Starvation’s still a war crime no matter who you come from

One of these days I’ll watch Andor season 2. I’m so excited for it but I keep not starting it because I don’t want it to end. Yes I know that doesn’t really make sense.

Here are some good songs I’ve been enjoying lately.

Songs on the playlist, with links to listen below.

1. Charmer - “Blue Jay”
   This is their second single from Downpour, out later this month. This is the second playlist in a row I’ve put them on. They’re two for two. This record sounds huge.

2. Teens in Trouble - “August”
   What’s Mine was one of my absolute faves from last year with its warm and fuzzy and Weezer-y vibes. This new song continues nailing that sound.

3. Megan From Work - “Life Into a Movie”
   MFW follows up last year’s excellent Girl Suit with what might be their best song ever. (The local news here just had them on to perform a new song ahead of their Boston Calling performance. Check it out.)

4. Memory Gardens - “nicotine & ballroom scenes”
   Members of Equipment played on this song from a promising new band from Chicago. There’s very little about the band online, but I can’t wait to hear their EP, due May 30, based on this song. It’s been stuck in my head all week.

5. Pretty Bitter - “Thrill Eater”
   Great new track from a band I just really love. This is the first single off their upcoming record, Pleaser, which was co-produced by Evan Weiss.

6. Chris Farren - “Cause of Death”
   He’s done it again, folks. That little rascal has once again taken a serious subject and made it into a fun, jangly pop song. Dare I say it’s… perfect?

7. Kevin Devine - “God is in the Numbers”
   He’s written so many great songs in his career, and here’s another one to add to the list. The man has always had a deftness for capturing a national moment.

8. Hotline TNT - “Julia’s War”
   I liked 2023’s Cartwheel but felt a little left out because they had so much hype but I didn’t love it. I hate that feeling. This song rules, so maybe Raspberry Moon, coming out next month, will do it for me.

9. Pacing - “Nothing! (I wanna do)”
   Pacing is one of our most unique and creative artists. This song is exactly why.

10. Camp Trash - “Detroiters”
    Another playlist, another Camp Trash appearance. And if you haven’t watched Detroiters, get on it.

11. Little Low - “Dark Beer Archives”
    A local favorite has a new record on the way. This is my favorite of the singles they’ve released and not just because they shot the video at a legendary local venue.

12. MSPAINT - “Angel”
    I’m gonna be honest. I’ve heard this band’s name a million times but I’d never listened to them before. Someone I don’t particularly like said this song sucked, so I listened, and I like it.

13. Home Is Where - “Migration Patterns”
    A band that just rules. One of the most interesting bands making music today. I love this song.

14. Ultra Lights - “It’s Your Funeral”
    I like this EP a lot. Exciting indie rock and roll. Pavement, Strokes, and Modern Lovers vibes abound.

15. New Found Glory - “100%”
    It’s been a long time since I was in high school and this band meant the world to me. It’s cool to still see them playing, and this song is pretty decent.

16. Chelsea King - “Outta This Town”
    A great song to blast this summer with the windows down.

17. Lifeguard - “It Will Get Worse”
    Noisy indie-punk from Chicago. I didn’t plan it this way, but the song title is a nice segue into the rest of this post. It will indeed get worse.

the prologue

A quick reminder that sending someone to prison in a country they’re not from is not “deporting” them. Words have meaning. That’s not what that is. I wish more news outlets would call it what it is: kidnapping, human trafficking, torture. This is just one small example of how the current media landscape is just not prepared for this moment, and how they are actively letting us down when they don’t describe things as they are.

I think that’s why I write these like this lately. I want to describe things as they are. I know not everyone follows. It’s never been harder to know what’s really going on. My broken brain wants to know all the horrible news of the world, as if the knowledge was a talisman or shield to help protect myself. I know it doesn’t work like that. I know that doesn’t make sense. But here I am, under my self-made mountain of horror, feeling the crushing weight.

the disappeared

I feel like the news of Kilmar Abrego Garcia should be the #1 story every single day. Even if it’s just “so, still no updates on this shit, huh?” at the lead of every newscast, podcast, Times Square ad, flyover banner, etc. Stop everything. Solve this. Every second they aren’t working to bring him home, they are openly defying the Supreme Court. But Democrats still don’t want to fight back. The fact that he isn’t home yet is unconscionable. Sometimes I can’t think about anything else. Then I think of Rümeysa Öztürk. Then I think of Mahmoud Khalil. Then I think of all the others taken off the street, kidnapped, and shipped off.

The thoughts of these people, just like my anxieties, are little bubbles that form in my brain. There’s no room left, but it doesn’t matter. They get in and they never pop. My optimism for the future is being strangled by the pressure, but I’m more clear-eyed than ever on what I can do in the way of goodness.

It’s important to note that this fight was chosen by this evil administration. They want this. Three days after his family sued the government for his wrongful removal (kidnapping), US officials began working on a plan to fix the mistake, making sure he was safe in El Salvador until they could bring him back. So far so good. But then the Trump administration “swiftly turned an admission of a bureaucratic error into a political opportunity — a chance to flex executive authority and test the judicial branch’s ability to restrain presidential power.” This is a factionalist government whose only real core belief is “me powerful, me in charge.”

Now they’re working had to smear him any way they can. Everything he’s ever done is now on trial. But none of that matters. I don’t care who he is or what he’s done. I care that he was kidnapped and sent to a black hole torture prison. It is inhumane and illegal. This shouldn’t happen to anyone.

the broken society

When someone can call a child the N word and raise over $700k, we are truly broken as a society. “If that’s what he’s going to act like,” she later doubled down. As if a kid going through your stuff means you can repeatedly throw a slur at him. The right has always been against virtue signaling, which often just means someone did something kind, or thoughtful, or helpful to someone in need. Well they sure love their vice signaling, heaping praise and cash on the worst of the worst. Many online losers argued it actually was appropriate because the boy appeared to them to be more closer to 10 years old than 5, as if kids come with a “you must be this tall to be called a slur” sign like at a theme park. And they always have a “yeah but this other thing happened…” and yes, it’s awful that Karmelo Anthony, a Black student, allegedly stabbed a white 17-year-old to death. He’s been charged with first-degree murder. The courts will work that out. He can raise money for his defense. He has that right. That does not in any way excuse a grown-ass adult being a seething racist to a child. It just hurts.

the need to make noise

Ah, the smell of naked corruption that apparently we’ve decided is just fine, whatever. Trump, his family, and small number of others are making so, so much money on his meme coin, and wouldn’t you know it, it’s at the expense of his fans. 58 wallets have each made over $10 million each, totaling $1.1 billion. 764,000 wallets, mostly small holders, have lost money. As if that wasn’t enough, Trump gets a cut of each transaction, totaling over $324 million in trading fees since January. More money for Trump. Less money for everyone else.

Meanwhile some Democrats are saying bullshit like “I don’t know if we should use the word oligarchy…” Okay dudes you argue over terminology while the country falls apart, let us know how those talks go! The rich have been getting richer for a long time, now it’s accelerating. I wish “Trump Corruption” was a phrase that someone could make catch on. There’s so much happening but it’s at the center of everything. It’s where this entire downward spiral starts. Everything grows out of it and it’s pulling us down. The right and specifically Trump have a way of sucking all the oxygen out of everything. They command the attention. Call it whatever, but call it out and keep repeating it. We need politicians who go out, make noise, make news, make good trouble.

the section about trans people

I’ve stayed at the Liberty Hotel in Boston a few times. The rooms are nice. What happened there this week was disgusting. A lesbian couple was in the lobby bathroom when a male security guard came in and started banging on the stall doors. The guard told her she needed to get out, because she was a man. Big problem though, she’s a woman and she identifies as a woman. Another guest complained that a man was in the women’s room (not true) and went and got a man to go check it out. So the only man in the bathroom was the security guard. This is why we’ve been saying for years that transphobia will eventually come for all women. It’s been said a million times, but men already invade women’s spaces and harass women, they don’t need to disguise themselves to do so. That just doesn’t happen. We would surely know if it did. And even if it had been a trans man in that bathroom, the right favors laws that would force this hypothetical person into using the women’s bathroom. It’s not about trans people, it’s about policing femininity and controlling women’s bodies. This horrible event makes that crystal clear.

