The Crossing

Crossing Guardian Angel, Throwing Shade at Tourists

"Five days a week, in the bright early mornings of September and the creeping twilight of February afternoons, Richard Henderson, crossing guard, oversaw those arrivals, holding hands, bumping fists, hollering at traffic, picking up dropped homework. 'My man, Wilder,' he would call out to a 4-year-old boy. 'Spider-Man,' he’d chuckle at the preschooler clutching for dear life a figurine of his favorite superhero. 'Miss Seattle,' he’d address a third-grade girl, a new student from the West Coast who loyally wore a Seahawks cap every day." This is the story of a crossing guard. It's the story of how people from different backgrounds can cross the chasm and find commonality. Yes, it's also about senseless violence and how a man who kept kids safe from the streets was felled by those streets. But it's also about something that, if you spend enough time reading the news and listening to the politicians, you could forget even exists anymore. Human connection. NYT (Gift Article): Farewell, and Thanks, to a Man Who Kept Kids Safe.

2

Asking For It

Want to get access to the most accurate appraisal of what a second Trump term would bring? Here's what you do: Ask him. That's what Eric Cortellessa did: "What emerged in two interviews with Trump, and conversations with more than a dozen of his closest advisers and confidants, were the outlines of an imperial presidency that would reshape America and its role in the world. To carry out a deportation operation designed to remove more than 11 million people from the country, Trump told me, he would be willing to build migrant detention camps and deploy the U.S. military, both at the border and inland. He would let red states monitor women’s pregnancies and prosecute those who violate abortion bans. He would, at his personal discretion, withhold funds appropriated by Congress, according to top advisers. He would be willing to fire a U.S. Attorney who doesn’t carry out his order to prosecute someone, breaking with a tradition of independent law enforcement that dates from America’s founding. He is weighing pardons for every one of his supporters accused of attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, more than 800 of whom have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a jury. He might not come to the aid of an attacked ally in Europe or Asia if he felt that country wasn’t paying enough for its own defense. He would gut the U.S. civil service, deploy the National Guard to American cities as he sees fit, close the White House pandemic-preparedness office, and staff his Administration with acolytes who back his false assertion that the 2020 election was stolen." Time: How Far Trump Would Go. "Whether or not he was kidding about bringing a tyrannical end to our 248-year experiment in democracy, I ask him, Don’t you see why many Americans see such talk of dictatorship as contrary to our most cherished principles? Trump says no. Quite the opposite, he insists. 'I think a lot of people like it.'" (Let's hope, come November, we learn that a lot more people don't.)

+ After being held in contempt of court, Donald Trump was fined $9K and forced to remove a handful of social media posts. I don't think I've come across a single person on social media who shouldn't face that penalty. And he's the worst one ever. Hopefully, one day the punishment will fit the crime.

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Throwing Shade at Tourists

"Venice isn’t only sinking, it’s shrinking. In the 1970s, there were about 175,000 residents in Centro Storico, the main island and historic center of Venice. As of last year, that number was below 50,000. What has been growing steadily is tourism, which due to economic and quality-of-life pressure, has been pushing out residents. In fact, there are now more tourist beds in Venice than there are residents. Last year, 20 million people visited, winding their way through its two square miles." So, in an effort to stem (however slightly) the flow of tourists, Venice started charging a 5€ fee to day trippers who want to access the city. Whether the move eases crowding or turns Venice into (more of) a theme park remains to be seen. What is clear is that Venice is merely facing an extreme example of a plague that is confounding cities around the world: Over-tourism. For one pretty amazing illustration of this issue, let's head to Fujikawaguchiko, Japan (but for that town's sake, let's not physically head there). "Known for a number of scenic photo spots that offer a near-perfect shot of Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji, the town on Tuesday began constructing a large black screen on a stretch of a sidewalk to block the view of the mountain. The reason: misbehaving foreign tourists."

4

The Bee All End All

"I noticed the first bee one afternoon as my dog gleefully chased it around the house. When the pest settled on a window by the stairwell, I swatted it with a cookbook and cleaned up the mess. Five minutes later, another bee buzzed at the same window. Then a third in my kids’ room. When I heard a loud droning coming from inside a wall next to my son’s bed, the ominous situation finally hit me: The house was infested." So you're house has been infested by insects that no one will kill. Who you gonna call? NYT (Gift Article): Honeybees Invaded My House, and No One Would Help.

+ "Saylor had complained of 'monsters in the wall' of her room at their farmhouse in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her mother, Ashley Massis Class, and her husband thought nothing of it. They had after all just shown their daughter the Pixar movie, Monsters, Inc." A little girl said monsters were in her bedroom. It was 60,000 bees.

5

Extra, Extra

Cheech and Long: "The agency’s move, confirmed to the AP on Tuesday by five people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive regulatory review, clears the last significant regulatory hurdle before the agency’s biggest policy change in more than 50 years can take effect." US drug control agency will move to reclassify marijuana in a historic shift. It's crazy it's taken this long to come to the conclusion that pot is not as dangerous as heroin.

+ U Doth Protest Too Much? It's official. The protests about a war are getting a lot more coverage than the actual war. CNN: Protests disrupt colleges across the US. One of the most remote (and most surprising and most aggressive) protests is happening in a place that we'd usually associate with the story above. "When university administrators across the nation worry about the potential fallout from campus protests, they may have Siemens Hall in mind. The building, at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, includes the campus president’s office and has been occupied for a week by pro-Palestinian protesters who barricaded themselves inside and fought off an early attempt by police to remove them." I'm all for the freedom to protest. But here's one thought that sticks in my mind. Some people NYC and elsewhere were tearing down posters of Israeli hostages before Israel even responded the Oct 7 attack.

+ Bibi Gun: I'm sure I'll receive some wildly antisemitic responses to that thought (or maybe even be called pro-genocide). After all, someone recently accused me of being supportive of the Netanyahu government, which is about as accurate as calling me a Trump apologist. Now, with a ceasefire seemingly close, Bibi seems determined to torpedo it. Israeli PM Netanyahu says Rafah attack will happen regardless of deal. If you think Bibi is extreme, you should hear the lunatics with whom he's formed his hellish coalition.

+ Alice in Sunderland: "Nearly 40 million families, or 29% of the population, fall in the category of ALICE — Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — according to United Way’s United for ALICE program, which first coined the term to refer to households earning above the poverty line but less than what’s needed to get by."

+ Connecting the Nots: "When COVID-19 hit and the sheer scope of the digital divide in America became clear, Congress moved quickly to create an emergency fund to help people pay for internet access. That fund later grew into what’s known as the Affordable Connectivity Program, a $30 monthly benefit that more than 23 million low-income households." Millions of Americans are about to lose internet access, and Congress is to blame.

+ Sub Zero: "'Being 'underway' on a sub, the sailors say, is like working in a small office space with no windows, no way to leave, no Wi-Fi and zero cell service. Crucial military decisions are made entirely on the boat, with no outside communication." NYT (Gift Article) with a very cool (and very cold) look Inside a Navy Submarine Navigating the Arctic.

+ YA Titillated: "Young adult fiction such as The Hunger Games, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and the Heartstopper graphic novels might be aimed at teenagers – but new research has shown that more than a quarter of readers of YA in the UK are over the age of 28."

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Bottom of the News

"'Hmm, let’s see. How about we continue exploring our fantasies and desires together? We could keep talking about all the naughty things we want to do to each other, or we could take it up a notch and turn those fantasies into reality.' Soon Dan was entering Christian Grey territory: 'How about I fulfill that fantasy of yours where I dominate you completely?'" I Tricked ChatGPT Into Being My Boyfriend. He Got Spicy Real Fast.

+ Zero luggage lost: Japan's Kansai Airport keeps 30-year record going.