https://karenattiah.substack.com/p/when-beautifying-your-grief-does

«To embrace hopelessness is to realize that beauty and discipline can easily tip into the ugliness of avoidance— a way of trying to run from death and the reality of impermanence. Instead of rushing to re-invention, there is true strength in sitting with my multiple deaths, and resisting the urge to put fake flowers and plastic glitter over the very real bones of old dreams.»

Not a sentiment one runs across very often.

This is a really great essay.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/04/us/politics/trump-coin-crypto-investors-loss.html?unlocked_article_code=1.vFA.mu_c.DREuTYhq4VNF&smid=url-share

A million lost $4,000/person while half a million profited $8,000/person. That’s a wealth transfer from the stupid to the clever.

https://www.popehat.com/p/a-bit-of-tedious-drama-at-bluesky

«Elon Musk is autistic trillionaire Radio Rwanda.»

I just had a crazy thought, having seen my 8,000th picture of Pete Hegseth: is he gay?

Just kinda hit me. I’m sure 100,000 people have wondered this before me; I’m kinda slow, but I get there.

I mean… the whole emphasis on manliness. Haven’t we seen this before?

I know, all the gay men out there are saying, “Oh, welcome to the party, John.”

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/19/reform-uk-weaknesses-makerfield-nigel-farage-labour

«And the next year or so will be one of the most crucial and fascinating political periods that the UK has ever seen.»

And I’m over here going “Huh? What? Who’s Andy Burnham? Where’s Makerfield and why is it important? What’s a by-election? What happened to Keir Starner?”

Watching spider noir. Nick Cage is a crappy Humphrey bogart.

https://indyweek.com/news/durham-budget-shortfall-property-tax/

A boring story of boring property value assessments and appeals.

This is one of the ways how the world works.

https://open.spotify.com/track/6ApOqDPnIq3S0ExGiEq1rG

🎵

«I’m not looking for love
I won’t let you in my heart
But you were always on my mind»

«Nobody here heard “working class ex-military white guy fisherman” and didn’t assume he was rough around the edges at a minimum.»

https://catvalente.substack.com/p/the-democratic-urge-to-lose

«I have been furious at voters for not being able to look past whatever flaws Kamala, Biden, and Hilary had and pull the lever for the smallest hope of things getting better instead of the certainty that they wouldn’t.»

She correctly blames voters, not the Democratic Party. I love it.

«Look, I didn’t like Graham Platner at first, either. I’m not sure if I “like” him now. But liking someone is not actually my primary criteria as a voter.»

https://www.dw.com/en/hitlers-henchmen-killed-for-promotions-and-recognition/a-77473037

«For Christian Gläßel, this is a side effect of systems — like meritocracies — that produce winners and losers. “The losers are a human resource that an autocrat can exploit,” he says.

Gläßel believes that meritocracy neither protects against the erosion of democratic institutions nor against authoritarian rule. On the contrary, his and Scharpf’s research suggests that performance-based systems can drive ordinary people to commit extreme crimes.»

Background:

«The researchers’ interest was sparked by an offhand remark. During a visit to Argentina, Adam Scharpf met someone who casually commented that during Argentina’s military dictatorship, the secret police had been full of “idiots.”

…

“It’s really a puzzle,” says Gläßel. “Why would a dictator, who depends on an effective secret police force, rely on idiots?”»

I read this, and I thought, “Huh. I wonder if there’s any connection with the fact that Trump people appear to largely be morons?”

And, sure enough, Pete Hegseth shows up later.