Why Society Is Falling Apart: Two Cheerful Views November 9, 2025November 8, 2025 DAVID BROOKS ADDRESSING BRITS I can’t say I understood it all, but he is really fun to listen to. And this was eight months ago! As horrified as he was then, what must he think now? Cheerful executive summary: he believes we’re going to preserve democracy, as we always have. Needless to say, I hope he’s right. But — my words now, not his — preserving democracy is not our only challenge. Over the next few years, we will either figure out how to deal with a world where little unpleasant or boring work is required (because of AI, robots, and nearly-free energy from the sun) . . . which — when phrased that way — could actually be what humans have dreamt of since coming down from the trees (can you get much more cheerful than leisure and prosperity?) . . . or face a nightmare of even more grotesque inequality, with spectacular wealth for a few (The Haves and Have-Yachts), quiet desperation for most. Part 3 of Andrew Yang’s The War on Normal People suggests ways we might achieve the former. (The first two Parts explain why there won’t be any jobs.) It’s been nearly seven years since I (sort of) interviewed him. I hope he runs for president again (though not as a third-party spoiler) to direct the national conversation toward this fundamental challenge. FAREED ZAKARIA’S TAKE Ref, You Suck. He’s not particularly cheerful (forgive my bait and switch). But his analysis is too clear — and important — to miss. > Join Indivisible. > Support “my” 26th annual DNC LGBT Leadership Council dinner even if you’re not L, G, B, or T and even though you can’t come. An adequately funded opposition party is absolutely necessary for democracy to prevail. Next year: give to candidates. This year: to infrastructure.
Handing The Mic To CHRISTIANITY TODAY Not To Be Missed November 7, 2025November 7, 2025 MAGA Shocked to Find Nazis in Their Tent Like literally — they have a tent! Click on that story. And see Nuremberg! (“Fascinating and urgently important.” — Deadline) But try, also, to make time for this must-read piece from Christianity Today: The Church Better Start Taking Nazification Seriously* Last week, after Tucker Carlson platformed neo-Nazi apologist Nick Fuentes on his podcast, the Heritage Foundation’s president Kevin Roberts issued a statement defending Carlson. . . . In the days since, some Heritage Foundation staffers have told reporters that the controversy revealed for them how many of the youngest staffers and interns actually agree with Fuentes. This comes only weeks after text messages from multiple Young Republicans groups were leaked, showing racist, antisemitic, and pro-Hitler messages. Those who say [this is just a tiny fringe] do not understand how almost every fad—good, bad, and neutral—that has swept through evangelicalism has taken hold. These trends start out in small groups of people that are not large enough to be taken seriously by “successful” leaders. These small communities then cultivate the fads until a couple people with bigger platforms adopt them. And then, seemingly suddenly, they are everywhere. Power evangelism, prayer walking, seeker-sensitive services, laughing revivals, New Calvinism—all of these (and again, some of these things are good, and some are not) happened that way. There is much — much — more to this must-read piece. Listen: in America, you have a right to be hateful. To be vulgar. To mock the disabled. To call fellow citizens “scum” and “vermin.” To dine with neo-Nazis. To praise Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as “genius.” To brand former House Speakers “evil” and joke a bit after their husbands are bludgeoned nearly to death with a hammer. You have a right to all that. Even, as a major CEO, to publish four volumes of rabidly anti-Semitic newspaper articles. To march with swastikas in a town filled with Holocaust survivors. (Read that amazing story here and join the ACLU.) Even to burn the American flag! As I’ve written before, “The whole point of America is that you can burn the flag!” But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t fight like hell to keep these things from becoming acceptable. > Join Indivisible. > Support “my” 26th annual DNC LGBT Leadership Council dinner even if you’re not L, G, B, or T and even though you can’t come. An adequately funded opposition party is absolutely necessary for democracy to prevail. Next year: give to candidates. This year: to infrastructure. > Have a great weekend. *A different branch of Christianity, to be sure; but there’s a powerful scene in Nuremberg with Supreme Court Justice Jackson at the Vatican with the Pope. Don’t miss it.
