A Few Wednesday Reads

 I would argue misogynistic attitudes are way more prevalent than antisemitism or even racism.  It cuts across all demographics.  It has been around much longer.  Worse still is the fact the internet and social media have made these woman haters connect more easily than in the not-so-distant past.

"That section on women uses dehumanizing language that's really popular in the misogynist incel community," DiBranco said, referring to "involuntary celibate" communities, which have evolved into virulently misogynistic online spaces and have even been linked to femicide. "[It's] a term that is intended to indicate that women are actually not human, that they are 'humanoid,' and this has been popular for a number of years."

DiBranco said that the line of thinking expressed in the suspects' writings follows a tired trope: that women are essentially responsible for everything wrong in the world. She has helped to develop a framework for this category of narrative, which she terms "anti-feminist conspiracies." She said that it is important to broaden public understanding of the ties between these narratives and white nationalist violence.

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Tuesday Night at the Obituary Pages

 A few days ago, noted NASCAR driver Kyle Busch died, aged only 41.  His sudden death put the spotlight on the dangers of sepsis.  In his case, it came about as a result of pneumonia.

Snip:

Busch died on May 21. Shortly before, his family announced that he had experienced a "severe illness resulting in hospitalization."

"On behalf of the Busch family, everyone at Richard Childress Racing and all of NASCAR, we are devastated to announce the sudden and tragic passing of Kyle Busch," the joint statement from NASCAR, the Busch family and Richard Childress Racing read.

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Noted jazz musician Sonny Rollins has died at the age of 95:

He died at his home in Woodstock, New York, on Monday afternoon according to a statement from his publicist, who called him "one of the most honored and influential figures in American music".

Rollins had a prolific career that began in the late 1940s. He worked with artists including Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and John Coltrane and released more than 60 albums as a band leader. He won two Grammys before respiratory illness forced him to retire in 2014.

The cause of his death has not been announced.

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Some Reads for Saturday

 This is about the best story I have heard in years:

A truck sold by a Kansas dealership cannot be taken from the lot by its new owner because a family of robins is living atop one of the vehicle’s tires.

The relatively novel situation has gained widespread attention after the dealership in the Kansas community of Olathe wrote about it on its Facebook page – and it perhaps taught many that active robin nests are protected by federal law from the US.

A few weeks earlier, employees at the Olathe Ford Lincoln dealership discovered a robin building a nest atop a tire of the truck in question. The bird laid four stunningly blue eggs over the next few days, the dealership wrote in a 14 May Facebook post.

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A forty-year rape and murder of a 22-year-old Virginia Beach, Virginia, woman has resulted in an arrest thanks to genetic genealogy.

Snip:

Police announced this week the arrest of 66-year-old Charles Randell Berry, who was taken into custody in Connecticut and charged with capital murder and rape in connection to Walls’ death.

Investigators said Walls and Berry did not know each other before the night she was killed in May 1986.

“This case never left the hearts and minds of our detectives,” Virginia Beach Deputy Chief Jeffery Wilkerson said during a news conference. “We are extremely confident we have the right person.”

Walls’ body was discovered on May 15, 1986, in a field near Ferry Plantation Road in Virginia Beach. The killing shocked the community and remained unsolved for decades despite extensive investigative efforts.

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A Very Few Reads for Wednesday

 Obit:  Former US representative Barney Frank, 86, died yesterday.  He had been in hospice care in recent days.

He was known as an outspoken liberal, representing Massachusetts, but in recent times he had some criticism about "the left," whatever it is.  

Anyway, here is a snip:

Frank represented southern Massachusetts in the House for 32 years and established himself as a leading voice in debates over banking, affordable housing and LGBTQ rights. He chaired the Financial Services Committee amid the 2008 meltdown and co-authored the milestone Dodd-Frank Act, a sweeping law that sought to put Wall Street firms under tougher scrutiny.

He blazed a trail for other openly gay American elected officials, and in 2012, he became the first member of Congress to enter into a same-sex marriage, tying the knot with his longtime partner, Jim Ready.

“It was life-changing, lifesaving for me,” Frank told NBC News in a phone interview in last month.

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Free speech lives after all.

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Some Reads for Monday

 Obit:  Mark Fuhrman, retired LAPD detective who was smeared on the stand during the O.J. Simpson trial and later turned to writing bestselling books, died on May 12.  No cause of death was given.

He was 74 years old, having been born on February 2, 1952.

Snip:

Fuhrman retired from the Los Angeles Police Department after Simpson’s 1995 acquittal. He subsequently moved to Idaho with his wife Caroline and their young daughter and son and set up a 20-acre (eight-hectare) farm, raising chickens, goats, sheep and llamas.

In 1996, Fuhrman was charged with perjury and pleaded no contest. He later became a TV and radio commentator and wrote the book “Murder in Brentwood” about the killings.

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A Few Reads for Sunday

 I am laughing out loud over Trump preferring playing golf than attending that ridiculous "Regeneration 250" rally by a bunch of religious nuts who want to force everybody in the country to believe the way they do.

Meanwhile, the dimbulb who calls himself Speaker of the House once again tries to lie out of both sides of his mouth, and everybody knows he is lying.

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Preakness Stakes 2026

Napoleon Solo has won the 151st Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park.  Iron Honor tried to make a bid at the homestretch, he couldn't quite catch the winner.  Napoleon Solo won by 1 1/4 lengths. He had 7-1 odds.  It is his third victory.  Chad Summers is the winning trainer while Paco Lopez is the jockey.  Lopez has won 4,000 races, but today was his first Triple Crown win.  

The time was 1:58.69.

Local horse Taj Mahal led most of the way before the top two took over.

Chip Honcho was third, while Ocelli was fourth.

 Earlier:  Since the top two finishers in the Kentucky Derby will not be in today's race, just about any horse entered has a good chance to win.

As for me, there are few official collectible items available because this year's race is being held at Laurel Park.  Pimlico, like Belmont Park, is undergoing a major renovation.

The current odds can be viewed here.

The race via NBC Sports: