More here: substack.com/profile/1864...

One possible consequence of the 6-3 decision in Trump v. CASA is the Supreme Court radically distancing itself from any comprehensive involvement with the direction of the American constitutional order.

2024 Election Post-Mortem: Latter-day Saints Are young Mormons abandoning the GOP?

Fresh Mormon data! Or, fresh Mormon political data analysis, anyway. Fits with my observations (and frustrations, unfortunately). www.graphsaboutreligion.com/p/2024-elect...

You have surprisingly particular suit expectations, it seems. (Agree with everything else. I'm excited.)

YouTube video by The Who - Topic Behind Blue Eyes (Remastered 2022)

Not really relevant at all, yet for me completely obligatory. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdhE...

"If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me."

static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics...

I'm glad Melissa's and my children are grown and safely received their vaccinations years ago, I must admit.

Well, I guess that's that. A deeply weird and possibly mentally ill individual who holds to several genuinely important and good ideas about improving American health, alongside several dozen murderously terrible ones, is now going to be in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services.

RFK Jr. passes key HHS confirmation hurdle with Senate panel vote Robert F. Kennedy Jr., once seen as a longshot to serve as America’s top health official, is now set to head to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote.

Dammit, Cassidy, it's not like you're even going to be renominated by your own party in 2026 anyway. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

Oh look, he caved. (Sort of. Maybe. For the moment. Until he comes up with something else to distract us, that is.)

In Sprawl We Trust How did the US become filled with sprawl? Simplistic debates about "centralized planning" versus "the free market" belie the truth: that a strong coalition of private and public interests helped creat...

Allison Lirish Dean has written a long, thoughtful examination of the political, economic, and even philosophical positions and arguments that have emerged, and are continuing to shift, as America struggles with its housing crisis. Lots of good stuff in here. www.currentaffairs.org/news/in-spra...

Leslie's <i>Love Story in Songs</i>, and Ours Too. Ian Leslie's John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs is a terrific book. I say that as a major Beatles fan, though not, as I've confessed before...

Some notes on a fine book. inmedias.blogspot.com/2025/01/lesl...

Opinion | Who Is Russell Vought? Probably the Most Important Person in Trump 2.0. (Gift Article) He could continue to enact and accelerate the radical, sweeping agenda he began to implement in Trump 1.0.

Damon Linker's analysis of Vought's vision of the Trump administration exercising both "boldness and self-denial" in completely reworking the federal bureaucracy is excellent, both scary and fascinating at the same time. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/23/o...

Melissa and I ate there for the first time just a few weeks ago. Really delightful (their onion soup was perfection)! I don't know if I'd call them "the best restaurant in town," but they are absolutely among the very best.

Elon Musk: Ein Hitlergruß ist ein Hitlergruß ist ein Hitlergruß Elon Musk streckt den rechten Arm, und alle springen drüber. Willkommen im neuen Aufmerksamkeitsregime.

But we all know that Germans are all swoony and hysterical and tend to over-react to everything, so of course, nicht wörtlich nehmen and all that. www.zeit.de/kultur/2025-...

David Brooks, Please Stop Saying You Are Jewish | ARC: Religion, Politics, Et Cetera About ten years ago, New York Times columnist David Brooks, who had spent most of his career as an irreligious political columnist, with forays into wry sociological observation—he coined the terms “p...

Nearly a month old, but still good. arcmag.org/david-brooks...

The Temptations of Philanthropy in a Mid-Sized City A very specific situation gives rise to a larger question

I'm not sure if I've connected with any Wichita folks here yet, and I don't know if this place will even work, in comparison to Facebook, for my Wichita and Kansas-centric stuff, but in for a penny, in for a pound. Enjoy, if you feel so inclined: mittelpolitan.substack.com/p/the-tempta...

Printed it out, off to read it. I guess this is what being an intellectual fan looks like.

Trump pardons almost all involved in Jan. 6 riot, commutes remaining 14 sentences Trump ordered those still incarcerated to be released immediately from federal prison.

January 6 was now, officially, a really energetic demonstration by a bunch of patriots, I guess. Fortunately we can still officially refer to Trump as a convicted felon (as well as a liar and a con-man), at least until he figures out a way to pardon himself. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

Clapping for Stalin “At the conclusion of the conference, a tribute to Comrade Stalin was called for.

Radley Balko's brilliant, entirely uncontroversial post needs no comment, of course. Right? radleybalko.substack.com/p/clapping-f...

I was just about to share this!

Now to see that happens next.

Thanks! (Excellent--this WAS the reply button.)

I am apparently now on Bluesky. Hi!