"'Here’s a text book on economics,' I said pointing to a little chap, James Ashworth, who was ten years old and who was stooped over like an old man from carrying bundles of yarn that weighed seventy-five pounds."
I laugh that I may not weep.
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"'Here’s a text book on economics,' I said pointing to a little chap, James Ashworth, who was ten years old and who was stooped over like an old man from carrying bundles of yarn that weighed seventy-five pounds."
Happy Labor Day everyone one. “No tyrant shall defeat us, no nation strike us down. All men who toil shall greet us, the whole wide world around.” Music by J.S. Bach, lyric by Tom Glazer youtu.be/HcRGfGFxtFs?...
They loaded up those planes with children - some as young as 10. I don’t believe they had a safe place to go in Guatemala. And the government did not care. This admin is the least compassionate of any in my lifetime.
Remember the Goolsbee Rule, also called the “pathological irony of crisis”: If you lose credibility, your statements begin to mean the opposite of what you say.
WSJ edit board: “Congress has ceded too much power over trade to the President. .. If he can impose a tax on any imported product any time he wants, he really has the power of a king. The lower courts are doing their duty, and soon it will be up the Supreme Court.” www.wsj.com/opinion/trum...
Pure fucking evil. Everyone involved in this shit needs to be held accountable.
“Florida torched $218M on DeSantis’ ‘Alligator Alcatraz’—a vanity project that collapsed in 2 months. Now the prison’s shut, the cash is gone, and Floridians are left holding the swamp bag.”
I meant to write ‘Yup.’ But the algorithm changed it. 😖
You. They’re looking for new scapegoats. The Trans thing might be losing its ability to shock the R base, so they’re hoping Burning Man can take it’s place.
Pritzker: "No one in the administration -- the president or anybody under him -- has called anyone in my administration or me. It's clear that in secret they're are planning this invasion with US troops."
#WhenDemocrats+ProgressivesWorkTogetherThingsGetBetter
On the other hand, Democrats and Progressives have always been pro-union. When we work together, we can make positive changes for our country. #VoteBlueNoMatterWho
While union membership is a great way to support working people, there are lots of reasons why union membership has fallen. The decline of manufacturing jobs and rise of service industries are key. Also, GOP attacks on unions, starting in the 1980s, had an impact.
He won’t let the press anywhere near him. This is getting weirder and weirder.
A month after Congress voted to strip public media of public money, PBS and NPR stations are working to cope — and survive.
It’s why things like free college, and free healthcare are largely wish-casting. The reason why European countries are so far ahead of us in social spending is, after WWII they were determined to make their society better for everyday people + they didn’t have an anti-tax movement like ours.
An example is public school bonds. R-W media influencer Rush Limbaugh went on a crusade against them, telling empty-nesters that they shouldn’t have to pay for other people’s kid’s education. D pols have been fighting against the anti-tax thing but it’s really hard to raise taxes in this country.
Taxes were much higher than they are now in the post-war period, and there was a lot of gov. spending on housing, hospitals, higher ed. and creating Community Colleges. But when Ronald Reagan led the anti-tax revolution, the will to tax and spend on social programs became wildly unpopular. +
Yes, Boomers had a much easier time of things when they were young. But the reason has to do with the fact that the population since 1945 has grown from 145 million to 342 million. So, getting a college degree and affording a home is much more difficult, due to a lack of gov. foresight. +
Labeling one group of people as the “bad guys,” the ones who are responsible for all of our problems is as old as humanity itself. In this case, Galloway is singling out the parents and grandparents. It’s scapegoating and history has shown that it works.
#chalkcrime
www.msnbc.com/the-last-wor...
“One Illinois farmer who sells raw milk says demand for the product has skyrocketed in the past five years or so.” Kilgus Farmstead in Fairbury… sold about 50 gallons of raw milk a week when it began offering it in 2020. Now sales are at about 800 to 1,000 gallons weekly.”
I love the internet, but it’s getting to the point where facts can’t compete with crazy anymore. “Despite well-documented risks, raw milk appears to be gaining popularity… as social media personalities — and even some lawmakers and public health figures — embrace unpasteurized dairy.” +
Four decades ago, a multistate salmonella epidemic traced to milk from a Melrose Park farm sickened an estimated 168,000 to 197,000 people across the Midwest, according to Tribune articles at the time.
This is a great time to remind everyone that EOs aren’t laws, the federal government doesn’t manage voting in this way, and it’s all a scare tactic and any reporting that doesn’t provide that context is enabling potentially lawless activity.
New Mexico is overriding the federal government on the topic of COVID19 vaccines to ensure their residents can access them. States hold a tremendous amount of public health power. They should use it.
One disabled Marine veteran has not had a primary care doctor assigned to him since his previous doctor left in the winter, his wife said. The VA “was never like this before. There’s a lack of staff, empty rooms, locked doors.”
RFK Jr must be fired. He’s too deranged and full of himself to leave voluntarily. So it’s vital to convince Trump that keeping Kennedy around drains his own political power and thus his personal wealth by so visibly endangering the health of everyone in the U.S. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
I’m absolutely begging reporters to stop suggesting that Lisa Cook stated that she would use both properties as a principal residence on her mortgage APPLICATIONS Mortgage APPLICATIONS and mortgage AGREEMENTS are not the same thing We have no idea what she represented on the APPLICATIONS
Oh no! was looking forward to it.
RIP Mark Knoller, the longtime @cbsnews.com.web.brid.gy White House reporter who made himself into a one-man archive of all presidential facts and statistics. He was a prince of the briefing room, ever generous to colleagues and competitors alike. He was the best. www.cbsnews.com/news/mark-kn...
The extent to which ICE is ignoring all civil rights and due process is astounding — and indicative of a culture where they’ve been told they can do literally no wrong. Agency and admin leaders must face sanctions and legal consequences.
"And during this weekend’s trip to China — Mr. Modi’s first in seven years — he is expected to have a receptive audience for stronger and expanded ties with Beijing and Moscow." A+ strategic work by Trump's ego. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/30/u...
Little kids with brain cancer. That’s who Donald Trump and RFK Jr. are screwing over by cutting health care.
If Missouri Republicans mid-cycle redistrict and break the law, they will be sued. That is a promise and I don't bluff. Just ask Texas. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
The Social Security Administration official who exposed that the Department of Government Efficiency had left millions of Americans’ personal data vulnerable says he has been forced to resign due to retaliation. Charles Borges, who served as the SSA’s chief data officer, told
Thanks!
I was thinking of the doctors and nurses. Operating on a soldier in knee deep water in a swamp is an impressive level of dedication.
The Guardian did a feature on Tim Page’s photos when he died in 2022. This one could have been a scene from Apocalypse Now! www.theguardian.com/media/galler...
This is fantastic, thanks for sharing. A friend of mine published a poetry weekly, and one of her poets was a Vietnam vet, that got to know, too. He got a job as a chauffeur for a wealthy elderly woman, and he saw Apocalypse Now! nine times.
Yes, but Trump is destroying so many institutions. Maybe it’s just Trump being nihilistic, but it could also be part of an ideology that seeks to turn the US into a dystopian state that resembles pre-democratic societies.
Now that’s dedication.
the supply of medicine, led to the death of many thousands from treatable diseases, such as malaria.” What Trump is doing with the help of R. Kennedy’s anti-science ideology is destructive and unforgivable. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_R...
The closest example I can think of is the “Khmer Rouge's attempts at agricultural reform through collectivization similarly led to widespread famine, while its insistence on absolute self-sufficiency, including… +
That Trump and Trumpism are fascist doesn’t explain the sheer vandalism of unleashing mass murdering mayhem via RFK to replace medical/scientific institutions of immense value and prestige with medieval peasant superstitions. That is a criminal madness facilitated by but above and beyond fascism.
Current NY state law blocks pharmacies from dispensing vaccines (including the COVID vaccine) without a prescription, unless RFJ Jr.'s handpicked vaccine advisory council signs off. But state Sen. @bradhoylmansigal.bsky.social has proposed a bill to fix that: www.nysenate.gov/legislation/...
Correos de México, the national postal service, said it would halt United States deliveries starting immediately.
Television legend Stephen Colbert has just signed a $13.5 million deal with Netflix for a 7-episode series.
These are public employees who decided to leave rather than accept jobs where they actually did nothing. Remember that the next time they tell you that government employees are lazy and inefficient.
"Secretary Kennedy is putting Americans’ lives in danger, and he must resign." #rfkjr #hhs #cdc #maha #vaccines #pandemics
Lots of right-wing political pastors and charlatans about to get rich from FEMA money.
Question: Why did US put big tariffs on India despite major national interest in cultivating a strategic counterweight to China and trying to isolate Russia? Answer: Because the US president lied that he fixed India-Pakistan and India wouldn’t go along with the lie. (Seriously, that’s the answer)
I want to take a moment to thank Drew for taking an interest in my work and putting together such an excellent profile. Most of what I do focuses on highlighting prominent figures and their statements, so being the subject of a profile is a new experience—and a meaningful one.
Nice committee you have there. Shame if something happened to it.
Powerful piece by @markhertling.bsky.social. “I am infuriated that the Air Force plans to grant military funeral honors to Ashli Babbitt. She did not die defending the Constitution. She died trying to overturn it.” www.thebulwark.com/p/honoring-a...
Yup. Yesterday was horrible.
"It's further eroding...the credibility of those who are in leadership positions in our military, that they would allow full military honors to someone who lost their life while committing the act of sedition." Michael Fanone discusses Ashli Babbitt with JVL:
Congrats, so well deserved!
Welch: As someone who lives in a red state, let me just tell you what MAGA supermajorities get you. We're 50th in education. The worst in the whole country for women to live. We're poorer, worst health care. And if you look at the bottom ten states, they are all MAGA supermajorities.
there is no question in my mind that rfk jr is the most dangerous person in this administration and that his eugenicist ideology threatens the lives of millions of people www.advocate.com/politics/dem...
The damage this man has done is incalculable.
Thanks for your posts, much appreciated.
I hope people realize how absolutely fucked this situation is. This isn’t normal. People are resigning all over the place because the government is mishandling our data, ruining our public health services, and generally making Americans less safe.
States creating their own COVID vaccine distribution systems is vitally important, as CVS is making it more difficult to get vaccinated in their stores some states. www.axios.com/2025/08/29/c...
This is good: With Trump/RFK destroying CDC, JB Pritzker's officials are exploring the possibility of buying Covid vaccines from manufacturers and distributing them in-state themselves, source tells me. Dem govs must step up and fill the void. New piece from me: newrepublic.com/article/1998...
If the national public health system collapses, can states step in? Maybe — especially if they form alliances that consolidate their purchasing power with vaccine manufacturers. (That would be blue states, of course.) Provocative, but not beyond possibility — and may be happening already.
Mike Johnson dismisses the unpopularity of the Big Beautiful Bill: "The individual provisions of that giant piece of legislation are wildly popular." CNN host John Berman immediately debunks that claim.
FOX: *plays clip of Gavin Newsom pointing out that crime is higher in Louisiana than in California* FOX: Your response? MIKE JOHNSON: He needs to go an govern his state and not be engaging in this
Now a smart Democrat would look at this and focus on highlighting stories about how Trump's rampant misgovernance and corruption is affecting the most popular agencies and those who work for them.
I’ve seen a lot of fucked up shit in my day, but this might just take the cake.
