today in tabs: what the h*ll is going on in new jersey

ALSO: microshifting at work, people have already ruined the term "clanker," Bob Ross paintings are being auctioned to try to save public media, and more

Oct 14, 2025

Happy Tuesday, October 14th. Hope folks had a restful & reflective long weekend!

Just a reminder: every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

I’M LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DO MINI INTERVIEWS FOR OPEN TABS :) Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, tea, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), that would be so appreciated 🙏

A town-by-town snapshot of huge political change in one key state — and what it means in 2025, 2026 and beyond

An analysis of municipal-level election results in New Jersey, coupled with data from the U.S. Census Bureau, provides a detailed demographic and geographic snapshot of where Democrats and Republicans have grown their support fastest in recent elections. By examining changes since 2012 — the most recent presidential election without Trump on the ballot — a clear picture of shifting party coalitions emerges. (NBC News, 10/13)

Several News Outlets Reject Pentagon’s Reporting Restrictions

The 21-page Pentagon document lays out a number of requirements at odds with freedom of press protections, according to lawyers representing news organizations. One is a provision stating that journalists could be deemed a “security risk” based on several considerations, including whether they disclose classified or even unclassified information without the Pentagon’s authorization. (NYT gift link, 10/13)

Mocktails for Maga: why the US right is turning sober

Gallup, which has asked Americans about their alcohol use since the 1930s, found in 2023 that 65% of Republicans said they drink alcohol – about the same as Democrats and independents. Just two years later, in 2025, that number has plunged a staggering 19 points to 46%. Democrats and independents also report drinking less, but each only by single digits. (The Guardian, 10/9)

Washington’s Wet Hot Crypto Summer

Over the summer, Congress did something quite startling: It passed bipartisan legislation with the potential to disrupt the traditional system of global payments, long dominated by Wall Street banks. And yet, for some strange reason, very few people on Wall Street seem to be talking about the Genius Act—the backronym is for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins—which President Trump signed into law on July 18. (Puck, 10/12 – free version)

The AI Slur ‘Clanker’ Has Become a Cover for Racist TikTok Skits

On TikTok and Instagram, however, the ongoing backlash against AI has taken on the form of short video skits, envisioning a future where robots have been fully incorporated into society. The term “clanker,” along with “tinskins,” “wirebacks,” and “oil bleeders” are used as pejoratives in these skits. But some of these skits appear to be using clankers as stand-ins for Black people, perpetuating racist tropes and scenarios that harken back to a pre–Civil Rights era. (WIRED, 10/9 – free version)

Cuomo Deepfaked Himself. You Can Too.

Now AI companies are quietly abandoning the guardrails around image and video generation. New TikTok-style apps from OpenAI and Meta make it simple for anyone to create videos of real people in invented situations. And politicians like Cuomo who are openly embracing AI-generated video of themselves make it all the easier for tech companies to justify a rollback in protections. (CJR, 10/9)

Why Microshifting, the Hot New Flexible Work Trend, Is a Problem

The appeal of microshifting is obvious. We’ve all had a dentist appointment or kid’s soccer game we need to be at during traditional work hours. The ability to step out for these obligations and make them up another time makes the juggle massively easier. But making the workday amorphous and open-ended also comes with costs. (Inc., 10/8)

How Trump-Era Politics Are Reshaping Fashion: From Barbiecore to Workwear

As American politics becomes increasingly “unserious,” fashion trends have, in turn, become more so. Designers like Tory Burch, Versace, Saint Laurent, Gucci, and Prada have all prioritized subdued, almost mournful workwear, debuting leather satchels, tweed pencil skirts, double-breasted blazers, and secretary-style glove pumps in their respective 2025 collections. (Teen Vogue, 10/9)

Dozens of Bob Ross paintings will be auctioned to help public TV after funding cuts

Bonhams is calling this the “largest single offering of Bob Ross original works ever brought to market.” Ross has become synonymous with public broadcasting — some activists have even invoked him in their calls for restoring federal funding to it. (NPR, 10/9)

Lucy’s note: happy that Bob Ross’s work is being appreciated and valued (and hopefully still accessible to the public in some way)… but sad it’s come to this

The world is producing more food crops than ever before

By the latest tallies, the world is on track to grow more grain this year than ever before. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) projects record levels of production of global cereal crops like wheat, corn and rice in the 2025–’26 farming season. Hidden inside that data is another number that’s just as important: a global stocks-to-use ratio around 30.6 percent — meaning the world is producing nearly a third more of these foundational crops than it is currently using. (Vox, 10/11 – free version)