Brian Hsi
@brianhsi.bsky.social
Runner, father, husband…I contain multitudes. Product guy working in local government. Also known as b2ix on various socials over the years.
@murray.senate.gov @cantwell.senate.gov I’m with my rep here.
Caving on a deal that doesn’t fix health care is, and always has been, a giant betrayal of the American people.
Hold the line. Save health care. I’m a NO on anything that doesn’t extend ACA subsidies.
Hold the line. Save health care. I’m a NO on anything that doesn’t extend ACA subsidies.
November 9, 2025 at 11:09 PM
@murray.senate.gov @cantwell.senate.gov I’m with my rep here.
“If you think the assault on higher education is about anti-semitism, or that the purge of the federal government is about DEI, or that taking over Democratic cities is about crime, you are helping perpetuate Trump’s rationales for undermining democracy.”
New, from me:
America is no longer a functioning democracy. It is a competitive authoritarian system, hurtling rapidly toward authoritarianism.
This was a hard piece to write but we can't move forward if we don’t acknowledge where we are.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-author...
America is no longer a functioning democracy. It is a competitive authoritarian system, hurtling rapidly toward authoritarianism.
This was a hard piece to write but we can't move forward if we don’t acknowledge where we are.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-author...
The authoritarian checklist
It is time to admit that America is no longer a functioning democracy
donmoynihan.substack.com
August 28, 2025 at 2:27 PM
“If you think the assault on higher education is about anti-semitism, or that the purge of the federal government is about DEI, or that taking over Democratic cities is about crime, you are helping perpetuate Trump’s rationales for undermining democracy.”
“Democracy is the ultimate decentralized technology. It distributes power away from kings and aristocrats to the people—imperfectly, through struggle, but fundamentally. The early internet promised to do the same for information, communication, and commerce.” — great read
Take Back Our Digital Infrastructure To Save Democracy
Watch the tech oligarchs who lined up behind Donald Trump at his inauguration, and you'll see the most important story of our time: the fascists are winning because they've built a direct pipeline from concentrated technological power to…
Watch the tech oligarchs who lined up behind Donald Trump at his inauguration, and you'll see the most important story of our time: the fascists are winning because they've built a direct pipeline from concentrated technological power to…
Take Back Our Digital Infrastructure To Save Democracy
Watch the tech oligarchs who lined up behind Donald Trump at his inauguration, and you'll see the most important story of our time: the fascists are winning because they've built a direct pipeline from concentrated technological power to concentrated political power. This isn't about technology being inherently dangerous—it's about how distorted Wall Street incentives drove us toward digital infrastructure that mirrors authoritarian power structures.
www.techdirt.com
August 5, 2025 at 7:42 PM
“Democracy is the ultimate decentralized technology. It distributes power away from kings and aristocrats to the people—imperfectly, through struggle, but fundamentally. The early internet promised to do the same for information, communication, and commerce.” — great read
Reposted by Brian Hsi
I just wanted to say, I’m probably more proud of this Ted talk than just about anything I’ve ever done so I’m gonna be absolutely useless for the next couple of weeks as I promote the shit out of this because I want you to watch it because it matters in the moment we are in youtu.be/dVG8W-0p6vg
Tech Promised Everything. Did it deliver? | Scott Hanselman | TEDxPortland
YouTube video by TEDx Talks
youtu.be
July 17, 2025 at 8:37 PM
I just wanted to say, I’m probably more proud of this Ted talk than just about anything I’ve ever done so I’m gonna be absolutely useless for the next couple of weeks as I promote the shit out of this because I want you to watch it because it matters in the moment we are in youtu.be/dVG8W-0p6vg
Great 🧵
It’s so frustrating that there is this illusion that we are all 49%/49% right now. Us versus them, good versus bad, and it’s all because of the BS that is the electoral system. It’s very likely 70% versus 30% and we’re just not seeing representative government.There’s just no common sense right now
July 3, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Great 🧵
Reposted by Brian Hsi
I know I’ve said a thousand times, but platform economics made customer satisfaction irrelevant to business performance. That made everyday life coarser and meaner. Degraded a lot of our civic life.
I knew it! “Some companies may actually find it profitable to create hassles for complaining customers.” (Harvard Business Review) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
That Dropped Call With Customer Service? It Was on Purpose.
Endless wait times and excessive procedural fuss—it’s all part of a tactic called “sludge.”
www.theatlantic.com
July 2, 2025 at 3:01 PM
I know I’ve said a thousand times, but platform economics made customer satisfaction irrelevant to business performance. That made everyday life coarser and meaner. Degraded a lot of our civic life.
I don’t listen to many podcasts but this one is incredible. I’m a fan of both of their work so it was great to hear them together.
This is hands down the best, most enjoyable, and far-ranging discussion that I have had in recent memory. Katie brought so much to this interview about vibecessions, “finance guy” memes as politics of social reproduction in casino capitalism, Bama Rush and DSA.
moneywithkatie.com/status-power...
moneywithkatie.com/status-power...
6.25.2025 | A Masterclass on Status, Power, & the Economy with Tressie McMillan Cottom — Millennial Money with Katie
moneywithkatie.com
July 1, 2025 at 3:18 PM
I don’t listen to many podcasts but this one is incredible. I’m a fan of both of their work so it was great to hear them together.
Reposted by Brian Hsi
Embrace immigrants. Celebrate diversity. Fight for equality and commit yourself to serving the needs of those with needs.
Be real. Be empathic. Be human.
That’s a recipe for Democratic success. Not whatever it is that the party has been doing recently.
Be real. Be empathic. Be human.
That’s a recipe for Democratic success. Not whatever it is that the party has been doing recently.
The path for Democrats is very clear: have good ideas, believe in them, state them clearly, stick to them, act decisively in support of these ideas, speak to the young half of the electorate, support other democrats who do these things. Follow Mamdani and Lander's example or fade into nothingness.
June 25, 2025 at 3:57 AM
Embrace immigrants. Celebrate diversity. Fight for equality and commit yourself to serving the needs of those with needs.
Be real. Be empathic. Be human.
That’s a recipe for Democratic success. Not whatever it is that the party has been doing recently.
Be real. Be empathic. Be human.
That’s a recipe for Democratic success. Not whatever it is that the party has been doing recently.
Diego Luna is hosting Kimmel for a bit and is talking about the importance of immigrants. It’s good to have friends everywhere youtu.be/7726WoO7mTM
Guest Host Diego Luna on Trump’s Immigration Policies & the Importance of Immigrants in the U.S.
YouTube video by Jimmy Kimmel Live
youtu.be
June 24, 2025 at 5:46 AM
Diego Luna is hosting Kimmel for a bit and is talking about the importance of immigrants. It’s good to have friends everywhere youtu.be/7726WoO7mTM
Reposted by Brian Hsi
Happening all night at KEXP ! The Gathering Space will be open all night so stop by and say HI www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...
KEXP hosts 27-hour marathon broadcast to protest potential public media cuts
The local radio station is holding the marathon broadcast to bring awareness to the public funding it, as well as many other stations, rely on from being cut as part of a Republican-led recession pack...
www.seattletimes.com
June 13, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Happening all night at KEXP ! The Gathering Space will be open all night so stop by and say HI www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...
“The real crime was compassion. The real crime was noticing and caring and wanting to make it right.” — these sentences hit so hard and explain so much about where we are today.
June 3, 2025 at 9:24 PM
“The real crime was compassion. The real crime was noticing and caring and wanting to make it right.” — these sentences hit so hard and explain so much about where we are today.
Reposted by Brian Hsi
This is another important history lesson that we need to heed!
Historian
@hcrichardson.bsky.social dedicated her substack to it last night!
Read it here! 👇🏻
open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
Historian
@hcrichardson.bsky.social dedicated her substack to it last night!
Read it here! 👇🏻
open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
June 1, 2025 at 1:49 PM
This is another important history lesson that we need to heed!
Historian
@hcrichardson.bsky.social dedicated her substack to it last night!
Read it here! 👇🏻
open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
Historian
@hcrichardson.bsky.social dedicated her substack to it last night!
Read it here! 👇🏻
open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
Probably been said but this seems to be a boss move to release this EP right now brucespringsteen.net/news/2025/la...
Land of Hope & Dreams EP | Bruce Springsteen
On May 14, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band opened their Land of Hope & Dreams Tour in Manchester, England. Highlights from that first night are now available digitally as the “Land of Hope & D...
brucespringsteen.net
May 21, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Probably been said but this seems to be a boss move to release this EP right now brucespringsteen.net/news/2025/la...
Reposted by Brian Hsi
I said it would get worse very quickly. By tomorrow we will have completed the most dangerous & frightening 24 hours thus far of Trump 2.0. Just to name a few:
1. Defiance of a court order by sending migrants to Sudan without due process (despite clear DP decision SCOTUS) & Dist. CT. order.
1. Defiance of a court order by sending migrants to Sudan without due process (despite clear DP decision SCOTUS) & Dist. CT. order.
May 21, 2025 at 2:03 AM
I said it would get worse very quickly. By tomorrow we will have completed the most dangerous & frightening 24 hours thus far of Trump 2.0. Just to name a few:
1. Defiance of a court order by sending migrants to Sudan without due process (despite clear DP decision SCOTUS) & Dist. CT. order.
1. Defiance of a court order by sending migrants to Sudan without due process (despite clear DP decision SCOTUS) & Dist. CT. order.
“What makes you so much more worthier of your peace? What makes you so much more worthier of protecting your children? What makes you so much more worthy of your citizenship? What makes you more worthy of safety?”
Mom & minor daughters are citizens who just moved from MD to Oklahoma. This statement from the Mom should be read, absorbed & circulated. ICE cannot be allowed to terrorize vulnerable families. @housedemocrats.bsky.social @ericswalwell.bsky.social
kfor.com/news/local/w...
kfor.com/news/local/w...
April 29, 2025 at 6:03 PM
“What makes you so much more worthier of your peace? What makes you so much more worthier of protecting your children? What makes you so much more worthy of your citizenship? What makes you more worthy of safety?”
Reposted by Brian Hsi
A reminder that if the government can send migrants to a prison camp without any due process, it can send U.S. citizens there, too. I know because this happened to me and my family in 1942.
April 7, 2025 at 8:30 PM
A reminder that if the government can send migrants to a prison camp without any due process, it can send U.S. citizens there, too. I know because this happened to me and my family in 1942.
Reposted by Brian Hsi
Nobody should have been sent there, period. Not the ones with no record, not the ones with a record. Nobody.
60 Minutes found no criminal record for 75% of the Venezuelan migrants the U.S. sent to a mega-prison in El Salvador. https://cbsn.ws/4lC4Vp5
April 7, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Nobody should have been sent there, period. Not the ones with no record, not the ones with a record. Nobody.
As we get ready to head out to the handsoff rally, I keep thinking of these lines from The Last American Road Trip. “There are no red states or blue states. There are only purple states, purple like a bruise, and people trying to survive in a broken-promise land.” us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
The Last American Road Trip
Written and read by New York Times bestselling author of They Knew, Hiding in Plain Sight, and The View from Flyover Country, Sarah Kenzidor, The Last Americ...
us.macmillan.com
April 5, 2025 at 6:17 PM
As we get ready to head out to the handsoff rally, I keep thinking of these lines from The Last American Road Trip. “There are no red states or blue states. There are only purple states, purple like a bruise, and people trying to survive in a broken-promise land.” us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
Reposted by Brian Hsi
Any day that makes Elon Musk and the ghost of Strom Thurmond sad is a good day for the rest of us.
April 2, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Any day that makes Elon Musk and the ghost of Strom Thurmond sad is a good day for the rest of us.
Thank you @corybooker.com for showing what senate opposition could look like and providing inspiration to those listening
April 2, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Thank you @corybooker.com for showing what senate opposition could look like and providing inspiration to those listening
Reposted by Brian Hsi
"We must stop viewing political life through the lens of American politics as we have known it and adopt the viewpoint of dissident movements in autocratic states.
The Democratic party has more to learn from Alexei Navalny or the protesters in Serbia than it does from Chuck Schumer..."
The Democratic party has more to learn from Alexei Navalny or the protesters in Serbia than it does from Chuck Schumer..."
This piece from @jvl.bsky.social is one of the most important insightful I have read since January 20th 2025.
How to Think (and Act) Like a Dissident Movement
AOC, solidarity, and people power.
www.thebulwark.com
April 1, 2025 at 5:03 AM
"We must stop viewing political life through the lens of American politics as we have known it and adopt the viewpoint of dissident movements in autocratic states.
The Democratic party has more to learn from Alexei Navalny or the protesters in Serbia than it does from Chuck Schumer..."
The Democratic party has more to learn from Alexei Navalny or the protesters in Serbia than it does from Chuck Schumer..."
People are literally being disappeared and our council leadership wants to play with procedural issues? That’s not leadership, that’s complicity
Listen up, Seattle, because your CMs don't want to do the bare minimum to protect us from the onslaught of the federal gov't right now that includes the erosion of civil rights, the stripping of much needed funding, and a potential electricity shortage.
Nelson sent out a memo this morning changing quorum of the committee from 3 to 5 members. Sources say at least two council members don't want to attend this committee anymore. Sources fear that this is one step in killing the committee.
March 27, 2025 at 7:34 PM
People are literally being disappeared and our council leadership wants to play with procedural issues? That’s not leadership, that’s complicity
Reposted by Brian Hsi
I wrote something about the secret police kidnapping and disappearing students over their op-eds, and wondering what happened to all those people screaming about the "free speech crisis on campus."
www.techdirt.com/2025/03/27/t...
www.techdirt.com/2025/03/27/t...
Trump’s Secret Police Are Now Disappearing Students For Their Op-Eds
For years, we’ve been hearing breathless warnings about a “campus free speech crisis” from self-proclaimed free speech warriors. Their evidence? College students doing what colleg…
www.techdirt.com
March 27, 2025 at 7:10 PM
I wrote something about the secret police kidnapping and disappearing students over their op-eds, and wondering what happened to all those people screaming about the "free speech crisis on campus."
www.techdirt.com/2025/03/27/t...
www.techdirt.com/2025/03/27/t...
Ditto. Calling all Gen X and Oregon Trail generation folks
this is... already my whole online presence
Ken Burns’ The Internet: A Series of Unfortunate Events
A slow pan over a blurry JPEG of a dancing baby, accompanied by a somber violin score.
A dramatic reading of a 1999 forum post.
A slow pan over a blurry JPEG of a dancing baby, accompanied by a somber violin score.
A dramatic reading of a 1999 forum post.
March 26, 2025 at 5:33 AM
Ditto. Calling all Gen X and Oregon Trail generation folks
Reposted by Brian Hsi
Huh.
Was just reading John Quincy Adams' oral arguments before SCOTUS in the Amistad case and this part seems, uh, pretty relevant
March 26, 2025 at 5:07 AM
Huh.