While we’re on the subject, the Trump DOJ has removed references to trans people and gender from crime-data surveys. They truly want to erase trans people. “Trans people are more than four times as likely to experience violent crime. Behind bars, incarcerated trans Americans experience sexual violence at more than 12 times the rate of other imprisoned people.” But the government has decided to stop tracking anything like that. “Experts say these changes will make it nearly impossible to monitor crimes and other forms of violence experienced by trans people.”

Every major health organization in the US and the world agrees that trans care is good for trans people. That remains a fact. The try-hard book report the US just published goes against all of that, because it is bullshit. They didn’t even name their authors. That says it all.

Kudos to Robert De Niro. His daughter came out as trans and his quote was simple, beautiful, and righteous. “I loved and supported Aaron as my son, and now I love and support Airyn as my daughter. I don’t know what the big deal is. I love all my children.” I truly believe the overwhelming majority of Americans feel similarly, especially that middle sentence: I don’t know what the big deal is. I think there is likely a subgroup in there who don’t see what the big deal is, have nothing against them, but maybe think it’s a little weird. That’s…fine, actually! “I don’t get it, it’s a little weird, but who cares” actually describes how people feel about lots of groups. (Disney adults, wrestling fans, triathletes, public transit enthusiasts, etc.) Now, this is very likely due to the fact that they don’t know a trans person, and getting to know even one would open their eyes and they’d realize they’re just human beings. The hateful bigots are small in number but they are loud and they are in power, and they’re dragging people over to their side. I hope quotes like De Niro’s help simplify and clarify thoughts of anyone who hasn’t gone full transphobe just yet.

It is so crucial that we win this fight, because as noted above, it’s never going to end with trans people. Full throated love and support is the only way.

the personal note that relates to the previous section

I’m gonna be a dad in a few months. I can’t wait. We decided not to find out the baby’s gender. That moment of surprise is going to be very special. Everyone keeps asking “what are you hoping for, a boy or a girl?” and the honest answer is: I do not care. There is no wrong answer. I want the baby and my wife to be healthy. That’s all I care about. I see a direct line from that to: why would you care about someone else’s gender? I want people to live happy, healthy, fruitful lives. I hope they find joy and purpose and connection and love in this world. That’s what matters. Their gender absolutely does not matter to me. There are so many real things to judge people for. Are you kind? Do you put your shopping cart back? Do you know that Grimace is a menace to society? I’ll keep judging people on that stuff while they experience gender however they feel is right for themselves.

the bullshit

DOGE update #1: Just in case for any reason anyone still thinks DOGE is actually about saving money and cutting costs: no. Just no. This is a deep dive into the budget that shows their project is “quite likely to expand long-term budget deficits.” I’m not sure anyone who supports them wants an actual analysis of their work, but this is pretty stark: “Musk initially promised that he would eliminate $2 trillion of the $7 trillion federal budget, before scaling back his ambitions to $1 trillion, and then $150 billion. Even that revised target is highly improbable.”

DOGE update #2: one of the little twerps was warned by ethics lawyers that due to some stock he owned, he could not take any action that could benefit those companies or himself. He helped fire workers at CFPB anyway… including the ethics lawyers who gave him that warning.

DOGE update #3: interesting piece in Fast Company about how one DOGE guy was refreshingly honest about what he saw. “I would say the culture shock is mostly a lot of meetings, not a lot of decisions. But honestly, it’s kind of fine — because the government works. It’s not as efficient as I was expecting, to be honest. I was hoping for more easy wins.” You don’t say.

