DON’T STEP ON A BEE DAY UPDATES
We Need a Holiday to Remind Us This is a Good Idea?
-The first few updates today have a theme: bad things happening, followed by reactions that, instead of either trying to make the bad things less bad or to try to prevent similar bad things from happening, feature counter-measures that will potentially create other bad things – but bad things with a certain absurdism or cheap entertainment value attached to them. Needless to say, the reactions to the bad things are being done by our current slate of Trumpers and other Republicans – which is to say, Trumpers. Gird your loins …
-We start, again, in Texas, where the death toll of the flash flooding now stands at 121 – the deadliest flash floods in the last 50 years nationally – with at least 171 more people missing, mostly in Kerr County where it is being revealed a series of federal and state screw-ups made such a disaster likely inevitable. Those missteps include the already-known cuts to personnel in weather agencies that could have sent earlier and more forceful warnings, as well as the summer camp that was where many of the dead and missing were swept away being built in an area known for flooding – and that the county had turned down grants to create flood warning sirens and refused to try to raise taxes to fund such systems.
-Add to that stories that the unctuous Senator Ted Cruz (R-Cancun) first heard of the disaster while vacationing in Greece – after reportedly finding a way to cut even more monies to weather agencies in the Big Bill O’Crap he was celebrating with the trip. And the person specifically deigned to lead such rescue efforts, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi “How’s My Hair – SHUT THAT PUPPY UP!” Noem, did not respond to the situation for at least 72 hours, in part reportedly because she was dealing with the pressing issue of her formal portrait and how it would look (but the country of Mexico DID, sending a rescue crew to one of the scenes).
-So, in this situation, one would think hearings and acknowledgments about the situation would be happening left and right. Instead, Cruz showboated, Noem echoed head House Lapdog Mike Johnson in throwing up their hands because God couldn’t stop the storm (but did save hundreds of others, according to Noem – raising the question of if she thought those that have died were hated by God), and the Texas Legislature deciding now was the time to call a special session – not to do anything about rescue or reflection, but to re-re-gerrymander Federal voting maps to help Trump hold control of the House in 2026 and rid them of one of the most forceful critics of Trump, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Heroine).
-The Federal Government is not helping either. Oh, sure, they are also reacting to the damage in Texas with hearings – just not on what happened and is happening in the state. No, the House Republicans MAGA Cultists have instead opened hearings they believe are critical to 2025 America: subpoenaing and forcing testimony from former President Joe Biden’s doctor. You see, this hack’s hack of a “reporter” named Tapp Jaker or something like that published a SHOCKING! Expose that explored whether BIDEN B OLD – and guess what? BIDEN B OLD! So House MAGAts decided to explore just how BIDEN B OLD in a hearing, and was told to F off by his doctors because of doctor-patient confidentiality.
-And don’t expect the titular head of our current Government to talk about Texas either. Sure, Trump will apparently be dragflying there tomorrow, but the week has been packed with displays of cognitive impairment (stopping one of his suck-me-off Cabinet meetings with an unasked-for diatribe on painting stuff gold in the White House – because KLASSY WITH A K, Trump is), teeth-grinding embarrassment (being astonished that people from the African country of Liberia speak perfect English … because English is the official language of Liberia), tiny pud inflating (required of all the African leaders to supplicate Dear Leader), and above all else …
-… diverting attention from the lack of releasing of any more files involving investigations into Trump and his BFF for over 20 years, Pedophile of the Century Jeffrey Epstein. The MAGA Entertainment Edifice continues to wail and cry over Trump’s decision to not release the files (though again, most hosts simply CANNOT figure out WHYOHWHYOHWHY Trump would stop the Epstein Files from being released, though there is also a consensus that the person who may need to fall on some sort of sword over this will be the girl: Attorney General Pam Bondi.
-But you can also bet you can divert attention by yelling SQUIRREL! In this case, the squirrels Trump are yelling are named (former CIA Director John) BRENNAN and former FBI director James COMEY! To show he is in control … or something … Trump ordered Bondi the Department of Justice to investigate those two men for events that go back to the 2016 Presidential Primary to placate Trump over his insistence all of his elections except 2024’s were RIIIIIGDED! The command went so far as to order Comey to be tailed by Federal snoops, in part because of his 8647 seashell-composed photo that became viral, in part because to Team Trump, there is literally nothing else as important as Defending Dear Leader.
