There’s a very important book from 1963 by Hannah Arendt that coined the phrase “banality of evil”. Importantly, it doesn’t only describe the ability for people to accept atrocious, heinous violations acts against humanity in their name but to gleefully endorse it as part of a desire to belong.

thinking of one of abraham lincoln's great quotes this morning:

"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy."

Every episode is a banger but this one is remarkable. If anything, Gavin Newsom and Chuck Schumer need to watch the segment on cultural power. MAGA doesn’t force policy as a matter of being responsive to cultural realities, they do so as political bluster. Take for instance trans issues…

Why are establishment Democrats like Schumer or Jeffries insistent on playing by the rules when the rules don’t exist any more? Giving even an inch is cowardice. Liberals keep trying to play political chess with the fascists but they need to flip the table over.

If you’re going to heckle the worst president of our lifetime, don’t do it alone. There should’ve been one Democratic member of Congress standing up, disrupting and getting ejected every two to three minutes. If you’re going to do nothing but be performative, do it well and coordinate better.

Padding out this Bronner’s soap label list with minor state level activity shows how inept national Democrats are as the opposition. Stop putting national Dems on a pedestal, they are not going to save us. If centrists chipping at the edges stopped fascism, we wouldn’t have had a whole World War.

There have been continuous demonstrations in front of San Jose City Hall and other cities across California and the US - I didn’t take pics out of concern for attendees privacy - in support of our immigrant communities and it got me a little emotional. Protests, even though not direct action matter…

In the final 72 hours of his presidency, Joe Biden:

- acknowledged the Equal Rights Amendment as law
- announced no enforcement of TikTok ban fines
- had a ceasefire in the Palestine/Israel war

That shows you just about how unserious he was about some fairly large issues until it was too late.

Traveled by plane for the first time in a while and saw how ubiquitous facial recognition has gotten at US airports. I opted out every time at the TSA lines and more people should. Government using questionable technology to fix bad subjective security practices is not the road we should go down.

I always thought negatively about drive up services - they take workers attention and availability away from in-store customers and needs and puts them on crazy deadlines - then I got stuff stolen off my bike last time at Target. So then I find out I can bike up to Target and they’ll come out!

I’m finally riding the new Caltrain electric fleet and I checked out the Future of Diridon Station exhibit. Even if there’s a lot of talk lately about the boondoggle that is CA High Speed Rail, planning for and accepting it as a reality in the future is important. Don’t get cynical about transit!

can we not do the "die hard is a Christmas movie" thing here please. "remember thing that wasn't entertaining or edifying on twitter but just a non-argument about which even the most bored person alive could not credibly be thought to actually care" can we not. for my Christmas present. please

A medicare for all public health system would save lives. Whether you’re a CEO or a regular person.

Anyone else’s eyes glaze over at the terms “bomb cyclone” or “atmospheric river”? Meteorologists, don’t try to be like reporters and sensationalize. I don’t care that these are decades-old terms. These are storms. The west coast gets storms. They can just be called storms.

Hey RFK - come and take it

In 2024, 2025, the only controversy we need about bathrooms in the United States is the fact that there still has not been enough of a culture war against how bad the stalls are. I don’t care about the genders of other restroom users; I do care that we can make eye contact through the gaps!

Want to know how we’re really in for an exciting, new and extra scary chapter of white nationalism in this country? Not too long ago there was an Asian panic about leftover rice, but now conservatives are clamoring for raw milk and a dismantled FDA and HHS.

Features that aren’t on here but should be:

Blocking or muting accounts should be easy. Currently you have to tap a person’s photo, go to their profile, then click to block. Too much friction.

Threading posts should be possible after they’re published. Otherwise add’l posts look like any reply.

Added to my reading list is Tom Snyder’s On Tyranny. Rule number one: do not obey in advance because most of the power of authoritarianism is given freely. I’ll post other must-reads on my list timothysnyder.org/on-tyranny