Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Reading archive 2025-04-30 pt 1

Federal workers required to report their daily location, email says “Unlike the ‘5 bullets’ this is not a strong encouragement. All employees are required to submit this daily information,” read an email to election commission staff.

Republican Medicaid cuts could mean ‘Armageddon’ in D.C., official says: House Republican proposals to slash government spending on Medicaid could devastate the insurance program that covers 40 percent of District residents. - "Federal Medicaid payments for states are based on a formula that considers average per capita income, but in D.C., the rate was fixed in 1997 when the District teetered on the edge of financial collapse. Then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Thomas M. Davis III, a GOP congressman from Northern Virginia, brokered a deal that said the federal government would pay 70 percent of Medicaid costs and the District 30 percent.

...

"The arrangement recognized that the District’s tax revenue is limited by the amount of tax-exempt federal property within its borders and the inability to levy a commuter tax on people who work in the District but live elsewhere, said Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District’s nonvoting representative."

Is brown rice actually healthier than white rice?: Recent concerns over the health risks of eating brown rice are mostly overblown. - "Christian Scott, the lead author of the Michigan State study and a postdoctoral research associate at the university, said the average American adult would need to eat more than three servings of brown rice — one-and-a-half cups — 'every day for years' to be at an increased risk of developing health problems from the arsenic in rice."

In Virginia, a gay GOP candidate is proving difficult for MAGA to accept: John Reid, set to be the GOP’s candidate for lieutenant governor, has been spurned by members of his own party.

Pass the D.C. budget fix: House GOP leaders should stop stalling and see that the District gets its money back.

How to get more of a nutrient that might help your memory: A deficiency of choline, which is related to B vitamins, might increase the risk of Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline.

Read The Atlantic’s Interview With Donald Trump: A conversation with the president about executive power, Signalgate, and 24-karat gold [ed. note: I mean, the guy thinks he sent Javelins to Ukraine. It's nuts.]

DOGE Was Bad. Schedule F Will Be Worse.: An executive order will convert 50,000 government employees into de facto political appointees who serve only at the president’s pleasure.

American Panopticon: The Trump administration is pooling data on Americans. Experts fear what comes next. - "A worst-case scenario is easy to imagine. Some of this information could be useful simply for blackmail - medical diagnoses and notes, federal taxes paid, cancellation of debt. In a kleptocracy, such data could be used against members of Congress and governors, or anyone disfavored by the state. Think of it as a domesticated, systemetized version of kompromat - like opposition research on steroids: Hey, Wisconsin is considering legislation that would be harmful to us. There are four legislators on the fence. Query the database; tell me what we've got on them."

Russia Is in Demographic Free Fall. Putin Isn’t Helping.: The Russian president is enacting one of the world’s most extreme natalism programs—and one of the weirdest.

The Liberals Who Can’t Stop Winning: Trump isn’t the only reason Canada’s center-left has stayed in power.

Trump Is Paving the Way for Another ‘China Shock’: The MIT economist David Autor helped fracture the old free-trade consensus. But he thinks that what’s replacing it is even worse. - "Autor: Absolutely not. I think the Trump folks are asking the right question. But they've come up with just about the worst answer. It's a classic case of fighting the last war. They're looking over their shoulder, wishing we hadn't made the mistakes we made 20 years ago. But what they are doing now is just compounding the errors. 

"The jobs that we lost to China 20 years ago: We're not getting those back. China doesn't even want those jobs anymore. They are losing them to Vietnam, and they aren't upset about it. They don't want to be making commodity furniture and tube socks. They want to make semiconductors and electric vehicles and airplanes and robots and drones. They want those frontier sectors. 

"As it happens, those are the sectors we've actually held on to. But we could lose those too. We could lose Boeing. We could lose GM and Ford. We could lose Apple. We could lose the AI sector. These are the parts of manufacturing that generate good jobs but also so much more than that. They are where innovation occurs, where the big profits are, where technology and military leadership come from. And those are the sectors that we stand to lose next."

Why China Won’t Give In to Trump Xi Jinping, like his American counterpart, needs to be the top dog.

Can You Really Fight Populism With Populism?: The American left’s favorite double act hopes it has the key to rallying the anti-Trump resistance—and timid Democrats.

Why My Firm Is Standing Up for the Constitution: Big Law should remain independent rather than have the government dictate who it represents.

Republicans Are Right About Soda: Public-health groups are tying themselves in knots over a GOP crackdown on the sugary drink. - "Nowhere is the Republican Party's about-face on soda more stark than in West Virginia. In July, the state removed its soda tax. And now, less than a year later, it is pushing forward with a SNAP soda ban as part of an effort to decrease consumption of 'ultra-processed crap that barely qualifies as food,' Republican Governor Patrick Morrisey said late last month. Banning the use of SNAP funds to purchase soda has become so popular because it combines the 'Make America healthy again' focus on America's diet problems with the conservative desire to reform the welfare state."

What Jonathan Haidt Thought When He Watched Adolescence: “The internet is just not a good place to let your child roam free 24/7.” - "Direct one-to-one communication is great. It's very important to separate the internet from social media. One-to-one synchronous interaction is great. What's not healthy is any sort of one-to-many performance, especially when it's asynchronous, because that's where the girls in particular get sucked into perfectionism and careful editing and carefully thinking through every word. It's posting that seems to especially have a bad effect on teen girls."

Iran’s Negotiating Position Gets Worse and Worse: Events have forced the Islamic Republic to negotiate with the United States.

The Roman Way to Trash a Republic: When you’re the emperor Augustus, they let you do it. - "He took control of the government gradually but completely, with the support of those wealthy aristocrats who valued fortune above principle and with the complaisance of a population exhausted by conflict and disillusioned by a system that favored the rich and connected. Perhaps most salient for us today, Augustus consolidated his power with the institutional blessing of the Senate."

Grover Norquist Can’t Believe What He’s Hearing: Is the GOP about to raise taxes?

The Force That Holds Trump’s Coalition Together: Traditional Republican elites tolerate the authoritarianism because they want the tax cuts. - "Randy Barnett, a right-leaning libertarian law professor at Georgetown, posted on X a few days ago a list of 'bullets we dodged' by avoiding a Democratic-run government that, he believes, would abolish the filibuster, establish single-payer health care, and fulfill other liberal goals. The president might be claiming the power to whisk any person he chooses to a Central American Gulag without due process, but at least he isn't doing something as horrific as Medicare for All."

Reading archive 2025-04-29

How Gen Z Became the Most Gullible Generation: The almighty algorithm is fueling conspiracy theories among young people and ruining their ability to tell fact from fiction on the internet.

Trump complained to Bezos over report Amazon would show tariff impact: Amazon said staff had considered listing tariff costs on its low-cost Temu competitor, Amazon Haul, but it won’t proceed with the move. The Trump administration had condemned the idea after a news report.

let's FART girls 💩💨: On a rising flatulent trend that could be political while exploring what we lose in the loss of process. - "Become unscammable, an anti-con artist. Foster the life of a plant by growing plants, by taking the time to watch something grow in real time, to remind yourself of the work that only you can do alone with a little sun and a little water. Can you do that? Or will you buy one of those planters or plant people to do the job for you?"

The End of Chicken-Breast Dominance: The price of boneless chicken thighs is finally catching up with the price of white meat.

Radio Atlantic: In the Oval Office With Donald Trump: A conversation with Jeffrey Goldberg, Ashley Parker, and Michael Scherer about their recent interview with the president of the United States

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Reading archive 2025-04-28 pt 2

How to Say No to a Would-Be Autocrat: The head of Israel’s internal-security agency stands up for the rule of law.

Finally, Someone Said It to Joe Rogan’s Face: Should the star podcaster take any responsibility for how he uses his power?

 - "The podcast circuit likes to portray wokeness as decadent a pursuit of college students, affluent feminists, and activists with no real problems but this exchange reveals something even darker about its approach. Beyond decadence, this is nihilism: The Roganverse's 'lol, nothing matters' approach to life is possible only for people living comfortable lives in a prosperous democracy, where the worst possible crime is to be a buzzkill.

...

"The whole episode has revealed a major break between the members of the Roganverse who still have an attachment to journalism such as Murray, who is an associate editor of The Spectator, a conservative magazine and those who regard all information sources as basically equal. 'The incentive structures and thought patterns we would typically associate with the entertainment business are not the same as those we would expect to see in journalism or academia,' Kisin wrote in his perceptive post on the controversy. In other words, don't get your opinions on Israel, or anything else, entirely from stand-up comics, Bigfoot forums, and men named Dave."

Why Is Trump Mad at the Zoo?: In search of “improper ideology” among the animals

Trump Is Already Undermining the Next Election: And the one after that, and the one after that. - "But the one person who has no constitutional authority over federal elections is the president. The chief executive of the country (whose unilateral authority the Founders most feared) has, quite literally, no role at all in the federal election system. None."

Monday, April 28, 2025

Reading archive 2025-04-28 pt 1

Video casts doubt on Ed Martin’s apology for praising Nazi sympathizer: Trump’s pick for top D.C. federal prosecutor said he didn’t know about the man’s statements, but Martin had discussed the antisemitism allegations in podcasts.

U.S. attorney for D.C. accuses Wikipedia of ‘propaganda,’ threatens nonprofit status: Trump appointee Ed Martin accuses the online encyclopedia of “allowing foreign actors to manipulate information and spread propaganda to the American public.”

Big, big trouble at ‘60 Minutes’: Executive Producer Bill Owens steps down, for reasons that are way too predictable.

Amazon slows forecast on HQ2 job growth as D.C. region hurts for employment: The tech giant added a few hundred jobs at HQ2 in Northern Virginia last year — and requested almost $6.5 million in state subsidies — but seems less like the economic cushion for the region that many hoped it would be.

D.C., Commanders plan to announce deal for new stadium at RFK: Details of the deal — which must be approved by the D.C. Council — are expected to be announced by Commanders principal owner Josh Harris and Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) at a news conference Monday morning.

D.C., Commanders announce $3.7B deal to move team to RFK Stadium: The development, anchored by a roofed, 65,000-seat stadium, will be funded primarily by the Commanders, who would put up $2.7 billion, while D.C. taxpayers would pay $500 million.

Carolyn Hax: Friend demands constant attention, enforced by silent treatments: A friend turns to the silent treatment when the letter writer doesn’t keep her constantly informed of plans.

These experts on aging, now seniors themselves, see things differently: Their advice and thinking about resilience, adaptability and outlook have shifted.

CIA official’s son killed fighting with Russian army in Ukraine: Michael Gloss, 21, whose mother is a senior CIA official and father an Iraq War veteran, suffered from mental illness. He died in April 2024 in eastern Ukraine, fighting with Moscow’s forces.

How Lindsey Graham is accommodating himself to Trump’s foreign policy: “Yeah, I think Europe’s gone woke, don’t y’all?” the one-time hawk asked a crowd back home in South Carolina.

What to know to save a life: The key to heart attack survival: Bystander training on spotting and using defibrillators can greatly improve cardiac arrest survival, but many people don’t know what to do.

‘This Is Not How We Do Science, Ever’: The Trump administration is manipulating government-sponsored research to get the answers it wants. - "This is consistent with everything Trump and his allies have revealed about their views on science since January: that it is not a means to better understand objective reality, but a political weapon that they must guard against, or deploy themselves."

Congressional Republicans Might Set Off the Debt Bomb: Their new budget framework is the most irresponsible in modern history—and will put the American economy on a very dangerous trajectory. - "Budget deficits of $1.8 trillion—heading toward $3.6 trillion within a decade under current policies—can be addressed only by putting all spending and taxes up for reconsideration. The popular targets of government waste, defense cuts, and taxing the rich can contribute at the margins, but the unforgiving budget math will force most long-term deficit reduction to come from the lead deficit drivers of Social Security and Medicare, as well as middle-class taxes. Of course, those three reform categories face intense bipartisan opposition. Ultimately, the bond market will leave Washington with no alternative."

Inside the Fiasco at the National Security Council: Firings and leadership challenges have destabilized an institution that has little margin for error. - "The disorder at the NSC, officials told me, stems from Trump's impatience with process, disregard for the law, and insistence on loyalty in place of expertise. They also said it reflects the president's distrust of Waltz, a former Florida congressman and Green Beret who served in the George W. Bush administration as an aide to Vice President Dick Cheney."

Has Trump found a path to peace in Ukraine?: Security guarantees and other hard details remain, but there are signs of movement.

‘Bone collector’ caterpillar, a new species, wears outfit of body parts: The caterpillar species with a macabre fashion sense was discovered by researchers in Hawaii. Its casing is a disguise to fool the spiders with which it lives.

Pup’s death at D.C. luxury building sparks push for ban of deadly plant: The Carolina jessamine is widely known to be toxic to dogs and children.

China plans to build a nuclear power plant on the Moon: The plans come as China steps up its ambitious space programme

China asks Korea not to supply products using rare earths to US defence firms, paper reports

A Ticking Clock on American Freedom: It’s later than you think, but it’s not too late.

What Would Be Worse Than a Recession?: The loss of America’s economic hegemony - "In the words of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, the onetime French finance minister, the role of the dollar as the world's reserve currency constitutes an "exorbitant privilege" for the United States, a privilege made more exorbitant by Treasury debt's role as the world's safe-haven investment. The country can borrow cheaply and power out of recessions quickly because of this privilege. Yet it depends on investors' trust in American financial institutions and American governance. Trump's trade war is making people question whether the United States deserves to have its privilege revoked."

I’ve Seen How This Plays Out for Ukraine: Appeasement won’t stop Putin. - "The Trump administration's proposed agreement would recognize Russia's illegal annexation and freeze the war's front lines. But nothing I've lived through suggests this would be the end of it. Each concession has been followed by another demand. Every new border has eventually been redrawn. Crimea wasn't the end. Neither was Donetsk. Neither was Mariupol. It's not difficult to see what comes next."

Reading archive 2025-04-25

For the Trump administration, it’s amateur hour: I wish there was a Yiddish insult that captured the missteps we’re seeing from the White House.

Why the very American fantasy behind multilevel marketing won’t die: In “Little Bosses Everywhere,” Bridget Read looks at the enduring popularity of companies like Mary Kay and Amway for aspiring entrepreneurs - "As one former FDA employee, reflecting on the agency’s attempts to regulate Nutrilite, once said, 'Americans want to believe in tonics.' In the absence of real medicines — real economic opportunities — placebos and miracle cures will always appeal."

Top Russian general killed in Moscow as U.S. envoy talks with Putin: Russia’s Foreign Ministry called it a “terrorist attack,” and surveillance footage showed a car exploding as Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik was approaching it in a Moscow suburb.

Friday, April 25, 2025

Reading archive 2025-04-24

Scientists say they can calculate the cost of oil giants’ role in global warming: Climate advocates hope this sort of model could result in court rulings that make polluters pay. The oil and gas industry contests the science.

Trump’s EPA cuts could be ‘catastrophic’ to Chesapeake Bay, activists warn: The EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program has worked to restore the bay’s waters and fish and plant life since 1983, but severe cuts could jeopardize this progress.

Chesapeake Bay’s oysters make a steady comeback: The Maryland mollusks have survived decades of overharvesting, disease and drought.

U.S. agencies alarmed by China’s curbs on exports of rare-earth minerals: Beijing’s curbs on rare earth exports, used to make military drones, consumer electronics, electric cars and more, have caused alarm across federal agencies.

D.C. loses coveted triple-A bond rating due to federal actions: Moody’s cited federal workforce and spending cuts, a sluggish commercial real estate market and uncertainty over whether Congress will cut Medicaid. - "In making the downgrade, Moody’s cited the Trump administration’s 'substantial cuts to the federal workforce' that are expected to hurt the city’s economy. And it revised the city’s outlook to 'negative,' pointing to a still-sluggish commercial real estate market, the “increased likelihood” of deeper federal spending and workforce cuts and the uncertainty surrounding whether Congress will make cuts to Medicaid — a major fear among D.C. officials and local hospitals."

What science says about artificial food dyes amid RFK Jr.’s push to ban them: In some studies, synthetic food dyes used in the United States have been associated with hyperactivity and behavioral effects in children.

Elon Musk had the government in his grasp. Then it unraveled.: The billionaire head of the U.S. DOGE Service clashed with Trump Cabinet officials well before he announced he would soon head back to Tesla.

The Evolution of the Alpha Male Aesthetic

Tree emergency The entire city's urban canopy is facing deep cuts

How Italy got its citizens — and me — to adopt a rigorous recycling scheme: Italy has become a global leader in recycling, in part by relying on households to do a lot of the work.

Russia bombards Kyiv, provoking rare rebuke from Trump as peace talks stall: The massive attack on Kyiv and other cities in the early morning came after President Donald Trump expressed frustration with Ukraine’s leadership.

The Courage to Be Decent: The Trump administration wants to make us too afraid to look out for one another. Don’t let them.

In Space, No One Can Hear You Girlboss: Strapped in next to Gayle King and an all-women crew aboard Jeff Bezos’ rocket, the pop star set a record for the most feminist publicity stunt in history as she smashed through the glass ceiling of Earth itself.

Realistic roles for hydrogen in the future energy transition

Thursday, April 24, 2025

Reading archive 2025-04-23

Is green really ‘green’? The mind-bending science of color.: Science and philosophy explain why color is objectively real, even when people see the same shade differently.

How D.C.’s dangerous new prosecutor is making the city less safe: Ed Martin’s predecessors say his dismantling of the office will alienate jurors, reduce convictions. - "A former U.S. attorney said: 'You’re going to see an uptick in crime because jurors, judges and D.C. residents will think the U.S. attorney’s office has a political agenda, and they’re going to be that much more skeptical.' A former prosecutor whom Martin fired added: 'Juries in the District of Columbia are educated and they follow the news. They are going to hold Martin’s extremism against us in the jury room.'"

D.C. grandmother, missing for two days, found slain in dumpster: Donnella Bryan was a dental assistant who enjoyed a life rich with books, music and loved ones, her family says.

The fall of a violent D.C. gang that used federal loans to buy drugs in bulk: Prosecutors said the Kennedy Street Crew’s purported leader smuggled drugs on planes and used pandemic relief loans through the Small Business Association to buy bulk narcotics.

She killed two children with her van. She will spend at most 4 months in jail.: Olga Lugo Jiminez, 52, had just dropped children off at a Maryland school when she hit two students and a parent in a crosswalk.

Supreme Court seems likely to let religious families opt out of LGBTQ storybooks: The lawsuit over public school story time with titles like “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding” and “Love, Violet” is one of three major religious rights cases on the high court’s docket.

What we know (and don’t know) about autism, according to science: Autism cases are increasing globally, but its causes are difficult to specify. - "The consensus after 30 years of research is that “if you are autistic, you were born with it,” said David Amaral, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California at Davis and editor in chief of the scientific journal Autism Research. 

"Genetics plays a large role. Autism is also 80 to 90 percent heritable, research shows. 

"Environmental factors can also influence prenatal brain development. 

"When someone is pregnant, chronic inflammation, such as in response to a serious infection or because of health conditions such as obesity and diabetes, could affect fetal brain development and autism risk, and is an area of active research around what is known as the maternal immune activation hypothesis.

...

"There may also be other factors contributing to a real increase in autism prevalence, though it is difficult to know how much. For instance, there are more older parents; more preterm babies are surviving; and autoimmune diseases are on the rise, which are all risk factors for autism."

Which cities have the most trees? See how yours stacks up.: Why some U.S. cities are so much greener than others.

White House Considers Slashing China Tariffs to De-Escalate Trade War: Levies could be cut by more than half in some cases although Trump hasn’t yet made final decision

America Underestimates the Difficulty of Bringing Manufacturing Back [ed. note: clarifying, grim]

The ‘owl man’ is busy at Boston Logan airport: Norman Smith has trapped and released more than 900 Arctic raptors for the safety of the birds and the planes.

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Reading archive 2025-04-22 pt 2

I Should Have Seen This Coming: When I joined the conservative movement in the 1980s, there were two types of people: those who cared earnestly about ideas, and those who wanted only to shock the left. The reactionary fringe has won. - "Until January 20, 2025, I didn't realize how much of my very identity was built on this faith in my country's goodness—on the idea that we Americans are partners in a grand and heroic enterprise, that our daily lives are ennobled by service to that cause. Since January 20, as I have watched America behave vilely—toward our friends in Canada and Mexico, toward our friends in Europe, toward the heroes in Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office—I've had trouble describing the anguish I've experienced. Grief? Shock? Like I'm living through some sort of hallucination? Maybe the best description for what I'm feeling is moral shame: To watch the loss of your nation's honor is embarrassing and painful.

...

"Trump and Elon Musk are billionaires who went to the University of Pennsylvania. J. D. Vance went to Yale Law School. Pete Hegseth went to Princeton and Harvard. Vivek Ramaswamy went to Yale and Harvard. Stephen Miller went to Duke. Ted Cruz went to Princeton and Harvard. Many of Musk's DOGE workers, according to The New York Times, come from elite institutions—Harvard, Princeton, Morgan Stanley, McKinsey, Wharton. These are the Vineyard Vines nihilists, the spiritual descendants of the elite bad boys at the Dartmouth Review. This political moment isn't populists versus elitists; it is, as I've written before, like a civil war in a prep school where the sleazy rich kids are taking on the pretentious rich kids."

Reading archive 2025-04-22 pt 1

Trump Wants to Rewrite History at the Smithsonian. It’ll Be an Uphill Battle: The president’s recent executive order directed at the institution will face a lot of procedural headwinds before he can MAGA-ify its approach to teaching the country its history.

Half a million honeybees dead in suspected poisoning at Army veteran’s farm: The Virginia farm’s owner estimates that the damage could total almost $20,000 and says that it was a premeditated attack.

She told Trump the Smithsonian needs changing. He’s ordered her to do it.: Who is Lindsey Halligan, the attorney assigned to help remove “improper ideology” from a major cultural institution?

Sam Altman Admits That Saying "Please" and "Thank You" to ChatGPT Is Wasting Millions of Dollars in Computing Power: "You never know."

Larry David: My Dinner With Adolf

D.C., Commanders close to a stadium deal at RFK site: The potential agreement comes after months of talks between the administration of D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and the team.

D.C., Commanders discussing $3.2 billion public-private stadium deal: The deal would cost $856 million, Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) said, adding he feared taxpayers could ultimately spend north of $1 billion.

U.S. intelligence contradicts Trump’s justification for mass deportations: The determination is the most comprehensive assessment to date undercutting the president’s rationale for deporting suspected gang members without due process.

China’s leader Xi Jinping holds talks in Cambodia to wrap up his 3-nation Southeast Asia tour

Ashley St. Clair Just Spilled All of Elon Musk’s ‘Harem Drama’: Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, St. Clair also divulged further details about her interactions with Jared Birchall, the man Musk charges with keeping his “harem” in check.

Protein propaganda is everywhere. Here’s what the science actually says.: Most people can get adequate protein without adding whey shakes and massive servings of meat to their plates.

What the science says about intermittent fasting: The data are mixed on whether intermittent fasting can help you lose weight. As a doctor, here’s my advice: Try the Mediterranean diet instead.

Texas was once affordable. After hail and hurricanes, not anymore.: Worsening storms fueled by climate change, coupled with inflation, are driving some of the highest home insurance costs in the country.

One day of tiny climate actions: For Earth Day 2025, here are simple planet-friendly activities that people can incorporate into their lives, starting with their morning shower.

Is It Even Worth It to Become a Doctor or Lawyer Anymore?: Attacks on prestige law firms are forcing white-collar millennials to renegotiate the deals they’ve made with bosses and themselves. It could get ugly. - "As sociologist C. Wright Mills put it all the way back in 1951: 'White-collar workers are often closer in their economic fate and social reality to wage-workers than to the owners of the businesses they work for.'"

What If China Wins the Trade War?: The United States could still prevail if it does everything right. The problem is that the Trump administration is doing everything wrong.

The Scramble to Save Rural Health Care From DOGE: Can an Alabama health clinic survive Musk’s “chainsaw for bureaucracy”?

‘You Think We’re Afraid of America?’: Chinese manufacturers seem ready for a trade war.

Reading archive 2025-04-16

To save our trees, we must burn down our forests: Fire suppression is causing the oak to disappear from our forests and landscapes.


Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Reading archive 2025-04-14

Ja Morant dares the NBA to punish him, knowing it won’t pull the trigger: The league wants the Grizzlies star to learn a lesson, but its weakness has taught him that the outrage is only pretend.

Paris said au revoir to cars. Air pollution maps reveal a dramatic change.: Air pollution fell substantially as the city restricted car traffic and made way for parks and bike lanes.

She’s been D.C.’s mayor for a decade. Here’s how her vision changed the city.

Detransition, maybe: A Moroccan influencer announced he was no longer transgender. What did it mean?

The nurse in the NYC subway: As subway assaults rise and calls for safety increase, a psychiatric nurse must decide who is a risk.

How the Caribbean could turn a plague of seaweed into fuel and fertilizer: Sargassum seaweed is a problem throughout the Caribbean. But scientists are exploring the opportunities it may offer.

How the Caribbean could turn a plague of seaweed into fuel and fertilizer: Sargassum seaweed is a problem throughout the Caribbean. But scientists are exploring the opportunities it may offer.

simulacra for bootlickers

‘It’s just not sustainable’: D.C. restaurants pushed to the brink: In the wake of wage hikes and government layoffs, some owners say they can’t keep treading water. - "Full-service restaurants, Greenbaum says, were built on a decades-old model in which diner tips offset part of labor costs. Voters upended that model without understanding how it would affect the restaurants they love.

"'Why is that not understandable how catastrophic that is?' she asks. 'Unless you think that we’re all lying and we make a ton of money.'" [ed. note: WHY AM I DIRECTLY SUBSIDIZING YOUR LABOR COSTS?]

How Much Trouble Are DC Restaurants Really In?: A restaurant association survey found 44 percent of full-service casual restaurants are likely to close this year.

How a trade war becomes a shooting war: Trump and Xi, take note: The United States and China risk falling into a trap over tariffs.

Don’t look at your 401(k), they said. I looked.: The myth of the 401(k) is that we are all in charge of our own destinies. What does that matter now?

Trump charmed Bill Maher. The comedian’s fans don’t find it funny.: After a decade of trading insults, Trump and Maher enjoyed a White House dinner. Liberals continue to wrestle with whether to engage the president as they oppose him.

Trump’s tariffs war is sparking uncertainty for North Carolina farmers: “It’s always been a guessing game here on the farm, but I think it’s more of a guess now than it’s ever been in my lifetime,” one North Carolina farmer said last week.

Friday, April 11, 2025

Reading archive 2025-04-11 pt 2

What RFK Jr. Told Grieving Texas Families About the Measles Vaccine: The nation’s top public-health official has been promoting suspicions of the shot even as he offers comfort. - "Hildebrand said that, before they took Daisy to the hospital, his family was given advice on her care by, among others, Ben Edwards and Richard Bartlett, two West Texas doctors whom Kennedy has praised as " extraordinary healers" treating measles patients in Seminole. Edwards and Bartlett are pictured in a photo that Kennedy posted from his meeting with the two families, which occurred after the funeral at a steak dinner at the West Texas Living Heritage Museum, in Seminole. Like Kennedy, Edwards has raised doubts about the safety of the MMR vaccine and instead promoted treatments such as cod-liver oil, which is high in vitamins A and D. At one point, he was offering free cod-liver oil to Seminole residents at an ad hoc clinic next to a coffee shop." [ed. note: they treated her, she didn't get better, they delivered her to a hospital, she died]

Trump Says He Is Serious About Staying in Office Past 2028: Why do Republicans keep claiming he isn’t?

The Tariff Damage That Can’t Be Undone: Nothing here has ended well. In fact, it hasn’t even ended. - "Yesterday morning, the U.S. economy appeared to be on the verge of catastrophe. The stock market had already shrunk by trillions of dollars in just a few days. Usually, when the stock market falls, investors flock to the safest of all safe assets, U.S. Treasury bonds. This in turn causes interest rates to fall. (When more people want to buy your debt, you don't have to offer as high a return.) But that didn't happen this time. Instead, investors started pulling their money out of Treasury bonds en masse, causing interest rates to spike in just a few hours. 

"Suddenly the entire global financial system appeared to be at risk. If U.S. Treasuries were no longer considered safe - perhaps because the country that issues them had recently shown its willingness to tank its own economy in pursuit of incomprehensible objectives - then no other asset could be considered safe either. The next step might be a rush to liquidate assets, the equivalent of a bank run on the entire global financial system. 'This scenario is more serious than 2008,' Adam Tooze, an economic historian who wrote the definitive history of the financial crisis that triggered the Great Recession, argued on Substack."

A Defense Against Gaslighting Sociopaths: If you can recognize their signature move, then forewarned is forearmed. - "Some scholars argue that we now inhabit a 'culture of offense,' a way of turning a claim that some behavior or statement is offensive into, in effect, a right to be offended, which creates a further claim of victimhood. I expect that we can all think of examples of how this culture can be used as a cudgel to disingenuously keep disfavored views and voices out of the public realm."

Reading archive 2025-04-11 pt 1

This Is Why Dictatorships Fail: The authors of the Constitution separated powers for a reason. - "More than two centuries later, the system created by that first Constitutional Congress has comprehensively failed. The people and institutions that are supposed to check executive power are refusing to restrain this president. We now have a de facto tyrant who thinks he can bend reality to his will without taking any facts or any evidence into consideration, and without listening to any contrary views. And although the economic damage he has caused is easier to measure, he has inflicted the same level of harm to scientific research, to civil liberties, to health care, and to the civil service.

...

"But in the past 48 hours, Donald Trump has just given us a pitch-perfect demonstration of why legislatures are necessary, why checks and balances are useful, and why most one-man dictatorships become poor and corrupt. If the Republican Party does not return Congress to the role it is meant to play and the courts don't constrain the president, this cycle of destruction will continue and everyone on the planet will pay the price."

Buy now or wait? What to know as tariffs loom on food, tech, apparel: President Trump’s tariffs on China could raise the costs of groceries, clothing, electronics and various other products, analysts say.

Fearing paper on evolution might get them deported, scientists withdrew it: President Donald Trump’s orders haven’t targeted research involving evolution, but the authors’ unease about publishing reflects uncertainty in the science world.

How JD Vance, a ‘baby Catholic,’ stumbled into a clash with the pope: The first Catholic convert elected to the vice presidency has provoked an extraordinary string of conflicts within the church he joined six years ago.

Child accidentally fires gun in backpack at Maryland elementary school: The incident, in Charles County, marked the second time this week that a pistol went off in the backpack of an elementary school pupil in the Washington area.

As WorldPride DC approaches, international LGBTQ+ groups voice concerns: The groups cited the Trump administration’s recent attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion and transgender rights.

Green and yellow pollen slicks hit local rivers and Chesapeake Bay: The pollen count hit high levels in March with warmer weather, but April’s cooler temperatures and drizzling rain should help to lower it.

Trade Wars Are Easy to Lose: Beijing Has Escalation Dominance in the U.S.-China Tariff Fight - "In 2024, U.S. exports of goods and services to China were $199.2 billion, and imports from China were $462.5 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $263.3 billion. To the degree that the bilateral trade balance predicts which side will “win” in a trade war, the advantage lies with the surplus economy, not the deficit one. China, the surplus country, is giving up sales, which is solely money; the United States, the deficit country, is giving up goods and services it does not produce competitively or at all at home. Money is fungible: if you lose income, you can cut back spending, find sales elsewhere, spread the burden across the country, or draw down savings (say, by doing fiscal stimulus).

...

"The United States will face shortages of critical inputs ranging from basic ingredients of most pharmaceuticals to inexpensive semiconductors used in cars and home appliances to critical minerals for industrial processes including weapons production. The supply shock from drastically reducing or zeroing out imports from China, as Trump purports to want to achieve, would mean stagflation, the macroeconomic nightmare seen in the 1970s and during the COVID pandemic, when the economy shrank and inflation rose simultaneously. In such a situation, which may be closer at hand than many think, the Federal Reserve and fiscal policymakers are left with only terrible options and little chance of staving off unemployment except by further raising inflation."

The Tariff Saga Is About One Thing - "The fundamental truth of Donald Trump is that he apparently cannot conceive of any relationship between individuals, peoples or states as anything other than a status game, a competition for dominance. His long history of scams and hostile litigation — not to mention his frequent refusal to pay contractors, lawyers, brokers and other people who were working for him — is evidence enough of the reality that a deal with Trump is less an agreement between equals than an opportunity for Trump to abuse and exploit the other party for his own benefit. For Trump, there is no such thing as a mutually beneficial relationship or a positive-sum outcome. In every interaction, no matter how trivial or insignificant, someone has to win, and someone has to lose. And Trump, as we all know, is a winner."

The platforms cash in their chips with Trump: From Meta to Nvidia, tech CEOs are paying the president to get the outcomes they want — and it's working - "'I was a megadonor to the Democrats,' said Palihapitiya, now himself a billionaire and the founder of Social Capital. 'I couldn't get a phone call returned from the White House to save my life … The Trump administration is totally different. There's not a single person there you can't get on the phone and talk to.'

...

"It’s a shock to see such a self-styled China hawk slapping the country with the largest tariffs in decades on one hand, while slipping them the chips necessary to build high-end AI systems on the other. And while [Nvidia's] H20 seems unlikely to be decisive in China’s ability to catch up to US progress in AI development, the way that Chinese companies are clamoring for it in the wake of DeepSeek’s success suggests it remains extremely valuable."

A visual guide to the elected officials who fly Christian nationalist flags at the Capitol

Reading archive 2025-04-10

There Was Never a Master Plan: Trump backed down on tariffs. His supporters think that was the idea all along. - "The financier Bill Ackman, who had spent much of the past few days posting (and occasionally deleting) careful critiques of Trump's tariffs, posted, 'This was brilliantly executed by @realDonaldTrump. Textbook, Art of the Deal.' 

"What deal? Nobody has made a new trade agreement with Trump. To the contrary, other countries have found the administration unable to even articulate its goals or objectives, because Trump's 'reciprocal' tariffs are the product of a nonsensical formula putatively serving a grab bag of mutually exclusive goals."

Americans Want to Be Rich: That simple aspiration propelled Trump into office, but it is now threatened by his tariffs. - "Class-war conservatives rely on a romanticized vision of America's economic past. They long for a return to mass manufacturing employment. Yet working-class America has transitioned from manufacturing to service-sector employment for a reason: The jobs are, in general, of far higher quality. Being a nursing assistant or a maintenance worker can be just as challenging and meaningful as working in a 1950s coal mine, only the work is far less likely to leave you profoundly disabled. Today's manufacturing jobs are safer, more stimulating, more productive, and more remunerative than their mid-century equivalents. Yes, there are fewer of them, as the least safe, least stimulating, least productive, and least remunerative jobs have been either automated or offshored. We can certainly try to bring the lowest-paid, most physically demanding jobs home, perhaps by rolling back domestic labor standards or imposing a new 'robot tax' to deter labor-saving automation. But don't be surprised if those jobs become a magnet for low-skill immigrants."

Why Trump Paused the Tariffs: A stock-market swoon, or even a recession, might not frighten him, but the prospect of a 2008-style meltdown apparently still does.

High tariffs didn't make the U.S. rich in the 19th century. They won't this time.: On tariffs and 19th century economic growth - "When we look at one country in history, we face an N=1 problem. We have no control group. The late 19th century United States also featured explosive population growth, mass European immigration, rapid technological innovation, westward expansion, abundant natural resources, high literacy rates, and stable property rights. Any of these could be the real growth driver." [ed. note: hit paywall]

Justice Dept. withdraws case against alleged MS-13 leader two weeks after his arrest: Two people familiar with the matter said authorities decided to drop the case to fast-track Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos’s removal from the U.S. His lawyer asked the court to hold off on granting the government’s request, saying a case dismissal would likely lead to Villatoro Santos’s immediate deportation.

A Republican senator is taking aim at D.C. Council’s new privacy law: Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is introducing a measure to repeal a D.C. bill that significantly changes the city’s Open Meetings Act to allow council members to meet in secret.

The Smithsonian could be the beginning of Trump’s plan to edit history. Or the end.: The president may not like how the museum and research institution tells the American story — but Americans do.

Whitmer stands out from Democrats as she addresses Trump’s tariffs: The Michigan governor, a potential presidential candidate, signaled Wednesday that she sees some common ground with Trump on his trade vision. - "'As I’ve said before, I’m not against tariffs outright, but it is a blunt tool,' Whitmer said. 'You can’t just pull out the tariff hammer to swing at every problem without a clear, defined end goal.'

...

"But then, illustrating the political peril for Democrats seeking collaboration with Trump, the president signed executive actions targeting two officials who served in his previous administration and opposed actions Trump had taken. 

"'The governor was surprised that she was brought into the Oval Office during President Trump’s press conference without any notice of the subject matter,' Whitmer spokeswoman Kaylie Hanson said in a statement. 'Her presence is not an endorsement of the actions taken or statements made at that event.'

...

"Another Democrat who is considered a possible White House contender, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, directly rebuffed Whitmer’s speech.

"'The 'tariff hammer' winds up hitting your own hand rather than the nail,' Polis wrote on X. 'Tariffs are bad outright because they lead to higher prices and destroy American manufacturing.'"

Metro can’t automate more trains because some aren’t stopping in time: The rail agency is pushing back, saying automation is still much safer than human train control.

How to cook with less salt without sacrificing flavor: Use salt early to season from within, and purchase or make salt-free or reduced-sodium pantry staples.

Does beef tallow really make better french fries? We put it to the test.: Here’s how suddenly trendy beef tallow compared to canola oil in a blind french fry taste test.

At the Masters, policing language is a tradition unlike any other: There’s no rough at Augusta National; there’s a second cut. And there are no fans, only patrons. And there are no words for the pretension.

Michelle Obama addresses public absences that gave rise to divorce rumors: “People couldn’t even fathom that I was making a choice for myself...they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing,” Obama said of her newfound freedom to say “no.”

Why we assume ‘natural’ food is better, even when it’s not: Like RFK Jr., we can’t resist the idea that natural always means good, even when the evidence doesn’t agree.

Thanks, Ed Martin. You’re making defense attorneys like me look good.: Martin’s tactics and shortcomings undermine national security and the reduction of violent crime.

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Reading archive 2025-04-09

How to Prepare for a Recession: The older you are, and the more likely you are to get laid off, the more important it is to have liquid savings.

Will Elise Stefanik Get the Last Laugh?: Inside Trump’s decision to kill the MAGA star’s Cabinet nomination

‘A Path of Perfect Lawlessness’: The Trump administration’s arguments in a high-profile immigration case have much broader implications. - "Even though the Trump administration conceded that Abrego Garcia was deported by mistake, it is insisting that federal courts cannot order his return. 'A judicial order that forces the Executive to engage with a foreign power in a certain way, let alone compel a certain action by a foreign sovereign, is constitutionally intolerable,' it said in a court filing. The implications of this argument may not be immediately obvious, but if federal courts cannot order the return of someone exiled to a foreign gulag by mistake, then the administration is free to exile citizens and then claim they did so in error, while leaving them to rot."

The Democrats Won’t Acknowledge the Scale of Trump’s Tariff Mess: The president’s allies are putting up a bigger fight than the opposition party is. - "Senator Bernie Sanders has endeared himself to the so-called resistance by giving Democrats the red-meat denunciations of Trump they crave from their leaders. Yet his critique of Trump's catastrophic global trade war is like mushy oatmeal. 'As someone who helped lead the effort against disastrous, unfettered free trade deals with China, Mexico and other low-wage countries, I understand that we need trade policies that benefit American workers, not just the CEOs of large corporations,' he declared in a statement. 'And that includes targeted tariffs which can be a powerful tool in stopping corporations from outsourcing American jobs and factories abroad. Bottom line: We need a rational, well-thought-out and fair trade policy.'"

Leave the Military: You're at risk of being told to betray your own values.

Police shoot knife-wielding autistic teen behind fence, sparking outrage: Pocatello, Idaho, police shot Victor Perez nine times even though he could “hardly walk,” according to his family. He’s in critical condition with his leg amputated.

What a bear market means and whether you should invest during one: The past few days of market losses have put the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow Jones Industrial Average close to bear market territory.

Arrests made in shooting that killed three near Fredericksburg, sheriff says: Three died and three were injured in the Tuesday evening shooting in Spotsylvania County. The ages of the victims and motive of the shooting are unknown, officials said.

D.C. concert venues back bill to crack down on ticket scalpers: The phenomenon — known as selling a “speculative ticket” before even having possession of it — would be illegal under a bill unveiled by D.C. Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6).

Musk made direct appeals to Trump to reverse sweeping new tariffs: The world’s richest person, a key Trump adviser and political donor, was ultimately unsuccessful.

Scientists claim to find 'first observational evidence supporting string theory,' which could finally reveal the nature of dark energy News By Andrey Feldman published: Physicists have proposed a new model of space-time that may provide the 'first observational evidence supporting string theory,' a new preprint suggests.

I’m a brain health expert. Here’s why shingles vaccines may fight dementia.: The findings could have implications for managing the large and growing burden of dementia.

Trump has left himself open to a powerful constitutional counterpunch: Trump’s government by spite opens an avenue to challenging his score-settling.

As egg prices soared at the supermarket, so did producer profits: A USDA program doled out hundreds of millions in relief payments to big egg companies, even as the largest earned record profits. - "By wiping out millions of laying hens, the avian flu has slowed egg production for many companies. But the outbreak also has driven up prices enough for some companies to recoup losses and, for Cal-Maine, to record exceptional profits. Cal-Maine’s financial reports show it has been able to more than triple its price for a dozen eggs, from about $1.30 before the outbreak to as high as $4.06, while its feed costs for producing an egg have been relatively stable.

"At the same time, Cal-Maine and other large egg companies have received tens of millions of dollars from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which has been doling out relief payments to help egg companies restock after the virus strikes."

Many lawyers who argue for Trump at Supreme Court are heading for the exit: At least half of the front-line attorneys in the solicitor general’s office plan to leave, people familiar with the matter said, as Trump’s emergency requests pile up at the high court.

Navarro’s absurd claim of $6 trillion in revenue from Trump’s tariffs: Basic economics shows the revenue would be at least half as much — and probably less than that. - "Six trillion is the administration’s new favorite number. That’s what Navarro claims will be the revenue raised by tariffs. That’s also the size of the tax cut package Trump is pushing through Congress. Navarro often suggests the tariff revenue will make up for the reduction in the taxes — though it also means that there would be a huge transfer of the burden of running the government from the wealthy (who will get most of the tax cuts) to the less wealthy (who buy most of the imported products). 

"The value of stocks traded on U.S. markets also fell $6 trillion in the first two days after Trump’s tariff announcement — but that’s probably just a coincidence."

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Reading archive 2025-04-08

Israel walks back its account of the killing of 15 medics in Gaza after video seems to contradict it

Trade Will Move On Without the United States: The tariffs will destroy another pillar of American power and leave a vacuum for others to fill. - "The results are unlikely to be what the administration anticipates. Some foreign companies may indeed respond to the tariffs by building factories in the U.S. to maintain their presence in a crucial market. But many others are simply too small, or too integrated into existing supply chains, to make that move. Where the millions of American workers will come from to screw together iPhones or make car parts is also a mystery, especially given the president's opposition to large-scale immigration. Factories in the U.S. are already struggling to find workers; the manufacturing sector has hundreds of thousands of vacant openings.

...

"Other countries long accepted U.S. leadership because they saw Washington as a proponent of global economic progress. The role Trump is choosing for the United States is not that. He may eventually roll back tariffs for those countries that negotiate with him, and he may even see this as a show of kingpin-like strength: Trump has already said that he'd be willing to reduce duties on China in return for a deal involving TikTok. But the erratic and arbitrary nature of the policies, and the willingness to exploit U.S. economic might to extort concessions, will undermine American standing nearly everywhere."

Why America’s Oligarchs May Regret Their Obedience: Putin’s Russia shows what happens when billionaire businessmen choose to back a strongman. - "Putin's regime offers a stark illustration of how democratic institutions can be hollowed out. Some of Trump's recent moves contain echoes of Kremlin strategy: canceling institutional checks in favor of loyalist appointments, attacking lawyers who work for opponents, demolishing independent agencies, feeding popular delusions of imperial greatness by threatening neighbors. The reforms of Musk's DOGE outfit are set to shift public goods into private hands."

