The reality distortion field is expanding
Trump’s attacks on mail-in voting and threats to end it are setting the stage for claims of fraud should the GOP lose out in next year’s midterms. / Politico
See also: Despite what Trump says, other countries have mail-in voting, and “The Constitution does not give the President any control over federal elections.” / PBS
After returning to work, Texas Democrats are being required to accept a performative police escort before leaving the legislature—one lawmaker refused and stayed there all night. / NBC News
A timeline of how the US “has been backsliding away from a properly democratic form of government” for at least a decade. / The Guardian
“The most powerful technique is to ask questions that empower the person to think and reflect.” People are trying to “deprogram” their MAGA parents through book clubs. / WIRED
The whites-only community in Arkansas is a discrimination lawsuit waiting to happen, but its founders say they’re pressing ahead anyway, “while there’s a relatively favorable cultural and legal climate for it.” / The New York Times [$]
Elon Musk’s “thermonuclear” lawsuit against Media Matters, for which he was once joined by what seemed to be the full weight of the White House, now looks pretty much dead. / Ars Technica
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The American Academy of Pediatrics breaks with the CDC and says children under two should get a Covid vaccine. / ABC News
Just because clean energy hasn’t reduced global carbon emissions doesn’t make it a failure—in fact, it’s “helped stave off considerably higher highs.” / Keep Cool
“Depending on your emotional baggage and your relationship to childhood cold medicine, this might feel like nostalgia. Or a warning.” Reviews of new food: Dr. Pepper Blackberry. / McSweeney’s
See also: A primer on dirty sodas, which have more to do with Utah than with TikTok. / Eater
Population growth and climate change are drying out the Great Salt Lake, releasing dust full of hazardous chemicals into surrounding areas. / The Washington Post [$]
An AI-generated article with incorrect data tanked an AI-powered insurance company’s stock price. / Quartz
See also: “This strange brew of shock, confusion, and ambivalence, I’ve realized, is the defining emotion of the generative-AI era.” AI is a mass-delusion event. / The Atlantic [$]
X-rays reveal the Buddhist prayers wrapped inside Mongolian nomads’ tiny scrolls, few of which survived the Soviet-backed Mongolian Revolution of 1921. / Popular Science
A curated selection of the best independent radio stations, playable from a single webpage. Make sure to try the random button—it “feels like magic.” / ldial, Kottke
“I have spent my life looking for the one guitar that would change everything, that would change my story.” Elissa Altman’s 24 guitars. / Bitter Southerner
And now for a brief interview with new supporter Alex F.!
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PS—Nice to see TMN is on Ghost!
We agree!
Next up, in the members area, unlocked links from the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Atlantic ↓