Larry Summers is out at the NY Times, where he was a contributing writer. From a Times spokesperson: “Lawrence Summers was a contributing writer for New York Times Opinion on a 1-year contract beginning in January, 2025. We do not intend to renew this contract. We thank him for his contributions.”

Starbucks workers are on strike, please join me in donating to their strike fund! secure.actblue.com/donate/tlf-s...

Every year, tens of thousands of children are taken from their families because their parents can't afford decent housing. Most child welfare agencies do virtually nothing to help them even as the affordable housing crisis worsens. www.thenation.com/article/soci...

Re: my case: "How Big a Piece of Shit is Larry Summer?" Finding: Too Big

This will not be the last one of these

surely Larry Summers isn't gonna get wrapped up in this whole Epstein thing! Oh wait

Something absolutely perfect about Larry Summers riffing about the scourge of woke cancel culture being unfair to predatory men in a friendly email to his pal JEFFREY EPSTEIN.

Signed

On Wednesday, Conde Nast management illegally fired four union leaders. While our union fights these illegal dismissals, the “Fired Four” have been left with no severance or COBRA coverage. Please donate to help cover their living expenses at the link below.

Conde Nast illegally fired union leaders, sign this petition demanding they reverse course. I did. actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...

The Social Security Administration used to have an incredible communications arm, including even a film unit. This was crucial in helping people understand the program, and how it would work. From 1936, 1939. www.ssa.gov/history/puba...

Requesting a government backstop for wasteful do-nothing data centers while SNAP benefits hang in the balance? You have got to be fucking kidding me. These people are shameless

Dissatisfaction with the status quo leads people understandably to project every candidate that makes them feel a little excited - AOC, Mamdani, Bernie, whatever - to run for a higher office but it’s worth remembering they might be best suited for the jobs they already have, which are important.

Under Trump, the draconian future of homelessness policy is coming into focus: mass internment. Utah is building a 16-acre site to detain up to 1,300 homeless people inside locked "accountability centers." This is profoundly alarming. Vital reporting from @ellenbarry.bsky.social and Jason DeParle:

"The Times needs to discredit academic research because that research has reached an inconvenient consensus: the electoral benefits of moderation have largely disappeared." data4democracy.substack.com/p/the-new-yo...

The NYT editorial board told Democrats that they must discard populism be more “centrist” to win. Stanford’s @adambonica.bsky.social ran the data that the NYT used and shows that the entire premise is false.

Millionaires are again threatening to flee NYC if Zohran Mamdani is elected, but progressives are calling their bluff. “It is sort of stunning how little people making over a million dollars a year migrate out of New York state.” From @robinks.com: trib.al/AVPxdDQ

I do believe this explains a lot of chaos in Chicago, it's just a bunch of poorly vetted thugs doing whatever they want

Zohran Mamdani will be New York City's next mayor. Will that cause the wealthy to flee the city in droves? Recent history says absolutely not. In fact, the rich typically move less than any other income group. @robinks.com has the story: prospect.org/2025/10/23/m...

The rich want us to think that they will leave New York City if taxes increase, but extensive research shows that opposite is true: the rich migrate less than any other income group. I wrote about the myth of millionaire tax flight for @prospect.org prospect.org/2025/10/23/m...

Add Cincinnati to the rapidly expanding list of cities where homeless students sleep in parking lots because their families can't afford a place to live. www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2...

Just for the record, Fetterman's red flag that people ignored in order to see him as a left wing populist was that he was a fucking insurance executive, not a fucked up Marine

For New York Times Magazine, I wrote about the ethical complexity of one of the most irritating shows on television... SuperKitties. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/m...

I think you can say that Platner has (at best) exhibited a history of really poor judgement, which makes him a bad candidate, without gloating, "See! He LOOKED like a reactionary because of his muscles!" The I-told-you-so tone about your arm-chair profiling is so pointless.

This is really cool. I've known a lot of people who've struggled with union-disillusionment and just resorted to cynicism.

Kamala Harris on MSNBC: "I always believed that if push came to shove, those titans of industry would be guardrails for our democracy, for the importance of sustaining democratic institutions." The doomed, magical thinking of the ruling class: undemocratic actors would protect democracy.

most police departments cannot find people to fill their ranks, what makes anyone think that ICE can?

Stir in the resentment over NAFTA and I agree this explains a lot

The most common form of argumentation online is getting outraged at straw-people in order to feel embattled and outraged and punch down. e.g. when anyone tweets an argument refuting what "the left" is saying, I do not take them seriously because they aren't talking about anything

It is heartening to see how poorly things can go when cronies are put into positions of power

Really makes you wonder about the whole DNC big-brained strategy to drop the working class votes in favor of Republicans

My suspicion was that this is why the New Yorker hired a young guy with almost no experience to be their art critic: it was a bargain. Could be wrong.

One effect of media companies contracting is that they are replacing higher salaried, more expert journos with someone paid waaaaaaay less: inexperienced generalists. This can be frustrating for readers who expect more but that frustration should be directed at the media companies, not the writers.

who aspires to build a ballroom? what is this, 1982?

It's hard to describe this incredible, hilarious piece by Elizabeth Schambelan about living next to unchecked construction in New York, so I'll just say: read it now!! @nplusonemag.com www.nplusonemag.com/issue-51/fic...

unfortunately the wanton destruction of government property is allowed without congressional approval if it “makes a really good metaphor”

funnily enough, “rage sharing op-eds by people you’ve never once in your life found interesting or persuasive” is actually higher-quality content by this metric. which is very depressing 😭

The most common form of argumentation online is getting outraged at straw-people in order to feel embattled and outraged and punch down. e.g. when anyone tweets an argument refuting what "the left" is saying, I do not take them seriously because they aren't talking about anything

It shouldn't matter if Trump’s victims have criminal records. If we only defend the “innocent,” the fascists will argue that their victim “was no angel.” An anti-fascist rhetoric that carves out exceptions for imperfect victims is a gift to our opponents. New from me for @us.theguardian.com:

when you are totally not in denial

Really curious how many ICE agents have criminal records, seeing as many police departments have for years struggled to hire people and resorted to enlisting loser cops expelled from other departments. I'm guessing it is a very high percentage! Would love to be able to report on this....

Starting to feel like the money I am leaving on the table by not being a completely cynical journalistic hack is now threatening to topple the table.

He did have to spend six in solitary confinement!

Not sure why, but all this “Halloween” stuff—witches, vampires, werewolves—is totally foreign to me. Where does it come from? Definitely not here, at Alabama Bible College.

in short: it's a good start!

My copy of @jacobsilverman.com new book Gilded Rage. bookshop.org/p/books/gild...

For all you parents of pre-K kids with a NYT weekend subscription: I wrote an ode to ethical complexities of one of the most obnoxious shows on TV, SuperKitties. #superkitties #parents

Doesn't seem like a government shut down when ICE is still running on all cylinders www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

maybe YIMBY abundance magic IS an antidemocratic power grab???