-And if it’s Trump, there are also tariffs to at least temporarily assess. When we last left Tuesday, Trump had been issuing what appears to be dozens of letters – written in exactly the same arbitrary capitalized spelling, cartoon belligerence, and wee tiny foot-stomping petulance as his social media posts – were being sent to dozens of countries, varying the formula to give countries three weeks instead of two to comply.
-But among the letters was a Very Special Letter that is attempting to take Trump’s MAGA-given and SCOTUS-enforced Power to Do Whatever He Wants Because He is a Very Special Prezident that is flagrantly unconstitutional (I know, I know, but we have to call it out), economically ridiculous, and reeking of 19th century conquest were it not for the guy trying to do it.
-The Very Special Tariff Letter was sent to the country of Brazil, where Special Dear Leader announced that a 50% tariff was going to be assessed to that country – not because of anything involving trade (because Brazil runs a trade surpluswith the U.S.), but because the current government of Brazil is about to put former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro on trial for … get this … trying to overthrow the election in which he lost (WHAAAAA? YOU CAN DO THAT?!) … and Bolsonaro was called “Brazil’s Trump,” so America’s Trump naturally feels all Alpha and Macho and Manly himself, so up go tariffs on that country on August 1 unless they release his bud Jair. All that is expected, besides likely court cases, is Brazil building bigger relationships with China, as are many other less developed countries in reaction to the STUPIDSTUPID GOPMAGATrump Tariffs.
-It’s dizzying. I know that. But it is also vast overreach and, given the people executing all the orders to keep Trump happy, incredibly incompetent and bone-cold stupid.
-Finally, we move to Ukraine, where there is something unexpected happening – but it is happening in the wake of a week of bombardments of Ukrainian cities by Russia that are among the worst, if not the worst, since Russia’s invasion began in 2022. The bombings increased, it seems in large part, on an apparent decision by the United States to stop shipments of weapons and ammunition to the country, in some cases shipments that were in mid-packing from bases in Poland and other American bases in Europe.
-The decision to stop the shipments was a unilateral one first attributed to embarrassing Secretary of Defense Drunky McHoneyPotAnyone? Pete Hegseth, then traced further to an underling of Hegseth’s, Eldredge Colby, who has about the same level of respect in the Pentagon as Hegseth does … which is miniscule at best. Neither Colby nor Hegseth informed the White House of the pause, however, and Trump has ordered that the shipments be resumed, which as of this writing they have.
-That order by Trump came in part after a conversation with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, and in part because of what many continue to suspect may be a break between former BFFs Trump and Vladimir Putin. Trump being told about the death toll in Ukraine is combining with something in his dulled brain goo firing just enough to realize Putin may think Trump is a fool (WHAAAAA?!?!) and Trump going “EYE DUHN LYE-KIT!” as well as some intel finally getting through to the White House that Putin is losing.
-Indeed, another round of purges and “suicides” and clumsy movement around windows has been taking place in the last week, as Putin apparently fears a new bill by Senators Richard Blumenthal and Lindsay Graham that would forward Russian oligarch monies currently frozen thanks to sanctions to Ukraine – a move that would Not Be Good for ol’ Vlad.
-Whether New Acting President Stephen Miller will allow that remains to be seen, but for now … SLAVA UKRAINI!
-It’s been a little while since we’ve noted a Petty Atrocity, but with the mention of Current President Miller, there is something that happened that deserves the Petty Atrocity notation, and it involves Former President Elon Musk – and if you are an internet nerd of friend of decency, you may know where this is going! You see, among may of Musk’s struggling ventures is his version of artificial intelligence awkwardly called Grok, and Grok itself is awkward to Musk because if you typed a question into Grok about some of Musk’s ventures or Trump’s misdeeds or even basic questions about legislation, the answers coming out of it were generally true but WAY embarrassing for Ketamine Man.
-That cannot stand, so Musk showily announced he would (get his people to) reprogram Grok to spit out answers to questions more in line with Musk. And it did. WOW, it did. Grok turned into a literal pro-Nazi anti-Jewish racist A.F. chat bot – and started to put those answers onto one of Apartheid Boy’s other ventures, the garbage scow social media network formerly known as Twitter.
