Speaking of Numbers

Because a certain kind of election nerd likes graphs.

‘COVID Parties’ are Bullshit

Some incredibly thin reporting about a story that is almost certainly made up.

Ratfucking the Democratic Primaries?

There’s a campaign to encourage anti-Trump Republicans and independents to vote in New Hampshire.

Tulsi Gabbard Files Ridiculous Lawsuit Against Google

Tulsi Gabbard has filed a seemingly frivolous lawsuit against Google due to a temporary suspension of her advertising account.

Republicans Learned Right Lesson from 2012, Went Wrong Direction

What happened to “building a lasting relationship within the African American community”?

Outsider Andrew Yang Raises $2.8 Million In Second Quarter

Andrew Yang has been a relatively unknown candidate for the Democratic nomination, but he’s slowly risen in the polls and raised more money in the second quarter than several experienced politicians.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders On The Way Out

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is leaving office at the end of the month.

No, the Framers Didn’t Screw Up Impeachment

The problem is with our politics, not our institutions.

Trump To Pick Patrick Shanahan To Be Secretary Of Defense

Patrick Shanahan, who has been serving as Acting Defense Secretary since James Mattis left in December, is being selected to replace Mattis in that position.

Trump May Reverse Mattis on Academy Grads Going Pro

The President revived an old debate but added some new twists.

The War On Yemen, Congress, And The Constitution

The Wall Street Journal tries, and fails, to defend President Trump’s indefensible veto of the Congressional resolution regarding the war on Yemen.

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Lying With Statistics

Are people fleeing blue states to avoid repressive taxes? It depends who you’re asking.

Florida Republicans Working to Gut Restoration of Felon Voting Rights

Last November the state voted overwhelming to amend its constitution. The lawmakers they elected at the same time are sabotaging it.

The ‘Trope’ Trope

You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.

Trump Sends Mattis Out The Door Early

President Trump announced today that James Mattis would be out as Secretary of Defense by the end of the year.

Andrew Cuomo Says He’ll Push For Pot Legalization In 2019

New York State seems likely to join the list of states where marijuana has been legalized sometime next year.

Laura J. Richardson First Woman to Lead Army’s Largest Command

She’s quite likely the youngest 4-star general in the U.S. Army, if not the U.S. military.

Support For Marijuana Legalization Continues To Be High

One month before voters in several states head to the polls to vote on legalization referendums, a new poll shows that public support for legalization remains at record high levels.

New Jersey Puts Marijuana Prosecutions On Hold, Anticipating Legalization

The Garden State has put a hold on marijuana prosecutions in anticipation of full legalization by the end of the year.

Four Democratic States File Legally Dubious Lawsuit Against New Tax Law

New York and several other states have filed an incredibly dubious lawsuit against the Republican’s new tax law.

Bill Nelson Looking Vulnerable In Florida

Rick Scott is pulling in impressive fundraising numbers, giving Democrats reason to worry that they’ll have another Senate seat to worry about in November.

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Marijuana Legalization Continues To Move Forward

In November, Michigan voters will be able to make their state the tenth state to legalize marijuana. This is just the latest step in what seems to be an irreversible trend.

Mike Lee for the Supreme Court?

President Trump is reportedly considering the 47-year-old Utah Senator to replace Anthony Kennedy.

Alexandria Renames ‘Jefferson Davis Highway’ to ‘Richmond Highway’

A controversial name is disappearing from one small stretch of road.

Charles Krauthammer Announces He Is Dying Of Cancer

Political columnist and commentator Charles Krauthammer has weeks to live.

A Contrarian View of ‘Solo’

It may be my favorite Star Wars film since ‘Empire Strikes Back.’

Support For Marijuana Legalization Reaches A New High

Nearly two-thirds of Americans support marijuana legalization according to a new poll.

White House Correspondents Dinner Once Again Demonstrates Why It Shouldn’t Exist

As has often been the case, the White House Correspondent’s Dinner is arousing some degree of controversy, mostly because of the comedy or lack thereof.

