Greg Varner

People with dementia commonly need to have helpful labels attached to things.

Shawn is one of my favorite, if not most favorite, essayists. (I like the plays too, but those essays are wonderful!)

“U.S. Strikes 2nd Boat in Pacific as Antidrug Operation Expands” New York Times headline, October 23, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/us/politics/trump-drug-boat-strike-colombia.html

Did the New York Times have an editorial meeting where they said something like “these are trustworthy people, we should take their word, put it headlines, that’s good journalism.”

Did they go so far as to say “we should help the Trump administration sell this action”?

Or do they just sorta do it?

A possible slogan! "In our party, we don't all sound alike."

Great article!

So if he needs surgery, he'll ask the neighborhood barber? Just like old times.

While masked agents were violently attacking a delivery worker this morning, bystanders repeatedly asked to see their badge numbers but they refused.

Bystander: You guys are ruining this country, you know that, right?

Agent: Liberals already ruined it.

AI will do all our jobs.

Some of that side-eye is probably envy.

In 2022, Marco Rubio described Val Demings as "coarse" in a senate debate.

I thought it was Avril Lavigne.

Given what I grew up learning about the internment camps in which Japanese Americans were held during World War II, I thought we would never see these camps again in the United States. This is such a disgrace.

My Dinner With Andreessen Billionaires I have known: Part One of a three-part series

I just happened to read this piece this morning! prospect.org/power/2024-0...

Well said!

The photo sure isn't subtle--it has a "shining a flashlight upward on your face while telling scary stories" vibe!

It's interesting how the "American conservative movement" in the 1970s and 80s mashed together "leave me alone to do whatever I want" libertarianism with an evangelical movement premised upon the idea that "it is our entire job in the world to never leave you alone until you act & believe as I do."

Nicolle Wallace just made it very clear--repeatedly--that he did identify himself, and that it's a lie to say he didn't. (Kristi Noem said he didn't.)

Was he born yesterday? Does he know how the world works?

TANK vs TESLA

"We've crushed fascism before and we'll crush it again"

- ⁠WW2 veteran Ken, 98, in the tank

Trump posts AI-generated photo of himself dressed as the pope The image — which first appeared on Trump's Truth Social — comes as cardinals are set to convene next week to begin the process for electing the next pope.

www.cnbc.com/2025/05/03/t...

Howdy, neighbor!

"The wealthy people pay the tax"? He knows that's not true. A lot of the time, they pay no taxes at all.

ICE detains 2 men in Charlottesville courthouse raid Three men who identified themselves as Homeland Security officers raided a courthouse in downtown Charlottesville Tuesday, detaining two men without explanation.

This does not look official. dailyprogress.com/news/local/c...

This is a myth that probably began as a joking remark by a Vatican librarian, the late Leonard Boyle. See chapter 10 of Alexander Stille's great book "The Future of the Past."

"Even the sultan needs to be taught."—Somali proverb

I love this idea from Cleve Jones to try to help Andry José Hernández Romero, a gay man abducted by ICE and whisked away to a brutal prison in El Salvador. Organizers of every Pride fest in the U.S. and beyond should immediately name Hernández Romero their Honorary Grand Marshal. Pass it on.

As is Ryan Crosswell, seated beside her. His letter of resignation--wow!

Most Accurate Headline of the Day 🏆

www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...

Thank you!

Is basic competence too much to ask for? Apparently, yes.