I think the understandable tendency has been to treat this as a tasteless joke, but in light of all we've seen to date, we need to take seriously the possibility that they may be insane enough to try to seize the territory of a peaceful ally by force for... no real reason.

Well done to all those Trump supporters and apologists who believed that “wokism” was the greatest threat to western civilisation. Heckuva job.

This is heartbreaking. We seem to be in a spiral of hatred and violence, and so many innocent people are suffering. Feels like a dark veil is descending around us - the obligation as always is to try to find the light.

a very concise and helpful post about Elon's incoherent views on 'free speech' www.techdirt.com/2025/12/09/t...

This is a profound, powerful essay about the human condition, what we need to thrive, and what’s being taken away from us.

When they say Trump calling a reporter "piggy" is "just being honest," they are revealing a key feature of the reactionary mind: it believes, at a deep brainstem level, that *everyone* is awful & selfish & ugly on the inside. Everyone just suppresses it out of fear of social disapproval. Not Trump!

Such terribly sad news. One of those cultural forces who make all our lives richer. RIP Manchán Magan

Good lord, these dudes will never understand that the whole *point* of the "cancel culture" moral panic in which they participated was to create a permission structure for the current crackdown. Chait et al were used, precisely to produce this outcome, & they'll never, ever look it in the face.

Every headline talking about Kimmel being suspended for his “Kirk comments” is journalistic malpractice. He was suspended for comments about MAGA opportunists exploiting Kirk’s death, after the FCC chair issued a Mafioso threat.

1,000% this. The gullibility of those who bought into the entire “Campus Free Speech Crisis” project is staggering.

Don’t know why I’m finding it so hard to believe that Redford has died. He seemed somewhat eternal, like a famous painting or sculpture, always familiar and reassuring. RIP.

Wise words as always from @thomaszimmer.bsky.social - hard to see what will prevent the escalation in political violence we’re witnessing.

Watch: they're going to develop & execute a plan to steal the election right in front of us, in public, because they know courts won't stop them, they know Dems won't fight, and they know media will never call it what it is. At this point why would they think anything else?

This now exceeds the building damage recorded in Hiroshima. www.icanw.org/hiroshima_an...

Dr Morgan McMonagle: As a surgeon in Ireland, I had never seen “wounded child, no surviving family” on a hospital chart

In decades to come, right-minded people will wonder how this was allowed to happen.

Every day, the same story, the same moral pit. The fall of this murderous government can't come soon enough. The only suitable place for Netenyahu is in court for war crimes.

The US is facing a turning point, as Paul Krugman clearly describes here. Civilian protesters are going to die at the hand of US troops, I fear. And I don’t see how the country pulls back from the brink - things can get much worse before they improve. paulkrugman.substack.com/p/this-is-no...

This is a fantastic essay by @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social about the hypocrisy of the “brave truth tellers” in our public discourse. Nails their cowardice perfectly. www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/ideas-that...

The Unlightenment.

Such sad news. Really loved Kevin Drum’s writing - he was a great political blogger, and a reliably independent thinker. He also discussed his illness with admirable frankness. Feels like a terrible loss, at this time in particular. jabberwocking.com/health-updat...

Good piece from @davidfrum.bsky.social here. Every Trump voter is culpable in this fiasco - it was crystal clear that Trump was going to do Putin’s bidding in this and every other matter. Dark days ahead.

The “Russia Hoax” doesn’t look like such a hoax anymore. Trump is behaving like Putin’s pet, as has been the case since 2016. We can all guess why someone so desperate to appear dominant is happy to look so deferential to Putin.

So, this is very far down the list of things horribly wrong with this infamous scene, but isn’t “Say it’s carol singers” a pretty bad tactic for trying to scheme some alone time to make a gross profession of love to your friend’s new wife? Wouldn’t most people respond “oh cool, I’ll come listen”?

Spot-on analysis from @hlinehan.bsky.social here. Without the illusion of choice once offered by FF-FG, the next few elections could lead to serious disaffection. Who knows what sort of realignment lies in store for us, but we can’t be complacent about the dangers such disaffection can stir up.

“Housewife of the Year” is genuinely one of the best films about Ireland I’ve ever seen - it’s both hilarious and unsettling, generous and scathing. This country was an oppressive theocracy, where women were the primary victims. This doc shows us what that felt like in practice. Must watch ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️