Robert David Sullivan

Trump has a Senate partisan majority without needing a single vote from a state that voted against him (Collins of Maine is not needed). I don’t think Obama or Biden ever had that advantage.

Yes.

But why are there so many kids in strollers getting in my way on the Upper West Side?

What are Black Catholics hearing when church leaders praise Charlie Kirk? For many Black Catholics familiar with Charlie Kirk's full record, endorsements of his message by Catholic leaders can be devastating.

America's Gloria Purvis: "When well-known church leaders praise Mr. Kirk as a model Christian despite his racist rhetoric, they provide religious cover for racist thought and behavior."

www.americamagazine.org/faith-and-re...

Are You a ‘Heritage American’? Why some on the right want to know if your ancestors were here during the Civil War.

What percentage of the country are "Heritage Americans"? As the illustration suggests, it's gotta be a pretty small minority. (I think I may be 1/16th heritage?)

www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

I definitely did not have this on my bingo card when I started out in taxonomy and systematics. 😩

What are Black Catholics hearing when church leaders praise Charlie Kirk? For many Black Catholics familiar with Charlie Kirk's full record, endorsements of his message by Catholic leaders can be devastating.

"Mr. Kirk’s comments are not mere policy disagreements about affirmative action. They are not heated political rhetoric. They are well-worn dismissals of Black people’s equal dignity. They are the building blocks of structural sin."

www.americamagazine.org/faith-and-re...

Why five feet of building space can doom construction - The Boston Globe 1973 law on high-rise threshold is out of sync with national recommendations.

“A lot of times, we’re reluctant to change on really dumb things.”

Many of the rules shaping what we can and can’t build today were written 50–60 years ago. If we want to meet Massachusetts’ modern housing needs, everything should be on the table for reform.
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/05/o...

Pope Leo signs first exhortation, ‘Dilexi te,’ focused on love for the poor The document, which will be issued Oct. 9, can be seen as a companion document to “Dilexit nos,” the fourth and final encyclical issued by Pope Francis.

<He noted that some listeners mocked Jesus’ teaching on poverty because “his discourse on poverty seemed absurd to them. More precisely, they felt personally affected because of their attachment to money.”>

www.americamagazine.org/vatican-disp...

Well, he would hate Grant

This is a valid hypothesis, but the adjective "mediocre" adds nothing but the thought that this might be professional jealousy. It's a social media tic best avoided.

It’s time for soft secession How blue states can use their economic clout to stand up to Trump’s agenda—starting with California.

"Blue states building parallel systems, withholding cooperation, and creating facts on the ground that render federal authority meaningless within their borders.”

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

In terms of the most effective use of money, the best bet for the Democrats is to put someone on the ballot, give them no money, and then hope that person does better than expected so they can claim, "They could have won if they had enough money!"

Randolph PD investigating after large crowd sets off fireworks, swarms police cruisers Police are investigating after a crowd of over 100 people targeted marked police cruisers during an incident in Randolph, the city's police department said.

Stunt drivers are fascism enablers

www.wcvb.com/article/rand...

<In 2021, the movie “Don’t Look Up,” which was mostly filmed in Massachusetts, received a record $46 million in taxpayer-funded incentives.>

Democrats Still Have No Idea What Went Wrong The party’s progressives seem to think the problem is not with their platform but with voters.

"The party’s progressives seem determined to reeducate the public rather than compromise for their votes. This is a seductive approach if the goal is ideological purity. It is a problem only if the party hopes to win elections."

www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

She can only win in Kentucky if she promises to break with her party on a lot of issues, but if she does that she won’t raise enough money.

"our current rating of 54 puts the U.S. below experts’ ratings of democracy in Mexico and Poland; the projected rating of 47 puts the U.S. on par with experts’ current rating of Israel and in the neighborhood of experts’ 2022 ratings of Brazil and the Philippines."

I do not consent to South Dakota values

For those lucky enough to not know this is a neo-Nazi meme normally found on TRS and the Daily Stormer being shared by the official DHS account.

Daily Memphian columnist cries censorship and quits, but sharp editing wins the day By Ellen Clegg The news was posted on Facebook, and it provoked immediate ire. Which, to be fair, is on brand for Facebook. Dan Conaway, a columnist for the Daily Memphian, reported that he had qui…

New at @whatworks-nu.bsky.social: @dailymemphian.bsky.social columnist cries censorship and quits, but sharp editing wins the day. Great reporting by @ellenclegg.bsky.social. whatworks.news/2025/10/05/d...

We shouldn’t be mean to Taylor Swift because she’s AI? That’s what I’m getting from Bluesky tonight.

I keep talking to people outside of Chicago who do not know what is happening here.

So much has changed so quickly. It is hard to comprehend, even when you see it yourself, or see it on social.

We cannot allow this to be normalized.

all of these videos are horrifying. what feels so singularly striking and scary to me in all of them is the individual seething contempt and rage of these agents

Never saw it! But I guess I was right!

Downtown by Petula Clark

Treasury Department considers minting a $1 Trump coin The draft design of the coin, which was overseen by the Office of the U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach, features Trump’s profile on one side of the coin.

This is obviously so they can share TikToks of people refusing to accept it.

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

I Am Worried That We Will Lose the Next Big War Our leaders posture on TV while China studies how to send our ships to the bottom

"I can’t shake the thought that one of our generals should have walked out of that room, resigned his commission, and delivered a speech warning about the peril facing the U.S. military. At least one senior leader must step away, speak plainly, and sound the alarm."
open.substack.com/pub/michaelw...

Bondi’s firing of federal prosecutor in Miami might upend big Medicare fraud trial Attorney General Pam Bondi fired Miami federal prosecutor Will Rosenzweig for criticizing President Trump on his blog when he was in private practice.

Attorney General Pam Bondi fired Miami federal prosecutor Will Rosenzweig for criticizing President Trump on his blog when he was in private practice.

"Vought warned that the federal government likely can only support [WIC] for another week.... After that, states will have to reach into their own coffers to cover the costs." Isn't that the long-term plan anyway, to make states decide whether to starve people?

s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?tra...

I stand corrected, since I'm sure you follow the newsletter more closely than I do. Though both parties have cheered the expansion of presidential power when they hold the White House. Saying that doesn't negate the horrors of what Trump is doing, or normalize it.