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The Misery Factory gets a bad wrap, especially among Millennials and Gen Z, but I’m not sure it’s warranted. It starts with a misunderstanding of what we do. Our slogan, “Ambition Without Vision,” begins to explain the type of work we’re tackling day after day. The core of our mission can be summed up by our passion associated with the three D’s: Dehousing the elderly, Defunding the arts, and Denouncing the orphans (lazy freeloaders).

Without our hard work, the National Endowment for the Arts could balloon to obscene numbers—even up to a ten thousandth of the Pentagon’s budget. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, worried about how much free music education children could be receiving if I don’t do my due diligence. Luckily, I am very good at my job.

Bill Essayli once warned January 6 prosecutions would “criminalize political differences.” Now he’s throwing the book at anti-ICE protesters.

The post Trump Appointee Prosecuting LA Protesters Defended Jan. 6 Suspects appeared first on The Intercept.

Sometime in the late 1980s, I was talking with a friend on my landline (the only kind of telephone we had then). We were discussing logistics for an upcoming demonstration against the Reagan administration’s support for the Contras fighting the elected government of Nicaragua. We agreed that, when our call was done, I’d call another friend, “Mary,” to update her on the plans. I hung up. But before I could make the call, my phone rang. “Hi, this is Mary,” my friend said. “Mary! I was just about to call you.” “But you did call me,” she said. “No, I didn’t. My phone just rang, and you were on the other end.” It was pretty creepy, but that was how... Read more

Source: How Will Your Data Be Deployed appeared first on TomDispatch.com.

Before I blew out all seventy-two candles on my birthday cake this year, I made a wish. I wished for something that had been gnawing at my soul ever since I first received my AARP card.

It was finally time to launch my political career.

But a sobering thought struck me. Am I perhaps too young to be taken seriously as a Democratic congressperson? I worry that the powers that be might take one look at my salt-and-pepper hair, only slightly elevated blood pressure, and spry body with both its original hips, and laugh me right out of the Capitol.

Could I even relate to the older members of the party? What if they make a reference to some TV show or song from the late sixties, when I’m more familiar with pop culture of the mid-seventies?

What if I declare my candidacy, only for Steny Hoyer to tell me, “Come back when you’ve got at least another decade of accumulated wisdom—or a pacemaker.”

Intrusive thoughts about doing bad things are common, but for people with OCD they provoke deep fears about the self

- by Richard Moulding & Kelvin (Shiu Fung) Wong

Read on Psyche

The democratic socialist closed in on the former governor ahead of Tuesday’s primary. Cuomo is running in the general election either way.

The post How Andrew Cuomo Could Become NYC Mayor — Even if Zohran Mamdani Wins appeared first on The Intercept.

As the father of twins, I could hardly feel more frazzled. But my brain age might paint a different, more youthful, picture

- by Christian Jarrett

Read on Psyche

- by Zala & Asad Nariman

Read at Aeon

I got a notice of copyright infringement from GoComics, so I'm halting GoComics RSS feeds. If you want a recommendation for another service, you can email me at joseph@comicsrss.com.

I got a notice of copyright infringement from GoComics, so I'm halting GoComics RSS feeds. If you want a recommendation for another service, you can email me at joseph@comicsrss.com.

I got a notice of copyright infringement from GoComics, so I'm halting GoComics RSS feeds. If you want a recommendation for another service, you can email me at joseph@comicsrss.com.

I got a notice of copyright infringement from GoComics, so I'm halting GoComics RSS feeds. If you want a recommendation for another service, you can email me at joseph@comicsrss.com.

Zohran Mamdani is New York City’s insurgent candidate for mayor in Tuesday’s election to pick the Democratic Party’s nominee for the general election in November. Up against disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo and a host of other candidates ranging from centrist to progressive in a ranked choice voting election, it’s anyone’s guess who will win. […]

Don’t panic, America. Yes, we launched strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Yes, technically, that is an act of war. And yes, the rest of the world is currently googling “how to survive World War III.”

But let’s all take a deep breath while the oxygen is still available to us in this pre-fallout world. This was a tactical strike. Tactical. You know, like when a toddler throws a tantrum but only breaks the cheap furniture.

Listen, it’s 2025. We’ve tried diplomacy. We’ve tried economic sanctions. We’ve tried sternly worded emails. But have we tried blowing up underground nuclear-enrichment sites and hoping that leads to de-escalation?

Exactly. Not since the last time we did it.

And that one mostly worked. Except for the part where it didn’t.

Operation Midnight Hammer was a surgical strike, not in the “this will save lives” kind of way, but in the “we used a scalpel to set your house on fire” kind of way. Precision violence is still violence, but it sounds much more manageable when you say it in a calm voice and wear a suit.