We found these pigeons in a little park next to St. Paul’s Hotel in Kensington. They are the fattest damn pigeons I’ve ever seen. They look like they could explode any moment.

Unsurprisingly, they’re also lazy. They didn’t scatter when we approached. Nor did they flock over to us hoping for a bit of bread or something. As near as I could tell, their philosophy was simple: they wouldn’t bother moving unless you actually held out some food and they could confirm that it was worth the trouble to waddle over.

None of the other pigeons in the area look like this. Just these. The hotel folks must throw out absolute bucketloads of food to them.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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