No, but she probably has as many fans in Gaza or Israel. But that’s not really the point I was hoping to make.

My original comment is not because I think she has more pull, but because I resent celebrities pulling the “Oh, me and my wealth cannot change anything because the problem is too big! Instead of investing my time and money, I’ll just kick the can up to governments so I don’t have to commit any serious effort myself.” My attitude goes back to an interview I heard with Bono of U2. He was traveling Africa at the time with U.S. diplomats to encourage spending of U.S. taxpayer money to solve problems there, and it was/is a worthy cause. However, when asked by an interviewer, “You’re very influential and your concert tours make millions. Couldn’t you put on a charity tour to raise money for this cause?” " Oh, no," he responded. “This problem is much too big for any single person. It requires the kinds of investments only governments are capable of.”

So yeah, got it. My taxpayer money can fund a very wealthy Irishman’s dreams of how to improve the world (again, they were good dreams), and all he wants to do about it is travel the world doing publicity with diplomats, spending other people’s money. Couldn’t be arsed to put any actual work time in. Only believed in the dream enough to make others pay for it.

I see Madonna making a similar play here. “Hey, look at me, guys! Now go tell the Pope to tell Israel to stop!” I mean, I don’t know what sway she thinks the Pope has in Israel, or why the Pope should care what a former Catholic thinks he should do, and I’m not going to complain if he makes a plea for the end to this Palestinian Holocaust, but she’s wealthy and has her own influence. I’d like to see more effort on her part before she starts telling world leaders what to do in public forums. Based on her long history of courting controversy for publicity, her message to the Pope is just pandering to her dwindling fans until she invests more effort than a social media post. If the wealthy lady wants that kind of power to call on world leaders, then I need to see her making big donations publicly, marching with protestors, making public rally speeches. Not this “I was a big deal 30-40 years ago” vibe.

It’d keep Congress too busy to pass more of their garbage right wing 2025 nonsense, at least for a while.

The very first one, First Blood, seems to have been a great prequel. And ordered correctly, too.

Why would the Pope have any greater sway in Gaza than Madonna? Perhaps she should be the solution she seeks in others?

Remember back when the U.S. government had to go to the international hacker community to try and hack an iPhone about 10 years ago? I remember, and Pepperidge Farms remember. Maybe they’ve added backdoors since then, but there hasn’t been any evidence of that, and it wouldn’t be able to be kept quiet for very long of there were. You’re collecting down votes, but I don’t think you’re wrong.

What are some good Canadian and/or Mexican pharmacies near the border I can make a road trip out of? Asking for, uh, for a friend.

Most employers will only ever answer the question of whether or not you were ever employed there. Beyond that, they risk being sued by former employees.

I’ve struggled with this line of thinking, myself. Sure, you’re taking their money, which is a plus, but you’re also encouraging the things that make them so disagreeable to begin with. Do the ends justify the means?

"Authorities believe an osprey, a fish-eating bird of prey, was flying overhead when it dropped its catch midflight.

“The fish struck power lines, producing sparks that ignited dry grass below, triggering the fire.”

I mean, they seem to have that last part down.

Thank you! TIL

He was the new, not-a-war-fabricating-criminal American president. That’s it. It shouldn’t be enough imho, but nobody claimed that what I think matters here. Lots of people had renewed hope and optimism, including the Swedish governing body over the Nobel Prizes, based on his not being Bush. Eight years later, that hope and optimism didn’t pay out the way people anticipated, so I personally would suggest that the committee spoke too soon on the topic. But I do remember the peace I felt with that hope and optimism, so there’s that, I suppose. And watching the proto-MAGAs in my office lose their mind at the actions of an independent, private, Swedish organization’s actions as though they deserved a say in the matter was entertaining.

I admit, it wasn’t on my 2025 bingo card, either.

One of the most astute comments I’ve ever read.

“It’s one banana, Michael. What could it cost? Ten dollars?”

If anyone is asking, I’ll be offering $300/hr software development services to fix AI generated code.

I tried out Firefox on my phone a year or two ago. I had a number of issues, including accessing secure pages for work. I have little doubt that it wasn’t Firefox at fault so much as it was narrow testing by website developers, but the end result was problems for me regardless of who was at fault, so I switched back to Chrome.

Weekend Bernie’s does not get the recognition it deserves! Such an amazing/stupid movie that I haven’t seen in far too long.

Goodbye

O