Massive fire engulfs Kimberly-Clark toilet paper warehouse in California

Excerpt: “All you had to do was pay us enough to live. There goes your inventory.”

Me again: Mos def, play the audio-video, but there’s also this print coverage, which comes with a giggleworthy headline claiming the warehouse “served 50-million people”

Trump wants to slash federal funding for public transit

California man is arrested for repainting dangerous intersection

Secret docs: Neo-Nazi group’s newest member is ex-Navy SEAL tied to war crimes case

Sam Altman’s home hit with Molotov cocktail, 20-year-old man arrested

Newly obtained video of Minneapolis shooting undermines ICE account, of course

All the standard ICE lies are in this California shooting

Excerpt: As officers approached the car, Hernandez “weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run an officer over,” according to Lyons.

ICE officers “fired defensive shots to protect themselves, their fellow agents, and the public,” Lyons said.

Me again: This will turn out to be bullshit — more ICE lies to protect ICE cops. ICE shot this guy only because ICE is full of Proud Boys who can’t think without a gun.

And like clockwork, here’s dashcam footage

Man was wounded by ICE officers more than half a dozen times, attorney says

Judge tells border officers (again!) that they can’t arrest migrants without real warrants

They can arrest migrants without real warrants. It happens every day.

Trump regime appoints pizzagate wingnut as immigration ‘judge’

Alligator Alcatraz phones were cut off. Then the beatings began, court docs say

North Carolina: Two Durham elementary students detained by ICE, deported to Honduras within 48 hours

Excerpt: “This family was lured into the check-in office under a false pretense of safety, and they were ripped away from their lives, from their school and deported in about 48 hours,” said Andreina Malki, defense manager with Siembra NC, at a press conference in Durham.

ICE pulled Medicaid data despite court order

LA teen loses eye after being shot by US agent at No Kings march, lawyer says

The rules of journalism often stand in the way of journalism, as in this case. I’ve read plenty over months about USC student Tucker Collins losing his eye after being shot by feds with a ‘rubber bullet’. It happened and it’s a fact — so the headline doesn’t need “lawyer says” tacked on at the end.

Ahead of World Cup, Homeland Security Secretary threatens to stop processing all international arrivals in “sanctuary cities”

My first reaction is, no way — Big Money drives the World Cup, and Trump & the Republicans don’t mess with Big Money. But Trump is bonafide bonkers, and he’s done plenty stupider than this bright idea.

ICE acknowledges it is using powerful spyware

Excerpt: Graphite uses what is known as “zero click” technology so that it can gain access to encrypted messages on a targeted device even if the user never clicks on a link.

Republicans sue to curtail overseas voting

Trump regime pulls out of civil rights settlements backing trans students

Boise responds to Pride flag ban with rainbow poles

Louisiana Republicans race to eliminate an elected office won by an exonerated black man

Excerpt: A man imprisoned for nearly 30 years before being exonerated won a landmark election in New Orleans promising to fix a judicial system that failed him. Now, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and the GOP-controlled Legislature are racing to eliminate his job before he can be sworn in.

Calvin Duncan won 68% of the vote last November to become the Orleans Parish clerk of criminal court after pledging to reform the justice system based on his own experience fighting to access court records while in maximum security prison.

Duncan rebuilt his life, in part by running for and winning the clerk’s office. But Louisiana Senate Republicans on Wednesday voted to scrap Duncan’s new job as part of a broader GOP effort to streamline the judiciary in New Orleans, a Democratic hub with a predominantly Black electorate

Stung by voters, Republican legislators move to curb citizen initiatives

Jury acquits Cal State University lecturer of assaulting a federal officer

DOJ targets key January 6 witness against Trump

Remember the “Ministry of Truth” freakout? Rubio is now doing something far worse through Elon Musk’s Xitter

Republican sheriff who seized a half-million ballots says he may do it again

Florida AG says state laws preventing funding to religious schools are unconstitutional

Read the article, to meet a genuine wingnut who ought to be disbarred instead of being AG.

Here’s Article 1, Section 3 of Florida’s Constitution:
“There shall be no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting or penalizing the free exercise thereof. Religious freedom shall not justify practices inconsistent with public morals, peace or safety. No revenue of the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof shall ever be taken from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution.”

Automatic registration for US military draft-eligible men to begin in December

… But we’ve always been told that automatic voter registration is impossible.

Trump team calls Iran power plants ‘legitimate military targets,’ but law prof says administration’s reasoning wouldn’t survive a bar exam.

Trump threats cause dilemma for US officers: disobey orders or commit war crimes

New evidence further implicates US missiles in strikes that killed 21 civilians in Iran

Trump team explores punishment for NATO countries that don’t support Iran war

‘We were not ready for this’: Lebanon’s emergency system is hanging by a thread

Trump’s ballroom project gets free foreign steel as part of kickback plan

Excerpt: The White House has not disclosed details of the donation, but Mr. Trump said last October that he had been offered a donation of steel for the ballroom valued at $37 million.

The president’s comments came just days before the White House made adjustments to its tariffs that could benefit ArcelorMittal, by cutting in half the tariffs applied to exports of automotive steel from its Canadian plant.

Trump Pardons Czar claims executive privilege in bid to evade misconduct charges

Trump posts graphic video of woman’s murder by hammer attack, blames Democratic immigration policies

Second ex-staffer accuses Republican lawmaker of sending sexually explicit messages

Dem Rep Swalwell faces sex assault accusations and calls to quit Governor’s race

Goes without saying he should resign from Congress. Nothing of value would be lost; politically, he’s just another blah Democrat and there are soooo many…

Amanda Ungaro arrived in the US on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane at 17 — now she’s going after Melania Trump from Brazil

Amanda Ungaro was an Epstein child-rape victim who later became the girlfriend of Paolo Zampolli, a forever Trump pal. When Zampolli & Ungaro were on the outs, he had her deported as a favor from ICE. Zampolli is also the charmer who brought Melania then-Knauss now-Trump from Slovenia to the US and introduced her & Trump, so hmmmm…

Melania Trump slams baseless reports linking her to wrong wealthy pedophile

Trump orders CNN to take down its Iran coverage

US Holocaust Memorial quietly removed Jim Crow and Nazi materials to avoid political fallout with Trump

After Stephen Colbert exits CBS in May, network will lease timeslot to Byron Allen

EFF is leaving Xitter

New York Times pitchbot: Trump’s threat of Armageddon raises eyebrows in some liberal circles.

RFK Jr. rewrites CDC panel’s charter, opening door to anti-vaccine quacks

Secretary of Health and Human Services RFK Jr launches podcast to “expose medical lies”

As RFK Jr allies hailed Mississippi’s rollback of strict school vaccine rules, whooping cough surged and a baby died

‘Masquerading as a university’: inside the brazen right-wing plan to conquer American schools

Trump regime is trying to steal $21 billion earmarked for better broadband

America first? Paramount finalizes $24 billion in middle east backing for Warner Bros deal

Newly created Polymarket accounts win big on well-timed Iran ceasefire bets

Amazon bricks first-gen Kindles

Trump is robbing you to pay for his dumb war

US defense official overseeing AI reaped millions selling xAI stock after Pentagon entered agreement with company

Across the country, Republican-led state legislatures are passing a slate of laws that effectively shield oil and gas companies from legal claims that they are responsible for the destruction and mounting toll caused by climate change

Trump says U.S. ready for ‘next conquest,’ warns military will remain near Iran until ‘real agreement’ is honored

JD Vance accuses EU of ‘interference’ as he visits Hungary to help Orbán win election

Alabama man who reported sheriff’s misuse of funds is arrested for marijuana possession

Alabama cops haven’t said why they chased driver into wreck, killing four people

San Diego Police Department disqualifies the vast majority of complaints from independent oversight

Pennsylvania jailer turned San Francisco cop gets prison for “horrific” images of rape, torture, and bondage of children and infants

Wrongful-death lawsuit in LA police killing of 14-year-old girl to begin trial

DC renter says she was arrested for teaching fellow tenants about their rights

Elon Musk’s private security guards were deputized as federal agents without any of the ‘required training’

Half of Colorado sheriff’s office indicted on charges, including abuse of a corpse, authorities say

Doubleheader: Florida ex-cop who’s now a pastor is arrested on child molestation charges

Chicago cop who killed Anthony Alvarez in 2021 engaged in fatal unreported police chase last year, new lawsuit alleges

Mental health crisis response under alleged scrutiny after Kentucky cops kill woman

Just a coincidence, says Michigan sheriff, that he banned bodycams at the jail the same day an inmate died there

Michigan police say they don’t enforce immigration — then call ICE, CBP

11,000 cops from around the world demand no jail for New York man found guilty of manslaughter

NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran gets 3 to 9 years prison time for hurling cooler that killed fleeing suspect

Over stolen car, North Carolina cops chase driver into fatal wreck

Oklahoma cops get paid suspension during investigation of April Fools hoax that a baby being had been thrown from a car

Pennsylvania trooper admits to viewing child sexual abuse materials, using police credentials to create deepfakes

South Carolina cop accused of seeking money to dismiss tickets

Tennessee police chief resigns after he’s caught on video slapping man in wheelchair

New deputy fired, accused of trying to deliver drugs to inmate in Virginia prison

Testing suggests Google’s AI Overviews tell millions of lies per hour

Excerpt: Looking up information on Google today means confronting AI Overviews, the Gemini-powered search robot that appears at the top of the results page. AI Overviews has had a rough time since its 2024 launch, attracting user ire over its scattershot accuracy, but it’s getting better and usually provides the right answer. That’s a low bar, though. A new analysis from The New York Times attempted to assess the accuracy of AI Overviews, finding it’s right 90 percent of the time. The flip side is that 1 in 10 AI answers is wrong, and for Google, that means hundreds of thousands of lies going out every minute of the day.

Me again: Part of the reason I no longer Google.

Deepfake nudes are haunting America’s teens

The New York Times got played by a telehealth scam and called it the future of AI

Associated Press dumps journalists for AI

Axios used AI to fake an opinion poll

Excerpt: A recent Axios story on maternal health policy referred to “findings” that a majority of people trusted their doctors and nurses. On the surface, there’s nothing unusual about that. What wasn’t originally mentioned, however, was that these findings were made up.

Clicking through the links revealed (as did a subsequent editor’s note and clarification by Axios) that the public opinion poll was a computer simulation run by the artificial intelligence start-up Aaru. No people were involved in the creation of these opinions.

The practice Aaru used is called silicon sampling, and it’s suddenly everywhere. The idea behind silicon sampling is simple and tantalizing. Because large language models can generate responses that emulate human answers, polling companies see an opportunity to use A.I. agents to simulate survey responses at a small fraction of the cost and time required for traditional polling.

Sam Altman says it’ll take another year before ChatGPT can start a timer

‘Cognitive surrender’ is a new and useful term for how AI melts brains

Wanna buy a smart smart stove or washer?

Head of US Environmental Protection Agency gives keynote address at climate deniers conference

Recent research found climate-fueled disturbances in European forests could more than double by the end of the century

‘Non-survivable’: heatwaves are already breaching human limits, with worse to come, study finds

Greenland’s ice is melting faster than ever, and scientists are alarmed

California pastor admits sexually assaulting girl

Doubleheader: Florida ex-cop who’s now a pastor is arrested on child molestation charges

Idaho man sentenced to 70 years for sex crimes involving children from his church

Top Mormon leader D. Todd Christofferson knew around 2020 that his brother was an alleged child molester

Anti-LGBTQ+ Christian author indicted on child sex abuse charges in Ohio

South Carolina pastor, wife arrested on child abuse charges

Texas: Church of Acts pastor Ryan Peña charged with sexually abusing girls in his family

Virgin Islands pastor accused of sex crimes against girl

Technocracy and fascist politics are being embraced by megalomaniac elites scheming for their own survival

Teen models, powerful men and private dinners: when Trump hosted Look of the Year

Flying Fred Curry
high-flying wrestler

Michael Robert Dehart
forgotten person

Dan DeVaul
jackass & saint

Salome J. Lares
forgotten person

Davey Lopes
baseballer, Los Angeles Dodgers

Michael Patrick
writer, My Left Nut

George Tupper
yellow fever

Jim Whittaker
climbed Mount Everest

Nothing will meaningfully improve
until billionaires fear for their lives.

4/11/2026

Logo illustration by Jeff Meyer. Tip ‘o the hat to the Anderson Valley Advertiser,Daily Grail,Fat Magic,Jemin Na CPA,Joe My God,Slackville,Voenix Rising,Welcome Scum,What Not’s, Jamie Zawinski,and anywhere else I’ve stolen links, illustrations, or inspiration.

Special thanks to Linden Arden, Becky Jo, Joey Jo Jo & John the Basket emeritus, Jeff Meyer, Dave S, Name Withheld, and always extra special thanks to my lovely late Stephanie, who gave me 21 years and proved that the world isn’t always shitty.

News always and only from reliable sources, and I decide what’s reliable — no right-wing bullshit, no Substack because fuck Nazis, and no RawStory, Newsweek, or other clickbait sites. Written news is preferred; video links will be rare, and damned near never to videos where a reporter or podcaster simply reads a script or does improv — that’s show biz, not news.

If a paywall, forced registration for spam, or any website’s anti-reading layout keeps you from accessing an article linked here, simply let me know and I’ll reply with the article’s complete text.

And Now the News

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our 75th weekly open mike

Let’s see what happens when your host (me) has nothing to say. Step right up, speak your mind, tell a story, sing a song, whatever.

4/11/2026

Anything goes

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Standing fourth in line at the grocery store, with only a pack of Bimbo fake doughnuts (49¢) in my hand, I had nowhere to be and nothing planned beyond eating the doughnuts.

When the line advanced a few inches, my mind was elsewhere, and I neglected to take an immediate step forward. A woman wedged her way ahead of me, without saying a word.

Huh. I mulled it over, deciding whether to make a scene or say nothing. Maybe I’m lazy or maybe it seemed something too dopey to get pissed off about, but I’d decided to say nothing… until the guy in front of her asked nicely if she’d hold his spot in line while he went back for something.

“No,” she said bluntly.

Those first five paragraphs happened in two seconds or less, so it wasn’t too late to change my mind about the pursuit of peace at all costs. “Go ahead and get what you need, buddy,” I said, and the woman looked at me as if was she was amazed I’d spoken. She must’ve thought I was a fat mannequin. “She cut ahead of me in line, but she’s going back behind me.”

“What?” she sorta shrieked, and suddenly everything about that woman was obvious, written on her face. She was of a class well above mine, so accustomed to comfort and deference that she might not have even been aware she’d stepped ahead of me in line. Highfalutin as hell. I said, “Would you like your groceries on the floor, or maybe on your head?”

Or something like that. When I’m hot, sometimes I don’t know what I’m saying.

Her groceries were at her feet, so I picked up her basket, and gently plopped it behind me.

“Did you see that?” she said, shocked, to the 40-something man working the register. And it was the moment upon which my fate hinged. The woman was about his age, about my age, overdressed and not unattractive. If he’d taken her side, I would’ve been outta luck.

“Yeah, I saw it, lady,” he said. “You cut ahead of him.”

And at that, Juan’s Produce became my favorite bodega in the neighborhood. He’d frozen her like a popsicle, but after a moment she very quietly said, “Sorry,” and stepped behind me again. Waiting her turn — imagine that.

I let the guy back in line with the carton of eggs he’d forgotten but fetched, then waited and paid for my junk food. On my way out I said, “You have a real nice day, ma’am” to the lady behind me.

♦ ♦ ♦

Replaying that scene thirty seconds later, I’m not proud of “Would you like your groceries on the floor, or maybe on your head?” Jeez, I’d threatened violence, over maybe being delayed a couple of minutes?

There’s something about urban life, cramming so many people into such a compact space, that puts us all on edge. And by “us all,” I mean me. Would I really have dumped that lady’s groceries on her head? Not the tin cans, but maybe the dinner rolls.

♦ ♦ ♦  

Bought this morning’s Chronicle and flipped through it while eating onion sandwiches. In the paper’s second section was an upbeat story about a local girl, age 7, hoping to set a record as the youngest brat to fly a plane somewhere and back. The headline made my eyes roll, and I didn’t read the article.

Seems the kid won’t be reading it either. Blaring headline in this afternoon’s San Francisco Examiner: Child pilot dies in plane crash.

Scold me and shun me for saying this, but I laughed at that headline. Then I paid 25¢ for the paper, read the article, and went back and read the puff piece in the morning Chronicle.

Jessica Dubroff, the Christa McAuliffe of pint-sized aviators, has died. Her Cessna crashed this morning, at around the time the Chronicle was landing on people’s doorsteps. In the afternoon Examiner‘s report, a witness said that the plane “went straight into the ground like a dart.”

Imagine all the happy messages on the family’s answering machine (“Great article in the Chronicle, you must be so proud,” etc) with follow-up calls a few hours later (Oh, I’m so sorry…).

A couple of years ago, the media made some noise about a 10- or 11-year-old kid who’d become the youngest person to fly a plane across the country. Presumably little Jessica was trying to break that kid’s record. In a competition to be the youngest person flying a plane, what happened today had to happen eventually.

The girl’s dad said in the morning paper that he’d paid the total cost for her flying lessons, about $15,000, plus another $1,300 to print a few hundred souvenir baseball caps for friends and the media.

What an ass. He ought to be jailed, but that would be messy. He was on the plane.

“As she flies,” her daddy said before being dead, “she is learning math, physics, navigation, geography, and weather — plus she will have a lifetime ticket to a certain social strata she can use or not.”

‘Not’, it seems.

Airplane fall down, go boom. One less spoiled rich kid, who probably would’ve grown up and into the social strata that cuts off fat guys in line at the grocery store.

Pathetic Life
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