One scientist talking to two others. "These days. If you're not a mad scientist, you're not paying attention."

Me. I'm a mad scientist.

(Paul Noth cartoons)

US court allows ICE to arrest and pepper-spray peaceful protestors in Minnesota

Appeals Court Stays Restrictions on Federal Tactics in Minnesota The Eighth Circuit granted the Trump administration’s request to block, at least for now, a lower court’s injunction limiting how federal agents interact with protesters in the state.

One court decision, two different headlines.

Guardian on the left, NY Times on the right. Which one more directly conveys information and the stakes to the reader?

If Dems talked like this regularly, we wouldn't have to focus on "how to win close elections in difficult environments." We would have a lot fewer close elections, and a lot fewer difficult environments.

If He Builds It, Tear It Down Pendulums must swing.

It is important to promise, now, that whatever Trump builds at the White House will be torn down as soon as he leaves.

www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/if-he-buil...

Kamala Harris’s nomination at the 2024 Democratic National Convention was both unusual and historic. Not only was she the first woman of color to be nominated for the presidency by a major party, but she also emerged as the party’s choice without having competed in any nominating contests, an outcome made possible by Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the candidacy. National nominating conventions are important opportunities for parties and candidates to draw media attention, and this coverage shapes the political impact of conventions. This was especially important in 2024, given the shortened nature of the Harris campaign. Using a sample of newspapers and TV news programs, we find that the media over emphasized controversial issues such as the war in Gaza and immigration while under emphasizing other substantive policy areas such as the economy. In addition, the coverage tended to amplify attention to so-called “women’s issues” and downplay Harris’s patriotic appeals. These findings highlight the divergence between what the candidate emphasized and what the media reported, with important implications for public perception of the campaign and Harris’s policy priorities.

"These findings highlight the divergence between what the candidate emphasized and what the media reported" hmmmmm
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...

Can a fire truck not just drive on grass?? This is absurd.

May this portion of the dissent by Ketanji Brown Jackson haunt John Roberts forever and be the final word on his tenure as Chief Justice.

Is *is* my favorite kind of burger but it'll take a while to try them all!

Crazy to have another smash burger place in the neighborhood, there’s already Two Robbers, Shake Shack, Bottle Bar, Source Brewing, Pearl’s, Jaffa Bar, Happy Bites, and more right there or nearby.

Polygraphs are pseudoscience, I'd support removing them for anyone. This isn't lowing their hiring requirements, it's getting rid of a wasteful, ineffective scam.

Which Cabinet Secretary Will Kill the Most People? Splinter is your home for news and opinions that challenge power in our political and economic system that's becoming more unhinged each and every day.

@davelevitan.bsky.social got one started www.splinter.com/which-cabine...

Canadian elections typically only have the single local riding on the ballot. American elections can have more than 20 offices and ballot questions at national, state, and local level being voted on at once. Counting by hand would take weeks.

yeah that’s because it’s a lot easier to tear everything down than build durable government programs that help people

It certainly does seem the resignation and appointment were unnecessarily perfunctory, even if they actually happened. Unlike Kim, Schiff had a certification of the special election so he should have been able to show up to the Senate and be seated with just that.

I'm confused why either a resignation or appointment were necessary – Schiff won a special election for the end of the 118th Congress at the same time as the regular election. Didn't Butler's appointment expire when the results were certified? @the-downballot.com

Congrats to the Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program for completing their vertical PV system to research how solar can co-locate with agriculture. Looking forward to seeing more projects like this in New Jersey!