Eric Petterson

Come for the snark, stay for the hot takes.

[DSA @DemSocialists]

Non-exhaustive, but a good list to start.

[Josie Stratman @JosieStratman]

Mayor Mamdani tells graduates at Rikers Island “there will always be a place for you in NYC.”

“If today is proof of anything, it is that you have the power to move your life forward, even when everything feels like it is pulling you backwards.”

[Osita Nwanevu @OsitaNwanevu]

the antifa supersoldiers have put woke algae back in the reflecting pool

[Alan MacLeod @AlanRMacLeod]

Never believe anyone who tells you a better world is not possible.

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

We must, then, avoid the “Babel syndrome,” namely the idolatry of profit that sacrifices the weak, a uniformity that neutralizes differences, and the pretense that a single language — even a digital one — can translate everything, including the mystery of the person, into data and performance. This is the risk of dehumanization: building a future that excludes God and reduces the other to a means.

[Scott Hechinger @ScottHech]

READ: A woman was forced to give birth in Brooklyn criminal court 2 nights ago on a courtroom bench. Shackled. All while courtroom personnel gawked.

And the judge ultimately refused even to dismiss her case--trespassing on her own rooftop. This is "justice" in America. More:

[Matthew Sitman @MatthewSitman]

Too often "just war theory" has been like Tony Soprano's therapy sessions with Dr. Melfi: giving people who already know what they're going to do more sophisticated justifications for doing it

[Madeleine Baker @madeleineebaker]

Me when I wake up and remember that JD Vance exists

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

Hundreds of millions of people throughout the world are immersed in extreme poverty. Yet, disproportionate wealth remains in the hands of a few. It is an unjust scenario, in the face of which we cannot fail to question ourselves and commit to change things. There is no lack of resources at the root of disparities, but the need to address solvable problems related to a more equitable distribution of wealth, to be achieved with moral sense and honesty.

[Christopher Hale @ChristopherHale]

NEW: Pope Leo XIV just called for the permanent abolition of aerial bombing — a first for any pope.

“Airplanes should always be vehicles of peace, never war. No one should have to fear that threats of death and destruction might come from the sky.”

The demand came as Trump’s war against Iran entered week four. https://t.co/OxN1sdemKX

[Eric Petterson @EricBPetterson]

@PFF_RyanSmith Malik Willis signing now makes even less sense

[Nate Tice @Nate_Tice]

the Malik Willis signing seems like it’s on a different timeline than the rest of the Dolphins moves

[Eric Blanc @_ericblanc]

So many life-changing policies would become possible if America halved its $886 billion military budget. Here’s what $443 billion yearly could fund:

1. Medicare for All — Most estimates put the net new federal cost at $300-400 billion/year (replacing premiums, copays, and deductibles currently paid privately). $443 billion/year would essentially fund the transition to a single-payer system, covering every person in the country while eliminating out-of-pocket costs.

2. End hunger — Making breakfast and lunch free at every school costs about $20 billion per year. Expanding SNAP and WIC to fully eliminate food insecurity would run another $50-100 billion. $443 billion could end hunger in America and completely transform the school nutrition system with money to spare many times over.

3. Build millions of public housing units — Average cost to build a quality affordable unit is roughly $200,000-$300,000. At $443 billion/year, you could build 1.5 to 2 million new public housing units every single year. The entire estimated national shortage is about 4-7 million units, so you’d close the gap in three to four years and then have an ongoing budget for maintenance, renovation, and continued construction.

4. Cancel all medical debt — Total medical debt in active collection is estimated around $195 billion. You could eliminate every dollar of it in the first year and still have over $240 billion left for other health investments that same year.

5. Cancel all student debt — Total outstanding student debt is roughly $1.8 trillion. You could wipe it all out in about four years, then fund free public college permanently going forward with money to spare.

6. Make public college and trade school free — Total tuition revenue at all public colleges and universities is around $80-90 billion per year. $443 billion covers that almost five times over. You could eliminate tuition, massively expand capacity, and fund living stipends for students.

7. Universal childcare and pre-K — Estimated cost for a universal, high-quality system is roughly $70-100 billion per year. $443 billion would fund a system where every family in America has access to free or near-free childcare from birth through age five, with well-paid unionized staff, and still leave $340+ billion on the table.

