Over the last 48 hours, I’ve been receiving from readers and friends the sort of notes one gets upon losing a loved one, or perhaps receiving a terminal diagnosis.
“So very sorry.”
“Hang in there.”
“Sending you love and strength.”
“With appreciation and sorrow.”
The cause of death? The belief that Post owner Jeff Bezos has just ended the tradition of open debate that has guided this paper’s editorial page for generations. “We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets,” Bezos wrote on Wednesday morning. “We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.”

In its plain language, this is unobjectionable. Personal liberties and free markets are part of the American creed. But many readers I’ve heard from suspect the words are cover for a plan to turn this into a MAGA-friendly outlet.
I don’t yet know for sure. But this much is clear: If we as a newspaper, and we as a country, are to defend his twin pillars, then we must redouble our fight against the single greatest threat to “personal liberties and free markets” in the United States today: President Donald Trump.


The rapidly spreading authoritarianism coming from this administration threatens all of our freedoms. Trump in recent days has declared himself to be a “king.” His Self-Proclaimed Majesty announced, Louis XIV-style, that “we are the federal law.” And he proposed that “we should take over Washington, D.C.” and deny its 700,000 citizens the right of self-governance.
Follow Dana Milbank
As for liberties, the day before the pillars announcement, the White House ended a century-old precedent and decreed that the government would handpick which news organizations would be allowed to cover and question Trump. “This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States,” protested the White House Correspondents’ Association, of which I am a member. “In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps.” That previously happened in repressive countries such as Russia and Iran. Now, it is happening here.
Closed-circuit TV screens at the White House. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
As for free markets, Trump on Thursday said he is raising tariffs on China an additional 10 percent and that his previously announced tariffs on Canada and Mexico, our largest trading partners, will go into effect on March 4, “as scheduled.” Trump this week also floated a 25 percent tariff on European goods, on top of tariffs he has already placed on steel and aluminum. This is the very antithesis of “free markets” — and the uncertainty the president is injecting into markets is poison for the economy.
Trump hasn’t managed to deport any more illegal migrants than the Biden administration had, but he has dramatically cracked down on legal immigration, undermining a sacred personal liberty. And, as The Post reports, the administration has allegedly been violating the human rights of migrants it has shipped off to Guantánamo Bay, keeping them shackled in cages, deprived of daylight, subjected to strip searches and denied access to lawyers.
At the United Nations this week, the Trump administration sided with Russia and other repressive, authoritarian states in blocking a resolution supporting democratic Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Trump falsely accused Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky of being a “dictator” as Trump continues his betrayal of Ukraine and his appeasement of the actual dictator, Vladimir Putin. Trump appears set to force Ukraine to surrender territory to Russia despite his successful extortion of mineral rights from Ukraine.


Closer to home, Trump accelerated the weaponization of federal law enforcement against his opponents, installing as the FBI’s No. 2 official a partisan podcaster who pushed 2020 election and covid-19 conspiracy theories and whose stated goal is to “own the libs,” whom he also refers to as “the scumbag commie libs.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s former general counsel — no “commie” — warned that the Trump administration “is turning federal law enforcement over to unqualified, unprincipled, partisan henchmen.”
At the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News pundit who now serves as defense secretary, purged the top ranks of generals, ousting the chairman of the Joint Chiefs (who is Black) and the Navy’s chief of operations, a woman, whom Hegseth had branded a “DEI hire.” This restored the hegemony of White men atop the military and, it is feared, leaves the military more vulnerable to Trump’s wishes to use it against domestic protesters who are exercising their personal liberties.

Judges appointed by both parties have taken a score of actions to block Trump’s executive orders and actions. And Trump has tiptoed to the edge of defying some of these court orders — while those around him suggest a purge of the judiciary. “The only way to restore rule of the people in America is to impeach judges,” Trump’s ubiquitous sidekick, Elon Musk, posted this week. Trump has invited the world’s richest man to sabotage the federal government and to harass its workforce without any oversight by Congress and without regard to the law — an authority Musk claims is his under the “spoils of battle.”
Those spoils are apparently benefiting Musk’s own businesses. The head of Musk’s X platform allegedly threatened federal antitrust action against a company if it didn’t spend more on X, as the Wall Street Journal reports. Musk’s DOGE squad is probing payments by NASA that could impact Musk’s SpaceX business. The State Department took steps toward ordering $400 million of armored Teslas; and, as The Post reports, the Federal Aviation Administration is close to canceling a $2.4 billion contract with Verizon and instead awarding it to Musk’s Starlink.
Claiming monarchical powers, attacking the free press, starting trade wars, cutting off legal immigration, siding with despots over free countries, politicizing law enforcement and the military, assaulting the judicial system and injecting crony capitalism at the highest levels of government: These are all the very antithesis of “personal liberties and free markets.”

D1Baseball Top 25 (2/24)
1. Texas A&M (5-1)
2. LSU (6-1)
3. Tennessee (7-0)
4. Arkansas (6-1)
5. North Carolina (6-0)
6. Georgia (8-1)
7. Florida State (7-0)
8. Florida (7-0)
9. Oregon State (5-2)
10. Virginia (3-3)
11. Oregon (6-2)
12. Wake Forest (7-1)
13. Clemson (6-1)
14. Vanderbilt (7-1)
15. Texas (5-1)
16. Oklahoma (6-0)
17. Duke (4-3)
18. Mississippi State (6-1)
19. Dallas Baptist (6-1)
20. UC-Santa Barbara (6-1)
21. Troy (6-1)
22. Southern Mississippi (7-1)
23. Cincinnati (4-2)
24. Mississippi (6-1)
25. TCU (5-2)

Dropped Out
North Carolina State (#12), Oklahoma State (#19), Nebraska (#23)
===========================

Baseball America Top 25 (2/24)
1. Texas A&M (5-1)
2. Tennessee (7-0)
3. LSU (6-1)
4. Arkansas (6-1)
5. Florida State (7-0)
6. Florida (7-0)
7. Clemson (6-1)
8. Virginia (3-3)
9. North Carolina (6-0)
10. Georgia (8-1)
11. Oregon State (5-2)
12. Texas (5-1)
13. Vanderbilt (7-1)
14. Wake Forest (7-1)
15. Mississippi State (6-1)
16. Oklahoma State (2-3)
17. Duke (4-3)
18. Dallas Baptist (6-1)
19. Oregon (6-2)
20. UC-Irvine (4-3)
21. UC-Santa Barbara (6-1)
22. North Carolina State (3-4)
23. Kentucky (4-1)
24. TCU (5-2)
25. Alabama (8-0)

===========================

Perfect Game Top 25 (2/24)
1. Texas A&M (5-1)
2. LSU (6-1)
3. Georgia (8-1)
4. Tennessee (7-0)
5. Florida State (7-0)
6. Texas (5-1)
7. Clemson (6-1)
8. North Carolina (6-0)
9. Virginia (3-3)
10. Florida (7-0)
11. Arkansas (6-1)
12. Oklahoma (6-0)
13. Oregon State (5-2)
14. Vanderbilt (7-1)
15. Oregon (6-2)
16. Wake Forest (7-1)
17. Dallas Baptist (6-1)
18. Duke (4-3)
19. TCU (5-2)
20. Coastal Carolina (6-2)
21. West Virginia (6-0)
22. UC-Santa Barbara (6-1)
23. Stanford (7-0)
24. Arizona (4-3)
25. Auburn (7-1)

Also Considered
Alabama, Louisville, Mississippi State, Southern Mississippi, South Carolina

