Blue Ballots
For years, I’ve been backed up, aching, and swollen with a prolonged case of blue ballots. No one wants to feel the release of a pent-up blue surge that sprays across an election map more than I do. While things seem promising enough to expect a climax that looks like a Diet Coked-up Steve Kornacki being fired out of a T-shirt cannon, I’m not willing to make any predictions. I’ve spent too many election nights, alienated from my fellow Americans, and moaning in the fetal position. Yes, yes, I know that the polls keep looking better and better for Dems. We’ve been told for weeks that the MAGA faithful have been eyeing the exits. I’ve seen Trump’s approval slip with each bizarre rally monologue, the latest ones oddly fixated on the posteriors of both women and men (yes, he’s an Ass Man in addition to being an Ass, Man). And it doesn’t scream confidence that Trump has already announced plans to issue pardons to Elon Musk and others, or that he’s come up with a self-declared moniker: Mr. Veto. And it seems like a bad, self-defeating sign that Trump’s final midterm pitch is being held in front of the Reflecting Pool — even DNC headquarters would have been a better choice of venue. But I’m worried. I’m worried because the American voter has let us down in the past. I’m worried about what Trump will try to do before and during the election, and I’m especially worried about the Jan 6-style malfeasance and subversion that the known insurrectionist and his band of sycophantic, dictator-tot, co-conspirators will pull after the election. But if ever there were a person and a party that deserved to be covered in the shame of an oppositional tsunami, it’s these guys. Come on, America. If you don’t blow it, I finally can.
+ Peter Wehner channels my concerns, and my hope, in the Atlantic (Gift Article): The MAGA Reckoning Arrives. “The election, and especially the reelection, of Donald Trump caused me, for the first time in my life, to question the fundamental decency of America. I could not understand how anyone, especially my co-religionists, could look at such a squalid figure and vote for him, let alone support him enthusiastically. How could they defend his indecency time after time after time? Doesn’t partisanship have limits? Don’t honor and integrity matter? Isn’t Trump’s peculiar form of madness an obvious disqualifier? For tens of millions of Americans—more than 77 million in 2024 alone—the answer has been no. That stain is now a permanent part of the American story. But the story isn’t over. We can move beyond this grotesque chapter to something better, though the path won’t be smooth. Even if Democrats sweep the midterms, Trump will still be president, and his closing act will likely involve trying to tear the country apart. We can’t allow him to do that. We need to get to the other side of this era with our institutions, our bonds to one another, and our commitment to justice and the rule of law intact, and then begin the work of reclaiming American ideals. A wipeout of the party of Trump on Tuesday would be an awfully helpful step in that direction.”
2
Stop! In the Name of Gov
I just hope that the end of campaign season brings an end to the deluge of political spam texts. About half of mine address someone named John. But sadly, they are not Dear John letters. Dhruv Mehrotra feels our pain in Wired: My Journey to the Center of America’s Political Spam Text Hell. “For years, I diligently opted out. I’ve replied ‘STOP’ 49 times since 2021, by my phone’s count. Sometimes ‘Stop2End,’ when that was the magic word. In November 2025, I told Jon Ossoff’s campaign some version of ‘stop.’ It did not stop. Since then, I’ve received 13 more texts boosting his campaign, from nine different numbers. When the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee texted to inform me that Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden were calling me personally to action, I replied ‘eat shit.’ That didn’t work either.” (It says everything about what the internet has become that the most commonly typed word among humans is, Stop.)
3
Bagel Finagle
Next time you order a bagel (or anything else) online, make sure you’re ordering from the actual site. Hackers are using AI to essentially re-create sites and shopping carts. Boichik Bagels among Bay Area victims of massive credit card skimming machine.
+ And the global freeze-out continues. European grocery chains’ freezers, refrigerators targeted in apparent cyberattacks. (Hackers can break your freezer from anywhere, but if your freezer needs to be fixed, someone is gonna have to come out to the house...)
4
The Dream Deferred
My niece announced to our global family chat that she’s been supporting the Valkeries “from the start.” And she’s right. But “the start” wasn’t too long ago. The Valkeries, as it turns out, only have fair-weather fans since the weather has been fair since the team has existed. In only their second year, a band of misfits, castoffs, and also-rans just took home the WNBA championship in the league’s first Game 7. Gabby Williams’ 30-point night leads Valkyries over Dream in Game 7 for team’s first championship.
+ I’ve never seen a brand (let alone a sports team brand) evolve this quickly. “Even the biggest women’s basketball events often have a way of feeling niche. Not so within the Bay Area, where the Valkyries have sold out every home game since their inception. And Game 7 was a capital-E Event in the minds of everyday commuters, Uber drivers, hotel receptionists, and flight attendants. In just two years, the Valkyries have given their fans, players, and staff something that many professional sports franchises spend decades trying to create: a genuine sense of identity, purpose, and belonging.” The Golden State Valkyries Just Changed the WNBA Forever.
5
Extra, Extra
Corruption Interruption: “Corruption is topping voter concerns in recent polls, dominating Democratic messaging, and forcing Republicans to play defense in red states. If that marks a sharp shift from recent American elections, in which such allegations have played a relatively minor role, it mirrors a growing global trend. Around the world, a backlash against corruption has roused voters and undercut populist, right-wing politicians.” The Atlantic (Gift Article): The Backlash to Corruption Is Going Global. (So, it seems, are protests: German Protests Turn Violent as Activists Clash With Police.)
+ Getting Even With Stevens: “The about-face by Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Michigan) to endorse Republican Mike Rogers — and appear with him at a Detroit church Sunday, instead of at an event she had been scheduled to attend with El-Sayed — triggered denunciations by Democratic leaders nationwide, along with an apparent surge in fundraising for El-Sayed.” El-Sayed campaign reports $2.4 million fundraising day as Stevens endorses GOP rival.
+ Probable Claws: “A federal magistrate judge on Monday threw out charges against two former F.B.I. intelligence officials accused of lying to Congress, excoriating prosecutors for what he described as a failure of one of their most basic responsibilities: showing there was any probable cause that crimes had been committed in the first place.” (Little details like that aren’t going to stop this DOJ anytime soon, especially when it comes to enemies and elections.)
+ Under the Influencer: “What this marketing often fails to acknowledge is the potential for kratom to lead to addiction, liver injury, seizures and in some cases, fatal overdoses.” They Tried Kratom for Its Purported Health Benefits, Then They Became Addicted. “Some say they were introduced to the drug through wellness podcasts, free samples at gyms or fitness influencers.”
+ Bet Your Reputation: “As durably profitable as it has been for celebrities to arbitrage their fanbase’s attention and affection, they should remember that for it to remain so, people do still have to like them. Continuing to cheerfully feed regular people into gambling’s meat grinder might not be the safest bet.” Amanda Mull in Bloomberg (Gift Article): Do Celebrities Endorsing Prediction Markets Not Have Enough Money Already?
+ Flat Chance: “The man who helped develop the technology for liquid crystal displays — the screens in flat-panel televisions and laptops — has died at 101.” That Giant HDTV That Fits in Your Living Room? Thank Cyril Hilsum. And he may have left us with something even more precious. A guide to longevity. “Dr. Hilsum died on Sept. 23 at an assisted-living facility in London, his family said. He was 101, having survived into his 11th decade by avoiding fresh vegetables and subsisting largely on TV dinners, chocolate and red wine.”
+ Snake Eyes: “Once you see a snake in Bangkok, the snakiest capital in the world, you see snakes everywhere ... On an average half-day shift, Mr. Pinyo, the top snake catcher in Thailand’s capital, wrangles more than 20 snakes, the reptiles secreted in sewers, curled in flowerpots and toilets, enmeshed in recycling, and pressed against branches ready to snack on geckoes and tree shrews. He catches cobras, pythons, kraits and pit vipers. Those are the scary snakes. Harmless species, at least to humans, include tree snakes, rat snakes, kukris and sunbeams.” This is probably not what Pinyo Pukpinyo expected when he signed up to be a firefighter. He’s the Top Snake Catcher, and Business Is Booming. There’s Just One Problem.
6
Bottom of the News
“In ancient myth, Achilles and Patroclus were two Greek heroes of the Trojan war whose intense bond was believed by some to have turned into a sexual relationship. In modern science, they are a bull, Achille, and a donkey, Patroclo, whose tender interspecies affair has helped to shed new light on social and sexual interactions between animals.” Tender bond between male donkey and bull baffles scientists.
+ David Letterman and Matt Damon as extras on The Gilded Age? Sure, why not?
© 2026 Dave Pell
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