This Boundary Waters decision is a pretty classic example of a small, single-issue, constituency trumping a large, multi-issue, one. Random note: very cool to see a picture I took more than a decade ago (with appropriate credit) at the top of this post. Hopefully a Dem majority will fix it. #BWCAW

At the level of Islamic political thought, the contest between Iran and the Gulf is a contest btw two modern Islamic versions of reactionary authoritarianism; the key difference is the Gulf is pro-USA and monarchical and Iran is anti-USA and its own unique vanguardist theocracy

It honestly seems like they are being good liberals in the philosophical sense, saying they have to evaluate the law & the evidence because they believe in the process of truth-seeking. Meanwhile Roberts & Alito basically say "yeah I know the answer already"

Ivanishvili's son is curated to follow in footsteps of his father: to be the future heir of their private kingdom. Tsotne spoke politics today in front of the Georgian Dream youth wing. He avoided to answer on accountability of those in power who beat up youth protesters. civil.ge/archives/730...

OOP New York Times got receipts on John Roberts being like, 'I know this isn't how anything works, but a Democratic president is about to implement a policy!!' www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/u...

Exactly my reaction. This is extremely significant historically, politically, legally. It also radically understates the hypocrisy & naked political motives of what the Republican justices on the court did

This is both (1) some of the most important SCOTUS reporting ever, and (2) far too generous to the Republican justices in framing of many pieces and omissions of Trump-era developments

The thing is they built nearly an entire administration out of people who qualified by being the crassest, most overt grifters imaginable who would toe whatever nonsense line the president chose today

This is a dance-off. If you see this, repost with a dance. www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kw-...

Wait he worked for Sistema??? Even a casual like me has heard of them

I know that reporters often don't get to choose the headline, but this one is brutal. Ohio State is one of America's largest universities and a research and social mobility powerhouse. And yes, while they play sports, that's not their main contribution.

Well when you put it that way

His nickname would definitely have been Italian Robert

Our team received a report of intermittent app outages at about 11:40pm PDT on April 15, 2026. They worked through the night to mitigate a sophisticated Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack, which intensified throughout the day.

I grew up going to the Boundary Waters, where my grandfather had also taken my dad and his brothers. This is a travesty and I hope it gets stalled until a new admin can shut it down again.

imagine trying to sustain a serious intellectual culture in the midst of this

"The ballroom is a national security issue" is the logical conclusion of "everything is a national security issue"

Hold up Let him cook His cells

Butterfly meme: "Is this religious freedom?"

Here is a longer analysis from me on what Magyar's victory means for Hungary and Europe and what to expect going forward👇

NEW—I got an exclusive excerpt from a USAID whistleblower's new book that made me gasp multiple times. It details Trump's dismantling of the humanitarian aid agency & his team/DOGE's shocking ignorance to public health. 'Into the Wood Chipper' by Nicholas Enrich is out tomorrow. Read excerpt here:

There was always a major strand of punk that was reactionary

At times, on this site or Reddit, you’d assume the average American is maybe half to a quarter as well off as they are, and you’d think that a “six figure income” is ludicrously aspirational rather than literally a top 25-30% number

Yes, working-class Hungarian voters, famous for their therapy culture

All other incoherencies aside, Iran's real economy and its political economy are *completely* different from those of Saudi and the UAE

This Thursday, 300+ AILA members from 34 chapters will meet with congressional delegations for AILA’s National Day of Action to elevate community voices & advocate for policies that treat people with dignity & deliver 21st-century solutions #AILANDA26 https://bit.ly/4tgefCs

This should've been the mean really, though if enough of us do it we can also raise the median!

Magyar says everyone in HU knows that UA is the victim of the war and he'll be straightforward about it. He says, pointing at Fidesz, that suggesting Ukraine should give up territory is "treasonous" as it questions the right of nations to defend themselves. He does stress language/cultural rights.

It's OK we're going to make up for them to raise the median

READ THEORY

A possible way out: change the constitution, change the law on the Constitutional Court. But wait: until the new parliament convenes and new officials are elected in May, Fidesz still has a constitutional majority & Orbán is still prime minister enabled to govern by decree. They can also change laws

More on this: so far the Fidesz-appted head of the Constitutional Court (mandate runs out in 2037) & the head of the Audit Chamber (mandate runs out in 2034) have reacted, essentially saying that they're subject to the constitution only (which Fidesz may still change), implying they won't resign.

Permanent immiseration and destabilization of the region as "strategy" www.reuters.com/business/aer...

Indeed, aside from Hungary itself few other countries suffered as much from Orban’s dark, hateful rule as Bosnia and in particular its Bosniak community. And by the same token, Bosnians will likewise be especially keen to see the restoration of democratic, liberal, and European norms in Budapest.

One of the strangest and most disturbing moments during Orban’s long tenure was the period in 2018 during which he was repeatedly photographed - including during a meeting with Italy’s Meloni - with an enormous ethnic map of Bosnia. This coincided with a sharp uptick in his government’s support…

the Soros conspiracy coming from Elon in particular is just embarrassing. you’re worth like 80x what Soros is buddy, if you thought he was buying elections you could snap your fingers and fix it.

The pope supports taxes on boat loan interest

The Pope likes those terrible showerheads where the water comes out in a trickle

LET'S. FUCKING. GO. nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/04/12/z...

Budapest is having fun tonight

Since we’re all making fun of Rod Dreher, I think about this at least once a week

The energy in Budapest tonight is absolutely incredible. Unlike anything I’ve seen anywhere in the world. Every bridge, metro station and street is full of celebration. Literally the entire city. Follow me if you love this

Good thread. To also note: there's a broad spectrum of "competitive authoritarianism", and Hungary is still at the "softer"/more democratic end of where the term is applied

That's what just happened in Hungary. Under Orbán, Hungary became arguably the poorest country and indisputably the most corrupt in Europe. Birthrates were low, and outmigration enormous. More and more Hungarians felt like they had no future under Fidesz.

Me, sowing an electoral system so I can get a constitution-amending supermajority on a smaller share of the vote: Haha fuck yeah!!! Yes!! Me, reaping an electoral system where they can get a constitution-amending supermajority on a smaller share of the vote: Well this fucking sucks. What the fuck.

Will have a huge impact in Georgia, showing that those who rob, damage & divide eventually can be defeated.

Vucic is following Hungary closely. Serbia is even more isolated after tonight’s election results in Budapest.

First foreign trip as PM: Poland Second: Brussels

Magyar calls on the figurehead head of state Tamás Sulyok, as well as all high justice officials and other high officials appointed by Fidesz to resign immediately or they will be removed by the new government. He also announces a constitutional reform and that Hungary is joining EPPO.