Sam Greenlee
LightNews LightNews
samgreenlee.bsky.social
Sam Greenlee
@samgreenlee.bsky.social
420 followers 1K following 140 posts
Sacramento-based.
Interested in food justice, farmers' markets, inclusive economic development, gardening, policy. Views expressed here are simply my own.
Posts Replies Media Videos
samgreenlee.bsky.social
Drive like your shark kids live here.
A plastic sign shaped like a child meant to alert cars to slow down. Someone has used a Sharpie to draw in a mouth full of sharp teeth.
April 4, 2025 at 4:48 PM
samgreenlee.bsky.social
Name a more iconic duo.
A large rhubarb plant growing next to a small strawberry plant.
April 1, 2025 at 9:47 PM
samgreenlee.bsky.social
As a connoisseur of odd Citizen app headlines, this one is among the best.
"Report of person with pipe bitten by dog during fight"
February 7, 2025 at 9:24 PM
samgreenlee.bsky.social
The @nytimes.com reports that Democratic leadership has no coherent message in opposing Trump. I'm no political strategist but I have some ideas.
Screenshot of New York Times Facebook post saying that more than 50 interviews with Democratic leadership revealed a party that is struggling to define what it stands for. I am no political strategist, but if I were them, I think you'd need to go beyond mere resistance to lay out a popular positive platform. It seems to me that they would be best served by proposing and passing good, strong meat-and-potatoes bills in their chamber, laying out what it would look like if they could actually get their bills made into law. These would include things like: - universal healthcare, and emphasize how freeing people from the constraints of employer health insurance will allow more people to take entrepreneurial risks - federal paid parental leave - redirecting funds out of the ever-growing defense budget into housing, healthcare, and mental health programs for veterans - policies to assist small family farms that would also help more people to become small farmers (e.g. low-interest loans on purchasing farmland for farms of 10 acres or less, crop insurance for non-staple crops and for polyculture farms, preferential contracts for small farmers to supply government programs with food) - policies that make it easier for municipalities to create their own public utility companies (including internet) so that fewer communities are beholden to for-profit utility monopolies - policies that mandate that any future federal stimulus funds addressing a recession must be disbursed directly to citizens rather than to banks or corporations (imagine the bail-out money for US auto manufacturers going out in the form of credits for Americans to buy American-made cars rather than giving the funds to Ford or Chrysler directly) - plans for substantially reducing the cost of college - plans to help people afford trade school - policies that provide very-local communities with veto power over environmentally-destructive practices near them (e.g. fracking operations, mountaintop removal mining, etc.) - a carbon tax (the revenue from which is VERY CLEARLY distributed as a tax credit to American citizens) - a trade policy that uses tariffs to penalize tra… I am no political strategist, but if I were them, I think you'd need to go beyond mere resistance to lay out a popular positive platform. It seems to me that they would be best served by proposing and passing good, strong meat-and-potatoes bills in their chamber, laying out what it would look like if they could actually get their bills made into law. These would include things like: - universal healthcare, and emphasize how freeing people from the constraints of employer health insurance will allow more people to take entrepreneurial risks - federal paid parental leave - redirecting funds out of the ever-growing defense budget into housing, healthcare, and mental health programs for veterans - policies to assist small family farms that would also help more people to become small farmers (e.g. low-interest loans on purchasing farmland for farms of 10 acres or less, crop insurance for non-staple crops and for polyculture farms, preferential contracts for small farmers to supply government programs with food) - policies that make it easier for municipalities to create their own public utility companies (including internet) so that fewer communities are beholden to for-profit utility monopolies - policies that mandate that any future federal stimulus funds addressing a recession must be disbursed directly to citizens rather than to banks or corporations (imagine the bail-out money for US auto manufacturers going out in the form of credits for Americans to buy American-made cars rather than giving the funds to Ford or Chrysler directly) - plans for substantially reducing the cost of college - plans to help people afford trade school - policies that provide very-local communities with veto power over environmentally-destructive practices near them (e.g. fracking operations, mountaintop removal mining, etc.) - a carbon tax (the revenue from which is VERY CLEARLY distributed as a tax credit to American citizens) - a trade policy that uses tariffs to penalize tra… I am no political strategist, but if I were them, I think you'd need to go beyond mere resistance to lay out a popular positive platform. It seems to me that they would be best served by proposing and passing good, strong meat-and-potatoes bills in their chamber, laying out what it would look like if they could actually get their bills made into law. These would include things like: - universal healthcare, and emphasize how freeing people from the constraints of employer health insurance will allow more people to take entrepreneurial risks - federal paid parental leave - redirecting funds out of the ever-growing defense budget into housing, healthcare, and mental health programs for veterans - policies to assist small