The Daily Parker

Cassie and I took an hour-long walk through the LaBagh Woods and Forest Glen this afternoon:

It's still a very nice day, so I might have to take her on another half-hour walk soon.

The OAFPOTUS signed a batch of executive orders yesterday announcing the administration's support for building more nuclear power, a policy that on its face sounds great:

One order directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the nation’s independent safety regulator, to streamline its rules and to take no more than 18 months to approve applications for new reactors. The order also urges the agency to consider lowering its safety limits for radiation exposure, saying that current rules go beyond what is needed to protect human health.

The Trump administration also set a goal of quadrupling the size of the nation’s fleet of nuclear power plants, from nearly 100 gigawatts of electric capacity today to 400 gigawatts by 2050. One gigawatt is enough to power nearly 1 million homes.

In recent years, more than a dozen companies have begun developing a new generation of smaller reactors a fraction of the size of those at Vogtle [a plant under construction in Georgia]. The hope is that these reactors would have a lower upfront price tag, making them a less risky investment for utilities. They might also be based on a design that could be repeated often, as opposed to custom-built, to reduce costs.

OK, so what's the problem? Nuclear power is cleaner and safer than fossil-fuel power, especially over the long term. Despite disasters in Ukraine (1986) and Japan (2011), civilian nuclear power has killed orders of magnitude fewer people than coal mining and emissions from fossil-fuel power generation, for example.

So why am I skeptical? Because I don't trust the OAFPOTUS to tell me the time of day without trying to steal my watch, let alone to pass a major policy initiative on the merits. It's telling that the signing event included comments about building small-scale reactors to power crypto mining, for example. And given the thoroughly demonstrated lack of competence in the administration, and their desire to destroy the regulatory state entirely, I worry that the lack of oversight will lead to a nuclear disaster that will set the industry back another few decades. (Remember, a spectacular accident that kills 10 people is far scarier to most of us apes than the ongoing loss of millions of years of human lifespans from fossil-fuel pollution and resource extraction.)

I'm willing to give the administration and the Republican party support when they do the right thing. But their behavior over the last 10 years has been to (a) design policies to enrich themselves instead of providing for the general welfare and (b) screw up the implementation, whether through incompetence or malice, to render them worse than doing nothing. I hope this nuclear initiative will work out, or at least give my party some runway to fix it when we return to power. Yet neither the OAFPOTUS nor the Republican Party as a whole fill me with confidence that this time will be different.

Today's theme—in fact, almost every day's theme on the Daily Parker lately—is a group doing one thing that freaks everyone out to distract from the other thing that they really want to do. For instance:

• In the middle of passing the biggest wealth transfer from the poor to the rich in American history, Republicans are lying about the plight of the working class being all Obama's fault. Because of course they are, and of course it isn't.
• Even though the OAFPOTUS is attacking Harvard to take attention away from the biggest wealth transfer from the poor to the rich in American history, the assault on the country's oldest university is "an astonishing act of national self-sabotage," writes Yascha Mounk.
• Michelle Singletary explains how the "no tax on tips" provision in the bill proposing the biggest wealth transfer from the poor to the rich in American history will function to make the lives of lower-wage employees worse, while enriching gig companies like Uber at their expense. For example, if it becomes law, Uber will immediately move their workers to a tip-only structure and lower ride costs, simultaneously taking a bigger chunk of the ride revenue for the company while lowering the amount that riders tip. Sucks to be an Uber driver if that happens. (Even more than it does already.)
• ProPublica explains the nonsense coming out of the administration about "invasion," and why Stephen Miller is spending so much energy on this fringe legal theory, even as Congress is passing the biggest wealth transfer from the poor to the rich in American history.

Did I mention that the House voted at 1am yesterday to impoverish more Americans and create more billionaires with their money than has ever happened in the United States?

Keep this in mind when you vote in 18 months and for the rest of your lives: The unprecedented—and I'm including Harding and Reagan here—corruption and outright theft of your money that the Republican Party are perpetrating on the United States is the culmination of a 60-year program that started when Ronald Reagan was Governor of California. They have been working on this since 1964. I am not exaggerating. So the next time a Republican tells you they have a plan to help the working class or to bring "good jobs" back or whatever lie they're telling you, remember how they have used the power voters have given them.

And if you're a MAGA Republican, take a good hard look at what they're doing to you, even while you're cheering the cruelty they're inflicting on everyone you hate.

Spot the moment when I removed the Inner Drive Technology WHQ outdoor weather station from its repurposed birdhouse:

It lives in a birdhouse to protect it from the sun, rain, and (ironically) birds. However, when we have a long stretch of really humid air as we had for most of the week, the birdhouse gets a bit stuffy. I thought that might be the case when the closest other Netatmo weather station showed a much more reasonable temperature-dewpoint spread all day.

So, no, it's not still raining. In fact it's quite pleasant outside, as Cassie and I will soon experience. But my poor Netatmo sensor was feeling a bit clammy.

