05/07/26

Good morning! It’s Thursday, May 7th

Make a Book Day!

I already did that! It’s not that easy. Do you know how many words you have to put in those things? 

I think this is actually like physically making a book, as in putting the pages together, but still… exhausting.

And now, the news.

Update: Iran

-via Washington Post

Starting in Iran, with an exclusive report from the Washington Post showing that Iranian airstrikes have damaged or destroyed far more US equipment at more military bases than the administration has told us about.

Hang on… this administration? Lying to us?? That can’t be right.

In all, they have hit at least 217 structures and 11 pieces of equipment at 15 U.S. military sites.

Experts who reviewed the satellite imaging believe this shows that the administration underestimated Iran’s targeting abilities and had not yet adapted to modern drone warfare. They believe that because, according to Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, “The Iranian attacks were precise. There are no random craters indicating misses.”

Something to keep in mind, however, is that troops may have already left before the attacks took place. 

But still – not a great thing that the administration is lying about what’s actually happening over there. 

Voting in America

-via ABC News, NY Times, and CBS News

Let’s talk about voting! This should be… unfun! 

First, in Georgia, a federal judge is letting the FBI keep the hundreds of ballots from the 2020 presidential election that they took in a raid earlier this year and will for sure be using for nefarious reasons.

The judge wrote: "The seizure in this case was certainly not perfect. However ... petitioners did not establish that their rights were callously disregarded either through the lack of probable cause, omissions in the Affidavit or by the manner of the execution of the seizure."

And while that is vaguely true(ish) because the FBI gave copies of the ballots to Fulton county, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a bad moon rising because what are they going to do with these ballots? Trump already tried to overturn the election. He did insurrection via paperwork and when that did nothing for him, he did physical insurrection.

His administration should not be trusted with these. 

The judge also admitted that the affidavit for the warrant was “defective in some respects” and included statements that were “troubling,” but apparently also mixed in “facts that both hurt and helped him” and when it comes to disenfranchising voters and pleasures Dear Leader – the facts that helped were good enough.

And then moving to Tennessee (hey, you’re the only ten I see), Tennessee (eh, a two at best) Republican (hey! I meant because of their politics) have unveiled their proposal for the new map based on the Supreme Court’s decision to decimate voting rights in this country.

This map is atrocious. It takes Shelby County (ironically, the 2013 Supreme Court case that was the first crack in the VRA was Shelby v Holder, but that Shelby County was in Alabama), which includes the majority-Black city of Memphis, and cracks it into three districts. In general, Shelby County is about 53% Black and about 33% white. 

By contrast, the state itself is about 78% white and about 16% Black.

But sure this isn’t about race.

The 9th district, which used to be small and is now very big, was the state’s one democratic district. Guess how many they have now…

These absolute feckless losers… they’re cheering this on. Cheering on the theft of democracy simply because they’re afraid of what this country might look like if everyone had their voice heard.

To quote one state House Democrat: “History will not look back kindly on you when you had an opportunity to do what was right and you chose to do something else.”

And while we’re on the topic of this gerrymandering, redistricting, nonsense… Virginia.

Now, as a reminder, Virginia and California voters VOTED to redistrict. Which is different. They put it to the voters and it’s temporary, just to get a seat at the table. 

Virginia voters just passed their redistricting last month, and then yesterday, state Senator L. Louis Lucas had her office raided by the FBI.

They claim they were looking into an alleged bribery scheme in connection with the marijuana dispensary business she co-owns, which was also searched.

I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that she was a leader in the fight to redistrict. Or the fact that, when the measure passed, she posted: "You all started it and we f***ing finished it."

Lucas has not been charged and the FBI have not said what they found in her office.

Kewl Dude…

-via The Atlantic

Speaking of Kash Patel… So apparently after the story in The Atlantic broke about his drinking problem, more people reached out to the author with stories. Including this fun little fact: Kash Patel travels with a supply of personalized bottles of Woodford Reserve bourbon, so he can give them out as gifts. He even signs them. His name and then a little #9 after them because he’s just so proud of being the 9th FBI director in history.

Yeah, you’ve really made a name for yourself.

As a reminder, the FBI traditionally has zero tolerance when it comes to alcohol on the job and for its misuse while off duty. This isn’t a great look for that.

One retired agent with more than twenty years with the bureau said that when people ask for advice about Patel: “I tell people to run from him.”

Neato!

But hey, at least he gets to keep all of those Fulton County ballots…

Epstein Suicide Note

-via AP News

This next story is about suicide and Jeffrey Epstein. If you don’t want to listen, please take care of yourself and feel free to fast forward.

On Wednesday, a New York district judge released what is claimed to be a suicide note found by Jeffrey Epstein’s former cellmate. 

