In a lot of ways letting *this* go unpunished did far more grievous damage to the Republic than Watergate ever did.

Iran-Contra is also always treated like some humongously complicated thing when it was end-running Congress with an arms deal that also got intertwined with failed bids to free hostages. Not actually that complex and very much foreshadowing what we face now.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman flew a vintage jet fighter at the Fourth of July air show over Washington, D.C., despite objections by federal air-safety regulators. The FAA initially denied his request, calling the aircraft too dangerous for densely populated areas. on.wsj.com/4eM6fEr

Tucson, not even a checkpoint: agents smash windows, drag a US citizen to the ground, falsely claim he had a gun — then assault the man filming it. Fourth Amendment, First Amendment, § 242, all violated in one stop. This is what 'law enforcement' looks like when profiling replaces probable cause.

Like a judge hoping a jury spares him having to decide whether to direct the verdict that he wants, so too does Roberts hope the election will return a R win so that he doesn’t have to do extra work justifying differing rules for a D President. He’d do it, of course, 100%, but he’d prefer not to.

In the well-over 100,000 documents written by founders included in the Founders Online database from the National Archives, no one uses the phrase "God's noble experiment." No one.

The interesting thing about why Norway dominates at international sports is that they have a culture of not permitting ranking or competition in kids before they turn 12. It promotes cooperation and enjoyment instead. Along with affordable access, it means sports there are more equitable.

though also Norway managed its oil windfall way, way better than the UK did.

This is an infuriating and all too common American experience, which strikes at the heart of my book Coverage Denied (the writing of which felt radicalizing). Insurers will say that prior auth works to reduce overuse, but as this shows painfully, it gets applied to treatments that are VERY necessary

"Norway is imposing a near ban on the use of generative AI tools by elementary school pupils while also restricting their ​use in the education of older children to prevent a ‌negative impact on learning" Sometimes, good policymaking is incredibly simple. www.reuters.com/technology/n...

It’s going to make your fucking head spin how many mainstream publications and voices sound the alarm over the threat of leftism as it gains popularity and support. We’re inching up on a major battle and the lines are being drawn every single day.

Codifying the obvious: Presbyterian Church (USA) declares White Christian Nationalism is incompatible with the teachings of Jesus. Let's see other Christian denominations follow suit. pres-outlook.org/2026/07/pcus...

the problem with 'ah ha! now you like birthright citizenship' is that the Trumpists' understanding of the world always includes the ability of the absolute monarch to make exceptions.

The fact that Trump has taken to calling members of the Democratic party “communists” and wants Congress to pass a law making it harder to vote is remarkable and seems like more than merely “deriding his foes.” www.nytimes.com/2026/07/05/u...

Trump called Infantino on Wednesday to get Balogun's red card lifted. Nice to ride alon with Tyler Pager on what will be seen (and is) in many parts as one of the biggest scandals in World Cup history. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/05/u...

This feels right to me. He’s dying and desperately trying to build up a legacy, quite literally.

got fooled by the blue check and similarity of the guy's name to the actual journalist ben c jacobs. i'm deleting my repost.

ETTD

MICHIGAN DEMOCRATS: If you have already voted for Mallory McMorrow and wish to change your vote, you can contact your local clerk to have your ballot spoiled and a new ballot issued. 🗳️

it's smart politics, frankly. trump and republicans recognize that increased violence and crime rates in our society help reactionaries politically even if they are themselves the direct cause of the increased violence and crime.

Paine was also an early — maybe the first! — Land Value Tax Guy en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agraria...

Hey @chicagotribune.com Editorial Board: Why did you describe me as a “bomb-throwing influencer”? This is wrong, inflammatory, and racist. Change it. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/05/e...

I said the world should boycott THIS VERY TOURNAMENT because we are a rogue state starting illegal wars and kidnapping sovereign leaders. But, naaahhh. Y’all wanted football. So… you got it. And I really don’t have time for you bitching now that the US is acting LIKE THE US.

6/ This is not the Alabamafication of America anymore. That part's over. This is the result. We live in the United States of Alabama now.

2/ Alabamafication implies a transition, and the transition is over.

1/ I appreciate Howell Raines giving me credit for naming "Alabamafication." A lot has happened since I coined that term in the spring of 2016, and I've come to think it's no longer sufficient. 🧵

It’s over: Mallory McMorrow to end her campaign www.detroitnews.com/story/news/p...

There's a simple fact that no one in US politics is allowed to acknowledge publicly: the demographics most likely to play the role of Real Americans in the elite imagination are the least likely to support the core American value of pluralism. The most American are the least American.

They don't have the legislative majority to repeal the Clean Air Act -- one of the most successful and popular laws in US history -- so they are simply destroying it by other means.

Suing our way to justice is the most AMERICA, FUCK YEAH thing ever. It was never a red card. And it's never "classy" or whatever to just eat injustice like there's nothing you can ever do about it. www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootb...

“It is hard to think of another single event in the last decade that has had such far-reaching and sweeping and unintended global consequences as Jim Comey’s press conference.” www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...

This is a prime example of why right-wing populism slides so easily into antisemitism. You need a populist framing of "the people" versus "the elites," but you can't frame the elites in strictly economic terms, or else you end up with leftism. Hence you need another way to define "elites."

I’m glad we’ll have him but this reeks

He should argue the law passed by the GOP legislature to strip him of his authority to appoint a replacement is unconstitutional because… it is—and appoint a replacement the moment it becomes vacant.

The entire consumer-facing "A.i." industry is a fucking scam. Ban it from all your businesses and institutions.

Adding to the weirdness around Mitch McConnell: His wife, Elaine Chao, reportedly traveled to China just three days after his heart attack. She is said to have met with met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng in Beijing.

Cats in Cars Sunday Drive Edition

It’s a really funny runner how every issue in American history that apologists claim “no one” knew was wrong has a corresponding Quaker going “this is wrong”

I get this instinct....but honestly the nuanced take on AI is a fool's errand. The only real option is to stand athwart history and yell stop.

i think making the entire primary about israel and calling this the same thing as a battle for the "soul" of the party would be extremely bad for the party, for jews, for israel, and ultimately probably for shapiro too

The owner of X is embracing an explicitly fascist ideology which is opposed to liberalism, universal suffrage, and racial equality—and yet every Democrat in Congress and most journalists still use his website every day. It’s absolutely disgusting.

At some point, and this is inevitable for any politician, Mamdani will stumble and get involved with some legitimately objectionable scandal around his administration. It will be an opportunity when this happens to observe if this gets more coverage than every Trump admin scandal combined (it will)

ai doesn’t work if you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, episode 6 zillion or so, but i will say: before we do another round of stem vs humanities discourse, remember that all the worst people in silicon valley are humanities and social science majors

Journalists don’t have to accept being lied to. They could simply state “I am here to ask questions. Sometimes those questions will make the Trump administration uncomfortable. That is not my problem. I will not allow you to lie to me because you want to please your boss. You are not welcome back.”

Another reason I don’t have a lot of patience for the idea that the political response to Trump II will be “muted” is because a lot of communities have been forced to grapple with “these people want to hurt me and all they will accept is if I lay down and die”. And people *do not work that way*.

Not hypocrisy, a consistent principle of cruel selfishness. Masking in the pandemic: a minor inconvenience to oneself to protect others and help the community Masking in neo-Nazi demonstration: protecting oneself while imposing inconvenience (and worse) on others and disrupting the community

The founder we should talk more about is Thomas Paine, who will fuck your shit up every time. Here he is in The Rights of Man just ripping into any ideas of "originalism" and that kind of garbage.

Meanwhile, universities are closing humanities programs

Mitch McConnell is one of the very worst Americans of this century, a force of selfishness and spite who laid waste to our political institutions and social stability like no foreign enemy ever could.