O Susana! Mendoza enters the 2027 race for mayor of Chicago
& Ossoff 2028 fever. Is it too early to catch it?
6-4-2026
This week:
News and Views — Hot takes, fully baked on why Texas Gov. Abbott shares the blame for Sheridan Gorman’s murder; on the Jon Ossoff for president movement; on the pathetic decision by the White House Correspondents’ Association; and more.
Land of Linkin’ — Where I tell readers where to go
Squaring up the news — Where Charlie Meyerson tells readers where to go
Media notes — What I would have done about the Scott Pelley problem at “60 Minutes”
Quotables — A collection of compelling, sometimes appalling passages I’ve encountered lately
Quips — The winning visual jokes and this week’s contest finalists
Green Lights — A fun and informative video on why so few people live in Southern Illinois
To no one’s surprise, Mendoza enters the 2027 mayor’s race
I like Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, and I’m glad that she made her long-rumored campaign for mayor official Wednesday morning with the release of this campaign video. She’s smart and tough and experienced, with a good record as a state lawmaker, city clerk and comptroller. She’ll be running as a centrist.
I don’t agree with her on every issue — for instance, I was disappointed by her Feb. 18 Tribune op-ed “Put Illinois students above politics, and opt in to the federal scholarship program” (gift link) — but I’m eager to see how her entire platform stacks up against the other major candidates in the race:
Announced candidates Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas and U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley.
Presumptive candidates Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias and incumbent Brandon Johnson.
An alderman or two might jump in along with the inevitable Willie Wilson.
Mendoza last sought the mayor’s office in 2019 but came in fifth place, hobbled by her ties to then-indicted, later-convicted 14th Ward Ald. Ed Burke and the fact that she had formerly referred to controversial (and later-indicted) Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan as her political mentor. Nearly eight years later, I consider those connections to be old news, but those making attack ads for her opponents are unlikely to see it that way.
And while it’s true that incumbent Mayor Brandon Johnson isn’t polling very well these days, don’t count him out. His approval numbers (34% favorable, 44% unfavorable in Suffolk University/Tribune poll taken in April) are actually better than those of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (31% favorable, 56% unfavorable in a UC Berkeley/LA Times poll taken in March), and Bass advanced to a runoff when she finished first with 35% of the vote in an election held Tuesday.
Last week’s winning quip
My biggest fear is that, when I die, my wife will sell all my musical instruments for what I told her they cost. — tonytheborofan (on Threads)
Here are this week’s nominees and the winner of the Tuesday visual-jokes poll. Here is the direct link to the new poll.
News & Views
News: A lawyer for the undocumented immigrant accused in the shooting death of Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman claims Texas officials bused him to Chicago even though he asked to be deported to Colombia.
View: Significant if true. If Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott chose to include Medina among the pawns he bused to so-called sanctuary cities instead of simply deporting him, Abbott bears at least as much responsibility here as Joe Biden.
News: Democratic Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff says he has “zero interest in running for president in 2028.”
View: I do not take this declaration seriously, and I’m surprised that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran a headline Wednesday, “Sorry, liberals. Jon Ossoff isn’t running for president.”
What else is Ossoff going to say? He’s running for reelection in November in a state won by Donald Trump in 2024, and Georgia voters might not like it if they thought he was going to be focusing his time and energy on another campaign rather than representing them in Washington.
When Barack Obama was a rookie U.S. senator getting presidential buzz in 2006, he had this exchange with “Meet the Press” host Tim Russert:
Obama: I will serve out my full six-year term. You know, Tim, if you get asked enough, sooner or later you get weary. And you start looking for new ways of saying things. But my thinking has not changed.
Russert: So you will not run for president or vice president in 2008?
Obama: I will not.
Ossoff has been similarly Shermanesque, saying he has “zero interest in running for president in 2028” and called such speculation “fantasy football.” But Ossoff, 39, is getting flirtatious looks from Democratic political junkies nationwide, as the Hill reports:
Ossoff is becoming a rock star in today’s divided Democratic Party … (and) what may be making him a rising star now is his ability to occupy political space that many Democrats are struggling to navigate.
He’s not a progressive firebrand in the mold of Bernie Sanders. He’s not a centrist who avoids confrontation either. Instead, Ossoff has tried to blend populist economic messaging with a more moderate record.
He supported the Republican-backed Laken Riley Act on immigration, a move that angered some progressives but appealed to voters concerned about border security. He also backed cryptocurrency legislation that many on the left opposed. Those votes gave him bipartisan credentials at a time when swing voters often say they want politicians willing to cross party lines.
At the same time, Ossoff frequently attacks corporate power, rising costs and what he describes as an elite political class disconnected from everyday Americans. That’s language that resonates with many progressives.
See also: “What Suddenly Made Jon Ossoff Into Such a Democratic Rock Star?” in The New Republic.
While Ossoff regularly bashes Trump, he’s trying to define the core divide in U.S. politics as a wealthy elite versus average Americans, not Republicans versus Democrats. So the senator said earlier this year, “Trump was supposed to fight for the working class. Instead, he’s literally closing rural clinics and hospitals to cut taxes for George Soros and Elon Musk.”
Ossoff was raised in an interfaith household and identifies as a “pro-Israel Jewish American” who nevertheless is a strong advocate for Palestinian rights.
Last year, Georgia Recorder columnist Jay Bookman wrote:
When the Senate was considering a series of resolutions to stop the sale of some — but not most — U.S. weaponry to Israel … the politically easy, obvious choice for Ossoff was to vote against those resolutions.
That was not the choice that Ossoff made.
Knowing that he risked the anger of friends, supporters and donors, knowing that it would create a breach with some in the Jewish community in which he had grown up, knowing that he might be risking his political future, Ossoff chose to vote in favor of those resolutions. As he explained at the time, his vote was a protest against Israel’s massive, disproportionate and indiscriminate retaliation in Gaza, using U.S. military equipment, that had killed tens of thousands of non-combatants and left hundreds of thousands close to starvation.
Obama announced his run for the presidency in February 2007 — a year and nine months from the 2008 election. We are now two years and five months from the 2028 election. I’m just sayin’.
News: The White House Correspondents’ Association has invited Donald Trump to speak at its rescheduled banquet.
View: Pathetic. These fools are planning to get all dressed up and listen to a rambling stemwinder from a man who is openly contemptuous of them and of the free press they ostensibly celebrate.
Trump admitted that he was planning to deliver a harshly critical speech at the dinner in April before the event was abruptly called off when an armed man tried to breach the security perimeter. This was the WHCA’s opportunity to rethink the entire affair in which celebrities and politicians hobnob with journalists in an excruciating exhibition of tone-deaf clubbiness. Inviting Trump to speak at the rescheduled dinner July 24 assures that he will be the focus of the news coverage that evening.
Since the president’s speech traditionally closes out the evening, it would be fitting if all the actual journalists in the hall stood up and walked out before he said a word. Why would any self-respecting person sit there waiting to be insulted?
News: “Work Starting Soon On Walking Path, Dog Parks And More Under North Side Red Line Tracks.”
View: This idea is not for the birds! The graphic accompanying this story, provided by the CTA, shows a smooth underbelly for the elevated tracks:
In other words, no place for pigeons to roost and poop. It would be lovely if the CTA and the city could seal off the undersides of viaducts, provide bright lighting and make them safe and pleasant places to walk.
Land of Linkin’
HistoryFacts.com — A list of “Shockingly Dangerous Toys Your Grandparents Played With” includes a few toys I played with, and I am nobody’s grandpa. Yet. The list includes the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab from 1950, “Widely considered one of the most dangerous toys ever produced ... a children’s science kit containing actual radioactive material.” The list does not include “Bag o’ Glass” or “Happy Fun Ball.”
“They Walk Among Us,” a webpage from the White House, is notably vile, comparing immigrants to extraterrestrials and referring to undocumented immigrants as “it.”
The Journalist’s Resource: “Public funding for sports stadiums: A primer and research roundup.” Also “Stadium Subsidies Are Massive Ripoffs That Don’t Help Cities,” from the American Enterprise Institute.
CNN: “Fact check: 28 separate false claims Trump made this week.” I would use the word “lies,” but whatever. Related from Associated Press: “Trump claims he’s making food more affordable but his examples ignore the big picture.”
