Latest posts
-
E. Jean Carroll vs. Donald Trump: The $83.3 Million Reminder That Defamation Still Has a Price Tag
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a unanimous per curiam decision that might as well have been subtitled “Actions Have Consequences, Even for Presidents Who Think They’re Immune to Consequences.” The ruling upheld the $83.3 million defamation judgment against Donald J. Trump in Carroll v. Trump (No. 24-644), rejecting his immunity claim with
-
The Supreme Court Greenlights Guesswork Policing (or How to Arrest Someone for Existing in Spanish)
The U.S. Supreme Court once again demonstrated its uncanny ability to treat the Bill of Rights like IKEA instructions: skimmed, misread, and discarded in the recycling bin because who has time for nuance when there are “emergency dockets” to clear. In a 6–3 order, the Court stayed a Los Angeles federal judge’s restraining order that
-
Welcome to the Two-Legged Economy: Health Care, Hotels, and Everyone Else on Crutches
America’s economy has always been a circus, but lately it feels like the trapeze act is down to two ropes. On September 7, 2025, after the latest jobs report limped across the stage, the spotlight revealed a recovery balanced precariously on just two legs: health care and hospitality. Everything else—manufacturing, construction, retail, logistics, white-collar offices—is
-
Trump vs. Newsom and the Battle for America’s Caps Lock Key
The Washington Post unveiled what can only be described as America’s summer-long pay-per-view event: the cage match between President Donald Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom. Forget inflation. Forget foreign policy. Forget climate collapse. The real fight for America’s soul is happening on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, now better known as a
-
When the Sky Itself Becomes a Weapon
Overnight into September 7, 2025, Russia treated Ukraine not to diplomacy, not to dialogue, but to the largest aerial assault of the war. Eight hundred drones and decoys. A dozen-odd missiles. A Cabinet of Ministers building in Kyiv set ablaze like a grotesque fireworks finale. Ukraine says it intercepted the vast majority. But when the
-
The Man Who Shot Down Shots: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Public Health Hunger Games
The curtain was finally pulled back on the chaos at the heart of American public health. And behind it wasn’t a wizard, or even a bureaucrat in a lab coat. It was Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—HHS Secretary, anti-vaccine crusader turned federal kingpin of medicine, and proof that if you complain loudly enough about mercury in
-
The VMAs Tried on Broadcast TV and Accidentally Staged a Pop Census
The MTV Video Music Awards are not an award show so much as an annual group therapy session where pop culture confronts its contradictions under a disco ball. For decades, it was a cable-era ritual: eyeliner, explosions, maybe a snake or two. But on September 7, 2025, the VMAs tried on broadcast television for the
-
We Are All D.C. (Except the People Running It)
The nation’s capital looked less like the seat of democracy and more like the set of a dystopian reboot of COPS. Thousands of residents packed Meridian Hill—also known as Malcolm X—Park, then marched down 16th Street to Freedom Plaza for the “We Are All D.C.” rally. The name was both poetic and desperate: a reminder
-
The Million-Dollar Letter: Austin’s “A” and the Art of Public Branding
On September 4–5, 2025, Austin unveiled its first-ever unified city logo: a wavy blue-green “A” allegedly inspired by the hills, rivers, bridges, and violet-crown skies that define the Texas capital. It is, in the words of the city, a “strategic modernization.” In the words of the internet, it’s “Dallas-adjacent,” “corporate clipart,” and “the most expensive
-
The Billion-Dollar Curse (or How to Win Powerball and Lose Your Soul)
The Powerball jackpot is back in the headlines, bloated to an eye-watering $1.8 billion—the second-largest in U.S. history. Cable anchors are giddy, bodega clerks are rolling their eyes, and somewhere in the distance you can hear Dave Ramsey prepping a sermon about why you should’ve invested that $2 instead. But let’s say you buy the