“I’m worried about my community… I’m out here in a frog costume to show how ridiculous the notion that we’re violent terrorists is, and showcase how that narrative is wrong…” Serious Q: is it too late to give this dude the Nobel Peace Prize? 🐸 🏆

Dispelling the illusion that it cant haplen here. Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Pema Levy, of Mother Jones, to discuss a theory on the two-track justice system in Nazi Germany, and why one justice is warning that the Supreme Court could recreate it. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...

There's a huge gap between what MAGA media is depicting in Portland and what local journos are reporting. The term "provocateurs" is a euphemism. It implies they're doing plucky political theater designed to needle and provoke as opposed to manipulate and deceive. 4/ newrepublic.com/article/2016...

Evidently, President Trump got all the proof he needs that vaccines are safe and effective. He voted with his arm yesterday and got the highly beneficial Covid and flu shots. Amid the sea of confusion RFKJ has generated about vaccines, all Americans should know that Trump is getting vaccinated.

The shameless GOP lying about the No Kings gatherings scheduled for next Saturday reveals how deeply hostile much of the Republican Party is to “the right of the people peaceably to assemble.” I look forward to our local No Kings event, and urge my fellow Americans to attend in their communities.

“Leaves have fallen for millions of years, so of course plants and animals have come to expect or even rely on them to complete their life cycles,” said Rebecca McMackin… “It’s our job as ecological gardeners to figure out how to incorporate these natural processes into our landscapes”

Virtue pays off, but only if you’re willing to be patient and wait for the correct accounting period to close. open.substack.com/pub/virtueto...

For God’s sake, take the politics out of funding medical research, embrace science, pay for it with taxes…and only then can you truly call yourself “pro-life.”

A common thread between Trump and his minions is a total disregard for consent.

Georgians, let your elected representatives know there’s something wrong when working families earn too much for subsidies but not enough to absorb $3,000+ premium hikes. We’re wrecking working-class stability for… what exactly? Call your reps. Stand up for your loved ones.

What looks like a local utility race in Georgia is actually a referendum on corporate capture, climate justice, regulatory integrity, and GA’s good ole boy network. This convo w/ Peter Hubbard + Brionté McCorkle breaks it down: why the PSC matters. Give it a listen.

These are people governing us on whim and from id. It’s disastrous. Every damn day.

So yesterday a reporter asked Donald Trump about the writ of habeas corpus, and he had no idea what it was. "I don't know," he said. "I'd rather leave that to Kristi." Well, It turns out Sen. Hassan asked Kristi Noem about it in May, and this was Noem's response:

We are changing our antifa secret handshake to slap-slap-fistbump-fistbump. Then you snap your fingers once, eat everyone's pets, and make everyone within 50' instantly become trans. Pass it along.

Case in point: Even these clearly marked AI videos fool countless people. Trump already shares absurd AI creations. He and his allies will surely share AI manipulated narratives to justify violence and martial law like an AI generated Gulf of Tonkin. bsky.app/profile/pale...

On AI and the Crisis of Public Trust The U.S., and by extension the global economy, is currently in the grip of an AI-driven stock market bubble. This bubble has created the illusion of prosperity, even as the underlying fundamentals (wages, productivity, general affordability, and investment...

It's a pretty big deal that the NYC Bar Association--one of the most prominent and respected bar associations in the country--is accusing the President of ordering the "unlawful summary execution," i.e. murder--of civilians in violation of US and international law. www.nycbar.org/press-releas...

Famed primatologist Jane Goodall gave an interview on Netflix's show "Famous Last Words" that would only be released after her death. Goodall shared some candid words about world leaders.

The American constitutional experiment is an invitation to collective stewardship. Its endurance depends on citizens choosing, again and again, to believe that reason and virtue can govern and triumph over chaos and cynicism. Hamilton, in the first Federalist Paper, set the challenge:

Clarity begins when we stop exhausting ourselves on what we cannot control. I wrote more about this in Clarity, the newest piece in the Virtue to Value series. Read it here: virtuetovalue.substack.com/p/clarity

More “Dear Leader” stuff…

Colossal malpractice by any state leader putting their citizens’ lives in the hands of people like this.

