*Ahem*
Zen student and history/politics nerd. Author of The Circle of the Way: A Concise History of Zen from the Buddha to the Modern World (Shambhala, 2019). My personal blog is The Mahablog (mahablog.com), and I write for Patheos as The Religious History Nerd.
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*Ahem*
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
I'm reading that implementation of Junior's restrictions will vary by state, because states have their own laws about public health and vaccines and insurance and such. So check with the local CVS to find out what they're going to do.
A MUST WATCH!
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
The fact that some lame Third Way memo about appropriate phrasing is apparently being taken seriously by some in the Dem party tells me they've had their heads up their posteriors since the 1990s.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
He is massively stupid. There's no other explanation for this.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
Speaking as a 73-year-old -- older people bruise more easily than younger people. A bruise like that could be indicative of a lot of things. If he's taking a "blood thinner" to prevent blood clots, for example, a bruise like that is pretty common. Or he could have just bumped his hand.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
Oh, now I see it. No, I actually don't know what. I live in New York. All kinds of stuff goes on in California that escapes my notice, sorry.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
I honestly don't know what you're referring to.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
Precisely what lifesaving medical treatment is Newsom denying 19-year-olds?
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
It would be a huge step forward if everybody stopped taking Third Way seriously. Especially Democrats. Don't even take their phone calls, Dems. "Centrism" has been slowly strangling the Democratic Party for years. People don't know what it stands for any more.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
Yep. And World War I ended when Germany was out of manpower and supplies and knew an invasion was imminent. The U.S. Civil War ended because Bobby Lee got his ass whupped. Wars end when one side realizes it can't fight any more.
The reason Trump is utterly powerless to affect Putin's behavior is bc Putin knows that if he revealed the truth (and also the proof Trump knows it's the truth), Trump's power would crumble. www.emptywheel.net/2025/08/16/s...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
Yesterday Putin blew off another of Trump's deadlines. By August 8 Putin was supposed to either agree to a cease fire or risk sanctions. Putin ignored the deadline, so Trump invited him to Alaska. So let's review this moment from last year's presidential debate. youtu.be/tcECXr9gpDo?...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
Yeah, there's nothing like sex toys being thrown at women athletes to make one think of crypto. It's the first thing that came to mind. /sarcasm
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
Tomorrow is the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima bomb. This isn't about the bomb but about a statue that survived it intact that is now installed on Riverside Drive in New York City. This is the story of how and why it got there. www.patheos.com/blogs/therel...
they expect a payoff in the form of lower wages, fewer worker protections, and -- most crucially -- learned helplessness among the working class that keeps them from even trying to get back what they lost.
This is how they managed statistics in the old USSR.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
Of course they did. www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
‘Clinton Plan’ Emails Were Likely Made by Russian Spies, Declassified Report Shows An annex to the Durham special counsel report was the latest in a series of disclosures about the Russia inquiry, as the Trump team seeks to distract from the Epstein files gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/u...
New poll: The vast majority of NYC Dem primary voters agree with Mamdani’s Israel positions, even arresting Bibi. 57% say they’d be less likely to support incumbent Dems who don’t endorse Mamdani. That includes Schumer and Jeffries right now. www.semafor.com/article/07/2...
