Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans cannot even be trusted with their own money.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Books are my comfort food!

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

So many bastards, so little time.

Everybody saw this coming.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

Bark louder, little dog.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself. it’s up to us.

In my day, never was longer.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

If you voted for Trump, you don’t get to speak about ethics, morals, or rule of law.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

Our messy unity will be our strength.

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Reader Interactions

80Comments

  1. 1.

    aimai

    Yes. This. The old blog was elegant, readable, and focused your attention. The new thing is awful.

    aimai

  2. 2.

    Sam

    Just a guess, but I bet the Monthly owners are tired of the fact that the only thing people read on their website is Steve, and the redesign is an effort to use his blog to drive more traffic to the other content.

    And no doubt they gave him a big raise for his willingness to play that role. ;)

  5. 5.

    Suffern ACE

    I get a page that says “Error 404: the page you requested was not found”. Which as redesigns go, is unusually poor.

  6. 6.

    MikeJ

    At least they still have stuff in sidebars. Too many places have completely fucked up their sites trying to make it look good on phones, even if you have a 27″ monitor.

    I never use IMDB or weatherunderground anymore. Just too hideous to look at, and too hard to find the info you want. They both have everything in one column, instead of going straight to the soundtrack link in the left column like you used to, you have to scroll past everything else and pick it out of the noise.

    The big problem with Benen’s page is everything is restricted to 1/3 of the width of my monitor.

    Why of why can’t people actually learn CSS before they loose these monstrosities upon the world?

  7. 7.

    Comrade Mary

    I’ll have to look on my browser when I get home, but the new site is much better on the iPhone. Still, they could have left the original design and just created a mobile site.

  8. 8.

    MikeJ

    Gotta say, after look at it, jacking up the fonts makes it better. At least the gutters on either side are no longer 1/3 of the screen each. It does feel like I’m reading a large type book, and I only have to do it so it’s not so ugly. At least it’s usable in its uglitude.

  9. 9.

    tomvox1

    As long as it’s still Benen’s excellent words, I really don’t care much about the aesthetics. The Gold Standard, IMO.

  11. 11.

    UncommonSense

    You should just read it in RSS the way I do. They finally started feeding the full posts, rather than just the summary version.

  12. 12.

    General Stuck

    For me, his previous blog was about the worst laid out one on the internets, especially the comment section. To the point I stopped visiting or commenting there a long time ago. This new one, more in a news magazine format isn’t terrific, but anything is an improvement over the previous site, imo.

  15. 15.

    Davis X. Machina

    Benen’s place had just about the smallest default font of any blog I read regularly, and was what finally drove me to install NoSquint.

    The new site format works for me. Basically a three-column version of the format at Taegan Goddard’s joint.

  16. 16.

    M-Pop

    You know what I’m finding is that since I’ve installed the lastest Firefox update (4.0.1) my browser fonts are all crazy and annoying and I only have, like, six default Apple fonts to choose from. I wonder if this is related?

  17. 17.

    karen marie

    When I first brought up PA this morning, I was missing the first word on every line until I backed up my view zoom to a smaller size. But that just makes it hard for these poor, tired, old eyes to see the crappy gray font.

    I liked the old commenting system over there because I could comment without then having to “go back” to scroll through the rest of the content.

    And it’s white across the entire screen. Are you people trying to blind me?

  18. 18.

    TooManyJens

    unscalable (jacking up the fonts fucks up the left margin)

    Maybe they fixed this, because I jacked up the font size 20% just now and it looked fine.

    Edit: wow, I take that back.

  19. 19.

    General Stuck

    @MikeJ:

    Yeah, and the font was just awful to try and read for very long, almost like reading an old dot matrix printout. I kind of like his new format. Not the best layout, but okay.

  20. 20.

    Amir_Khalid

    Now it looks rather like a story page from the Guardian, except that it uses a serif font. Kind of bland, but lots better than the old look.

  21. 21.

    Chad N Freude

    “Readibility” is a partial, mostly good solution to reformatting article text. I’ve been using the free version for quite a while (Firefox.3.x); it’s a big help.

  22. 22.

    Jim Pharo

    I still shudder whenever I go to Eschaton with its new, much uglier look.

    I remember when we thought things on the web should be especially beautiful, design-wise. I also remember progressive taxation as being indisputably a good thing, so I’m dating myself here….

  24. 24.

    Chad N Freude

    “Readability” strips everything and reformats text. “Nosquint” for Firefox gives you control over how the original page displays.

  25. 25.

    Anya

    Why is everyone redesigning these days? Because of these failed re-designs, I stopped going to Gawker and Wonkette, or at least don’t go as much as I used to (can’t quit you, Newell). They are all awful. Or maybe I am reacting this way because I spend way too much time reading a blog (not saying which blog) by and for cantankerous older people, who are not comfortable with change and who talk about pets all the time.

  26. 26.

    asiangrrlMN

    Don’t like it except for the no-pop-up ads. The pure white hurts my eyes. I will still read, of course, but I wish he would return to colored borders. I know it’s not his choice, though.

