Mattie Makes Progress

Well, I don't think anyone had that on their bingo card, did they?  Elon and Trump going at it full-bore. This is not good, speaking as Captain Obvious, especially as the two of them -- their goals are not mutually exclusive, and while maybe they are not getting there today, they are a lot closer than they were before.  Dare I say that this, in the short term, is good for the GOP and the bill?  The Dems have been positioning Elon as they bogeyman of bogeymen, and his exit -- ungraceful as it may be -- neutralizes this, and the GOPers who feel he is poisoning the narrative...well, that is gone.  Will it help?  Probably not.  Will we get smart and take advantage?  Definitely not.

The J! Masters Tournament ended last night.  I was able to get at least 30 questions a night -- my rough average is about 42 -- and got most of the Finals, which is also good (even if a couple were late).  I was a little dissatisfied with the ending; Victoria was clearly the superior player during the Tournament, and for her to come in third the way she did... well, it is J!, and it happens, but I am not sure I liked it.  At least with the return of regular J! means I will feel smarter, even though I am obviously not.

I am at book 22 for the year -- slightly ahead of schedule, boosted by last weekend's intensive reading and a downshift to slightly thinner books.  Today's book -- Jenkins' Lost History of Christianity -- details the destruction of the historically Christian communities in Asia.  I think the reason why is undersold -- the Christians were seen as the tools of the Mongols who swept through, and when they left, the reclaiming Muslims decided to settle scores.  The author liked to point out the Christians were awful, but in the past thousand years... the arguments holds a little less water.

Tracing the genetic trails of Colombia's early hunter-gatherers who disappeared completely
Something tells me we will not be commemorating them on Indigenous Peoples' Day!

Keir Starmer is banking on Nigel Farage being toxic. What if he’s wrong? – POLITICO
I guess I would say -- as does the article -- that the Dems tried to do that to Trump, and it didn't exactly work.  Using the Dem strategy of 2016 -- running someone unpopular -- may work, given that the UK doesn't have an election for four years, but it also gives Farage time to become...well, popular enough.  I do feel badly that the Tories are going the way of the Dodo, but it is their own fault, isn't it?