Ben Luoma

Screenshot of an X.com post by Brad (@BradddrofliT) showing a black graphic with white text reading, “It should of been English so we could understand,” followed by, “The Epstein files are in English and yall don’t seem to understand those either,” with a nail-polish emoji at the bottom.

The “should of” is a cringeworthy nice touch.

RFK Jr. Demonstrates How To Remove Tapeworm By Scooting Ass Across Carpet WASHINGTON—In an address touting the practice as a completely drug-free method to relieve the common affliction, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. demonstrated Thursday how ...

“Doctors won’t tell you this, but you don’t need medication for a tapeworm—all you need is the natural power of friction,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said as he dropped to the floor, lifted his legs high, and dragged his ass along the White House carpet during a press conference.

Oh no Batman, it's the Vicar!

I'm always astounded by people who complain that a game they play in private with their friends has been ruined by some new material. There is nothing stopping them from continuing to run campaigns about defending the good people of Whitetown from the Evil Gay Orcs.

This is the best pitch the Democrats have right now. Next week, I expect fundraising emails titled "it's not what it looks like" and "please, baby, we can change!"

Step 5: blame progressives for not voting for you and reflect on how you can further alienate them in order to attract more of the (again, mostly fictional) anti Trump Republicans.

Step 4: lose

Step 3: when polls continue to show progressives are not sure they will vote for you, insist it doesn't matter because the votes of the largely fictional anti Trump Republicans will make up for any progressives who stay home.

Step 2: insist that progressives will vote for you anyway, even though polls show a sizable number are considering not voting for you.

The strategy:
Step 1: Distance yourself from any position important to progressives in order to appeal to the largely fictional anti-trump republican.

From Cuomo in New York to Newsom in California, it's nice to see Democrats have taken a hard look at the losses in 2024 and decided to double down on the strategy that got them here.

I love that his name is John Brown Stan. If there's one thing I associate with John Brown, it's avoiding taking positions that might be divisive.

Thanks to @collinwhite.bsky.social for posting this article.

If you still think the people affected by the deportations are only some anonymous "illegals," this is your reminder that they are our neighbors, colleagues, and friends.

Brown Medicine doctor deported despite federal court order. What we know. A court order that would have delayed the deportation of Dr. Rasha Alawieh was issued while her plane was on the tarmac, but it took off anyway.

I worked at Rhode Island Hospital where Doctor Alawieh works, for 6 years. I don't know her personally, but I recognize her photo and I know one of the other doctors quoted in the article. www.providencejournal.com/story/news/l...

If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people being oppressed, and loving those doing the oppressing. -Malcolm X

Oh wow

Screen shot form Indeed reading "position title: local facility chaplain - full time Department: Veritas Management group Location: onsite located in the following ICE Servicing Processing Centers, In Batavia, NY, Miami FL, Los Fresnos, TX, El Paso TX, Florence AZ

So this popped up on recommended jobs on Indeed yesterday:

YouTube video by C-SPAN Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Announces Retirement

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY): "Seven times my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate...Representing our Commonwealth has been the honor of a lifetime. I will not seek this honor an eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last." youtu.be/dIsl-vXuNwM

Whichever you pick, you're guaranteed to immediately think of a bakers's dozen or so great ideas for running each of the other two.

It doesn't help that I'm using the mini keyboard I bought for my work tablet.

Insight for today: if you've been touch typing long enough, typing with just your non-dominant hand feels a little like freestyling sonnets in Piglatin.

But I would like to see Democrats do more to acknowledge that free trade hasn't been good for everyone and provide alternate solutions that aren't grounded in xenophobia and isolationism.

I know that all of this is not going to fly as a winning argument in the current climate and Trump placing blanket tariffs on everything isn't going to fix the problem because the damage has been done.

And of course people who crossed the border anyway couldn't always demand better wages or treatment because they had no legal protection.

This depressed wages on both sides of the border because Mexican workers couldn't leave and American manufacturing workers had the threat of outsourcing preventing them from demanding better pay.

NAFTA created a system of free trade for the owners but not for labor. Owners could outsource to Mexico where labor was cheaper, but Mexicans couldn't respond by moving north in search of better wages, at least not legally and in enough numbers to matter.

Here's a political reality that I haven't heard many people reflect on. Trump's xenophobia appeals to people left behind by the free trade economy, but free trade left people behind partly because it didn't relax immigration policy.

ProPublica’s Supreme Connections Database Updated With New Alito, Thomas Filings Our database of the Supreme Court justices’ financial connections now includes Samuel Alito’s deferred 2023 filing and eight previously missing disclosures from Clarence Thomas dating back to the 1990s.

Our Supreme Connections database tracks who’s paid the Supreme Court justices, reimbursed their travel expenses or given them gifts.

We just added Justice Samuel Alito’s 2023 filing and newly uncovered Justice Clarence Thomas filings from the 1990s.

That I don't know. The population is listed as about 90% Inuit, 7% Danish and 3% other Nordic or other.