Aptronym Alert

   I have written about aptronyms before, so when I spotted three more, I thought I would add them to the pile. For an earlier piece see the clearly titled "Aptronyms". If you are not at all interested in aptronyms, but would enjoy something sleazy, then proceed directly to the bottom and see the Bonus. 

FIFA and the Falcons
  FIFA activities have disrupted many citizens in the cities in which the World Cup games are being played. In Toronto the disruptions extended to the peregrine falcons in the rafters at the stadium. Rather than remove the nest, the decision was made to shield the birds and workers and the chicks survived. During the ornithological consultations, expert advice was sought and provided by David Bird, an emeritus professor of wildlife biology at McGill University. 
  ("How Peregrine Falcon Chicks Nesting in BMO Field’s Rafters Complicated World Cup Preparations," Om Shanbhag, June 23, 2026 G&M.

Fantasies and Fortunes
  Carley Fortune seems to be doing well and is aptly named.
("Her Chart-Topping Romance Novels Started With Her Teenage Diaries: Carley Fortune left a hard-won journalism job to give fiction a shot. Five best-sellers later, a series based on her debut is about to stream," Elisabeth Egan, June 3, 2026, NYT.)

Sordid Shenanigans South of Here

  Jerry D. Cash, had lots of it and embezzled much more. Now out of prison, he is starting over with a new name, Jerry W. Ross and a new modus operandi. 

    

The Bonus:

   The former Mr. Cash was found in an article about an industry about which I knew nothing - the growing Kratom Industry. Kratom is derived from trees in Southeast Asia and as a compound is now found in many forms in drinks and tablets in hundreds of convenience stores and  gas stations across the border.
  If you are re-thinking your stance about not travelling to the U.S. and are heading toward Port Huron, you may want to pause. Although kratom has been said to boost energy and limit pain, it is regarded as unsafe. although it is being promoted by many associated with the current Administration in the U.S. 

  "How an Addictive Gas Station Drug Found Allies in Trump’s Cabinet

With support from Markwayne Mullin and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: The Kratom industry is Pursuing a Potentially Lucrative Policy. Mr. Mullin owns equity in a company that could benefit," Kenneth P. Vogel and Christina Jewett, NYT, June 15, 2026.
   

  "For years, federal health officials have warned about the risks associated with a supplement derived from the leaves of kratom trees that adherents say can kill pain or boost energy. Sold in gas stations across America, kratom has been linked to liver toxicity, seizures and thousands of deaths.

  Powerful figures close to President Trump, including Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, pushed to downplay those concerns…..

 In a disclosure statement, he listed an investment worth as much as $1 million in a kratom company, Botanic Tonics, that could benefit from the changes he has sought.

 The company’s founder, Jerry W. Ross —[aka Jerry D. Cash] who had been an energy executive in Mr. Mullin’s home state before pleading guilty to a financial crime — is a leading player in the influence campaign that was devised to benefit kratom at the expense of its rivals in the marketplace....

   The kratom campaign underscores how corporations in the growing wellness industry can gain traction in Mr. Trump’s government by casting risky products as aligned with the administration’s Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, agenda championed by Mr. Kennedy, who has sometimes prioritized unproven remedies over science….

   “It’s looking like we have a coin-operated drug policy that basically responds to whoever will give money,” said Kevin Sabet, who worked on drug policy under Republican and Democratic presidents. “And it threatens public health and safety because it’s going around the scientific process in favor of donors and influencers.

A Rising Scourge

  Long used medicinally in Southeast Asia, the leaves of the kratom tree contain a compound called mitragynine that interacts with the brain’s opioid receptors in a manner said to produce mild pain relief and — depending on its preparation — either sedation or energy and focus.

Kratom started gaining popularity in the United States in the early 2010s as the opioid addiction epidemic raged. With doctors tightening access to powerful prescription painkillers like OxyContin, users spread the word that kratom — initially sold as a bitter-tasting powder — could produce a similar effect.

Devotees promoted it as a way to kick opioid addiction or to replace alcohol. But as reports of negative effects started rolling in, the government tried to take action.

   Kratom took off, appearing on the shelves of convenience stores and vape shops as tablets, drinks and gummies. The products varied in strength, and the concentration of active ingredients on the labels was not always accurate. They could be purchased in many states without age verification.

   From 2020 through 2024, kratom was found in the system of more than 5,200 people who died of drug overdoses, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention based on death certificates and other official reports. Though often found in combination with other drugs, one study determined that those using kratom carried a sixfold increase in the risk of overdose death."

   There are so many articles about the subject of "sleaziness", this one may have been overlooked, but it should be near the top of the list. 

For more about kratom see the Mayo Clinic. 

"YELLOW-BELLIED"

 
Sapsucker, Woodpecker, Flycatcher and Other Assorted Critters...
  They are the names you may have thought of when you saw the title, "Yellow-Bellied." Long ago in England, the words are first found (1674) in a description of the belly of an eal (eel) and, in later years, in relation to various reptiles and some of the birds mentioned above. 
   In the United States, however, the words in the 19th century are attached to those who were determined to be "contemptible, low or mean." By the early 20th one, cowardice was implied and it is to those with no backbone that we now turn our attention.

"Yellow-bellied" As A Taunt
 When I recently saw the words, I thought of taunts rather than birds. "Yellow-belly" is what you were called if you were afraid to jump off the bridge or the barn roof, way back when "bullying" was expected and children not so easily traumatized. You may be surprised to learn that the words "yellow-bellied" were used last week in The New York Times in an article about large law firms lacking backbones, not one about birds. Some of them are pictured below, the ones that were bullied and which now are described as "yellow-bellied." Bullying may be generally frowned upon, but it apparently works well when done by a President. The current one has gone after the firms that went after him, or worked for the Dems, and many have agreed to do pro-bono work for the President if they want to get any work from the government. 
 

Sources:
  The OED is where the definitions of "yellow-bellied" are found.
   There are many recent articles about Trump's bullying of law firms and other entities and there will be more articles about the "yellow-bellied" and most of those won't be about birds.
   The impetus for this post is: "The Website Where Lawyers Mock ‘Yellow-Bellied’ Firms Bowing to Trump: Above the Law, a Legal Industry Website With a Long History of Skewering the Nation’s Most Elite Firms, Has Found a Moment and Plenty of Inside Tipsters,"  Elizabeth Williamson, NYT, May 18, 2025.
  For more mocking and skewering of law firms see, ABOVE THE LAW "which takes a behind-the-scenes look at the world of law. The site provides news and insights about the profession’s most colorful personalities and powerful institutions, as well as original commentary on breaking legal developments."
  "Fueled by a stream of inside-the-conference-room exclusives, Above the Law delivers a daily public spanking to what it calls “The Yellow-Bellied Nine.” Those are the elite firms who pledged a collective $1 billion in free legal work to Mr. Trump after he signed executive orders threatening to bar their lawyers from federal buildings, suspend their security clearances and cancel their government contracts. In the words of Above the Law, the firms “folded like a damp cocktail napkin” to the president’s demands for “pro bono payola.”...“I’ve always wondered,” he said, “when pressed, would rich liberal lawyers choose to stay rich or liberal? Now we know.”

"What Hath God Wrought?"

 This should surely be a short post. One subject in it I am completely ignorant of and the other I have promised not to think or talk about. To display my ignorance and break my promises here is something brief about CRYPTO and TRUMP.  This is the prompt for this post and I hope it does not ruin your day as it has mine.
"Trump's 100 days of Profit: Crypto Coin Rakes in Millions, Raises Ethics Alarms: Trump returned to the White House days after launching a cryptocurrency meme coin that analysts say is now worth a fortune," Josh Meyer, USA Today, May 4, 2025.
WASHINGTON – On his second day in office, President Donald Trump was asked if he would continue selling products that benefited him personally, after sales of a new Trump "meme coin" had soared to as much as $20 billion in value.
“I don't know much about it, other than I launched it. I heard it was very successful,” Trump replied. “I haven't checked it. Where is it today?”
“You made a lot of money, sir,” a reporter replied. “Several billion dollars, it seems like, in the last several days.”
“Several billion? That's peanuts for these guys,” Trump said gesturing toward a group of tech billionaires at the White House event."

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