This note was found in a book after Epstein was found on the floor of their cell, after what was believed to be a suicide attempt or perhaps his cellmate tried to kill him (his cellmate was found innocent and ultimately, three weeks later, Epstein was famously put on suicide watch before he was found dead in his cell. The manner of death is still disputed, though the paperwork says it was a death by suicide).

The note reads: “They investigated me for month -- found nothing!!! It is a treat to be able to choose” the “time to say goodbye. Watcha want me to do -- Bust out cryin!! NO FUN. NOT WORTH IT!!”

It’s not known who wrote the note. Tartaglione, his cellmate, told his lawyers about it four days after the first incident, and it was used as evidence in his criminal case. 

I don’t know… I mean… it does not sound like him. We’ve heard a lot from this monster, but “Watcha want me to do -- Bust out cryin!!” is not his typical vernacular.

Anyway. So that happened.

Hantavirus

-via NPR, Washington Post, AP News

Okay look… I’m going to talk about Hantavirus now. Are you happy? But let’s all just be normal about it!! I understand that hearing that a cruise ship is stranded in the ocean because some passengers have a contagious virus that we don’t know much about is bringing back some PTS, but I’m going to ask you to put down the internet and listen to me.

Hantavirus is a family of viruses that can cause a variety of diseases, depending on the strain. In this case, and again… I understand we have some PTS and this isn’t going to help but just Be. Cool. 

In this case here, the strain starts with flu-like symptoms — including fatigue, fever and muscle aches — before developing into more severe respiratory symptoms because the lungs fill with fluid. It can be deadly in about 1/3 of cases.

It comes from rodent… excretions. (Everybody excretions!) 

It isn’t typically transmittable between people. This strain is.

So yes, it’s checking all the nightmare boxes. Right now Ruth’s looking at me like if we go back into lockdown and you get another cat before we move into a two-bedroom, I will be FURIOUS. 

Fear not Counselwoman Ruth Meowsner Stanton – the chances of that are, to quote Flo Rida and T-Pain… low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low

Now, in Argentina, the number of Hantavirus cases have increased. Since June of 2025, they’ve had 101 cases, and about 1/3 of those cases have resulted in death, so about 34. The average morbidity rate in the previous five years was fifteen. 

However, that cruise ship has not yet seen a huge number of people testing positive for Hantavirus yet (it can take between one and eight weeks to get sick after being exposed).

And we learned from last time! So people are taking this seriously.

Contact tracing is happening. For anyone on the ship right now, they want to find out who they were with before they got on board. A few people left early and are urged to get tested. A man in Zurich responded to an email about getting tested. His test results are positive, marking the first positive case in Europe.

A Dutch woman, who was on the cruise with her husband but he died on the cruise, and so she flew home with his body. She was sick on the flight and on the layover in Johannesburg; flight attendants thought she was too sick to get on the next leg of her flight. She died there. No one knew, at that time, that both the husband and the woman had Hantavirus. Her husband was the first to die from it. Out of an abundance of caution, they are contact tracing as if she wasn’t wearing PPE.

The ship is currently headed to the Canary Islands (they’re not thrilled) and is expected to dock there in the next three days.

Something to keep in mind: There were 147 people on the ship. Currently, there are eight known or suspected cases. About 5%.

Is this great? No! 

Is this March of 2020?

No.

Ted Turner

-via NY Times

 And ending with this: Ted Turner, who created CNN and gave us the 24-newscycle (but also TNT and TBS!), was one of the most influential figures in the history of mass media, donated billions to the UN, and bought more than a million acres of wilderness and ranch land to be set aside as nature preserves… died on Wednesday morning. 

He was 87.

Jane Fonda was one of three of his ex-wives. Fonda referred to him as her “favorite ex-husband.”

Of Fonda, Turner once said: “When you love somebody, and you really love them, you never stop loving them no matter how hard you try, you can’t stop. There’s nothing wrong with that. That’s good.”

Listen, the 24-hour newscycle has ruined our brains, our media, the way we consume news… and probably convinced you that you have Hantavirus. The ramifications of that one simple choice are endless, and I’m not kidding when I say, it’s probably why we have Trump for president.

But if you gave Ted Turner the ability, I think he honestly might go back in time and never invent it. He said he regretted what CNN turned into, turning away from hard news and towards so much opinion.

Have your opinions about billionaires. You won’t find any arguments here. But he did genuinely seem to be a good guy.

And so, to give him the last word: “Rupert Murdoch is the most dangerous man in the world.”

No, I’m kidding. He did say that though! He also said: “Men should be disqualified for public office. Women should run the planet. They're better than us.”

But I liked this, coming from a billionaire: “When our time's up, it's up. All the money in the world won't buy you one more day…”

And that’s it. That’s the news.

You don’t have Hantavirus!!!

I’m proud of you.