Sunday Mailbag

It's finally back!

Politics: This Week in TrumpWorld

 

D.E. in Lancaster, PA, writes: I knew when this story broke this week that it was too small potatoes to garner a write up. Sadly, we live in a time, to paraphrase William Butler Years, it's hard to tell the sh** from the daily sh** storms, but this sums it up nicely.

On Monday night, our stupid and incompetent Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth bleated a tweet on X of two young women, with one in a uniform giving a medal to the other. The young lady in uniform was overweight and the text is simply the Canadian flag with the words, "This is real." I guess old Pete thought he was too clever by half by having a twofer—one a dig at our once faithful ally, Canada and their military, and fat-shaming a woman (which is why I refuse to provide a link to the original tweet, because this young woman didn't ask, nor did she deserve, to be mocked by such scum as Kegseth). When Hegseth states "This is real" he is, like everything that comes out of his mouth, a month full of Christian Nationalist Sundays wrong.

The two young ladies in the photograph are not members of the Canadian military. Instead the photo is from the Vernon Cadet Training Center in British Columbia, which is not affiliated with the Canadian military. But oh it gets worse than that. This particular photograph is from the yearly summer camp the Vernon Cadet Training Center runs to teach teenagers important life skills—and by teenagers, I mean young girls between the ages of 16-18. The young girl that Whiskey Pete was trying to fat shame is an instructor and not a member of the Canadian military.

This raises a whole series of issues that are just so emblematic of the Trump administration. I'm so glad Hegseth has so much free time on his hands that he can knock back a couple of bottles of Jack while looking at pictures of teenage girls at summer camp. I mean, thank the heavens he doesn't have to run a war in the Middle East, which we are badly losing and which we can put that loss squarely on the lack of planning and an overabundance of bravado; or that there is a severe shortage of munitions and supplies, partly caused by the fact that it didn't occur to him that the Iranians might bomb our only supply base in the region.

But beyond the cruelty and misogyny; beyond the Epstein ickiness; even beyond the "Really, this is what you're wasting your time with" is the thing that so neatly sums up the Trump administration—laziness. If Hegseth has just gotta be the badass, showing off his amazing levels of high T by tweeting this kind of moronic stupidity, would it hurt him to at least fact check his inanity? It took the media not even an hour to show that this was complete BS. So much of the self-inflicted problems this administration are because of their sheer laziness—a tendency to ask ChatGPT to do a job which no one bothers to proofread, from slapping tariffs on an island with a population of only penguins to mislabeling African countries for a global conference on Africa. Trump promised a meritocracy of the best and brightest that have ever pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, but what we got instead was the most indolent, half-assed slackers who can't even bring enough energy to do the bare minimum the job requires, and yet who get promoted upwards despite spending their time drinking at work, having affairs with their staff, going to strip clubs and taking road trips instead. I predict, one day in the future, a grad student in history will endeavor to do their dissertation about how the sheer magnitude of laziness did in the second Trump administration and that this dissertation will be unable to capture the true scope so that this budding historian spends their entire life writing volume after volume exploring this theme and will probably die with only scratching the surface.

In response to Hegseth's stupid post, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that it was "beneath the office" of the Secretary of Defense. But Carney didn't stop there, and went on to comment about Trump's childishly insane and insanely childish decision to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America. He said, "When will the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade, stop trying to be tough and start being serious?" Carney nailed that one—this isn't an administration of hard work, take responsibility and make the hard choices to govern and lead. It is governance by memes, something so inconsequential that future generations will wonder what was wrong with us that we wasted so much time thinking these wisps had intellectual heft. No wonder Trump and his billionaire buddies love AI so much, because AI is a symptom of the laziness of a society. Let the AI create. Let AI do the work for you. Let AI lead while you rake in the glory.

Leadership is much harder than casually hitting the send button. In fact, later in the week, I read that Hegseth wants his subordinates to take polygraphs. If you ever want a sign of failed leadership, it's the tin-plated dictator screaming about polygraphs to root out disloyalty. It's also a surefire way to make sure said disloyalty spreads faster and wider. At the same time, Trump is trying to blackmail his own newly appointed Federal Reserve Chair to reduce interest rates or he will stop trade with every nation we have a trade deficit with, a move that would surely hurtle the country into another Great Depression. If your only leadership tactic in your bag is "Buy this magazine or we will shoot the puppy," then you are too damn lazy to be a leader, and too stupid to know why you failed.

I also read this week that the Netherlands is transferring all the gold bars currently being stored in a vault in New York City to one in London. At first glance this might seem like nothing, but on reading the article I was made to realize that moving gold bars across the Atlantic is not the same thing as transferring money from one account to another. For one thing, the vaults where the gold is stored are so secure that it takes multiple people with the highest security clearances just to oversee the changing of a lightbulb and many times more to oversee the transfer of the gold bullion. The gold bars need to be transferred in specially designed mobile vaults and escorted at all times by a phalanx of guards. The route and the means of transportation of the gold across the ocean is kept as a highly guarded secret. The move is so complicated and fraught with danger that the Netherlands gave up on shipping the last of their gold to London and instead sold said portion then used the money to buy the same amount of gold in London to replace what they had sold, ounce for ounce. All this cost the Netherlands a pretty guilder to execute. And it turns out that the Netherlands is not the first country to move its gold out of the U.S. The first to do so was France, also this year. This is a drastic move by these two countries—and you know if they did it, others are thinking of doing the same. It is about as loud of a vote of no confidence in America and the American government as you could find. This is what a culture of laziness, ineptitude and barely phoning it in will bring.

Also this week, I happened across a YouTube video posted by a Canadian, in which he laid out the different ways the Canadian people have gone out of their usual ways to express their anger at the craziness coming from south of their border. They have canceled trips and vacations to America; they have boycotted successfully American goods and products; and, most importantly, Canadians of all political persuasions and allegiances have joined together in unity to stand up against Donald Trump. But then he points out that it seems Americans are hoping that the lower courts and the midterms will stop the Trump administration but are doing precious little as our democracy and standing in the world is being ripped from us. We sit on our a**es, waiting for something else to come save us because we can't be bothered to save ourselves. The commentator thought that if the same authoritarian forces tried to take over Canada, that its people would be out with torches and pitchforks to take it back. The Great White North seems to be doing more to combat our problem than we are. These words struck hard, and I considered: What happened to the No Kings rallies? What happened to the proposed boycotts? What happened to the spirit of Minneapolis, even though innocent people are still being shot and murdered by ICE agents? We have let ourselves get buried by Trump and his Cabinet in an avalanche of lazy crap.

It used to be a cute feature of Electoral-Vote.com that our neighbors up north were the butt of a plethora of jokes. I laughed along with everyone else at the "Canadian plans of conquest." I've noticed that of late those jokes have all but disappeared. A week or so ago, a Canadian joke made an appearance, and I will be honest, I thought it landed like a sack of wet cement. It might have been funny in the past, but I would advise making that joke about Canadians the last for a good long while since they are the sanity in our own lake of craziness. They are actually taking steps to combat the problem we are too lazy to be bothered with. Instead, we have made America insignificant and I have serious doubts that even a string of Democratic leaders can ever right this ship. I never thought I would say this but, of late, I wish I was a Canadian.

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J.C.R. in Madrid, Spain, writes: I'm a reader of Electoral-Vote.com and I'm located in Spain. I would like to talk about two issues:

First, you wrote (quote): "And all the "give us your oil, Venezuela" deals in the world aren't going to change that," speaking about the incoming diesel crunch in the U.S. Venezuela isn't giving any oil to the U.S. The U.S., or, precisely speaking, the Trump administration, steals Venezuelan oil, like Pirates of the Caribbean.

Second, the US President (or that thing now in charge in the White House) is continuously speaking about my country, Spain: 2026 FIFA World Cup Winners. And I think that this is some kind of frustration he's carrying on because of Spain's victory in New Jersey. I don't know what future may arise for the U.S. from this present you're living in, but in any case, a very deep political and constitutional reform will be needed in the U.S.

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A.G. in Scranton, PA, writes: Trump pulled a reverse-Nixon in regards to the war in Iran. In fact, he's doing it so well he's basically pulling an LBJ.

Nixon had his people tell Ho Chi Minh that if Ho delayed signing a peace treaty with the United States until after the 1968 election, the North Vietnamese would get a much better deal from his administration. Because of this, Ho waited as President Johnson alternatively bombed and cajoled the North into signing a peace treaty before the 1968 election. Because of this, tens of thousands of young Americans and millions more Vietnamese died needlessly.

Who ended up winning in that whole mess? Certainly not the people caught in the crossfire of the war. Nor the United States, a nation still fighting the divisive, destructive battles of the 1960s. It was only Dick Nixon and his inhuman and treasonous strategy that won the day.

It is 2026 and Trump is trying to alternatively bomb and cajole Iran into signing a peace treaty before the midterm elections. It is a hopeless endeavor, Trump and his people's schizophrenic, haphazard, "own the libs moment" approaches to international statesmanship. Iran's leadership, undoubtedly recognizing the historical parallels, will never sign a peace treaty before the elections.

Even if Democrats capture the House and the Senate, Iran will be the only real winner to have come from this mess. Our nation will still be divided, the Democrats will be unable to deliver on most of their promises due to the veto and the regular shadow elections we always lose by a margin of 6-3.

I hope there is turmoil and that martial law is declared in November. Perhaps then we can finally fire the last shot of the American Civil War and close the book on culture-war battles a selfish generation fought in the 1960s, then again in the 1970s, then again in the 1980s, then again, then again, then again, then again...

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P.B. in Spring Lake, NJ, writes: When I was a young teenager, an old cop used to come around the schoolyard where we hung out to tell us stories. He had been an MP in the Army assigned to the stockade. He said they would tell their soldier inmates that they had forfeited the privilege of standing at attention and marching like a regular GI. They had to stand stooped over and shuffle from place to place. We teenage boys thought this was hilarious, and we would do the stockade shuffle all over the schoolyard.

I think of this story every time I see Donald Trump salute someone in the military. By dodging the draft during the Vietnam war, while we had to go over there, Cadet Bone Spurs forfeited the privilege of ever saluting someone in the military.

