Trumpers have a howling void of angry insecurity where a soul should be. Unchecked power tastes like ashes in their mouth because they thought when they got it everyone would be forced to like and admire them even though they’re irredeemable assholes. But people still treat them like assholes.

Could not agree more. I think more voters agree with the stated values of the left, but have been told the left hold different values and are scary Marxists. The trick is not to keep running away from those policies but explain them better and cut through the lies more effectively.

After Zohran encouraged me to put together a plan at one of our events I showed him this and have been continually updating it since. With 2 days to go, here it is, all in one place. miserplan.carrd.co

With MAGA controlling Washington, US cities would be wise to consider mundane mobility fixes they can pursue on their own. A great example: Denver’s recent “nationalization” of its sidewalks, with millions invested in improvements.

Impeach, Convict, Remove! On the anniversary of the January 6th Insurrection, we will publicly list the crimes and constitutional violations perpetrated against the American people by the Trump regime. Join us! For info about how you can help “Impeach Convict Remove”: freespeechforpeople.org

This message hits hard.

Colorado officials have dismissed the validity of Trump’s pardon, as Peters—whose arrest went viral across social platforms—was convicted of a state crime, where presidential pardons don’t apply.

I don’t know how I missed this, but every tech person should get this instinctively. What do we do when network traffic is overwhelming our systems? We block the source. Shouldn’t cities do the same?

This is WILD. Power goes out in San Francisco and the robot cars, needing the lights to "self" drive, all stop at once, blocking streets and emergency vehicles - which are needed more than ever in a black out! We knew AI causes power outages. Turns out it also makes them worse by being stupid.

What does it take to move 1000 people? Smart infrastructure supporting choices that don’t take up so much space (or produce so much emissions/pollution, cost so much public money etc). Mobility in cities is about space. Graphic via @seattlesubway.org based on a Sydney graphic I spread years ago.

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Bodleian Library Christmas, light in the dark.

Johnson running the House like Trump’s Duma reaches an expiration date.

Excellent news: from January 2027, British students will once again be able to take part in the EU’s Erasmus student exchange programme. This is something I have long campaigned for and is a huge win for London and our young people.

It’s simply not possible to overstate how important NCAR is to US and world science. We need to fight this with everything we’ve got.

I’m not even going to publish a copy of Trumps comments about Reiner and his wife. But occasionally he reminds me that he is simply one of the worst, most degenerate individuals who has ever existed in American public life. Hard to think of any more vicious, vile and sociopathic.

One argument I used to make to my students about why it was important to learn history (and historical thinking) is that someone was always going to be trying to tell you things were natural or had always been this way and that you needed to be able to see that as an exercise of power.

This is excellent 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

As Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis stated in 1933; “We can have democracy in this country or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of the few, but we cannot have both.” Today, at a time of unprecedented income & wealth inequality, his words ring truer than ever.

I happen to think that Rob Reiner had a much bigger cultural impact than Charlie Kirk did.

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Gun violence and traffic violence don’t need to exist. It’s devastating that these preventable deaths are so normalized here.

EU yields to pressure from automakers as it rethinks 2035 combustion car ban reut.rs/3MJPHB7

The Suffrage flag flew above Oxford Town Hall today, commemorating the anniversary of the passing of the Representation of the People Act 1918, the historic Act that empowered working women with the right to vote.

Give the guy a break, focus groups can only be assembled so fast!

Wait so the thing that happens everywhere congestion charges are introduced also happened here?

Never forget, car dependency isn’t freedom. Some might ask “what’s more free than cars?” Choices. Choices are more free than car dependency. It’s not a hard concept. I’m not pitting cars against any other single mode of transport. I’m rejecting design that creates dependency on just one mode.

Wonderful to see OLS go from strength to strength. Have a look at this must-read from @siobhannmansel.bsky.social www.oxfordshireliveablestreets.org/news/liveabl...

One of the most disturbing things about the U.S. government getting themselves into the anti-vaccine game is that it is a time-release poison pill. It will take a few years before the worst of the harm is visible to enough people that they will truly understand what has been done to them.

They're using the confinement box, one of the most horrific methods of CIA torture in the post-9/11 black sites, against migrants now. This is the direct result of the lack of consequences for the architects of the torture program. Either there will be criminal penalties for this or it will expand.

Oxford–Bristol direct trains could run every two hours as early as May 2026. GWR has submitted an application for seven round-trips each day, increasing to hourly (15 round-trips) in 2027. Trains would stop at Swindon, Chippenham and Bath, but not Didcot Parkway.

Stoked to have a new interview with Katie Wilson (no relation), Seattle's new mayor, Transit Riders Union co-founder, and living proof that bold vision for (and wonky obsession with) transportation reform can win elections.

Cycling around the coast of Britain back in 2011 was a life-changing trip that showed me you don’t need to travel halfway round the world to have an adventure. I wrote the book to inspire others to explore closer to home. You can buy a signed copy here 👇 docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

After this weekend's racist attacks on the EU, I've written a column about the moral obligation to stop posting on X. Oh no, wait, I wrote it *two years ago* when it was blatantly obvious what was going on and how it would get much much worse. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

car dependency is crippling the UK theconversation.com/how-the-uks-... "for the UK to be more like Singapore, the government needs to make motorists pay much more for their car use. To be more like the Netherlands, it must take away their space"

New London ferry can transport 100 people + bikes across the River Thames, linking Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf. share.google/zgQ5ltdX3iZI...

When it comes to driving many people seem to think making something a bit more difficult or even just having to pay for it is taking away "freedom" to do it.

Authoritarianism often begins with restrictions on who can enter a country, but it seldom stops there; constraints on who may leave typically follow.

Every time we visit people in a more suburban environment I’m reminded how much less active the lifestyle is. It’s not even the worst suburbs. There are sidewalks and some things nearby. Walking is mostly not dangerous. But it’s not a default or natural option. You have to force yourself out.

The Great Salt Lake took my top spot this year. More in my #SpotifyWrapped

Here’s my listening age, from my #SpotifyWrapped.

Meanwhile

Thames Water half-year profits leap to £386m after bills rose by nearly a third. Leaks and sewage dumping will continue for years. £20bn+debt. A third of the bill covers interest payments. Captive customers have no choice. End the scam. Nationalise water.

UK using more wood to make electricity than ever, Drax figures show. Drax burns wood, the most expensive electricity, biggest UK polluter. Drax is highly profitable. Received subsidies for years, will receive £458.6m a year between 2027 and 2031. Govt doesn't take any equity stake.

Time to admit the truth: Brexit has been an unmitigated economic failure, says The Telegraph. Brexit Effect: UK GDP down 8% Investment down 18% Productivity down 4% Employment down 4% Immigration not cut No trade benefits No regulatory freedom Why do some still vote for Farage? archive.ph/L2Gqp

My guess: more folks in USA heard "I am the sun and the air" relative to those in the UK.

Last week, ICE arrested and separated a father and son after a routine check-in. Six-year-old Yuanxin had just enrolled in the first grade at an elementary school in Astoria. Now he's in custody, alone. ICE won't say where. This cruelty serves no one. It must end.

Shaping the next five years: why you should care about the rather lacklustre third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy consultation - and what you can do about it lauralaker.substack.com/p/a-cycling-...