Snow has gone from inconvenient while pretty to disgusting, gag-inducing - just nasty. Someone turn up the heat!

After shoveling snow for hours yesterday, a new obstacle got between me and my notes this morning. I will overcome such tribulations and record my next lecture!! /s

I can’t believe it’s already been a year since Trump threatened to invade Greenland. What a wild decade that was - the longest 50 years of my life. Next millennium is sure to be better.

Early to rise. Easy to distract.

I’m officially a cardholder at the Library of Congress! (Anyone can do this, but I’m still excited)

I have the ABCs song stuck in my head. Yes, the children’s song to teach the alphabet. What in the actual hell. This is awful. lol.

We’re resting up! Recording a new lecture tomorrow that will cover areas of American History spanning 1787 to 2000 — wonder how many hours it will be…

“Wikipedia is a problem” Meanwhile, Britannica:

I love what I do. I hate what I do. So what do I do?

Don’t fall in love with politicians. It is your task as a citizen to be skeptical, hold officials to account, to not be drawn into cults of personality. And if your first thought is, “well my guy/gal is actually authentic and out there for the people.” -No, damnit. I’m talking to you specifically.

YouTube comments say I look like: Shane Gillis Seth Rogan Trotsky The kid from two and half men Danny McBride

The Presidency is a huge job with an overwhelming number of tasks. There might be success in one area and failure in others. If you can’t hold those ideas simultaneously you’re going to drive yourself crazy. Don’t twist in knots. Enjoy the moment of peace after years of bloodshed. Hope it holds.

AI is making me a paranoid researcher. I used to prioritize the newest articles, books, etc. But in the last year I’ve begun to prioritize pre-2022 sources to avoid AI pollution of information. It’s sad.

She had strong opinions on Chinese vs. Soviet Marxism-Leninism, so interrupted my latest recording. I let her take the mic, naturally.

Going live this afternoon with Mr. Beat! @iammrbeat.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYZm...

This @theonion.com headline from 2009 wasn’t so far off the mark.

This Sunday at 1pm PST, join @williamcfox.bsky.social and I for a discussion about whether presidential power only expands, or can it retracts - live on Twitch and YouTube

Out in my city with DC’s violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals.

The high in Dallas today is 103, and I just drank hot coffee outside. In other words, I am the Lisan al Gaib, god emperor of Arrakis

There should be a plant-based meat call “Phony Bologna” - just sayin’

The only one smiling in the street is the politician currently in charge. “El unico que sonrie en la calle es el politico de turno” 🎼

They’re trying to build a prison. They’re trying to build a prison. They’re trying to build a prison. For you and me. Oh baby,

It’s worth a watch, even if YT robot doesn’t think so.

The only thing those two men have in common is a postal address.

Today I learned Teddy Roosevelt was a hustle bro grind-trepreneur influencer.

Didn’t have an American Pope on my 2025 bingo card.

I’m usually ok at resisting climate doomerism - I take my individual actions and acknowledge the problem is not mine alone. And yet, occasionally I’ll come across footage of polar bears…and it just breaks me, sick to the stomach. Rationalization be damned, it simply sucks.

It’s amazing to me how desperate the dissenting members of the Supreme Court are to make their branch of government subservient to the Executive. Republican members of Congress are acting this way too, letting the President blow up statutes THEY CREATED. Partisanship > Separation of powers

Mr. Churchill, why don’t you say ‘thank you’!?

We know it was a mutilation of truth, an attempt to murder optimism and dance on its remains while surviving family watches - to break spirits - to make moral devastation great again. To that we reflect the message of lonely, near-silent monoliths: “We were here.” open.substack.com/pub/williamc...

I hereby grant you permission to tune out of current events to recharge. If you feel a day is enough, take a day. If you feel strongly you can’t take any time away, take a week ;) No, really. Unless there is action awaiting you, you’re allowed rest. We need you whole and healthy.

So much more to say, but we cannot pass over the Alternative für Deutschland, AfD’s 2nd place finish tonight, well above three mainstream parties. Given the CDU won’t work with them to form a government, they are going to be the formal opposition in the Bundestag for potentially the next four years.

German Elections are today! here are things to watch for: What % did the CDU and Merz achieve, 29%? 33%? A larger number will mean an easier coalition afterwards. An easier coalition means needing only a single party to join as junior partner to form a government.

Simple solution to bird flu: abolish factory farming. They’re packed in so tight their beaks have to be chopped so they don’t peck each other to death. Is it any wonder disease spreads?

There are two ways to look at what’s happening right now: (1) panic every time Trump bulldozes power for himself in the executive branch (2) imagine what to do with the new presidential powers. The presidency doesn’t get smaller, so what will we build with it? open.substack.com/pub/williamc...

I touched on my own struggles with an eating disorder in this piece. I do it so others feel they can speak openly and seek help too. The vid ended up a dud on YT. I’m still proud of the writing and research. I think you’ll learn something if you give it a chance. -Will youtu.be/BD1sSgQA94U?...

My helper during video recordings.

Catch me and @iammrbeat.bsky.social on Feb 19! doleinstitute.org/event/exactl...

Meditation. Easy to dismiss as wellness, but hear me out. A lot of therapy, like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) takes from ancient meditation practice. When a therapist helps you break thought patterns, they’re emulating what you might get from a mindfulness session of watching thoughts.

That’s fine and all, but I feel like this is part of why no one reads. Don’t add productivity tasks on top of your reading. Just friggin read.

Awful English language coverage of Germany’s immigration vote. Everyone from the @bbcbreaking-bot.bsky.social to the @nytimes.com left out HOW the measure failed in the Bundestag, WHO changed their votes from Wed to Fri. Answer: abstentions in CDU and new abstentions/votes against from FDP.

One of my challenges when reading is being able to ‘read to read’, rather than ‘reading to finish’ (section, chapter, book). It places my mind in the future when I’ve finished the task of reading, rather than in the present where the content resides.

Behind every headline about expensive eggs is another ignored about millions upon millions of birds slowly killed by having the air cut off until they suffocate/overheat.

This essay will beg you to keep your TV off on Monday for Donald Trump’s second inauguration. But this isn't about 'normalizing Trump' or whatever - it’s not about him! Watching any inauguration of anyone, anytime is detrimental - better to tune it out.

She likes to look at snow.

I’ve seen this circulating a lot. Feels like an outdated critique of the libertarian vibes of the 2010 tea party. Republicans are in their nationalist era. This meme needs an update.

“That’s why I lived to 82 and could terrorize more.” -Mao Zedong

Idk, man. reading and writing = literacy. And they are wonderful gifts that shouldn’t be undersold as outdated.

Nasty history, but interesting. See it in the pic? Even when meeting President Reagan, Chairman Deng Xiaoping kept his ‘spittoon’ bucket nearby. Deng was a heavy smoker and spat in all circumstances, regardless of etiquette. Footage in Great Hall of The People in Beijing, China on April 1984