Politics
Topic archive / 627 posts
Links: August 2017
Why Hollywood Is Trying to Turn Everything Into Movies — Even Mindless Games Like ‘Fruit Ninja’
Vinson then realized that he was faced with a formidable predicament. There are no protagonists or antagonists in Fruit Ninja.
Goldner says the key to making movies from board games and toys is to “focus on understanding the universal truth about the brand.”
The film’s director and co-writer, Tony Leondis, told me that “The Emoji Movie” actually began with… See more →
“[W]hatever mere starvation failed to accomplish at HUD, indifference and mismanagement would finish.” propublica.org/article/is-any…
I condemn with the strongest wedgies possible this egregious display of dorkiness by D&D nerds rolling dice with many sides, with many sides
“Your memo was a triumph of motivated reasoning: heads men win; tails women lose.” economist.com/news/21726276-…
I keep wondering if/how a different response to the Google memo might have altered James Damore’s destiny of becoming another Pax Dickinson.
While denouncing these tiki torch clowns, remember: white supremacy’s most effective tools are criminal justice policies already in place.
“I refuse to debate this. Does that make me inflexible? Yep, sure does. But […] not everything is worthy of debate.” adactio.com/journal/12658
Sometimes I try to prune the list of people I follow on Twitter by unfollowing infrequent tweeters. But then I realize it’s a waste of time. twitter.com/nytimes/status…
The nuclear war gallows humor that permeated the Cold War culture of my youth is a thing I did not miss.
So is the fire department just waiting with the hose next to Reddit’s servers? twitter.com/karaswisher/st…
“Let people work hard and aspire to someday be able to play golf. To afford to play it.” golf.com/tour-news/2017…
Name your punk band The Local Milk People. washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/…
I’m always a little puzzled by the demand for redundant far-right power fantasies to accompany the far-right power reality.
The NRA didn’t have to spend a dime and Hollywood didn’t have to come up with a new idea. Win/win! twitter.com/EW/status/8931…
Links: July 2017
All the “wellness” products Americans love to buy are sold on both Infowars and Goop
Interesting look at how the same snake oil is marketed to very different audiences.
Trump and Putin’s Rashomon Summit
[T]he establishment of a cybersecurity working group with the two countries is somewhere between a head-scratcher and a punchline.
The Logic of Trump’s Sexist Attacks
The more a woman conforms to traditional gender norms, the more likely she is to experience… See more →
Interesting that this makeshift healthcare bill died despite the GOP’s best effort to browbeat the guy with brain cancer into voting for it.
“‘I’m not Steve Bannon, I’m not trying to suck my own cock,’ he said […] (Bannon declined to comment.)” newyorker.com/news/ryan-lizz…
The wheels are officially off the Senate GOP clown car.
“A nation now fundamentally unprepared to change, whether in terms of transport, climate change, or healthcare.” thetransportpolitic.com/2017/07/01/a-g…
“[T]he establishment of a cybersecurity working group with the two countries is somewhere between a head-scratcher and a punchline.” twitter.com/TheAtlantic/st…
Interesting look at how the same snake oil is marketed to very different audiences. qz.com/1010684/all-th…
Links: June 2017
Animated Subway Maps Compared to Their Actual Geography
These are a wonderfully concise look at design thinking.
How G.O.P. Leaders Came to View Climate Change as Fake Science
Murray Energy — despite its enormous clout with Mr. Trump and his top environmental official — boasts a payroll with only 6,000 employees. The coal industry nationwide is responsible for about 160,000 jobs, with just 65,000 directly in mining, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.
By… See more →
“Walmart wants to do better. It has to. Even in the age of Trump, inclusivity sells.” mtv.com/news/3019514/i…
This has long perplexed me: Like any certifiable bully, Trump (mostly) knows how to make a fist, so why is his thumbs-up so fucking weird?
“[W]e’ve given this feudal Internet the power to change our offline world in unanticipated and scary ways.” idlewords.com/talks/notes_fr…
Links: May 2017
Toronto’s New Flag
I’m a big fan of Kenzie Ryder’s concept.
Key to Improving Subway Service in New York? Modern Signals
Over the years, the authority has kept pushing back the timeline for replacing signals. In 1997, officials said that every line would be computerized by this year. By 2005, they had pushed the deadline to 2045, and now even that target seems unrealistic.
London has moved more quickly on signals because officials completed the work… See more →
Monkey see, monkey do. twitter.com/maxwelltani/st…
If you think Jared Kushner is above twirly-mustache-rich-guy villainy, dig how his company does low-income housing. propublica.org/article/the-be…
“[F]oreign nationals simply aren’t plotting attacks within U.S. borders at the same rate as U.S. citizens.” newrepublic.com/article/142346…
That Sopranos episode where Tony brings his capos to Italy and Paulie is incensed that spaghetti and meatballs aren’t on the menu. twitter.com/washingtonpost…
I hope Huma’s got an amazing vacation lined up.
The story behind the erroneous science used as “proof” of mass voter fraud. fivethirtyeight.com/features/trump…
Disturbing thread theorizing the GOP is past the point of no return re: enabling Trump. Worth watching what shape the Comey fallout takes. twitter.com/david_rees/sta…
What’s the AHCA’s long game? Does the GOP think the people adversely affected are politically powerless, stupid, or merely self-loathing?
Links: April 2017
I worked for Jared Kushner. He’s the wrong businessman to reinvent government.
I worry that this new office will be more of the same: a vanity project, one that exists primarily to put Kushner in the same room with people he admires whom he wouldn’t have had access to before, glossing government agencies in the process with a thin veneer of what appears to be capitalism but is really just nihilistic cost-cutting designed to project… See more →
A fascinating – and thoroughly icky – look behind the curtain of a bonafide framework for misogyny. thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/…
I started reading that long NYT thing about Comey, but it’s too nice a day to ruin with rage. 😡😠😖😞😒😏😌☺️😊😎
In which starry-eyed conservative historians are stunned to learn they are not exempt from bias. nytimes.com/2017/04/11/mag…
“They may not care if I’m red or green or blue or purple—but they sure as hell care that I’m black.” thestranger.com/features/2017/…
This in-depth look at Russia’s post-Cold War influence in Europe is good homework for tomorrow’s French election. propublica.org/article/russia…
Stephen Miller and Richard Spencer found their voices in the 2006 Duke lacrosse scandal, catalyzing the alt-right. nymag.com/daily/intellig…
The mortality rate for abortion on TV is “about 6,850 times higher than the mortality rate for abortion in the U.S.” slate.com/blogs/xx_facto…
This fun critique of the DEA’s kooky patch designs provides an interesting look at how the DEA sees its mission. muckrock.com/news/archives/…
A quick overview of the tense North Korea situation. @thenib is really killing it with this kind of thing lately. thenib.com/north-korea-te…
Said to be 4× more powerful than the MOAB is Russia’s FOAB, since death machines taste better with a dash of sexism. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_of…
“[C]alling for Spicer’s head is another way of saying Trump ought to have […] someone who could put a nicer gloss on the indefensible.” twitter.com/NewRepublic/st…
I’ve been looking forward to this one for awhile. twitter.com/eisingerj/stat…
I’m guessing the “Syria is a deep state false flag! No more war!” geniuses didn’t squawk at the DoD’s domination of Trump’s budget.