Terry McDermott
@tmcdermott.bsky.social
Writer, native Iowan, author of books on baseball, terrorism and the brain, veteran of too many newspapers. https://tmcdermott.com
Reposted by Terry McDermott
I am just here to say that in order to commit WAR CRIMES, a WAR has to exist.
THERE IS NO WAR.
Therefore, the proper term for killing random people on boats is MURDER.
THERE IS NO WAR.
Therefore, the proper term for killing random people on boats is MURDER.
December 2, 2025 at 3:17 AM
I am just here to say that in order to commit WAR CRIMES, a WAR has to exist.
THERE IS NO WAR.
Therefore, the proper term for killing random people on boats is MURDER.
THERE IS NO WAR.
Therefore, the proper term for killing random people on boats is MURDER.
Here's the deeper problem with this. "our warriors," no matter what you call them, are NOT putting their lives on the line. They are murdering people at a distance with no danger to themselves or to any American interest.
This is a lot of words to say, “Yikes! That Washington Post story about us illegally killing survivors on the open seas was 100% correct!”
November 29, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Here's the deeper problem with this. "our warriors," no matter what you call them, are NOT putting their lives on the line. They are murdering people at a distance with no danger to themselves or to any American interest.
Reposted by Terry McDermott
The reported peace plan cedes all Western and Ukrainian leverage to Russia. More: isw.pub/UkrWar112025
November 21, 2025 at 2:24 PM
The reported peace plan cedes all Western and Ukrainian leverage to Russia. More: isw.pub/UkrWar112025
Wow. Can this woman write. "green leaves fell to the ground like a mockery of hope" sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/the-empty-...
The Empty Stage
Johnny Cash, loss, and redemption
sarahkendzior.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Wow. Can this woman write. "green leaves fell to the ground like a mockery of hope" sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/the-empty-...
Kenny Easley, one of the best defensive backs in NFL history, has died. I'm not a football fan, but always loved Easley's description of playing in a pro game near his hometown in Virginia for the first time: He was overwhelmed with “teardrops as big as dill pickles.” tmcdermott.com/sport/kenny-...
KENNY EASLEY - A RELUCTANT HERO - FOOTBALL IS A GAME, NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH LIFE. - Dispatches from the Word Factory
By TERRY MCDERMOTT September 13, 1987 Publication: THE SEATTLE TIMES Kenny Easley, headhunter, maniac, ruthless merchant of blood and doom between the white lines, zeroes in for the attack. Staring, m...
tmcdermott.com
November 15, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Kenny Easley, one of the best defensive backs in NFL history, has died. I'm not a football fan, but always loved Easley's description of playing in a pro game near his hometown in Virginia for the first time: He was overwhelmed with “teardrops as big as dill pickles.” tmcdermott.com/sport/kenny-...
This is true in so many ways. I made a similar point regarding Cash and N.W.A: "In the last verse, unrepentant to the end, he laments that he “can’t forget the day I shot that bad bitch down.” He regrets only getting caught. Whole piece here: tmcdermott.com/music/the-se...
November 12, 2025 at 9:16 PM
This is true in so many ways. I made a similar point regarding Cash and N.W.A: "In the last verse, unrepentant to the end, he laments that he “can’t forget the day I shot that bad bitch down.” He regrets only getting caught. Whole piece here: tmcdermott.com/music/the-se...
Great overview of enshittification and how we got here from James Gleick: www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
How the Web Was Lost | James Gleick
The Internet was not meant to suck.
www.nybooks.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Great overview of enshittification and how we got here from James Gleick: www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
I sat next to Wilkens at a game once and every time he opening his mouth something smart fell out. Including when he ordered nachos.
Lenny Wilkens, godfather of Seattle basketball, dies at 88
Lenny Wilkens, godfather of Seattle basketball, dies at 88
Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens, who led the Sonics to their only NBA title and was an ambassador of Seattle basketball for more than 50 years, has died at 88.
www.seattletimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:51 AM
I sat next to Wilkens at a game once and every time he opening his mouth something smart fell out. Including when he ordered nachos.
DeLong referencing Hayek? We're in deep shit.
Is it "Life, Liberty, & Democracy", or Is It "Life, Liberty, & Property"?
Democracy’s failure modes in the age of the Shadow Docket. Trump gives new life and force to the fears of Friedrich von Hayek. Spite-dictated tariffs and funding whims now discipline America’s barons. That silence you... 1/
Democracy’s failure modes in the age of the Shadow Docket. Trump gives new life and force to the fears of Friedrich von Hayek. Spite-dictated tariffs and funding whims now discipline America’s barons. That silence you... 1/
November 10, 2025 at 1:48 AM
DeLong referencing Hayek? We're in deep shit.
My daughter works for this theater company, so y'all better start buying tickets. playbill.com/article/the-...
The New Group Has Finally Found a Home; Off-Broadway Company Will Take Over Theatre at St. Clement’s Church
After decades of being itinerant, the Tony-winning company is putting down roots.
playbill.com
November 8, 2025 at 9:35 PM
My daughter works for this theater company, so y'all better start buying tickets. playbill.com/article/the-...
Love this tagline from the NYRB's review of the current Godot: "One last thing: I respect bold staging choices but if you’re going to do Waiting for Godot there really has to be a tree." www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me | FT
In Samuel Beckett’s work, everything is on the surface. Nothing is hidden, encoded, or allegorized. No truth lies inside or behind; there is no secret to
www.nybooks.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Love this tagline from the NYRB's review of the current Godot: "One last thing: I respect bold staging choices but if you’re going to do Waiting for Godot there really has to be a tree." www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
Reposted by Terry McDermott
I was fighting fascism with the power of love and kindness and just really getting my ass handed to me. proteanmag.com/2025/11/01/w...
November 2, 2025 at 2:01 PM
I was fighting fascism with the power of love and kindness and just really getting my ass handed to me. proteanmag.com/2025/11/01/w...
Reposted by Terry McDermott
🧵 This is trending on Korean socials
November 1, 2025 at 7:36 PM
🧵 This is trending on Korean socials
Excellent piece by Sam Adler-Bell: "We Americans love these stories for their psychic parsimony: They redeem the violence underpinning the social order while allowing us to remain, at once, tut-tutting bystanders to its cruelty and deliciously complicit in its excess. nymag.com/intelligence...
The Fantasy of Assassination Culture
In political violence, Americans see a future of order and control.
nymag.com
November 1, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Excellent piece by Sam Adler-Bell: "We Americans love these stories for their psychic parsimony: They redeem the violence underpinning the social order while allowing us to remain, at once, tut-tutting bystanders to its cruelty and deliciously complicit in its excess. nymag.com/intelligence...
Reposted by Terry McDermott
friends with large accounts, I'm not going to pester you personally but just generally speaking, I would sure appreciate a signal boost on this thing. We seem to have leveled out, and since this is a one-shot (won't be in bookstores) I'd like to get it out there as much as possible.
Our Long National Nightmare by Tom Tomorrow
Relive the trauma of the last five years through the cartoons of Herblock Award winner and Pulitzer nominee Tom Tomorrow.
www.kickstarter.com
October 1, 2025 at 10:46 PM
friends with large accounts, I'm not going to pester you personally but just generally speaking, I would sure appreciate a signal boost on this thing. We seem to have leveled out, and since this is a one-shot (won't be in bookstores) I'd like to get it out there as much as possible.
Fascinating piece on coffee as a stimulant: psyche.co/ideas/why-we...
Why we should treat caffeine like the brain-altering drug it is | Psyche Ideas
Like billions of people, I use caffeine. But there is a glaring double standard in the drugs we stigmatise or celebrate
psyche.co
September 24, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Fascinating piece on coffee as a stimulant: psyche.co/ideas/why-we...
Only in baseball would somebody say anything remotely like this from Tiger manager A.J. Hinch: "Some big emotional swings, and an absolute gut punch right to the face." www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...
Battle for the AL Central: Breaking down an improbable Guardians comeback and epic Tigers collapse
With a week left, Detroit and Cleveland are separated by one game atop the division -- and the race might fall among the greatest finishes of all time.
www.espn.com
September 22, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Only in baseball would somebody say anything remotely like this from Tiger manager A.J. Hinch: "Some big emotional swings, and an absolute gut punch right to the face." www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...
Reposted by Terry McDermott
Please read this excellent essay: "The U.S. is drifting into an undeclared war of assassination across half a hemisphere, led by unaccountable officials who equate explosions with effectiveness."
Striking piece by a former U.S. Navy captain on Trump’s lethal attack in the Caribbean.
www.defenseone.com/ideas/2025/0...
www.defenseone.com/ideas/2025/0...
A killing at sea marks America’s descent into lawless power
The peremptory strike on a speedboat is a warning to all who serve. Remember your oath.
www.defenseone.com
September 9, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Please read this excellent essay: "The U.S. is drifting into an undeclared war of assassination across half a hemisphere, led by unaccountable officials who equate explosions with effectiveness."
