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parenthetical

@middle8.bsky.social
77 followers 125 following 86 posts

Music, politics, baseball, art. Hates fake quotes. I need a crowd of people, but I can't face them day to day. New (and old) music I recently internetted at robertbeverly.bandcamp.com.

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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
This week at First Draft: I don't get to write that headline's sentence, well, ever, so listen up.
first-draft.com
I Agree With Pete Hegseth
And he should be impeached immediately.
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
It's good sometimes to take a breath and have a reality check.
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Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 26/09/2026
This is actually hell, right?
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Not ideal but MLB should do a @redsox.com @cubsbot.bsky.social Friday doubleheader, and then be ready to squeeze one in on the weekend but I'd guess they'll play the final game (if the Cubs need it) on Monday.
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Asha Rangappa @asharangappa.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
So a big part of Iran Contra and one of the (many) reasons it was illegal was that third party fund weren’t deposited into the U.S. Treasury
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
25 years after his most famous and horrific tactic, bin Laden never would've guessed who would be furthering his bigger strategy.
first-draft.com
How’s The OBL Strategy Going?
Why is this very, very bad man smiling from a dark, watery grave?
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Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
This article is what's called a "beat sweetener," where access journalists write a story that's extremely flattering to one of their sources in order to keep the line open www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/u...
nytimes.com
Behind the Scenes, Vance Gathered Unvarnished Views of the Iran War
Vice President JD Vance received sobering assessments about the war that did not line up with what he, President Trump and other top administration officials were saying publicly.
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Cannot heart this hard enough. (Note to self: Do I subscribe to The Atlantic?)
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Many years ago, Beth Macy came over to write an article about a few pals and me. Time has revealed that it really should've been the other way around. I guess this is my better-late-than-never.
first-draft.com
Can Beth Macy Author An Upset?
The reporter-turned-bestseller is stumping to serve VA-06 in Congress. Some national support wouldn’t hurt.
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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 30/08/2026
The smoking gun evidence in the hush money trial that convicted Trump on 34 felony counts included a $50K payout to Red Finch Technologies. Red Finch artificially boosted Trump's polls. Just making sure no one forgets Trump has been fixing the polls for a decade.
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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
What Did Trump Do That Made Carney Walk Away? talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/what-...
talkingpointsmemo.com
What Did Trump Do That Made Carney Walk Away?
You’ve probably seen that Canadian PM Mark Carney has walked away from...
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Well, he does.
first-draft.com
Scott Bessent Gives Me The Heebie-Jeebies
I have my reasons, and you should, too.
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Lunch had a component of red sauce and none of it got on my white shirt and tbh the rest of the day was pretty much a victory lap.
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
And still going after the break?! Unbelievable. Changing games.
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
#athletics booth - I'm watching just as a baseball fan (I'm a Red Sox fan, so definitely not for NYY), but cripes, we get it, they made a mistake, LET IT GO. Spending an entire half-inning on it is not good.
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
You mean "Many people say ..." isn't sufficient to be taken seriously?
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Sorry, Iran, but check the news. We don't do reparations unless they're for white people who don't deserve it.
thehill.com
Iran: New proposal includes reparations for war damage, US troop withdrawal
Iran wants an end to all hostilities against it and its proxy group in Lebanon, U.S. forces to withdraw from areas near Iran and reparations for damage caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on the regime,…
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Save this for the next person who tells you "the parties are the same." This week's post at First Draft: child marriage laws.
first-draft.com
That’s Not Her Father
Oklahoma manages to buck an entrenched right-wing culture that rails against child trafficking but is pretty OK with picking just one and settling down.
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Timothy Burke @bubbaprog.xyz · 14/03/2026
A week after FIU college republicans were exposed for celebrating Himmler's concept of a "Nazi heaven," UF college republicans are disbanded for doing Hitler salutes.
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Patrick* Neithard @patrickneithard.eurosky.social · 04/02/2026
ICE agent wearing skull mask that is usually associated with the neo Nazi atomwaffen group ctc.westpoint.edu/the-iron-mar...
ctc.westpoint.edu
The Iron March Forum and the Evolution of the “Skull Mask” Neo-Fascist Network - Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract: The backbone of the “skull mask” transnational neo-fascist accelerationist network—whose nodes include terror groups such as Atomwaffen, the Base, and Feuerkrieg Division—is a group of organ...
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Noah Berlatsky @nberlat.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
all of Minneapolis is being treated the way police have often treated Black neighborhoods, because Minneapolis as a whole has made it clear it stands with marginalized people.
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Is it too early to start working on Apology Tour merch?
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
If you're wondering how the Renee Good murder (and more recently, the release of the ICE agent's footage) is going over, Fox News has over 60 stories on its homepage right now, and looks to me that zero of them are about the incident.
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
The correct comparison partner for Renee Good isn't Charlie Kirk, it's Ashli Babbitt. The fun game for your friends and neighbors is Can You Spot The Actual Domestic Terrorist?
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 25/12/2025
I have a close relative with a decades-old car-accident related lobotomy, PTSD from multiple violent experiences, dementia, and years of homelessness, who dwells on his traumatic experiences, and even he will sometimes focus on your wellbeing and sincerely mean it. That's how damaged Trump is.
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Adam Klasfeld @klasfeldreports.com · 20/11/2025
A senior ICE official just admitted in an evidentiary hearing in Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s case that someone else drafted his declaration in the case and he didn’t know what certain words meant.
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Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) @hcrichardson.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Before the midterms of 1866, President Andrew Johnson called his congressional opponents traitors and said they should be hanged. Voters were so profoundly moved by his words... that they gave his opponents a supermajority in Congress, and the nation got the Fourteenth Amendment.
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Charlotte Clymer @charlotteclymer.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
Seriously, this feels like the political comms equivalent of a successful Queer Eye makeover.
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Michael Ian Black @michaelianblack.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
She. Is. So. Brave.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 01/10/2025
Raskin: "It's not lost on anyone that shutting the government down allows them not swear in our new colleague, Ms Grijalva from Arizona, who would be the 218th signature to discharge the Epstein files and to put a vote on that on the House floor."
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The Onion @theonion.com · 30/09/2025
Trump Audibly Counting Non-White Generals
Trump Audibly Counting Non-White Generals
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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 01/10/2025
Dear @apnews.com The republicans control congress. Democrats did not vote down anything. If the GOP wanted to fund the government, they could have changed the rules to pass a CR with a simple majority like they did 11 days ago to approve 48 trump appointees at once. Fix your headline.
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dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Starbucks says surveillance clears an employee who’d been accused of writing “Loser” on a cup when someone ordered Charlie Kirk’s “favorite drink.” The accusation was originally posted by a Republican party official. It forced the store to shut down for safety. blockclubchicago.org/2025/09/19/v...
The controversy started with a post Tuesday from Jacqueline Garretson, who, according to her X bio, is the Illinois state director for The Conservative Caucus and previously worked as a staffer for failed Republican attorney_general candidate Thomas DeVore.
Garretson wrote that a relative, whom she later identified as her mother-in-law, ordered the Mint Majesty tea with two honeys — an order known to be Kirk's favorite drink - from the
Starbucks. When the order was completed, the cup had "Loser" written on it, Garretson said.
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
theonion.com
Conservative Man Proudly Frightened Of Everything
FLOWER MOUND, TX—Condemning the “woke left” for what he called the “modern evisceration of masculinity,” local conservative man Hank Daniels confirmed Monday that he was never going to stop being prou...
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Shecky @adrastosno.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
If it's Tuesday, it must be Parenthetical. @middle8.bsky.social
first-draft.com
One Hashtag To Rule Them All
Secretary Hegseth, poster boy for the right wing’s existential hashtag, rates his actual suitability for his position on a scale from 1 to 10.
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Shecky @adrastosno.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
If it's Tuesday, it must be Parenthetical. @middle8.bsky.social
first-draft.com
Why Is This Sign Illegal In Idaho?
Maybe it’s not that complicated.
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
My latest at First Draft. If you're like me, you've seen this kind of thing before and chalked it up to misdirected post-9/11 anti-Muslim sentiment. But as this MTG-wannabe reveals, even that version of bigotry was too charitable. first-draft.com/2025/06/09/u...
first-draft.com
Upwardly Deplorable: Rep. Mary Miller
Right-wing America: When you care enough to attack someone because of their religion, but don’t care enough to learn squat about other religions.
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
In this episode, we put the lie to the whole "if they would just do it legally" facade, but we also make room for a look at more than just "deportations."
first-draft.com
Time For A Round Of “How Many Of Them Are White Folks?”
Because there’s nothing racists hate more than context and critical thinking. Take a moment to dip into some of both, won’t you?
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
My First Draft column this week offers an excuse to delve into some Springsteen nerdery in the light of Trump's recent tantrums. first-draft.com/2025/05/20/b...
first-draft.com
Bruce Opines, Trump Whines
Springsteen enters full DGAF mode and DJT can’t handle the truth. Read on for some fun comparison and Bruce background.
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
This week's column at First Draft checks in on candidate Spanberger as she tried to triangulate her way around the issue of Virginia's anti-union laws on her path to the governor's mansion. Included: two good maps and two good Pernice Bros. songs.
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
My Tuesday evidence-based column -- Here's the scoop on how to tell the Biden Economy from the Trump Economy: One licked the relentless recession doomposters. The other one just bites. (Bluesky showing useful graph instead of pun-supporting photo of Joe w ice cream.) first-draft.com/2025/05/06/w...
first-draft.com
Whose Economy Is It, Anyway?
The scoop on how to tell the Biden Economy from the Trump Economy: One licked the nattering nabobs of recessionary negativism with the softest landing in the world. The other one just bites.
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
The spud state is making the news for all the wrong reasons this year, but some folks are stepping up and doing the right thing. My Tuesday morning column offers the latest plus a little history on the side. first-draft.com/2025/04/29/i...
first-draft.com
Idaho’s Incitements & Indictments
From GOP town hall thuggery to a Heil-Hitlering CEO, this year has brought its share of bad press, bad choices, and consequences to the hard-right Famous Potatoes state.
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NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
If people deny that Israel is for the Jews, they will be punished by our Antisemitism Task Force. And if they deny that it's for Jews so as to bring on the events of Revelations so Jews can be cast into Hell, they will be punished by our Anti-Christian Task Force. by Donald Trump and Kristi Noem
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
No deep dive for my Tuesday column this week, more of an attempt to skim and scathe across recent events. Remember, kids, it's not Imposter Syndrome if you're really not qualified.
first-draft.com
Can’t Shake Those Self-Oblivious Blues
Swift, Davies, Dylan, and Givens all do what they can to clue in POTUS and the cabinet, but some people just can’t take a hint.
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
I heard that on separate occasions Hegseth texted the Joint Chiefs his lunch order, four dad jokes, and a request for short-term financial assistance from a Nigerian prince, so it seems like reasonable Americans should be able to just call this a wash and move on.
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Christopher Mims @mims.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
This is one of the most important pieces of journalism any of us will read this year. Shows exactly how policy is made now - a scrabble of advisors trying to push an unreliable executive to pursue their agendas, at a moment’s notice www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
wsj.com
Exclusive | Trump Advisers Took Advantage of Navarro’s Absence to Push for Tariff Pause
The alliance between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick illustrates how fast things can change inside the White House.
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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
way too on point. Churchill put Mosley in prison for the duration of the war. Fascist quislings in waiting were a danger to the war effort. Sent the ex-King to be gov of Jamaica for similar reasons. None of this will end well.
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
@pitcherlist.com Red Sox fan and fantasy mgr enjoying checking PL daily as usual. Noticing a couple remarks dinging the STL offense, and it's early and I'm not used to it either, but the Cards are MLB #1 OBP (#3 OSP) so far. In a QS league, OBP kills so I check it. Anyway, thx for the great work!
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parenthetical @middle8.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Finally got around to watching The Old Man via Hulu. It was considerably better than expected based on the trailer from months ago that had turned me off. And not just because of the excellent surprise of hearing Joe Henry's voice at just the right time.
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