Sunday Mailbag

We're often surprised by which item, in any given week, generates the largest response. This week, by a large margin, it was the item on the Joe Biden book.

Politics: This Week in TrumpWorld

B.P. in Pensacola, FL, writes: Your piece on who the "real" Attorney General might be prompted me to wonder about Pam Bondi's status with the Florida Bar. The Bar has a very accessible website at floridabar.org. Two interesting things. First, her "official" e-mail is still with Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm. Florida Bar members are required to update their e-mail address when they change positions.

But the second was her bar admission date—June 24, 1991. According to her Wikipedia page, she graduated from Stetson University College of Law in 1990. The bar exam is given twice a year, in July and February. Absent some exceptional circumstance such as illness, one typically takes the exam the July after graduating, with the results arriving a few months later—toward the end of the year. Same thing for the February bar—results come some months later. So had she taken and passed the bar exam in July 1990, her admission date would likely be in that same year. But with a June 24, 1991, admission date, that means that she either: (1) didn't take the bar in July 1990, and first took it in February 1991; or (2) took the bar in July, failed it, and re-took it in February 1991. Given the typical course of events, the most likely thing that happened is that she flunked the bar exam the first time she took it.

That said, the Florida Bar Exam itself and the requirements to pass are generally considered to be quite difficult. I believe only New York and California are considered more difficult (excluding Louisiana, which tests on French Civil Law and the Napoleonic Code and so is quite challenging for anyone who did not go to law school in Louisiana). However, I doubt that we've had another Attorney General of the United States who failed their bar exam.

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T.H.W. in Marlboro, VT, writes: Your statement that "Stephen Miller casually mentioned" the possible suspension of habeas corpus may arguably miss the mark. According to independent journalist Marcy Wheeler, it was a setup, and the video of the press encounter certainly supports her interpretation. Miller strolls up the street toward a gaggle of reporters, says he has time for only a few questions, then immediately calls on a reporter at the back of the gaggle. That reporter just happens to be from the right-wing Gateway Pundit, whose reporting on Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss (the Georgia election workers accused of election fraud) led to a settlement in which his false reporting was taken down from the web site. He mentions Trump's earlier comments about suspending habeas corpus, and then asks, "When could we see that happen?" As if it were a good thing!

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B.F. in Arlington, VA, writes: You wrote, ostensibly as a joke, "You know, if a Democratic governor wanted to take a shot at becoming a folk hero, he or she might consider something like this: Find a non-citizen mercenary from a non-extradition country, send them to Washington/Alabama, and have them arrest Tuberville for [mumble, mumble, mumble] and detain him back in that non-extradition country. It would not be an easy operation to pull off, but then again, this kind of thing is what mercenaries do."

Notwithstanding you're punching up (sort of) at Tuberville, I find this kind of (hopefully) satirical advocacy reprehensible. Calling for the kidnapping and incarceration of an elected official by a foreign power would be an act of war. It would be a terrible precedent for and provocation to an authoritarian regime, an invitation to step up its aggression in the name of "security." The governor who did this would be considered more treasonous than heroic. Because it requires the involvement of foreign mercenaries on American soil, it is not, and would not appear at all parallel to the (genuinely dangerous and ominous threat of) suspension of habeas corpus and involuntary deportation and detainment. As analogy, realpolitik, or a misguided attempt at empathy, this is stupid and beneath you, and reeks of "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?"

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R.L.D. in Sundance, WY, writes: I've been arguing that the dunderheads on Donald Trump's side will not be able to see the true consequences of their policy positions for quite a while. Ugly notions? Yes. Dangerously slippery? Sure. Necessary? I think so. Welcome to the Dark Side, (Z).

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J.L. in Mountain View, CA, writes: This article suggests another reason that Congress might be showing some spine when it comes to the Library of Congress and the Copyright Office: The new MAGA heads of those agencies are apparently more anti-AI than the people they replaced. Big AI might have some sway in Washington.

Politics: De Plane, De Plane

R.T. in Arlington, TX, writes: Donald Trump is old enough to remember when America was building a new embassy in Moscow, and for some reason contracted with locals to build it. Before it could open, so many listening devices had been embedded in the concrete that the structure had to be torn down and started over with imported (and presumably closely watched) American labor.

While I'm at it, once upon a time, the City-state of Troy received a gift of a large wooden horse... and the rest is history.

The real question here is who is dumber: Trump/MAGA minions for thinking accepting the plane is a good idea, or the Qataris for thinking this idea would fly in the first place (puns intended).

