Across The Universe, Cont. -- Barred Spiral Galaxy

 

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From NASA/ ESA, April 23, 2025: The Hubble Space Telescope captured in exquisite detail a face-on view of a remarkable-looking galaxy. NGC 5335 is categorized as a flocculent spiral galaxy with patchy streamers of star formation across its disk. There is a striking lack of well-defined spiral arms that are commonly found among galaxies, including our Milky Way. A notable bar structure slices across the center of the galaxy. The bar channels gas inwards toward the galactic center, fueling star formation. Such bars are dynamic in galaxies and may come and go over two-billion-year intervals. They appear in about 30 percent of observed galaxies, including our Milky Way.

[Image description: Barred spiral galaxy NGC 5335 observed by the Hubble Space Telescope takes up the majority of the view. At its center is a milky yellow, flattened oval that extends bottom left to top. Within the oval is a bright central region that looks circular, with the very center the brightest. In the bright central region is what looks like a bar, extending from top left to bottom right. Around this is a thick swath of blue stars speckled with white regions. Multiple arms wrap up and around in a counterclockwise direction, becoming fainter the farther out they are. Both the white core and the spiral arms are intertwined with dark streaks of dust. The background of space is black. Thousands of distant galaxies in an array of colors are speckled throughout.]

Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI

 

Today's Cartoons

 

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(Gary Markstein, Creators.com)

(Lee Judge, King Features)

(Pedro Molina, Counterpoint)

(David Horsey, The Seattle Times)

(Clay Jones, claytoonz.com)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(Dave Granlund, politicalcartoons.com)

(Mike Smith, Las Vegas Sun)

(Michael Ramirez, Las Vegas Review-Journal)

(John Darkow, Columbia Missourian)

(Peter Brookes, Sunday Times, London)

(Christian Adams, The Telegraph, London)

(Joe Dator, @airmailweekly)

QOTD: Not Scared Enough

 

S.V. Date, writing in the Huffington Post, listing the reasons that the Malignant Fascist's actions in the first 100 days into his second term should prompt fear for the preservation of our democracy:

"However scared you might be for our democracy, you are not scared enough.

"The president of the United States, from the moment he regained the office, has been step-by-step following the autocrat’s playbook. He has gone after universities for not obeying his decrees. He has extorted law firms for having on staff, or just once-upon-a-time having had on staff, people who crossed him. He has targeted for prosecution former aides who challenged him. He has arrested a local judge for not helping him round up migrants for deportation. He has attacked the free press for not bending to his will. On his very first day in office, he released from prison hundreds of domestic terrorists, effectively a personal militia, who assaulted police officers in his name.

"And now, not 100 days into his term, he has done what so many democracy advocates have feared he would eventually do, something that no president has dared try in the more than two centuries since Marbury v. Madison’s precedent that the judiciary would be the ultimate authority on what is and what is not legal: He is straight-up defying the United States Supreme Court." (our emphasis)

The Malignant Fascist first stated he'd be a dictator from day one, later saying he'd be a dictator just on day one. He was right the first time. 

Sunday Reflection

 

"We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of a republic to abdicate his responsibilities. As a nation we have come into our full inheritance at a tender age. We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home." -- legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow ( 4/25/1908 - 4/27/1965) from his Report on Sen. Joseph McCarthy, CBS News, March 7, 1954. The nation feared a reckless, cruel alcoholic McCarthy (R-WI) and his willful destruction of people's reputations by casting them as Communists during the "Red Scare" of the early 1950s. Murrow stood up to the bullying coward when few others would. Murrow later was appointed by President Kennedy as the first director of the U.S. Information Agency, the parent agency of the Voice of America, which the Malignant Fascist is attempting to shut down.

The Malignant Fascist's attack on our democracy is far worse than what Murrow could have imagined. Using his power for revenge, extortion and personal wealth, the MF will continue because his party's politicians fear his revenge more than they love this country.

