defector-orange-no-empty-space

lede_post_card_default

lede_post_card_stacked

lede_post_card_featured_post

lede_post_card_featured_posts_hero

lede_post_card_featured_posts_sidebar

lede_post_card_highlighted_post

lede_post_card_horizontal_a

lede_post_card_horizontal_c

lede_post_card_related_post

lede_article_featured_16x9

lede_article_featured_3x2

lede_article_featured_flexible

lede_article_content

lede_article_content_wide_width

lede_article_content_full_width

lede_byline_avatar_post_card

lede_byline_avatar_highlight

lede_profile_coral_avatar

lede_logo

lede_logo_banner

lede_logo_footer_banner

lede_logo_simple_header

lede_sponsorship_logo

lede_sponsorship_logo_river_card

lede_sponsorship_homepage_card_logo

lede_sponsorship_homepage_card

Footer Legal

Header - Categories

Header Menu

The last good website.

Topics

This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

defector-no-empty-space

Defector

The Defector Crewneck Sweatshirt Is Back In Stock

back-in-stock-for-a-limited-time

Merch v3

Normal Gossip: portraits

Alex Sujong Laughlin

Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Tim Scott standing onstage, all very normally, at a GOP primary debate in Miami.

MIAMI, FL – NOVEMBER 08: The candidates take the stage at the t

Politics

These Debates Don’t Matter

skalaf-photo

Samer Kalaf

Palestinians in Gaza carry bodies through the street

khan-younis-gaza-morgue

Bearing Witness To Gaza’s Grief Shouldn’t Feel Like A Radical Act

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Typing

Sabrina Imbler

People carry injured and dead Palestinians from the rubbles of buildings as civil defense teams and civilians conduct search and rescue operations after Israeli attacks on Al-Shati refugee camp of Gaza City, Gaza on October 27, 2023 as Israeli attacks continue on the 21st day on Gaza

Israeli attacks continue on the 21st day in Gaza

Science

Who Is Allowed To Do Science?

Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.

IMG_1801 (1)

Nicholas Russell

Thousands of pro-Palestinian protestors gather as they demonstrate against Israeli war on Gaza calling for a ceasefire at Sergelstorg Square in Stockholm, Sweden, October 22, 2023.

Pro-Palestinian demonstration in Sweden

What Happens After The Rally Ends?

A man carries a child, wounded by Israeli airstrikes, into Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City

PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL-GAZA-CONFLICT

Subjugation And Dehumanization Lead To Only One Result

ratto-ray_400x400

Ray Ratto

Steve Garvey, in the foreground, at his induction into the Legends of Dodgers Baseball inaugural class back in September of 2018. He's got sunglasses on and is clapping.

San Diego Padres v Los Angeles Dodgers

Nobody Wants Senator Steve Garvey

Profile Pic

Chris Thompson

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a campaign event at the Los Angeles Harbor Grain Terminal on September 29, 2023 in Long Beach, California. DeSantis is scheduled to speak at the California Republican Party Fall Convention in Anaheim, California later today.

GOP Presidential Candidate Ron DeSantis Campaigns In California

Is Ron DeSantis Wearing Hidden Platform Heels Inside His Stupid Ugly Boots? An Investigation

VictorPortraitWClaw

David Roth

The animals from Paw Patrol, or more accurately people wearing costumes of the animals from Paw Patrol, waving at the Paris premiere of the Paw Patrol movie.

“Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie”: Paris Premiere At UGC Normandie

This Is So Stupid

Caitlin Flanagan’s Wheels Are Spinning A Little Too Fast

Micah Herskind is an organizer, policy advocate, and writer based in Atlanta, GA.

Screen Shot 2023-02-15 at 11.05.51 AM

Micah Herskind

Environmental activists hold a rally and a march through the Atlanta Forest, a preserved forest Atlanta that is scheduled to be developed as a police training center, March 4, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Intent upon stopping the building of what they have called cop city, the environmentalists were evicted from the forest in January, resulting in the killing by police of Manuel Teran, a young activist and medic.

