Journalism edition
It all begins with an idea.
Trump’s not-State of the Union went so long that I was bumped of the network that booked me for commentary, which is good, actually. I don’t have much more to say about it beyond what I put on BlueSky:
This is all gross and I hate it.
Glad they're chanting "USA! USA!", I have genuinely forgotten what country I'm living in lately.
I want to do violence.
Like many lefties, I’m mostly just disappointed in the Democrats. Trump did Trump shit, absolutely nothing more remarkable than what’s already happening. Contra Ardle McMegan, this was not “a pretty normal State of the Union speech,” it was just a speech in keeping with the absolute apocalypse already in progress.
This all-eyes-on spectacle gave the Democrats a great opportunity to demonstrate the urgency of the moment by doing something genuinely unprecedented and urgent. With the exception of a few courageous folks (notably, many people of color) and the singular example of Al Green (no, not that Al Green), Democratic representatives in the chamber limited their protests to wearing pink and holding up lollipop signs: “Musk steals,” “Save Medicaid,” “False.”
Those paper plate-sized meeps of upset are gonna make great grave-markers someday… except we’ll need a lot more.
New Mexico Democrat Melanie Stansbury made the news for holding up a sheet of paper during Trump’s entrance that said, “This is not normal.” A GOP representative ripped it out of her hands and threw it into the air, which is not cool. But, my ever-loving one-eyed-pirate Christ, if something isn’t normal why are you and your Ann Taylor blouse in the chamber at all?
Many of the rowdy keyboard comrades on BlueSky have said this better and with more receipts than me, but I’ll just add to the dogpile: Such feeble pushback is a complete abdication of the Democrats’ duties as servants of the people and defenders of the Constitution.
They shouldn’t have even gone. They should have done rallies or a press conference or stayed home and played charades. Or, even if it upset some of the same people upset today, treat the farce as farce!
Go dressed as clowns carrying seltzer bottles and a-woooo-gah horns or dressed as mimes acting out a walk into a swift wind. Wear Magritte-style bowler hats and, in unison, pull out back issues of Highlights magazine and pretend to read. Sneak in sound machines whoopee cushions and strategically deploy fart noises—first subtly, so that people just look around uncomfortably, and then louder and louder and strung together, force Mike Johnson to stop the speech and have the Sargeant-at-Arms search the chamber.
This was not an occasion to bear witness, was a historic opportunity to fuck shit up. Throw shoes into the machinery of fascism. Throw clown shoes, even better.
Debris field
Disney shutters 538, the Nate Silver-founded number-crunching site. I found its popularity encouraging, as it validated my own tendency to lean on jargon and inside jokes for new products instead of something immediately intelligible to normals. Silver left in TK, on his journey to spouting increasingly tweaked versions of “my skull shape is better than yours,” but it was a good site based on real reporting and now it’s gone. Hearts and prayers to those laid off, I’ll be sure to re-post when you announce your newsletters. [Yahoo! News Canada]
A forty-day boycott of Target initiated by Black clergy starts today and I’ll just say that I’m glad they put a limit on it. It’ll be my “Dry January” but for the Dollar Spot. [CNN]
The Trump DOJ ended the Biden administration’s lawsuit to enforce the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act in Idaho. The law requires hospitals receiving federal funding to provide emergency, stabilizing care to all patients—including emergency abortions when necessary. Idaho’s abortion ban asks that a physician “affirmatively prove” the procedure necessary to save the person’s life, a standard that asks doctors to shuffle papers when they should be stopping bleeding. [Jezebel]
Dan and I are deep into Nuclear Winter over at Space the Nation. Appropo of SOTU rebutter Sen. Slotkin’s summoning of Zombie Reagan last night (rolling in his grave at the Trump administration, she says!), you might want to check out our discussion of The Day After, the movie that scared/scarred a generation. [Apple Podcasts]
You can sign up for The Slow Burn workshop (starts May 3) now! Contact me with any questions, there’s also a scholarship application here.
Yeah, I’m blogging again, bitch.
Blog Post Title Three
It all begins with an idea.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
Blog Post Title Four
It all begins with an idea.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.