What. the. actual. fuck.

Yes!! It's actually really clear that Trump, in his second term, does not view his power as deriving from, and therefore limited by, the Constitution

"Congress" as described by civics classes, law professors, Democrats, and libertarians — an independent branch capable of executing designated responsibilities irrespective of the partisan balance of power — does not exist. It is a fiction. Every time these things happen, more Americans see that.

Wait. What happened? We did what? Bonkers.

How many hard boiled eggs can you eat? Professors should be able to eat *a lot* of hard boiled eggs.

2026 is gonna be all about moms and dads ruining 6-7

Cover reveal. It's about how & why colonies/states controlled international & domestic migration until 1888, why in the late 19th c the feds took over, & what it was like for politically disfavored groups to live under that arrangement of power. You can't understand voluntary migration history 1/

To have to remove the stage once may be regarded as misfortune. But to have to remove the stage twice looks like carelessness.

I kinda love that they’re going to make everyone schlep back out there and take the free kick. Precisely the kind of chaos that I’m here for in 2026.

Crazy travel experience today: International flight arrived 40 minutes early. Deplaned, through immigration and customs in less than 45 minutes. 26 minute can in from ORD to our house.

I'm entirely serious about this: until you internalize the view that urban America is Real America, you won't see the urgency of structural reform of an American government whose fundamental structures so disadvantage its population centers—the great engines of its prosperity, progress, & culture.

Earlier this year, Republicans tried to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities in their 2026 budget, while proposing a 13% increase in defense spending. The Institute of Museum and Library Services just got their funding back through courts.

New York Public Library 1917

And actually--Comet Pizza was a page out of a playbook that started with daycare decades before. In 1983, a California mom accused her son's childcare provider of subjecting children to Satanic rituals--like flushing them down toilets into secret basements where they were then filmed for porn. 1/🧵

Truly Universal Outlet xkcd.com/3186/

I apologize to all of the Aston Villa fans. This is exactly what happens when I notice.

Department of War? LOL. Real constitutionalists would have renamed the whole shebang “The Department of the Navy”.

So yesterday we went out at sunset to try to see humpback whales (right where the Pacific meets the Sea of Cortez). Let’s just say that the trip was a resounding success.

“You can tell pigeons are working class because every pigeon looks knackered.”

Here’s what I was up to today.

Spending a couple of days in the sun and hopefully knocking out some reading. Here’s what’s on tap:

Friends, if you ever wanted to chase a @PopTartsUS with @oldstylebeer from a 32oz soup container for $8 at the bar then BOY IS IT YOUR LUCKY DAY! While our 80 Pop-Tarts last.

What are we even doing here?

Huh. Villa. Seems like a thing.

tl;dr: not only should we all be Bayesian, but the fact that most are not creates real SYSTEMIC harm. In a Bayesian world, the returns on “potentially-brilliantly innovative” shrink significantly, bc they collide headlong into priors (ie, Fuller’s demand for “suspect” takes on radial departures).

I would love for someone who has not seen the Fast and the Furious movies to sit down and watch the first Fast and the Furious movie and then watch F9 and then just riff to tell us what happened in 2–8.

Merry Christmas to me!

It’s very very frustrating to know that there isn’t much chance of any accountability for this behavior after Trump

*quietly cues up the Cats movie*

I would absolutely read a story about how this fever dream of a Snoop halftime show came into being.

And Tiny Sim, who DID die

I’m at my in-laws, so in my baseline state of paranoia I read this as “sent out playlists for the year as a little threat.” And, I’ve got to be honest, I’m considering sending out some ominous playlists to those whose music tastes deserve it.

This is reprehensible. Absence of state coercion is a fundamental principle of religious freedom. Not only is this a constitutional principle; but it is also fundamental to may religious traditions (including Catholicism). This should be aggressively condemned.

Wishing all of our friends a very happy holiday season full of peace, love & happiness! Gracias Ignacio Gomez for this wonderful piece of art. #WeFeedYou Deseándole a todos nuestros amigos unas felices fiestas llenas de amor, paz y felicidad! Gracias Ignacio Gómez por está increíble pieza de arte.

Merry Christmas to my mother, who got my toddler a toy fire engine that not only makes lots of noise, it also sprays real water

I have tuned my midnight Mass caffeine intake perfectly.

Soon.

“Faith leaders were turned away from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview on Christmas Eve morning after attempting to enter and pray with detainees.” The Broadview ICE facility is an evil place.

“[T]he Nativity of Jesus rekindles in us the ‘gift and task of bringing hope wherever hope has been lost[.]’”

Dunno, man, I think $30/year is pretty damn cheap for a robust and relatively inexpensive network that connects every single person in the States.

Just in time for Christmas: a great interview with an absolute legend. Theda Skocpol and Edwin Amenta on her career, US politics, the erosion of democracy, and most of all, what to do about it. sociologica.unibo.it/article/view...

Hollywood should remake Trading Places.

On the fifth grader’s friend text chat, someone replied with a Side Eye Chloe gif. And I got to introduce the fifth grader to the original video.

Something worth noting is how a professional historian might encounter a trove of documents like the Epstein files. How might the ways that they work through them? How might they consider and critique each item as a source? In the world of LLM summaries there’s a real difference in method.

BREAKING: The Supreme Court rejects the Trump administration’s request to deploy National Guard troops in Illinois at this time, over the dissenting votes of Justices Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch. Background: www.lawdork.com/p/trump-admi...

We are visiting the finest auto repair shop in Lincoln, Illinois after being towed there from a gas station right off the interstate.

I’ve just been made aware of this film. I have not seen it, but after seeing the premise … what in the world was anyone here actually thinking?

🎶seasons greetings🎶

I’m closing my computer and I’m going to make every effort to not open it again until January 5.