Associated Press: “About 65% of U.S. adults believe same-sex marriage should be legal, down slightly from 71% in 2022 and 2023. Most of the change is due to dropping acceptance among Republicans.” Of course it is!
Austin Berg: “Chicago can look to D.C. for ‘teen takeover’ reforms.”
Here is a six-minute attack ad about the depths of the corruption of Texas Republican U.S. Senate nominee Paxton. It was made by the National Republican Senatorial Committee. This will save Democrat James Talarico’s campaign a lot of money!
Belated tip of the hat to “Mayor Brandon Johnson keeps trying to convince Chicagoans they’re wrong to want ShotSpotter back,” (gift link) a Tribune editorial. MBJ’s delays and intransigence on this issue have been dismaying.
Steve Chapman: “Donald Trump the builder is even better at demolition.”
On this week’s episode of “The Mincing Rascals” podcast, Brandon Pope, Steve Bertrand and I joined host John Williams to discuss the firing of Scott Pelley and the “Obamalisk,” a name given to the imposing Obama Center by the New York Times, and many other items in the news. And look for the YouTube version that will be posted later in the week.
From the Picayune Plus:
What do you think of James Talarico’s quip that God is non-binary?
The NewsWheel puzzle, plus another discovery by noted paleontologist Paul Sereno
Squaring up the news
This is a bonus supplement to the Land of Linkin’ from veteran radio, internet and newspaper journalist Charlie Meyerson. Each week, he offers a selection of intriguing links from his daily email news briefing Chicago Public Square:
■ The AP surveys the many ways Trump’s used the presidency to benefit himself and his pals.
■ USA Today’s self-proclaimed “loser lefty” columnist Rex Huppke has dubbed the “Freedom 250” event “Wouldstink.” Also from Huppke: “He. Doesn’t. Care. About. You. And he never has. Republicans know this. They also don’t care.”
■ “If you thought Tulsi Gabbard was a problem …” Law professor and former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance says President Trump’s choice of Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte as his next national intelligence director means that “Pulte, whose role will include advising the president on potential foreign interference in the elections, could aid with an agenda designed to ensure favorable outcomes—seizing ballots or election equipment, or even offering a rationale for canceling elections with claims of foreign interference.”
■ The Daily Beast: “The Daily Show” humiliated Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner for buying an Albanian Mediterranean island—which Popular Information says has been the focus of mass protests and a corruption probe.
■ In what Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch says may be New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie’s best column ever (another gift link), Bouie writes, “America broke something when it gave Trump a second chance.”
■ “Smash Authoritarianism Summer Camp”: The activist group States at the Core next week will offer nightly virtual training sessions on “how to grow … networks that are ready for what comes next.” Ctrl-Alt-Right-Delete columnist Melissa Ryan recommends attending “if you want … to join or start community defense efforts where you live.”
■ Trump Tower on Obama Avenue update: Remember how Square last week flagged a nascent campaign to rename the street on which the president’s Chicago high-rise is located? As of late Wednesday the number of signatures had topped 12,400.
■ Politico: The June 18 grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center is “the hottest ticket in town”—but Trump’s not invited.
■ Block Club: “A Chicago author’s children’s book became one of the most banned books in America.”
■ Tech watchdog Kim Komando on insurance companies’ use of artificial intelligence to deny claims in 1.2 seconds: “Less than 0.2% of people ever appeal. But when they do, up to 90% win”—and she offers an AI prompt you can use to generate an appeal “using the insurer’s exact words against them.”
■ “Podcasting has become this explosive medium”: Veteran broadcaster and podcast host John St. Augustine invited your Square columnist to discuss the intersection of news, podcasting … and farmers market music.
You can (and should) subscribe to Chicago Public Square free here.
Media notes
CBS made a crisis management blunder in firing Scott Pelley
The smart response from CBS executives to criticism from veteran “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley would have read something like this:
We regret the tone and content of Mr. Pelley’s remarks to our new executive producer during a staff meeting on Monday. We understand that transitions in leadership can be unsettling and create anger, skepticism and other raw emotions. And while we wish Mr. Pelley had chosen other words and perhaps a different venue to express his concerns, we continue to value his work and intend to prove to him and the other members of the “60 Minutes” team that the program will improve and thrive in the months and years ahead. We look forward to gaining his confidence and retaining and growing the confidence of our viewers.