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R.W. in Brooklyn, NY, writes: Three comments related to the item on election "integrity": (1) Even the paltry 185 cases that DHS supposedly uncovered in Nevada were actually, according to DHS e-mails, "potential" noncitizens voting, not proven illegal votes; (2) In addition to the possible reasons you give for DHS surging investigators to blue states, I'm wondering if maybe the real goal is to create more work for local elections officials, right at the moment they should be focused on providing smooth elections; (3) While it is true that blue voters may be better-positioned to vote in-person on Election Day than red voters are, Trump et al. are doing all they can also to make Election Day voting as difficult as possible (e.g., Tarrant County, TX, shutting down 92 of its 316 polling places).

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S.M. in Pratt, KS, writes: I wanted to offer a bit of a correction to your item "Trump's Other Plan to Reduce Cost: Eliminate USDA Meat Inspection." While most of it was good background, I feel like some context can be added.

Ranchers can already sell directly to consumers. In the plains states, there are still a number of independent locker facilities that process live cattle. Ranchers can sell a quarter, side, or whole animal to a consumer that is then processed through one of these USDA inspected facilities. Some ranchers have even opened retail stores to sell their beef directly to the public. This beef is also slaughtered by a third-party, USDA-inspected facility.

The second issue is the sentence that reads "Meat prices have gone up because all the inputs have gone up." What is driving the price of beef higher is the lack of cattle, mainly due to long-term droughts across much of beef country. Pork, chicken and other meats have risen in price as a direct result of substitutions driving increased demands for those meats. The input costs to the rancher, in terms of fuel, rent, hay, grain, medicine, etc. are not passed on. The ranchers essentially have no say in the cattle market price. The big meatpackers set the price. This is why the ranchers are so mad about the importation of cheap beef: They have high inputs, but are seeing their sale prices cut.

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M.M. in San Jose, CA (with close ties to Vermont), writes: Caught your item today on the average price of Diesel going to $5.82. You correctly point out the effect on the price of transport by semi-truck (e.g., groceries, fast food, even gasoline). You should also note that diesel is widely used for transcontinental rail transport (e.g., coal, wheat, soybeans, oil). Less widely known is that diesel is chemically identical (except for additives) to #2 fuel oil—widely used for heat above the 40th parallel (e.g., New York, Michigan, Montana). Today, in Vermont, #2 fuel oil is $5.78/gallon. Won't matter until about Election Day, when heating season really gets going. #1 fuel oil (roughly kerosene), sometimes used for heat, is also used as jet fuel. It costs about $6.17/gallon and is becoming scarce. People will notice.

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A.C. in Dover, PA, writes: Don't forget that another issue with high diesel prices is high fuel oil prices for those who heat with oil. When I need a fill up, it is typically 200-230 gallons. I am planning on burning a lot more firewood this winter.

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N.F. in Liège, Belgium, writes: I thought the readers may be entertained by what I found at a recent pass through Washington Dulles Airport:

Politics: Hasan Piker

 

T.V. in Pasadena, CA, writes: I'm guessing you are getting a good bit of feedback on "El-Sayed Has a Hasan Piker Problem." Your eagerness to make it all make sense overlooks the most salient fact: Jocelyn Benson has a very American name. It's not the mic-drop "Smith" moniker that allowed a not-a-candidate-but-still-on-the-ballot Republican (Thomas J. Smith) prevail over the Trump-endorsed candidate (Amir Hassan) in MI-08 by 17 points one month ago; but "Benson" is certainly enough. The stronger argument for why she outperforms El-Sayed by 10 points in Michigan is "he's got a funny name." No politics necessary.

The "Piker Problem" is a whole different kettle of days-old fish. You are letting the rodent reproductionists frame the issue. The underlying problem is that the State of Israel is committing something strongly resembling genocide as official policy. Republicans are fine with this from a moral point of view and happy af to use it against lifelong Democrats and/or conflicted American Jews who are having a hard time adjusting to the new reality. Conflating every action by the State of Israel with the religious and cultural expression of the Jewish faith/culture is simply wrong. First, it is a clear tactic for suppressing political speech regarding the State of Israel. Second, anybody who buys into that framing is letting a state actor define an individual's morality and hazard their soul without any action or input by the individual.

For sure, some criticisms of Israel's actions contain whiffs (or more) of antisemitism, but not all. It isn't clear that Piker's do. There are and will be many examples of the GOP crying antisemitism for purely political purposes in the next few months. I would prefer it if you could describe it something more like the "Dems don't know how to talk about Israel Acting Badly" problem. But, you know, snappier. ("We Need to Talk About Israel," maybe?)

Thank you. I'm trying to make a punchy argument without launching any personal punches.

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J.W.F. in Helsinki, Finland (but an absentee voter in PA), writes: Using a Richie Torres quote to tarnish Hasan Piker is hardly a balanced introduction to the issue. The Representative is one of the most staunch defenders of Israel's genocide, and happily picks a few quotes out of context to claim antisemitism just because Piker doesn't want our tax dollars being used to massacre babies.

But what I find curious is the double standard. Numerous Republicans held Charlie Kirk close to them before his death, and yet I don't remember reading articles that any of them had a "Charlie Kirk problem." Kirk, remember, made arguments that Black people were not intelligent enough to be pilots, that Martin Luther King Jr. was not a good person, and the Civil Rights movement was a "huge mistake." Piker himself has pointed this out, but Israel supporters tend to have selective hearing.

Defenders of Israel's atrocities can keep throwing accusations around, but guess what? Voters aren't buying it. The public has turned against the Israeli regime not because of antisemitism, or being exposed to TikTok propaganda, or anything else—it's solely because of the actions of the Israeli regime. The genocide is an ongoing crime, happening in front of the entire world, that is completely morally indefensible. Any Democrat still too cowardly to at least call the genocide a genocide should consider supporting the party that is happy to continue it: the Republicans. Torres would be a great fit there, as would my disgrace of a senator, John Fetterman.

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S.J.Z. in Darien. IL, writes: You wrote: "Hasan Piker is a left-wing activist who is widely accused of being antisemitic in his Twitch streams and interviews."

That's a generous take. Piker is a millionaire e-boy who is almost certainly on the payroll of the Chinese Communist Party.

Any Democratic politician who flirts with this radioactive stew is a genuine fool.

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S.A.K. in Karnataka, India, writes: With Hasan Piker being the flavor of the week, I thought I'd chime in, too. Let me start by saying that I disagree with several things he's said, especially when it comes to Jews in the U.S. He's had his moment in the sun and must use his platform to be a force for good rather than indulging in garden-variety antisemitism.

Do I want Abdul El-Sayed to disavow Piker's antisemitic rants and call him out for that? Absolutely. While we're at it, do I want "centrist" Democrats to stop pandering to Islamophobic voters and taking AIPAC money? Unquestionably. I'm not a betting man, but if I were, I'd wager on El-Sayed doing his part before the "centrists" did theirs. But in reality, neither scenario is going to come to fruition. Besides, when you have characters like Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) as U.S. Senators, and Randy Fine (R-FL) and Brandon Gill (R-TX) in the House, the bar is very, very low. Cynical realpolitik at work.

El-Sayed's chances of winning the general election might look good at this point, given the recent encouraging polling data. However, he has to contend with a sickening dose of Islamophobes in the Michigan electorate. 37%, to be precise, according to this survey. A big majority of them are, doubtless, Republicans. But I'd expect significant numbers of "independents" and "centrist" Democrats in that camp too. Those two groups will probably hold their noses and vote for him, given that the alternative is an uninspiring, bigoted, neocon corporate lackey.

On a related note, there are some interesting, if predictable, developments within the Arab community in Dearborn, particularly among Muslims. Quite a few of them foolishly voted for Trump in 2024, incredulously believing he would be better on Gaza than Kamala Harris. They are now realising their folly and pivoting. All said and done, I strongly believe the election will be decided by 1% or less, not the 4% or 5% that recent surveys would have one believe.

Quick note on El-Sayed's name: "El" literally translates to "the." In standard Arabic it's pronounced like "Ul", as in ulna, the bone in the forearm. It becomes 'El' or 'Il' in Egyptian and some other dialects. His first name, Abdulrahman, means "Servant of the Merciful (God)." To Arabic speakers, calling him just "Abdul" sounds odd. In that sense, Republican ads using his full first name are actually linguistically correct. They're not doing it out of any concern for that kind of accuracy, of course.

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R.S. in Butte, MT, writes: The Bulwark recently said some of the attacks on Abdul El-Sayed are outright racism and Hasan Piker has said he is accustomed to right-wing propaganda groups taking his words out of context and purposely misinterpreting the things he says, but now that Trump ally Larry Ellison has purchased CBS and put Bari Weiss in charge and it looks like Ellison is about to purchase CNN, Piker claims the propaganda attacks on him are starting to come from mainstream media, too.

I think it is fair to hear what The Bulwark and Piker have to say on this topic.

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A.B. in Lynn, MA, writes: I'm going to sidestep the controversies of Hasan Piker for a moment, and pose the question of whether it matters in a blue enough environment.

We saw in 2025 that Jay Jones, the Democratic AG candidate in Virginia, underran Abigail Spanberger by roughly 9 points but still won by 5 in the general. Granted, Virginia is a bluer state than Michigan and off-year elections are weirder than midterms, but it's a case of significant controversy not mattering to voters at the end of the day.

Michigan was probably the ugliest Senate Democratic primary this cycle, so I'm not surprised that El-Sayed is focused on party unification. If you look at polling averages since the August 4 primary, he's gained several points, from Rogers being +1 to El-Sayed being +3 as of today.

With about 2 months to the midterms, I think El-Sayed is fine underperforming by a few points relative to the strength of Benson. He's also playing into a "fighter" personality, as evinced by his appearances on Fox News and Jesse Watters. This may appeal to hyper-engaged voters vs. ones who stay home. He has room to grow and there's a good case that he wins by 5+ in the general.

I think the credible polling showing states like Alaska and Texas in play gives air to the idea that it's his race to lose. Now, if some oppo research comes out in October that moves the needle, or the electorate is seriously different than polling, all bets are off.

Politics: Data Centers

 

B.W. in Los Angeles, CA, writes: In "Boy, Do Voters Hate Data Centers," (Z) wrote: "There is, of course, one fellow who is still all aboard the data center train. That would be one Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America. We do not know what his motivation is."