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E.W. in Seattle, WA, writes: One comment I've been waiting for with the entire episode of the Qatari plane gift to the U.S./Trump is a discussion of the historic use of the Trojan horse (and not the fake "replica" currently in use as a "mascot" for the University for Spoiled Children). The similarities are the obvious vanity of the recipient, which made him eagerly accept it as a "trophy," and that both had a clear downside that did/will give the donor an unanticipated advantage. The speculative use of eavesdropping technology or a "kill switch" would be examples of such an advantage.

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E.F. in Baltimore, MD, writes: Even Trump knows that this gold-plated gift 747 will never fly as Air Force One. This is just his usual strategy of opening a negotiation with an extreme bid, so he can fall back to a more plausible position, promising not to use the plane until after he's left office and pretending that's fair. In this case, his end game is hoping that Congress ignores this blatant emoluments clause violation. Worse, it would set the standard that anything else he ever gets from any other tinpot dictator on Earth is equally permissible, seeing as how it'll be worth less than $400 million.

Just you wait. If he ever does leave the White House, he'll take all the silverware with him. After all, he'd be a fool not to!

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P.L. in Denver, CO, writes: Since term v1.0, I have dreamed of Trump being either placed in home confinement or prison for his many crimes. I still have that dream. However, I have also felt if it came down to that, he would find a way to ditch the Secret Service and hightail it to a non-extradition country. One of the Middle East countries seemed likely to me (lots of glitz and golf, and now they are his BFF).

Trump's personal jet is a 757. It could never fly directly to the Middle East without refueling. The flying palace, however, could get him from the east coast of the USA to the UAE or Saudi quite easily. So, I wonder if one of the benefits of having his own private flying palace is that would enable him to escape.

Now, I know that you guys have pointed out that the Secret Service would be required to detain him. But really, if Trump wanted to escape, I think he and his handlers would find a way to get on the flying palace without Secret Service accompaniment. And the flying palace would have plenty of room for any of his associates who may be in legal trouble because of their association with him.

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B.C. in Denver, CO, writes: Just thinking out loud that the plane should be referred to as a "grift" plane, not a gift plane.

Politics: Numerology

M.M. in Centralia, IL, writes: In regard to "Today in Stupid Distractions: Comey Posts Pic, Now Under Investigation": Yet another example of President Retribution at his best. Not a new idea. A year ago, I saw plenty of "8646" flags flying here in the Midwest. Where was the outrage then?

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J.R.A. in St. Petersburg, FL, writes: As some other sources point out, 86ing in the bar industry can refer to tossing a customer who is drinking too much or otherwise being obstreperous out of the establishment.

As I pointed out to those people, It generally doesn't involve violence... unless the person you ask politely to leave starts it.

At which point you call the police.

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J.D. in Portland, OR, writes: Thank you for your item about the Comey instagram drama. I imagine other readers are having similar experiences to mine. I had seen it in the news, and I posted the below message on my personal Facebook account with the photo of shells:

I was a bartender long ago, and "86" does not in any way refer to violence. At most, it means shutting down a violent customer. This is the Merriam Webster definition (footnote link in comments below): "Eighty-six is slang meaning "to throw out," "to get rid of," or "to refuse service to." It comes from 1930s soda-counter slang meaning that an item was sold out. There is varying anecdotal evidence about why the term eighty-six was used, but the most common theory is that it is rhyming slang for nix."

An hour later, I received multiple emails from FaceBook that my account was restricted and suspended (though it was restored on appeal).

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P.N. in Austin, TX, writes: I saw the item on James Comey's "indiscretion," and the picture immediately made me think of the old song, "867-5309."

But something seemed suspicious, so I went to my favorite chatbot (which is always accurate, of course) and asked a few questions. And what do you know? My suspicions were confirmed:

86. (7x5)+3+0+9

86 47

So, Tommy Tutone was calling on Jenny to axe Trump, way back in 1981. And poor Comey was just posting about a song he obviously loves.

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R.S. in Rennes, France (but usually from Albuquerque, NM), writes: The shell thing was likely done by one of Trump's supporters who isn't very good with numbers. They probably meant to say 8847.

Politics: Biden's "Sin"

K.F. in Madrid, Spain, writes: I share the views you expressed in the item Muckraking Volume on Biden Will Hit the Shelves Next Week, in which you previewed the upcoming book Original Sin, where multiple sources take turns blasting Joe Biden's cognitive abilities and his late exit from the presidential race.

