Andy Freeland
@andyfreeland.net
Computers, buses bikes and trains, and cities.
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Andy Freeland
@andyfreeland.net
· Jun 11
If, like me, you don’t know wtf to do right now consider giving money to organizations helping immigrants right now! List is from @lataco.bsky.social and I’ll match $2500 in donations if you send me a receipt.
Reposted by Andy Freeland
The constitutional remedy for a president who uses collective punishment against people for the crimes of a few is impeachment, removal, and disqualification, followed by a criminal trial.
BREAKING
The Trump administration says it has frozen all childcare payments to Minnesota in the aftermath of allegations of fraud by some in the Somali community.
Important: allegations along these lines have existed for years, which has resulted in prosecutions starting with the Biden DOJ.
The Trump administration says it has frozen all childcare payments to Minnesota in the aftermath of allegations of fraud by some in the Somali community.
Important: allegations along these lines have existed for years, which has resulted in prosecutions starting with the Biden DOJ.
December 30, 2025 at 11:54 PM
The constitutional remedy for a president who uses collective punishment against people for the crimes of a few is impeachment, removal, and disqualification, followed by a criminal trial.
Reposted by Andy Freeland
Daycare centers were also the primary target of the Satanic panic, because fundamentally American religious conservatism is opposed to women having jobs outside the home.
Trump guys are about to Comet Pizza every third daycare center because they think they are all fronts for Somali money laundering. They're only doing this near cities with progressive mayors. This is straight up Government by LibsOfTikTok.
December 30, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Daycare centers were also the primary target of the Satanic panic, because fundamentally American religious conservatism is opposed to women having jobs outside the home.
Reposted by Andy Freeland
biggest technological revolution of our lifetimes and it's not AI or blockchain or cryptocurrency or metaverse.
“South Africans like Dr. Booley have found a remedy for power cuts that have plagued people in the developing world for years. Thanks to swiftly falling prices of Chinese made solar panels and batteries, they now draw their power from the sun.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/c...
Cheap Solar Is Transforming Lives and Economies Across Africa
www.nytimes.com
December 30, 2025 at 6:35 PM
biggest technological revolution of our lifetimes and it's not AI or blockchain or cryptocurrency or metaverse.
Reposted by Andy Freeland
Yes like with Trump and Musk (and Thiel, Zuck, Luckey, Lonsdale, etc) it is not enough to win, the peons have to acknowledge your greatness and righteousness, and bow before you.
Pretty simple answer to this question, it’s because Sam Alito is steeped in right-wing grievance culture and views himself as entitled to deference and respect from everyone he encounters
ANALYSIS: Samuel Alito keeps getting his way. So why does he seem so unhappy? | CNN Politics
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has a remarkable record of transforming his old dissenting opinions into the new majority view and setting the direction of the law in America.
www.cnn.com
December 30, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Yes like with Trump and Musk (and Thiel, Zuck, Luckey, Lonsdale, etc) it is not enough to win, the peons have to acknowledge your greatness and righteousness, and bow before you.
Reposted by Andy Freeland
something very important for Dems to realize is that the tech overlords are not people you can win back by promising a lighter touch and saying a few nice things
they’ve gotten a taste of mask-off fascism and they are not going back, they don’t want to play nice with the peons anymore
they’ve gotten a taste of mask-off fascism and they are not going back, they don’t want to play nice with the peons anymore
There’s a funny Politico story showing that the latest polling on AI shows 80-20 in favor of heavy regulations, an absolute slam dunk platform, but Dems are worried about not winning back mask-off tech CEO donors
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
December 29, 2025 at 4:32 PM
something very important for Dems to realize is that the tech overlords are not people you can win back by promising a lighter touch and saying a few nice things
they’ve gotten a taste of mask-off fascism and they are not going back, they don’t want to play nice with the peons anymore
they’ve gotten a taste of mask-off fascism and they are not going back, they don’t want to play nice with the peons anymore
Reposted by Andy Freeland
LA: We're working hard to prepare for the "transit-first" megaevents that will bring literally millions of people from all over the world to navigate our city without cars
Also LA: We're building brand-new sidewalks you can only use one person at a time
Also LA: We're building brand-new sidewalks you can only use one person at a time
Yes, the city needs to actually repave streets. Yes, the city needs to repair sidewalks. Yes, the city needs to install curb ramps.
