“So on July 4, 2025, we can celebrate the imperfect start of our national enterprise, despite the dark turn it has taken. As we do so—and as we contend with the discouraging and disturbing developments of the moment—we ought to keep in mind a fundamental fact: There are more of us than them. More Americans reject the cruelty of Trump’s mass deportation crusade than accept it. More Americans oppose the profoundly unfair billionaires-enriching-Medicaid-slashing-deficit-busting tax-and-spending mega-bill than embrace it. More Americans disdain the Trump presidency than hail it.”
“If the Supreme Court’s near-ban on nationwide injunctions was the earth-shattering victory President Donald Trump claimed, no one seems to have told his courtroom opponents.”
“So how exactly is ICE — which has a brief addressed to non-citizens and especially non-citizens without legal permission to be in the United States — supposed to exercise policing powers more generally or compromise state and local governments? We can see the pattern and trajectory in front of us already.”
“If Epstein’s death has become the JFK assassination of this generation, this memo stands to be its version of the Warren Commission report concluding that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.”
“Do hackers have your email address? Here’s how to check — and what to do about it”.
“What Does it Take To Get a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?”
RIP, Mark Snow, TV composer who wrote the theme to The X Files and was nominated for 15 Emmy awards.
“It’s almost dystopian. And when I think of people wrapping themselves in the Constitution while they are simultaneously doing violence to it … it is really scary stuff.”
“Thanks to the GOP Megabill, You’ll Pay Higher Utility Bills“.
“The former Librarian of Congress abruptly fired by President Donald Trump has found a new position with the country’s largest philanthropic supporter of the arts.”
“The only possible out here would be a series of fake deals, in which countries pretend to have offered significant concessions and Trump claims to have won big victories. Some people still think that will happen — the new tariffs aren’t supposed to take effect until Aug. 1. But the tone of those letters and Trump’s clear obsession with tariffs make me doubt that he’ll call the tariffs off, in part because of my last observation: Attempts to mollify Trump always end up emboldening him to demand more.”
“If these animals made good, easy pets, we would have had these things domesticated 1,000 years ago—we would have all grown up with foxes and skunks, and not just dogs and cats. The No. 1 problem is that people never want to change their lifestyle to fit the pet or the animal. They want the animal to change to their lifestyle.”
“In 2025, why are men still afraid to come out in professional sports?”
“Tesla’s stock is now down about 25% this year, badly underperforming U.S. indexes and by far the worst performance among tech’s megacaps.”
I have no idea why we are talking about Gary Coleman’s ex-wife taking a lie detector test in the Year of Our Lord 2025, but here we are.
“It is to say that there is something wrong with an entire culture of venerating ripping off others’ creativity and research, and there is definitely something wrong with a culture that wants more ripped-off disposable stuff, that collectively says who cares if it’s quality or not because we’re going to throw it away anyway, and who cares that ripping off others’ research and development means we all get crappier stuff at every price point.”
The streaming service formerly known as HBO Max is back to being HBO Max again. Our long national nightmare is finally over.
“A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down the FTC‘s “click to cancel” rule, which would’ve required companies to provide users with simple cancellation mechanisms to immediately halt all recurring charges and get their consent to convert auto-renewals and free trials to paid enrollments. Under the measure, businesses would’ve been barred from making it more difficult to cancel than it is to sign up. It was intended to eliminate drawn-out cancellation processes aimed at trapping users in unwanted subscriptions.” You can thank Donald Trump for that.
“Cars Hit Millions of Monarch Butterflies Each Year. Nets Might Help.”
“Sen. Ted Cruz Stripped Weather Forecasting Funds From Trump’s Megabill. Then the Floods Came.”
“Freedom of the Press Foundation Weighing Legal Options Against Paramount Over Trump Settlement”.
“A staffer from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, recently got high-level access to view and change the contents of a payments system that controls tens of billions of dollars in government payments and loans to farmers and ranchers across the United States, according to internal access logs reviewed by NPR.”
RIP, Paulette Jiles, journalist and bestselling author who wrote most of her books while living in San Antonio and the Hill Country.
RIP, Lee Elia, former MLB player, coach, and manager best known for a hilariously profane postgame rant while he was managing the Cubs, which went viral the old-school way.
I for one endorse Hannah Keyser’s take on how to do the Home Run Derby.
RIP, Frank Layden, legendary coach and general manager of the Utah Jazz.
RIP, David Gergen, political insider and Presidential advisor.