Chris Colin

bsky.app/profile/chri...

ICE has been deployed to *provoke* civilians, not to protect them. They want to throw tear gas canisters and get people on the streets riled up, all to create footage for Fox News and Newsmax, et al., that will be used as a pretext for imposing martial law to lower voting rates in Democratic cities.

I confronted Benioff in 2019 about Salesforce not paying taxes, and lobbying for the Trump tax cuts. Maybe he was chipping in for the Nat'l Guard on the side? www.wired.com/story/gospel...

IN!

Bullet in the Brain A 1995 short story about what “passes before” a literary critic’s eyes—“a phrase he would have abhorred”—when he is shot at the bank.

Thinking today of this old Tobias Wolff story, and a bitter man seeing for a split second all the ways his life veered off-course.

www.newyorker.com/magazine/199...

Zillion $ idea: A special edition of the @nytimes.com featuring only boring and unworrisome news, available 1-4am.

Am certified serious grownup, need proper headshot. Otherwise unreserved about sharing this interview I did with the swell @jimrutt.bsky.social, who among other things let me curse on his show.

Just passed a distressed-seeming person walking east out onto the Bay Bridge, on the skinny shoulder. Watched three cops pass. Tried to flag one down, he drove right past. (Then tried flashing lights behind him, nothing.) Got thru to highway patrol and they took down the info. I have questions!

Really good, and really important.

I’m so sorry! you can find my email at chriscolin.com

Probably the hottest convo about administrative friction and average handle times you'll hear all day.

Ken! Been TWO minutes! Thank you so much and hope you're well!

thank you!

FEMA Didn’t Answer Thousands of Calls From Flood Survivors, Documents Show

Sometimes sludge is an explicit policy, sometimes it’s just a handy confluence of decisions and agenda. When FEMA fires call center workers, people lose faith in the federal government, which is always Trump’s play.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/c...

Call in! You’ll get through — no sludge!

omg yes

Thanks Clara! According to my research the hold music makes you 37% crazier.

I'm still gathering sludge stories! Wanna talk about your time working at a call center? Or a memorable battle you waged with some sludgy entity? Perhaps there’s a sludge-like phenomenon adjacent to sludge, which I should know about?? Get in touch!

The Republican budget is a climate horror Not content to ignore climate change, they decided to make it even worse.

"The bill includes the most aggressive assault on climate action of any legislation in history. In fact, it represents a profound shift in policy. Trump and Republicans are not just ignoring climate change — they’re actually trying to make it worse." — @paulwaldman.bsky.social

I’m sorry!

(Thank you!)

We must keep these poor claims departments in our hearts -- it seems many of them can't afford telephones!

Thank you! Hi!

Don't know you but rooting for you, and reserving a disappointed tone for them!

Dehumanizing is exactly what it is. And fretting about a car is a supreme luxury compared to worrying about vital med supplies. I'm sorry! (And yeah, the NOT never again list seems to keep shrinking...)

Thank you! Amazing! Will make some calls today!

I can't decide whether I'm pro- or anti-Fuck It here. Keep us posted!

Lordy! (I do hear a lot of stories about the cable industry for some reason...)

Also, special shout-out to the excellent @pamherd.bsky.social and @donmoyn.bsky.social, who kindly let me interview them *while driving* and *while on spring break.*

Yes, as I say in the piece, Ford gave me a fair price! But the story isn't about the repurchase price -- it's about how long it took to get there, how many hours on the phone, etc. I had the time to stick it out, family that would loan us a car, etc. Not true for many.