First Looks category archive

Things to do.

Bob Cesca, commenting on how some right-wing commentators have delighted at the suffering inflicted by the Trump maladministraton’s attacks on Venezuelan fishing boats:

That’s the danger of populism–you’re so easily driven by reflecting the whim of the mob.

David points out that facts are not opinions, despite what Fox News seems to want us to believe.

Elon Musk’s DOGE is no more.

This is likely its most effective contribution to improving government efficiency since its de inception.

Via Balloon Juice.

Kimberley Johnson’s interview with Jared Yates Sexton.

Methinks Sexton makes some really good points about today’s dystopian politics.

(Okay, yeah, so I’m behind on some of my podcast listening.)

Off to drink liberally.

Keith Raffel comments on the mean for the sake of mean. A snippet:

“SNAP… is being used as a weapon, as a tool in this moment to try and leverage the hunger of millions to put pressure on us as a Senate to reopen,” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said. “It’s shocking that President Trump would say out loud his intention to defy court orders and to use whether or not to feed hungry children as leverage.”

I’m not certain why the senator would be shocked. When it comes to Trump’s political tactics, heartlessness is not a bug — it’s a feature.

Follow the link for context.

Michael in Norfolk explains how to make the cut:

Indeed, anyone speaking the truth or exercising their constitutional freedom of speech is deemed and “enemy” or lumped into “antifa” – an organization that does not even exist – depicted as a threat to America.

Follow the link for more.

Florida Man.

From the Youtube page:

Step into The Great Fatsby — a Cole Porter–style musical romp through Trump’s gilded Gatsby fantasy, where greed glitters, democracy wilts, and everyone’s in on the grift. Champagne, chaos, and Cole Porter rhythm collide in this Jazz Age fever dream.

From the Youtube page:

US President Donald Trump wants to build a triumphal arch across from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, the latest in his efforts to make over the capital city in his style. The so-called Arc de Trump would commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary next year and is reportedly being privately funded by Trump’s supporters. His other second-term developments include a gilded makeover for the White House, paving over the Rose Garden and constructing a $250m ballroom, as well as the clearing of homeless encampments throughout the capital.

Carrotblanca.

It’s the third cartoon in season 1, episode 3, of the Looney Tunes series I’m watching on Tubitv.com. The episode ie linked above (note that, when the show leaves Tubi, the link will be broken).

It’s a take-off on Casablanca, which I consider to be the finest American movie ever made, and it’s an absolute hoot.

Veteran newspaper editor Martin Baron is not sanguine at the state of dis coarse discourse. Here’s a tiny bit from his article:

And perhaps most concerning to me is that we now live in a time when people are unable or unwilling to distinguish between what is true and what is false. It is only natural — and, in a democracy, expected — that we will disagree about which policies are best. Yet today we cannot agree on how to determine a fact. All of the elements we have historically relied upon to establish facts — education, expertise, experience and, above all, evidence — have been denigrated, dismissed and denied.

Off to drink liberally.