There’s lots of brilliant think pieces from reporters, scholars and political observers to consume today to help wrap one’s head around the gravity of the last 24-hours. Here’s another take to add to the list this evening.

New York Times writer Max Fisher flagged a piece he published back in September 2021 here:

Political observers have been theorizing for some time that the Republican Party’s current war on education and school-related issues is all part of a broader effort to create a political illusion. The right-wing media and right-wing politicians are seemingly using each other to make enough noise about faux cultural grievances that it’s impossible to tell where the noise originated in the first place.

Are kindergarteners in Florida being exposed to LGBTQ or gender identity issues in an age inappropriate way? Are math textbooks in Texas indoctrinating kids to become liberal cyborgs? No, but asking the question gives the question a life of its own.

I will admit: I have watched every episode ever of the documentary-style “Ghost Trackers” and “Haunted,” as well as the fictionalized adaptations of the hauntings of “Bly Manor” and “Hill House.”

If there’s a fleck of dust in a dark room and you wanna call it an orb, I’m there.

But Roger Stone could perhaps stand to watch a few episodes of “Ghost Brothers” or “Haunted Towns” — particularly the episodes when they talk about how basic things like light reflections work — before he starts proclaiming evidence of “satanic portals.”

There’s not a ton to make of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) remarks from the Senate floor today — when he suggested that President Biden is “moving in our direction” on student debt forgiveness.

But he could be signaling a few things.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) has been a consistent, public voice of authority on the Jan. 6 panel’s work since the committee first began its investigation into the insurrection and broader efforts by Trump and his allies to subvert the 2020 election.

But lately he’s given a series of blunt remarks, honing in on the events surrounding former Vice President Mike Pence’s decision to not get into an armored vehicle as Secret Service attempted to evacuate him from the U.S. Capitol. Raskin is interested in why the vice president so strenuously objected.

The guy’s got a point.

In what is seemingly a move to troll Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and his administration’s latest effort to censor school children from non-existent “prohibited” material for no discernible reason, a Florida man and atheist activist recently asked some of the state’s largest school districts to ban the Bible from public schools, citing age inappropriate content.

The horror.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and his office have been incredibly tight-lipped about what exactly the state education department found to be so appalling in those 54 math textbooks that the state decided to immediately ban them from public schools.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) exited an event in Utah on Tuesday so quickly that even his staffer was out of breath.

Not to boast but on this day, April 19, 2022, I, Nicole Lafond, was awarded the ride-sharing apps’ most coveted distinction for a passenger: I am now a 5-star rider.

My robot cab app of choice, Lyft, sent me an email just this afternoon to inform me that a “badge” had been added to my profile. Apparently enough drivers have given me five-star ratings in a row that I now deserve this flashy honor:

If you’re a lifer, you probably know Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) origin story, at least as it relates to TPM.