Saturday, November 29, 2025
1947 Anti-Jewish riots in Aleppo erupted after UN voted to partition Palestine, with the cost of 75 lives and the disappearance of the medieval manuscript the Aleppo Codex
1948 Puppet TV show "Kukla, Fran, & Ollie" starring Fran Allison debuted on NBC's WNBQ in Chicago, Illinois
1961 Following the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion CIA Director Allen Dulles resigned and was replaced by John McCone
1961 Freedom Riders were attacked by a white mob at a bus station in Mississippi
1963 LBJ set up the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of t JFK
1964, The Roman Catholic Church in the US replaced Latin with English
1967 Robert McNamara was elected president of the World Bank
2019 Wood fragment believed to be from Jesus's manger was returned to Bethlehem after 1400 years by Pope Francis
In bed before 10, up at 6:50. 25°, high of 34°, haze, WINTER STORM WARNING, between 8" and 11", lesser accumulation expected near the lake, but heavier and wetter. We worry that the basement flooring materials may be delivered today.😨
Meds, etc. Morning meds at 7:20 p..m.!!!!!!
A sad surprise. When I filled the bird feeders yesterday afternoon in anticipation of today's snowstorm, I was surprised to see the body of a beautiful male house finch. When I picked him up, I saw that his feathers beneath his throat were flattened, leading me to wonder whether he had flown into our TV room window and somehow ended up on the tray feeder, where he died.
The beginning of another extortion, the beginning of an illegal war, or both? From this morning's NY Times:
President Trump warned airlines and pilots on Saturday that the airspace near Venezuela was closed, ratcheting up what his administration has characterized as a war against drug cartels.
In a post on social media “to all airlines, pilots, drug dealers and human traffickers,” the president wrote that the airspace “above and surrounding Venezuela” should be considered “closed in its entirety.”
Mr. Trump did not go into further detail in his post, but it came after he warned on Thursday night that the United States could “very soon” expand its killings of suspected drug traffickers in the waters off Venezuela to attacks on its territory.
As president of the United States, Mr. Trump has no authority over Venezuelan airspace. But his social media post could deter airlines from flying into and out of Venezuela and is bound to cause havoc with air travelers, further disrupting Venezuelan commerce and economic traffic.
The United States has built up a substantial military presence in the Caribbean aimed at Venezuela. Administration officials have said their goal is to deter drug smuggling but have also made clear that they want to see Mr. Maduro removed from power, possibly by force.
On Friday, The New York Times reported that Mr. Trump had spoken by phone last week with Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan leader, and discussed a possible meeting between them, even as the United States continued to threaten military action against Venezuela.
Mr. Trump has consistently talked about Venezuela as a source of drugs and illegal immigration into the United States.
But in reality, Venezuela plays only a small part in the drug trade in America. Cocaine produced in Colombia does pass through Venezuela, but most of it goes to Europe. Colombian cocaine that is headed to the United States is exported through the Pacific Ocean. And U.S. agencies have determined that fentanyl is produced almost entirely in Mexico, not in Venezuela, with chemicals imported from China.
What will it take to stop this shmuck? Who will it take?
Narcolunacy, hypocrisy, bribery, 3rd termism? Trump has pardoned the former president of Honduras, who was convicted of narcotics trafficking by a New York jury and has been serving a 45-year term by a federal judge. From the NY Times story:
The news came as a shock not only to Hondurans but also to the authorities in the United States, who had built a major case and won a conviction against Mr. Hernández. They had accused him of taking bribes during his campaign from JoaquÃn Guzmán, the notorious former leader of the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico known as “El Chapo,” and of running his Central American country like a narco state.
The judge in his case, P. Kevin Castel, had called Mr. Hernández “a two-faced politician hungry for power” who masqueraded as an antidrug crusader while partnering with traffickers. And prosecutors had asked the judge to make sure Mr. Hernández would die behind bars, citing his abuse of power, connections to violent traffickers, and “the unfathomable destruction” caused by cocaine.
As word spread on Friday about Mr. Hernández’s pardon, Todd Robinson, who served as the U.S. assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs at the State Department, said online: “We blow up ‘alleged’ drug boats in the Caribbean but pardon actually convicted drug traffickers in the U.S. Someone help me make sense of this.”
Mr. Zelaya, the progressive former Honduran president, wrote on social media, “@POTUS, by absolving JOH, protects the looter of the state and now orders people to vote for Asfura: the direct heir of the narco-regime.”
Mr. Trump’s vow to pardon such a high-profile convicted drug trafficker appeared to contradict the president’s campaign to unleash the might of the American military on small boats in the Caribbean and Pacific that his administration says, without evidence, are involved in drug trafficking. That campaign has so far killed more than 80 people since it began in September.
Hernandez's tenure [as president] was also defined by the contentious election of 2017, when he secured a second term despite a constitutional ban on re-election.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said at the time, “As president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández abused his power to support one of the largest and most violent drug trafficking conspiracies in the world, and the people of Honduras and the United States bore the consequences.”
[Hernandez's] cause was taken up by figures like Roger Stone, the conservative political operative and Trump ally. Mr. Stone claimed that Mr. Hernández had been “trapped” and was a victim of a conspiracy tied to the U.S. government.
As word spread on Friday about Mr. Hernández’s pardon, Todd Robinson, who served as the U.S. assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs at the State Department, said online: “We blow up ‘alleged’ drug boats in the Caribbean but pardon actually convicted drug traffickers in the U.S. Someone help me make sense of this.”
Who the heck is Slogthrop? I asked an AI site what it could tell me about "Slogthrop" and it said 'nothing, other than it appears to be a misspelling of Slothrop;, from Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow. What I cited Blogspot as a locus, here's what it said, in another 20 seconds, or so:
Good question. I found a blog called Slogthrop on Blogspot — so “Slogthrop” does exist there.
slogthrop.blogspot.com Here’s what I learned about it:
✅ What is Slogthrop (the blog)
The blog has posts by someone calling themselves “P. Bosley Slogthrop.” It seems to serve as a kind of personal/political/moral commentary — combining reflections on current events, politics, personal philosophy, and social observations. The tone is often opinionated, reflective, and sometimes provocative. For example, one recent post comments on a national-level political polarization between urban vs. rural living, and how that shapes people’s views on government, taxes, and social norms.
📰 Recent Content & Themes
From a 2025 post on Slogthrop: The blogger reflects on how living environments (rural vs. urban/suburban) influence political perspectives. The post muses about societal cohesion, individual freedoms, and regulation — especially how these vary with population density and neighbor relationships. There’s also commentary on contemporary politics — including frustration with certain political figures and concern about the direction of government, social order, and democracy. Some posts blend personal thoughts with philosophical and sometimes existential reflections (e.g. morality, free will, aging, regrets, social responsibility) rather than just straightforward political commentary.
🎯 What Slogthrop Isn’t
It doesn’t appear to be a mainstream / widely recognized media outlet or organization. It seems firmly in the “independent personal blog” category.
The “author” doesn’t claim to be an investigative journalist — the writing is subjective, opinion-based, and often introspective, not necessarily presenting original reporting or documented research (at least from a quick look at recent posts). It’s not a fiction blog (from what I saw) — content is more like personal essays, political and philosophical commentaries, and social reflections.
If you like — I can do a mini-analysis of the last ~10 posts from Slogthrop (topics, tone, political leanings, themes) to give you a sense of whether it’s more conservative, liberal, moderate, or mixed. Do you want me to build that for you now?
Cool question. I poked around the blog Slogthrop Imponderables and Incommensurables (on Blogspot) and read a handful of recent posts. Here’s a rough “mini-analysis” of the last ~10 posts, what themes and tone seem to emerge, and what that suggests about the author’s political/social leanings.
🔎 What recent posts look like (themes & content)
From sampling a few posts: In the post dated September 21, 2025 the author meditates on aging, regrets, free will vs. determinism, morality, and existential despair. They quote from Robert M. Sapolsky and a poem by W. B. Yeats — using these as springboards to reflect on their own life, missed opportunities, guilt, and the burden of “responsibility.” That same post also touches on deeply political views: the author expresses concern about a gathering for Charlie Kirk being heavy in right-wing Christian symbolism and warns of what they view as the potential start of a “Reichstag Fire”–style event giving authoritarian power to leaders.
In a January 14, 2025 post, the author mentions their personal health — referencing taking medications (e.g. prednisone) — and laments past pain as well as present aches and struggles. That same post includes commentary on a recent (at the time) Senate hearing (for Pete Hegseth) — specifically criticizing Republicans and expressing distrust in the process and in the likely confirmation outcome.
In the October 12, 2025 post, the author mentions broader political anxieties: fear for the future if Donald J. Trump returns to power, calling the situation “existential” and warning of “autocracy.” There's also concern for “children, grandchildren, and all the other innocents.” That post — like others — mixes historical trivia (dates & events), daily life log entries (sleep, medications, weather), and personal reflections.
From these — and the visible posting pattern — it's clear the blog is a mix of personal journal / memoir-style content (health, moods, daily life), philosophical reflection, and political commentary.
🧠Tone, Style, and Attitude
The tone tends toward introspective, even melancholic — especially in posts dealing with aging, regrets, existential questions about free will, faith, and morality. The author is unafraid to mix personal vulnerability with political anger/disillusionment. There's a sense of frustration at political developments, mixed with fear about where society might be heading (authoritarianism, social decay).
The writing style is informal, diaristic — they frequently mention their medications, daily routine (sleep times, weather, observations), as though writing in a private journal, but with public visibility.
