Politics
Jimmy Kimmel said the most shocking thing you've ever heard on television
Less than 2 months ago, CBS ended Stephen Colbert's show out of the blue. At the time, I didn't comment on the possible political nature of the decision, which surely pleased the Trump administration as Colbert was one of the most prominent anti-Trump voices in American media. I thought it
Politics
Boiling over
It's iPhone week and I should be thinking mostly about iPhone specs and Apple Watch quirks, but here I am reacting to the news of the day, Charlie Kirk's murder. Of course, mindless partisans like Elon Musk will say this is proof that only the left is violent, but that'
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Some Americans kinda like fascism
Garrett M. Graff: America Tips Into Fascism
America has become a country where armed officers of the state shout “Papers please!” on the street at men and women heading home from work, a vision we associate with the Gestapo in Nazi Germany or the KGB in Soviet Russia, and where masked men wrestle to the
Politics
"These people do it naturally"
I've been thinking quite a bit recently about how the current state of the United States compares to other times in our history, and I came across this quote from a politician in the lead up to the Civil War discussing the virtues of black people and how they're fundamentally different
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Insanity is trying the same thing over again expecting a different result
Megan Brenan writing for Gallup: Independents Drive Trump's Approval to 37% Second-Term Low
Six months into his second term, President Donald Trump’s job approval rating has dipped to 37%, the lowest of this term and just slightly higher than his all-time worst rating of 34% at the end of his
Politics
Redistribution of wealth via healthcare
Not-my-favorite-guy-in-the-world Matt Yglesias talking about what Republicans actually mean when they talk about cutting Medicaid:
I think you could see there’s a mismatch in the way Mike Johnson characterizes this. He talks about: We’ve got all these able-bodied young men who are sitting on the couch
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This isn't lying, it's delusion
Stephen Robinson writing for Public Notice: Trump's Brain Is Gone
Donald Trump’s recent interviews with Time and The Atlantic revealed a president who is completely unhinged and incoherent. Sadly, that’s not news. But what stood out is that Trump is consistently confused and disconnected from reality even on issues that are
Politics
Who has time for due process these days?
The Vice President of the United States on Twitter:
To say the administration must observe "due process" is to beg the question: what process is due is a function of our resources, the public interest, the status of the accused, the proposed punishment, and so many other factors. To put it in concrete
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Tariffs, integrity, and chaos
Ben Thompson: American Disruption (emphasis mine):
[T]he most important components for executing a fundamental shift in trade are those that go into building actual factories, or equipment for those factories. In the vast sea of stupidity that are these tariffs this is perhaps the stupidest detail of all: the U.S. is tariffing raw
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You have got to be kidding me
Mia Sato writing for The Verge: Elon Musk’s $1 Million Handout Winners Are Connected to Republican Causes
On Sunday, a few thousand people in Green Bay, Wisconsin, gathered to hear Elon Musk speak — and give away two giant cardboard checks for $1 million. Attendance at the event was limited to people who had added
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Yesterday's 'golden age' turns into today's mess
Nick Timiraos for the Wall Street Journal: Corporate America’s Euphoria Over Trump’s ‘Golden Age’ Is Giving Way to Distress
Investors were caught flat-footed by Trump’s animus toward Canada, which wasn’t a part of last year’s election campaign. Global markets were then roiled by the fallout from the Oval Office
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Secretary of Defense put war plans in a group chat with a journalist
Jeffrey Goldberg with an insane story in The Atlantic: The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
The world found out shortly before 2 p.m. eastern time on March 15 that the United States was bombing Houthi targets across Yemen.
>
> I, however, knew two hours before the first bombs exploded that
Politics
Wow, what courage
Mia McCarthy writing for Politico: No More in-Person Town Halls, NRCC Chief Tells House Republicans
The chair of the House GOP's campaign arm told Republican lawmakers Tuesday to stop holding in-person town halls amid a wave of angry backlash over the cuts undertaken by President Donald Trump's administration.
There’
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When friends act like enemies
Bert Hubert writing on his blog (normally in Dutch, but this one’s in English): It Is No Longer Safe to Move Our Governments and Societies to US Clouds
Written down like this, it seems pretty bizarre, and that’s because it is. It’s also not easy to realize that our relationship with America
Politics
Trump’s latest executive order plainly states no one has authority over him
The White House: Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies
Sec. 7. Rules of Conduct Guiding Federal Employees’ Interpretation of the Law. The President and the Attorney General, subject to the President’s supervision and control, shall provide authoritative interpretations of law for the executive branch. The President and the Attorney General’s opinions on questions of
Politics
🫡
A certain individual who owns a certain social media site spoke at a certain President's inauguration earlier this week and at one point gave a very distinctive salute. Now look, I'm not calling this billionaire a Nazi, and I'm not telling you whether I think he is or not,
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Invalidating
John Gruber: The Brutal Clarity of This Result
I realized this year — or perhaps over the last four years — that for me, belief in the merits of democracy is quasi-religious. It’s more than a philosophy. It’s a fundamental belief. I have faith in democracy, and part of that is accepting the results
Politics
I’ve never felt worse about my country (but the fight continues)
I despise Donald Trump. I think he’s a lying, racist, fear mongering, transphobic, sexual abusing, convicted felon, incompetent, and dangerous person who is driven by hate and resentment.
Yes, I think Trump is a bad person, but he’s not what I’m most riled up about. What bothers me more is that half