Jon

How’s the crowd looking? What percentage would you say are PSG fans vs. Real Madrid?

Two weeks ago, I had sudden, intense abdominal pain and ended up in the ER in Paris—turned out I needed my appendix removed. I’m now back in the hospital with a post-op infection.

Not fun. But I’m sooo grateful to be in France for all of this and not navigating the American healthcare system.

1. It’s still very early. Cuomo benefits from strong name ID, while the others are still building theirs — this will change. This is likely Cuomo’s peak in the polls.

2. I’m curious if, and how soon, the field will begin to narrow. It’s hard to see a viable path for Blake, Tilson, Ramos, or Myrie.

A brick elementary school building in the suburbs of Paris featuring a large vertical mosaic. The mosaic depicts a woman in a red dress guiding two children under a flowering tree. Below the scene is a quote from the French Revolution by Danton: “Après le pain, l’éducation est le premier besoin du peuple.” (“After bread, education is the first need of a people.”) The quote is accompanied by a coat of arms and the motto “J’étais fleur, je suis cité.”

A close-up of a mosaic from a school building in the Paris suburbs. It features a quote from Georges Danton, dated August 13, 1793: “Après le pain, l’éducation est le premier besoin du peuple.” (“After bread, education is the first need of a people.”) Below the quote is a decorative coat of arms surrounded by laurel leaves and a ribbon with the phrase “J’étais fleur, je suis cité.” The border is lined with purple floral tiles.

Years ago, I lived near an elementary school in the suburbs of Paris. On its facade was a mosaic bearing a quote from the French Revolution:

“Après le pain, l’éducation est le premier besoin du peuple.”
—
“After bread, education is the first need of the people.”

A pie chart from the WNYC Brian Lehrer Show newsletter displays the results of a poll asking WNYC subscribers which candidate they would rank first in the Democratic mayoral primary. Brad Lander leads with 32.9% of the vote, followed by Andrew Cuomo (19.5%), Zohra Mamdani (13.4%), Adrienne Adams (12.2%), Scott Stringer (7.3%), Zellnor Myrie (7.3%), Michael Blake (3.7%), Eric Adams (1.2%), and Whitney Tilson (1.2%). The image includes a question in bold text: ‘If you were voting today in the Democratic mayoral primary, which candidate would you rank first?

This is fascinating. The poll’s sample is WNYC subscribers—an informed, news-engaged cohort. Here, Brad Lander is the clear frontrunner, while Eric Adams gets almost no support.

This contrasts with general public polls, where Adams ranks 2nd and Lander polls poorly, both largely due to name ID.

Lifelong learning is addictive.

Even with a full-time job and a family, I still feel the itch to take more courses in AI and economics—and sometimes, I even catch myself daydreaming about a second master’s or a PhD.

Bill making changes to ballot design faces broad opposition during hearing • New Jersey Monitor Lawmakers want to revamp primary ballots. One critic called the plan "a step back for democracy in New Jersey."

Hopefully, the next NJ governor will back ballot reform that’s truly neutral, impartial, and free from partisan interference.

No more half-measures.

Map of France highlighted by areas served by each one of Paris’s major train stations.

Map of France showing travel time to Paris via TGV trains

Map of France color coded to show average price per square meter.

If you lived and worked in Paris and were looking to buy a country home in France—somewhere outside the city but still accessible by TGV—where would you choose? You can answer by region, department, or any way that makes sense!

Dismantling the Department of Education won’t give states more control—it will defund and destabilize public schools. States already oversee most of public education, but federal support ensures students have the resources they need.

While riding the 3 line on the Paris Metro, I noticed that the route map was peeled back—revealing an old 9 line map hidden underneath. Based on the station names, it must have been from somewhere between 1967 and 1989. A little glimpse into the past beneath the present!

Not at all - misinformation affects all age groups. I mentioned boomers because I was referring to my parents. That said, older generations are likely more vulnerable due to different media habits and lower digital literacy.

YouTube video by Dosis de Emoción Barron Trump se ACERCA a una NINÃ fuera de un Restaurante de Lujo, lo que hace después es increíble

Here’s the Barron Trump video, btw.