  28. 28.

    MikeJ

    @asiangrrlMN: Non porn sites still do pop up ads? Pop up blockers are built into every browser on the market because survey after survey showed that people hated pop ups with a passion. I probably haven’t seen a pop up ad for a decade.

  29. 29.

    MonkeyBoy

    awful, unreadable, unscalable (jacking up the fonts fucks up the left margin) look.

    In Firefox I’ve sworn by the extension NoSquint for years. It allows you to set and remember per-site zoom levels. I believe I heard about if from Kevin Drum back when he was writing Political Animal.

  30. 30.

    /dev/null

    It’s not nearly as bad as what Gawker Media did with their sites. I used to hit Deadspin and Gizmodo daily, now I almost never bother.

  31. 31.

    You Don't Say

    Huh? I like it. And in Chrome you can jack up the font size all you want. And, as someone else said, no more annoying pop ups. That alone is worth it.

  34. 34.

    Tim in SF

    Jesus Tapdancing Christ. Carping about redesigns does not rise to the very low level of crap I usually see on this blog.

    If you don’t like their layout, use your own layout. FF and Safari allow you to create your own stylesheet for any site you visit. It’s not magic, it’s just a little code.

    Or, if you are afraid of learning a little code, view it in an RSS reader. Problem solved, grampa.

  35. 35.

    roshan

    If you are using firefox/chrome then use adblock plus to block pop-up and ads. The ads can be re-enabled on your favorite sites just so that the site gets some ad revenue. It even blocks ads that show up on youtube. I’ve never encountered a pop-up on Benen’s site due to it. And, I actually like the new site design. The old one had a look of some ancient web archive or something.

  36. 36.

    Amir_Khalid

    One thing that still strikes me as weird is that the magazine’s home page is taken up by a blog. It’s like you went to a newspaper site and found on its front page, not the main stories for that day, but an editorial. For quite a while, I used to think that Political Animal was the entirety of the Washington Monthly, and I’d wonder why one blog came with two titles.

  37. 37.

    Walker

    This is to make it consistent with the college guide look. Which is a very uneven blog. Sometimes it has good stuff. And sometime it is a Cornell alum bitching about his overpriced education.

    He wasn’t one of my students, I promise.

  38. 38.

    Concerned Citizen

    The new site is much better. I can’t believe everyone hates it so much.

  39. 39.

    fhtagn

    Looks perfectly readable to me. Of course, I don’t check the special BIG FONT SHORT SIMPLE WORDS version for Steeler fans….

  40. 40.

    licensed to kill time

    I was completely discombobulated when I went to his site this morning, too. Thought I was in the wrong place, and I’ve had Benen on my RSS feed for years.

    I noticed he has over 90 comments on his “We have a new look” post so I’m going to check those out. One thing that has always puzzled me is that for a guy with such great content he generates a fairly low comment count. Maybe this will change now?

    Oh, and I 73rdly recommend NoSquint.

  41. 41.

    eemom

    it’s an ominous sign when just about the only place left on the innertubz where you could get straight-up, intelligent reports of actual NEWS, feels the need to turn itself into another virtual pinball machine.

    Ugh.

  42. 42.

    fhtagn

    @eemom:

    Well, the Guardian and Independent aren’t bad at all. By the way, I just suckered Mad Princess Tokie into posting two more, doubtless crazy, comments on the little thread that could. She keeps yipping REDACTED at me, for some unknown reason.

  43. 43.

    The Bobs

    @MikeJ: MikeJ, you can still get the old weather underground if you just change your links to: classic.wunderground.com

    Thats what I do, I hate the new design too.

  44. 44.

    Mark S.

    I’ve got pop-up blockers but Washington Monthly was one of the few sites where the pop-ups would get through.

  45. 45.

    Valdivia

    I like the white. I really don’t like the color-full backgrounds. I also hated the pop-up ads. I am sure they’ll fine tune (they have a thread for suggestions) but I think this is an improvement over before. In chrome it looks great.

  46. 46.

    eemom

    @fhtagn:

    that exchange you had last night cracked me up.

    Tell me, do you have some history with the deranged little creature? You sound almost like an older brother.

  47. 47.

    Violet

    @MikeJ:

    I never use IMDB or weatherunderground anymore.

    You can still get the old weather underground (the one before the recent redesign) by going to classic.wunderground.com. Put your location into the box and the “classic” page for it will show up. Don’t know how it scales for phones, though.

    Edit: I see The Bobs beat me to it.

  48. 48.

    calling all toasters

    It’s almost as bad now as this unreadable site. Hey, is this thing going to be fully functional with Chrome anytime soon?

  49. 49.

    licensed to kill time

    Also, with NoSquint I was able to change the glaring white background on Benen’s site to a nice soft gray. Jacked the text size up to 150 percent and all is groovy.

    Da da da da.

