furthermore

        telnet stimson.state.gov 25
        telnet: can't connect to remote host (169.252.4.132): No route to host

        telnet stimson.state.gov 80
        connects

        so, at face value, nothing is listening on port 25

0.o is that a real log?

The error message pertains to the host, not the port.

I'm having experiences like that, too.