Good morning, it’s Thursday and there’s some nice numerical alliteration in today’s date (the 25th day of September 2025).
It occurs to me that I should probably take some time to read back over the hundreds of posts I’ve written here over the years to see just how much I’ve been repeating myself.
Some things bear repeating, of course, and there are probably new readers here who haven’t yet read every weird thing I’ve ever written. I’m also banking on the expectation that long-time readers, like me, aren’t going back and re-reading old posts. If I’m wrong about that, I’m sorry in advance.
I am a voracious reader, which is a habit I established early on in my childhood as an only kid whose parents dragged me all over the world, temporarily living in two different countries and several states before I was 10. All that traveling without a sibling left me to my own devices more often than not when it came to keeping myself occupied.
I read pretty much everything and anything, including comic books, though these were mostly a treat that my maternal grandmother would buy me at the corner store near her house in Brooklyn, because I would tear through them too quickly to keep me quiet and amused for too long.
I was a big fan of the Archie series, though I questioned his taste in girls. He seemed to be a little too fond of the blonde wholesome Betty for my taste, as I – an outspoken brunette – identified more with Veronica, though not, of course, with her rich girl attitude and attributes.
I did sometimes read some super hero comics. I was a big fan of Wonder Woman and also Aqua Man, because I thought she was a badass and he was cute – and also could swim underwater, which was cool. I didn’t really discover the X Men until later in life, and while I never read the comics, I do very much enjoy the movies.
When modern-day comic books debuted in the 1930s, they cost just a few cents and were intended for a broad audience and were intended to provide cheap entertainment to Americans both young and old at a time (during the Great Depression) when it was sorely needed. During WW II, they featured patriotic superheroes like Captain America who were crushing our foes (the Nazis, mainly) and were sent overseas to provide a morale boost to the troops.
Comic books actually have their roots in printed newspaper cartoons, which featured long-running stories about characters like The Shadow and The Katzenjammer Kids. The first original story comic book was called “New Fun” and was released in 1935 by National Allied Publications.
National, which was the precursor to DC Comics, also ushered in the superhero era (AKA the Golden Age of Comics), publishing “Action Comics #1” in 1938, which featured Superman, who was believed to be inspired by an earlier character named Doc Savage. These days, copies of Action Comics #1 are hard to come by and they are not at all cheap. One sold at auction in 2024 for $6 million.
The origin story of comics in general, and Superman in particular, is deeply enmeshed with the Jewish people. If you have not already done so, I highly recommend reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by author Michael Chabon, which tells the story of two Jewish cousins who go into the comic book business. At 639 pages, it is not a fast read, but it is very much worth the time.
Comics are related to, but not analogous with, the graphic novel, which has seen a surge in popularity over the years and has helped to legitimize comics as a serious art form. Globally, the comic book market is big business – with $16.8 billion worth of materials sold last year (this includes traditional comic books and graphic novels both in print and online). It is projected to grow to $31.2 billion by 2034.
Today is National Comic Book Day, which, according to the interwebs, honors the art, artists, and stories of comic books. It is not to be confused with Free Comic Book Day, (May 2), which is officially connected to the industry and seems like a bigger deal.
Today would be a great day to stay inside curled up with a good book – comic or otherwise. There’s rain, rain, and more rain in the forecast. The high temperature is likely to be in the low 70s.
In the headlines…
A sniper perched on a nearby rooftop fired at an ICE field office in Dallas yesterday morning, killing one detainee and critically injuring two others – the latest act of violence to raise fears that politically motivated attacks are increasing in the United States.
The gunman killed himself, and no law enforcement officers were injured. R. Joseph Rothrock, the special agent in charge of the F.B.I.’s Dallas field office, said that rounds found near the shooter were marked with messages that were “anti-ICE in nature.”
“I can confirm at this time that the FBI is investigating this incident as an act of targeted violence,” said Rothrock. The FBI did not provide further details on what was written on the ammunition.
Hours after the shooting President Donald Trump weighed in publicly, linking the incident to violence he claimed — without evidence — stems from “radical left Democrats constantly demonizing law enforcement.”
“The continuing violence from Radical Left Terrorists, in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, must be stopped,” Trump said, previewing an executive order that will “dismantle these Domestic Terrorism Networks.”
One detainee died and two others were in critical condition. Officials have not released the names of the victims, but Mexico’s foreign ministry said in a statement that one of the people injured is a Mexican national.
Joshua Jahn, 29, the man suspected of carrying out the shooting who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, left a long record of himself online but apparently little indication that he was politically active. He was a registered independent.
At a climate summit at the United Nations on Wednesday, the vast majority of the world’s nations gathered to make their newest pledges to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade. The U.S. did not participate.
Trump’s hostility to renewable energy, which he clearly broadcast in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, is at odds with the rapid construction of wind farms, solar arrays and other renewable energy sources in a range of countries.
The White House told federal agencies late yesterday to prepare for another possible round of mass firings, which could be carried out unless Congress can strike a deal to avert a government shutdown next week.
The federal government is heading towards a shutdown in one week with no potential solution in sight. Trump canceled a planned meeting with Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, saying what they are asking for is “unserious and ridiculous.”
Schumer said that Trump would bear the blame for a government shutdown after he backed out of a meeting with Democratic leaders that had been set for later this week.
Schumer is losing support among a key constituency: The Democrats who want to join his caucus.
Taylor Budowich, a deputy chief of staff in the White House, is leaving the administration – one of the highest profile departures from the Trump White House. Budowich oversaw communications, cabinet affairs and speech writing.
Trump’s handpicked federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia is racing to present a case against James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, to a grand jury before a deadline early next week, according to officials familiar with the situation.