 

"A Disastrous Start"

 

We realize we're putting a lot of polling information out there, which we do for several reasons:  they provide a temperature check on the mood of the country;  and they can provide much-needed positive energy for the resistance to the fascist coup taking place in America.  Pollsters also use the first 100- days point in an administration to gauge how the public views the rollout of a President's agenda and how it compares to other Presidents.  With that brief preview, we checked out the "Opinion Today" Substack gathered by the New York Times, starting with Nate Cohn, who sums up how the Malignant Fascist is faring:

We have the first New York Times/Siena College poll since the election, and almost everyone will probably agree on this much: The findings are not good for President Trump.

You would be hard pressed to find a single “good” number for Mr. Trump in the survey.

His job approval rating is just 42 percent, and voters disapproved of his handling of every issue tested in the survey, including longstanding strengths like immigration and the economy.

Only 43 percent view him favorably, down from 48 percent in the final Times/Siena poll before the election and the lowest since his attempted assassination last July.

On question after question, voters say he’s going too far. Sixty-six percent of them say “chaotic” describes Mr. Trump’s second term well; 59 percent say “scary” fits at least somewhat well.  [snip]

Imagine that you didn’t know anything about this president or his actions so far. You knew only that this is a president with a 42 percent job approval rating after almost 100 days.

If that’s all you knew, you would have to say this presidency was off to a disastrous start.

For most presidents, the first 100 days are as good as it gets. It’s hard to remember now, but at this time four years ago Joe Biden was still being compared to F.D.R. Even the doomed presidents — think Jimmy Carter’s first term or George W. Bush’s second — still had positive approval ratings at this stage.

It’s not easy to burn this much good will so fast, and it doesn’t usually get any easier from here. [snip]

Bring yourself back to the beginning of the year, when Mr. Trump was basking in victory, when there was talk of a rightward cultural “vibe shift” or even an incipient realignment.

From this perspective, Mr. Trump’s first 100 days would count as a political disappointment — at best. [snip]

... Not only has he forfeited whatever political opportunity existed at the beginning of his term, but he has also managed to turn his usual strengths into liabilities. Voters no longer say his policies will help them personally anymore, one of the central reasons for his victory just six months ago...

Cohn goes on to discuss the MF's decline in ratings and looking ahead to the next =ugh= 1,365 days.

The "Opinion Today" Substack also links to other polls, which validate each others' view of the MF's shaky start. Here are their top lines:

"President Trump has lowest 100-day approval rating in 80 years; Majorities of voters disapprove of many of Trump's policies" -- Gary Langer, ABC News

"Trump approval sinks as Americans criticize his major policies, poll finds." -- Dan Balz, Scott Clement and Emily Guskin, Washington Post

"Americans have a negative economic outlook, even as many feel their personal economic situation hasn't changed." -- Chris Jackson, Mallory Newall, Sarah Feldman, and Johnny Sawyer, Ipsos

"Voters see Trump's use of power as overreaching, Times/Siena poll finds" -- Shane Goldmacher, Ruth Igielnik, and Camille Baker, New York Times

Well, that's enough of the zeitgeist for now.  And just to pre- but a certain point of view:  we don't (and you shouldn't) give a shit about what MAGAts think, say, or do.  As John Pavlovitz put it recently,

... [A]s far as his cheerleaders, champions, kindred spirits, sycophants, and disciples—they are proving themselves unreachable with reason, impervious to compassion, and mortally allergic to anything that reasonable human beings value. [snip]

Compromise is not an option, and because of that many of us are going to need to lean into our convictions and move away from people we know, love, and once respected.

Sadly and tragically, that’s just how this has to be."

They are not our destiny;  we are.

(Photo:  low-energy Grandpa Sundowner on April 23 / Samuel Corum/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

 

"Rearview Mirror" -- Paul McCartney's Photographs December 1963-February 1964

 

Paul McCartney comments on an exhibition of his photographs taken during The Beatles first visit to America that will be shown at the Gagosian gallery in Beverly Hills, CA, from April 25-June 21.   Joshua Chang, the Gagosian gallery's director of photography, accompanies McCartney at Griffin Editions in Brooklyn, NY, to review the prints to be exhibited.  McCartney has some nteresting personal insights on his impressions of the moment, music creation and, of course, his fellow Beatles.