As of today, 33.9% of the S&P 500 total market capitalization is tied up in seven skyrocketing tech stocks—the "magnificent seven." These are Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Meta and Tesla. All are heavily invested in AI.

Nvidia is making AI profitable (mostly by serving the other six, its largest and most vital customers). But the value of the rest appears largely to be driven by a promise that this technology will later prove to be... roughly as transformative as the wheel, the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet combined.

Skeptics are starting to wonder whether this all looks, walks and quacks like a bubble. If their suspicions prove prescient and an AI bubble pops, it will make 2008 look like a ride at the fair.

I suspect the President doesn't want that particular buck stopping with him, so there's a lot of incentive to enable growth in the sector... especially if rapid AI growth is disguising concerning trends across the rest of the economy.

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J.L. in Albany, NY, writes: With Donald Trump declaring that "wanting to be backwards and poor" is the only reason someone would oppose a data center being set up near them, I propose a compromise: A large data center will be built right next to Mar-A-Lago. And a few more right by Trump's golf courses.

In fact, let's expand this. Every billionaire's multimillion-dollar mansion gets a data center built right next to it. If data centers are so innocuous like Trump and the data center proponents claim, then surely they should be thrilled to have one open near them, right?

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S.O. in Independence, MO, writes: I'm in Independence and was thrilled that the AI councilman was voted out. Fun fact, though: One of the canvassers advocating for his recall used " he funded a solar farm" as one of the demerits against his character. I had to stop the canvasser and point it that hurts their case.

Also, even conservatives here are very much against AI. It seems to be a bipartisan issue now.

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S.C-M. in Scottdale, AZ, writes: I believe I know what is going on with the seeming hatred of Data Centers. People hate them as a proxy for the general hatred of the Tech Bros of Silicon Valley and in particular the Tech Monopolies, which are seen as run by uncaring billionaires only interested in their own bottom line. Trump's 2025 inauguration was a perfect example of this elite world, far removed from ordinary life in the U.S.

History Matters

 

D.M. in Burnsville, MN, writes: I have always felt that George H.W. Bush could have broken away from the Reagan yoke, and handily won re-election, too, if only Bush had modeled his post-cold-war policies on Harry S. Truman's post-hot-war policies, namely the Marshall Plan.

J.B. in Bend had a great question. (Z)'s response was informative and engaging. However, a cruel oversight took place during many of our lifetimes that still deserves some ventilation. The (original) Marshall Plan was an act of genius, IMHO. Although Europe (as well as Japan and most of its former domains) were on their figurative knees in 1945, someone in Washington (Truman?) had the brilliant insight that if we would build up our former enemies and cooperate in trade, law, reconstruction (and food aid, essential at the time) we could build our own customer base by creating customers, rather than colonials or serfs. And "denazification" would be the cherry on top.

I think that the weak Boris Yeltsin government could have been persuaded to yield a bit of sovereignty in exchange for being propped up by the U.S. and the E.U.C. (then in progress toward becoming the E.U.). And "decommunization" could have been the cherry on top. Instead, "privatization" of state goods became the basis of the oligarchism and cronyism.

GHWB had a golden opportunity to create a "New World Order" (I use that sardonically), but evidently not the means, the fortitude or the constitution to approach the rebuilding of the former Soviet Union. And for the past 30+ years we see it going from bad to worse.

GHWB (as well as his son "W," in his wars) had ample opportunity to follow the threads of history and realize that the defeated populations had no history nor tradition of democracy. Nor had the youth and young adults of defeated Germany, yet the process of denazification going on into their adulthood (well within GHWB's ken) were truly democrats.

We let George do it. And he didn't.

Had he only done so, we'd have one less adversary, perhaps.

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W.H. in Ballston Spa, NY, writes: (Z) wrote: "It is very unlikely that the headstone shown in the picture is original, as it simply does not show the wear that happens after 150 or so years."

I suspect many others will point this out: The metal headstone is labeled Monumental Bronze Co., Bridgeport, CT. What they called white bronze was mostly zinc. The form, made of sand, could be made with intricate details. Metal poured in to make the "stone." "Operating from 1875 to 1912, the Monumental Bronze Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut, made grave markers and Civil War statues out of pure zinc alloyed with tin, which they marketed as 'white bronze.'"

Zinc does not allow moss to grow, and many retain their "nearly new" appearance. The only wear/damage I've seen is typically from weed trimmers or grass mowers.

I would believe this is indeed original. Or placed no later than 1912, but likely within a year or so of burial. Further detail is the raised relief—difficult to do in actual stone.

Here is a photo of a particularly interesting example I photographed while on a genealogy hunt in Mantua, OH:

The five-pointed star is typically associated with the G.A.R. marker—not a temporary device provided by a cemetery.

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D.C. in Teaneck, NJ, writes: I love spending time wandering in cemeteries, and have visited a great many in a great many locales. As to your first point, about the wear typically shown on a headstone after 150 years, you are certainly correct as regards stone markers of that vintage. P.R. in Arvada, however, notes that this marker is made of "two halves of metal fused together." I have seen a number of grave markers made of metal—I'm guessing aluminum, or a non-ferrous alloy—that are from the late 19th century that are remarkably crisp and unweathered. (I remember a number in North Dakota, particularly, where winter weather is particularly severe.) Some of these had inscriptions about the size of the ones in the photo (many in North Dakota are in German) that were utterly legible and unworn 80-100 years later. Another "tell" is that the inscriptions are not carved or etched, but rather raised. I would have no trouble believing the marker shown is original to ca. 1880.

On your second point, about the device seen being a "temporary marker," what I see is the back of a star-shaped badge. It is not uncommon to see badges of this size and shape placed periodically by supportive groups (e.g., the American Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars) on veterans' graves.

Immortal, Beloved

 

S.S.L. in Battle Creek, MI, writes: In response to M.N. in Madison, I'd offer that the gays alone, not to mention everyone else, will singlehandedly ensure Dolly's song is heard. Neither technology nor circumstance will stop us. God bless the gays.

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S.K. in Sunnyvale, CA, writes: According to this article, Dolly Parton's time capsule contains her last song on both a CD and a cassette tape, along with players for both. If it's of reasonable quality, the CD ought to be fine (especially sealed away from UV and moisture as the time capsule is); the cassette tape is more questionable.

Media degradation is not the only hazard; the players themselves also have lifespans (rubber drive bands and lubricants decay over time, etc.).

Personally, I'd have included a phonograph record.

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R.V. in Pittsburgh, PA, writes: A question came up Saturday about another figure who might be as universally beloved as Dolly Parton.

I would add Clint Eastwood to the list. I just think he's been around so long most people are a fan of his work. Whether you were a fan of Rawhide, the "man with no name" westerns, Dirty Harry, the couple movies with the apes ("right turn Clyde") or his directorial work, most everyone has some admiration of his long career. Also, while I think he is a lifelong Republican, he strikes me as a Republican in the mold of a Nelson Rockefeller, Gerald Ford, etc. I do not think he's one of those "the 2020 election was rigged" Republicans, or worse. Also, he seems to have steered away from any controversies and scandals especially given his long life. I don't know if he has been a big in charitable causes and philanthropy.

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S.S. in West Hollywood, CA, writes: Mel Brooks is a good answer for the person all Americans love regardless of politics, but I'm not sure enough people would recognize him or his name. I think his work is more beloved than Mel Brooks himself.

I would have gone with: Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett and/or Dick Van Dyke. And maybe Harrison Ford or Steven Spielberg, as well.

The Sports Machine

 

D.M. in Lexington, NC, writes: C.S. in Philadelphia asked: When is a team considered "cursed"?

I completely expected to see the Detroit Lions mentioned here. They have been a perpetually poor team with a couple anomalously good seasons since the mid 1950s. Sure, they won a few championships then, but all of them pre-date the era of the Super Bowl (which began in 1967) by at least a decade. They had a surprisingly good season in 1991 (people say it was because it was the "Barry Sanders era," but he played during a lot of abysmal seasons, too. No, that fluke of a season can be attributed, at least in part, to a team rally effect inspired by the spinal cord injury that left offensive lineman Mike Utley paralyzed). Even in their recent 2023-25 run of good seasons, they completely flopped when it counted most.

To this day, I use a saying that has been universally understood no matter where I've lived (and I've lived a LOT of places): I know how to deal with disappointment; I'm a Detroit Lions fan.

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B.B. in Dunnellon, FL, writes: Regarding the Mets Curse (pfft): The Los Angeles Chargers franchise has won a title, in 1963. Pre-Super Bowl, it feels only fair to consider both AFL and NFL championships as equals, even if at that moment, the AFL was an inferior league.

The Chicago Cardinals have had more home cities (St. Louis and Phoenix) than titles since last winning an NFL title, 76 years ago.

Similarly, the Kings in the NBA nearly have been in more leagues (NBL and BAA, just prior to joining the NBA for three years before their first/only NBA title) than they've had titles since their last, and have been situated in FOUR CITIES since their last title (Cincinnati Royals, Kansas City Kings, Omaha Kings, Sacramento Kings). Their drought is 71 years.

Baseball's Cleveland franchise is at 75 years without a title.

Incidentally, thank you for ignoring my White Sox when listing long baseball curses. Of course, the cloddish Cubs had the longest drought ever, but the other Sox went 88 years, while the Red Sox only had to wait 86, both with "legitimate" curses (Bambino, and Black Sox). While the Padres do have some curse on 'em, Cleveland already was running a 21-year title drought at the time the Padres were created. They also let the super-cursed Cubs steal a title from them head-to-head that was rightfully theirs (up 3-1 in the Series, losing at home in Game 7).

A better comp to the Padres would be the Brewers, coming into baseball at the same time and appearing in one fewer World Series, winning none.

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D.B. in Mountain View, CA, writes: Regarding your claim that the San Diego Padres are the baseball team best described as being under a curse: Wait, what? Do you think a name change fools the Curse Gods? The Seattle Mariners/Milwaukee Brewers were also an expansion team in 1969 and they've only been in the World Series once, compared to two trips for the Padres. And the Cleveland Indians/Guardians haven't been in the World Series since 1948.

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K.W. in Parede, Portugal, writes: Seriously? How can you so ignore my beloved Seattle Mariners? They have NEVER been to the World Series in their 50-year history! In 2025, they came within eight outs of it, but the thrice-damned Toronto Blue Jays denied them. Talk about curses (and heartbreak)! To say nothing about THIS year!

