I've lived in D.C. for the better part of two decades. Nearly my whole adult life. Something folks aren't talking about--a giant elephant in the room--is the amount of "brand protection" going on right now.

(thread) I don't mean fear of Trump or political persecution, although those can overlap.

Since 1958, West Point has honored one U.S. citizen annually with the Sylvanus Thayer Award for embodying the values of "Duty, Honor, Country."

Tom Hanks was set to receive the award later this month. His ceremony was just abruptly canceled by the Academy.

(thread) Recipients of the Sylvanus Thayer Award are a Who's Who of American icons.

Presidents, Supreme Court justices, Secretaries of State and Defense, astronauts, journalists, etc. have been honored.

It's basically the Academy's version of an honorary doctorate. It's a big deal.

"Why should I care about U.S. Space Command being transferred to Alabama? I hate the military-industrial complex."

There are a number of reasons you should care, but you really only need one.

(thread) An ICBM launched from Russia can reach the U.S. in 27 minutes. An ICBM launched from North Korea takes about 30 minutes; some estimates have it as low as 24 min. That doesn't mean we all get a text alert on our phones saying an ICBM is gonna hit in a half hour.

This is being somewhat misreported, and I think it's important to correctly frame it, so that folks don't sound clownish when they're advocating for the retirement benefits of trans service members.

(thread)

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1953556758997455190

The Air Force is denying *early retirement* to trans service members who have served 15-18 years and are being forced out.

Yet again, we're in one of those moments when a college offers an interesting elective course, and clowns online get all huffy about it and whine that college education has become trivial and ask what job a student will get with this course.

So, a quick explainer.

(thread)

https://twitter.com/nfr_podcast/status/1942300457721905238

The typical undergraduate education, a bachelor's degree, is 120 credit hours over four years. Just about every degree program at every college or university in the country leaves at least 9-12 of those credits open as free slots for other subjects a student wants to explore.

The criticism over Zelenskyy not wearing a suit is not only foolish but more importantly: completely fails to understand why he doesn't. Of course the man own suits. That's not the point.

Here's why Zelenskky is not wearing a suit...

(quick thread)

https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1895536927509475792

His clothes are intentional symbolism. A country and its leader under immediate and existential threats from a tyrannical force have no time for suits and neckties.

I made a big mistake in my reading habits last year, and I thought I'd spread the joy around.

I read "Nuclear War: A Scenario" by the journalist Annie Jacobsen, who spent more than a decade researching for it.

It's pretty terrifying...

(thread)

https://twitter.com/TaraCopp/status/1891277396625502297

If land-based nuclear weapons are launched at the United States, even in a best case scenario (ha), the odds are pretty good you're not gonna know about it until the moment the bomb detonates in your area.

The state funeral for James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, Jr., the 39th President of the United States, was as well attended by dignitaries as one might expect — or hope.

(thread) Among the hundreds in attendance at the Washington National Cathedral were Presidents Biden, Obama, Bush, and Clinton; Vice Presidents Harris, Pence, Gore, and Quayle; Secretaries of State Clinton and Kerry; first and second spouses...

Yesterday, just before noon, The Washington Post, through CEO William Lewis, announced it would not endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election.

It was shocking for two immediate reasons.

(thread) The most grave—and, frankly, terrifying—reason is that the United States is obviously at threat of sliding into a horrific dictatorship from which it’s difficult to see how we’d ever recover.

I’m writing this after traveling back from the future, specifically Nov. 12th.

It’s a long story, but I know a lady who knows a lady who has a friend with a DeLorean souped up with an off-market flux capacitor and the trip got made.

(thread) Anyway, we don’t have much time, so I’ll cut to the chase.

I got some good news and some bad news and some more good news.

Here’s the first good bit: Election Night went mostly okay, though not without a lot of stress.

I'd love to be wrong on this because any other answer would imply a straightforward fix, but I'm pretty damn sure the "Democrats aren't reaching young men" critique is never backed up with suggestions because the critic knows it isn't about messaging. It's about misogyny. Sometimes, I'll see other answers offered that don't make any sense.