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Matt Wuerker, Politico)

(R.J. Matson, CQ/Roll Call)

(Steve Breen, Creators.com)

(Kevin Kallaugher, The Economist, London)

(Bill Day, caglecartoons.com)

(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

(Rob Rogers, Tinyview.com)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

(Robert Ariail, Spartanburg Herald-Journal, SC)

(Matt Davies, Newsday)

(Jack Ohman, Tribune Content Agency)

(Petar Pismestrovic, Kleine Zeitung, Austria)

QOTD: The Vandal, Autocrat, Gangster, And Fool

Jonathan Freedland, writing in The Guardian, has a detailed look at how the Malignant Fascist exhibits his true identity as a vandal, an autocrat, a gangster, and a fool in his actions toward the besieged Ukraine and its attacker Russia:

"There is no mystery to Trump. It’s all plain to see – the habits of the vandal, the autocrat, the gangster and the fool – with Ukraine as clear a guide as any. Not that that is any comfort to the people of that besieged land. They don’t want to be a cautionary tale, a demonstration case of the fecklessness and menace of Donald Trump. They want to be a free, independent nation. Their great misfortune is that the mighty country that should be their most powerful friend is now in the hands of an enemy."

The entire article is an excellent read.

(photo: Mugshot of MF, the racketeering gangster / Fulton Co. Sheriff's Office) 

 

Skeets Of The Day

 

Fascist intimidation and injustice in Wisconsin --

 

she was a crook in florida. numerous pay for play scandals, including Trump himself.

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— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm.bsky.social) April 25, 2025 at 8:07 PM

 

It is clear that the FBI arrested Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan for political reasons and to intimidate other judges.

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— Democracy Action Network (@democracyactionnet.bsky.social) April 26, 2025 at 9:17 AM

 

It appears that the charges against Judge Dugan were totally baseless, and that federal authorities had decided *beforehand* to arrest her to send a message to judges around the nation.

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— Bruce Wilson (@brucewilson.bsky.social) April 26, 2025 at 8:53 AM

 

Judge Hannah Dugan in handcuffs, being arrested by the FBI.

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— Molly Ploofkins (@mollyploofkins.bsky.social) April 26, 2025 at 7:32 AM

 

Heartening to see fast mobilization in Milwaukee responding to Judge Hannah Dugan’s arrest. Photos: Johanny Hernandez.

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— Julie Cohen (@filmmakerjulie.bsky.social) April 26, 2025 at 4:15 AM

 

Maybe they had tattoos? -- 

NEW: Trump appointed judge fumes as 2-year-old US citizen girl is deported to Honduras with her mother despite pending suit in Louisiana. w/@kyledcheney www.politico.com/news/2025/04...

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— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein.bsky.social) April 25, 2025 at 8:38 PM

 

BREAKING: The ACLU says the Trump administration has deported three U.S. citizen children.

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— MaddowBlog (@maddowblog.msnbc.com) April 25, 2025 at 10:04 PM

 

Trump's penurious cruelty is the point --

 

Trump denies disaster aid, tells states to do more. FEMA has denied federal assistance for tornadoes in Arkansas, flooding in WV, and a windstorm in Washington state. It also has refused NC’s request for extended relief funding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. stateline.org/2025/04/25/t...

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— Catherine Rampell (@crampell.bsky.social) April 25, 2025 at 5:51 PM

 

Economist Justin Wolfers on Trump's deranged econo- mania --

 

The President said of the U.S. economy: "We are a department store, and we set the price. I meet with the companies, and then I set a fair price, what I consider to be a fair price, and they can pay it, or they don't have to pay it." And then... I lost it.

