Lee Mandelo

this was *the* inflection point (and the subsequent regime's image being rehabilitated with whitewashing comparisons to the current one is one of the most infuriating things I have witnessed in my life)

A reminder that we don't have AI-powered features. We have bookseller and user-powered features.

Because y'all are the real readers...and we actually care about your feedback and your privacy ❤️

there is a certain condescension in the idea that “racism should be publicly unacceptable and come with consequences” is an attack on the “working class.”

AI "Companion Bots" Actually Run by Exploited Kenyans, Worker Claims A new testimony from a remote worker in Kenya details the grueling and exploitative work behind romantic AI chatbots.

“The work was emotionally exhausting, with chat users confiding intimate details about their real-life relationships, as well as their own emotional trauma, falsely believing they were talking to an unfeeling AI chatbot.”

it's worth noting 1) that there's a longstanding tradition of trying to play solidarity against basic self-respect and 2) that the Combahee River Collective's coining of the term "identity politics" was directly in response to this

Part of the Civil Rights Movement was a dignity claim that when you are in public you have a right to be spoken to in a neutral manner. Hamilton v. Alabama. This service worker may hate to serve me Cinnabons, but it is part of her job to serve every customer in the same manner.

And this is the view in the Atlantic. Don't you think impeachment proceedings should begin? Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh were all bought and paid for by the Oligarchs. It is time for the people to take their country back.
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

Seen a few people saying "these sales aren't bad for publishing in 2025." No. They are. Publishing is contextual. 1,200 sales in first week for a debut literary novel with a modest advance? Amazing. For a high $$$ non-fiction book that got wall-to-wall media coverage? Abysmal.

One of the many reasons AI can't produce good writing is it can't hate its own writing. It can't think to itself "Maybe I'm illiterate" during the writing process. And that's essential

I am 100% pro Larian doing whatever pervert shit it wants and I can’t wait for another game where you can like, fuck a squid or whatever, but it really does further drive home the two-tier system of enforcement on storefronts. Bg3 contains basically everything small games get banned for

The people who support $12B in corporate welfare to farms and forgave $80B in auto bailouts and forgave $700B in bank bailouts and forgave $755B in PPP loans want you to know that forgiving medical debt and student debt is socialism😐

Trump’s DOJ Pressured Lawyers to “Find” Evidence that UCLA Had Illegally Tolerated Antisemitism An investigation by ProPublica and The Chronicle of Higher Education reveals how the U.S. government ignored due process to gin up its attack on the University of California.

NEW: Trump’s DOJ Pressured Lawyers to “Find” Evidence That UCLA Had Illegally Tolerated Antisemitism

An investigation by ProPublica and @chronicle.com reveals how the U.S. government ignored due process to gin up its attack on the University of California.

Massive (but typical) failure of the publishing industry to recognize the demand for queer books and for PHYSICAL PRINT COPIES of books. #BookHistoryLive

aight folks, i finally got sick of existing here under some weird conjoined pen name situation. so this is now where you follow me, Matt, the human, along with the collected book updates, but i’ve split off @devinmadson.bsky.social and @rebeccaide.bsky.social for people who just want book updates 😎

Something I have to reiterate is that you are being straight up lied to about trans people and our healthcare on an unfathomable scale, this instance reporting is already being torn to shreds by other people commenting, but the frequency of this kind of reporting is astonishing, it's neverending.

I've probably photographed Brad Lander more than any other elected in NYC because the dude shows up. He's everywhere, he's incredibly accessible, and he genuinely loves New Yorkers. You can literally go up and talk to him whenever he shows up. Go ahead, try it!

(I have NEVER seen Goldman ANYWHERE.)

Promising a data center in space doesn't make any fucking sense at all from a physics perspective, but it *does* make sense if you need your company to suck the military-industrial tit dry before the inevitable bubble pop.

Getting one last massive government subsidy before the bubble pops.

some truly great shops!

A vintage ppb of Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time; Solnit’s Hope in the Dark; Sepúlveda’s The Old Man who Read Love Stories; Mars-Jones’s Box Hill; Bei Tong’s Beijing Comrades; Mu Cao’s In the Face of Death We Are Equal

Update: we also went to Whispering Shelf and Loudmouth Books!! All my acquisitions—

This is very good and especially good at pointing out that the minister Patrick O'Donovan is doing exactly what Mark Zuckerberg wants him to do, under the guise of 'curbing' social media influence.

I know it's a problem in all areas of discourse, but it never ceases to amaze me how people with NO experience with sex work, no relevant studies, no advocacy work, haven't given it a moment's thought in their lives are somehow convinced they know what's best for sex workers.

I wish more people understood the importance of making a distinction between decriminalization and lack of punitive consequence.

We see it all the time- ppl promoting the Nordic model because it "decriminalizes prostitution"

But does it count as decriminalization if you're still legally punished?

Aww, we didn’t, but I’ll have to put it on the list for places to go!

Democrats Must Reject The Premise Of Trans Healthcare Bans In Republican Healthcare Offer Republicans new healthcare bill would bar transgender healthcare as an essential health benefit, bar trans medicaid coverage, and would bar HSAs from considering trans healthcare medically necessary.

1. For weeks, EITM has reported that Republicans would push a trans healthcare ban in their ACA negotiations.

Now, the plan is released, and it includes heavy restrictions on ACA plans, a medicaid ban, an EHB ban, and more.

Democrats must not capitulate.

I’m visiting a pal in Indianapolis, and have signed some stock at the delightful Golden Hour Books and Tomorrow Books!

Check ‘em out, some great curation at both stores 🖤

Travelers visiting the United States from countries like Britain, France, Germany and South Korea could soon have to undergo a review of up to five years of their social media history, according to a proposal filed on Tuesday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The change would affect visitors eligible for the visa waiver program, which allows people from 42 countries to travel to the United States for up to 90 days without a visa as long as they first obtain electronic travel authorization. In a document filed on Tuesday in the Federal Register, C.B.P. said it plans to ask applicants for a long list of personal data including social media, email addresses from the last decade, and the names, birth dates, places of residence and birthplaces of parents, spouses, siblings and children. Under the current system, applicants from visa waiver countries must enroll in the Electronic System for Travel Authorization program. They pay $40 and submit an email address, home address, phone number and emergency contact information. The authorization is good for two years.

This is INSANE www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/t...

and these are our closest allies!

One good thing about the current era is that you don't have to argue with people about the fact that white supremacy and racism permeate every aspect of US society. Everyone knows it and some even admit it.

I think it’s worth noting that not only did we win the Miami mayoral race but we won within like 20 minutes.

The race was so decisive that we almost had an instantaneous answer. That’s how screwed Republicans are going into 2026.

🖤🖤

Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity

"Where the World Goes Sharp and Quiet", a short story in "Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity", published by Erewhon Books and edited by the incredible @leemandelo.bsky.social
(I'm particularly fond of this piece tbh.)

bookshop.org/p/books/ampl...