"Those of us who believe in liberty and dignity, goodness and generosity, must never give in to the forces arrayed against the things we hold dearest. The battle can be exhausting, but it is a battle to which we are called by conscience and by love of country." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

“He promised things that Europeans take for granted, but Americans are told are impossible,” said the Dutch environmentalist and former government adviser Alexander Verbeek in the wake of Tuesday’s election. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

I love this for them bsky.app/profile/kfil...

Stunning sunset tonight in Taipei

The amount of times I had to blink reading these sentences and then reading the news story bsky.app/profile/nyti...

Seeing 黃皮 MAGA 川粉 Taiwan conservatives crash out over Zohran Mamdani and Michelle Wu, while failing to understand the best parts of quality of life in Taiwan like 全民健保, our national healthcare system that ranks among the best in the world, is a cornerstone of social democracy.

"As Reed sees it, it’s all connected. Washington’s failings on social media led to an uptick in everything from online bullying to an increase in digital sex trafficking. Washington failing on AI would mean undercutting the very foundations of American life." www.politico.com/news/magazin...

Overjoyed for when I move back to NYC next year bsky.app/profile/zohr...

I was talking about Mamdani to a German friend after the primary and explaining people freaking out. The response: "What Americans think is a communism is just a nice community in Europe." bsky.app/profile/jeff...

It's time for the millennial era in governance. We have to be a caretaker generation bsky.app/profile/fact...

A sneak peek at the cover of next week’s issue, which celebrates Zohran Mamdani’s historic win. #NewYorkerCovers https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/451hFM

I Love New York

Wow it turns out the entire country is not permanently reactionary because Trump won an election by 1.5%

Early this morning, our city still plunged into darkness, I set off to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. As the sun came up, we were joined by canvassers, labor leaders, elected officials, and working people — a movement to bring a new day to our city. Tomorrow, we win it together.

"Seeing other people act makes it less frightening to join in protest. Even more important is an unspoken principle my conversations with these Israelis reminded me of: To be a good citizen of a bad state, one has to do scary things." www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/o...

This is the stuff I miss about America: "These days, it seems that clubs are out, and Filipino grocery stores are in. All you need are comfortable shoes, an appetite for street food and a brave friend to join you in the line dance when a Tita beckons." www.kqed.org/arts/1398311...

Dodgers! 😀

The lack of action on poor road safety and political dysfunction it represents is one the most depressing parts about Taiwan. Deadlock caused by political polarization and dark money is a global issue, but Taiwan's lack of care and will around road safety feels particular. bsky.app/profile/ryan...

Gorden absolutely nailed it here (in a way that the front office has not). #woso #nwsl #ACFC

Apparently White people don't have a concept or community of aunties and uncles. It kind of makes me sad and explains a lot about the loneliness epidemic in America. newrepublic.com/post/202350/...

Just cancelled my Spotify premium. They need to stop running fascist ads for ICE. #cancelspotify

I did not expect this wonderful feel good story today to grace my doomscrolling: 'That sense of urgency in the hospital “charges you up,” Ferguson added. “And that was one of the first places I experienced that feeling again outside of football.”' www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/w...

I wrote a bit about the contradiction of English language discussions by foreigners that praise great quality of life Taiwan (the good things are true) coexisting with the reality of a cruel labor market that causes talented people to leave. bessiefromsgv.substack.com/p/why-do-peo...

Sitting at this old timey cafe today, Cafe Astoria, doing some personal writing and feeling gratitude to be one droplet in the ocean of stories here. The haunt of Taiwan's literary giants and the aspirational youth of a different time, including my parents. www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...

Democrats have been outperforming in elections since last Nov, in both Blue and Red States. Let's keep up the momentum for this Nov! My UOCAVA (Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act) @demsabroad.bsky.social absentee ballot abroad was already counted for NYC. Drop off your ballots!

I feel like Zohran Mamdani is intentionally letting himself be filmed eating rice with his hands because it triggers people and gets views. My man is a master of media.

Little treat myself Sunday

My latest in War on the Rocks. Catherine Kish and I argue that Taiwan has deep reserves of societal resilience and will to fight. Politics holds back efforts to deepen these reserves, but the United States can help. #TWSky

This is bizarre from where I sit in the region and having worked with Chinese companies. The view of the Chinese economy is very bleak because the Chinese-speaking world is more aware of young people with master's degrees delivering food and the malaise. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/b...

"How GenAI really changes the game, especially when it comes to propaganda, lies in its Efficiency Gains: the speed at which it can multiply, test, remix, and reinforce narratives until they feel inevitable." vickiewang.substack.com/p/generative...

“It is important to demonstrate that authoritarian gains are not permanent. That liberal society has the will to undo their grotesqueries. Demolishing the Trump ballroom and restoring the East Wing will be symbolic. But symbolism matters to authoritarians.” www.thebulwark.com/p/we-will-te...

One of the saddest things about Taiwan is how terribly it treats workers. This whole saga is a reflection of how awful Taiwanese corporate culture is. Refusing to pay workers living wages, overworking them, and incompetence. It's not a surprise the birthrate is so low. www.bbc.com/news/article...

"The EU has been learning the hard way that control over infrastructure and political self-determination are inseparable—a lesson rich in historical irony for a continent more accustomed to exercising power over others than being subject to it." www.techpolicy.press/building-dig...

Unions continue to take a stand against EVA management, in the wake of the death of a flight attendant denied medical leave www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/...

"Taipei’s strategic relevance to Seoul’s own national security is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore." www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/taiwan-and-s...

This Amazon outage is another warning we're ceding too much to too few companies. It's creating systemic fragility/dangerous dependency. This scenario is what antitrust advocates warn about: when one player becomes so dominant that their failure becomes everyone's problem.

Today's Amazon outage should be a wakeup call. We've put too many internet eggs into a single basket.

I think this moment of people feeling nervous about something and doing it anyway could prove quite liberating and profound

Glad to see Americans at home and abroad saying No Kings. I appreciate all the work groups like @indivisible.org @50501movement.bsky.social @demsabroad.bsky.social and countless others have been doing.

My UOCAVA (Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act) absentee ballot abroad was counted for @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social @demsabroad.bsky.social Let's win this!!

Finished @amandalitman.bsky.social's book When We're in Charge. Amanda Litman is who Sheryl Sandberg pretended to be.

Happy National Day Taiwan. 雙十節快樂 🇹🇼 A reminder that so much of the world, even places that claim to have free speech, caves to CCP pressure to erase our existence to not display our flag at everything from sporting events to even private businesses they send their thugs to.

The youths running Taipei's undefeated coffee scene are wild

This is why the work of groups like @demsabroad.bsky.social are so important www.npr.org/2025/10/08/n...

Pope Leo to Young People: Get Off Your Damn Phone — And Promote Peace www.thelettersfromleo.com/p/pope-leo-t...

This outfit looks like it was bought on Amazon Prime Day bsky.app/profile/chri...

Taipei tea shops are a vibe

There are a lot of people online constantly criticizing protests from in the comfort of their couch on their phone as useless. I encourage people to go out, touch some grass, and be with others. www.npr.org/transcripts/...