pepperoni Pizza Day, World Paella Day, and National Punch Day (the drink, not the blow).

Readers are welcome to mark notable events, births, or deaths on this day by consulting the September 20 Wikipedia page.

I will be going to Boston on Monday, and so Monday’s Hili dialogue, and about a week after that, will be truncated as I’ll be traveling. As always, I do my best.

There is a Google Doodle today about photosynthesis. Click on the Doodle to see where it goes (I think it was written by AI!) These didactic Doodles are meant to educate us and symbolize that it’s “back to school” time.

Da Nooz:

*Now here’s a headline that you’ll want to read about: “Draft bill would authorize Trump to kill people he deems narco-terrorists.” Well of course Trump wouldn’t be pulling the trigger, but the thought of him deciding to kill people who aren’t properly identified is frightening (remember, Obama and other Democratic Presidents also authorized long-distance killing of terrorists, but Trump seems to be doing it without sufficient evidence). Anyway, an excerpt:

*Well, ICE is busy in Chicago arresting immigrants as Trump has clearly targeted Chicago in his “operation Midway Blitz:

 As encounters with federal immigration agents around Chicago increase, tactics used by activists and immigrant leaders to fight back are also escalating.

The Trump administration has singled out Chicago as its latest mark for immigration enforcement, using traffic stops in immigrant-heavy areas and targeting day laborers outside hardware stores.

“We will not back down,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted Thursday on X, recirculating dramatic footage of arrests at a suburban Chicago home days earlier.

Activists and local leaders are also defiant, trying to deter agents, warn residents and keep attention on a man killed by an immigration officer last week.

As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched a new operation this month, the focus appeared to be on traffic stops in largely immigrant and Latino neighborhoods and suburbs. This week, activists say arrests of day laborers are on the rise, echoing enforcement trends elsewhere.

Federal agents were spotted at roughly half a dozen Home Depot and Menards stores in the Chicago area, resulting in individual arrests, according to activists.

“Our neighbors who build, paint, fix and beautify this city have been the target of these unwarranted attacks,” said Miguel Alvelo Rivera with the Latino Union, which advocates for day laborers.

He spoke Thursday near a Home Depot in the heavily Latino Brighton Park neighborhood where ICE agents were spotted a day earlier.

In immigrant and activist circles, the arrests are commonly referred to as abductions because many agents wear masks, drive unmarked vehicles and don’t have insignia on their clothes.

Here’s a tweet from Kristi Noem’s X feed showing what’s going on in Chicago. It’s scary:

We will not back down. pic.twitter.com/iPRSFgTaMs

— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) September 18, 2025

I wish they’d stop the mask-wearing and anonymous policing, though I do think it’s okay to enforce the law.  But everybody abducted according to law also deserves a hearing before an immigration judge before their case is settled, and I’m not sure they’re getting any of that.

*As always, I’m going to steal a few items from Nellie Bowles’s weekly news-and-snark column in the doomed Free Press. This week’s colum is called “TGIF: The real motive is now that it seems,” and was written by Nellie herself. There’s a lot about the Kirk killing and his murderer, and I’ll have to condense it to three paragraphs:

→ Fallout from a political assassination: . . . Okay, now what about the real lefties? What are they hearing this week? That the killer was a right-wing vigilante, naturally. Here’s Heather Cox Richardson, the most successful progressive writer in America, with a huge business on Substack (I’m not jealous, you’re jealous). “But in fact, the alleged shooter was not someone on the left. The alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, is a young white man from a Republican, gun enthusiast family, who appears to have embraced the far right, disliking Kirk for being insufficiently radical.” Yes, the dominant theory is that he was a so-called groyper, a hard-right meme guy who thinks Republican leadership is too soft. Which I guess means he assassinated Charlie Kirk for being too liberal?

. . .So what is the truth? The accused killer seems to have been an internet-addled young man with newly left-wing politics, a love of furry porn video games, and a trans lover. It appears to be a political assassination by someone in the general zone of sanity (maybe an outskirt of the town of Sane,but certainly located somewhere in Cogent County). Investigators say he engraved “Hey fascist! Catch!” on one of the bullets and “Bella Ciao” on another, a reference to an Italian anti-fascist anthem. According to authorities, he wrote to his romantic partner: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out. If I am able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence.”

I think the fear is that if the killer is a lefty, it would justify some kind of crackdown on normal progressives, so we all must lie. But no crackdown is justified, regardless of the kind of porn video game this kid played or who his roommate was! And it’s not a reporter’s job to lie! If a centrist lesbian went on a shooting spree, I would argue 1) that’s bad and she should be in gay jail, and 2) I have nothing to do with her and should not suffer tribal retribution. But, you see, the modern reporter does believe in tribal retribution. And so the modern reporter must lie about the killer.

→ Pam Bondi’s rough week: During an interview on The Katie Miller Podcast, Attorney General Pam Bondi spoke about those celebrating Charlie Kirk’s death, saying that “There’s free speech and then there’s hate speech, and there is no place, especially now, especially after what happened to Charlie, in our society. . . . We will absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech.”

As the (brilliant, gorgeous, looking great lately) editors of The Free Press put it, Bondi managed to do the impossible: unite the country in opposition to her complete lack of understanding of the Constitution. Bondi did try to walk it back. But we all need a big civics class, and it needs to be tailored for MAGA, tailored to appeal to a certain sensibility. What I’m thinking is a shirtless man riding a horse, an eagle on his arm, talking about how saying “the president sucks” is legal, cowboy. Free speech is based and high-IQ, no cuck, my boys, he says, as he tips his cowboy hat. I take my macros with a side of lib tears and Texas v. Johnson, broski.

→ How is Dearborn real: At a Dearborn, Michigan, city council meeting last week, there was an argument over recently installed street signs honoring Osama Siblani (a local newsman who referred to Hamas and Hezbollah as “freedom fighters” and was just generally a very pro-Hez activist, which is a de facto requirement to work in media lately). One Dearborn resident dissented, saying, “He’s a promoter of Hezbollah and Hamas,” and said the signs were akin to naming a road “Hezbollah Street or Hamas Street.” Mayor Abdullah Hammoud did not like this. He called the resident “a bigot,” saying: “You are racist, and you’re an Islamophobe. . . . Although you live here, I want you to know as mayor, you are not welcome here. And the day you move out of the city will be the day that I launch a parade celebrating the fact that you moved out of this city.” The mayor said this. To a citizen of his town. On camera!

What is going on in Dearborn? And please, dude, leave that city. Let Mayor Hammoud do the parade. Because he’s gonna get you one way or another. You realize the police report to him? Speaking of which: I want everyone in Dearborn to know I love whatever is going on with Hezbollah Avenue and have no opinions on anything, nor any interest in entering the state of Michigan, pay me no mind. Go Blue.

Here’s a video of the mayor’s reaction as described above:

*According to the WaPo, Kamala Harris’s new book is causing a kerfuffle—among Democrats! Bolding is from the WaPo, highlighting the “takeaways”:

Published excerpts from Kamala Harris’s new book are sparking pushback from prominent Democrats who are among Harris’s likely opponents if she decides to run for president again in 2028.

Former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg told Politico on Thursday that he was “surprised” by Harris’s analysis that he would have been a risky pick as her 2024 running mate. And a spokesman for Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro pushed back on Harris’s characterizations of their meeting when he came to see her for his interview as one of three finalists for the job.

For years, Harris was one of the most cautious figures in the upper echelon of politics — serving as a loyal vice president to President Joe Biden, rebuffing questions about his health, mental agility and ability to serve. But she dispenses with that caution in her candid new memoir — “107 Days,” to be published Tuesday — in which she writes about her regrets in not dissuading him from running again and the way his team undermined and dismissed her as his No. 2.

Here are takeaways from Harris’s new memoir. [Bolding is the WaPo’s]

Harris worried Shapiro wouldn’t be comfortable as No. 2.

Harris saw Buttigieg, her first choice, as too risky. 

Too risky? I love Mayor Pete. His response:

Buttigieg told Politico on Thursday that he was “surprised” to read the passage from the book suggesting that he was too risky and added that he and Harris did not discuss that aspect of her decision.

Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili makes a funny:

Hili: You look bigger today than yesterday.
Me: That’s just a matter of perspective.

In Polish:

Hili: Jesteś dziś większy niż wczoraj.
Ja: To tylko kwestia perspektywy.

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

From Give Me a Sign:

Another d*g meme, this one from Now That’s Wild:

From Things With Faces:

Masih is back sending videos of Iranian women defying the law, and good for them. Here are two; the first one is the one I’m highlighting, but I couldn’t separate it from the other:

Iranian women are sending me videos asking the same question: “Why do Iranian men perform concerts while women are silenced?”
Yes, you heard me ; In Iran, women are banned from singing solo on stage and performing concerts. Yet men still hold concerts, as if half the nation’s… https://t.co/tGG0dNINOM pic.twitter.com/vfIho2XU0X

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) September 18, 2025

Why is the Scottish government dragging its heels in implementing the new law that defines “men” and “women”.  Does anybody know?

You can almost feel @MichelleThomson pain as she pleads with the @scotgov to implement the Supreme Court ruling on sex. There’s no reason for John Swinney to drag his feet on this. Does he despise women? Or is he too feart to stand up to the TRA activists in his party? Either… https://t.co/p3KO9ZWyhE

— Susan Dalgety (@DalgetySusan) September 17, 2025

Speaking of which, this comes from Luana:

🚨Here is a photograph taken at a classical studies summer school for 16 year olds at Wadham College at the University of Oxford.

A male lecturer wearing fetish gear (including a BDSM collar) is teaching children about womanhood.@UniofOxford – This is a safeguarding concern. pic.twitter.com/d8yNmSllQq

— James Esses (@JamesEsses) September 17, 2025

A fun (and amazing) tweet sent by Malcolm:

Fun fact.

There were just 32 years between the maiden flight of the Spitfire and the Concorde’s. pic.twitter.com/MoHonFHR8v

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) September 2, 2025

One from my feed; look at that punctilious kitty!

Leopard standing on hind legs to get better view – Kruger National Park.. 🐆 pic.twitter.com/tSl1UQTPxW

— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) September 18, 2025

One I reposted from the Auschwitz Memorial:

This Dutch Jewish boy was gassed to death immediately upon arriving at Auschwitz. He was eighteen.

— Jerry Coyne (@evolutionistrue.bsky.social) 2025-09-20T10:40:49.824Z

Two posts from Dr. Cobb. Sound up for this beautiful family of mallards:

Ducklings running. Something wholesome to make you smile. I put out bird seed for the ducks every year. They'll quack by the back door so I'll come out with a cup of seed. Each year about 5 pairs of mallards nest in the backyard. #nature #cute #animals #birds #wildlife #viral

— See Through Canoe (@seethroughcanoe.bsky.social) 2025-09-17T18:59:42.322Z

. . . and a lovely ghost crab:

I wanted to get a video of this ghost crab but every time I got close to their hole they scuttled back in, so I tried getting clever with it. I made a little sandcastle and shoved my phone into it, hit record, and walked away. Crab was VERY suspicious of this addition to their environment.

— Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. (@sarahmackattack.bsky.social) 2025-09-19T12:30:27.118Z

‘Tis the tail end of the week: Friday, September 19, 2025, and it’s National Butterscotch Pudding Day. I always think of the disgraced Bill Cosby, who used to be all over television advertising Jell-O pudding, like here:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jesse Earl Leppert (@jesseeleppert)

It’s also International Grenache Day, International Talk like a Pirate Day, and National Concussion Awareness Day.

Here’s a video showing how to talk like a pirate. Why did they talk that way, anyway?

Readers are welcome to mark notable events, births, or deaths on this day by consulting the September 19 Wikipedia page.  ARRRRRRR, Matey!

Da Nooz:

*I didn’t think that Trump would appeal the court decision that overturned his attempt to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook—a firing ostensibly based on her claiming two different houses in two different places as her “principal residences” (she denies it). But appeal he did, and so it goes to the Supreme Court.

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to let it remove Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook from the central bank’s board while a lawsuit challenging the president’s effort to fire her proceeds.

The emergency request comes after a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., rejected the administration’s bid to remove Cook ahead of the Fed’s meeting earlier this week. The 2-1 decision was handed down the night before the meeting began.

Federal law protects Fed governors from arbitrary removal, but the administration’s lawyer, Solicitor General John Sauer, told the court in his filing that allegations that Cook committed mortgage fraud, made by a Trump political appointee, provide the president sufficient cause to fire the Senate-confirmed Biden appointee.

Sauer asked the court to allow the administration to immediately remove Cook from the board even before the justices issue a decision on the emergency request.

“That the Federal Reserve Board plays a uniquely important role in the American economy only heightens the government’s and the public’s interest in ensuring that an ethically compromised member does not continue wielding its vast powers,” Sauer wrote.

Cook has denied wrongdoing and argues that unproven allegations related to personal conduct before her appointment to the Fed can’t be grounds for her removal.

This should be an interesting case as the evidence should be fairly clean-cut. Either she committed fraud, and that should be on paper, or she didn’t. If she didn’t, the court should just toss the case, but if she did, well, then they can either take the case or remand it for re-inspection.  I have no idea what the evidence is, but it’s pretty clear that, for Trump, this isn’t really about fraud but about trying to make the Fed just another one of his servants.

*On her Substack site, Karen Hunt (aka KH Mezek) mourns the apparent purchase of The Free Press by Paramount for $100-200 million; the post is called “Say good-bye to The Free Press.”

Just as left and right have come together over the demonization of Israel, left and right have come together over support for Israel. (I have found this to be the case with my own Substack.) Ultra conservative evangelical Christians subscribe to TFP, even though they might frown on Bari Weiss being a lesbian. MAGA subscribe, even though TFP has a bias against President Trump. There are probably hundreds of thousands of Jewish subscribers, liberal and conservative, simply because it’s hard to find support for Israel anywhere in the news these days.

Expressing diverse points of view is what I have always liked about The Free Press. This makes for healthy, and generally respectful, debates in the comment sections, not these echo chambers where everyone pats each other on the back with a false sense that their opinion is the only one that matters.

However, as an independent news outlet grows in popularity, pressure to placate the powerful players who promote it is inevitable. Nobody who is popular on the right is going to criticize Elon Musk, for example. When it came to his controversial Nazi salute, Weiss played it down by assigning and promoting a piece by Richard Hanania, “I Can Explain Why the Nazi Salute Is Back,” which claims it isn’t “sincere Nazism” but blamed it all on “an oppositional culture.”

Like so many independent ventures that start with noble core values and become successful precisely because of those noble core values, powerful media and tech giants come calling and the independent little guy can’t resist the money offered and they sell out to the big guy.

Less that three years after launching TFP, it looks like Bari Weiss is selling it.

In this case, the big guy is Skydance Media CEO David Ellison, son of tech giant Larry Ellison. David Ellison and Bari Weiss were both spotted attending the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. The annual “summer camp for billionaires” has historically been a deal-making hotbed.

To his credit, David Ellison stands with Israel and has committed over $1 million in relief to “victims of this tragic act of terrorism and prays for the safe release of innocent hostages.”

This was probably an important factor in Bari Weiss’s decision to sell.

. . .We admire the brave souls who break away from the powerful. It gives us hope that we can do it too. But then, they go right back again, wooed by the same old temptations, money and the promise that they will be able to do “greater good” because of the powerful forces behind them.

But this never happens. They just fall back again under the power of those who once again control them. Free voices with platforms that get too big are a threat to the powerful because they are not controlled. If those free voices can’t be bought by gaining more power and wealth of their own, they will be brought down by the destruction of their credibility, ensuring that no one ever listens to them again.

Well, no, I doubt that the Free Press will be the same, and at present I’m not reading it as much as I thought I would. However, what happens to my subscription if they sell? Do I get a refund? And most important, what will happen to Nellie Bowles’s “TGIF” column, which alone is worth the price of the subscription.  Isn’t the present site lucrative enough for Bari Weiss? Isn’t it doing exactly what Bari wants? I doubt that, if TFP is sold, its values and content will be anything close to what they are now, or were envisioned.

*Jewish space lasers are now a reality! (Remember when Marjorie Taylor Greene blamed wildfires on “Jewish space lasers”? Well, they’re here! h/t: Jay)  The Times of Israel reports:

Israel’s high-powered laser interception system, dubbed “Iron Beam,” has been declared operational after completing development and final tests, and is set to be delivered to the military by the end of the year, the Defense Ministry and manufacturer Rafael said on Wednesday.

The Iron Beam has been in development for over a decade; it was first unveiled in 2014. During the current war, a lower-powered version of the system was used by the Israel Defense Forces to shoot down Hezbollah drones launched from Lebanon.

The ministry said its Directorate of Defense Research & Development (DDR&D), the Israeli Air Force, and the Rafael defense firm “successfully completed an advanced series of operational tests, which lasted several weeks, to demonstrate the capabilities of the high-power laser system.”

It said the test involved the interception of rockets, mortars, and drones by the Iron Beam.

“The series of tests, conducted at a testing ground in southern Israel, concludes the development process and constitutes the final stage before delivering the system for operational use in the IDF,” the ministry said.

. . . The Iron Beam is not meant to replace the Iron Dome or Israel’s other air defense systems, but to supplement and complement them, shooting down smaller projectiles and leaving larger ones for the more robust missile-based batteries such as the David’s Sling and Arrow systems.

As long as there is a constant source of energy for the laser, there is no risk of it ever running out of ammunition. Officials have hailed it as a potential “game-changer” in the battle against projectile attacks.

And here’s a tweet with a short video of a test. It’s an awesome system that can destroy incoming missiles or drones instantly.

Israel’s high-powered laser interception system, dubbed “Iron Beam,” has been declared operational after completing development and final tests, and is set to be delivered to the military by the end of the year, the Defense Ministry and manufacturer Rafael say.

The ministry says… pic.twitter.com/mvIoHz9SpK

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) September 17, 2025

I can hear people kvetching now that Israel has these weapons, as they allow more Israelis to live. But remember that this is a purely defensive weapon, designed to protect Israeli civilians  from rockets fired by its enemies like Iran or Hamas.  It’s telling that some people don’t even like an increased defensive capability, which leads me to conclude that they don’t like Israeli lives being saved.

*The Jimmy Kimmel Live! show was removed indefinitely from the ABC network (owned by Disney); they didn’t give a reason but it was certainly because Kimmel said on his show that Trumpites were desperate to show that the killer of Charlie Kirk was not one of them (he wasn’t; accused killer Tyler Robinson was on the Left and had a romantic relationship with a trans-identified man). But Hollywood is up in arms.

The right-wing campaign to shut down perceived detractors of the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk reverberated through the entertainment industry on Thursday after ABC announced it would indefinitely suspend late night host Jimmy Kimmel. The news, announced late Wednesday, rocked Hollywood, prompting many to accuse ABC of buckling to a censorship campaign targeting one of President Donald Trump’s most vocal critics.

ABC did not give an explanation for suspending “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after the host delivered a monologue accusing “the president and his henchmen” of trying to capitalize on Kirk’s fatal shooting in Utah last week. In the aftermath of Kirk’s death, Trump and his allies have urged people to drum the activist’s perceived detractors out of their jobs.

Kimmel’s suspension was announced hours after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr criticized the comedian and implied that the FCC could retaliate against those who aired him.

Meanwhile, many fellow comedians and Hollywood figures have accused ABC of caving to the Trump administration’s pressure to censor any views of Kirk deemed as unacceptable by his supporters.

“Jimmy Kimmel has been muzzled and taken off the air,” comedian Marc Maron said in an Instagram video posted early Thursday morning. “This is what authoritarianism looks like right now in this country … This is government censorship.”

Trump “didn’t end the Ukraine war or solve Gaza within his first week, but he did end freedom of speech within his first year,” comedian Wanda Sykes said on Instagram. “Hey, for those of you who pray, now’s the time to do it. Love you, Jimmy.”

Kimmel has called Kirk’s killing “senseless” and said he had seen “extraordinarily vile responses to this from both sides of the political spectrum,” including those he said were “cheering” Kirk’s death. But the host angered some on the right in his opening monologue Monday night, when he said the “MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it.” He was referring to 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of shooting Kirk. Robinson grew up in a Republican household but had apparently become sympathetic to LGBTQ+ causes, according to Utah Gov. Spenc

Yes, Kimmel’s response to the killing and the cheering is fine, and I have no objection to him using his show to air his political views. After all, isn’t that what people like Trevor Noah and Jon Stewart did? But this is ABC, and “freeedom of speech” does not obtain in a private corporation.  If ABC worries about Kimmel turning away viewers, they can have a word with him, but cancelling his show over something like this is simply more chilling of speech engendered by fear of Trump and his retribution. And this is one way that Trump is curtailing real free speech: by pressuring broadcasters not to put on content that criticizes him or the Administration.

Here’s the video of Kimmel’s remarks; it should start at the controversial part:

*Since it’s Friday, let’s head over the the AP’s reliable “oddities” section, where we learn that an Indiana resident from Ukraine is growing the world’s tallest sunflower in his backyard; it’s a tribute to his homeland. for sunflowers are Ukraine’s national flower.