"Well, young men are worried about student loans."

VP Harris has talked about student loans, and Pres. has forgiven the loans of 5 million people. Also: how is this strictly about young men?

The Harris-Walz campaign just announced an extensive economic plan for rural communities. Deeply impressive vision for working class families in rural areas.

(thread)

I have been especially concerned with a growing attitude among many progressives and Democrats that AI disinformation is a problem limited only to conservatives, particularly Trump supporters.

And that is painfully false, and we need to talk about it.

(thread) Are there things about AI that I find cool and interesting and hopeful?

Of course.

From medicine to education to national security, artificial intelligence has made once improbable strides possible, seemingly, to most of us, overnight.

Tonight, Hurricane Milton will slam into Florida's west coast in the Tampa Bay region. It's expected to be one of the strongest hurricanes to ever make landfall in the U.S., threatening many millions of lives.

Here's what Pres. Biden is already doing to help prepare:

(thread) Pres. Biden has already approved an emergency declaration for Florida. Under an emergency declaration, FEMA provides direct Federal support to states for life-saving activities and other emergency protective measures, such as evacuation, sheltering, and search and rescue.

Okay, let's talk about this ridiculous talking point that some conservative men love to use, subsequently betraying their complete ignorance on our military draft.

Claiming the draft is to men like abortion is to women is ludicrous for three big reasons.

(thread) 1. The draft in the United States hasn't been in effect since December 27th, 1972. That was the last day young men were inducted in our Armed Forces. And yes, that means young men in the U.S. have been free of being drafted longer than young women have had abortion access.

The disinformation being pushed by rightwing extremists regarding Pres. Biden's + the federal government's response to devastation from Hurricane Helene is disgusting, and it's also the complete opposite of what Republican leaders are saying.

In their own words...

(thread) Here's Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, the Republican leader of a key swing state in this election, thanking Pres. Biden for his leadership.

https://x.com/GovKemp/status/1841865233872114046

The vice presidential debate between Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. J.D. Vance is tonight, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, network host CBS News has announced that moderators Margaret Brennan and Norah O’Donnell will not be fact-checking the candidates.

(thread) Instead, the network says, it will be up to the candidates to fact-check each other, and the moderators will “facilitate those opportunities” during candidate rebuttals.

Huh?

It was August 17th, 2015—a typical, late summer, hot Monday morning—when I heard booming music outside the bedroom window of my apartment. It sounded like it was coming from RFK Stadium, which was just up the street on the east side of Washington, D.C.

(thread) I was entering the final year of undergrad and needed a break from getting my class schedule in order and filing G.I. Bill benefits and looking at grad schools, so I decided to take a walk and locate the source of the revelry.

Folks, we’ve been here before. We know how this will end. It’s no mystery what happens next.

I will never begrudge anyone who offers a good faith critique of elected officials, even ones I really love, because good faith criticism is essential to a healthy democracy.

(thread) There are plenty of valid reasons to critique Vice President Harris and Governor Walz because I recognize that the Democratic Party and the progressive movement are not monoliths and certainly not cults.

While she was at Howard University, Vice President Kamala Harris worked at McDonalds to earn spending money, and now that she’s the Democratic nominee for president, the rightwing blogosphere is attempting to push the absurd conspiracy theory that she lied about it.

(thread) They apparently realize it’s not great that Donald Trump—infamously gifted enormous sums of money from his father coming out of college—is being juxtaposed with VP Harris making french fries and working the cash register, and they’re freaking out about it.

Folks, believe it or not, there are just seven Fridays left before Election Day. Surreal, I know. So, for the final sprint, on several Fridays, I'll be putting a spotlight on an org or candidate that could use our help.

To kick it off, I wanna talk about @TheNext50Us.

(thread) Founded in 2019 by @Ciaomack and Zak Malamed, The Next 50 supports diverse, next generation candidates running in some of the most important races up and down the ballot across the U.S.

The Exec. Director is @ZachWahls. You probably remember him from this viral speech in 2011: