"The film exploits an unwholesome theme in a pronouncedly offensive way...But it is further charged that the production distorts history and libels the Negro race, and in this regard is an affront to 10,000,000 American citizens." Springfield (MA) Union, Apr 3, 1915, on "The Birth of a Nation."

Two wildly different standards for two wildly different parties:

I sincerely believe many of these people have permanently lost the ability to understand what matters and why.

I think if Trump died and Vance took office as president his career would end almost immediately. No more protective bubble, individuals and institutions coming to something like their senses, Vance with no constituency to fall back on

It's a small matter in our universe of larger problems, but it annoys me to no end that they misuse and abuse Tolkien's legacy in their capitalist, anti-democratic creations (i.e., Palantir, Mithril). If anything, they are all orcs, balrogs, Morgul rats, uruk-hai, and nazgul/ringwraiths.

It should be the headline, actually.

I'm old enough to remember when Barack Obama had to do an apology tour during the 2008 campaign because he'd previously gone to Jeremiah Wright's church.

Good that the Times is covering Trump's continuing election lies, but I find something morally obtuse about the "Trump said" framing. Here we have a president pondering calling for the cancellation of an election. That statement should be foregrounded, rather than his justification for not doing so.

It’s mindboggling that Vance’s links with Yarvin are not a career-threatening scandal.

Curtis Yarvin has written a very long screed in defense of his post in which he said, “Hitler spoke the truth.” A sampling of select portions is below and includes, in reference to Jewish people, the words: “The only way to tell is the name and the nose.”

Proud to have published January 6 & the Politics of History w/ historians Jill Lepore, Joanne Freeman, Stephanie McCurry, Elizabeth Hinton, Will Sturkey, Julian Zelizer. The book includes a vital debate about historians’ responsibilities as public intellectuals. www.amazon.com/January-Poli...

🚨 Today, I formally introduced articles of impeachment against Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. RFK Jr. has turned his back on science and the safety of the American people. Michiganders cannot take another day of his chaos.

Same. My jaw was on the floor.

"The film exploits an unwholesome theme in a pronouncedly offensive way...But it is further charged that the production distorts history and libels the Negro race, and in this regard is an affront to 10,000,000 American citizens." Springfield (MA) Union, Apr 3, 1915, on "The Birth of a Nation."

one thing that is important to know is that BIRTH OF A NATION is so racist that people at the *time*, in 1915, were like, “holy shit this is racist”

Blue-collar employment was rising under Biden-Harris and is declining under Trump-Vance.

Compare to Bari Weiss's reaction to the Mandani campaign, which she called "Burn it all down," when that is much closer to Vance's message than to Mamdani's campaign to improve infrastructure and the public sphere funded through slightly higher taxes on the wealthy. bsky.app/profile/larr...

The Ohio State University praised Vance as reflective of their University *after* he said this, *after* he called professors the enemy, *after* he talked about waging war on universities, *after* he'd targeted multiple marginalized groups with hate.

As the insurrectionists freely strolled out of the United States Capitol at the end of that dreadful day, I remember wondering in amazement, "why are they not being arrested?"

I still remember Ma telling me five years ago that if these insurrectionists on January 6th were Black, then they would be dead. Five years later, they are almost all alive, out of jail, and their guy is back in the White House. If that’s not White privilege, then I don’t know what is.

"they're treating us like we're black lives matter"--is a direct quote from a jan 6 putchist and white woman whining about the kid-glove pushback her lynch mob was receiving from capitol police for trying to murder members of congress and overthrow the republic

In 2022, after the 1/6 insurrection, Vance continued to favor of coup-like behavior. He said this on the record well before the 2024 election: “we’re going to have get pretty wild, and pretty far out there, and go in directions that a lot of conservative right now are uncomfortable with.”

Worth reading Bacon, formerly of Post Opinions, on how his old perch launched the trend that CBS 'We Love America' News just followed:

I have never felt more radicalized as a Lib than I just did after reading this Jan 6 revisionist garbage. I don’t know where this ends but I am only voting for Dems who promise brimstone and hellfire for these people. I feel like something broke inside of me today.

Biden gave one speech about the threat of democratic backsliding to which the press response was "did you see how sinister the background lighting was"

at some point you have to wonder if this is the 21st century version of Roman decadence the existence of the reactionary centrists is another point here

I don't know how to describe it, but there's this profound brokenness in the American body politic where nobody can take the implications of anything seriously. People keep saying things that should be existential threats to the political system, and then everyone just keeps going on as normal.

Well there was that time a Democrat had the audacity to be born in Hawaii to a white mom from Kansas then move to Chicago and attend a black church.

Between his CNN interview and his new tweets, Stephen Miller has now come out for unshackled American imperialism underwritten by assumed western civilizational supremacy. His relitigation of 1965 immigration act (which I wrote about) are functionally a way to call for some species of recolonization

Hard to imagine the media reaction if a Democratic politician, let alone Vice President of the U.S., had said, “we’re going to have get pretty wild, and pretty far out there, and go in directions that a lot of progressives right now are uncomfortable with.” But I doubt it would be complete silence.

These Vance quotes are truly stunning.

It’s mindboggling that Vance’s links with Yarvin are not a career-threatening scandal.

should probably be a bigger deal that the vice president's favorite intellectual is a dull nazi bsky.app/profile/leah...

Five years ago today, Donald Trump incited a violent insurrection to overturn the results of a free and fair election he lost. Calling it anything else is a lie. (1/2)

I don't know if you need much evidence that Ackman has no principles but he led the charge to remove Claudine Gay from President of Harvard on *much* weaker evidence of academic misconduct. Then he threatened to pursue plagiarism accusations of anyone who pointed to his wife's alleged plagiarism.

I'm not one for anniversaries, but it feels fitting to mark the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack, if only to preserve clarity amongst ourselves about what that day represents: the starkest fork in the road that this country had faced since its civil war. talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...

If ilhan Omar had a "favorite philosopher" who said something like this, the media would literally hound her into resigning. But they don't even report on the fact that the sitting vice president loves this guy, a disgusting anti-semite

This is just Kleinism; if enough people hold a reprehensible belief (and if enough of them are important) you are, definitionally, not permitted to treat it as reprehensible.

The American people electing Trump after he staged a coup attempt 5 years ago was a nail in the coffin of our democracy. You can rationalize it all you want - But inflation! But wokeness! - but ultimately it was a societal suicide attempt and probably the dumbest collective voting decision ever made

He does not accept that his actions are subject to rational questioning. Thus the yelling. It's not rational discourse. It is like arguing with a barking dog.

What the heck is he talking about? The Marshall Plan? The Truman Doctrine? The "Kitchen Debate"?

We should categorically reject and contest the assertion or implication that being an "activist" in some way diminishes/qualifies a person's perspective or positions; it's part of an insidious and reactionary project to make "passive apolitical consumer" the only correct mode of citizenship

"did you try to bribe the president of the united states by giving him your nobel peace prize so he will declare that you are in charge of venezuela after abducting its leader by military force" is just a thing that someone can be asked in an interview now and we all have to deal with that

#NeverForgetJan6 #NeverForgetJan6th

Absolutely true, and somehow not-discussed point: The US **ALREADY** has all the strategic advantages it could gain by "owning" Greenland. Through treaties and (until now) close NATO cooperation w Denmark The US has a naval base & 'space force' base there. You see USAF planes at Grndlnd airports

"We love you. You're very special. You've seen what happens. You see the way others are treated that are so bad and so evil. I know how you feel." Trump's 1/6 video address to the insurrectionists released at 4:17pm, more than 2 hours after they had breached the Capitol. www.bbc.com/news/world-u...

Donald, this is your election strategy advisor. Keep putting Stephen Miller on TV.

Bill Cassidy spent 2025 criticizing RFK Jr’s radical moves, but failing to actually do anything meaningful, despite his powerful committee chairmanship. In 2026, the senator is offering more of the same, indifferent to the consequences of his passivity. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Middle-School Bully Asserts Right to Take Lunch Money: In Interview with the School Newspaper, he Laid Out a Case for He and his Buddies to Control The Smaller Students by Flexing Their Might in the Cafeteria.