We all should be screaming.

Cover of Mother Jones with an image of fingers pointing at John Roberts and the coverline "Blame John Roberts for Everything"

The NYT big expose on SCOTUS today pairs well with @ariberman.bsky.social and @pemalevy.bsky.social's cover story on how ~everything wrong with this country today can be laid at the feet of John Roberts: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

A peer reviewed study shows a promising link between flu and shingles vaccines and a reduced risk of dementia. A heroin addict who cut off a raccoon’s penis for “further study” says these vaccines cause autism. For busy Americans, it can be hard to know who to trust.

Agreed

Become a TPM Member Talking Points Memo (TPM) is an independent news organization that publishes reporting and analysis about American politics, public policy and political culture.

I've been a reader and member of @talkingpointsmemo.com for literally decades and it's one of the most impressive independent media operations in the country. Amazing how long it's been going, producing great reporting and analysis. Indispensable.

talkingpointsmemo.com/memberships

A drawing of some flowers I saw during my walk. 🚶‍♂️

🏵️

A HUGE, narrative-breaking moment for the UK car market

New EVs are now cheaper than petrol cars on average, says Autotrader

Last yr CCC said price parity was due by 2028 – and it's already here

And EVs are already MUCH cheaper to run than petrol

This is a really odd argument because I think at the heart of it, there is a deep misunderstanding about what writing is for. I write to communicate my thoughts and ideas, and to bring people along with me, which AI cannot do for me because it isn't me.

The fact that Mamdani just seems like a cheerful normal guy who's policies are things like "we're going to tax second homes to fund pothole repairs" or whatever and yet this generates panicked responses like "This is basically Stalin's great purge turned up to eleven" is... telling. It tells things.

Weird Books for Kids 5 things from the studio this week

New “5 things from the studio this week” …

1. Self-doubt (+sneak peek 👀)
2. Weird #kidlit picture books
3. Using analog texture in digital collage
4. Arrow to the Sun
5. Standing while working?

#kidlitart

open.substack.com/pub/jacobsou...

Expecting every creator to go through the tribulations and heartache of building a vast audience to support themselves is my least favorite thing about this era of media. 99% of creators don't get that kinda luck.

If you paid even a penny in federal income tax last year, you paid more than:

Tesla
Southwest
Disney
Live Nation
HP
United
PayPal
CVS Health
Palantir
Citigroup
PG&E
3M

That's right. They paid $0 in federal income tax.

It's time for big corporations to pay their fair share.

"The rise of extreme wealth is one of the clearest signs of this imbalance. In 1987, billionaires held wealth equal to 3% of global GDP. Today this tiny elite, just 0.0001% of the world population, owns the equivalent of *16%* of world GDP in wealth."

Want to see some of the series I represent? Head here: www.jenrofe.com/series-friends

It's Tax Day in America.

Reminder: The average taxpayer pays 13% of their income in taxes. The wealthiest 400 families in the U.S. pay just 8% of their income in taxes.

It’s time to make the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share.

It’s time to pass a wealth tax.

i spoke to a classroom of fifth graders today about being a journalist and it was a blast. kids are great!

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES UPDATE: We are saying goodbye to our Second Chance Inbox and introducing a new query policy: Creators may now query more than one ABLA literary agent as long as you query us one at a time!

We're saying goodbye to our Second Chance Inbox and introducing a new query policy:

Creators may now query more than one ABLA literary agent as long as you query us one at a time!

Check out the SUBMISSIONS tab on our website for more info.

We look forward to considering your work!

KERNEN: We'd never be able to send anyone back if you needed a judicial warrant every single time

RAND PAUL: Well, I don't think that's true. Obeying the 4th Amendment of the Constitution shouldn't be too difficult. It's something we fought the revolution over.

The effective federal corporate income tax rate:

1950: 50%
1990: 25%
2020: 13%

Stop asking "but how we will pay for it?" Restore the corporate tax rate.

That is how we will pay for it.

💯… same to you!

Me neither 😂

Nice! I’m in final art-land all week. Amends to finals for one book, a cover final, and end pages (must be almost done!). I’m in the middle of finals for another one. And then newslettering of course. #kidlit #kidlitart

Cheese should be a vegetable. I should be able to grow cheeses in my garden.

Short trees with hanging camemberts and scamorzas, growing big wheels of parmiggiano and gruyere like pumpkins, mozzarellas like brussel sprouts, little bushes of babybells.

BOOM!
South Australia's power prices have plummeted as they near 100% renewables, proving to the world that relying on wind and solar with battery back-up is possible, more reliable and costs people less.

THIS is how we avoid the next oil crisis.

#EnergyRevolution

So the Trump administration’s two goals in peace talks with Iran are:

1. A commitment by Iran not to develop a nuke (This was part of the Obama deal that Trump canceled)

2. Opening the Strait of Hormuz. (Was open before war.)

Artists, never forget that you are not a brand. You do not need to be consistent and marketable. If you CHOOSE to strive for these things that’s fine, but you do not NEED them. You are a fucking person, multi-faceted and complex. People who do not respect that see your art as a product

Thinking about adding this automatically to the bottom of all of my newsletters.

#kidlit #kidlitart

Day 10, #repostyourart : Pencil

Made with human creativity!

#illustration #supporthumanartists

5 Big, Big Things Celebrating a new book!

Celebrating the publication of a book I illustrated this week! The Boy with Big, Big Energy (@beamingbooksmn.bsky.social, @naomijkrueger.bsky.social) written by Britney Winn Lee was a joy to work on.

⚡️Wrote and shared some details here: open.substack.com/pub/jacobsou...

#kidlit #kidlitart