The Mariners' fan site even has, as the site logo, an image that reflects the "'joy' of being a long-suffering (but always loyal, and sometime hopeful) Mariners fan." That is Richie Sexson in that image (played for the M's from 2005-2008). No matter how "successful" the team has been since then, the fansite's administrators have (correctly, in my view) refused to change this logo. We Mariners fans must never forget what it means to be a Mariners fan.

Been to the World Series "only" twice. Phooey!

Go M's!!!

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P.K. in Marshalltown, IA, writes: After reading your response to C.S. in Philadelphia, I have a nomination for your consideration for cursed team. Actually, cursed city. The City of Cleveland. A place sometimes referred to as "The Mistake on the Lakes." A place whose river, the Cuyahoga, caught on fire in 1969.

Yeah, I know the Cavaliers won the NBA championship in 2016, but hear me out. I grew up 90 miles west of Cleveland, and am not a fan of Cleveland sports, but I am a friend to so many Sad Sacks who have loyally given their allegiance to Cleveland franchises and have lived lives of quiet desperation. The Cavs aside, the city has not experienced a major sports title in decades upon decades. The Indians/Guardians have not won a World Series since 1948, their only one. They have been victimized by The Catch (Willie Mays' spectacular catch in the 1954 Series), the MLB strike of 1994, and the breaking of the Cubs' curse in 2016.

The Browns, beyond the Deshaun Watson clusterf**k, which will extend the Browns' curse for some time all by itself, have not tasted gridiron glory since 1964 and the days of Jim Brown. They have endured The Drive (John Elway's 98-yard touchdown drive in the 1987 AFC Championship) and The Fumble (Earnest Byrner's miscue against the same Broncos in the 1988 AFC Championship). Art Modell moved the franchise to Baltimore in 1995 (and they have won two Super Bowls in that city). The current Browns franchise, which began play in 1999, has won but a third of its games in the decades since its establishment. The 1-15 record in 2016 and the 0-16 record in 2017 stand as particularly difficult experiences for its faithful. Again, I am not reveling in Cleveland's sports woes. My dear-departed sister served as a police officer in suburban Cleveland; a nephew serves as a firefighter for the city. All I ask is for respect for their long-suffering and quite-devoted fans.

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A.S. in Black Mountain, NC, writes: I spent 8 years at Ole Miss at the second-best job I had in my career. So I follow what happens there pretty closely. I watched this guy and early on thought there is something sleazy about him. He didn't pass my smell test. Then LSU came along and the stench was unbearable. So when I read this from (Z), I smiled: "I would suggest that it is instructive that the guy who is fighting hardest for former pros to be able to return to college is Lane Kiffin, who is the sleaziest bastard in college football (which is really saying something)."

The Staff Canine

 

P.W. in Springwater, NY, writes: Congratulations on being adopted by such a cute, and apparently ingenious, new dog. I wish Tuco a long and successful career as staff canine, with plenty of time off to spend with doggy and people friends (and to eat shoes).

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M.V.F. in Fredericksburg, Texas (proud son of D.C.W. in same), writes: This is Milo Von Frankfurter, the ranch supervisor here at our little wildlife sanctuary in Central Texas. I am a strapping 14 lb. specimen of almost pure dachshund and so I am a very very tough chewer and a prize-winning destroyer of toys. But, my mom has found a couple of items, believe it or not, that I cannot destroy. Well, I CAN, but not very quickly. Mom read me your story about adopting Tuco, and I think he is my brother from another mother.

My favorite toy is the Hartz Dura Play Latex Balls, bacon flavored, squeak (for awhile at least), and tooth-proof (same). They come in a pack of 3 (pink, orange, and green) from Chewy online, $13.10 for the 3 pack. Mom gets a pack with every auto-ship food order. I LOVE to throw one in every box or bucket I find and try to get it out. I also love to fetch it, if I am in the mood. Great thing is Mom plays with me (and the others in the herd) inside the house as well as outside on the "ball field." It does get slobbery, but that is what towels are for. Not to give you too much information, but she plays "shower ball" with me, throwing it down the hall while Dad takes a shower. Fun. I am getting good catching it on the lob.

Second best is a new toy from Chewy we just "tested." It is a Go Dog Dragon Skinny Chew Guard (small) Squeaky Plush, Green. Also about $13, but Mom says worth every penny. She helped me write a review for it on Chewy after we tested it out. It is fun to squeak, fun to shake around (has some crinkle noise) and fun to pull away from my sister. I have tried my best to get through the material to see what is inside of it, and I have not been able to do that, so far. But it has only been weeks!

I hope you can order these for Tuco since he seems like a macho chewer like me. We boys must stick together. Let me know what he thinks.

Tell Tuco I wish I could play with him, but I'm many miles away. I'm sending him a howl-out.

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M.L. in Encino, CA, writes: You see, in this world, there's two kinds of dogs, my friend: Those who obey their owners and those who eat turkey burgers for dinner. Tuco eats turkey burgers.

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S.J.M. in Austin, TX, writes: I must defend little Tuco as to the tennis shoe misunderstanding. That was not a case of murder but a simple commentary on your lack of fashion sense. No doubt those shoes had been worn well past their "sell by" date so he was exercising compassion and putting them out of their misery. A canine version of Dr. Kevorkian if you will.

You will come to see that Tuco did you a favor.

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M.P. in Atlanta, GA, writes: Tuco was framed. He's innocent, I tell ya!

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M.M. in San Diego, CA, writes: I agree with your vet, there's definitely terrier mixed in, so be prepared for extreme determination despite all remonstrances!

Also, take a look at the Dog Aging Project, a scientific endeavor to better understand both canine and human aging. It's no cost and doesn't demand very much time.

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M.L. in Franklin, MA, writes: Congratulations on the new(ish) Pup! Two quick suggestions:

1. You should get Tuco's doggie DNA done. At the very least, it will be entertaining, as our 3% chihuahua John will attest (all 100 pounds of him):

It's why I think John and my partner (who is Tejano) get along famously. Me? I'm just a guero to them.

2. Just because Tuco is short doesn't mean his vertical leap wouldn't make an NBA Baller jealous. My brother's dog Tucker (who is about dachshund height) has enough leap to get on counters. My brother knows this from watching Tucker do it on a nannycam.

I hope you and Tuco bring each other mucho happiness!

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L.R. in Walpole, MA, writes: Congratulations to (Z) on the arrival of Tuco! I had to laugh when I read that the shelter estimated his age at 2. In my experience, shelters always "estimate" a dog's age at 2, if they don't have definitive proof otherwise. Shelters must have determined that 2 is the age that optimizes chances of adoption.

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B.C. in Manhattan Beach, CA, writes: (Z) mentioned of Tuco that, "The rescue said he's about 2 years old."

My experience is that, for many rescues, the default age of dogs is 2 years old. Any dog that is not obviously a puppy, and not obviously a senior dog, will be described as a 2-year-old. It is very hard to tell the precise age of a dog, and many potential adopters want a dog that is already housebroken, but still has a long life ahead. An age of 2 fits those criteria, so many dogs at rescues tend to be described on that way.

Welcome to the new staff canine, and may he serve for many years!

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D.A. in Brooklyn, NY, writes: Named (very appropriately) after one of my absolute favorite movie characters in one of my favorite movies (second only to Casablanca).

Very glad for you (Z). Very freudenfreude.

P.S.: You wonder how he got up the table? Look at those ears! He obviously can use them to fly when no one's looking.

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S.V. in Covington, WA, writes: Thanks for sharing today's post on Tuco and welcome to the team! I usually read the day's post first thing in the morning, but today went awry. My cat Mikey unfortunately passed away this morning. He actually shared a lot of traits with Tuco. Namely, his sociability with people and animals (with the only exception being our golden retriever, for some reason). He was also prone to stealing food, sometimes right out of your hand; more than once I had to sprint from the dinner table to chase him down for food he'd stolen. He walked into our apartment 13 years ago and chose us as his people. Saying goodbye is the worst part of having fur family, but your post unquestionably reminded me of the joy they bring that by far outweighs the grief. So welcome Tuco, and rest in peace Mikey.

(V) & (Z) respond: Our condolences on your family's loss, and yes, rest in peace, Mikey.

Gallimaufry

 

B.J. in Arlington, MA, writes: (V) wrote that "JavaScript is type-safe." Given that, here is a short prototype for some code you can use to calculate the number of Senate seats held by the Democrats:

const demSeats = 45;
const demNetGain = "7";
const repRecountsWon = true;
const demFinalCount = demSeats + demNetGain - repRecountsWon;
console.log("Projected Democratic Senate Seats: " + demFinalCount);

In this scenario, the Democrats would hold... 456 seats in the Senate. Awesome!

I hereby release this code snippet under the GPL version 2.

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G.S.C. in South Pasadena, CA, writes: While my wife and I have been to the U.K. many times, I passed on suggesting places to see, and looking at the responses, I'm glad I did, as they were far more extensive than we could provide, since we haven't spent that much time in London. But this past week I came across a video of London you'll never see anywhere else, as it's from 1982. The places shown here are gone or, after 44 years, no longer recognizable.

This is from a BBC Omnibus documentary where the excellent actor Bob Hoskins shows Barry Norman around the area where Hoskins grew up. In this short video (just under 10 minutes), Hoskins points out where this building used to be, and that construction started but was never finished. Overall, it's a sad review of corporate neighborhood takeover and the lack of safeguards put in place by the City of London. But through it all, you'll see sights and hidden or secret passageways Hoskins knew from his childhood.

And these are sights you cannot see now.

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J.E. in Brooklyn, NY, writes: The responses to T.B. in Waterloo make me want to visit London once again. If only T.B. had asked about Scotland! My partner of 30 years and I are visiting this winter where I secretly plan to propose for her hand in marriage. :)

This might have been the first Electoral-Vote.com-inspired marriage proposal.

(V) & (Z) respond: Congratulations, and good luck!

Final Words

 

R.H. in San Antonio, TX, writes: Geronimo, who died in 1909 at Fort Sill, OK, after 23 years as a prisoner of war, "I should never have surrendered. I should have fought until I was the last man alive."

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