An update on the guy who heads DOGE but still won’t admit in court that he does so he can’t be held liable: his neighbors in Texas are not huge fans. He bought a 6,900-square-foot six-bedroom home in West Lake Hills, one of three mansions he’s bought over the past few years for his children and their mothers. This mansion has “become a hub for his growing security operations.” This article shows what a paranoid freak he is. While he and his minions are sucking up all of your data, he wants extra privacy because he’s just a smol bean government employee who thinks he should be exempted from state and federal public records laws. Yeah, no. He wanted a public city meeting in April to be private. He didn’t want neighbors speaking out about his $6 million house. Part of the disagreement was about his construction of a 16-foot chain-link fence and metal gate. Since he believes he’s above the law, he built it “without obtaining the proper permits, violating six city ordinances.” Thankfully the city attorney ruled against a closed meeting and Musk lost his appeal to keep the fence and gate on his property.

No one is buying Cybertrucks. They just keep piling up. Too bad so sad. You have to be a real specific type of douchebag to buy one, so maybe this means there really aren’t that many of those losers in the world after all.

JD Vance — the most hated person in any group he’s in, including Catholics — has “joked” about deporting 2026 World Cup visitors. Funny. Not. He’s made a woman laugh or cum, that’s for sure.

For years the right has told us there’s a secret cabal of leftist elites controlling opinions around the globe and running things from the shadows. Turns out there was, but they weren’t leftists, it was actually their guys all along. It’s a venture capitalist fever dream conspiracy made real, and their opponent is American democracy.

The John Fetterman profile in the NYT is worth reading. This man is not well. Additional reporting has shown more of the same. He should step down and get help.

The people against the millionaire tax in Massachusetts threatened that millionaires would leave the state in droves if it passed. It’s been two years. We have more millionaires than ever, and the state collected $2.2 billion from it. Nice. More please.

The Intercept reports that ICE agents stopped a bus in Albion, NY with a list of names. They took 14 people into custody. It was targeted. Their employer just so happens to be involved in a landmark labor rights case. In Washington state, ICE detained the leader of a farmworker union. Targeting unions is a hallmark of fascism.

Five former National Weather Service directors are warning that cuts to the organization by the Trump administration may soon endanger lives. I guess preparing for weather was just too woke.

Let’s check in with Germany. They’re cracking down on their growing Neo-Nazi party. Seems like a good idea, we’re all good here right? Well, no, the US is sticking up for that party. Yikes.

When someone says “Happy Holidays!” it’s a red alert: War on Christmas. When Trump says your kids shouldn’t have toys, that’s totally fine. The “dolls” thing is so fucked. Treasury Secretary and bad Will Ferrell character Scott Bessent is back with more stupid comments. It’s clear they’re trying to define consumerism and caring about buying things as feminine-coded. The guy who is obsessed with gold says you should have less stuff and it should cost more. (American consumers, famous for loving to have less stuff.) He ran on lower prices, and then immediately made everything more expensive. Bessent has previously said factory jobs are coming back and that men will love going to work to put the screws into iPhones all day. Really bud? Remember, at the factories where they were actually making iPhones, the pay was so low and the conditions so brutal, those workers were committing suicide on a regular basis. They had to put up nets to catch them when they hurled themselves off the roof! That’s how little they think of American workers. Shut up, deal with low pay and dangerous conditions, screw this thing in or whatever, make your wife stay home and raise the kids because that’s the only job a woman is worthy of. He’s said that girls having less dolls and paying more for them will make their life better, and parents should just explain that to their kids. Lunacy.

Today Trump was rambling about holidays and said that we have too many days off. The guy who barely works and plays golf all the time says we have too many days off. Ok. They have such naked contempt for the working class.

Rep. David Joyce backed Trump on the fewer dolls thing. “I think the American people will understand that because the American people understand shared sacrifice.” Really, dude? The same Americans who went berserk when they couldn’t go to Olive Garden for a month? The same Americans who refused to wear a mask because it somehow took away their liberty? These people have a worldview that only allows for their most selfish thoughts and ideas. They don’t have any room to consider anyone else. They’re so selfish they’re willing to go along while the mad king makes life worse for everyone, including them, because they derive extreme satisfaction from seeing certain people they hate suffer. Do these people even listen to themselves speak?