Environmental Activists Reoccupy Atlanta Forest

Policing

The Stop Cop City Indictment Is An Act Of Desperation

Dave McKenna

Screen Shot 2023-08-23 at 12.42.50 PM

Moron Pushing Petition To Rename Commanders Has Long History Of Being A Moron

headshot1

Patrick Redford

WASHINGTON - MARCH 08: US Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas testifies before the House Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee on Capitol Hill March 8, 2007 in Washington, DC. Thomas and fellow Justice Anthony Kennedy spoke about concerns with the ongoing remodeling of the court building, the reduction of paperwork due to electronic media and the disparity of pay between federal judges and lawyers working in the private sector. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Clarence Thomas

Justices Kennedy And Thomas Testify Before House Appropriations Committee

Clarence Thomas Absolutely Loves Going On Vacations

New York City Mayor Eric Adams sitting at a literal table with some restauranteurs at the Manhattan restaurant Ali Baba. This is not the same as the figurative "table of success" at which his haters are his waiters.

Mayor Eric Adams cuts ribbon for Turkish restaurant in NYC

A Seat At The Table Of Success

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 02: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visits "The Faulkner Focus"at Fox News Channel Studios on June 02, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Visits “The Faulkner Focus”

Things Got Ugly At RFK Jr.’s Fart Dinner

A closeup of the Qatar World Cup gold medal

world-cup-qatar-medal

Capital

Qatar’s Interest In The Washington Wizards Is The Next Step

Moms For Liberty activists rally against COVID mask mandates in Viera, Fl. in June of 2023.

A member of Moms for Liberty protests against mandatory face

The Country’s Most Unpleasant Moms Will Not Be Cowed By People Pointing Out The Big Hitler Quote On Their Newsletter

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) questions Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray about conspiracy theories related to the January 6, 2020 attack on the U.S. Capitol during a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee.

House Committee On Homeland Security Holds Hearing Examining Worldwide Threats

Clay Higgins Is The Norm

<a href="https://abshippy.com/">Abdullah Shihipar</a> is a writer and public health researcher based at Brown University.

Abdullah-shihipar-profile

Abdullah Shihipar

L-R Kyla Bennett, PhD, JD Director, New England PEER and a local resident Tracy Stewart of Medway look over old astroturf piled up in a forested area, where it's apparently leaching PFAS chemicals into nearby water sources.

toxic-turf-franklin-ma-2019

Climate

The Case Against Turf Fields

A CNN broadcaster with the chyron "What is woke?"

cnn-woke

This Blog Has Gone Woke

Donald Trump hooting at supporters outside Mar-A-Lago in Florida in April of 2023.

Former President Donald Trump Holds A Press Conference At Mar-a-Lago After Being Arraigned In New York

So It’s A Crime Now To Have Boxes Full Of Cool Folders With Various Words Printed On Them?

Giuliani Receives Major Endorsement In Washington

Pat Robertson, Anti-Gaming Crusader And Horse Racing Enthusiast, Is Dead

Katharine Trendacosta writes about tech policy, the entertainment industry, pop culture, and where those things intersect. In her day job, she&#8217;s the Associate Director of Policy and Activism for the digital civil liberties nonprofit the Electronic Frontier Foundation. (Her writing here reflects her views alone and not those of EFF.) In her spare time, she writes things like this.

A photo of the author, Katharine Trendacosta

Katharine Trendacosta

Actor and writer Daheli Hall, left, joins WGA members as they cheer on the first day of their strike in front of Paramount Studios in Hollywood on May 2, 2023.

WGA-Strike

The Writers Are Striking For The Future Of Entertainment

Mayor Eric Adams during a ceremony as Composer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber is given the key to the city.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams Special Announcement With Andrew Lloyd Webber On Final Weekend Of “Phantom Of The Opera” On Broadway

To Restore Public Trust, New York Mayor Eric Adams Must Do A Kickflip

Visual Editor. Runs <a href="http://defectorstore.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">defectorstore.com</a>. Philadelphia-based, if you couldn’t tell.

DFmBbTQF_400x400

Dan McQuade

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 18: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition annual leadership meeting on November 19, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The meeting comes on the heels of former President Donald Trump becoming the first candidate to declare his intention to seek the GOP nomination in the 2024 presidential race.

chris-christie

Reports: Mets Owner To Do Something Stupid

IMG_6025-800

Albert Burneko

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who sucks at his job

buttigieg

Media Meltdowns

How Not To Interview A Transportation Secretary

Former President Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson and Marjorie Taylor Greene during the 3rd round of the LIV Golf Invitational Series in July of 2022.