Alexander Howard
@digiphile.bsky.social
Dad, writer, cyclist, citizen, cereal dilettante. Advocate for freedom of information, open governance, & democracy. Lover of the Oxford Comma, hater of hubris. Recovering journalist. Trying to move carefully, & fix things. https://civic-texts.ghost.io
@talkingpointsmemo.com: Trump Completes January 6 Autocoup With Mass Preemptive Pardon
morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.com/p/trump-comp...
@npr.org: Trump grants pardons to Giuliani, Meadows, others linked to 2020 election efforts
“Election efforts.” 🤬
At least WSJ, NYT, & WaPo used “overturn.”
morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.com/p/trump-comp...
@npr.org: Trump grants pardons to Giuliani, Meadows, others linked to 2020 election efforts
“Election efforts.” 🤬
At least WSJ, NYT, & WaPo used “overturn.”
November 10, 2025 at 5:05 PM
@talkingpointsmemo.com: Trump Completes January 6 Autocoup With Mass Preemptive Pardon
morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.com/p/trump-comp...
@npr.org: Trump grants pardons to Giuliani, Meadows, others linked to 2020 election efforts
“Election efforts.” 🤬
At least WSJ, NYT, & WaPo used “overturn.”
morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.com/p/trump-comp...
@npr.org: Trump grants pardons to Giuliani, Meadows, others linked to 2020 election efforts
“Election efforts.” 🤬
At least WSJ, NYT, & WaPo used “overturn.”
I was today years old when I learned Toyota made a van like this when I saw a ‘90s era HiAce “Super Custom Living Saloon” in DC today.
Seem like it may have a 3.0L turbodiesel engine, swiveling seats, triple sunroofs, & full-time 4WD (!).
But it was designed for 8 passenger transport, not #VanLife.
Seem like it may have a 3.0L turbodiesel engine, swiveling seats, triple sunroofs, & full-time 4WD (!).
But it was designed for 8 passenger transport, not #VanLife.
November 9, 2025 at 9:06 PM
I was today years old when I learned Toyota made a van like this when I saw a ‘90s era HiAce “Super Custom Living Saloon” in DC today.
Seem like it may have a 3.0L turbodiesel engine, swiveling seats, triple sunroofs, & full-time 4WD (!).
But it was designed for 8 passenger transport, not #VanLife.
Seem like it may have a 3.0L turbodiesel engine, swiveling seats, triple sunroofs, & full-time 4WD (!).
But it was designed for 8 passenger transport, not #VanLife.
Amazing chestnut mushrooms from the Manchester Mushroom Farm at Eastern Market in DC made an unforgettable beef stroganoff. Next time, I might just roast them on their own. YUM. So lucky to have greater farmers who come here.
November 9, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Amazing chestnut mushrooms from the Manchester Mushroom Farm at Eastern Market in DC made an unforgettable beef stroganoff. Next time, I might just roast them on their own. YUM. So lucky to have greater farmers who come here.
DC government has steadily improved online dashboards tracking real-time leaf pickup & snow removal.
experience.arcgis.com/experience/0...
Snow plow trackers can be controversial, given what they reveal about how power shapes who gets help & when.
I bet the wind blows that way with leaves, too. 🍂 🍁
experience.arcgis.com/experience/0...
Snow plow trackers can be controversial, given what they reveal about how power shapes who gets help & when.
I bet the wind blows that way with leaves, too. 🍂 🍁
November 9, 2025 at 5:53 PM
DC government has steadily improved online dashboards tracking real-time leaf pickup & snow removal.
experience.arcgis.com/experience/0...
Snow plow trackers can be controversial, given what they reveal about how power shapes who gets help & when.
I bet the wind blows that way with leaves, too. 🍂 🍁
experience.arcgis.com/experience/0...
Snow plow trackers can be controversial, given what they reveal about how power shapes who gets help & when.
I bet the wind blows that way with leaves, too. 🍂 🍁
The American people know we are living in an oligarchy in which money in our politics has made legalized corruption into an anti-democratic norm in a new Gilded Age.
No major political party can tolerate corruption nor its appearance if its leaders want to keep or hold public trust in government.
No major political party can tolerate corruption nor its appearance if its leaders want to keep or hold public trust in government.
November 9, 2025 at 5:19 PM
The American people know we are living in an oligarchy in which money in our politics has made legalized corruption into an anti-democratic norm in a new Gilded Age.
No major political party can tolerate corruption nor its appearance if its leaders want to keep or hold public trust in government.
No major political party can tolerate corruption nor its appearance if its leaders want to keep or hold public trust in government.
“Most of the days the federal government has ever been shut down, Donald Trump was the president.”— @howtoreadthisch.art
www.howtoreadthisch.art/red-versus-b...
www.howtoreadthisch.art/red-versus-b...
November 8, 2025 at 11:54 PM
“Most of the days the federal government has ever been shut down, Donald Trump was the president.”— @howtoreadthisch.art
www.howtoreadthisch.art/red-versus-b...
www.howtoreadthisch.art/red-versus-b...
“Most of the days the federal government has ever been shut down, Donald Trump was the president.”— @howtoreadthisch.art
www.howtoreadthisch.art/red-versus-b...
www.howtoreadthisch.art/red-versus-b...
November 8, 2025 at 11:51 PM
“Most of the days the federal government has ever been shut down, Donald Trump was the president.”— @howtoreadthisch.art
www.howtoreadthisch.art/red-versus-b...
www.howtoreadthisch.art/red-versus-b...
Perfect fall day for a quiet hike with the dogs in rural Maryland at the Glendening Nature Preserve. JugBay.org
Autumn 🍂 foliage may be past peak, but there were still gorgeous colors illuminated in strong sun.
Autumn 🍂 foliage may be past peak, but there were still gorgeous colors illuminated in strong sun.
November 8, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Perfect fall day for a quiet hike with the dogs in rural Maryland at the Glendening Nature Preserve. JugBay.org
Autumn 🍂 foliage may be past peak, but there were still gorgeous colors illuminated in strong sun.
Autumn 🍂 foliage may be past peak, but there were still gorgeous colors illuminated in strong sun.
I see more stickers & fliers than graffiti on the public streets & infrastructure of Capitol Hill, after months of steady evolution.
They show takedowns & rip-downs of messages, images, & public art someone disliked.
Like fences in 2020, these surfaces are makeshift bulletin boards of dissent.
They show takedowns & rip-downs of messages, images, & public art someone disliked.
Like fences in 2020, these surfaces are makeshift bulletin boards of dissent.
November 7, 2025 at 5:50 PM
I see more stickers & fliers than graffiti on the public streets & infrastructure of Capitol Hill, after months of steady evolution.
They show takedowns & rip-downs of messages, images, & public art someone disliked.
Like fences in 2020, these surfaces are makeshift bulletin boards of dissent.
They show takedowns & rip-downs of messages, images, & public art someone disliked.
Like fences in 2020, these surfaces are makeshift bulletin boards of dissent.
Today’s protests in DC focus on the Trump administration’s continued abuse of power to seek to repeal civil rights for our fellow Americans on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity & the Supreme Court’s decision to let illiberal policy stand.
www.lawdork.com/p/scotus-tru...
www.lawdork.com/p/scotus-tru...
November 7, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Today’s protests in DC focus on the Trump administration’s continued abuse of power to seek to repeal civil rights for our fellow Americans on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity & the Supreme Court’s decision to let illiberal policy stand.
www.lawdork.com/p/scotus-tru...
www.lawdork.com/p/scotus-tru...
These protestors outside of the Supreme Court invested in creative signs.
November 7, 2025 at 4:23 PM
These protestors outside of the Supreme Court invested in creative signs.
The inflatable costume aesthetic continues to grow at the protests I’ve born witness to in Washington and around the country.
They’re certainly much more comfortable in the fall than the steamy heat of summer, though the gusty winds today will make the experience of wearing one more exciting.
They’re certainly much more comfortable in the fall than the steamy heat of summer, though the gusty winds today will make the experience of wearing one more exciting.
November 7, 2025 at 4:23 PM
The inflatable costume aesthetic continues to grow at the protests I’ve born witness to in Washington and around the country.
They’re certainly much more comfortable in the fall than the steamy heat of summer, though the gusty winds today will make the experience of wearing one more exciting.