  50. 50.

    dj spellchecka

    i’m using the not quite newest firebox and when i enlarge the type [ctrl +] at steve’s blog the left margin stays put and the sidebar gets pushed to the right and off the screen…

  51. 51.

    Stan of the Sawgrass

    @MikeJ: I agree. The tiny, tiny font has bugged me ever since Steve joined WM. And the commenting structure is annoying. AND the bizarre pop-up ad that rises up like the undead…
    Bright side: Safari’s “Reader” will now handle the page and cut away the ads and let you read it in a font of your choice. If you don’t use a Mac, or don’t use Safari, download “Readability,” which will do the same thing.
    That’s probably the only thing I like about the new design. But face it, the old one was really awful. Good riddance.

  54. 54.

    Comrade Luke

    @fhtagn:

    I find both the Guardian and Independent terrible to navigate, and to scan for news. I’ve heard nothing but great things about both of them regarding content, but the layout is so bad I never read them.

  55. 55.

    scarshapedstar

    99% of the time I’m reading RSS feeds on my phone, but yeah, the “three columns of crap” design is awful.

  56. 56.

    fhtagn

    @Comrade Luke:

    I have never found them hard to navigate. The section layout seems pretty logical. It might not always be easy to find an individual writer, but the sections generally make sense.

  59. 59.

    Cliff in NH

    Install Nosquint if you really like different zooms for different sites:

    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/nosquint/

    Having a hard time reading on the web? Is that website with the ridiculously small font and hot-pink-on-slightly-darker-hot-pink text raising your blood pressure? NoSquint can:

    Override the default text-only and full-page (both text and images) zoom levels for all websites
    Enforce your own foreground and background colors
    Remember your zoom levels and color settings per site, automatically applying them when you return.
    Disagree with what NoSquint calls a site? A powerful exceptions mechanism lets you split up or group together sites with URL patterns.

  60. 60.

    FlipYrWhig

    I like it better. The old site was bollocks layout-wise, with the weird purple everywhere and the rising popups from the bottom right corner. Then again I use an antiquated Firefox on an antiquated Mac, so I’m not asking for much. Some sites I can’t even use anymore.

  61. 61.

    Arundel

    I like it much better, looks fine here (Mac/Safari). It’s narrower and more junque on the page, but the old site was a bit of a pain. Enlarge the font, kill the creeping pop up, (also the pop-under which was always for something depressing like death insurance), then reset the font size when I left the page.

    Which are really really minor gripes- it’s Steve Benen, and he is tirelessly wonderful to read. I don’t know how he does it, a dozen intelligent, quality posts every day, he’s amazing. Just.. I am liking the readability of the new format.

  62. 62.

    master c

    This new page looks SO much better to me, the old site was lookin’
    so 2000 and late to me.

  63. 63.

    uptown

    How hard is it to add a text resize widget to a website? I know many designers feel it should be done through your browser, but it never seems to work as well.

    Just installed Nosquint on Firefox, but I normally use Opera.

  64. 64.

    steve

    Damn shame nosquint even has to exist; I expect people who can work a computer to know better than to do stupid things like put comments in 2-point type. (see Drum, Kevin)

  66. 66.

    chamois

    But it loads in a tenth of the time as the old page. I used to go get a coffee refill while waiting for it to open.

  69. 69.

    licensed to kill time

    @efgoldman:

    NoSquint can enlarge the whole page and text, or it can enlarge only the text and make it fit the page. You set it and forget it, next time you visit the site NoSquint remembers your settings. It’s very simple to use.

    It can also change the background color of the page (handy at Benen’s site with the new glare-y white background)or text or links.

    Another addon for Firefox that I like is Theme Font & Size Changer which lets you change the fonts in Firefox itself. If you find yourself squinting at menus or tab titles, etc this is a great addon.

  71. 71.

    Delia

    I like the new one fine. I think it’s easier to read. And thanks to whoever supplied the hint on changing text size in Chrome.

  72. 72.

    snarkyspice

    I like it way more than the old one, which was so badly designed and ugly it almost used to stop me reading there. But he’s so good that I tolerated it. Now it’s clean and modern and I like the links to other stuff.

  75. 75.

    tgp

    I really dont like it. I go there to read the text of the blog and it feels like that has been marginalized in the new version. i like my text in the middle of the page and not off to the side. i like the way this blog is and i liked the old wm because the text was central. i agree that finding old things was tough but now i find reading the blog more difficult.

  77. 77.

    matt

    firefox has two zoom modes, text zoom and full page zoom.
    The former preserves the left margin.

  78. 78.

    Karlisle

    DougJ, No complaining until you get John to fix the mobile version of this site. I like to scroll down and read each post without having to click on a link to “read the rest of this post”. When I’m on a train, it’s obnoxious to have to spend three times as long loading a post as it takes me to read it.

    This is not FDL! Glass houses!

  80. 80.

    4jkb4ia

    I looked at it on the Mac, and I saw the idea that they had, but the margins are too small to read it comfortably.

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