Will the media--will the Democrats!--finally explode the biggest taboo* in US political life? *the prohibition against mentioning the GOP's tactical use of violence and intimidation, actual and threatened, to achieve its ends.

A DOJ memo to federal prisons explicitly instructs them to stop enforcing anti-rape laws against transgender & intersex prisoners. We are governed by monsters.

EU + UK must grasp that an adversarial relationship with the Republican Party can no longer be avoided--because it's already here, instigated by the Republican Party. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/t...

November was a terrible month for Trump, leaving the GOP highly vulnerable to durable negative branding on the economy, on corruption, on cruelty, on the basic ability to govern. The response of DC Democrats has been to lie low, let Republicans regroup.

The Russian capture and corruption of key British politicians/media figures has been obvious since the run-up to Brexit.

so now if you worked in content moderation you are visa-blackballed like you'd be if you're friends were all al qaeda

Time in Cork is always relative. #AboutNine

I very much enjoyed my conversation with the brilliant @bradlisti.bsky.social

A housing insurance collapse entails a mortgage-lending collapse. Lenders will not secure a 30-year loan on an uninsurable property.

Honoring THE REMEMBERED SOLDIER author Anjet Daanje and translator David McKay as finalists for the @nationalbook.bsky.social Award in NY ahead of the awards ceremony on Wednesday. In Daanje's stead, novelist @josephoneill.bsky.social read an excerpt of her work. newvesselpress.com/books/the-re...

Superb take on geothermal. Especially good: no coy question in the title. Just a convincing explainer of "Why the Time Has Finally Come for Geothermal Energy" by one Rivka Galchen in @newyorker.com www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

"Affordability" has become the new identity politics refuge of the Dem powers-that-be.

Publication day (paperback @pantheonbooks.bsky.social):

So, this crucially important state race in Georgia that I told you about? Let me offer you a frustrating update. (cc @hankgreen.bsky.social) With 14 days to go, Dems are up by a decent margin in early voting, but Kemp -- GA's loathsome governor -- has just dumped *$500K* into TV ads on the race.

The NYT covered the No Kings rally at p. 23.

Rousing new missive from @brianbeutler.bsky.social www.offmessage.net/p/democrats-...

Retired Army Sgt. Brian Wofford spoke to me this morning at the Oklahoma City #NoKings protest. Didn’t expect him to be carrying his DD214 so I asked some warmup questions like when he got out and whether his injury was service-related. He paused while describing the car bomb in Iraq to say this:

Instead of "This is inappropriate!" Democrats - especially those who might run for president - should say right now "Anyone who participates in this should know: You are committing a crime, and in the next administration you will be prosecuted." That will change the frame of the story.

I will not back down. Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power. What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?

Here's where we are: Republicans have shut down the government. Why? They won't negotiate. They want to pass a bill that will allow the Trump administration to throw 15 million Americans off their health care & double premiums for 20 million Americans. We won't let them.

Democratic Party messaging about the need to take on the Trump Court is NOWHERE near strong enough.

Whoa--a surprise September flower riot

This never happened. Dems cowered, appeased, waited for it to blow over. Now hysterical Nazi rallies are part of the U.S. political culture.

If anyone in the Democratic Party had a brain they’d be pulling out all the stops to spin up some offensive litigation to blow up or delay any sale. Everything Trump has done here is egregiously illegal, and TikTok has major US competitors who would surely like to see it die. What are you doing??

The truly, truly strange thing about Kirk is that I have not seen his supporters quote one statement by him that illustrates his supposed nobility of character.

Persons identified as the 'left' and held responsible for the Kirk shooting have every right to be outraged that they have been defamed and endangered by the false statements made by the president. Democratic leaders should demand a retraction and an apology.

X, the political violence app

UPDATE: JeffCo Sheriff's Office says three students have been shot at Evergreen High School. St A's Hospital says all are in critical condition. Our live coverage here: www.9news.com/article/news...

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) on the shooting of Charlie Kirk: "Political violence, unfortunately, has ramped up in this country ... I think there are people who are fomenting it in this country. I think the president's rhetoric often foments it."

I'm officially a PUBLISHED AUTHOR! 🎉🎉🎉 And so, SO ready for all my book signings. 😁 My debut fantasy horror novel, THE MONSTERS AMONG US, is available NOW. Snag your copy here: books2read.com/u/m27rzr #books #fantasybooks #horrorbooks #RowanProsePublishing @rowanprosepub.bsky.social

Dem consultants out there saying "voters won't care unless it affects their daily life" even as we are living through an extended nationwide hysteria about trans girls in high school sports, an issue which affects literally maybe a dozen Americans.

In another defeat for the material interests theory of politics, young trump voters ranked "owning their own home" more important than young harris voters and then voted against the candidate promising to give them $25k towards their downpayment

Update: Gorgeous September mayhem.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From the U.S., Kier Starmer really does come across as a perfect example of you cannot successfully try to ape reactionary conservative politics in the long term. Labour got a single win and Starmer proceeded to drive the party into its worst polling in generations by courting the right.

"Dems are so worried about alienating a small slice of the electorate they’re hesitating to condemn the most abusive act yet by an unpopular president. I’m no strategist, but boy does that sound like a losing strategy," writes @monicapotts.bsky.social. newrepublic.com/article/1996...

New cover, same knockout novel 😍 GODWIN by Joseph O'Neill is out in paperback 11/11. Two brothers. One mystery soccer prodigy. A global search that spirals into family, ambition, and colonial legacy. Cover designer: Perry De La Vega penguinrandomhouse.com/books/741344...

Cometh the hour, cometh the weak comms.

We’re thrilled to announce the 2025 Shortlist for the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award (Mark Twain Award)! 📖 This year’s list spans voices, regions, and stories that shine new light on the American experience.

Millions of Dem voters noticed the January 6 accountability failure. Millions noticed when a decade-plus long failure to change filibuster rules prevented the codification of Roe. Hundreds of thousands of DCers know why we don't have statehood. And we're as likely to respond to surveys as anyone.

#BBCBreakfast: "Anas al-Sharif has been accused by Israel of leading a Hamas cell, something he denied" This isn't journalism.

August update: totally new flowers. The explosion came after the historic deluge last month. These are over 6 feet tall!

Our new Yearbook is here, beautifully published by @degruyterbrill.bksy.social — essays from #ArendtCon2024 + historical texts on #tribalism, inspired by Lapham’s Quarterly (which is now part of the @bardcollege.bksy.social family) — shipping now to HAC members! HAC.bard.edu/hajournal/

US CPI in Nov 2024 was 2.7% up on Nov 2023. In Nov 2023, CPI was up 3.4% from Nov 2022. These are nowhere near the material realities that explain a vote for fascism. Non-material, ideological causes were obviously instrumental.

Fire with fire is the only way to change the equation www.axios.com/2025/08/04/c...

When Democrats regain control of the House in 2026, they must defund the Trump Court. There have to be consequences for its attack on the USA.