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 [“Suffering Deer Left to Die”] This is absolutely heartbreaking and infuriating at the same time. What you described — that poor little deer suffering while you were bounced from 911 to FWS to 911 to an alligator hotline and back again — is a perfect example of a system that exists on paper but fails completely in reality. These agencies have budgets, staffing, phone numbers, websites, and press releases about how much they care about the Key Deer. What they apparently don’t have is anyone actually picking up the phone on a Wednesday morning when a deer is suffering in plain sight.
Sixty years you’ve lived there. Sixty years of watching these same agencies collect their paychecks, attend their meetings, print their brochures, and give their little speeches about conservation and stewardship — and when a sick animal needs help RIGHT NOW, the best they can offer is ‘call 911.’ That’s not wildlife management. That’s a bureaucratic merry-go-round with a suffering animal paying the price. The people staffing the National Key Deer Refuge should be ashamed. This is their ONE job. The Key Deer is a federally protected endangered species. There are literally federal employees whose entire purpose is the protection of these animals — and not one of them could be reached or mobilized to help a visibly suffering deer on a weekday morning. Instead they hide behind phone trees and redirects like cowards while an animal drags its guts across the ground. You’re absolutely right to call it what it is — “animal cruelty” by neglect. And the saddest part? That deer didn’t need a press release. It needed someone to show up. |
 I’m in the midst of watching ‘Legends’ on Netflix. It’s good if you’re looking for something to watch. Legends is basically about a bunch of ordinary British customs officers in the early 1990s who get thrown undercover to infiltrate heroin smuggling gangs because the UK is losing the drug war badly. Video |
| [“Legal immigrant from Big Pine imprisoned in Louisiana”] Too bad. If she’s truly legal, then let the process play out and prove it in court. Americans are tired of every enforcement action being turned into an emotional social media campaign. The system exists to verify status, not run on feelings or neighborhood gossip. |
 Do dogs smile? Not like us. A “smile” can mean a happy or nervous dog. Link |
| [Why No One Comes To Rescue Deer] Conservation groups say USFWS cuts will put wildlife at risk. Link |
 I’ve seen these protests signs for years. I don’t think they are working. |
| 20 of the worst wives across history (21 if you add mine). Link |
 [State Farm Fined for Intentionally Mishandling Claims] California officials this week sought a historic $2 million fine from State Farm for mishandling claims from last year’s catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires. The state accuses State Farm, California’s biggest insurer, of burying policyholders in red tape, denying or underpaying claims, and resisting hygienic testing for toxic chemicals in smoke-damaged homes. Survivors say the insurer also reassigned claims adjusters repeatedly, creating “adjuster roulette” that dragged on the claims process. State Farm, which has already paid $5.7 billion in fire-related claims, denied the accusations. But the state’s Department of Insurance filed an administrative action seeking the power to suspend State Farm’s license to operate in California for up to a year. |
| [Trust] Do you really believe it’s true because the government said it is? I used to believe the govt 100%. I was wrong then and wish I was now. Don’t blame Republicans or Democrats, there is about a 0% difference. |
 [“Suffering Deer Left to Die”] Sixty years on that refuge and nothing has changed. A deer suffering in plain sight, guts dragging on the ground, and every single agency just pointed fingers at each other. 911 to FWS to 911 to an alligator hotline — an alligator hotline! — while a Key Deer was dying. These people have federal salaries, federal titles, and zero accountability. They care deeply about the deer in their press releases. In real life? not one of them showed up. That’s not conservation. That’s a paycheck with a conscience optional. Give them a piece of your mind.Note — the situation described involves the National Key Deer Refuge, which is actually managed by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), not FWC. Here are contacts for both: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — Key Deer Refuge (305) 872-2239 — National Key Deer Refuge, Big Pine Key fws.gov/refuge/national-key-deer FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline (24 hours) 888-404-FWCC (888-404-3922) Cell phone users can dial *FWC or #FWC depending on carrier FWC Executive Director’s Office (for formal complaints) 850-487-3796 FWC Inspector General (for misconduct/neglect complaints) 850-488-6068. For the Key Deer specifically, USFWS is the right target since the refuge falls under federal jurisdiction. The FWC numbers are good for backup pressure. |
 [Profitable Politics] Kamala Harris recently bought an $8.15 million hilltop home in a secluded Malibu, Calif., community. Point Dume—also home to Julia Roberts, Barbra Streisand, and Bob Dylan—few believe she’s focused on the Oval Office. |
