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It's official: I mean, we all knew this was coming, especially after Bernie Sanders endorsed Biden yesterday. Because, I mean, he had to. Lookit: Yesterday the president went so far off the rails at his daily press briefing it's hard to say there's still a train. Or rails. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) may actually be starting to see the downside to being the president's chief lickspittle. Spikes in deaths at home in several cities suggest Covid-19 numbers need some revision....

This week's New Yorker has a long ode to my second-favorite spirit: Gin is on the rise and on the loose. It has gone forth and multiplied. Forget rising sea levels; given the sudden ascendancy of gin, the polar gin caps must be melting fast. Torn between a Tommyrotter and a Cathouse Pink? Can’t tell the difference between a Spirit Hound and an Ugly Dog? No problem. There are now gins of every shade, for every social occasion, and from every time zone. The contagion is global, and I have stumbled across...

Just a few today: Cokie Roberts died yesterday at 75. She will be missed. The Washington Post traced all 47 dogs seized from convicted felon Michael Vick's dog-fighting operation. You will not get through this without tissues. Greenland struggles with its history and identity as much of it melts. Despite his coalition losing seats and the state of Israel essentially repudiating him, Benjamin Netanyahu could still hold onto his job. Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot has come up with an innovative use of...

I'm not sure how I feel about CH Distillery buying the Malort wormwood liqueur brand: Since the 1970s, Malort has been distilled in Florida, though its primary market has remained Chicago. Many Malort enthusiasts would agree that the liquor’s powerful aftertaste assaults the taste buds, a phenomenon that’s ironically helped grow the brand’s popularity on social media and in Chicago bars. Why would Tremaine Atkinson, founder of CH Distillery, want to purchase Malort? “Oh my gosh, why not? … I love...

The day after hosting a big party is never one's most productive. My Fitbit says I got 5 hours and 18 minutes of sleep, which turns out to be better than last year, thanks in part to Parker's forbearance this morning. Usually he's up by 7; but today he let me sleep until 9:15. Good dog. Regular posting should resume tomorrow. I'm betting on getting to bed around 9pm tonight...

I'm getting ready for my annual Prez Day Bash, which I inherited from a very talented and very funny Andy Ball back in 2004. This is the 13th Bash—the Fillmore—so I hope less goes wrong than in previous years. The first ten ran from 1995 to 2004, then the 11th came back in 2015. (I suppose that means the 21st will be in 2035?) I'll post more if I get a lull in preparations.

I will not be doing this (though I am taking it easy this month): After a week or so, I’m sleeping better and have noticeably more energy. However, because my job is literally to go to bars and clubs, I can’t board myself up in a room, “Trainspotting”-style, to avoid temptation. I still go to cocktail bars and check out DJs and bands — I just don’t drink while doing so. Thankfully, with the explosion of the District’s drinking scene, more bars are putting an emphasis on house-made sodas and fresh...

Usually when I work from home, I get a lot done. Today...not as much. I've run errands, had two meetings outside the house, and (to Parker's horror) vacuumed. Now I'm off to another meeting, with half the house un-vacuumed and many emails unread. Articles also unread: Don't be a single-malt snob. (I will be, though.) Why is NYC traffic slowing down? Your Roomba is spying on you. Statistical omissions are just as bad as misleading statistics. Now, time for a board meeting.

Two stories today about science, one implicitly about how money influences reported outcomes, and another about how people don't really understand science. First, the New York Times reported Monday on a $100m National Institutes of Health clinical trial that is getting $67m indirectly from five major alcohol producers: [T]he mantra that moderate drinking is good for the heart has never been put to a rigorous scientific test, and new research has linked even modest alcohol consumption to increases in...

Stuff I didn't get to because I was doing my job today: Republican data analytics firm Deep Root Analytics stored 198 million U.S. voter records on an unsecured server, and guess what? Someone found out. Jeet Heer says only we Democrats can restore faith in the political process. Meanwhile, Greg Sargent is watching the absurd downward spiral of the Administration's handling of its many investigations. CityLab points out that cities have to go after cars if they want to tackle pollution. The Climate...

Crain's lists five Chicago-area distilleries, including Few (my favorite), that have run out of room: The West Loop's CH Distillery plans to build a 20,000-square-foot distillery in Pilsen on the site of the old bottling building of the long-defunct Schoenhofen Brewery. It aims to boost capacity to more than 100,000 9-liter cases per year, up from about 8,000 in its current distillery and tasting room. The two-and-a-half-year-old distillery, whose top products are vodka, rum and two types of gin...