The Erin Endeavor

Precautions, PPE, Punishment, and the Politics of Fear

October 6, 2020

Kellyanne Conway remonstrated her teenage daughter for having told the world they spent all day together even after the elder Conway’s positive test result...

"Let's Not, and Say We Did"

October 5, 2020

So, after an unusually quiet weekend, Donald Trump’s Twitter account this morning was suddenly active with a rather, uh, let’s go with “energetic” burst of...

Quick Personal Update

October 2, 2020

Oof… so, in a case of really bad timing I have had a mitochondrial flare-up that limits how much time I can spend upright at my desk right after a huge...

To Live and Die in the Land of the Virtual Nobodies

September 23, 2020

One of Trump’s recent public remarks about the COVID-19 death toll was mostly covered in terms of downplaying the numbers. Jim Acosta @AcostaTrump falsely...

Head Mitch In Charge

September 21, 2020

Most of my newsletter entries aren’t a specific call to action. My approach is more about helping people understand what’s happening and maybe figure out how...

Scenes from a Town Hall

September 16, 2020

A few quick hits from Trump’s townhall, culled from Aaron Rupar’s Twitter reporting. Aaron Rupar @atrupar"They said at the Democrat Convention they're gonna...

4(ever) More Years?

September 15, 2020

So, obviously everything about this is terrible: Aaron Rupar @atrupar"We're gonna win four more years in the White House, and then we'll negotiate, because...

You Say You Want A Retribution

September 14, 2020

Trump has been speaking explicitly in recent days about the concept of retribution, talking both about extrajudicial killings by police forces and draconian...

To Trump, 9/11 Happened To Other People

September 11, 2020

We often remember that on the day of September 11th, 2001, Donald Trump bragged about having the tallest remaining building in Manhattan. I don’t think we...

Another quick note.

September 10, 2020

So, I’ve replaced my aging, ailing desktop computer as of today. I spent most of the morning trying to get the old one to boot up so I could back stuff up to...

Trump Tells It Like It Isn't, Say Defenders

September 8, 2020

One of the more remarkable “defenses” of Trump regarding his long and consistent history of mocking and looking down on the troops… “That’s how he is [when...

A Labor Day Note

September 7, 2020

Well, it’s Labor Day in the Quarantimes. I had to keep myself from typing “first Labor Day of the Quarantimes” there because, geez, that’s bleak to think...

Quick Hit: Trump, Atlantic, McCain, Kelly

September 4, 2020

The Atlantic’s landmark report yesterday on Trump’s treatment of military veterans living and dead was not so much a bombshell as it was a comprehensive...

Barr None: Ignorance of the Law is a Powerful Offense

September 3, 2020

Bill Barr yesterday gave a full-throated defense of racism yesterday while denying that it was racism. DNC War Room @DNCWarRoomWATCH: Barr absurdly argues...

Trump vs. the Antifa Souper Soldiers

September 2, 2020

A lot of people were left scratching their heads over this particular rambling, low-energy performance from our reality TV villain in chief: Matt Rogers 🗳...

Plagueherding For Fun and Profit

September 1, 2020

Washington Post ran a profile of Scott Atlas, a “rising star” in the Trump administration who is pushing for what is commonly called the “herd immunity”...

The New York Times Isn't Failing Trump

August 31, 2020

The New York Times ran a story that contained some fairly frank and straightforward discussion of not just Trump’s corruption but the utter depravity of his...

The Four Most Dangerous Words From Trump’s Show Last Night

August 28, 2020

There’s a theory that says we’re all a bunch of sillyheads to worry about what happens if Trump loses or derails the election. We needn’t concern ourselves...

The RNC, As Seen On TV

August 27, 2020

Real quick hit on the RNC: If you’re wondering how so many people can feel so confident and comfortable getting up and telling such brazen, bold, easily...

Mike Pompeo's Excuse For Ethics

August 26, 2020

Last night, the RNC broadcast an endorsement speech from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, recorded in Jerusalem. ABC News @ABCNo other sitting secretary of...

RESOLVED: Nothing

August 25, 2020

In the run-up to the RNC, the Republican Party released a one-page resolution in lieu of a platform. JERRY DUNLEAVY @JerryDunleavyRNC Platform Resolution:...

Lies, Damned Lies, and Ambiguity

August 24, 2020

Two recent statements from Trump: Aaron Rupar @atruparREPORTER: QAnon believes you are secretly saving the world from this cult of pedophiles and cannibals....

Translating Trump: Julius, Jokes, and Mount Rushmore

August 10, 2020

Julius Caesar, the first post-republic ruler of the Roman Empire, was several times offered a crown by Marcus Antonius, and each time waved it away. A crown?...

Your Life Is A Game To Jared Kushner

July 31, 2020

This story broke yesterday: Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1A public health expert in contact with Trump's COVID task force said that, early on, a member of Jared...

Ignorance of the Law is Just the Beginning

July 29, 2020

Bill Barr, in front of Congress and the world yesterday, answered “I haven’t looked into that question, under the Constitution,” when asked if the president...

The Foxing of Dr. Fauci

July 14, 2020

So let’s talk about this, tweeted in response to the news that Trump’s White House had sent out its own oppo research on their own adviser, Dr. Fauci: Jon...

Sean Hannity vs. Our Better Angels

July 10, 2020

Quick hit: Sean Hannity @seanhannityBiden Uses the Word Woke Incorrectly, Says Everybody’s Been ‘Woked’ July 8th 20202,574 Retweets10,514 Likes A lot has...

Lies & Loyalty

June 29, 2020

So we’ve been having the usual go-around with the White House about what Trump knew and when he knew it regarding the allegations that Russian intelligence...

More In Sorrow Than In Anger

June 26, 2020

This is not the piece I had planned on writing this week. While I cannot ignore national politics or world events, the professional community of which I am a...

Vision Restored!

June 23, 2020

Just a quick note to all of my subscribers: I’m sorry that this project has fallen by the wayside so much lately. If you’ve followed my Twitter closely...

An American Horror Story

May 18, 2020

Today, author Stephen King had this to say about the US COVID-19 death count: Stephen King @StephenKingHey, MAGA fans! Almost 90,000 dead on your boy's...

The Logic of the Mask

May 16, 2020

So most days these days, I wind up reading Andy Slavitt’s daily COVID-19 update thread, which I’ve come to think of as being the closest thing to the...

Testing Trump

May 15, 2020

Trump yesterday had his to say about coronavirus testing: Sahil Kapur @sahilkapurTrump on coronavirus cases: "When you test, you have a case. When you test,...

The Self-Defeating Gamesmanship of #ObamaGate

May 11, 2020

Yesterday, no doubt in response to a report that President Barack Obama had privately referred to his coronavirus response as a "chaotic disaster" and his...

The Trumping Game

May 8, 2020

A quote-tweet exchange on Twitter today: Greg Sargent @ThePlumLineGSI feel like it's still not properly understood that the push to reopen society isn't...

Talk Us Through This

April 19, 2020

In a crisis such as the one we find ourselves in today, the single most important thing a strong leader could do for the country is talk to us. It wouldn't...

Absolutism Will Definitely Kill 100% Of Us

April 13, 2020

This tweet from mid-January is making steady rounds among the right-wing grifter set as evidence that the World Health Organization is in the bag for the...

Donald's Dangerous Breaking Point

March 23, 2020

This is what scares me, at the moment: Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrumpWE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF. AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY...

The Fundamentals of the Economy are People

March 18, 2020

There's a phrase that gets bandied around a lot by people seeking to calm volatile markets, especially when the volatility is happening in a single ominous...

A Personal Update For My Readers

March 18, 2020

If you follow me on Twitter, you might already know — or you may not, given the firehose nature of social media — that I've been dealing with upper...

What To Do With Yourself When There's Nothing Else To Do

March 4, 2020

Yesterday was a fairly tense day for US democracy in the midst of a turbulent time, with primaries in several states across the nation that award the biggest...

Is Trump Apathetic, or Just Ignorant?

March 4, 2020

The great philosopher Jimmy Buffett once posed the question "Is it ignorance or apathy?" to which he proposed the answer, "Hey, I don't know and I don't...

An Open Letter To Representative Ted Yoho (R-FL)

March 3, 2020

Dear Representative Yoho: I'm not one of your constituents. I don't live in Florida. So I'm not sending this to your office, as it's not your job to...

Rush Limbaugh's Viral Memes

February 26, 2020

So I hit this real quick on Monday on Twitter. Alexandra Erin @AlexandraErinRush Limbaugh is telling his listeners not to worry about the coronavirus...

Donald's Supreme Irony

February 25, 2020

In response to Justice Sotomayor pointing out that the conservative wing of the Supreme Court has been giving preferential treatment to the Trump regime,...

Voting Plans & Visitations

February 24, 2020

One of the things that was stressful when my mother died was the thought of going back home for her memorial celebration and seeing a lot of people who I...

Connections for a Curriculum of Courage

February 20, 2020

So, I have learned two things from conversations with people and comments on my posts in the past few days. One is that while a lot of us feel like we're not...

Reading List: Adam Serwer on Authoritarianism

February 19, 2020

Adam Serwer for The Atlantic brought a deep dive into the Republican Party's slide into authoritarianism, covering where they are, how they get here, and...

Being the Light in an Impossible Age

February 18, 2020

This piece by Sarah Kendzior has been going around again... I'm not sure it's ever really stopped circulating but recent events have highlighted how relevant...

On Surviving An Impossible Age Together

February 18, 2020

I'm making this post as a sort of pre-announcement as well a check-in. I've been working for these past few weeks on a sort of framework for a new project to...