Oh, that reminds me, I need to stock up on bird seed for the feeders this winter.

Of course, now, here in Connecticut, it is still legal to have a bird feeder in your yard.

That is, until someone complains about a bear accessing that feeder. Then it becomes illegal.

The number of bears breaking into houses here in Connecticut has risen lately.

... Immigrants are no longer welcome in Donald Trump's America. ...

Not just any immigrants.

But those immigrants who, as I have noted previously from his comments, are not white Christians.

So, at this point, instead of focusing upon the negative, let's look at what fmr Pres Trump thinks is the positive side of his comments ...

Only white Christian immigrants are welcome in Donald Trumps America.

From the cited summary...

... Politico has obtained data that shows that the IP address listed with North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson's Nude Africa account is located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina where he lived. ...

OK I do have an issue with this.

More from the article...

... Employees at a discount supermarket chain in Germany found 95 kilograms (210 pounds) of cocaine stashed inside crates of bananas, police announced on Monday.

The drugs are reported to have a street value of around 7 million ($7.8 million).

Police did not name the supermarket in question, but said the drugs turned up in several cities around the western state of North-Rhine Westphalia.

How did cocaine end up among bananas?

Bricks of cocaine were first discovered by workers at two of the discount chain's stores in Mnchengladbach on September 10.

Later that day, cocaine was also found at the chain's stores in the nearby cities of Duisburg, Krefeld, Viersen, Heinsberg and Neuss.

"The investigators are working on the assumption that the food discounter was not the correct recipient for the delivery, but received the goods in error," Mnchengladbach police said in a statement. ...

@#3 ... RGA won't spend any more money in North Carolina. ...

Yeah, but what about the money they have already spent?

Are they trying to reclaim that money?

@#4 ... Where does the RGA get all the cash to support Robinson? Much of it comes from major corporations, ...

Numbers from the article cited ...

...
On June 4, 2024, the RGA received a $250,000 contribution from DoorDash. ...

Top corporate contributors to the RGA this cycle include Google ($585,000), Walmart ($570,000), CVS ($550,000), Microsoft ($550,000), Travelers Insurance ($460,000), Amazon ($450,000), Deloitte ($400,000), Charter Communications ($385,000), Oracle ($325,000), Pfizer ($300,000), Coca-Cola ($250,000), The Motion Picture Association ($250,000), and Wells Fargo ($250,000). ...

More from the cited article...

... None of this prevented the Republican Governors Association (RGA) from throwing its support behind Robinson. ...

The RGA has followed through. Data from AdImpact, a company that monitors political ad spending, obtained by Popular Information, reveals that the RGA, an affiliated PAC, and an affiliated non-profit have spent more than $17.3 million since June 11, 2024 on ads in support of Robinson. The money has financed over 20,000 ads across North Carolina supporting Robinson's candidacy. The actual expenditure by the RGA is far higher, as the $17.3 million does not include the cost of producing the ads, polling, or any other activities taken on behalf of Robinson. ...

The amount that the RGA has spent running ads to boost Robinson's candidacy in the last few months exceeds the total that Robinson's campaign has reported raising this campaign cycle ($15,757,019.87).

On Thursday, CNN reported that in a series of posts on a pornographic message board, Robinson referred to himself as a "Black NAZI" and expressed support for reinstating slavery. He also described spying on women in public gym showers and described himself as a "perv." A separate report in the Washington Post revealed that Robinson, using the same message board, praised Hitler's Mein Kampf, calling it a "good read."

Since that bombshell report, the RGA has not made any statement regarding Robinson's candidacy but, according to AdImpact data, the RGA's ads in support of Robinson's gubernatorial campaign have continued to run across North Carolina. ...

Where does the RGA get all the cash to support Robinson? Much of it comes from major corporations, ...

@#9

Yeah.

Humans have devised the ~measure of intelligence~ goal posts such that humans always seem to com out on top.

But what if those goal posts were moved, maybe to define intelligence as the ability of a species to survive, and not the ability to fill in squares on a test?

I doubt if that redefinition would ever make the light of day because ... cockroaches would come out near the top of the list.

@#5 ... if you solve crossword puzzles, you'll know that octopi is another accepted pural for octopus :) ...

... and the clue is typically, ~ink squirters.~

That leads to octopi or squid as the answer.

Of course, it is squid or squids?

With this one, the dictionary is a bit more specific...

...
squid (skwid), n., pl. (esp. collectively) squid, (esp. referring to two or more kinds or species) squids.
...

@#4 ... Cue debate on what the correct plural form of octopus is. ...

From my Random House Unabridged Dictionary (circa, the 1990's) both octopuses and octopi are accepted.

@#2 ... The octopus is intelligent AF. ...

Yup.

@#20 ... This is false.

All around the BayArea SFPD, and Oakland PD was defunded under this idea. ...

@#4 ... Apple exploded into music by copying Creative Labs UI and marketing it better. ...

It wasn't just the UI. It was also the overall design of iPod and iTunes, and (this is the important part) the walled-garden that contained those designs...

But yeah, I won't gainsay that Apple may have better at marketing Apple's improved designs of others.

I mean, take a step back and look at the origins of the graphical UI ...

@#15 ... but even more people said to hell with that ...

Yup.

The whole defund the police kick was rejected by both Republicans and Democrats.

It was something proposed by the more radical part of the Democratic Party, and the party rejected it.

In an (I'll be kind) ironic move...

Interesting article.

My first question...

Are they underpaid?

@#3 ... More of Trump's appointees were "acting" this or that than not. ...

Yeah, the problem with the prior Trump administration, and one that looks to be more emphasized in a possible next Trump administration, is that fmr Pres Trump selects those who advise him based upon their loyalty to him, and not their qualification for the position or even a loyalty to the Constitution.

That, imho, is why so many in the prior Trump administration or advising him back then seem to have wound up indicted, pardoned and/or incarcerated.

From the looks of the possible candidates for VP Harris' possible Cabinet, experience and qualification seems to be in the forefront.

More from the article...

... Any Cabinet appointee would likely face a razor-thin Democratic-controlled or GOP-controlled Senate, meaning Harris would have to balance partisan realities with her desire to break the mold with her choices, like naming the first woman to head the Pentagon.

"I'm sure it will be very diverse. I think it will be a mix of people who have been around Washington for a while in these kinds of roles because she respects that, but also she might mix it up and bring in new voices," said a Harris ally.

Harris would likely keep some Biden administration officials in their positions, and pull from her time in the Senate and as California's attorney general.

Here are some of the top choices for Harris, if she wins. ...

@#2 ... There's already multiple human interfaces for it. ...

There were already multiple human interfaces for computers, cell phones, watches, etc.

Sr Ivo's legendary human interface designs, though, have helped to make Apple one of the largest companies (revenue-wise)on the planet.

More from the article...

... The FBI's annual report is based on data submitted by law enforcement agencies around the country. For the 2023 report, the FBI says it received data from agencies the cover more than 315 million people.

It also includes every city with a population of more than 1 million. ...

More from the article...

... The statistics, published in the FBI's Summary of Crime in the Nation 2023 report, show a continued downward trend in crime across the country after it surged during the coronavirus pandemic.

Overall violent crime dropped by an estimated 3% in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to the FBI report. The largest decreases were seen in murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, which fell an estimated 11.6%. Rape also saw a sharp decrease, falling by an estimated 9.4%.

Property crime also was down nationwide, dropping 2.4% in 2023 compared to the previous year. Burglary and larceny-theft saw decreases of 7.6% and 4.4% respectively. Motor vehicle theft, however, saw a significant jump. It was up 12.6% in 2023 compared to 2022.

In a statement, President Biden claimed credit for the decline, noting that when he took office "our nation had just seen the highest increase in murders ever recorded under the previous Administration."

Biden cited his administration's action is stopping the illegal flow of guns, increased public safety funding, his executive action on guns and the gun violence legislation he signed.

"The only way to continue this progress is by investing in what works," he said. ...

@#3 ... After weeks of backroom maneuvering, the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, announced a compromise ...

The last time Spkr Johnson compromised with the Democrats, the radical MAGA wing of the House had threatened to oust him as Speaker.

@#1 ... If Mikey had found his ------ sooner and not killed the Border Bill for Trump ...

It wasn't just Spkr Johnson who backed down on the GOP-written and promoted border security bill.

It was pretty much all of the GOP in both houses of Congress that followed fmr Pres Trump's orders not to help solve the border security problem.

I'd proffer the only reason the GOP in the House went against fmr Pres Trump's wishes on this one was due to the fact they know the GOP would be blamed for a government shutdown (due to their control of the House).

A shutdown this close to Election Day would not be A Good Thing for the Republicans on the ballot.