OTB Goes Secure

Overnight, we moved to content encryption. Here’s what that means for you.

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Mike Pompeo Didn’t Serve in Gulf War (or Claim Otherwise)

In response to inquiries about frequent media mentions of the Director’s wartime service, the CIA has confirmed he did not serve in combat.

Chuck Schumer Introduces Measure To Decriminalize Marijuana

The highest ranking Democrat in the Senate has introduced a bill that would effectively decriminalize marijuana nationwide and leave it up to each state to decide how far they wish to go with regard to cannabis regulation. It’s a huge step in the right direction.

Nick Kristof and the Perils of Parachute Journalism

A well-meaning journalist brushes off critiques by experts in the field. He owes it to his readers to keep learning.

Late Night OTB – Paul Thorn

More whimsical than most of my selections but we could use that right about now.

Comedian Byron Allen Buys the Weather Channel

The guy from Real People? He’s rich.

Late Night OTB – Slaid Cleaves

He’s been in the music business in some form or the other since 1985. He has been, it’s fair to say, the opposite of an overnight success.

Late Night OTB – 11 Steps to Go

This is from the band Jack Levitt off their 2007 release “Conversations With A Chupacabra.”

Trump Administration Reverses Obama Era Policy On State Marijuana Legalization

The Trump Administration is reversing policy on an Obama Era policy that allowed states to choose their own course on marijuana laws.

Support For Marijuana Legalization Now Stands At 64% Of Americans, Majority Of Republicans

A new poll shows that a record majority of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, support legalization of marijuana.

Cassini Probe Plunges Into Saturn, Ending A Twenty Year Mission Of Discovery

Ending a mission that began when it was launched nearly twenty years ago, the Cassini probe was sent into Saturn’s atmosphere to perform one final task.

Trump Names Former Justice Dept. Official Christopher Wray to Be F.B.I. Director

A seemingly ‘safe choice’ for F.B. I. Director.

Senate Approves Mnuchin For Treasury Secretary As Trump Cabinet Comes Together

With two votes last night, President Trump’s Cabinet is coming together.

Regulatory Capture and the Revolving Door

Top officials of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have taken jobs in the industry they were regulating.

The free high-resolution photo of street, bicycle, asphalt, vehicle, hat, park bench, homeless, stockholm, packing, baby carriage, drifter, norrm larstrand , taken with an DMC-FS10 01/29 2017 The picture taken with 10.0mm, f/3.8s, 1/640s, ISO 80 The image is released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. You may download, modify, distribute, and use them royalty free for anything you like, even in commercial applications. Attribution is not required. The free high-resolution photo of street, bicycle, asphalt, vehicle, hat, park bench, homeless, stockholm, packing, baby carriage, drifter, norrm larstrand , taken with an DMC-FS10 01/29 2017 The picture taken with 10.0mm, f/3.8s, 1/640s, ISO 80 The image is released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. You may download, modify, distribute, and use them royalty free for anything you like, even in commercial applications. Attribution is not required.

Morley Safer, Legendary 60 Minutes Correspondent, Dies At 84

A journalistic legend has passed away just days after his retirement was officially announced.

Rams Returning to Los Angeles; Chargers May Join Them

St. Louis will lose its second NFL team in 28 years as the Rams go home to LA.

British Parliament Approves Airstrikes Against ISIS In Syria

The British Parliament has approved expansion of that countries airstrikes into Syria, but it’s unclear just how much of an impact that will have on the ground.

Republican Insiders Still Worried About Donald Trump, Still Don’t Know What To Do About Him

For good reason, many Republicans are worried about the prospect that Donald Trump could end up winning the Republican nominee, but they don’t seem to have a plan to stop him.

On The Syrian Refugee Issue And The Internment Of Japanese-Americans During World War II

Remarks by a Democratic politician in Virginia regarding the Administration’s Syrian refugee program have brought up disturbing reminders of a shameful time in American history.