Politics
Wednesday, June 18, 2025 →
Taylor Lorenz & Matt Bernstein on the beige-ification of Pride:
From the aisles of Target to the Instagram feeds of big brands, the rainbow logos are gone & the merch shelves are empty.
This is quite obvious when you stop & notice how retailers position inclusion with respect to their brand. It’s business & political strategy taking priority over moral fortitude. I’m thankful to work for a retailer that stays true to its values by elevating the voices of Co-Op members & staff who are part of (and allies to) the LGBTQ+ community not only in June, but year round.
Monday, June 16, 2025 →
This dude ate his way through the No Kings protest in Los Angeles, vlogging about the street food he encountered on the ground, and by doing so showed exactly how chill, measured and important the movement is. This is one of the best social commentaries I’ve seen I quite a while.
Friday, June 13, 2025 →
This Doomtree record was released way back in 2011, but this seems as good a time as any to revisit and play loud. Be safe out there. #NoKings
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
Retail Brew analyzing how REI is doubling down on diversity, equity and inclusion:
While REI is affirming its values now, the company, by its own admission, betrayed them earlier in the current Trump administration.
Full disclosure: I work for REI and what follows is my personal view from the inside.
Earlier this year the Co-Op signed on to an outdoor industry letter sent to The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources supporting the nomination of Doug Bergum for Secretary of the Interior. Many REI employees were left confused, upset and feeling somewhat betrayed by a company whose primary purpose was to protect our public lands and work tirelessly to ensure the outdoors is accessible for all. We felt the letter was in direct conflict with the values that drew us to work at REI.
Since that letter was published, REI has a new CEO. In one of her first public statements as CEO, Mary Beth (MB) Laughton announced clearly and transparently that it was a mistake signing the letter:
Signing that letter was a mistake. The actions that the administration has taken on public lands are completely at odds with the long-standing values of REI…I’m here to apologize to our members on behalf of REI, to retract our endorsement of Doug Burgum, and to take full accountability for how we move forward.
At REI’s annual member meeting held on May 8th, MB made another public statement affirming REI’s commitment to DEI, even in the face of mounting pressure from the current administration:
In a time when our public lands and values like diversity, equity and inclusion are under threat, I want you to hear from me that REI believes these are essential to our business.
I feel like this is the kind of leadership REI needs right now. Admitting mistakes, owning the accountability for those mistakes, and charting a path forward honoring the core values that make the Co-Op a special place work. Most of us who work at REI don’t work there because we love selling tents. We work there because we love the outdoors. We want to protect it. We want to ensure people of all backgrounds and abilities can experience it. We want to make a positive impact in the world. With leadership like this at the helm, I still believe all of that is possible.
The retail industry is tough business. It’s even harder when the political current is working against company values. As I survey the room of other retailers and notice their actions related to the politics of the day, it’s very easy to see which companies are willing to sell out for political favor. I’m glad REI is not one of those.
Tuesday, May 20, 2025 →
All politics is local. Get out there and vote Pittsburgh!
Monday, May 12, 2025 →
404 Media found this passage buried deep in the Budget Reconciliation Bill, introduced late last evening by House Republicans under cover of night:
“…no State or political subdivision thereof may enforce any law or regulation regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems during the 10 year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act
Looks like some techbros are getting paid back. This is dangerous and emblematic of the slight of hand this administration will perform to grease the wheels of the political machine.
Wednesday, April 16, 2025 →
Ben Werdmuller touching on a sentiment I shared in my post yesterday about helplessness:
One voice doesn’t change a great deal, and over time the risks to dissent grow larger. But if there are many voices, and those voices translate into peaceful protest on the streets, and they translate into other actions that democratically resist, then there is hope.
Many voices. Many helpful actions. That’s the key.
Monday, March 24, 2025 →
War Plans is a p good band name tbh
Wednesday, February 19, 2025
Our world is complex. It’s messy and laced with nuance. In this context, I believe subtlety matters. Thoughtfulness matters. Depth matters. Now more than ever.
Show me a problem that can be solved over a couple hundred hastily typed characters and an angry button tap. Or a cynical, irony-infused dunk. What progress have you seen come out of that? Increasingly, we are bringing megaphones to tasks that require honest, substantive, personal interactions. Inside voices, please.
Bring the whisper.
Soundbite culture doesn’t allow for the holistic understanding we need right now. Nor the empathy required to take ground on the change we’re working toward. With most things, answers don’t lie on the fringes. They can be found somewhere along a spectrum and the key to winning in this endeavor is to slide people along that spectrum toward you. That’s not possible through anger and shouting into a megaphone, which only digs people further into their trenches.
Bring the whisper.
Speaking with nuance and empathy does not mean deferring to or submitting to or normalizing conflicting perspectives. In fact, the opposite. By offering an empathetic ear we can understand why people believe the things they do and offer the alternatives in which we believe. I think this is best done face-to-face. In real life. Where nuance can be addressed.
