Beth Hawkins

Forget “DEI”—Bari Weiss Is Proof That Merit Doesn’t Matter She’s made a career railing against “wokeness.” Now she’s in charge of a venerated newsroom.

Thorough accounting of TFP's shoddy journalism here.

slate.com/technology/2...

Nocera claimed that under José Garza, a reform-minded progressive incumbent, Austin had experienced a substantial increase in all major crime categories. But from 2021 to 2023, per the Austin Police Department’s own statistics, murder, rape, robbery, arson, and burglary were down. And while aggravated assault was up, the increase was hardly “substantial.” Some crimes did go up from 2020 to 2021, Garza’s first year. Then again, most crimes went up from 2017 to 2020, during the term of Garza’s predecessor. It’s doubtful that these increases were due to policy; rather, they were likely the result of whatever factors drove up crime all over the country—in both rural and urban areas, red and blue states, and in jurisdictions with progressive prosecutors as well as law-and-order types. If Garza’s policies really were unleashing rampant lawlessness in Austin, we would expect to see a spike in crime as his policies took effect. Instead, crime largely fell over the last two years, as it did in the rest of the country. I wouldn’t credit Garza for the fall. But you can’t blame him for an increase that started under his predecessor but refuse to credit him for a drop on his watch.

In 2020, Republican Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick laughably called Austin “one of the most dangerous cities in America.” Austin is actually remarkably safe. At the end of 2022, two years into Garza’s term, Austin’s crime rate was half that of Houston, whose district attorney is far from a progressive. It was also about 30% lower than Dallas, and 40% lower than San Antonio. Nocera, at one point, concedes that Austin was named one of the 15 safest large cities in the country, but instead of letting that result challenge his article’s overarching thesis, he bizarrely laments that Austin “ranked last” on that list. That study considered 265 cities, and deemed Austin the 15th safest. The city only “ranked last” in light of the authors’ arbitrary decision to cut the list off at 15. When Weiss, The Free Press’ editor-in-chief, promoted this piece on X claiming “crime in Austin has soared under a progressive DA,” a community note was affixed to her post. It helpfully reminded readers that, actually, violent, property, and total crime had seen a decrease from 2020 (the year before Garza took office) to 2023. That’s perhaps why voters didn’t get taken in by the propaganda about his crime record and reelected him by a 2-1 margin.

and another egregious one I forgot to include, regarding the FP's laughable "coverage" of Austin's progressive DA. courtesy once again of the diligent @radleybalko.bsky.social: www.theunpopulist.net/p/the-war-on...

ANOTHER GREAT EXAMPLE AAAAAAAAAGH bsky.app/profile/kiss...

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Neurotribes by Steve Silberman: 9780399185618 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books This New York Times–bestselling book upends conventional thinking about autism and suggests a broader model for acceptance, understanding, and full participation in society for people who think differ...

Hey everyone! I'm extremely excited to announce that today marks the release of the 10th Anniversary Edition of Steve Silberman's ground-breaking NeuroTribes, with a new foreword by John Elder Robison.

The Useful Idiots Fueling the Right-Wing Transphobia Panic Today on TAP: Prominent center-left journalists were swindled by obvious nonsense about a St. Louis gender clinic.

who could forget when TFP published a totally dishonest hatchet job on a youth gender clinic from a bilious transphobe that (again) turned out to be bullshit, and she refused to take that down too prospect.org/blogs-and-ne...

Turning Point USA Hosts Campus Event Pushing Death Penalty for Abortion Patients 10.3.25

ICYMI: One of Turning Point USA’s first campus events since Charlie Kirk’s murder is a panel of abortion “abolitionists” — extremists who want women executed for ending their pregnancies.

jessica.substack.com/p/turning-po...

She's going to make it crystal clear they can't send California National Guard into Oregon against the wishes of both governors.

What happens then is anybody's guess.

DOJ's Hamilton is arguing that the order from Trump as to California NG isn't related to Oregon NG. It "does not have a geographic limit."

Immergut is not happy.

"What would the purpose of 12406 be?"

"Why is this appropriate?"

"Do you believe this is appropriate way to deal with my order?"

This represents a major escalation.

President Trump effort to mobilize TEXAS National Guard for deployment in Portland and Chicago.

