The goal of the military is not "war fighting" but deterrence. Obviously combat readiness achieves deterrence, but the goal is to avoid combat. War is a failure of deterrence. The long "Pax Americana" proved that peace, not war, is the measure of military success. www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

I follow a lot of lawyers, but didn't realize quite how many until almost all of them commented on the bizarre and dangerous indictment of James Comey at the direct instruction of Donald Trump in apparent defiance of the law and legal standards of the United States. apnews.com/article/trum...

The Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah — literally, the start of the year in the lunisolar calendar en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosh_Ha... — begins tonight at sunset, which is 6:43pm EDT at Providence. In an unusual coincidence, the autumnal equinox occurred today at 2:20pm EDT.

Remember that MLK said America suffers not just from "the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people."

New England at Pittsburgh: Patriots cannot win absorbing 5 turnovers and 5 sacks, even if they have double time of possession and double yardage.

Regardless of how and when I die, please do not hold my funeral in a football stadium. www.azcentral.com/story/news/l...

The constitutional command that the president "take care that the laws be faithfully executed" did not mean by firing squad.

Running tonight at 8:00pm on WSBE 36, their classic documentary on the great hurricane of 1938. Ir can also be watched on the web. www.pbs.org/show/wake-38/

The FCC chair threatening broadcasters over First Amendment-protected content and viewpoint seems to be actionable for damages under 42 U.S.C. §1983: legally, it's no different from a sheriff burning a cross on somebody's lawn.

Some personal news: I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting. Thread incoming. substack.com/@karenattiah...

How does law enforcement cope with a mindset where the highest goal is “lulz,” meaning that everything is an appropriate target for mockery and derision, regardless of cruelty or tastelessness, as long as someone is willing to point and laugh? motifri.com/kirk-murdere...

Just heard David Wright on @ripbs-tpr.bsky.social mispronounce "Quonochontaug" — "ch" is properly hard "k" sound. The station needs to have a guide to unusual RI terms that function as grating shibboleths to natives. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quonoch...

Pure speculation based on reports of personality changes and age of the suspect: he is exhibiting symptoms of schizophrenia, leading to an insanity defense, which typically manifests in men in their early 20s, and in hindsight he will be found to have shown signs of it. www.wsj.com/us-news/who-...

Anyone who thinks political assassination is a new thing should read the classic "American Violence" by Richard Hoftstadter and Mike Wallace, a collection of primary source accounts of such occurrences in our history going back to the colonial era. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/81387/...

The Epstein files thing is really working out increasingly badly for Trump. okeefemediagroup.com/breaking-doj...

Everyone Trump blames for the job loss statistics, when he fires them will add to the job loss statistics.

Today's questioning of HHS Sec RFK Jr will test honesty and integrity of Republican senators, especially Cassidy and Murkowski. Concentrate on mismanagement rather than medicine if that is more politically viable, but do something. www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

So Hegseth’s missiles were fired at a boat: ✅ they had no idea where it was going ✅ they had no idea who was on it ✅ they had no established authority to act ✅ but definitely wanted to murder whoever was on it Everyone involved should rot in prison forever

I’ve studied US drone strikes, I wrote a book called “Drones and Terrorism,” and this Caribbean strike is different. Lethal fire at a non-threatening target in a non-hostile environment on purpose when other means, such as capture, were easily doable, and without even attempting a legal rationale.

I didn't even realize that William Foege, 89, is still alive: he is the doctor who eradicated smallpox. @nytopinion.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o... The authors previously led in the C.D.C., either as directors or acting directors under Republican and Democratic administrations.

I've already said: War crimes, clearly. But if every instance of large and indiscriminate civilian casualties is "genocide," the word will have less meaning and world leaders will be more reluctant to use it than they already are.

I predict the Trump death hoax marks the end of the MAGA cult of Trumpism: once the übermensch loses his aura of immortality and that becomes the butt of a joke, his days as wanna-be dictator are numbered. He can project an image as a strongman or a fool, but only one or the other, not both.

Watching @velshi.com praise @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social for having principles, but "globalize the intifada" is prohibitively toxic as principles go. "Mass deportation" and "lebensraum" are principles, too, just not good ones.

Ironically, most of what I know about fish are the rules of kashrut. @whysharksmatter.bsky.social arstechnica.com/science/2025...

According to Aug 2025 Harvard CAPS/Harris poll, 60% of American 18 – 24 year olds support Hamas, recognized internationally as a terrorist group explicitly committed to killing all Jews on earth and who carried out murder, rape, and kidnapping on Oct 7, 2023. harvardharrispoll.com/press-releas...

