Orval Osborne

“Low Energy Donald”

The entire scene looks like Norman Rockwell painted The Death of Empathy, directed by Jeffrey Dahmer and executive produced by Satan. Hang this next to The Scream and the painting would lean over and whisper, Is that guy okay.

open.substack.com/pub/jojofrom...

While we do not agree on all issues, I want to publicly thank UNC-CH Chancellor Lee Roberts for clearly stating today in Faculty Council that UNC cannot and will not sign Trump's Compact, because it raises irresolvable issues of academic freedom. That was important for faculty & students to hear.

Are Wealth Taxes the Best Way to Tax the Ultra Rich?

“Plans for a wealth tax have gotten popular around the world as inequality has widened and government debt has risen.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/31/b...

Good tweet-length summary from a conservative talk show host.

Where’s the pecan pie this year?

“.. I don’t want to hear about the affordability.”

- 11/06/25

Remember back when Biden was president and people weren't being dragged off the street by masked federal agents, airplanes were flying, and we weren't threatening to go to war on four continents?

How about eggs?

Prices since Trump took office:

-Groceries: ⬆️ 2.7%
-Utilities: ⬆️ 11%
-ACA premiums: ⬆️ 26%
-Overall consumer prices: ⬆️ 3%

Trump: “I don't want to hear about the affordability.”

Australia has so much solar that it's offering everyone free electricity Australia's extensive solar power penetration makes so much energy that the government wants to offer free electricity at peak hours.

Australia has so much electricity from solar power that it is going to start offering free electricity to everyone for at least three hours during the day as the wholesale price of power goes negative

electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...

It was so frustrating!

Yes. More like this. More fight. Polarize everything.

newrepublic.com/article/2018...

4) eroding the power of Congress with an Imperial Presidency,
5) turning a government budget surplus into a spiraling descent of debt,
6) worsening income inequality by slashing taxes on the wealthy, and
7) worsening global warming by recklessly increasing oil drilling.

His shameful legacy as the forceful Vice President to George W Bush includes:
1) the destruction of Iraq for no reason, killing 1 million people, and costing the US $3 trillion,
2) promoting torture,
3) promoting mass surveillance of Americans,

2/3

Dick Cheney, the worst politician of the past century, died today. One of the most polarizing figures in politics, Cheney was a manipulator who personified militarism, corporate corruption, Government secrecy and environmental degradation.
1/3

Cheney legacy (cont)
4) eroding the power of Congress with an Imperial Presidency,
5) turning a government budget surplus into a spiraling descent of debt,
6) worsening income inequality by slashing taxes on the wealthy, and
7) worsening global warming by recklessly increasing oil drilling

His shameful legacy as the forceful Vice President to George W Bush includes:
1) the destruction of Iraq for no reason, killing 1 million people, and costing the US $3 trillion,
2) promoting torture,
3) promoting mass surveillance of Americans,

2/3

Dick Cheney, the worst politician of the past century, died today. One of the most polarizing figures in politics, Cheney was a manipulator who personified militarism, corporate corruption, Government secrecy and environmental degradation.
1/3

"when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice — you may know that your society is doomed.”

“ when you see money flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors — when you see that men get richer by graft and pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you — …” 2/3

Irony? A key quote from Atlas Shrugged is a damning indictment of the Trump Administration: Francisco d’Anconia says "When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion — when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing — …” 1/2

do i think the institutional democratic party would do better with a more populist economic message? yes. but there is the problem of getting voters to *hear* it and to *believe* it and that is where i think attention should go.

Separation of Church and Hate NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * In the spirit of George Carlin and Christopher Hitchens, the son of a former Catholic nun and a Franciscan brother deli...

“Trump fans may be intrigued to know
while Jesus never once condemned abortions,
immigrants, or gay ppl,
he was seriously not a fan of adultery,
& spoke out against the divorce laws of Moses
bc he thought it should be harder for men to dump their wives.”
www.simonandschuster.com/books/Separa...

But cars are so much cleaner now thanks to EPA regulations that breathing tailpipe emissions aren’t nearly as bad as they used to be.

I recognize that this issue is beyond the scope of this episode but I am struck more generally by how much focus there has been on how Democratic Party has supposedly moved “sharply left” as Ezra says, and how little discussion there has been about how extremist the GOP has become.

Chenoweth: Well, this is where it’s really important to learn from the history of these movements, which is that it’s usually not about a single day of protest. It’s about building power for the long haul. The average campaign that succeeds takes a few years to do so. I shouldn’t say that this is prescriptive or predictive either, by the way. But, if we just look at the historical record, we know that it takes time for campaigns to build the power that begin to tap into those pillars of support and create loyalty shifts, etc. And that one of the reasons movements win when they win is because they are resilient to the repression that they experience in the meantime.

This interview between @pkrugman.bsky.social and @chenoweth.bsky.social is absolutely fantastic. A great introduction to Chenowith's work.

paulkrugman.substack.com/p/talking-wi...

Trump Administration Live Updates: Pentagon Accepts $130 Million Donation to Help Pay Troops During Shutdown

The amount is meaningless — less than one day of salary. But the principle is important: once the armed services are paid by the oligarchs, they become a private militia, and we no longer have a country.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...

No, Republicans shut down the government because they voted to double health insurance costs for millions of people! And House Speaker Johnson won’t dare allow the #Epstein files to be released. Shockingly he is denying seating to newly elected Grijalva.