I thought it was only TCF who is still obsessed with Biden, but apparently many in Democratic circles find it necessary to continue bashing the former president. I don't pretend I have all the answers because I wasn't there. I do know that he flubbed one or two lines in that infamous debate very badly, but that he otherwise held his own the rest of the way. I do know ,with the exception of some token challengers in the primaries, virtually nobody was calling for Biden to step down before that debate—at least not publicly. Then, once he made the very hard decision to step down, he got no credit for that because, well, "he should have done it sooner."

I just watched a BBC interview with Biden. He seemed older, yes, but otherwise cogent. At this point, I've had enough of the Biden-bashing. I won't read the book, but there was a Guardian article about the book that had some quotes from David Plouffe. Plouffe did not mince words when he blamed Biden for Kamala Harris' loss. I respected Plouffe for what he was able to do to elevate Barack Obama, but now that's gone. He was probably riding high off that Obama adrenaline in 2008, but faced with a bruising defeat in 2024, he can't look in the mirror and take any accountability for the results without scapegoating Biden. He's a loser now and he can't stand it. And as for Jake Tapper and Wolf Blitzer, I agree with your sentiments there, too. When they decide to actually, you know, report the news and do anything remotely like journalism, then maybe I'll hear what they have to say about Joe Biden or anybody else.

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A.R. in Los Angeles, CA, writes: Well, I for one am so relieved. We finally have a definitive answer for how Donald Trump got reelected: It's all Joe Biden's fault. Thanks to the intrepid investigative work of those two authors and their exhaustive interviews of those looking to offload their own guilt, we can ignore all the other factors that contributed to the outcome, not the least of which is the betrayal and public excoriating by people who insist, even as they keep flogging him, that they really are besties.

Exhibit A is George Clooney. If you want a prime example of an entitled, arrogant celebrity, one need look no further. He goes to all this trouble to attend a fundraiser that broke records (bigly bucks!), is one of the most famous people in the world (just ask him) and Biden doesn't recognize him? Clearly, there's something really wrong with the guy! But OK, even allowing for some genuine concern on his part, his first thought is to go to The New York Times to publicly humiliate him? Why not call him up, since they're so close, and have a conversation with him directly? Or better yet, have his back and tell his staff to change his ridiculous schedule.

It seems to me that David Plouffe, Clooney, and the others are deflecting blame for their role in Trump's win. Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts and was under federal criminal indictment for inciting an insurrection and stealing classified documents. Just a shade more serious than a poor debate performance. What did Republican leaders do? They didn't just downplay it. They flew to New York and held a press conference outside the courthouse to pay homage to their party's nominee and accuse every prosecutor of being biased against Trump and politically motivated. I don't remember anyone coming to Biden's defense. Democratic officials could have lifted Biden up and carried him across that finish line. Everyone working together could have gotten it done. Instead, they abandoned him at the first opportunity, publicly tore him down and forced him out. The public sees that lack of loyalty and they don't like it. Pennsylvania voters felt betrayed by what was done to Biden. As one voter said, "I knew he was old when I voted for him in 2020 and he'll still be old when I vote for him in 2024." Biden wasn't the problem, his so-called friends were.

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K.M. in Tacoma, WA, writes: The hysteria about Joe Biden's mental issues is totally off the mark. While we should be concerned about the CEO's mental health, there is no indication here that the administration was incompetent, crazy or not working in the interests of the country and its people. I would take a "senile" Biden administration any day of the week compared to an incompetent and crazy administration like Donald Trump's.

The Biden administration had coherent policies, great implementation, good results which were envied by the rest of the world, and respect for the constitution and rule of law. There was no attempt to disrupt 250-year-old traditions or to become an authoritarian regime, whereas the Don breaks several laws every day. It matters who you hire in your administration, and Biden had competent and experienced people. Biden had experience in government and policy ideas, and I am sure that Biden set the agenda, and his administration followed on it.

I am not advocating for a senile president, but I AM advocating for a competent, non-crazy, non-corrupt administration.

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P.S. in North Las Vegas, NV, writes: You wrote: "At the risk of indulging in whataboutism, we'll also add one other observation: Has Wolf Blitzer taken any notice of what the Republicans have been doing for the last few years? There's plenty of reason to believe that they are also covering for someone who has lost his fastball. And, at the same time, they are most definitely covering for someone who tried to foment an insurrection, and who is now running roughshod over the Constitution. From where we sit, that seems just a little worse than prominent Democrats exercising some caution, and choosing not to publicly tear down and humiliate the leader of their Party."

