Announcement letter

Parler, the social media platform that gained popularity throughout 2020 as a safe haven for conservative commenters, essentially got destroyed this weekend. Some quick background: After the failed insurrection on the Capitol Wednesday, a swath of social media giants, one after the other, began banning Trump and his enablers from their platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok. … [Read more...] about Parler got destroyed this weekend: a timeline

Cruz was the second senator, following Josh Hawley, to commit to objecting to Joe Biden’s electors during last Wednesday’s Senate floor vote count. Despite Trump’s legal team losing over 60 court cases and failing to establish any incidents of large-scale voter fraud whatsoever, Cruz and Hawley remained pot-committed to the fiction that something objectively fishy happened in the 2020 presidential election. Whatever could be said about their level of intelligence, the two men (both of whom are among the best-educated lawyers in the Senate) must know that the election wasn’t stolen. Yet here they are, making a transparently theatrical calculation that pretending to harbor such suspicions would endear them to Trump’s base as they contemplate their own presidential ambitions. … [Read more...] about The dire consequences of Republicans ‘just asking questions’ about whatever doesn’t go their way

The two COVID-19 vaccines available in the U.S.—from Pfizer and Moderna—each require two doses to be effective. So far, doctors and nurses have been holding back one dose of the vaccine for every dose they administer in order to ensure that there is an available dose on hand when people come in for their second inoculation. However, some public health experts have suggested that all available vaccines should be administered as soon as possible. The concern with this latter approach is around supply. If there are any hiccups in vaccine production, that may mean that people who need a second dose will not get it within the prescribed time period. … [Read more...] about The U.S. plans to release its stockpile of COVID-19 vaccines. Experts are worried

Vista Tower. Given the geometry, and this is arcane, it’s a trapezoid. If you look at it from Michigan Ave, this is the view of it where you see the whole front of it. It’s massive. It isn’t particularly graceful from that angle. And what’s worse is it meets the sky in this real rinky-dink way. Richard Daley, the mayor, ordered Trump to put a spire on it. Trump being Trump did it, but in the cheapest way possible. He put up this little itty bitty thin spire. Compared to the Chrysler Building it’s a joke. It’s a really weak spire. He just totally wimped out on it. To Trump’s credit, the building has a very nice curtain wall, a blend of glass and stainless steel fins on the exterior. That wasn’t cheap. … [Read more...] about Architecture criticism matters more than ever, according to a critic bullied by Trump

Netflix’s global reach has helped immensely and is a key factor that will keep it ahead of the competition at least for the near future. (At this point, Disney Plus is only available in a handful of territories, including Europe and Canada; in India and Indonesia it is available through Disney Plus Hotstar.) The company said that 83% of its new 2020 subscribers are from outside of the United States and Canada. Its global footprint and international productions have also helped it conquer the pandemic. The company said that most of its TV shows and films are back up and running, and that “we have learned that flexibility and adaptability are paramount in this fast-changing environment.” … [Read more...] about Netflix soars to more than 200 million subscribers. What you need to know