Today is the 250th anniversary of Boston’s mass inoculation against smallpox on July 3, 1776. The city was effectively closed to commerce from July through September 1776. The mass immunization effort was cheered as evidence of true independence. Here's how I described it in my book:

would love to see a hostile audit of Freedom 250. hell, would love to see hostile audits of everything even tangentially related to trump. this will produce endless material. you could conceivably bring the administration to an effective halt!

Who would have known Argentina would have so much trouble battling a remote Atlantic archipelago?

What a shot!

the way you build skills in young adults is with education: college, vocational training, whatever. it is not by conscripting them to do projects that politicians think are character-building. conversely if you want public goods and infrastructure, the way to get those is to pay professionals

I'll summarize this: Mamdani asked NYers to keep air conditioning at 78 degrees. A wave criticism hit online. A MSNBC broadcast pointed out the US Department of Energy recommends that 78 degree figure. Immediately after, the US Department of Energy deleted 6,000 web pages related to energy saving.

This is good, hits on one of my criticisms of the 250 celebrations, which have largely been a celebration of the American ability to keep old planes flying

People who spiral out overusing LLM chatbots are really just experiencing the kind of brain-damaging stream of unconditional validation that’s always been the norm for the hyper-wealthy, which explains a lot.

Thank you for posting this, government of Mexico.

No sport hates its players and its fans as much as soccer

ICE just announced the death of the 21st person in immigration prison, Adrian Andreas Florian, an 85-year-old man from Germany. He died June 24. There's very little information in the press release but it sounds like he may have had dementia. Absolutely horrific.

at a rate of 354 going off every second, ironically you will not be able to hear ANY individual fireworks— it will just be a blinding, deafening, 40-minute-long roar www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

DCA just gonna be closed all day or what

As punishing heat sends the U.S. power grid to the brink and Americans reel from rising electricity costs, the Trump administration is moving to weaken efficiency standards for home appliances proven to cut power demand and lower utility bills.

My mom had a church there for awhile

there really is something to be said for basically every major CEO basically turning out to be a grindset fraud influencer you notice this especially in SV circles

#DnD advice: Be mindful of your limitations! As a low-level Wizard, it'll probably be safer if you just stay home rather than go adventuring.

“my grandchildren may not get to have a country” This can be misunderstood, because the common conception of “have a country” is be a citizen—part of your identity, a place where you have recognized rights—while this “have a country” means a place where you’re able and entitled to dominate others.

This is a solid articulation of an argument that isn’t voiced enough. I’m reminded of one of Moffat’s Doctor Who lines, “you don’t need to be liked, you’ve got all the guns.” People entrusted with tremendous power do not inherently deserve even more rewards on top of it.

The Savage Tide approaches... @xoofxos.bsky.social

F-15EX And Ghost Bat Team Up Over Pacific During Valiant Shield www.twz.com/air/f-15ex-a...

As a new Fed Chair casts doubt on offical statistics after the Aministration drastically cut their funding, it is worth remembering how and why we created federal statistics agencies in the first place...they reduce scope for gaslighting the public www.aeaweb.org/articles/pdf...

Poland plans to buy four Airbus aerial refueling planes through a flagship EU defense loan program, doubling its initial order. The move aims to extend the reach of the country's growing fighter fleet.

If SpaceX and others are opening the IPO window, that's helpful, but sources say it might not be enough if the only stocks listing are volatile stocks with unclear pathways to profits. “Historically, extreme concentration is unwound through trauma,” Kloepfer says. 7/

Hell yeah we are

He's gonna get crucified. And people will say it's political retribution. It's not. It's a culmination of weak leadership allowing unforms to creep into political discourse and be used as props in rallies and sports games.

This story blames a supposed “uptick in violence” on Boston not having 600 more cops. But halfway through the article, you find out homicides are down compared to last year. And two-thirds of the way through, you find out they're down by more than half!

Just the dumbest thing

Dear Media. Vatican II wasn’t just about praying or not in Latin. *Vatican II decided to be less antisemitic. By a lot. * And now Pope Leo (like Francis) is reading the Bible HARD, all that “love immigrants” & “care for others” “🖕 Empire” stuff?! This story is not complicated.

it's not really important in the grand scheme of things, but finding out the 250th anniversary of the country was going to be a nation-wide party with infinite food and concerts in major venues and Trump canceled all of it so he could hire shady contractors and pocket the rest infuriates me so much.

Whooooooo!

Marines Deploy Iron Dome Air Defense Systems to the Western Pacific — USNI News news.usni.org/2026/07/02/m...

As we roll into the long weekend, let me recommend The Whyte Python World Tour for some delightful shenanigans. It's about an 80s hair metal bands, goofy CIA stuff and the end of the Cold War in the late 80s. Just tremendous fun.

More CATVs delivered

7/ Finally, the FDA approved bemotrizinol, the first new sunscreen ingredient in over two decades. It's been used in Europe, Asia, and Australia for years for strong UVA and UVB protection. Products could appear later this year, though wide availability will take time.

4/ Remember that flu vaccine that RFK Jr.’s FDA said they wouldn’t review and then, after immense backlash, reviewed again? Well, we got exciting news: An FDA advisory panel voted 9-0 to back Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine, mFlusiva.

😡 800,000 books destroyed: during today's attack on the capital, Russians destroyed the central warehouse of the BookChef publishing house

Happy “liberal arts professor helps save the Union” day to all who celebrate

five hour delay between doors close and show begins with under a liter of water per person is what we in the trades call a mass casualty event i hope the good citizens of the dmv hate him enough to keep their eyes clear

This @davekarpf.bsky.social piece on the Great American State Fair fiasco is a very good read. Like the Reflecting Pool, the fair is a perfect metaphor for this admin. “The Great American State Fair isn’t meant for the attendees at all. It’s online content.” davekarpf.beehiiv.com/p/what-is-th...

“In almost any other conflict, these haunting truths would be seared into national memory.” As the Pentagon stays quiet, AP reconstructs a US strike that killed over 100 Iranian children apnews.com/article/iran...

Kratos has won a $36 million deal to build hardware for a new air defense missile system, but the company says details will remain restricted. defence-blog.com/kratos-wins-...

US FDA approves Vertex's gene therapy for sickle cell disease in children as young as two reut.rs/4xZ7ebP

This is good, and a better way to put it then my "four simultaneous Normandys followed by two simultaneous Stalingrads" way of capturing the difficulty of a Taiwan invasion.

The Czech Army is getting 46 new Flyer 72 HD light tactical vehicles from the U.S., giving its paratroopers a faster and more modern platform. defence-blog.com/czech-paratr...

Another export sale for Kongsberg, making Belgium a big NASAMS operator. www.reuters.com/business/aer...

More interesting here are the issues Anduril seems to be having setting up its mass production line

Patrick “Paddy” O’Rourke, an Irish immigrant who graduated the top cadet of the West Point class of 1861, was killed in action on July 2, 1863 leading the 140th New York Infantry Regiment to save the Union position on Little Round Top which was on the verge of collapse. He was 26 years old.