Politikexperten merken angesichts des Irankriegs an, die USA hätten keinen Plan B, aber das setzt voraus, dass sie jemals einen Plan A gehabt hätten.

It’s that time of the year again where I sit on the front porch with coffee in the morning enjoying the fragrant air and the buzzing bees. Moments of quiet joy before I inevitably make the mistake of looking at the news …

I'm so incredibly frustrated with media, especially US news media, right now. Most of them are failing their readers in so many ways instead of speaking truth to power and informing us. But some are thriving in unexpected ways and that gives me hope - looking at you @theonion.com and @wired.com!

I’m in the airport lounge in Frankfurt getting some water. The guy next to me looks frustrated and says: “Why do Germans hate ICE?” I take a deep breath and give him a 30-second version of German history in the 20th century. He looks horrified: “What? NO! I meant ice in your drinks!” 🤣

I usually get asked a lot of questions about the situation in the US when I’m in Germany. But it hits different when you have coffee with your in-law grandma, a Holocaust survivor, and she says: “What is your plan? This is not 1933 anymore, it feels more like ‘38. Don’t wait too long.”

I count 10 cities in 2025 that are on track to have the fewest murders since at least 1970. Newark is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1956 (though only have data through Oct this year) and San Francisco is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1942.

My father’s first principle is punctuality and he is terrified of being late for Christmas services and possibly having to stand in the back. So every year we walk into a completely empty church one full hour early. My mom brings cookies and a flask with brandy. Merry Christmas everyone!

We walk into the big hall (former barn) where the family is decorating the Christmas tree. My mom says in lieu of a greeting: “Did you find Jesus?” My Jewish husband is particularly confused. “Nope.” - “I think the dog might have snatched him then.” Christmas truly is merry in this house.

My US doctor prescribed a cream. My very costly #health #insurance doesn’t want to pay for it. The cost without insurance is an astounding $1,042.99 🫣 But I can get it in Germany for EUR 31,50. The exact same product. Xmas travel almost pays for itself 🤦🏻‍♀️

Any other farm kids here whose parents have #homemade #jam from 1978 stored in the basement? And of course it’s still edible 🤣

It's Sunday night and we're sitting at the dining table writing Xmas cards. Many many cards. My husband drafts each text on his computer. I just whip out my pen and write. He stares at me in awe: "I married a freak who rawdogs Christmas cards. My life is wild" 🤣

Folks, if you meet someone who has some kind of chronic disease, please do not tell them about how amazing your daily dose of colostrum makes you feel or how great cold plunges are. And do not dare to ask them if the vaccine caused this. Fate will not treat you kindly, neither will your sick friend.

Vaccinations done. Flu. Covid. RSV. Protect yourself and protect your community. Stay safe out there. #healthcare #vaccines

I like Halloween decor and I like vaccinations. But combining the Halloween skeleton with your vaccine advertising might not be the best service to public health in a country ruled by "vaccine skeptics".

Maybe he should get out more instead of just checking the covenant eyes app on his son's phone.

Wow. The EU was ready to sanction Google for abusing its ad monopoly today. But it was blocked after pressure from EU Trade Commissioner @marossefcovic.bsky.social & the U.S. DoJ. Europe just chose Washington’s corporate interests over its own citizens. Unprecedented. Self-inflicted.

Imagine being so scared of gay people that you need to declare water soluble chalk art on public roads a felony. What a sad existence. www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

You cannot possibly make this stuff up … www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/r...

The social media accounts for federal law enforcement agencies keep posting the exact kinds of things you'd report to federal law enforcement agencies if a normal citizen posted them.

In the worst phase of jet lag right now. Stumbling around like a zombie after barely 3 hours of sleep. If I encounter one more person telling me “just go back to bed and keep trying some more” … you might read about it in the paper tomorrow. 😤

1. Federal funding for research promotes tech, biomedical, and scientific discovery in the US, and provides training for the sci/tech workforce that has brought immeasurable wealth to the US over the past 75 years. Today's executive order includes a provision that will obliterate both functions.

First DC Tesler diner opening next week.

I have never lived in another country where the perception of crime and the reality of crime are so far apart. Sadly media has to shoulder a lot of the responsibility alongside reckless politicians whose main campaign strategy is scaring people senseless.

1. This week, the FBI released its comprehensive crime report for 2024, which revealed that both VIOLENT CRIME and PROPERTY CRIME reached their LOWEST LEVELS SINCE THE 1960s This a massive story. But you might not have heard about it, even if you follow the news closely. Here's why.

The sun delivers more energy to the Earth in one hour than all of humanity consumes in a whole year. In 2024, solar power alone accounted for over 60% of all new electricity generation in the United States. Yet the Trump Administration is moving to defund the fastest-growing source of electricity.

Likely? What are you even doing AP?

This definitely gives off major “very late stage Roman Empire” vibes. Unbelievable. #JDVance www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

we didn't get an end of history so much as a private equity leveraged buyout of history that resulted in drastic costs cutting on the core product

Americans love technology and absolutely hate science and that’ll always be fucking confusing to me

well well well

Asked AI to make a logo. No notes. 11/10

Over 90 pages of "Alligator Alcatraz" files disappeared as I was looking at them and reporting on the situation. Our public records requests are getting stonewalled. A slew of experts told me this all seems to be illegal. talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/th...

Horrific. mRNA vaccines have saved millions of lives and could save millions more. “I don’t think I’ve seen a more dangerous decision in public health in my 50 years in the business,” said Mike Osterholm, a UMN expert on infectious diseases & pandemic preparations. www.huffpost.com/entry/rfk-va...

We pay a little more and that means medication is more affordable? I’m getting a headache already …

the USA built a system of higher education so good that smart/rich people from across the world came here, spending billions to learn here, subsidizing education for Americans while spending money to live in our cities and towns. our government arbitrarily decided we should stop doing that

It's really weird to demand accountability from a NYC mayoral candidate for a deadly NYC shooting rather than the current NYC mayor, an ex-cop who campaigned on a "tough on crime" platform and promptly got indicted for crimes

Hey no big deal and all but... Senate Republicans just confirmed Joe Kent, a conspiracy theorist with alarming ties to white nationalists and far-right groups, to lead the National Counterterrorism Center. www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...

California #heirloom #tomato season is the best of all seasons. It’s #snacktime, baby!

Excuse me, what?! 🤯

I wonder if the Columbia leadership realizes (or cares) how much blowback there might be from *within* the academy. This post, from a Cornell Law professor, is worth reading: 3d.laboratorium.net/2025-07-25-c...

Yeah, we still use the term McCarthyism even though the scale and nature of his impact is a shadow of what is happening right now. It shows just how the US struggles to find appropriate reference points for what is happening now.

They waited *more than an hour* to enter the Hortman home after watching Mark Hortman get shot in the doorway Unbelievably tragic & heartbreaking And, of course, they publicly congratulated themselves on a great, lifesaving police response when they’d let a lawmaker bleed out. Uvalde is everywhere

Portland, Oregon, which has a similar population as Helsinki, had 58 traffic deaths in 2024 www.portland.gov/transportati...

From today’s episode of “Paragons of Morality”

I was just having some tea in the backyard when a hawk swooped down and grabbed a crow fledgling. A very noisy murder of crows then followed him and attacked him until he dropped the little crow. Way too much excitement for Friday-Me. So how is your Friday afternoon going? 😉

I can barely tolerate Teams on my laptop ...

POLITICO compiled a list of all the Washington Post staffers who have left in the past eight months. It’s at least a hundred names, many of them among the biggest names in journalism. This is the fastest erosion of a major outlet ever.

I cannot find the right words to express how dangerous and dystopian this is. Every single authoritarian regime in history has moved to suppress the freedom of the press early on. It's one of the key elements of control.

How many variations of this story have we seen by now? The bigotry is mind blowing.