Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Wednesday, May 13. 2026

Wednesday morning links

However you feel about their creator, TrumpIRAs are sorely needed


‘Weird, totally unnecessary, and absurd’: UVA students raise concerns over tampon dispensers in men’s restrooms


Public School Exodus Hits Texas - “Have you looked at the impact that this decline will have on the teacher retirement system?”


California Farmers to Destroy 420,000 Peach Trees After Del Monte Collapses


The Poll That Should Embarrass the Country: 30% Doubt the Bullets Aimed at Trump


The ‘Very Fine People’ Were Paid - A decade-long distortion, a media megaphone, and the story that reshaped American politics.


Is Spencer Pratt the hero LA needs?


Dog rapists in Israel? 


US Unleashes Another Wave Of Crude From Strategic Reserve As Gas Prices Soar


Germany’s Nuclear Confession Is a Crack in Net‑Zero Pretense

Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 07:50 | Comments (37) | Trackbacks (0)

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In Butler, Tomas Matthew Crooks fired from a nearby rooftop, killed Corey Comperatore, wounded President Trump, and injured two other rallygoers before the Secret Service killed him.

Two things can be simultaneously true.
Was this a genuine assassination attempt? Yes
Was this assassination attempt staged? Yes
#1 Old Dude on 2026-05-13 10:25 (Reply)
Define “staged” for me please, as I have no idea what it means in this context. I was recently at a tourist Old West town. They staged a gunfight there. Fake bullets and no one died. At Butler the bullets were real and two people died, and Trump narrowly escaped the same fate. What exactly was the “staged” part?
#1.1 Anon on 2026-05-13 21:14 (Reply)
Oh, they know how it works. They've seen it on TV shows and movies all the time. Super-accurate firearms, perfect timing and staging, and Trump moving his head at just the right time so his ear was flicked by the bullet.

We won't talk about wind currents, timing, variables such as bullet drop, chamber pressures and the like. And that this was (apparently) a stock AR-15, not a highly-accurate target rifle.

So, by their thoughts it was obviously staged because they don't understand how it really couldn't have been.
#1.1.1 JLawson (Link) on 2026-05-13 22:46 (Reply)
Isn’t it sad that an iconic American brand is going bankrupt? I followed the link, not much information there. At DDG, I typed, “why is Del Monte going bankrupt?” The ai used a pbs article saying it is due to tariffs. LOL. Really pbs? I asked, how long has Del Monte been struggling financially? Now we’re getting somewhere: since the pandemic. Cost of labor, and people choosing healthy alternatives. I really, just my observation, don’t think that many people are choosing healthy alternatives for food.

I can’t remember what major company that I read about that was also experiencing dark times. But the more I dug into it, the more I found bad management decisions. It’s probably the same for Del Monte. I hate to read about destroying all those trees that produce delicious peaches.
#2 B. Hammer on 2026-05-13 10:40 (Reply)
Del Monte filed for bankruptcy in July 2025. Trump had been in office for what? 6 months? To assert that tariffs contributed to the bankruptcy is both laughable and ridiculous.

If there was a genuine market for these peaches one would think traders would step up and buy the crop. It looks like a real opportunity for somebody, if there is demand for the peaches.
#2.1 feeblemind on 2026-05-13 12:02 (Reply)
I'm surprised that the California farmers didn't get together to operate it as a coop.
#2.1.1 indyjonesouthere on 2026-05-13 21:20 (Reply)
A bit of further exploration shows Del Monte acquired huge debt when taken over in LBO by Singapore firm 3 yrs ago. Tariffs helped a little and sluggish post pandemic sales also but the main problem can be traced to the LBO.
#2.2 sch on 2026-05-21 23:45 (Reply)
I don’t understand why a government is offering peach orchardists money to remove peach trees.
#2.3 GregN on 2026-05-30 23:07 (Reply)
"30% Doubt the Bullets Aimed at Trump"

It is more likely true that they answered that way to push their own agenda. Like that question where they ask a woman would she rather meet a man or a bear on a hike and they laugh and say the bear. Well you don't have to be a genius to realize she is lying because it is fun to poke. tweak and troll the opposition. So I doubt that the 30% truly doubt the bullets were aimed at Trump. The suffer some form of TDS and are unable to speak truthfully when a little white lie gives them pleasure.

The same would be true of tampon machines in men's bathrooms. It is an agenda. In this case it is also a litmus test because it is sooooo absurd that any "normal" person would object and THAT is the real goal to provoke a normal person to object and then use the power of the organization to get rid of that guy.
#3 OneGuy on 2026-05-13 11:34 (Reply)
Iran war>
From another point of view,,,,

https://reason.com/2026/05/02/a-pointless-war/

I just don't know what to think.
#4 RL on 2026-05-13 11:45 (Reply)
RL: Iran war>

As ill-thought as the war in Iran may be, as distrusted the Americans are after having reneged on the last Iran deal, the question for the American people is this: Should one person have the power to plunge the United States into war—to engulf the entire world in conflict? Or, in a republic, should such decisions be a matter for the Article I branch of government, the Congress, as the Constitution clearly says?
#4.1 Zachriel on 2026-05-13 12:02 (Reply)
Um, in a word kiddieZ, NO!

