Big Bopper, Big Bopper, everything you like, you know I got her!

D-Mas Senator Ed Markey’s Special Assistant Admits Using Autopen Without Markey’s Knowledge
September 30, 2025

□ [“Over 100,000 Federal Employees Expected to Quit Tuesday Amid Government Shutdown"]

There might be some legal distinction between getting fired or quitting the day before.  For convenience, I'll assume they all have paychecks coming in from Soros or his ilk so they won't be missing anything. They're government officials, it's not like they're hired for courage.  These people could have taken Trump up on his offer to quit several months ago but obviously didn't.

Hopefully with months of his people in running the executive branch and what DOGE learned, the Trump administration knows exactly what needs to cut out.  I'm also curious how relevant established law is to this, since there will be no Congress in a few hours.  There are laws to ensure the executive branch continues to function during a shut-down but how many changes are permanent and how many will go back to the way things were whenever the government gets around to reopening?

At a lower level, that's probably not much of a problem in the executive departments.  The leftists will quit or be fired and those who work for the chief executive can then rewrite the regulations for their particular division.  If this is anything like the other government shutdowns I've been through, I doubt much will change from our perspective.  The question is what the left will do about it.

The Senate is still making noise about trying to pass something but I assume they'll fail.  The only alternative is if enough Democrats cave, or whoever's in charge of them gives up.  But taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants but not Americans is really the hill they'll die for.

PA Dem Funneled Money to Help Opioid Addicts to LGBTQ+ ‘Medical Transition’ Seminars For Kids
September 30, 2025

□ [“Pete Hegseth Declares a Return 'the Highest Male Standard Only' in Military Combat Roles"]

No idea if this will work but it's certainly nice to hear.  The 'kinder, gentler Army' has been around for a long time so this speech won't be enough to get rid of it.  But this is what the big meeting was about, at least the parts we'll be informed on.  More PT and no lowering standards for women.  You'd think that would be obvious but the left has spent decades on that and won't give up now.  This also applies to grooming, uniforms and medical requirements.

□ [“Trump Suggests Dangerous US Cities Should Be Military Training Grounds, 'A War From Within'"]

Trump covered this part.  He did say we'll be moving into Chicago soon.  You'd think urban combat would be a standard part of training at this point, or at any point for the last century.  Of course I was never infantry so maybe they are trained on that, but there could be a refresher.  I'm sure they're putting a lot of thought into how this will work.

It's quite possible they'll start moving into these cities in the next couple days, just to get the ball rolling.  As I've said, they probably already have troops there - it's not like these cities don't have military units - but we'll see how many citizens are ready to fight back.  I'm sure there will be something but I also doubt there won't be a lot of resistance.  It'll probably be closer to 'suicide by cop soldier' than anything else.  But that was probably covered in the part of the meeting that won't be reported.

Poland Authorities Arrest Ukrainian Man Suspected of Exploding the Nord Stream Gas Pipelines
September 30, 2025

Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's Spider-Man certainly qualifies as a building block of my life, even though it came out over a decade before I was born and even longer before I started reading it.  Although I don't pay a lot of attention to it anymore, when I do think about it, I'm usually trying to figure out what Ditko was intending to do with the characters.  He certainly had a direction and, just from what I've glimpsed at this evening, it started early on.

For all that we're told about Spidey being an unusual superhero, he was actually the first one at Marvel who followed the standard tropes.  The Fantastic Four didn't have secret identities, they didn't even have costumes for the few few issues.  Thor and the Hulk were literally separate characters from their secret identities and what they had as far as love interests was very simple and unimportant.  Basically none of these characters even fought standard supervillains for quite a while.

That's not the case with Spider-Man.  Costume, identity, he fought criminals and supervillains right away.  Didn't have a love interest for a few issues but he had the kids at school.  We don't know how much Stan Lee really contributed to the stories beyond dialogue and editing and we know that Ditko did more and more as time went on, but I've been looking at the basics for the first several issues.

Skipping the origin story which is very different from the actual series, the first issue had Spidey encounter the main antagonist, J. Jonah Jameson, and meet the Fantastic Four, to start re-enforcing that all the different titles took place in the same world.  Technically DC did the same thing but there was much less continuity or connection.  Atlantis was presented very differently depending on which title it appeared in, and you couldn't just have Superman or Batman show up for a few pages.

