In unrelated news, “Get Off of My Cloud” is sixty years old today, an early entry in a long history of artists who follow up massive hits (in this case, “Satisfaction”) with leave-me-alone gripes about their sudden fame.

do not fear these people // i will see you motherfuckers in court are dual messages we really need to hear from more of the elites who have been targeted by this admin

In unrelated news, “Get Off of My Cloud” is sixty years old today, an early entry in a long history of artists who follow up massive hits (in this case, “Satisfaction”) with leave-me-alone gripes about their sudden fame.

We're still thinking about Robert Redford, and for the first time ever we can't trust *anything* the federal government says, so seems appropriate to note that THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR premiered fifty years ago tonight, in New York. One of my top five films of 1975.

Thirty years ago tonight, a monumental event: the first installment of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE premiered on BBC One. @cristinabeltran.bsky.social & I have watched the five-hour series . . . how many times? A dozen? Two dozen?

"Why seek consensus from across the aisle when you are convinced you’re the consensus?" @eggerdc.bsky.social explains why Trump isn't seeking compromise on *anything*. He's certain any dissent is fleeting & paid-for. He doesn't call for national unity because he's sure the nation is already united.

OK, this is brilliant

Trump has spent so many years reflexively calling every one of his political opponents "corrupt" that labeling his astonishing corruption as such carries less weight than it should. We need a stronger word, just for him.

watching kimmel tomorrow

This week, before the government shuts down, would be a particularly good one to procure a gajillion of these stickers and plaster them everywhere: grocery stores, shuttered hospitals, your skyrocketing electricity bills, etc. www.offmessage.net/p/meme-ify-t...

"As long as Trump continues to abuse his executive power with the presumptive backing of the legislature and the Supreme Court, the titans of American capitalism can’t be relied on to push back against him." But as @johncassidysays.bsky.social notes, titans pushed back during Trump I. Why not now?

Last year was gray and drizzly, so one can’t say the sun *always* shines on @bkbookfest.bsky.social, but it’s definitely shining today. A glorious #BookSky day in Brooklyn!

The White House: "Economic Growth Shatters Expectations as President Trump Fuels America's Golden Age"

A century ago tonight, THE FRESHMAN hit theaters nationwide. If you ever have the opportunity to see the film with an audience, don't miss it. One of the truly great silent comedies.

Our system is not set up to deal with a White House that acts in unapologetic bad faith and refuses to obey the law no matter how many "gobsmacked judges" rule against it. There's no mechanism to penalize the scofflaw ICE and DHS officials and officers wrecking people's lives.

Powerful from @andrewtessman.bsky.social. I still don't understand Trump's insistence that prosecutors bring charges with zero chance of turning into convictions. Is harassment of his opponents the only goal? Does he believe that Adam Schiff & Tish James & Lisa Cook will actually end up behind bars?

In #BookSky news, delightful to see @susanorlean.bsky.social last night, discussing her new @avidreaderpress.bsky.social memoir JOYRIDE with insightful Qs from @galbeckerman.bsky.social, as part of @theatlantic.com's ongoing festival. Wildly entertaining as always, and debuting a fantastic skirt!

I keep thinking about the scene in the great blacklist film THE FRONT in which a small advertiser complains about a show’s actors: “In my opinion, some of them are pretty pink.” The producer immediately promises to send the advertiser a cast list for his approval. “Who wants trouble?” he asks.

Unlike Donald Trump, most Americans believe in the ideals on which our nation was founded. Now is the time to stand up for those noble ideals. Be loud — for America.

Also, in #BookSky news, @harpercollins.bsky.social published Laura Ingalls Wilder's third book ninety years ago today. @cristinabeltran.bsky.social has read me so many bits from the LITTLE HOUSE series over the years that I feel as though I know the characters and stories fairly well.

Oh my god lol This Dutch late night host absolutely eviscerates Trump and Disney- you gotta watch how

Forty years ago today, the US Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation committee opened hearings to demand that the record industry adopt a ratings system, to protect children’s innocence, or something. Remember Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center and the “Filthy Fifteen”? Good times.

Trump, 8/15/24: “When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One.”

"America may not be an actual autocracy. But it increasingly seems to be playing one on TV." [giftie] www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/a...

Of course, Trump would argue that he *is* "uniting the nation," in that only his supporters are true citizens. In his eyes, the nation is already united.

When someone says one thing to gain power and then a contradictory thing when exercising that power, the most useful lens for understanding it is power, not hypocrisy.

Post a female character you love:

It’s happening. The takedown of Jimmy Kimmel is likely the start of a campaign to use the murder of Charlie Kirk as a pretext to use the power of the White House to wipe out Trump’s critics and his political opponents. But we aren’t powerless. We can mobilize and organize. Now.

If these cheesesteaks were any good, why is Joey skinny? I'm gonna keep walking and hold out for Fat Joey's, if that's OK with youse. Plus, maybe Fat Joey, unlike his skinny cousin, won't resemble a third Cuomo brother.

“We reject attempts to exploit political violence to mischaracterize our good work or restrict our fundamental freedoms.… Attempts to silence speech, criminalize opposing viewpoints, and misrepresent and limit charitable giving undermine our democracy and harm all Americans.”

Everyone loves the new Paul Thomas Anderson film! Here's the thing, though: Rave reviews have convinced me to see all nine P.T. Anderson films to date, and I've sort of liked *three* of them. Five of the nine are among my least favorite modern films. Will ONE BATTLE… break the string? I'm skeptical.

OK, not even getting into the ethics or the existential issues around AI: Have some goddamn self-respect. If you're a writer and you do this I don't know how you look at yourself, but I know exactly how I look at you.

While we're talking about TV, a bunch of classic shows happened to premiere sixty years ago tonight: LOST IN SPACE, GREEN ACRES, THE BIG VALLEY, GIDGET, and I SPY. I've never seen an episode of any of them, which used to represent a wider cultural-literacy gap than it does now.

In #BookSky news, Nick Hornby's second book & first novel was published 30 years ago. When he signed this Gollancz uncorrected proof & @riverheadbooks.bsky.social 1st edition of HIGH FIDELITY for me, he remarked that it was a shame the UK copy was in only OK condition & therefore not *that* valuable

The Trump White House typically ignores the passing of important American cultural figures if, as is usual, they were Democrats—e.g., no comment after Toni Morrison died. But unlikely that the movie-fan president will resist a comment about Redford, and it will surely include a demeaning swipe.

Read BORN TO RUN, watched the Springsteen documentaries, and am amazed by how TV-movie hackneyed this looks. Like, after this trailer, does anyone even need to sit through the whole film?

Vibe check! Five years ago today, with COVID-19 still rampant, Paul Rudd urged the youths to mask up. Was commissioning this the best thing that Andrew Cuomo ever did in office?

"He does not subscribe to the traditional notion of being president for all the people. He acts as president of red America and the people who agree with him, while those who do not are portrayed as enemies and traitors deserving payback."

Important context on both Republicans and Democrats viewing Charlie Kirk as a main driver of young voters turning right:

Have learned here that many of Kirk's fans were unaware that he uttered anything beyond uplifting New Testament quotations. But an awful lot of people loved him precisely because he was willing to say stuff like this.

Thinking back to pundits routinely savaging presidents for claiming the economy might be doing OK: How dare they fail to acknowledge some voters' complaints about high prices?? But as with everything else, Trump gets a pass—he claims the “best economy we’ve ever had,” and everyone shrugs.

New precise measurement of how online you are: I am “I know about the Fuentes-Kirk feud, I know what groypers are, and I recognize the Pepe meme” online but not “recognize the video game references” online.

"While others were praying for a sane conversation" about how to end political violence across the spectrum, Trump and his allies "defined the crisis differently: it was about the American right under siege—and what Trump was going to do about it." @sbg1.bsky.social www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...

No wonder Marco Rubio is furious about this "witch hunt": If a court can send the Trump of the Tropics to prison for an attempted coup, why not the Trump of Mar-a-Lago?

With the president scheduled to attend a 9/11 memorial event this morning, a good reminder that pretty much everything he has ever said about it is a brazen lie.

This. But considering that the entire American right, from the president on down, is swearing murderous vengeance against anyone who says anything even mildly critical of Charlie Kirk, I'm not blaming public figures who, for now, leave out the bad stuff.

A remarkably comprehensive—and beautifully written, and lengthy—life story, published mere minutes after Kirk's death. And unlike with many NYT obituaries, @risenc.bsky.social had to start from scratch: 31-year-olds, even professional antagonists, rarely have pre-written obit drafts on file.

I haven't seen them this excited to unleash state-sanctioned violence since the days after 9/11

Very, very bad stuff coming from leading right-wingers

Now this is a headline. Front page lead in NYT. And very strong, no-BS story by @julianbarnes.bsky.social Barnes and Catie Edmondson. Respect, to all involved. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/u...