"In Beijing, a think tank at Renmin University recently published an assessment titled 'Thank Trump,' which wryly hailed his efforts to hasten the 'twilight of an empire,' by undermining America’s alliances, civil service, scientific institutions, and democratic credibility."

Rick Weinmeyer@rickweinmeyer.bsky.social · 20h ago

Trump is running around the Oval Office with a hot glue gun, putting up gold tack. China, however, is rising. It produces 70% of the "world’s drones, electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries & solar cells. . . . and, in medicine, it has surpassed the US in the number of registered clinical trials."

Trump is running around the Oval Office with a hot glue gun, putting up gold tack. China, however, is rising. It produces 70% of the "world’s drones, electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries & solar cells. . . . and, in medicine, it has surpassed the US in the number of registered clinical trials."

The Future, Made in China

Beijing is competing with the U.S. for tech supremacy. Who wins will have huge political implications.

newyorker.com

My home state has been through a brutal year. Time to pick a strong Democratic candidate. And then everyone can enjoy the State Fair.

The New York Times@nytimes.com · 21h ago

In @nytopinion.nytimes.com It has been a brutal year in Minnesota. Democrats there will soon choose between two candidates for Senate. Times Opinion asked eight experts to weigh in on the primary.

A nice commentary by @doritreiss.bsky.social. "I have said before and will say again that we are not treating people claiming harms from COVID-19 vaccines properly. If they can prove their case, they deserve access to fast, generous compensation."

COMMENTARY: It’s time to fix vaccine injury compensation

cidrap.umn.edu

SANITATION!!

The New York Times@nytimes.com · yesterday

After 14 years, New York City has returned to slapping bright “stickers of shame” on cars that do not move for street sweepers. nyti.ms/4z3xFOe

"I’m a big, big cat, and I need a tasty treat. Daddy Cinnamon wants all the kibble."

Trump Baselessly Claims He Is Viral 40-Pound Tabby Cat Named Daddy Cinnamon

WASHINGTON—Promoting the unfounded assertion in an effort to improve his polling, President Donald Trump baselessly claimed during a White House press conference Monday that he was a viral 40-pound ta...

theonion.com

"Blanche lamented that the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict abortion are 'taking longer than we want' but said the Justice Department was 'working hand in hand' with federal health agencies and the White House 'so that the Dobbs decision becomes permanent in every single state.'"

Alice Miranda Ollstein@alicemiranda.bsky.social · 2d ago

NEW from @joshgerstein.bsky.social & me: As his confirmation to lead DOJ hung by a thread last week, acting AG Todd Blanche told faith leaders on a private call that he was preparing to take action to roll back abortion access nationwide. www.politico.com/news/2026/08...

More and more people are becoming uninsured because the refusal of Republicans to extend Obamacare subsidies, and actions by the Trump administration to, allegedly, address "fraud." More uninsured --> Unpaid health care services --> Higher health care costs for everyone

Uninsured Patients Rise Sharply, Hospitals Report, Citing Obamacare Cuts

More people who lost coverage after congressional Republicans ended enhanced federal subsidies are now seeking care in emergency rooms and unable to pay bills.

nytimes.com

I can't believe it's already July.

Along with this piece, I feel like a democrat could make a lot of hay going after the "little epsteins"

The Porn Addicts Who Tried to Rescue the Camgirls

How a community of porn addicts tried to rescue the teenage camgirls they worshipped from the clutches of a violent webcam pimp.

thecut.com

David Roberts@volts.wtf · 4d ago

However horrible you think the Tate brothers are, I promise, it's worse than that. It's insane that Dems aren't making a bigger deal of the GOP embracing these grotesque monsters.

Gonna get back to writing after I read an article about procrastination.

“There’s a duplicity to her.”

She Voted for a Justice Who Overturned Roe. Now it Haunts Her on the Trail.

Senator Susan Collins, who supports abortion rights, endorsed Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination for the Supreme Court. It has emerged as a major issue in her campaign for re-election.

nytimes.com

one could argue that if moreno didn’t act like such a psycho towards fauci this week that the public wouldn’t have had a sustained interest in him or his family

This is a really great story about how hard it is to do important community-based public health research while the federal government mismanages the grant system and a drug shortage makes treating syphilis that much harder. "Our study sort of serves as a safety net for a lot of people[.]"

