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Kenn Shapiro

@freshrhetoric.com
2K followers 290 following 226 posts

Commentary. Opinion. Thought. Also, at times, Humor (though without all that annoying laughter).

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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 21/04/2026
Written nine years ago, during his first term.
freshrhetoric.com
Flailing In the Thrall of An Incoherent Haze
Sometime probably during the latter part of 1997 (or thereabouts), as I was browsing through a national newsmagazine (I think it was US News and World Report, but I can’t say for sure), I came acro…
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 28/08/2025
Little known fact: Before Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894, anyone buying a mattress in late August/early September had to pay full price.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 31/07/2025
Note to dumpling vendors everywhere: Deny Dershowitz at your peril!
mediaite.com
Alan Dershowitz Says He’s Suing ‘Bigoted Vendor’ After Being Denied Pierogi
Alan Dershowitz said he is suing a Martha's Vineyard food vendor who refused to serve the former Harvard Law professor pierogi because of his politics.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 06/07/2025
What a scathingly beautiful and beautifully scathing piece of writing.
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Pointless Triumph of a Hapless President
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 04/07/2025
All those masks needed to enforce our immigration laws don't come cheap.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 18/06/2025
From the article: “While he opposes much of Mr. Trump’s agenda, Mr. Obama believes that offering a steady stream of criticism of the administration would dilute the power of his voice, [per sources].” But the fire is raging now—will his voice have any power when all that’s left is ash?
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 17/06/2025
Spoken like a true statesman—in a world where "states" refers to a mammal's posterior, and "man" refers to the orifice on that posterior.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 16/06/2025
One might be inclined to think this clumsy, indecipherable word-hash was the product of artificial intelligence, though I think artificial absurdity (or maybe genuine, intentional absurdity) might be more to blame.
nytimes.com
Opinion | Our Advice to Voters in a Vexing Race for New York Mayor
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 12/06/2025
Mightn’t this be ironic, if not also predictable, that the person responsible for the degradation of a societal economic crown is the one lusting after his own personal piece of bejeweled headwear?
reut.rs
The dollar's crown is slipping, and fast
The dollar has sunk to its lowest in three years as rapidly changing U.S. trade policy unsettles markets and expectations build for Federal Reserve rate cuts, fuelling outflows from the world's biggest economy.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 09/06/2025
We may well be on the verge of a Kent State moment. Scary times, but perhaps a blind miscalculation by the MAGAs.
theguardian.com
We are witnessing the first stages of Trump’s police state | Robert Reich
The national guard’s deployment in Los Angeles sets the US on a familiar authoritarian pathway. History shows the results
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 29/05/2025
To all within DC and its environs for whom The Kennedy Center has become too Trumpified, you have an alternative. The Strathmore, just up the road in North Bethesda, is a wonderful venue with a top-quality calendar. Check it out.
bethesdamagazine.com
Washington Performing Arts ditches Kennedy Center, expands Strathmore offerings
The Strathmore in North Bethesda is among alternate venues for upcoming performances by Washington Performing Arts.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 28/05/2025
👇👇👇
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 28/05/2025
With all the new plumbers and electricians, one could expect the cost of hiring one to go down, no? Not necessarily a good thing for existing plumbers and electricians, but if that's the cost of spanking Harvard, surely the plumbers and electricians will be happy to absorb it.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 27/05/2025
Trump's dementia may indeed be exacerbated by his age, but perhaps the reason why the press doesn’t treat it as breaking news is that throughout his time on the public stage Trump's behavior has always been demented. Biden's dementia was a drastic change in his persona. Trump's is nothing new.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 26/05/2025
Also, though not as publicized, Moody’s likewise downgraded Trump’s hairstyle from “comb-over” to “mulch,” downgraded RFK, Jr’s health expertise from “Huh?” to “WTF?,” and downgraded my Bluesky posts from “boring” to “coma-inducing.”
theguardian.com
The US credit rating has been downgraded. But there’s an easy fix for our debt | Robert Reich
Instead of cutting taxes on the richest Americans – who hold much of the country’s debt – simply raise them
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 22/05/2025
Think of something, anything, that could make the vast majority of us poorer, sicker, and less safe, and you’ve pretty much found the Rosetta Stone for deciphering Trump Administration policy goals.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 20/05/2025
Seriously, Cory--you owe not merely your constituents, but the American public at large, an explanation. Mistake? Mini-stroke? Were those 25 hours just a stunt?
newsweek.com
Cory Booker faces backlash after voting for Jared Kushner's father
Charles Kushner, who is set to serve as ambassador to France, said, "I think that my past mistakes … make me more qualified."
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 17/05/2025
Wait…what? Wouldn’t this mean that your China “tariffs” would just be a tax on Walmart? How would that cause China to make any changes in its trade policies? Mr. President, have you really thought this thr…? Yeah, OK, never mind—for a second, I forgot whom I was asking.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 17/05/2025
What he said 👇👇👇
youtube.com
Land of Hope and Dreams
YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 16/05/2025
Other everyday words and concepts our president never needed to know nor bothered to learn: Copay. Deductible. Shopping cart. Coupon. Gardening. Housekeeping. Studying. Apology. Kindness. Democracy. Constitution…
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 16/05/2025
"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players."
huffpost.com
DHS Is Considering A Reality Show Where Immigrants Compete For Citizenship
The news comes after Rep. Bennie Thompson called out DHS Secretary Kristi Noem for her apparent costumes and staged photos during ICE raids and DHS assignments.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 12/05/2025
Only “stupid” people don’t know that “equalize” has been a word for about half a millennium.
nytimes.com
Trump, Pressed on Qatari Jet, Says Only ‘Stupid’ People Reject Gifts
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 12/05/2025
In the past, an armed person wearing a mask was usually up to no good. That’s still true today.
washingtonpost.com
Opinion | Is that guy with a gun an ICE officer — or just a guy with a gun?
Masked federal agents aren’t exactly Trump’s secret police. But they are hiding from accountability.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 12/05/2025
The reason investors think China is winning Trump's trade war is because China is winning Trump's trade war.
fortune.com
Investors think China is winning Trump’s trade war as stocks rally globally
The China deal, like the U.K. deal, still leaves the U.S. with much higher barriers to trade than it had before.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 11/05/2025
A very important piece. Wake up, NYC.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 10/05/2025
Seems to me that whenever DJT refers to someone as "low IQ," he's referring to someone who triggers his intellectual insecurities, and whose smarts are superior to his.
the-independent.com
Trump rages at ‘highly neurotic’ MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle over tariffs
‘Donald Trump is backed into a corner’ and is ‘looking for an exit,’ Stephanie Ruhel said Friday morning, prompting the president to fire back on Truth Social
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 07/05/2025
Black smoke likewise seen over the White House, signaling no meaningful tariff deals have yet been signed.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 02/05/2025
Three cheers for Abbe Lowell—fearlessly and faithfully honoring his oath as a lawyer.
npr.org
Legal veteran starts new firm to defend targets of Trump actions
With nearly 40 years of legal practice, lawyer Abbe Lowell has represented many powerful people. Now he's starting a new law firm to represent those who have drawn the ire of President Trump.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 02/05/2025
Question to New York City as Weiner and Cuomo seek electoral comebacks: Are these guys really the best you have to offer?
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 29/04/2025
Oy, Senator, I know you're trying, but this attempt at a sharp rebuke stands out like a blade of grass in a ten-acre lawn. Yes, these 100 days have been hell, but the resistance needs more forceful leadership. Please—pass the baton.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 29/04/2025
He's cruel, he's evil, he's maniacal—typical autocrat attributes. The weak link in his autocrat profile is his ineptitude. If our republic survives this era of malevolence—a big "if" to be sure—his incompetence and idiocy will be what saved us. The question for us then will be, how vast the rubble?
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 27/04/2025
Schumer finally gets tough with Trump: Sends “very strong letter.” Not just a letter. Not just a strong letter. Schumer is serious this time!
mediaite.com
Schumer Reveals Grand Plan to Stop Trump from Pulling Harvard’s Funding: ‘We Sent Him a Very Strong Letter’
Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union, Schumer told anchor Dana Bash that he and other Jewish senators sent a "very strong letter" to the White House.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 25/04/2025
Is it true that an internet search of the term "Artificial Intelligence" brings up a group photo of the President and his Cabinet?
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 17/04/2025
I suspect that scientific studies, properly peer-reviewed, would support the widely-believed supposition that words exiting RFK Jr's mouth are environmental toxins.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 10/04/2025
The "truth," if in fact it is out there, is worth the hunt, since we surely have a shortage here on Earth.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 06/04/2025
Lutnick’s the same guy who last week said his mother-in-law wouldn’t care if she missed a month of social security payments. Now we know why. She’s already lined up a job screwing tiny little screws into iPhones. Won’t help her arthritis much, but that minimum wage sure sounds sweet.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 04/04/2025
As the band played on while the Titanic sank, so will history record that Trump hit the links as the market crashed.
msnbc.com
Amid turmoil, Trump heads to Florida for a golf event (again)
After setting much of the global economy — and retirement accounts — on fire, taking a golf trip isn’t a great look for Trump.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 03/04/2025
We have reached the cultish confluence of Trump Casino and Trump University, the point at which believers lose vast amounts of money while learning nothing from the experience.
independent.co.uk
Vance boasts about ‘enthusiasm’ over tariffs during softball Fox & Friends interview
Elsewhere in the interview, Vance blasted reports that Elon Musk would be stepping back from the administration as ‘fake news’ before acknowledging that his role will soon come to an end.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 02/04/2025
Note to Chuck Schumer: Don’t be that person, that stereotypical All-Star who refuses to acknowledge when it’s time to hang up the cleats. You’ve accomplished much, but your era has passed. Step away from leadership while your legacy of achievement is still intact.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 01/04/2025
So if I’m understanding Adobe’s “chief people officer” correctly, there’s nothing to see here because, on the matter of DEI, our initiative was a mirage all along.
businessinsider.com
Adobe's HR chief tells staff: We're done with DEI hiring goals
Adobe shifts away from DEI hiring targets, joining Google and Meta in scaling back diversity efforts.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 01/04/2025
There are times--rare times--when it's apropos, dare I say even appreciated, for a politician to be long-winded.
usatoday.com
Sen. Cory Booker gives marathon speech on Senate floor against government cuts
A Senate floor filibuster from Sen. Cory Booker tackled possible government spending cuts from Medicaid to Social Security.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 30/03/2025
Note to real journalists: Stop attending daily White House briefings—they are blatantly propagandistic, and to report on them is to become a complicit amplifier. Use your time instead by ferreting truth the hard way, through sources and digging. The country is in real trouble—this is not a drill.
axios.com
Scoop: White House to take charge of briefing-room seating chart
It's the latest effort by the White House to take a heavier hand in shaping who covers Trump.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 30/03/2025
Just before DJT swallowed the Kennedy Center and turned his insatiable appetite on PBS, this occurred on New Years Eve, 2024. An appropriate (and breathtaking) performance for what seems to be the end of an era of excellence.
youtube.com
Sara Bareilles sings powerful cover of 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' | NEXT at the Kennedy Center
YouTube video by PBS
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 28/03/2025
Skadden's capitulation is an insult to the legal profession, an insult to the zealous advocacy expected of every member of the bar, an insult to the concept of justice, and an insult to the rule of law. Shame! Shame! Shame!
cnbc.com
Trump says Skadden, Arps law firm will provide $100 million in pro bono legal services, avoiding executive order
Earlier, two "Big Law" firms sued the Trump administration over the president's executive orders targeting them.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 27/03/2025
With measles surging and bird flu looming, HHS under the ever-vigilant leadership of RFK, Jr. will cut 10,000 jobs. What could possibly go wrong?
cnbc.com
U.S. health department plans to slash 10,000 jobs as RFK Jr. upends agencies
The massive cuts at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Health and Human Services Department could affect teams that respond to outbreaks and help with insurance coverage.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 27/03/2025
What she said👇
youtube.com
Are You The Ultra Rich?
YouTube video by PoliticsGirl
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 26/03/2025
This latest security lapse by Waltz—Trump's NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR—is sure to be fodder for biting humor from late night comedians, and rightly so. But looking past the inevitable and deserved comedic bashing, this is not funny—it’s perilous. Our national security has been entrusted to clowns.
wired.com
Mike Waltz Left His Venmo Friends List Public
A WIRED review shows national security adviser Mike Waltz, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, and other top officials left sensitive information exposed via Venmo—until WIRED asked about it.
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 25/03/2025
A must read from McSweeneys!
mcsweeneys.net
Lest We Forget the Horrors: An Unending Catalog of Trump’s Cruelties, Collusions, Corruptions, and Crimes
Early in President Trump’s first term, McSweeney’s editors began to catalog the head-spinning number of misdeeds coming from his administration. We...
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 23/03/2025
Three cheers for Bethesda's Strathmore Hall--a beautiful venue, not far from The Kennedy Center, supporting the merits of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
mymcmedia.org
Bethesda's Strathmore Hall Hosts Cancelled 'DEI' Orchestra
Last Sunday, the Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda held a one of kind performance. Originally planned for early May at an arts center in Alexandria, the concert held there… Read More
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Kenn Shapiro @freshrhetoric.com · 22/03/2025
Does the Constitution require cabinet members to live on planet Earth?
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