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brockm.bsky.social
Mike Brock 🇺🇸
@brockm.bsky.social
11K followers 1.1K following 3.6K posts
Ex-tech exec, now a reluctant Cassandra. Deeply unfashionable. Penning dispatches from democracy's peril at notesfromthecircus.com. Unmasking the unholy alliance of Silicon Valley and aspiring despots. 2+2=4, even when power insists otherwise. For Frodo.
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brockm.bsky.social
Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 2h
Had @governor.ca.gov returned SB 79 to the state legislature without his signature, I had a searing polemic haunting the back of my thoughts. But instead, it received his signature. Gavin is well-positioned to turn the page on French Laundry and ride into history.
The Liberal Populist Path
What Newsom Could Do If He Has the Courage
www.notesfromthecircus.com
3 3
Reposted by Mike Brock 🇺🇸
brockm.bsky.social
Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 3h
I think this is the most important piece I've written all year, personally. But that's just my own self-assessment.
brockm.bsky.social Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 4h
The difference between liberal populism and technocratic liberalism?

One fights concentrated power. The other manages decline.

Gavin Newsom just showed what the former looks like.
The Liberal Populist Path
What Newsom Could Do If He Has the Courage
www.notesfromthecircus.com
1 3 9
brockm.bsky.social
Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 52m
Newsom should seize his Sista Soulja moment—and solve his California and French Laundry problems in one fell swoop.
The Liberal Populist Path
What Newsom Could Do If He Has the Courage
www.notesfromthecircus.com
1 4
Reposted by Mike Brock 🇺🇸
patsybaloney.bsky.social
Patsy Baloney @patsybaloney.bsky.social · 1h
An absolutely terrific essay. We need Dem leaders willing to use "democratic power" and to fight.

"The system is broken. Not because of immigrants or cultural change—because concentrated wealth has rigged it."

"You cannot defend democracy through careful management of oligarchy. You cannot restore
brockm.bsky.social Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 4h
The difference between liberal populism and technocratic liberalism?

One fights concentrated power. The other manages decline.

Gavin Newsom just showed what the former looks like.
The Liberal Populist Path
What Newsom Could Do If He Has the Courage
www.notesfromthecircus.com
1 2 3
brockm.bsky.social
Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 2h
Had @governor.ca.gov returned SB 79 to the state legislature without his signature, I had a searing polemic haunting the back of my thoughts. But instead, it received his signature. Gavin is well-positioned to turn the page on French Laundry and ride into history.
The Liberal Populist Path
What Newsom Could Do If He Has the Courage
www.notesfromthecircus.com
3 3
Reposted by Mike Brock 🇺🇸
indactonma.bsky.social
Indivisible Acton Area ❌👑 @indactonma.bsky.social · 3h
We need this - “Are you willing to fight concentrated interests in our own coalition? Are you willing to tell wealthy donors their preferences don’t override working people’s needs? Are you willing to use democratic power to break economic concentrations, even when it makes your fundraising harder?”
brockm.bsky.social Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 4h
The difference between liberal populism and technocratic liberalism?

One fights concentrated power. The other manages decline.

Gavin Newsom just showed what the former looks like.
The Liberal Populist Path
What Newsom Could Do If He Has the Courage
www.notesfromthecircus.com
3 6
brockm.bsky.social
Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 3h
I think this is the most important piece I've written all year, personally. But that's just my own self-assessment.
brockm.bsky.social Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 4h
The difference between liberal populism and technocratic liberalism?

One fights concentrated power. The other manages decline.

Gavin Newsom just showed what the former looks like.
The Liberal Populist Path
What Newsom Could Do If He Has the Courage
www.notesfromthecircus.com
1 3 9
brockm.bsky.social
Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 4h
The difference between liberal populism and technocratic liberalism?

One fights concentrated power. The other manages decline.

Gavin Newsom just showed what the former looks like.
The Liberal Populist Path
What Newsom Could Do If He Has the Courage
www.notesfromthecircus.com
3 6
brockm.bsky.social
Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 7h
Just went on Substack Live with Reed Galen.

We talked about authoritarianism, Silicon Valley, moral cowardice, and the people who still think “neutrality” is a political position. Too much swearing. Zero euphemism.
On the Home Front with Reed Galen
On Authoritarianism, Valley, and Moral Cowardice
www.notesfromthecircus.com
2 4
brockm.bsky.social
Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 17h
As the East Wing of the White House is demolished to make room for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom, Big Tech and crypto donors—Apple, Meta, Palantir, Coinbase—are quite literally etching their names into the architecture of American power.
Buying the Ruins
On Demolishing Democracy and Etching Your Name in the Rubble
www.notesfromthecircus.com
3 21 43
brockm.bsky.social
Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 21h
Contrary to popular belief: MAGA isn’t cool. It’s cosplay rebellion for people who mistake cruelty for confidence and propaganda for independence. I'm sorry if this hurts your feelings. It's not personal. It's just the truth.
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brockm.bsky.social
Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 1d
The “anti-anti-Trump” right has built an epistemology that cannot recognize danger until it kills someone.
The Broken Minds of the Anti-Anti-Trump Right
Gavin Newsom’s concern about live artillery fire over Interstate 5 was “performative.”
www.notesfromthecircus.com
1 1 6
Reposted by Mike Brock 🇺🇸
billkristolbulwark.bsky.social
Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 1d
“They anti-anti position has constructed a framework where no amount of evidence counts as overwhelming because the pattern can be denied by treating each data point in isolation. At what point does sophisticated skepticism become systematic denialism?”

