A Few Words About Duty Responsibility and Choice In a Time of War

I've been seeing some comments that seem to imply that the National Guard has a duty to disobey orders. These comments have been giving me some feelings. I drafted a couple of long FB posts about it, then wrote on Substack instead. So here's that.

immortalityproject.substack.com/p/a-few-word...

That's definitely my handwriting. Hell, it was my typing, before spellcheck. My spelling on Notes? Almost as bad as my 17-year-old reasoning.

Dear Washington State... Regarding Trump’s Appalling Budget Bill

Republicans are trying to destroy the country and turn the West Coast into a colony. I have some suggestions for how that might be avoided. Lots of links and infographics. I make tax reform sound fun.

open.substack.com/pub/immortal...

Hear Me Out: What Trump is Doing to Harvard Is Good News What's Good for the Goose is Bad for America

I wrote a short thing about the virtues of the imperial presidency, and why red states are actually red.

open.substack.com/pub/immortal...

SALT in the Wound This is One of Those Times When a Plan Would Be Nice

I wrote a very short thing about why Democrats should probably care more about the debate around SALT tax policy than we do.

open.substack.com/pub/immortal...

Free Markets, Expensive Nazis A Few of the Reasons You Might Not Have a Job, or Even a Country, in Ten Years

I wrote a thing about how the collapse of the established order is inevitable if we don’t reform it. Fun fun fun! And yes, that’s Verbal Kint, from the Usual Suspects. Well spotted.

A Few Thoughts About Artificial General Intelligence UBI, Enclosure, and the Owned World

I wrote an essay about artificial general intelligence, how it’s coming for your job; how we’ve been here before and it went badly, and how we should do something different this time.

immortalityproject.substack.com/p/a-few-thou...

Republicans Ruin Everything A Brief Discussion of Field Preemption, and Hypocrisy

I wrote a short thing about Republicans using the Clean Air Act to stop states from protecting clean air. Which is an actual thing that's actually happening, and is not a joke.

immortalityproject.substack.com/p/republican...

The Four Stupid Things of the Apocalypse This is the Antediluvian Period of American History

A while back I looked at how a job at the University of Washington stacked up against average rents in Seattle. The answer was bad. So I looked again this week. The answer was worse. I wrote a little thing about that.

She's Ukrainian. She was 12 when the USSR broke up, so maybe she can be forgiven for defaulting to "guilty until proven innocent." Though maybe one could reasonably expect the opposite, given she went from there to here. I don't know.

I Have Questions The Far Left Shouldn't Be the Conscience of the Center

immortalityproject.substack.com/p/i-have-que...

Sure. I'm always prepared to be just totally wrong about this stuff. It's all IMHO.

Huh. You know... one of these days, man. One of these days.

They Go Low, We Step Up A Modest Proposal for Actually Doing Something

I wrote another thing -- a modest proposal for actually doing something. If you like it, tell your friends.

immortalityproject.substack.com/p/they-go-lo...

Chuck Schumer, Jaws, and the Kintner Raft of Normalcy It's All Right There, Man

I wrote a little thing about Chuck Schumer that is also mainly about the awesome movie Jaws, and how it's universally applicable to almost everything.

immortalityproject.substack.com/p/chuck-schu...

That's your cue to start writing Civil War histories.

Where All the Money's Going It's Pretty Much Where You'd Think, But More So

Whenever Republicans start talking about cutting spending, I want to remind everyone what federal spending (and a lot of state spending) actually looks like. I spent some time noodling around with a spreadsheet tonight, and the results honestly shocked me a little. So I’m just sharing them as-is.

The Nation Needs More PDAs I Have No Idea What the Rest of You Think Is Happening Right Now.

I posted a thing on Substack about how nothing anyone else does or thinks makes sense to me. Take a look! Explain stuff to me! I'm deeply confused!

PS: That drawing is FDR. In case you were wondering.

open.substack.com/pub/immortal...

Black Swans and Old Canards The Ministry for the Prevention of Predictable Tragedies

It's the end of the world was we know it, and we're still pretending we can vote our way out of this, and it's weird. Also, I'm trying to do all my own art for my Substack. If you want me to hire someone better, subscribe. Tell your friends. This kind of garbage drawing can't be allowed to continue.

Status No: Is Getting "Back to Normal" an Option? We're All Excited But We Don't Know Why

Sometimes, when I use bold text in a piece of writing, it's just cover for the fact that I don't feel bold at all.

open.substack.com/pub/immortal...

Next Steps for Democrats A Modest Proposal

You know what’s cool about this politics thing I just wrote? It’s short.

open.substack.com/pub/immortal...

Man. I want to write constructively about what's happening in politics right now, but most of it's just too jarring for me to talk about calmly.

Western Trumpists Want Your Land, for Free Democrats Should Be Offering Something Better

A few thoughts about federal land use in our new dystopia. If you like it, share it!

open.substack.com/pub/immortal...

Olive Ave & Harriet St, Altadena. Credit: Elliott Browne

Power lines.

Altadena in the wake of the #EatonFire

Book Review: The Fear by Peter Godwin Justifiably Hating a Dictator Doesn't Always Mean You're Right About Everything Else

I totally wrote a book review. You could read it. If you want.

open.substack.com/pub/immortal...

Republicans Want to Hold California's Tax Dollars Hostage Republicans Are Bad With (Your) Money

I wrote some things about the Republican response to what's happening in LA right now. Remember: if you like it, share it!

I am uncomfortable with exclamation points. I am not a large language model.

open.substack.com/pub/immortal...

If I were the government of Canada right now I'd open my borders to any American with a college degree who could bring more than $100,000 cash with them. American cities would empty out overnight, and the tax base of the United States would drop into a hole it could never climb out of.

Film Review: The Order It Somehow Managed to Bore Me and Piss Me Off at the Same Time

The Order, and the myth of American moderation.

open.substack.com/pub/immortal...

Somehow it only occurred to me this morning, as I was eating my chewable peach-mango-apricot vitamin D gummy, that food companies probably didn't mix peach flavor, mango flavor, and apricot flavor to make it. They tried to make mango, tasted it, and were like, "Close. But maybe not a *total* loss."

Democracy is the Alternative to Fear American Politics is Designed to Accommodate Bold Experimentation

A few thoughts about the future of the Democratic Party, and Nic Cage's face on a pillow.

open.substack.com/pub/immortal...