Retiring horses and pricks

15 October—The good domestic news today is that New York City is going to ban horse-drawn carriages. And it’s about time. It’s not yet a fait accompli, mind you, but the mayor (serving his first and—judging by the ridiculous things he’s pushing but not by his inexplicable popularity—possibly only term) and the City Council speaker (chairwoman) have reached an agreement to support the legislation, which is expected to gallop through the 51-member council next week despite unbridled opposition of the equine exploitation industry and affected trade unions.

It’s no longer news, but none the less gratifying to report that legal equine exploitation and abuse in the Rotten Apple—in this case, horse racing—ceased in June with the closing of the racing aspect of Aqueduct Racetrack, the city’s last surviving venue for the sport of bettors.

Good riddance.

The good non-domestic news is that Volodymyr Zelenskyy effectively told Donald Trump to go to hell when Ukraine resumed bombing of Russian oil refineries today despite Trump’s warning not to, after the American cesspool-in-chief had agreed with his fecal friend Vladimir Putrid to put all the blame for everything and then some on Zelenskyy. And everybody but themselves.

The disappointing news—for typical Trump admirers, anyway—is that their hero and messiah has canceled—however reluctantly—plans to livestream (broadcast live on the internet) crazy Dr. Nidal Hasan’s 3 December execution by firing squad. Trump’s steroid-crazed and blood-thirsty warlord Pete Hegseth must still be crying in his Old Glory hankie.

If the Democrats should manage to win a majority in the U.S. Senate next month, don’t be surprised if Associate Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito decide to retire forthwith, thus giving Trump and the lame-duck Trumpublican Senate majority the opportunity to replace them with equally obnoxious and objectionable pricks.

And it would be surprising—and just plain stupid—if Trump, Trumpublicans, and even old-fashioned Republicans haven’t been making contingency plans for some time. Same for the Democrats . . .