"The Danes used empathy politically—an action abhorred by right-wing leaders, who have gone so far as to brand it as an enemy and a weakness. But what they are leaving unsaid is that fascism cannot prosper where empathy exists." www.thenation.com/article/acti...

For... no particular reason, I've been listening to some favorite antifascist bands – the usual dip into good ol' Billy Bragg, but also here's your reminder (should you need one) of how good Chumbawamba's extended catalog is.

This is the way www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/u...

A very special milestone at Bandcamp.

Clarence Thomas announced that he doesn't care about precedent and is making it up as he goes along. He didn't say it *like that* of course, because then people would have noticed. But I noticed, through the jargon, and explain it here in @thenation. www.thenation.com/article/soci...

Courage is always an option.

Ryan Walters bolts after announcing on cable news (in our studio) he will be stepping down as Superintendent to become CEO of Teacher Freedom Alliance to “destroy the teacher unions”.

Frankly, as a journalist, people in power *should* hate me. I don’t understand people who get in this game to kiss the ass of the powerful, instead of staying with their foot up the ass of the powerful

The Trump administration is trying to destroy the Fair Housing Act. The FHA is the third leg of the stool to social equality among the races, so it’s no surprise the white supremacist government wants it gone. It must be saved. My latest in @thenation.com

in a proper functioning democracy, every election would have a guy who wears the same red beret literally everywhere, to the point where nobody knows what he looks like without it. he should be referred to in the constitution as Hat Guy. if you ever poll below Hat Guy you must end your campaign

For our October issue I wrote about the Roberts Court for its 20th anniversary, how it helped lead us to the current crisis, and what should be done about it:

applying for jobs again

Today's new-to-me old word is "macaronic" – describing text nominally in one particular language but including chunks in other languages which make it linguistically lumpy. I stumbled across this while (as one does) looking up why calling a lawyer a "daffy-down-dilly" might be actionable. #words

JUDGE: “Treating attendance in immigration court as a game of detention roulette is not consistent with the constitutional guarantee of due process.” www.rawstory.com/judge-267388...

Aesop soap: darned nice soaps at a commensurate price, or purely Veblen goods? Discuss.

Reminder: Here are the 20 Democratic Senators who voted just last week with every MAGA to continue arming Netanyahu. Don’t hold your breath for them to condemn Netanyahu for using the weapons they gave him to murder the Al Jazeera journalists. With Democrats like these who needs MAGA fascists. Smh

Five Al Jazeera journalists have been killed in an Israeli strike near Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital. Anas al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa were in a tent for journalists at the hospital's main gate when it was struck. www.bbc.com/news/article...

WASHINGTON, August 7, 2025 — FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez issued the following statement in response to the closing of the Paramount-Skydance merger: www.fcc.gov/document/gom...

It was precisely Watergate that set off a multi-decade effort on the right to protect Republicans from ever again facing real accountability. The experience of facing consequences for their actions was deeply traumatic for them.

A mildly snarky but I believe genuinely interesting and useful Application Note from Benchmark, calling for a re-thinking of how THD+N plots are presented: How Loud is the Distortion from Your Power Amplifier? - Benchmark Media Systems benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/applic... #audio

This is fun! righto.com/sinclair An affordable (at the time, compared with the HP-35) RPN scientific calculator squeezed into an impossibly small amount of ROM through impressive coding chops; if it sometimes didn't actually give the right answer, well, see above: it was affordable!

We should all be disgusted by the flood of anti-Muslim remarks spewed in the aftermath of Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the NYC mayoral primary — some blatant, others latent. Shame on the members of Congress who have engaged in such bigotry and anyone who doesn’t challenge it.

New York remains a good place to be. Seen while passing through The Oculus: a large Progress Pride Flag and some nicely-done themed lighting design. Official and commercial New York aren't going along with the creepy hatreds the current US regime is obsessed with. Happy Pride, everyone!

I hope Zohran represents a new wave of urban politics that are built on love for big cities, not some weird fear and obsession with suburbanizing urban districts

As well as an example of jaw-dropping ignorance of the ethnic history of New York City. I mean, it’s “holy shit” level ignorance.

As we head to Election Day, for folks who voted early, thank you. I know some folks have not yet made up their minds. I am making an appeal to you. Please do not rank Cuomo. I have worked with every single one of the candidates for mayor. I will tell you he does not like us.

The feeling is mutual. bsky.app/profile/jool...

what federal agents did to a father of three Marines while he was cutting grass in Orange County on Sunday has happened in some form daily — and deliberately — all over Los Angeles for 18 days.

david hogg off the top rope on the other site

New Yorkers, get out and vote for your favorite candidates. But do NOT rank Cuomo. Period.

line segments everywhere; some loom Higher-res and photonerd minutiae at Flicker: www.flickr.com/photos/jbm0/... #photo #photography #architecture #formalism #geometry #lines #linesegments #WeatheredBuilding #industrialbuildings

numbered #parkingGarage #carPark #torturedPerspective #illuminatedSigns #photograph #photography #xpanformat #xpan #65x24

No Kings protest (14 June 2025, Jersey City NJ) More from this event at Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/jbm0/... #NoKings #protest #rally #demonstration #NewJersey #JerseyCity #photograph #photographs #photography

Yow! Presents for me! #pinheadproductions #billgriffith #zippythepinhead #zippy #mediamail #brownpaper #brownpaperpackage #stamp #rubberstamp #zippythepinheaddotcom

I got mad and I wrote about it.

At our local (Jersey City, NJ) No Kings: Big turnout, filling the plaza where it was held. Strong energy. The youths (Gen-Z/Alpha) were right there for call-and-response, but seemed to find singing 1960s protest songs a little cringe. Then they indulgently joined in anyway. ♥️ #nokings #protest

Downtown Jersey City, NJ (and you can get a peek at the replacement WTC tower across the river, tucked in at the right side) Full camera resolution and photonerd info at Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/jbm0/... [jbm-20250610-m11m-020] #photograph #urban #19mm #skyline #monochrome

This is how patronage systems work in totalitarian transition. Claw back all resources and then (in showy performances of beneficence) bestow them selectively to supplicants now in your debt. What once were public services become private favors.

Ha! They got caught, and now they're trying to pretend they didn't have a clue how creepy and threatening their hired minions were being. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

A City of Angels we have here indeed.

The University of Michigan is using private, undercover investigators to surveil anti-genocide protesters on and off campus. This is absolutely unconscionable and a complete betrayal of students by the university, not to mention a violation of their fundamental rights to academic freedom.

Is this just kind of like repeat it until you believe it yourself? Your boss pardoned everyone who assaulted law enforcement on January 6th. Ass!!!

Hey! Who's gonna clean up this giant lake of guano excreted by your shambolic flock of stochastic parrots? buttondown.com/creativegood... #aislop #quoteaiquote #llms #aimarketing #llmmlm #buzzwords

Pete Hesgeth — who wants to rename the Navy ship that honors Medgar Evers, a WWII veteran who landed on Omaha Beach — is using that same beach for a photo op in which he promises we will “never forget” the veterans there. What an unbelievable asshole.

Bubbles!

That Downtown Manhattan view again. I keep coming back to this same scene, because this view has endless different ways it can look depending on the state of the light and clouds. Full camera resolution at Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/jbm0/... #photography #skyline #manhattan #gfx #gfx100rf

goofball dog #unseriousPhotography #dog #dogpicture #dogphoto #poodle #blackpoodle #blackstandardpoodle #blackdog #goofydog