US AG @agpambondi.govpeeps.com sends letter to Gov. McKee and AG @peterneronha.bsky.social, alleging that RI is a "sanctuary jurisdiction" and will face penalties unless the state agrees to assist federal immigration enforcement. They and @riaclu.bsky.social push back, motifri.com/us-ag-threat...

Op-ed piece from June about the Providence City Hall flying the Palestinian Arab flag finally escaped the editorial queue! motifri.com/pvd-palestin...

So the sandwich guy ... beat the wrap

Undermining democracy didn't turn out well in Chile or Iran, so why should it work any better in Greenland? @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social Have you seen this?

Adam Raine, 16, died from suicide in April after months on ChatGPT discussing plans to end his life. His parents have filed the first known case against OpenAI for wrongful death. Overwhelming at times to work on this story, but here it is. My latest on AI chatbots: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/t...

Why publish one story about A.I. gone wrong when you can publish two? Here's my other story today on how the NYPD used facial recognition tech to arrest the wrong man for public lewdness. The perp was 5'6''. Cops charged Trevis Williams, who is 6'2''. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/n...

It is difficult to see anything as other than "white-coded" when the name literally contains the word "cracker." From www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/b... — Cracker Barrel… has long been viewed as a white-coded establishment aligned with conservative social norms.

His idea of scientific advancement: By the end of this decade, RFK Jr wants to send a man to the earth and safely return him to the moon. nymag.com/intelligence...

Saying things that sound like a good idea at 4am: "Non-binary people should adopt the spork as a symbol."

At Providence, risk from H. Erin is low, cumulative 5% chance of tropical storm force winds Wed – Fri. High surf and rip currents are likely. Chance of rain tonight (Sun) 7 – 10pm is unrelated. motifri.com/wx-2025-08-1...

My automated spelling checker but a red squiggly line under "neo-fascist" and suggested correcting it to "neon-fascist." My guess is it wants dictionary words both before and after the hyphen, but in this case it makes no sense.

Nothing is Illuminated: Putin demands the extinguishing of an independent Ukraine and the subjugation of its people, so no amount of deal-making skill can give him the impossible. Russia has incurred 1,000,000 casualties and 250,000 dead, 1,200 per day. www.reuters.com/world/europe...

Sergei Plokhii and @timothysnyder.bsky.social are two of our foremost experts; both speak with firm clarity. Yalta was an historic low point in American foreign policy: Roosevelt, weakened by health problems that would soon cause his death, capitulated to Stalin. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/w...

Occupying Gaza is the worst option: Netanyahu has been dishonest from the beginning because Israel can either eliminate Hamas or recover the hostages, but not both. open.substack.com/pub/bilow/p/...

The US will soon be forced to import our statistics from China. apnews.com/article/trum...

I finally left Verizon after literally 30 years of continuous service, with a monthly bill of $130 for a single main line and a secondary data-only line. I'm paying $20 for Visible, ironically a wholly owned subsidiary of Verizon, using the same Android 15 device. www.theverge.com/news/717506/...

The best @ezraklein.bsky.social show in a while, with Yoram Hazony, the muse behind the ideas of J.D. Vance, about the innards of nationalism. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/o...

@radiostoryteller.bsky.social Worst sequel ever! www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hamlet_2#r...

PVD: Heat Advisory to Wed 8pm; temps/heat indices 94°F/99°F. Temp/heat index will decline after the advisory period, 76°F/76°F (Thu), 67°F/67°F (Fri). Chance of rain exceeds 35% Thu 12pm – Fri 6pm, peaking Fri 2am at 65%; localized flash flooding could result. motifri.com/wx-2025-07-3...

@radiostoryteller.bsky.social When did RI last have a top-level sports team? Basketball: 1949 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provide... Football: 1931 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provide...

Wait, Trump already paved the White House Rose Garden?! www.npr.org/2025/07/30/n...

Relying on weather apps that are often misleading or outright wrong, especially when the oversimplify to suppress legitimate uncertainty, as I have long said. Local over-the-air comments from @radiostoryteller.bsky.social will not be heard here. www.npr.org/2025/07/28/n...

Reuters: Chief Judge "Boasberg said on Thursday he may initiate disciplinary proceedings against Justice Department lawyers for their conduct in a lawsuit." If you don't see the connection to Emil Bove, you're missing the extra import of this. www.justsecurity.org/116777/bove-...

At Providence, high heat will break as a front passes through, bringing possibly severe thunderstorms around 5pm plus or minus four hours. motifri.com/wx-2025-07-25-0730edt/