Syphilis spreads while researchers contend with federal constraints and a drug shortage

At the San Diego-Tijuana border, syphilis spreads while researchers contend with federal constraints and a drug shortage.

statnews.com

My order for 100 masks arrived today, so that helps dampen my personal anxiety given this update. I will say that I don't believe Trump has been anti-vaccine all along. I just think he's an easily manipulable vehicle for anti-science bullshit who gloms onto ideas and doesn't let go.

Trump administration's health leadership reboot sputters

Controversial vaccine policymaking appears to be back on the table.

axios.com

I drove by the Riviera the other day and thought, "Hmmm I should've gotten ticket for the Smashing Pumpkins." I obviously had no idea of the magnitude of my loss: youtu.be/n1FIoVNy5N0?...

The Smashing Pumpkins - Its a Sunshine Day ft Barry Williams @ The Riviera Theatre Chicago 7/29/2026

YouTube video by Music Feeds The Whole 🙌

youtu.be

For a moment, I considered going to the office today. But then I realized Lollapalooza is happening. The thought of going anywhere near that . . . to quote @amwhelan.bsky.social: "Yeet me into the sun."

This story embodies the ongoing thunderstorm of diarrhea we are living through. The gutting of global public health, a map made with AI, incompetence, and Idiocy.

The New York Times@nytimes.com · 6d ago

A senior health official with the State Department presenting at an international AIDS conference in Brazil used a map of Africa to illustrate U.S. government funding for HIV programs on the continent. There was only one problem. The map incorrectly identified several African countries.

Where are me and my friends supposed to hangout if the city cracks down on us?!

As Mayor, "he met almost exclusively with donors, and almost never with actual community leaders." AND His administration engaged in "an obscene cover-up of the police murder of 17-year-old Lacquan McDonald, a Black man shot 16 times in the back by the police as he was walking away."

Rahm Emanuel’s Losing Record

The Democratic establishment’s golden boy has shifted the party to the right and lost ground in crucial elections.

thenation.com

NEVER FORGET

Maggie Astor@maggieastor.bsky.social · 7d ago

Thirty years ago today, Shannon Miller won her gold medal

But how will I know if Catholicism is the only right solution to all of society's problems?

Ross Douthat Joins ‘60 Minutes’ as a Correspondent

Mr. Douthat, an opinion columnist at The New York Times, will join the CBS News program, along with several other journalists.

nytimes.com

This is excellence!

ʤan~ʤɑn~ʤɔn@languagedoodad.bsky.social · last wk.

I decided to write the only Odyssey think piece worth reading

"We definitely don't have a gun problem in the United States because we . . . . Wait, what? We're doing what?!? Oh for fuck sake." -Someone somewhere

Schools are adding pepper-spraying drones to help combat active shooters

The plastic, nonlethal aircraft, which can smash windows and ram attackers, will be at the ready in a handful of schools in Florida, Georgia and Colorado.

wapo.st

I concur with @profwaltermac.bsky.social. Subscribe to @lawdorknews.bsky.social via www.lawdork.com. Need incisive analysis? Need some snark? Then go full DORK.

Law Dork | Chris Geidner | Substack

The Supreme Court, law, politics, and more. Click to read Law Dork, by Chris Geidner, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

lawdork.com

Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social · last wk.

THANK YOU! And, of course, subscribe to Law Dork, too! www.lawdork.com

"Their lilting harmonies recalled those of their parents, but, when I listened to 'Hold On,' I wasn’t scared. In fact, I was soothed and reassured. I knew that there was pain, but if I held on for one more day I’d break free from the chains."

The Summer I Surrendered to Wilson Phillips

In 1990, three daughters of rock royalty—nepo babies before the term was invented—released “Hold On,” a song so wholesome and unguarded that it could disarm even the angstiest teen.

newyorker.com

A bunch of amateurs out here.

Richard Heppner 🤷🏼‍♂️@rlheppner.bsky.social · last wk.

post a perfect album from the 90s that isn't nirvana, soundgarden, pearl jam, or alice in chains.

I was startled by this photo of the Oval Office because of its ghastly lack of Super-Glued gold fixtures from Jo-Ann, and the inclusion of fresh fruit.

Speaking of which: Glad to see Hollywood is at its creative high point with another Jane Austen remake and the 83rd contribution to the never-ending Hunger Games series.

Rick Weinmeyer@rickweinmeyer.bsky.social · 2w ago

What really impressed me about The Odyssey is that it had a $250 million budget, a cast full of some of the biggest stars on the planet, and it was fine.

What really impressed me about The Odyssey is that it had a $250 million budget, a cast full of some of the biggest stars on the planet, and it was fine.