Today is May 18th. On this date in 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte became the Emperor of France. His first official act was to make Andre the Giant illegal. Also on this date in 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted. The column of smoke and volcanic ash rose 80,000 feet into the atmosphere, with debris and deposits from the column spanning 11 states. Reached for comment, the volcano issued this statement: “My bad, my bad. It was a long day, they got my order wrong at Starbucks again, and then some jerk cut me off in traffic. I just blew up!” On this date in 1846, Russian jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé was born. He was best known for his Fabergé eggs. It took weeks for him to lay them all, and he never walked the same again. And finally, today is National Pizza Party Day, when pizzas from around the world get together to dance, drink, and just hang out and be. Consider this an Open Thread.

Love, Dad | Letters of Note
“In June of 1971, just days before his 26-year-old son, Michael, got married, future-U.S. President Ronald Reagan sent him the following letter of advice. It really is quite stunning.”

John Lewis: Republicans making it ‘almost impossible for the average person’ to vote | Right Scoop
“What’s unbelievable to me is that John Lewis, who claims to have such a passion for protecting the right to vote, actually has such little regard for protecting this unique privilege and would rather lie to the American people”

Comedy Central: ‘Conservative Hashtag Games Are Ruining Twitter’ | Newsbusters
“The folks at Comedy Central actually published an article Thursday with the headline ‘Conservative Hashtag Games Are Ruining Twitter’”

Did Elizabeth Warren Plagiarize Her ‘Pow Wow Chow’ Recipes? | Big Government
“Ms. Warren ‘s campaign has not commented on the suggestion that she may have plagiarized her recipe contributions to the Pow Wow Chow cookbook.”

For Obama, Hopelessness is the Key to Lower Unemployment from Dan Hellman.

ternate (tur-nit, -neyt): adjective consisting of three; arranged in threes.
(via Dictionary.com)