Firsk.bsky.social
@firsk
Sailor, entrepreneur (electronic instrumentation), designer, woodworker, boat builder, potter. Pacific Northwest resident, outdoorsy, classical liberal. Parent of an adult trans child. Date from the final days of the Truman administration.
Seattle suburbs just at the north tip of Lake Washington here- had a wildlife resurgence over the last 2 decades. We have had a mama bobcat raise kittens around our property the last 3 years- four bob-kittens this year! Deer are a constant presence (had to fence the garden).
Sums it up. A uniquely disastrous and incompetent President. Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/21/o...
A powerful essay on the depths of the moral crisis we are in- is is so very different from Germany in the 1930's? What will the judgement be? A Time of Moral Reckoning open.substack.com/pub/davidrot...
There has to be accountability if our institutions are to rebuild. We have an administration basically operating as a criminal enterprise. This M. Gessen piece lays out the process in Hungary- it's worth reading as a potential example. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/29/o...
From Paul Krugman. Great background and context for the awful Bezos interview. And a valuable chart. Bezos, Backlash and Zombies open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...
An effective refutation of the phony "centrists vs. progressives" or "left vs. right" debate within Democratic circles.
From Mike Lofgren, a wise essay on "where do we go from here". He quotes Canadian Psychologist Robert Altemeyer’s work, which I read a decade ago and which is very relevant now. www.salon.com/2026/05/18/r...
Excellent reporting on the massively increased cost of energy and Trump's obsessions with oil and coal. And the price Americans are paying. Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/o...
This is a great recap of recent years of US-Iran relations, all of which I'm old enough to clearly remember. Including the NYT headline from 2000, wondering what to do with the budget surplus after two Democratic terms. What We Don't Know, Can Kill Us: Part 3. open.substack.com/pub/fallows/...
I'm very critical of NYT for their sane-washing and both-sidesing, but they also do outstanding deep reporting of the incalculable evil in this administration. This is an example. Gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Great discussion: Transcript: Trump War Tirade Backfires as GOP Panics: “What the Hell?” newrepublic.com/article/2085... via @newrepublic.com
1000X what they say in this conversation, worth reading. Transcript: Donald Trump’s Presidency Is in Free Fall newrepublic.com/article/2084... via @newrepublic.com
Bothell, WA, population about 48K. Thousands present, noticeably larger than the last protest. 100's of cars passing, honking, waving, thumbs up.
The Trump family as sees themselves as peers in a global collection of authoritarian criminal leaders, a global mob. Putin, MBS, Trump, Xi, all have their territories. Trump is the figurehead. Kushner is operations. The US military is enforcement. #PrinceHarming: open.substack.com/pub/gregolea...
Childhood diseases have life altering consequences. Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/o...
The plan: The Regime Just Entered Its Most Dangerous Phase open.substack.com/pub/cmarmita...
This is right. They are very wrong. Donald Trump’s Presidency Is in Free Fall newrepublic.com/article/2074... via @newrepublic.com
Important background and perspective on the current situation, from a reporter with decades of experience. The Arrogance of Ignorance. open.substack.com/pub/fallows/...
He's telling people to expect the unthinkable, be prepared, and don't let the authoritarians defeat us. His goal is to tell us we hold the power. From the article, an excerpt from On Tyranny:
Cruelty, incompetence, and contempt for the law. Good summary from Joyce Vance. No More Benefit Of The Doubt open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
Thoughtful, valuable perspective tomorrow Tim Snyder. The Oligarchical Corridor open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p...
Is the US military being used as a mercenary force to pay off & do the dirty work for those who have enriched Trump and his family? The organized crime model always seems to fit. Cabinet Apocalypse open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p...
Worth reading. "And that’s how a tweet from a sketchy right-wing pink slime website gets laundered into conventional political wisdom." spinclass.substack.com/p/spin-class...
This is a god interview: Transcript: Trump Press Sec Goes Off Rails on Fox amid New ICE Horror newrepublic.com/article/2066... via @newrepublic.com
American Democracy Will Not Die in Darkness open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...
Hey, journalists. Let’s start calling things what they are. The ICE / CBP campaign isn’t immigration enforcement, it’s ethnic cleansing. The real story in Minnesota is not “protest”, it’s a community protecting each other in ways that are often invisible. newrepublic.com/article/2057...
A way thing may turn out better: Now with ALT text. Three Significant Military Powers on the European Continent?: Muscovy 'Rus, But Also an "Inner Europe" and the "Viking Alliance" open.substack.com/pub/braddelo...
A great, clear explanation of what is truly going wrong with tariffs and deportations, and why they won't ever bring back manufacturing jobs. MAGA’s Manly Manufacturing Misfire open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...
Robinson Jeffers has always been my lodestar as a poet. I grew up and came of age in his town, wandering and walking on his coast, his granddaughter was a classmate. I'm finding his vision fitting for these times. From Cawdor: