Your Mid-Week Experiment

Made it to Dallas -- and finally bought my boys Christmas presents

Almost all moved into our new place in Dallas, which the boys independently of each other said looks like an apartment from a sitcom. (Missed the news we moved to Dallas? Catch up here.) Got recommendations on where to get lunch, buy furniture, or hike in Dallas? Shoot them my way. Yesterday we finally got them their Christmas presents on a whirlwind tour through Northpark. The elder got Raybans and the sweater Chris Evans wore in Knives Out. The younger got suited up at J. Crew. Today I think we’re going to hit the George W. Bush Presidential Museum, which will be the sixth one we’ve seen.

Also, we’re doing a Dry Jan here. So far, surprisingly easy. Let me know if you’re abstaining from booze this month, too. We can text each other at 11pm wondering why we’re so wide awake.

Even as fascinating as you may find this, there’s still a ton of cool stuff going on. Let’s get to it:

This is by far the best analysis of the polling misfires in the 2022 midterms and how they effected bad decisions by nearly everyone. (New York Times)

“Our internal numbers were actually really accurate,” said Ali Lapp, the executive director of the House Majority PAC, which spent more than $180 million to help Democratic congressional candidates in 2022. “The problem was that nobody dared to believe them.”

She added, “Our insistence that we had a 50-50 shot of holding the majority wasn’t backed up by the media, and so many donors decided that they would put their late money toward Senate races instead.”

“I call it a kaleidoscope. You just turn that dial, and one day all of you will be opposing all of them. And then, the next day, it will be all of them opposing all of these. And then it will be some conglomeration …But you never want to diminish the strength of anybody because they are a source of strength for you on the next vote.” -Nancy Pelosi (Paul Kane)

More Paul Kane: “Kevin McCarthy wasn’t ‘the one’ 7 years ago. He wasn’t on Tuesday, either.”

This is more disturbing than surprising: “She was a popular yoga guru. Then she embraced QAnon conspiracy theories” (NPR)

This was surprising, and I feel guilty about how much I enjoyed it: “The newly relevant relationship between Trump and ‘Sunset Blvd.’: As the former president’s misfortunes mount, comparisons to Norma Desmond and the movie he loves seem increasingly apt” (Karen Heller)

“A tiny paper broke the George Santos scandal but no one paid attention” (Sarah Ellison)

“We’ve lost our luggage, and our minds” (Dan Zak)

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Thanks to Noom, I lost 40 pounds over 2020-21 and have kept it off since then. Click on the blue box to get 20% off. Seriously, this works. No, this isn’t an ad. Yes, I really lost all that weight with Noom.

We set up a merch table in the back where you can get T-shirts, coffee mugs, and even tote bags now. Show the world that you’re part of The Experiment. 

We’ve also got a tip jar, and I promise to waste every cent you give me on having fun, because writing this newsletter for you is some

Buy the book Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick banned from the Bullock Texas History Museum: Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of the American Myth by Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson, and myself is out from Penguin Random House. Out in paperback now!