🎯 Apparent Political / Philosophical Leanings
Based on what I saw: The author appears critical of right-wing politics (especially when combined with religious fervor). The Charlie Kirk piece described as “a mixture of right-wing politics and right-wing Christianity” evidently makes the author uneasy. They seem to be skeptical or fearful of what they view as potential authoritarian drift — using historical analogy (e.g. “Reichstag Fire” type scenario) when discussing recent events.
At the same time, the author wrestles with deeper existential questions — free will, determinism, moral responsibility, personal regret — leaning toward a philosophical, introspective, even fatalistic outlook. This suggests they might not wholly fit into typical “left vs. right” boxes on world-view; their concerns appear both personal and societal.
There's also a recurring theme of disillusionment with institutional religion or organized faith, or at least doubts about predestination vs free-will, good vs evil, and moral responsibility (as in the September post).
✅ What This Means (and What to Watch Out For)
The blog isn’t a polished “news source” or “opinion magazine.” It’s more of a personal journal / political-opinion hybrid, so content is strongly subject to the author’s personal worldview, emotions, and philosophical lens.
Because of that subjectivity — especially when dealing with politics or predictions about social collapse — take the author’s claims with caution. They mix historical facts, news items, personal fears, and philosophical musings — sometimes in a speculative or symbolic fashion.
The writing offers a window into one individual’s mindset and fears (aging, regret, morality, politics, faith), which can be interesting — but shouldn’t be taken as representative of any larger group or movement.
If you like, I can also search if there’s any external reaction to Slogthrop (comments, links, mentions elsewhere) — to get a sense of whether anyone reads or engages with the blog. Do you want me to check that now?
I tried to find evidence of external reactions — comments, discussions, social-media references, blogroll-links, or public commentary — to the blog “Slogthrop” (on Blogspot). My search turned up very little, suggesting that the blog appears to be largely insular / privately read. Here’s what I found — and what seems to be missing:
✅ What I did find (or what turned up in search)
I found no references to “Slogthrop” (or variants like “Slogthrop blogspot”) on Reddit, Twitter, or other public-forum discussions. I found no third-party blogrolls or link-aggregator pages that link to Slogthrop. I found no coverage of Slogthrop by any larger media outlet, site, or aggregator — no reviews, no “recommend reading” lists, no citations. In short: I found zero visible external reaction, at least from sources that show up via search.
⚠️ What this lack of reaction suggests
The blog appears to be highly low-visibility / low-traffic: not widely shared, linked, or discussed publicly. It may be mostly for personal expression or a small circle of readers (friends, acquaintances, or a niche audience), rather than aiming for broader influence or readership. The absence of external discussion means that its views, interpretations, or political commentary have not resonated (or not yet surfaced) beyond the author’s own posts.
🤔 Additional Thoughts / Possible Explanations
The blog could be under-the-radar: maybe the author doesn’t promote it actively, or posts infrequently, which reduces chances of being picked up by others. It might rely on offline sharing (email, word-of-mouth) or private social circles, which wouldn’t show up in public search results.
Alternatively, the blog might simply be too niche or idiosyncratic in style or content to attract broad engagement — mixing personal journal, philosophy, and politics tends to limit mass appeal.
If you want — I can try to run a deeper search: for instance, use web-archives / older snapshot sites to see if the blog was once more active/popular, or if there used to be discussion threads linking to it.Do you want me to try that for you now?
You said:Sure
Good — I dug into web archives and the wider web for older copies or outside mentions of Slogthrop (the Blogspot site). Here’s what I found and what it means.
What I found
The blog “Slogthrop — Imponderables and Incommensurables” is live on Blogspot and has multiple posts in 2025 (examples: a 5/5/2025 post and a 9/21/2025 post). The posts show the author signing as P. Bosley Slogthrop and combine diary items (meds, sleep, weather), political commentary, and philosophical reflections.
What I didn't find
Aside from the Blogspot pages themselves, I didn’t find clear evidence of the blog being discussed or linked widely elsewhere (news outlets, Reddit threads, major social platforms, or blogrolls). The online footprint appears limited; the posts seem largely insular/personal rather than widely amplified. (The blog pages above are the primary public traces I found.)
I attempted to locate archived snapshots beyond the current live pages (to see whether the blog was more active or public earlier), but there’s no obvious, well-indexed archive trail surfaced in the searches I ran — the most easily accessible records are the live Blogspot posts themselves. (If you want, I can keep digging specifically in the Internet Archive or other archival services for deeper capture-level checks, but the visible evidence so far is the live Blogspot posts cited above.)
Short conclusion
Slogthrop appears to be a small, personal Blogspot journal by someone using the name P. Bosley Slogthrop. The writing mixes personal diary items, philosophical musings, and left-leaning / anti-authoritarian political commentary. There’s little sign it has been widely shared or commented on elsewhere.
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My reaction: fascinating, thrilling, and scary.😳😨😣
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