Here Are the Places Where the Recession Has Already Begun: Towns near the Canadian border are suffering. - "He cannot buy feed from another supplier; there aren't any nearby, and getting it from farther away would be more expensive. When he got the delivery, he stared at the tariff for a while. Shouldn't his Canadian supplier have been responsible for paying it? 'I'm not even sure it's legal! We contracted for the price on delivery! If your price of fuel goes up or your truck breaks down, that's not my problem! That's what the contract's for.' 

"But the tariff was legal, and it was Gilbert's responsibility." [ed. note: lol eat shit]

The Cabinet Secretary Who Wants His Cookies Freshly Baked: The unusual requests made of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s staff are raising concerns all the way to the White House.

Defying the Courts Will Backfire: The public has not responded kindly to other politicians who have tried this in the past.

Trump Has Already Botched His Own Bad Tariff Plan: Once you’ve said you might negotiate, nobody is going to believe you when you change your mind and say you’ll never negotiate. - "The key to making it work was to convince businesses that the new arrangement is durable. Nobody is going to invest in building new factories in the United States to create goods that until last week could be imported more cheaply unless they’re certain that the tariffs making the domestic version more competitive will stay in place. (They’re probably not going to do it anyway, in part because they don’t know who will be president in four years, but the point is that confidence in durable tariffs is a necessary condition.)"

Wall Street Blew: It Investors discounted everything Trump has ever said about trade and tariffs. We’re all going to pay for that mistake. - "The U.S., for instance, buys agricultural products and basic manufactured goods from developing countries that don't have a big appetite for Boeing airplanes or Microsoft software. So those countries typically take the dollars they earn and buy U.S. government bonds, knowing that their money will be safe, instead of purchasing American goods. That creates a trade deficit, without anything sinister behind it. But for Trump, any trade deficit means that Americans are being played. And Trump hates few things in this world more than feeling that he's been played."

Trump to sign executive order to help dying U.S. coal industry: The president will direct agencies to boost coal leasing, mining and exports. But these steps are unlikely to usher in a coal renaissance. - "The executive order builds on moves the Trump administration has already taken. The Environmental Protection Agency last month began the process of dismantling restrictions on coal plants’ carbon emissions, mercury pollution and wastewater runoff. The Interior Department approved an expansion of a Montana coal mine, and the Bureau of Land Management is considering an 'emergency' lease to mine coal in North Dakota."

Who will tell Trump he’s naked?: The president’s advisers are falling over themselves trying to excuse tariffmageddon.

In the rain-soaked South, storms portend future ‘generational’ floods: Parts of Tennessee received 15 inches of rain. What happens when the next storm is worse?

MAGA Maoism is spreading through the populist right: A new conservative strain dreams of sending the bourgeoise to work the factories. - "But nostalgia is not a plan. It’s a mirror turned backward. Trump is not bringing back the dignity of work — he’s marketing the image of it. His tariffs won’t rebuild Bethlehem Steel. They won’t revive the coal towns. But they will make life more expensive for working people, while feeding the fantasy that somewhere out there, the old America still waits if you can just hurt the right people to get there."

After a Slow Start, High-Speed Rail Might Finally Arrive in America: True high-speed rail has not yet made it to the U.S., but that will change soon. Here are the projects currently being developed.

Ailing historic tree removed from White House grounds: The tree, known as the Jackson magnolia, was attributed to President Andrew Jackson, officials said.

Gun discharged inside backpack at Va. elementary school, police say: Spotsylvania County authorities said a gun went off while inside a third-grader’s backpack at Lee Hill Elementary School on Monday morning. No one was injured.

Palestinian American teen fatally shot by Israeli troops in West Bank village: American citizen Amer Rabee, 14, was fatally shot in the West Bank village of Turmus Ayya. The mayor said he had been picking green almonds with two friends.

44 percent of DC-area restaurants surveyed say they’re ‘likely to close’ by the end of this year

Monday, April 7, 2025

Reading archive 2025-04-07

The Good News About Trump’s Tariffs: Authoritarian leaders are most dangerous when they’re popular. Wrecking the economy is unlikely to broaden Trump’s support.

No Tariff Exemptions for American Farmers: They voted for the tariffs when they voted for Trump. - "On average, farm families earn higher total incomes than nonfarm families, and their debt-to-equity ratio is typically low.

...

"During the 2024 election campaign, Americans were told, in effect, that no sacrifice was too great to revive the domestic U.S. toaster-manufacturing industry. If that claim is true, then farmers should be proud to pay more and receive less, making the same sacrifice as any other American. 

"But if a farm family voted for Trump, believing that his policies were good, it seems strange that they would then demand that they, and only they, should be spared the full consequences of those policies. Tariffs are the dish that rural America ordered for everyone. Now the dish has arrived at the table. For some reason, they do not want to partake themselves or pay their share of the bill."

Amid anti-DEI push, National Park Service rewrites history of Underground Railroad: Since Trump took office, the park service —- an agency charged with preserving American history —- has changed how its website describes key moments from slavery to Jim Crow.

This common cause of bloating has nothing to do with food: Abdomino-phrenic dyssynergia may be to blame for frequent bloating in many people. There are ways to manage it and multiple causes.

D.C. needs housing. Why has it taken 25 years to build on this parking lot?: The parking lot near Metro’s Takoma station was slated for housing in 2000. Then came the neighborhood opposition that hasn’t stopped.

What I learned about ‘America First’ in a Pennsylvania steel mill: On the ground with U.S. Steel workers lobbying Trump to approve a foreign deal.

These recycling techniques could help keep clothes out of landfills: Researchers are experimenting with using static electricity and other techniques to separate the components of hard-to-recycle mixed fabrics.


Saturday, April 5, 2025

Reading archive 2025-04-04

D.C. police form new unit of detectives to focus on youth crime: The initiative is part of a broader effort to reduce recidivism, D.C. Police Chief Pamela A. Smith said at a news conference Thursday.

Attacker stabs 6 people and himself in Northeast D.C., police say: All of the six victims were in stable condition, authorities said. Their attacker was in surgery, police said.

She marched against Trump in 2017. Now, she says, ‘just let it all burn.’: Democrats are struggling to match the massive “resistance” movement that sprang up in Trump’s first term — and battling cynicism among their own voters.

Spurned by Trump, Europe and China weigh closer economic ties: Jilted European allies are scrambling to hedge their bets in a world where economic and political alliances have been turned upside down by the United States.

Rush hour on Rock Creek Parkway is dangerous. Will roundabouts help?: Officials say the reversible lanes, in place since the 1930s, are outdated and unsafe.

Trump seeks court approval for most aggressive union-busting attempt ever: The move to ban collective bargaining on national security grounds includes domestic agencies that use computers because foreign adversaries could hack them.

U.S. negotiators outmatched by Russians in Ukraine talks, analysts say: The Trump administration is claiming progress in its efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, but each side is interpreting the ceasefires differently and the fighting persists.

Friday, April 4, 2025

Reading archive 2025-04-03

Rats in ‘heaven’ as strike buries U.K. city in 19,000 tons of trash: Birmingham officials have declared a “major incident” as a sanitation-workers strike passes three weeks — with nearly 1,000 tons of garbage piling up each day.

EPA cuts could leave small rural towns choking in smoke: The EPA’s slashing of more than $1 billion in grant funding has hit hard in Western communities that have felt climate impacts from flooding, wildfire smoke and melting permafrost.

Canadian travel to U.S. is plummeting: ‘There’s a lot of anger’: One travel analytics firm projects 4 million fewer Canadians will visit the U.S. this year compared with 2024.

America was at its Trumpiest 100 years ago. Here’s how to prevent the worst.: During WWI, America lurched toward autocracy. Resistance was minimal. - "Warren G. Harding, who succeeded Wilson, was not one of our great presidents, but he stopped censorship and began releasing political prisoners, even inviting Debs to stop in at the White House on his way home. Harding said he enjoyed the Socialist leader’s company, and, privately, he told a friend that Debs was right: The United States should never have entered the war. The frenzy gradually died away, but it left behind a scarred country, tens of thousands of wrecked lives and police forces at every level accustomed to regarding dissent as treason. In 1923, when author Upton Sinclair began giving a speech in San Pedro, California, he was arrested while reading aloud the First Amendment."

Fear of fallout from Trump tariff plan puts some Republicans in tough spot: Steep new tariffs triggered a stock market sell-off Thursday, upping pressure on Republican lawmakers, some of whom are worried about the political fallout.

Trump’s Tariffs Are Designed to Backfire: Instead of leading to reduced trade barriers, the new global tariff plan is all but guaranteed to raise them. - "[Ed. insert: the tariff rates are based on net trade imbalance, not the target's tariff regime.] The result is that there is no clear or obvious path that countries could take to get those tariffs removed even if they wanted to. Countries can remove all of their trade restrictions and still run a trade surplus. South Korea, Mexico, and Canada, for example, export more to us than they import from us despite imposing virtually no trade barriers. As The New York Times reported, 'Trump’s decision to put a 32 percent tariff on Switzerland stunned politicians and business leaders in the Alpine country. Switzerland has an open trade policy and recently abolished all industrial tariffs, including on goods from the United States, which is also its largest export market.'

...

"What makes the new reciprocal tariffs all the more baffling is that a much less risky method exists to get other countries to agree to free trade. It is called a free-trade agreement. Trump ought to know. In his first term, his administration negotiated the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, or 'New NAFTA,' which lowered trade barriers between America and its neighbors while requiring all parties to abide by higher labor and environmental standards. The Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal negotiated by the Obama administration between the U.S. and 11 countries, including Vietnam, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia, would have done something similar if Trump hadn’t pulled the U.S. out of the deal upon entering office in 2017. Those are some of the same countries that he is now trying to tariff into submission. He would have been better off remembering the art of the deal."

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Reading archive 2025-04-02

The Weekend That Shook the World

This muggy city keeps cool with minimal AC. Here’s how.: Palava City, a 5,000-acre experimental community northeast of Mumbai, hopes to provide a model for adapting to a climate-transformed world.

The Evermaskers: The isolation of people who take precautions against COVID has only gotten more intense.

Russia’s Repression Goes South: A group of Russian exiles thought they would find freedom in Georgia. They were wrong.

How the Trump administration took aim at Maine: The acting head of the Social Security Administration called the state’s governor “disrespectful” and vowed there would be consequences.

Head of African American Museum on leave as Smithsonian faces Trump pressure: Kevin Young, an acclaimed poet who was named director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2021, is on personal leave for an “undetermined period,” according to an email obtained by The Post.

White House studying cost of Greenland takeover, long in Trump’s sights: It’s the most concrete effort yet to turn President Donald Trump’s desire to acquire the Danish territory into actionable policy, despite widespread international outrage.

Karen Read is back on trial for murder. Here’s what to know.: Read, accused of killing her boyfriend, alleges she was framed as part of a police cover-up. She is being retried after her first case ended in a mistrial.

How to make your seasonal allergies a little less miserable: Take allergy medicine a few weeks before pollen counts rise to get ahead of the congestion, sneezing and runny nose, experts say - "Despite claims online, there’s no evidence a spoonful of local honey will treat your seasonal pollen allergies, experts said. 

The honey might help to soothe a sore throat or cough, but not treat the allergic reaction. 'The pollen that’s actually in honey is not the pollen you’re allergic to,' Rubin said. 'Plants you’re allergic to are wind-pollinated, not insect-pollinated.'"

Air traffic controller charged with assaulting colleague in DCA tower: A work dispute led to an altercation between employees in the control tower at Reagan National Airport on Thursday night, people familiar with the matter say.

Trump says he’s already scored more business deals than Biden. That’s false.: The White House is comparing apples and oranges.

Farmers bewildered after USDA suggests cutting DEI from energy projects: The Agriculture Department said it would release funds withheld from farmers for months but also suggested they alter projects to align with Trump’s agenda.

You’re probably not cleaning these 11 very germy spots: Don’t worry. Once you know about them, they’re easy to take care of.

Trump administration says it mistakenly deported Salvadoran migrant: The government blamed “an administrative error” for the deportation of Kilmar Abrego García, a Salvadoran immigrant married to a U.S. citizen. Officials claim they’re unable to return him to his family in Maryland.

As Trump shakes trust in U.S., a hub for F-16 fighter jets braces for impact: Booming exports turned a South Carolina city into the “Global Home of the F-16.” Slipping foreign demand among angry allies could hurt that economic engine.

These old Roman buildings could unlock how to build in a warming world: The recycled buildings of Rome, long dismissed by architects, are getting a reappraisal as a model for how to reduce waste while creating something fresh.

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

Reading archive 2025-04-01

Trump voters in the federal government are torn over his job cuts: A majority of these voters said they agree in concept with the cuts. But many in interviews said they are overwhelmed by the breakneck pace of changes and concerned about their impact on government services. - "Trump-voting federal workers in interviews said they want to see the Trump administration eliminate waste, fraud and abuse but don’t see themselves as part of that problem."

Massive layoffs, purge of leadership underway at U.S. health agencies: The move comes after Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s announcement of a sweeping reduction of the Department of Health and Human Services.

D.C. Council to vote on measure to close some meetings to the public: The bill would make it easier for legislators to meet with the mayor privately and allow them to close meetings to the public to discuss negotiations, among other measures. - "Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) defended the overall premise of the change, but he also proposed an amendment that would limit the scope of the emergency bill to apply just to the council and narrow the scope of the exception for 'confidential negotiations' to economic development negotiations and discussions about federal government relations."

Elon Musk visits the CIA to discuss DOGE cuts CIA: Director John Ratcliffe invited the billionaire to the spy headquarters in Langley, Virginia, on the same day that a federal judge blocked the agency from firing 17 employees in DEI roles. - "Foreign spy services are constantly trolling for personnel who have been laid off by intelligence agencies on the chance that they, whether disgruntled or out of financial need, might be duped or lured into working for them."

Why did Cory Booker spend the night speaking on the Senate floor?: The New Jersey Democrat is speaking in protest of the Trump administration’s policies. He is not delaying the Senate from a vote, so it is not a filibuster.

Former D.C. Council member, expelled after bribery charge, seeks reelection: Trayon White, who has pleaded not guilty to a federal bribery charge, is seeking his seat back after the D.C. Council removed him from it in February.

Grandson accused of killing 87-year-old retired doctor in her Potomac home: The suspect, Spencer Dillon Hamilton, 27, was ordered by a judge Monday to undergo a psychiatric exam

Another ‘shock’ is coming for American jobs: Millions of workers will need to shift careers. Our country is unprepared.

Taking a closer look at vitamin D’s role in gut health: Health-care providers often recommend meeting your vitamin D requirements through food rather than sun exposure.

E.U. weighs targeting big U.S. tech firms in response to Trump tariffs: European officials are worried that measures against companies like Google and Meta could escalate the trade war, but they say Trump has shifted the goalposts.