2023 was a year marked by devastating conflicts from Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine to Hamas’s horrific terror attacks on Israel, from that country’s indiscriminate mass slaughter in Gaza to a devastating civil war in Sudan. And there’s a distinct risk of even worse to come this year. Still, there was one clear winner in this avalanche of violence, suffering, and war: the U.S. military-industrial complex. In December, President Biden signed a record authorization of $886 billion in “national defense” spending for 2024, including funds for the Pentagon proper and work on nuclear weapons at the Department of Energy. Add to that tens of billions of dollars more in likely emergency military aid for Ukraine and Israel, and such spending could... Read more
Reading
Comedian and musician Tim Heidecker hit the road last summer for his Two Tims tour. It featured two acts: a stand-up comedy set by his alter ego, “Tim Heidecker,” a hacky, misogynist idiot; and live music by the real Tim Heidecker & The Very Good Band. His diary of the tour, From the Bus, is one of the three mini-books that make up McSweeney’s 72. Our website editor, Chris Monks, caught up with Tim recently to discuss the book, his music, and his comedy career.
- - -
CHRIS MONKS: From the Bus is the first thing I’ve read by you that isn’t in the voice of one of your personas. Was it refreshing writing it, given you’re often writing absurd, exaggerated versions of yourself?
Two can play this game Doesn’t it seem from the press’ perspective that good news for Democrats is always bad news for Democrats? Fine. Donald “91 Indictments” Trump won the Iowa caucuses Monday night. Handily. As expected. But with lower than expected turnout. Let’s examine why that’s bad news for Trump. The headline this morning is that, per entrance polling (Edison Research and major news organizations), “63 percent said that Trump is qualified to be president even if he’s convicted of a crime.” That’s bad news for Trump. Because 32% said he would be unfit for office if convicted of a crime. While it is unclear how many Monday caucus-goers were crossover Democrats there to put their thumbs on the scales, that means as much as a third of Trump’s support could bleed away if he’s convicted of his various charges before the election. Trump lost the 2020 election by seven million votes. If Iowa’s conservative Republicans are at all representative of the rest of his base, that bleed is enough to lose Trump the presidency again even if the Supreme Court doesn’t deem him disqualified from running.
Taiwan’s presidential election has strengthened its democracy, but could led to increased tensions with China
As part of my role in the Drupal Association, we are trying to find new ways to unleash innovation. Innovation as it happens is a key goal for the Drupal Association. What surprised me when I started with the Drupal Association was to meet companies that were contributors, (some of them known for being long-time contributors) or that are very interested in contributing, but then not knowing how they could maximize their contributions or even where they should be contributing to.
As part of my role in the Drupal Association, we are trying to find new ways to unleash innovation. Innovation as it happens is a key goal for the Drupal Association. What surprised me when I started with the Drupal Association was to meet companies that were contributors, (some of them known for being long-time contributors) or that are very interested in contributing, but then not knowing how they could maximize their contributions or even where they should be contributing to.
Thanks for the flowers, Tim. I suppose no one exactly expects to randomly fall into a ninety-six-month-long coma—it’s all still a bit disorienting, of course, but the hydrangeas provide a nice little burst of color in this hospital room.
I just caught up with all the news I missed these last eight years, and phew, it certainly sounds like everyone got put through the wringer. What a waking dystopian nightmare—can’t say I’m sad I spent it all on ice. Well, I imagine it at least feels pretty good knowing there’s no way in hell people would fall for that rotten fake billionaire again, right?
… Right?
Okay, now hold on a moment. You’re telling me that barring an act of God, he is once again statistically the only GOP ghoul capable of clinching the Republican nomination? Again? After straight-up losing last time? And, you know, all the crimes and trials and documented corruption and open admissions of guilt?
Scientists are abandoning Elon Musk's Twitter amid a "mass extinction event" on the social media network, says Philipp Markolin.
A News UK insider described the apparent attempts by the struggling channel to rile up viewers as 'irresponsible'
- by Enrico Gnaulati
- by Evan C Rothera
Both state-level data and individual-level data suggest that periods with low unemployment rates are also periods with more rapid wage growth, an analysis finds.
With Australia facing potentially catastrophic bushfires this summer like the 2019–2020 season, one of its favorite animals, the koala, is under threat on a number of other fronts as well.
I should have posted this much earlier, but it just dawned on me that I should have invited all our NYC-based readers to the book launch of the US-edition of my book on Limitarianism. I guess my best and most truthful excuse is that I’ve been too busy with media requests since the Dutch version […]
Mike Johnson held a conference call yesterday and reportedly said that. Hmmm. What do you suppose he meant by that? Josh Marshall has this: Keep an eye on how the national press covers this. The White House, as you know, has been under immense pressure to offer concessions to address the continuing large number of migrants coming to the US-Mexico border. Now there’s a bipartisan compromise bill in the Senate. Last night Majority Leader Steve Scalise said that bill in DOA in the House. But Speaker Johnson said something more specific and revealing. He refused to bring up the bill and according to Jake Sherman of Punchbowl said “Congress can’t solve border until Trump is elected or a republican is back in the White House.” Two things to note here. First, Johnson isn’t saying they won’t consider this bill. He’s saying they won’t consider any bill until Trump is elected. Sherman appears to have accepted the GOP wording – that “Congress can’t solve [the] border until Trump is elected.” But there’s more here. Johnson is saying openly that they won’t pass any bill until Trump is elected.
Housing affordability is a common topic of conversation across Australia. Taking the case study of Regional Victoria, Nenad takes a look at how rising housing costs impacts an area’s ability to attract and house key workers for that...
I’ve been prompted by the Netflix algorithm pretty aggressively to watch Leave the World Behind, the 2023 apocalypse film — it said I was a 98% match for the movie. I’ve taken it in over the last couple of days, and I have to grudgingly admit that the algorithm was correct; I really liked it. … Continue reading Leave the World Behind
Trump isn’t the same person he was in 2016. Or 2020. McCay Coppins makes a point that I’ve been trying desperately to make a while now: people should be exposed to Trump not protected from him. They need to see what he’s become: If Donald Trump has benefited from one underappreciated advantage this campaign season, it might be that no one seems to be listening to him very closely anymore. This is a strange development for a man whose signature political talent is attracting and holding attention. Consider Trump’s rise to power in 2016—how all-consuming his campaign was that year, how one @realDonaldTrump tweet could dominate news coverage for days, how watching his televised stump speeches in a suspended state of fascination or horror or delight became a kind of perverse national pastime. Now consider the fact that it’s been 14 months since Trump announced his entry into the 2024 presidential race. Can you quote a single thing he’s said on the campaign trail? How much of his policy agenda could you describe? Be honest: When was the last time you watched him speaking live, not just in a short, edited clip?