And again your logic is convoluted.
#4.1.1 Zachinoff on 2026-05-13 17:17 (Reply)
"""""" in a republic, should such decisions be a matter for the Article I branch of government, the Congress, as the Constitution clearly says?""""" Zachinoff, care to explain how following Article I - re the power to declare war -is convoluted logic?
#4.1.2 ulithi on 2026-05-13 20:23 (Reply)
Z: "engulf the entire world in conflict"

Hyperbole much?
#4.1.3 Rusty on 2026-05-13 21:05 (Reply)
You have a point, but that hasn't been true for any president for a long time. They all find loopholes and congress grumbles about it but doesn't do much.

As is often true of Trump his justifications have holes in them - but the objections are worse. Iran has been executing large numbers of its own people, firing on its neighbors, funding Hamas, enriching uranium and openly saying they will enrich it more in addition to improving and enlarging its missile and delivery systems.

I recall in the run-up to Iraq, following Afghanistan, over two decades ago Michael Ledeen and others insisting that Ira shouold have been the real target all along.
#4.1.4 Assistant Village Idiot on 2026-05-14 08:01 (Reply)
Rusty: Hyperbole much?

Are you saying the president does not have that power? What is the limiting factor?

Assistant Village Idiot: You have a point, but that hasn't been true for any president for a long time.

No doubt, presidents have continued to stretch the limits of their war-making power. Trump has brought it to the brink. What is the limiting factor?

Assistant Village Idiot: As is often true of Trump his justifications have holes in them - but the objections are worse.

The objection is that it erodes republican governance in favor of autocratic rule, because there is no greater power than the power to wage war, which upends not just some distant land, but the United States and all its relationships with other nations.

Regarding Iraq, for better or worse, that "excursion" was authorized by Congress, as was the broader war on terror.
#4.1.5 Zachriel on 2026-05-14 08:52 (Reply)
z: “What is the limiting factor!?!?”

Hehe! The question asked by every apparatchik standing before a Stalinist firing squad.

The fact is that you created this. The limiting factor was western civilization, which you and countless other godless leftwing freaks work tirelessly to destroy.

The truth is that you and your fellow degenerates are thrilled about Trump’s executive overreach and you can’t wait to get your hands on those levers of power.
#4.1.5.1 Rusty on 2026-05-14 09:47 (Reply)
Rusty: The limiting factor was western civilization

Civic culture is important, but as the Founders realized, institutional safeguards are necessary to keep autocracy in check. The division of power between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as federalism, are important protections of republican governance. In particular, the Founders were wary of the executive having the power of a King George III to wage war.
#4.1.5.2 Zachriel on 2026-05-14 11:13 (Reply)
Oh look! The bolshevik is wringing his hands about King Trump!

Funny how you never spoke out when marxists like the Kenyan overstepped.

The War Powers Resolution was passed over 50 years ago. If you have a problem with it then file a lawsuit or change the law.

But try to at least be consistent in your criticism or we will simply continue to conclude that you are nothing but a partisan marxist doing what partisan marxists do.
#4.1.5.2.1 Rusty on 2026-05-14 11:43 (Reply)
Rusty: Funny how you never spoke out when marxists like the Kenyan overstepped.

We already pointed out that past presidents have continued to stretch the limits of presidential war-making powers, including Obama. But Congress is also to blame because they don't want the responsibility. By increasingly ceding war-making powers to the president, Congress has largely neutered itself. Trump has far exceeded what previous presidents have done.

And yes, allowing the president to plunge the country into war without Congress does weaken republican governance. Once embroiled in conflict, it can leave the country without any reasonable way to extricate itself, meaning one person has the power to upend the country and the world. That is contrary to the very principles of republican governance.

Rusty: The War Powers Resolution was passed over 50 years ago.

The War Powers Act requires either specific authority from Congress or “a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.” It does not say the president can do whatever he wants for 60 days.
#4.1.5.2.2 Zachriel on 2026-05-14 12:02 (Reply)
Z: "That is contrary to the very principles of republican governance."

Straight out of Zalinsky's rules. Rule #4, I believe.

How do we know you are a radical? Easy. Because you make excuses for marxists when they overstep (you referred to Libya as a humanitarian effort!) but attack your enemies.

You obviously care little for the constitution except when it can be used as an Alinskyite hammer against your enemies.

