Are you tempted to think about the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool fiasco (Is the pool blue today? Green? Yellow?) as a metaphor for the entire Trump administration? In The Atlantic, Charlie Warzel makes the step-by-step argument that the spectacle offers a perfect example of how other Donald Trump debacles have played out – and the steps that almost assuredly will follow. 

Meanwhile at the National Mall, it turns out that the so-called “Great American State Fair” is a bit of a dud, or so The Atlantic reports. You may recall that Oregon is among those states that chose not to participate in the event because of fears that the fair increasingly seemed politicized. (Seeing how the fair kicked off this week with a Trump rally, you can perhaps understand how some people came to that conclusion.) Most of the absentee states are represented by photo boards that show highlights.

As we prepare next weekend to mark the 250th anniversary of the date when the Declaration of Independence was adopted (not signed; that happened later), you may find yourself enjoying this piece from PolitiFact, which debunks five famous American legends. (You’ll never think of George Washington’s wooden teeth in the same way again.) 

Writing in The New York Times, Jeffrey Toobin argues that the criminal charges filed against former CNN anchor Don Lemon and the administration’s outrageous search of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s home mark a dangerous escalation in Trump’s war against journalists. 

The Oregonian/OregonLive recently followed a Multnomah County team of workers into the wild to go hunting for ticks. The resulting story may calm those of you (including yours truly) who have been somewhat panicked by (accurate) reports that we’re in the middle of an unusually busy season for the parasites. The bad news, of course, is that the story is about ticks and includes photos. The good news is that Oregon doesn’t usually have a large tick population and those ticks that are lurking outside are less likely than their counterparts elsewhere to be carrying diseases such as Lyme disease and the horribly named alpha-gal syndrome. 

Speaking of Oregon parasites, hundreds of people gathered this week at Oregon City on the Willamette River to celebrate the Pacific lamprey, the aquatic creature that has been dubbed the “bacon cheeseburger of the aquatic world.” That’s because the relatively small eel-like fish pack a nutritional punch that stacks up well to salmon. There is the question of their creepy mouths, packed with sharp teeth, but perhaps you will feel better about those once you learn that they use their mouths to suck on rocks and pull themselves upstream. You try that. Alex Baumhardt, the excellent reporter for the Oregon Capital Chronicle, covered the celebration, hosted by the Yakama Nation.

And speaking of protein sources, this week’s long read from The Atlantic traces Health and Human Services Department Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s love for beef – and plenty of it – back to the 19th century, all part of a long string of somewhat unusual dietary trends. It’s a tradition that includes “The Stone Age Diet,” a 1970s book by a Seattle gastroenterologist named Walter Voegtin. Voegtin also was a proponent of eating manatees – you know, those aquatic beasts known as “sea cows.” Now, a protein-hungry nation demands to know: Is Kennedy tough enough to start advocating for manatee prime rib? 

Gov. Tina Kotek collected a trio of campaign contributions this week totaling $1.65 million, extending her fundraising lead over GOP rival Christine Drazan. Carlos Fuentes of The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that Kotek, seeking another victory over Drazan, now has $5.3 million in the bank against Drazan’s $711,000. (That figure is a little misleading, though, since Drazan had to spend considerable cash to win the Republican primary, while Kotek did not face any significant Democratic challengers.) Kotek and Drazan raised a combined $52.6 million in 2022, and it’s a safe bet this year’s race will be more expensive. 

The Gazette-Times’ Les Gehrett has an exit interview with Scott Barnes, the outgoing athletic director at Oregon State University. (Barnes’ last day on the job is July 5; OSU’s new AD, Kevin Griffin, begins work the next day.) Barnes strikes all the expected notes in this Q-and-A interview, but he does confirm a couple of things I’ve suspect: One is that OSU’s goal over the next few years is to gain a position of leadership “at the non-Power Four” level (a concession to reality and possibly a shock to Beaver fans who thought that the reconstituted Pac-12 Conference would be joining ranks with the nation’s four most powerful conferences).

The other is Barnes’ acknowledgment that OSU is trying to put itself into a position where it’s ready to respond to the next wave of conference restructuring, which could occur as early as 2030, by some accounts. That’s a tough goal, but it’s better than just getting left behind while your conference disintegrates in real time. 

This is the weekend when Mel Brooks turns 100. In his honor, The New York Times has compiled 100 reasons to love Brooks. Here’s one of them: A sequel to “Spaceballs” (the title is “Spaceballs: The New One”) is due next year. I would never claim that “Spaceballs” is on the level of Brooks’ greatest films – “Blazing Saddles” or “Young Frankenstein” – but it seems to have aged relatively well, and the line “Tell them to comb the desert! Do you hear me? Comb the desert!” still makes me smile. Are we being too literal? 

That’s it for this weekend. Let’s gather our wooden dentures, slap some manatee on the grill and get ready for America’s big party.