Jon Fasman

"We are watching a new generation of reactionaries, neo-fascists, would-be authoritarians, and crack-pot science-conspiracy theorists who have grown up in the most peaceful, prosperous, and healthy age in human history undo some of the most magnanimous things humans have ever done for one another."

Why “Wednesday” is wickedly successful The Addams family has a secret—but it is not what you think

It has no doubt helped “Wednesday” that Addams family members have been mainstays of Halloween costumes for decades. But the characters are not popular because they are wicked or weird. We explain why they’ve endured across generations

How Scientific Empires End And what it means for America

The rapid decline of American science has few precedents in history, argues @rossandersen.bsky.social. We are witnessing an unparalleled act of self-sabotage:

This New York Times Sunday headline says it all in just a few words. Businesses and customers in other countries will find new suppliers. They just won’t be in our country or employ our workers. Major long term economic shift against U.S.

This.

That chyron

Opinion | Netanyahu Is Choosing to Starve Gaza

Alex de Waal in the NYT, drawing out the difference between the logistical complexity of abating other famines and this one: "If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel decided tonight that every Palestinian child in Gaza should have breakfast tomorrow, it could undoubtedly be done." (gift link)

Amazing work

Kevin O’Leary trashing Trump on CNN:

"We had a bad print on jobs. I did not agree on whacking the commissioner. I don't like that.. whacking statisticians makes no sense whatsoever."

ht: @acyn.bsky.social

Young men lack positive models of healthy masculinity because they haven't seen Alec Guiness's portrayal of George Smiley in the BBC adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy

Why is it that MAGA dudes keep talking about the importance of masculinity, but are afraid of basically all our cities at a time when they're safer than ever (if you ignore ICE kidnapping people off the street, that is).

He’s right - this is a great book.

He's absolutely right. I've read this twice now and it will remain in regular rotation. It is absolutely fantastic and as close to poetry as nonfiction ever comes, IMO.
Git it.

Trump Shoots the Messenger Firing the BLS Commissioner moves us into banana republic territory

New, from me:
Trump just fired the head of the BLS, accusing her of rigging data.
The reality is that by shooting the messenger reporting on the negative effects of his economic policies, Trump pushed America further into banana republic territory.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/trump-shoo...

I absolutely will not

Former magistrate, 81, faces six months in jail for Pales... Cornish pensioner arrested at Truro cathedral falls foul of government’s labelling of direct action group as a terrorist organisation

'The government really does need to think again,' said Deborah Hinton OBE, who was arrested after refusing an order to put down a placard which said 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.' She was ready to go to prison on the principle of the right to protest. observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

Tom Lehrer found matter worth roasting everywhere he looked America’s best modern satirist died on July 26th, aged 97

In the 1950s and 1960s, Tom Lehrer’s music spread like herpes. But he found it harder to write as the political landscape got too serious for his songs. We explain why his music career came to an abrupt halt

Read the documents that prove Hillary Clinton OK’d plan to ‘smear’ Trump with Russia collusion Special counsel John Durham uncovered the information during a multi-year probe into intelligence activities during the 2016 election.

Pretty remarkable: The New York Post and others are currently running with a document from the (strange and fascinating) Durham Annex that the Durham Annex (a few pages later) says is a Russian fake, all in the broader interest of debunking "Russiagate" nypost.com/2025/07/31/u...

Always Late? Blame Your Time Personality.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/25/w... I think this article is engagement bait but CHOMP! "Some people are punctual, others flexible," says the headline. Wrong. Some people are punctual, others are inconsiderate.

Netanyahu’s blockade and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's dangerously mismanaged aid sites are directly contributing to the crisis in Gaza.

I joined @casten.house.gov and 90+ @housedemocrats.bsky.social in demanding an investigation into the unqualified aid org at the center of this disaster.

As a son of Georgia Im proud of Ossoff and Warnock for joining

We’re not books but we went from not having a newspaper to being one of the most subscribed to newspapers in America in less than a year, and our social media conversion numbers are attributable to Bluesky by a good plurality.

Once again, Gen X is super wrong, but they're confidently wrong.

Amazon review of Pride and Prejudice, left by carlton p morgan on 30 July 2010: "Just a bunch of people going to each other's houses"

Happy 15th anniversary of the peak achievement of literary criticism, to all who celebrate

The Washington Post published the 18,500 known names of children killed by Israel’s military operations in Gaza.

To whom it may concern, and it should concern the editor: I was quoted in your publication: https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/oceans/can-we-engineer-our-way-out-of-ocean-acidification/ Still, others aren't convinced that good intentions are enough. Dr. David Ho, Professor of Oceanography at University of Hawaii at Manoa, a cofounder and the Chief Science Officer of |C|Worthy, a non-profit that works on verifying ocean-based carbon dioxide removal, believes carbon removal efforts like ocean alkalinity enhancement shouldn't be left solely in the hands of private companies. "They have no way to prove that what they're doing is effective - that's a big problem," Dr Ho said. The crux of the dilemma, he explains, is that we are fighting a planetary-scale problem, but are doing it with tools that are still being built and tested. Geoengineering is not inherently good or bad, but it is inherently powerful. And power, especially when exercised in ecosystems as complex and fragile as the ocean, must be handled with caution. However, I have never spoken to your reporter, nor would I have said those things. I would like you to remove my quote from your story, and issue a public correction and apology. Furthermore, you should look into whether the other parts of the article are also factually correct. Thanks. d.

WTF? I was quoted in this story but I have never spoken to the reporter nor would I have said those things. Is everything just generated by LLMs these days?

cosmosmagazine.com/earth/oceans...

Let’s not hype the data. Passports are only part of the story. Chinese need a passport to travel to Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. According to The Economist, China took 101m outbound trips in 2023, but 75% were to HK/MC/TW.* Tourism industry stats show the US taking 108m outbound trips in 2024.^

the onion 2 months ago

NYC Mass Shooting Was Nearly Impossible to Prevent, Experts Say

Holy shit, they did it. They wrote the headline.