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The AARP strikes again, this time with a quick and easy form you can use to urge your representatives to protect Social Security.
A few weeks ago I was behind a woman in a bright blue Jeep Wrangler with one of those custom spare tire covers on the back. It was emblazoned with “Life Is Better in Flip-Flops” in cursive. Now, I cannot stand flip-flops. I hate them with the burning intensity of a million suns. I think they’re annoying and slovenly and uncomfortable and I detested every time either of my beloved grandmothers bought me a pair for the beach. (Even though they hardly knew each other and were separated by 1200 miles, they somehow both bought me and my siblings multiple pairs over the years.) Wearing flip-flops gave me blisters every time and they always broke or got snagged on something. I hate flip-flops. But, and I mean this so hard, that crazy woman in her Jeep does not hurt me at all by loving flip-flops. This is America. If it doesn’t hurt you (or anyone else), let people love what they love. [This is not about flip-flops.]
Tina Fey Sparks Debate After Calling Out Rich Celebrities Who Have A ‘Side Hustle’… on an episode of the Amy Poehler side hustle podcast Good Hang.
The Hubble Space Telescope explores the universe 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That means it has observed some fascinating cosmic wonder every day of the year, including on your birthday. – via kottke
It’s too bad there’s no trustworthy way to add third-party custom Apple Watch faces, because I would love making mine look like the Fallout 4 Pip-Boy.
One more thing? It just feels wrong to watch The Handmaid’s Tale on Disney+.
Garbage World:
- Here’s a depressing (but important) crowdsourced Google Doc detailing all the resignations, layoffs, terminations, and general bad news from the US Department of Health and Human Services – via YLE
- POTUS pardoned a company sentenced to $100 million in fines for breaking money laundering laws, because he clearly thinks money laundering is what makes America great.
- The national security of the United States is in the hands of incompetent miscreants who don’t understand anything about technology or security.
- The U.S. Naval Academy has removed nearly 400 books from its library after being told by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to review and get rid of ones that promote diversity, equity and inclusion.
- The current administration is actually dedicating federal resources to investigate the feasibility of invading Greenland.
- The administration has fired staff who were working on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration bird flu response as part of its mass layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services.

I finally saw Captain America: Brave New World and will say that, at the end of the day, it was a fun movie. I think Anthony Mackie works as Captain America and he’s a fine actor. Harrison Ford is brilliant, of course. The plot is actually great. But — just like pretty much every MCU offering since Avengers: Endgame — I left feeling like I have no idea whether Disney and Kevin Feige have a plan or if they’re just pumping out movies.
A Cheeto shaped like the Pokémon Charizard sold at auction for over $87,000.
I cannot imagine a scenario in which Stephen A. Smith is worth $20,000,000.00 per year, but I also cannot imagine paying $87,000.00 for a Cheeto shaped like a Pokémon character, so I guess that’s why I am not in charge of contracts at ESPN.
Two men were charged Wednesday in the deaths of three Kansas City Chiefs fans whose bodies were found in a backyard two days after they got together to watch the final game of the regular season in 2024.
I am almost certain that I read Always Go To The Funeral when it was published (or aired on the radio) two decades ago, but it just popped up in a recent issue of Links You’ll Love and it’s worth sharing again.
I one hundred percent did not see the sudden political twist coming in White Lotus S3E3 but I am f’ing here for it. Kudos to Mike White and HBO for going there. I can’t wait to see the next episode. (And, yes, I know it’s MAX now.)
In other news:
- POTUS signs executive order to establish government bitcoin reserve.
  </bangs head on desk>
- It’s Tax Season – The Perfect Time for POTUS to Sell This “Critical” IRS Computing Center: Last year, the IRS Martinsburg site was “viewed as a high priority.” Now it’s suddenly “functionally obsolete”?
- The CDC is planning a large study into potential connections between vaccines and autism, despite extensive scientific research that has disproven or failed to find evidence of such links. – via @boghuma.bsky.social
- Maine officials said the Social Security Administration did not provide any explanation for the abrupt end of the decades old registration process, or for the sudden reversal. – via @crampell.bsky.social
- I really hope in a hundred years there will still be people left to cringe at this headline: Half the World’s CO2 Emissions Come from 36 Fossil Fuel Firms

Good news: Bill to ban trans athletes from team sports failed to advance in the Senate – via @erininthemorning.com
Want to send a message to your representatives urging them to protect Social Security? AARP has a quick and simple form for that. Go!
High-intensity exercise can significantly improve long-term memory, learning ability, and decision-making.
Rolling Stone published a list of twenty “essential” Gene Hackman films but didn’t include The Birdcage?! Blasphemy. – via kottke
My top five, in no particular order: The Birdcage, Superman: The Movie, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Firm, and Unforgiven
The fastest and easiest way to cut methane emissions (as well as reduce water use and protect biodiversity) is simply to eat less beef. In the United States, half of all the beef is consumed by just 12% of the population, mostly men.
See also: Climate Kids!
Things That Suck:
- The Senate confirmed former World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon to lead the Department of Education as POTUS pushes to shut it down
- “In North Carolina, there has been a multi-year, hyper focused effort among political actors in the state to gain and keep control over the state supreme court.”
- FAA Officials Ordered Staff to “Find Funding” for Starlink – via @samhalpert.bsky.social

New jazz fellowship honors the genre’s elders and gives them each an unrestricted $100,000 grant. – via @phillewis.bsky.social
Welcome to Chicken Town presents exactly what its URL says it does. – via @erikahall.bsky.social
Thomas Perry is likely the strongest player in the 2025 NFL Draft. You’ve probably never heard of him.
While the individual accumulation of wealth offers an illusion of safety, does it simply create more instability and insecurity in the long run?
After Pressure from Georgia Senator Ossoff, White House Restores Funding for HBCU Students Studying Agriculture
College Football 25 broke video game records. Can EA Sports keep everyone happy?
You Have No Rights
Good News for People Who Love Bad News
- Once social security checks stop showing up, millions of Americans will finally understand the scope.
- After All This
- The Environmental Protection Agency will move to reverse its 2009 declaration that greenhouse gases endanger human health and welfare — a step that would threaten most major climate regulations and make it harder for future presidents to enact new ones. – via @vanhollen.senate.gov
- “You’re not going to like what I’m saying next, but we are in the middle of a totalitarian fascist coup in this country.” – via @anildash.com
- FDA Cancels Meeting of Vaccine Experts Scheduled to Advise on Flu Shots
- It IS Happening Here
- The White House on Wednesday denied reporters from Reuters and other news organizations access to [the administration’s] first cabinet meeting.
- It seems almost unavoidable that we are headed for a deep, deep recession.

Holy hell do I love this My Life in Weeks project from Gina Trapani. And, like almost everything gold on the web that I’ve found for the last 26-ish years, it’s via kottke.
Worcestershire gets endlessly dragged but the American pronunciation of sarsaparilla is even less intuitive. – via me
The Freedom of the Press Foundation has a FREE digital security curriculum for journalism students. – via @dansinker.com
Spineless milquetoast Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul will not remove New York City Mayor Eric Adams, at least for now, instead proposing “guardrails” to increase oversight of the city.
The Curious Case of Leland Dudek
The Incompetence of “DOGE” Is a Feature, Not a Bug: A series of mistakes by “DOGE” shows just how arbitrary and destructive this slash-and-burn strategy can get.
A new bat coronavirus that has the capacity to spread to humans, similar to the one that caused the COVID-19 pandemic has been discovered. – via @girlsreallyrule.bsky.social
Oh, and just for good measure: Prominent “DOGE” Staffer Is Grandson Of Turncoat KGB Spy – via @jasonkirk.fyi