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Paul Waldman

@paulwaldman.bsky.social

Columnist for MSNOW, Public Notice. Formerly: Washington Post, The Week, American Prospect. Subscribe to my newsletter! The Cross Section: paulwaldman.substack.com

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Paul Waldman@paulwaldman.bsky.social · 2d ago

Dudes learning martial arts, I beg you, be the "I feel healthy and confident, and fighting in real life is for losers" kind of martial artist, and not the "Now I'm ready to fight! That will solve all the issues I developed as an adolescent!" kind of martial artist. Be the better kind of man.

Dan of the Year@downwithdan.bsky.social · 2d ago

He will never understand that being "the fat guy from Superbad" is infinitely better than being "the martial arts chud nobody likes"

Jonah Hill says jiu jitsu has him ready to "annihilate" anyone who still sees him as the fat guy from Superbad "I love Brazilian jiu jitsu, except my body is begging me not to love it. My wife is often like, 'You're not going to become a professional fighter. You know that, right? You're a comedian" "If we got into it, I would f*ck you up. I would f*ck all three of you up" "My favorite thing is people are like, 'Oh, Jonah Hill, f*cking fat guy from Superbad.' And I'm like, 'I would f*cking annihilate you, dude. I'm not kidding you. Try it. If you see me, try it, dude. Bring it. Who's got it?'" SMARTLESS Sirius?
Paul Waldman@paulwaldman.bsky.social · 4d ago

Not only that, Clinton let some big DNC donors spend a night in the White House and Republicans said it was the most corrupt thing that had ever happened in the history of the republic and made it into a months-long scandal

Allison Gill@muellershewrote.com · 5d ago

I remember when Bill Clinton met with the Attorney General for three minutes when Hillary was being investigated for mishandling classified information, and the republicans cried bloody murder. Now, the AG nominee is covering for pedophiles and that seems okay. WHAT THE FUCK?

Paul Waldman@paulwaldman.bsky.social · 5d ago

Burgum should never be allowed to go on TV again without being asked: "You repeatedly went on TV and told obvious lies about mythical 'vandalism' of the Reflecting Pool when everyone knew it was a botched repair job. Now that the administration has admitted the truth, would you like to apologize?"

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last mo.

BASH: But it peeled off. Why did that happen? BURGUM: It didn't peel off. There was vandalism. There was box cutters. There have been 7 arrests. BASH: There are photographs of people cutting a 350 foot gash in the reflecting pool? BURGUM: Dana, I'm not sure why you keep questioning it

James Fallows@jfallows.bsky.social · 6d ago

Let me tell you, having chronicled Pentagon-style war game on attacking Iran nearly 25 yr ago, every single "surprise," "darkening turn," "narrowing option," spreading warfare," "rising casualties," "no easy exit," etc that comes drip-by-drip is EXACTLY why GHWB WJC GWB OBAMA BiDEN did NOT do this

From page full of headlines about things going to hell in Iran.
Chuck Wendig@chuckwendig.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Everything is bad, but books are good. Get a book. Read the book. Cherish the book. Finish the book. Tell your friends about the book, and leave a review of the book. Hold the book close. Listen to what it tells you. Do as it commands. Place it on the dread altar and let it guide your every choice.

Paul Waldman@paulwaldman.bsky.social · last wk.

All the centrists shouting "Don't vote for the left or we're doomed!" every time a DSA candidate does well in a primary might give some thought to why the centrist candidates they support do so poorly. If the centrists can't find dynamic candidates who can persuade voters, maybe that's on them.

Poll Tracker 📊@polltracker.bsky.social · last wk.

Wisconsin Governor primary 2026 (Marquette Law School): Francesca Hong 38% Mandela Barnes 16% David Crowley 7% Kelda Roys 2% Joel Brennan 2%

Paul Waldman@paulwaldman.bsky.social · last wk.

It's remarkable how easy it is to get national news coverage for yet another "Dems must move to the center to get back in touch with the working class!" report based on the most laughably tendentious poll you've ever seen. [1/5] www.npr.org/2026/07/29/n...

To win over working-class voters, Democrats need to stop talking about democracy

Working-class voters have moved away from the Democratic Party. Winning them back is key to the party's future, a new reports shows. But first, the messaging has to change.

npr.org

Paul Waldman@paulwaldman.bsky.social · last wk.

I've always had a vaguely libertarian-ish, do-what-you-want-as-long-as-you-aren't-hurting-anyone-else approach to vice, but gambling is a poison and it's swallowing our society. We should go back to illegal numbers games and seedy backroom poker parlors. At least that way it was contained.

Catherina Gioino@catgioino.bsky.social · last wk.

I wrote about how much Americans wagered on sports betting in 2025 and how it’s more than they spent on movies, art, museums and music combined. Read my article @fortunemagazine.bsky.social fortune.com/2026/07/26/g...

Paul Waldman@paulwaldman.bsky.social · last wk.

A case study in how Dems are bad at capitalizing on scandal If the parties were reversed Rs would be screaming "SHE NEEDS TO RESIGN AND CRIMINAL CHARGES SHOULD BE BROUGHT!" Then reporters would ask her if she's going to resign, the scandal becomes a big story, etc. But that's not how Dems play it.

emptywheel@emptywheel.bsky.social · last wk.

CBS reports that Ashley Moody did precisely what the entire GOP has accused Tim Walz of doing -- and yet, somehow, that crack fraud task force has not arrested the GOP nominee for Senate. www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/f...

As Florida Attorney General, it was Moody and her office that approved the diversion of $10 million of taxpayer money to the Hope Florida Foundation. And the Attorney General did so without placing any of the safeguards or guardrails her office would typically require to make sure the money was properly spent. These funds were intended to expand Medicaid for children in Florida, but instead they ended up in the bank accounts of a pair of political action committees, one of which was controlled by the governor and his chief of staff, James Uthmeier. And that was the money that DeSantis used to defeat Amendment 3. Amendment 3 garnered 56% of the vote in November 2024, just shy of the 60% needed to pass. And two months after the amendment failed, DeSantis appointed Moody to the United States Senate, and he appointed Uthmeier to replace Moody as attorney general. The diversion of $10 million from a Medicaid settlement into the Hope Florida Foundation and then into the political action committees fighting Amendment 3 was uncovered through a series of legislative hearings in 2025 in the Florida House. And it prompted one Republican legislator to call it a criminal act. "This is a misuse of Medicaid money," Republican State Rep. Alex Andrade told CBS Miami in August 2025. "This is money laundering."
Paul Waldman@paulwaldman.bsky.social · last wk.

1. Rural voters elect Republicans 2. Republicans destroy services for rural areas, making life worse for their constituents 3. Election time: "Vote GOP to fight transgender elitist illegal alien snooty professors who think they're better 'n you!" 4. Rural voters elect Republicans 5. Rinse, repeat

19thnews@19thnews.org · last wk.

Democratic candidates in competitive races are hoping that anger over labor and delivery unit closures will prompt voters to reject the Republican lawmakers who helped enact President Trump's tax-and-spending law, which contained nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid.