Bill the Butcher

    During this trying time in Texas so much has stood out that it becomes impossible to point to any one thing that surpasses the rest. Yesterday, for instance, I saw a man calmly recounting how his wife and two children slipped out of his hands into the Guadeloupé. He stood strait and tall. He intimated how one ranch wouldn’t allow him on their property to search for the bodies while the LBJ ranch welcomed him with open arms. All the while there are those trying to place blame. Even on the owner of Mystic who gave his life trying to save little girls. Yet the warnings have been there! And the search continues. There is no end to this because there are those who will never be found. The very landscape of the Hill Country hides its secrets. People vacation there for solitude. Now they are stuck under a sunken log at the bottom of thirty feet of water. Time passes, the river flows and the only thing the family knows is the time of the last phone call. To quote: These are the ti...

  This is the kind of news that makes the world go still. All 27 girls who went missing during the July 4th floods at Camp Mystic in Kerr County, Texas, have now been confirmed dead. Early this morning, rescue crews found the last bodies in the Guadalupe River. The hope that families had been holding onto is now gone. Across Texas, over 104 people have died in what has become one of the worst disasters the state has seen. Grief hangs everywhere. But in the midst of this heartbreak, one voice stood out—not from a stage, but from the heart. Paul McCartney, the legendary singer and member of The Beatles, donated $3.5 million to help the victims' families and first responders. Then he disappeared into a small studio near Austin. No band. No big production. Just his pain, a guitar, and a song. The result: a new version of "Tell That Angel I Love Her"—a raw, emotional ballad that sounds like it's been cried into. It's not polished, but it’s real. And for many, it’s the ...

  Jane Marie Hunt was the 9-year-old radiance whose infectious smile and compassionate soul could melt the sternest heart, a Dallas girl with an adventurous spirit that turned every moment into magic—telling jokes that sparked laughter, defending the mistreated with fierce loyalty, and dreaming of artistry, acting, and athletics that showcased her boundless talents—now, in the soul-crushing void of her absence, the heart shatters, swept away in the catastrophic flash floods at Camp Mystic on July 4, 2025, leaving a family and community drowning in grief for the perpetual joy-bringer who embodied love in every hug and act of kindness. Born May 8, 2016, in Dallas to Davin Patrick and Anne Lindsey Hunt, Janie was a devoted big sister to Henry Mills, 7, and Julia Catherine, 2, and the light of her grandparents Janet and S. Michael McColloch, and Margaret and Douglas Hunt. She attended Highland Park Presbyterian Day School and Hyer Elementary School, eagerly awaiting third grade as a pr...

 Mila Rose Santana was the 5-year-old sunshine whose innocent giggles and boundless wonder could melt the hardest heart, a Mobile cherub who chased waves at the beach and dreamed in colors only a child knows—now, in the soul-crushing void of her absence, the heart shatters, swept away alongside her beloved grandmother in the catastrophic floods along the Guadalupe River in central Texas on July 4, 2025, leaving a family and community drowning in grief for the tiny light who filled every moment with pure, unfiltered love. Born to Camille Santana and Eddie Santana Jr., Mila was the adored granddaughter of Ileana and Eddie Santana Sr., a precious part of a close-knit Mobile family whose world revolved around faith, laughter, and togetherness. On a family trip to the Hill Country, the surging waters claimed Mila, her mother Camille (found July 😎, grandmother Ileana (found July 😎, and grandfather Eddie Sr. (found July 11), while her father survived the ordeal. The tragedy, part of flo...

  from Sandy McReynolds  Curious that this is news (from Scientific American), since Sally Adee published "We Are Electric" in 2023 (I highly recommend it -- also reviewed in the NYRB recently), in which she documents the current researchers and programs, along with a history of the quirks and quacks that have given bio-electricity a bad name. Basically, all cells emit recognizably different measurable millivolt electrical signals, including cancer cells, bone cells, fat cells, and even when a woman ovulates.                     "Screaming Skin Cells” Some cells talk to each other using electricity; neurons and heart muscle cells release electrical pulses to quickly send information and make the heart beat. For a long time, scientists thought skin cells were silent. But a new study has found that when wounded, skin cells “scream;” they emit a slow electric pulse that resembles a firing neuron. Researchers cultured epitheli...

  from Sandy McReynolds  Our fine HHS Secretary RFK Jr. (from a post on quora.com): Why did RFK Jr, say “The only vaccine that has been tested in a full-blown placebo trial against an inert placebo was the Covid vaccine,” when a review of the literature by Dr. Jake Scott revealed 258 times it has been done? It’s true that Kennedy stated: The only vaccine that has been tested in a full-blown placebo trial against an inert placebo was the Covid vaccine. The more important part of Kennedy’s statement is what he said next: The other 76 shots that children in this country received between birth and 18 years old, none of them have been safety tested in prelicensing studies against the placebo, which means we don’t understand the risk profile for those product. Kennedy is echoing a closely parallel statement that he made two years previously: Vaccines are exempt from prelicensing placebo-controlled trials, so that there’s no way that anybody can tell the risk profile of those product...

    She never let it go… and it brought her home when the river rose — 9-year-old camper Janie Hunt’s body found after Texas floods thanks to grandma’s tiny beaded gift Before the Fourth of July rains turned Camp Mystic into a tragedy that stole 27 lives, Janie Hunt clutched her grandma’s simple gift — a necklace of bright little beads spelling “Janie.” It wasn’t just jewelry — it was her comfort when the thunder rolled, her secret armor when homesickness crept in. When the floods hit and search teams combed the wreckage, it was that necklace — still snug against her heart — that told rescuers who she was. “She loved that necklace,” her grandma Margaret said through tears. “It kept her close to us, even in the water.” Now, the same beads that helped her family find her will rest with her forever — a reminder that this “really special little girl” loved life, loved everybody, and even the river couldn’t wash her away...Watch below 👇👇👇