This is extraordinary. I will miss Colbert so much, but he is going out blazing.

Heads are going to explode 💥 Cato Institute just nuked the lie. Immigrants have cut U.S. deficits by $14.5 TRILLION since 1994, slashing the national debt by a third. All that “immigrants are bleeding us dry” noise? Absolute bullshit. 1/3

This is a fascinating, deeply researched and reported story that goes well beyond "Isn't A.I. terrible?" while keeping one foot firmly planted in "Yes it is."

"When in doubt, draw a distinction." Not sure where he got it, but in grad school one of my teachers taught me that. This (long) thread is about the key distinctions I rely on as a critic. There's a Twitter version from 2021. This one builds on that one. I will post them one at a time. Ready?

"From her roughly $50,000 annual salary as a data processor in San Diego, Ms. Reedy, 34, spends at least $200 to $300 a week on food delivery." If you're spending at least 20 percent of your salary on *delivered* food, maybe affordability isn't the main issue. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/d...

I'm not sure I have ever seen a more savage movie review headline than the Guardian's dismissal of Melania as a "trash remake of The Zone of Interest."

I’d been thinking about Homan’s use of the word “theater” all morning. As David Simon mentions below, it suggests that he thinks of this action as a war, one fought against Americans. It also evokes the other kind of theater, the cosplay/photo op/social media pageant they’ve been generating.

Wow, who could have predicted all of this?

The professionalism is indisputable, no? An undisciplined and untrained policing agency steeped in this much contempt and disregard of the citizenry can't actually be reformed. Abolish -- before more of us are beaten, killed or detained indefinitely and without legal cause.

The publisher of The Inquirer says to the civic-minded people of Pittsburgh: here is how we saved our newspaper in Philadelphia, which is now profitable. www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm... "I believe our own experience over the past decade offers a template for success."

Republican candidate for Minnesota governor Chris Madel has ended his campaign in a surprise video announcement.

I know... pointing out hypocrisy to Republicans is err... pointless.

Great turnout for West Seattle Indivisible’s rally/protest “We’re Still Standing” this chilly and sad Saturday morning. Terrific energy! @maddow.bsky.social

The President, it now seems clear, has the world’s most consequential case of untreated logorrhea. (Dictionary definition of this condition: “Excessive and often incoherent talkativeness.”) www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...

The entire range of my interests in a single photograph.

This is a stirring rebuke to the part of the American government and the American electorate that has chosen to scorn and reject basic human decency. Never forget, never forgive.

Looking forward to Jack Smith telling the truth today.

A gentleman who gave his name as Zev is protesting on the East Roanoke overpass in Seattle this afternoon. He noted that the upside flag is a sign of distress, something I’ve seen at other protests in town. He said the reaction from drivers on I-5 was generally positive.

Dance 4 Democracy had the great honor and joy of participating in today's Martin Luther King Day March in Seattle. It was so much fun helping people get their energy level UP for the march. Thank you to our dance leader, Cindy House. You are the BEST! See you at the next event and ... keep moving!

It's cool that these guys just use pepper spray casually now, against people who are wholly within their rights, without a moment's hesitation. Several shots of them using it as they climb into their cars and drive away, not even a pretense of urgency or need. Just a parting "fuck you" to them.

Understatement of the century

Here is a gift link to the Times’ new analysis of the Good shooting. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/v...

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. www.cnn.com/2026/01/16/p...

We need to make this more explicit: The violence and civil collapse we're now seeing in Minnesota is by design. It's exactly what Trump and Stephen Miller want. MAGA is *all about* deliberately unleashing ethnic hatreds and violent antagonisms among Americans. newrepublic.com/article/2052...

Gates Foundation will cut up to 500 positions by 2030 to help reach ‘ambitious goals’ https://www.geekwire.com/2026/gates-foundation-will-cut-up-to-500-positions-by-2030-to-help-reach-ambitious-goals/

I long for a world in which you can catch up with a month-old unread magazine* without it seeming like a quaint artifact created by people who didn't yet know about the current horrors. *"Magazines" are collections of articles and essays printed on paper and distributed on a regular schedule.

This is why it’s actually misleading for ICE to wear all those “POLICE” patches and IDs. They’re very much NOT police.

The Minn Star Trib has an excellent frame-by-frame analysis of the Good homicide. A couple things (also noted elsewhere) stand out. 🧵: 1) ICE agent Ross's first shot, when he *might* have felt in danger, hit 'the bottom corner of the driver’s side windshield.' www.startribune.com/breaking-dow...

@tcmtv.bsky.social promo for a showing of the original Godzilla later this evening: “We have a case of reptile dysfunction.” Ha!

Anti-ICE protest at University Village in Seattle on Saturday morning. Great turnout! #iceprotest

Common Sense, published 250 years ago today.

Anti-ICE protest at Seattle’s University Village shopping center this morning (1/10/26). This was just one of many area protests. 450+ people of all ages counted about an hour in. @maddow.bsky.social

Protest of Trump's attack on Venezuela at the Pike Place Market in Seattle this afternoon. People were angry and vocal. @maddow.bsky.social

Smart, insightful analysis by @radiofreetom.bsky.social Tom Nichols on Trump's ill-advised attack on Venezuela.

Trump: “Now 1,000,000 more pages on Epstein are found. DOJ is being forced to spend all of its time on this Democrat inspired Hoax. When do they say NO MORE, & work on Election Fraud etc. The Dems are the ones who worked with Epstein, not the Republicans. Release all of their names, embarrass them”

Poor Donald. He's so stupid and confused. He thinks Barack Obama (who was no longer in power) controlled the 2020 election. And he thinks Joe Biden (who wasn't yet in power) authorized FBI agents to be sent to the Capitol on Jan 6, 2021, when DOJ reported to Trump.

I spent this week rewatching a lot of All in the Family for work. It's not Rob Reiner's primary legacy, but it was one of the greatest quartets in TV history, and he was essential in the least rewarding role. He has a scene with Jean Stapleton in S8 that moved me to tears. Where I'll be for a while.

Isn’t Trump supposed to be the anti-drug president? Looks like he saw a fellow ex-president in legal trouble (like himself) and decided to help out. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/w...

I’m old enough to remember… oh never mind. These hypocrites don’t give a damn about their hypocrisy. They spend years falsely accusing various members of “the left” of doing what they have absolutely no problem and no shame doing themselves. The “censorship industrial complex” scam.

In case you didn’t realize SNAP is corporate welfare.

Photos from a Black Friday protest in Seattle on Nov. 28. A dedicated group braved the chill to deliver an anti-Trump and anti-consumerist message. @maddow.bsky.social

So sorry to see this. He is one of the great playwrights.

people big mad at president psychomoron

Joining MSNOW at 3 to discuss this, among other things

the Doug Mills video embedded in the NYT Trump aging story is pretty amazing

The irony of these people complaining about the invented dangers of immigrants and then welcoming brain pollution from overseas hustlers.

Sunrise takeoff from Providence, RI #photography

The horror! 😉