The U.S. Digital Service was one of the Crown Jewels of the US government. DOGE killed it, and now they’re claiming credit for inventing something that’s similar, but worse. www.techdirt.com/2025/12/23/t...

The ProPublica story on the DOJ attacks on the University of California includes details I hadn’t seen before www.propublica.org/article/ucla...

This story on Rainbow Families Action and trans health care organizing feels so much like histories of ACT UP and early AIDS activist movements www.berkeleyside.org/2025/12/22/t...

Barbara Lubin was a hero www.kqed.org/news/1206757...

I am saddened to hear of the passing of Betty Reid Soskin, a legendary East Bay resident who was the oldest National Park ranger, retiring at age 100. Based at Richmond's Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front, Ms. Betty helped bring history to life, inspiring generations.

Is “92%” Trump’s favorite fake number? www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...

“it was the apolitical influencers who had the largest impact on survey and behavioral outcomes of their audience—three times more persuasive than political influencers per video focusing on politics or policy.” www.wired.com/story/the-mo...

“the BBC only showed the documentary in the UK…The complaint tries to get around this by—I shit you not—claiming that because VPN usage is up in Florida, it likely means people are using VPNs in Florida to appear to be in the UK in order to watch BBC streams that are geo-locked”

Thank you to the Python Software Foundation for refusing the poison pill

Even after expressing shock that Trump absolved the man who stole from him, “Rosenberg, the retiree from Nevada, said he still supports the president” www.latimes.com/politics/sto...

The East Bay continues to stand strong with immigrants and oppose ICE opening a jail in Dublin! Stay involved - sign up at actionnetwork.org/petitions/ic...

You know things are bad when you need to pull out this argument: “McGovern said. ‘At least George Bush had the decency to come to Congress for approval in 2002. Don’t the American people deserve that respect today?’” theintercept.com/2025/12/17/v...

This is how the Trump censorship regime works, one victim organization at a time www.propublica.org/article/dele...

It’s amazing how much critical environmental work is happening in local communities. Check out some of the projects mentioned here www.no-burn.org/gaia-awards-...

I hate to say it, but as a reader, this sounds genuinely helpful www.pcmag.com/news/kindles...

“Women at Carswell describe missed treatments, poor education for patients, dialysis machines that break down mid-treatment or that lacked enough clean water, and other routine problems.” www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/16/w...

“People who achieved remission from prediabetes had a 58 percent lower risk of cardiovascular death or hospitalization for heart failure” indiawest.com/reversing-pr...

A deep dive into the aftermath of San Jose, CA traffic violence on a Desi immigrant and her family: “We pray for her to come back to normal every day. Police say it’s a normal case. The man driving was not arrested and the police say it’s a civil case not criminal.” indicanews.com/father-of-in...

Hey Bay Area urbanist or anti-traffic-violence friends, Can you please share this in your communities? Ethnic media sometimes doesn’t get seen in our networks, but this deep dive into a recent tragedy deserves more attention.

Donald Trump has instructed the entire FBI to prioritize finding ways to bring charges against anti-fascists and other activists. Any FBI agent who wants to advance his career now has an incentive to set up naïve kids for an entrapment case. Please read about entrapment and how to protect yourself.

“They needed less than $20 million to fund lifesaving health programs, including cholera response efforts, for three months at the beginning of the year — an eighth of what Trump recently approved to buy private jets for one cabinet secretary and just 3% of USAID’s budget in South Sudan last year.”

A deep dive into the aftermath of San Jose, CA traffic violence on a Desi immigrant and her family: “We pray for her to come back to normal every day. Police say it’s a normal case. The man driving was not arrested and the police say it’s a civil case not criminal.” indicanews.com/father-of-in...

“Australians are abandoning travel to the US, and boycotting World Cup matches there next year, as the Trump administration flags new rules that will soon require visitors to hand over their social media history when applying to enter the country.” www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

“A senior Democratic senator is calling for an investigation into potential insider trading by fossil-fuel billionaires close to the Trump administration, after…an unusual share buying spree.” www.theguardian.com/business/202...

This is a terrible decision in the deepest of blue states www.berkeleyside.org/2025/12/09/p...

“…reportedly attempted to start a fire. When confronted by employees, 42-year-old Vikram threw a wine bottle and fled in a Tesla — crashing into two parked cars…a resident of Menlo Park, then drove his Tesla off the embankment” indicanews.com/indian-origi...

In what universe should the Tesla be allowed to go this fast? "According to preliminary findings, Dholaria was driving the Tesla westbound at more than 150 mph before it struck the passenger side of the Bronco."

Monsters www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...

“Early in Trump 2.0’s war on immigrants, San Diego’s Bishop Michael Pham discovered that ICE was less likely to engage in mass arrests of immigrants when clergy members were present. So he decided that clergy would go to the courthouse every day…” www.thenation.com/article/acti...

This is a good time to make a donation to Just Detention International. There’s going to be a ton of work needed in the years ahead. prismreports.org/2025/12/04/p...

"It’s hard not to take personally this week’s overturning of the Biden Administration’s CAFE standards, and their replacement with standards that will, if finalized, reduce the projected average miles per gallon of the fleet from over 50 MPG to 34.5." legal-planet.org/2025/12/05/s...

"'Grandma came here as an illegal immigrant,' Brittney reminded her mother, referring to Gloria’s mother. 'But she made sure to make herself legal.' 'ICE doesn’t care about that — they would’ve netted Grandma.'" www.latimes.com/california/s...

"Researchers say this latest poll by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research, released to CalMatters this week, also reflects waning support, even among a small majority of Republicans for the harshest immigration enforcement practices." calmatters.org/justice/2025...

"…the launch of an online portal where anyone can report potentially unlawful activity in California by federal law enforcement, including officers or agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration…"

"It’s not every day a video codec wins an Emmy. But yesterday, the Television Academy honored the AV1 specification with a Technology & Engineering Emmy Award, recognizing its impact on how the world delivers video content." blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/a...

“Signature Aviation would provide services such as stairs, fuel and ramp space for the [ICE] planes. Benson said that after he starting publicly posting photos, Signature Aviation then began to use trucks without their logo.” unicornriot.ninja/2025/documen...

"The State Department said consular officers will now review applicants’ online presence…'To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for H-1B and their dependents (H-4), F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas are instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to public.…"

Updating my assumptions: if a ChatGPT prompt is about 5 seconds of Netflix, then we probably need to be worrying more about water footprint, and much less about electric footprint simonwillison.net/2025/Nov/29/...

"'You hear of the phrase ‘the fox guarding the henhouse,’' said Bill Caram, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust, an advocacy group. 'What we’re worrying about in this situation is the fox designing the henhouse.'" usa.streetsblog.org/2025/12/01/i...

"News reports, lawyers, Democratic lawmakers and immigration rights activists have identified dozens of cases of pregnant, postpartum, and nursing individuals who have been detained and whose health has suffered as a result. But the total amount remains unknown" rewirenewsgroup.com/2025/12/03/h...

"'Librarians out in our branches are seeing a lot of young people who are really excited by these collections,' Langlais told 404 Media. 'Folks who are coming in just for the games are picking up program flyers and coming back for something like that.'" www.404media.co/the-last-vid...

"So she has gone back to ChatGPT for new diagnostic suggestions and dietary advice, some of which she has found helpful. 'I know it’s sensitive information,' she said. 'But I also feel like I’m not getting any answers from anywhere else.'" www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/w...

"…because patriarchy and social norms have encoded modesty, shame, and fear so deeply that even in mortal danger, the social gaze feels more threatening than the ground trembling beneath their feet." globalvoices.org/2025/12/03/s...

"The states with the most solar, including California and Texas, are already wasting about 10 percent of their solar energy. But utilities and regulators have done little to set electricity prices lower during the day." www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...

NEWS: The Institute of Museum & Library Services has restored ALL previously canceled federal grants to libraries, following a ruling by a federal judge in Rhode Island last month. This is a massive win for libraries & communities in every state & territory! Learn more: www.ala.org/news/2025/12...

"The Trump administration plans to condition global health assistance on foreign countries sharing significant amounts of health data with the United States, including on abortion, according to a template for an aid agreement obtained by The Intercept." theintercept.com/2025/12/01/p...

Starting Dec 10, most Bay Area transit transfers will be free for two hours. If you take AC Transit to BART then transfer to Muni, your fare today is $9.10. With Clipper 2, the free AC and Muni transfers mean your fare will be just $3.90 1/

"According to ABC23 of the nearly 200,000 visa-holding truck drivers, only 10,000 will keep their licenses. In California, 40% of truckers are believed to be Sikh or Indian. 20% nationwide are from those two communities. Many from this community believe they are unfairly being targeted"

Chatbot logs are incredibly intimate. They deserve the strongest possible protection. www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

"'That’s absolutely false,' one USDA source says of reporting that DOGE has disbanded. 'They are in fact burrowed into the agencies like ticks.'" www.wired.com/story/what-i...