TPUSA set a trap. Cal fell in, I argue @mercurynews.com Like Pavlov's dogs salivating before they saw Alpo in the bowl, protesters were vandalizing before TP's event began. What students didn't realize? They were unwitting accomplices in GOP content strategy: www.mercurynews.com/2025/11/07/e...

San Jose wants to be the Capital of AI. The problem? The president's war on universities and immigration are sabotaging San Jose's (and America's) ambitions. My column for @mercurynews.com explains why:

San Jose says, “No kings!”

Cal Fire, state’s fire agency is greenwashing its industrial logging side hustle, while raising carbon emissions — and fire risk, argues environmental scientists and ex-senior Lawrence Livermore Lab researchers at @mercurynews.com and @eastbaytimes.com. Read:

Donald Trump’s obsession with genes fits into long, ugly tradition of presidents who consider immigrants inherently inferior, argues Claremont McKenna U.S. history professor John J. Pitney, Jr. in an op-ed @mercurynews.com and @eastbaytimes.com today. Read how: www.mercurynews.com/2025/08/27/o...

Trump's "ongoing efforts to combine access to the sensitive and personal information of Americans into a single searchable system with the help of shady companies should terrify us – and should inspire us to fight back," argues @eff.org's Cindy Cohn in today's @mercurynews.com and @eastbaytimes.com.

Look past the jets, the mansions and billions in the bank. Zuckerberg, Bezos, Pichai and Cook are becoming Trump's high-paid hostages. Be afraid. Their companies' lucrative levers of surveillance and persuasion are at the disposal of a criminal president. Read my op-ed @mercurynews.com:

Silicon Valley has a hostage crisis, I argue in today's @mercurynews.com and @eastbaytimes.com. After Trump threatened Zuckerberg with a lifetime prison sentence last year, the heads of Meta, Alphabet, Amazon and Apple are starting to resemble high-paid hostages. Be afraid. Read why ⬇️:

Citizens aren't safe. "Late last month the Supreme Court dropped its second bombshell: as a practical matter, it said, the government is free to deport U.S. citizens too." -- Stanford University Law's Mark Lemley in op-ed @mercurynews.com & @eastbaytimes.com Read full story ⬇️

"American democracy died last week, just shy of this country’s 249th birthday," argues @marklemley.bsky.social in a @mercurynews.com & @eastbaytimes.com op-ed today. 2 recent decisions by SCOTUS have removed the last remaining bulwarks against a lawless POTUS. Please read Mark's full argument ⬇️

San Jose: “No kings in the USA!”

San Jose says, “No kings.”

For now, L.A. is satiating Trump's sadism, I argue in today's @mercurynews.com. But he needs to sow more chaos to continue pushing the boundaries of military power over domestic politics. And that's where the Bay Area comes in. The question is: Will San Jose, Oakland & SF bite his bait of bile?

L.A. took Trump's bait. Will the Bay Area bite, too? For now, L.A. is satiating Trump's sadism & its chaos is helping justify expanding military power. But San Jose, Oakland & SF are in ICE's crosshairs, I argue @eastbaytimes.com and @mercurynews.com. www.mercurynews.com/2025/06/10/t...

“The wrong #ICE is melting.”

San Jose City Hall now: #iceprotests

@christiannaj.bsky.social did you ever do a follow-up to this piece? mashable.com/article/mark...

This sad trend continues. A clearly sick (gray?) whale is fighting for survival rn onshore at Montara State Beach, 8m north of Half Moon Bay. As reported by @eastbaytimes.com & @mercurynews.com , a suspiciously high number of whales are dying in Bay Area. My drone footage from this PM:

“Tackling homelessness has pit California against itself,” I argue today’s @mercurynews.com. 
“Mayors blame other mayors, who blame county supervisors, who blame mayors and the governor, who, in turn, blames mayors and supervisors.” Gov. Newsom must take charge: www.mercurynews.com/2025/05/31/t...

Bay Area universities used their autonomy and funding to make America great. U.S. military, economic and scientific hegemony was built by the minds trained at UC Berkeley and Stanford, I argue @mercurynews.com @eastbaytimes.com. But now, that's all at risk of falling apart...

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is paving California's road to hell, I argue in my column in today's @mercurynews.com. The insurance market is trying to send a message to Californians: Stop building in the most predictably flammable areas. But we don't want to learn new lessons... Link below:

Scenes (and signs) from today’s large, peaceful protest in downtown San Jose against Donald Trump and sending migrants without due process to Salvadoran gulags:

A large protest against Trump, particularly focused on the illegal deportation of migrants to Salvador’s gulag, is winding its way through downtown San Jose right now.

Republicans are waging war against colleges b/c education is an existential threat to their party & policies. Last year, in a syndicated column for McClatchy, I explained GOP’s higher ed hate. Please read to understand the sinister (but logical) reason underlying GOP higher ed hate:

Christmas came early this year for the criminals in the Kremlin: On her first day in office as Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi ended task force to seize assets of Putin’s inner circle, per Reuters. First day priority? Interesting. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Neither the #PalisadesFire nor #EatonFire was visible from the westside of Los Angeles Tuesday morning. Photo taken 9:45 at 380 MSL #dronephotography #wildfire

Los Angeles, 11AM today, 400 feet MSL #palisadesfire #eatonfire #dronephotography #panorama

@kurtandersen.bsky.social late to party but loving Fantasyland. I find myself literally laughing out loud every few pages. Question: Did George Ritzer’s (neo-Weberian) Enchanting a Disenchanted World inspire/influence you?