this week has made me the most optimistic that I've been since the election that we're going to get out of this intact, or some vague approximation thereof

(whether we can successfully rebuild from there, I am more skeptical about, but first things first)

a thread

Opinion Editorial Board The Texas gerrymander freakout What's happening in the Lone Star State is not a threat to democracy. August 20, 2025

Opinion Editorial Board Wes Moore embarrasses Maryland with his gerrymandering ploy The Democratic leader of the state Senate deserves praise for resisting pressure from the governor. Today at 6:45 a.m. EST

every time you think the new WaPo editorial board can't embarrass itself any more, they manage to find a way.

Left: 'Texas gerrymandering is no big deal!', from August.
Right: 'Maryland gerrymandering is an affront to Western civilization!', from today.

Trump has accused boat crews of being narco-terrorists. The truth, AP found, is more nuanced One was a fisherman struggling to eke out a living on $100 a month. Another was a career criminal. A third was a former military cadet.

AP reporter Regina Garcia Cano looked into a few of the men killed in Trump's extrajudicial strikes on Caribbean boats.

"They were laborers, a fisherman, a taxi driver. Two were low-level career criminals. One was a local crime boss who contracted out smuggling services"

apnews.com/article/trum...

Trump ignoring the failing economy

Federal agents pulling a woman out of Rayito Del Sol, a daycare by Lane Tech high school

Comic. [Person sitting at desk with laptop with machine labeled E-21 making “click click” noises on the floor behind] VOICE FROM LAPTOP: Hey all! Does your E-21 humidifier make an annoying clicking noise? Mine did, but I finally figured out that there’s an easy fix, so I made this video in case anyone else… PERSON AT DESK: Oh my god. Yes. *Yes.* [caption] I know there’s more important work in the world, but I feel like these people deserve, at minimum a statue.

Repair Video

xkcd.com/3163/

Trump: "For generations Miami has been a haven for those fleeing communist tyranny in South Africa. I mean, if you take a look at what's going on in parts of South Africa. Look at South Africa, what's going on. Look at South America, what's going on. You know, we have a G20 meeting in South Africa."

Mike Johnson: "I think the midterm is gonna be a great one for us. We have a very favorable election map on the Republican side and it will be even more favorable once all the redistricting, uh, stuff has settled out."

1. In the wake on Mamdani’s win, we’ll see a lot more far right anti-urban sentiment. Here’s a thread on its roots and evolution.

The idea that the city is evil and corrupt, and the countryside innocent and pure, goes back a long way: to Theocritus in Alexandria, and to the Old Testament. 🧵

Relieved that voters resoundingly rejected this fascist bullshit.

Angry that we still have at least another year of it, probably another three, and that we're by no means in the clear.

Livid that it all could have been avoided if we had simply not reelected the asshole who tried a coup.

Mamdani: "New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and as of tonight, led by an immigrant."

Trump: "Hear me, President Trump, when I say this: to get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us."

that weird orc from Lord of the Rings: "Looks like woke's back on the menu, boys"

I will crawl over broken glass to vote against Republicans in every election for the rest of my life

With Trump's lame-duck status now sealed, it’s time for the GOP Congress to ditch the shutdown circus and stand up to him. The emperor clearly has no clothes —let's end this farce.

WOW. A federal judge says he's going to issue a Temporary Restraining Order requiring ICE to make changes at the Broadview facility in Chicago, a facility that until January was only for stays under 12 hours "absent exceptional circumstances," but has become, in Judge Gettleman's words, "a prison."

The president was asked about a political rival and his answer really was "she's stupid; not like me—they showed me a picture of a giraffe and an elephant and I nailed it first try."

YouTube video by Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie Does Mike Johnson Know...Anything? Anything At All?

no evidence whatsoever that mike johnson knows a single thing youtu.be/YR2WiILR6XE

Escalation, Authoritarian “Normalization,” or a Democratic Turnaround? One year after the election: What we can say with certainty about the state of the Trumpist assault, where uncertainty lies, and where America might go from here

Revolutionary Escalation, Semi-Authoritarian “Normalization,” or a Democratic Turnaround?

One year after the election: What we can say with certainty about the state of the Trumpist assault, where uncertainty lies, and where America might go from here.

New piece:

We've got you 👍

The Death of Shame Modern Nazis, careless people, and the offensive necessity of caring in a shameful age.

I wrote about Nazism in a small Michigan town, and in a large North American country; about the uses of and limits of shame; and on the importance of holding shared standards. www.the-reframe.com/the-death-of...

Cam Little with a new record.

O'DONNELL: Why did you pardon Changpeng Zhao?

TRUMP: Are you ready? I don't know who he is

O'DONNELL: His crypto exchange Binance helped facilitate a $2b purchase of World Liberty Financial's stablecoin. And they you pardoned him.

TRUMP: Here's the thing -- I know nothing about it

AMERICANOS TODOS LUCHAMOS POR LA VICTORIA * AMERICANS ALL * LET'S FIGHT FOR VICTORY

Mexican WWII poster: “ AMERICANOS TODOS LUCHAMOS POR LA VICTORIA.”

You Should Blame Merrick Garland Garland's incompetence gave the Supreme Court the chance to set Trump free

My latest is about the latest revelations on the failed prosecution of Donald Trump, and why you should blame Merrick Garland more than the Supreme Court.

The Democrats' problem in the Senate is not progressives | Weekly roundup for November 2, 2025 Their big problem is not a lack of moderates, it's nationalization of party brands. And: A new era for the exit poll; The end game of partisan gerrymandering; and how Substack's AI works. + more!

The Democrats' problem in the Senate is not progressives, it’s the nationalization of our politics

www.gelliottmorris.com/p/democrats-...

Obama: They never miss a chance to scapegoat minorities and D.E.I. For every problem under the sun. You got a flat tire? D.E.I.. Wife mad at you? D.E.I..

The GOP’s top think tank just defended an open Nazi Reasonable people can disagree about whether Hitler was good, says the Heritage Foundation.

Kevin Roberts' defense of Nick Fuentes is a watershed moment: the right has officially declared open, unabashed Hitlerism to be an acceptable position in their coalition

www.vox.com/politics/466...