Court filing just entered in Oregon v. Trump⬇️

SCHEDULING ORDER: This Court, having received Plaintiffs' Second Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and request for Expedited Hearing, ECF 59, sets a hearing by Telephonic Conference at 7:00 p.m. tonight, October 5, 2025, before Judge Karin J. Immergut. Access information for "LISTEN ONLY" phone number for the Hearing on October 5, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. Telephone Number: 1-571-353-2301 (toll-free 1-833-990-9400); Guest Meeting ID: 373876354#. Note: If dropped from the conference, please rejoin the conference. For complete conference connection instructions and etiquette guidelines, refer to ord.uscourts.gov/cms. Ordered on 10/5/25 by Judge Karin J. Immergut. (jy) Modified on 10/5/2025 (jy). (Entered: 10/05/2025)

Hearing has started. Note a different call-in code.

Mail in ballots more than 50 miles from each of CA’s six regional processing facilities may not be postmarked the day they are mailed

CA: due to recent USPS changes, mail in ballots in some places may not be postmarked the day they are mailed but will instead be postmarked a day later.

Ballots must be postmarked by election day to be counted.

Mail in your ballot early or use a ballot drop box to make sure your voice is heard.

BREAKING: Judge Karin Immergut has scheduled a hearing for 7p PT/10p PT tonight on the new TRO request, which includes California and argues that "[t]his Court should issue a second TRO to prevent circumvention of the first TRO." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

This evening, President Trump is ordering 400 members of the Texas National Guard for deployments to Illinois, Oregon, and other locations within the United States. No officials from the federal government called me directly to discuss or coordinate.

wizard frog is insane

New Meta Data Center Needs Twice as Much Energy as New Orleans Meta is constructing its largest data center yet: a $10 billion facility in Louisiana requiring more than twice as much electricity as New Orleans.

Meta is constructing its largest data center yet: a $10 billion facility in Louisiana, as big as 70 football fields, requiring more than twice as much electricity as the City of New Orleans.

Louisiana has had to greenlight $3 billion in new energy infrastructure to service Meta's facility.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on whether to overturn conversion therapy bans.

Lavender scare is back.

Off-Label Drug Helps Boy With Autism Speak, Parents Say. But Experts Want More Data The FDA recently began the process of approving leucovorin as a treatment for autism, despite a lack of any large, phase 3 clinical trials.

The #FDA recently began the process of approving leucovorin as a treatment for #autism, despite a lack of any large, phase 3 clinical trials. #disabilities

Kash Patel fires FBI agent trainee for displaying gay pride flag The FBI employee was fired on the first day of the government shutdown as President Trump threatened more terminations.

EXCLUSIVE: FBI Director Kash Patel fired an agent in training for displaying a gay pride flag on his desk while appointed to a field office in California last year, according to three people familiar with the matter and a dismissal notice reviewed by MSNBC.
www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/k...

Jane Fonda relaunches free speech group started by her father during the McCarthy era In wake of the Trump administration’s censorship threats, the actor re-established the Committee for the First Amendment with A-list support

Jane Fonda relaunches free speech group started by her father during the McCarthy era www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oc...

not good www.spj.org/spj-condemns...

#OtD 2 Oct 1766 the Nottingham Great Cheese Riot began. Angry at the excessive price of cheese, a mob formed who seized it and began wheeling or carrying the cheeses away, bowling over the mayor with a cheese. The army put down rioting 2 days later stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9225...

Somebody actually sat down and wrote these two sentences, one after another. www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/u...

Kennedy High grads who were denied diplomas can continue lawsuit, judges rule | The Lens Appellate judges in New Orleans certify class-action lawsuit lodged by students who endured Kennedy High School’s graduation scandal several years ago.

Comes now @martajewson.bsky.social @thelensnola.bsky.social with an update on a 6-year-old NOLA suit filed by dozens of students denied high school diplomas — & by extension college admissions & scholarships — b/c of fraud by their school leaders.

Good on Marta for not letting this one go.

Go, Jane!

Extra context: The original version of The Committee for the First Amendment was first formed in the 1940s to fight against the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).

Attend, people 👇👇👇

Yeah. This would be a shocking absence of reporting standards for a national news outlet if we were not talking about a reporter who has published so much misinformation on transgender healthcare.

Every autistic person in my feeds/inbox is alarmed.

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This season is mind-blowing. So well done.

‘He lied to us’: CBS News staffers say new owner David Ellison ‘can’t be trusted’ EXCLUSIVE: Multiple CBS News staffers said new owner David Ellison has broken his promise not to “politicize” the network by installing a Trump loyalist as ombudsman, and courting The Free Press found...

This is what CBS staffers have told me about the possibility of Bari Weiss taking over the newsroom:

One, she's not a journalist, as far as we're concerned. And two, the idea that she's going to carry some sort of editorial stick for us is hard to swallow.”

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...