First, there is no update on Cassie. She had a quick consult today, but they didn't schedule the actual diagnostics that she needs, so we'll go back first thing Tuesday. She does have a small mast cell tumor on her head, but the location makes her oncologist optimistic for treatment. I'll post again next week after the results come back from her spleen and lymph node aspirations.

Meanwhile, in the real world, things lurch forward and backward as the OAFPOTUS's political trajectory slides by millimeters towards Buchanan levels of popularity and effectiveness:

• Jen Rubin sounds yet another alarm, pointing out that charging your political opponents with bullshit crimes makes you a fascist.
• In a fragile but important win for the First Amendment, Justice Amy Coney Barrett (R) recused herself from two Oklahoma cases, which allowed the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision barring publicly-funded religious schools to stand. (Because the per curiam order was unsigned, it's not clear who cast the 4th vote to affirm; my money's on Chief Justice Roberts (R).)
• Nicholas Kristof suggests three ways that we can undermine the OAFPOTUS's autocratic project.
• The Chicago City Council agreed to $87.9 million more in settlements stemming from police brutality over the years, while the police union does nothing to prevent it.
• A bill working its way through the Illinois legislature would require companies to provide an itemized list of fees before a purchase in an attempt to curb "junk fees."

I took half a day off of work because I didn't know how long Cassie's appointment would take, so after my 4pm meeting I will sod off for the rest of the day. There will be much walkies and much patting of the dog starting around 4:30.

I encountered a couple of head-scratchers in today's news feeds. They seem like parodies but, sadly, aren't.

Exhibit the first: Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss (Cons.—South West Norfolk), who got tossed from office in less time than it takes for a head of lettuce to rot because of her disastrous mismanagement of the UK economy, has an op-ed in today's Washington Post praising the OAFPOTUS and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for the "herculean task ahead of them in turning around the U.S. economy and gripping the deep state that has promoted managed decline."

This comes just a day after economist Paul Krugman reminded the world exactly how Truss crashed the UK economy, and how the OAFPOTUS's big, awful bill would be worse. (Her funniest line: "I faced a barrage of criticism from establishment economists who claimed that these actions would stoke inflation and increase the deficit." Yes, because, you see, my dear Mrs Truss, the establishment economists can do arithmetic.)

Exhibit the second: The New York Times' real-estate section asks, "Is this Chicago suburb for you?" The suburb is Elmhurst, so I can tell the Times quite unequivocally that it isn't. I mean, if you're looking to trash some lovely old housing stock and build a McMansion hellscape, then maybe it's for you, like it is for this young couple:

Drew and Ariana Voelsch, a couple in their early 30s, moved to Elmhurst in 2023, from River Forest, a suburb just west of Chicago. They tore down a 1,176-square-foot farmhouse to construct their 5,000-square-foot dream home, a common practice among buyers in Elmhurst.

Why. Just, why. Anyone want to bet the 110 m² house they destroyed fit nicely on the lot and the 465 m² house their builders slapped together looks like an alien dropped it there from the Bizarro dimension?

Look, if you want a suburb with a variety of interesting housing stock, pretty tree-lined streets, and its own connection to the urban fabric of Chicago, might I suggest Evanston? Or if it has to be west of the city, how about Wheaton, which has a lovely downtown and a (mostly) walkable core around it? Or—I'm asking you, Mr and Mrs Voelsch—River Forest?

(I'll also call out Kate Wagner's post last month in Patreon that can't be missed: "The McMansionization of the White House, or: Regional Car Dealership Rococo: a treatise." Because some people need another reminder that the OAFPOTUS is what poor people think a rich person is like, and what an actual rich person thinks is hideous.)

I have to take Cassie to the vet now, but I will return to the absurd and troubling world around us when I get back.

We've had a run of dreary, unseasonably cold weather that more closely resembles the end of March than the middle of May. I've been looking at this gloom all day:

We may have some sun tomorrow afternoon through the weekend, but the forecast calls for continuous north winds and highs around 16°C—the normal high for April 23rd, not May 23rd. Summer officially starts in 10 days. It sure doesn't feel like it.

Speaking of the gloomy and the retrograde:

• Former US judge and George HW Bush appointee J. Michael Luttig argues that the OAFPOTUS "is destroying the American presidency, though I would not say that is intentional and deliberate."
• In a case of "careful what you wish for," FBI Director Dan Bongino can't escape his past conspiracy theorizing but also can't really escape the realities of (or his lack of qualifications for) his new position.
• Writer Louis Pisano excoriates Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez for their "idea that billionaires can buy their way into virtue with just enough gala invitations, foundation launches, and pocket-change donations" in Cannes this week.
• Adam Kinzinger shakes his fist at the OAFPOTUS-murdered Voice of America, now "subsidized by taxpayer dollars [to broadcast] Trump-aligned propaganda in 49 languages worldwide."
• Jen Rubin, vacationing in Spain, explains how the country's centuries-long Catholic purges of Jews and Muslims drove their globe-spanning empire into irrelevance. "The notion that national defense required ethnic and religious homogeneity not only resulted in mass atrocities, it also deprived Spain of many of the people and ideas that had helped it become a world power," she concludes. (Not that we need to worry here in the US, right?)
• Chuck Marohn shakes his head at the Brainerd, Minn., city council for ignoring his advice and building massive infrastructure they can't afford to maintain.
• Metra has formally taken control of the commuter trains running on Union Pacific track, including the one that goes right past Inner Drive Technology WHQ.
• The village of Dolton, Ill., has informed potential buyers of Pope Leo XVI's childhood home that it intends to invoke eminent domain and work with the Archdiocese of Chicago on preserving the building. Said the village attorney, "We don't want it to become a nickel-and-dime, 'buy a little pope' place."

