I read it. False equivalence is a form of apologetics. “Yes. This is a terrible thing. But the other side did it first” - in this case a demonstrably false claim - is a rhetorical sleight of hand intended to have the effect of vitiating moral disapproval of the act in question
Today’s Supreme Court decision effectively guts a key pillar of the Voting Rights Act, freeing state legislatures to gerrymander legislative districts to systematically dilute and weaken the voting power of racial minorities - so long as they do it under the guise of “partisanship” rather than explicit “racial bias.” And it serves as just one more example of how a majority of the current Court seems intent on abandoning its vital role in ensuring equal participation in our democracy and protecting the rights of minority groups against majority overreach.
The good news is that such setbacks can be overcome. But that will only happen if citizens across the country who cherish our democratic ideals continue to mobilize and vote in record numbers - not just in the upcoming midterms or in high profile races, but in every election and every level.
It's obvious that pulling out of the Iran Deal was a catastrophic decision by Trump. Yet that decision got far less media and political scrutiny than the Deal itself.
This is the true legacy of DOGE - the utter decimation of medical research.
MAGA idiots will try to tell you this is just cutting DEI programs. Keep in mind DOGE was filled with such idiots they killed physics grants that mentioned 'polarization' (of light) because of "DEI".
It would be hilarious if the Trump administration ended up recreating the JCPOA from first principles, but not as hilarious as the fact that 99% of his supporters, after spending years criticizing the JCPOA, would call that a stroke of genius.
TRUMP: "I'm gonna fuckin' blow up all the fuckers! I wanna use all the bombs before I die! Helter skelter! Helter skelter! Race war! Race war! Fuck Easter and fuck you, too!"
NEWS: "Trump promises to strengthen military in early morning Easter greeting."
It’s crystal clear now that Trump has lost control of this war. He badly misjudged Iran’s ability to retaliate. The region is on fire.
1/ I’m going to explain to you in this🧵what I’ve learned - in part from closed door briefings - about the four biggest current crises.
SCOTUS nerd material: Gorsuch (cheered on online by the Right) ID's 4 opinions where he says liberals' positions were inconsistent with the position they took on tariffs-- greenhouse gases, vaccine mandates, student loans, and eviction moratoria.
He's wrong on 3 and right on 1.
“What is most disturbing is not the specifics of this case but the arbitrariness and capriciousness of the process. The EU, Canada, and Australia have all accepted Moderna’s application for review.”
https://t.co/B3JEHFwZIQ
The way Stephen Miller talks you'd think his ancestors were indigenous to the Mississippi river valley or something instead of being just like many of the people he villifies today.
It's not quite the most pressing issue at the moment, but the American people absolutely have a right to know the names of the federal officials who shot and killed a man peacefully protesting, who was on his knees, prone in the street when they shot him in the back.
Matt Walsh and these other right-wing empty men who think they're avatars of über-masculinity particularly hate Alex Pretti because he exemplified the virtues they love to extol but are too cowardly to actually embody.
They cosplay as trad men by dressing up in campy plaid shirts and sitting in podcast studios with a log cabin aesthetic.
Alex Pretti went to the street to fight for causes he believed in, protected and helped others in both how he protested (he was helping two women when ICE grabbed him) and in his work as an ICU nurse. He lived the values they pretend defines them, all while they lack the courage to ever do or risk anything. He's a reminder to them of what they're not: a mirror showing their own fragility.
That's why they feel vicariously strong watching ICE agents shoot him in the back and killed him.
I'm old enough to remember Bari Weiss complaining about "self-censorship" at the Times, at how politically sensitive pieces could run "only after every line is carefully massaged, negotiated and caveated," and at how pretextual complaints about a story not being "strong enough" were used to justify caving for political reasons
A meta-comment on the Robert E. Lee discourse.
Weirdly, I think a lot of people don't realize what slavery actually WAS. What I mean by this isn't that they don't know it was wrong-- literally nobody in legitimate discourse is saying "it was good people owned slaves".