The Bi of Hormuz

Yesterday, I walked ~4 miles through #DC with my camera, starting with the Logan Circle #nokings protest (which then marched to the north side of the WH), then I walked down by the WH to the Mall Wanted to share some photos and thoughts. I'm on insta @/shape_color_motion; doing more politics there.

Future historians are going to have some really interesting work to do contextualizing the fanart/hentai intersection with incel political extremism and the GOP. Future Kevin Kruse’s explaining the etiology of Malfoid…

EXCLUSIVE: Two books, sold inside two Christian nationalist conferences, provide arguments for followers of Christ potentially murdering abortion providers—and a warning for America. 1/2

the washington free beacon is trying to october surprise abdul by revealing his comms chief used to post bangers

What’s that you say? Liz has a new book out which even the Telegraph is saying is even more unhinged than the last one? Wonderful, I’ll post this then.

I'm reminded of all the English failson explorers who went to places colonialism had ravaged and then wrote home like, "oh, the rest of the world must be starving because they're too stupid to grow enough food"

RFK Jr, like this administration as a whole, is wildly racist. He's also wrong, as racists usually are. Also, an opportunity for me to think about the great Naguib Mahfouz. englishiva1011.pbworks.com/f/HALFADAY.PDF

"Under Brazilian federal law, all legislators have immunity...To run for President, Bolsonaro decided not to run for his Senate seat. Now, after losing the Presidential election, he no longer has legislative immunity when his Senate term expires in January 2027." Very Special Episode of no amnesty

The report alleges Donald Trump was an “active participant” in Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse. trib.al/r158uvt

Using a secured location late at night for pickup basketball is pretty normal these days. Bill Clinton kind of famously used to do public-ish pickup stuff, but that’s not as feasible for someone who gets as many credible threats as Mamdani.

I’m not going to lie… this makes me deeply sad for the kid, because “your mom created a new kind of bad parent in the New York Times” sticks in a relationship.

Oh Liz Truss, you just keep on Trussing. www.politico.eu/article/liz-...

The US is not about to have a free and fair election. The state has put its thumb on the scale to favor the ruling party in multiple ways. It's a mostly free, somewhat unfair election. But still one where the ruling party can be overwhelmed by numbers. Hence the term "competitive authoritarianism."

In MAGA, parental estrangement is a big issue — and parents are held out as blameless victims. I suspect that's one reason why Vivek Ramaswamy ran an ad celebrating Amy Acton's vile mother. And why MAGA — including Vance and Trump — are backing him. www.salon.com/2026/10/23/r...

Why read past headlines: You, savvy, know there's MAGA pastors calling to repeal the 19th amendment. What I add: evidence that this is becoming more mainstream. In particular, TPUSA has quietly taken up the cause. www.salon.com/2026/10/26/m...

In his acceptance speech, Lula says he will work to regulate digital platforms in Brazil. “Digital crimes must be dealt with like real-life crimes.” This comes after Meta directly interfered with the Brazilian elections, favouring Flávio Bolsonaro.

Quelle surprise 🇧🇷

Pretty famously (because Eleanor Roosevelt resigned ovr it), the DAR refused to allow Black performers at the DAR Constitution Hall until 1952. The DAR didn't have an African American member until '77, and still discriminated against Black applicants (again, pretty famously) well into the '80s.

I took this after walking the bridge during the No Kings protest back in March. The patina on the bronze is regal, speaks to their history, dedicated in '51. The original estimate for this gaudy gilding was $2.4m. It actually cost $5.1m in a no-bid contract.

Right now, as we speak, Donald Trump is festooning DC with the Golden Horses that stand outside of P.F. Chang’s. These horses were originally BRONZE.

It is that simple. We should be able to expect our politicians to stand up for vulnerable communities. Hamilton is running in a state as Trump-oriented as Iowa or South Carolina, but he has more character than Turek and Andrews.

Steve Guest is a former rapid response director for the RNC and Ted Cruz. I think it's a safe bet that Steve Guest has spent a lot more time at the Capital Grille than the Cheesecake Factory.

I hope @joshturek4iowa.bsky.social wins election, but I will always judge a candidate who chooses to throw a vulnerable minority under the bus for votes. Perpetuating the harassment of girls in youth sports is shameful. And I hope Josh Turek feels the shame of what he’s doing.

I hate that I have an actual professional obligation to know where "goyslop" comes from, but as a Jewish Studies professor who teaches a lot of extremely online students who spend a lot of time in lefty internet spaces, I get asked about this sort of thing regularly, and I have to historicize it.

The toxicity that @ericlipton.nytimes.com and his colleagues have uncovered is everywhere but if you live in Texas, Louisiana, or Alabama pay special attention

CBS identified Illinois based Three Z Printing as the holder of the permit associated with the fake transgender mailers. One of the owners, Matt Zerrusen, is based in Dallas. His Instagram shows pictures with Charlie Kirk and Donald Trump, and comments from local Republicans.

Okay, first, this is good advice. The risk of botulinum poisoning nothing to dismiss. But if you read this warning statement, it's also will remind you of how thing our food safety net is at the moment. The FDA asked the company to recall the risky product and they refused. 1/2

One thing I like about Ossoff is that he's continuing to hammer this point, not because it applies to Doug Collins (though it does) but because he knows it's broadly symptomatic of the GOP and drawing attention to it matters.

The fact that Melania's "senior advisor" is a talent agent speaks for itself.

MMA as a vector for the stupidest version of right-wing politics? Brother, that train is never late.

These are bad people.

Tyler Cowen is one of those perfect cases of a guy who is pretty smart within his area of expertise (and he is smart, even where I think he's wrong) but believes this makes him smart on everything. As a result, most of what he says these days is just hot take fodder.

Matt Yglesias is the strategic successor to James Carville. White respectability politics where protest is never loud or disruptive; ceding moral ground based on reclaiming the political center. It's morally repugnant. But it's also absolute dogsh*t political strategy.

So, read the article, ofc. A thought: Most of what we see in the estranged parents social media world is white evangelicals. This would align with parents insisting "they didn't do anything wrong" (holding to the Dobson- or Pearl-style parenting) and EAC reporting endemic abuse and cruelty.

no amnesty

Michele Tafoya is the Kari Lake of Sara Palins.

Appreciating all the reposts and replies! I think, however, people would also get way more out of this if they read it. We don't have a paywall. I have done extensive reporting that I draw on in this article. I also spoke with an expert. Arm yourself with info and strengthen your brain. Read!

The word "productive" in "productive business capital" is dishonest. In fact, most of the capital held by billionaires is playing no active or productive role in the development of businesses; it's accrued and held as a tax strategy, which Michel knows, b/c he's a "tax policy" guy.

So, obviously this is an idiotic and silly lie. But Melania is a better envoy to Russia than Kushner or Witkoff.

Voter suppression in action. (It will not surprise you to learn that Justin Heap, the recorder, is a Republican and was part of the AZ Freedom Caucus when he was in the state legislature.) youtu.be/urx3fAZ9b5s?...

I talked to @amandamarcotte.bsky.social about the Amy Acton ad and the increasing visibility of the "estrangement" moral panic on the right. I've found the situation extremely triggering (and I know I'm not alone there), but I think this is an essential conversation. www.salon.com/2026/10/23/r...