open.substack.com/pub/mikebroc...
The Broken Minds of the Anti-Anti-Trump Right
Gavin Newsom’s concern about live artillery fire over Interstate 5 was “performative.”
open.substack.com
4 34 140
Reposted by Mike Brock 🇺🇸
billkristolbulwark.bsky.social
Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 1d
“The epistemological structure of denialism. Not honest doubt but motivated reasoning. Not skepticism but refusal to update beliefs in response to evidence. Not objectivity but a framework constructed to make authoritarian escalation seem like ordinary politics.”

open.substack.com/pub/mikebroc...
The Broken Minds of the Anti-Anti-Trump Right
Gavin Newsom’s concern about live artillery fire over Interstate 5 was “performative.”
open.substack.com
9 35 110
brockm.bsky.social
Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 1d
INSANE CORRUPTION.
molly.wiki Molly White @molly.wiki · 1d
Donald Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao. Binance has been a major supporter of Trump's crypto projects, and Trump has already made millions after Binance accepted a $2 billion investment from an Emirati fund denominated in the Trump family's USD1 stablecoin.
WSJ headline: Trump Pardons Convicted Binance Founder
9 16
Reposted by Mike Brock 🇺🇸
thedailyshow.com
The Daily Show @thedailyshow.com · 2d
Mike Johnson doesn't know sh*t
990 4.6K 13K
Reposted by Mike Brock 🇺🇸
techdirt.com
Techdirt @techdirt.com · 2d
Elon Musk Discovers What Hierarchy Actually Means

Elon Musk is having a very bad week. The man who bought Twitter for $44 billion to secure unaccountable power over public discourse is discovering what unaccountable power actually looks like when wielded by someone who understands dominance better…
Elon Musk Discovers What Hierarchy Actually Means
Elon Musk is having a very bad week. The man who bought Twitter for $44 billion to secure unaccountable power over public discourse is discovering what unaccountable power actually looks like when wielded by someone who understands dominance better than he does. Trump just stripped SpaceX of a government contract and handed it to Jeff Bezos. Musk’s response? Rage-tweeting at Trump officials, including the immortal question “why are you gay”—the rhetorical sophistication we’ve come to expect from the richest man-child on the planet having a public meltdown because Daddy won’t give him what he wants.
www.techdirt.com
8 68 170
Reposted by Mike Brock 🇺🇸
brockm.bsky.social
Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 2d
I just think it’s neat that you can post racist, fascist shit on social media in Silicon Valley and keep your job—while posting anti-Trump stuff is the kind of thing that’ll get you walked out the door. That would be too divisive!
Sequoia’s Choice
When neutrality costs nothing—and integrity costs your job.
www.notesfromthecircus.com
2 22 76
Reposted by Mike Brock 🇺🇸
newsjennifer.bsky.social
@NewsJennifer (Jennifer Schulze) @newsjennifer.bsky.social · 2d
Starting to think that Andreesen’s claim that he & other tech bros went MAGA because they didn’t like Biden’s tech regulations or his FTC chair was all a ruse. It’s really about the freedom to say to say racist, bigoted stuff out loud with no consequences whatsoever.
brockm.bsky.social Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 2d
I just think it’s neat that you can post racist, fascist shit on social media in Silicon Valley and keep your job—while posting anti-Trump stuff is the kind of thing that’ll get you walked out the door. That would be too divisive!
Sequoia’s Choice
When neutrality costs nothing—and integrity costs your job.
www.notesfromthecircus.com
1 10 43
brockm.bsky.social
Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 2d
Well, it's really that they know who daddy is.
2
brockm.bsky.social
Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 2d
I just think it’s neat that you can post racist, fascist shit on social media in Silicon Valley and keep your job—while posting anti-Trump stuff is the kind of thing that’ll get you walked out the door. That would be too divisive!
Sequoia’s Choice
When neutrality costs nothing—and integrity costs your job.
www.notesfromthecircus.com
2 22 76
Reposted by Mike Brock 🇺🇸
lisafarrar.bsky.social
Lisa Farrar @lisafarrar.bsky.social · 3d
Thanks for this post. I found the Mike Brock piece. It's really good.
www.notesfromthecircus.com/p/the-pirate...
The PirateWires Method
A case study in how sophisticated cowards attack truth-tellers while serving power
www.notesfromthecircus.com
1 1
brockm.bsky.social
Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 2d
Sequoia’s COO resigned after protesting a partner’s Islamophobic posts.

He stays. She goes.

Because SpaceX returns are good.
Sequoia’s Choice
When neutrality costs nothing—and integrity costs your job.
www.notesfromthecircus.com
5 8
Reposted by Mike Brock 🇺🇸
brockm.bsky.social
Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 2d
JD Vance just proved he meant it.

Live-fire Marines over Interstate 5.
Newsom warned it was dangerous.
Vance mocked him.
Then it happened.

Reckless endangerment masquerading as power.
The Vice President Just Proved He Means It
JD Vance just proved he meant it.
www.notesfromthecircus.com
2 22 50
brockm.bsky.social
Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 2d
JD Vance just proved he meant it.

Live-fire Marines over Interstate 5.
Newsom warned it was dangerous.
Vance mocked him.
Then it happened.

Reckless endangerment masquerading as power.
The Vice President Just Proved He Means It
JD Vance just proved he meant it.
www.notesfromthecircus.com
2 22 50
Reposted by Mike Brock 🇺🇸
brockm.bsky.social
Mike Brock 🇺🇸 @brockm.bsky.social · 3d
Elon Musk is having a very bad week.
Elon Musk Discovers What Hierarchy Actually Means
The neo-reactionary dream meets the law of the strong.
www.notesfromthecircus.com
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