I’m sure I’m not alone in considering the 250th Anniversary celebration of the Declaration of Independence a complete dud. But we’ll have another chance in 2037, the 250th Anniversary of our Constitution. Let’s hope there’s still something to celebrate.

@bipisci.bsky.social Good show on measurement. But you never mentioned binary, the underpinning of our “digital” world. Where 1K can either mean 1,000 or 1,024. 😉

@chrislhayes.bsky.social Your book Siren’s Call was about the need to grab and keep our attention. Yet there’s a 50% chance that I’ll see an ad if I change the channel to MSNOW at any time. 5 min of ads, followed by 30 secs of teases, then 5 more mins of ads is not a winning strategy.

@repdean.bsky.social Excellent interview of you on CNN this morning about shipboard conditions on Lincoln. Straight talk, fact-based, non-partisan. Thank you for that. 👍

Re Kennedy Center name: Someone needs to put up a sign at the *reflecting pool* saying “Restored an Renovated by Donald J Trump.”

@smerconish.bsky.social Re Platner, Dems either fawn over him or speak out. Repubs either fawn over Trump or remain silent. Big difference. My own take: Platner is like Fetterman but worse. Eliz Warren has lost much of my respect by her support for him. Six years of Platner? No thanks.

@smerconish.bsky.social The economic effects of Trump’s war *will* cause hundreds of thousands of deaths from starvation and disease — most not in the middle east. And Trump’s war has stiffened Iran’s resolve to have a nuke, esp since he tore up the JCPOA. Lives are lives. Think globally.

@lawrenceodonnell.bsky.social Caution: The Virginia referendum results are not final until the VA Supreme Court decides on the case against it brought earlier by Repubs. They delayed their decision until after the vote because of the short times involved.

@gcaw.bsky.social My generation’s war was Vietnam, and I’ve been posting thoughts parallel to yours (but *far* less informed or complete) for a while. Biggest problem is that Trump can’t think more than a day ahead, much less years. Yet I remain hopeful that cool heads will eventually prevail.

I love it when ABC evening news has a 5 minute advertisement for their parent company and treats it like a “story.” This is what passes for news these days.

@cnn.com I thought your discussion with safety expert David Soucie on the LGA accident was especially good. Calm and deliberate. Essentially: Don’t jump to conclusions; here are specific things we need to know more about.

@smerconish.bsky.social I’m over 80, so answering your poll that Trump’s war will end after *my* lifetime was pretty easy. After all, “We’ve always been at war with Eurasia.”

Re DHS: Wondering if my senator @kaine.senate.gov will approve yet another incompetent dolt for a cabinet position. It’s my one big concern about his judgment.

Has anyone been working on using AI to translate old COBOL programs into something more modern and easier to maintain?

So Trump is going to Iowa to tout affordability. At the same time he is raising taxes on citizens there thru tariffs on S. Korean goods. Got it.

@smerconish.bsky.social Someone recently posted that Pretti was an excellent example of the masculinity that you and your occasional guests have been talking about. I agree. A good & timely topic for your Saturday show.

A prime purpose of DOGE was to slash govt spending and employees, eliminating whole depts. Now that the govt is shut down, that objective has been met, in spades. So Repubs should be delighted. Right?

A product 150 years ahead of its time: ai sauce.

@smerconish.bsky.social Looks like it’s time for another segment on disaffected young men on your show, Michael. Will the clampdown on phones during schooldays & restrictions on social media have any effect on today’s teens in their future?

@chrislhayes.bsky.social Hey, Chris, it’s called Dartmouth College, not University. There’s a story behind the college keeping the old name, involving Daniel Webster, New Hampshire, and SCOTUS. Google it. But, yes, it’s a University in fact, if not in name. 😉

@smerconish.bsky.social You’ve been good about keeping the issue of the damaging effects social media have on teens. You can add ChatGPT to the mix.

Speaker Johnson is on CNBC right now saying that Trump has a 90% approval rating. Host nods.

Depressed watching Trump’s NATO news conference. When you have to tell people how great and courageous you are, you aren’t. And if you ever wondered how the old term “ugly American” came about, this is a good example.

So Trump wants to Make America Film Again. That would be MAFiA. How fitting.

Tired: Canada as US’s 51st state Wired: US as Russia’s 47th oblast

I’m losing track of who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. Trump pardons J6 insurrectionists, ignores police victims of civilian violence. Trump stops investigations of police depts. Ignores civilian victims of police violence. The winners seem to be whoever commits the violence.

Trump: No more Covid testing. It would show how many cases there really are in the US. Also Trump: No vetting of cabinet and advisor nominees. It would…

Too early to tell what the eventual $ impact will be on an avg American. But it’s a sure bet that Trump’s advisors and cabinet members will more than double their net worth during his admin. And we won’t know the source of most of that increase.

I heard a rumor that on her first day as AG, Pam Bondi plans to get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich.

Hoping that an iPad version of the BlueSky app will come out soon. Emphasis right now obviously has to be on handling the avalanche of new users, but I find a tablet format to be much easier to work with than the small phone format. It’s the curmudgeon in me. 😉