Bring the whisper.
It’s not easy. These are uncomfortable, difficult conversations. They can be painful and depressing at times, but occasionally you’ll see someone inch toward you. A pondering look. A slow nod in the affirmative. An honest question about your thought process. These are windows into progress.
Bring the whisper.
Some might think I’m naïve in this approach, and that’s OK. I might be. To those who might write this off as a futile tactic I’ll ask, how’s that megaphone working out?
Millions of whispers in unison can be extremely loud. Bring the whisper.
Thursday, February 13, 2025 →
How long until login.gov is deprecated in favor of authentication via X?
Wednesday, February 12, 2025 →
Destroying or creating access barriers to data that was once freely and publicly accessible is the modern equivalent of book burning. History will hold these people to account.
Sunday, February 9, 2025 →
Kendrick Lamar is an American hero.
Thursday, February 6, 2025 →
You can’t post your way out of fascism, writes Janus Rose over at 404 Media:
We don’t need any more irony-poisoned hot takes or cathartic, irreverent snark. We need to collectively decide what kind of world we actually do want, and what we’re willing to do to achieve it.
This is easier said than done. But it’s the blunt truth, and it needs to be shouted, shared and lived.
Monday, January 20, 2025 →
I’ve been offline today for obvious reasons – and I’m about to board a 5 hr flight – so just sliding in here to say keep your heads up, kids. It’s going to be tough sledding, but if we stick together and keep each others' backs, we’ll be OK.
Wednesday, December 18, 2024 →
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is getting into sporting events on the lobbyist and donor dime. PublicSource reporting:
There are “many ways money can flow” from special interests to elected officials, Michael Pollack, executive director of the good-government group March on Harrisburg, told Spotlight PA. Whether a campaign contribution, gift, or something else, the end result is the same, Pollack argued: an expectation that the recipient will prioritize donors’ interests over everyday people’s.
I like a lot of what Shapiro has done for PA, but this is a bad look.
Thursday, November 7, 2024 →
An insightful post-mortem from Taylor Lorenz on the media ecosystem built and funded by the GOP to propel the ‘Bro Vote,’ which ultimately won them the presidency. This piece shines an important light on why the left always seems to be trailing in messaging and media strategy.
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
I’ve spent most of today trying to rationalize the irrational as I attempt to understand how we ended up here. Political scholars will study this for years and I surely have no answers. Yes, the price of milk and eggs is high. Yes, illegal immigration is a problem that needs to be resolved. But shouldn’t we as humans, collectively as a nation, insist on some level of decency from our leaders? Shouldn’t our kids be able to aspire to be like people in positions of power such as the President of the United States? I say yes, but unfortunately a majority of voters disagree. The people have spoken. Amerika has spoken.
Amerika, you made a sexual predator the most powerful man in the world. How do I explain that to my daughter?
Amerika, your new president believes school shootings are just a way of life that we should get used to. How can I convey safety when my kids are scared to go to school?
Amerika, you reinstalled as president a serial adulterer who payed off a porn star to remain quiet about an affair. How can you just hold your nose and cast that vote anyway?
Amerika, you condoned the behavior of an insurrectionist who incited a mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6th, injuring several and killing a police officer. How can you reconcile that on your conscience?
Amerika, you have emboldened and elevated the worst human qualities and this choice will have unknown consequences for years – maybe decades – to come.
Amerika, I can’t understand your choice but I do hope the cost of eggs comes down for you.
Monday, November 4, 2024
This election cycle has been difficult to weather. I’m speaking for myself when I say this, but it’s also been a common sentiment in discussions with friends and family. Here in Western Pennsylvania, where pundits believe the race may be decided tomorrow, you can’t go five minutes or literally anywhere in your normal daily activities without seeing a political advertisement.
They’re on the airwaves and in the streaming feeds, they’re along the highways, they’re in people’s yards, they’re coming in via text message, they’re in the sky and they’re knocking on front doors.
This election is important. I get it. But for someone who’s been engaged in the political process for decades and someone who’s never missed a vote (even odd-year local elections) since 1996, this is the first time I can remember being completely saturated, mentally exhausted and emotionally beat down with election-based content.
I made decisions on these races months ago. I wish there would have been some way to opt-out of the onslaught, short of becoming an off-the-grid recluse for the past few weeks.
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
I have school-age kids. Enabling stricter gun laws and eliminating mass shootings from our society is a top issue for me this election, ranked only behind preserving democracy and the U.S. Constitution. Thank you to The Verge for having the guts to publish this piece when other spineless & fear-clouded media companies refuse to take a position on this election:
It should be easy for Vance to imagine a world in which school shootings don’t happen — that is the pre-Heller world he grew up in! — but fixing the problem of school shootings requires admitting that a collective action problem exists. It requires admitting that the current policy solution — sending kids to school with fucking Kevlar in their backpacks — is less effective than restricting gun ownership in any meaningful way. He cannot do that. Trump cannot do that. Trumpism cannot allow that debate to happen.
The op-ed closes with this passage:
It is time to stop denying the essential nature of the problems America faces. It is time to insist that we use the power of our democracy the way it’s intended to be used. And it is far past time to move beyond Donald Trump…A vote for Harris is a vote for the future. It is a vote for solving collective action problems. It is a vote for working together, instead of tearing our world to shreds.
Only one candidate is interested in solving collective action problems. Harris is the candidate. And The Verge is the type of journalism we need to help carry the message forward.
Monday, October 28, 2024 →
Harris Walz drone game is on point at tonight’s Steelers game!
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Ryan Broderick has some theories in today’s Garbage Day newsletter about why Republican disinformation isn’t completely gumming up the works this time around:
Is it because the media has gotten institutionally smarter about giving these stories oxygen? Is it because industry-wide layoffs have gutted newsrooms across the country and now there’s just fewer reporters to throw at stupid shit editors saw on Twitter/X? Is it because cable news audiences are literally dying off? Is it because Facebook has gotten rid of news content? Who knows, but things have changed in that regard.
It’s a little bit of all of this, I think. The media has gotten smarter about fanning the flames, but I hope we have too. If we haven’t gotten smarter, than maybe we’ve gotten tired of hearing about these disinformation narratives at every online turn. I mean, that’s a primary reason for my not using social media these days. Broderick continues:
The online pathways that the right wing have relied on since 2015 to, not just win elections, but shape America’s national discourse are gone. And it’s almost entirely because pathologically annoying conservatives pushed everyone else out. All of the viral energy around Walz might turn into something that America’s various horrible uncles might ramble about incoherently at the Thanksgiving table in a few weeks — if Harris wins, I guess — but unless a Republican operative Mr. Magoo’s themselves into a real scoop about Walz’s past, none of this is really going to move the needle.
This is right. We are now able to see our collective crazytown uncles and their wild theories as simply weird. And because the theories are not sucking the life out of our social fabric, we have the choice to participate with it. Or not. I choose the latter.
As an aside, Garbage Day is consistently one of the few email newsletters I read from top to bottom. The way Broderick weaves thoughtful and astute sociological observations against a backdrop of social media dumpster fires and the political hellscape we find ourselves in on the reg is a thing of beauty. Highly recommended.
Sunday, September 8, 2024 →
Craig Berry on the political economy of the Oasis reunion and working class nostalgia:
This is folk music, at its best and truest. Stood in a field with your arms around the lads who bullied you at school singing about Sally needing to wait is pretty much the same as singing about dead relatives in a County Mayo pub while your pissed uncle plays the fiddle.
I was never really into Oasis, but this is a very interesting take on the economic and political undercurrents surrounding the group’s lasting popularity.
Wednesday, September 4, 2024
Cory Doctorow – writing for Locus Mag and using the Stanford marshmallow experiment as an allegory – tears down the inherent flaws of the conservative premise that self-discipline is a determining factor on someone’s chances in life:
On average, the kids who “fail” and eat the marshmallow rather than waiting and doubling their haul were poorer, while the “patient” kids were from wealthier backgrounds. When the “impatient” kids were asked about the thought process that led to their decision to eat the marshmallow rather than holding out for two, they revealed a great deal of future-looking thought…The adults in these kids’ lives had broken their promises many times: Their parents would promise material comforts, from toys to treats, that they were ultimately unable to provide due to economic hardship.
Conversely, those kids who were able to delay their gratification for double the reward came from wealthier homes:
Which means that the “patient” kids weren’t demonstrating “self-control” – rather, their willingness to wait for a second marshmallow reflected a charmed life in which adults came through with the goodies they promised. That same charmed life saw those subjects enrolled in the best schools, backstopped by tutors and college application consultants, significant parental financial contributions to excellent postsecondary education, and smooth entry into the job market.
Self-discipline and delayed gratification are virtues worth developing in all humans. Our planet and future generations depend on it. But it can only be done when people are on equal footing stable enough to allow for that development.
Thursday, August 29, 2024 →
Someone is cruising Pittsburgh’s downtown and North Side neighborhoods to tag fresh piles of dog excrement with political paraphernalia and the Pittsburgh City Paper needs some answers:
I wasn’t expecting to nearly step in bedazzled dog doo on my way to Le Gourmandine. It was a bizarre sight: nearly fresh canine excrement with little flags donning the phrases “TRUMP DUMP” and “Trumpin’ ‘n Dumpin” stuck into the turds with toothpicks and topped with patriotic sprinkles. So many questions.
Saturday, August 24, 2024 →
How will Project 2025 impact the things you care about? 25and.me is an innovative website that lets you select areas of interest. Then it breaks down exactly how it will effect those areas, with page number citations. It’s extremely well done and worth a share.
Tuesday, August 20, 2024 →
This #DNC roll call is lit.