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Opinion | Why Left and Right Can’t Understand Each Other’s Fears

Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 2d

Ross tries desperately to sound impartial and objective in comparing the aspects of what he calls out-of-control left-wing progressivism and out-of-control right-wing populism that feel scary to each other. But he gives the game away by ignoring that extreme populism is unpopular with all voters.

Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 2d

Indeed, the roots of Israel/Palestine go back thousands of years, even if you don't count the Bible.

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Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 3d

וֶהֱוֵי דָן אֶת כָּל הָאָדָם לְכַף זְכוּת:

Judge all men with the scale weighted in the direction of merit.

Pirkei Avos, 1:6.

Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 3d

Unlike Douthat's, French's religious beliefs do not suffuse all he writes. His sociopolitical views are congenial enough to me that I am willing to wade through the faith-based stuff when it shows up.

I didn't put much stock in Erika Kirk's forgiveness speech, but I do in the Mormons' gestures.

It’s Just a Virus, the E.R. Told Him. Days Later, He Was Dead.

Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 3d

If only Sam Terblanche had been in a medical show episode, where nothing stops the ER docs from ultimately getting it right!

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/05/w...

Opinion | When A.I. Came for Hollywood

Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 3d

"In the immortal words of Emily Blunt, 'Good Lord, we’re screwed.' ”

Yup.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/04/o...

Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 3d

"Losing in court" =/= losing in the Supreme Court.

Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · 3d

The regime keeps losing in court because what they’re doing is illegal

Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 4d

🚨BREAKING: A federal judge Saturday blocked President Donald Trump’s call-up of the National Guard for a deployment in Portland, saying Trump’s actions were based on false claims and undermined Oregon’s sovereignty. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

Opinion | Who Is Donald Trump Responsible To?

Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 3d

President of all the MAGAts.

But, even then, only if they live in MAGA states.

Beyond vile.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/04/o...

Opinion | The N.F.L. Gets It. Why Don’t Democrats?

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Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 3d

Molly Jong-Fast is uncharacteristically incoherent (the downside is worth the upside?), but she has a point--like Bernie and AOC, Bad Bunny is 142 times better at rallying support for sanity than Schumer-Jeffries.

And he drives MAGA batty. What more do we need?

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/04/o...

Opinion | The Grace That Gives Us Hope

Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 3d

I admire @davidfrenchjag.bsky.social and am in awe of his groping for seeds of hope (although I wish it weren't *quite* so embedded in faith generally and Christianity in particular--but that's who he is). Please remember as well the tremendous grace of Mother Emanuel survivors forgiving Dylan Roof.

Israel at War With Itself

Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 3d

Both the Israelis and the Palestinians are riven by disputes and disagreements, but in both cases the fractures are largely over internal governance issues. Neither side is willing, with the exception of a few folk at the fringes, to consider issues of how to get along with each other. This is bad.

Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 3d

In the history of Great Britain (excluding Ireland for the moment), religious discrimination and persecution went back and forth between Catholic-led purges (Mary) and Protestant-led purges (Edward VI). I think the "Troubles" is a term used to mean a more specific and focused form of disorder.

Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 4d

Mieux vaut tard que jamais!

Defend Democracy @defenddemocracy.bsky.social · 4d

President Macron: “Europeans, let's wake up!

We have been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks.”

defenddemocracy.eu/macron-democ...

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is trying to warn us about something. Are we listening?

Reposted by Scratched Tooth

trick van treat @derek.bike · 5d

and scene

a tweet by Dana Gould @danagould that says:

Thinking about Rush Limbaugh and how, now that he's dead, you never, ever hear about him. No one mentions anything he did.
Because what he did had no value.
It contributed nothing worthwhile to the culture. Nothing of lasting value.
He just made anger. Every day.
Rising, blooming & fading like a fart.
Then he died & was instantly replaced by a fleet of little replicas, farting fake fury five days a week.
Creating nothing of interest or artistic value to anyone.
Seriously, what an awful way to make a living.

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Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 4d

Is it time yet for Justice Jackson to remind that Amy person and her mery band of demolitionists of what happened, not in Nazi Germany, but in the thirteen American colonies, when petitions to King George proved fruitless?

www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

Jackson enters her fourth year on the supreme court on Monday. As its fiercest liberal voice wary of Trump’s growing power, she faces an intense battle ahead

www.theguardian.com

Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 5d

That's a big part of it, but there's more. Although relugion was at the heart of Northern Ireland's Troubles, the streets of Belfast were not sacred territory for either side.

Supreme Court takes case that could allow more guns in malls and restaurants | CNN Politics

Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 5d

Try walking into the Supreme Court with a concealed gun.

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Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 5d

Cuz there is no principled distinction between guns on the one hand and “bicycles, roller skates, protest banners, muddy shoes, dripping umbrellas, melting ice cream cones” on the other.

www.cnn.com/2025/10/03/p...

The Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide if states may bar people from carrying guns on private property without permission from the property owner, wading into a thorny Second Amendment dispute that...

www.cnn.com

Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 5d

Not at all. Fighting fire with fire often works when water doesn't. Just seizing the opportunity to pun-ish you.

Opinion | Northern Ireland, Gaza and the Road to Peace

Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 5d

I could give many reasons why Israel-Palestine is a tougher nut than Northern Ireland at its worst, but this history is still highly informative.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/o...

Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 5d

Bad pun. Doing unto others what they do unto you. Etc.

Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 5d

Fight fired with fired?

Opinion | Incompetence Isn’t an Upgrade Over D.E.I.

Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 5d

To varying degrees, this was apparent when the fight against racism turned to "woke" identity politics (lesser degree), and now when DEI is countered with hateful and incompetent anti-"wokism" (massive degree).

Scratched Tooth @keencritic.bsky.social · 5d

@davidfrenchjag.bsky.social brilliantly demonstrates that "if one thing is clear from the Trump administration so far, it’s that the cure can be clearly and unequivocally worse than the disease".

cont'd

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/o...