-The results – from praising Adolph Hitler for being one of the best decision-makers ever to other Nazi trolls going berserk in praise of this new Grok all over X – were so brutal that Grok was taken off line, its algorithms re-designed a second time, and perhaps forcing X CEO Linda Yaccarino to resign (though there’s some iffiness about that last one). It seems that Grok – or, as it literally renamed itself in its hate-fest posting spree, “MechaHitler” – has calmed down, but as a result another wave of exits from X has begun, to the point where Meta’s X/Twitter competitor Threads has drawn even in users (though engagement numbers in those platforms actually pale in comparison with the Bluesky platform), and earning E today’s Petty Atrocity of the day.
-After all that, do we need a hero – and the ultimate hero is making a comeback on movie screens this weekend, as the James Gunn SUPERMAN movie premieres. SUPERMAN is getting strong reviews, estimates it may open with $200 million box office in the United States alone – and, because they live in utter misery and must always attempt to crap on anything they see as nice and diverse and human, withering criticism from MAGAts everywhere.
-Why, you ask? Because people like harassing dimwit Jesse Watters believe Superman is too woke – too nice to people of color and the downtrodden and, worst of all, immigrants. Superman would NEVER be nice to immigrants, Watters and MAGAt ex-Superbore Dean Cain claim, ignoring the most obvious thing one can say about Superman: HE IS LITERALLY AN ALIEN trying to fit in to a world that he fits awkwardly in and whose gifts aren’t necessarily accepted by the rest of the world.
-Given that Project 2025, the Big Bill O’Crap, over 40 years of Republicanism, and their Dear Leader all stand in opposition to all of that, it stands to reason that MAGA is not likely to like this Superman – especially since the movie’s plot plays on all those themes. And that being against all of the above would mean that MAGA’s true rooting interest in the movie would be the industrialist bad guy Lex Luthor, well, if anything makes MAGA mad, it’s probably good for the rest of us. So it’s not a bird or a plane, it’s a movie and it looks like it’s gonna be fun – especially since it’s the only Superman movie in my lifetime that gives prominent time to Superdog Krypto, whose name also stands as a sly F U to much about Trumpism.
-Get the extra butter on the popcorn – but not before today’s trivia!
-NEWS ON THIS DATE: In 1925, the Scopes monkey trial defending the theory of evolution, featuring a courtroom battle between Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan, began. In 1968, the supergroup Cream broke up. In 1985, French intelligence agents sunk the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior while in New Zealand, killing a photographer. In 1991, Boris Yeltsin became President of Russia. In 2018, the last of 12 youth soccer players trapped by a flood in a cave in Thailand were rescued. In 2019, the last Volkswagen Beetle rolled off the assembly line.
-DEBUTS ON THIS DATE: The Battle of Britain (1940), YOUR HIT PARADE on television (1950), three-point seatbelts (1962), The Rolling Stones at Number One on the charts (with – what else? – “Satisfaction,” 1965), The Bahamas (1973), a black person anchoring the U.S. evening news (Max Robinson on ABC, 1978), ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981), the Shazam! song-identifying app (2008).
-HAPPY BIRTHDAY: John Calvin, Camille Pissarro, Nikola Tesla, Marcel Proust, Mary McLeod Bethune, Don Herbert, David Brinkley, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Harvey Ball, Earl Hamner, Jr., Jean Kerr, Bobo Brazil, Fred Gwynne, David Dinkins, Pete Carrill, Alice Munro, Jerry Herman, Mavis Staples, Arthur Ashe, Ron Glass, Virginia Wade, Sue Lyon, Arlo Guthrie, Greg Kihn, Rik Emmett, Andre Dawson, Gene Holder, Neil Tennant, Cindy Sheehan, Bela Fleck, Roger Craig, Urban Meyer, Sofia Vergara, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Imelda May, Adrian Grenier, Elijah Blue Allman, Vivek Murthy, Gong Yoo, Jessica Simpson, Thomas Ian Nichols, and Moo Deng.
-REST IN PEACE/POWER: El Cid, Louis-Jacques Daguerre, Clement Moore, Jelly Roll Morton, Arthur Fiedler, John Hammond, Mel Blanc, Gerome Ragni, Earl Strum, Omar Sharif, Roger Rees, Jim Bouton, Dave Loggins, and today, Frank Layden.
-FEED THE WORMS: Legs Diamond entered Earth on this date.
-Jake LaMotta was born on this date. You decide if he gets a Happy Birthday or if he Feeds the Worms.
-TODAY’S MUSICAL INTERLUDE: On this date in 1962, the first communications satellite entered Earth orbit. It inspired this number one instrumental: