Reading archive 2025-08-25

These House Democrats seek a new middle ground on immigration: The New Democratic Coalition unveiled a plan to win back voters on immigration but they need the party’s support.

The House Freedom Caucus is under renovation: The far-right caucus is losing several of its most prominent members, creating an opening for new leaders and new approaches.

Pentagon plans military deployment in Chicago as Trump eyes crackdown: Military officials are sketching out a plan that could deploy a few thousand National Guard members, officials said. The use of active-duty forces has also been discussed.

Jeanine Pirro has joined Trump in attacking D.C.’s crime laws. Many experts doubt her claims

American housing policy needs a gut rehab: Housing starts improved in July, but people are not moving because rates and prices remain too high.

At 50, ‘Tuck Everlasting’ has withstood the test of time: On the 50th anniversary of Natalie Babbitt’s novel, I finally finished the book and have a whole new appreciation for the author and work

The Intel deal is a mistake: We cannot beat China by acting like it.

How an alcohol-fueled street fight turned into a conservative cause: The brawl in downtown Cincinnati has sparked debate about policing and bail reform. - "Cincinnati, which 2020 Census data puts at 47 percent White and 40 percent Black, has been rocked by high-profile racial incidents in recent months. In February, residents of a historically Black suburb confronted a neo-Nazi group displaying swastikas and distributing Ku Klux Klan fliers in their community. Residents have since established an armed patrol group of their neighborhood. In May, the father of a Black teen shot and killed by Cincinnati police fatally struck a Hamilton County sheriff’s deputy with his car the day after his son’s death, according to authorities."

Philadelphia transit hits ‘death spiral.’ More cities could follow.: Across Philadelphia and its suburbs, commuters are bracing for a dramatic reduction in public transit after state lawmakers were unable to agree on funding.

On screens and in games, Taiwan acts out a Chinese invasion: With the prospect of a Chinese invasion generating growing anxiety, Taiwan’s entertainment industry is tackling the sensitive subject through TV shows and games.

National Guard troops are in D.C. We went to see what they’re up to.: While some see the more than 2,200 National Guard members in the District as an extra layer of security, others question their utility.

DOGE Targeted Him on Social Media. Then the Taliban Took His Family.: Afghan scholar Mohammad Halimi, who fled the Taliban in 2021, had worked to help U.S. diplomats understand his homeland. Then DOGE put his family’s lives at risk by exposing his sensitive work for a U.S.-funded nonprofit. - "They rifled through other USIP files, spotlighting expenditures they used to publicly embarrass the institute. On Fox, DOGE also bragged about uncovering payments for 'private jets,' when, in fact, records show that USIP chartered a single plane for an evacuation mission out of a war zone for its staff. Cavanaugh did not answer a question about the assertion." [ed. note: among many other lies]

New GOP bill is latest push to extend federal control of D.C. police: The bill joins others from Republican legislators aiming to grant the federal government extended power over D.C. police. - "Committed partisans are always tempted to find evidence, however dubious, that being more hard-line is the path to political victory. It happens to people of all political descriptions. In recent years, though, Democrats have been especially prone to political misjudgments of this kind. 

"Sanders’s strong primary challenge to Hillary Clinton in 2016, for example, was taken as a sign that democratic socialism had a bright political future, when it was really a sign that she was an unappealing candidate. His strong performance with White working-class voters in that contest evaporated the next time he ran, when he was no longer a protest vote against Clinton."

A reality check for NPR stations in Trump country: Will rural affiliates see through the politicization and adopt a more all-embracing approach? [ed. note: dumb]

The Culture War Over Nothing: Is anyone actually mad about sorority-rush dances?

MAGA World Is So Close to Getting It: Gavin Newsom’s parodies are riling people up—and they don’t quite seem to understand why. - "As it turns out, the people who pioneered the slogan 'Fuck your feelings' are impossibly delicate souls."

The Real Reason American Socialists Don’t Win: Only part of the left’s most promising political party even wants to win elections or come to power. - "Moreover, some incidents at the convention cast serious doubt on DSA's commitment to the 'democratic' part of its title. For example, the convention rejected an amendment to a resolution declaring that DSA stood 'against all governments that engage in the repression of democratic rights.'"

Reading archive 2025-07-23

In hearing, developer told to rework plans to downsize D.C. grocery store: By early next week, Jair Lynch needs to rethink its request to downsize a grocery store it plans to build in a new Northwest Washington neighborhood.

Pressure heats up on D.C. Council to hold vote on RFK Stadium deal: D.C. lawmakers have said for weeks that they are doing their due diligence on the $3.7 billion dollar deal, and expect to approve it - just not as fast as everyone wants.

The ‘World’s Smartest Man’ Absolutely Hates Me: With an apparent score of 276, YoungHoon Kim claims to have the highest IQ on the planet. Just don’t ask him to prove it.

House Republicans eye restrictions on D.C. traffic safety, abortion and more: The proposed federal spending bill comes as President Donald Trump again publicly muses about taking over the city.

Try these hidden ‘NOPE’ buttons to stop AI content: How to turn off AI in Google and DuckDuckGo web search results -- plus a no-AI nuclear option.

"If he failed, their process failed": Inside the NFLPA meltdown

How strategists think about keeping the peace in the Taiwan Strait: In 1914, the world stumbled into a war that hurt all combatants. Is it on the same path now?

I’m a microplastics researcher. Here’s how I limit the plastic in my life.: Microplastics are everywhere. But there are simple ways to lower your exposure.

Ukraine’s top commander asks Trump to help take the war to Russia: With Trump now open to supplying U.S.-made weapons to Ukraine, Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky calls for longer-range missiles and the permission to use them against Russia.

China’s strategy? Let Trump cook.: As President Donald Trump dismantles U.S. soft power and launches trade wars with allies, China is content to sit back and watch. - "'The United States, in their view, is dismantling its alliance relationships and alienating much of the world,' Gewirtz told the Wire China. 'It is dismantling aspects of the U.S. science and technology ecosystem, cutting funding to some of our great universities, and making it very unappealing, if not outright impossible, for foreign talent to come do research in those universities. And it is eliminating arms of U.S. influence around the world, from USAID to Voice of America. China’s view is that the United States is, in a sense, unilaterally disarming.'

...

"[Economic historian]Tooze argued that the Americans have 'dropped the ball' here and the consequences will be vast. 'This is the material dethroning of the West as the central driver of world history,' he said. 'This is really what the provincialization of the West really looks like.'"

The Wrecking of the FBI The former FBI official Peter Strzok on how President Donald Trump is destroying U.S. counterintelligence from the inside. - "But they thought they had a deal. Bracket Trump, leave Trump out of the story, and Trump in turn would license them to go on a hunting expedition against all the people they really hated. A long list of liberal icons, people like—people whom they dislike for other reasons who were in the Epstein network. If Trump would just—they would stand back from Trump and he would then deliver to them justice against their ideological and other kinds of opponents. They’re mad, these people, because Trump reneged on that deal. In order to protect himself, he ended up protecting a lot of other people, too, or so people in MAGA world who are excited about this issue believe that this has been taken away from them. And for some of the people who are the loudest influencers, losing the Epstein file, having Donald Trump say, There are no records, there’s nothing to see here, everybody stand down, that’s not just a threat to their belief system. For many of them, it’s a threat to their livelihoods. For a lot of influencers, Epstein was central to their engagement strategies, very lucrative engagement strategies, and they now have the choice: If they accept the Donald Trump edict—if they say, Okay, we’ll stand down, as President Trump says—then what do they do for engagement?

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"This is a chronic—I think, going back to the 9/11 analogy, one of the things that happened after 9/11 was the decision was made to harden cockpit doors. What if somebody, a year and a half or two years before 9/11 said, You know, why don’t we harden the cockpit doors? Why don’t we do that? See how that maybe that would be an improvement. And they did it. We would probably now be studying that hardening of cockpit doors as an example of government waste. Right? 

"Strzok: Yes. 

"Frum: We hardened all the cockpit doors. It cost all this money. No one ever tried it. Nothing ever happened. Why did we ever do that in the first place? What a waste of time and money. Government overregulation hardening cockpit doors. This is the great injustice of government. No one ever knows what’s behind door number two, the thing that didn’t happen, the thing that you prevented."

How to Be More Charismatic, but Not Too Much More: It turns out that being charming has a happy mean.

What to Do With the Most Dangerous Book in America: At a perilous American moment, the Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro explains why he wanted to read The Turner Diaries.

This Is the Presidency John Roberts Has Built: The country is witnessing the creation of an all-powerful institution, and one man is responsible. - "Roberts has all but made at-will removal the president's constitutionally guaranteed prerogative, and his rhetoric goes further yet. His opinions taken together create a dangerously authoritarian and largely ahistorical narrative about the constitutional presidency."

What Trump’s Feud With Jerome Powell Is Really About: The president doesn’t think the Federal Reserve chair is bad at his job. He objects to the job itself. - "The Federal Reserve's assignment is to steward the long-term interests of the U.S. economy even at the occasional expense of short-term pain by balancing the twin objectives of suppressing inflation and managing the unemployment rate. Trump, however, believes that the Fed's objective should be to speed up the economy under Republican administrations and slow it down under Democratic ones. To the extent that the central bank balances unemployment and inflation, he would like to see the pain of high unemployment shifted onto Democratic administrations so that Republican ones can benefit from rapid economic growth."

Reading archive 2024-09-09

More Black Americans are certain to vote for Harris, Post-Ipsos poll finds: The shift is concentrated among younger Black Americans, especially younger women. - "'She’s a woman, she’s Black, and I like her. I genuinely think that means something for this country,' said Broaden, 24, a beauty adviser and freelance artist from Omaha. 'I’d rather vote for something I strongly believe in rather than voting in spite of someone.'

"So when Broaden was recently filling out her Medicaid renewal form, she checked the box that would also register her to vote — and plans to cast a ballot for Harris in November. [ed. note: lol lol lol]

...

"Lafayette Cates, 42, a software engineer from Philadelphia, said he voted for Trump in 2020 and plans to do so this year, because he feels that Harris doesn’t fully understand the needs of Black Americans who are descendants of enslaved people. Harris’s father was born in Jamaica; her mother was from India.

"'She doesn’t come from a background similar to the majority of Black Americans, so I don’t think she can be an effective leader,' he said. 'She doesn’t face what the majority of African Americans face'”" [ed. note: White supremacy in blackface]

The angry, divisive fallout of the Trump shooting in Butler County: The assassination attempt has pitted Democrats and Republicans against each other in a way that one historian calls “outright frightening.”

Opinion Terrorism warning lights are ‘blinking red again.’ This group is a big reason.: Now is no time for U.S. troop withdrawals from troubled areas.

This is the best privacy setting that almost no one is using: You have options to click one box to order companies not to blab your personal data. California might soon require it by law.

Trump pledges to jail opponents, baselessly suggests election will be stolen from him: The former president’s latest threats, made in a social media post, represent the most overt signal yet that he will not accept the result in November if he loses.

Trump reiterates: There will be blood: With his “bloody” comment about an immigration crackdown, Trump keeps toying with the idea of righteous violence — even after Jan. 6 and an assassination attempt against him.

I’m a gastroenterologist. Here’s the surprising truth about gluten.: Many of my patients report uncomfortable symptoms after eating gluten. But the trigger is often a larger group of foods known as fermentable carbohydrates, or FODMAPs.

Water buffalo escapes slaughter, evades police, becomes local celebrity: “Let him be free! He’s cheated death at least twice! He’s earned it!” a business owner wrote in a Facebook post about PHill.

D.C. officer’s murder case stokes debate over U.S. police prosecutions: Sentencing of first D.C. officer convicted of murder for actions on duty highlights U.S. attorney’s push for civil rights prosecutions in the nation’s capital. - "Judges have balked at some prosecutor choices. Foreshadowing the debate in Sutton’s case, U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols questioned the severity of offenses by Mark L. Clark, 57, a former veteran D.C. officer convicted of using illegal chokeholds against two young men in separate incidents in July 2018, and sentenced him to six months prison instead of the five years sought by the government. 

"'If a … civilian did that to another civilian and did what Mr. Clark did here, they would get no-papered over at D.C. Superior Court,' Nichols said in May, meaning charges would have been dropped in local court because neither victim was permanently injured. 'Because police officers perform critical services for our communities … we do not want officers looking over their shoulders when they are on the streets caring for us,' Nichols said."

Family of man slain by D.C. police decides to release body-cam footage: Relatives of Justin Robinson, 26, hesitated at first, their lawyer said, but ultimately decided to let the public see his final moments. - "D.C. police fatally shot Robinson, 26, shortly after 5:30 a.m. on Sept. 1 after they found him unresponsive in a car that had crashed into a McDonald’s in the 2500 block of Marion Barry Avenue SE, authorities said. D.C. Police Chief Pamela A. Smith said at a news conference that officers found Robinson with a gun on his lap. After officers confronted him, she said, he “began moving inside the vehicle,” picked up his weapon at one point, and 'grabbed' an officer’s gun through his open car window."

D.C. AG sues landlord for ‘horrendous’ conditions in subsidized housing scheme: A D.C. landlord has been profiting from rental assistance programs while subjecting low-income residents to dangerous conditions, according to two lawsuits.

D.C. Council member Trayon White formally indicted on bribery charges: The two-term council member stands accused of accepting roughly $35,000 in cash bribes from an associate.

Police charge 16-year-old as adult in fatal Maryland high school shooting: Jaylen Rashawn Prince was arrested about 20 minutes after the shooting at Joppatowne High School.

Former D.C. schools employee indicted on bribery, conspiracy charges: The 60-year-old Maryland resident faces 16 felony counts. Three alleged co-conspirators have pleaded guilty.

Two D.C. men sentenced in random, fatal shooting of college-bound teen: Jamahri Sydnor was killed in 2017 while driving her nephew home from the barbershop as gang members began firing into a busy Northeast intersection.

Opinion The teenage woods Beautiful, moody, indifferently cruel? Welcome to Maine’s Appalachian Trail.

Pond Scum: Henry David Thoreau’s moral myopia. - "The real Thoreau was, in the fullest sense of the word, self-obsessed: narcissistic, fanatical about self-control, adamant that he required nothing beyond himself to understand and thrive in the world. From that inward fixation flowed a social and political vision that is deeply unsettling. It is true that Thoreau was an excellent naturalist and an eloquent and prescient voice for the preservation of wild places. But 'Walden' is less a cornerstone work of environmental literature than the original cabin porn: a fantasy about rustic life divorced from the reality of living in the woods, and, especially, a fantasy about escaping the entanglements and responsibilities of living among other people.

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"Although Thoreau is often regarded as a kind of cross between Emerson, John Muir, and William Lloyd Garrison, the man who emerges in 'Walden' is far closer in spirit to Ayn Rand: suspicious of government, fanatical about individualism, egotistical, élitist, convinced that other people lead pathetic lives yet categorically opposed to helping them. It is not despite but because of these qualities that Thoreau makes such a convenient national hero."

When Thoreau Went Nuts on Maine’s Mt. Katahdin

On social media, a bullied teen found fame among child predators worldwide: From his bedroom in Texas, Bradley Cadenhead, then 15, founded an online group that federal authorities say pressures vulnerable children to commit violent or degrading acts.

Reading archive 2023-11-03

Famed climate scientist has a new, dire prediction: Some scientists question the new study, which asserts that Earth is warming faster than previously estimated

Students hated ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’ Their teachers tried to dump it.: Four progressive teachers in Washington’s Mukilteo School District wanted to protect students from a book they saw as outdated and harmful. The blowback was fierce. - "Chaitna Deshmukh, a Mukilteo graduate, said she thinks 'To Kill a Mockingbird' fails to address the complex racial reality of 21st-century America." [ed. note: what single text does or even can?]

As Hong Kong stood up for democracy, a neighborhood was brutalized

Seriously, why aren’t millennials having kids?: Also, with birthrates plunging, why aren’t there more only children?

John Fetterman unleashed: ‘I’ve already been dead once’: After being treated for depression, the senator is finally having fun – and taking aim at some Democrats

Carjackings prompt finger-pointing and criticisms among D.C. officials: Mayor Muriel Bowser inaccurately described a youth’s criminal record, court records show

Grieving and angry, Maine residents demand change after mass killing

Opinion  Is the House GOP about to give Putin a pat on the back for his barbarism?

‘You just gaslit her’: How Dean Phillips’s first town hall went off the rails in N.H.

How Gaza’s tunnel network leaves Israel facing ‘three-dimensional’ war

Why Do Young Americans Support Hamas? Look at TikTok.: The app is digital fentanyl made by China. And it is brainwashing our youth against the country and our allies, argues Rep. Mike Gallagher.

Wild Horses Are Terrible for the West: They’re scourges, not symbols, of wilderness. - The herds are increasing at a fast clip, and the native biota has already suffered greatly. By shunning our responsibility to control feral horse herds like those found in the Salt River, we are delaying the inevitable, passing the difficult decisions down to the next generation, who will have to do the dirty work we refused, and without the chance to save the native species we abandoned. The Forest Service’s only mistake was waiting this long to attempt removal; anyone who truly values nature, the deserts, and their native species will support the relocation of feral horses from the Salt River Basin and everywhere else they are causing damage.

Reading archive 2022-07-06

As some Democrats grow impatient with Biden, alternative voices emerge: More Democrats are frustrated at Biden’s caution in what they consider a moment of crisis, and figures like Newsom and Pritzker are showcasing a sharper approach

Tennessee judges dismiss Jewish couple’s lawsuit alleging religious bias in adoption: Americans United for Separation of Church & State plans to appeal 2-1 ruling which states that law in question ‘does not single out people of the Jewish faith’

The battle that will determine the future of American passenger rail: Amtrak has money to expand, but it doesn’t own the railroad tracks. A stalled effort along the Gulf Coast is a test of its ability to grow. - "Amtrak set up cameras along the route as hearings were carried out this spring, live-streaming empty tracks and birds singing in the background under the title 'CSX’s Very Busy Gulf Coast Corridor.' 

"Days earlier, Amtrak had argued that freight companies wanted unreasonable investments from the passenger rail and for taxpayers to subsidize infrastructure for the benefit of their shareholders. CSX and Norfolk Southern leaders blasted Amtrak as trying to force itself onto their rails without consideration for the effects on freight customers."

Former White House counsel Cipollone to testify before Jan. 6 committee: The agreement to provide testimony on Friday follows a subpoena last week by the committee

Bette Midler and Macy Gray upset trans advocates. Here’s why. - "In recent guidance shared on Twitter, the Trans Journalists Association wrote: 'It is unnecessary to avoid the word ‘women’ by substituting phrases like 'birthing people,' 'people with uteruses,' and the like. This language can offend both transgender and cisgender people.' 

"Gill-Peterson sees the furor over language such as 'birthing people' as a 'sort of attempt to drive a wedge' between groups that are actually aligned in their goal of protecting bodily autonomy and self-determination: 'Sometimes these language games are actually a way of further delegitimizing everyone involved.'"

After invasion of Ukraine, a reckoning on Russian influence in Austria

Neil Gaiman’s Books Have Enchanted Millions. Finally, Hollywood Is on Board.: ‘The Sandman’ and other morally complicated Gaiman creations are finding their way to screens — just when we need them most

Hackers claim they breached data on 1 billion Chinese citizens: The leak, if authenticated, would be one of the largest in history, but many victims may never learn of it because of government censors