Unpredictable and dangerous is a primary—but not only—description of our president. Case in point: he just paused most of the tariffs for 90 days, but also increased the China tariff to 125%.
I asked AI for a list of the most unpredictable and dangerous animals. The one that came up at or near the top of different models is the hippopotamus.
In my assessment, the hippopotamus stands out as particularly dangerous and unpredictable. Despite their deceptively docile appearance, hippos kill an estimated 500 people annually in Africa, making them one of the deadliest large mammals to humans. They’re notoriously territorial, can charge at speeds of up to 30 mph, have enormous jaws with tusks that can easily crush a human, and their behavior can shift from calm to aggressive with little warning.
There are some in America and around the world who do not like to say or hear the name of the president. For them the name is almost an obscene word, something they wish they did not have to speak or think about.
Proposed for those people is an alternative name: Fearless Leader, or F.L. for short. Fans of animated TV will recognize him as a character from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. He is the dictatorial ruler of the fictional country Pottsylvania. Fearless Leader is a stern, monocle-wearing villain with a German-like accent who constantly schemes against the United States. He’s the boss of two other recurring villains, Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale, and frequently sends them on missions to capture Rocky and Bullwinkle or to carry out various nefarious plots.
You can simply substitute Fearless Leader for the other name. There is no disrespect in calling anyone Fearless Leader—fearless and a leader—is there?
By the way…Does Natasha Fatale look like anyone we know?
You have heard the term “rule of law” used every day, many times a day, by lawyers and non-lawyers in these times.
You thought you knew what they meant by it, they thought they knew what they meant by it. In general, you and them may have been beneficially close to the mark. But is close enough?
Here is one of many definitions:
The rule of law is a foundational principle of governance that holds that all individuals, organizations, and government entities are equally subject to and accountable under the law. At its core, this concept ensures that laws are clear, publicly promulgated, fairly enforced, and independently adjudicated.
The rule of law encompasses several key elements:
Supremacy of law – No one is above the law, including government officials, legislators, and heads of state. All are equally subject to legal constraints and consequences.
Legal certainty – Laws must be clear, stable, and predictable, allowing people to understand what is permitted and prohibited.
Equality before the law – All persons are treated equally regardless of social status, wealth, or political position.
Separation of powers – Authority is distributed among different branches of government (typically executive, legislative, and judicial) to prevent concentration of power.
Independent judiciary – Courts must be impartial and free from external influence to interpret and apply laws fairly.
Due process – Legal procedures must be fair, transparent, and respect fundamental rights.
Protection of human rights – Basic rights and freedoms must be enshrined in and protected by law.
Historically, the concept has evolved from ancient civilizations through documents like the Magna Carta (1215), which limited the English monarch’s power, to modern constitutional democracies. The rule of law stands in contrast to rule by law, where law becomes merely a tool for rulers to exercise power rather than a constraint on that power.
When functioning properly, the rule of law provides stability, predictability, and protection against arbitrary government action. It creates the foundation for economic development, social cohesion, and democratic governance by ensuring that power is exercised according to established rules rather than personal whim.
Claude Sonnet 3.7
My legal education began with what was essentially a philosophy course. Professors Bill Bishin and Chris Stone had created a course at USC Law, and later created a textbook, called Law, Language and Ethics (the textbook contains 1,356 pages). My law school, relatively new at the time, had the wisdom to hire Bishin and to include him and this book in our first-year curriculum.
What I learned, and have never forgotten, and what every lawyer knows or should, and what every non-lawyer who comments, knowledgeably or not, about the law knows or should: law is complex and encompasses much more than rules.
For Bishin, LL&E evinced “this law school’s determination to offer a course dramatizing the relevance and utility of significant philosophical thought in the solutions of problems faced every day by judges, lawyers, legislators. Bishin understood that in all legal contests, “disputants are really arguing about the nature of reality, the problem of knowledge, the functions of language, the requisites of morality, the meaning of the good life, the ends of society.” (USC Law Magazine)
We live in a short-form cursory culture. Those who publicly talk about the “rule of law”, no matter how brilliant, whether lawyers, politicians, analysts, don’t usually have the time to go deep. Watchers and listeners, smart or not, don’t usually have the motivation or time to go deep.
