So, our beloved 2011 truck died a few months ago, so in addition to moving to a new rental (yay deposits! Double rent!), we had to buy a new truck. We tried to get used, but couldn't get a bank to swing sub-24% interest rates. I now have a car payment higher than some people's mortgages :(

Friend: "This took me forever to write with ChatGPT and Claude!" The document: <reads like every other AI-based document produced. The choppy sentences. The "it's not, it's...". The hyperbole.> Do people really think they're creating world-class stuff? Are people "mind blind" to the sameness?

As someone who doesn't use generative AI tools at all... but who has to read and edit copy and content by those who use it... I'm convinced at this point that most people's cognitive skills have declined farther than they realize.

Are Democratic voters asking the party what their Project 2026 plan is if they win the House? What's the written plan and the timeline? What's the first thing a Dem House would do in jan 2027?

I really can't emphasize enough that if you care about local politics, all you gotta do is show up. Just a regular schmegular person showing up. Literally just show up consistently in person and within a remarkably short amount of time, you will have a shocking amount of influence.

The one thing I can talk about all day is apparently family law, and the need for lawyers to educate clients in their community BEFORE clients ever need to hire an attorney or go through a divorce. Better educated consumers = better educated clients

I'm ONE TERM away from graduating with my bachelor's and I CAN'T WAIT. I already have ~128 credits, and only need 5 more classes to graduate with my BA in Lib Studies with a Minor in HIstory. And then... 🤫

It is my sworn mission to do everything I can to make sure this doesn't keep happening. No more Lias, Nexs or Edens. My people are worth so much more than just being mourned.

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.

I think present-day politics makes a lot more sense if we acknowledge that constant interactions on social media can rapidly evolve someone’s perception of reality and their political beliefs, as they try to conform with the vast, unregulated, malformed parasocial mob

The advice my lawyer friends give everytime I'm wondering about the nonsense in my family law case:

Non-Democrats: Shouldn't the Democratic party try to fight, just a little. Democratic leadership and many of their voters: WE CAN'T DO THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE DON'T HAVE THE VOTES. lolololol

Pining for small town life? Buy from locals! When we all buy from each other, we all have work, money, and goods.

Remember, when you order something from Amazon, Jeff Bezos won't even notice the difference in his bank account. When you order something from an artist, you're helping them buy more art supplies, pay living expenses, or maybe even get a little treat.

The Hero: I'm on a quest to avenge the death of my Father! The Warrior: You have my sword! The Elf: And my bow! The Dwarf: And my ax! The Necromancer: And your father!

This is, incidentally, why Bloomington Indiana sucks so badly right now for tenants, workers (hello, Starbucks), etc:

Ken “good billionaires” Martin is on the job! Do you support universal healthcare yes/no should be an easy primary talking point for Democratic challengers next year 🥰 Folks are tired of being told to accept less by people who regularly give in to fascists the second they get pushback.

Forever my rant about politics right now. Like, it's not even GOOD fascism. It's just grift and marketing. Like, they can't even stop marketing themselves enough to govern properly.

…Oh. Oh no. Oh no nonono. …And yet: of course. "Gen AI" tells you the thing you are statistically most likely to accept so you keep using it— & research shows that most people who like "AI" like it *Because* it sycophantically tells them their ideas are great & should defs be implemented. So… Yeah.

Reminder: Almost every use case of generative AI, especially in the marketing sphere exists to solve the problem of having to hire humans to do something. Another reminder: prices WILL GO UP. Like every market which gets "disrupted," the ease you enjoy now WILL get enshittified. Don't be shocked.

"What kind of future are we leaving for our children" is no longer asked. Billionaires and their cronies have evolved into beings that can't think more than six months out. Nobody is building anything to last or endure. Kids today are raised in a world where humans are sacrificed eagerly for profit.

It’s so weird being a renter whose more permanent homeownership options are Off The Table because of this very issue when it’s the neighbors too entranced in the fantasy that My Value Can Only Go Up, There Will Be Someone Who Will Always Buy My Inflating Price

The most common mistake I see marketers make in their messaging? It's going after unaware audiences. I promise you, you'll make more sales if you push your messaging to problem-solution awareness, and try talking to your BEST buyer first.

The Govt of Venezuela has formally submitted a letter to OPEC claiming that the USA under Trump is attempting to seize their oil reserves through military force. This is criminal. It is another war as Americans starve. Dems need to demand GOP answer why they continue to stand by a fascist.

It’s wild that we thought the hip new futuristic invention was going to be flying cars when it turned out to be tech industry driven mass unemployment

Monthly reminder: Many people have a book in them, but it takes a special kind of freak to leave the Land of Laziness, cross the Plains of Procrastination and Insecurity Mountain, find the Blade of No One Made You Do This, and use it to cut your chest open and yank that book out.

I'm not sure what's normal in other states, but paying $100-$500 to a family lawyer for an hour for the luxury of being quoted $2k-$10k for a retainer is a WILD business practice to me. No way is this working except that legal consumers *have* to get attorneys in Indiana to avoid litigation abuse.

The dems are focused on "winning in 2026". They don't seem to realize that 2026 will be irrelevant if they don't forcefully stand up to the administration NOW. The party is still littered with types who think it's 1975.

BREAKING - IN House Republicans released this potential Congressional voting map, just 4 hrs before they begin session, that splits Marion County into FOUR districts. This new map is a blatant attempt to disenfranchise voters by diluting their votes, silencing the 40% of Democratic Hoosier voters.

What if there's more to business success than firing workers? What if these, what's the word, consumers?, play an important role?

Excited to welcome these fine folks to the panel for tomorrow's HoosLeft This Week. We're talking US news in the 1st half and Indiana in the 2nd hour. THE progressive Sunday show for the Hoosier state goes live at 10:30am on FB Live, YouTube, and at hoosleft.us

So, I live in Btown like a walk away from IU Bloomington. I rent. And I am gobsmacked that this town which is all like "let's preserve Bloomington character!" are doing NOTHING to curb the awful rent situation which WILL cause more local businesses to close. Let me break it down...

I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.

The death of browsing is part of the reason art is the way it is now. Our opinions are largely fed to us by algorithms. Spending a spare 15 minutes wandering around a bookstore or comic shop or video rental place was how you found stuff you wouldn't ordinarily pick up and thereby expanded your taste

Every time 🎶

We can't skip straight from a thoroughly propagandized, complicit, indoctrinated populace to a militant revolutionary people without practical steps & hope. We can't only say what's wrong because that makes some just give up. Just calling out things, unfortunately, can be counter-revolutionary.

You are not entitled for expecting your government to serve you as a citizen. It literally exists to provide for you the resources necessary for a functional life. That’s why it’s there- its entire purpose. You are not greedy for asking more from your government; it IS their half of the agreement.

Wrote a short thing about that 5-9 nonsense. gabinoiglesias.substack.com/p/your-9-5-i...

Impeach, convict, remove. And if our current leaders won’t do it, they need to step aside for people who will.

BREAKING: This is huge news, the EU's equivalent of the 🇺🇸Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling. 🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states. This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺

#FamilyLaw: One thing people don't talk about enough is that you need to go through the stages of grief not just for your marriage, but for the traumatic family law process itself. Until you process both, healthy and peaceful solutions will remain out of reach. Here's what that could look like:

We gave conservatism what they wanted and it's tanked the entire country. mayyyybe we can try something new? Maybe?

Maybe we need a government based on data, best practices, and public policy expertise rather than ~vibes~

If I can give you 1 thing that I have learned on my Lupus, cancer, chronic illness and pain and other medical journeys, it would be: we must always have hope. Even in the midst of the darkness and pain, when you are feeling alone and unable to speak because it hurts we must always find the light. 🙏💜

The policies of the last 50 years failed, & I think we have enough data to say that combining religion and politics, privatizing all the things, removing guardrails against monopolies and stock buybacks, de-investing from public works, warmonogering etc produced a demonstrably worse-off America.

When it comes to family law, you do NOT want your "day in court." Not only is it a very, every expensive gamble... there's no guarantee that you won't get a judge with emotional dysregulation who thinks that fighting parents should be punished.

For the newbies: Some actions that are not protesting or voting, that are still disruptive to would-be fascist regimes. docs.google.com/document/d/1...

I have a joke, and it's this: "all the kids are gay commies." But like... if you haven't talked to a Gen Z youth recently, you have NO idea how progressive and left-leaning this next generation already is and will be.

If a candidate is too cowardly to at *least* claim the Progressive label while running, they're going to be too cowardly to fight for our rights and well-being in office.