Scott Purdy
@scottpurdy.bsky.social
Negative number can alter Ray Scott’s identity (9)
One problem with politics is that, even for the (I’d guess more than eight) Senators for whom it’s true, nobody can say “I never believed we would be able to actually win anything in a shutdown, because no one ever does. We highlighted the problem and are now stopping before the costs escalate.”
November 11, 2025 at 1:15 AM
One problem with politics is that, even for the (I’d guess more than eight) Senators for whom it’s true, nobody can say “I never believed we would be able to actually win anything in a shutdown, because no one ever does. We highlighted the problem and are now stopping before the costs escalate.”
Reposted by Scott Purdy
When November 10th falls on the second weekday, that's Taconite Tuesday
November 10, 2025 at 7:58 PM
When November 10th falls on the second weekday, that's Taconite Tuesday
I can’t find it, but I feel like we need the “we don’t know anything” breaking news graphic that shows up here in the immediate aftermath of disasters and shootings for thinly-sourced anonymous reports of potential shutdown deals, as well.
November 9, 2025 at 8:58 PM
I can’t find it, but I feel like we need the “we don’t know anything” breaking news graphic that shows up here in the immediate aftermath of disasters and shootings for thinly-sourced anonymous reports of potential shutdown deals, as well.
This is true and legitimately irritating, but at least some of these reviews are clearly getting at “GDT’s Frankenstein [successfully] makes you wonder who the real monster is [when so many past movie versions have not].”
I'm losing my mind over how many reviewers are like "GDT's Frankenstein makes you wonder who the real monster is." THAT'S THE STORY! That's the story Shelley wrote!
November 7, 2025 at 5:55 PM
This is true and legitimately irritating, but at least some of these reviews are clearly getting at “GDT’s Frankenstein [successfully] makes you wonder who the real monster is [when so many past movie versions have not].”
Your seasonal reminder (as borrowed from @debcha.bsky.social) that you can use advent calendars for the weeks leading up to anything:
shop-liquor.malort.com/products/202...
shop-liquor.malort.com/products/202...
2025 Malört Advent Calendar
Celebrate each day of December until Christmas with a 50mL bottle of Malört 25x 50mL bottles included
shop-liquor.malort.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Your seasonal reminder (as borrowed from @debcha.bsky.social) that you can use advent calendars for the weeks leading up to anything:
shop-liquor.malort.com/products/202...
shop-liquor.malort.com/products/202...
It’s not the main reason, but this is part of why I always recommend calling your Sen/Rep’s local office instead of their DC office. You’re much more likely to get an intern who is talking to constituents because they want to than because they have to pay their dues to get to a better position.
I have long argued that the single best thing you could do to improve the functioning of the US government is double the salaries of everyone working on Capitol Hill. Serving Congress shouldn’t involve poverty wages in DC. You could attract a much wider set of perspectives netting a better result.
people hate hearing this but it's 100% true, creating a huge pay gap between political leaders, their staffs, and other elites is a recipe for corruption. of course the flip side of that is taxes on the rich should be jacked way the hell up
November 7, 2025 at 5:24 PM
It’s not the main reason, but this is part of why I always recommend calling your Sen/Rep’s local office instead of their DC office. You’re much more likely to get an intern who is talking to constituents because they want to than because they have to pay their dues to get to a better position.
Reposted by Scott Purdy
tomorrow i'm hosting bird trivia in cambridge. the peeps and i worked very hard on the questions, playlist, etc. come thru www.eventbrite.com/e/birdy-game...
Birdy Games and Trivia at Tilde in Cambridge
An evening of birdy and bird-adjacent fun and games over tasty bites, great wine, great coffee, and good friends at Tilde with Cara Giaimo!
www.eventbrite.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:47 PM
tomorrow i'm hosting bird trivia in cambridge. the peeps and i worked very hard on the questions, playlist, etc. come thru www.eventbrite.com/e/birdy-game...
Let this serve, if necessary, as your seasonal reminder that Tree for Boston remains the world’s most heartwarming Christmas story involving the largest prenuclear manmade explosion in human history.
November 4, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Let this serve, if necessary, as your seasonal reminder that Tree for Boston remains the world’s most heartwarming Christmas story involving the largest prenuclear manmade explosion in human history.
To be clear, the season that it ‘tis is Canadian Maritime Tragedy season, with Edmund Fitzgerald Day next week and Tree for Boston kicking off a few days ago:
news.novascotia.ca/en/2025/10/2...
news.novascotia.ca/en/2025/10/2...
Tree From Lunenburg County Chosen for Boston
news.novascotia.ca
November 4, 2025 at 7:35 PM
To be clear, the season that it ‘tis is Canadian Maritime Tragedy season, with Edmund Fitzgerald Day next week and Tree for Boston kicking off a few days ago:
news.novascotia.ca/en/2025/10/2...
news.novascotia.ca/en/2025/10/2...
‘Tis the season
November 4, 2025 at 7:19 PM
‘Tis the season
It’s one of the weirder things I’ve learned about government contracting, but it’s useful here to note that US government employees, contractors and their employees are barred from hiring sex workers even in places where sex work is legal for human trafficking reasons.
Foreign trade missions and the lobbyists and PR firms working for the Andurils of the world are single-handedly propping up the DMV's escort market right now
November 4, 2025 at 1:22 AM
It’s one of the weirder things I’ve learned about government contracting, but it’s useful here to note that US government employees, contractors and their employees are barred from hiring sex workers even in places where sex work is legal for human trafficking reasons.
Reposted by Scott Purdy
Rude of stores to play Christmas music today, in the heart of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Season
November 3, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Rude of stores to play Christmas music today, in the heart of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Season
I could certainly be wrong, but I feel like indicting the partner of the owner/public face of The Onion is Streisand Effecting at a level previously only considered in the academic literature.
You’ve probably heard but I have been federally indicted by Trump’s DOJ.
We now have to cover the costs of a campaign *and* a legal battle to preserve our First Amendment rights.
Help us win this fight by chipping in at katforillinois.com/legal
We now have to cover the costs of a campaign *and* a legal battle to preserve our First Amendment rights.
Help us win this fight by chipping in at katforillinois.com/legal
Defend Kat Against Unjust Charges
Show your support with a contribution.
katforillinois.com
October 30, 2025 at 12:30 AM
I could certainly be wrong, but I feel like indicting the partner of the owner/public face of The Onion is Streisand Effecting at a level previously only considered in the academic literature.
What’s fun for me about this is how much the first one in the second row looks like a gay guy I went to high school with.
I made an image of all the art posted by US DOL on X since approximately Labor Day
October 26, 2025 at 4:34 PM
What’s fun for me about this is how much the first one in the second row looks like a gay guy I went to high school with.
Reposted by Scott Purdy
What’s it like inside your head?
October 23, 2025 at 8:34 PM
What’s it like inside your head?
Pleasant Bureaucrats vs Sexy Murder Poets
October 22, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Pleasant Bureaucrats vs Sexy Murder Poets
I would absolutely salivate over the presumed bizarreness of a Trail Blazers/Blackhawks World Series.
First World Series between two cities threatened with invasion or invaded by a U.S. president.
October 21, 2025 at 12:19 PM
I would absolutely salivate over the presumed bizarreness of a Trail Blazers/Blackhawks World Series.
Reposted by Scott Purdy
New story from me on Michelin and how much a star can make or break the finances of a fine dining restaurant. That’s been true for a long time in places France, but as someone who’s covered food in America for over a decade, the stakes suddenly feel higher here www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/d...
Are Michelin Stars Now an Economic Must, Not Just a Culinary Honor?
www.nytimes.com
October 20, 2025 at 10:39 PM
New story from me on Michelin and how much a star can make or break the finances of a fine dining restaurant. That’s been true for a long time in places France, but as someone who’s covered food in America for over a decade, the stakes suddenly feel higher here www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/d...
Posting, in response to nothing in particular, my all-time favorite GAO report:
www.gao.gov/products/gao...
www.gao.gov/products/gao...
www.gao.gov
October 20, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Posting, in response to nothing in particular, my all-time favorite GAO report:
www.gao.gov/products/gao...
www.gao.gov/products/gao...
Reposted by Scott Purdy
I wrote this piece during a US federal government shutdown in 2013 and everything I said then is just as true today, except I’m even more furious at the people who don’t understand the value of collective systems and universal provision.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
If we want a civilised society, charities can't fill the void left by government | Debbie Chachra
Debbie Chachra: I gave to a local food bank because women with infants are going hungry thanks to the shutdown. But it fills me with fury
www.theguardian.com
October 19, 2025 at 5:24 PM
I wrote this piece during a US federal government shutdown in 2013 and everything I said then is just as true today, except I’m even more furious at the people who don’t understand the value of collective systems and universal provision.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
It doesn’t look like this is the argument he’s making here, but it’s important to note that this is the same argument being made by the people who think trans people should be willing to accept being sacrificed for the greater good.
October 19, 2025 at 8:33 PM
It doesn’t look like this is the argument he’s making here, but it’s important to note that this is the same argument being made by the people who think trans people should be willing to accept being sacrificed for the greater good.
Reposted by Scott Purdy
Was somewhere where they were giving out free shots of pumpkin spice Malört. I survived.
October 18, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Was somewhere where they were giving out free shots of pumpkin spice Malört. I survived.
Nothing like eating lunch at a local outdoor plaza to remind me how much I hate the smell of pot.
October 17, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Nothing like eating lunch at a local outdoor plaza to remind me how much I hate the smell of pot.