Jeff Beal
@jbbeal.bsky.social
Dad and software engineer. Live in southern CA; like running and beer
Are we ready to stop with the adulation of "Great Men" yet? I work in tech and have some respect for how men like Gates, Bezos, and Jobs have impacted our world, but (a) they are not perfect (nobody can be) and (b) they did not do it alone
February 2, 2026 at 4:32 AM
Are we ready to stop with the adulation of "Great Men" yet? I work in tech and have some respect for how men like Gates, Bezos, and Jobs have impacted our world, but (a) they are not perfect (nobody can be) and (b) they did not do it alone
I love it when writers put the answer to their supposed "tough questions" earlier in the article. They end with talking about Lemon and the church both having 1A claims, and end with:
“It’s not clear in such a case which way the First Amendment values cut.”
www.thefp.com/p/freedom-of...
“It’s not clear in such a case which way the First Amendment values cut.”
www.thefp.com/p/freedom-of...
Freedom of the Press Won’t Protect Don Lemon
Obstructing worshippers in church is a crime. But it will be hard to prove Lemon did so, or knew others would, writes Jed Rubenfeld.
www.thefp.com
January 31, 2026 at 6:30 PM
I love it when writers put the answer to their supposed "tough questions" earlier in the article. They end with talking about Lemon and the church both having 1A claims, and end with:
“It’s not clear in such a case which way the First Amendment values cut.”
www.thefp.com/p/freedom-of...
“It’s not clear in such a case which way the First Amendment values cut.”
www.thefp.com/p/freedom-of...
I am “the land that has never been yet.”
But I could be.
I could be.
But I could be.
I could be.
"I am my own original sin. One someone is always willing to forgive. Until enough of you demand that I be better."
I’m Still Your America
Hey, patriot. It’s been a week. As ICE spreads terror through the streets, and Teacup Eichmann presided over the murder of yet another innocent civ...
buff.ly
January 31, 2026 at 3:48 PM
I am “the land that has never been yet.”
But I could be.
I could be.
But I could be.
I could be.
It really is this simple 👇
We should be flooding the airwaves and our streets with the Bill of Rights, how inportant these amendments are, and how they are being violated
We should be flooding the airwaves and our streets with the Bill of Rights, how inportant these amendments are, and how they are being violated
January 29, 2026 at 4:36 AM
It really is this simple 👇
We should be flooding the airwaves and our streets with the Bill of Rights, how inportant these amendments are, and how they are being violated
We should be flooding the airwaves and our streets with the Bill of Rights, how inportant these amendments are, and how they are being violated
I remember having read some posts by Douthat and not thinking he was talking absolute nonsense. (I don’t remember when; it’s been a while.)
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/o...
Opinion | Immigration Enforcement Is Unavoidably Upsetting. But This Is Something Else.
www.nytimes.com
January 28, 2026 at 3:00 AM
I remember having read some posts by Douthat and not thinking he was talking absolute nonsense. (I don’t remember when; it’s been a while.)
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/o...
Sequence of events:
1. Two women confront ICE with whistles (no physical attack alleged)
2. ICE orders them to move (under what authority?
3. ICE physically pushes women, then pepper sprays them
4. Pretty “resists attempts to take him into custody”
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/u...
1. Two women confront ICE with whistles (no physical attack alleged)
2. ICE orders them to move (under what authority?
3. ICE physically pushes women, then pepper sprays them
4. Pretty “resists attempts to take him into custody”
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/u...
D.H.S. Review Does Not Say Pretti Brandished Gun, As Noem Claimed
www.nytimes.com
January 28, 2026 at 2:37 AM
Sequence of events:
1. Two women confront ICE with whistles (no physical attack alleged)
2. ICE orders them to move (under what authority?
3. ICE physically pushes women, then pepper sprays them
4. Pretty “resists attempts to take him into custody”
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/u...
1. Two women confront ICE with whistles (no physical attack alleged)
2. ICE orders them to move (under what authority?
3. ICE physically pushes women, then pepper sprays them
4. Pretty “resists attempts to take him into custody”
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/u...
I've lived in four states in my life and never once had to ask for government permission, just update my license and voter registration.
The difference between this and international migration is smaller than we imagine.
Border control is racism.
The difference between this and international migration is smaller than we imagine.
Border control is racism.
BTW when I say abolish ICE, I mean abolish it entirely and replace it with exactly nothing. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. That's it.
January 25, 2026 at 4:56 AM
I've lived in four states in my life and never once had to ask for government permission, just update my license and voter registration.
The difference between this and international migration is smaller than we imagine.
Border control is racism.
The difference between this and international migration is smaller than we imagine.
Border control is racism.
Reposted by Jeff Beal
You have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.
January 25, 2026 at 1:15 AM
You have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.
Reposted by Jeff Beal
Our country was founded on restraining law enforcement. ICE in cities is repeating the situation that led to the Boston Massacre.
January 24, 2026 at 11:50 PM
Our country was founded on restraining law enforcement. ICE in cities is repeating the situation that led to the Boston Massacre.
Reposted by Jeff Beal
Is it just me, or should we be changing the rules of good writing for this moment? The use of the active voice makes ICE agents, not the victims of their violence, the main subject of headlines like this.
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Immigration agents deploy tear gas, pepper spray in Minneapolis as confrontations with protesters grow
Many of the clashes between agents and protesters are taking place just blocks from where an ICE officer fatally shot Renee Good last week.
www.nbcnews.com
January 14, 2026 at 2:09 AM
Is it just me, or should we be changing the rules of good writing for this moment? The use of the active voice makes ICE agents, not the victims of their violence, the main subject of headlines like this.
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Reposted by Jeff Beal
Older than dirt!
Meet the oldest rock in the West - High Country News
An urban geologist goes to downtown Seattle and finds a rangeof rocks rivaling any assembled by plate tectonics.
www.hcn.org
January 11, 2026 at 8:44 PM
Older than dirt!
Steelers / Ravens is always good football, and today did not disappoint. Am I glad that the Steelers needed a missed easy field goal to keep their season alive? No. Will I take it? Absolutely
Also: get the US OUT OF VENEZUELA
Also: get the US OUT OF VENEZUELA
January 5, 2026 at 4:46 AM
Steelers / Ravens is always good football, and today did not disappoint. Am I glad that the Steelers needed a missed easy field goal to keep their season alive? No. Will I take it? Absolutely
Also: get the US OUT OF VENEZUELA
Also: get the US OUT OF VENEZUELA
Too bad he is too evil to actually die; hell doesn't want to deal with his bullshit either
January 4, 2026 at 7:30 AM
Too bad he is too evil to actually die; hell doesn't want to deal with his bullshit either
One of many things I don't undersrand about how we report on immigration:
When we report statistics on "border encounters" we don't seem to consider the possibility that border encounters are going down because the border patrol isn't being as effective at catching people at the border
When we report statistics on "border encounters" we don't seem to consider the possibility that border encounters are going down because the border patrol isn't being as effective at catching people at the border
December 27, 2025 at 5:56 PM
One of many things I don't undersrand about how we report on immigration:
When we report statistics on "border encounters" we don't seem to consider the possibility that border encounters are going down because the border patrol isn't being as effective at catching people at the border
When we report statistics on "border encounters" we don't seem to consider the possibility that border encounters are going down because the border patrol isn't being as effective at catching people at the border
Reposted by Jeff Beal
I long for the future where kindness is normalized again
December 12, 2025 at 6:15 AM
I long for the future where kindness is normalized again
Reposted by Jeff Beal
Just saw Ice detaining people at the Laguna Hills Community Center in Laguna Hills - spread the word in the Orange County community.
December 2, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Just saw Ice detaining people at the Laguna Hills Community Center in Laguna Hills - spread the word in the Orange County community.
Think Big
Act incrementally
Act incrementally
November 11, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Think Big
Act incrementally
Act incrementally
There is virtually no difference between subsidizing insurance premiums and sending money directly to households.
Any household who chooses to use that money on anything but maintaining their (now more expensive) insurance premium is taking a very risky bet. And we’ll end up bailing many out
Any household who chooses to use that money on anything but maintaining their (now more expensive) insurance premium is taking a very risky bet. And we’ll end up bailing many out
November 10, 2025 at 6:46 AM
There is virtually no difference between subsidizing insurance premiums and sending money directly to households.
Any household who chooses to use that money on anything but maintaining their (now more expensive) insurance premium is taking a very risky bet. And we’ll end up bailing many out
Any household who chooses to use that money on anything but maintaining their (now more expensive) insurance premium is taking a very risky bet. And we’ll end up bailing many out
This is from July, but new to me. As a software engineer (Though not a New Yorker) there is a lot that resonates, especially this:
"They grew up being told that education was the path to a stable, meaningful life."
www.commonplace.org/p/zohrans-pa...
"They grew up being told that education was the path to a stable, meaningful life."
www.commonplace.org/p/zohrans-pa...
Zohran’s Park Slope Populists
Conservatives shouldn’t write off the economic pain of New York City’s downwardly mobile professional class.
www.commonplace.org
November 5, 2025 at 4:16 PM
This is from July, but new to me. As a software engineer (Though not a New Yorker) there is a lot that resonates, especially this:
"They grew up being told that education was the path to a stable, meaningful life."
www.commonplace.org/p/zohrans-pa...
"They grew up being told that education was the path to a stable, meaningful life."
www.commonplace.org/p/zohrans-pa...
This is what I've been thinking. Spend less. Count me in on this spending blackout
November 3, 2025 at 6:54 AM
This is what I've been thinking. Spend less. Count me in on this spending blackout
Maybe he should be "proud and delighted" to:
- pay his fair share of taxes
- increase his employees pay
- pay for universal health care
www.semafor.com/article/10/2...
- pay his fair share of taxes
- increase his employees pay
- pay for universal health care
www.semafor.com/article/10/2...
Nvidia CEO ‘proud and delighted’ to support Trump ballroom
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also said President Donald Trump calls him at night.
www.semafor.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Maybe he should be "proud and delighted" to:
- pay his fair share of taxes
- increase his employees pay
- pay for universal health care
www.semafor.com/article/10/2...
- pay his fair share of taxes
- increase his employees pay
- pay for universal health care
www.semafor.com/article/10/2...
Yes. I’m absolutely certain that the cute young ladies posting only pictures of themselves in lingerie are 💯 real
(that's sarcasm)
(that's sarcasm)
October 28, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Yes. I’m absolutely certain that the cute young ladies posting only pictures of themselves in lingerie are 💯 real
(that's sarcasm)
(that's sarcasm)
Dear Apple - would it be possible for you to require app developers to identify which notifications are ads so we can disable that? Actually. Wrong question. I'm a software developer -- I KNOW this is possible.
Why aren't you doing anything about it?
Why aren't you doing anything about it?
October 28, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Dear Apple - would it be possible for you to require app developers to identify which notifications are ads so we can disable that? Actually. Wrong question. I'm a software developer -- I KNOW this is possible.
Why aren't you doing anything about it?
Why aren't you doing anything about it?