Termination Dust is an Alaskan phrase that refers to first snow of the season, which many local workers viewed as a sign that their seasonal gigs would be coming to an end. Maybe the antiquated term will be updated later this week when Trump welcomes Putin to Alaska, in a move that threatens the termination of American values and the turning its global leadership to dust. The Atlantic(Gift Article): Trump Invites Putin to Set Foot in America. "Vladimir Putin is coming to America, despite the international warrant for the Russian president’s arrest, despite his years of hostile threats against NATO, and despite him showing no remorse for his invasion of a sovereign nation." Putin, who has usually responded to Trump's demands and threats by increasing attacks on Ukraine, has made no concessions to gain this summit, but has much to gain by attending it. As Heather Cox Richardson summarizes, "Putin generally cannot travel outside Russia because he has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, including the theft of Ukrainian children. And yet Trump is welcoming him to the United States of America." Maybe Trump is as sickened by the thought of Putin on US soil as the rest of us. On Monday, Trump repeatedly told reporters that he was traveling to Russia to meet with Putin. Who will have the upper hand in this negotiation between Putin and Trump (and his real estate friend Steve Witkoff, the administration's newbie negotiating point person across multiple global conflicts)? At this point, it's not even clear they have different goals. Something tells me we're not going to like what we see when the dust settles.
+ Meanwhile, "President Trump significantly escalated his efforts to exert federal authority over the nation’s capital on Monday, saying that he was temporarily taking control of the city’s police department and deploying 800 National Guard troops to fight crime there. At a White House news conference, the president painted a dystopian picture of Washington — including 'bloodthirsty criminals' and 'roving mobs of wild youth' — that stood in sharp contrast to official figures showing violent crime in the city is at a 30-year low." Trump Orders National Guard to Washington and Takeover of Capital’s Police. Is the low DC crime rate just a figment of fake news imagination? No, but one imagines the Justice Department will be deleting this page posted to its website just a few months ago: Violent Crime in D.C. Hits 30 Year Low. Long story short, Trump is deploying troops against an imaginary enemy in DC before heading to Alaska to surrender to a real one.
2
Maid to Order
"Over the past decade, practitioners of euthanasia have become as familiar as orthodontists or plastic surgeons are with the mundane rituals of lanyards and drink tickets and It’s been so longs outside the ballroom of a four-star hotel. The difference is that, 10 years ago, what many of the attendees here do for work would have been considered homicide." Canada has legalized what it calls MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying). On the most basic level, providing terminally ill patients with a say about their end of life decisions seems like a good and long overdue policy. But the policy is surfacing details and edge cases that lawmakers hadn't considered. Elaina Plott Calabro in The Atlantic (Gift Article) with a very interesting look at an evolving law: Canada Is Killing Itself. "The country gave its citizens the right to die. Doctors are struggling to keep up with demand."
3
And the Horse You Code In On
For years, young people with aspirations for future employment were advised to get a computer science degree. The demand for coders was insatiable. But then the coders already in the business created AI that can do a lot of the coding itself. And just like that, for many the computer science major turned into a major bummer. NYT (Gift Article): Goodbye, $165,000 Tech Jobs. Student Coders Seek Work at Chipotle. Just consider how unimaginable these stats would have seemed back when today's college graduates were choosing their majors. "Among college graduates ages 22 to 27, computer science and computer engineering majors are facing some of the highest unemployment rates, 6.1 percent and 7.5 percent respectively, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That is more than double the unemployment rate among recent biology and art history graduates, which is just 3 percent." (Hey, it could be worse. I spent my life perfecting the art of providing quick, clear summaries of vast amounts of information spread across the internet.)
4
Dial Tone
"An event will take place on September 30 that most people assume happened years ago: AOL will discontinue its dial-up internet service. If you're wondering just how many dial-up users are still out there, the answer is not many: the figure was 'in the low thousands' as of 2021." AOL to discontinue dial-up internet service after 34 years.
5
Extra, Extra
Cashing in Your Chips: "Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices are expected to pay the United States 15 percent of the money they take in from selling artificial intelligence chips to China, as part of a highly unusual financial agreement with the Trump administration." NYT: U.S. Government to Take Cut of Nvidia and AMD A.I. Chip Sales to China. As the WSJ (Gift Article) explains: The U.S. Marches Toward State Capitalism With American Characteristics. "A generation ago conventional wisdom held that as China liberalized, its economy would come to resemble America’s. Instead, capitalism in America is starting to look like China."
+ It's Good to Be the King: While the US government is taking a cut of the chip business, the Trumps are cashing in on everything else. How much is Trump pocketing off the Presidency? In The New Yorker, David D. Kirkpatrick takes a crack at adding things up. The Number. (He got to about $3.4 billion, and counting...)
+ Arms Race: "None of this is new ... but [it's] in the midst of an upgrade that adds one crucial element: arms." The Verge: Inside the automated warehouse where robots are packing your groceries.
+ Suffragette Lag: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reposted and praised a video interview of a self-described Christian nationalist pastor whose church doesn't believe women should be allowed to vote ... In the CNN interview, Wilson also defended previous comments where he had said there was mutual affection between slaves and their masters. He also said that sodomy should be recriminalized." (As crazy as you think these guys are, they're crazier.)
+ Ebola Mode: "The Trump administration has said that it’s just reorganizing the bureaucracy and is prepared to handle biothreats. But our experience suggests otherwise. Without a leader from the NSC embedded in the White House and ready to coordinate other agencies, more people—including Americans—will get sick and die." No One in the White House Knows How to Stop Ebola.
+ If The Suit Fits: Ski jumping’s suit-cheating saga rolls on as 5 Norwegians are charged. "The International Ski and Snowboard Federation said star ski jumpers Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang, two coaches and a member of the service staff were formally charged as part of an investigation into 'equipment manipulation.'" (I'm old enough to remember when Equipment Manipulation was a late night movie on Cinemax.)
6
Bottom of the News
"Pickles are virtually everywhere. Popeyes released a limited-time pickle menu in April, which featured pickle glaze sandwiches, wings and lemonade. Cup Noodles debuted pickle ramen in June, encouraging customers to pair the noodles with a crunchy pickle spear. Pringles, Cheetos and Goldfish are selling their own versions of pickle-flavored snacks. The ubiquity has deepened America’s divide over the already polarizing snack as haters find them harder to avoid." America’s Great Pickle Divide.
+ "A group of burglars has broken into a Los Angeles store, taking thousands of dollars worth of Labubu dolls, which have surged in popularity this year among both children and adults, including celebrities."
Maid to Order….I unfortunately predict the govt will set up these Maid-type services at the door of ice torture chambers….and at departing flights….
Also—I imagine statistics show that ICE arrests in Blue states is much higher than the arrests made in Red states. Another avenue for seats. Horrid all.