When Ukrainian immigrant Alex Babich stands in his Indiana backyard craning his neck to look 35 feet (11 meters) into the sky, he isn’t just staring at a sunflower. He is looking at his roots — and his future legacy.

The flower, nicknamed “Clover” and confirmed Wednesday by Guinness World Records as the tallest sunflower ever measured, stretches as high as a telephone pole.

Achieving the feat holds special significance for the 47-year-old Babich since sunflowers are the national flower of Ukraine.

Born and raised in Ukraine, he immigrated to the U.S. at age 14 in 1991 after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Seven years ago, he started growing sunflowers as a symbol of his love for his home country. Babich’s first sunflower was 13 feet (4 meters) tall, then 15 (4.5), then 19 (5.8). Quickly, he began asking himself, “How far can we take this?” Babich said the record-breaking flower was the result of “trial and error over years.”

. . . . When measuring day came on Sept. 3, Babich was nervous.

About 85 people had gathered to watch, including several master gardeners from a local university and representatives from the Allen County Department of Weights and Measures. Babich was on a WhatsApp call with a representative from Guinness World Records. A camera crew was filming, and a drone flew overhead. Even Icy D. Eagle, the mascot of the Fort Wayne Komets minor league ice hockey team, was there, according to Guinness.

AD

They used a 40-foot cherry picker to measure the flower. Clover was 35 feet (11 meters) and 9 inches (22.9 centimeters), 5 feet (1.5 meters) taller than the previous world record holder in Germany.

AD

“It’s very emotional,” Babich said. “It’s as good as it gets for someone who grows giants.”

Here’s a short video news clip about the giant flower:

And look at this tweet; that’s a brave woman!

Ukrainian woman confronts Russian soldiers in Henychesk, Kherson region. Asks them why they came to our land and urges to put sunflower seeds in their pockets [so that flowers would grow when they die on the Ukrainian land] pic.twitter.com/ztTx2qK7kB

— UkraineWorld (@ukraine_world) February 24, 2022

Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili and Andrzej are bemoaning the state of the world:

Hili: Was the world ever normal?
Andrzej: Depends on what you consider normal.

In Polish:

Hili: Czy świat był kiedyś normalny?
Ja: To zależy od tego jak zdefiniujesz normę.

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

From Cats that Have Had Enough of Your Shit:

From Give me a Sign:

From The Language Nerds:

Masih points out that Iranian women are increasingly not wearing the hijab at all, so at least in this respect they’re winning. But they’re still oppressed in many ways: true second-class citizens:

She was killed for “inappropriate hijab.” By Morality Police. 3 years later, you can barely find women with “inappropriate hijab” in Iran, They’ve basically removed the whole hijab in public. That’s not reform. That’s the brave women giving the middle finger to @khamenei_ir ! pic.twitter.com/la2lbB83LV

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) September 16, 2025

J. K. Rowling, who’s posting quite a bit about the oppression of women in Afghanistan, reposted this video about the lack of education allowed for Afghani women. Will the UN at least pass a resolution? Don’t bet on it.

Hanifa Girwal, a brave human rights activist, addressed the UN Security Council today, speaking for Afghan women and girls and warning of the deep crises endangering Afghans and global stability. She called on the UN and the international community to act. #LetAfghanGirlsLearn https://t.co/NF64oR1H1a pic.twitter.com/CtewEMsiNe

— Jahanzeb Wesa (@JahanzebWesa) September 17, 2025

Maarten Boudry, ever brave, made this post after the rector at his university (Ghent) said that faculty weren’t allowed to question the “fact” that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza:

I’ll co-author a paper with political scientist @ShMMor dismantling the “genocide” libel against Israel. What are you going to do about that, @pdsutter? Banning research on an open academic question is a blatant betrayal of academic freedom—and of @UGent‘s motto “Dare to think.” https://t.co/1OByh4oEeL pic.twitter.com/I61JVwpWBS

— Maarten Boudry (@mboudry) September 15, 2025

From Malcolm; live and learn: Leonard invented a bridge structure:

Leonardo da Vinci may be best known for the Mona Lisa or his flying machine sketches.

But among his innovative designs is another remarkable structure: a sturdy bridge that can be assembled and disassembled quickly with wooden logs. pic.twitter.com/oXY2tUmvFT

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) September 2, 2025

From Science Girl in my feed, we literally have a busy beaver:

When you don’t want to pay for the shopping bag

pic.twitter.com/H23H6xS9d2

— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) September 17, 2025

One I reposted from The Auschwitz Memorial:

This boy was gassed upon arriving at Auschwitz. He was eight years old, and would be 91 today had he lived.

— Jerry Coyne (@evolutionistrue.bsky.social) 2025-09-19T09:55:07.146Z

Two posts from Dr. Cobb. First, the cat of J.B.S. Haldane, a famous, accomplished, and eccentric evolutionary geneticist:

JBS Haldane’s cat

— Carsten Timmermann (@ctimmermann.bsky.social) 2025-09-18T14:06:06.193Z

Starved larvae of a beetle actually regress, reverting to an earlier instar (developmental stage) when deprived of food and water:

Beck and Bharadwaj 1972 baby, the larvae moult into a smaller instar then just start growing from that stage as usual. Only thing that got weird was their fat cells, which tended to show nuclear fusion (not that kind) http://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1…

— Ainsley S (@americanbeetles.bsky.social) 2025-09-17T14:07:10.120Z

Welcome to Thursday: September 18, 2025, and we’ve had lovely weather in Chicago, even into the eighties (Fahrenheit). It’s National Cheeseburger Day.  (Didn’t we just have one?)  Well, an iconic place to get cheezboigers is the Billy Goat Tavern underneath Michigan Avenue. Remember this SNL skit? The diner was in fact modeled on the Billy Goat Tavern, where members of the Second City comedy group gathered in Chicago:

It’s also National Red Velvet Cake Day, First Love Day (mine was Devon Powell in the fifth grade), Free Queso Day at Moe’s Southwest Grill, World Bamboo Day, and Rice Krispies Treats Day (I love ’em but haven’t had them in decades). Rice Krispies Treats have their own Wikipedia page with a mouthwatering photo:

Readers are welcome to mark notable events, births, or deaths on this day by consulting the September 18 Wikipedia page.

Da Nooz:

*The WaPo reports that, as we all expected, the firing of the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which involved her trying to be safe and sensible about vaccine mandates for children. Her boss, RFK Jr, who fired her, really doesn’t want any vaccines for kids, as far as I can tell (I think he’s lying when he says otherwise).

Susan Monarez, who was fired last month as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told senators Wednesday that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pressured her to change the childhood vaccine schedule and told her he was also speaking to President Donald Trump about the issue.

Monarez told members of the Senate health committee that she was fired for “holding the line on scientific integrity” and pushing back on demands from Kennedy to preapprove vaccine recommendations from his advisers who have criticized vaccines. Testifying at a hearing earlier this month, Kennedy told senators that Monarez was lying, while conceding that he asked her to fire senior staff.

Monarez, in her first public appearance since her firing, said Kennedy told her that “every day” he was speaking to Trump about changing the childhood vaccine schedule and pressed her to back him.

Debra Houry, one of three top CDC officials who resigned in protest of Monarez’s firing, is also testifying. She said she had to push back against Kennedy for trying to disseminate misleading medical claims through the CDC.

. . . . One theme of the hearing: Democrats describing the witnesses as courageous, while several Republicans attack their credibility.

“I want to thank you for being public health heroes,” Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Massachusetts) told Susan Monarez and Debra Houry.

From the AP:

Monarez said in her testimony that Kennedy gave her an ultimatum: “Preapprove” new vaccine recommendations from a controversial advisory CDC panel that Kennedy has stocked with some medical experts who doubt vaccine safety or be fired. That panel is expected to vote on new vaccine recommendations later this week. He also demanded Monarez fire high-ranking, career CDC officials without cause.

The parties were the other way round during her confirmation. Here’s Democrat Tim Kaine apologizing for his behavior during Martinez’s confirmation:

Sen. @timkaine starts his questions to Susan Monarez by apologizing for grilling her in a confirmation hearing and then voting against her.

“I had concern about your backbone. And I was wrong… it’s important when you’re wrong to admit you’re wrong.” pic.twitter.com/P6Y3agJzH4

— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) September 17, 2025

And Republicans acting well!

“It is entirely appropriate for someone with oversight concerns to contact my office, or me, or frankly, any of us,” Cassidy said, adding that he contacted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the White House to share his own concerns about what Monarez alleged.

*The Free Press takes out after the Attorney General in an article called “Pam Bondi vs. the First Amendment“, subtitled “At last, something we can all agree on: The attorney general has no idea what she’s talking about.”

At last, something we can all agree on: Pam Bondi has no idea what she’s talking about.

In an interview that aired on Monday, our attorney general said that the federal government would crack down on “hate speech” in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination last week.

Hate speech is not illegal. It is not even a legal category in the U.S. Yes, we have laws against incitement, defamation, and libel, but nothing so broad and amorphous as “hate speech.” As Kirk himself once put it: “Hate speech does not exist legally in America. There’s ugly speech. There’s gross speech. There’s evil speech. And ALL of it is protected by the First Amendment. Keep America free.”

But the most powerful law enforcement official in the country does not seem to appreciate what Kirk—and practically every account on X—understands.

“There’s free speech and then there’s hate speech. And there’s no place, especially now, especially after what happened to Charlie,” she said on The Katie Miller Podcast. Bondi added: “We will absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech.”

It was a stunning statement, particularly from a Republican attorney general. The GOP has insisted for years now that it is the party of the First Amendment, and Vice President J.D. Vance has made free speech a signature issue, going so far as to criticize our NATO allies in Europe for their chilling suppression of this most fundamental right.

. . .But in the aftermath of Kirk’s assassination—a moment of justifiable sorrow and anger—this administration seems to have forgotten the most basic American principles at the moment we need to remember them most.

In a ham-fisted attempt to backtrack, Bondi said on X that “free speech protects ideas, debate, even dissent but it does NOT and will NEVER protect violence”—as if anyone was arguing anything to the contrary.

. . . The upside of Bondi’s statement is that it has been robustly denounced by observers across the political spectrum, from the far right to the far left and everyone in between. We’ll take unifying moments wherever we can find them right now. But the fact that our unity is born out of our collective alarm that the Attorney General of the United States lacks a basic grasp of the Constitution she swore to uphold is cold comfort.

Yep; if we don’t watch out, this administration is going to turn the U.S. into the U.K., at least as far as hate speech is concerned. To see how it will begin here, have a look at this recent letter from four faculty members at Williams College, touting reporting “hate speech”, which they don’t define, and calling for its suppression. (By the way, quite a few of Williams’s “hate incidents” are likely hoaxes—most college hate incidents are—but the College won’t release the results of the investigations, even though showing that some “hate incidents” were actually hoaxes would reduce the atmosphere of fear and division on the campus.)

*Speaking of free speech, Laura Ann Rosenbury, the President of Barnard (at the rock bottom of FIRE’s free-speech rankings of colleges), has written an op-ed in the NYT called “Now is the time for colleges to host difficult speakers.” It’s also archived here

This is all meant well, and, indeed, a program to expose students to diverse viewpoints is good (we have one here).  Pity it’s a bit mundane and a little too late. However, maybe the NYT published this because it’s the words of the much-criticized Barnard College (Rosenbury has been there for over two years). Perhaps she took the FIRE ratings to heart.

*I’m happy with my iPhone 13, but we’re on the 17 now, and there are FOUR models of the 17, including a mini. The WSJ weighs the relative advantages and disadvantages of the three types of 17: the mini, the regular, the Pro, and the Pro Max. A few words on the comparisons (quotes are indented)

Battery life:

Over the past week, I re-created my daily routine from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on a mix of 5G and Wi-Fi. Here’s what was left in the tank at bedtime:

• iPhone Air: 19%

• iPhone 17: 27%

• iPhone 17 Pro: 30%

• iPhone 17 Pro Max: 54%

Although the iPhone Air’s battery depleted the quickest, it wasn’t the letdown I had feared. Meanwhile, the 17 Pro Max could have kept on going for another day.

Cameras:  As expected, the two top-of-the-line models took better photos:

••• iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max

The Pro models add a third lens, a telephoto (now also 48 megapixels) for true optical zoom up to 4x and “optical-quality” up to 8x. Compared with the non-Pros, I saw the biggest difference with videos—they’re more stable and they sound better.

Verdict:

Honestly, if your current phone is going strong and compatible with iOS 26, you might not need to upgrade at all. If it needs longer battery life, a battery replacement might be the best move. Analysts are pointing to 2026 as a potentially bigger year of updates, with a foldable iPhone at the high end. We might also finally see promised AI upgrades, such as a smarter Siri—the real change we’re all waiting for. Apple is lagging behind its Android competition on both fronts.

I know some people change iPhones yearly and cars nearly every other year, but I’m happy with my 13, as I can use my Panasonic Lumix point-and-shoot camera for photos that matter.  My battery power is at 87%, and at the iPhone store they told me not to replace it until it gets to 78%. That will take a while given I’ve had it several years. I take good care of my phones, and won’t replace the one I have until it’s no longer compatible with iPhone software (my previous model was the iPhone 5!). In the meantime, a battery change is way cheaper.

Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili and Andrzej are squabbling over dinner:

Hili: What are we going to eat for dinner today?
Andrzej: Whatever.
Hili: That’s not an acceptable answer.

In Polish:

Hili: Co będziemy dziś jedli na obiad?
Ja: Cokolwiek.
Hili: To nie jest właściwa odpowiedź.

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

From Meow:

From The Dodo Pet:

And to complete the cat trifecta, here’s one from Cats That Have Had Enough of Your Shit:

From Masih, a woman breaks the law by singing (just look at the first tweet as I can’t separate them and already posted the second). She’s committed two crimes: singing and walking outdoors without a hijab.

This female singer created a video and sent it me from inside Iran, knowing she could be jailed or worse. Her “crimes”? Singing. Imagine risking your life for something as basic as music.

On the third anniversary of #WomanLifeFreedom, Iranian women are asking men to join them in… https://t.co/79AZX9vHtT pic.twitter.com/GzCLWIBSdX

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) September 16, 2025

More pushback against Islamic patriarchal theocracy, this time reposted by J. K. Rowling:

many girls in Afghanistan were secretly learning online. Now, the Taliban cut the internet, and I can no longer teach them.These girls bravely strived for knowledge,but their right to education has been taken.When girls are denied learning, society’s future is at risk. pic.twitter.com/XyDimh4SY2

— Maria Noori (@MariaNoorii) September 17, 2025

A beautiful flower video found by Malcolm:

30,000 hours of footage, equivalent to 3 years and 7 months, were filmed to capture the blooming of 77 types of flowers, and the result is spectacular.pic.twitter.com/GdXbqmJBo2

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) September 2, 2025

Two from my feed. First, one on woke language policing:

Facebook group for breastfeeding women, with over 57,000 members, has banned ‘gendered language’.

Posts that begin “hey ladies” or “hey mamas” will be immediately deleted.

This is the continued erasure of the concept of womanhood and motherhood. pic.twitter.com/bAlgcM3P3R

— James Esses (@JamesEsses) September 16, 2025

Sound up a bit on this one. The caption is 100% correct!

This app needs more baby goats pic.twitter.com/1Biu4s7Yvf

— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) September 16, 2025

One I reposted at The Auschwitz Memorial:

A 12-year-old French Jewish girl was gassed to death as soon as she arrived at the camp.

— Jerry Coyne (@evolutionistrue.bsky.social) 2025-09-18T11:21:36.055Z

Two posts from Dr. Cobb. First, how an animal (sea slug) photosynthesizes (see video below the “skeet”):

http://www.cell.com/cell/abstrac…A host organelle (in sea slugs) integrates stolen chloroplasts for animal photosynthesis

— Harmit Singh Malik (@harmitmalik.bsky.social) 2025-09-17T17:04:20.110Z

And here’s a YouTube video showing how it works, and this counts as Matthew’s second tweet. The amazing fact in this video is that the algal genome has algal DNA that makes proteins that keep the stolen chloroplasts photosynthesizing (they need proteins):

Welcome to a Hump Day (“Горб көнө” in Bashkir): September 17, 2025. It’s National Monte Cristo Day, celebrating a sandwich that’s definitely not kosher:

A Monte Cristo sandwich is a triple-decker egg-dipped ham and cheese sandwich that is pan-fried. It is a variation of the French croque monsieur.

It can also be covered with powdered sugar (as in the photo below) or syrup, both of the variants seem revolting:

It’s also Constitution Day, celebrating the signing of the beginning of our laws on this day in 1787), National Apple Dumpling Day, and World Patient Safety Day.

Readers are welcome to mark notable events, births, or deaths on this day by consulting the September 17 Wikipedia page.

Da Nooz:

*Trump loses in court again, as an appeals court rejects his attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook for mortgage fraud. Trump & Co. maintain that she claimed two homes as both being her primary residence when applying for the two mortgages.

A federal appeals court on Monday night rejected an emergency Trump administration request to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook ahead of the central bank’s next meeting.

A divided three-judge panel in Washington, D.C., left in place a lower court injunction that blocked Cook’s termination while she challenges the legality of Trump’s move.

“The President lawfully removed Lisa Cook for cause,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement. “The Administration will appeal this decision and looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue.”

Trump announced last month that he would remove Cook, citing allegations that she submitted fraudulent information on mortgage applications before she took office.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, a Trump appointee, first publicized the allegations and referred them to the Justice Department, which has since launched a criminal investigation.

Cook hasn’t been charged with a crime, and, in court filings, has denied committing mortgage fraud. In her most recent submission, her lawyers say the complete property records “reveal the opposite” of what the administration claims.

Cook sued soon after Trump’s announcement, triggering a high-stakes battle over the president’s authority to control the central bank. She says Trump violated the Federal Reserve Act because he didn’t provide a valid basis for her removal. The statute provides that the president can only remove a member of the Fed board for cause.

Cook’s lawyers say unproven allegations unrelated to job performance don’t meet that standard, and they suggest that Trump is targeting her because she has disagreed with him on the wisdom of lowering interest rates.

U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled last week that Cook was “substantially likely” to succeed with a claim that her firing was unlawful, and blocked her removal for now.

Since the judge apparently saw the evidence, it doesn’t look as if the mortgage claims violated the law. And if that’s the case, either the firing attempt is over or the government will appeal to the Supreme Court. Given that this is based on claims that can be checked on paper, It shouldn’t be hard to judge.

*J. D. Vance who I’m hoping is failing so much that he won’t be the next Republican candidate for President, has now denounced—and vowed retribution on—liberal institutions in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder. And his accusations are apparently bogus. Bolding is mine.

Vance called out the “generous tax treatment” that George Soros’s Open Society Foundations and the Ford Foundation receive as he accused the groups of funding a “disgusting article” in the Nation magazine that he said was used to justify Kirk’s death. Neither group appears to have provided money to the Nation in the past five years.

The Ford Foundation provided a grant to the Nationof $100,000 in 2019 for an internship program but has not provided money since, according to online records. Bhaskar Sunkara, the president of the Nation, said on X that the publication had never received funds from the Open Society Foundations. Vance’s office, asked about his accusation, provided a link to a report about the Nation by a conservative group that in turn cited a 2017 report about Open Society Foundations grants.

The moves underscore the extraordinary amount of time and resources the administration has dedicated to advancing the legacy of Kirk and the way officials have harnessed the emotions surrounding his killing to potentially suppress dissent.

Vance blamed “an incredibly destructive movement of left-wing extremism” for contributing to the killing, which remains under investigation. The suspect in Kirk’s shooting had a “leftist ideology,” but the motive for the slaying remains unclear, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) said Sunday.

“There is no unity with the people who celebrate Charlie Kirk’s assassination,” Vance said, raising his voice during a broadcast from the White House on Kirk’s podcast, which he hosted.

There it is: “no unity”, as if the Right doesn’t celebrate deaths or commit murder, either.  Vance is simply pouring gasoline on the first.  My original view that he might be a “good” Republican (at least to a Democrat like me) has been dashed, as he seems not only not as savvy as Trump, but perhaps even dumber.

*Greta Thunberg’s “Freedom Flotilla,” after some days, has finally left Tunisia, has grown in size, and is heading for Greece.

A flotilla bound for Gaza carrying symbolic aid and pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel activists set sail Monday from Tunisia after repeated delays, aiming to break Israel’s blockade. They will be joined by two ships that set sail Sunday evening from the Greek island of Syros to join the effort.

The two ships are set to join dozens of others that are sailing from Tunisia, Spain and Italy and are expected to arrive in Israeli waters in the coming days. The group of ships, called the Global Sumud Flotilla, is the largest yet seeking to defy Israel’s blockade and has the stated mission of bringing aid to Gaza.

It is also carrying a number of pro-Palestinian activists, including Sweden’s Greta Thunberg, and is seen as a challenge to Israel in the court of public opinion. Israel stopped a single boat carrying aid and a group of activists, including Thunberg, in June.

“We are also trying to send a message to the people of Gaza that the world has not forgotten about you,” Thunberg said before boarding in the northern Tunisian port of Bizerte. “When our governments are failing to step up then we have no choice but to take matters into our own hands.”

This attempt is much more extensive but has been beset by difficulties. First, inclement weather forced the boats back to port in Barcelona. Then, last week, the flotilla said it was hit by two suspected drone attacks in 24 hours. Tunisia called the reported attacks “premeditated aggression.”

The vessels had transferred to Bizerte after a turbulent stay in Sidi Bou Said near Tunis.

The Global Sumud Flotilla said two of its boats were targeted by drone attacks on consecutive nights last week.

After the second incident, Tunisian authorities denounced what they called “premeditated aggression” and announced an investigation.

On Syros in Greece, around 500 people chanting “Free Palestine” gathered at the port of Ermopoulis to see off the two Greece-flagged boats, the Oxygen and the Ilektra, carrying goods for Gaza, along with five and eight people on board respectively.

I doubt the drones came from Israel, given the distance, and I don’t think Israel would try to attack the boats while they’re far away. What is most likely to happen is that the Israeli Navy will try to peacefully stop the flotilla, which doesn’t even have a place to unload its “symbolic aid” in Gaza.  And Israel will be able to do it. I hope that the flotilla is not carrying weapons, for the last thing anyone needs now is an armed conflict between Israel’s navy and the flotilla boats.  What happened last time—detention of the ceasefire sailors and offers to fly them home—is probably what Israel intends to do now. Greta, of course, took the free flight home, though I don’t know if she ate her sandwich. None of them took up Israel’s offer to watch the 47-minute video of the Hamas attack on Gaza, filmed by the terrorists themselves.

*Speaking of the war in Israel, the IDF is trying to end it with a big ground assault on Gaza City, which, as they know well, will lead to louder charges of genocide.

Israel launched a long-anticipated ground offensive into Gaza City early Tuesday morning, Israel’s military said, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to end the war against Hamas with military force instead of diplomacy.

The assault began with a heavy bombardment of the Gaza Strip’s most populous area, where hundreds of thousands are believed to still be sheltering following almost two years of war that has flattened much of the rest of the seaside enclave. Netanyahu has called the city “the last important stronghold” of Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, and he has argued that conquering it would deal a decisive blow.

Troops from two divisions were maneuvering to surround the densely populated center of Gaza City, while a third division operated to the north.

The expanding operation came as a United Nations commission concluded in a new report that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. It pointed to statements by Israeli leaders and a pattern of conduct by Israeli security forces. Legal experts said the report could bolster charges of genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

Israel rejected the U.N. report, saying it was biased and based on falsehoods.

. . . . Israel has mobilized tens of thousands of reservists in anticipation of the ground offensive, which aims to defeat Hamas once and for all after its Oct. 7, 2023, attacks killed 1,200 Israelis and resulted in some 250 hostages being taken into Gaza. More than 64,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, according to Palestinian health authorities, who don’t say how many were combatants.

Israel sees this, I think rightly, as the only way to end the war by defeating Hamas, though of course it endangers the hostages. And Israel knows very well that this attack on Gaza City will anger the world, most of which already hates the Jewish state. As the NYT reports:

A United Nations commission investigating the war in Gaza said Tuesday that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians, the panel’s most sweeping findings yet about the Israeli government’s conduct in the conflict. Israel has repeatedly rejected allegations of genocide from scholars and human rights groups, saying the target of its military campaign is Hamas.

I’m wondering what these critics would have Israel do. Withdraw and allow Hamas to keep running Gaza? It’s curious that we don’t hear them saying what is clearly true: Hamas and other terrorist groups are bent on genocide of the Jews, as they have written and repeatedly stated. As everyone knows, if Israel was really intent on wiping out Palestinians, it would withdraw its soldiers and simply bomb the territory to smithereens. They are not doing that, but sending in IDF soldiers, many of whom have been killed. And they warn civilians of strikes in advance as well as telling them where to go for safety, though things are chaotic in Gaza with this assault.  The critics don’t know from genocide. But it’s true that Israel is losing the public relations war, as another article in the WSJ asserts: it’s “winning the war but losing the world.” And so it has ever been for Israel.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that time for any peace deal is almost gone:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on Tuesday that “time is running out” for a negotiated end to the war in Gaza.

He spoke minutes before departing Israel for Qatar, and just as Israel was launching a military assault on the Gazan capital that it says is meant to end Hamas’ hold on the city. It is unclear if Mr. Rubio knew at the time that the full offensive had begun, but Israel has been signaling for weeks that it would start soon.

“We don’t have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks,” to reach a deal that would stop the fighting and free hostages held by Hamas, Mr. Rubio told reporters in Israel. “It’s a key moment.”

There should be no negotiation unless it includes unconditional release of all hostages, living or dead, unconditional surrender of Hamas, and refusal of Israel to release any jailed Palestinian terrorists. But then we come up against the hardest problem: the “day after” issue.

*I’m a sucker for quizzes, and the NYT has a five-question book quiz in which you’re asked to choose which states each novel was set in (four choices for each one).  I haven’t read most of those novels, and guessed on some, but still got this evaluation:

Ha! If you guessed randomly you’d get 1.25 of the answers right, so 3 is nothing to brag about. I suck. I’ve read only one of the books below, and saw the movie of another.

Here are the books with the NYT links, but don’t look up the answers first!

• TRUE GRIT, by Charles Portis

• LONESOME DOVE, by Larry McMurtry

• TOPAZ, by Beverly Jenkins

• INLAND, by Téa Obreht

• FOOLS CROW, by James Welch

Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili puts off a sad task:

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From The 2025 Darwin Awards!!!/Epic Fails:

From Give Me a Sign:

From Meow, the world’s best Halloween costume for a couple:

From Masih on the third anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s murder for a mis-worn hijab. There is video of the protests, of Amini in the hospital, and the chanting at her funeral, “Woman, life, freedom!” The sequelae of her death–opposition to the oppressive theocracy–is also shown. May her life be a spur to anti-regime activism.

Three years ago on this day

Mahsa Jina Amini was murdered by the Iranian regime for the “crime” of being a free woman. But instead of silencing her, they created a movement, Woman, Life, Freedom, that’s spreading like fire.

The courage of Iranian women and men standing up to… pic.twitter.com/IcGqyfdHT1

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) September 16, 2025

A recent tweet from Masih’s stand-in:

An elected representative of your own party, @RosieDuffield1, was advised by police not to attend Labour conference because of the physical risk to her from trans activists. You did nothing. You showed her no support, You criticised her for stating biological facts. pic.twitter.com/TzoXTic62Q

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 11, 2025

From Larry the 10 Downing Street cat (aka the Official Mouser to the Cabinet Office); kitty finally gets the right escalator:

Happy #Caturdaypic.twitter.com/rV58kcB5R4

— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) September 13, 2025

From Malcolm: one I reposted because I like a good steak every ten days or so:

Eat more nuts, beans, seeds, and steak! https://t.co/SABkWUFpKj

— Jerry Coyne (@Evolutionistrue) September 16, 2025

From my feed, monkey + bunneh = ubercuteness:

pic.twitter.com/pxm5TH0Q7J

— Beauty Of Nature 🌳 (@ShouldHaveAnima) September 16, 2025

One I retweeted from the Auschwitz Memorial:

This fourteen-year old Polish Jewish boy did not survive Auschwitz.

— Jerry Coyne (@evolutionistrue.bsky.social) 2025-09-17T10:17:00.081Z

Two from Dr. Cobb. Look at this first photo!

The small icy moon Mimas, floating in space above the giant planet itself, crossed by shadows of Saturn's vast ring system.NASA Photojournal image PIA06176, taken by the Cassini spacecraft on 18 January 2005.Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

— Paul Byrne (@theplanetaryguy.bsky.social) 2025-09-03T02:05:47.676Z

I tried to time this Japanese “bullet train”, and got it going by in 1.06 seconds!

I enjoyed this. And what an infectious laugh. ❤️"Reporter left speechless after witnessing Japan's new $70 million Maglev train in action at 310 mph"

— Jenny Frecklington-Jones #IStandWithWatermelon🍉🍉 (@joneshowdareyou.bsky.social) 2025-09-02T20:29:15.159Z

Welcome to The Crueliest Day: Tuesday, September 16, 2025, and National Guacamole Day. Is there anybody who doesn’t like this delicious dip or filling? Some notes from Wikipedia:

In the 1697 book, A New Voyage Round the World, the first known description of a guacamole recipe (though not known by that name) was by English privateer and naturalist William Dampier, who in his visit to Central America during one of his circumnavigations, noted a native preparation made of grinding together avocados, sugar, and lime juice.

Guacamole has increased avocado sales in the U.S., especially on Super Bowl Sunday and Cinco de Mayo. The rising consumption of guacamole is most likely due to the U.S. government lifting a ban on avocado imports in the 1990s and the growth of the U.S. Latino population.

It’s also Mayflower Day (celebrating the day in 1620 when the eponymous ship left Plymouth, England with 102 passengers), Mexican Independence Day (we had parades in Chicago last weekend), National Cinnamon Raisin Bread Day (my favorite bread besides sourdough), World Play-Doh Day (it was introduced on this day in 1955), and International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.

What’s in Play-Doh, anyway?  Didn’t you used to taste it when you were a kid?. Wikipedia has the answer:

Play-Doh’s current manufacturer, Hasbro, says the compound is primarily a mixture of water, salt, and flour, while its 2004 United States patent indicates it is composed of water, a starch-based binder, a retrogradation inhibitor, salt, lubricant, surfactant, preservative, hardener, humectant, fragrance, and color.

A petroleum additive gives the compound a smooth feel, and borax prevents mold from developing.  Play-Doh contains wheat and may cause allergic reactions in people who are allergic to wheat gluten. It is not intended to be eaten.

Do not eat the Play-Doh!

Readers are welcome to mark notable events, births, or deaths on this day by consulting the September 16 Wikipedia page.

Da Nooz:

*In a NYT op-ed, the governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, has endorsed Zohran Mamdani for NYC mayor. That’s because she believes everything he says (even his concerns for Jews!), and she thinks his policies will work.

In the past few months, I’ve had frank conversations with him. We’ve had our disagreements. But in our conversations, I heard a leader who shares my commitment to a New York where children can grow up safe in their neighborhoods and where opportunity is within reach for every family. I heard a leader who is focused on making New York City affordable — a goal I enthusiastically support.

I also shared with him my priorities, making it very clear that our police officers should have every resource to keep our streets and subways safe. I urged him to ensure that there is strong leadership at the helm of the N.Y.P.D. — and he agreed.

We discussed the need to combat the rise of antisemitism urgently and unequivocally. I’ve been glad to see him meet with Jewish leaders across the city, listening and addressing their concerns directly. I look forward to working together to make sure New Yorkers of all faiths feel safe and welcome in New York City.

I emphasized to him my belief in keeping and attracting businesses so that New York remains the center of the global economy and we create even more good-paying jobs for our residents.

Affordability has long been my top priority as governor, and it is the No. 1 concern I share with Mr. Mamdani. As governor, I’ve taken actions to realize this goal, including lowering middle-class income taxes and making school meals free for all students. But there is more work ahead of us.

And in light of the abhorrent and destructive policies coming out of Washington every day, I needed to know the next mayor will not be someone who would surrender one inch to President Trump.

I didn’t leave my conversations with Mr. Mamdani aligned with him on every issue. But I am confident that he has the courage, urgency and optimism New York City needs to lead it through the challenges of this moment.

*The game that is being played in Qatar is stranger: the U.S. condemning a country (Israel) for striking terrorists in a third country (Qatar), both of them supposedly allies. But condemnation? The U.S. of course did this to bin Laden holde up in Pakistan. And so pronounce all the other countries, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Qatar has not only housed Hamas terrorists in luxury, but also funneled money to Hamas in Gaza. Yet it is Israel who is condemned for striking their enemies in Qatar. The WSJ reports that the U.S. is trying to quell the furor that arose after the Qatar strike:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was looking to move beyond the Israeli strike on Hamas officials in Qatar that spurred a diplomatic crisis last week, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue to target terrorists wherever they are despite international condemnation.

Rubio, who came to Israel on Sunday to “convey America’s priorities in the Israel-Hamas conflict,” said that he planned to push Qatar to “play a constructive role” in helping to mediate the release of the remaining hostages being held by Hamas. Rubio is tacking on a visit to Qatar on Tuesday after he finishes his trip to Israel, according to a senior State Department official.

The statements suggest that there has been limited fallout with the U.S. over the Israeli decision to strike an important American ally, even after President Trump said he was very unhappy with the Israeli move. Rubio and Netanyahu, standing alongside each other, also appeared lockstep on the war in Gaza. Rubio said the U.S. wants all the hostages released immediately and Hamas to cease to exist as an armed group, terms Netanyahu has said are a precondition for ending the war.

Rubio didn’t press Netanyahu publicly to end the war, saying a “concise military operation” to defeat Hamas might be necessary, an apparent reference to Israel’s expansion of the war into Gaza City, which the prime minister has described as the last remaining Hamas stronghold.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu is trying to make a virtue of necessity: Israel’s weakening economic and diplomatic ties to the rest of the world.

After coming under fire for saying earlier today that Israel is facing increasing economic isolation as the war in Gaza drags on, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu takes a second stab at damage control.

“To all the doom-and-gloom forecasters in economics, in the end the Israeli stock market is the strongest in the world,” he says in a statement.

“The shekel has strengthened, the deficit has shrunk, despite the war, and foreign investment in R&D is the highest in the world, after the United States. Investing in Israel is the smart thing to do.”

Israel has to get used to going it alone, but by and large that is the fate of Jews.  At least the U.S. is still on Israel’s side.

*As far as I know, Tyler Robinson confessed that he killed Charlie Kirk, and although he surrendered voluntarily to the cops with the help of relatives, he is not being “cooperative”. I suspect he’ll plead not guilty, though that will activate the “plea tax,” whereby someone who doesn’t confess may get a heavier sentence. Remember, this is a capital crime.  If there is a trial, then the FBI has since accumulated more evidence that Robinson was the perp:

DNA on a towel wrapped around a rifle found near where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated matched that of the 22-year-old accused in the killing, FBI Director Kash Patel said on Monday.

Investigators also have used DNA evidence to link the suspect, Tyler Robinson, with a screwdriver recovered from the rooftop where the fatal shot was fired, Patel told Fox News Channel on Monday.

Authorities in Utah are preparing to file capital murder charges against Robinson as early as Tuesday in the killing of Kirk, a dominant figure in conservative politics who became a confidant of President Donald Trump after founding Arizona-based Turning Point USA, one of the nation’s largest political organizations.

. . .Patel told Fox News that Robinson had written in a note before the shooting that he had an opportunity to take out Kirk and was going to do it. Investigators were able to recover the note’s contents after it had been destroyed, the FBI director said, paraphrasing from the note without revealing more details.

Authorities said Robinson has not been cooperating with law enforcement. They say that he may have been “radicalized” online and that ammunition found in the gun used to kill Kirk included anti-fascist and meme-culture language engravings. Court records show that one bullet casing had the message, “Hey, fascist! Catch!”

There’s more evidence that Robinson was in a romantic relationship with a trans-identified male, but those details have already been revealed. Several sources say that this is confirmed, and that Robinson’s partner is cooperating with police.  Since the partner didn’t know about the planned killing, I’m not sure what he can add to the evidence so far.

*NASA proudly announces the birth of new stars in spectacular photos and videos on the site, and I can reproduce them. Here’s from their report:

This is a sparkling scene of star birth captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. What appears to be a craggy, starlit mountaintop kissed by wispy clouds is actually a cosmic dust-scape being eaten away by the blistering winds and radiation of nearby, massive, infant stars.

Called Pismis 24, this young star cluster resides in the core of the nearby Lobster Nebula, approximately 5,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Scorpius. Home to a vibrant stellar nursery and one of the closest sites of massive star birth, Pismis 24 provides rare insight into large and massive stars. Its proximity makes this region one of the best places to explore the properties of hot young stars and how they evolve.

At the heart of this glittering cluster is the brilliant Pismis 24-1. It is at the center of a clump of stars above the jagged orange peaks, and the tallest spire is pointing directly toward it. Pismis 24-1 appears as a gigantic single star, and it was once thought to be the most massive known star. Scientists have since learned that it is composed of at least two stars, though they cannot be resolved in this image. At 74 and 66 solar masses, respectively, the two known stars are still among the most massive and luminous stars ever seen.

Here’s the photo with caption, and a bit more from NASA:

Captured in infrared light by Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), this image reveals thousands of jewel-like stars of varying sizes and colors. The largest and most brilliant ones with the six-point diffraction spikes are the most massive stars in the cluster. Hundreds to thousands of smaller members of the cluster appear as white, yellow, and red, depending on their stellar type and the amount of dust enshrouding them. Webb also shows us tens of thousands of stars behind the cluster that are part of the Milky Way galaxy.

Super-hot, infant stars –some almost 8 times the temperature of the Sun – blast out scorching radiation and punishing winds that are sculpting a cavity into the wall of the star-forming nebula. That nebula extends far beyond NIRCam’s field of view. Only small portions of it are visible at the bottom and top right of the image. Streamers of hot, ionized gas flow off the ridges of the nebula, and wispy veils of gas and dust, illuminated by starlight, float around its towering peaks.

Dramatic spires jut from the glowing wall of gas, resisting the relentless radiation and winds. They are like fingers pointing toward the hot, young stars that have sculpted them. The fierce forces shaping and compressing these spires cause new stars to form within them. The tallest spire spans about 5.4 light-years from its tip to the bottom of the image. More than 200 of our solar systems out to Neptune’s orbit could fit into the width its tip, which is 0.14 lightyears.

In this image, the color cyan indicates hot or ionized hydrogen gas being heated up by the massive young stars. Dust molecules similar to smoke here on Earth are represented in orange. Red signifies cooler, denser molecular hydrogen. The darker the red, the denser the gas. Black denotes the densest gas, which is not emitting light. The wispy white features are dust and gas that are scattering starlight.

Here’s a short (41-second) video with the caption, “This zoom-in video shows the location of the young star cluster Pismis 24 on the sky. It begins with a ground-based photo of the constellation Scorpius by the late astrophotographer Akira Fujii. The sequence closes in on the Lobster Nebula, using views from the Digitized Sky Survey. As the video homes in on a select portion, it fades to a VISTA image in infrared light. The zoom continues in to the region around Pismis 24, where it transitions to the stunning image captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in near-infrared light.” Watch it!

And the credits for the video:

Video: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Alyssa Pagan (STScI); Narration: Frank Summers (STScI); Script Writer: Frank Summers (STScI); Music: Christian Nieves (STScI); Audio: Danielle Kirshenblat (STScI); Producer: Greg Bacon (STScI); Acknowledgment: VISTA, Akira Fujii, DSS

*Finally, some nice biology about octopuses by By Kate Golembiewski at the NYT’s “Trilobite” column (article archived here, h/t Phil). 

The eight arms of an octopus are right there in its name. But these biomechanical marvels share more in common with appendages found in other animals. Like an elephant’s trunk. Or your tongue.

That’s because octopus arms, like those other fleshy protuberances, are examples of muscular hydrostats, which produce force when different muscle groups relax and contract against one another. Such muscular contractions allow for “almost infinite degrees of freedom to bend, shorten, elongate, twist and turn,” said Chelsea Bennice, a postdoctoral researcher at the Florida Atlantic University Marine Science Laboratory.

In a study published on Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports, Dr. Bennice and her colleagues sought to make that seemingly infinite catalog of motions a bit more finite. They pored over footage of wild octopuses, noting how the cephalopods flexed and twisted their arms as they explored their surroundings, hunted and scrambled over the seafloor. The researchers then broke these behaviors down into their base components, aiming to develop a comprehensive visual dictionary of octopus arm movements.

The authors found that the octopus arms can move in four ways (they can bend, elongate, shorten, or twist), and these can produce 12 “basic actions” (pushing, curling, grasping, etc.). These result in 15 classifiable behaviors (see figure below taken from the paper). Interestingly, several of these are also d*g behaviors (fetch, sit, stand).

They studied 25 octopuses, and each one was filmed in 25 different video clips. The result? I quote from the Trilobite piece:

Overall, the team logged 3,907 individual arm actions in the 25-minute cut, often employed simultaneously by different arms. The combinations of different arm movements hint at the intersection octopuses occupy as both predators and prey.

“Time is very precious, and they have to be efficient. That’s why they’re the ultimate multitasker,” Dr. Bennice said. “When they are out and are possibly in danger of a predator, they’re also looking for food. And as soon as they find food, they’re going to go back to their den.”

The octopuses in this study tended to use their front arms more than their back arms. They also often used their front arms for exploring and their back arms for locomotion. But each arm is capable of the full range of movements and behaviors. Previous laboratory studies had hinted that octopuses showed a preference for their right or left arms. However, the scientists in this study did not observe octopuses being “righties” or “lefties” in the wild.

“The beauty of this system, in many ways, is that you have eight arms, and all of those eight arms can do most of these actions,” said Roger Hanlon, a senior scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., and an author of the study. That flexibility can come in handy if the octopus loses an arm or two to a predator like an eel.

