TODAY: @brocktoon.bsky.social on the times World Cup tourists are having in America. “There’s an Italian guy who’s fallen in love with Wal-Mart, and a Japanese guy who thinks the Nashville skyline is the most beautiful thing he’s seen. Everyone loves ranch dressing.” flaminghydra.com/welcome-to-t...
My habitual morning dose of TikTok brainrot is one-third news, and two-thirds memes, short comedy, and bewildering weird stuff. Until roughly three days ago, when it became nearly wall to wall coverag...
House Dem staffers took a swank trip to Austin to hang out with lobbyists for the tech giants that are pushing to preempt state regulations on AI.
A bipartisan bill (Obernolte, Lieu) has been introduced that would give Meta, Amazon, etc. the regulation they want. (A lot like the crypto industry!)
The NYT informs readers that dynamic metered parking—implemented in San Francisco, Baltimore, LA, and DC—could bring in *billions of dollars a year* in revenue.
Plus room for public spaces, bus lanes, bike lanes, outdoor dining setups, trash containers... check out the EasyPark proposal.
The Trump family has generated $2.3 billion from crypto ventures, per Reuters. The For the People Act of 2021 contained legislation that would require presidents and VPs to divest conflicted assets.
But Senate Dem leaders would not carve-out filibuster rules to vote on elections or ethics bills.
ALSO TODAY: @rbuas.bsky.social on being among the men at work. "I was the truck wrangler now, a veteran of the road, home again and the coyotes had come to greet me now." flaminghydra.com/men-at-work/
Flaming Hydra
wrote about meditation and psychedelic therapy helping me (in addition to therapy and psych meds) despite my deep mistrust of Wellness
NEW: Staffers for the House Democrats' AI task force co-chairs and a key AI subcommittee were among those flow out to Austin to meet with tech executives and lobbyists pushing Congress to preempt state AI protections. readsludge.com/2026/06/10/s...
In some other timeline, the last Democratic president didn't spend the last decade vacuuming up nearly a billion dollars to raise an edifice to himself and instead grassroots groups got the money they needed to do the organizing that could have tipped 2024 the other way (1/3)
