The Nation: Draft Leak - "Religious Freedom" Executive Order. Every bit as...
I didn’t see this on the Rec List... and I do not mean to be dramatic, but this is one of the bigger stories emerging today. It is major news, bad news, for LGBT Americans, for reproductive freedom in...
View ArticleCPAC: Tax-Dodging Billionaire Grifter DJT Declares Massive US Military Buildup
Every day, new reasons to #Resist. Today at CPAC, Trump’s big speech featured a declaration that he, as President, vows “one of the greatest military buildups in American history.” So that “no one...
View ArticleEPA Head (Destructor) Scott Pruitt lied massively in his confirmation hearing
It’s hard to keep up with it all. But alongside all the rightful focus on Sessions/Trump/Russia, here’s another percolating story of a Trump cabinet nominee lying in his confirmation hearing. And this...
View ArticleTrump Isolation Watch: he's now lost Rick Santorum
Trump seems more and more alone and lonely. Strange how somebody elected on his purported strength to make deals, forge and maintain relationships, looks increasingly…. isolated.His...
View ArticleRevoke and Remove. Is Jared Kushner gone, immediately? NOW? TODAY?
Well?What is Jared Kushner’s status in the White House, right now?He approached Russians in secret and proposed a stealth line of communication from Trump’s transition team direct to the Kremlin — not...
View ArticleSome cracks appear in Trump's evangelical support post-Charlottesville
Jay Michaelson* of the Daily Beast writes:A new study by Public Religion Research Institute—based on surveys taken before Charlottesville—showed that only 65 percent of white evangelicals have a...
View ArticleVanity Fair: Trump unraveling, seething, says "I hate everyone in the White...
Time Mag featured an infamous pair of Trump “Meltdown” covers last year. The description was premature, in a sense; how truly melted-down can a candidate be if he goes on to win* the grand prize, the...
View ArticleRANT: Every arm, leg, tentacle of the Democratic Party fundraising machine is...
There’s got to be a better way to do this.I donated generously to ActBlue twice in 2010 and twice in 2012. I was required to provide my phone number, and I naively did so. Cursing myself now for...
View ArticleLeonard Leo, the secretive puppetmaster behind Trump's SCOTUS pick
Wanted to sharethis morning's top story from the Daily Beast — written by my spouse, Jay Michaelson.When President Donald Trump nominates a justice to the Supreme Court on Monday night, he will be...
View ArticleWarning: William Barr (Trump's pick for AG) has a militant Bible-wielding...
My spouse, Jay Michaelson, has written a piece for the Daily Beast on Trump’s new pick for Attorney General, William P. Barr. I wanted to share it here because it seems with so much news happening,...
View ArticleCNN Poll Aug 20: Biden rises to 29%, Sanders/Warren tied 2nd 15%/14%, Harris...
CNN has a newly released poll taken Aug 15-18, and its results are lining up with a few other recent polls. State of the race at this point is Biden solidifying and slightly widening his lead; Sanders...
View ArticleOn the "terrifying" prospect of Joe Biden winning the Democratic Primary
First off, if I could helicopter one candidate directly into the US presidency next January, it would currently be Elizabeth Warren. Biden’s not my first choice.But the fear I’m reading in here based...
View ArticleOn Data, Electability, Facts, Fear, and Bernie Sanders
Hi all. I’m not a Bernie Sanders supporter; I was leaning Harris before she sank, then leaning Warren but now she seems to be sinking as well. But I want to write a diary about my own “Joe Biden is...
View ArticleThurs 1pm EDT: Biden speaks to us on Coronavirus
UPDATE 2:20pm: See Anneli’s diary on the Rec List — “Biden speech on COVID-19”— for a full video link and more discussion in comments. Thanks all.UPDATE 1:50pm: It was a good speech: thoughtful,...
View ArticleCOVID-19 Testing only reveals contagiousness... not immunity. Will this...
I just read a few articles about current practices of COVID-19 testing here in the USA. This piece by Bryn Nelson at the Daily Beast — “America Botched Coronavirus Testing. We’re About to Find Out How...
View ArticleRed Meat, Red Meat: St Louis wingnut couple who pointed guns at protesters...
It’s 7am Eastern Time. I went to bed early, so I just now watched a rousing Bernie Sanders speech and a superb, thoughtful, deeply moving 1:1 plea from Michelle Obama…. and I was feeling truly good...
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Guess what Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Nevada have in common
I’m seeing a rise in “Trump’s gonna win” fear, this past week. Both in here, in my Facebook feed, and in more than a few corners of liberal/progressive-leaning punditry.The argument seems to go like...
View ArticleDavid Frum: "Trump yelled, threatened, interrupted--and changed nothing. He's...
If anyone watched last night’s debate, slept horribly, and woke up in a foul mood… I’m so sorry, and please accept this virtual hug.I opted to pass. Needed a solid night’s sleep, have a history of...
View ArticleOh BOOM: CNN Latest Poll, Biden +16! 57% to 41%
CNN/SSRS has just published its latest poll. Biden 57%, Trump 41%. Terrific news.Details in full, located here:The study was conducted for CNN via telephone by SSRS, an independent research company....
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Oh BOOM cont'd: 538 Who's Ahead (National Composite) now Biden +10.1!
FiveThirtyEight.com’s poll tracking is by nature ephemeral, and what I’m posting could go away minutes later, but it’s a milestone all the same. As of 930am Eastern, today Friday Oct 9, Joe Biden is...
View ArticleCNN: Expert warns US is 1 to 3 weeks from a "rapid acceleration" of COVID-19
As Election 2020 stomps and staggers to its conclusion — almost certainly a solid Biden victory, and great odds of flipping the Senate as well — the coronavirus epidemic churns on. And the latest trend...
View ArticleAtlantic: The GOP's Demographic Doom
Ever get the growing sense that the Republican Party itself — not just Trump — is showing some real fear beneath all their amoral power-grabbing? That they’re also acting like a highly threatened...
View ArticleAw look, the 1776 Commission page on WhiteHouse.gov is DOWN
The Biden Administration is moving fast on multiple fronts… including this one! Bye bye, racist-as-f^^k white supremacist government document that lasted two short days. [And now that this is on the...
View ArticleCDC Decision on Masks: are they being Naive, or Strategic?
Like a lot of you, I read the CDC’s decision carefully and I understand it, but I’ve got some serious questions about the way it’s playing out so far in the real world, where Americans are gonna be...
View ArticleOn Covid Fear, Clickbait, and Real Risk
Last week, Dr. Fauci spoke on Meet The Press about the urgent importance of being fully vaccinated against Covid-19. He said specifically that 99.2% of American Covid deaths in June 2021 were among the...
View ArticleProvincetown, MA: Field Report from a Covid Hot Spot
We (2 dads and a preschooler) just spent the past week on vacation in Provincetown, on the tip of Cape Cod. Family Week, probably the planet’s highest temporary concentration of families like ours. It...
View ArticleEnough is known. Vaccinate our children NOW.
I understand why vaccines are not rushed out to the public before a series of careful processes. I understand caution. I understand due diligence. I understand that there are wise reasons for these...
View ArticleCongratulations, new Dads Pete & Chasten Buttigieg!
Between so many news stories right now that engender feelings of despair… maybe some of us need a little pick me up. Here’s one.After a lengthy journey to become parents through adoption, Pete...
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Hurricane Henri -- aiming for Long Island/CT (NYC?) -- 1st New England...
It’s not often that a hurricane makes landfall in New England and/or Long Island (part of NY State). In the past 100 years, we hadBob in 1991 (Category 2 landfall in Rhode Island)Gloria in 1985...
View ArticleWhy is CNN so invested in "VP Kamala Harris is failing" stories?
So there is a LOT happening in the world and a lot of it is difficult. But over at CNN they seem really interested in putting forth a narrative that Kamala Harris is flopping and failing. As if that’s...
View ArticleOmicron 100s of cases at Cornell. Christmas will be a Nationwide...
After almost a month of “Omicron is coming” stories… it’s here. And it’s about to spread everywhere as America’s families, the fully vaxxed and the unvaxxed, gather in person for Christmas 2021 next...
View ArticleOmicron Overwhelm: Four reasons New York City has NO IDEA how many cases...
It happened so fast — just as experts warned it would. CDC reported yesterday that an estimated 73% of new Covid cases in America this past week are the Omicron variant. I want to write about what is...
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CNN.com vs Foxnews.com, January 6 '22: Never a wider chasm than today.
Good morning. I’m avoiding Omicron/covid news for a couple of days, my kid’s at-home preschool class quarantine here (and spouse’s struggle to get any professional work done) is stressful enough....
View ArticleHopeful: NYC Covid cases have peaked, our Omicron wave is beginning to subside
I wrote a hopeful comment yesterday that I’d like to put up as a diary. The coming 1-2 months will be a nightmare for America’s healthcare system. Ed Yong of the Atlantic lays the case out in stark...
View ArticleMaking Our Kids Wear Masks: Where is the Off-Ramp?
Yesterday, we registered our pre-Kindergartener for the Summer 2022 season of outdoor day camp. There are dozens and dozens of such programs here in Brooklyn. We considered proximity, program content,...
View ArticleAnne Applebaum: UKRAINE MUST WIN.
Anne Applebaum’s writing for The Atlantic has been superb these recent months, and her piece today really brings the Ukraine tragedy into a moral and strategic imperative: a victory for Ukraine is “the...
View ArticleNYC Covid: It's rampant, it's underreported, and it's eliciting...
Hi friends, thought I’d write an update from Brooklyn, and from the Northeast Tri-State area (“Tri-State” is loosely defined as the NY-NJ-CT region in which people live somewhat near NYC and can get to...
View ArticleSuperb bio piece in The Atlantic: "Why Is Marjorie Taylor Greene Like This?"
I just finished reading one of the best longer-form bio/political magazine pieces I’ve read in recent years. Elaina Plott Calabro, well done. “Marge” (her nickname among those who knew her back when)...
View ArticleOn being "too old for this": June 13, Trump faces Miami Federal Court. June...
As a middle aged Gen-Xer, I thought it was surreal in Spring 2016, primary season, when the three major players for the US Presidency were so old. Hillary Clinton, then 68; Bernie Sanders, then 75; and...
View ArticleCNN: July 4, 2023 was Earth's hottest day ever (recorded).
Gotta say — CNN takes a lot of criticism in recent months, much of it deserved. Trump Town Hall of infamy, an increase in MAGA-appeasing both-sides-ism, etc. But you know what else? Their climate...
View ArticleTrump Trials Stove Burner #3 (Jan 6) Heats Up: He got a "You are a Target"...
New news from CNN and elsewhere:Former President Donald Trump said in a social media post that he’s been informed by special counsel Jack Smith that he is a target of the criminal investigation into...
View ArticleWell, well: now Trump reframes Big Lie / Stolen Election as just "my opinion"...
Writing for the Washington Post, Aaron Blake pointed out an interesting development in what Trump is trying to sell to the public as he faces his next indictment package, the one about the “perfect...
View ArticleHurricane Lee has blown up to CAT 4. Slight risk of East Coast landfall Sept...
Just a Thursday evening update on Hurricane Lee. It intensified FAST. From 80mph at dawn to 105mph at 11am to 130mph (Category 4) as of 5pm Eastern time. Lee may become a Category 5 overnight or...
View ArticlePAY UP! Appeals court rules Trump has to post the full $454,000,000.00 bond!
Appeals court judge Anil Singh did the justice system a solid today — ruling that, no, Trump, you can’t pull a “lemme just pay $100M because I’m so rich.” The bond amount is $454 Million and Trump has...
View ArticleMy 10 Favorite YouTube Comments on Sen. Katie Britt's Weird-A-F Kitchen Rebuttal
As we all know, President Joe Biden delivered a superb State of the Union speech last night. There was a GOP rebuttal. I didn’t watch it. Few did. But the buzz around it got me to check it out this...
View ArticleWarning: Polling is real. It holds information. And Joe Biden needs a...
I work in an information-heavy professional field. The world of data data data and more data, team-shared spreadsheets in cloud storage, monthly and quarterly metrics, predictive modeling, and all of...
View ArticleThis trial is hell for Trump, and at age 77 he might not survive it
Donald Trump’s estranged and highly insightful niece, the psychologist Mary Trump, has said and written much about her sociopathic uncle and his mental state. Herbookis quite something to read. And she...
View ArticleBiden dares Trump to debate: "I hear you're free on Wednesdays."
(11am Eastern update: Biden and Trump have both accepted a CNN debate on June 27. TBD if they can agree on the exact terms.)President Biden unleashed Dark Brandon this morning!xDonald Trump lost two...
View ArticleDueling 'Cognitive Decline' Narratives, and the plain truth of the June 27...
I’m an 80s teenager, now in my mid 50s. It seems crazy to me sometimes, and I can only imagine how it seems to a much younger voter: America’s current Presidential Election is between an 81 year old...
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