Here’s the Nature article, which you can read for free by clicking on the screenshot:

Meanwhile in Dobrzyn,  Hili and Andrzej are feeling Socratic:

In Polish:

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From Now That’s Wild: cats = crustaceans:

From Give Me a Sign:

From Things With Faces:

Masih and J. K. Rowling are both silent today, but we have some news from Belgian philosopher Maarten Boudry, , who wrote me this on Sunday, when he was giving a talk on antisemitism in an antisemitic country. However, the Belgian Prime Minister was in the audience!

I had the honor of speaking right before the Iranian dissident Afshin Ellian, who has a security detail of five bodyguards, 24/7. The Iranian regime is hunting him down like Masih Alinejad. A very charming and mild-mannered guy. 

And his tweet, which begins a thread.

Yesterday I had the honor of speaking right before the brilliant and affable Afshin Ellian, a Dutch-Iranian law professor who’s forced to live under 24/7 bodyguard protection. Why? Because the Iranian regime hunts him down—and thousands of “regular” jihadis want to kill him too. pic.twitter.com/MlZiqfIKI2

— Maarten Boudry (@mboudry) September 15, 2025

There was a wonderful French imam there as well, who spoke movingly about his admiration for the resilience of the Jewish people, and called for peace & interfaith dialogue. Guess what? That imam needs protection as well, from his own co-religionists. /3 https://t.co/hM4cwsk98h

— Maarten Boudry (@mboudry) September 15, 2025

. . . and this last one:

From Simon, funny satire from The Onion:

Desperate Kash Patel Asks Shooter’s Family If They Can Solve Any Other Cases

— The Onion (@theonion.com) 2025-09-15T19:05:06.999860377Z

From Malcolm, a d*g trim:

Good boy getting a trimpic.twitter.com/dYAUAqXDyf

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) September 2, 2025

One I reposted from The Auschwitz Memorial:

A Hungarian Jewish girl was gassed as soon as she arrived in Auschwitz. She was only one year old. Had she lived, she'd be 82 today.

— Jerry Coyne (@evolutionistrue.bsky.social) 2025-09-16T10:26:44.444Z

Two posts from Dr. Cobb.  Of the first one he says, “But I thought biological sex didn’t exist!”:

Researchers in a recent #ScienceReview examine the influence that biological sex exerts on the immune system and immune-related diseases. Learn more: https://scim.ag/4ln58Le

— Science Magazine (@science.org) 2025-09-14T20:18:01.321653512Z

Parrots having video chinwags:

Pet parrots which typically live alone (whilst those in the wild live in large flocks) were given the technology to call each other. They would use it for up to three hours a day, and developed favourite friends 💔on.ft.com/3K05vhS

— Hetan Shah (@hetanshah.bsky.social) 2025-09-12T06:00:20.482Z

Welcome to the “work” week: it’s M0nday again, and September 15, 2025, and National Double Cheeseburger Day. Why have a single when you can have a double? In one week I’m having a brief vacation in Boston and Cambridge.

Here’s the double bacon cheeseburger from Hodad’s in San Diego. They reputedly make the best burger in the world. But MUSTARD???? Do they think they’re in Chicago?

It’s also Butterscotch Cinnamon Pie Day (I’ve never had one), National Crème de Menthe Day (my late mother’s favorite drink), Google.com Day (the name was registered on this day in 1997), International Day of Democracy, National Cheese Toast Day, and National Linguine Day.

Google has a new Doodle celebrating salsa music. Click on the Doodle below to go to the site. WARNING: Loud salsa music plays on YouTube, so if it’s early in the morning, either don’t click or turn the volume down:

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

Da Nooz:

*I have to stop spending so much time on the Internet (not Twitter so much as Facebook), because there’s a huge not-yet-resolved argument about the ideology of Tyler Robinson, the accused murderer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.  You can understand why people think this is so important, because if Kirk was murdered by a Leftist, then Republicans will have a field day accusing us of being not only violent, but hypocritical: opposing free speech by killing and thereby silencing an opponent.  And if he was killed by somebody on the Right, well, Lefists will have their own field day, though remember that in this case we’d have a conservative shooting a conservative.

I’ve mostly seen stuff coming from the Left (my reading isn’t completely balanced!), but here’s P.Z. Myers and some of his acolytes saying they’re SURE the shooter was a right-winger. And, despite reports from reliable sources that Robinson was on the Left and in a romantic relationship with a trans-identified man, they cling to the narrative that they like.  Click to read the archived version

The post:

I’ve been disturbed for the last day by all the unfounded speculation that Charlie Kirk’s killer was a far left fanatic, gay or trans, and that this was a hate crime against conservatives, which I had to recognize as a possibility. That was the constant drum beat from social media (and Donald Trump, and Nancy Mace, and all sorts of irrational people) at any rate, but suddenly, since late this afternoon, the drums have stopped pounding. The shooter has been caught. His personal history revealed. Suddenly, it has become apparent that he is a weird gamer from a right wing family who had criticized Kirk for not being conservative enough…and he may be a follower of Nick Fuentes and a groyper. The Serfs summarize what we know so far.

And acolytes commenting:

I found this on Facebook:

Evidence adduced in favor of Robinson being on the Right are that his parents are on the Right, and that some of the stuff scratched on the bullet casings could be interpreted as far-fight (“groyper”) memes: even white supremacist memes. On the other hand, those bullet scratchings decried fascism, which points to a Leftie; and there are increasingly many reports that Robinson was in a relationship with a trans-identified male, or someone who was transitioning, like this one:

Left-leaning outlet Axios reports that six sources familiar with the investigation of Tyler Robinson told it that Robinson had a romantic relationship with a transgender roommate.

This follows similar reporting from right-leaning media earlier today. pic.twitter.com/Vj7E5jzXib

— i/o (@avidseries) September 13, 2025

The Axios report is here. And the New York Times just reported that the governor of Utah, speaking publicly, mentioned a trans relationship and said that Robinson was on the left:

Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah on Sunday provided new information about the background and political leanings of the 22-year-old accused of killing Charlie Kirk, saying that the suspect had a “leftist ideology” and had also been in a romantic relationship with a partner who was in the process of transitioning from male to female.

Mr. Cox, speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” described the suspect, Tyler Robinson, as a “very normal young man” who appeared to have been “radicalized” some time after he dropped out of college and moved back to his hometown in southern Utah, where he had spent the past few years.

Mr. Cox did not go into specifics about Mr. Robinson’s ideological views or offer a clear picture of them. Mr. Cox said Mr. Robinson had spent much of his time immersed in online gaming, message boards and parts of what the governor called the “deep, dark internet.”

Mr. Cox, a Republican, did not detail a motive for the shooting of Mr. Kirk, a prominent conservative activist. The suspect’s motive has become the subject of fevered debate as President Trump and some Republicans have blamed Democrats and the “radical left.”

Unless he’s extraordinarily careless in speech, I’d give his thoughts some consideration.  If Robinson was indeed in a relationship with a trans-identified person, that would surely add weight to the view that he killed Kirk for Kirk’s conservative views, which included saying that being transgender is a “lie” and a “delusion”.

There are conflicting views, and are being given differential weight based on one’s politics.  Luana asked Grok what we know about Robinson’s views on Kirk and it spit out the following:

Evidence on Tyler Robinson’s Views Regarding Charlie KirkTyler Robinson, the 22-year-old suspect arrested in connection with the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University, has been linked to online discussions where he expressed strong negative opinions about Kirk. These appear tied to Kirk’s well-documented anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, particularly his opposition to transgender rights, gender-affirming care for minors, and transgender participation in women’s sports. While direct quotes from Robinson’s Discord messages specifically labeling Kirk as a “transphobe” or “homophobe” are not publicly verbatim in available reports (likely due to ongoing investigations and platform moderation), multiple credible sources indicate that Robinson voiced views aligning with this characterization in Discord chats. Below, I’ll outline the key evidence from news reports, official statements, and related online activity.1. Discord Messages Shared with Investigators

Robinson’s transgender roommate (identified in some reports as Lance Twiggs) provided federal authorities with access to Robinson’s Discord communications. These messages, sent around the time of the shooting, show Robinson discussing the weapon used (a rifle he allegedly retrieved from a drop point) and referencing the event. More critically, they reveal Robinson’s engagement in online communities focused on LGBTQ+ issues, where he criticized Kirk’s positions on transgender topics.According to Axios, investigators believe Robinson’s “anger at Kirk’s views” on gender identity—described as “hateful” toward transgender people—was a potential motive. Sources familiar with the case noted that Robinson viewed Kirk’s stance as personally offensive, especially given his roommate’s transition. This aligns with reports of Robinson participating in Discord servers tied to LGBTQ+ activism, Antifa, and even “furries” (an online subculture often overlapping with queer communities), where anti-Kirk sentiment was common.

The Washington Times reported that the roommate shared specific Discord posts from Robinson about the gun, including etchings on bullet casings like “Hey Fascist! Catch!”—phrases echoing leftist critiques of Kirk as bigoted. These messages were posted in channels discussing Kirk’s upcoming event, with Robinson implying something “big” would happen. Discord subsequently removed Robinson’s account, stating it was not used to “plan or promote violence,” but the content focused on ideological opposition.

Fox News and the New York Post corroborated that the roommate, who is cooperating fully with the FBI, had no prior knowledge of the plot but confirmed Robinson’s frequent Discord use to vent about figures like Kirk, whom he saw as promoting hate against the LGBTQ+ community.

So we’re still up in the air, but if I had to guess, I’d say Robinson was a Leftie, probably in a relationship with a trans person, and perhaps mentally unstable. But certainly full of hate. Yet to me the most important aspect of this killing is not a particular ideology, because we’ve had murderers like this one on both the Right and the Left. No part of the political spectrum can be completely exculpated.

What’s important is to keep emphasizing that you might dislike people’s views, or dislike people who hold people whose views we oppose, but it is NEVER okay to kill innocent people for those views. One look at Charlie Kirk’s wife mourning his passing, but saying his work will go on, or watching his bloody murder, presumably seen by his wife and two young kids, should convince folks that violence isn’t justified. Nor would it be okay to kill Donald Trump, as odious as he is. In the end, I’m not sure how important motive is in this case except insofar as we can curb that motive. But that seems impossible.  In the end, I think we have to dial down our rhetoric and try to convince people, wherever they live on the political spectrum, to hate ideas and not people, and that words are NOT violence. And not desperately try to pin an ideology (not yours!) on the murderer.