The second issue had Peter Parker start working for JJJ, establishing their long-standing relationship.  The third issue was the first one to be a single story instead of two short stories and made use of the extra pages.  The hero thought things were good, then he was defeated, then he found his way back.  Not great literature but better than comics had been known for.  All that plus a guest-appearance by the Human Torch.

The fourth issue had the Sandman attacking Peter's high school, detailing some of their interaction.  Liz Allen makes her first notable appearance as Peter messing things up with her.  We also see him having other problems, including dealing with JJJ and his secretary, Betty Brant.  Stan always said he preferred writing romance comics the most and Steve was clearly pushing this plotline.  I've been convinced for some time that he always intended Betty to be Peter's true love and everyone else was just a distraction.

The fifth issue has Spidey face Dr. Doom.  Usually characters didn't fight enemies from a different title, but this would indicate things were different here.  All the characters were involved.  The sixth issue was a bit different, leaving NYC to fight the Lizard.  I've always noted that after this issue, Doc Connors never became the Lizard again during Ditko's run but was always available as a brilliant scientist when Spidey needed help.

The seventh issue had the Vulture return and attack the Daily Bugle itself.  This starts the theme of JJJ getting closer and closer to the villains.  Sometimes he supports them, sometimes he's the victim, other times he's just comic relief.  The issue ends with Peter and Betty chatting, like they're attracted to each other.  Can't be too specific in superhero comics aimed at kids but it is what it is.

The eight issue is unusual in that it's two short stories.  The first one is an evil robot attacking the high school and is probably notable that Peter makes a convincing case that no one should suspect he is Spider-Man, unlike what Clark Kent and Superman have to deal with.  The second story is another meeting with the Human Torch and is drawn by Jack Kirby.  The Marvel Universe was slowly becoming more solid and coherent, helped by the fact that only a handful of creators were involved.

The ninth issue has Betty and Peter fighting because she's scared for him, taking pictures of crimes.  It ends with them walking off together.  This was the first of the 'Aunt May is almost dead' issues and Betty even visits her in the hospital.  JJJ is being attacked by Electro and when the villain is defeated, it's the first of several times where Spidey unmasks him and realizes it's a complete stranger.

This was redone in the tenth issue when Spidey spent the whole issue assuming the villain was JJJ but it turned out to be another reporter for the Daily Bugle.  Ditko would continue to do stories like this here and there for the rest of his run.  Unfortunately he died without telling us what his intentions were because this is definitely one of the many reasons the series and character were so popular.

The eleventh and twelfth issues started a change of direction, but it's still not clear exactly what.  Betty had left town for some mysterious reason and it turns out she was working for Doc Ock.  Her brother is a criminal and they're all in on it.  Peter tracks her down to Philadelphia and is not remotely creepy about it.  Betty's brother dies and Doc Ock escapes, possibly the first time that ever happened in a code-approved comic.  We're told Betty will never be back, then she returns on the first page of the twelfth issue.  With a new haircut.  Chicks, amiright?

This issue is finishing the Doc Ock storyline with some very stupid parts to the story.  Betty and Peter are clearly dating by this point although it's not specific and now Liz gets a crush on Peter.  He was caught impersonating Spider-Man and she thinks that's awesome.  That's not even the stupidest part of the story but at least in context, you could believe these characters are doing this.

The thirteenth issue introduces Mysterio who doesn't really have any great insights but the characters all continue moving forward.  The fourteenth issue is weird in several ways.  First of all, the Hulk appears.  If his series hadn't been cancelled yet, it was close, and either way he made appearances in multiple titles which helped push the overall franchise.  Second of all, the story was a rip-off of a recent Fantastic Four story where the villain pretends to hire the heroes to make a movie because they need the money.  And third of all, this villain was the Green Goblin.

In one of the few revelations in his later years, Ditko did say that he always intended the Goblin to be Norman Osbourne, although it's not clear if he'd even conceived of Osbourne by this point.  As Spidey carries out this adventure, back home the other characters are all doing their usual things, keeping the series fleshed out that way.  It's also noteworthy that the Goblin was working with the Enforcers, who had appeared in issue ten.  Issue fifteen had Kraven's first appearance, helping the Chameleon who had appeared in the first issue.  Villains were bringing in helpers to deal with the hero.

And on the romantic side, Betty is getting very jealous of all the other girls in Peter's life.  It's interesting that it's done so subtly that kids can read it without knowing what's going on but there's still enough to understand.  This was also the first chance Peter had to meet Aunt May's friend Mrs. Watson's niece, Mary Jane.  Luckily that doesn't happen but unluckily Peter can't call Betty or Liz to spend the evening with.