But the bigger problem is that when LA decides to do anything at all to "help" pedestrians, the result looks like this complete and utter bullshit
But the bigger problem is that when LA decides to do anything at all to "help" pedestrians, the result looks like this complete and utter bullshit
December 29, 2025 at 6:49 PM
LA: We're working hard to prepare for the "transit-first" megaevents that will bring literally millions of people from all over the world to navigate our city without cars
Also LA: We're building brand-new sidewalks you can only use one person at a time
Also LA: We're building brand-new sidewalks you can only use one person at a time
Reposted by Andy Freeland
Wild that a city can build and maintain three- or five-lane local roads for cars but builds new sidewalks that require people to walk single file.
Yes, the city needs to actually repave streets. Yes, the city needs to repair sidewalks. Yes, the city needs to install curb ramps.
But the bigger problem is that when LA decides to do anything at all to "help" pedestrians, the result looks like this complete and utter bullshit
But the bigger problem is that when LA decides to do anything at all to "help" pedestrians, the result looks like this complete and utter bullshit
December 29, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Wild that a city can build and maintain three- or five-lane local roads for cars but builds new sidewalks that require people to walk single file.
Reposted by Andy Freeland
Angelenos need to demand the firing of the people responsible for this shit
Careful planning: on Eagle Rock Blvd., the city repaved an 1/8-mile length but split it into two unconnected patches to avoid triggering HLA and installing protected bike lanes. The patches stop just before the intersection to avoid triggering the ADA and installing updated curb ramps.
December 29, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Angelenos need to demand the firing of the people responsible for this shit
Reposted by Andy Freeland
The year is 2035. California's entire base of taxation is young renters and their entire budget goes to insuring suburban McMansions built in fire hazard regions. Half of Florida is underwater financially and the other half literally. Illinois is fine but still fucks up transit funding constantly.
December 29, 2025 at 1:29 AM
The year is 2035. California's entire base of taxation is young renters and their entire budget goes to insuring suburban McMansions built in fire hazard regions. Half of Florida is underwater financially and the other half literally. Illinois is fine but still fucks up transit funding constantly.
Reposted by Andy Freeland
Trump guys on Twitter are using Grok to “hunt” daycares in their nearest city to see if there are kids in them and, if there are, if they’re Somali.
December 29, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Trump guys on Twitter are using Grok to “hunt” daycares in their nearest city to see if there are kids in them and, if there are, if they’re Somali.
Reposted by Andy Freeland
Let people just build their goddamn houses in peace.
It’s being called a “monstrosity” and the family who had it built is being called selfish and clueless and terrible neighbors. Someone on a Reddit thread said it looks like a “skyscraper” from the ground. I wrote about it:
The Big House That Might Not Be Able To
A home expansion in Fairfax County tests the limits of single-family zoning
www.thedeletedscenes.com
December 30, 2025 at 12:49 AM
Let people just build their goddamn houses in peace.
Reposted by Andy Freeland
The race against Hugo for LA’s CD13 is a choose your adventure in Nimbyland.
December 30, 2025 at 12:58 AM
The race against Hugo for LA’s CD13 is a choose your adventure in Nimbyland.
Reposted by Andy Freeland
If you have a billion dollars, you literally have enough money to never have to hear any criticism for the rest of your life. Just because they’re all addicted to going online and getting yelled at isn’t my fucking problem.
The perfect Yglesias post: declaring “billionaires are good, actually,” as if it was some bold, counterintuitive take.
December 29, 2025 at 9:51 PM
If you have a billion dollars, you literally have enough money to never have to hear any criticism for the rest of your life. Just because they’re all addicted to going online and getting yelled at isn’t my fucking problem.
