And the first week

For comparison with last week:

Still very much enjoying University of Liverpool's Continuing Education course in romantic literature. This week was Jane Eyre.

Reading Pride & Prejudice for a continuing education course. The book has a lot of characters, and I was having trouble keeping them all straight. Here’s my note card so far.

Can we all please just agree to stop using "raises questions about X's account" as a polite euphemism for "demonstrates that X's account is a damnable lie?" It will make the news a great deal less stupid. www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/...

Last week "abolish ice" was the moderate position I'd say the moderate position today is probably Nuremberg

Trump just insulted and threatened all our allies, then threatened Iceland because he couldn’t remember which land mass he covets just now. What exactly is the current argument against impeachment? Because I’m not sure “we can’t get a conviction” really cuts it at this point.

This is some North Korea bullsh*t

We’re getting into what’s likely to be the most frightening year that many of us have ever experienced. Opposition to Trump, both here in the US and abroad, is hardening into open defiance. In a year, most of the rats will have left his sinking ship. So: how much damage does he do in that year?

America will never be great until they realize, they never were.

Good morning. What a deeply embarrassing day to be a US citizen, on so many levels.

Once again — as American citizens we are citizens of a signatory nation of the North Atlantic Treaty. Defending the Danish Realm — including Greenland — from the threat of invasion is our duty. Even if the threat is also from the United States. Trump cannot abrogate a treaty. He is not a King.

Best one yet. 🤣

This is the distillation of what’s wrong with what remains of our more-or-less-legitimate news media. Seeking opinions from across the political spectrum is fine, and legitimate. Allowing yourself to be the vehicle by which the Republicans transmit a scurrilous lie isn’t that at all.

As Americans, we're citizens of a signatory country of the North Atlantic Treaty. We stand with our NATO allies. Even if the threat is us. Basic honor demands it.

Can we finally acknowledge that our response to 9/11 was wrong across the board? I mean, not just the Iraq War, but also the formation of DHS, of ICE, of BCP, and the rest of it? No-one wanted to believe that something as horrible as 9/11 could have a relatively trivial cause. /1

I really think we have to keep working on the case where the elections happen as normal, albeit with tons of vote suppression and propaganda. That's the hard case. By contrast, "Trump tries a military takeover" is simple and terrible.

It's completely insane that NATO may have to stand off the United States. If we hadn't elected a man who is simultaneously the stupidest and most evil choice available, it would remain the stuff of absurd military fiction. And yet, here we are. Godspeed to the rest of NATO.

Van Hollen: We are here to say not one more dime for Donald Trump's ICE operations

I think we need to admit at this point that the entire governmental restructuring the United States undertook after 9/11 was a stupid, panicky response to a communications breakdown that could have been addressed by hiring a few dozen liaison officers. ICE delenda est. DHS delenda est.

We need a few more specific protests than No Kings: (1) We need an explicit protest against ICE/CBP. Both organizations need to be defunded, closed down, folded back into INS under DoJ, then restaffed from scratch. (2) We need a protest in support of our allies Canada and the Danish Realm.

the only reason "abolish ICE" is seen as radical is that no one will say it but the far left. if every normie Democrat started saying it tomorrow it would move the overton window so far you'd have to squint to find it. my kingdom for leaders who understand they can shape public opinion.

Stop saying true things, or we'll murder more people!

I've been saying this for ages. Trump is obsessed with Canada and Greenland for two reasons: (1) He has a ten-year-old's understanding of US History, and thinks it's good when the US gets bigger on maps, and (2) The Mercator projection distorts the size of both.

I can't believe I'm posting this video - but we actually have to have a conversation about the real world implications of America going to war over Greenland. Let me walk you through it. It doesn't turn out well for us.

The President of the United States has lied to the nation to cover up a murder. That is indisputable fact and everyone knows it.

There have been so very, very many Rennes over the years. Every single time we see what has happened here — the dead are slandered, then forgotten. Don’t forget Renee Good. Remember her predecessors. And for once we should keep our eyes on the perpetrators, not their victims.

Sometimes I can’t tell the difference between key lime pie and lemon merengue. (Sorry, couldn’t resist. You never get a straight line this good.)

Christmas dinner is officially simmering. It’s a brisket, so it’s a good thing we’re on the west coast or it’d be Boxing Day before it finished cooking.

Just a thing about this: a common statement in writing is that you can fix crap, but you can't fix a blank page. I have heard AI apologists claim that this is why it's fine to generate a first draft. Now, to be clear, fuck this. But also: an AI draft is a fucking blank page.

also, while I know this is true of physics, engineering, chemistry, and biology--I have to imagine it's true for other academic fields as well: PAPERS ALREADY HAVE FUCKING SUMMARIES. That's what the FUCKING ABSTRACT IS!

Lake Chabot in Castro Valley, California. Just before 7am.

While I have many Canadian friends and family members, I am very much a Californian. This was obvious over the last week when I visited Massachusetts. Obvious signs: (1) A Canadian wouldn’t think -11°C is somehow unfair. (2) A Canadian wouldn’t have forgotten their gloves and toque.

Things you don’t expect to hear from your wife when she picks you up after a trip: “So… you heard about the explosion, right?” 😳 abc7news.com/amp/post/cre...

While racism from the right is more blatant, it’s just as prevalent on the left. Black voters are the “BlueMAGA neoliberal centrist bootlicking corporate shills” & Black politicians don’t receive recognition for their accomplishments, are held to a higher standard & expected to risk arrest. 🧵 1️⃣/5️⃣

Trump runs the same hustle on his voters. They know he's a liar and a fraud. But he convinces them they're in on the scam, and that it's other people who will get fucked over.

The problem isn’t just that the Court is letting Trump do whatever he wants. It’s that they aren’t establishing any consistent rules at all, so the effective rule will be: Republican presidents rule as kings; Democratic ones can’t act at all. And that’ll outlive Trump. Rule by Calvinball.

Tourism which is already tanking at record lows wont survive this

Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated or Pixar.

Awhile back I was talking with a friend on here about the media's tendency to report conflict between Democrats purely as personality conflicts, instead of discussing their policy differences. I've been mulling over why that felt so important. I think it's because the Republican positions have /1

YAY! So much to read now…

Ah, Thanksgiving… the one meal of the year that requires the sort of detailed scheduling that I associate more with work than home. “OK, I put the turkey in the fridge last week Wednesday so I should be able to dry brine it tonight and also today I can buy most of the veg and…”

A movie that takes place where you’re from. (I don’t know that it’s actually _set_ in South Pasadena, but it was shot there and some scenes are really obvious to locals.)

Congratulations to my parents, who became Canadian citizens today. 🇨🇦

if you see this, post your getaway vehicle

I think pundits may have been underestimating the importance of the “people fucking hate to see their friends dragged off by masked goons” issue.

A movie you've seen more than seven times with a gif.

Flan it is. Tomorrow. So very tired today.

WILL IT BE FLAN OR BUTTER TARTS TO CELEBRATE I REALLY WANT TO KNOW!!!!