Links of interest, very belated

I've neglected posting blogs but I've still written some, and I will catch up eventually. These links mostly or completely from 2024.

I managed not to write about DeSantis and the Florida culture skirmishes where DeSantis tried via legislation to force Florida public schools to be much less woke. This had many fronts. Don't say gay. Nothing about trans kids. Curriculum on slavery. Punishing Disney for stating their opposing opinion. So fun all around. This is the settlement agreement about the Don't Say Gay bill (as it was dubbed in the press). No formal instruction in lots of areas for K-3, but informal discussions can and will take place. 

Plastic Waste Deal. Not a deal yet, but a bunch of countries are coming closer to limiting plastic manufacturing. This is a good idea considering all the plastic bottle waste. A lot of that could go to aluminum, which is highly recycled, unlike plastic. And countries probably need to force industry that way since it's not happening even with people being educated. Some things do happen from the top down. 

Donny's Donors and who they want for VP. Good to check back on this. 

A summary of the evidence in Trump's payoff trial. There isn't any summary of the defense, but there wasn't much of a defense. A lawyer named Costello testified, but didn't have much material evidence to back him up. He also got skewered on cross examination. 

El Salvador has been a mess for decades. Finally a leader is having partial success in countering the gangs. But the bleeding heart progressives have to criticize anyhow. I want to watch and see if he is able to help this benighted country. I hope he can. 

The European parliament elections saw a surge of anti-immigrant votes and a major decline in greens and liberals. For what it's worth, being a lower-turnout affair. And an article about how France has changed. Not so stodgy and with a sense of chaos? 

Video showing Biden's shuffling gait walking in a cemetery in France at the D-Day commemorations. Jill holding his hand, guiding him, helping with balance. Biden reaching for headstone to steady himself. I noticed this before Biden's poor debate performance. Full video of Biden's interview by Hur, special counsel. 

Trashy racist meme from Trump's campaign spokesman. Correction, an outspoken supporter, also asian.

The new mayor of Chicago is trying to force through an agreement with the teachers' union and huge high-interest borrowing. The superintendent and the entire school board that he appointed disagree with his plan. What a mess. 

Mark Zuckerberg's whiny letter to the GOP-dominated House Judiciary Committee. They pressured us, he whines. 

Too late to matter, but a transcript of the Harris/Trump debate. 

Parking this here. A transcript of the J6 Committee with the blunt assistant White House Counsel. The one with the panda poster in the background. The one who told off Eastman after Jan. 6. There is also a treasure trove of J6 transcripts.

Image: Ian Miles Cheong 

Always more links of interest

 
DeSantis flubs his campaign launch in New Hampshire by scheduling an event opposite a major GOP women's event. 

The federal indictment against Trump for his part in Jan. 6 and trying to fraudulent overturn the election. 

I'll need to check back on this: a very strong El Nino is forming in the Pacific due to the high ocean temperatures. This has been a very strange weather year already and there may be more. 

Two articles on the GOP scorched earth plans for the federal government.  

Hezbollah might be getting advanced anti-aircraft missiles from Russia. 

Great Lincoln Project takedown of that quack RFK Jr. 

WaPo does a survey of AI (artificial intelligence) and finds that it is saturated in Western stereotypes. This isn't at all surprising. 

Info from 2016 unearthing past wrongs. The sugar industry bought and paid for a health study in 1967 that downplayed the negative effects of sugar in heart disease, and emphasized the role of fats. This was published as a scientific study, but it used value judgements and gray areas to support a bias. Scientific studies can be stilted. It's important to beware and be critical. 

Holding onto this link about Epstein: The 128-page report from the inspector general. I wanted to check in particular about the level of available video. Many camera feeds weren't being saved/stored, but some were. There was good video of access points to the units, and that video shows no people accessed the units. That means no assassin team. Scans of Epstein's address book. This is the most interesting page, perhaps his most important contacts, which are handwritten.

A listing of Trump PAC payments to lawyers. Probably not a complete listing either. 

Image: epsteinblackbook.com

Update 7/17/25. Parking links to more Epstein-related documents. Evidence list. Boastful memo from the Department of Justice about how thorough they will be.  

Update 7/24/25. A timeline of an Epstein investigation. An article about a story/narrative that Trump threw Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago. I've read several different versions of how the friendship ended, and I have to wonder what is the truth. 

Update 11/13/25. Former Harvard President Larry Summers and professor Dershowitz are exposed in Epstein emails. The Harvard Crimson has been doing the most complete coverage. Summers discussed trying to have an affair. Dershowitz tries to make distance but emails don't help him. His suggestions on how to discredit a witness is disgusting. 

Update 12/9/2025. More revelations from Epstein emails. Wexner really did leave a lot of financial management and allocation in Epstein's hands. To me that doesn't look like a blackmail situation but offloading a chore onto someone eager to do it. 

Update 12/20/2025. The Epstein files were due to be released yesterday, but only about 1% of the gigabytes have been released. Due to all the reporting, I'm going down a rabbit hole. Found this video from Wired about open source information about the tracked visitors to Epstein's island. No names but fascinating how the information was put together. A former girlfriend whom Epstein allowed Trump to grope on a visit. A feisty girl who was friends with Epstein until he was sleazy with her friend. The first person to report Epstein to the FBI, an artist he hired. Her suit against the US government for negligence over his threats to her for years. Her interview telling how Epstein called her in for a late meeting and Trump showed up in a creepy way. A suit from a 13-year-old girl picked up by Epstein and Maxwell at the famous Interlocken Arts camp, with another Trump connection. 

Epstein was also important in Jewish and Israeli charitable work centered around the wealthy Wexner family whose finances he managed. 

Email from US Assistant Attorney about Trump flying more often on the Lolita Express than previously known. The dishonest Department of Justice pretended in the X post that all the accusations against Trump are being found to be unfounded. Uh, no. A collection of many story of Trump being a sleaze in a similar mold to Epstein.