“I think you’re in my seat”

BURN THE WITCH.

As a survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, Viola Ford Fletcher bravely shared her story so that we’d never forget this painful part of our history. Michelle and I are grateful for her lifelong work to advance civil rights, and send our love to her family.

Logging on

I have been thinking about this line today, on the value of editors, from the late great John Bennet, for no reason in particular.

to have an affair with one longshot presidential candidate twice your age that you’re profiling may be regarded as a misfortune; to have two looks like carelessness

Characters in the Night https://www.wikiart.org/en/joan-miro/not_detected_227937

women are always saying “lord grant me the confidence of a mediocre man.” ok well he did. now what. is the world a better place? look at what you’ve wrought.

Worth noting the thought bubble is empty.

Larry Summers (Nov. 10): The trustees need to investigate the Harvard Crimson! Harvard Crimson (Nov. 16): Mr. Summers, while we have your attention... www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

The NYT tracker on boat attacks: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Alan Dershowitz is one of those claiming Epstein was not a pedophile because he pleaded guilty to one count of having sex for money with a 17-year-and-10-month-old person. "That’s not a pedophile." See this important response from Julia Brown, the brave reporter who broke the news on this

65 years ago on Nov. 14, little Ruby Bridges was escorted into an all-white elementary school in New Orleans. Norman Rockwell, renowned for blissful depictions of Americana, did this remarkable painting for Look magazine. Printed as a double page, over-size spread, it's his masterpiece.

to be fair, I bet "I'd take a bullet for you" hits different when it comes from a Kennedy

Former UVA president Jim Ryan, who resigned over the summer due to pressure from the Trump Administration, just shared this 12-page letter with the Faculty Senate, detailing his experience with the Board of Visitors and DOJ. It's a surreal--and troubling--read. drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...

You know how I’ve been engaged in a decade long battle to preserve the meaning of “begging the question,” not because I’m a pedant*, but because we need to be able to describe the real thing when it happens? Question begging as a lethal weapon: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/u...

Well, it's a little clearer now why billionaires are so invested in technology that produces better written emails.

The room is almost all elephant. Almost none of it isn’t. Pretty much solid elephant. So there’s no room to talk about it. -Kay Ryan, “The Elephant in the Room” #everynightapoem

You been hit by a smooth hymnal

Siren Poteet, TX

It makes you recall the old-Hollywood wisdom: If they liked it once, they'll love it twice. (1962)

Pro tip: When you get stuck writing a story, read the original pitch you wrote back when you were trying to get your editor excited about the idea. All the answers are there!

Joan Miró, Person Throwing a Stone at a Bird, Montroig, mid-August-December 1926 https://botfrens.com/collections/14377/contents/1135192

Change in Headline

San Andrés - José de Ribera (Hacia 1631) https://www.museodelprado.es/coleccion/obra-de-arte/san-andres/68ed413d-2136-4d13-a03c-15f08ce59c1a?searchid=83271039-90f4-7875-dc29-c302c2590974

New sign outside the Oval Office..

James Carville’s Rugby symbolizes the problem with his Democrats. It’s a signifier he thinks has an impact at home & widely, but nationally people think it’s empty or silly and locally a) people who don’t wear them (most) hate those that do and b) those that do only do so for a few specific weeks

Border Patrol agent Lairmore testifies that he was not injured by the sandwich, but he felt the impact through his ballistic vest. The sandwich came apart and "kind of exploded" on his chest upon impact, he says. "I could smell the onions and mustard."

Stock videos of people eating in reverse

Sleeping Child, 1910 https://botfrens.com/collections/88/contents/25002

NEW: Trump has announced that the US will admit the lowest level of refugees ever at 7,500 in FY 2026. The US will only be admitting as refugees White people from South Africa and "victims of illegal or unjust discrimination," which leaked memos suggest means far-right Europeans.

Citing a Trump executive order banning "gender ideology," the VA is withholding coverage and treatment for male veterans with breast cancer, an increasing condition among veterans exposed to toxic chemicals during service. 100 male veterans a year are diagnosed with breast cancer.

Breaking News: Jack DeJohnette, the jazz drummer who played with Miles Davis and spent decades with Keith Jarrett’s Standards Trio, died at 83.

Sounds like everyone is having fun

Updating my LEGO White House

NEW: After The Washington Post reported Monday on the demolition of the "East Wing facade," a new picture obtained by Law Dork that was taken on Tuesday shows that a substantial portion of the entirety of the East Wing has been demolished.

As we enter the home stretch of the endless NYC mayor's race, please take a moment and read this article to avoid any major surprises in the next two weeks

EXCLUSIVE: One Saturday afternoon in October, my phone lit up with a notification. I glanced down at the message. “Anna, Lindsey Halligan here,” it began. So began my text exchange with the woman who is prosecuting the president's perceived political enemies. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...

Howard Hodgkin, Spring Rain, 2000-2002 https://botfrens.com/collections/14377/contents/1137849

Trump posts AI video showing him literally dumping shit on America

So the president of the United States plans to meet with Putin in Hungary, and when a reporter asked where that plan came from, this was the reply of the United States government www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...

Just gonna start blocking anyone who complains directly to journalists about paywalls. Figure it out, man.

Just read a New Yorker story with 4 corrections, including misidentifying the plaintiff in a landmark Supreme Court decision that is the very subject of the piece. I continue to doubt the mythic reputation of The New Yorker fact checking department.

Incredible photo from @chicago.suntimes.com ‘s Anthony Vazquez. Pointing what looks to be a teargas launcher at someone’s head at nearly point blank range is incredibly dangerous. This is why I prefer a ballistic helmet in the field.

"People often ask me what journalism I trust. So today I’m handing out letter grades to some major players." —Mark Jacob. www.stopthepresses.news/p/im-handing...

I'm sorry...Dr. Phil had a media company that employed "thousands"?

If anyone needs me I will be in the museum, lying down next to the bog bodies.

My semi-regular Columbus Day message: Columbus wasn’t called crazy because he thought the world was round. That had been known for 1000 years. He was called crazy because he thought it was so small he could reach India by going west. And they were right! He was a delusional fool! But lucky.