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— Justin Wolfers (@justinwolfers.bsky.social) April 26, 2025 at 8:48 AM

 

George "Kitara Ravache" Santos dragged off to the slammer --

 

George Santos got sentenced to 7 years in a Federal prison Look for Trump to pardon him Just a crazy world right now

— Roadrunner33 (@roadrunner33.bsky.social) April 26, 2025 at 2:24 AM

ETTD --

 

Trump is now meddling in the NFL draft

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) April 25, 2025 at 5:05 PM

 

The buffoon makes his own rules --

 

One guy shows up in a blue suit to the Pope’s funeral. You will never guess who.

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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) April 26, 2025 at 6:10 AM

 

 

Poll Majority: Trump "Poor" Or "Terrible" President

 

In a new AP - NORC poll, the overall percentage of adults that rate the malevolent and incompetent Malignant Fascist as a "poor" or "terrible" President stands at 52%. Another 16% consider his performance "average," while 31% consider it "good" or "great," clearly representing his hardcore MAGA cult. Among Independents, 53% rate the MF as poor or terrible. Here's the breakdown (click to enlarge):

This poll reflects broad discontent with the MF's deranged policies and overreach so far, and we haven't even gotten the full brunt of his ludicrous tariff and trade actions, which many economists predict will lead to a recession this year. 

BONUS: These findings comport with a new poll by the New York Times/Siena College Research Institute, which has the MF's disapproval at 54%.

 

Trump's Deranged TIME Interview

 

TIME magazine's Senior Political Correspondent Eric Cortellessa and Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs conducted a long interview on April 22 with the Malignant Fascist to mark the first 100 days in office.  It reveals nothing new about the narcissistic, ignorant moron, except perhaps his level of derangement and self-delusion.  Here are just a few examples, but the entire interview is an historic display of incompetence, both on policy and mental levels:

On inflation

Inflation remains pretty much the same. And the IMF is saying it’s going to go up. 

No, Eric, you can't say what they think, because so far what I thought is right. I've been right about—

401ks are down. The Atlanta Fed says our economy is contracting -2.2% during quarter one. 

Well, they may have said that, but so far, they've been, I mean, I've been right. If you look at all of the years that I've been doing this, I've been right on things. You're gonna—you're gonna have the wealthiest country we've ever had, and you're gonna have an explosion upward in the not-too-distant future. You know, I've been here now for three months, and I inherited eggs, I inherited groceries, I inherited energy. It was all going through the roof. And we had the highest inflation we've ever had as a country, or very close to it. And I believe it was the highest ever. Somebody said it's the highest in only 48 years. That's a lot, too, but I believe we had the highest inflation we've ever had. I've been here now for three months. And three months, we are taking in billions and billions of dollars from other countries that we never took in before. And that's just the start...

On tariffs

If we still have high tariffs, whether it's 20% or 30% or 50%, on foreign imports a year from now, will you consider that a victory?

Total victory. 

Why so? 

Because the country will be making a fortune. Look, that's what China did to us. They charge us 100%. If you look at India—India charges 100-150%. If you look at Brazil, if you look at many, many countries, they charge—that's how they survive. That's how they got rich. Now, zero would be easy. Oh, zero would be easy, but zero, you wouldn't have any companies coming in. They're coming in because they don't want to pay the tariffs. Remember this, there are no tariffs, if they make their product here. There are no tariffs, if they make their product here. There are no tariffs. This is a tremendous success. You just don't know it yet, but this is a tremendous success what’s happening. We're taking in billions and billions of dollars, money that we never took in before. We're also, very importantly, because of that, because of the money we're taking in, those companies are going to come back and they're going to make their product here. They're going to go back into North Carolina and start making furniture again. They've already started. In Mexico, many car plants that were under construction have stopped. They're all coming into this country. We're gonna, you're gonna see car plants going at a level that you've never seen before. [snip]

Your trade adviser, Peter Navarro, says 90 deals in 90 days is possible. We're now 13 days into the point from when you lifted the reciprocal, the discounted reciprocal tariffs. There's zero deals so far. Why is that? 

No, there’s many deals. 

When are they going to be announced?

You have to understand, I'm dealing with all the companies, very friendly countries. We're meeting with China. We're doing fine with everybody. But ultimately, I've made all the deals.

Not one has been announced yet. When are you going to announce them?

I’ve made 200 deals. 

You’ve made 200 deals?

100%...

There's so much more covering most aspects of the MF's attack on democracy, crashing the economy, annexing Canada, the war in Ukraine, etc.  You have to have a strong stomach to read it, and you'll possibly end up with a few billion less brain cells at the end.  But, speaking of the end, here's the kicker at the end of the interview:

One final question. Mr. President, you were showing us the new paintings you have behind us. You put all these new portraits. One of them includes John Adams. John Adams said we’re a government ruled by laws, not by men. Do you agree with that?

John Adams said that? Where was the painting?

It’s right here.

We’re a government ruled by laws, not by men? Well, I think we're a government ruled by law, but you know, somebody has to administer the law. So therefore men, certainly, men and women, certainly play a role in it. I wouldn't agree with it 100%. We are a government where men are involved in the process of law, and ideally, you're going to have honest men like me.

If irony hasn't died by now...

Once again, thank you to all the distracted, low information, and "poorly educated" voters who elected this dangerous buffoon.

(Photo:  Trump with portrait that's not John Adams / Martin Schoeller for TIME)

Long Ago And Far Away

 

Here's a look at China (specifically Hong Kong and Shanghai) sometime in the 1930's (likely well before the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War in July 1937).  The colorized and sound-added film is focused on the various ways human energy is involved in transport, fishing, and other endeavors.  At the very end is a brief view of an circa WWI American warship, presumably anchored near Shanghai.

Cover Of The Week

 

The Economist's current cover, referencing the lasting damage done to America in the Malignant Fascist's first 100 days -- and "only 1,361 days to go"! :

 

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

(Monte Wolverton, caglecartoons.com)

 (Martyn Turner, @turnercartoons)

(Pat Bagley, The Salt Lake Tribune)

(Daryl Cagle, caglecartoons.com)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

(John Darkow, Columbia Missourian)

(Dave Whamond, caglecartoons.com, Canada)

(Ed Wexler, caglecartoons.com)

(Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News)

(David Horsey, Seattle Times)

(Mort Gerberg,@mortgerberg)

QOTD: DEI More Popular Than DJT

 

From Rex Huppke, an opinion writer for USA Today, noting that public opinion is on the side of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives rather than the white supremacist Malignant Fascist:

"That DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) is now more popular than DJT (Donald J. Trump) is enough to make people like me LOL (laugh obnoxiously loud). 

A new Pew Research Center survey found 53% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s actions to “end diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies in the federal government.” The same survey found that only 40% of respondents approve of the job Trump is doing.

Oops. 

I guess the seemingly endless anti-DEI rhetoric coming from Trump, Fox News and other assorted right-wing avatars of Caucasian insecurity isn’t as popular as they made it seem. In fact, one could put forth an argument that Republicans are wasting time on insipid culture-war issues and eradicating programs that were actually doing some good. [snip]

I expect more corporate spines will stiffen as they see Trump’s approval numbers tank and recognize that opposing good things like diversity and inclusion is bad for business.

I guess what I’m trying to say is the tornado-ic fury over DEI has always misread the public at large. Sure, it’s a good way to rile up white Republicans who cherish their God-given right to feel perpetually put upon by people who look or pray or love differently.

That might have helped Trump win reelection, but now that Americans are seeing the DEI scolds in action, they aren’t pleased. That’s why DEI, as I said at the beginning – and I am still laughing about this – is now more popular than DJT. Fantastically, it’s not even close." (our emphasis)

Take note of the corporations that bent the knee on this racist play by the MF (e.g., Target, Walmart, Amazon, and more) and those that stood their ground (Costco, Levi, Marriott Corp., and more) and direct your purchasing accordingly.