36 Interesting Facts About Hotels That Aren’t Just Gross! Tabs, Tues., Jan. 23, 2024

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The Samuel Alito Supreme Court is about to make the biggest power grab since 1803. Elie Mystal breaks it down. (The Nation)

This comprehensive list of every mean thing Donald Trump said about Ron DeSantis is guilty beach reading. (The Daily Beast)

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The ice storm that confined my family to our house for a few days was fortunately just a mild inconvenience. We had power, heat, and plenty of food. A lot of people weren’t so lucky. This includes my friend journalist Victoria Brownworth. Her story is a must-read. (Philadelphia Gay News)

Being hungry made me think a lot about what it means to be hungry. For me it was temporary, but for millions of Americans and nearly a billion people worldwide hunger is neither temporary nor the abstract of “food insecurity,” but daily. In 2021, I wrote about how the World Food Programme asked the world’s richest men, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, to contribute 2% to stop starvation in Africa. They refused.

We’ve stopped talking about hunger. We use the political term “food insecurity,” which is somehow meant to make people who are hungry feel less stigmatized. Let me tell you, not being able to get food, even for a half a day? That’s hunger — it’s not some amorphous, distancing, sociological term. It’s a physical pain in your stomach and it makes you feel light-headed and angry. 

Portland, Oregon, teen Majiah Washington is a goddamn hero. She risked her life to save a baby whose mother, father, and another family member were all fatally electrocuted by a live wire after a power line fell on their car. So glad Washington and the baby survived. (CNN)

Composer Laurie Johnson, who created the theme music for “The Avengers” TV series starting with the Emma Peel era, has died at 96. Few sounds make me this happy. (BBC)

House Republicans are political nihilists who care more about stoking personal grievances than actually governing or solving any serious problems. That’s Eugene Robinson’s opinion, as well as anyone else’s who has functioning eyes and ears. (Washington Post)

Charles M. Blow dares suggest that Joe Biden’s outreach to Black voters could use some help. (New York Times)

The president’s speech was a chance to offer a vision for his second term, but there was hardly any vision in it. It focused on what his administration has done and not what it will do. It landed like someone coming to collect a payment for services rendered rather than to celebrate victories with a partner before mapping out future plans.

Kaitlin Byrd also has thoughts on building a better Biden. (Dame)

The new Baltimore Sun is gonna suck, isn’t it? (Baltimore Banner)

New York City Ballet’s India Bradley is the first Black woman to dance the role of Dewdrop in The Nutcracker. (Essence)

Bread is dead in my diet now so that I might remain alive. Maybe I won’t just eat cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day. (Willamette Week)

What was breakfast like in Jane Austen’s time? Well, they apparently ate bread. (I’ve already far outlived my beloved Miss Austen.)

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