The first week of Autumn ends in an eclipse

A total lunar eclipse has just started and will reach totality at 12:30 Chicago time, which is unfortunately about 10 hours too early for us to enjoy it here. It's a good way to end the first day of meteorological autumn, though, as is the 8 km walk Cassie and I have planned around 2 this afternoon. With a forecast high of 19°C, it should be lovely.

In other eclipses this past week:

• The OAFPOTUS has so badly damaged US foreign policy and our standing in the world that China has eclipsed us as the de facto soft power in the world.
• The OAFPOTUS's bad poll numbers released this morning have eclipsed his bad poll numbers from the previous...ever—and this is even before pollsters factored in HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy, Jr's excruciatingly horrific performance in front of the Senate on Friday.
• Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik's old company, the private equity firm Cantor Fitzgerald, has offered up to $1 billion to buy tariff refund rights at 20-30c on the dollar, a level of corruption only barely eclipsed by the OAFPOTUS's cryptocurrency scams.
• The crime data from hundreds of other cities around the world totally eclipse Chicago's, despite the OAFPOTUS's bullshit.
• Jeff Maurer warns, in his own special way, that lies about the Gaza war mostly eclipse any actual journalism that could otherwise be happening about it.
• James Fallows frets that the coverage of Harvard University's defiance of the OAFPOTUS may eclipse Harvard's actions themselves.

For what it's worth, the next total lunar eclipse visible from Chicago will be on 26 June 2029, starting at sunset and reaching totality at 21:31 CDT.