Bob Brown

Die hard Cubs fan, Political Science Professor (American Politics), Harley rider, smallmouth bass fanatic (practice catch & release) Views mine.

[Bob Brown @brownrd5]

"A balanced treatment of an unbalanced phenomenon distorts reality" Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein

[Neil deGrasse Tyson @neiltyson]

If I were ever abducted by Aliens, the first thing I’d ask is whether they came from a planet where people also deny science.

[Bob Brown @brownrd5]

was just scrolling channels and found Lemonade Mouth! Thank you, Disney, for this absolute classic!

[Bob Brown @brownrd5]

what a freaking clown this guy is. This might actually be amusing in a pathetic sort of way if his incompetence and willingness to tell boldface lies weren’t so consequential

[Aaron Rupar @atrupar]

Hegseth: "The United States of America controls the Strait of Hormuz"

[Rolling Stone @RollingStone]

The Chicks appeared on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' to perform their hit song “Not Ready to Make Nice.”

Watch: https://t.co/abrJAkhPIx

[Jay Nordlinger @jaynordlinger]

The worst thing about lying about election results — “It was rigged!” — is that lots of people, in their innocence or gullibility, believe you, even if you know better and are just playing politics. Lies about elections weaken our democracy. Which I suppose is the point.

[Prof. Carl Sagan @ProfCarlSagan]

If we don’t explain science to the public, others will fill the gap with nonsense.

[Prof. Katharine Hayhoe @KHayhoe]

I’m a climate scientist. Let me fix this headline.

“Nearly a century ago, scientists showed that burning fossil fuels warms the planet.*

Today, we know human emissions account for over 100% of the warming.**

Yet dark money and disinformation still work to keep Americans addicted to fossil fuels.”***

* in 1937, Guy Callendar published a paper showing that the world had already warmed over the last 50 years due to human emissions what he called “carbonic acid“ – what we now call CO2 – from burning fossil fuels

** If you are wondering, “how could humans be causing more than 100% of the warming?”

— it’s because, according to natural factors, the earth should be cooling right now.

So our emissions are offsetting that cooling AND causing all of the observed warming.

*** For more on the well funded disinformation campaign, read or watch Merchants of Doubt and The Petroleum Papers

[Maria Shriver @mariashriver]

An appropriate birthday present on my uncle's birthday today. A federal judge ruled that President Trump and the Kennedy Center Board acted unlawfully in renaming the Kennedy Center. The judge held that only Congress can change the Center's name and blocked the planned two-year closure. I know they'll probably appeal and the story isn't over, but for today let’s celebrate a great birthday gift.

[Liam Nissan™ @theliamnissan]

💯

[David Axelrod @davidaxelrod]

"After Trump, the urgent task for the American republic will be to turn norms into statutes, curtail the ethical immunities of the presidency and find legal ways to ensure that the highest public office in the world can never again become a platform for family business."

[Joe Scarborough @ScarboroughNow]

“This is the most corrupt thing I’ve ever seen from an American president. Where in the hell are my Republican colleagues?”

[Steven Rattner @SteveRattner]

For three years, there were more job openings than unemployed workers — at peak, 2 jobs per job-seeker.

That has now flipped under Trump, and unemployed workers outnumber available jobs for the first time since the pandemic.

My @Morning_Joe Chart:

[Saganism @Saganismm]

“Before you become too entranced with gorgeous gadgets and mesmerizing video displays, let me remind you that information is not knowledge, knowledge is not wisdom, and wisdom is not foresight. Each grows out of the other, and we need them all.”

― Arthur C. Clarke

[Aaron Rupar @atrupar]

BURGUM: When the sun goes down, solar produces zero electricity

HUFFMAN: I want to enter into the record this amazing new technology that apparently the secretary is unaware of -- it's a battery

[nxthompson @nxthompson]

This is a brilliant metaphor from Harvard professor Joshua Greene on why grade inflation is so harmful. https://t.co/cHCUzQIvyG

[Reads with Ravi @readswithravi]

You must read. Read nonfiction. Read fiction. Read history. Read philosophy. Read psychology. Read banned literature. Read poetry. Read about new technology. Read biography. Read memoir. Read on economics. Read on finance. Reread what you have already read. Read. Reflect. Repeat.

[Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw]

Wall Street Journal Editorial Board goes to town against Trump admin mass deportation policies.

Focuses on empirical study finding ICE arrests have decreased employment among U.S.-born men with less formal education.

"In other words, deporting law-abiding workers reduces job opportunities for American workers. ... This isn’t a novel finding, but it shows how deporting noncriminal immigrants is economically counterproductive."

https://t.co/8FLpqre6S6

[Patrick Heizer @PatrickHeizer]

Every Democrat since Carter has decreased the federal deficit.

Every Republican since Eisenhower has increased the federal deficit.

[Steven Rattner @SteveRattner]

President Biden made health insurance more affordable for millions of Americans in the ACA marketplace.

The Republicans’ actions increased prices by 58% on average—amounting to huge extra costs for the average consumer each year.

My @Morning_Joe Chart.