Follow Up

Sunday I linked to a tale of woe & suffering caused by robots. It all came out to the injured party's satisfaction, but only because he has a large audience, a few of whom had a way to contact an actual human at Mall☆Wart; a way or ways which will no doubt soon be as useless as trying to deal w/ a brain-dead pseudo-intelligence. And one must wonder how big the rip-offs were & can only imagine the agonies they must've endured to get an e-mail address or whatever the contact was.

How Many Times Must I Tell You Cretins NOT To Buy From Amazon?

That's US$20 billion (W/ a "B"!) stolen from small businesses & your sorry asses!

Annie Palmer / CNBC:

The FTC and 22 state AGs sue Amazon, alleging it “secretly and systematically overcharged” advertisers more than $20B since 2019 by using “hidden surcharges”

Dave Michaels / Wall Street Journal:   The FTC and 20+ state AGs sue Amazon for allegedly making tens of billions over seven years by manipulating ad prices on its retail platform

Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:   FTC, states plan lawsuit against Amazon over ad price fixing

Angela Palumbo / Barron's Online:   Amazon Stock Falls After FTC Lawsuit Over Advertising Prices

Reuters:   Amazon sued by U.S. FTC, over 20 states alleging company deceived advertisers

About Amazon:   Amazon's response to the FTC's lawsuit regarding Sponsored Ads

Financial Times:   US regulator sues Amazon for manipulating advertising prices

Forbes:   FTC Files Lawsuit Against Amazon Alleging Manipulative Ad Prices

Aimee Picchi / CBS News:   FTC and 22 states sue Amazon over alleged secret ad surcharge scheme

Bloomberg Law:   Amazon Sued by FTC Over Claims It Misled Advertisers on Pricing

Anzar Mehraj / Reuters:   FTC to file lawsuit alleging Amazon deceived advertisers, WSJ reports

Andrew Ferguson / @afergusonftc:   Digital markets play a critical role in the American economy—but they only work when participants can trust that powerful tech platforms play by the same rules as everyone else. That trust is foundational. Today, the Trump FTC—joined by 22 states—filed suit alleging that Amazon

IJR News:   FTC plans lawsuit against Amazon over ad pricing

@ftc:   FTC, states sue Amazon over secret ad surcharge scheme. FTC and 22 state attorneys general allege Amazon concealed unfair charges in its digital advertising auction pricing: https://www.ftc.gov/...

Tyler Durden / ZeroHedge News:   Amazon Shares Tumble Amid News Of FTC ‘Advertiser Deception’ Lawsuit

Federal Trade Commission:   FTC, States Sue Amazon Over Secret Ad Surcharge Scheme

Karen Weise / New York Times:   F.T.C. and 22 States Claim in Lawsuit That Amazon Secretly Inflated Ad Prices

While working the wage-slaves in their warehouses to early graves. Give Bezos all your money, sucker-ass chumps! Somehow, he deserves it, not you!

Getting Worse Every Day

Sharp rise in incidents of AI escaping users’ control, research finds

Exclusive: Number of times AI lies, ignores instructions and pursues goals in harmful ways almost doubles in July

How it will first affect you before everything else turns to shit. Have the common sense & simple human decency not to buy from Amazon or the Walton family. They are predatory scum who will be hanged from a lamppost.

[The Guardian]

250 Yrs. Of Disposable Crap

50 yrs. later, everything is at least 50 times worse.

These are among the items that have shaped the nation.
Here are their stories.

On the United States' 250th birthday, "American Objects" chronicles items that have impacted the culture.
Keep tuning in for tales of new objects as the year unfolds.

One could do worse things on a late-August Sunday than look at some of these objects. Here are three: Comic books. The baseball. Whites-Only signs.

Hating America, A Never-Ending Series

The how & why of "Americanism".

The world constantly looks at the United States and asks one question: "How did they get so dumb?" But the truth is much darker. Americans aren't naturally stupid - their system was meticulously engineered over 200 years to destroy critical thinking. Today, we’re looking at the "engineered ignorance" of the American public. From importing a 19th-century Prussian military school model specifically to mass-produce obedient factory workers, to the 1950s Red Scare that literally labeled "critical thinking" as Communist propaganda. And the wildest part? America is actively exporting this hyper-narcissistic, tribal dysfunction - from the prosperity gospel to toxic internet culture wars - straight to the rest of the world. If you thought failing test scores were the only issue, you haven’t met their media machine.

"They made you a moron", to coin a phrase.

If this doesn't prove that the "social order" is irredeemable & must be destroyed, what will? NIHILISM NOW!!!!!2310-ish: Just watched it. Testify, sister!! Stops pulling punches w/ about 10 mins. remaining.

49 Mins. Of Fascist Fossil Fuel Propaganda

When did it all start downhill? That bastard Ford & the assembly line? The "Fuck the trees & mountains, watch us destroy them!" attitude?The last ten mins. are amusing; as w/ so many rosy predictions from long ago almost none of it has happened except electronics & computing are actually better than imagined (Punched card system!) & much of that arrived yrs. past the expected date.

Also enjoy the "Walkers will be shot" subtext, a min. past the obligatory use of atomic energy at (42:01).

Summer Re-Run

Now dead, disappeared or actively aiding & abetting Fat Don in looting & destroying our nation. Wonderful people.

Too Much Wiring

Previously on Web of Evil (& Ennui) we found something of possible railroading use.

Not, however, useful for small structures. Wires too damn long.

And not as bright as I thought when I first removed the Xmas bulbs.

Thinking it will work inside a larger two-story bldg., for example:

Yup. Took it apart, & as I suspected, the other end needn't be connected to the battery, or even to itself, which I s'pose means more LEDs could be added. Powered by two C1220 "3v LITHIUM CELL"s, which allegedly last from 3-10 yrs., 20 for US$7.99 at Mall★Wart. Note black splice: Cut it when removing the base, but was able to put it back together. Sad as it is, I'm quite proud of myself.

Uh oh. Hot spots. Good job w/ the thin plastic, Walthers®. No, the lights aren't bright enough, & should be '50s-style yellow, not fluorescent-appearing.

And of course I'm not the first to have the idea, but Evan Designs didn't show when I made an unspecific search.

History Lesson

Hey! Look! We found Mitch McConnell!

Sixty-one years ago today, President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law as an amendment to the Social Security Act.

Two years ago, President Trump promised that he would “never let anyone touch your Medicare.”

Yesterday, this Administration announced dramatic cuts to Medicare, spiking prescription drug costs for up to 25 million seniors.

That’s some lousy anniversary present!

Not to mention a horrific betrayal.

Envisioning The American Dream.

Saturday Savings Spectacular!

Going to the corner for milk yesterday I spotted Xmas lights in a cardboard box & decided I could use the wire if nothing else. Well, they work & are battery-powered, so don't waste your money on Woodland Scenics JustPlug® or Dioramo® lighting systems.

My curiosity piqued, I checked battery-powered wired LEDs & found piles, some powered by AAs, some by D cells, & some by hearing aid batts. Turns out the above suckers are made by Greenbrier International, Inc., a subsidiary of Dollar Tree. (Or it's Dollar Tree's parent co. Fucking robots.) All plastic; the only metal is the wiring & whatever's in the battery pack. The biggest deal to me is the self-containment. Everything's in the structure, no connecting to an external power source, so no wall-warts, extension cords or added LED wiring are needed.

This looks as if six bldgs. could be illuminated for $40.00. W/ 30 lights per string, six huge industries could be lit, or a small structure could be overdone until it caught fire.

Hoo boy, now Woodland Scenics is offering this; the video came out two months ago, but the system can't be searched on their crummy site; you have to look in the "Coming Soon" area. No prices yet, but an arm & a leg should cover it fairly easily. Speakers, sound cards & readers &c. will be just a smidge more than a transformer, control box & LEDs. Might not be easily duplicated at a bargain store.P.S.: If you do want the tried & true, I compared the Just Plug® & Dioramo® MSRPs sometime last yr.; Dioramo was a bit less expensive & their system seems more open to using non-Dioramo LEDs & the like. Or, Dwarvin & their fiber-optic "no wires" system. Tain't cheap neither.

"Low-T": EAIAC

Handsome Dick Manitoba is thrice the man Pete Hegseth wishes he were.

I wasn’t ready for this. ☠️ 😭

Low T Pete will never live this down. pic.twitter.com/gQ4k4vwv9R

— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) July 17, 2026

Sky Dancing has more on testosterone obsession, about half-way down the page. These people are ignernt & crazy.

Some physicians and researchers questioned the move and said some of Hegseth’s statements on testosterone Wednesday were not backed by research. Testosterone levels vary naturally over time, and it is unusual to screen patients for low testosterone unless there are symptoms, they said.

“This is non-evidence-based and could cause harm,” said Adriane Fugh-Berman, a professor in the department of pharmacology and physiology at Georgetown University.

Pin-dicked closet cases, every one.

The framing fits neatly within a growing trend of hormonal obsession on the right. Over the past several years, in corners of the internet, media, and politics devoted to an exacting vision of masculine supremacy, testosterone has become a substance of mythical importance. Calling a political opponent or message-board adversary “low-T” is the new “soy boy,” “beta,” or “gay.” Right-wing influencers are touting dubious pills that promise to increase testosterone production for more energy, bigger muscles, and better boners. The Trump administration is bragging that the president has the highest T level Dr. Oz has ever seen in a man over 70.

All this is befitting of a political movement that wants to eliminate gender-affirming medical care and gets its health advice from the supplement ads on Tucker Carlson’s podcast. In the eyes of Hegseth and his peers, testosterone isn’t just a sex hormone present in most human beings or a potential gauge of underlying health issues. It’s a magic manly potion, an indisputable indicator of sexual power, a tool for turning matcha-swilling weaklings into musclebound superheroes incapable of expressing any emotion but rage.

Funny, I doubt if there's any testeosterone left in my wretched body, but I can assure you I am a blue-hot ball of screaming rage!

Very Excited

Not sure I can stand it! Assembled something electric that works as intended! Only took about an hr. & a half to make the 10 connections. The switch machine's been sitting around for yrs. because the power pack I had didn't have AC terminals for accessories.

Even better, it works when attached to the switch.

Will it work when it's back in the track? No reason to think it won't, but we'll have to wait until it's painted to be sure.

Orgy Of Consumption Complete*

The TrainWorld tat was there when I woke up, delivered at 1049.

Home Despot divided five items into three deliveries, first sand & the box for fiddly bits (just after 1100) then the alligator clips,

finally, at 1352, the glue & flashlight.

A real damn flashlight (A bright LED that uses three AAAs; almost blinded myself pushing the TRY ME button.) for when I block the light when working, or the dark recesses below.

---

*For today. Still need ...

How Do They Do It?

Originally expected Friday the 17th; now, tomorrow!

How does it get to Avondale from Bethpage (just northeast of Levittown) in 42 hrs. & one min.? Flown to PHX, then to Avondale for sorting, & is then trucked to Los Angeles? Hell of a lead-foot to get it to L.A. in four hrs. & 47 mins. Maybe it's flown from PHX to LAX & takes that long to be scanned. As if anything makes any sense anymore.

Anyway, Tues. beats Fri. Shameless plug for TrainWorld; good prices, large selection, & shipping one's stuff by USPS beats the glibertarian weasels at FedEx & UPS by days! My patience grows thinner as I mature. 

In other interactions w/ the outside world, fuck alla you moronic chumps. My patience grows razor-thin dealing w/ lying cheats, scumbags & rat bastards.

And to hell w/ the law that won't allow Home Despot to deliver spray paint. (Although Rust-oleum shipped me spray cans directly from Illinois that I ordered from Home Despot.) Now I have to drag my recently scrawny ass to the actual store & wait for an orange-aproned wage-slave to unlock the heavy-duty orange cage it's kept in.

