J. D.
@jdetc.bsky.social
Chicago/ish. Civil/ish litigator. Left-center/ish. Elder Millennial. He/him. Interests/etc.: 1A/defamation, lolsuits, half of true crime, food, Cubs, Chi teams other than the Sox, EPL/soccer, art/architecture, film, indie music, enviro issues, tech
I'm not discounting the various psychological phenomena (e.g., if you have an underlying anxiety disorder, financial security isn't curing you), but just want to note that "financial psychotherapist" is an incredibly good niche racket.
The fear of not having enough money is familiar. But there’s a quieter struggle at the top: feeling uncomfortable with having too much, says money psychotherapist Vicky Reynal ⬇️
Why my ultra-rich clients are ashamed of their wealth
www.thetimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:01 PM
I'm not discounting the various psychological phenomena (e.g., if you have an underlying anxiety disorder, financial security isn't curing you), but just want to note that "financial psychotherapist" is an incredibly good niche racket.
This is one of the more researched, debunked, and, for that matter, litigated conspiracy theories out there.
It's wild to claim it's not evidence-based to deny a link that doesn't seem to exist.
"It's not evidence-based to deny supreme pizza causes gay because no study rules it out," be real.
It's wild to claim it's not evidence-based to deny a link that doesn't seem to exist.
"It's not evidence-based to deny supreme pizza causes gay because no study rules it out," be real.
VACCINES DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM, YOU FLAMING SHITBIRDS.
WE HAVE, IN FACT, RULED IT OUT.
WE HAVE, IN FACT, RULED IT OUT.
November 20, 2025 at 4:36 AM
This is one of the more researched, debunked, and, for that matter, litigated conspiracy theories out there.
It's wild to claim it's not evidence-based to deny a link that doesn't seem to exist.
"It's not evidence-based to deny supreme pizza causes gay because no study rules it out," be real.
It's wild to claim it's not evidence-based to deny a link that doesn't seem to exist.
"It's not evidence-based to deny supreme pizza causes gay because no study rules it out," be real.
Has anyone considered adding AI to weed? Seems like a fair way to finally get it legal everywhere.
The draft order, obtained by WIRED, instructs the US Justice Department to sue states that pass laws regulating AI. www.wired.com/story/trump-...
Trump Takes Aim at State AI Laws in Draft Executive Order
The draft order, obtained by WIRED, instructs the US Justice Department to sue states that pass laws regulating AI.
www.wired.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Has anyone considered adding AI to weed? Seems like a fair way to finally get it legal everywhere.
The absolute brainworms to think one sub-sector represents "thermodynamics."
….
…
What
…
What
November 19, 2025 at 3:18 PM
The absolute brainworms to think one sub-sector represents "thermodynamics."
-JD, U. of Chicago;
-PhD, UCLA;
-did not understand American Beauty (1999) at its most basic possible level.
-PhD, UCLA;
-did not understand American Beauty (1999) at its most basic possible level.
MAN WHAT?
using kevin spacey for a comparison or example here is definitely… a choice
using kevin spacey for a comparison or example here is definitely… a choice
November 19, 2025 at 12:35 PM
-JD, U. of Chicago;
-PhD, UCLA;
-did not understand American Beauty (1999) at its most basic possible level.
-PhD, UCLA;
-did not understand American Beauty (1999) at its most basic possible level.
"You don't have to embarass our guest," I said when she asked why Ed Kemper was sitting in our living room.
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
November 18, 2025 at 8:42 PM
"You don't have to embarass our guest," I said when she asked why Ed Kemper was sitting in our living room.
Ah, yes, the thing Judy Garland is known for: marrying and reproducing with Vincent Minelli when she was in her 20s and he was in his 40s.
November 18, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Ah, yes, the thing Judy Garland is known for: marrying and reproducing with Vincent Minelli when she was in her 20s and he was in his 40s.
My writing is like bamboo in the garden: yearning to explore the digestive tract of a panda, but born on the wrong continent. Yet it builds a fence adequate and sturdy.
after reading the Nuzzi and Lizza pieces yesterday I don’t want to see any of you badmouthing your own writing again
November 18, 2025 at 5:10 PM
My writing is like bamboo in the garden: yearning to explore the digestive tract of a panda, but born on the wrong continent. Yet it builds a fence adequate and sturdy.
