So a Trumper with an assault rifle massacred people in a church and burned it down because he hated Mormons. But we're so used to seeing THAT, it'll be out of the news by the end of the week. No flags at half staff for the slain worshippers I guess.

The Covid pandemic was an opportunity to build back better. To learn from previous mistakes. To value lives over productivity. To unchain ourselves from capitalism. To build networks of community care. I hate that we squandered it, but I still believe it’s possible.

“I genuinely think there’s going to be a reckoning when the “pandemic generation” of kids grow up. Many are being infected multiple times per year and will end up with serious health issues. They will ask the adults in their life why more wasn’t done to protect them. What will we tell them?“

The speech in Quantico, VA is planned for 9am ET. After that, the president will deliver an announcement at 11am ET, followed by signing of several executive orders at 3pm ET (closed press).

Just a reminder that the Commander-in-Chief of the Louisiana National Guard, who can call them out all by himself if they were actually needed, is … Governor Landry.

The day before Jan 6, the 10 living Secretaries of Defense wrote about the danger of politicizing the military. Their words are essential rereading today. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...

Today in "DOJ gets dinged by a federal court," the DC Circuit just denied DOJ's unopposed motion to reschedule the Nov. 24 oral argument in the AP access case b/c DOJ ignored the DC Circuit rules, under which DOJ should have informed the court about availability issues in July or early August.

For those following along at home, we've now reached the "DOJ is losing unopposed motions at the DC Circuit" level.

He's the fucking governor. If he wants the National Guard in Louisiana, he can do it himself. This isn't about that. It's about making a public display of ideological subservience to totalitarianism.

He wants the publicity. But not the bill.

A fun fact: The Governor of Louisiana is the commander in chief of Louisiana’s National Guard.

1. He can do this himself 2. The war of red states on their own blue cities is accelerating

Western District of VA, SDNY, and California courts seem to be fine.

uh guys why are domains for the Eastern District of VA, DC District Court, and District of MD down?

I was watching a show recently that played a clip of him from 2011, and it's like night and day. He's coherent, speaks without pauses, just sounds like a different person.

This is why Johnson and Thune didn't want the meeting Trump is in a bubble. Gov Kotek pierced it this weekend Think about how often he's asked questions and has no idea what reporters mean. And the medbeds video. JFC Part of it is his declining mental capacity. But also shows he's not in charge

Ah yes, because as every new parent knows, we all desperately want our children to sleep *less.* Of course. Totally. Definitely something we’re all clamoring for.

Back to back “free speech” headlines this afternoon.

Chaos for its own sake. Can't imagine what people on multiple medications will have to deal with this fall and the coming winter. #DrugsTariffs

i think about this choice in Cyberpunk 2077 a lot

Just to take stock: the first claim was that there was an entire literature supporting the anti-birthright position. Then, *after* that claim, scholars emerged to post drafts on SSRN. And *now* the government points to a "growing body of modern scholarship" all drafted after the initial claim.

"A growing body of modern scholarship" = four people!

Look at what the United States Government is citing in the birthright citizenship case. Non-expert legal scholarship and work done hastily in service of their political goals.

Reading about demographic decline and simultaneously drafting a movie script in my head where North Korean troops cross into an abandoned South Korea in 2093, only to encounter fierce resistance from freedom-loving robots originally manufactured to change adult diapers.

HEY HEY, IT'S OUT FROM BEHIND THE PAYWALL DAY!

There's more to narratives about dismantling power structures than cheap #dissent, writes @strangelibrary.com www.typebarmagazine.com/2025/08/29/c...

weirdly woke for the era of cyberpunk, too. the LI of the MC is trans

This could stretch for a very, very long time. Are you ready? finance.yahoo.com/news/i-think...

Sir that is no way to talk to the Supreme Court

An incredibly important election in a tiny country just went the right way. Moldova has resisted a huge Russian disinformation campaign and will not become a Russian puppet state.

lmao

oops, all viziers

They want to rule the ashes of a demolished bureaucracy. At this point we might not be able to forestall the destruction. We can make victory pyrrhic, though. If the OMB Director conducts mass firings, why should he still have a job? What would be left to manage? www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

Russians have begun to cover oil refineries with metal protective structures and nets due to the threat of Ukrainian UAV attacks: a video shows a refinery in Samara. Everything is going according to plan 😁

The stupid, it burns!

This has got to stop. The mad king is wrecking everything.

How can you make a government funding deal when Trump is already illegally not following the current deal he signed into law and saying as loudly as possible he won't follow the next deal? Unless a deal prevents that, what funding have you actually secured in some deal?

In annual govt funding deals, we deliver housing assistance, food assistance for newborns, cancer research, k-12 funding for poor school districts and for kids with disabilities, etc. Without ensuring Trump *actually* follows the deal, any deal doesn't actually deliver this crucial assistance.

The Democratic ask includes a handful of incredibly reasonable ways of ensuring any deal that is agreed to is *actually* carried out. But the Trump administration says that's a bright red line they won't accept - that they want the ability to come to an agreement and immediately break it.

How can you make a deal if the Trump just plans to completely ignore it? Don’t take it from me, take it from,,,,, Steve Womack, a senior GOP appropriator.

1. More Americans work at the Cheesecake Factory than in the entire coal industry, and that won't change. It's because of automation, not snooty libs. 2. Coal energy is now more expensive than wind and solar. 3. So this means: higher energy prices, more pollution, no jobs benefit. Genius!

I feel Not Great that Jared Kushner’s firm (along with 2 others) is going to own and control a video game company.

Mum will be so proud! (@tansyrr.bsky.social, @xanister.bsky.social, @lynnemthomas.com)

Cannot be repeated enough: this was not a voluntary resignation program. Workers were told they were more valuable in the private sector, that they might be fired from their jobs, that they could expect no reasonable work accommodations, that they would work for leaders who were undermining services

Honestly...what in holy hell is happening? How is ANYONE is support of this authoritarian banana republic lunacy???

Effect of tariffs I've seen — Higher clothing prices overall — Overseas sellers covering tariff costs, but passing cost to the consumer — US stores dropping brands. Example: No Man Walks Alone won't be carrying Norbit this fall bc tariff uncertainty — Fewer deals. Ebay shuts down overseas sellers

🪡🧵 Ohio’s age verification law kicks in Monday. Since it was passed as part of the state budget it isn’t subject to referendum. An initiated statute could repeal it but that would take over a year to put in motion. I didn’t want this but here we are. 1/