What a fascinating existence. And why do I share this?Rocking live version.

Dropping Like Flies

Attempted 2016 presidential candidate. Dropped out before the primaries began.

New York Times:
Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, Dies at 71  —  Mr. Graham died of a “brief and sudden” illness on Saturday evening, his office said.  He served in the Senate for more than two decades.Dan Diamond / Washington Post:

Lindsey Graham, longtime South Carolina senator, dies at 71  —  Graham, first elected to the House in 1994 and the Senate in 2002, was running for reelection this year.  He died of a “brief and sudden illness,” his office said.  —  Lindsey Graham, a longtime Republican senator from South Carolina …

Bloomberg:   US Senator Lindsey Graham Dies at 71 After Sudden Illness

Outlived another wretched bastard. How's that other sick cracker doing?

Music For Painting Plastic

Has other uses as well.Not only the version, but the original!Again, the original. You get it all here! I prefer this arrangement anyway.The 20-odd ft. of butcher paper used for packing makes a good surface for painting.

It Arrived!

Delivered at 1025, US$78.95, plus $32.94 S&H & $10.90 tax worth of plastic & nickel/steel from The People's Republic of China. Now I will cut it open & show you every item, one at a time. NOT!! Sweet Blood of Jesus, what is duller than an "unboxing" video? This is all track, nothing interesting, & now I have to paint all 24+ linear feet of rails & ties before I can try my luck laying it.

Want a mind-numbing video of that?

I am disappointed that the Postal Service didn't put it on a 'plane but trucked it across the country. Expecting some interesting plastic & electronics Fri., which left N.Y.C. this a.m.; maybe the P.S. will send that on a 'plane. I can at least hope for Thurs. delivery, air mail or not.

Jeeze, I'm like a consumer. When did that happen?

Inanity & Idiocy Become Exponential

Talking Points Memo:
A Pro-Trump Christian Group Wants to Put a Cross on the Moon
Bennito L. Kelty / Raw Story:   Pro-Trump group has plans for a robotic lunar cross — and Elon Musk holds the key: report
The Register:   Ex-NASA boss points out small flaw in Moon landing plan: No lander

Stupidest thing ever? Sounds familiar.Do these buffoons live in an '80s &'90s cartoon universe? Shouldn't they be reading their "Good Book" (All other books are bad, dontcha know!?!) rather than watching telebision? 

Not that I think carving "CHAS." into the moon would be a bad idea, but what do I know?

Of course there's no lander yet. Bezos (Blue Origin) & Musk (SpaceX) are idiots. Are there no contractors other than the ones who bribe Fat Don?

Mounjaro® & Moi

Why I laugh & laugh (Sneer, even!) at your pathetic need for food. See? Breatharianism works!

I'm like a death camp inmate.

Note visible sternum, & hiatal hernia around navel. Not the one in the groin that is irritating. And tightened belt. Have gone from a 42" (107 cm.) to a 38" (96 cm.) waist & lost about 50 lbs. (23 kg.) in two yrs.

I now pay US$47.00/month for the stuff, but have literally no appetite. It's a struggle to consume a whole banana at one time; have to bag the remainder & refrigerate it until later. Occasionally I'll eat half a slice of toast (current loaf is "best if used by 6 May") or have a slice of cheese for protein. Haven't had or wanted meat for months now.

My only exercise is walking. No car, no moolah for Big Oil. (Gas & groceries? Wise up already!) Net result? Having paid all creditors their monthly pound of flesh, there is $1,150+ in the checking acc't. Barring disaster or emergency, I can't imagine necessary expenses being over $250, leaving me w/ 900 bones to blow on anything my foolish heart desires. Charity, maybe?

No, Eli Lilly and Company ("A Medicine Company") aren't paying for this, but I'll gladly take my money back from them if they're looking for a testimonial from a "real person" who is an "actual user".

Flying Frogs?

Yes.