Joe Biden Is Right: For America to Heal, We Must Find Common Ground With Trump Supporters:

TO STEAL ALL THE REMOTE CONTROLS AND SHOELACES FROM THEIR HOMES TO GRAB THEIR HANDS WHILE THEY’RE SLEEP AND PLACE THEM IN A BUCKET OF WARM WATER CAUSE I HEARD THAT MAKES PEOPLE PISS THE BED AND I ALWAYS WANTED TO SEE IF THAT WOULD REALLY HAPPEN I’LL REACH OUT THE WAY TOMMY REACHED OUT TO BILLY BATTS THE WAY OMAR REACHED OUT TO STRINGER BELL

The True Story of Donald Trump, Secret Action Hero:

This my favorite Tom the Dancing Bug joke ever

Muneer: I knew a dude in college who used to eat tofu submerged in maple syrup for breakfast.
Lisette: I assume that man is in prison today.
Muneer: He cut me out of his life in 2008.
Lisette: You mean he liberated you from his life in 2008.

Muneer: I just want the Supreme Court nomination ceremony to end up being like the opening scene in King Ralph.
Steve: That takes me back.
Muneer: Instead of it all happening at once, it can happen over a few weeks or months.
Muneer: But at the end of the day, a Canadian named Gordie Ashton will be named president. He will bring moose and Tim Hortons along with social programs.
Lisette: Haaa.
Steve: I, for one, welcome our Canadian overlords.

Jalen Rose, about Jimmy Butler's boombox shaped fish tank:

This is one of those black dreams gone wrong"

This week, I present an excerpt from a book called Anti-vaxxers: How to Challenge a Misinformed Movement. I’ve often wrestled with a person I know from law school who can’t distinguish between scientific/medical facts and legal facts. This is a good summation of the difference:

Our brains are ravaged by a constant barrage of information. We aren’t meant to be in a state of such constant and persistent stimulation. I’ve really gotten into Cal Newport over the past few years. I highly recommend reading his books. He talks about the need for people to focus so they can do deep, meaningful work.

This past week, Newport ran a series of posts for Focus Week on his blog. I recommend reading all of them. Here are some excerpts:

This is my favorite GIF to put into a group chat at random:

I know someone who thinks the world is controlled by the Deep State. I wish there was a Deep State, because then perhaps we could talk to someone to see how the election will go.

First, a good explanation of alternative medicine vs. quackery:

I really appreciate the fact that we’re getting more aware of the racist core of our society. But, we must be careful to not let ourselves become as terrible as those we oppose. There are some good quotes about the so-called liberal media below.

First, Matt Taibbi makes some good points about the “liberal” media:

This comment from Reddit describes why college students want to go back to campus:

Yes, I am coming back to Westwood.

Why?

For the sex.

In 2010, Matt Taibbi went to a Tea Party rally and saw the people who later voted Trump into office:

First, Matt Taibbi talks about the politicization of facts:

We’ve become incapable of talking calmly about possible solutions because we’ve lost the ability to decouple scientific or policy discussions, or simple issues of fact, from a political argument. Reporting on the Covid-19 crisis has become the latest in a line of moral manias with Donald Trump in the middle.

First, Drew Magary went to a Trump rally back in 2016. His base hasn’t changed much since then:

“I know the greatest negotiators in the world,” he said. “Now some of these people are horrible human beings. You wouldn’t have them to dinner. They’re vicious. They’re crude. They’re unhappy. They treat everybody badly. Who cares? I want them negotiating against China. Think of Carl Icahn, a friend of mine. He’d be great. I’d say, ‘Carl, take China’.”

First, a great quote from Deion Sanders:

"If you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you play good. If you play good, they pay good."

Second, a man plays “The Boys Are Back In Town” on a bar’s jukebox until he gets kicked out:

First, a couple of fans get close to their idol.

Perk liked the idea of a digital shrine to his beastliness.

Second, a message to the 2020 graduates:

First, how a black man and his white mother became estranged because of Trump:

First, a lawyer for the superrich who both exploits the tax code to save his clients money and sounds the alarm when a loophole feels too outrageous:

He's not ashamed of this. His methods are perfectly legal. In fact, he sees himself not as someone who exploits the system for the benefit of the few but as the guy who keeps the system honest for everyone.

First, writing about Gordon Ramsay eviscerating a pretentious douche is very satisfying:

This startup is using AI to give workers a “productivity score”

Great, yet another way for our employers to look over our shoulders. There's a company near here who tracks the number of keystrokes an employee enters per hour. I would live in a cardboard box on the street before working for that type of company.

How to Play Black Spades, Part 1

First of all, spades is not a game, it is a skills contest that requires complex permutative calculations while winning a “game” only requires luck. Old black men who carry pocket knives do not play games.

From Shane Parrish:

…The first thing we usually do when someone disagrees with us is that we just assume they are ignorant. You know, they don’t have access to the same information we do and when we generously share that information with them, they are going to see the light and come on over to our team.

First, former University of Miami football coach Randy Shannon:

Steve: Donkey nannies are pretty cool.
Lisette: I am also too young, small and adorable for journeys. I want a donkey nanny.
Muneer: I would place some of those old school saddles on my donkey with the bags on each side. One side would have carrots and the other would have apples. We'd take day-long walks in the countryside and enjoy each other's company.
Lisette: That got a little too romantic at the end.
Steve: The other option was overtly sexual. There was no third path.

Here are some great lines from the book Unplugged by Joe Barrett:

You have to admire a man who has so thoroughly given up on life.

Allow me to congratulate you on your bizarre but effective work. ”

First, from reader Rachel, an important avenue of inquiry at the highest court in the land:

This one, small act of human waste expulsion brought with it mystery, intrigue, and what was almost certainly a pooping Supreme Court justice.

Second, ICP made a Western and this is a review of it:

First, When you’re taken hostage by Somali pirates, it’s important to focus on the right things:

It was a small but disconcerting moment for the civilized world—evidence of the anarchy that prevails where nations fail and savagery threatens Canada. Luckily for the French, the bartender, Bertrand Viallet, had filled some thermoses with aperitifs, which helped to ease the trauma.