How hard would it have been to take that high road?
First, the background, beginning with Pelley’s attack on Bari Weiss, the inexperienced ideologue who was made the network’s editor-in-chief last October:
Pelley: “She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it, and she’s been doing exactly that. She has no qualifications for her job; you (Nick Bilton, just named executive producer of ‘60 Minutes’) have slender qualifications for this job. The changes that she’s made at the ‘Evening News’ have been catastrophic, so why should we expect that any of this is going to be any better?”
Now The Associated Press on Wednesday morning, after Pelley’s firing on Tuesday:
In a termination notice … Bilton, a technology journalist and filmmaker with no traditional broadcast news experience, accused Pelley of carrying out an “ambush” against him.
“Yesterday, you hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications, and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt,” the letter states. … Bilton said Pelley’s “performative display of hostility” demonstrated that he has “no interest in contributing to the future success of the show.”
Pelley, 68, a 37-year veteran at the network, fired back with a statement of his own:
Last month, “60 Minutes” lost its DNA when our entire senior leadership and two of our best on-air correspondents were cruelly fired without cause. Good people were silenced because they stood up for our audience. They stood for fairness against the forces of political bias; they stood for professionalism against chaos.
For my part, new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified. To date, in every case, I have managed to ignore these instructions or refuse them. Recently, politicians have been invited to choose correspondents for interviews on the broadcast. Giving politicians control over “60 Minutes” interviews is not how this is done. Finally, incompetence and unprofessionalism in the new management have wreaked havoc. In a case involving one of my stories, the entire program came within 19 minutes of not getting on the air at all. …
The collapse of values at the top has become untenable. The leadership of “60 Minutes” is no longer recognizable. The principles I hold dear are gone, and so I must leave as well.
In another memo, Pelley added:
I’m saddened to see the transcript of the CBS News morning editorial meeting.
Bari Weiss knows what she said is not true. In the meeting on Tuesday, in which I was effectively fired, there was no effort of any kind to “find a way back,” as Weiss said in the editorial meeting. At no point did anyone in the Tuesday meeting suggest that there could be steps taken by either side that would lead to a resolution. Weiss and Tom Cibrowski (president and executive editor of CBS News) were openly hostile from the start. “Firing” was raised by Cibrowski in the first 15 seconds. No CBS executive, at any time, suggested “a way back.” To say so now is disingenuous. And they know it.
In fact, Weiss, Cibrowski and Nick Bilton refused to answer my questions. I asked Weiss a number of questions about why she fired the entire senior staff of 60 Minutes a few days before and without cause.
“I’m not answering that question,” she said.
I asked why she did not come to “60 Minutes’” offices to explain her actions.
“I’m not answering that question.”
Why did she fire “60 Minutes” Executive Producer Tanya Simon?
“I’m not answering that question.”
Why fire correspondent Cecilia Vega?
“I’m not answering that question.”
Why fire correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi?
“I’m not answering that question.”
Throughout the meeting, the CBS executives were abrupt, dismissive and uninterested in dialogue. Suddenly, and to my surprise, Cibrowski declared, “This conversation is over!”
“Why?” I asked. “I’m happy to answer your questions.”
“This conversation is over!” Cibrowski repeated, raising his voice and standing to show me the door.
“I’m happy to keep talking,” I added.
No constructive dialogue was allowed by the CBS executives at any point. I was stonewalled for about 10 minutes and then, for no apparent reason, “This conversation is over.”
I am pained that the staff of CBS News was misled in the Wednesday morning conference call. These executives cannot gain the trust of the staff with lies. This is antithetical to everything we stand for and reveals contempt for what journalists do.
Will veteran “60 Minutes” correspondents Lesley Stahl, 84, and Bill Whitaker, 74, be the next to go, perhaps defiantly retiring in solidarity with Pelley? Insiders are speculating.
