A conservative Republican says “Nothing should ever be done for the first time.” A modern Republican says “It should be, but not now.” —Mort Sahl, “The Future Lies Ahead” People on the left, like humorist Mort Sahl, mocked the Eisenhower Administration for its slow, cautious approach to racial integregation. Racial segregation was maintained by force of law in the South, where a drinking fountain would be labeled “whites only” or “colored only.

Whilst we’re on the subject of cats (see yesterday’s post), I can’t resist sharing with you this absolutely indelible painting of a white cat by Pierre Bonard. Inspired by Japanese paintings of cats (see below for an example of), Bonnard attempted to paint “the idea” of a cat. It’s almost a caricature, with its elongated forms and long legs. But in its distinctive arching movement there is also something that depicts the essence of a cat, its aloofness, and the ambiguity of its gaze.

This is the 28th edition of the weekly Retrontario newsletter. Subscribe now to start getting it sent directly to your inbox:Uncle Bobby was a legitimate local institution: a real-life Krusty the Klown whose alleged misadventures involving scotch, mothers, and school buses have been the stuff of legend since the 1970s—even though the conversations about him shifted long ago from the playgrounds to the pubs around Toronto. (He’d heartily approve.)  

Hi, Ari here, and while I’m off The Beat this week for vacation, I still wanted to share some thoughts about power, technology and Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. As someone who spent years practicing First Amendment law, some of the recent debate has been really interesting.  And you can always subscribe here to receive all my newsletter entries: About half of Americans get their news primarily from social media. Some of that may be actual news, simply distributed online, or commentary about actual news, and related discourse.

NEW STANDARD DISCLAIMER: This newsletter aggressively spoils things. In our ongoing effort to make our profession seem really complex and demanding (instead of just making increasingly silly shit up), writers will often talk about world-building. That essentially means describing and explaining the universe that the story takes place in, everything from the laws of physics (do your winters last for decades?) to magic systems to politics, religion, ethnic and racial concerns—everything.