Passports November 7, 2025November 7, 2025 But first . . . AT THE MOVIES I saw Nuremberg yesterday. “Fascinating and urgently important.” — Deadline Truly. Opens today. Oh, and . . . JOBS And now . . . PASSPORTS Part 1 — CAITLYN JENNER Supreme Court allows Trump to limit passport sex markers for trans and nonbinary Americans . . . to which two of my friends texted: “We can’t wait for Bruce/Caitlin Jenner (a Trump supporter) to renew his/her passport.” But wait! The 1976 Male Athlete of the Year (seen here at the YMCA) has at least partly reconsidered: Caitlyn Jenner Calls Out Trump in Video Message: ‘You Made a Promise to Protect the LGBTQ Community’. Part 2 — ANNA JULIA COOPER From The Curiosity Curator: . . . By the circumstances of her birth, she was property. The law said she had no rights, no future, no voice. Anna Julia Cooper had other ideas. When the Civil War ended and emancipation came, Anna was about seven years old. Suddenly, impossibly, she was free. And the first thing she wanted was education. . . . Women were expected to study just enough to become basic teachers or support their future husbands. Anna thought that was ridiculous. She demanded to take the advanced courses. The school initially refused. She pushed back. Eventually, they let her in—and she outperformed the male students. In 1881, at age 23, Anna enrolled at Oberlin College in Ohio—one of the only institutions in America that admitted both women and Black students. She earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1884, then returned for a master’s degree in mathematics in 1887. A Black woman. With two degrees in mathematics. In the 1880s. Anna was just getting started. . . . In 1892, she published A Voice from the South, [writing]: “The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class—it is the cause of humankind.” That sentence would echo through history. But in 1892, most of America wasn’t listening. Then, in her 60s—when most people would be thinking about retirement—Anna decided to earn a Ph.D. . . . So in 1911, Anna enrolled at the Sorbonne. She studied French history and culture while maintaining her teaching career in D.C., traveling back and forth across the Atlantic. Anna Julia Cooper became the fourth African American woman ever to earn a doctoral degree—and she did it at 67, in a foreign language, while teaching full-time and raising children. . . . Anna Julia Cooper lived to be 105. . . . Today, her words—“The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class—it is the cause of humankind”—appear in United States passports, carried by millions of Americans traveling the world. → I checked my own just now. It’s true. BONUS This West Wing scene (2 minutes) just never gets old. *Nuremberg* “Fascinating and urgently important.” — Deadline
The Tide Is Turning November 6, 2025November 6, 2025 THIS REEKS Medicare freeze beneficiary secretly donates $2.5 million to Trump ballroom and has been allowed to bill Medicare for $11,000 per square inch for artificial skin that has not yet been proven as effective as competitive products that sell for under $200. Not only is he “the king of debt” and of bankruptcy . . . of tax avoidance and of impeachment . . . he would appear also to be the king of corruption. THIS, TOO Evangelical House Speaker Mike Johnson runs a “Pedophile Protection Program.” To prevent the Epstein files from being released, he’s sent the House off on extended paid vacation and refused to seat a duly elected Member. JESUS! I think this song is pretty good. (60 seconds) ONE PLACE THEY DON’T WEAR THEIR RED HATS A sharp barb — but it seems to have been offered, and received, without animosity. Maybe we don’t hate each other so much after all. (10 seconds) THE TIDE IS TURNING Ben Meiselas: . . . [E]ven as Trump spirals, the institutions he’s tried to break are beginning to push back. In Virginia, Magistrate Judge Fitzpatrick ordered Trump’s prosecutors to turn over all grand jury materials in the politically motivated James Comey case, sharply criticizing them for “indicting first and investigating later.” It’s a stunning rebuke of the corruption Trump has injected into the Justice Department. And right now at the Supreme Court, in a pivotal case that could further erode Trump’s entire presidency, even the conservative justices don’t seem to be buying the regime’s arguments for his tariffs. Tuesday’s results were an electoral victory for Democrats, but even more, they were a reaffirmation of democracy itself. From young voters turning out in record numbers to the passage of Prop 50 in California, to Democrats breaking the Republican supermajority in deep-red Missouri—a feat nobody thought possible—Americans made clear they’ve had enough of Trumpism’s cruelty and incompetence. Trump can fly off to Florida, hold another party, and surround himself with sycophants, but he can’t escape the truth: the tide is turning. The blue wave he mocked has become a blue tsunami, powered by people who still believe in decency, democracy, and the rule of law. And no amount of denial, or Gatsby-themed escapism, will change that. The momentum is on the side of democracy. But let’s be clear: this momentum only continues if we keep our feet on the gas. So let’s continue to build. Let’s continue to fight. Let’s ensure our messages are spread far and wide. Join Indivisible’s “What’s the Plan” call today at 3pm Eastern. Support “my” 26th annual DNC LGBT Leadership Council dinner even if you’re not L, G, B, or T and even if you can’t come. An adequately funded opposition party is absolutely necessary for democracy to prevail. Next year: give to candidates. This year: to infrastructure.
Political Thrills, Wall Street Chills November 5, 2025 Yesterday’s sweeping election results raise the hope that — if we all continue to lean into it — we just might be able to restore respect for the Constitution and the rule of law. Indeed, faced with such a strong rebuke, Republican Senators and Representatives might even become legislators again, instead of toadies. With Mamdani’s win, New York is facing a tougher tax on the rich — and (some) millionaires support it. (Just to be clear, I paid $41,000 for my apartment. Bono paid more.) OPRT . . . Delivers Fourth Consecutive Quarter of GAAP Profitability, Increases Full-Year 2025 Adjusted EPS Guidance. They now project earnings of $1.30-$1.40 per share, meaning that the stock trades around 4X earnings. I think 12X might make more sense, which would be a further triple. So I’ll happily hold on. Even though I’ve been reading . . . . . . Aaron Ross Sorkin’s page-turning and all too eerily topical, 1929.
2% ICE November 4, 2025 TWO VIEWS OF MAMDANI’S 2% SURCHARGE > THIS NEW YORKER WON’T HAVE TO PAY IT — and explains (45 seconds in) why he hopes Mamdani succeeds in adding it on income above $1 million a year. A family earning $2 million, he calculates, would wind up taking home $87,500 a month instead of $90,000 . . . with the $2,500 difference going to make life more affordable for New Yorkers taking home $3,000 a month. > THIS NEW YORKER WILL — but explains why that’s okay (90 seconds). To me, both are compelling. (Though if my math is right, it’s only $1,667 per month, not $2,500, in surcharge on that second million.) Inequality in this country rivals what it was in 1929. How did that turn out? Is it such a bad idea to do something about it? And not just in New York? TWO VIEWS OF ICE The Application (80 seconds). A Pastor’s message to ICE agents (also 80 perhaps even more powerful seconds). Watch both! David H.: “Did it occur to you that we wouldn’t need ICE, except for Democrat open boarders [sic] policy.” → It did not, and I’ll tell you why. The Democrats never had an open borders policy. Not in 2002 when George W. Bush signed ICE into law. Not in 2013 when Democrats passed a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill 68-32 in the Senate that President Obama was poised to sign — if only the Republican House Speaker had allowed it to come to the floor. Nor in 2024 when Trump killed the next one. Clearly, the bill was too long in coming; but, per capita, more violent (and white collar) crime is committed each year by native-born Americans than by undocumented immigrants — who do way more than their share of the farm and food-processing and construction jobs most Americans are unwilling to do — so the blanket approach of demonizing and terrifying all those whose status is questionable in the eyes of barely-trained ICE recruits is not, perhaps, the best way to make America great. US Manufacturing Shrinks for Eighth Month on Sluggish Demand. The New Right’s New Antisemites – WSJ Could it be the Heritage Foundation, Tucker Carlson, and the Proud Boys he should be going after, not Harvard?
12 Steps And A Ditty November 3, 2025 THAT OTHER 12-STEP PROGRAM Countries that slide from democracy toward autocracy tend to follow similar patterns. To measure what is happening in the United States, the Times editorial board has compiled a list of 12 markers of democratic erosion, with help from scholars who have studied this phenomenon. The sobering reality is that the United States has regressed, to different degrees, on all 12. Our country is still not close to being a true autocracy, in the mold of Russia or China. But once countries begin taking steps away from democracy, the march often continues. We offer these 12 markers as a warning of how much Americans have already lost and how much more we still could lose. → A must-read examination by the editorial board of the New York Times: Are We Losing Our Democracy? PRINTING MONEY This dark ditty, under three minutes, is exquisitely done. Watch! It’s insane that we’re adding trillions to the national debt to extend unneeded tax cuts to billionaires. The last time we allowed our debt to grow so high relative to the size of our economy was when we fought World War II to defeat fascism. Back then, the country was overwhelmingly (though not entirely) anti-fascist (antifa for short), and it was felt that — whatever the cost — we and our British allies simply had to win. I’ve written before about my copy of the 1941 federal budget. FDR’s transmittal letter noted two things: (1) taxes should be raised to pay for the necessary military buildup; (2) they should be collected from those most able to pay — the rich. The top federal income tax bracket was set at 91% and would remain there until 1964. Yes, a lot of money had to be printed, as well — the national debt rose to about the same level it is today relative to GDP. But as much as possible was paid for through taxation, with a robust IRS empowered to collect what was due. How times have changed under Trump and his Cabinet of billionaires. No one is suggesting a 91% top rate; but there certainly could be a modest surcharge for that portion of your income above $1 million; and somewhat higher surcharges for income above $10 million, $100 million, and $1 billion. Most rich people are wonderful citizens. They shouldn’t be vilified — just taxed a bit more. On a related note, I can’t recommend Evan Osnos’ The Haves and the Have Yachts highly enough. Such great stories. And, boy, will it make you angry that we’ve largely done away with the estate tax. (“Only morons pay the estate tax.”) Join Indivisible! Support “my” 26th annual DNC LGBT Leadership Council dinner even if you’re not L, G, B, or T and even if you can’t come. An adequately funded opposition party is absolutely necessary for democracy to prevail. Next year: give to candidates. This year: to infrastructure. Have a great week.
Good! November 1, 2025November 2, 2025 TOO GOOD Keith B: A while back, you used a phrase that caught my eye. Something along the lines of, “where has this been my whole life?” You offered up this bold statement of approval for the “food conservation” app, Too Good To Go. I decided to investigate. “We help users rescue good food from going to waste, offering great value for money at local stores, cafes and restaurants.” Well, I’m here to tell you: it’s true! For $6.99 you’ll typically get at least $21.99 worth of food — with one caveat: what you get is a surprise. It’s literally a “surprise bag” of food. That made me nervous (though you can flag issues such as food allergies). But I tried it. And soon the “surprise” element had become maybe the best part! It’s the perfect way to sample a place you’ve never tried or to get a sweet deal from one of your favorites. The app keeps track of my history. I’ve used it 27 times, visiting 8 different places – grocery store, coffee shops, pastry shops, bakeries, and a trendy pizza parlor – and have saved $340, while also avoiding CO2 equivalents equal to 12,447 smart-phone charges. One of my regulars is my local Susie Cakes. Not just because their staff is awesome and their food is outstanding, but the value that you get is incredible. One “surprise bag” contained an entire cake! A $60 value! For $6.99! Of course, this doesn’t happen all the time; but consistently, the value you receive is amazing. And there’s always room in the freezer. We’ve spread the word to friends who now tell delicious tales of their own. GOOD WIN BREAKING: Historic moment as 38-year-old openly gay Rob Jetten becomes Netherlands’ new Prime Minister after his party D66 crushed far-right leader Geert Wilders in a stunning election defeat. A powerful rebuke of authoritarianism and a win for democracy across Europe. THE PERFECT IS THE *ENEMY* OF THE GOOD Dustin Lance Black, Oscar winner for the Harvey Milk biopic, here implores idealistic young LGBT kids not to demand (what they see as) perfection. Under 3 minutes. Powerful. And his broader point could have applied equally well to the 97,488 wonderfully well-meaning Floridians who voted for Nader in 2000, even though they were well aware he could not possibly win. In doing so, because they believed Ralph was “better” than Al Gore — who was ultimately judged to have lost the state by 537 votes even though, counting the “overvotes,” he had won it by 45,000 — they threw the election to George W. Bush. Had they settled, instead, for merely “the good,” electing Gore, there would have been no war in Iraq, no Citizens United or gutted Voting Rights Act (the Supreme Court would have leaned left instead of right), no inequality-gaping tax cut for the mega-wealthy, less room for a demagogue to seize power . . . and on and on and on. It was the tragedy of all tragedies. All Nader’s idealistic followers would have had to do — and only those in swing states, at that! — was vote for the guy who shared most, just not all, their views. CHRIS JONES — TALK ABOUT GOOD! This ordained minister graduated at the top of his high school class, where he quarterbacked the football team; earned his BS in math and physics at Morehouse College, interning at NASA each summer; earned his masters at M.I.T. in nuclear engineering before getting his doctorate in urban planning; and ran for governor of Arkansas in 2022. He lost — but that set him up well for his run now to flip one of Arkansas’s 4 Congressional seats blue. (His wife of 22 years, mother of their three kids, was, among other things, a flight surgeon in Afghanistan.) The polls have it about even, but my money’s on Chris. A REALLY GOOD EXPLANATION OF YOUR AUTOMOTIVE FUTURE So fun (90 seconds). SPEAKING OF WHICH, GOOD QUESTIONS Does this 60 second jaw-dropper make you doubt whether Tesla will dominate the global electric vehicle market? Whether its shares are worth their current 312 times earnings? GOOD NIGHT Enjoy the extra hour tomorrow. Remember when clocks didn’t automatically Fall back and Spring forward?
Uncle Sam Needs YOU! October 30, 2025 Former Intelligence Officials Warn Trump Poses Existential Threat to U.S. Democracy More than 340 of them . . . from the CIA, FBI, Department of State, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security. Not that this is any sort of news flash . . . yet hearing it this way focuses attention. Do not miss Marco Rubio’s finest minute. (And . . . just in case you have four more.) > “Defy Trump, Together.” I just joined a load of good folks who’ve signed on to DEFIANCE.org. Check it out — and spread it widely. > Join today’s Indivisible call — “What’s the Plan?” — at 3pm Eastern. > Support “my” 26th annual DNC LGBT Leadership Council dinner even if you’re not L, G, B, or T and even if you can’t come. An adequately funded opposition party is absolutely necessary for democracy to prevail. Next year: give to candidates. This year: give to infrastructure.
Fascism Doesn’t Share October 29, 2025 This is the Grand Ballroom video everyone’s talking about (90 seconds). Don’t miss it. It plays on the incredible inequality Republicans make ever worse. I’ve long linked to Nick Hanauer’s 2014 TED Talk: Beware, Fellow Plutocrats, The Pitchforks Are Coming. (Excerpted here.) But instead of heeding Nick’s warning, many of his fellow plutocrats pressed for a 10-year tax cut, which Trump gave them; and then pressed Trump to extend it, which he just did. And here we are. Ordinary people, struggling to get by, are angry on the right and the left. But oh how sweet it is at the top! I once spent two nights as the only passenger on Charles Revson’s 252-foot yacht, Ultima II, with a crew of 22 to serve me. It’s fun writing about really rich people! My guess is that Evan Osnos had a blast writing The Haves and the Have-Yachts. I certainly had a blast reading it. It’s at once delectable and horrifying. And, I think, important. When I was writing about Revson half a century ago, Ultima II was (if memory serves) the third largest yacht in the world. Today, it is a few feet shorter than one of the auxiliary yachts Mark Zuckerberg keeps beside his main one. You know — for the helicopters, submarine and basketball court. According to this clip, maintaining his yachts — forget the cost to acquire them — runs $136,504 a day. Nick Hanauer’s talk is worth the listen, even as the demagogue, backed by millions of followers with metaphorical pitchforks, leads us ever deeper into fascism. If you oppose fascism, you’re anti-fascist — “antifa,” for short — and Trump considers you a terrorist. Think about that for a second. If you oppose fascism, you’re a terrorist. NPR reports what happens if Antifa does get officially labeled a foreign terrorist organization (7 minutes): It could have enormous consequences, including making it illegal to provide something as meager as a bottle of water to what the Trump administration deems to be Antifa. BONUS “Fascism doesn’t share” — 70 seconds worth your time. So . . . Join Indivisible. Support “my” 26th annual DNC LGBT Leadership Council dinner even if you’re not L, G, B, or T and even if you can’t come. An adequately funded opposition party is absolutely necessary for democracy to prevail. Next year: give to candidates. This year: give to infrastructure. Though some of the damage is irreversible, we can save democracy — and (based on everything I was taught growing up) we must. BOREF Yesterday’s broken link was to an article in the October/November issue of the trade journal LARA (Low-Fare & Regional Airlines), surveying potential improvements in airport ground operations with a nice little write-up of WheelTug and a photo. Nothing in it you don’t already know; I just wanted to show you that, yes, they’re still at it, 25 years and counting. Another small example popped up even as I was trying to figure out (unsuccessfully) how to make the LARA link work: WheelTug and Aipron Consulting join forces to boost airline and airport operational efficiency.