In China and Iran, two countries that are even more enthusiastic about capital punishment than America, authorities sometimes pursue what's called a "bullet fee." Basically they try to bill the family of an executed person for the cost of the execution--plus, who knows, a little extra for overhead and expenses or whatever. Families don't have … Continue reading They hate us because we’re assholes

https://twitter.com/byamberphillips/status/839881414590009345 OH. MY. GAWD. He's so wonky and neat! And so smart! Other politicians don't get into the policy and really understand it the way Paul--I'm allowed to call him Paul, he told me one night while I was staring into his eyes on TV--does. What brilliant thing did he say today? https://twitter.com/davidmackau/status/839890397019127808 Well, he's … Continue reading Paul Ryan: Policy Wank

When Donald Trump announced that he was nominating Rex Tillerson as his Secretary of State, I have to say my first reaction was relief. Which is not to say that I have any positive feelings about Rex Tillerson, and in fact having the former CEO of ExxonMobil as our Secretary of State is incredibly bad … Continue reading Secretary of Stifled

Yesterday I tried to make the argument that it matters who the DNC chair is, insofar as that person should be up to the job of running the Democratic Party. I've seen people argue that the party chair is mostly irrelevant, and it seems pretty clear to me that that's not the case. I do … Continue reading Why Ellison matters

I have to be completely honest: I don't care very much who winds up as DNC chair. What I mean by that is that I would like to see Keith Ellison get the job, and I would not like to see Tom Perez get it, but if Perez does get it I'm not going to … Continue reading Things that don’t matter except when they do

The biggest problem I find I'm having with trying to follow the Michael Flynn story is that it's hard to distinguish the actual, verifiably crazy parts of the story from the parts that are being overhyped by the press. Because a lot of this story is genuinely ridiculous. A National Security Advisor resigning under a … Continue reading No winners

In addition to being Valentine's Day, February 14 is also the anniversary of the arrival of Saudi King Abdul Aziz b. Saud aboard the heavy cruiser USS Quincy in 1945, there to meet with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR was returning from the Yalta Conference--technically he was sailing home from Malta, having flown from there … Continue reading Valentine’s Day is for lovers

Rahm Emanuel is a Good Democrat: In the first three weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency, mayors across the country became some of his most vocal opponents and vowed to fight his discriminatory executive orders. But there’s at least one city leader who wants to work closely with the new administration: Democratic Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. … Continue reading Sensible Centrism

I have very little interest in getting in to debates over how best to protest and otherwise resist the extremism of Donald Trump and his administration. But I will note that when people try to tell you that protesting the administration at all isn't worth it or isn't "sufficient," you might want to respond with … Continue reading Protest works

Please help me for a moment. https://twitter.com/rembert/status/826798515728826371 I'm so sheltered that not only did I not learn that Eli Whitney--this guy: was Actually Black, I didn't even know that learning that Eli Whitney Was Actually Black was a thing. But apparently, per Buzzfeed and Slate, there are apparently a whole bunch of people who made … Continue reading Today in Black History: Eli Whitney, wait what the fu