"Most likely, the new normal in the Persian Gulf will be chronic instability and frequent disruptions in shipping. That’s what happens when the hegemon cedes hegemony."

This day in music May 24, 1975-Earth, Wind & Fire went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Shining Star', the group's first and only US No.1. Grammy winner for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. In 2008, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. youtu.be/7XIMuUBVuWM?...

Spot on: "For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong...I’m reminded of a line by a..columnist, when he said of a politician who wasn’t up to the job: He’s been standing in shallow water for so long, he doesn’t realize he can’t swim." www.latimes.com/california/s...

This day in music May 23, 2010-The Rolling Stones scored their first UK No.1 album in 16 years with the re-release of the 1972 double LP Exile on Main St. First released in 1972, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album No. 7 on list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". youtu.be/XAWjSTwvroY?...

"He didn’t send me. I went. What do you mean? You think President Trump called and asked me to go interview a witness in federal prison?” Reed’s response was blunt: “Honestly? Yes, I do, frankly.” And yes, he did. l.smartnews.com/p-7M5llgJy/8...

This day in music May 22, 1976-Paul McCartney Wings started a five week run at No.1 on the US chart with 'Silly Love Songs'. His fifth US No.1 since leaving The Beatles. McCartney was often teased by John Lennon & others for writing lightweight songs. This is his response. youtu.be/HwKUaYBUYNc?...

Book covers ground well-plowed by others and is full of passages like: "A White House that claims it is good at managing risk based on rational choice and game theory may wind up in the same place as the financial engineers who brought us the hedge fund and subprime mortgage fiascoes." No thanks.

This day in music May 21, 1971-Marvin Gaye released 'What's Going On-9 songs from the point of view of a Vietnam veteran returning to the country he had been fighting for & seeing only hatred, suffering & injustice. Regarded as one of the greatest albums of the 20th century. youtu.be/Y9KC7uhMY9s?...

🤣😂😅🤣😂😅 This should help Pratt in Los Angeles. "President Trump signaled support for Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt on Wednesday, wading into the local election less than two weeks before the primary." l.smartnews.com/p-7LcR6vuM/Q...

🔵 Brand new comic now up on @boingboing.net - The Supreme Court's Shadow Docket steps out of the shadows, and REVEAL THEIR TRUE IDENTITIES! - boingboing.net/2026/05/20/t...

This day in music May 20, 1978-Paul McCartney and Wings went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'With A Little Luck', his sixth solo US No.1. The track was taken from the Wings 1978 album, London Town. youtu.be/2k_4qvMU6kQ?...

So once applications open for the $1.7B slush fund, we're all going to apply and break their portal, right?

This day in music May 19, 1990-Madonna started a three-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Vogue'. The video regarded as one of Madonna's best received a total of nine nominations at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards, including for Video of the Year. youtu.be/GuJQSAiODqI?...

Shhhh...Dont tell anyone, but Trump doesn't know what the fck he's doing. "The 30-year Treasury yield hit the highest level in nearly 19 years. The longer-dated 30-year Treasury bond yield rose about 6 basis points to 5.198%, its highest level since July 2007." www.cnbc.com/2026/05/19/t...

This day in music May, 18 1985-Simple Minds were at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Don't You Forget About Me'. It was written and composed by the record producer Keith Forsey and the guitarist Steve Schiff for the film 'The Breakfast Club' (1985). youtu.be/CdqoNKCCt7A?...

This day in music May 17, 1963-The first Monterey Folk Festival took place over three days in Monterey, California. The line-up included Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul and Mary, and a young Jerry Garcia, who performed with The Wildwood Boys. youtu.be/q9c4c5A5vBg?...

And there we have it. Rupert Murdoch's legacy "As of May 12, 2026, 38% of the nation still supports Trump because 38% of the nation watches Fox News, purveyors of pure Trump propaganda. And compared to other consumers, Fox News viewers do not diversify their sources." l.smartnews.com/p-7JGdqQ6I/r...

In remembrance of my dear, dear college friend who left us yesterday. Godspeed Joe Rubey. This day in music May 16, 2019 - Pink Pink was at No.1 on the US album chart with Hurts 2B Human. Pink's third consecutive album to debut at No.1 on the Billboard 200 chart. youtu.be/Z25aDKQ7Ojw?...

Can we get any more "1984"? "During his 2.5-hour testimony in front of the Senate Banking Committee on April 21, Kevin Warsh opined on what "inflation" is in his eyes: 'I believe that price stability should be a change in prices such that no one's talking about it.'" l.smartnews.com/p-7Jht5UUo/b...

It only took 30 years "The “Kars4Kids” jingle has been around since the late 1990s, first used on radio commercials in NYC..ending up in TV ads starting in 2014 that featured children dressed in pink and black, awkwardly miming playing instruments and singing along." l.smartnews.com/p-7Jbzdn1K/m...

This day in music May 15, 1965-Bob Dylan's single 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' peaked at No.39 in the US charts, giving Dylan his first US top 40 hit. John Lennon found the song so captivating that he didn't know how he'd be able to write a song that could compete with it. youtu.be/MGxjIBEZvx0?...

So more slush funds. "President Donald Trump is expected to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service in exchange for the creation of a $1.7 billion fund to compensate allies who claim they were wrongfully targeted by the Biden administration," l.smartnews.com/p-7IWRwwA8/9...

This day in music May 14, 1960-The Silver Beats (John Lennon, Paul McCartney George Harrison, Stu Sutcliffe, and Tommy Moore) performed in Liverpool. This is the only occasion on which the group uses the name "Silver Beats", quickly changing it back to "Silver Beetles". youtu.be/Gdo7QeKOJsA?...

This day in music May 13, 1967-Diana Ross The Supremes scored their 10th US No.1 single with 'The Happening'; it made No.6 in the UK. It was the last single to be released as the Supremes, from now on they were known as Diana Ross and the Supremes. youtu.be/_VuxfQMsUK4?...

This day in music May 12, 1965-The Rolling Stones recorded ’(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ at RCA Hollywood studios. Keith Richards had come up with the guitar riff in the middle of the night a week earlier. It gave the band their first number 1 single in the US. youtu.be/lt8pQDY51u0?...

This day in music May 11, 1965-Roger Miller was at No.1 on the US Country charts with 'King Of The Road.' The song has been covered by many artists, including George Jones, Dean Martin, Boxcar Willie, Randy Travis, the Statler Brothers, and Rufus Wainwright & Teddy Thompson. youtu.be/L4kvi5IG_KE?...

Wow! This is thoughtful. "The deeper task is to recover an older, more radical promise of genuine self-governance: not choosing one group of elites over another every few years, but taking on the shared responsibility of governing together. The tools already exist." l.smartnews.com/p-7Hl1mk6c/i...

“If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you’re going to have selfish, ignorant leaders.” — George Carlin

This day in music May 10, 1974-Eric Clapton recorded 'I Shot the Sheriff' a cover of a Bob Marley song. Clapton was reluctant to record the track but it became the only No.1 hit of his career (to date) on the US chart. youtu.be/APWhx97QvxE?...

🤣😂🙂😅🤣

We're fucked: "Because you have all this information & knowledge that isn't publicly available yet, it's almost foolish not to bet on it before it's made public. The staffer said campaign bets by fellow staffers were commonplace in this particular campaign and the ones that followed."

"The Bulwark's Jonathan V. Last remarked that he agrees with Vance, but was "just kind of shocked that he’s willing to admit that in this parallel, Democrats and liberals are the abolitionists and he’s [Vance is] on the side of the slaveholders."

"The racists never went away. They just moved from one party to another."

This day in music May 9, 1964-Louis Armstrong went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Hello Dolly' making him the oldest artist to hit No.1 at the age of 62. The song was on the Billboard Hot 100 for 22 weeks – the longest stint for any track that year. youtu.be/l7N2wssse14?...

Touching message for Mother’s Day: “An artist should always have one work between himself and death.” "Maybe the best lives finish as my mother’s did, without all the boxes checked. A mother’s dreams, like her love, are sometimes more than any list can contain." www.wsj.com/opinion/the-...

Doesn't matter if the performance itself is staged. The fact is, talented musicians coming together and giving a performance in a public space means the masses get to witness this for free and that's beautiful. TT: Raphaël Froissart IG: Michel Tirabosco ~ Pan flute

This day in music May 8, 1964-The Beatles had held the No.1 position on the US singles chart for fourteen weeks with three No.1's in succession. 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' for seven weeks, 'She Loves You' for two weeks and 'Can't Buy Me Love', for five weeks. youtu.be/jenWdylTtzs?...

Truth: "Hands down. I doubt we’ll ever see a dumber president than Trump. At least he finally secured a win in the 'idiot of the century' category.” l.smartnews.com/p-7Gf4nQXK/a...

This day in music May 7, 1977-The Eagles went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Hotel California', the group's fourth US No.1. The song's guitar solo is ranked 8th on Guitar Magazine's Top 100 Guitar Solos & voted the best solo of all time by Guitarist magazine readers. youtu.be/09839DpTctU?...

@jaredpoland.bsky.social reacts to Kevin Hassett: "Last time I checked, going into credit card debt and spending more at the pump are both things Americans would like to avoid... This is yet another example of how out of touch this White House is."

What a S*show! "Many of the terms laid out in the memo would be contingent on a final agreement being reached, leaving the possibility of renewed war or an extended limbo in which the hot war has stopped but nothing is truly resolved." www.axios.com/2026/05/06/i...

This day in music May 6, 1978-The soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever started an 18 week run at No.1 on the UK album chart, also No.1 in the US. The album, which features seven Bee Gees songs, went on to sell over 40 million copies worldwide. youtu.be/e6GB04zeDeQ?...

“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” - William Faulkner

Oh, but the Biden Crime Family. 🙄 "Forbes estimates that Eric’s net worth has risen 10-fold to $400mn since November 2024. Don Jr’s has risen sixfold to about $300mn." www.ft.com/content/aa4a...

This day in music May 5, 1956-Elvis Presley scored his first US No.1 single and album when 'Heartbreak Hotel' went to the top of the charts. 'Heartbreak Hotel' became his first million-seller, and was the best-selling single of 1956. youtu.be/2W978evZ4AE?...

Neil: You're delusional if you think we see you as independent. “I mean..one of the major grievances that the colonists had was that they didn't have independent judges," Gorsush continued. "They had politicized the judges & they wanted no part of that, right?." l.smartnews.com/p-7F7tyBQA/K...

This is nuts: "There were an estimated 10,000 attorneys working across the Justice Department before Donald Trump returned to the White House. By September 2025, that number had been nearly halved." l.smartnews.com/p-7EZnZbhu/h...

Another day in the park. Let's have everyone carry guns. That won't cause problems 🙄 "Fisher said Mathews shot Mattai from his car while Mattai’s back was turned. After he was shot, Mattai grabbed a gun from his car and shot at Mathews’ car as Mathews drove away." www.ideastream.org/law-justice/...