Be sure to check out the evening sky tonight and the next couple nights. Jupiter and Venus headed toward a bright conjunction. And Mercury makes a cameo.

When a Democrat says the U.S. should condition defensive arms sales on human rights, they put the Israeli nation at existential risk. When a Republican President orders Israel not to respond to an attack, it shows he is a true defender of the Israeli state.

Expansion drafts suck ass.

We gotta AIPAC AI.

False hope breeds inaction. The sooner people realize that Marco Rubio isn't coming to the rescue, the sooner we move forward on working to restore human rights, including in China, as a priority in US foreign policy. Views my own: unexemptional.substack.com/p/marco-rubi...

Susie Wiles to join Harvard's Institute of Politics.

GOP: Communist China is an affront to freedom and a destroyer of liberty because the Party forces companies to have government ownership. Also GOP:

I can’t run fast enough to this.

I'm all for homoeroticism as a matter of freedom of expression and of equality. And I'm also amused by latent homoeroticism, and think it would be better if they were just open about their feelings.

Why is there not a big movie about Emma of Normandy? Fascinating life.

The notion that 1989 was about reform not overthrow will hit a cognitive barrier in Washington DC because it refuses to conform with the (mostly right-wing) narrative of anti-CCP regime change politics and the Chinese dissident faction that needs that narrative to stay relevant in certain circles.

The NBA media ecosystem portrays the Knicks as this redeemed long-suffering franchise. But this is the Knicks' 8th Finals (they've won twice) since the Kings last made the Finals -- a team whose success the NBA actively supresses.

When we moved into our first house we joked that we would install a pool in the tiny back yard. A friend said it was possible if we built it vertically.

my man, we had this evidence in 2017

You've heard of Mar-a-lago face. But get ready for LatAm MAGA face.

Rubio’s optics before HFAC is to have only men in the frame.

Obsessed with this juxtaposition in my feed.

"Fans should know that the sport that they are enjoying is fuelling crimes against humanity. They should know that the NBA is investing in the UAE, and the UAE is investing in atrocities in Sudan," McGovern said during a virtual press briefing. www.middleeasteye.net/news/ahead-n...

"I'm a pro-innovation Republican who thinks government regulation of AI would be disastrous for American competitiveness and job growth. Here's why Trump's proposed regulation of AI is a smart move." -- Republican Member of Congress www.nytimes.com/2026/06/02/t...

I suspect what's going on here is that Pulte has proven to Trump that he can use his authority (FHFA) to dig up dirt on Trump's enemies, and Trump expects him to use the intelligence services of the U.S. to dig up dirt on Trump's enemies.

When we say that the way to understand MAGA governance is to know how sexual predators think. This is a good example.

Reporter: What do you think about the Claude outage? Claude user: I don't think anymore. I don't understand your question.

If Trump drops the insurrectionist reward scheme, it will prove that Trump is not the corrupt dictator that Democrats accurately accused him of being when he proposed it. -- Megan McCardle

This is a cat check point. Relinquish your most recent cat picture on your phone

Discrimination based on gender identity or expression is illegal in New York City. Trans New Yorkers are protected by law. Our City will protect your rights, defend your humanity and stand beside you without hesitation.

So the silver lining to the NBA’s shadow ban of the Kings is that Sacramento children will always get their sleep.

ABOLISH AI

For those who think that the GOP hostility toward human rights is a transient thing under Trump, what does is say that the next generation of Republicans are actively and eagerly identifying with a human rights abuser?

The autocratic cycle: 1. FARA is disclosure, not regulation. 2. Nevertheless, autocratic foreign govts pass regulations to crack down on critics, saying (inaccurately) it's just like FARA. 3. Autocratic domestic govt copycats autocratic foreign govt by seeking to use FARA to crack down on critics.

“A lot of people my age are asking, ‘Is it worth getting a swastika tattoo on my forehead? Or will that hurt? And that’s the question I guess everyone’s asking, and that’s the bet you have to make ahead of time. But it’s hard to know long term.”

The scale of Trump's weaponization of the Justice Department against his enemies www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

This is a good thing.

Republican Members of Congress have been defending an unpopular war by deploying the WH talking point that it diminished the Iranian military, thus good for U.S. security. And here Trump undercuts them hanging them out to dry.

Liberals say Trump officials should be in jail for corruption, violating the Constitution & human rights abuses. Conservatives say liberals should be in jail for calling out corruption, violating the Constitution & human rights abuses. In these polarized times, it hard to know who’s right. —NYT

America will need transitional justice - truth-telling, reconciliation, genuine accountability - to recover from the crimes and corruption of Trump & MAGA. Democrats can help lead by holding their own to account for the Gaza catastrophe. Views my own: unexemptional.substack.com/p/democrats-...

Conjuring images of seasoned J6 insurrectionists storming the White House to demand the payments that Trump promised them. Yes.

Thanks to my friend Richard Gere, who’s championing my bill that would elevate the Central Tibetan Administration & give them the power to negotiate with China. The Tibetan people have the right to choose who governs them. It’s time we exercise our power to uphold that right.

House Republicans introduce a bill to make it a federal crime to remove Donald Trump's name from the Kennedy Center and any other federal building.

Johnny Bravo has withdrawn from the Freedom 250 celebration

"If the United States violates international law in the way it treats foreign nationals, it opens the door for other countries to treat US citizens the same way," Akram said. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Turkmenbashimaxxing

Honestly, the PWHL's gold plan is the perfect solution to tanking. I'm shocking other leagues don't adopt it.

Among the NBA's lottery reforms is a provision that if the Sacramento Kings get the first pick in the draft, that pick is automatically transferred to the Los Angeles Lakers without compensation. The provision is mandated per codicil in perpetuity by the estate of David Stern.

GOP: the Chinese Communist Party is evil because it surveils online expression for views critical of the government. Also GOP:

Can I live? Yes. But can I vote? No.