I picked up "A Real Emergency" by former SFFD paramedic Joanna Sokol and this early passage has me in some deep thinking. We invented a system of professional emergency response that's never before existed, and now we're on the verge of dismantling it for scrap value.

Yes, that's why I have spent my life in service to our public lands, why I work with tribes to ensure their stories are told for generations to come, that we will honor and remember Indigenous leaders like Elizabeth Peratrovich - a hero of the struggle for Alaska Native civil rights.

Somehow I stumbled into the corner of Bluesky that's full of Sephiroth-posting cosplay revolutionaries talking about how you can't vote out fascism and America must "stop existing" and yet who are not, in fact, in command of their own regiments or even companies of a revolutionary army.

Sure, but they are *less low* than they have been in the past. Movement in a positive direction should be something we celebrate, right?

Oh OK, so I just got blocked for pointing out that fully 65% of Americans own their homes and that this means "tenant unions" aren't going to be a functional organizing principle outside a few major cities. homeownership is a serious problem for the left, but sure, just pretend it doesn't exist.

Look at all the board-feet you can get from this fucker! Surely this will be a profitable and successful venture!

Springfield (MO), I am in you. Stealing a precious few days with Clayton.

You could eliminate the entire defense budget and not even cover what Medicare alone costs.

Because I love the way my Mazda drives, handles, and looks, I drive gravel roads enough that ground clearance matters - and I'm willing and able to pay more to get more.

Ah yes, I am an "establishment Dem dead-ender" who happens to be a dues-paying DSA member, a career public servant, and supports socializing or collectivizing much of the economy. Yes, you got it, there are a lot of low-information voters and WE HAVE TO EDUCATE THEM FIRST.

The fundamental reality: America collects 30% less taxes than European nations or Canada - 25% of GDP vs. 35% or more. Every other OECD nation has a VAT. We cannot pay for Medicare for All by taxing billionaires. We all have to pay more. Lying about it will not win a democratic socialist majority.

Yep. These are huge numbers. I'm not saying we shouldn't do it - I am obviously in favor of Medicare for All. But it has to be paid for, and we have an electorate of whom significant chunks were bought off by promises of "no taxes on tips" and "no taxes on overtime".

anonymized screenshot for context

My mom bought one of the 4,275 Z4 M Coupes ever built! She even went to Spartanburg to pick it up from the factory. She'll drive it until her left foot falls off.

Today was pretty awesome - got to bring ten wildland firefighters into Lehman Caves for my first Grand Palace Tour in two years (with the new cave lights!), hiked up to Stella Lake, and capped it off with a 487 Grill burger at sunset.

I mean, if you want to be a nihilist, knock yourself out. In the meantime, I and others are going to appeal to our nation's cherished traditions of welcoming the oppressed and crushing reactionaries.

A morning spent preparing for the Fourth - by posting a bunch of No Parking signs in places we don't want people to park. Like, in front of our "Parking Ahead" sign.

fuck yeah Hoover Dam modernism

stolen from Facebook and posted without comment except, lmao

oh they blocked me lol did we "displace" a Black person when my mom (a Teamster produce buyer working for a Safeway warehouse) bought a home in inner-city Richmond in 1986? was it bad that I was a working-class white kid growing up in a multi-racial, multi-ethnic community?

like, it was nice to live in a brand-new building, don't get me wrong, but hardly "luxury."

not all new apartments getting built are "luxury" apartments, anyway. there are plenty of mid-range places, like the one I rented from brand-new when I lived in Rapid City, SD.

I mean, I just saw Rush play a double-set 24-song 3-hour concert and they didn't even scratch the surface, sooooo...

I don't think a lot of non-Californians understand how insane Proposition 13 is. 1% cap on ad valorem, properties aren't reassessed until they're sold, and you can literally inherit property valuations.

What team do you root for? I'm on Team Googly-Eyed Thunderbird.

it is not, in fact, difficult to clearly denounce the evil and genocidal actions of the government of a state without proposing that there is something inherently evil about the ethnic group which makes up a majority of that state.

ok uh if you're mentioning this trash in any context other than a specific discourse about antisemitic propaganda, you do not belong on the left, you belong in the sewer with the rest of the CHUDs.

12th-fastest laptime of the day on the F1 Vegas sims? Don't mind if I do.

The cocktails are... Vegas-priced, I'm afraid.

What do they do with the Las Vegas Grand Prix garage building the rest of the year? Turn it into an indoor/outdoor karting facility, natch.