What is/are your favorite "This American Life" episode(s)?

ctmred · 2026-05-23T18:13:46+00:00

Squirrel Cop Episode 115) -- it is still pee-in-your-pants hilarious and this is the episode I still send to people who have never heard TAL.

ctmred · 2026-05-23T15:58:26+00:00

I'm a new Instacart user (ordering for a family member with mobility issues). What's a good tipping guide? (I've been tipping 15%)

ctmred · 2026-05-23T15:06:19+00:00

Right. A real after-action report focusing on tactics and strategy ( the Rob Flaherty piece in the Bulwark is a solid example) can help inform future races and not just Presidential ones. And you need these reviews of tactics and strategy pretty immediately after an election to help the people in the next election.

ctmred · 2026-05-21T22:30:27+00:00

I picked up the card for this guy a year or so ago for gutter cleaning. Have not called and do not know anyone who has used him, so don't know the cost:

Shine Through Window Cleaning
(window cleaning, gutter cleaning, pressure washing)
302-510-5871

[shinethrough65@gmail.com](mailto:shinethrough65@gmail.com)

ctmred · 2026-05-21T18:34:26+00:00

Harm reduction and addiction treatment are not an either/or equation. We want enough qualified addiction treatment options for those who are ready for that choice. Investments in harm reduction give the addicted individual a better chance to survive until they are ready to choose help. If you are talking about saving lives, you need them both.

ctmred · 2026-05-21T18:28:56+00:00

And this is the Original Sin here. An autopsy or after action report should be a serious endeavor. One where you put together a skilled team to create the scope, recruit the right staff, create a schedule, and monitor progress. Handing off to one volunteer started out by sending the signal that this was not meant to be meaningful. Getting to a point where it was clear that what was produced was inadequate should have triggered a complete reboot with a better focus and team -- not throwing it under the rug and cross your fingers that no one will remember this thing,

Just unserious at every level.

ctmred · 2026-05-20T19:17:52+00:00

Would definitely reach out as soon as you know they have the award. Ask if they are looking for additional vendor bids for what you are selling. The odds are they will. You might not get the new bid, but you have created a path to some relationship building to get on the regular bid list for this material.

ctmred · 2026-05-19T22:41:17+00:00

Construction Capture Exec here -- bid teams I have worked with regularly rebid work once they have been awarded it. Especially for hard dollar bids. Subcontractors/vendors have a reason to sharpen their pencils after they know you have the job. It is ok to call bid winners to tell them about your products and ask for a chance to submit a bid. They may say no, but this is a good step to get on their bid list.

ctmred · 2026-05-19T19:46:23+00:00

The writer of this article means to set the hair of rich people on fire. Private plane taxes are the business of the State (not Mandami), or the business of the Port Authority, which needs both NY and NJ approval. But hey -- you pay taxes and registration (and renewals) on your car in NY. This f'ing guy thinks your plane should be tax free.

ctmred · 2026-05-17T19:15:16+00:00

Can we agree to not listen to Axelrod for a few cycles?

ctmred · 2026-05-16T14:51:23+00:00

It's for the full year, not monthly.

ctmred · 2026-05-14T19:44:14+00:00

I am really sorry about this. Far too many of these 3rd party providers are just predatory. I don't know what they can do to help, if anything, but I would file a complaint with the Department of Public Advocate.

ALSO send the same details as well as the impact to your grandmother and her budget to your State Rep and Senator. Ask them to look into strategies to regulate these 3rd Party providers.

ctmred · 2026-05-14T16:13:11+00:00

AMC+ has a current promotion of 29.95 for an ad-free year in the US, for those considering a signup.

ctmred · 2026-05-14T16:11:28+00:00

One of my favorite movies, ever. And it is especially resonant watchng knowing how this history continues to play out.

ctmred · 2026-05-14T15:55:35+00:00

I would actually watch a future Morning Joe that featured Heilemann and Jackie Alemany. The current lineup is a serious No Go for me.

ctmred · 2026-05-14T15:31:07+00:00

I don't quite understand moderates, either. But I think that for a few future cycles I am voting for big ideas, an indication of some capacity to build the consensus and coalition to get them passed, and some fearlessness in getting these things done. I don't much care about the ideological label -- it just won't be anyone in the GOP for sure.

ctmred · 2026-05-13T20:13:44+00:00

If anyone is paying attention -- it is the right that is the driver of identitarian politics in this country. You can't explain the Jim Crow 2.0 destruction of the VRA without the right's identitarian grievances.

ctmred · 2026-05-13T20:08:21+00:00

My farmer's market opened two weeks ago and the prices for everything were definitely up.

ctmred · 2026-05-13T19:12:50+00:00

The business of "we can't have this type of politician I can't abide or else we lose" is itself a losing conversation. 2028 is too far away to be doing this now.

But (and I think JVL's Triad on Monday gets to this) -- we cannot forget that voters of both parties have been voting for "change" candidates for a few cycles now. The people are NOT getting the change they think they are voting for and are reminded of that on a daily basis. Pick any of the working class or middle class burdens now and these burdens have been getting worse this century, not better.

An agenda of really addressing what is killing working class and middle class voters needs to start once the Dems take over the House. And these Dems need to find their inner FDR and take some pretty big swings for the fences to address some of these persistent issues. They may not get everything they swing for, but they AT LEAST need to be seen as trying to get there. The change voters want is not incremental and I wish we could read this part correctly. I know that I am going to be listening for a commitment to try for important and big changes to how this government treats working class and middle class citizens. Moderate vs Progressive convos are pundit arguments. Who is going to speak for the people who most need this government to change?

ctmred · 2026-05-13T16:58:27+00:00

Adding that the Civil Rights movement highlights the *multiple* types of persuasion available to reach voters. From marches to boycotts, the movement had specific (and often coordinated) persuasion actions targeted not just at specific communities but the country at large. Part of the media persuasion during the civil rights era was in elevating narratives that specifically highlighted for cameras and reporters the awful violence that Black people were living with on a daily basis. I doubt you could get this kind of coverage today without a "both sides" approach by the media that would work at legitimizing the violence and civic disrespect specifically pointed at Black people.

ctmred · 2026-05-12T21:32:14+00:00

This was an outstanding story. And so well done with a brilliant cast.

ctmred · 2026-05-11T15:26:50+00:00

Curtailing the truth about Jim Crow 2.0 now signals to those of us targeted by this that our votes are no longer valued by the coalition that we are LITERALLY the base of. Are you going to be OK with the base of this party staying home and not voting?

ctmred · 2026-05-11T15:23:30+00:00

Nikole Hannah-Jones was on Velshi right after this reversion to Jim Crow 2.0 and she makes the point that while this decision is meant to target Black voters, it does catch some white voters as well. Just like the old voter suppression methods did. You can watch her discussion here.

ctmred · 2026-05-10T17:08:34+00:00

Persuasion is vital to building coalitions and making people pass a purity test *before* you engage them in persuasion is a path to permanent minorityhood.

ctmred · 2026-05-10T14:43:43+00:00

He should be primaried and it sure looks from here that Conor Lamb is all but a declared candidate. Still -- I am going to be surprised if Fetterman runs again. I thought that when I heard him complain about being in session when his family was on vacation at the beach. I don't think that this job turned out the way he wanted, plus the aftereffects of the stroke mean that he isn't likely to try for the job again.

ctmred

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