Kirsten Nelson

Sadly, this is relevant again. Wrote this a year ago…
www.fastcompany.com/91190716/im-...

Mayor Bass: This morning, it was frightening in Los Angeles to see tanks essentially rolling into MacArthur Park.

It was an egregious show of force. I have no idea what their purpose was. I don’t even think they detained anyone.

Los Angeles was peaceful before June 5. We need to go back to that.

Here in California we need our state and local leaders to tell us exactly what our rights are when we are confronted with armed masked men claiming they have the authority to disappear our fellow citizens. Now.

Please do! Set it right on your nightstand so it’s within that arm’s reach when the reading bug calls 💚

gentle intimate and evocative (!!) are stunning descriptors of this journey on the page so far. Highly recommend finding it when you’re able 🌳💧⛰️

Cover of the latest book by Sarah Kendzior entitled THE LAST AMERICAN ROAD TRIP

When you catch your breath & tears flow & you’ve only finished the Intro…
I love road trips. I grew up on them (a midwestern gal myself). My daughter and I have taken summer trips since she was 11.
@sarahkendzior.bsky.social speaks to my ❤️ of finding curiosity and empathy in this landscape I adore.

An Onion front page with the headline: Congress, Now More Than Ever, Our Nation Needs Your Cowardice Who will stand up for our democracy? This question, fraught in even the most peaceful times, has only grown more pressing as our country approaches its 250th anniversary. Each passing day brings growing assaults on essential liberties like freedom of speech and due process. Meanwhile, our delicately assembled legal system faces a constant barrage of threats. Even as this issue reaches publication, the U.S. military has been deployed against peaceful protesters. We teeter on the brink of collapse into an authoritarian state. That is why, today, The Onion calls upon our lawmakers to sit back and do absolutely nothing. Members of Congress, now more than ever, our nation desperately needs your cowardice. Our republic is a birthright, an exceedingly rare treasure passed down from generation to generation of Americans. It was gained through hard years of bloody resistance and can too easily be lost. Our Founding Fathers, in their abundant wisdom, understood that all it would take was men and women of little courage sitting in the corridors of power and taking zero action as this precious inheritance was stripped away—and that is where we have finally arrived. Now is not the time for bravery or valor! This is the time for protecting your own hide and lining your pocket. Now is not the time for listening to your idiotic constituents drone on about what’s happening to their precious democracy. This is the time for getting down on all fours and grov- eling. Now is not the time to say, “Enough is enough,” and have the tough conversations about resisting the ongoing assaults on American liberty. This is the time to let the wave of apathy and indifference roll over you as you think about getting a really nice renovation to your house in Kalorama. But what can I, one coward, do alone? you might ask.

Donald Trump just unilaterally bombed Iran. A masked gang is terrorizing our streets. America has rapidly devolved into an authoritarian state.

That's why, today, The Onion has purchased a full page ad in today's New York Times with a simple plea to Congress:

Sit back and do absolutely nothing.

I know this can sound kind of silly at a time like this, but doing a war without congressional authorization is ample grounds for impeachment

At some point we're going to have to stop asking "when is (insert name) going to step up and say he's gone to far" and realize that maybe they are ok with the president's actions. We must realize that no one is going to swoop in and "save" us, it has to be us... we the people.

Good morning

LOS ANGELES CIVIL UNREST SCALE 1992 RIOTS TRADER JOE'S SILVERLAKE PARKING HOLLYWOOD BOWL INTERSECTION AFTER A CONCERT XMAS WEEK HOLIDAY SHOPPING AT GLENDALE GALLERIA LAKERS/DODGERS CHAMPIONSHIPS CURRENT LEVEL AND WEATHER 68 AND FAIR, AND ABOLISH ICE

The disparity btwn what’s actually happening in Los Angeles and the way it’s being mischaracterized is one of the biggest stress tests of modern media in recent memory. Botted socials, AI, old clips, declining literacy—it’s like seeing a broken emergency response system hit by a storm.

Cries of Defiance and Songs of Joy in Los Angeles The protesters are being called unspeakably violent by the Trump administration. I mostly saw clergy sit-ins and Tejano bands.

This took a while to get done, but I've chronicled my day among the protesters in Los Angeles, and the idea that this is anything but a celebration of cultural heritage and a firm, nonviolent demand to protect family, friends and neighbors is totally ridiculous.
prospect.org/justice/crie...

Trump doesn’t need to send in the Marines.

I think just one cop would work. And maybe a construction worker. Plus a leather biker guy. And

Los Angeles Unified School District
Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho didn't hold back when expressing his anger and "contempt" after agents with Homeland Security attempted to gain access to two elementary schools earlier this week.

not the main issue here but i'd really appreciate it if democratic politicians spoke out in support of big-city life and culture with the same energy and reverence that all politicians have for small towns

los angeles is "real america" and so are all the other big cities the president hates

ICE crossed a line in LA

A statement from Kamala D. Harris: Los Angeles is my home. And like so many Americans, I am appalled at what we are witnessing on the streets of our city. Deploying the National Guard is a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos. In addition to the recent ICE raids in Southern California and across our nation, it is part of the Trump Administration’s cruel, calculated agenda to spread panic and division. This Administration’s actions are not about public safety —they’re about stoking fear. Fear of a community demanding dignity and due process. Protest is a powerful tool — essential in the fight for justice. And as the LAPD, Mayor, and Governor have noted, demonstrations in defense of our immigrant neighbors have been overwhelmingly peaceful. I continue to support the millions of Americans who are standing up to protect our most fundamental rights and freedoms.

My statement on what's unfolding in Los Angeles.

Hello. I live in Los Angeles. The president is lying.

GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK.

Thank you for this informative and beautiful post. ❤️

Everybody romanticizing about the heyday of American manufacturing needs to carefully listen to one (1) Bruce Springsteen song.

Word of the day is ‘quiddler’ (18th century): one who focuses on unimportant issues while avoiding the important ones, or who fiddles/plays golf while Rome burns.

Cory Booker just gave the longest speech in the history of Congress and concluded by apologizing to everyone who had to stay up all night keeping the chamber open and operating.

It’s been a minute since I’ve had good strong proud tears stream down my face from watching a leader. And yes we WATCHED. This isn’t left or right, this is right or wrong. Thank you for taking up the torch and making good trouble, @booker.senate.gov. Thank you.

Sooooooo ICYMI imma be in Philly in two weekends!! #PsychODelphia is nigh! April 12-13! Join me (oh sure, and OTHERS…) and let’s have a chat and share stories and memories but most importantly let’s make new ones. Tickets avail at JourneyEvents.com MUAH!

Incidentally, Kirkus listed it as one its best middle grade books of 2022!

FFS Do. Not.

This. 🤦🏼‍♀️This is EXACTLY what the villain does in my DARLING husband’s middle-grade book published in 2022. I like to call him the modern-day Cassandra… but here we are. www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wild-ride-...

I am convinced you cannot grow as a person without making yourself vulnerable first

Empathy and curiosity.
Where did we lose them?
Where did we veer and believe those ideals to be our enemies?

Can I suggest to be vulnerable?

Yea it’s fucking scary. But put yourself out there. Release a part of your comfort in order to embrace something new.