Exactly 32 years after Cheers ended, Norm has finally gone home.

Illinois School Board Meeting Clashes Over Transgender Biological Boy Beats 7th Grade Girls at Track Meet
May 20, 2025

□ [“Amazon Is Selling '8647' Trump Assassination T-Shirts, Hats, and Stickers"]

It's not going to be hard to list and track people who buy these items.  Probably not much harder to get a visual image of them.  Then you can keep track of them on websites used by employers or dating.  Just an easy way to track who would actually think this is a good idea.  They might eventually realize this is a problem and start wearing masks like other Democrats have done.

For that matter, it would be easy to use this as a disguise.  Police can make up their own t-shirt so they're able to identify each other while working undercover.  Isn't an 8647 t-shirt proof that you can trust someone?  And by the way, who are the anti-capitalists making money off this?

It's one of those ludicrous things that make me wonder if it's actually a Trump staffer who planted those seashells for Comey to find and send out to the world, precisely to inspire this.  We'll find out how many right-wingers will say it should be illegal to wear these, but I doubt there will be many.  The left keeps getting sicker every day, they try to hide it with these strange trends.

Half Mile ‘Rainbow Road’ Painted in DC for ‘World Pride’
May 20, 2025

□ [“Senate Unanimously Passes No Tax on Tips Act by Unanimous Consent"]

Basically without going through all the details of setting up a vote, they effectively skip that by all going for it, so now it's up to the House.  I'm sure the Senate has done stuff like this before but I can't think of ever hearing about it.  Does it have to be unanimous or could they go down to 95 or 90 votes before they have to actually go through the standard voting process?

Anyway, I'm sure the House will go through with it, probably close to unanimously.  It's a small thing and it'll make Trump look good for pushing this, but at some level they'll realize it's not worth fighting over.  They've already been unanimous on eagerly ignoring a black kid standing right in front of them, no reason to keep doubling down on that.

The Democrats who vote d for this tax in the first place will need to be asked why they're all voting against it now.  What has changed that made them see something wrong with this bill which I'm pretty sure they voted for unanimously a couple years ago, since Republicans already voted against it.  At least they've reached a step where just because Trump supports something isn't an automatic reason to totally oppose it.  Unfortunately Democrat voters won't agree with that.

Crowd Cheers as California Girl Steps to Top Spot After Finishing Second to Transgender at School Track and Field
May 20, 2025

□ [“PM Keir Starmer Betrays BREXIT, Signs European Union Agreement With Huge Concessions"]

It's about fishing rights, now EU will be able to send ships into British waters for the next 12 years.  They'll also allow in a lot of 'youth visas.'  In exchange, the continent can buy English sausage.  What a deal.

The immigration thing is going to be a big deal, but I've wondered how big the fishing rights are.  Britain is an island, it's surrounded by water.  Run by England, they've spent many centuries protecting their shores.  I don't know the current status of the British Navy, but it still exists in legend as a force to be reconned with.

Losing the sea could be hitting the British very deeply, in ways mortal man can barely conceive.  They can all see the EU tyranny, that's why they voted to leave almost a decade ago.  But that has gotten them little-if-anything so far.

They do not fear the people.  It is time to show them that they are wrong for that.  The people don't need the rulers, the rulers need them.  This has been going on for 80 years at least.  Time to end it permanently.

Spain Hit by Widespread Phone and Internet Outages Less Than a Month After Mass Blackouts
May 20, 2025

□ [“Russia Opposes Globalist NGOs, Bans Amnesty International as ‘Undesirable Organization’"]

Well that's one way to get people to agree with Russia.  The concept has existed since the 1700s but NGOs as we know them were founded in 1945 by the UN.  That's enough to convince me that they should be banned forever.  Putin even said in 2007 that they are officially independent but they're funded by someone, that basically sums it up.

Which suggests that a lot more information and money would have been sent through Ukraine for laundering.  It's also known that NGOs and other organizations are passing the money and back and forth in very complicated ways, probably to keep it from being tracked, as well as increasing each group's influence in their respective area.  The overall effect would be to promote globalism, which is a bad thing.

The worry is that it's one of those problems that, once it's discovered, can't be solved.  Russia can oppose NGOs operating in Russia but that wouldn't stop them from using NGOs anywhere else in the world.  No nation would be stupid enough to give up that sort of influence over others, and like it or not, there's going to be groups of people operating across borders.  That's just the way the world works.

I don't have an answer.  At best, maybe there's a way this can be limited.  I can't think of anything that should work as an NGO other than organized religion but even that would have its drawbacks and there's probably a lot of aspects I'm missing.  Shows how little thought I put into this, at least compared to people who support NGOs.

Chaos Erupts at New Jersey Mall as ‘Over 300 Youth’ Brawl – Police Officer Seriously Injured
May 20, 2025

□ [“Obama Judge Ignores Supreme Court, Orders DOJ to Give Docs on Revoking Immigrant ‘Protected Status’"]

Another event that seems pretty small but could have deeper meaning.  In this case, trying to understand legalese, a district court demanded the DOJ provide documents on 'protected status,' for (I think) every single immigrant they want to kick out.  The Supreme Court said don't do that.  It looks like it was a pause until something was addressed, but this judge said his demands had to be met and the deadline was May 19.

So this isn't something based on the laws themselves, so much as specific practices for the courts, and for kicking out immigrants.  But - assuming I worked out what this was all about and what are the odds of that? - the district court is defying the Supremes.  That's the sort of thing they need to call out and not do it quietly.  Defying the court makes their entire existence irrelevant, along with all the other courts.

I'll be pessimistic and assume this won't go anywhere, but it *should!*  There's been too many judges to keep track of as they try to overrule Trump and give their own orders on policy.  Some of them have been shot down, others might be, but this is really where the Supreme Court should step and say 'enough!'

Trump DOJ Appointee Leo Terrell Suggests Criminal Charges Against Jill Biden: “Elder Abuse!”
May 20, 2025