Issue sixteen is the first time the story starts and ends with Peter dealing with Betty and the rest of it is one long scene of Spidey and the villains.  And Daredevil, because there hasn't been another Marvel character appearing for a few issues.  Issue seventeen has the Human Torch appear as the Spider-Man Fan Club finally gets together.  No really, that's what happens.

The high school kids love Spidey so they form a club.  Everybody shows up to the first meeting, including the Human Torch and the Green Goblin.  There's standard superhero hijinks, there's Betty and Liz, another attempt to meet Mary Jane and then the big fight scene is interrupted because of news that Aunt May is dying so Spidey runs off like a coward.  There is no 'to be continued' but Ditko is clearly putting out a continuing story.

Issue eighteen has JJJ thrilled by this and the rest of the Marvel Universe confused at Spidey the wuss.  Aunt May is slightly better, Spidey is trying to figure out different ways of making money but it doesn't work out.  Sandman is going around loose and nobody can stop him.  It's an effective change-of-mood from issue-to-issue and I'm quite impressed that all the characters keep getting shown off in their roles.  I haven't looked at these issues in years and I'm not even reading them now but the interest still seeps out and fascinates more and more with each page.

This is one of the first examples of a long story being told in comic-book form.  It is known that Ditko was plotting several issues in advance although we don't know how far ahead he was.  This was effectively a three-part story - issue nineteen has Spidey taking down Sandman and the Enforcers, with help from the Human Torch - while setting up future stories.  The issue ends with someone following Peter for some reason on behalf of a mysterious character.

In this instance, it wasn't a big set-up, the mystery is solved in issue twenty as JJJ being responsible.  But he sets up his spy to become the Scorpion, definitely stronger than Spidey and JJJ actively creating another villain.  Betty is also trying to get Peter jealous by hanging out with Ned Leeds.  Despite being superhero comics aimed at kids, something about this comes off as believable character interactions presented on a day-by-day basis.

Issue twenty-one has Spidey and the Torch flirting on each other's girlfriends to make them jealous.  Issue twenty-two brings back the Circus villains as Peter and Betty's relationship keeps bouncing back and forth from bad to good.  Issue twenty-three brings back the Green Goblin and the criminal reporter from issue ten.  Periodically Ditko's stories, especially when the Goblin was involved, focused on crime gangs and sometimes with business.  This was one of the former and one of the reasons we wish he had continued on the title for a few more years.  In the first few issues after Ditko had left, Stan made sure to clear out the Betty Brant story and finally introduce Mary Jane, but I assume he wanted to continue the crime gang storyline which is why the Kingpin soon appeared.  Issue twenty-three also has someone standing in the background with JJJ who is clearly Norman Osbourne.

Issue twenty-four has JJJ trying to start a news story about why everyone hates Spider-Man and gets suckered and embarrassed by Mysterio.  Peter ends the story going out on a date with Liz.  He's been getting more confident in the last several issues.  Issue twenty-five has a great scene of him suckering JJJ into funding a robot to beat Spidey with while Betty is trying to get him to stop.  Once again, all the characters interact in a very well-paced scene, leaving Betty and Liz so angry that they storm over to Peter's house to confront him.  He's not there but they get to meet Mary Jane.

Ditko was only credited for "drawings" but a caption says he came up with the plot so by this point, Stan probably had no idea what the story would be until the pages were brought in.  I don't know if Ditko was still giving them to Stan personally or if he was just leaving them with the secretary.  After this, he would receive "plot" credit for the story.  But it must have been a big problem for him as the artist.  He had plotted and penciled the story, then he had to ink the lettering for dialogue and captions Stan had contributed.

Issue twenty-six and twenty-seven were a two-part story, continuing the Green Goblin and the criminal gangs.  Issue twenty-eight began and ended with a few pages about the girls in Peter's life and graduating high school, the rest was one long fight scene with the Molten Man.  Annual 2 had Spidey teaming up with Dr. Strange and I still can't figure out how Ditko of all people would come-up with a magician for a heroic character.  Issue twenty-nine was another long fight-scene, the Scorpion wanting revenge on JJJ.  Also Betty and Ned are getting closer and Aunt May is hiding her sickness.