The title translates to:

“Barron Trump APPROACHES a GIRL outside a luxury restaurant, what he does next is incredible”

youtu.be/nPrr0ujPOKk?...

Even during times when tech companies ramped up their efforts to combat disinformation and misinformation, those protections never truly reached Spanish-speaking users.

As a result, Spanish-speaking users may be among the most vulnerable to disinformation.

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Many Boomer Latinos don’t realize it’s fake, so the comments are flooded with praise for Barron’s kindness.

Videos like this are everywhere, often focused on the Trump family, with growing attention on Marco Rubio and Elon Musk - and they seem to be highly effective.

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Screenshot of a thumbnail for a YouTube video which narrates a fictional story of Barron Trump helping to life a young girl out of poverty

Disinformation in the US is bad, but it’s even worse for Spanish-speaking Americans. It spreads unchecked & largely unnoticed.

While on my parents’ YouTube account, I came across this Spanish-lang AI-generated video narrating a fictional story of Barron Trump helping a girl escape poverty.

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Incredible show! During the encore, the band took song requests from the crowd. I held up my phone with “Born to Run”on the screen, Ezra spotted it, and they played it! Truly a memory of a lifetime.

Heading to see Vampire Weekend tonight in Paris. Can’t wait!

The year is 2028 and the Democratic primary is in full swing.

Amid the usual policy debates, candidates are grappling with an unexpected question dominating the campaign trail: “Would you pardon Luigi?”

The question stems from a spirited Zoomer-led campaign demanding justice for the iconic figure.

A rainy nighttime view of the Moulin Rouge, captured off-center through a cab window. The building’s iconic red windmill glows brightly against the dark, wet street.

Snapped this off-center shot through my cab window on a rainy ride home. Love how it turned out.

During the 2020 primaries, there was an ideological divide in the party on healthcare. The race ultimately came down to Biden, who was for the status quo, and Sanders, who supported M4A.

Biden went on to win both the primaries and the presidency, and there hasn't been a big push for M4A since.

The timing in 2019/2020 would’ve been a great moment. Six months ago was another opportunity. But now, I think it’s more blatantly clear than ever.

1. Americans across the political spectrum are profoundly frustrated with the current healthcare system.

2. Now, perhaps more than ever, is the time to finally embrace and champion Medicare for All.

A bar chart showing the amount of minimum paid leave in selected countries. France offer 25 days of annual leave plus 11 public holidays. By contrast, the U.S. offers 0 days of annual leave plus 10 public holidays.

Vacations are so common in France that whenever someone is away for a while, my French toddler naturally assumes it’s for “vacances.”

Here, workers are entitled to 25 days of paid vacation per yr—a stark contrast to the US, where the lack of a federal vacation law makes time off feel like a luxury.

A Tribe Called Quest’s masterful final album, “We Got It From Here…”, brought me profound comfort in the days after the 2016 election (it dropped just three days later!).

Lately, I’ve been returning to their discography, finding solace once again in their timeless, jazzy, socially conscious sound.

Wow, that’s a lovely story, thanks for sharing! I’ve been a fan of Larry for years. Hope to meet him in person someday.

It largely depends on whether the GOP views the reforms as advantageous to their position or not, which can shift over time.

Before the election, Politico ran an op piece suggesting that if Harris were to win the EC but lose the popular vote, the GOP might finally support abolishing the EC.

Also, here’s a link if you’d like to read more.

It was written in 2007, so some of the rationales are a bit outdated. Thought-provoking nonetheless though. He really should consider releasing an updated edition.

Yes, he proposed reforming (rather than abolishing) the electoral college by granting the more populated states additional electors, thus minimizing the chances a President will win without the popular vote.

I completely disagree btw. At that point, it’s best just to ditch it. 🤷‍♂️

* Expanding the House to 1,000 members

* Introducing term limits for both House and Senate

* Setting 15-year non-renewable terms for Supreme Court justices

* Expanding the Supreme Court to 12 justices

* Enacting campaign finance reform and automatic voter registration

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In 2007, Larry Sabato published 23 proposals to modernize the US Constitution.

Among them:

* A 6-yr POTUS term with no re-election

* Extending House terms to 3 yrs (from 2)

* Aligning all Senate terms with presidential elections, so the entire Congress is elected simultaneously with POTUS

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