===========================

USA Today Coaches Top 25 (2/24)
1. Tennessee (18) (7-0)
2. Texas A&M (11) (5-1)
3. LSU (6-1)
4. Arkansas (6-1)
5. Florida State (1) (7-0)
6. North Carolina (6-0)
7. Florida (7-0)
8. Georgia (8-1)
9. Clemson (6-1)
10. Oregon State (5-2)
11. Virginia (3-3)
12. Vanderbilt (7-1)
13. Wake Forest (7-1)
14. Texas (5-1)
15. Oregon (6-2)
16. Mississippi State (6-1)
17. Oklahoma (6-0)
18. Dallas Baptist (6-1)
19. UC-Santa Barbara (6-1)
20. Alabama (8-0)
21. Duke (4-3)
22. TCU (5-2)
23. Southern Mississippi (7-1)
24. Troy (6-1)
25. Oklahoma State (2-3)

Dropped Out
North Carolina State (#16), Arizona (#20), Kentucky (#24)

Others Receiving Votes
Kentucky, UC-Irvine, South Carolina, Auburn, Mississippi, North Carolina State, Stanford, Coastal Carolina, Cincinnati, Arizona State, Kansas, West Virginia, UCLA, Central Florida, Louisville, Florida Atlantic, Hawaii, Arizona, Georgia Tech, Tulane, Nebraska, Michigan, College of Charleston, Stetson, Kansas State

===========================

NCBWA Division I Top 25 (2/24)
1. Texas A&M (5-1)
2. Tennessee (7-0)
3. LSU (6-1)
4. Arkansas (6-1)
5. North Carolina (6-0)
6. Florida State (7-0)
7. Florida (7-0)
8. Oregon State (5-2)
9. Georgia (8-1)
10. Clemson (6-1)
11. Wake Forest (7-1)
12. Oregon (6-2)
13. Virginia (3-3)
14. Vanderbilt (7-1)
15. Texas (5-1)
16. Mississippi State (6-1)
17. Dallas Baptist (6-1)
18. UC-Santa Barbara (6-1)
19. TCU (5-2)
20. Troy (6-1)
21. Southern Mississippi (7-1)
22. West Virginia (6-0)
23. Michigan State (6-1)
24. North Carolina State (4-3)
25. Duke (4-3)

Others Receiving Votes (listed alphabetically)
Alabama, Alabama-Birmingham, Arizona State, Auburn, Baylor, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, Charleston Southern, East Tennessee State, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Hawaii, High Point, Houston, Illinois, Incarnate Word, Indiana State, Jacksonville State, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, Maryland, McNeese State, Miami (FL), Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Northeastern, North Florida, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Richmond, South Alabama, South Carolina, Southeastern Louisiana, Stanford, Stetson, Texas State, Tulane, UC-Irvine, UCLA, USC, Utah, Virginia Military Institute, Western Kentucky, Winthrop, Wofford

Four top New York City officials are resigning after the Justice Department moved to dismiss Mayor Eric Adams’s corruption case in apparent exchange for his help with President Trump’s deportation agenda, according to three people with knowledge of their plans and an email sent by one of the aides on Monday.
The four officials — Maria Torres-Springer, the first deputy mayor, and Meera Joshi, Anne Williams-Isom and Chauncey Parker, all also deputy mayors — oversee much of New York City government, and their departure in the coming days is poised to blow a devastating hole in the already wounded administration of Mayor Eric Adams.
Mr. Adams, a Democrat, is forcefully resisting growing calls to resign. Gov. Kathy Hochul is also under increasing pressure to remove him from office.
The four officials who are leaving office are all respected government veterans. Ms. Torres-Springer was elevated to the second most powerful job at City Hall in October in an effort to stabilize city government and restore confidence in the Adams administration following the mayor’s federal indictment in September on five counts, including bribery and fraud.

The wife and I usually catch a few episodes every Saturday morning on Quest. I find it fascinating watching Drew Pritchard rummage around in old schools, salvage yards, and English manors looking for interesting bits to sell. The most frustrating are the people who ask him to come visit, then refuse to sell anything. Especially the descendants of some marquis or earl who are drowning in debt, and have rooms full of stuff collecting dust.
The wife and I are planning a trip to Wales/Scotland in 2026, and I was disappointed to learn the shop featured in the show closed in 2022.

I’d love to watch the Drake or UNI women play tonight

America's pastime may return to two Iowa universities following a bill introduced in the state's House of Representatives this week.
State Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull, made waves with introduction of House File 153, which would require Iowa State and Northern Iowa to reestablish their defunct baseball programs for participation at the NCAA Division I level.

In an email exchange with the Quad-City Times, Wheeler, a former college baseball player and head coach at Unity Christian High School in Orange City, explained the motivation behind his proposal.
“I believe there is real value in our state having more than just one Division I baseball program,” Wheeler said. “Baseball can bring a significant number of student-athletes to a college, most of which will have to pay room and board, tuition, etc. at the institutions as there are only so many scholarships available.”

​

Both universities cut their baseball programs in the 2000s, citing budget cuts as the core issue in the ending of the 100-year-old programs. The financial situation of both athletic departments dominated early discussion of Wheeler's proposal as the economic landscape of college sports remains ever-changing.

Officials at both universities declined to comment on the pending legislation.

The proposal​

The Cyclones played their final season in 2001 after 110 seasons and three postseason berths including a trip to the 1970 College World Series. Former Iowa State Athletics Director Bruce Van de Velde cited a $1.4 million budget shortfall in fiscal year 2001 in his decision to end the baseball and men's swimming teams in April 2001.

The Panthers played their final season in 2009 after 103 seasons including a postseason run in 2001. UNI’s final head coach, Rick Heller, now serves as the head baseball coach at Iowa. Former UNI Athletics Director Troy Dannen also cited a university-wide budgetary squeeze as the Great Recession rocked the country.

Wheeler, who played college baseball at Northwestern College in Orange City, also said he sees bringing the two programs back as a recruitment tool for the state.
“My personal story is proof that college baseball can be a recruiting tool for the state,” Wheeler said. “I came from a different state to finish my degree and to play baseball. There are several others I know of who came to one of the colleges here to play and stayed.”


Originally from Washington, Wheeler initially attended Grays Harbor College in his home state before concluding his collegiate career as a Raider.
“This would give Iowa high school and community college baseball players two more Division I opportunities in the state,” Wheeler said. “Right now, if you are of that level of talent, and Iowa doesn’t offer you, you have to leave our state to go play. With over 300 high school programs and several community college programs, you can guarantee we lose Iowa kids to other states who may not come back to our state to live, work and raise a family.

“There is a lot of baseball talent in Iowa, and we want to keep those top-tier athletes in our state.”

Starting in the 2025-26 season, the NCAA will impose a roster limit of 34 players on college baseball programs.

Universities' response​

In an email exchange with a UNI spokesperson, the university declined to comment as it “does not comment on bills introduced or pending legislation until they are passed and signed.”


Iowa State's athletic department said it is aware of Wheeler's proposition, but declined to comment.

Financial obstacles​

Critics of Wheeler’s proposal point out the financial strain adding baseball programs would put on both Iowa State and UNI. Both institutions find themselves navigating the new frontier of student-athlete compensation as a Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) arms race continues to grow the divide between the haves and the have-nots while a recent antitrust settlement opened the door for revenue sharing between athletic departments and student-athletes.


Both athletic departments also find themselves in the middle of various facilities projects and fundraising campaigns. Iowa State continues work on its CYTown project, which intends to create a year-round destination between Jack Trice Stadium and Hilton Coliseum. In Cedar Falls, UNI plans to move into the second phase of its UNI-Dome renovations in April while fundraising efforts for two new practice facilities for wrestling and men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball continue.

Wheeler said he sees numerous ways to see his plan come to fruition despite financial concerns at both institutions.
“The No. 1 argument the baseball community makes is that you’ll have a high number of athletes who enroll at the university to try out for the team,” Wheeler said.

“For reference, when I was at Northwestern College, an NAIA program, we had 64 kids out my senior year, and obviously we only carried about 30 to the actual varsity season," he said. "But those other 34 were paying tuition, room and board, etc., which was a win for the school. Revenue options also include ticketing, TV, merchandise, etc.”

College baseball programs currently receive a total of 11.7 scholarships for disbursement as each program sees fit.

Wheeler also noted the role of location in a baseball program's success.
“The financial question around baseball really depends on which conference you are in and what region of the country,” Wheeler said. “The south tends to do well with their programs financially, as schools like LSU and Miami clearly make high amounts of money. It’s definitely harder in the north as the weather can make it tough to draw big crowds regularly.


"However, college baseball is popping up more and more on TV and seems to be growing in popularity and engagement with more exposure.”
According to a 2022 analysis from Athletic Director U, the Big 12 ranked second in average annual baseball operating expenses at $964,986 in average spending. The Missouri Valley Conference ranked 16th with $241,850 in average spending.

The Southeastern Conference led the nation with $1,225,221 in average spending including seven of the top 10 highest individual spenders.
The analysis also revealed baseball, on average, accounted for 5.5% of university operating expenses among Power 5 programs, 5.9% at Group of Five programs and 6.5% at FCS programs based on a five-year sample.

In fiscal year 2024, Iowa State athletics reported total operating revenue as $122,118,464 and total operating expenses of $122,046,246 to the NCAA — a surplus of $72,218.
In its Equity in Athletics Data Analysis (EADA) report for fiscal year 2023, UNI reported a grand total revenue of $18,823,378 with grand total expenses of $17,334,994 — a surplus of $1,488,384

Wheeler did not indicate if his proposal would include specifically earmarked state assistance to support the programs' reinstatement.

​

​

The Iowa Civil Rights Removal Act will take away citizens rights and I dont care if it is a fairly small percentage of the population.

These kinds of laws will then aim to take away the rights of other groups so need to stop them. Tell these Repubs you are against denying civil rights.
Contact the majority leader in the house:
matt.windschitl@legis.iowa.gov
3 subcommittee members:
Republicans
steven.holt@legis.iowa.gov
samantha.fett@legis.iowa.gov
Democrat
ross.wilburn@legis.iowa.gov
Gov Kim Reynolds
Call 515-281-5211

Perhaps the libtards are right and this thing should spend the rest of its days in a 6 x 6 sweatbox with no AC on Gitmo! Christ, its too ****ing stupid to go rape kids up in Minisoduh where it could get away with such behavior! >

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Again, from the Bulwark.

A bit depressing, but realistic. As they point out, probably still a little easier path for Harris than Trump but it will be/is a true dogfight now.

She HAS to kick ass at the debate or things will get very, very uncomfortable. The fact this is the case makes me so, so sad for America, sigh.

Kamala Harris Is Falling Behind​

But her pathway to victory remains clear.​

Jonathan V. Last
Sep 09, 2024





US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event at the Throwback Brewery, in North Hampton, New Hampshire, on September 4, 2024. (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)

1. Where Are We?​

​

Let’s be clear-eyed: With 56 days to the election Kamala Harris is not where she needs to be.
I’m going to give you three reasons to be concerned. And then three reasons to be optimistic. Let’s take the medicine first.

---

(1) 50.5 or Bust
Donald Trump is going to get somewhere between 46.0 percent and 48.0 percent of the vote.1 In order to have a solid chance to win the Electoral College, Harris needs to be over 50.5 percent; for a good chance she’ll need to be at 51 percent.2
No matter which polling average you look at, she’s not there.


Where are those last 2 or 3 percentage points supposed to come from? She’s not going to take from Trump. His voters are locked, cocked, and ready to rock.
Harris is going to have to achieve at least one of three outcomes:

1. Win late-breaking undecideds by a large margin.
2. Juice Democratic turnout so that it swamps Trump’s turnout of low-propensity voters.
3. Hold down the numbers of those low-propensity Trump voters, either by making herself unobjectionable to them or dampening their enthusiasm for Trump.

Of those, (1) and (2) seem like the best bets.
One more thing: It is concerning that Harris’s post-convention ceiling never broke the 50 percent mark in the polling averages.
She had the best month any presidential candidate has had in a long time. Her convention was an unalloyed success. Yet in the dozens of polls taken since she became the nominee, she’s touched 50 percent in only seven.

---

(2) Her momentum is gone.
When Harris entered the race and performed at a high level, it seemed possible that she could slingshot on that momentum all the way to Election Day. Shooting the moon was always going to be hard—a hundred days is a short campaign but it’s a long time to maintain fever-pitch excitement.
We now know that she isn’t going to shoot the moon.
Democrats ran a letter-perfect convention and Harris’s bounce coming out of it was still only about 2 points. Last week she started drifting backwards.
You have to zoom in pretty tight to see it, but the numbers are there:

After a month of hockey-stick growth, Harris flattened and then ticked backwards over the last two weeks.
This isn’t the end of the world, but it is the end of one of her pathways to victory. She isn’t going to swamp Trump with a tsunami of momentum. She’s in a dogfight.

Frankly, I think this is an overly optimistic view from Michael Ian Black, but it is very well-written and funny anyway:

Trump Is Already Headed For His Napoleon Moment, and Not in a Good Way​

PARDON MY FRENCH

Napoleon Bonaparte? More like Napoleon Bona-spurs.​

Michael Ian Black
Updated Feb. 5 2025



Just down the road from the petite Airbnb in which I’m currently staying on the outskirts of Paris is the home of Alexander Dumas, who wrote The Count of Monte Cristo. That novel takes place during Napoleon’s escape from exile and his return to power, a comeback which lasted a scant 115 days before a Prussian/British coalition defeated him for good at Waterloo.

In 2025, our own little tyrant has re-emerged from his own exile. The early returns have not been promising.
I am not going to honor Donald Trump by drawing a direct line between him and France’s “Little Corporal.” Napoleon, after all, was brave. A war hero. And a brilliant tactician.

Trump stared directly at a solar eclipse.



There are, however, comparisons to be made. Like Napoleon, Trump found himself marooned after his first term in office—though for Trump, it was in the swamps of South Florida rather than on an island off the coast of Italy. Napoleon ruled Elba the same way Trump rules Mar-a-Lago, though Napoleon granted himself the title of Emperor while Trump’s modesty has only allowed to declare himself our second greatest president, telling a crowd in 2017, “With the exception of the late, great Abraham Lincoln, I can be more presidential than any president that’s ever held this office.”

One more quick comparison between the two men: A funny quote from a 1954 TIME magazine article. Napoleon, the article says, had a mind which “never doubted that it was wise enough to teach law to lawyers, science to scientists, and religion to Popes.”
My own exile of the last few weeks was of the self-imposed variety, a vacation planned well in advance of the presidential election. When my wife and I left, we were thrilled to be fleeing the nation during Inauguration Week. Now, days from our return, I’m feeling guilty about having been absent during these first fretful weeks of the new Trump administration. The nation is in tumult and I am consuming patisserie.

On the other hand, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about staying. France is lovely. The cheese is excellent. The healthcare system doesn’t try to bankrupt its customers. And on top of everything else, everybody gets free berets! (Not true.)

More seriously, as our daily constitutional crisis unspools, I think millions of American liberals like me are weighing their options during their own time of political exile. What is the best course of action? Does one take to the streets? Move to a blue state? Leave the country?

My family emigrated from Ukraine at the turn of the last century when the czar’s May Laws made life for Russian Jews impossible. A few decades later, Hitler did the same for the rest of Europe.

Growing up in the 80’s, that history always felt close at hand. I’ve talked to other Jews who grew up in that time, and we all experienced the same feeling that the rug could be pulled out from under us. It wasn’t that the U.S. was unwelcoming; it was that very recent history had taught us that every person’s open heart could shutter given the right circumstances. Consequently, I’ve always kept a mental go-bag at the ready. Now, for the first time in my life, I’m contemplating using it.

How could I not when things appear to be spiraling out of control?

In D.C., Elon Musk and his band of college-aged flunkies are downloading Americans’ personal data onto their laptops while Trump rattles his flaccid saber at Canada, Mexico, Denmark, Panama, China and the European Union.

Does such hubris call to mind any other very stable geniuses?

Trump’s own czar of the border, Tom Homan, is gleefully predicting domestic unrest, telling Fox News this week that, “You’re gonna see violence on the Southern border. It’s unfortunate, but we know it’s coming.”

Why does he think so? And what happens when it does? Homan may be anticipating violence because violence is what they seek. It’s the authoritarian playbook, after all.

But what will be clear to people five years from now is, at best, hazy in the present. Everybody living under an authoritarian understands that things are likely to get worse before they improve; the only question is how much worse?

When Napoleon appeared before the French Parliament in November 1799 after staging the first part of his coup d’etat, he attempted to convince the assembled deputies to pass a new constitution formalizing his rule. Over heated objections, Napoleon roared, “Remember that I walk with the God of War and the God of Fortune!”

Not quite as pithy as “I alone can fix it,” but pretty good.

And now that the fix is, indeed, in, what are we going to do? I return to the U.S. in a few days but part of me wishes I were not. Part of me wishes that I could tear up my return ticket, smoke Gauloises by the carton and wear my jaunty free beret (again, there are no free berets).

But I cannot. The fight is at home and so home is where I will go. May the second reign of Burger King be as short as that of the Little Corporal—but if it is not, I will be there to battle against it every day until it ends. Vive la révolution!

And eat some pastry.

One person died after being pulled from under the ice of Lake Macbride in rural Solon Saturday morning.



A passerby on a walking trail near the main boat ramp at Lake Macbride State Park called 911 at 8:50 a.m. Saturday after noticing a pair of gloves near broken ice on the frozen lake, according to a news release from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.


Emergency responders who arrived on scene “were able to observe a body in the lake,” the release states. Members of the Solon Fire Department, dressed in ice rescue suits, pulled the person from the water.




The person was transported by ambulance to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, but they did not survive, the release states. Officials said they did not know how long the person was under water.


The identity of the person has not been released.


The incident is being investigated by the Johnson County Sheriff’s office. It was assisted by the Solon and North Liberty fire departments, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Johnson County Metro Dive Team, Johnson County Emergency Management, Johnson County Ambulance, UI Med 1 EMS physicians and the Johnson County Medical Examiner.

When two northwest suburban childhood hockey pals launched Spiteful Brewing in 2012 as a post-collegiate enterprise, the business overcame long odds to grow from a stovetop startup into an award-winning craft brewery and tap room in Bowmanville.

But after successfully navigating everything from the pandemic to a flat craft brewing market that has forced several Chicago competitors to close, Spiteful faces an imminent new challenge: tariffs.

President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on imported aluminum, set to go into place March 12, will raise the cost to produce every whimsically adorned can of Spiteful beer, from its Working for the Weekend Double IPA to its Fat Badger Ale.

For Spiteful and other Chicago craft brewers, the results may be inevitable: libation inflation.

“Imagine something that you’re buying every day goes up 25% overnight,” said Jason Klein, 42, co-founder of Spiteful Brewing. “We would have no choice but to raise prices — there’s no way we can absorb that.”

A niche segment of the beer industry, craft brewing has become big business in Illinois, with hundreds of mostly small manufacturers generating $3.1 billion in economic impact in the state in 2023, according to the Brewers Association, a Colorado-based trade group. But after years of explosive growth, craft brewers have struggled in the post-pandemic landscape amid a glut of competitors, with a number of high-profile brewery and taproom closings in the Chicago area. Tariffs may be another blow.