Issue thirty was supposed to be a minor issue as far as superheroics go.  There was a screw-up because Steve was setting up a future villain but hadn't told Stan, who assumed the gang committing robberies around town worked for this issue's villain.  Spidey's basically useless in stopping this villain, the police solve everything.  Otherwise we meet Liz again and see that she's totally done with Peter and Betty tells him that Ned has proposed to her.  Spider-Man is keeping these two apart.

Is it the greatest romance you've ever read?  No, but it's very obvious that Ditko intended Betty to Peter's eventual love interest.  The personalities are very different but her behavior isn't that different from Dominique, the lead female character in Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead.  She'll eventually end up with the hero but goes through a lot of effort - and two marriages - before figuring that out.

Issues thirty-one through thirty-three are generally considered the high point of Ditko's run on the title.  As noted before, these issues came out overlapping with three issues of the Fantastic Four fighting Galactus, which is generally considered that title's high point with Jack Kirby.  I don't know how this was deliberate but I'm quite certain it was.

Aunt May's in the hospital.  Peter starts college, we meet Harry Osbourne and Gwen Stacy.  Gwen knows how hot she is and acts like you'd expect a college girl to act but for some reason Peter isn't paying any attention.  Part one sets up all these problems.  Part two has Spidey going to Doc Connors for help, the villain is revealed to be Doc Ock and Spidey is left to die in a flood.  Part three resolves everything quite well, except for Betty who has had enough of this and leaves.

Issues thirty-four and thirty-five are mostly fight scenes with the return of Kraven and the Molten Man, interspersed with Peter finally paying attention in college.  Gwen is getting more and more interested in him even though he's barely said anything to her at all.  She tries to get closer in issue 36, which features an odd villain called the Meteor.  I'm not sure he ever appeared again but it seems he's deliberately simplistic.  Either Ditko was getting burned out working for Stan or he was deliberately trying to make the superhero parts less interesting.

Issue thirty-seven has a villain creating robots, and working for Norman Osbourne.  Issue thirty-eight concludes Ditko's run with another meaningless villain and Peter arguing with Ned over Betty.  There were also bits with his fellow college students and criminals ganging up on him.  If it didn't have a strong ending, I have to admit I really enjoyed flipping through the pages.  I knew the stories, even if I'd forgotten parts of it.  Ditko/Lee's run is clearly part of my life and these 800-and-some pages show why.  That's not even counting the franchise built from it.

If there's a problem, other than the long fight-scenes taking up too many pages of the later issues, I would say it was that the crime gang/business subplots weren't especially developed.  You could argue that Ditko was going somewhere or that he was just using it as a plot device whenever he thought it was a good idea and that was all it ever was.  Peter was certainly growing and changing as a character, Ditko had totally stopped presenting him as a dweeb when dealing with his fellow students or with his employer.

Other characters weren't particularly changing but they were showing more complexity.  Gwen and Harry could range from being mean to Peter or trying to be nice because they weren't bullies.  Even Flash wasn't a total bully, deliberately taking all the blame for a fight with Peter, trying to get along with him at college.  Liz decided she was out of school now and it was time to grow up.  Maybe Ditko would bring her back some time in the future but probably not as a major character.

Really, it's Gwen and MJ that show the potential lost by Ditko leaving.  They were clearly more mature than Liz and perhaps that was the goal.  First Gwen, then MJ would compete with Betty to win Peter.  Wouldn't surprise me if Ned Leeds would have eventually been caught working with the Green Goblin to ruin that marriage.

Part of the problem is that comics are really time-intensive medium to work in and progress is slow.  It usually takes a month of work to create one fairly-short read.  So whatever plans Ditko had, or anyone else for that matter, it would take years to really produce a readable work of decent size.  And of course he wasn't doing it with his property, it was a corporate IP, so he didn't get final say on anything.

The reason I was thinking about Spider-Man today is because I was pondering that his creation was a deliberate act of *something* with an IP in the newly-borne Marvel Universe and I was trying to figure out what it was.  All I came up with was the romance subplot and the less-developed crime gang/business stories and, considering how none of this got very far, I was still impressed by how much work Ditko put on the page.  This is the sort of thing comics needs, fascinating readers right from the start and keeping them interested.  I don't know if I'll come up with anything else to say but I'm probably going to be thinking about these comics for a while.  This is really how a franchise deserves to be built from the ground up.

South African Ambassador to France Falls From 22nd Floor of Paris Hotel in Suspected Suicide
September 30, 2025