Trump could win because he gave supporters plausible deniability (to themselves, if not to outsiders). He's putting on a show, messing with the media, trolling the left, that's just the way he talks, seriously but not literally, etc. Vance's unabashed, creepy white nationalism doesn't have that.

As a media story it’s interesting, but easy to explain. Podcast/YouTube “IDW” chats, but on TV. Direct through line of Bari Weiss using her position at NYT to say these are the voices you should be listening to more, then using her position at CBS to say the same about the same people and topics. View quoted note →

When Google search launched, people didn’t need to be berated into it. There was no “you better figure out some way to use this.” People just tried it, quickly saw it directed them to information they sought and helped them navigate the internet, and kept going back to use it more. Just sayin’.

The current US govt’s position that the big war Russia started and perpetuates isn’t Russia’s fault, and that Russia deserves territorial gains and other concessions for it. Gabbard publicly pushing Russian propaganda is bad, but one of the less damaging things she can do. What’s behind the scenes?

Try this instead: I was wrong. I overstated narrow election results, underappreciating how many Trump voters didn’t believe he’d do what he said. I miscast fascists and oligarchs gaining political power as a popular cultural shift. I got some of this on X, failing to recognize it’s skewed that way.”

The gall to treat the 2024 election like it was a binding referendum on American culture, a lasting “vibe shift” to which others must accommodate, then within a year proclaim the cultural change over, as if a bystander, not an active contributor manufacturing vibe shifts by overdetermining results.

US seized another tanker carrying Venezuelan oil, this one not already on the sanctions list for Russian oligarchs and Iran. Panamanian flagged and belongs to a legal, China-based oil trader. Unclear what US will do with the cargo, but this looks like at least a partial blockade, an act of war.

This is pretty basic, but “you won your Congressional district by a smaller margin than the presidential candidate won it” is not a rebuttal to “here’s a bunch of facts that show why your argument about the politics of climate policy is wrong.” To rebut it, you have to address it, such as with data.

REVEALED: Picture of Bill Clinton hanging out with a serial sex offender. https://inkcap.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:756gaaeewovgn4axja34ajne&cid=bafkreihwir2yqodsyhnkh6wxnvnkfodclm6fynbquogo547cgbexn6ancu

My seven-year-old has been able to identify pictures of an elephant for years. Even knows what noise they make. And he hasn’t prided himself on that ability in a while.