1/ For nearly a decade, GOP lawmakers in NC have relentlessly stripped powers from the state’s Democratic governors – not just weakening their political opponents, but also harming everyday North Carolinians, advocates argue. 🧵👇 www.propublica.org/article/nort...

The perfect Yglesias post: declaring “billionaires are good, actually,” as if it was some bold, counterintuitive take.

Also why it’s essential to always be reading multiple books at the same time. Being completely unbooked is a dangerously vulnerable situation.

Our pop stars continue to be both more accountable and more responsive to feedback than the editorial board of the New York Times

The funniest part is that the whole point of funding the crusades was to send your potential sources of domestic political instability (loud, violent lunatics) off on a mission where, worst case scenario, they were out of your hair for several years or, best case scenario, they died.

Faith in democracy & universal suffrage is hard. You gotta want it. Because, no matter their root values or whether they vote D or R (it’s the latter), the *structure* of this thinking makes the voices in my head which softly chant “some folks shouldn’t get to vote” into 24/7 banshee screams.

An essential development over the past decade-plus is that the ignorant went from feeling chastened when their ignorance was revealed to banding together and deciding that, actually, they were right. They might disagree at times, but they agreed that ignorance itself was an indicator of trust.

if I were elected mayor of a city I too would insist that every ceremony took place in an abandoned tunnel or secret passage of some kind

holy moly do I have a pretty hefty case of the *but-i-don’t-wannas* goin’ on over here i seem to be REAL SERIOUS about it too like it appears that i’m soooo not kidding around

It's such a great Shibboleth for dumbasses. Who cares that you don't like either party? Why do you need to like any party? Democracy does not require that you feel warm feelings toward a party.

It’s wild we’re still talking about masks. I still mask up in grocery stores, elevators, public bathrooms, and public transit cuz I don’t like being sick and I don’t want to get my kid sick and it doesn’t have to be more complicated than not liking being sick. It’s weird anyone would question that.

A Hampton Inn in Asheville just canceled my family's reservation because our address (incorrectly) showed Asheville—and the hotel bars locals within 50 miles. When I asked why, they said, "because of our homeless population," adding that most hotels here have similar policies. This is outrageous.

Saw Bluesky described as where elder millennials go to retire from the internet, and immediately felt the peace that passes all understanding wash over me. None of have to struggle any longer. We completed our time.

This is a radio station out of Fort Meyers, a part of the country that looks like this and is going to be underwater before basically anywhere else. This feels like a death drive thing to me.

Have you ever wondered which special interests REALLY have power in our state legislature? Chances are you haven't heard of them - but you might've seen one of the political attack ads their money paid for. 👹

Jazz physicists have been striving for decades towards this clean and cosmic power source One day we will transcend the Davis paradox and achieve ignition of limitless Hancock radiation #energysky

“Trump babies” is a phrase I never needed to hear, and would prefer to never hear again. www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

“It’s cool and good to revoke citizenship if you say stuff the government doesn’t like” is a brain worm of dune proportions

Important to keep separate Strange New Worlds (ST:SNW) and Strange New Respect (NYT:MTG).

This right here is why I haven’t given up on the internet.

As usual, @moiradonegan.bsky.social is really great here. (The essay responds to several unformed thoughts that I only now recognize having had when my little weekly ‘movie club’ watched the films Donegan references — which is a pretty nifty trick from a skillful writer/thinker.)

It’s truly amazing how Zelensky is able to see up close and personal what Putin is doing to his country and its people day after day with barbarity and cruelty, then stand next to Trump without losing it while he makes asinine statements expressing sympathy for the mass murderer.

I'm a firm believer that this liminal period between the holidays and New Year's is how we're supposed to live. It's peak existence. May the word "efficiency" die in 2026 and all its horrible relatives "innovating" to solve the perceived problems of rest, joy, creativity, and humanity.

Great post about generative AI. Happy Holidays. Don't say I never gave you anything. anthonymoser.github.io/writing/ai/h...

