All posts tagged: news

My Three Days in Ukraine

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In 2023, during a three-day trip to Ukraine, the author reflects on their experience, confronting the juxtaposition of life under war. They describe interactions at border checkpoints, cultural encounters, historical sites, and the resilience of Ukrainians amidst ongoing conflict. The trip highlights love and normalcy amidst adversity, inspiring admiration for Ukraine.

Luigi Mangione: America’s Rorschach Test

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It doesn’t mean anything On December 4th, 2024, Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare, was shot and killed. After a brief hunt, officials have charged Luigi Mangione with the murder. Since the murder, and the arrest, the internet has been notably celebratory about the murder, with even some people who vote Republican apparently cheering it on. Aside from whether or not murder is a bad thing to do, there has been much speculation about what this means for healthcare, for income inequality, for everything ailing the American middle and working class. I don’t mean to be a bummer, but it doesn’t mean anything. The whole event has simply been a giant Rorschach test for America. By that I mean, everyone looking at it has their own interpretation of what this means, what the implications are for America going forward. The implications are: 1 guy is dead and 1 guy is going to jail, the end. Much like a Rorschach test, whatever your interpretation is, the actual meaning is nothing, and your assessment says more …

Why Democrats Lost: It’s the Memes Stupid

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As coastal media elites diagnose what went wrong for Democrats by analyzing self-reporting poll data of people they know little about, the rest of us already know what happened because we’ve been watching it happen for over a decade: Its the memes stupid. Remember 20 years ago when people would say things like: “I don’t know about politics”, “I don’t like politics”, “Politics is annoying”? People who never read WaPo or NYT or the Atlantic or the Economist would say those things and wouldn’t vote. Those people are gone. They can’t ignore politics now because it is non-stop shoved in their face on social media. Try to go on Facebook or Twitter, or whatever it is now, without encountering right wing memes. We all know that guy we went to high school with who shares 15 Trump memes a day. Social media is overwhelmed with right wing bots. Listen to a comedy podcast, you won’t laugh but you’ll hear endlessly about how sensitive people are. Look for a movie review and you won’t have to …