Tangle - The Sunday — December 22

This is the Tangle Sunday Edition, a brief roundup of our independent politics coverage plus some extra features for your Sunday morning reading. 

What the right is doodling.

Gary Varvel | Creators Syndicate

What the left is doodling.

Mike Lukovich | Creators Syndicate

Reader essay.

Photo by Wesley Tingey / Unsplash

Perhaps the most discussed event since the election was the shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan earlier this month. In our edition covering the shooting, prolific Tangle commenter D.A.K. left a long note describing the frustrating complexities in the healthcare industry he’s encountered during his work as a billing manager. We asked him if he’d be willing to write a longer essay on the topic, and he pulled through with an impressively succinct description of some complex problems, along with a few potential solutions. You can read the full piece here.

Have a personal story or local issue you want to write about? Pitch us! Fill out this form or reply to this email, and we’ll get back to you if we’re hooked.

Reader review.

In this section, we like to feature two comments from the same edition that critique our coverage in two different ways. Instead, today we’re going to highlight two very different comments from two very different editions (but each involving the same reader).

Replying to our coverage of the potential government shutdown, Dan wanted to push our analysis a little further:

"I'm surprised that Isaac Saul wrote ‘the more I’m left scratching my head at why he didn’t at least attempt to pass a skinnier CR.’ Johnson did try and pass a skinnier CR - but the problem is that Republicans wanted to add some things to the skinner CR, things like a debt ceiling increase, disaster aid (which in this cycle is going to flow disproportionately to red states), and a farm bill (also disproportionately benefitting red states). Republicans also wanted a longish CR until March (when they would have more control over the final budget), instead of a shorter CR, which Democrats preferred. Getting all those things that they wanted required.... wait for it..... *compromise.*

And of course, what's happening now is that once again, a bunch of people who weren't in the room negotiating that compromise are taking to social media and loudly wondering why they can't vote for a bill that just includes only the things that they want and none of the things that the other side wants.

The simple reason is you don't have to votes - and in our system of government, unless you win an absolutely overwhelming majority (something that hasn't happened since 2008), you have to compromise and vote for some things you don't want in order to get the things that you do want."

Replying to our edition on drone sightings, Rachel Astarte had a more light-hearted exchange with Dan:

Monday, December 16.

The unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP) sightings. For several weeks, residents of New Jersey and other East Coast states have reported seeing possible drones flying over residential neighborhoods and restricted areas. While federal officials have stated that the aircraft do not pose a public safety risk, a lack of specificity in the response has created uncertainty about their origins and nature. 

Our take: “As someone interested in aliens, I’m sorry to say that this story is mostly driven by mass hysteria. Most of these sightings are benign, but I do think a significant handful are probably our military testing new drones. I have a few theories why the federal government is so cagey in its response, but I doubt that we’re seeing foreign tech — or aliens.”

Reader Survey: 

Tuesday, December 17.

Biden's commutations and pardons. On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced the largest single-day act of clemency in modern American history, commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were moved from prison to serve home-confinement sentences during the pandemic. Additionally, Biden pardoned 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. 

Our take: “There is no justification for Biden’s commutations in certain cases. Conahan was astoundingly immoral, Crundwell was cartoonishly corrupt, and Carlson was a menace to his community. I understand wanting to commute harsh sentences, but these particular cases completely overshadow everything else Biden was trying to do.”

Reader Survey: 

Wednesday, December 18.

The Trump-ABC News settlement. On Saturday, President-elect Donald Trump settled a defamation lawsuit with ABC News over inaccurate statements made by news host George Stephanopoulos during a segment in March. As part of the settlement, ABC News agreed to pay $15 million as a charitable contribution to a "Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for Plaintiff” and $1 million to cover Trump's attorney fees.

Our take: “I think ABC was likely to win this case, which raises the question of why they chose to settle. Maybe they wanted to curry favor with Trump, or avoid discovery, or simply not take the risk. To me, this wasn’t a story as much about press freedoms as it was about how big corporations manage risk.”

Reader Survey:

Thursday, December 19.

The impending government shutdown. On Wednesday, House Republican leadership scrapped a bill to temporarily fund the government after President-elect Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and House Republicans came out against the effort. The sudden change of course came just days before current government funding ran out on Friday at midnight. After we published this edition, the House passed a scaled-back version of the funding bill, which was passed by the Senate and signed by President Biden to avert a shutdown.

Our take: “I appreciate the difficult situation that Johnson is in, but he bungled this one. I don’t know why he eschewed a skinny CR, but that path seems like it would have been the better play. Now, a government shutdown seems increasingly likely, and the spotlight is back on Mike Johnson.”

Reader Survey: 

Friday, December 20.

This week, Isaac shared experiences from his upbringing and laid out his beliefs on class and class politics. Read the edition here. 

Recommended reading.

“I’m innocent of any wrongdoing, but the interaction between a citizen and law enforcement is unbalanced by nature. They are part of an apparatus that can take away a person’s freedom. I know it, and they certainly know it. When you’re homeless, you are even more vulnerable. You have no place to go, no kitchen table to sit at while you drink your beer, invisible to them. You’re always on their turf. It’s unnerving.”

In this incredible piece for Esquire, journalist Patrick Fealey reports on his life and experiences since becoming homeless in 2023. Read his account of grappling with law enforcement, mental health, and basic needs here. 

On the channels.

INSTAGRAM: Hours before the funding deadline, the House passed a greatly pared-down continuing resolution. We covered the vote and the difference between this bill and earlier proposals in an Instagram post here.

PODCAST: This week, Isaac finally loses his patience with Elon Musk. Then, in the spirit of the season, the Tangle team comes together to air some gratitude ahead of the winter break. You can listen to the full Sunday podcast here.

BONUS: We bring you great tidings of joy, and offer you this gift to make your yuletide bright: a two-hour Christmas playlist on Spotify, curated by the Tangle team. It is more than a little bit all over the place, kind of like us, and you can listen to it here. 

Tweet of the week.

@JeremiahDJohns dropped one of our favorite new annual traditions this week:

Tangle’s favorites.

Infotainment.

The University of Vermont | rachaelvoorhees

This week, the unseeded University of Vermont men’s soccer team capped off an incredible run through the NCAA tournament with a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory over Marshall in the championship game, the first team sport national title in school history. Complemented by an instantly iconic call on the mic by ESPN’s Dalen Cuff, the game ranks among the year's best sports moments. Here are some fun numbers to put the accomplishment into perspective:

• 18. The number of years since the last time an unseeded team won the men’s soccer NCAA title in a non-COVID, full-field tournament. 
• 13. The number of goals scored by Vermont in this year’s tournament, the most of any team. 
• 2013. The most recent year that a men’s soccer team had come from behind to win in the national title game before Vermont’s comeback. 
• 3. The total number of sudden-death overtime goals in a men’s soccer national title game since 1985, including the walkoff goal from Vermont’s Maximilian Kissel.

Ask the readers.

Last week, Gary asked readers for one holiday tradition they use to spread joy.

Since we chose their answer, we gave M the opportunity to ask our readers a question in today’s newsletter.

You can let us know your thoughts by replying to this email or through this form.

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