Random Notes, April 2026

There's so much that's happened in the first third of the year that I've barely discussed here:

+ Impeachment is still wishful thinking. We've done this twice before in the last decade and it didn't work. Someone in Congress can write articles, but it'll go nowhere. Trump has too many loyalists and bootlickers. Assuming voter rights aren't completely gutted by November, the best short-term option is a blue wave in the midterm elections in six months. 

+ I'm not buying into conspiracy theories about the latest assassination attempt --yes, his third in less than two years-- because there's too many holes in the logic. It also only serves to embolden both brainwashed Trump supporters and right-wing conspiracy theories against his critics. 

+ I feel like I'm making a down payment on unleaded now. These gas prices are absurd. 

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Writer's Blocked

 What's going on? I mean, besides all the dumb stuff? Plenty:

I'm still having battles with Meta over Stu News; Meta really likes to parse when it comes to promoting. There's an exemption for politics and civics, but it applies to candidates, non-profits, and action groups, and not comedy or satire. I've been able to promote content, but I can't use a sitting politician's name or mention specific political parties. Typing "T***p" or "B***n" dulls the edge, so to speak. This annoying crap has been going on for a few years.

Two weeks ago, however I found this new red flag. FB won't suggest Stu News to friends of friends anymore because of my content. I've been mistaken for a bot (here and IRL) before, I understand that. In nearly 13 years, those "other sensitive subjects" have become Stu News' bread and butter. I'm not interpreting this as censorship so much as AI-fueled gatekeeping. 

If this limits my page's reach long- or short-term, I'm at peace with that. I'll still be posting new jokes and fresh "reports" six days a week. That's where you come in, friend; Stu News has over 2,800 followers largely by word of mouth, and I hope that you continue to read and share the content I post. If you're weening yourself off FB, I'm also on Twitter/X, Threads, and BlueSky; just look up the #StuNews hashtag. I also set up a Patreon to help pay for some of that promotion overhead. What started as an opportunity to potentially land a comedy writing gig morphed into something else entirely, and I hope it's one of the reasons you're still on this flawed site.

Meanwhile, one of my best friends had a baby! Congrats to Dan and his wife on their son, born March 2nd. That also means Flower Shop Bangers is still, still on hiatus. If you're a comedy friend reading this, I'm still seeking out a collaborator; I had a couple projects in the last year that were dead-ends.

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