Reposted by Terry McDermott
It's useful to think of fascism as a form of "participatory anti-democracy." It's a populist movement that gets ordinary people fired up about being part of a world-historic movement that uses state power to punish perceived enemies & impose total order over perceived chaos. bsky.app/profile/seth...
Modern right wing "vice signaling," IMO, is a social-media-era iteration of a political tradition historian Joseph Fronczak has called "participatory anti-democracy." I like that term because it captures the pleasure people feel when they participate in illiberal and expulsive political movements.
I used to think of vice signaling as a minor point about political communication. now I wonder if we need to develop it as a core aspect of political theory, at least as far as the Americas are concerned
August 21, 2025 at 3:24 PM
It's useful to think of fascism as a form of "participatory anti-democracy." It's a populist movement that gets ordinary people fired up about being part of a world-historic movement that uses state power to punish perceived enemies & impose total order over perceived chaos. bsky.app/profile/seth...
Reposted by Terry McDermott
Third Man has reissued Ben Edmonds’ book about the making of this masterpiece thirdmanrecords.com/products/wha...
Coffee and Marvin. Still relevant, still full of bangers.
August 10, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Third Man has reissued Ben Edmonds’ book about the making of this masterpiece thirdmanrecords.com/products/wha...
I've writtten a lot about my father, Mac, over the years. Here. from a book about baseball, is my favorite passage:
"He liked problems, which is not the same as saying he was great at solving them. He never lacked for an idea and he was not a man afraid of a difficult solution. off-speed.com
"He liked problems, which is not the same as saying he was great at solving them. He never lacked for an idea and he was not a man afraid of a difficult solution. off-speed.com
- OFF SPEED
Off Speed: Baseball, Pitching and the Art of Deception contains among other things a history of pitching, a history of personal fandom and a pitch-by-pitch breakdown of a single game – Felix Hernandez...
off-speed.com
June 15, 2025 at 2:59 PM
I've writtten a lot about my father, Mac, over the years. Here. from a book about baseball, is my favorite passage:
"He liked problems, which is not the same as saying he was great at solving them. He never lacked for an idea and he was not a man afraid of a difficult solution. off-speed.com
"He liked problems, which is not the same as saying he was great at solving them. He never lacked for an idea and he was not a man afraid of a difficult solution. off-speed.com
You can't imagine a version of Los Angeles without immigrants. It's a city of immigrants and has always been. It's people like this guy: tmcdermott.com/home/zero-do...
Zero Down - Terry McDermott
Return to California Dreams Zero Down Los Angeles Times Saturday July 17, 1999 Zero Down, Hard Work and Dreams That Came True By TERRY McDERMOTT, TIMES STAFF WRITER The secret to life in America, Manu...
tmcdermott.com
June 10, 2025 at 10:01 PM
You can't imagine a version of Los Angeles without immigrants. It's a city of immigrants and has always been. It's people like this guy: tmcdermott.com/home/zero-do...
Reposted by Terry McDermott
"What we’re witnessing isn’t just administrative incompetence — it’s the systematic replacement of expertise with ideology." 🧪
A 23-Year-Old Crypto Bro Is Now Vetoing NSF Grants While Staring At His Water Bottle
Picture this: You're a researcher who has spent years developing a grant proposal, gone through layers of expert review, and received National Science Foundation (NSF) approval. Then some kid barely out of college…
Picture this: You're a researcher who has spent years developing a grant proposal, gone through layers of expert review, and received National Science Foundation (NSF) approval. Then some kid barely out of college…
A 23-Year-Old Crypto Bro Is Now Vetoing NSF Grants While Staring At His Water Bottle
Picture this: You're a researcher who has spent years developing a grant proposal, gone through layers of expert review, and received National Science Foundation (NSF) approval. Then some kid barely out of college — whose main qualification appears to be founding a company that puts ads on the blockchain — logs into a Zoom meeting, pays more attention to his fingernails than the discussion, and kills your grant with a disinterested thumbs down.
www.techdirt.com
June 2, 2025 at 6:56 PM
"What we’re witnessing isn’t just administrative incompetence — it’s the systematic replacement of expertise with ideology." 🧪
JFC
God needs to give Hank the number of a good hair colorist
Trump cultist/self-proclaimed "prophet" Hank Kunneman says Qatar's plan to give Trump a $400 million jet is a sign of God's favor, comparing it to Christ sending his disciples off to get him a donkey on which to ride into Jerusalem. www.peoplefor.org/rightwingwat...
May 13, 2025 at 9:36 PM
JFC