Reposted by Ben Birdsall
Billions of dollars to ODOT for continued endless polluting freeway expansions, while TriMet and other transit agencies across the state prepare for massive service cuts.
A profound public policy failure of Oregon government. #orpol #orleg
A profound public policy failure of Oregon government. #orpol #orleg
Go to trimet.org/servicecuts to learn more about the service cuts, share your feedback this month and help us shape the future of our transit service. The survey closes Jan. 31.
Planned Bus and MAX Service Cuts
Due to a growing budget gap, we must cut some TriMet service starting in November 2025.
trimet.org
January 5, 2026 at 8:03 PM
Reposted by Ben Birdsall
i really, truly, sincerely believe that righting the equilibrium for the united states depends upon congressional democrats reclaiming congress' first-amongst-equals role in governance, and everything short of that — including a transformative president — is a failed half-measure
a lot of problems wouldn't exist if we had a congress with even an ounce of self interest
Honestly insane they didn't brief the gang of eight until it was underway
January 4, 2026 at 10:40 PM
i really, truly, sincerely believe that righting the equilibrium for the united states depends upon congressional democrats reclaiming congress' first-amongst-equals role in governance, and everything short of that — including a transformative president — is a failed half-measure
Reposted by Ben Birdsall
Literally a publication for eight-year olds 40 years ago
January 4, 2026 at 6:49 PM
Literally a publication for eight-year olds 40 years ago
Reposted by Ben Birdsall
Endless Column, by Constantin Brâncuși, 1938, 📸 by @stephenmally
January 4, 2026 at 4:19 PM
Endless Column, by Constantin Brâncuși, 1938, 📸 by @stephenmally
A chile relleno is a perfect thing
January 4, 2026 at 6:38 PM
A chile relleno is a perfect thing
I hope it isn't serious, but it's a brutal coincidence it's against Boston again
January 4, 2026 at 5:30 AM
I hope it isn't serious, but it's a brutal coincidence it's against Boston again
Reposted by Ben Birdsall
They're still fighting over who gets the 20th Century, and they're burning the 21st Century for fuel to do it
January 4, 2026 at 3:39 AM
They're still fighting over who gets the 20th Century, and they're burning the 21st Century for fuel to do it
Reposted by Ben Birdsall
This is the smartest thing I've read about the Venezuelan regime change effort.
16 hours in, my guess this was all intended basically as a coup to put VP Delcy Rodriguez in power (likely without her knowledge but 🤷).
At least for democracy & human rights, that might be even worse than the "opening shots in a war" scenario.
All speculation, but let me explain:
At least for democracy & human rights, that might be even worse than the "opening shots in a war" scenario.
All speculation, but let me explain:
January 4, 2026 at 12:53 AM
This is the smartest thing I've read about the Venezuelan regime change effort.
Reposted by Ben Birdsall
As one of my colleagues has argued forcefully & I see the point of, it's better to keep the Constitution's provisions alive, if in exile (via wild violation), than to publicly acknowledge them as dead. If 'alive,' they're politically available to be restored; if dead, then *current crimes are legal*
January 3, 2026 at 7:35 PM
As one of my colleagues has argued forcefully & I see the point of, it's better to keep the Constitution's provisions alive, if in exile (via wild violation), than to publicly acknowledge them as dead. If 'alive,' they're politically available to be restored; if dead, then *current crimes are legal*
Reposted by Ben Birdsall
So much of American history is just impulsive and extremely stupid elites, who don't believe in consequences because they have never personally experienced them, doing highly consequential stuff because they're bored or believe it might make them richer. I guess a lot of our culture, too.
January 3, 2026 at 7:22 PM
So much of American history is just impulsive and extremely stupid elites, who don't believe in consequences because they have never personally experienced them, doing highly consequential stuff because they're bored or believe it might make them richer. I guess a lot of our culture, too.
Reposted by Ben Birdsall
It really does always come back to "WHO is going to do it?"
January 3, 2026 at 5:59 PM
It really does always come back to "WHO is going to do it?"
The best time to actually be honest about the country was the presidential election of 1876, the second-best time is today
January 3, 2026 at 8:21 AM
The best time to actually be honest about the country was the presidential election of 1876, the second-best time is today
You know how good it feels to finally do something you've been putting off for a while? Took me all of about an hour to decompose my Spotify account into separate Qobuz and Pocket Casts accounts and lose basically nothing important
January 2, 2026 at 10:15 PM
You know how good it feels to finally do something you've been putting off for a while? Took me all of about an hour to decompose my Spotify account into separate Qobuz and Pocket Casts accounts and lose basically nothing important
Reposted by Ben Birdsall
![Comic. [Comment section on a video. 564 comments, including posts from three different avatars: “Who else is here in 2023?” “Is anyone else watching this in 2017?” “Anyone else here in 2025?”] [caption] For some reason, confused time travelers always try to find each other using YouTube comments.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreia42izz36bkhdteb5743objgf2s3whe3kblmnxnwjvgggtu66ea54@jpeg)
January 2, 2026 at 8:35 PM
Reposted by Ben Birdsall
While we can point to the vast environmental and social consequences as the reasons for doing away with genai, I still feel that the evil at its core is convincing people that words and ideas are something they need help with.
January 2, 2026 at 3:28 AM
While we can point to the vast environmental and social consequences as the reasons for doing away with genai, I still feel that the evil at its core is convincing people that words and ideas are something they need help with.
Reposted by Ben Birdsall
Obsessed with this juxtaposition
January 2, 2026 at 12:43 AM
Obsessed with this juxtaposition
Reposted by Ben Birdsall
Car traffic is a DDoS attack on cities.
August 13, 2024 at 1:20 AM
Car traffic is a DDoS attack on cities.
Brian I don't know your personal life but I have my doubts you are observing #12 with fidelity
January 1, 2026 at 11:42 PM
Brian I don't know your personal life but I have my doubts you are observing #12 with fidelity
You know, I'll take it:
January 1, 2026 at 9:18 PM
You know, I'll take it:
Reposted by Ben Birdsall
It's worth reading the whole interview in full. It basically verifies that the NYT has spent the past decade-plus doubling down on top-down narratives for coverage, getting more intense over time.
Sulzberg personally picked & chose whom the news apparatus would target and whom it would kiss up to.
Sulzberg personally picked & chose whom the news apparatus would target and whom it would kiss up to.
In this in-depth interview Billie Jean Sweeney — a former editor at The New York Times — details how the paper shifted towards openly promoting anti-trans hatred, why this was directed from the very top, how some staff pushed back and the immense damage done by the NYT legitimizing bigotry.
'A directive from above': Former NYT editor lays out how the paper pushes anti-trans bigotry
In this in-depth interview, former New York Times editor Billie Jean Sweeney details how the paper shifted towards openly promoting anti-trans hatred, how some staff tried to stop it, how it's directe...
transnews.network
January 1, 2026 at 7:30 PM
It's worth reading the whole interview in full. It basically verifies that the NYT has spent the past decade-plus doubling down on top-down narratives for coverage, getting more intense over time.
Sulzberg personally picked & chose whom the news apparatus would target and whom it would kiss up to.
Sulzberg personally picked & chose whom the news apparatus would target and whom it would kiss up to.
The Mamdani inauguration really feels like a sea change, the wave of neoliberalism in American politics finally starting to break
January 1, 2026 at 8:11 PM
The Mamdani inauguration really feels like a sea change, the wave of neoliberalism in American politics finally starting to break
Reposted by Ben Birdsall
Mamdani: For too long, those fluent in the good grammar of civility have deployed decorum to mask agendas of cruelty
January 1, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Mamdani: For too long, those fluent in the good grammar of civility have deployed decorum to mask agendas of cruelty
Reposted by Ben Birdsall
If we get to the other side of this present moment of attempted fascist takeover, I'm fairly sure that we'll get major social democratic reforms to our government.
The Bernie campaigns will probably be looked at the way the Goldwater campaigns are looked at today, but, you know...good, & not evil.
The Bernie campaigns will probably be looked at the way the Goldwater campaigns are looked at today, but, you know...good, & not evil.
January 1, 2026 at 7:46 PM
If we get to the other side of this present moment of attempted fascist takeover, I'm fairly sure that we'll get major social democratic reforms to our government.
The Bernie campaigns will probably be looked at the way the Goldwater campaigns are looked at today, but, you know...good, & not evil.
The Bernie campaigns will probably be looked at the way the Goldwater campaigns are looked at today, but, you know...good, & not evil.
Reposted by Ben Birdsall
In this in-depth interview Billie Jean Sweeney — a former editor at The New York Times — details how the paper shifted towards openly promoting anti-trans hatred, why this was directed from the very top, how some staff pushed back and the immense damage done by the NYT legitimizing bigotry.
'A directive from above': Former NYT editor lays out how the paper pushes anti-trans bigotry
In this in-depth interview, former New York Times editor Billie Jean Sweeney details how the paper shifted towards openly promoting anti-trans hatred, how some staff tried to stop it, how it's directe...
transnews.network
January 1, 2026 at 6:32 PM
In this in-depth interview Billie Jean Sweeney — a former editor at The New York Times — details how the paper shifted towards openly promoting anti-trans hatred, why this was directed from the very top, how some staff pushed back and the immense damage done by the NYT legitimizing bigotry.
The main nice thing I'll say about my 2025 is that it was better than my 2024. May 2026 be kinder yet to all of us
January 1, 2026 at 6:14 AM
The main nice thing I'll say about my 2025 is that it was better than my 2024. May 2026 be kinder yet to all of us