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So stunning

David Clingingsmith (Case Western): Are the World’s Languages Consolidating? The Dynamics and Distribution of Language Populations. Why do cartoon villains speak in foreign accents? Children’s shows often use non-standard dialects to voice the “bad guys”, sending a dangerous message to kids about diversity. “Stunning news that the directors of all three Russian spy agencies (FSB, GRU, SVR) visited Washington last week. These are the very people who planned and executed the attack on our election. So why were they invited?” Navy doctor’s comment raises concerns about Trump’s behavior. White House officials see Trump as “a real-life Superman”. Improving ourselves to death: Alexandra Schwartz on what the self-help gurus and their critics reveal about our times.

From Vox, 9 historians on why Trump’s war with the FBI is so stunning. No, the GOP’s public war with the FBI is not normal. Nunes’s memo is a stunt — but surveillance does need more scrutiny. Did Donald Trump read the memo, or could he read it? “The question is not what’s in the memo. The question is whether people fall for the next cooked-up, hash-tagged, fake controversy, or if at some point folks decide they don’t want to look like a hack in this historic moment”.