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

I was someone who was an avid CNN watcher and fan of the many hosts. Now, I would NOT let my TV or my laptop show CNN. They are a slightly milder version of Fox. They have turned wretched as the owners have sold out!

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G.K. in Blue Island, IL, writes: I have to agree with you about Wolf Blitzer, though he's sadly not the only "mainstream" newsperson guilty of hyperbolic questioning. I have formed an opinion over the past decade or so that many Americans have a really hard time distinguishing between "bad" and "worse." High egg prices vs. a wrecked economy, state-mandated health precautions vs. suffering Americans, restrictive gun safety measures vs. dead schoolchildren... you get the drift. This difficulty is not helped at all by journalists who frame every issue as a binary, zero-sum game of "the trust of the people" that's proportionally equivalent to far more heinous crimes. I'm not saying the Biden team should be given a pass for (allegedly) hiding the President's infirmities, but the fourth estate needs to behave as though they both understand their role and the relative severity of paper cuts vs. stab wounds.

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R.H.D. in Webster, NY, writes: Don't take this the wrong way, but who gives a crap about Joe Biden these days? He's an octogenarian former president finally enjoying his retirement and is out of the public limelight. I don't get why we needed to read in a new book about his alleged declining faculties while he was in the White House. He's not in politics anymore.

I've thought of Jake Tapper as a straight shooter, but I can only conclude he wrote this book as to show his bothsideism or to show he wasn't biased in that infamous debate between Trump and Biden last June. In any event, I'm disappointed by his conduct and will now view his work more skeptically.

What Tapper and other reporters need to focus on is the mental and physical abilities of the current president. His second term is already worse than his first and it seems nobody can or wants to take him on.

I've admired Biden since his days in the Senate, but I've been upset about how he handled the 2024 election. He needed to publicly say after the 2022 midterms that he wouldn't run again, and instead allow an open and fair Democratic primary that would have produced a candidate that might have had a better chance of beating Trump. Now we're all paying for this blunder and the damage may be irrevocable.

As for the Democrats: Stop worrying about Biden and worry about 2026 and 2028. Right now, we need to retake at least one of the House or Senate and then to win back the White House. Otherwise, our country as we know it won't exist anymore.

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D.K. in Iowa City, IA, writes: You seem to miss one important aspect of the issue of Biden's problems. His reluctance to leave the race led to Trump's election. He is responsible for Trump becoming president again. It is hard to think of anything worse.

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R.L.D. in Sundance, WY, writes: It seems to me that the only plausible benefit from Jake Tapper's book about Joe Biden's decline is to try to find causes for why Donald Trump is currently President. And while there maybe some culpability in how the Democratic Party chose his opponent, it also seems to me that the blame should land squarely at the feet of the people who decided that it would be better to give the office to someone who insisted he wanted to be, and would be, a dictator on day one and who actually fomented an insurrection to try to get himself installed in that office despite not being elected to it back in January of 2021. I can't tell you why the people of this country would make such a mind-bogglingly stupid choice, but I have to think that de-emphasizing history, civics, and other social studies in the wake of No Child Left Behind has to play a part in it.

Politics: The Ten Commandments

M.G.K. in Toronto, ON, Canada, writes: M.B. in Cleveland misses the issue that so many of us have with laws on posting the Ten Commandments. It's not that the Commandments themselves are an issue (although I admit, I like some of them rather more than certain others). The problem is that giving pride of place to a religious document, especially in a context where young people in their formative stages are developing their ideas, can send two undesirable messages. On the one hand, students from Jewish and Christian backgrounds may get the message the school endorses their religious doctrines, that the religion they (or their families) follow is a unique source of moral teachings, and therefore that those of different religion, or who derive their ethics from a non-religious framework, just aren't as good. On the other hand, students from other religious (or non-religious) backgrounds may get the sense that they are outsiders in their school and their community, since the school evidently supports the majority creed but not their own family's.

That is why I particularly like the approaches of (Z), or of E.B. in Denver, or K.F.K in Cle Elum (approach #2). They properly contextualize a text of religious significance to many, suggesting it is objectively of the same class as many others. No need to be ignorant of the Ten Commandments, but children ought to grow up understanding that while their religion, if they have one, may have a unique meaning to them, it is not unique in the greater scheme of things. Some may, as a result of this understanding, choose not to follow their religion any more when they get older, either to follow a different religion that they have learned about, or adopt a secular worldview. That's fine if they do. But those who continue to follow the religion of their parents will have a more nuanced understanding of its position in the world which better equips them to get along in an ethnically diverse, increasingly integrated planet.

