Paul Saffo

A ghost walking by daylight...
251106 07:58 37°30'

Portrait of a sociopath...

Venus and the dawn moon this morning

Observation from a journalist friend who has been a DC insider for many decades:

Le Nouveau Moment Grotius | Le Grand Continent La dislocation de l’ordre international pourrait n'avoir qu'une cause aussi simple que profonde : les États-nations ne tiennent pas dans l’espace numérique. De la planète Mars à Westphalie, en passan...

My take on the shape of this perilous moment in international affairs:
legrandcontinent.eu/fr/2025/08/2...

This morning's shy moon. People get all excited about seeing transients like eclipses but forget that astonishing beauty like this appears every day over their heads if they would just look up.

Wow! I had no idea one could buy ICE in 600 lb bags!

Walters announces PragerU-backed ideology test for teachers from 'woke' states State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced Wednesday Oklahoma will withhold certificates from teachers from "woke" states who do not pass a new ideology test developed by PragerU.

Hey kids, everyone propose your questions to include on their "patriots not activists" exam!
www.kosu.org/education/20...

Skateboards and Livestreams: DHS Tells Police That Common Protest Activities Are ‘Violent Tactics’ DHS is urging law enforcement to treat even skateboarding and livestreaming as signs of violent intent during a protest, turning everyday behavior into a pretext for police action.

The public protest response to DHS's grotesque abuse of civil liberties is being used by the government to justify even greater abuses.
www.wired.com/story/dhs-te...

From the Kent Monkman exhibit "History is Painted by the Victors" at the Denver Art Museum. If you are anywhere near Denver, don't miss it!

YouTube video by LIND El Baile // LIND

Dance on your own wave!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo_L...

Early US intel assessment suggests strikes on Iran did not destroy nuclear sites, CNN reports An early U.S. intelligence assessment indicated that the U.S. military strikes on three of Iran's nuclear facilities last week did not destroy the core components of Tehran's nuclear program and likely only set it back by months, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing three people briefed on it.

Rumor is that Il Douche is demanding a full refund on those bunker-busters... 🤣
www.reuters.com/world/middle...

This observatory's first images are stunning — and just the start The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has just released some of its first images. Its powerful new telescope will be able to quickly spot previously unseen astronomical objects.

The 3.2 billion pixel camera (the world's largest) at the heart of the observatory was built at Stanford University's Linear Accelerator Center. Of course Trump and DOGE want to cripple or kill it because they hate science, discovery and innovation.
www.npr.org/2025/06/23/n...

YouTube video by 8emelios Randy Newman - Political Science [lyrics]

For some reason I've caught myself humming Randy Newman's 1972 classic for the last day or so..
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QbU...

Historic ‘No Kings’ protest brings crowds to El Camino Real in Mountain View, Palo Alto From Palo Alto to Sunnyvale, tens of thousands showed up along a 7-mile stretch of El Camino Real on Saturday afternoon to protest President Donald Trump on the same day he staged a military parade in...

An estimated 20,000 demonstrators lined a 7-mile route along El Camino Real in Silicon Valley - that number could quite possibly be as much as 5X larger than all the attendees at General BoneSpur's DC parade today!
www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2025/06...

After today's takedown of Senator Alex Padilla, the US Secret Service has decided to update its uniform patch. New version below.

The DHS has just put up this nifty retro-McCarthy-era poster on their Twitter page. Be sure to share and above all respect it and under no circumstances deface or parody it, because that would be wrong!

The new order: Blue states tax revenue will go directly to Red States and blue states will get nothing.

Peaceful protesters help clean up Little Tokyo museum damaged during ICE protest In the wake of several days of destructive protests in Los Angeles, one particularly unlikely target of the demonstrators is left dealing with extensive damage.

Smoking gun evidence the LA protests were penetrated by MAGA provocateurs: vandalism of the JANM. JANM has long had an anti-racism, pro-immigration stance, so this was the perfect opportunity to sneak-attack it and pin the blame on the anti-ice demonstrators.
abc7.com/post/peacefu...

This is a model that professionals in other science/engineering fields need to copy:
mailchi.mp/temblor.net/...

YouTube video by Pod Save America Gavin Newsom RIPS Trump for LA Catastrophe in Fiery New Interview

Governor Newsom is on fire!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUTy...

YouTube video by CBS News LAPD chief speaks out about deployment of military forces to anti-ICE protests

LAPD's Chief is a model of restraint in the face of outrageous and Constitution-violating actions by Taco boy and his repulsive quislings.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwPT...

Blick is turning into a monopolistic gorilla, strangling the product pipeline that independent art stores rely on...
mailchi.mp/calartsupply...

Terry Moran Suspended at ABC News After Posting That White House Deputy Chief Stephen Miller Is a ‘World-Class Hater’ ABC News has suspended Terry Moran, after he called Stephen Miller a "world-class hater" in a since-deleted post on X.

ABC News Correspondent Terry Moran was just suspended for referring to Stephen Miller as a "World-class hater" on Twitter. He deserves a damn medal for speaking the obvious truth, which has left the spineless ABC corporate suits cowering and groveling at Trump's feet.
variety.com/2025/tv/news...

Friendly neighbor dropped into my office this afternoon to say hello - and wouldn't leave! I think they were trying to give me advice on a geopolitical scenario I was busy writing!

This is How Universities Die | Harvard Magazine Higher ed thrived in Berlin and Beijing. Then government stepped in.

Yes, Trump and the GOP are killing our universities - and with it, America's future:
www.harvardmagazine.com/2025/06/how-...

"She looks so lifelike..."

Palm Springs fire official unknowingly saved colleague's embryos in deadly blast The Palm Springs deputy fire chief who entered the compromised building got a text from a fellow firefighter who said his wife was one of the patients with an appointment this week.

And... just try to tell me that this isn't the most 21st century headline ever...
abc7.com/post/palm-sp...