I keep being reminded of this question and answer: "What is the problem that AI services are being built to solve?" "Wages."

The Teapot Dome scandal involved $400,000 in 1923 dollars. Huge scandal, taught in every HS history book, almost the synonym for "corruption." In 2026 dollars, Teapot Dome was a hair under $8 *M*illion. With an M. Not a B. M. The scope of corruption under Trump 2--plus its nakedness--is epochal.

Photos of newly arrived immigrants at Ellis Island. Augustus Sherman took the photos between 1902 and 1920 when he worked as the Chief Registry Clerk. Striking to me how the outfits all look good because they have a discernible silhouette (shape and drape).

"Anti-Zionism is not antisemitism" is only a meaningful slogan if you actually do the work to keep the genuine bona fide antisemites out of the anti-Zionist political movement.

Needed Dem platform: - relentlessly prosecute every one of these MAGA criminals - Supreme Court reform - universal healthcare - universal education - make voting easier - un-gerrymander everything - act like you won the Civil War - make sure this bullshit can't happen again

Is it instructive to note who Republicans wish represented the Democratic Party?

If Tom Steyer really wanted to improve things - in California, the U.S., and the world in general - he'd take his billions of dollars and buy media outlets. Or start new ones. Hire great journalists, make all reporting free to access, operate at a loss, and shape public opinion.

"If all of the CA Democrats who voted for Katie Porter has fallen in line and voted for Steyer, then HE'D be on the ballot!" Yeah. And if all the supposed Progressives who voted for Steyer had voted for Porter - who had better policies and isn't a billionaire - then SHE'D be on the ballot.

Hauling out a Pride Flagg for June.

I know this isn't the point, but I used to see a comedian named Paige Weldon at open mics around L.A. I don't *think* she joined the military...

Hi! Hey there! Hi, yes. Union busting firms, like Fisher Phillips, like Littler Mendelson, deserve to be infamous and anathema unto seven generations. Let's make people ashamed to have so much as interned in places like these.

Gotta bring out the greats for Pride.

If you have a fire extinguisher with a plastic handle, check to make sure it's not part of this 2018 recall.

okay hear me out what if a co-op journalism outfit but it lets me pay them $50 more per year than whatever the premium thing is and in exchange I never ever receive an email from them and also every podcast that looks like an article but isn't is removed from the feed

"Dave, you just need to accept that you're not in line with mainstream political opinion." Yes. I'm aware. And yet, if every election went the way that I wanted it to, literally everybody's lives would be significantly better.

So, Calofornia's 32nd district just isn't going to have a good Congressperson until Brad Sherman retires, huh? Or, more likely, dies?

Hey, I just wrote about this a few days ago! Feels so obvious in retrospect. buttondown.com/paulconstant...

I've worked in Democratic digital comms for a long time and pay attention to campaign metrics across platforms. Increasingly I'm seeing Dems who crosspost on X, Bluesky, and Threads get better engagement on Bluesky even with far fewer followers. Here's @jamestalarico.bsky.social's clip last night:

It was basically a Steyer vs Porter race until Becerra entered as the “I’m the super corrupt establishment stooge that is supposed to become the governor that everybody hates within 2 months” candidate and 3 out of 10 Californian, given a full field of candidates, are like yep that’s my guy

I'm reminded of a way I once heard a road comic described- "'He's been doing stand-up for 20 years!' Has he? Or has he just done the same year 20 times?"

Name Recognition is a Hell of a drug...

Steyer is PISSED Y'all. He should have backed candidates with his message that are relatable non-billionaires. He still has that chance. Will he commit the same $200+ million to defeat republicans around the country? To flip the House and the Senate? Because otherwise: Performative

People vote how they want but I personally have given up on the idea of strategic voting. It is my right to vote for whomever I want so I'm going to vote for someone I want to lead. I might be more willing to back a candidate more likely to win but only if I think they are capable of leading.

Well, it looks like this will be another November where I vote for Useless because it's better than Evil.

we should tax David Zaslav until everyone who ever worked at Adult Swim has health care and lives indoors

Incredible! Scientists receive a rare standing ovation after announcing that a new treatment can double the survival time for pancreatic cancer, the deadliest cancer which was once considered “undruggable.” When we fund and support science, we can achieve anything! (Video: Dr. Wish Dhillon)

Saw this on FB. If you’ve ever enjoyed Aqua Teen, please help if you can. Someone who’s such an integral part of one of Adult Swim’s most beloved shows deserves much better than this.

you know what, its fine if Spielberg and Cameron and Scorsese and all those old directors wanna hype AI. they have made themselves irrelevant. we dont have to care about them anymore. the movies are gonna be what we make of it, and that’s exciting.

Hey if you're in San Francisco PLEASE VOTE TODAY. My polling place was empty just now, like not a soul voting. Turnout is forecast to be v low. There are important things on the ballot, including Prop D (yes!) and the governor race. San Francisco has a complacency problem. Please vote!!!

The “sources” are revealing this to paint the staff as pampered elites and not workers who deserve pay commensurate with what they bring in. Notice they don’t give a total budget $, or how it compares with the $67-$69 million the show gets in ad revenue? Variety is lowkey pathetic for running this.

Two things should be true in a democracy: 1. Being rich should not help you get elected. 2. Getting elected should not help you get rich. How’s your country doing on these criteria?

hey there — have you donated to a democratic campaign & the candidate you donated to did some uno reverse shit on policy stance incredibly important to you? and did you do it through actblue? well — good news:

Hey comics professionals! If you post about when the cut-off date is to pre-order your comic, but then DON'T also post when it's actually in stores and available to buy, you're doing it wrong. And, yeah, it's unfair that writers and artists are also expected to be press agents. But still...

It’s crucial we accept the inevitable dominance of AI generated entertainment and also the top 2 movies are the product of obsessive, idiosyncratic creative visions by functionally amateur weirdos, and I mean “weirdos” in the best possible way.

If billionaires are getting rich by ruining everything, then they should also have to pay for everything.

Now that we've honored Marilyn Monroe on her birthday, let's also remember that Hugh Hefner was an asshole who had himself interred next to Marilyn even though Marilyn had made it VERY clear that she would not have wanted that.

For California voters waiting till tomorrow to vote just know I went to a voting center across town. There were 12+ machines and 1 voter. Me. I went at 4:30pm the day before election day. Think about that as you wait in line tomorrow.

We live in a centrally planned economy but the planners are a handful of venal ghouls who hate the planet and those who live on it.

Some of those who work forces Are the same who burn crosses

When the Trump administration chooses to dismantle the system to monitor ocean currents, part of an ongoing attack on science and knowledge more generally by the federal government, I sure wish experts would not say this reflects a lack of understanding. It’s informed bad intent, not ignorance.

This is the message. Any Democrat willing to sacrifice trans folks—especially kids—will sacrifice anything.

In general, a good litmus test for a real candidacy is "do they have a broad and active social media presence + does their website list upcoming in-person events". Costello and LaFlamme are only really active on BlueSky. Neither is advertising in person events on their website. Ergo...

The United States is being gutted. It’s intentional. #krasnov

My friend Charlie got to help bring his dear, departed friend's book to publication. It's a fascinating look at one day in 1981, during an attempted coup in Spain. In Cleveland, it's at Hexagon Books on Lee Road across from the Cedar Lee. www.goodreads.com/book/show/24...

New rule, if you're a "how is diversity our strength???" dipshit you are not allowed to root for the team whose star player is an agnostic biracial frenchman representing a majority hispanic city bsky.app/profile/eric...

Get out and vote if you haven't already @chrisahuja.bsky.social for District 32 #La #Socal #California 😎

Leonard Nimoy's Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, written by Harve Bennett, was released 42 years ago today! This generous film gave us the Earth Spacedock, the USS Excelsior, the Klingon Bird-of-Prey, the Merchantman & the Oberth-class. 🖖

🎉🎉🎉Today is Unsubscribe From All Likely Losing Primary Candidates' Email* Lists Before They Sell Your Name To Pay Their Campaign Debts Day to all who celebrate. *=Texts, too. Srsly. It's not ActBlue who sells your name. It's the candidates and their consultants.

Air conditioning is unapologetically a good thing because it helps people not die. And one good thing about air conditioning is that it largely needs to run during the day when solar power is at its maximum: it can and should align with clean energy goals.

🚨 BREAKING: A federal appeals court has ruled, in a 2-1 decision, that the Trump-Hegseth transgender military ban is likely unconstitutional, finding that the policy appears to be driven by a “bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group” and is “both arbitrary and based upon animus.” 1/3