Aunt Ruth

"...Epstein’s inbox does not reveal a... conspiracy but paints a more sobering picture: a world where immense wealth, privileged access and proximity to power can insulate individuals from accountability and consequences. For those inside the circle, the rules of the outside world do not apply...."

The banality of evil: how Epstein’s powerful friends normalised him Long after his conviction for sexual abuse, people in royalty, academia, business, journalism and politics sought his ear

"...Their bantering, frivolous tone implies that Epstein would have felt still welcome as a member of polite society, receiving no social incentive to change his ways. Far from being ostracised as a sex offender, he was normalised...."

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

The Guardian demonstrates a different approach.

THE BANALITY OF EVIL:
HOW EPSTEIN'S POWERFUL FRIENDS NORMALISED HIM

"... the documents expose a reality less about a shadowy cabal and more about a system of power that operates in plain sight, indifferent to conviction or consequence..."

aargh - that was *IT* - not *if.* no if's about it. Just disgust, betrayal, and chagrin.

You're not sitting around thinking, "I wish I could enjoy him again." It much more, "I wish he hadn't done those bad things," and "I wish I hadn't been taken in by his talents and social skills."

You've pinpointed several things here. Appreciate you.

PREACH! This!

True for a while! Younger boomers can tell you what warm feelings we had for Garrison Keillor. How nice to listen to the radio on Saturdays, his voice rolling out from Lake Woebegon. But when his sexual harassment came out, that was *if* - and his behavior felt *worse* because he'd been a favorite.

The Spanish American War and the Yellow Press | Headlines & Heroes When the USS Maine mysteriously exploded, the American “yellow press” published outrageous accusations against Spain and demanded war. Read more about the beginnings of yellow journalism and the rival...

Contrasts to the last decades of the 19th c - a great age for the NYT. They were bravely stubborn in opposing Boss Tweed's corrupt empire. Then, nearly alone among papers, they fought the flood of propaganda that the US used to declare war on Spain and seize colonies. blogs.loc.gov/headlinesand...

The New York Times’ ‘Nazi Correspondent’ As Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany and then embarked on his program of world conquest and mass extermination, The New York Times’ Berlin bureau chief was busy slanting the news in his favor

www.tabletmag.com/sections/his...

It seems to do okay with hand printing.

Otherwise, that seems like a much harder problem!
I guess there's always r/Cursive

HARRUMPH!

Screenshot of an article linked via archive.ph - Rolling Stone logo above a headline: "WHY IS CHILD MARRIAGE LEGAL IN SO MANY STATES? Despite a widespread consensus that marriage should be banned for minors, a majority of US states still allow the practice." By NIKKI MCCANN RAMIREZ, October 23, 2025. Abstract illustration shows a partial view of a pubescent girl wearing a backpack, being grabbed by an adult hand.

Or until she's 10 -
if you're in Tennessee and willing to marry her. archive.ph/kzPWf

(also, one of my Great-Aunts was Frederika Elisabeth, so I am probably fated to follow you anywhere.)

I am AWESTRUCK.

(Further, I am grateful to have lived long enough to get the joke.)

In this tiny area, the world seems to be improving!

...adjust the formatting, dammit...

Screenshot of a Windows SNIPPING TOOL pop-up, illustrating the steps described in the skeet to COPY ALL TEXT from inside an image.

Also, if you're in the Windows world, their Snipping Tool has a swell new tool to convert words inside an image into actual text.

Hit the Snipping Tool and select your image.
Then click the icon marked at top here,
& click COPY ALL TEXT.
Then paste the text and adjust the formatfing as needed.

@juliethecranky.bsky.social
How had I not previously learned this from you? See thread.

Public Service Announcement:

UNDER-RATED OBSERVATION!

That office has had some eminent calligraphic artists over the years.

Calligraphy in the Nation’s Capital - America's Table America's Table is a blog from former White House Social Secretary Lea Berman on food, flowers, and formalities.

www.americas-table.com/formalities/...

Graphics and Calligraphy Office - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphic...

(The office of the White House Calligrapher *was* in the East Wing. No idea whether they're still employed.)

Can you link us to that thread (or other post about the actions)? I have only just discovered your work and would love to read that.

I'm sorry, you said "wedding hardware" and I thought "wedding tackle" and now I need a moment...

Stumbled onto a paperback of it about 1970, early in high school. Wow.

Improperly assembled feline. Are you sure all the parts were included?

In rural Kansas, I recall a shared pallet on the floor of the front room, put out for a mess of young cousins to share. Learned it from aunts who'd been teens during the Depression.

The great Phil Ochs covered this in the 60s and 70s. More recently, Gillian Welch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWsW...