John Scudder
@johnscudder.bsky.social
This space intentionally left blank other than this statement.
R. I. P. Tom Stoppard. I have watched On the Razzle more times than I care to admit, but I’ll watch it again tonight [*] in his honor. www.bbc.com/news/article...
[*] Easy to find on YouTube.
[*] Easy to find on YouTube.
Playwright Sir Tom Stoppard dies at 88
Winning an Oscar for the screenplay for Shakespeare In Love, he captivated the hearts of audiences for more than six decades.
www.bbc.com
November 29, 2025 at 7:44 PM
R. I. P. Tom Stoppard. I have watched On the Razzle more times than I care to admit, but I’ll watch it again tonight [*] in his honor. www.bbc.com/news/article...
[*] Easy to find on YouTube.
[*] Easy to find on YouTube.
Unscientific impression of this morning’s Ann Arbor protest: overwhelmingly positive response from passers-by AND an order of magnitude less negative response, compared to a similar protest in the spring.
October 18, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Unscientific impression of this morning’s Ann Arbor protest: overwhelmingly positive response from passers-by AND an order of magnitude less negative response, compared to a similar protest in the spring.
What he said.
Both men intend it this way, meaning the don’t get into all the Bad News that they could, but this conversation with Bill McKibbin and @chrislhayes.bsky.social really is the most hopeful, optimistic thing I’ve heard in months. Smash the glass and use it.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
'Here Comes The Sun' with Bill McKibben
Podcast Episode · Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast · 08/26/2025 · 54m
podcasts.apple.com
September 2, 2025 at 12:02 AM
What he said.
There may be a more suspicious way to start an email than,
"Dear Team Member,
This is not a phishing email,"
but I don't know what it is.
"Dear Team Member,
This is not a phishing email,"
but I don't know what it is.
August 21, 2025 at 6:09 PM
There may be a more suspicious way to start an email than,
"Dear Team Member,
This is not a phishing email,"
but I don't know what it is.
"Dear Team Member,
This is not a phishing email,"
but I don't know what it is.
I was today years old when I found out Apple Messages or iMessage or whatever it’s called this week doesn’t guarantee in-order delivery of messages.
August 21, 2025 at 6:02 PM
I was today years old when I found out Apple Messages or iMessage or whatever it’s called this week doesn’t guarantee in-order delivery of messages.
With what feels like increasing frequency and urgency I get emails telling me “John, you’re on a roll on LinkedIn!”
Bro, I am not even on an English muffin on LinkedIn. I ignore it as much as I can. I’d call it “benign neglect” but I’m not sure about the benign part.
Bro, I am not even on an English muffin on LinkedIn. I ignore it as much as I can. I’d call it “benign neglect” but I’m not sure about the benign part.
August 1, 2025 at 9:50 PM
With what feels like increasing frequency and urgency I get emails telling me “John, you’re on a roll on LinkedIn!”
Bro, I am not even on an English muffin on LinkedIn. I ignore it as much as I can. I’d call it “benign neglect” but I’m not sure about the benign part.
Bro, I am not even on an English muffin on LinkedIn. I ignore it as much as I can. I’d call it “benign neglect” but I’m not sure about the benign part.
Where else would they be?
July 30, 2025 at 1:38 AM
Where else would they be?
Reposted by John Scudder
Holy shit, this is amazing
July 8, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Holy shit, this is amazing
This seems right. www.dailykos.com/story/2025/7...
Cartoon: Terms for our times
To support this work and receive my weekly newsletter with background on each cartoon, please consider joining the Sorensen Subscription Service! Also on Patreon . Follow me on Bluesky ...
www.dailykos.com
July 9, 2025 at 3:53 PM
This seems right. www.dailykos.com/story/2025/7...
Reposted by John Scudder
trivia: chris van hollen has spent more of his life in india than zohran mamdani
June 29, 2025 at 11:45 PM
trivia: chris van hollen has spent more of his life in india than zohran mamdani
Hot take: do not ever say “biweekly”. Look it up: it means BOTH “twice a week” AND “every two weeks”. It’s a Schrödinger word. It intrinsically cannot be part of clear communication.
(Same for biannual, bimonthly, etc.)
(Same for biannual, bimonthly, etc.)
June 27, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Hot take: do not ever say “biweekly”. Look it up: it means BOTH “twice a week” AND “every two weeks”. It’s a Schrödinger word. It intrinsically cannot be part of clear communication.
(Same for biannual, bimonthly, etc.)
(Same for biannual, bimonthly, etc.)
Reposted by John Scudder
Merkley had a pretty effective day.
Or will have, if you make this go viral.
Or will have, if you make this go viral.
MERKLEY: How do you feel about being responsible for hundreds of thousands of kids dying because of your sudden interruption in these key programs?
VOUGHT: I reject the assertion
MERKLEY: I find your response both ignorant & callous. Few Americans have had a more devastating & disastrous impact
VOUGHT: I reject the assertion
MERKLEY: I find your response both ignorant & callous. Few Americans have had a more devastating & disastrous impact
June 25, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Merkley had a pretty effective day.
Or will have, if you make this go viral.
Or will have, if you make this go viral.
Reposted by John Scudder
My father would womanize; he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark.
Leavitt: "Nobody knows what it means to accomplish peace through strength better than President Trump. He is the one who came up with that motto and that foreign policy doctrine."
June 23, 2025 at 3:06 PM
My father would womanize; he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark.
If I had voted for this guy, on the basis of his promise to keep us out of wars, I would be having serious buyers remorse.
June 22, 2025 at 1:02 PM
If I had voted for this guy, on the basis of his promise to keep us out of wars, I would be having serious buyers remorse.
What could possibly go wrong?
June 22, 2025 at 12:19 AM
What could possibly go wrong?
Reposted by John Scudder
This is… way too good as a metaphor for our times.
(The “cutting off your… nose… to spite your face” part, anyway. That doing so is evidence of strength, not stipulated.)
(The “cutting off your… nose… to spite your face” part, anyway. That doing so is evidence of strength, not stipulated.)
June 21, 2025 at 6:07 PM
This is… way too good as a metaphor for our times.
(The “cutting off your… nose… to spite your face” part, anyway. That doing so is evidence of strength, not stipulated.)
(The “cutting off your… nose… to spite your face” part, anyway. That doing so is evidence of strength, not stipulated.)
Reposted by John Scudder
Folks in rural areas: The Big Beautiful Bill will close your local hospitals after the Medicaid cuts take effect. Tell your senators your community needs them to stay open!
June 20, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Folks in rural areas: The Big Beautiful Bill will close your local hospitals after the Medicaid cuts take effect. Tell your senators your community needs them to stay open!
Seems legit.
I feel like getting the phrase “George W. Trump” trending on social media is all it would take to deter him from going to war with Iran
June 19, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Seems legit.
Mandatory reading for our times.
There is actually a very accurate historical document of the post-9/11 vibes.
A clipart comic called Get Your War On.
Click on through:
www.mnftiu.cc/2001/10/09/w...
A clipart comic called Get Your War On.
Click on through:
www.mnftiu.cc/2001/10/09/w...
June 19, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Mandatory reading for our times.
For my Credible Hulk-loving peeps who prefer their memes to come with footnotes. I've been seeing this memed all morning and wanted a source. This looks like a legit source. www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2025/06/18/u...
USC Agents of Change establishes hotline to help move immigration hearings online
Since Monday, a group of 15 USC student, alumni and faculty volunteers have already received thousands of calls for help on open immigration cases.
www.uscannenbergmedia.com
June 19, 2025 at 2:49 PM
For my Credible Hulk-loving peeps who prefer their memes to come with footnotes. I've been seeing this memed all morning and wanted a source. This looks like a legit source. www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2025/06/18/u...
Reposted by John Scudder
Today's Skrmetti opinion is devastating to transgender children and families who live in states with cruel laws barring gender affirming care. But it is very important to recognize this opinion does not give private entities, legislatures, or the President carte blanche to discriminate! 1/x
June 18, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Today's Skrmetti opinion is devastating to transgender children and families who live in states with cruel laws barring gender affirming care. But it is very important to recognize this opinion does not give private entities, legislatures, or the President carte blanche to discriminate! 1/x
Reposted by John Scudder
In the linked essay, I mention Nancy Mace's standard TERF question, asked most recently to Tim Walz: "What is a woman?"
My answer is simple. A woman is not a *what.* A woman is a *who.*
I want to expand a bit from the essay on what I think this matters.
www.the-reframe.com/shows-of-wea...
My answer is simple. A woman is not a *what.* A woman is a *who.*
I want to expand a bit from the essay on what I think this matters.
www.the-reframe.com/shows-of-wea...
Shows of Weakness
They've got the tanks. We've got the power.
www.the-reframe.com
June 16, 2025 at 10:16 AM
In the linked essay, I mention Nancy Mace's standard TERF question, asked most recently to Tim Walz: "What is a woman?"
My answer is simple. A woman is not a *what.* A woman is a *who.*
I want to expand a bit from the essay on what I think this matters.
www.the-reframe.com/shows-of-wea...
My answer is simple. A woman is not a *what.* A woman is a *who.*
I want to expand a bit from the essay on what I think this matters.
www.the-reframe.com/shows-of-wea...
I regret that a source isn’t given for the screencap, but it seems plausible, and it’s an interesting take.
THREAD: The assassinations in Minnesota highlight a dirty secret hardly ever mentioned in the news: U.S. has 1.1 million private police officers. There is an unprecedented footprint of privately organized violence that is doing all sorts of things most people have no idea about.
June 15, 2025 at 4:00 PM
I regret that a source isn’t given for the screencap, but it seems plausible, and it’s an interesting take.
Ann Arbor #nokings. I haven’t seen a crowd size estimate yet so “thousands” will have to do for now. youtu.be/0ge4yFnwKdQ?...
youtu.be
June 14, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Ann Arbor #nokings. I haven’t seen a crowd size estimate yet so “thousands” will have to do for now. youtu.be/0ge4yFnwKdQ?...
Reposted by John Scudder
Some thoughts about the military parade in my hometown of Washington DC today -- specifically, the route. Military parades in DC are quite rare. But when they happen, they have always begun, symbolically and geographically, at the Capitol and moved outward. 1/
June 14, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Some thoughts about the military parade in my hometown of Washington DC today -- specifically, the route. Military parades in DC are quite rare. But when they happen, they have always begun, symbolically and geographically, at the Capitol and moved outward. 1/