On the other hand, M.B.'s proposed "solution"—to append some favorite quotes from the New Testament—does nothing to combat the harmful notion of the more narrow-minded religious believers that their own dogma is uniquely privileged as the Truth with a capital T. It also arguably exacerbates the exclusion problem, as it increases the population who see their religion as excluded by the 2% of Americans whose religion considers the Ten Commandments sacred, but not the Gospels.

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K.F.K. in Cle Elum, WA, writes: M.B. in Cleveland suggests that instead of outright malicious compliance teachers "Instead, push back with love and understanding," followed by the suggestion that teachers do so by quoting Matthew 22. This seems to miss the entire point to me. The objection is that by posting the Ten Commandments, there is the suggestion that we are a Christian nation and that everybody in the class is Christian. It wearies me that people in general, and some teachers in particular, still don't get the idea of inclusiveness and don't seem to grasp that public schools should not be in the business of promoting any religion.

I taught kindergarten and 5th grade for over 30 years. When a colleague bemoaned that she didn't feel she could even admit to being Christian, I told her I talk about religion a lot in kindergarten. I taught Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu and agnostic children over the course of my career. But I never assumed or acted like everybody was Christian. I did not personally endorse any belief system, but I did sometimes say that, in my family, we celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah. On parent night, I would invite families to share family holiday traditions and over the course of my career we processed with Santa Lucia, ate Latkes, and celebrated Diwali and Persian New Year and Kwanzaa. We also learned Dakota traditions and celebrated Lunar New Year. This was an intentional way to "teach" my students about the complexity of cultures in the U.S. It was a way to lift up children whose families veered a bit from the dominant culture. It was, if you will, a way to teach about religions without endorsing any one religion or implying that everybody is Christian or that the nation is Christian.

I made three suggestions, and in the meantime thought up many more malicious ways to comply simply to amuse myself. The one suggestion I made is the one I would actually do if asked to post the Ten Commandments, and that was to create a bulletin board of moral tenets of the world.

Hint: If you believe posting the Bible in any form without the context of religious plurality is OK, you may want to brush up on what it means to have freedom from religion.

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S.S.L. in Battle Creek, MI, writes: J.M. in Sewickley suggested Braille commandments. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 both require communications from government agencies be accessible to the public—including children. I've already been informed that as a civil rights attorney for Blind people, there's a good chance I'll have to make this very case. I am so ready.

Politics: The Pope and the Poor

M.D. in Peterborough, England, UK, writes: Like you (apparently) I get rather tired of comments like those of M.I. in Jenkintown, noting the asset value of organizations like the "Vatican" (I think they mean the Holy See) and suggesting that it evidences an indifference to poverty. It doesn't even evidence capacity to make much more than a small dent in it, let alone a lack of willingness. I once had both the cause and the right (on account of my then-job) to review the Holy See's consolidated accounts, and you would be quite astonished at how small its annual cashflow is. I actually wondered how on earth it manages to function on the income that it has.

Asset value is, of course, a red herring for two reasons: (1) $15 billion isn't actually enough to make much difference to any global problem (less than $2 per human ain't gonna change much), and (2) How on earth would you liquidate those assets, even if you wanted to? Who is going to buy St Peter's Basilica, and what are they going to use it for? I guess you might turn the Sistine Chapel into a corporate venue, on the proviso that the Church has a right to supervene if it needs to hold a conclave. Or maybe they could sell the entire Vatican City State (Vatican City Real Estate?) to an investment fund and lease it back. If only they had the cashflow...

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M.L. in West Hartford, CT, writes: I agree with your general point about Pope Francis—that the Vatican's assets do not necessarily mean that he didn't genuinely care about the poor—but a devil's advocate might argue that Francis did choose to lead an organization that claims to follow the teachings of a man who said "...sell all that you have, and give to the poor..." In this context, it may be reasonable to hold him to a different standard than presidents.

Politics: Sports

P.M. in Port Angeles, WA, writes: Responding to D.S. in Layton, who asked if Pope Leo XIV is a Cubs or a White Sox fan, I'd like to add that the sobriquet of "The Addison Street Miracles" was once laid upon the Chicago Cubs. Since popes are very supportive of miracles, one could think that the new pope might be a Cubs supporter. However, with Comiskey Park (no, I will never accede to its renaming) located at 35th and Shields, deep in the center of the South Side, just south of the Bridgeport neighborhood, we do go with Pope Leo's Sox fandom.

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J.C. in Shawnee, OK, writes: If Pope Leo is a Sox fan, as you surmise, and is therefore inured to the designated hitter, what other abominations might he embrace?

(V) & (Z) respond: The Bears?

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A.B. in Wendell, NC, writes: The new pope is a die-hard White Sox fan, just like yours truly! I was born in the south side of Chicago, and basically grew up in Comiskey Park. My brother and I were the only two children ever allowed into The Bard's Room at the old Comiskey... dad was a personal friend of Bill Veeck. And my brother and I had our picture taken sitting on Minnie Miñoso's lap.

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O.E. in Greenville, SC (Home of Shoeless Joe), writes: As someone who pays more attention to politics than sports, I think part of Donald Trump's actions on behalf of Pete Rose are due to the fact that a lot of people pay more attention to sports news than actual news. (Shame.) A lot of those low-information voters went for Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024, and he may want to do something to connect with them.

Part is also Trump's embrace of the gambling industry, as you have written about before. Not only did he run a casino, but many of his financial and other supporters are backers of gambling, or gamblers themselves. It's ironic that the Religious Right once were opponents of gambling, and this is another issue where they would rather embrace Trump for power's sake than stick to their principles. (One former anti-gambling campaigner I know of was Missouri state legislator John Loudon, whose wife Gina is a noted right-wing commentator.)

In regards to Shoeless Joe and politics, a few years back, both the House and Senate passed bipartisan resolutions stating that Jackson should be honored for his baseball accomplishments (then-Senator Jim DeMint helped push for both, but also got support from Tom Harkin and Russ Feingold in the Senate, and Jesse Jackson Jr. and Cynthia McKinney in the House).

Minor League Baseball did not permit Greenville to name their minor league farm team after Jackson, though. That said, a statue of him stands outside the ballpark, in addition to his old house and an apartment complex named for him being nearby:

(Of course, while Shoeless Joe played for the White Sox, the Greenville Drive are a Red Sox franchise.)

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L.M. in Tampa, FL, writes: I just watched the magnificent horses running the Preakness. The results felt like a representation of the United States today.

Journalism won, having been impeded and jostled, then brilliantly coming from behind.

American Promise was second to last.

Clever Again was dead last.

All Politics Is Local

B.B. in Dothan, AL, writes: In response to the item about Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), we don't know which parts of Fetterman's brain were damaged by his stroke(s). However, research shows that, when any part of the brain is damaged, the frontal lobes are affected (because they have connections to most of the brain).

I'm reminded of the case of Phineas Gage, one of the most famous in the history of neuroscience. Gage was, at the time of his accident, a railroad construction foreman. He was said to have been a "most efficient and capable foreman... a shrewd, smart business man, very energetic and persistent in executing all his plans of operation."

However, an accident with the dynamite caused a 4-5 foot tamping rod to destroy his left frontal lobe. He was then said to be unemployable, because his personality seemed to change 180 degrees—he was emotionally labile, cursed, obstinate, capricious, and made wild plans which were almost immediately abandoned.

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D.E. in Lancaster, PA, writes: Earlier this year I wrote a letter to all my Congresspeople, representative and senators, complaining about DOGE. Of course, the two Republicans, Rep. Lloyd Smucker and Sen. David McCormick, wrote back defending Musk, but at least their replies addressed the subject I wrote about.

In John Fetterman's reply, by contrast, he instead talked about his proposed legislation to stiffen the laws about bribery and gifts in government. If I look at his answer sideways and squint-eyed, it might make sense. At the time, it struck me as an odd answer. I know he might not involve himself with every bit of mail he gets, but still you would think his side could tell that was not the right response to the subject raised. I have to assume that I wasn't the only person writing about DOGE, so one would think Fetterman would have some boilerplate language ready. Especially when it took him over a month to reply. It doesn't convey an office that is being run professionally. When I read the articles you linked, my experience gave them a certain credulity. Also, if you are indulging in conspiratorial thinking, I don't think blaming this reporting on mysterious Palestinian forces upset with one's Israel stance is the way to go.

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F.D.M. in Woodstock, GA, writes: You noted that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) won't run for the U.S. Senate. However, her colleague, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA), will. How do I know this? His political ads started to flood the local TV airwaves the past week. As I write this, on May 12, the only other political ads I see now are attack ads against Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA).

While I watch little TV, all these ads already tell me the next 1½ years will be horrible when attempting to watch local television. Fortunately, I have a pi-hole to block ads on the Internet, and it is always worth its weight in platinum during the now non-stop election season.

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R.E. in Birmingham, AL, writes: I read (L)'s excellent summary of the recent Alabama redistricting case with interest, having been an Alabama resident for 30 years. For several of those years, I lived in Shelby County, of Shelby v. Holder infamy (the case that gutted the Voting Rights Act.).

Your post brought to mind a quote from my state's history. In 1901, Alabama adopted the Constitution we still basically live under. (It was rearranged and cleaned up a little a few years ago, but the changes were pretty superficial.) In speeches meant to encourage voters to adopt the document, the president of the constitutional convention, John Knox, said: "The new constitution eliminates the ignorant Negro vote, and places the control of our government where God Almighty intended it should be̵with the Anglo-Saxon race."

How far we haven't come.

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J.C. in Boulder, CO, writes: I'm not sure why this bit of good news hasn't been featured more prominently in the national news this week, but it should be! On Monday, Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) signed legislation to create the Colorado Voting Rights Act. Colorado now joins eight other states (California, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Virginia and Washington) in having its own state-level VRA to shore up the protections of the federal VRA that are gradually being whittled away. It also includes protections for LGBTQ+ voters, expands multilingual ballot access, and requires accommodations for people with disabilities at residential facilities. Hooray for Colorado!

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W.T. in Omaha, NE, writes: I'm an Omaha resident and employee of the City of Omaha. So I have some local insights on the mayoral election.

While I am surprised that John Ewing won, there are many local reasons that Jean Stothert lost. National implications had much less to do with it:

• Even though she's Republican, Stothert is very moderate, especially for the modern Republican Party.
  
  
• For years, there's been plans to build a streetcar in Omaha. This year it's finally being constructed. But it's been extremely controversial and become the butt of jokes. Many people view it as a waste of money with little public input.
  
  
• In 2021, Stothert's husband committed suicide by shooting himself. The very next year, she remarried and started spending more time in St. Louis. Rumors started circulating that she spent most of her time in St. Louis instead of Omaha. In any event, the tragic situation and her moving on so quickly made people uncomfortable.
  
  
• Many younger people feel she's held the city back. While Omaha is a wonderful place and has been stable, it feels stuck in time. She's stonewalled making the city bike-friendly, been ho-hum on social issues, and hasn't really attracted newer jobs to Omaha. Wages are below similar-sized cites nearby, and some large corporations moved their headquarters from Omaha (most notably Conagra, which had a large campus downtown).
  
  
• She was in office too long. Basically people just got tired of her. You could sense that people wanted a change, as Omaha never had a mayor serve so many years.
  
  
• John Ewing is a former police officer and was the country treasurer for many years. So, he had name recognition. Still, I'm happily surprised that Omaha elected a Black Democratic mayor! I honestly thought it would've been Mike McConnell (white male state senator) vs. Stothert after the primaries, with Stothert winning reelection. I'm hoping this change will move Omaha in a very positive direction!

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D.M. in Berlin, Germany, writes: What decided the mayoral race in Omaha, NE, may have been this picture:

The top shows the face of the incumbent, Jean Stothert (R), photoshopped into a bathroom stall as if she's peeking in under the door, and the text: "Jean is focused on potties." The bottom shows a pothole and John Ewing (D) along with "John is focused on fixing potholes."

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G.M. in Salt Lake City, UT, writes: Thank you for your item about the maliciously compliant flags created by Salt Lake City. I am so proud of Mayor Mendenhall and our city council for doing this. Our state legislature is very much into retribution. They tried to deny a sitting governor from their own party the nomination for being insufficiently anti-trans. They took away the right to fluoridate water supplies this session, a right voted for by the citizens of Salt Lake County.

They don't like being contradicted. They especially don't like being made to look foolish, and these flags do both. This is not going to make life easier for Salt Lake City when it has to deal with the legislature, but they made the flags anyway, because it was the right thing to do.

It is also worth noting that the Idaho legislature decided to follow Utah and passed a similar anti-Pride flag bill, and the city of Boise adopted the Pride Flag, which had flown for years at the city hall, as an official city flag.

All Politics Is Local: Getting Involved

K.F. in Madrid, Spain, writes: If I may offer my own reply to J.F. (soon to no longer be) in Sloatsburg, I would suggest that the first thing you should do is to attend a meeting of your new town or city's Democratic committee (assuming you're on the blue team). Everything then pretty much flows naturally from there, as you will be provided with numerous opportunities to work on local, statewide, and national campaigns, get the chance to serve on subcommittees addressing everything from bylaws to state legislative priorities, municipal issues, and more. Often, you will also have the opportunity to get to know some of your city councilors, state representatives and senators, mayor, and you may even get some face time with your congressperson, U.S. senators, your governor, etc. by getting elected delegate to state conventions or receiving invitations to holiday parties, campaign kickoffs, and more.