Same.

Welcome to Florida!

“I have no professional interest in people looking at my face” is, not to be dramatic about it or anything, an idea for which I am willing to live and die

Can one simplify the fraction on a check one is writing? Just had to write a check for x dollars and 50 cents, and I really want to be able to write "x and 1/2" dollars instead of "x and 50/100" dollars. If that's legal, it will make me extremely happy.

The sum total of my thoughts on Avatar 3: “Wait, so the plan is to have 97% more RED in the color palette of an Avatar movie? Is that wise?”

Corn products like tortillas are poor sources of folate known to cause deficiency, & people who consume diets high in corn flour products have increased adverse effects from folate deficiency, like neural tube defects. This health disparity is easily treated. RFK is just ignorant, eugenicist trash.

Yes, as a grown-ass man, I *am* aware of the irony… …and I do experience the full measure of cognitive dissonance that *ought to* arise from my intense desire to beat this Swol guy into semi-consciousness with my very favorite silicone kitchen spatula. (even if that may take a minute)

A few years ago, I had to quit daily caffeinated coffee. (But I down much decaf due to lifelong love for the juice.) But on holiday/vacation I let myself drink all the coffee. And right now I’m ON FIRE — confidently tackling ALL SUBJECTS. My brain->mouth game? On point. Could teach physics rn.

Even beforehand! The first amendment is great that way.

Again, it is utterly shameful & demonstrates the total failure of all of our political institutions that threatening our closest NATO allies with territorial conquest has not immediately ended this presidency.

Even if you don’t commit DV, if - no matter your gender - your mood is altered for hours following a televised game depending on who wins and loses, I think you need to not watch that shit. That’s outrageous and I’m sick of culturally pretending otherwise.

That’s… a question. Grammatically speaking. I didn’t pull the book down because before I could make my arm move, my 2025 mind began imagining the different directions things might go and… I feel okay with my ignorance for now.

"the average user of our sportsbook is a complete moron" is actually the most straightforward economic pitch for someone to place a bet on your app

unironically a good idea

John is tongue in cheek, but there's a statistic in Laura Bates new book that 90% of deep fakes made are of women, and if you don't process the implications of that and come out demanding regulation I'm not sure you're reachable.

It’s increasingly clear that social media is a net social evil which shreds attention spans, and this is why the only appropriate remedy available in this space is spending time observing Morris company wallpaper patterns

They're desperate to rationalize "heritage American" as if it's some serious intellectual theory and not a white nationalist twitter meme. Which doesn't work because it is, in fact, just a white nationalist twitter meme.

Ever wonder why there's so much 80s/90s nostalgia online these days? Here's why, in one chart.

“Whether they admit it or not, it was Jesus, not an Episcopal Bishop, who offended them. It should be said that anyone who was offended by Bishop Budde’s two-minute homily will be even more offended by Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.”

Love it when your friends try to support your hobbies to be supportive. You end up getting messages like “hey a guy from that band you like died. The Cure?” RIP Perry Bamonte of The Cure, and my resting heart rate

Finally, our very braingood President — Donald “Macroeconomicalism” Trump — has identified the One True Cause of inflation. It was “stupidity” this whole time. Damn you to hell, John Maynard Keynes.

‘How Different Could Purified And Distilled Water Really Be?’ Thinks Humidifier Owner About To Enter World Of Shit https://theonion.com/how-different-could-purified-and-distilled-water-really-be-thinks-humidifier-owner-about-to-enter-world-of-shit/

Man bursts into tears. "But Doctor Mechahitler," he says, "I am the great clown Pagliacci."

Should someone tell him who wrote “White Christmas” and where that person was born.

Imagine how fried-by-white-supremacist-over-online-bullshit your brain needs to be to think that Britain or France's immigration policy is a greater threat than the nuclear arsenals of actual geopolitical rivals like China, North Korea or Russia.