To summarize, would even good faith attempts to make LLMs safer be futile? Or, would trying to create a safe and sane system be similar to laws against running red lights - imperfect compliance but better than nothing?
Academics once loved Twitter—but in the age of X they’ve abandoned it in droves. www.wired.com/story/bluesk...
💥 Russia: Ukraine destroyed a diesel pumping station in Bryansk region that supplied the Russian military in occupied Ukraine using the main Druzhba oil pipeline network. Annual pumping capacity of 10.5 million tons. This could have a significant impact.
Justice Scalia on what makes American government exceptional: Our Constitution separates powers to "prevent the centralization of power in one person, or one party." In other countries, where power is centralized in one person, "the game is over" for rights. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggz_...
'Isn't going to work': Georgia gov tells GOP congressmen their brand is too toxic to win
COVID vaccine update: Pharmacies in these states won't give you a shot unless you have a prescription. CVS: CO, FL, GA, KY, LA , ME, NY, NC, PA, UT, VA, WV, DC Walgreens: AZ, CO, GA, IN, LA, MO, MT, NM, NY, OR, SC, UT, VA, WA, WV, WI CVS is not yet offering COVID shots at all in MA, NV, and MN.
Iowa’s Joni Ernst won’t seek reelection next year.
While no system is perfect, it doesn’t mean AI companies shouldn’t do their best to keep their product safe and sane. “It’s too hard” doesn’t cut it.
Ah, got it. The security software for these AI companies must be intense. They have to think of all of the ways that an AI bot would be able to get around their guardrails. If only they could do the same, to keep their customers from harming themselves and others.
CVS, the country’s largest pharmacy chain, is currently not offering COVID vaccines in 16 states, including Massachusetts, even to people who meet newly restricted criteria from the Food and Drug Administration.
BREAKING: Kilmar Abrego Garcia is has just asked a judge for a GAG ORDER against Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi and their subordinates.
Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who resigned as director of the National Center on Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC, shares he learned the childhood and adult immunization schedules for COVID-19 were changed from a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, while in a leadership meeting.
A couple of months ago, the Navy dishonored civil rights hero Harvey Milk by removing his name from a ship. Now, the Air Force is dishonoring itself by celebrating a domestic terrorist called Ashli Babbitt.
BREAKING: Big moment as CDC staff stage a mass walkout. They have lined the street outside its HQ to greet and salute the four top officials who have resigned in protest at RFK Jr’s attack on the agency’s science base. (🎥 AP)
Mayor Brandon of Chicago responds to a question from a reporter if pushing back will make things harder? “Can you imagine if my ancestors would have had the same rationale? Let’s not fight against the Confederacy. Let’s just try to get along, and maybe one day they’ll give us our freedom?”
So shameful.
Give us a break. The only action you guys have taken is to weaken gun laws, allowing scores of criminals to get guns; shut down funding for anti-violence programs in our cities; close the Office of Gun Violence Prevention. You've taken action - and it's gotten people killed.
Thank you for your years of service, and for speaking out now. 💙
Republicans are trying to redraw congressional district lines to keep their grip on Congress in the midterms and beyond. Voters should pick their politicians, not the other way around. Get involved with the @democraticredistricting.com as they fight back: bit.ly/3HJ1ayW
"You cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth." youtu.be/TJ5sjFf4w1k?...
AP live feed of the CDC walkout in Atlanta. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ7Q...
I have never seen so many public servants protest the mismanagement of a government. Trumpists will point to this as proof of the deep state, but the reality is that these are professionals who are desperately trying to get the public to understand how bad things are.
I hadn’t seen Singing in the Rain in quite a while, so I tuned in to see on TCM recently. ‘What a glorious feeling.
Workouts may be the only thing he does well.
BREAKING: Bernie Sanders just demanded a special Senate committee hearing on the crisis at the CDC, making RFK Jr testify under oath on the disaster he's created. Go Bernie!