The NYT is allergic to writing clear sentences. There are too many people in the news business who write purple prose instead of inverted pyramid
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
I predicted he'd take credit, and he did. Somebody should ask Trump what Cambodia and Thailand were fighting about. I'm sure he has no idea. www.msn.com/en-us/news/w...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
TACO TACO TACO TACO TACO
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
Please read, and watch the videos. This is a master class on how Democrats should be presenting themselves to voters. newrepublic.com/article/1984...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
A real cease fire has announced. This was mediated by the PM of Malaysia; Trump took no part. On Saturday Trump claimed credit for a cease fire that didn't happen. He'll probably want a Nobel prize for the real cease fire, too. www.msn.com/en-us/news/w...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
NPR and PBS have both been infected with both siderism for at least a couple of decades, if not longer. I don't want them to go away, but I wish they'd stop being so, um, careful.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
Cambodia and Thailand have been fighting over a border dispute. On Saturday Trump bragged he had brokered an immediate cease fire. Which didn't happen. Now the Malaysian PM has persuaded everyone to come talk in Malaysia. Watch Trump try to take credit. www.patheos.com/blogs/therel...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
A lot of my so-called career was in K-12 textbook publishing. It's an inherently nutty industry. I have stories. Here, however, I'm just pointing to why publishers are refusing to follow Oklahoma's new curriculum standards. www.mahablog.com/2025/07/26/f...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
Worth reading. Understanding MAGA’s Obsession With Pedophilia and No Other Sex Crimes talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/under...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
Trum thought that getting back into the White House would solve all his problems. He was wrong. www.mahablog.com/2025/07/19/w...
The antipathy for the Department of Education is the most enduring relic of the cause that birthed the modern GOP: not having to go to school with Black people.
The Deputy Director’s chair at the FBI is probably the worst place or the second-worst place to find out what’s really going on. www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
For Zeteo, I broke down the decades-long Trump/Epstein relationship, with receipts. Watch:
Yes. For the past couple of years I've been saying that the pious John Roberts is the Roger Taney of our day. I realize now that is unfair to the memory of Roger ("Dred Scott") Taney. www.publicnotice.co/p/john-rober...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
Jen Psaki demonstrates that Trump has no idea what's going on in his own administration, never mind anywhere else. Exactly when will news media beyond the MSNBC evening lineup start reporting on this? youtu.be/yeygO8_6tVM?...
in fairness, give them another three months and trumpov's entire Cabinet will be down to Rubio, Duffy, Bondi, and a multi-function printer/copier/scanner
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
This was WAY predictable. It's happened elsewhere, in other places. Copious data from around the world and over many years shows that the only thing that reduces rates of abortion is getting people to use contraceptives.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
Paul Krugman explains why someone ought to take the car keys away from Grandpa. open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
I realize there are more pressing issues right now, but this explains how the Chinese Communist Party is planning to identify the next Dalai Lama. www.patheos.com/blogs/therel...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
Naughty naughty. www.propublica.org/article/kris...
He has no idea what the issue is. Zero.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
Love this. "The threat of the rich is that they will flee the city. The flaw in their leverage is that almost nobody likes them anyhow." inthesetimes.com/article/zohr...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
Just in case anyone who sees my posts here still thinks Zohran Mamdani is antisemitic, do read this. www.the-independent.com/news/world/a...
If I'm running a news room now, I assign everyone who has done piece on Biden's final-years fitness-to-govern, and have them apply same standards here. (Once heard Bill Clinton give 45-minute ad-hoc on what diff *counties* in Arkansas had done in Civil War. Trump doesn't know WHAT YEAR it was.)
The Supreme Court is setting up a de facto presidential dictatorship, in which the president is immune to the law, can openly defy courts with no consequences, and courts are not even empowered to order him to stop disobeying the Constitution.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
This is about the latest developments in Louisiana and Texas to have the Ten Commandments displayed and taught in every public school classroom. Note that many people filing suits to stop these laws are religious. www.patheos.com/blogs/therel...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
SCOTUS just punted on birthright citizenship. Fate of birthright citizenship order unclear after Supreme Court limits nationwide injunctions www.texastribune.org/2025/06/27/b... via @texastribune.org
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
Excellent article worth reading. Mamdani Did All the Things the Establishment Hates. He Won Anyway. newrepublic.com/article/1972... via @newrepublic.com
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
Paul Krugman explains why he's relieved Mamdani beat Cuomo this week. Mamdani and the Moguls of Madness open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
"The New York Young Republican Club (NYYRC) has called on the federal government to strip Zohran Mamdani of his citizenship and deport him." . www.newsweek.com/republicans-...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
The useless Dem centrist establishment may want to read the writing on the wall. www.nytimdem es.com/2025/06/25/opinion/zohran-mamdani-democratic-party.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Rk8.dJku.uzcolsc0QwnO&smid=bs-share
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
Trump says a lot of things, especially when he really, really wants them to be true. Whether they are or not.
