Andrew B. Koupal
@ab-koupal.bsky.social
Sarcastic drummer; casual interest in responsible governance and expanding pedestrian and rail infrastructure.
He/him. SF Bay Area
He/him. SF Bay Area
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
“Paramount would use Warner to keep something like the old Hollywood alive … On the other hand, Netflix promises [to reduce] the number of independent Hollywood studios in order to build an IP powerhouse capable of winning the bigger battle for attention with Silicon Valley.”
Netflix and Paramount are battling for more than Warner Bros
They present rival visions for the future of entertainment
economist.com
December 13, 2025 at 4:26 PM
“Paramount would use Warner to keep something like the old Hollywood alive … On the other hand, Netflix promises [to reduce] the number of independent Hollywood studios in order to build an IP powerhouse capable of winning the bigger battle for attention with Silicon Valley.”
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
The reason there will never be a conservative alternative to the ACA is that the ACA was the conservative alternative
December 13, 2025 at 1:32 AM
The reason there will never be a conservative alternative to the ACA is that the ACA was the conservative alternative
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
1. For at least 10 years, Pepsi has conspired with Walmart to force up grocery prices. That’s the shocking evidence made public today in an unsealed FTC lawsuit. The suit was abandoned in May by the Trump FTC just before it was to be un-redacted. We went to court to get it unsealed & won.
December 12, 2025 at 5:30 PM
1. For at least 10 years, Pepsi has conspired with Walmart to force up grocery prices. That’s the shocking evidence made public today in an unsealed FTC lawsuit. The suit was abandoned in May by the Trump FTC just before it was to be un-redacted. We went to court to get it unsealed & won.
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
developers chasing $$ from the ultra-wealthy at the expense of everyone else is like a whole beat these days. this from the same magazine as a case in point.
How the Sports Stadium Went Luxe
Is the race to create ever more lavish spectator offerings in America’s largest venues changing the fan experience?
www.newyorker.com
December 11, 2025 at 4:28 PM
developers chasing $$ from the ultra-wealthy at the expense of everyone else is like a whole beat these days. this from the same magazine as a case in point.
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
On this day in 1974: Instead of saving energy for the Oil Crisis, permanent Daylight Saving Time wasted millions of barrels of oil, due to increased heating needs on unnaturally darkened mornings. #OTD
December 11, 2025 at 4:34 PM
On this day in 1974: Instead of saving energy for the Oil Crisis, permanent Daylight Saving Time wasted millions of barrels of oil, due to increased heating needs on unnaturally darkened mornings. #OTD
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
Oh. OH. 🤯
I assume/hope some sociologists and social psychologists are studying this already. Because this hypothesis sure has merit...
I assume/hope some sociologists and social psychologists are studying this already. Because this hypothesis sure has merit...
I think that the collective inflating fantasies about the wisdom consciousness of LLM’s are just religious transferences - the wish to have an oracle in your pocket that allows you to text directly to the gods & receive a concrete confirmation that you are tapped into something larger & all knowing
December 11, 2025 at 4:22 AM
Oh. OH. 🤯
I assume/hope some sociologists and social psychologists are studying this already. Because this hypothesis sure has merit...
I assume/hope some sociologists and social psychologists are studying this already. Because this hypothesis sure has merit...
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
There is no excuse for allowing any ADS-B waivers in DC airspace. None. If the Black Hawk had ADS- B, there is a high (stratospheric) likelihood the Jan midair would have been avoided.
This bill needs to stop until the provision is removed.
www.npr.org/2025/12/10/n...
This bill needs to stop until the provision is removed.
www.npr.org/2025/12/10/n...
NTSB warns that defense bill could undermine aviation safety changes after DCA crash
The head of the NTSB is voicing strong opposition to provisions in the defense policy bill. The NTSB says the House bill would undermine safety improvements made after the mid-air collision near DCA.
www.npr.org
December 10, 2025 at 11:45 PM
There is no excuse for allowing any ADS-B waivers in DC airspace. None. If the Black Hawk had ADS- B, there is a high (stratospheric) likelihood the Jan midair would have been avoided.
This bill needs to stop until the provision is removed.
www.npr.org/2025/12/10/n...
This bill needs to stop until the provision is removed.
www.npr.org/2025/12/10/n...
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
And what if you were a member of an even larger group? Like, say, a citizen of the United States and the federal government negotiated on your behalf.
It is almost like they get it, but refuse to take that final step necessary to close the deal.
It is almost like they get it, but refuse to take that final step necessary to close the deal.
Rand Paul on his healthcare plan: "What if you could join Costco? Costco has 44m members and if one person negotiated for all 44 and they bought a group plan like Toyota or General Motors does, they would be the largest collective entity in the country. They would drive prices down by sheer might."
December 9, 2025 at 1:28 PM
And what if you were a member of an even larger group? Like, say, a citizen of the United States and the federal government negotiated on your behalf.
It is almost like they get it, but refuse to take that final step necessary to close the deal.
It is almost like they get it, but refuse to take that final step necessary to close the deal.
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
Until @savestandard.bsky.social shared this fact, I never knew that the U.S. govt tried to go to perma-DST back in 1974!
It failed so bad that they had to REVERSE COURSE a few months later. So many unnecessary deaths because of it. Because of the few who SELFISHLY want light at 10pm during summer.🤦
It failed so bad that they had to REVERSE COURSE a few months later. So many unnecessary deaths because of it. Because of the few who SELFISHLY want light at 10pm during summer.🤦
What they tried in 1974 was year-round DST. Standard time doesn't darken mornings.
December 9, 2025 at 5:03 AM
Until @savestandard.bsky.social shared this fact, I never knew that the U.S. govt tried to go to perma-DST back in 1974!
It failed so bad that they had to REVERSE COURSE a few months later. So many unnecessary deaths because of it. Because of the few who SELFISHLY want light at 10pm during summer.🤦
It failed so bad that they had to REVERSE COURSE a few months later. So many unnecessary deaths because of it. Because of the few who SELFISHLY want light at 10pm during summer.🤦
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
Justice Jackson to Solicitor General Sauer (just now, in Trump v. Slaughter arguments):
December 8, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Justice Jackson to Solicitor General Sauer (just now, in Trump v. Slaughter arguments):
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
Simply amazing that the Supreme Court declared an end to legal race discrimination in the affirmative action case two years ago and now allows overt racism in both immigration arrests and redistricting.
Using race to help minorities? Bad. Using it to discriminate against them? Very, very good.
Using race to help minorities? Bad. Using it to discriminate against them? Very, very good.
BREAKING: Supreme Court GRANTS Texas request to restore redistricting maps
apparent 6-3 ruling with the liberals in dissent @courthousenews.bsky.social
apparent 6-3 ruling with the liberals in dissent @courthousenews.bsky.social
December 4, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Simply amazing that the Supreme Court declared an end to legal race discrimination in the affirmative action case two years ago and now allows overt racism in both immigration arrests and redistricting.
Using race to help minorities? Bad. Using it to discriminate against them? Very, very good.
Using race to help minorities? Bad. Using it to discriminate against them? Very, very good.
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
1/ actually, no.
Fuel efficiency standards were based on the entirety of a car manufacturer's "passenger" line. SUVs were placed in the "truck" category, not passenger vehicles, and could thus get away with lower gas mileage.
gas guzzling passenger vehicles, like those station wagons,
Fuel efficiency standards were based on the entirety of a car manufacturer's "passenger" line. SUVs were placed in the "truck" category, not passenger vehicles, and could thus get away with lower gas mileage.
gas guzzling passenger vehicles, like those station wagons,
December 4, 2025 at 6:22 PM
1/ actually, no.
Fuel efficiency standards were based on the entirety of a car manufacturer's "passenger" line. SUVs were placed in the "truck" category, not passenger vehicles, and could thus get away with lower gas mileage.
gas guzzling passenger vehicles, like those station wagons,
Fuel efficiency standards were based on the entirety of a car manufacturer's "passenger" line. SUVs were placed in the "truck" category, not passenger vehicles, and could thus get away with lower gas mileage.
gas guzzling passenger vehicles, like those station wagons,
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
As a daily cyclist and (class 1) e-bike rider, this piece is an excellent, balanced piece.
I also firmly believe anything with just a throttle, and no pedalling, needs to be classified as an e-moto and subject to (much) stricter regulation than bikes or class 1 e-bikes.
I also firmly believe anything with just a throttle, and no pedalling, needs to be classified as an e-moto and subject to (much) stricter regulation than bikes or class 1 e-bikes.
This New York Times piece on super-fast e-bikes and how dangerous they are is well done. It is nuanced, not hysterical and very much doesn't damn all e-bikes. But it does properly show how incredibly bad the illegal/unregulated throttle-driven ones are: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/m...