Speaking of cashing in on the Chicago Pope, Burning Bush Brewery has just released a new mild ale called "Da Pope." Next time Cassie and I go to Horner Park, we'll stop by Burning Bush and one of us will try it. (Un?)Fortunately, we won't have time to get there by 11pm Friday, so we'll miss the $8 Chicago Pope Handshake special (a pint of Da Pope and a shot of Malört). Dang.

Sunday's Sun-Times included an insert of recommended summer activities that may not have gone through the normal editorial process:

The May 18th issue of the Chicago Sun-Times features dozens of pages of recommended summer activities: new trends, outdoor activities, and books to read. But some of the recommendations point to fake, AI-generated books, and other articles quote and cite people that don’t appear to exist.

Alongside actual books like Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman, a summer reading list features fake titles by real authors. Min Jin Lee is a real, lauded novelist — but “Nightshade Market,” “a riveting tale set in Seoul’s underground economy,” isn’t one of her works. Rebecca Makkai, a Chicago local, is credited for a fake book called “Boiling Point” that the article claims is about a climate scientist whose teenage daughter turns on her.

The newspaper responded this afternoon:

The special section was supplied by a nationally-recognized content partner and syndicated to the Chicago Sun-Times and other newspapers

We’ve historically relied on content partners for this information, but we are in a moment of great transformation in journalism, and we regularly evaluate our partnerships and processes to ensure we continue meeting the full range of our readers’ needs and our own journalistic standards.

Our partner confirmed that a freelancer used an AI agent to write the article. This should be a learning moment for all of journalism that our work is valued because of the relationship our very real, human reporters and editors have with our audiences.

They intend to "explicitly identify third-party licensed editorial content" going forward. Perhaps they can start by identifying the third-party content provider who screwed them? As a longtime Chicago Public Media supporter, I would very much like to know more about this.

Chuck Marohn makes an important and oft-overlooked point about North American street design, and asks, why are we subsidizing mega corporations at our own expense?

I spent a lot of time outside over the weekend until the temperature started to slide into the single digits (Celsius) last night, so I put off reading online stories in favor of reading real books. I also failed to mention that we had an honest-to-goodness haboob in Northern Illinois on Friday, the first significant one since 1934. Because hey, let's bring back the 1930s in all their glory!

• Adam Kinzinger rolls his eyes at the world's oldest toddler: the OAFPOTUS himself, the biggest champion of the 1930s we have right now.
• Josh Marshall shakes his head at the people in our party who think the electorate is waiting with bated breath to find out which nonessential policies we're going to go with in 2026.
• Jeff Maurer draws similar parallels, this time between HBO/Max/HBO Max/whatever's branding problems and those of the Democratic Party.
• Paul Krugman slaps the GOP hard for its "incredibly cruel" budget—which is their point: "Its cruelty is exceptional even by recent right-wing standards."
• Speaking of cruelty, Jack Goldsmith picks apart Stephen Miller's trolling about habeas corpus, and pleads with journalists to stop falling for this stuff.
• Michael Tomasky says that Kamala Harris's race and gender weren't the problem with her candidacy—it's that the party stopped all conversation about her fitness for the presidency because of her race and gender.
• Tyler Austin Harper agrees, saying that the King Lear analogy with President Biden postulated in Jake Tapper's Original Sin doesn't quite work: his core advisers and his wife bear a lot more responsibility for our 2024 loss than they get credit for.
• Oh, and hey, did anyone in North America notice that the PKK lay down their arms and have ended their 40-year insurgency against Türkiye? It's kind of a big deal.
• In one bit of good news, the critically-endangered piping plovers nesting at Montrose Beach a few hundred meters to the east of where I'm sitting have laid an egg. Good luck, Imani and Sea Rocket!
• The UK has asked if the US Federal Aviation Administration might possibly do their jobs a bit better regulating the Clown Prince of X's rockets, which keep blowing up over the UK's Caribbean territories and littering their beaches with debris.

Finally, Scottish writer Dan Richards looks across the Atlantic and sees that the infrastructure choices we've made have driven us to having only two bad options: slow cars or polluting airplanes. Europe made investments throughout the last 30 years that gave them sleek and comfortable overnight trains.

I last took an overnight European train in September 2013, on what may be my best visit to the UK ever. The Caledonian Sleeper leaves London Euston at 22:30 and gets to Edinburgh at 08:00, for about £250 per person. Put that price against a flight and a hotel, or even an daytime express train and a hotel, and it's not a bad deal. Plus you get a wake-up call with hot tea before arriving.