I’m reading Ian Kershaw’s Hitler biography rn, specifically about Hess’ one-man peace mission, and chuckling thinking about a modern version of such a thing.

Bari Weiss out at CBS before the midterms. Book it.

Reading as a supplement to my current book

Axios: Mpls Council floats end of Office of Community Safety as “failed experiment.” I supported overarching public safety dept concept (beyond just MPD, to boost other public safety efforts) but Frey made it a $330,000 flak-catcher & responsibility-dodger for him. www.axios.com/newsletters/...

Think I will fuck around and build this tn

All this gerrymandering insanity just drives home how much we need to implement my idea: a new, unicameral legislature made up of mixed member districts with a representative to constituent ratio of 1:10,000 and 7,000 delegates. I call it MegaSenate and it’s the only fair option.

How do I learn to play Hearts of Iron 4?

A Florida wildlife biologist was summarily fired for *reposting* an Instagram joke about Charlie Kirk’s death. LibsofTikTok complained. A state official’s false statements in legal proceedings led to sanctions. And now the state will settle by paying her $485,000. www.aclufl.org/press-releas...

Hasn't even been a year and Zohran's governance is having a massive impact on my family. Our daycare was able to open a 15-seat 3K program because of the 2,000 extra seats the admin funded. Everyone we know got in somewhere they wanted. This is gonna save us almost 50 grand.

Ru is getting into one of the 3Ks we wanted so starting in September we'll no longer be paying $43,000 a year for daycare.

I haven’t seen anything good written about the proliferation of 7-hydroxymitragynine at smoke shops. I might have to put something together myself, cuz this stuff is absolutely bananas and I can’t believe you can buy it at the gas station.

So far the Kershaw biography is stellar, but I’m finding it hard to hold my attention through the early life stuff, like WW1 through 1930ish. A lot of Hitler’s life was desperately boring. He spent a long time as what essentially we’d understand as a mediocre niche poster.

This honestly bugs me a bunch re: Odyssey critique. A lot of the Iliad and the Odyssey is Goofy Fun. People turn into pigs! Nestor gives long speeches about how he doesn't give long speeches! Trying to treat them with reverence is itself a desecration.

Someone had a point and shoot digital camera from 2005 at the function this weekend.

New project

It’s wonderful how happy Ru is to run and play at the park, and let me read in the sun about the destruction of Army Group Center

Has anyone read Ian Kershaw’s Hitler biography? I’m gonna read it next, but can’t decide if I should read the abridged single volume, or go for the full deal.

It’s wonderful how happy Ru is to run and play at the park, and let me read in the sun about the destruction of Army Group Center

If I was a Member of the United States House of Representatives, I would simply not try to fuck my interns.

You, years later: Hope what I said didn’t come out wrong. Oh god what if they thought I mea United States Representative to employee: suck me off real quick?

Reading The Making of the Atomic Bomb and it’s the first time I’ve heard the metaphor that world war 1 was a machine which’s product was corpses. Couldn’t tell if that was an original line or a reference, but found it arresting.

All my love to the homies who recommended this one. It’s intensely moving.

The best bagel in nyc is the sesame seed at Apollo Bagels by One WTC.

A lot of people recommended When Titans Clashed by Glantz & House for my Eastern Front rabbit hole, and I’m now almost halfway done and tbh I don’t really like it. I’m gonna finish, but it’s superrrrr dry. Maybe it’s just the audiobook narrator or something.

Help me build a commander/brawl deck for this guy

Hilarious anecdote in the book I just finished about a Soviet military delegation who was invited to by the Germans in 1938 to a demonstration of their tanks, and were so convinced the Germans were lying to them about not having any heavy tanks, they were *offended.*

Now reading:

When I told my family this game was “basically just Risk,” I guess I was lying.

A couple more books to put on the list: The Hitler Years - Disaster: 1940-1945, Frank McDonough Operation Barbarossa and Hitler’s Defeat in the East, David Stahel.

My family is always saying they wish I would participate in family activities more when we visit Minneapolis and then I bring a game for us all to play and suddenly it’s “ohhh, ahh, I don’t know”

“For some it is actually scary." Federal workers impacted by DOGE cuts are selling their houses to get money, dropping out of pending home sales because of job loss, and depressing the DC housing market. Rich people in the burbs, on the other hand, are buying million $$ homes in cash

Current book:

All is well.

They say kids mirror their parents’ relationship in their own. I hope it’s true for us. I hope Ru learns a lot from watching us. I hope when she is my age, she has someone who loves her the way I love her mom.

Next up

If I was in charge of Army Group Center I bet I could’ve taken Moscow.

I’ve never been more of a middle-aged dad (I’m 34)

“The rudderless wars of hubris my generation endured” He’s not talking about this, though, this is something else.

The ugly stepchild of the group, the Cromwell Mk. IV, has joined the team. These guys are only like $15 a pop and I can finish one in 40 minutes. I'm gonna get every one they make lol

Nobody has ever gotten the better of Ilhan on Twitter.

An adorable little Sherman M4A3 joins the platoon. This little guy is supposed to be the E8 variant, affectionately known as the Easy 8, and has the upgraded 76mm cannon.

T-34/76 added to the platoon.

I discovered these little knock-off lego kits of tiny tanks (they also have planes) and have been obsessed. I can build them in about an hour, so they’re perfect for building while on a call. Look how cute they are!

A reminder that when I worked on the Hill, I heard, unprompted, from three different, unrelated people, including reporters and other staff, that Mike Tracey smelled fucking terrible. Like notably bad. It was so notable, multiple people said this to me without being asked.

Ru: “Daddy’s book has pictures!!!”

Sometimes this image just pops into my head for no reason.

Jim and Pam were the quintessential “works as a possibility, shouldn’t be together in practice.” They both fed into each others worst qualities. It’s low hanging fruit now, but any true office fan knows Karen was the better choice for Jim.

"My best idea for reconciling with the love of my life is to publicly announce her humiliation live on television to tens of millions of strangers. Why won't she call me?"

I’m making California burritos tonight. It’s one of my best meals. I do it with a green crema sauce made out of cilantro, avocado, jalapeños, sour cream etc; double fry the french fries; sweet soy sauce marinade on the steak; crunchy slaw.

Ok, after some recs, my next WW2 books are: When Titans Clash, Glantz & House; Opening The Gates of Hell, Richard Hargreaves; Antony Beevor’s Second World War; and AJP Taylor’s Bismarck (thx Noah Kulwin).