Indy Digest: Oct. 27, 2025
I’ve heard a lot of Democrats complain about the media attention President Joe Biden’s age and fitness for office received during his presidency. These complaints paint this attention as unfair and even ageist.
I disagree with these complaints. We’re talking about the president here … you know, the leader of the free world (although that particular phrase doesn’t ring very true these days).
Having said that … can we talk about what’s happening with the current 79-year-old occupant of the (now partially demolished) White House? Because if it wasn’t already time to start asking questions about his mental faculties, it most certainly is now.
First, let’s turn to People magazine—not exactly known for being a leftist news source, and not exactly known for being, uh, a newsy news source—regarding something that just happened. There are a lot of news stories about this, but too many of their headlines are milquetoast, whereas People’s bluntly gets right to the point: “Donald Trump Confuses Dementia Screening for ‘Very Hard’ IQ Test as He Brags About Results.” Some details:
President Donald Trump appeared to boast about his results on a dementia screening test while speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One.
The president, 79, claimed on Monday, Oct. 27, to have taken an “IQ test” at Walter Reed Medical Center, challenging Democratic Reps. Jasmine Crockett and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—who are 44 and 36 years old, respectively—to take the same exam.
“They have Jasmine Crockett, a low IQ person. AOC is low IQ. You give her an IQ test, have her pass, like, the exams that I decided to take when I was at Walter Reed,’” the president said. “I took—those are very hard—they’re really aptitude tests, I guess, in a certain way, but they’re cognitive tests. Let AOC go against Trump.”
He continued, “Let Jasmine go against Trump. I don’t think Jasmine—the first couple questions are easy: a tiger, an elephant, a giraffe, you know. When you get up to about five or six and then when you get up to 10 and 20 and 25, they couldn’t come close to answering any of those questions.”
Trump appeared to be referring to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, “a 10-minute assessment designed to identify signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s,” according to The New Republic.
It turns out Trump made another comment that should also concern anyone who cares about the cognitive abilities of the guy with the nuclear codes. We’ll let The New York Times take this one:
President Trump said that he underwent magnetic resonance imaging earlier this month, telling reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday that the results had been “perfect” but declining to say why his doctors had ordered the scan.
Mr. Trump also reiterated that he was interested in serving a third term, saying that he “would love to do it” because of his popularity with his supporters. Mr. Trump, who spoke to journalists for about 30 minutes on a flight to Tokyo from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, during his almost weeklong trip to Asia, seemed intent on presenting himself as fit to lead, if not run for the presidency again.
There’s a whole lot of “yikes” in those two paragraphs.
This all makes me wonder: Who’s really running the country?
—Jimmy Boegle
From the Independent
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Funny Family: Ben Stiller Gives His Parents the Documentary They Deserve in Apple TV+’s ‘Nothing Is Lost’
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The world lost Anne in 2015, and Jerry in 2020, but thanks to photos, film and audio tape, Ben Stiller is able to compile a thorough history of his parents’ lives together, on and off screen.
Brooding Boss: Except for the Music, ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’ Lacks Life
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More News
• The Associated Press headline is shocking, yet it also somehow downplays how awful the consequences of this could be: “Trump administration won’t tap contingency fund to keep food aid flowing, memo says.” The story says: “The Trump administration is rejecting the idea of using roughly $5 billion in contingency funds to keep food aid flowing into November amid the government shutdown, according to a Department of Agriculture memo that surfaced Friday. States temporarily covering the cost of benefits next month will not be reimbursed, the memo says. Democratic lawmakers and various advocacy groups have been calling on the administration to use the contingency fund to provide partial benefits into November though the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as SNAP. But the two-page document states that ‘contingency funds are not legally available to cover regular benefits.’ The prospect of SNAP benefits running out as a result of the shutdown has become a major concern in the states. Lawmakers from both political parties are blaming the other for the hardship that would ensue. The program helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries.” Appalling.
• Thankfully, our regional food bank is preparing to help as many people as possible should this happen. From FIND Food Bank news release: “As the federal government shutdown continues, FIND Regional Food Bank is mobilizing its emergency response network to ensure families across the Coachella Valley do not go hungry. With CalFresh (SNAP) benefits delayed for November, more than 37,500 residents—a number nearly matching the population of Palm Springs—will lose access to over an estimated $9.5 million in grocery-buying power, leaving families suddenly unable to afford the food they need. Over the past three months, FIND has seen a 30% increase in demand at its Community Mobile Markets. And now, the shutdown’s ripple effect is already being felt throughout the region as the communities’ food insecure individuals and families brace for delays in CalFresh support. FIND is ramping up food distributions and strengthening its partnerships to meet this urgent need. … By increasing food allocations to its 100 local food pantry and local food bank partners and 30 Community Mobile Market sites, FIND is vital in helping these organizations stay strong amid rising demand. This approach allows FIND to meet the surge in need efficiently, minimize duplication of efforts, and preserve equitable access across its service area. If the disruption to CalFresh benefits continues further into November, FIND will provide CalFresh Interruption Boxes at Community Mobile Market sites. Each box will include items like rice, beans, pasta, canned protein, vegetables, fruit, and milk alternatives—staple items that can help sustain families until benefits resume. … FIND Regional Food Bank is calling on the community to help meet the growing demand for food assistance: Donate funds: Every $1 provides up to 4 meals to the community. Visit findfoodbank.org/donate to contribute. Volunteer: Help pack and sort food at FIND’s warehouse to prepare emergency and CalFresh Interruption Boxes. Sign up at findfoodbank.org/get-involved/volunteer.“
• A recent move by GoFundMe has a lot of nonprofits very perturbed. ABC 7 San Francisco explains: “A new product from GoFundMe is intended to solicit donations for nonprofit organizations. But in one local case, several organizations had no clue these pages even exist. Dave Dornlas is the treasurer for the Friends of the San Bruno Public Library and the president of the San Bruno Amateur Radio Club. Recently, he got a call from the library that left him puzzled. ‘One of our patrons at the library… they wanted to make a donation in someone’s name who had passed away,’ Dornlas said. Dornlas said the person went online and found a GoFundMe page tied to the library’s nonprofit and wanted to know if it was legit or not. ‘It was something that we did not set up and were a little concerned about,’ Dornlas said. ‘We weren’t sure what was going on.’ Turns out GoFundMe created the page—but Dornlas had no clue. GoFundMe has taken upon itself to create ‘nonprofit pages’ for 1.4 million 501C-3 organizations using public IRS data along with information from trusted partners like the PayPal Giving Fund.” I went to the GoFundMe nonprofits page and found a LOT of local organizations listed; if you’re involved with a nonprofit, I highly recommend you go take a look-see.
• A new study says that about 20 percent of all urinary-tract infections can be linked to … bad meat? Yep. CBS News says: “Nearly one in five urinary tract infections in a group of patients in Southern California were linked to E. coli from contaminated meat, a four-year study found. And researchers say the problem could be occurring across the United States. The researchers found 18% of the more than 2,300 urinary tract infections, or UTIs, in the study—published in the mBio journal on Thursday—were linked to E. coli strains found in meat samples from grocery stores in the same area. The meats most commonly found to test positive for E. coli were turkey and chicken, followed by pork and beef, the study found. The finding reframes contaminated chicken, turkey, pork, and beef as more than food safety nuisances. UTIs are common infections that happen when bacteria enter the urethra and infect the urinary tract, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. … The researchers used ‘genomic attribution,’ comparing the DNA of E. coli from patients with strains found in meat to estimate how many infections come from animals. After analyzing thousands of bacterial genomes, they found that about 18% of cases carried an animal-linked genetic fingerprint, and roughly 21% in lower-income ZIP codes.”
• We will conclude with some recall news. The first story involves … boneless chicken! The AP says: “Hormel Foods is recalling nearly 4.9 million pounds of frozen boneless chicken products it sold to restaurants, cafeterias and other outlets, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Saturday. Customers reported finding metal in the chicken breast and thigh products. Hormel concluded that the metal came from a conveyor belt used in production, the food safety service said. There have been no reports of illnesses or injuries. The recalled Hormel Fire Braised chicken items were distributed to HRI Commercial Food Service, a restaurant supply company, at locations nationwide from Feb. 10 through Sept. 19. The products are only sold to food service companies, not directly to consumers. The food safety service said that some of the recalled chicken may be in freezers at hotels, restaurants and cafeterias and urged that it be thrown away. Hormel said it has notified all customers who received the products.”
• And finally … the second recall story involves … jerky! It’s being recalled for a similar reason to the aforementioned chicken recall. Back to the AP: “A South Dakota company is recalling more than 2.2 million pounds (998,000 kilograms) of Korean barbecue pork jerky sold at Costco and Sam’s Club stores because the product may be contaminated with pieces of metal, federal health officials said Friday. LSI, Inc., of Alpena, voluntarily pulled the product after customers complained about finding pieces of wiry metal in the jerky, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. Company officials said the metal came from a conveyor belt used in production. No confirmed injuries have been reported. The recall includes 14.-5-ounce (410-gram) and 16-ounce (450-gram) plastic pouches of meat jerky labeled ‘Golden Island fire-grilled pork jerky Korean barbecue recipe.’ Roughly four dozen lots of jerky are affected.”
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