Try to imagine this where you live… It isn’t “targeted policing” when every resident of an apartment complex is indiscriminately detained, mocked, and segregated by race; when children are zip-tied, elders dragged out at gunpoint, and families brutalized as their homes are ransacked.

Just saw this comment with regard to Pete Hegseth's love for fun socks. I will tell you why fun socks are bad in a tailored outfit. 🧵

Have compassion for all those caught in the crossfire, but be ruthless with Trump and all his accomplices.

We must pay billions to farmers Because we cut off their customers with tariffs And pay billions to Argentina Whose farmers are selling to the customers we forfeited Because that is America First

Good morning. The government is shut down because Trump wants to act like a king and steal from you. Democrats have no obligation to support a budget that funds the destruction of our democracy - and DOUBLES health premiums to fund a tax cut for billionaires.

It was obvious from the start that turning over a public institution of higher education to dimwit ideologues would end in tears. These people are a bunch of incompetents who can't do anything but tweet. www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

Brief thread: just a reminder that the budget reconciliation law enacted by President Trump and the GOP Congress (H.R. 1, OBBBA) cut $1.1T/10 yrs in net spending from Medicaid, CHIP & the Marketplaces. That includes $990B in gross #Medicaid cuts: the largest cuts to the program in its history (1/x).

There's a strange tendency in center-left discourse to treat Zohran's focus on cost-of-living as the *only* reason he's succeeding. Yes, it's critical. But that overlooks the other big thing he's doing: Relentlessly highlighting Trump's authoritarian abuses. newrepublic.com/article/2011...

Fix this @apnews.com.

Democrats, your messaging is pretty easy here. "Republicans control Congress, but they can't agree on a budget. And we won't support their proposal that would hurt so many people. Now Trump says he'll shut down the government, and cut benefits you depend on. We won't be part of it."

That's the definition of fascism from Robert Paxton, one of the preeminent historians of the subject, from his book ANATOMY OF FASCISM which came out more than two decades ago.

Pritzker: "In any other country, if federal agents fired upon journalists & protesters when unprovoked what would we call it? If officials marched down streets harassing civilians & demanding their papers, what would we say? I don't think we'd have trouble calling it what it is: authoritarianism"

It is important to see this sort of straight talking, precisely because of the executive order last week that conflated criticism of the government with terrorism.

You remember that time the head of a major liberal organization had to postpone the publication of their book because it was too violent? Yeah, me neither. newrepublic.com/article/1843...

Your ability to remain calm under pressure preserves your decision-making capacity when others are swept into reaction. Composure safeguards your other values, helping you remain the person you say you want to be. open.substack.com/pub/virtueto...

Actual White House quote: “go fuck yourself.” Its not being some pearl clutching prude to ask whether this is really how most Americans want their kids to see the seat of our government behave. www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

This is a great question. The president’s official account posted an AI video of him promising a magic bed that can cure all disease. Every Sunday political show needs to lead with “medbed” tomorrow.

🎯

Blue cities should tear up the roads in front of ICE facilities and then start decades of community engagement and input sessions to rebuild them. Let's harness our core competencies.

Wine Moms and Soccer Dads, this is our time

Okatsuka posted the censorship rules for the controversial comedy festival, noting how many "You can’t say anything anymore!" comedians have signed on. www.avclub.com/riyadh-comed...

Just FYI: Portland as a war zone is horseshit, and deploying federal troops is horseshit.

Five corporations control 90% of the US media market. Airlines merged from 12 major carriers in 1980 to 4 today. Four giants control 80% of meat processing. A handful of companies control the pharmaceutical industry. The evidence of corporate concentration is everywhere.

With government funding set to expire Tuesday, Speaker Johnson refuses to bring the House back. He knows seating Adelita Grijalva, just elected in Arizona, would trigger a vote on the Epstein Files. Putting politics ahead of governing is reckless and wrong.

On the principle of “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence,” this article fails to reach even a low bar. I mean the article — which I read three times — not just the headline. We can only conclude that the "extraordinary claims require... " principle is not in use for this protagonist.

A reminder -- not that you need one -- of which party's electeds are routinely calling for political violence. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...