The Shocking Crash That Led One County to Reckon With the Dangers of E-Bikes
www.nytimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 11:54 PM
As a daily cyclist and (class 1) e-bike rider, this piece is an excellent, balanced piece.
I also firmly believe anything with just a throttle, and no pedalling, needs to be classified as an e-moto and subject to (much) stricter regulation than bikes or class 1 e-bikes.
I also firmly believe anything with just a throttle, and no pedalling, needs to be classified as an e-moto and subject to (much) stricter regulation than bikes or class 1 e-bikes.
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
More and more European rail interests are abandoning hydrogen trains. Time for California to follow suit and invest in overhead electrification for fast, frequent, reliable service.
November 25, 2025 at 8:23 PM
More and more European rail interests are abandoning hydrogen trains. Time for California to follow suit and invest in overhead electrification for fast, frequent, reliable service.
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
Are any of the men in the press corps going to ask Trump to stop denigrating their colleagues or are they enjoying this?
".. the latest instance of Trump lashing out at the female journalists who cover him."
@peoplemag.bsky.social @cbsnews.com
people.com/trump-snaps-...
@peoplemag.bsky.social @cbsnews.com
people.com/trump-snaps-...
Trump Snaps at CBS Reporter on Thanksgiving When She Questions His Comments on National Guard Shooting: 'Are You a Stupid Person?'
President Donald Trump snapped at CBS News' Nancy Cordes when she questioned him about something he said during a Thanksgiving press conference, asking, 'Are you a stupid person?'
people.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Are any of the men in the press corps going to ask Trump to stop denigrating their colleagues or are they enjoying this?
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
The reality, of course, is that Miller and a significant portion of Trump’s base are the ones who failed to assimilate to America’s post-WWII culture of multi-racial democracy & religious pluralism…and they are now using their power to destroy that once dominant (and still popular) American culture.
Stephen Miller is now arguing that assimilation is fundamentally impossible and that certain cultures are not compatible with Western civilization
November 28, 2025 at 1:23 PM
The reality, of course, is that Miller and a significant portion of Trump’s base are the ones who failed to assimilate to America’s post-WWII culture of multi-racial democracy & religious pluralism…and they are now using their power to destroy that once dominant (and still popular) American culture.
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
We will owe a deep moral debt, to be paid over generations, for the horrors this regime has inflicted.
November 26, 2025 at 4:33 PM
We will owe a deep moral debt, to be paid over generations, for the horrors this regime has inflicted.
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
As I work on a literature review on traffic calming, I have found so much transportation engineering research focusing on pedestrians' + cyclists' compliant vs. non-compliant behaviors. Victim-blaming kind of research. That helps explain that profession's attitude toward non-car road users
November 25, 2025 at 10:38 PM
As I work on a literature review on traffic calming, I have found so much transportation engineering research focusing on pedestrians' + cyclists' compliant vs. non-compliant behaviors. Victim-blaming kind of research. That helps explain that profession's attitude toward non-car road users
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
“Studies looking at each side of time zones show social jet-lag of being forced to get up an hour earlier relative to dawn. Permanent Daylight Saving Time would lead to health getting worse. A better option is permanent Standard Time.”
November 25, 2025 at 10:57 PM
“Studies looking at each side of time zones show social jet-lag of being forced to get up an hour earlier relative to dawn. Permanent Daylight Saving Time would lead to health getting worse. A better option is permanent Standard Time.”
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
New Paper: Presidential Control of the Civil Service.
Conventional wisdom holds that the civil service sits safely beyond the president's reach. Does it? (1) Not nearly as much as legal scholars think. (2) That's a problem for the execution of the law. 1/12
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Conventional wisdom holds that the civil service sits safely beyond the president's reach. Does it? (1) Not nearly as much as legal scholars think. (2) That's a problem for the execution of the law. 1/12
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Presidential Control of the Civil Service
<p>Conventional wisdom treats the federal civil service as largely beyond the president’s reach. This Article challenges that assumption. Legal scholars too oft
papers.ssrn.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:07 PM
New Paper: Presidential Control of the Civil Service.
Conventional wisdom holds that the civil service sits safely beyond the president's reach. Does it? (1) Not nearly as much as legal scholars think. (2) That's a problem for the execution of the law. 1/12
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Conventional wisdom holds that the civil service sits safely beyond the president's reach. Does it? (1) Not nearly as much as legal scholars think. (2) That's a problem for the execution of the law. 1/12
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
The answer is "no," but her response is not completely wrong. McClain is deliberately threading a needle of military lingo to confuse viewers.
Oaths of ENLISTMENT and oaths taken by OFFICERS are DIFFERENT. Anyone commenting on this needs to read Hertling's piece: www.thebulwark.com/p/what-ameri...
Oaths of ENLISTMENT and oaths taken by OFFICERS are DIFFERENT. Anyone commenting on this needs to read Hertling's piece: www.thebulwark.com/p/what-ameri...
BLITZER: I want to be precise. Should members of the US military obey clearly illegal orders?
McCLAIN: You're asking an enlisted person for their opinion on what they think is legal. That's a pretty slippery slope. Follow your commander in chief. That's the oath that you took
(Not a no!)
McCLAIN: You're asking an enlisted person for their opinion on what they think is legal. That's a pretty slippery slope. Follow your commander in chief. That's the oath that you took
(Not a no!)
November 24, 2025 at 3:55 PM
The answer is "no," but her response is not completely wrong. McClain is deliberately threading a needle of military lingo to confuse viewers.
Oaths of ENLISTMENT and oaths taken by OFFICERS are DIFFERENT. Anyone commenting on this needs to read Hertling's piece: www.thebulwark.com/p/what-ameri...
Oaths of ENLISTMENT and oaths taken by OFFICERS are DIFFERENT. Anyone commenting on this needs to read Hertling's piece: www.thebulwark.com/p/what-ameri...
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
Please hear me when I say that
1) these anti-medical woo birth movements have been a primary feeder into anti-vaxx eugenic movements
2) they pre-date the age of social media
3) they exist because we have not addressed medical sexism and specifically obstetric violence
1) these anti-medical woo birth movements have been a primary feeder into anti-vaxx eugenic movements
2) they pre-date the age of social media
3) they exist because we have not addressed medical sexism and specifically obstetric violence
Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world
Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world
A year-long investigation reveals how mothers lost children after being radicalised by uplifting podcast tales of births without midwives or doctors
As Esau Lopez was asphyxiated for the first 17 minutes of his life on Earth, the atmosphere in the room remained serene, even ecstatic. Acoustic music crooned from a speaker in a modest two-bedroom apartment in a suburb of Pennsylvania. “You are a queen,” murmured one of three friends in the room.
Only Esau’s mother, Gabrielle Lopez, felt something was wrong. She was pushing hard, but her son would not be born. “Can you help [him] out?” she asked, as Esau crowned. “Baby is coming,” the friend replied. Four minutes later, Lopez asked again, “Can you grab [him]?” Another friend murmured, “Baby is safe.” Six minutes passed. Again, Lopez asked, “Can you grab [him]?” Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Please hear me when I say that
1) these anti-medical woo birth movements have been a primary feeder into anti-vaxx eugenic movements
2) they pre-date the age of social media
3) they exist because we have not addressed medical sexism and specifically obstetric violence
1) these anti-medical woo birth movements have been a primary feeder into anti-vaxx eugenic movements
2) they pre-date the age of social media
3) they exist because we have not addressed medical sexism and specifically obstetric violence
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
It's also a deep misunderstanding of innovation, which is problem solving within a framework of constraints, some of which express as regulation.
Removing guardrails never promotes innovation, it only encourages corner cutting and a lazy race to the bottom.
Removing guardrails never promotes innovation, it only encourages corner cutting and a lazy race to the bottom.
November 23, 2025 at 2:01 AM
It's also a deep misunderstanding of innovation, which is problem solving within a framework of constraints, some of which express as regulation.
Removing guardrails never promotes innovation, it only encourages corner cutting and a lazy race to the bottom.
Removing guardrails never promotes innovation, it only encourages corner cutting and a lazy race to the bottom.
Reposted by Andrew B. Koupal
There’s one person squarely to blame for Trump’s corruption, authoritarianism & assault on democracy: John Roberts. He’s enabled so much of Trump’s lawlessness while somehow escaping accountability for it
New cover story from @pemalevy.bsky.social & me
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
New cover story from @pemalevy.bsky.social & me
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
This is all John Roberts’ fault
Trump owes his corrupt and abusive reign to one man.
www.motherjones.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:27 PM
There’s one person squarely to blame for Trump’s corruption, authoritarianism & assault on democracy: John Roberts. He’s enabled so much of Trump’s lawlessness while somehow escaping accountability for it
New cover story from @pemalevy.bsky.social & me
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
New cover story from @pemalevy.bsky.social & me
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...