Reposted by Andy Freeland
All of the money that changed hands in the Teapot Dome scandal totaled less than $10 million after adjusting for inflation, and it was considered so corrupt we still teach it in high school government classes a century later.
Corruption so pungent, it wafts right off the page:
Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”
Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”
Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Inside the New Fast Track to a Presidential Pardon
Even some of the president’s closest advisers have been surprised by a number of the recent series of pardons.
www.wsj.com
December 27, 2025 at 9:24 PM
All of the money that changed hands in the Teapot Dome scandal totaled less than $10 million after adjusting for inflation, and it was considered so corrupt we still teach it in high school government classes a century later.
Reposted by Andy Freeland
Dr. Manhattan voice:
- It's 2016 and LA just issued an RFP to build subsidized-housing on a city parking lot.
- It's 2021 and the LA Planning Commission just approved 140 Affordable units on this lot.
- It's 2024 and the city refused to transfer the land to the developer.
- It's 2025 and....
- It's 2016 and LA just issued an RFP to build subsidized-housing on a city parking lot.
- It's 2021 and the LA Planning Commission just approved 140 Affordable units on this lot.
- It's 2024 and the city refused to transfer the land to the developer.
- It's 2025 and....
December 29, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Dr. Manhattan voice:
- It's 2016 and LA just issued an RFP to build subsidized-housing on a city parking lot.
- It's 2021 and the LA Planning Commission just approved 140 Affordable units on this lot.
- It's 2024 and the city refused to transfer the land to the developer.
- It's 2025 and....
- It's 2016 and LA just issued an RFP to build subsidized-housing on a city parking lot.
- It's 2021 and the LA Planning Commission just approved 140 Affordable units on this lot.
- It's 2024 and the city refused to transfer the land to the developer.
- It's 2025 and....
Reposted by Andy Freeland
It’s astounding how much damage Miller has done — morally, economically, safety-wise — because he can’t stand brown people. We are so much worse off bc of him. And yes, there’s much blame to go around - Trump, Vance, Noem, etc. - but Miller is the heart of it (ironic since he seems to lack one).
Immigrant-hating Stephen Miller talks about Americans being "first to harness the atom." But the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was conducted by a team led by Italian immigrant Enrico Fermi, who didn't become a U.S. citizen until a year and a half later.
December 29, 2025 at 1:39 AM
It’s astounding how much damage Miller has done — morally, economically, safety-wise — because he can’t stand brown people. We are so much worse off bc of him. And yes, there’s much blame to go around - Trump, Vance, Noem, etc. - but Miller is the heart of it (ironic since he seems to lack one).
Reposted by Andy Freeland
By any reasonable historical standard — including that of the technology industry! — ChatGPT should be pulled from the market and its product managers and executives held accountable for creating a product that ROUTINELY tells teens to kill themselves. This is a basic, common sense standard.
December 28, 2025 at 6:21 PM
By any reasonable historical standard — including that of the technology industry! — ChatGPT should be pulled from the market and its product managers and executives held accountable for creating a product that ROUTINELY tells teens to kill themselves. This is a basic, common sense standard.
Reposted by Andy Freeland
Remember:
When Tylenol was poisoned *by an outsider* and killed people, the company recalled all their products & redesigned them.
When Intel’s Pentium had a bug so obscure it affected 1 in _9 billion_ long division calculations, they recalled their chips.
ChatGPT was made deadly *by its team*.
When Tylenol was poisoned *by an outsider* and killed people, the company recalled all their products & redesigned them.
When Intel’s Pentium had a bug so obscure it affected 1 in _9 billion_ long division calculations, they recalled their chips.
ChatGPT was made deadly *by its team*.
i don’t see how any of the benefits of chatgpt and other consumer-facing LLMs can possibly outweigh their incredible ability to induce suicides
Adam Raine’s life hurtled toward tragedy soon after he began talking with ChatGPT about homework. Analysis of his ChatGPT account shows how the chatbot became a confidant as he planned to end his life.
December 28, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Remember:
When Tylenol was poisoned *by an outsider* and killed people, the company recalled all their products & redesigned them.
When Intel’s Pentium had a bug so obscure it affected 1 in _9 billion_ long division calculations, they recalled their chips.
ChatGPT was made deadly *by its team*.
When Tylenol was poisoned *by an outsider* and killed people, the company recalled all their products & redesigned them.
When Intel’s Pentium had a bug so obscure it affected 1 in _9 billion_ long division calculations, they recalled their chips.
ChatGPT was made deadly *by its team*.
Reposted by Andy Freeland
i don’t see how any of the benefits of chatgpt and other consumer-facing LLMs can possibly outweigh their incredible ability to induce suicides
Adam Raine’s life hurtled toward tragedy soon after he began talking with ChatGPT about homework. Analysis of his ChatGPT account shows how the chatbot became a confidant as he planned to end his life.
74 suicide warnings and 243 mentions of hanging: What ChatGPT said to a suicidal teen
Analysis of high-schooler Adam Raine’s ChatGPT account by attorneys for his parents shows how the chatbot became a confidant as he planned to end his life.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 28, 2025 at 2:06 AM
i don’t see how any of the benefits of chatgpt and other consumer-facing LLMs can possibly outweigh their incredible ability to induce suicides
Reposted by Andy Freeland
As with many things, cursed by America’s political elite never imagining they would personally use it
I don't even think it's necessarily a liberal focus - Amtrak gets GOP support in certain places as well! Mostly no one at all cares about intercity bus, and it's so essential that it has survived unsubsidized for a long time without impacting enough rich people for it to become a political issue
December 28, 2025 at 3:00 PM
As with many things, cursed by America’s political elite never imagining they would personally use it
Reposted by Andy Freeland
socialism is when your former landlord raises the rent after you move out
December 28, 2025 at 5:37 AM
socialism is when your former landlord raises the rent after you move out
Reposted by Andy Freeland
They like conservatives who are destroying higher education and want to help them do it. Remember the Times repeated (4x!) false "reporting" that Harvard was about to cave to Trump's lawsuit?
The utter perversion of the #BrokenTimes' both-sidesing compulsion: Here it equates the right-wing ruin of New College with (checks notes) liberal (in any sense of the word) education, which it dismisses as just another "ideological bubble." Just fuck off.
December 28, 2025 at 4:55 PM
They like conservatives who are destroying higher education and want to help them do it. Remember the Times repeated (4x!) false "reporting" that Harvard was about to cave to Trump's lawsuit?
Reposted by Andy Freeland
No one is reading long form.
The emergence of the post-literacy world is accompanied by the rise of Medieval Peasant Brain, a mental soup of superstition and magical thinking... We see this most clearly in the mainstreaming of xenophobia, conspiracies, quack medicines, and naked fascism.
The emergence of the post-literacy world is accompanied by the rise of Medieval Peasant Brain, a mental soup of superstition and magical thinking... We see this most clearly in the mainstreaming of xenophobia, conspiracies, quack medicines, and naked fascism.
December 28, 2025 at 8:08 PM
No one is reading long form.
The emergence of the post-literacy world is accompanied by the rise of Medieval Peasant Brain, a mental soup of superstition and magical thinking... We see this most clearly in the mainstreaming of xenophobia, conspiracies, quack medicines, and naked fascism.
The emergence of the post-literacy world is accompanied by the rise of Medieval Peasant Brain, a mental soup of superstition and magical thinking... We see this most clearly in the mainstreaming of xenophobia, conspiracies, quack medicines, and naked fascism.
Reposted by Andy Freeland
Elite free speech discourse has culminated in state action to compel labor
This is the logical and inevitable conclusion of the last decade of elite media "free speech" discourse.
December 28, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Elite free speech discourse has culminated in state action to compel labor