*Remember Donald Trump trying to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook because he claimed she was simultaneously claiming simultaneous residency in two states based on owning homes in both states? That would be mortgage fraud and a violation of the law (mortgages are cheaper on Well, the WSJ reports that the situation isn’t quite like that, for Cook described one of her homes as a vacation home or second home:

Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, whom President Trump is attempting to fire for allegedly misrepresenting a property as her primary residence, described one of the properties at the heart of those allegations as a vacation home or second home on at least two documents.

Copies of the documents, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, could counter the Trump administration’s claim that Cook knowingly misrepresented her occupancy status.

I doubt that Cook, who is a Fed official, would do this knowing it’s illegal, but it’s not quite resolved yet. But Trump is simply looking for a reason to fire Cook, as he wants the Fed to do his bidding (as he wants everybody to do his bidding), and one way is to remove its governors one by one. Cook is not going to go gentle into Pink Slip Land, though.

*I recently formally joined the Heterodox Academy (HxA), an organization that defends free speech by preventing the silencing of “heterodox” voices on college campuses (its website is here).  Like FIRE, it’s a good organization and doesn’t tread on the mushy ground of Wokeness. And you can join for free so long as you’re an academic: faculty, student, or staff.  But I had to wonder what the group was up to when I found the announcement of this talk at the Cornell University branch of HxA:

The blurb (you have to be a member and it’s in-person only:

Join Heterodox Academy (HxA) at Cornell University for a talk by Michael Behe on intelligent design in biology. Throughout history, most people, including most scientists, thought that the intricate mechanisms of life were purposefully designed. The design hypothesis fell out of favor in academia after 1859, the year Charles Darwin instead proposed that life evolved by utterly unguided random variation sifted by natural selection. In the past 75 years, however, much has been learned about the molecular basis of life that was completely unknown in Darwin’s era. In this talk, Michael Behe will argue that the astonishing discoveries of modern biochemistry require a reversal of our evaluation of Darwin versus design: the conclusion that, in large part, life was purposely designed has once again become rationally compelling.

Michael J. Behe is a Professor of Biochemistry at Lehigh University. He is the author of three books — Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution (1996); The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinism (2007); and Darwin Devolves: The New Science of DNA That Challenges Evolution (2019) — all of which argue that living systems at the molecular level are best explained as being the result of deliberate intelligent design. The books have been reviewed by the New York Times, Nature, Philosophy of Science, Christianity Today, and many other periodicals.

When: Tuesday, September 16 at 5:30-7:00 PM

Where: Cornell University – 186 Myron Taylor Hall

Now Michael Behe is a creationist of the Intelligent Design (ID) subspecies, and his arguments have been discredited, including those in his latest book saying that natural selection can’t explain the diversity of life because mutations most often break genes, and broken genes can’t contribute to adaptation. This is wrong in many ways. Yes, mutations do often break genes, but broken genes can be involved in adaptations. Further, we know now (see the work of my colleague Manyuan Long) that many, many genes originate through other processes besides inactivation, including fusion, gene duplication, insertion of other genetic elements, adaptive mutations that don’t destroy function, and so on.

In other words, is Behe “heterodox”? Well, certainly if you look at the mainstream views of biology. But he’s not just heterodox, he’s dead wrong and his ideas have been rejected even by his own department at Lehigh University.  No university of any value would allow these views to be taught in its biology classes—not after Judge John Jones ruled Intelligent Design “not science”  Behe testified for the defense in the Kitzmiller v. Dover intelligent-design trial in Dover, PA, and botched his testimony, as Wikipedia describes:

 Some of the most crucial exchanges in the trial occurred during Behe’s cross-examination, where his testimony would prove devastating to the defense. Behe was forced to concede that “there are no peer reviewed articles by anyone advocating for intelligent design supported by pertinent experiments or calculations which provide detailed rigorous accounts of how intelligent design of any biological system occurred” and that his definition of ‘theory’ as applied to intelligent design was so loose that astrology would also qualify.

Behe’s testimony was very likely crucial in Jones’s ruling out the teaching of ID, a decision that has neither been appealed nor overturned. And if ID doesn’t qualify as science, as it doesn’t, then you can’t teach it in the science classroom without violating both academic freedom and perhaps the law.

I have no idea why the HxA at Cornell would commission a talk (presumably paying for at least travel, and perhaps a stipend), that is in effect the equivalent of a talk on “Why the Earth is Flat,” or “Why Alchemy Really Works,” but hey, this isn’t a classroom, and it’s free speech. I will not write to HxA or Cornell protesting his appearance, but they are wasting people’s time and money. They should have set up Behe’s appearance as a debate rather than a misguided lecture.  I hope only that some HxA members from Cornell read this, so they can think about the issue and at least attend Behe’s talk to ask him challenging and genuinely heterodox questions.

But if HxA had its thinking cap on, it would have had a debate instead of a talk. Indeed, at the HxA meeting I went to recently in Brooklyn, there were plenty of formal sessions conducted as debates. And those were about real topics, not the phantasm of ID.

*Whaaaaat? The Washington Post has an editorial-board op-ed questioning the policies of NYC Mayor-to-Be Zohran Mamdani.  I quote:

As Zohran Mamdani looks increasingly like the next mayor of New York, he’s working hard to convince voters he’s not the radical that his own words make him out to be. Democratic partisans are starting to fall in line, but consider us unimpressed.

Mamdani apologized on Thursday, the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, for calling the New York Police Department “racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety” on social media. He said he simply had been caught up in the post-George Floyd frenzy when he called for the department to be entirely dismantled.

Anyone wondering about the change of heart, five years after the fact, need only look at the polling. Mamdani has a sizable lead but struggles to get more than half of the electorate to support his campaign. His latest modulation is an attempt at defusing his weakness on crime so he can pivot toward his preferred theme of affordability.

He is also distancing himself from some of the scariest ideas of the Democratic Socialists of America, of which he has been a member for most of his adult life. “My platform is not the same as national DSA,” Mamdani said last month. “If you cannot find a policy on my website,” he added in a subsequent statement, “then that is not a policy that I am running on.”

He refuses to say whether he still supports decriminalizing prostitution, though he has clarified that he does not plan to stop enforcing all misdemeanors. Mamdani also reversed himself on getting rid of the admissions exam for elite city high schools — such as the one he attended.

Mamdani remains vehemently anti-Israel, which he accuses of genocide. Under pressure from the Jewish community, however, he agreed in July to discourage the use of the phrase “globalize the intifada.” He repeatedly declined to do so before the Democratic primary, despite its violent connotations.

Is this opportunism or maturation? Only Mamdani can really know, but it’s notable that his tonal shift hasn’t been met with much blowback from his left-wing base. There’s still plenty to like for the city’s well-educated revolutionaries.

It’s also notable where he hasn’t shifted. Mamdani has not backed off his signature calls for “free” universal child care and buses, city-owned grocery stores, freezing rent on 1 million regulated apartments, increasing the minimum wage to $30 an hour and crippling new taxes. These aren’t new ideas, and versions of them have failed elsewhere. Yet they test better with voters in liberal Gotham than Mamdani’s soft-on-crime tendencies.

Color ME unimpressed, too. The guy is an opportunist, a lower grade version of AOC.  I of course don’t like his stand on Israel (In truth, if someone accuses Israel committing “genocide,” especially if they doesn’t add that Hamas is much worse, writing genocide into their first charter, I consider them both obtuse and antisemitic.) And a politician who refuses to answer a simple political question is hiding something or trying to not take a position to get elected.

*Ghost, the Pacific Giant Octopus who is dying of starvation (as they do) while tending her brood of unfertilized eggs, is still alive at the Aquarium of the Pacific. I looked her up on the Internet and found no sign that she had died. But it will be very, very sad when she does. An Instagram post featuring Ghost and an aquarium employee:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by KCAL News (@kcalnews)

Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Editor Hili exercises her power while peeking through the window:

Hili: Don’t translate that article.
Andrzej: Why not?
Hili: It’s pure speculation.

In Polish:

Hili: Nie tłumacz tego artykułu.Ja: Dlaczego?
Ja: Dlaczego?
Hili: To czyste spekulacje.

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

From CinEmma:

From The Dodo Pet:

From Jesus of the Day, a happy car that needs a dentist:

Here’s a tweet by writer Steven King, which seems to imply that Charlie Kirk probably deserved to be shot. It’s real, but has since been deleted. (“He” refers to Kirk.)

Below are two apologies by King, but if you look at his Twitter feed you’ll see that the mob won’t forgive him. Indeed, my opinion of King, about whom I know little, has gone down since I saw the tweet above. But he shouldn’t be cancelled, for crying out loud!

I apologize for saying Charlie Kirk advocated stoning gays. What he actually demonstrated was how some people cherry-pick Biblical passages.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) September 12, 2025

I have apologized. Charlie Kirk never advocated stoning gays to death. https://t.co/Mezem81TNg

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) September 12, 2025

One from me on the NYT’s column. They’ve joined The Free Press in having regular features touting religion:

The Paper of Record starts a program of regularly touting superstition. Will they also cover nonbelief? I wouldn’t count on it. (Well, maybe they’ll let a token atheist slip in from time to time.) pic.twitter.com/ASGx8Spm0z

— Jerry Coyne (@Evolutionistrue) September 14, 2025

It’s the third anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, beaten to death for wearing her hijab wrong.  Masih has a post with a question (my answer is “Hell, no!), and some videos of women who got arrested,  interrogated, or had their social media blocked for—singing! What a horrid place Iran is for women!

Would you, as a man living in the 21st century, go to a concert, stadium, or cinema if women were kicked out from the same place?
Today marks three years since the killing of Zhina #MahsaAmini a young woman murdered by the hijab police, whose name ignited a revolution.
The regime… pic.twitter.com/HGx01nH1yl

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) September 14, 2025

From Malcolm, a fantastic tie-dye job:

The fractal-like complexity of a tie dye t-shirt and the geometry of the final resultpic.twitter.com/laN2iM5Eos

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) September 2, 2025

One I reposted from The Auschwitz Memorial. A sad anniversary:

A sad tale: on this day in 1944 two prisoners at Auschwitz were executed. They had fallen in love and escaped, but were recaptured and executed.

— Jerry Coyne (@evolutionistrue.bsky.social) 2025-09-15T10:52:34.985Z

. . . and two from Dr. Cobb:

£3000 for a Darwin letter is cheap! I wonder what it finally went for:

Woah, a Darwin letter on carnivorous plants. That bid is underpriced at the moment

— Fossillocator (@fossillocator.bsky.social) 2025-09-13T18:36:40.830Z

Well, the answer came to quickly to this question; one has no time to think:

For your next pub quiz: “Name a European station served by 3 different track gauges.”

— The Man in Seat 61 (@seatsixtyone.bsky.social) 2025-09-12T15:51:26.371Z