The Red Sox loss is the Padres gain after signing Pivetta to a 4 year 55 million deal. He will be a welcomed addition to the Padres and help fill the void in their starting rotation. The Padres will need all the help they can get competing against a loaded Dodger's team made up of MVPs and All Stars..

Sadly, Mr. Sylvain Sylvain died in 2021.

Uh oh: https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/figure-ai-shuns-openai-brain

You "deactivated" your Twitter account without mentioning your backup account you didn't deactivate. That's what you meant, right? Facts are important, as you know, and it's crucial in these times when journalism is being degraded to tell the whole story. Fact check: you're still on Twitter, unless you've deactivated your backup account recently. Making a big show of going off Twitter looks performative to me.

You get upset when anyone fact checks you. You're supposed to be a journalist, yet you write that the Eagles were disinvited from the White House because of "racism." But the disinvitation, as evidenced by the very link you provided via NPR, was due to the fact that the Eagles organization would not promise that the team would stand with hand on heart for the national anthem. Once again, you are spreading misinformation.

My antics? What in the world are you talking about?

I too have had enough of your antics.

Why are you stalking my conversations with Noah, Ken?

I was inspired to log onto that platform with an old account I never deactivated. Seems you had plenty of disagreements with Noah. https://x.com/search?f=live&q=(from%3Asubbeck)%20(to%3Anoahpinion)&src=typed_query You were arguing with him about tipping and his supposed "commie perspective," and his last words to you were: "I don't know what you're talking about but I've had about enough of your antics, bubba" https://x.com/SubBeck/status/1638376198282567682

All I need to evaluate that publication is that Jenifer Rubin will be running it. Very easy call. As for Noahpinion, he bet me $100 that Trump would win the nomination, and I took DeSantis. And then for some reason—we'd had no disagreements—he blocked me well before the outcome was decided, thus relieving me of the obligation to pay up. I do appreciate that gift, but think I'll pass on this recommendation as well.

I'll return to a question asked by Russ: >>Isn’t all the “God” stuff a relic, more associated with William Jennings Bryan and Mike Pence?<< I don't think anyone can understand the Trump 2.0 administration, or where much of its support comes from, without paying attention to Christian nationalism, the New Apostolic Reformation, the Seven Mountain Mandate (which I've written about https://www.splicetoday.com/writing/the-threat-posed-by-demons ). At the moment, the Democrats have hit on complaining about billionaires and tech, but the conflict between a growing and extreme segment of Christianity and an otherwise increasingly nonreligious country is going to be intense. As for The Contrarian, those on this thread are welcome not to read it. By my lights, it's early days to evaluate it. At present, if I were to recommend Substacks (or partly Substack-based publications) my top picks would be: The Bulwark https://www.thebulwark.com/ Noahpinion https://www.noahpinion.blog/ Notes from the Middle Ground https://damonlinker.substack.com/ The Unpopulist https://www.theunpopulist.net/

Am trying to imagine how desperate I'd have to be to read even one piece in The Contrarian, which is not even named accurately. Contrary to what?

This is apparently the same money the EPA announced it was distributing in April 2024, which doesn't hold up the claim it was secret or rushed. https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-20-billion-grants-mobilize-private-capital-and-0

This is hilarious since it's published the morning we learn Biden's EPA transferred $20 billion the last week to unaccountable private funds in banks that would continue to fund their NGO sinecures. Trump doesn't demonize people. He demonizes the vermin who have long infested DC as parasites on the taxpayer. We threw the British government in Boston harbor for that. We need to throw fedcrats into the Potomac.

Musk claims DOGE's actions are "maximally transparent" and that "all of our actions are fully public". We will see over time how true his statements are. In my opinion DOGE should be as transparent as possible regarding the auditing of the agencies including a breakdown of their findings and proposed reforms. This auditing and proposal process is completely constitutional and falls within the oversight responsibilities of the executive branch. What may stretch the constitution to its limits is the executive branch assertiveness of Imposing reforms within the agencies in order to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse and implementing innovative measures to increase government efficiency within the agencies. These assertive measures taken by DOGE and the executive branch may bump up against the traditional legislative prerogatives of Congress. Ultimately these constitutional questions will likely be taken up by the Supreme Court.

Within the law regarding keeping DOGE's records shielded in this way? Maybe; I didn't say otherwise. I think the question of whether that opacity is a good thing remains. Whether it's overall activities are constitutional is a bigger question, as discussed (negatively) here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/02/11/trump-congress-courts-doge-musk/

The White House is operating entirely within the law. DOGE was reorganized under the Executive Office of the President which means it falls under the Presidential Records Act which allows the public access to Presidential records including DOGE records through the Freedom of Information Act beginning five years after the end of the administration...https://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/laws/1978-act.html

Update: "The White House has designated Elon Musk’s office, United States DOGE Service, as an entity insulated from public records requests or most judicial intervention until at least 2034." https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/us/politics/trump-musk-doge-foia-public-records.html?unlocked_article_code=1.wU4.GAVH.yDpCecbw41c8&smid=url-share

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Who audits DOGE?

