Aaaannnd the award for most audacious sanewashing goes to…. <fumbling with envelope> …Politico! For its obsequious coverage of one of the most unhinged and embarrassing presidential press conferences in history! <applause>

“…he’s wielding the government itself as a corrupt racketeering organization — where you have to pay him and the government for the privilege of doing business in his neighborhood, just like a local mafioso or gang that requires payments for ‘protection.’”

Jesus. 😳

In fact, enforcing basic social norms is absolutely essential in a democracy. I don’t understand why so many people in positions of influence believe the opposite to be true: that enforcing basic social norms erodes democracy. Every opinion section now proceeds from that assumption.

“Kirk was an aggressive, frequently nasty — but to his own people very fun — partisan warrior. At least half the country was his enemy. Not because they said so because he did. That was the essence of his activism.”

It’s literally absolute insanity to think that the President of the United States called a press conference to tell the American people not to take Tylenol, for absolutely no fucking reason in the world.

In a sane world with a functioning media, the only headlines today would be, “Bizarre press conference with wild claims about popular OTC painkiller raises serious questions about the President’s mental health.”

It’s literally absolute insanity to think that the President of the United States called a press conference to tell the American people not to take Tylenol, for absolutely no fucking reason in the world.

This ought to be engraved somewhere.

going to bed, and i’m not raptured yet disappointed, but not surprised

It's too much liquid

This one sentence is utterly negated by everything else written in the article: “Like other AI firms, xAI tries to prevent AI-generated CSAM.” While everything else clearly says, “No, it does not.”

the limp name “chatGPT” shows how incredibly uncreative these little boys are they have a potentially world-changing technology, and the best way they can explain it to average people is to call it… “chat generative pre-trained transformer” seriously?! failure to communicate is sad not kidding

Serious question, not rhetorical: Why is this movement and its authoritarian regime so absurdly opposed to scientific conclusions, which are based on factual data? Why do they actively *choose* stupidity, in the face of facts? Please, don't respond with dismissive snark. It's a serious question.

"The announcement on autism was the saddest display of a lack of evidence, rumors, recyling old myths, lousy advice, outright lies and dangerous advice I have ever witnessed by anyone in authority in the world claiming to know anything about science." - Arthur Caplan, medical ethics at NYU

Serious question, not rhetorical: Why is this movement and its authoritarian regime so absurdly opposed to scientific conclusions, which are based on factual data? Please, don’t respond with dismissive snark. It’s a serious question.

Bingo. 👇

kimmel will be back on tv but hold the celebrations; the trump assault on free speech rights continues. those who stood up for kimmel need to stand up & rally for universities, public media, access to govt information, independent journalism, etc - and against trump's propaganda.

Viktor Orban has made Hungary one of the poorest countries in the EU www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

This reminds me of times when gov workers mistakenly sent classified or sensitive material to reporters then demanded the reporters delete and forget they ever saw it. They don't understand that a policy like this will only make media outlets cover the Pentagon more aggressively.

It’s sad that this is necessary, but…good work. 👏👏👏

NEWS FLASH: The Attorney General of United States of America is not the same thing as the president’s lawyer.

There is no world in which it is normal for the president to publicly call upon his attorney general to hurry up and prosecute his political foes. It’s like the Watergate tapes but posted on social media. Let’s get a grip on what’s happening here.

This is what true leadership looks like. Binding up the wounds of the nation, unifying us in our common polity.

An outstanding and edifying essay. I’m grateful for the realistic and unflinching nuance, as well as copious links to additional thought-provoking pieces. Thank you, Ken.

There is no Constitutional prohibition against taking a $50,000 cash bribe, so it's hard to see what kind of law Tom Homan might have broken. by Jonathan Turley

When you lay it all out like that...

Jimmy Kimmel's show involves comedy and satire. It is not news. It is not meant to inform the public about a newsworthy event. No FCC rules were violated. The FCC has no business threatening broadcasters or censoring speech it does not like.

Disney/ABC have a responsibility to refuse to participate in corruption. Kimmel must be reinstated. If Disney/ABC agree to this extortion then perhaps creatives + workers should consider collective action to push back. Same w/buying park + cruise tickets if they bow. People have power. Ask Target

The defining lesson of this first year of Trump authoritarianism is that kowtowing & capitulating yields zero permanent benefit and only emboldens the admin to come after you more. This critical lesson was first documented in the landmark political science treatise “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.”

95 democrats, including @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social voted to "honor" the life of charlie kirk, who called for joe biden to be killed and said black women like justice ketanji brown jackson are unqualified affirmative action hires. shame. clerk.house.gov/evs/2025/rol...

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Maine and Oregon Tuesday, alleging that the states violated federal voting laws by refusing a department demand to hand over their voter rolls. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

This is an agent of the US federal government, armed for live-fire combat against a modern army, slamming a passive and nonviolent female candidate for the US Congress into asphalt. Then walking away without checking if she has injuries, with his identity concealed behind a black facemask.

I would love to be part of the conversation on MSNBC related to the Kimmel story and it's chilling effects on first amendment, but unfortunately I was terminated by MSNBC for stating that "hateful thoughts lead to hateful words which lead to hateful actions".

This is the playbook, folks. If you're not paying attention now and doing something about it, then you're going to have to sit down the rest of your life because democracy is being taken away. Do not be quiet in this moment.

I know it's frustrating when lawyers point out when something the administration is doing is not legal. But responding with "the law doesn't matter anymore" is really unhelpful and defeatist. Clarifying the law is important because it reminds us not to comply in advance and to resist and take action

Nothing to worry about, just a GOP governor saying his state has to redistrict to favor Rs before 2026 or lose money to his state www.yahoo.com/news/article... Authoritarians frequently exploit state power to make it impossible for opposition parties to compete on a level playing field

David Letterman is right: you can't appease a tyrant.

Where the separate divisions of ANTIFA landed on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944:

This is it. Cancel culture, but for real. The Twitter Files, but for real. Actual, unadulterated collusion between the government and media-owning corporations to censor Americans. Shame on the MAGA libertarians and fake-heterodox civility cops who helped pave this road to authoritarianism.

“It's become clear that Charlie Kirk is worth more to Trumpworld dead than he ever was alive. His fatal shooting last week in Utah has been used as a cudgel in an attempted purge of wrong-thinking liberals and leftists…”

ah yes the party of “liberty” and “freedom”

The last political column I was allowed to write in the @washingtonpost.com was a criticism of Obama. His people took issue with my piece, but we were respectful. Now he is tweeting in support of me. This is how free political speech and respect for debate *actually works*. Or used to work.

The Third Reich didn't last 1,000 years. Pinochet was ousted with a referendum. And the US isn't exactly dealing with the smartest, most competent fascists. Those of you insisting that 2025 is forever need to read a book, touch grass, go to therapy, anything other than trying to make others quit.

Republican Party policies: - Sexually abusing and trafficking girls are protected activities. - Making fun of the president and MAGA on late-night TV are not.

👇👇👇

This is an important time to remember that responsibility is not a zero-sum game — recognizing one person’s fault does not necessarily diminish another person’s. The Trump administration is fascist. And ABC cynically caved and abandoned American values for money. Both are worthy of your contempt.

this is what it looks like when the “fuck your feelings” party suddenly goes all-in on being butt-hurt over its precious feelings

I’ve had the words below pinned to my profile since joining Bluesky years ago. In the midst of government repression, McCarthy-style blacklists, media cancellations, “forced mourning,” and whitewashing of toxic divisiveness, we’re seeing a real-time example of how many fail the test — badly. 👇👇👇

Succinct. To-the-point. 100% accurate.