You'll want to listen to this. :-) youtu.be/t1GzfA95ZE4?...

Frederick Douglass in 1883, after the Civil Rights Cases were handed down, cut to the chase: "O for a Supreme Court of the United States which shall be as true to the claims of humanity as the Supreme Court formerly was to the demands of slavery! omeka.coloredconventions.org/files/origin...

This is a gift link to a very important story that I hope you will share and send to your anti-vaxx uncle. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/o...

There is no precedent for a U.S. president threatening a pope. Even when Pope John Paul II was openly opposed to George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq, Bush was entirely respectful to the pontiff. www.patheos.com/blogs/therel...

And there it is:

Answering your questions about why a 14th-century interlude of French popes was kind of a big deal, and why it's in the news. www.patheos.com/blogs/therel...

April 8, 2026 On April 9, 1865, Lee Surrendered to Grant at Appomattox. I love Heather Cox Richardson's letter about this. open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...

How to win a Middle Eastern war against the greatest military in history. Step 1: Be fighting Donald Trump Step 2: See step 1

I've just become aware that that the Missouri legislature passed a bill that *allows* pregnant women to file for divorce. How big of them.

Trump bailed out of his failing businesses by dumping the ruin and debt on investors while he walked away with cash in his pockets. Now he's looking for a way to bail out of Iran in a way he can claim is a win but which leaves the mess for others to clean up. www.mahablog.com/2026/04/02/t...

When Trump leaves office, I want him -- or his estate, whichever applies -- to be served with a bill to pay for restoring the White House and grounds to their former condition.

Some of you might remember The Volokh Conspiracy, a right-wing blog about law that got picked up by Reason Magazine. I'm linking to a recent post because it has useful insights into the Birthright Citizenship issue and explains why Trump's position is hooey. reason.com/volokh/2026/...

People are claiming that the rich are fleeing New York City to avoid Mayor Mamdani's taxes. Even Gov. Hochul said something about it. This article explains why most of the rich can't avoid paying NYC taxes even if they do move their primary residence to Miami. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/n...

They can't be shut down fast enough. open.substack.com/pub/paulwald...

Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/o...

I hate to use the Iranian regime as a good demonstration of anything, but what they're doing is illustrative of a very important point about bullies: THEY NEVER BUILD A PLAN FOR SOMEONE FIGHTING BACK. Bullies rarely have a plan B beyond the threat and application of force.

Let's try to get this story straight. Yesterday Trump rejected what he called an offer by the UK to send an aircraft carrier to the Gulf. But according to the BBC, the UK made no such offer. www.bbc.com/news/article...

By Greg Sargent. Worth reading. Donald Trump’s Presidency Is in Free Fall newrepublic.com/article/2074... via @newrepublic.com

I'm planning a series on just war theory as proposed by several thinkers and traditions. This is the first installment. www.patheos.com/blogs/therel...

This is from Judd Legum at Popular Information. Link in comments. Trump is being paid off by Mohammad bin Salman to use U.S. military resources to take care of a Saudi problem. popular.info/p/the-money-...

this is good www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-no...

Trump's oppression of U.S. religious institutions has not gotten enough coverage in media. Whatever doesn't align with his agenda, including Christian charities, is attacked. .https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2026/02/magas-assault-on-religious-liberty/

Josh Marshall has another perspective on today's tariff ruling. talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/dont-...

Paul Krugman on today's tariff ruling. IEEPA! IEEPA! IEEPA! open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...

What Trump is likely to do next. He may be able to reconstitute most of the tariffs that were struck down today, but his ability to enact entirely new tariffs is much curtailed. www.theatlantic.com/economy/2026...

Ka-BOOM! SCOTUS just took away little Donnie's tariff toy. www.nytimes.com/live/2026/02...

Is anyone trying to tabulate the percentage of people arrested by ICE who were in the process of becoming legal residents or citizens? I've been searching for this but not finding it.

MAGAts hate empathy. They think it's a weakness. They think it's manipulative. It's "too emotional" and gets in the way of reason. And now conservative Christians have decided empathy is sinful. WTF? www.patheos.com/blogs/therel...

1/ BREAKING: Government documents reviewed by ProPublica identify Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa, 43, and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez, 35, as the two who fired their weapons during the deadly encounter with Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

apnews.com/article/texa...  The handwriting is on the wall. Republicans need to read it.

Nothing worries me more than what Trump might do to interfere with the midterm elections. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/o...

I wrote yesterday about Kevin Warsh, saying what everyone who really follows monetary debates knows: he's a bullshitter who uses big words to make incoherent arguments that always amount to stimulus for Republicans, austerity for Dems 1/ paulkrugman.substack.com/p/a-bad-heir...

Sometimes you can't catch a break. /sarcasm www.rawstory.com/kevin-warsh/

Check out Bruce Springsteen's new song! youtu.be/wWKSoxG1K7w?...

The New York Times reports that Alex Pretti was carrying a phone, not a firearm. thhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/us/minneapolis-shooting-federal-agents-video.html?unlocked_article_code=1.HFA.Fnp7.e59Vko134xSf&smid=bs-share

Federal Agents Kill Another Person in Minneapolis talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/feder...

Enjoy. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

More video analysis of the murder of Renee Good, with several videos in sync to show several angles. A must watch. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/v...

I don’t think this stuff is recoverable. I think these are the crucial four years where we just cede all basically all green tech production to China.

Trump clearly thinks the Insurrection Act is a sort of Wonder Twins Powers, Activate! Take the form of a military dictator! That's actually very different from what the act says.

The NY Times reports that Renee Good still had a pulse when first responders finally reached her. ICE blocked a doctor on the scene from going to her and then blocked first responders from driving their vehicle to her. Precious minutes were lost. www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...

We knew this was coming. With Blood on His Hands, Trump Is Eager To Invoke Insurrection Act talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...

An NY Times analysis of the Minneapolis shooting shows that the ICE shooter was not in the path of the victim's vehicle when he began shooting. youtu.be/CQCvNExBDjE?...

I just got a phone call from the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee. The caller was a cheerful lady with a Texas accent. But for some reason she hung up before I was done telling her what I thought of the Republican Party. Seems rude.

Like bush in 2002, Trump has enacted a regime change in a foreign country without a serious plan for what comes next. For example, U.S. oil execs are *not* preparing to take over Venezuela's oil industry, as Trump announced. And it's all downhill from there.

Mamdani's inauguration brought out the Islamophobes today. They were outraged he took his oath on a Quran. There is a rumor he refused to take the oath at all, in spite of videos of him taking it. This is a backgrounder on oaths of office and the Constitution. www.patheos.com/blogs/therel...

Noting that scholars generally don't consider the nativity story to be history -- When was Jesus born, exactly? The date of AD 1 was determined by a 6th century monk. But he appears to have been off by about five years. www.patheos.com/blogs/therel...

The White House has been caught. The administration inserted a photo of Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross into the Epstein files and falsely implied it showed them with victims. In reality, it’s a publicly available fundraiser photo featuring Jackson and Ross’s own children.

Why is she bailing out of politics? I explore several possibilities. www.mahablog.com/2025/12/20/t...