Today’s Editor’s Pick is 'Art Problems: Should I Sell My Work to People Whose Politics I Hate?' by @paddyjohnson.bsky.social for @hyperallergic.com. Johnson argues that individual artists can find ways to sell their work without compromising their values.

Humane wisdom from @paddyjohnson.bsky.social

This is a bullshit story from start to finish yet it’s the top story on the NYTimes? Why?

I don’t think anyone is prepared for what they just did w/ ICE. This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined. It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.

It’s worth noting that the French Resistance contained within its ranks everyone from monarchists to communists, and they HAD to find a way to hang together in the face of the Nazis.

anil isn't kidding. this level of transparency and detail — talking to voters like adults — is remarkable. i would imagine it also helps people feel like they are part of something bigger. and, christ, mamdani is insanely charismatic and good on screen. like, you just want to watch him talk!

Finally, an election evening that doesn’t end in despair!

Minimal press presence at yesterday’s No Kings protest. No helicopters. No video cameras. It’s been covered but you see 1000x more coverage for far less consequential events - marathons immediately coming to mind.

Hoping David Hogg starts a new political party.

Billionaires are consolidating around Cuomo because they know he will preserve the broken status quo. New Yorkers are rallying behind our campaign because they're ready for change. In two weeks, we will shock the political establishment and win a city we can all afford.

I really wish the NYTimes could figure out the are cities outside of New York with an art scene worth exploring beyond Detroit.

Time to drop the really big bomb: The White House doesn't have the authority to fire leaders at the Smithsonian. Have a nice day, DJT! www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Citrus isn’t what this image conjures.

A crazy Florida man story gets the Times treatment. “Sheriff Judd also said that Mr. Schulz had a lengthy criminal history, which he described as “meth arrest, meth arrest, meth arrest, meth arrest, meth arrest.” www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/u...

This article by @fredbenenson on why AI produces over-engineered code is worth a read even for the non-nerds because you get an understanding of where all these needlessly long answers come from. fredbenenson.medium.com/the-perverse...

Spent the day editing artist statements. Two takeaways: 1. A.I. won’t save you time. You just spend it on prompts. 2. A.I. can fix your grammar but it can’t fill in what you don’t tell it. It won’t connect aesthetic decisions with intent unless draw the connections yourself.

“If it doesn’t matter in five years, it doesn’t matter.” Cher

@caseynewton.bsky.social and @kevinmkruse.bsky.social please make @pjvogt.bsky.social a permanent guest on Group Chat Chat.

Terrifying

I guess this is an actual debate point over LLM use? It’s developed new strains of antibiotics for use on drug-resistant infections but sure. Let’s never forget that it’s a terrible editor.

The turnout tonight for @aoc.bsky.social & @sanders.senate.gov was insane. We posted up on the street outside cuz the line was 3mi long! A ray of light in discouraging times.

“Losing real GDP is bad, but it’s much less important than losing our soul. As it happens, however, we seem to be on track to do both.” Paul Krugman, on point as usual.

For my US friends.💝

“The combination of interest rates soaring amid a slump and the currency plunging despite rising interest rates isn’t what we normally see for advanced countries. It is what we often see in emerging-market economies. That is, investors have started treating the US like a third-world economy.” PK

The house is on fire and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is saying he doesn’t see anything unusual. How about the plummeting bond market? Nothing is going to be left of this country if these guys remain in charge.

💀

Major media should stop treating the rally as victory. The bond markets almost collapsed which would have been a catastrophe and China’s tariffs will mean skyrocketing costs across the board. But sure, if you stop hitting your head with a hammer you’ll feel better.

ChatGPT generated its first usable image for me. It required editing after the fact but this feels like a milestone, maybe?

You may be fearing your 401k is no longer enough for you to retire. But with all the cuts to NIH and Medicare you also won't live as long. So the policies are integrated.

Why is book design so awful? I get that book covers need to look good on an Amazon screen but there’s all kinds of mobile design in other industries that looks great. In the book world it’s all giant hideous fonts and clip art backgrounds.

What is it going to take to get Thomas Friedman to retire?

Basically crimes are legal if A) they are the same kind of crimes the Trump family does and B) the judge or prosecutor is a Democrat, or C) you pay a bribe to the president. This is not an exaggeration. www.latimes.com/california/s...

“Jeremy” by Pearl Jam.

This tweet “Is a reminder that AI companies mainly care about image-generation bc it can make new versions of their models go viral, spurring more people to sign up for their services. Art, is first and foremost a tool for customer acquisition to Silicon Valley.” @timschneider.bsky.social

Once the poison is injected no part of the body is unaffected. #darkness

A humble proposal: Ban the word “complex” from all art writing. It doesn’t tell a reader anything they can’t decide for themselves. While I’m at it: if the word “powerful” shows up in an artist statement, I know an AI wrote it. It’s equally meaningless and lifted from gendered tech writing.

I can’t believe this guy is still the minority leader. Schumer is talking about “the court of public opinion” as a way to stop Trump. “The people will have to rise up,” Schumer says, “if democracy is at risk.” He doesn’t get it. There’s nobody less equipped to defend us right now.

Nothing escapes the Trump reality distortion field. newrepublic.com/article/1922...

Let’s do the US next

please remember to use alt text so that keyword filtering catches your screenshots of matt yglesias, who i am actively trying to know less about

DONT BELIEVE IT: Okay moments like this it’s totally fog of war. Not only ‘you don’t know what they really think’ but ‘THEY may not know what they really think’. But I’m picking up enough to tell me that this statement from Schumer may not be on the level.

zomg especially new yorkers call your f'ing senators who are leading this absolute disaster, tell them no cloture, no cr

I did this yesterday and today.

Several others have aptly summarized this. Republicans now get a number where they can call Elon and ask for the law to be followed for things that were cut but which they want back. So Elon is in charge of federal spending. And you can go to him hat in hand.

People investing in volatility options are going to make a lot of money when the stock market opens this morning. The crash is coming.

Every Dem should be doing this right now. What we’re experiencing now is that political capital is for. If you can’t burn your political capital when the opposition is trying to destroy everything that upholds a liberal democracy, what are you waiting for?

Somehow, someway, this president has to be removed. I recognize the Dems don’t have the power to do this but is anyone even talking about the necessity? Because this is fucking dire.

It’s this and more. Embarrassment and fear. I had nightmares all last night.

We covered tonight’s protest at the Brooklyn Museum with reporting by @valentinadl.bsky.social & @isafarfan.bsky.social (I took photos)

From the undead wing of the Democratic Party. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/o...