Gov. Kathy Hochul was booed multiple times at the 2025 Ryder Cup on Long Island yesterday, and even a joke from talk show host Carson Daly couldn’t quell the jeers.
As Daly revealed that the Democratic governor was in attendance, loud boos were heard on the broadcast. The telecast showed some people around Hochul clapping as she waved an American flag.
Hochul has found herself walking a fine line when it comes to the state’s climate issues, and that isn’t likely to change as her reelection bid begins in earnest this fall.
Charter school officials blasted a pair of Democratic New York state lawmakers who called to investigate a rally last week — saying the duo were working as muscle for the teachers union.
Two days after Kamala Harris, the former vice president and presidential candidate, gave a somewhat muted endorsement of Zohran Mamdani’s bid to become mayor of New York City, she reached out to him in a private call yesterday.
The call, according to two people familiar with it, was warmer and more fulsome than Harris’ answer when Rachel Maddow asked her on Monday during an interview on MSNBC if she would endorse Mamdani.
Mamdani continued his crusade to hike taxes on corporations and the uber-wealthy — putting him on a collision course with his new Albany ally, Gov. Hochul.
Mamdani holds a dominant 20-point lead in the race for New York City Hall — bolstered by majority support from black, Latino and Asian voters, according to a new poll released this week.
Mamdani railed against Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” during an appearance in the Bronx, warning of the devastating impact its cuts will have on New Yorkers’ healthcare while doubling down on criticism of his competitors and their Trump ties.
United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said the federal government will not bail out New York City in the event of a financial crisis if the city elects Mamdani.
Some members of the black-tie crowd at the Met Opera’s opening night of “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay” booed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for not yet endorsing Mamdani.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he would have more to say about the New York City mayor’s race “sometime soon.”
Members of New York City’s business community are forming an advisory group in an effort to guide Mamdani if he wins the election in November.
Mamdani’s upstart campaign for mayor of New York City is inspiring the growing South Asian community to be more active in politics.
Mayoral hopeful and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo was re-endorsed by the Teamsters Joint Council 16 – one of the few formal nods of support his independent campaign has picked up during the general election.
Mayor Eric Adams announced the city’s new 15 mph speed limit for electric bikes and scooters will go into effect Oct. 24, the day before early voting begins for the mayoral election.
Adams’ bizarre disappearing act from the campaign trail dragged into its fifth day yesterday, further fueling rumors he’s quiet quitting or poised to drop his likely doomed re-election bid.
Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa slammed Adams and Cuomo, accusing the latter of trying to bribe him out of the race.
Sliwa claimed that some wealthy donors for other candidates have talked to him in an effort to get him to end his campaign. However, he said the money offers had no impact.
Sliwa traded in his patented red beret for a traditional jacket and striped tie in a new 30-second TV ad blasting his election rivals.
Cuomo pledged in a Wall Street Journal op-ed to “fight for charter schools,” saying they have been chosen by lower-income families as a solution to the city’s educational woes for decades.
The city’s first-ever rat czar Kathleen Corradi, has left her $176,000-a-year job, according to City Hall — and it’s unclear if the position will ever be filled again.
Allegations against NYPD officers for excessive and unnecessary force have increased significantly in the last two years under Mayor Adams, a new report from the comptroller’s office finds.
The union representing horse carriage riders has launched a $1 million ad blitz through the November election slamming Adams and others for attempting to ban the horse carriage industry.
An off-duty New York City police officer shot a man in Penn Station in Manhattan who attempted to rob her and another officer on last night, the police said.
A woman was killed and her husband injured in Midtown Manhattan yesterday afternoon when the driver of a minivan reversed into them and then sped away, a Police Department spokesman said. The couple are tourists from Germany.
The Trump administration said it has pulled millions in funding for new magnet programs at city schools after education department officials did not move to restrict transgender students’ access to bathrooms and sports teams.
A federal judge has put Department of Justice officials on notice, saying they may have broken court rules by echoing a recent public condemnation of Luigi Mangione by Trump.
A New Jersey immigration judge has denied the asylum claim of Dylan, the first New York City public school student known to have been detained during Trump’s second term.
At least 20 immigrants have been taken into ICE custody at Penn Station since June, law enforcement officials said, as part of an aggressive crackdown by the federally run Amtrak Police Department on anonymous sex at the transit hub’s notorious bathrooms.
New York’s metropolitan areas have largely held on to their young adult population, ages 18 to 34, over the past few years.
Lori Zeno, the disgraced founder of the Queens Defenders, tried to steal even more money from the legal defense organization’s coffers while out on bond in her federal fraud case, prosecutors allege.
Families of New Yorkers who died in this summer’s Legionnaires’ outbreak in Harlem are taking legal action. Attorney Ben Crump said his firm is filing four notices of wrongful death claims with the city, a required step before naming it in a lawsuit.
Human remains were recovered yesterday afternoon from the backyard of the residence of an elderly couple who vanished from their home off Whitehall Road about eight years ago, according to two people briefed on the matter.
The investigation into the disappearance of the elderly couple who vanished from their home off Whitehall Road was triggered by a wellness check by the Social Security Administration, where officials hadn’t heard from them in years.
Two hikers ventured out without a map, compass, headlamp or extra clothes to keep warm Saturday, according to state Forest Rangers. By 4 p.m., they were stuck in thick spruce on the south side of Bear Den Mountain.
Schenectady County Republicans elected two-time congressional candidate Liz Joy as the party’s new chairwoman.
Adonis Richards, the City of Schenectady’s newly minted poet laureate, credits his late grandmother, Leslie Kenny, with stoking an inner fire to fuel his creativity.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
