A tax on the stupid

A tax on the stupid

Donald Trump thinks you’re very dim. When I was a graduate student in the mathematics department at MIT, I heard this saying: Gambling is a tax on the stupid. Unless you have an actual edge (like a card counter), the house always wins. There is no system that will beat the house. You might win,…

Was Trump right — and the media wrong — about these ten claims?
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Was Trump right — and the media wrong — about these ten claims?

Donald Trump’s campaign people send me incendiary emails every day. Most of it is just baiting to get money, but I was intrigued by one of these emails that claimed he was right about ten things that “the media” got wrong. Was Trump actually telling the truth and we missed it? Let’s put it to…

Why Trump uses the O.J. Simpson “If I did it”-style subjunctive denial

Why Trump uses the O.J. Simpson “If I did it”-style subjunctive denial

Donald Trump wrote a statement about the coup on January 6 — saying if he staged a coup, he’d do it differently. His language reminds me of O.J. Simpson — and shows why “If I did it” makes you look guilty to those who hate you, and heroic to those who support you. Simpson’s subjunctive…

Conspiracy theory

Conspiracy theory

This whiteboard was at an April event for Trump backers in Oklahoma. Trump is at the center of course, but it includes every imaginable association. And Jesus is King at the top, of course. Why does it matter? Because confessed and pardoned felon Gen. Michael Flynn, who was Trump’s first national security advisor, posed in…

What? Me, biased?
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What? Me, biased?

My post Friday on Donald Trump’s new site and sort-of social network struck some nerves. One commenter said “As a social commentator, you cover for tyranny.” That seemed a little nasty. Two things are true. First, I am anti-Trump. I did a whole series of posts about it before the election. I’m not trying to…

Why Donald Trump’s “social network” is smarter than it looks
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Why Donald Trump’s “social network” is smarter than it looks

For months, we’ve heard the rumor that ex-President Trump was starting a social network. It’s up now. It’s called “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump.” As a social network, it sucks. But as a functional equivalent to Trump’s former Twitter account, it’s likely to succeed. How Trump’s new megaphone works Here are the rules…

Jack Dorsey’s lame explanation for suspending Trump’s Twitter account
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Jack Dorsey’s lame explanation for suspending Trump’s Twitter account

Last week, Donald Trump’s Twitter feed disappeared. After seeing the violence in the Capitol, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey decided that Trump’s feed was inciting violence and removed it. But Dorsey’s tweets explaining the ban were meandering and confusing. Let’s take a look at what Dorsey tweeted . . . and what he could have said…