family farms that would also help more people to become small farmers (e.g. low-interest loans on purchasing farmland for farms of 10 acres or less, crop insurance for non-staple crops and for polyculture farms, preferential contracts for small farmers to supply government programs with food) - policies that make it easier for municipalities to create their own public utility companies (including internet) so that fewer communities are beholden to for-profit utility monopolies - policies that mandate that any future federal stimulus funds addressing a recession must be disbursed directly to citizens rather than to banks or corporations (imagine the bail-out money for US auto manufacturers going out in the form of credits for Americans to buy American-made cars rather than giving the funds to Ford or Chrysler directly) - plans for substantially reducing the cost of college - plans to help people afford trade school - policies that provide very-local communities with veto power over environmentally-destructive practices near them (e.g. fracking operations, mountaintop removal mining, etc.) - a carbon tax (the revenue from which is VERY CLEARLY distributed as a tax credit to American citizens) - a trade policy that uses tariffs to penalize tra…
February 2, 2025 at 11:49 PM
samgreenlee.bsky.social
Asking for input from anyone for our Alchemist Public Market project. Text limitations are a frustration so I'm adding screenshots with alt text. The first comment below will have a link to the Alchemist Public Market project if you want more info.
Asking for input from anyone: Many of you know that we are building Alchemist Public Market (opening in 2026, link for more info in the first comment). One of its many purposes is to be a safe and welcoming community gathering space for a broad range of people. This includes people of all ages: babies, toddlers, young children, older kids, tweens, teens, young adults, middle adults, older adults. I am listing these not because you don't know what "all ages" means but because I want to get across that it's not just generically for everyone ("all are welcome") but that it is thoughtfully created to be of real value to these various stages. We've tried to incorporate as much of this into the design for the actual built environment of the space as we can, but there are real limitations to on what you can do with limited space and funds, so much of this will depend on the space being flexible activated with events/programming and movable items that can be set out for use and stored when not in use. Obviously we have to take into account the risk of theft and damage and replacement cost, the potential risk to other patrons (probably won't be encouraging kids to use skateboards on the property even though we'll encourage getting there by skateboard), cleanliness and maintenance, etc. With that said, I think brainstorming is best when people don't feel limited so don't hesitate to share ideas that might be questionable. My request for anyone reading this is: what are objects/items that you think are great to be able to deploy to activate a space for specific age groups? These don't have to be things that are always out (for instance, more items for toddlers might come out in the morning, more teen/tween items on a weekday afternoon, etc.) I'll give some examples below: - copies of the day's newspaper for adults - a rolling cart of children's books - different books and magazines for all ages - table top chess sets and board games - big foam blocks for kids - sporting g… Asking for input from anyone: Many of you know that we are building Alchemist Public Market (opening in 2026, link for more info in the first comment). One of its many purposes is to be a safe and welcoming community gathering space for a broad range of people. This includes people of all ages: babies, toddlers, young children, older kids, tweens, teens, young adults, middle adults, older adults. I am listing these not because you don't know what "all ages" means but because I want to get across that it's not just generically for everyone ("all are welcome") but that it is thoughtfully created to be of real value to these various stages. We've tried to incorporate as much of this into the design for the actual built environment of the space as we can, but there are real limitations on what you can do with limited space and funds, so much of this will depend on the space being flexible activated with events/programming and movable items that can be set out for use and stored when not in use. Obviously we have to take into account the risk of theft and damage and replacement cost, the potential risk to other patrons (probably won't be encouraging kids to use skateboards on the property even though we'll encourage getting there by skateboard), cleanliness and maintenance, etc. With that said, I think brainstorming is best when people don't feel limited so don't hesitate to share ideas that might be questionable. My request for anyone reading this is: what are objects/items that you think are great to be able to deploy to activate a space for specific age groups? These don't have to be things that are always out (for instance, more items for toddlers might come out in the morning, more teen/tween items on a weekday afternoon, etc.) I'll give some examples below: - copies of the day's newspaper for adults - a rolling cart of children's books - different books and magazines for all ages - table top chess sets and board games - big foam blocks for kids - sporting good…
February 1, 2025 at 8:41 PM
samgreenlee.bsky.social
I'm curious as to whether maintenance issues at Disneyland indicate a decline in the corporate culture. Overall the park is clean as ever, but we not only encountered several broken animatronics but saw simpler issues like a broken orb held by the snake in Jungle Cruise, clearly showing its bulbs.
A nonfunctioning Buzz Lightyear animatronic.
January 28, 2025 at 2:09 AM
samgreenlee.bsky.social
Unethical Marketplace sellers trying to capitalize on the death of David Lynch.
A photo of a Marketplace listing for two chairs upholstered with blue velvet that is titled, "Blue velvet chairs. $150)
January 18, 2025 at 10:07 PM
samgreenlee.bsky.social
Lenten rose.
A dusty pink Lenten rose with yellow stamen.
January 18, 2025 at 7:52 PM
samgreenlee.bsky.social
It's been a while since any Marvel movie has really piqued my interest (I still eventually watch them all) but this is a great poster.
A promotional poster for Captain America Brave New World.
January 18, 2025 at 7:49 PM
samgreenlee.bsky.social
Help me with a fun, informal three-part poll:

1. Out of which of these mugs will your coffee taste best?
2. If the mug could be any color, what color mug would make the coffee taste best?
3. How do you take your coffee?
A table with photographs of 24 different styles of coffee mug shapes, all in the color white.
January 15, 2025 at 5:49 AM
samgreenlee.bsky.social
The Konami Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game wants to remind you "Winners don't do drugs."
A Konami Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade cabinet game displaying a blue screen with the FBI logo and a message reading: "Winners don't do drugs."
January 6, 2025 at 12:10 AM
samgreenlee.bsky.social
Looking ahead, this is my prediction of what the new year holds.
A calendar showing every date of 2025, broken out by month.
December 31, 2024 at 4:43 PM
samgreenlee.bsky.social
I've listened to and read many pieces on the decline and enshittification of Facebook, but many of the flaws haven't been highlighted. This is one: a post about a tragic car accident has eight scammers commenting claiming to have links to video footage. Facebook could easily detect and block these.
A screenshot of multiple commenters on Facebook posting scam comments claiming to have footage of a car accident. A screenshot of multiple commenters on Facebook posting scam comments claiming to have footage of a car accident.
December 19, 2024 at 3:34 AM
samgreenlee.bsky.social
"Shame at our own dependence on the underpaid labor of others. When someone works for less pay than she can live on-when she goes hungry so that you can eat more cheaply and conveniently-then she has made a great sacrifice for you."

- Barbara Ehrenreich
"Shame at our own dependence on the underpaid labor of others. When someone works for less pay than she can live on -- when she goes hungry so that you can eat more cheaply and conveniently -- then she has made a great sacrifice for you. The working poor are the major philanthropists of our society." - Barbara Ehrenreich in Nickle and Dimed
December 4, 2024 at 3:24 AM
samgreenlee.bsky.social
"When wealth is passed off as merit, bad luck is seen as bad bad character. This is how ideologues justify punishing the sick and the poor. But poverty is neither a crime nor a character flaw. Stigmatize those who let people die, not those who struggle to live."
- Sarah Kendzior
"When wealth is passed off as merit, bad luck is seen as bad bad character. This is how ideologues justify punishing the sick and the poor. But poverty is neither a crime nor a character flaw. Stigmatize those who let people die, not those who struggle to live." - Sarah Kendzior
November 29, 2024 at 5:32 PM
samgreenlee.bsky.social
If you haven't spent much time around children lately, you may not know that the #1 item on their holiday wishlist this year is a book about HVAC technicians.
A social media ad from Facebook, posted by the Air Conditioning Contractors of America for a children's book called "The Air Came to a Stop". The ad says: "Looking for the perfect holiday gift for the kid in your life? Introducing 'The Air Came to a Stop," the best children's book that teaches kids about clean air and unsung HVACR heroes." The book cover appears to show a child celebrating that a giraffe and beaver have fixed the thermostat outside of a bathroom.
November 24, 2024 at 5:55 AM
samgreenlee.bsky.social
Oh, to be a record store cat, admired by the passerby.
Two children looking at a white cat resting on a cushion through a storefront window.
November 24, 2024 at 12:51 AM
samgreenlee.bsky.social
You probably need to see Mittens the one-eyed wonder kitten pretending to be a jaguar stalking the tree-tops of the Yucatan.
November 19, 2024 at 10:13 PM
samgreenlee.bsky.social
For context, these three were all in my feed before I wrote this.
November 18, 2024 at 3:47 AM