It is quite illuminating but perhaps not surprising to see Democrat politicians and journalists on the left in full blown panic mode over the prospects of DOGE running a thorough audit of the federal governments administrative agencies. An audit by definition is "a methodical examination and review" or "a formal examination of an organization's or individual's accounts or financial situation." For the governmental agencies this means an account of the tax dollars coming in to fund the agencies measured against that agencies listed expenditures. If there is a discrepancy in the agency funding and its expenditures or if the expenditures are not pertinent to the mission of the agency including frivolous and corrupt expenditures then the agency needs to be called out for its malfeasance and then reformed.. When it comes to audits the Democrats should know this best of all since they sponsored and signed into law the 2022 reconciliation bill which increased the funding of the IRS to the tune of 80 billion with the stated goal of adding 87,000 employees to its agency with the intent of going after U.S workers and businesses that are suspected of violating the tax codes and then having those workers and businesses defend themselves through an audit to prove that they are compliant with federal tax laws. By auditing the agencies what DOGE is doing is holding the administrative agencies to the same standard that those of us in the private sector have to live by..

1. Don't use periods ("D.O.G.E.") unless you plan to say it one letter at a time. 2. Don't be surprised if the unconstitutional thing that's insulated from congressional or judicial oversight ends up not doing what you want it to do ("huge budget cuts," which incidentally can't be gotten by a focus on laying off federal workers).

Yes, I'm not particularly happy with the IRS refund example I gave, as it may give misinpression that it's high on my current list of concerns, which in any case is evolving rapidly.

The IRS has never issued refunds in a timely fashion or for that matter been known for answering the phone when people call for assistance. So blaming that on DOGE is like saying egg prices are still high 3 weeks after Trump assumed office.

God bless Steven J. Giardini for his engagement with this piece; we've an exchange starting at https://x.com/MUGGER2023/status/1889029258237841414 .

This is great. please add a blusky link one of these days.

Just saw it yesterday. She was terrific.

Kamala Harris makes a surprise SNL cameo appearance on the weekend before the election and gets rewarded with a slobbery kiss from SNL and their informal endorsement. Unlike the SNL portrayal of Kamala from early in October where she was humorously mocked this appearance was a cringe inducing fawning over her by SNL which came across as contrived and particularly unfunny ..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff-rqlU4ZWw...I'm sure this Kamala SNL appearance and portrayal by Maya Rudolph got Howard Sterns full approval though.. .For a minute there I thought SNL was getting back to it's roots of prioritizing comedy and being funny but I guess I jumped the gun on that. For SNL it is back to their primary objective of being left wing propagandists..

There was a time when the politically incorrect Howard Stern tested the social boundaries with his unique and edgy form of humor. In recent years Howard Stern has become a tyrannical establishment weasel. During the Covid-19 epidemic he said "When are we gonna stop putting up with the idiots in this country and just say it's mandatory to get vaccinated? F--- 'em. F--- their freedom. I want my freedom to live," He said this months after the data proved that the Covid vaccine did not prevent people from getting infected or from becoming infectious... In this recent butt kissing interview with Kamala Harris he criticized SNL comedian Maya Rudolph"s mocking portrayal of Kamala saying " I hate it. I don't want you being made fun of." How dare comedy get in the way of his political agenda. What a sad pathetic stooge Howard Stern has become.

Their best album. I will never stop listening to it.

Decades ago, I was at a party in my uncle's Manhattan high-rise apartment when the building suddenly filled with smoke and we had to evacuate down the stairs. My uncle grabbed a Picasso lithograph, and I grabbed a big tray of roast beef.

Great pic of Riverrun. Really miss that place!

In college I had a bartending job at Steak and Ale. Tips were good so I always had a couple hundred bucks in my wallet. It felt good to be a student and be able to walk into any restaurant that I felt like dining at. I rarely did that, but it was still a good feeling to know that I could.

As former Friendly's waitress of the year, Friendly's is always a yes. Wattamelon roll FTW

Loved Friendly's growing up in NJ. Fribble, hot-dog on toasted buttered roll, and fries was a great way to go. I also miss the diners with jukeboxes. After a night of drinking, your party could get anything from breakfast to a hot open-faced turkey sandwich at one place at 2 AM. Diners are considered a theme restaurant here in Texas and a poor facsimile at that. I like Five guys fries but they obviously don't compare to Nathan's fries. I always thought Roy Rodgers was best quality of those chains but haven't seen one in decades and good riddance to Arthur Treachers! If you're going with fried food, why choose fish? Last time I had Ritz crackers was when my girls were young, and they would suck/drool them soggy while in their car seats. Good cracker though, when dry

Oh I see it's Booker. Is that another child? How big is your tribe?

Is this you Russ? Were you cute in your 20s too?