I get the impression Ryan Lizza isn't so much angry at being cheated upon as being lumped in with retirement-age Boomers because that's apparently her beat.
oh my god you have to read this until the end www.telos.news/p/part-1-how...
Part 1: How I Found Out
Olivia had just returned from a reporting trip—at least that’s what she told me it was—and her Herschel backpack, the one with the flap that never quite closed properly, was tossed beside our bed, its...
www.telos.news
November 18, 2025 at 1:34 AM
I get the impression Ryan Lizza isn't so much angry at being cheated upon as being lumped in with retirement-age Boomers because that's apparently her beat.
No one:
Absolutely no one:
Neal Katyal: What if we took what is by nature a sadistic dark comedy and turned it into a boring light drama?
Absolutely no one:
Neal Katyal: What if we took what is by nature a sadistic dark comedy and turned it into a boring light drama?
Neal Katyal says he's working on a TV show that he describes as "The West Wing for the Supreme Court," and my question is, have We As A Society not suffered enough
A Brief History Of Awful TV Shows About the Supreme Court
The concept of “The West Wing for the Supreme Court” might be the only thing more upsetting than the actual Supreme Court.
ballsandstrikes.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:02 AM
No one:
Absolutely no one:
Neal Katyal: What if we took what is by nature a sadistic dark comedy and turned it into a boring light drama?
Absolutely no one:
Neal Katyal: What if we took what is by nature a sadistic dark comedy and turned it into a boring light drama?
"He desired. He desired desiring. He desired being desired. He desired desire itself."
This could've been verbatim from The Shadow God by Aaron Rayburn:
sfreader.com/read_review....
This could've been verbatim from The Shadow God by Aaron Rayburn:
sfreader.com/read_review....
November 17, 2025 at 4:42 PM
"He desired. He desired desiring. He desired being desired. He desired desire itself."
This could've been verbatim from The Shadow God by Aaron Rayburn:
sfreader.com/read_review....
This could've been verbatim from The Shadow God by Aaron Rayburn:
sfreader.com/read_review....
"The tent is big enough for people who smoke crack inside the tent because they don't believe in the basic science of tents."
No it isn't. That's not true. Stop saying it.
No it isn't. That's not true. Stop saying it.
November 17, 2025 at 3:54 PM
"The tent is big enough for people who smoke crack inside the tent because they don't believe in the basic science of tents."
No it isn't. That's not true. Stop saying it.
No it isn't. That's not true. Stop saying it.
This is Just to Say, by RFK Jr.
I have eaten
the bullets
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
thinking
were theoretical
Forgive me
they were delicious
so possible
and so cold
I have eaten
the bullets
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
thinking
were theoretical
Forgive me
they were delicious
so possible
and so cold
I regret to inform you that Olivia Nuzzi's book appears to be Perfect
insane, stupid, comically overwritten, dishy, politically indefensible I cannot wait to get my hands on it I must accept this is who I am as a person at some deep level whether I like it or not www.vanityfair.com/news/story/o...
insane, stupid, comically overwritten, dishy, politically indefensible I cannot wait to get my hands on it I must accept this is who I am as a person at some deep level whether I like it or not www.vanityfair.com/news/story/o...
November 17, 2025 at 3:22 PM
This is Just to Say, by RFK Jr.
I have eaten
the bullets
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
thinking
were theoretical
Forgive me
they were delicious
so possible
and so cold
I have eaten
the bullets
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
thinking
were theoretical
Forgive me
they were delicious
so possible
and so cold
When there's an obvious joke about you blowing a dude, it's PR 101 that you try to refute the totally definitely false rumor by posting a shot of you kissing your hot wife like you're French siblings.
White House aggressively posting “trump is straight” content amid the blow job e-mail
November 17, 2025 at 1:23 AM
When there's an obvious joke about you blowing a dude, it's PR 101 that you try to refute the totally definitely false rumor by posting a shot of you kissing your hot wife like you're French siblings.
If some doucecanoe with an AI copilot was sending me several thousand bucks of fungible goods every time I lost to him online, I'd lose so much the sauce would be goated with me.
November 16, 2025 at 1:47 PM
If some doucecanoe with an AI copilot was sending me several thousand bucks of fungible goods every time I lost to him online, I'd lose so much the sauce would be goated with me.
I'm sorry, but this is delusional. We have 15-20 states that reliably vote Republican because 60-65% of the people in those states prefer perceived Republican policies. It isn't a waste to invest money there long-term, but it's not cheating. They're democracies and those majorities suck.
Alabama’s population is 28% Black and increasingly Hispanic. White Republicans are only able to rule by cheating. And when Dems invest no money in red states that becomes a self fulfilling prophecy
November 16, 2025 at 2:21 AM
I'm sorry, but this is delusional. We have 15-20 states that reliably vote Republican because 60-65% of the people in those states prefer perceived Republican policies. It isn't a waste to invest money there long-term, but it's not cheating. They're democracies and those majorities suck.
I would encourage Dems to learn from the Liz Chaney Redemption Tour. There's no electoral advantage whatsoever to elevating MTG from her current place.
Marjorie Taylor Greene is an antisemite, I appreciate that she is going to do her damnedest to destroy the Republican Party and she is an antisemite. Please don’t welcome her to shit.
November 15, 2025 at 8:39 PM
I would encourage Dems to learn from the Liz Chaney Redemption Tour. There's no electoral advantage whatsoever to elevating MTG from her current place.
It's a sad state of affairs that this is both more likely to end the Trump Presidency than the long list of other things that should, and that there's a nonzero chance it would lead to a sudden shift in conservative thought towards homosexual activities. "But the Greeks and Romans," etc.
Mark Epstein asked his brother Jeffrey Epstein whether Steve Bannon could confirm if Putin has “the photo of Trump blowing Bubba. Jeffrey Epstein: "I thought I had tsuris,” using the Yiddish term for troubles. #OpDeathEaters
![From:
Mark L. Epstein
Sent:
3/21/2018 2:54:13 PM
To:
'jeffrey E.' [jeevacation@gmail.com]
RE: hey
Subject:
High
I'd rather be in Donni Dee's shoes.
Importance:
From: jeffrey E. [mailto:jeevacation@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2018 10:43 AM
To: Mark L. Epstein
Subject: Re: hey
you mean DONNI TEE
On Wed, Mar 21, 2018 at 9:54 AM, Mark L. Epstein
wrote:
You and your boy Donnie can make a remake of the movie Get Hard.
Sent via tin can and string.
On Mar 21, 2018, at 09:37, jeffrey E. <jeevacation@gmail.com>
wrote:
and i thought- I had tsuris
On Wed, Mar 21, 2018 at 4:32 AM, Mark L. Epstein
Ask him if Putin has the photos of Trump blowing Bubba?
wrote:
From: jeffrey E. [mailto:jeevacation@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, March 19, 2018 2:15 PM
To:
Subject: Re: hey
All good. Bannon with me
On Mon, Mar 19, 2018 at 1:49 PM Mark L. Epstein
wrote:
How are you doing?
A while back you mentioned that you were prediabetic. Has anything changed with that?
What is your boy Donald up to now?
please note
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_030719](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6tu2htulhvnivixtdype45hs/bafkreiduqtjqd4axm4cgty4dgbtnpixgqq5brlzf76az5pqz6livps3hom@jpeg)
November 14, 2025 at 2:15 PM
It's a sad state of affairs that this is both more likely to end the Trump Presidency than the long list of other things that should, and that there's a nonzero chance it would lead to a sudden shift in conservative thought towards homosexual activities. "But the Greeks and Romans," etc.
Every time conservatives try to do the inane meme where their women are hotter, someone should post a collage of conservative guys who are aging like a deflated beach ball left in the sun. Seems like every day there's a new one.
This is good reporting and all that but here's the thing I learned the other day: Bill Pulte, the 50-year-mortgage dude and the guy who keeps pulling the mortgage docs of Trump's enemies is only 37 years old.
www.wsj.com/finance/regu...
www.wsj.com/finance/regu...
Exclusive | Fannie Mae Watchdogs Probed How Pulte Obtained Mortgage Records of Key Democrats
FHFA’s acting inspector general handed the probe report to the U.S. attorney office that had indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James.
www.wsj.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Every time conservatives try to do the inane meme where their women are hotter, someone should post a collage of conservative guys who are aging like a deflated beach ball left in the sun. Seems like every day there's a new one.
What Mrs. Lincoln simply refuses to understand is that Our American Cousin is actually a pretty solid play by 19th c. aesthetics.
Megyn Kelly: "I know somebody very close to this case…Jeffrey Epstein, in this person's view, was not a pedophile…He was into the barely legal type, like he liked 15 year old girls…He wasn't into like 8 year olds…There's a difference between a 15 year old and a 5 year old."
November 13, 2025 at 7:34 PM
What Mrs. Lincoln simply refuses to understand is that Our American Cousin is actually a pretty solid play by 19th c. aesthetics.
"FBI Director Kash Patel's Country-Singing Girlfriend Files Defamation Case with $5 Million Demand Over Claim She's an Israeli Spy" is a cursed headline in at least four different places.
November 13, 2025 at 5:13 PM
"FBI Director Kash Patel's Country-Singing Girlfriend Files Defamation Case with $5 Million Demand Over Claim She's an Israeli Spy" is a cursed headline in at least four different places.
If you learned today that lots of highly educated, well-to-do, overly confident elites write like balls, welcome to their broad orbit.
See, some people's time is too valuable for style that isn't outsourced, and for some reason, half the country still thinks it'd be immoral to tax them more.
See, some people's time is too valuable for style that isn't outsourced, and for some reason, half the country still thinks it'd be immoral to tax them more.
November 13, 2025 at 4:10 AM
If you learned today that lots of highly educated, well-to-do, overly confident elites write like balls, welcome to their broad orbit.
See, some people's time is too valuable for style that isn't outsourced, and for some reason, half the country still thinks it'd be immoral to tax them more.
See, some people's time is too valuable for style that isn't outsourced, and for some reason, half the country still thinks it'd be immoral to tax them more.
Common but toxic weirdo belief. Alleviating temporary mild to moderate symptoms with relatively low-risk OTC medication is useful, safe, effective, and an overall outstanding medical advance, you popekilling "liberty for me but not for thee" jackass.
JD Vance calls ibuprofen "useless medication" and implies it's not "necessary, safe and effective."
November 12, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Common but toxic weirdo belief. Alleviating temporary mild to moderate symptoms with relatively low-risk OTC medication is useful, safe, effective, and an overall outstanding medical advance, you popekilling "liberty for me but not for thee" jackass.
In a deposition-speak, "So that's a yes?"
Not only did he do the bad thing, it's so widely known even the press secretary who was like 13 when it was happening knows he did the thing.
Not only did he do the bad thing, it's so widely known even the press secretary who was like 13 when it was happening knows he did the thing.
CBS News' Weijia Jiang: "Did the president ever spend hours at Jeffrey Epstein’s house with a victim?"
Karoline Leavitt: "These emails prove nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong."
Karoline Leavitt: "These emails prove nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong."
November 12, 2025 at 8:40 PM
In a deposition-speak, "So that's a yes?"
Not only did he do the bad thing, it's so widely known even the press secretary who was like 13 when it was happening knows he did the thing.
Not only did he do the bad thing, it's so widely known even the press secretary who was like 13 when it was happening knows he did the thing.
It does not diminish the victim part or the abject grossness of all this, but based on how this racket operates, they had to have paid that victim a modest boatload at some point, and Trump is not the only one on the payor side who knows about it.
A direct email exchange from 2011 between Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, just released by House Oversight Committee Democrats.
November 12, 2025 at 4:27 PM
It does not diminish the victim part or the abject grossness of all this, but based on how this racket operates, they had to have paid that victim a modest boatload at some point, and Trump is not the only one on the payor side who knows about it.