“Answering cruelty with the Gospel.” Leo seems to be our second truly pastoral pope in a row. I hope the Roman Catholic Church continues to look at the papacy as the parish priest-in-chief rather than top administrator or head theologian.

Except that actually the Netanyahu regime can fuck right off and stop thinking it gets even an iota of input into the actions of any government in the U.S., whether local, state or federal Mamdani canceled *all* corrupt orders Adams issued after his corrupt pardon, and he was exactly right to do so

In my experience there is an inverse relationship between the degree to which people say they love America and the degree to which the same people actually love Americans.

Yes, but I value the exercise of exposing how much of our basic, day-to-day economy depends on small bits of government subsidy in hopes it can prime people to expect more and better. If daycare already depends on subsidies, why not spend a marginal bit more and just make it fully supported & free?

Pretty sure this is the only thing that will stop it. bsky.app/profile/uroc...

The U.S. Navy really does need new ships. Here is the only true frigate in the fleet at the moment. We need modern frigates & destroyers, not heavy cruisers dishonestly called “battleships.”

A 2025 study of all U.S.-led coups d’état and regime change operations from 1893 to 2011 found that that “while short-term strategic objectives were occasionally achieved, the majority of interventions resulted in regional instability, anti-American sentiment, and failed democratic transitions.”

All Americans must carry proof of citizenship? Government bureaucrats will tell you, maybe, after they’ve seen your papers and arrested you.

Canada Fights Fire With Fire Part 2 Canada's Mark Carney Pivots $250 Billion Defense Alliance To EU Canada signed a deal with EU that effectively divorces its defense industry from American volatility. open.substack.com/pub/samuelwy... open.substack.com/pub/samuelwy...

Except it really is left vs right, Democrats vs Republicans, because the Republican Party has chosen wrong and dictatorship. Dictatorship is not on the ballot; Republicans are, and they support dictatorship and promise to turn America into a dictatorship. That’s very much a partisan issue!

Bits from Jack Smith's testimony have been posted here & there, but I highly recommend just reading the actual text. It's fascinating. Members from both parties ask tough questions, & he answers with clarity & integrity. Highly recommended. d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2025/... #ProudBlue

DHS publicly fantasizing about massive state violence should be taken seriously, and warrants labels such as fascist and white supremacist. But don't lose sight of the fact that it's beyond their capabilities. The regime's desire for authoritarian repression is bottomless. Its capacity isn't close.

Happy New Year! Tax the rich.

I’ve argued since August we need a serious conversation about Trump’s health. One thing lacking so far: The excuse to turn this “news story” into a “news event.” This WSJ story — and Trump’s opening — should be the chance to do just that. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/it-s-time-...

In which the President decides to call and chat on the record with a newspaper he’s suing for a billion dollars, for libel. (gift link) www.wsj.com/us-news/as-s...

So in 2026, the USPS will no longer process mail as it comes in. It will process mail when they feel like it. So they can deliver a letter or a package a month later. The Convicted FElon is doing this to prevent mail-in voting without outlawing it. He doesn't want the Democrats to win the Midterms.

Oh my goodness, this Wall Street Journal piece about Trump's ailing health that includes an interview with him (gift link). There are a number of ridiculous details in it and I'll put a few of them in this thread. (1/6)

According to the Center for Immigration Studies, the foreign-born or immigrant population (legal and illegal) in March 2024 was 51.6 million. Thus, if the administration deported 100 million people, it would have to deport roughly 48.4 million U.S. citizens to hit that target. #holdfast #getsmart

This should not be shrugged aside. They have stopped with the fake 22 million illegal immigrants things and are flat out saying we want to deport 10's of millions of citizens and legal residents from "third world countries" Basically they are advocating removing 1/3 of the population on a gov site.

HERE Jack Smith sets out Trump’s direct culpability and complicity in the federal election interference case, including January 6th:

They're going to *throw out* one-of-a-kind NASA archives?! Not even a year since the Inauguration & we're already at the 2nd-time-as-farce version of the burning of the Library of Alexandria.

If a commercial product overtly and directly encourages children, plural, to commit suicide, commercial trade in that product should be outlawed. This is a general principle I believe.

Why are the negative consequences of so-called AI so consistently directed at disabled and racialized people? Disabling Intelligences details the ongoing effects of the eugenicist mindset on our corporate ventures and our interpersonal relationships. link.springer.com/book/9783032...

"Back in your day, people were more afraid of measles than of the vaccine that prevents it." #McSweeneysTop25of2025

🤔While we're on the subject of Elon Musk, let's not forget his business genius. Apparently "it's increasingly hard to claim that DOGE made any sizable dent in federal spending, which was its primary goal." "The bottom line is that government spending increased under DOGE..." Such integrity!

Open up this picture fully. Then look at the surface of Mars. Then look up to the top right. Spot Mars' moon Phobos high in the sky. Then notice the bright spot beside Phobos. That's Earth.

Federal law should require letters be postmarked upon receipt of the letter. Add this to the long list of things Democrats need to pass if they gain control of either house of Congress.

🧵Wreckage from Trump's murderous strikes has washed ashore in Colombia. What investigators found wasn’t fentanyl, or cocaine. It was marijuana. And not much of it. Plus...

The presidents in my office. Most of them anyway.

Speaking from rural Wisconsin on a bit of land where we’ve been applying for a small federal conservation grant to help with a fencing issue, this is true.

Who is going to be the US Navy officer who tells Trump that the railgun on his "battleship" basically works on the same principle as the electromagnetic catapults he hates with the fire of a thousand suns on the Ford-class carriers?

Since the Trump administration took office in January, the Social Security Administration has experienced significant deterioration following cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) .

This whole no more being the world police thing is going swimmingly. Pretty incredible how quickly MAGA went from “yeah! No new wars!” To “let’s bomb Nigeria and Iran!!!”

The “fun” thing about the kennedy center freakout is that conservatives have been carving out “creative” exceptions to anti discrimination laws so they can be bigots to ordinary people just trying to make a purchase, but if actual artists don’t want to perform for the god king they must be punished

GIVE AWAY! // AKA WE DID IT AGAIN! Since The Night Guest is coming out in paperback we decided to try to gift another copy bitten by Uggi. And it went … a little *too* well. (See picture 🧵) Like and share this post and on December 30th I will select a winner and send them this teeth marked copy!

Short but powerfully true thread.

Freedom of association is also a First Amendment right, and it includes the right not to associate.

New in PN: The regime wants to turn artists into performing monkeys "Freedom of speech and freedom of expression is the right to criticize the ruler. But it’s also the right to not play jazz vibraphone if you don’t want to — not even if the ruler says you must for his greater glory."

The Trump administration is authorizing visas for the founders of an infamous company that facilitated payments from the Russian government to pro-Trump influencers, The Bulwark reported on Monday evening.

Newsrooms should ban the word “crackdown.” Whatever a reporter means by that word, they should specify clearly and plainly what that is.

At the Democratic Convention of 1936, FDR’s acceptance speech refers to “Economic Royalists,” who “complain that we seek to overthrow the institutions of America. What they really complain of is that we seek to take away their power.” Yes. So much yes.

Take no one seriously who invokes the 25th Amendment as a solution. Those who do definitely have not read the amendment. If POTUS is capable of signing a letter, it’s harder to remove him with 25A than with impeachment.

I’ve seen a million media stories about how sad Republican voters in CA are about losing their Republican representatives. But I don’t think I’ve seen a single one talking about Demoratic voters in Texas, or North Carolina, or Missouri losing their representatives.

This is true and I was the only one on set excited about it (and playing the song on my phone to blank stares)

The U.S. dollar is on track for one of its worst annual performances in more than half a century in 2025, having lost roughly 10% of its value against of major currencies as of late December, a decline not seen on this scale since the early 1970s when the currency’s gold backing was abandoned.

Here's a tragedy of DOGE that most people will never know about, even though it has big consequences: no one is left to coordinate the transition to memory safe systems code. 🧵

Bill Barr had the reporter who broke the Epstein story surveilled. Nothing to see here, folks.

Oh he lied? Shocking

DOJ had these in Jan ‘25. They should have prepared them to be released by now. Donald Trump promised to release the file on Day 1-instead he tried to hide the files & claim it’s a hoax. It’s not radical or partisan to want justice for sex trafficking victims & accountability for the perpetrators.