Trump loves to say he only hires the best people. Well, the Secretary of Transportation is scared to take public transit, the Secretary of Education is being sued for enabling child sex abuse, the Secretary of Health and Human Services is working overtime to bring back measles while canceling Narcan programs and tracking autism, and the Secretary of Defense is texting classified war plans to journalists and everyone he works with keeps saying he’s a trainwreck. The. Best.

Here is a sampling of real headlines related to US military aviation just in the last two weeks: Houthi rebels have shot down 7 US Reaper drones worth $200 million in recent weeks. US Navy loses $60 million jet at sea after it fell overboard from aircraft carrier. Army Black Hawk helicopter causes 2 terrifying near-misses with airlines at Reagan airport after taking the ‘scene route.’ Second US Navy jet is lost at sea from Truman aircraft carrier. And one important quote from this report about commercial aviation: “…an air traffic controller who works at Newark airport said, ‘It is not safe. It is not a safe situation right now for the flying public. Don't fly into Newark. Avoid Newark at all costs.’” Not great, and there really isn’t anyone working on fixing any of it. They don’t care.

(While writing this post, a third jet has fallen into the Red Sea. The last two nights, I have had to say to my wife: “I have a headline to read you, you’re not going to believe this, but I swear it’s true…another jet has fallen into the Red Sea.” At this rate we’re not going to have any fighter jets left. We need to get Nathan Fielder on this, stat.)

It’s baffling that any help at all to Gaza is some big red line. People are starving, it’s been two months since they had water, but Israel (“““allegedly”””) attacked an aid ship trying to circumvent the blockade. It truly feels like, to so many people in power, the absolute worst thing you can do is show support against a genocide. It feels like everything is upside down and it starts there. The phrase “I support Gaza” does not equal “I support Hamas” but they twist it that way every single time. Republicans real problem isn’t with antisemitism or hatred on college campuses, it’s with free speech and education. They claim they’re dealing with the former by cracking down on the latter. Columbia called the NYPD in to break up a peaceful pro-Palestine sit-in at the school library last night. There was a report of Columbia public safety officers brutalizing students and making them delete photos off their cameras. NYPD had a helicopter above the scene, for some reason. 78 were arrested. For a peaceful sit-in.

Energy Star, the blue and white sticker on your washing machine, is a program that cost $32 million per year and delivered $40 billion in annual savings. Well that’s gotta go, sorry. They’re shutting it down. It saves money, creates jobs, and helps most Americans. Insanity.

All the things that we take for granted just disappearing. Everything is going to be less safe. Everything is going to cost more. Medicine. Food. Cancer research. Consumer protection. Food safety. Product safety. Air travel safety. Weather updates. The people in charge are rich. They have no use or care for any of those things. They will be just fine. The rest of us will suffer. Every time they say they’re “saving” money, know that the rest of us are losing.

Trump says that when the stock market was good when Biden was president, that was all him. Now that he’s president and the stock market sucks, that’s Biden’s fault. Sure. That just makes sense. That’s business, baby. Numbers. Etc.

Thank you Mr. Trump for pardoning this lady. Michele Fiore, a Nevada GOP committeewoman, stole 70k from a police memorial charity (back the blue, baby) and used it to pay for plastic surgery, her daughter’s wedding, and rent. More vice signaling.

As I’ve been writing this, horrible video out of Worcester today showing the city police working alongside ICE goons and turning one arrest into two. This article about what went down on Eureka Street has this truly chilling line: “A baby was also with the two women, and it was unclear what happened to it as both women were arrested.” We are evil.

the good news and a cool ass video

Maine stood up and Trump blinked. The administration was mad about trans girls in sports so they tried stealing lunch money from all kids, and they fucking lost. More, please, now.

The video of Mohsen Mahdawi being released brought me to tears. It was a type of joy that just doesn’t exist in the news anymore. More, please, now.

This is a great story from The Handbasket about solidarity in DC. Parents and regular people springing into action to thwart ICE. More, please, now.

A Canadian professor created a game called “The Haunted Woods” that illustrated the risk of Long COVID and the efficacy of masks… and between 95 and 100% of students in the class started masking up. Powerful. Wear a mask, please, now.

I leave you with this. Let’s go, indeed.