They’re certainly much more comfortable in the fall than the steamy heat of summer, though the gusty winds today will make the experience of wearing one more exciting.
I stopped to bear witness to a protest at the U.S. Supreme Court on our morning walk back from the vet’s office.
I never tire seeing the vigorous expression of our constitutional rights to peaceably assemble, speak, associate, & petition our government for the redress of grievances in civic spaces.
I never tire seeing the vigorous expression of our constitutional rights to peaceably assemble, speak, associate, & petition our government for the redress of grievances in civic spaces.
November 7, 2025 at 4:23 PM
I stopped to bear witness to a protest at the U.S. Supreme Court on our morning walk back from the vet’s office.
I never tire seeing the vigorous expression of our constitutional rights to peaceably assemble, speak, associate, & petition our government for the redress of grievances in civic spaces.
I never tire seeing the vigorous expression of our constitutional rights to peaceably assemble, speak, associate, & petition our government for the redress of grievances in civic spaces.
The mayoral transition will be “defined by transparency” says Mayor-Elect Mamdani. The way a campaign transitions into governing is a bellwether for what follows, as we’ve seen at every level of government. I’ll be watching, like millions of New Yorkers, to see how this one keeps spreading the news.
November 6, 2025 at 1:04 PM
The mayoral transition will be “defined by transparency” says Mayor-Elect Mamdani. The way a campaign transitions into governing is a bellwether for what follows, as we’ve seen at every level of government. I’ll be watching, like millions of New Yorkers, to see how this one keeps spreading the news.
Happy Howlaween 🐕 🎃 from Daphne and Lucky! 🦁
October 31, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Happy Howlaween 🐕 🎃 from Daphne and Lucky! 🦁
The buck stops with Biden, but @karinejean-pierre.bsky.social (& @jenpsaki.msnbc.com Ben LaBolt & Ron Klein) are accountable for poor communications & public engagement of White House — a key reason so many Americans didn’t know about admin policy & accomplishments.
www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
October 28, 2025 at 1:10 PM
The buck stops with Biden, but @karinejean-pierre.bsky.social (& @jenpsaki.msnbc.com Ben LaBolt & Ron Klein) are accountable for poor communications & public engagement of White House — a key reason so many Americans didn’t know about admin policy & accomplishments.
www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
A White House official used an official account on X to tag the employers of an American citizen about speech he disliked.
October 25, 2025 at 2:48 PM
A White House official used an official account on X to tag the employers of an American citizen about speech he disliked.
The fictional visual spectacle of “King Trump” piloting a plane he never learned to pilot and bombing the streets of New York City with sewage is sadly an apt metaphor for how dirty American politics has become.
October 19, 2025 at 6:05 PM
The fictional visual spectacle of “King Trump” piloting a plane he never learned to pilot and bombing the streets of New York City with sewage is sadly an apt metaphor for how dirty American politics has become.
This synthetic media is a new tactic from an old authoritarian playbook, expressly intended to mock, demean, & chill the speech of the people Trump serves. protectdemocracy.org/wp-content/u...
October 19, 2025 at 6:05 PM
This synthetic media is a new tactic from an old authoritarian playbook, expressly intended to mock, demean, & chill the speech of the people Trump serves. protectdemocracy.org/wp-content/u...
The surreal AI video is an unprecedented communication that further degrades the institution of the presidency, demonstrating a leering contempt for Americans instead of respecting the solemn obligation to serve all of us, not just those who voted for Trump. (~77M votes/of ~350 million is ~22%.)
October 19, 2025 at 6:05 PM
The surreal AI video is an unprecedented communication that further degrades the institution of the presidency, demonstrating a leering contempt for Americans instead of respecting the solemn obligation to serve all of us, not just those who voted for Trump. (~77M votes/of ~350 million is ~22%.)
It’s a pungent visual metaphor for how he’s governed in office, denying not only the legitimacy of elected Democrats or seeking to disenfranchise Democratic voters, but to publicly degrade Americans who dare to publicly defy him.
October 19, 2025 at 6:05 PM
It’s a pungent visual metaphor for how he’s governed in office, denying not only the legitimacy of elected Democrats or seeking to disenfranchise Democratic voters, but to publicly degrade Americans who dare to publicly defy him.