Son #1 (age 7) and Son #2 (age 5) come to tell me that Daughter #1 is being mean to them. Dubious, I investigate. I go downstairs and hear her singing “[Son #1] is a loser, [Son #2] is a loser” over and over, with subtle variations. It’s a really catchy tune, and it’s in my head as I go to work out in the garage. Son #2 comes into the garage 10 minutes later. What’s up? “[Daughter #1] punched me in the face.” He doesn’t appear angry and starts dribbling a ball in the alley.

The only thing that will get the attention of politicians in states like Texas and Tennessee is if corporations stop moving there — or move to other states. Right now, it’s clear corporations would happily trade lower taxes for right-wing social politics. The last Texas legislative session (2021) was the most right-wing, extreme session in decades. But just look how many corporations moved their headquarters or operations to Texas in the 10 months since. The message to Texas politicians was clear: Just keep the taxes low.

My hot take is that we spend way too much time thinking about the NRA — a corrupt, diminished organization — and not enough time thinking about the hardcore grassroots #2A crowd who don’t take their marching orders from the NRA anyway. The progressive focus on the NRA as its gun policy bogeyman echoes the way progressives focus on AIPAC in Middle East policy. In both cases folks miss what’s actually going on, which is millions of voters, organized at the grassroots, caring deeply about one and only one issue.

I think his kind of public bragging is really dumb, and I can only explain it by noting that we just lost a really embarrassing 20-year war and some general officers are probably eager to trumpet a success. washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/… We are doing something fairly incredible — overtly supplying advanced armaments to help Ukrainians kill Russians — and I see absolutely no reason why we need to call even more attention to this fact.

Quick thread on something that’s been on my mind: My family and I live near two of the wealthiest neighborhoods in America, Highland Park and University Park (collectively known as the Park Cities), which often prompts me to think about the power on inherited wealth in America.

https://twitter.com/nmaahc/status/1399342241102057473

I know a lot of great people who live in this little enclave — which despite being in the heart of Dallas is a separate municipality with its own schools, police, etc. A lot of the people we know who live there could not afford, based on their own means, to buy a house there.

Here’s an observation from Texas since the governor repealed all mask mandates: Contrary to popular belief outside Texas, and in contrast to the heated online rhetoric, most Texans are not a-holes. They’ve carried masks and worn them when indoors or when otherwise asked to do so. Scout the Dog and I were in Home Depot two days ago, and of the dozens of people I saw, I counted precisely one — a performative buffoon in a Trump 2020 hat — not wearing a mask. Everyone else was being a good neighbor.