HEY I AM DOING A FUNDRAISER FOR MINNESOTA RENT FUNDS AND GIVING AWAY A SIGNED ARC (advance review copy) OF OBSTETRIX THAT'S RIGHT YOU CAN HELP MINNESOTA FAMILIES AND MAYBE GET A FREE EARLY SIGNED COPY OF MY BOOK

'measles outbreak at the child prison' seems entirely avoidable, it's really the kind of thing that only happens if you do several unthinkably evil things on purpose all at once

Signal is free

At Lk Nokomis in Minneapolis tonight for an ICE OUT event.

The group bike ride for Alex Pretti is about to depart in Minneapolis, stopping at his memorial, then Renee Good’s, and finishing at the VFW. If you can join, hop on anywhere. It’s a warm 17° & sunny! I’ve never seen this many cyclists for a group ride. ⚡️✊🏽⚡️🚲⚡️✊🏽⚡️ #RIPPretti

💚Mpls

Mercado Central says the cooperative is in danger of losing the building ☹️ gofund.me/cf76f8dcb

Those who make whistles impossible make vuvuzelas inevitable

Birmingham, UK, is answering this call. Saturday, 1 PM, Victoria Square. We ride in memory of Alex Pretti and against fascism. All welcome. Will you join us?

The people of Minnesota did that. Not Schumer and Jeffries, not Walz and Frey, not the standard-bearers of decorum. The People.

brass solidarity band performing “stand by me” in the streets of whittier next to alex pretti’s memorial. the crowd started chanting “the people united will never be defeated” so they incorporated it into the song. i love minneapolis

Looking forward to the day when we win hard enough to not need articles like “what are the paramilitaries spraying at you?: a helpful guide”

"ICE OUT" on Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis, as seen from my flight leaving MSP airport

One of my tasks this week has been compiling statements of small businesses who chose to close on Jan. 23 in solidarity with the General Strike. Here are my take-aways after reading more than 1000 of these statements from 79 cities and towns across Minnesota:

"Observer" feels too neutral for what people are doing in Minnesota. They are witnesses. They're consciously bearing witness to crimes against their neighbors. As witnesses, they are providing evidence to present and future governments that can prosecute crimes. They deserve witness protection.

Breathless reports on Twitter from Project Veritas & fellow creeps of infiltrating ICE watch signals. I thought, Oh, no, they found a couple of jackasses & are going to blow them up. But no, the "conspiracy" is that many people volunteer, take turns on shifts, and train at nonviolence.

“I live on a rural island in Alaska, reachable only by plane or boat. In our little town, 50 to 100 people stand outside each week at our town's roundabout to protest and hold vigil and stand in solidarity with you. We hold signs supporting Minnesota and demanding ICE Out.” Rachel, Alaska

MN protestors #protip put 2 Idaho Russets in the oven at 420 degrees for 45 min, take them out and foil wrap, 1 in each pocket before you go out. Theyll stay warm for 3-4 hours even in this weather and you can eat em when you like. They used to send us kids out like this back in the 70s trust me.

A lot of good businesses are closing on Friday to participate in the ICE Out General Strike. But make sure to support these places on the other days. A lost Friday is a tough thing for a restaurant or bar. Also use this as a barometer for the types of businesses you want to support.

MN ICE watch is measurably de-escalating violence. Attraction to ICE for newbies is social approval & group power. Now, larger group meets them with social censure. They're using more agents (taken from elsewhere) to conduct relatively fewer arrests, lowering abductions there & beyond.

It's day 45 of the ICE occupation of the Twin Cities. Today a 97 year old grandmother asked for supplies to help us pack whistles. There's a place for everyone in this movement. ICE OUT.

She strapped on her boiling pan

I can tell you this: By only attacking one city at a time, the Trump administration's effectiveness will degrade with each successive occupation. Activists, protesters and resisters are learning tactics every day and they're spreading ahead of federal agents.

I love North Minneapolis

The Somali community, which at least at one point was the excuse for this crackdown, are there because decades ago because Lutheran Social Services and other Minnesota charities invited them, welcomed them, supported them, making MN their refuge as it had been for their own ancestors.

The insult added to injury is that the most productive parts of the country are being forced to finance their own occupation and brutalization.

Why Minnesota? It's not merely the most horrific kind of ill-luck that delivered another caught on video state mandated murder. Minnesota represents a direct assault on the white nationalist narrative & thus claim to power. 🧵

Neighbors standing guard over churches so that parents can have secret meetings about how to keep daycares safe. This is what's happening in the Twin Cities right now.

Hey, if you don't know them yet, now is a really good time to walk down the street or hall, knock on your neighbor's door, and introduce yourself to them. Exchange contact info, check in, and you can even try the new greeting: fuck ice.

ICE observers in the Twin Cities are in need of dash cams to prevent further intimidation and frivolous claims. Cams are $110, memory cards $35, and ship to us directly via this wish list: www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/... If you've been looking for a way to help, we'd sure appreciate it!

600+ people still showed up for Legal Observers training in Minneapolis tonight. In addition to those currently on patrol. This minute. While the vigil is happening in South Mpls.

just asking the question. i may be answering it too.

Has anyone else seen groups of guys wearing mostly black with heavy back packs marching around Lake Phalen or other parts of the city?

Update

It's that time of year when Americans set up quaint, walkable Christmas villages in their living rooms, dreaming of living in such a cozy place. ​Meanwhile, they'll show up to city council meetings to fiercely oppose any plan that would actually build that kind of car-lite community in real life.

Biking on narrow cobbled streets toward the main library in downtown Utrecht, past people walking, other bikes and cargo bikes, it's easy to imagine the city of centuries ago, and the city that will be, a century from now. Bikes make sense.

One of my favorite follows on this site

"Italian fries" from Papillon's Pizza next to Shopko in Wausau. Cheese bread in Wisconsin is extra cheesy.

Still blooming

First time seeing the northern lights—right outside my front door!

Swans are back on Lake Phalen

There's a surprising number of people wearing kilts at the march.

Change is in the air

Mulberry leaves are so interesting

Just noticed all the street lights are working around Lake Phalen!

Solar energy and electric vehicle incentives took it on the chin in the Big, Beautiful Bill but geothermal remains a bright spot for cities and climate advocates. It’s catching on with these St. Paul churches, residences and Xcel’s new service center at The Heights www.twincities.com/2025/08/10/g...

Everyone should listen/read! Local action on forming parallel municipal renewable utility is inspiring, creative, and very grounded in economic and business realities. Also, Missy is awesome. Thanks to her whole team and the City of Ann Arbor for tackling this.

3/7 Pressure Local Officials to Block Cooperation Cities can: *Prohibit local police from assisting unmarked federal agents. *Deny federal agents access to local jails...surveillance infrastructure...or street-level intel. *Pass ordinances that restrict or penalize non-transparent policing.

Climate mitigation and adaptation measures are not costs. They are investments. The true costs occur when mitigation fails and adaptation is too slow so we suffer from continually worsening extreme weather events like heatwaves and floods. Invest now to reduce costs in future.

What fictional character could help us out of this mess?