Before 2016, I had worked on a few odd campaigns and even ran for local office, but those experiences didn't lend themselves to feeling like I was connected to a larger cause. But after TCF got in the first time, I showed up for a meeting of my local Democratic committee and before I knew it, I was an active member invested in local and state politics.

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D.B. in New York City, NY, writes: In your response yesterday to J.F. in Sloatsburg with suggestions about getting involved in state or local politics, you mentioned that the "Democratic Party of Los Angeles is a serious player, while the Democratic Party of Jackson Hole, WY, might well be one guy with a post office box." I know this was said in jest, but here is a map of the county election results from 2024 in Wyoming:

Teton County, with Jackson Hole as the county seat, was only one of two Wyoming counties won by Harris, and is easily the bluest area of the state. So it has to be more than one guy with a post office box.

(V) & (Z) respond: A guy with TWO post office boxes?

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P.J.T. in Raton, NM, writes: You selected the wrong Wyoming town to represent in your statement: "For example, the Democratic Party of Los Angeles is a serious player, while the Democratic Party of Jackson Hole, WY, might well be one guy with a post office box." Jackson, Jackson Hole, and Teton County are a strong liberal enclave in otherwise Putin-red Wyoming, where over two-thirds (67.1%) of voters pressed Joe Biden's button and not Donald Trump's. The last time Teton County voted for a Republican candidate was in 2000 when George W. Bush beat Al Gore with 52% of the vote.

Gallimaufry

S.S. in West Hollywood, CA, writes: In response to the question from J.L. in Richmond, there are sets of the White House that are already standing and can be rented. For example, there's this one in Burbank. Tyler Perry also has an Oval Office set at his studio in Atlanta. And Warner Bros has a White House set that's available to rent. It's not already standing on a soundstage, but these things are easily assembled in a day or two with a professional union crew.

There are a few other places that have White House sets available to rent you can find with a web search. On, and nobody asked, but there are also a few airplane sets, some including a terminal, around town that are permanently assembled and available to rent.

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T.K. in Half Moon Bay, St. Kitts, writes: The question from J.L. in Richmond about Oval Office sets reminded me that I had a friend who worked on The West Wing. Knowing I was a huge fan of the show, she arranged for my wife and me to visit the set on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, fairly early in the show's run. I can't speak to the question of whether the Oval Office set there was (or is) shared with other shows or studios, other than to say that nothing about such an arrangement was mentioned to us when we were there. Of course, those sets wouldn't have lent themselves to such an arrangement anyway, as they were used for that show week after week for 7 years.

I can say that it was a thrill to see it, both because it made it very easy to imagine being in the real Oval Office, and also as an admirer of the show, imagining all the inspiring TV being made there (I got to sit at the "Resolute Desk!"). I was also struck by the press briefing room set, which seemed very tiny in person. It's amazing the trickery they do with camera angles to make a small space seem much larger and lifelike.

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B.C. in Walpole, ME, writes: The horse-themed headline puzzle reminded me of a little party back in the early '80s where most of the guests were academics. At the time, a new board game was sweeping the nation: Trivial Pursuit. One guy at the party had actually played it and regaled us with his experience. The winner of the game, he reported, "just seemed to know the answer to everything."

Realizing his statement was so bland it had no impact, he tried to add specificity and, struggling for the most trivial trivia he could think of, said, "I mean, this guy would know... the name of Robert E. Lee's horse!" We all nodded, and in unison replied, "Traveler." Someone else said, "When he died, Traveler was stuffed and put on display at Washington and Lee University in Virginia." Another guy then named the specific building on campus in which he could be seen. (Sensitive readers: Traveler has since been afforded a proper burial.)

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M.S. in Canton, NY, writes: Since it appears that attempts to convince (Z) to change his opinion on Wagner continue, I pass along a quote from Mark Twain, which he attributed to the 19th century humorist Bill Nye: "I have been told that Wagner's music is better than it sounds."

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H.B. in State College, PA, writes: Oh, are we still talking about Wagner's music being "too heavy"?

Here's my favorite Wagner-related cartoon:

Final Words

O.B. in Chicago, IL, writes: Keeping the Omerta code of the mafia to the end, Arnold Rothstein refused to (accurately) answer questions from the police about who had fired the shots that killed him: "Me mudder did it."

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