NEWS: A unanimous Third Circuit panel rules that Alina Habba is not U.S. Attorney, cannot be Acting U.S. Attorney, and cannot have the powers delegated to her. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Ooooh, new FRE 801(d)(2)(B) hypo just dropped for all you law students studying for your evidence final!

i semi-regularly think about this concept and way of describing it and crack up. absurd

Eleven years ago, I wrote to Tom Stoppard to ask about this coup de théâtre from 1949. It took me down an unexpected rabbit hole - in memory of Stoppard, here's what I found.

This is the most alarming story I’ve read today. Giving up the fight before it’s started

“No-one will talk about the disaster of Brexit”, says the segment of the media that bullied and ridiculed anyone who warned or talked about the disaster of Brexit.

This play. This passage. Simply the best ever – or at lesst most succinct – defence and justification for the very idea of Civilisation ever written. This is why we’re here. Because of what this means. And because someone can put it into words like this. open.substack.com/pub/benjamin...

Perfect Tom Stoppard story from DTel obituary: His response to a letter from Harold Pinter canvassing support for a proposal to have the Comedy Theatre in London rechristened the Pinter Theatre, “Have you thought, instead, of changing your name to Harold Comedy?”

Like 30% of the country is absolutely enraged because they thought they were going to be able to be utter shitbirds without anyone being allowed to call them shitbirds, but here we are, calling them shitbirds.

The deranged madman now threatens to blow up commercial airliners flying in and out of Venezuela.

Thing is, we DID hear about it at his confirmation hearing. Every single senator who voted to confirm Hegseth knew he held these views about the laws of war. They voted to confirm him anyway.

Harvard Law School’s Jack Goldsmith: “In short, if the Post’s facts are correct, it appears that Special Operations Forces committed murder when the ‘two men were blown apart in the water, as the Post put it.’” open.substack.com/pub/executiv...

A running theme of Trump II is cautious, level-headed, mainstream, career professional experts sounding existential alarms about how we aren't panicking nearly enough.

words, what do they mean www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

Trump claims “any document” signed by Joe Biden is “hereby terminated.” He calls out executive orders later but obviously “any document” would be much broader and include legislation. (He can’t legally do that but, as always, we get to watch how far he can push this without repercussions)

Watched Bladerunner again last night. Would have been so much better if they had gone with the original idea, that instead of origami unicorns, Edward James Olmos’ character had made balloon animals. “It’s too bad she won’t live; but then again SQUEEEK-SQUEEEK-SQUEEEEEEK-SQUEEEEK Who does?”

Maybe no one heard me, 20% off sale on happytoast.co.uk today and all weekend. Hell, I'll include commissions in that too.

🚨🚨"Whatever the reason Witkoff is prolonging the conflict. He is not promoting peace. If this were a normal American administration, he would be fired immediately. But nothing about this negotiation, or this administration, is normal at all." @anneapplebaum.bsky.social's damning verdict on #witkoff.

To be honest the first half of this palindrome is much better than naht retteb hcum si emordnilap siht fo flah tsrif eht tsenoh eb ot.

Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷

The bully agrees to stop hitting you and in return they get to keep your lunch money.

Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade but all the lyrics are 'are you hanging up your stocking on your wall'

this is mesmerizing

"Europe’s problem is not that it lacks options. It is that it refuses to use them". Jade McGlynn skewers both the Dmitriev/Witkoff plan for Ukraine's destruction, & Europe's refusal to act decisively enough to prevent disaster. open.substack.com/pub/smalldee...

I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture. They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1

maybe i am going insane

Man Who Thought Fleetwood Mac’s ‘The Chain’ Was Over In For Thrill Of His Fucking Life https://theonion.com/man-who-thought-fleetwood-macs-the-chain-was-over-in-for-thrill-of-his-fucking-life/

Brutal

I know they're losing but this seems a bit extreme

the trump admin wants to pick a fight about the military code with a guy who has this resume? cool. lets go.

Aye

as the ancient greeks understood it there are three principles to writing (or "rhetoric") - pathos, the appeal to the audience's emotions, bathos, the shift from the sublime to the ridiculous and macos, restarting your laptop every tuesday

I once knew a Federal bank examiner, and one time someone asked him why we had to KEEP inspecting banks over and over. He basically said every new batch of business school grads invents bank fraud from first principles.

AI seems to be an expensive way to do someone else’s job as well as you reckon they probably do it, whatever, but no use for anything you do yourself, where you can professionally tell it’s hopeless. Good luck with the bubble, lads. (Clipped from The Wrap, about Disney giving up on its AI R&D.)

I made this clip to illustrate my 10 year love-hate experience on Twitter and what made me finally walk away. 🤣😂

Previously:

I was the bassist in a well-known group in the 80s to 90s. Decent career. On Ken Bruce's Popmaster, a contestant couldn't name any of our hits. This hurt more than any of the regular kickings we got from those smug fucks at the NME.

Almost a year now since I received this absolutely classic burn from the Canadian government.

Trump v the BBC cont'd: an odd and desperate letter from the US media regulator Or: why you should have your evidence in place before you threaten a law suit A new post by me: emptycity.substack.com/p/trump-v-th...

Quite the correction by the Telegraph. The publication in question is @freemovement.bsky.social

Just going to post this today for no particular reason.

Some notable things in what's being called the "Trump peace plan" but which could not have been more clearly written in Moscow if it came with a 2 for 1 deal on tickets to the Bolshoi Ballet. 🧵

Judge Ellis derides Greg Bovino as a serial fabulist who brazenly lied on the stand and seemingly considered it funny to perjure himself. cst.brightspotcdn.com/49/34/daecfb...

If you like this cartoon, I can draw one for you. www.worldofmoose.com/products/pri...

So called normal people: there’s no such thing as the world »s best mug. Me:

This is almost unreal incompetence. Here's how this area of inquiry was discussed in Monday's opinion. In short, this is the afterthought, the ~it couldn't be this, could it?~ moment in the opinion: "If this procedure did not take place, then the Court is in uncharted legal territory ..."