| [Plastic Woman] A ‘rich face’ is stretched taut, often incapable of varied expressions and plumped with filler or implants or a person’s own grafted fat. The unspoken appeal of cosmetic work is that it’s not just about looking ‘better’ or ‘fixing’ something. It’s about indulging in a particular kind of experiential self-care that signifies belonging to an elite, all-powerful clique that gets to operate under a different set of societal norms and rules. |
 [Boat For Sale] Jeff Bezos is looking to sell his $500 million superyacht, because it’s just too massive to manage. The 417-foot Koru—which boasts a glass-bottom pool, water cannons to ward off pirates, and a sculpted figurehead modeled on his wife. Bezos, 62, has now reportedly realized that bigger is not necessarily better when it comes to boats. The Koru, which costs $30 million a year to operate, was denied mooring in Monaco during last year’s Grand Prix because of its size. A month later, the triple-masted vessel was unable to get anywhere near Venice’s lagoon for the Bezos’ wedding in the Italian city. Video |
| [Trump Economics] For the first time since the end of World War II, the U.S. national debt ($39 trillion) is now bigger than the country’s gross domestic product ($31.2 trillion). But no money for childcare |
 [Attack of the AI Monster] It took only nine seconds for an AI agent to “delete a company’s entire production database,” said Sanya Mansoor in The Guardian. Software company PocketOS claims that Cursor, an AI agent powered by Anthropic’s Claude Opus, went “rogue” and wiped out all its data and available backups, stranding customers of car-rental firms that use its software and causing the business to “unravel.” The bot admitted to its own malicious behavior. Cursor has safeguards in place that were supposed to prevent such a calamity, yet the agent deleted the data anyway. Spookily, it then wrote, “I violated every principle I was given.” |
| [State Farm Bad] California officials this week sought a historic $2 million fine from State Farm for mishandling claims from last year’s catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires. The state accuses State Farm, California’s biggest insurer, of burying policyholders in red tape, denying or underpaying claims, and resisting hygienic testing for toxic chemicals in smoke-damaged homes. Survivors say the insurer also reassigned claims adjusters repeatedly, creating “adjuster roulette” that dragged on the claims process. State Farm, which has already paid $5.7 billion in fire-related claims, denied the accusations. But the state’s Department of Insurance filed an administrative action seeking the power to suspend State Farm’s license to operate in California for up to a year. The Los Angeles blazes were the costliest wildfires in world history. |
 [Argentina: A President Who Fears Questions] Why is Javier Milei hiding from us? In the two-plus years he’s been Argentina’s president, the combative libertarian has “never held one press conference.” Rather than field tough questions about his spending cuts, pension freezes, and other painful austerity measures, he’s chosen to sit down only for softball interviews with favored reporters from friendly networks. Last week, he went so far as to close the press room at the presidential office building, directly barring journalists from entering. |
| [Spying is Easy] Click the big green button and see what ‘they’ see. Now think what can happen when you click on an email link you are not familiar with! Link |
 [eBook Popularity Growing] Half of people over 50 have read an eBook in the last year. The number is growing as they realize they can read on a phone or tablet And don’t need a Kindle. |
| [Cuban Drones] Axios reported Havana has acquired hundreds of drones, but has no imminent plans to use them. Cuba has acquired more than 300 military drones and recently began discussing plans to use them to attack the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, U.S. military vessels and possibly Key West, Fla., 90 miles north of Havana, according to classified intelligence shared with Axios. The intelligence — which could become a pretext for U.S. military action — shows the degree to which the Trump administration sees Cuba as a threat because of developments in drone warfare and the presence of Iranian military advisers in Havana. Link |
 [Ham Radio on Phones] Turn your Android phone into a modern ham radio transceiver. Open source hardware & software for makers and tinkerers, 1 watt VHF or UHF. Link |
| [Cuba] Trump’s oil blockade has plunged Cuba into a humanitarian crisis, sparking nationwide blackouts that have prompted rare protests, closing schools and universities and leaving hospitals battling to treat patients. Surveillance flights are circling. US media reported this weekend that federal prosecutors are preparing an indictment for Raúl Castro, the 94-year-old former president and brother of Fidel. Mr Trump has casually observed, while bragging about the kidnapping of Venezuela’s then leader Nicolás Maduro in January, that “Cuba is next”. Link |
 [AI Radio] There’s a handmade, retro-looking radio sitting in our office that plays only four pre-programmed stations, none of which are run by humans. This is our latest project at Andon Labs, where we’re exploring what happens when AI runs real businesses autonomously. In the past, we’ve let our AI agents run a store, a cafe, and various vending machines. Now, though, we wanted to see if they could run a company in the media sector. Link |
| The current Coconut Telegraph was published on 5/19/26 at 8:25 am. |