I will still watch sports on CBS, for I am weak. But otherwise, I’m avoiding the network in a futile little protest against the conservative takeover of the news division.
New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger sounds AI alarm
In a speech to the World News Media conference Monday, Sulzberger decried the “brazen theft” of intellectual property by AI companies that siphons “off the audiences and revenue that otherwise would go to the news organizations that created this work.”
Sulzberger: I fear we are careening toward a future with fewer and fewer journalists to do the expensive, difficult work of original reporting — going to places, talking to people, digging up information, covering important issues and events, providing context and analysis, investigating the powerful. A future where a crucial wellspring of a healthy society and a stable democracy — the truth, understanding and accountability provided by original journalism — continues to dry up. …
Over the last two decades, the United States has, by some estimates, lost 75 percent of its journalists and more than 3,000 newspapers. Another newspaper shutters every three days. Digital news outlets have not filled a fraction of that void. … Over the last two decades, the combined amount newspapers earned from advertising has already dropped by 80 percent. …
Vast swaths of America now lack a single reporter asking questions at city hall, covering local schools and connecting their community with a shared fact base. And when you look at the most expensive and challenging forms of reporting — investigating misconduct or going to the front lines of conflicts — you’ll find that the number of journalists doing this work has fallen more dramatically.
Programming note from Rick Kogan
Rick Kogan, veteran Tribune feature reporter and columnist, posted to Facebook that his weekly WGN-AM 720 show will at least temporarily be off the airwaves:
No “After Hours” this Sunday, as we take a break while a couple of new shows move into that vaunted 5-7 pm timeslot. WGN would like to continue its long, very long, relationship with me and has been rather persuasive in explaining how a podcast version of the show would allow for longer interviews (uninterrupted by news and commercials) and give me more flexibility. So there is much for me to learn before we launch or crash. I will keep you posted.
One of the shows taking the place of “After Hours” is hosted by MAGA friendly pundit Batya Ungar-Sargon. Sample headline from her work at The Free Press: “Why Trump Should Have Won the Nobel Peace Prize.”
Tribune debuts a column on theater news
This week saw the debut of “The Theater Loop with Chris Jones,” a compendium of tidbits and recommendations by the paper’s drama critic/editorial page editor. The column will be weekly, whereas Robert Channick’s new column “Chicago Media Report” is appearing just every other week.
Sacramento Bee is raising Kane
Lizzie Kane, the ace housing reporter for the Tribune who resigned last September after failing to reach “a mutually beneficial agreement” with management for her return from a budgetary layoff, has taken a job with the Sacramento Bee. She will cover the newly created “farm-to-fork” beat, “covering the decisions behind what gets planted and harvested, and how those decisions impact jobs, grocery and restaurant prices, and people’s overall cost of living.”
There she will be working under Executive Editor Chris Fusco, former executive editor of the Sun-Times. Fusco is married to former Tribune and Sun-Times travel editor Lori Rackl.
Quotables
A collection of compelling, sometimes appalling passages I’ve encountered lately
Rogé Karma in The Atlantic — Prices are low because investors expect Trump to end the war before prices get too high; but because prices are low, Trump faces less pressure to end the war. In fact, the president seems to have figured out that he can calm the oil markets simply by gesturing at the prospect of a peace deal every so often. Of course, a peace deal or a new cease-fire could still be announced at any moment. But the dynamic between Trump and the markets—call it the TACO equilibrium—is what has kept the war going longer than almost anyone expected.
Doug Balloon — “I’m Kid Rock.” “I’m Naomi Wolf.” “I’m Kanye West.” “I’m Matt Taibbi.” “I’m Catturd.” Those stories, plus Rob Schneider, tonight on “60 Minutes.”
Michelle Goldberg in The New York Times on the controversy in the Chicago office of the United States attorney — The former home of the legendary prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald — known for going after both Al Qaeda and the Dick Cheney aide Scooter Libby — is devolving into just another squalid arm of Trump’s vengeance campaign. In response to the (“Broadview Six”) debacle, Andrew Boutros, the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for the Northern District, who himself was accused of having personal contact with the grand jury, has announced “sweeping reforms to internal grand jury practices and disclosures.” His announcement brought to mind the hot dog meme from “I Think You Should Leave”: “We’re all trying to find the guy who did this.”
Chicago-based sports marketing consultant Marc Ganis — It’s self-evident that the Bears pursue the Indiana option that’s already been legislatively approved. (Illinois House Speaker) Chris Welch said, “We’re going to talk about it over the summer.” What are they going to talk about that they didn’t talk about the last five months? They had five months to get something done. They wasted it all and decided to put everything into the last few hours and didn’t get anything done. … Is this any way to run a state government? No fucking way.
Old joke of unknown origin that is recycled nearly every year, no matter who is president — Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo has declined an invitation to visit the White House, saying, “If I’d wanted to see a horse’s ass, I would have finished second.”
Donald Trump on negotiations with Iran — I don’t care if they’re over, honestly. I really don’t care. I couldn’t care less. If they’re over, they’re over. If they’re not, you know, I think they took too much time. Frankly, I thought they started to get very boring.
Stephen Miller — It’s very bold that Democrats would choose Texas to nominate their first transgender Senate candidate who’s transitioning into a female. When Talarico goes in for a blood test, blood doesn’t come out, instead soy milk comes out. This man has less testosterone than Jasmine Crockett.
Betty Bowers — Men who worship Trump, a man who wears liquid foundation, is obsessed with ballrooms, dances to gay anthems from the ’70s, plays music from Broadway musicals, talks fondly about Arnold Palmer’s enormous penis, and gushes about how hot Jaxson Dart is, are questioning James Talarico’s sexuality?
The Volatile Mermaid — Imagine if a woman president crashed the economy and started a war with no end in sight, and her biggest, seemingly ONLY concern was building a ballroom and redecorating the White House.
Georgia Sen. Jon Ossof on Donald Trump — He’s trying to put his face on the money, did you see that? He's building a monument to himself. But see, Atlanta, he's doing these things now because no one will honor him when he’s gone. Because he's a failed president and a national disgrace.
Texas Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico — The President of the United States said I insulted Jesus. You want to know what insults Jesus? Kicking the sick off their healthcare while cutting taxes for billionaires. You know what insults Jesus? Deporting the stranger, and separating babies from their mothers. You know what insults Jesus? Bombing innocent schoolchildren in Iran and sending our brave men and women off to die in another forever war. You know what insults Jesus? Covering up the Epstein files and then refusing to prosecute a single person in them.
Ginal1974 — A message to all sane Republicans: He pardoned 1,600 violent criminals. You said nothing. He bulldozed the East Wing. You said nothing. He interfered with the release of the Epstein files. You said nothing. He took over the Kennedy Center and renamed it after himself. You said nothing. He accepted a $400 million airplane as a personal gift. You said nothing. He threatened Canada, Cuba, Denmark, Greenland, Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil. You said nothing. He tariffed just about everyone but Russia, causing inflation and instability worldwide. You said nothing. He attacked a nation during mediated negotiations. You said nothing. His ill-conceived war killed 175 children on day one. You said nothing. He alienated and insulted our allies. You said nothing. His ICE Army terrorized and murdered U.S. citizens. You said nothing. He committed murder on the high seas. You said nothing. He co-opted the Justice Department and directed it to prosecute his political enemies. You said nothing. It’s time to start talking.
Unknown — Nothing commemorates Pride Month better than half-naked guys wrestling on the White house lawn.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — With the Iranian government, we did not have regime change, but we changed the regime.
Quips
In Tuesday’s paid-subscriber editions, I present my favorite tweets that rely on visual humor. Subscribers then vote for their favorite. Here is the winner from this week’s contest:
Anyone can vote in the contest, but to have it delivered fresh to your email inbox each Tuesday morning along with the rest of the Picayune Plus, to participate in the comment forums and to ease your conscience, you can become a paid supporter:
The new nominees for Quip of the Week:
The quick brown fox did some other shit too, but nobody ever wants to talk about that. — @autogynefiles
It’s not my fault that when I said you looked “stunning” you assumed I meant in a positive way. — @MelvinofYork
When I can’t sleep, it feels like a message from God telling me to look at my phone. — @sliceofwife.bsky.social
People crying about stepping on Legos have clearly never heard of jacks. — unknown
I just got kicked out of a wine tasting for saying “these taste the same” after every one I tried. — @Bob_Janke
The parents at this eighth grade graduation mass are acting like they’ve never seen someone drinking out of a flask before. — @nayele18maybe
What’s a movie everyone recommends to you but you’ve never seen? Mine’s the safety video for this forklift I’m operating. — @VibesBummer
Whenever I am concluding doing business with someone, I ask “was it a pleasure doing business with me?” — @jakevig.bsky.social
Glass is a poor choice for slippers. Doesn’t breathe. Terrible traction when dancing with princes. — @AnneHatfieldVO
Why wait until you own a boat? Name your fridge. — @_NatalieWould
You may have to be of a certain age to get the “quick brown fox” quip, as “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” was a test sentence to see if all the letters on a manual typewriter worked. There are slightly shorter sentences that use all 26 letters (pangrams) — “Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs” is one of my favorites — but the quick brown fox is the most famous.
Vote here and check the current results in the poll.
Green Lights
Green Light features recommendations from me and readers not only of songs — as in the former Tune of the Week post — but also of TV shows, streaming movies, books, podcasts and other diversions that, with only rare exceptions, can be enjoyed at home.
Today’s Green Light, a video titled “Why Almost Nobody Lives in Southern Illinois Today,” comes from reader Mike C., and has my endorsement as well.
The description accurately reflects the content:
“Within Illinois, almost the entire population and economy is crammed into the flat top-right corner around Chicago, while the deep south is rugged, wild, and virtually empty. But what if I told you it used to be the exact opposite? Two hundred years ago, Southern Illinois was the booming center of the American frontier at the confluence of the two most important rivers in the country, while Chicago was just a miserable, muddy swamp. So how did the story completely flip around? Why did Chicago boom while Cairo sank into obscurity?”
I was today years old when I learned this stuff! Worth 20 minutes of your time.
The narration and graphics are excellent. Creator Geoff Gibson is an Oregonian, and the clickbait titles of his popular videos have me wanting to watch more:
The Bizarre Reality of Earth’s Largest Lake
Why America’s Smallest State Makes No Sense
Why 60,000 People Live on a Rock with Zero Resources
The Real Reason Why Most of Brazil is Empty
The Massive Anomaly Hiding in Tennessee
Why Germany Has No Major Cities On The North Sea
The Gulf of Mexico’s Most Dangerous Phenomena
Why The US Won’t Let This Road Connect
The Map Mistake That Created a State
Why No Other Country is Like Argentina
Why Canada Has a Massive “Dead Zone”
The Bizarre Geography of Canada’s Empty Province
Why America’s Most Important State Is Collapsing
Why Minnesota’s Geography Changed the World
Why West Virginia Is Emptying Out
Why the North Pole is a Geographic Lie
Why Taiwan’s Geography is a Ticking Time Bomb
On “The Mincing Rascals,” the panelists had these green lights:
John — Rock star Chrissie Hynde’s rant against cell phones at concerts.
Brandon — “Masters of the Universe,” a film opening Friday.
Steve — Author Melanie Benjamin’s new novel, “The Windsor Affair,” featured this week on the podcast “Steve Bertrand on Books.”
Info
I am a former opinion columnist for the Chicago Tribune. I began publishing the Picayune Sentinel on Sept. 9, 2021, roughly two and a half months after I took a buyout from the newspaper. This issue exceeds in size the maximum length for a standard email. To read the entire issue in your browser, click on the headline link above. Paid subscribers receive each Picayune Plus in their email inbox each Tuesday, are part of our civil and productive commenting community and enjoy the sublime satisfaction of supporting this enterprise. Browse and search back issues here.
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Batya Ungar-Sargon.
9 out of 10 ICE agents would arrest her based on her name alone. The 10th would too, but he was too busy beating up a legit citizen for standing too close to him.
Trump prosecutes people who stand up to him, and degrades, exploits and mocks those who do not. Surely the White House correspondents know that (they are journalists after all). Why, in heaven's name, are they restaging a dinner when they know that their guest of dishonor will fling his feces at them?