Begone, little radical. You have exposed your true motives.
#4.1.5.2.2.1 Rusty on 2026-05-14 12:50 (Reply)
Rusty; Every ad hominem attack you levy against Zach, reveals to every objective observer who is the real danger to our democratic and civic values.
#4.1.5.2.2.1.1 Ulithi on 2026-05-14 14:29 (Reply)
But it is fun to destroy the kiddieZ, um "ill thought out" assumptions.
#4.1.5.2.2.1.1.1 Zachinoff on 2026-05-14 17:47 (Reply)
It is! And besides, Zachriel is not a 'hominem' at all, but an 'angel of memory' - a multiplex faceless supernatural entity from Jewish mysticism.

So if anything, I am making 'ad demonium' attacks which are totally cool!
#4.1.5.2.2.1.1.1.1 Rusty on 2026-05-14 18:28 (Reply)
Rusty: You obviously care little for the constitution

We reject radicalism. (See the Declaration of Independence for specifics on how Prudence applies.) Whatever flaws inherent in the Constitution, it is better to work within its bounds to protect liberty while working for change.

Brutus is not remembered for having saved the Roman Republic, but for having plunged the final, fatal dagger into it. "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves".
#4.1.5.2.2.2 Zachriel on 2026-05-14 13:15 (Reply)
Z: "We reject radicalism."

Did you ever call Obama a "Caesar"?

Alinsky rule 5, 13.
#4.1.5.2.2.2.1 Rusty on 2026-05-14 14:30 (Reply)
Rusty: Did you ever call Obama a "Caesar"?

We've never called anyone Caesar but Caesar. However, we did suggest that those who advocate violence against the Constitution to consider the example of Brutus. He not only failed to save the Republic but precipitated its end.
#4.1.5.2.2.2.2 Zachriel on 2026-05-14 15:44 (Reply)
Of course you did. You compared Trump to Caesar just a couple months ago. You even hinted that Trump was a war criminal.

Now I ask you, did you ever make these radical claims against Obama - who did many of the same things (asassinations, surprise attacks, bypassing congress, violating the War Powers act etc.)?

If the answer is no, then YOU MIGHT BE A RADICAL. (read in horrible Jeff Foxworthy accent)
#4.1.5.2.2.2.2.1 Rusty on 2026-05-14 16:00 (Reply)
The kiddieZ forget a lot.
Easy to do when you make up your own "factz".
#4.1.5.2.2.2.2.1.1 Zachinoff on 2026-05-14 17:36 (Reply)
You would think at least ONE of them would have remembered! Lol!
#4.1.5.2.2.2.2.1.1.1 Rusty on 2026-05-14 18:06 (Reply)
Rusty: You compared Trump to Caesar just a couple months ago.

Let's be clear: Caesar was a genius of the first order; military, political, literary. Trump is not.

Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres.
#4.1.5.2.2.2.2.2 Zachriel on 2026-05-15 08:37 (Reply)
I'll take that as a proud partisan "no".



Few things are as contemptible, imho, as the partisan hack.

At least neocons are consistent - they never met a war they don't like and don't care which party gets them there.

Anarchists are at least upfront about their beliefs. As Alan Moore said "You can always trust an anarchist to tell it like it is."

But the partisan hack, whatever his party, is just a yapping chihuahua. No reason. No ideology. No guiding set of principles. Just barking and snapping at whoever comes to the door. And a bowl of kibble in morning from his master.
#4.1.5.2.2.2.2.2.1 Rusty on 2026-05-15 14:10 (Reply)
Rusty: I'll take that as a proud partisan "no".

You don't seem to be making a coherent point. Let us know when you wish to discuss the topic: In a republic, should decisions of waging war be a matter for the Article I branch of government, the Congress, or should one person have the power to plunge a nation into war?
#4.1.5.2.2.2.2.2.2 Zachriel on 2026-05-15 14:58 (Reply)
My point, now conclusively proven, is that you are a partisan hack and a radical.

Why would anyone discuss western civics with such a creature?

You only care about constitutional law inasmuch as it can be weaponized against your enemies. What possible good could come from such a closed mind? You don't even have the decency to approach us as a man, choosing instead to role play. Did you now think that you should be taken seriously?

Ridicule is the only intercourse for the ridiculous. And until you can behave like a civilized human, ridicule is all you will receive.
#4.1.5.2.2.2.2.2.2.1 Rusty on 2026-05-15 17:29 (Reply)
And the kiddieZ come full circle again with their convoluted "logic" and the answer is still NO!

See how that works?
#4.1.5.2.2.2.2.2.2.1.1 Zachinoff on 2026-05-15 22:33 (Reply)
re ‘Weird, totally unnecessary, and absurd’: UVA students raise concerns over tampon dispensers in men’s restrooms

Who is paying for tampon machines in men's bathrooms and why would they do it in the first place, knowing they aren't going to sell any there?
#5 feeblemind on 2026-05-13 11:47 (Reply)
re Is Spencer Pratt the hero LA needs?

This will be interesting to watch but I remain pessimistic. Even if he wins, how will he effect change with a hostile city council and bureaucracy aligned against him?
#6 feeblemind on 2026-05-13 12:11 (Reply)

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