It gets harder by the day not to characterize this administration as distinctly “north korean” when the White House senior staff is about fifteen inches away from declaring Trump invented the moon and the stars, and currently argue things like that he invented in Geico Gecco
It’s always Fox
really sums up the media’s coverage of the Trump presidency
It’s a good thing Congress isn’t alive to see this
The squeaky tank was the last straw.
Trump sending a staffer to see if the old “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED” banner is still in the White House attic.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
The White House Rose Garden (which wasn't just a rose garden) was dug up in Trump's first term. But now he's paving over even the grass. It's going to be just a big concrete slab. That's better for big media equipment, you see. www.mahablog.com/2025/06/20/n...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
SOME elected Democrats are stepping up. A whole lot are not. My senators are Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. I never hear anything from Gillibrand. And Schumer always seems to be a few days behind the moment. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/20/o...
Something to think about: why do we constantly have to beg Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer to do the bare minimum political work in their jobs? I’m not talking about holding left wing positions. I mean the bare minimum- communicating, speaking out, articulating an alternative path?
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
The local bus only takes quarters if you pay in cash. I just wanted to know how many quarters I'd need to go someplace if my bus pass ran out of juice. It's telling me my bus fare is $1.35 and so I need 27 quarters. In the real world I'd need six quarters. No, I don't get change.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
Actual AI answer to a question I posted awhile back.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
We're learning that Boelter has long been an anti-abortion fanatic, which by itself makes him a potential terrorist.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
Trump really is trying to rule as a king; Charles I, to be precise. If you know British history, you might remember things didn't turn out well for Charles I. reason.com/volokh/2025/...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
If any journalists see this -- if you write about Juneteenth this year, please get the history right for a change. Slavery didn't end completely in the U.S. until about 5 months after the first Juneteenth. This explains how that happened. www.patheos.com/blogs/therel...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
I was flipping around news channels yesterday, and the Minnesota shootings were the lead story on every channel. I don't see the print editions, but there's robust reporting on the story on the home pages of the Washington Post and New York Times.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
The Minnesota shooting story is being told very, very differently in right-wing media than in, well, anywhere else. www.mahablog.com/2025/06/15/w...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
Who knew achieving world peace was actually hard? www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/u...
BREAKING: SENATOR PADILLA HANDCUFFED AND THROWN TO THE GROUND AFTER BEING FORCIBLY REMOVED FROM PRESS CONFERENCE.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
The Regine has arrested a U.S. senator for daring to talk back to Noem. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/12/u...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
I agree with Oliver Willis. Every time some new Trump outrage hits the news, somebody will always declare that it's "just a distraction" from the last outrage. Which, oddly, was a "distraction" from the one before that. www.oliverexplains.com/p/there-are-...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
Sending a couple thousand National Guard into Los Angeles is just a first step. Trump won't stop until he has absolute control of California and every other city and state that poses a threat to his authority. www.mahablog.com/2025/06/09/w...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
Which all makes Watergate look all the more stupid.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
I was 21 when I voted in 1972, which makes me damn old now. Oh, well.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
Yeah, I was there. George McGovern was a good man but his campaign was a mess. The DNC withheld support. The programming of the DNC convention scared the bejeezus out of Middle America. And then he had to switch his veep candidate at the last minute, which made him look not ready for prime time.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
I graduated from the U of Missouri (journalism) in 1973. Granted, the places was not exactly a hotbed of activism, but there had been some protests. Once the draft lottery started the mood on campus toward the war shifted noticeably.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
Also I wouldn't say the war was "off the table" for the 1972 election, in which I voted. A whole lot of other things were going on to "muddy the waters," so to speak.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
I don't think the movement believed anything Kissinger said. But the draft began winding down at the beginning of 1972, which I think is when they started to draw numbers issued to birthdays. So from then on a lot of young men could stop worrying they'd be drafted.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
The protesters gave him an abundance of ammunition to use against them, unfortunately.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
"Safer" for whom?
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
Protests need to be thoughtful and disciplined. Protesting works when it helps turn public opinion on your side.. See Martin Luther King; Mahatma Gandhi. If the public perceives the protesters as a violent pack of a**holes, it backfires. I've seen this too many times to count.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
The best part of Trump's post is that the National Guard hadn't reached LA yet when he posted it. The first of them arrived at 7 a.m. this morning, which was about seven hours after he posted this. Note also that he's figured out how to deploy the Guard without going through Nancy Pelosi.
ICE is a much greater threat to this country than illegal immigrants. The current administration ia by far the greatest threat this country faces. The problem is not st our borders. It is in the White House.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
Many things turned public opinion against the war The problem was that protesters were more unpopular than the war. Nixon played public opinion against the protests to prop up support for the war and his administration. Some people supported the war mostly because they hated the protesters.
“Just to be clear, the National Guard has not been deployed in the City of Los Angeles.” -- LA Mayor Karen Bass The @us.theguardian.com is spot on with this fact checking in the story & headline. Other news outlets should follow this lead: www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
I agree. Protests that work are those that gain public sympathy to one's cause. When protesters come across as bigger a**holes than those they are protesting, it doesn't work. I've been in protests that turned out badly for that reason.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
I sincerely believe the primary accomplishments of most of the Vietnam protests were electing Richard Nixon and re-electing Richard Nixon. Finally came Vietnam Veterans Against the War and the Winter Soldier campaign, and that helped. But most of what we did was counterproductive.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
I'm a veteran of the Vietnam era protests and a lot of other eras that came later. Protests work sometimes (see: Martin Luther King; Mahatma Gandhi). But they so very easily backfire. Stupid protesting is worse than not protesting at all. And "stupid protests" are not necessarily riots.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
"Schrader’s resignation was prompted by concerns that the case was being pursued for political reasons, the sources said." abcnews.go.com/Politics/liv...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
Everything Trump thinks he knows about World War II he learned by watching John Wayne movies.
Opposing Andrew Cuomo is a non-negotiable for our membership. In light of today’s news that Jessica Ramos has endorsed Cuomo, our New York City CAP Council immediately voted to unendorse her on our ballots. @uawregion9a.bsky.social region9a.uaw.org/news/NYCMayo...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social)
It's likely there will be a ton of religion-in-public-school cases headed to the Supreme Court in the next couple of years. We're on the edge of losing separation of church and state. We dodged a bullet with the Catholic charter school case, but just barely. www.patheos.com/blogs/therel...
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
You've probably noticed that when he's asked a question about policy he does the accordion thing with his hands (a tell?) and says he's looking at a lot of things and will issue a decision in a few days. This is a pretty obvious strategy for not admitting he has no idea what the question is about.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
Trump was never much of a reader and is vastly ignorant of many subjects. But it's also true that loss of reading comprehension is a big red warning sign of dementia. Trump may be able to recognize words and read them from a teleprompter, but can he read a text and then explain what it says?
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
I doubt he was ever much of a reader, but if he's refusing to read at all he needs to be checked for dementia. Loss of reading comprehension skills is a big blinking warning sign. It's possible he can still recognize words and read a teleprompter but not comprehend what a text is saying.
Barbara O'Brien (@mahabarbara.bsky.social) reply parent
As I understand it, steel and aluminum tariffs aren't affected by last week's trade court ruling because Trump used a different statute from the IEEPA for his authority. So he can still play god with those.
I’m on my stoop again with a “don’t vote for Cuomo” message. And Rank @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social number 1, and rank up to five total candidates. Voters are starting to dial in as this race begins to get real. Let’s go!