But the next time you hear or say “rule of law’ take a beat or two to think about what you do or don’t actually understand, beyond the three-word slogan.
‘Nowhere on Earth is safe’: Trump imposes tariffs on uninhabited islands near Antarctica Australian prime minister surprised after external territories – including tiny Norfolk Island and remote islands home to penguins – targeted by US president
A group of barren, uninhabited volcanic islands near Antarctica, covered in glaciers and home to penguins, have been swept up in Donald Trump’s trade war, as the US president hit them with a 10% tariff on goods.
Heard Island and McDonald Islands, which form an external territory of Australia, are among the remotest places on Earth, accessible only via a two-week boat voyage from Perth on Australia’s west coast. They are completely uninhabited, with the last visit from people believed to be nearly 10 years ago.
Nevertheless, Heard and McDonald islands featured in a list released by the White House of “countries” that would have new trade tariffs imposed.
We don’t think the penguins have heard about the tariffs. It will not affect them anyway, since they have nothing but fish, and they don’t trade that. They might be able to bribe Trump though, since it is reported that he is a fan of McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwich. Like the penguins, he loves to eat.
While researching this, I came across the Penguin Foundation in Australia, which focuses on the Little Penguins on similar islands.
An oil spill led the Penguin Foundation to promote knitting sweaters (jumpers) for the Little Penguins of Phillip Island, to keep them from preening their feathers coated in toxic oil. (The knitting pattern is available on their site.)
Knitters have knitted enough sweaters for the current penguins and those that may be harmed in the future. Now the Penguin Foundation is asking knitters to knit sweaters for plush penguin toys to wear, which toys are being sold to raise money for the foundation.
Two reasons to mention all this here. One is that placing tariffs on “countries” inhabited by penguins is idiotic. Two is that thinking about penguins and particularly thinking about penguins wearing hand-knitted sweaters, even if meant to protect them from toxic oil spills, makes us smile. You do want a reason to smile right now—any reason—don’t you?
Today is the Day of Fools and I want to talk about the tarot.
Some say I am wise, some say I am a fool. I do not care what they say about me. I am both.
I do know something about fools. For example, above you see the first card of the tarot deck, The Fool. It is so basic that in some decks, such as Rider-Waite, it has no number. It is just zero.
The card shows The Fool at the edge of a cliff. This may remind you of the cartoon character Wile E. Coyote, who ends up at the edge of a cliff while chasing Road Runner.
This chase results in Coyote running beyond the cliff and crashing at the bottom of a ravine. I am not a fan of that character. It makes me look like an idiot, which I am not. In many cultures I am considered one of the most significant figures in all of creation. Roadrunner, the interesting bird who I do like and respect, is represented in the cartoon as much more clever than me. It is not.
I will also mention that The Fool is traveling with a little dog. I will admit that coyotes have been known from time to time to attack and eat small dogs. Very rarely. Coyotes can and will eat almost anything, so there is almost always something else to eat besides a dog in a backyard.
The Fool is associated with the Hebrew letter Aleph.
According to an expert:
The Fool is the innocent adventurer, about to begin an important journey. With a head full of hope, he is idealistic rather than practical; he is certainly not dressed for travel. The little dog at his heels tries to warn him of impending peril, but the Fool is blissfully ignorant of the risk he takes in stepping off a cliff. He is about to encounter danger, but how else can he make his way in the world?
We all begin life as a zero, a tiny egg of potential. The Fool is the cosmic egg, symbolized by the shape of his number, 0. As he journeys through the major arcana sequence, he is a part of every card, but he also stands outside the sequence, without a formal value. An absolute beginner, he is about to explore the world, gain experience, and leave behind his status as a zero, a no-being. He will travel lightly, without the baggage of commitment. The Fool is the dreamer, lead only by his needs and desires.
The Ultimate Guide to Tarot by Liz Dean
Today, the Day of Fools, be kind to everyone, the foolish and the wise.
Bob Schwartz 