8. Green energy transition jobs program — The entire Inflation Reduction Act was about $370 billion in climate spending spread over a decade. $443 billion per year would be roughly twelve times that annual rate. You could retrofit every building in the country, build out renewable energy infrastructure nationwide, and fund union-wage jobs for every displaced fossil fuel worker many times over.

9. National high-speed rail network — California’s single high-speed rail project is estimated around $100 billion. $443 billion/year could build a comprehensive national network connecting every major metro area within a decade, something comparable to what China and Europe have built.

10. Repair all deteriorating infrastructure — The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates the US infrastructure gap, the gap between the amount of money needed for basic infrastructure maintenance versus how much is actually allocated for it, at roughly $2.6 trillion over ten years. $443 billion yearly covers that completely — every bridge, road, dam, water system, school building, and electrical grid — and leaves room for new construction.

11. Universal home and community-based care — There are roughly 800,000 people on Medicaid waiting lists for home care for elderly and disabled people. A comprehensive universal program would cost an estimated $150-200 billion per year. $443 billion fully funds this with well-paid caregivers and eliminates every waitlist in the country.

12. Federal jobs guarantee — Most estimates for a program guaranteeing a $15 per hour job with benefits to anyone who wants one range from $300-500 billion/year depending on uptake. $443 billion lands right in that range, potentially employing 10-15 million people in public works, caregiving, environmental restoration, and community development.

13. Expand and strengthen Social Security — Eliminating the taxable earnings cap is the usual funding mechanism, but $443 billion/year could increase average benefits by roughly 35-40%, lower the retirement age, and extend the trust fund indefinitely. That would lift virtually every senior out of poverty.

14. Community health centers and mental health services — There are currently about 1,400 federally qualified health centers. Estimates suggest we need roughly 8,000-10,000 more to provide universal primary and mental health access. At roughly $5-10 million per center for construction and staffing, $443 billion could build out the entire system in a single year and fund operations for decades.

15. Weatherize and retrofit every home — Average cost to fully weatherize a home is roughly $5,000-$10,000. There are about 35-40 million homes that need it. Total cost: $200-400 billion. $443 billion/year does the entire country in one year, cutting energy bills for tens of millions of families immediately — and reducing carbon emissions.

16. Universal paid family and medical leave — A comprehensive 12-week paid leave program is estimated at roughly $50-75 billion/year. $443 billion funds this nearly six times over. You could offer six months of paid leave and still have hundreds of billions remaining.

17. Fully fund and transform veterans’ care — Veterans Affairs’ (VA) current budget is around $400 billion but is plagued by staffing shortages, long wait times, and crumbling infrastructure, with Congress consistently failing to fund it adequately. $443 billion a year could double VA healthcare staffing, eliminate every wait list, build state-of-the-art facilities in every region, fully fund mental health and suicide prevention programs, end veteran homelessness (roughly 35,000 veterans are unhoused on any given night), and guarantee every veteran world-class care without bureaucratic delays — all while keeping the existing VA public healthcare system rather than privatizing it.

[Pope Millar @lebrongoat420]

You NEED to be Hemingwaymaxxing

-Drink too much
-Fall in love with a nurse
-Move to Spain
-get a bunch of cats with too many toes
-survive multiple plane crashes

[Eric Petterson @EricBPetterson]

Applies to this gold medal game as well

[Jon Bois @jon_bois]

why watch overtime playoff hockey when you can simply snort cocaine and ride a motorcycle out of a helicopter

[Alec Karakatsanis @equalityAlec]

Is the problem with global warming that Exxon executives need to get "better training" on the science of climate change?

[Eric Petterson @EricBPetterson]

Hard to imagine someone more useless than Schumer

[Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur]

New: Senate Democrats plot strategy as DHS standoff deepens heading into shutdown week

Schumer told Dems the caucus unified and message is “restrain, reform and restrict ICE,” per sources.

They want DHS bill stripped.

Inside the Dem call + what’s next: https://t.co/9ULbY6F6Wh

[Eric Petterson @EricBPetterson]

@PFF_RyanSmith We never should have let him go

[Eric Petterson @EricBPetterson]

Deport ICE

[Status Coup News @StatusCoup]

"There is nobody more American than American Indians! We are America, how can you possibly target Native Americans? It's legally impossible!" -Chase Iron Eyes tells our @zdroberts about four Oglala Sioux Tribal members being taken by ICE...

Three are now missing . LIVE NOW ⬇️