Imagine a group of 5-year-olds playing a board game. The rules are clear, the goal is fair, and one child edges ahead — until, suddenly, another child starts losing. That’s when the trouble begins. “He cheated!” the losing child yells. “I’m the winner anyway!” he declares. And then, like clockwork, he flips the board. In the world of kindergarten conflict resolution, we expect this kind of behavior. We chalk it up to development. We teach better sportsmanship. What do we do when the president of the United States behaves this way? On Friday, President Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics — the nation’s workaday scorekeeper of employment, wages and productivity. Why? Because the data didn’t make Mr. Trump look good. The statistics were inconvenient. So the president didn’t just challenge the findings; he fired the statistician. That’s not governing. That’s board flipping.

Janet Yellen's husband & Econ Nobel Laureate George Akerlof:

"...when presidents flip the board, it’s not just a game that ends. It’s the pieces of democracy that get scattered to the floor."
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/03/o...

my view is that everyone should be able to earn a living wage doing whatever it is they like. if you love working in a bookshop, you should be able to live a comfortable life doing so. if you loving being a barista, the same. and if you want to do more traditional blue collar work, that’s cool too!

Violet Palms Artist · 3.1K monthly listeners.

Check out our new single! Perfect weekend vibes.

open.spotify.com/artist/1obwJ...

Ooo... say more, please.

More Americans voted for Senator Alex Padilla than for 48 of the 53 red state GOP U.S. Senators combined.

W.E.B. Du Bois on Robert E. Lee:

“Either he knew what slavery meant when he helped maim and murder thousands in its defense, or he did not. If he did not he was a fool. If he did, Robert Lee was a traitor and a rebel–not indeed to his country, but to humanity and humanity’s God.”

I will be damned if I allow a bunch of Confederate-waving January 6th apologists give the American people a lecture on flag waving.

There is ZERO reason to enter an argument about patriotism with people who still worship traitors to America 150+ years later.

They. Are. Breaking. The. Law.

Free ebooks from @haymarketbooks.org, including Border and Rule by @harshawalia.bsky.social, which is one of the most important books I've ever read. Download and read, fam.

"Nobody’s going to spit on our police officers," says Trump, who four months ago pardoned people who beat police officers with pipes, flagpoles, baseball bats and 2-by-4s at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The folks hollering about “family values” are out here tearing families apart with unlawful ICE raids, militarized police, & the weaponization of government.

All while ripping away food & healthcare from working-class families.

Are the family values in the room with us?

Spring peeppers. I love the evening chorus of those little frogs.

A lot of people seem to think following the U.S. Constitution is optional—like picking which shoes to wear in the morning. It’s not. If you’re within the boundaries of the United States, the Constitution applies to you.

Fuck the morherfuckers doing this. I don’t say this lightly, but they need to go to prison. End stop. That’s it. You can’t normalize this. You can’t pretend the situation is anything but what it is.

This should be obvious!

Of Trees, Tenderness, and the Moon: Hasui Kawase’s Stunning Japanese Woodblock Prints from the 1920s-1950s Sylvan sublimity between the heavens and the deep blue sea.

Of trees, tenderness, and the Moon – Japanese artist Hasui Kawase's stunning century-old woodblock prints

Haley Britzky @halbritz AFRICOM commander Gen. Langley tells senators that China is "trying to replicate" USAID programs in Africa as the US scales back USAID. "They're trying to use that as an extension of the Belt and Road Initiative to gain favor by the African countries," Langley said.

Wow who could’ve guessed that this would happen

It’s almost as if USAID was a pillar of American soft power and influence in the world

It’s almost as if it was entirely predictable that America’s adversaries would work to fill the void left by USAID’s destruction

Yes, the stock market may be tanking and our national security apparatus has never been more vulnerable and we're on the verge of both economic collapse and war, but it was all worth it to keep pronouns out of email signatures.

Can Elon Musk Buy Wisconsin? Ari Berman on Billionaire-Funded Attempt to Flip State Supreme Court After spending over a quarter of a billion dollars on Donald Trump’s presidential election campaign, Elon Musk is pouring money into a Supreme Court election in Wisconsin. Musk has spent more than $18...

Can Elon Musk Buy Wisconsin? Ari Berman on Billionaire-Funded Attempt to Flip State Supreme Court

Anti-Trans National Risk Assessment Map: March Edition At the two-month mark of Donald Trump's presidency, the risk for transgender people has deteriorated nationwide. The United States now carries a "Do Not Travel" rating for transgender people.

1. The 1Q 2025 Anti-Trans Risk Assessment Map is complete, and there are big changes.

I have issued a "Do Not Travel" for transgender foreign citizens.

Risk has deteriorated broadly across the US.

Transgender youth see changes in previously safe states.

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More of this. Constantly. Every chance we have, more of this.

Today's Racine County Journal-Times front page

Is March 29 the Day the World Turns on Tesla? “It's a huge opportunity, and everything we can do here makes a difference," says Edward Niedermeyer.

In my latest, I talk with #TeslaTakedown organizers and author @niedermeyer.online about the decentralized nature of the movement, why Musk and Tesla are vulnerable, and why Saturday's Global Day of Action matters.

Thank you for sharing your experience with Long COVID. I just listened to you on Native America Calling and am grateful for all the information you shared. I am also dealing with this condition, and it can be isolating. I wish you the best in your management and healing journey.

Lionizing Mark Twain, Conan O’Brien Subtly Skewers Trump (Gift Article) In accepting the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the comedian mounted a bristling political attack artfully disguised as a tribute.

Brilliant article by Jason Zinoman.
A gift version here:
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/a...

I know you’re exhausted. I know you’re hurting. I am, too. That’s what authoritarianism does. It breaks us down over time until it feels inevitable.

But I’m begging you. Do not let these motherfuckers own you or your reality or push this bullshit another step forward. Not another inch.

Every time you see someone powerful acting like a craven coward in the face of this authoritarian menace, let it stiffen your own spine. We are all we've got.

Can’t emphasize this enough: if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the debased assault on our country, the antidote is connecting with other people in the flesh who are feeling the same way. There are millions of us.

Organizing My Thoughts Kelly Hayes writes about things you should know if you want to change the world.

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