Greetings! Required reading: Excellent NY Times editorial asks if our democracy has been lost. (Spoiler alert: not yet, but we’re on the precipice.) What elevates this op-ed is that it outlines a dozen markers that spotlight what the nation has already lost and how much more is still at risk...Donald Trump stoked fears this week when he revealed the United States would resume nuclear tests for the first time since 1992. The likely testing region would be the Nevada Security Site, a huge chunk of federal land larger than Rhode Island, per NPR. The Wall Street Journal and the National Review both support the nuke tests...Dept. of Bad Taste: The official White House website has some new edits with a nasty right-wing slant.  Under the “Major Events Timeline,” some questionable additions have been made.  These include 1998’s Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal, 2012’s Muslim Brotherhood visit and the  discovery of cocaine in the Biden White House in 2023...Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen is creating a Palestine-themed sorbet in the name of Mideast peace. Right-wing Twitter mocked the new flavor and came up with some new ideas Among the suggested names: “Rocky Roadside Bomb,” “Hamas Terror Misu” and “From the River to the Sor-Bay.”  Outkick has the details...Weekend watch: The Hulu miniseries Murdaugh: Death in the Family is a superb character study, based on the true tale of a powerful South Carolina dynasty.  The  eight-parter focuses on Alex Murdaugh who was charged with the murders of his wife Maggie and their son Paul.  It’s a compelling story about a man who acted like he was above the law for decades until he wasn’t....If  you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting. Howard

Greetings! JD Vance is speaking at a Breitbart event November 20 in Washington, DC.  The website’s Washington bureau chief Matthew Boyle will interview the Veep. Boyle is quoted in the Breitbart article about the event as boasting, “Breitbart News is the publication of record for the America First movement.”  Or to put it another way, Breitbart is just a mouthpiece for the movement...When Bill Gates backtracked on his position on climate change, Trump (naturally) had to crow about it in this Truth Social post. “I (WE!) just won the War on the Climate Change Hoax,” he wrote. “Bill Gates has finally admitted that he was completely WRONG on the issue. It took courage to do so, and for that we are all grateful. MAGA!!!”...Wikipedia watch your back! Earlier this week, Elon Musk launched Grokipedia, an AI-powered competitor to the extremely popular free online encyclopedia. Wired magazine has already charged  Grokipedia with promoting far-right ideology.  For example, Wired reports that Grokipedia claims that social media promotes transgenderism... Another right-wing outlet takes on  Tucker Carlson.  FrontPage accuses the right-wing chatterbox of lying about Israel and betraying Christians…Kashing in on the perks of the job? FBI Director  Kash Patel  is  accused of using the bureau's jet to attend his girlfriend’s musical performance at a pro-wrestling event held at Penn State’s Bryce Jenner Center, according to theDaily Beast. Snarky me can’t help but add that Patel is 45, and gal-pal singer Alexis Wilkens is 26...If you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting. Howard