Bob G.
@bobg.whizbang.me
Software engineer, citizen, dad, not necessarily in that order
Pinned
Bob G.
@bobg.whizbang.me
· Aug 1
Don't tell people why they're wrong. Show them a new way to be right.
When you want less of something, economists tell us: tax it.
We want less income disparity. So tax that! How? By taxing the companies perpetrating that disparity.
Bonus: when the board wants to give execs a big raise, it'll be incentivized to give one to the rank and file, too.
We want less income disparity. So tax that! How? By taxing the companies perpetrating that disparity.
Bonus: when the board wants to give execs a big raise, it'll be incentivized to give one to the rank and file, too.
CEO-to-worker pay ratio in 1965: 20-1
CEO-to-worker pay ratio in 1990: 75-1
CEO-to-worker pay ratio today: 280-to-1
What can we do about this? Here's one good idea.
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/want-to-know-the-real-problem-with
CEO-to-worker pay ratio in 1990: 75-1
CEO-to-worker pay ratio today: 280-to-1
What can we do about this? Here's one good idea.
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/want-to-know-the-real-problem-with
December 9, 2025 at 7:29 PM
When you want less of something, economists tell us: tax it.
We want less income disparity. So tax that! How? By taxing the companies perpetrating that disparity.
Bonus: when the board wants to give execs a big raise, it'll be incentivized to give one to the rank and file, too.
We want less income disparity. So tax that! How? By taxing the companies perpetrating that disparity.
Bonus: when the board wants to give execs a big raise, it'll be incentivized to give one to the rank and file, too.
Dr. Oz and RFK Jr. today, trying to act like they're doing anything related to their jobs.
December 9, 2025 at 5:28 AM
Dr. Oz and RFK Jr. today, trying to act like they're doing anything related to their jobs.
Something @hcrichardson.bsky.social said the other day has really stuck with me. Abridged:
The U.S. is a fabulously wealthy country. But it's not just in bank accounts. Knowing you can get in your car and drive to the supermarket ... clean hot water ... electricity. That's wealth.
The U.S. is a fabulously wealthy country. But it's not just in bank accounts. Knowing you can get in your car and drive to the supermarket ... clean hot water ... electricity. That's wealth.
December 9, 2025 at 3:09 AM
Something @hcrichardson.bsky.social said the other day has really stuck with me. Abridged:
The U.S. is a fabulously wealthy country. But it's not just in bank accounts. Knowing you can get in your car and drive to the supermarket ... clean hot water ... electricity. That's wealth.
The U.S. is a fabulously wealthy country. But it's not just in bank accounts. Knowing you can get in your car and drive to the supermarket ... clean hot water ... electricity. That's wealth.
I wonder whether @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social's feckless minimizing of the case against Henry Cuellar had anything to do with Cuellar refusing to lick Trump's boot after his pardon.
December 8, 2025 at 11:05 PM
I wonder whether @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social's feckless minimizing of the case against Henry Cuellar had anything to do with Cuellar refusing to lick Trump's boot after his pardon.
Bad news: Deconstruction of America accelerating.
Good news: Because they feel their window to do so closing.
Bad news: More work for us when rebuilding time finally comes.
Good news: More opportunity to form a more-perfect union.
Good news: Because they feel their window to do so closing.
Bad news: More work for us when rebuilding time finally comes.
Good news: More opportunity to form a more-perfect union.
December 8, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Bad news: Deconstruction of America accelerating.
Good news: Because they feel their window to do so closing.
Bad news: More work for us when rebuilding time finally comes.
Good news: More opportunity to form a more-perfect union.
Good news: Because they feel their window to do so closing.
Bad news: More work for us when rebuilding time finally comes.
Good news: More opportunity to form a more-perfect union.
Reposted by Bob G.
Ending birthright citizenship is only phase one. The real play is testing the Court’s loyalty before Trump makes his move on the 22nd Amendment and permanence.
Subscribe. Read. COMMENT. Restack! therealmichaelcohen.substack.com/p/trumps-pat...
Subscribe. Read. COMMENT. Restack! therealmichaelcohen.substack.com/p/trumps-pat...
"Trump’s Path to Permanence"
Ending birthright citizenship is only phase one. The real play is testing the Court’s loyalty before Trump makes his move on the 22nd Amendment and permanence.
therealmichaelcohen.substack.com
December 7, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Ending birthright citizenship is only phase one. The real play is testing the Court’s loyalty before Trump makes his move on the 22nd Amendment and permanence.
Subscribe. Read. COMMENT. Restack! therealmichaelcohen.substack.com/p/trumps-pat...
Subscribe. Read. COMMENT. Restack! therealmichaelcohen.substack.com/p/trumps-pat...
"Defeating the Nazis was in the same category as changing a flat tire: an untidy business that men were expected to know how to do."
- @nealstephenson.bsky.social, "Cryptonomicon"
- @nealstephenson.bsky.social, "Cryptonomicon"
December 7, 2025 at 10:44 PM
"Defeating the Nazis was in the same category as changing a flat tire: an untidy business that men were expected to know how to do."
- @nealstephenson.bsky.social, "Cryptonomicon"
- @nealstephenson.bsky.social, "Cryptonomicon"
Somehow didn't know about @patrioticmillionaires.org before, so maybe you didn't either.
Their mission: tax the rich; pay the people; spread the power.
Their "Money Agenda": the Equal Tax act; the Cost of Living tax cut; the Cost of Living Wage act; and the Anti-Oligarch act.
Their mission: tax the rich; pay the people; spread the power.
Their "Money Agenda": the Equal Tax act; the Cost of Living tax cut; the Cost of Living Wage act; and the Anti-Oligarch act.
patrioticmillionaires.org
December 7, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Somehow didn't know about @patrioticmillionaires.org before, so maybe you didn't either.
Their mission: tax the rich; pay the people; spread the power.
Their "Money Agenda": the Equal Tax act; the Cost of Living tax cut; the Cost of Living Wage act; and the Anti-Oligarch act.
Their mission: tax the rich; pay the people; spread the power.
Their "Money Agenda": the Equal Tax act; the Cost of Living tax cut; the Cost of Living Wage act; and the Anti-Oligarch act.
You know what else is virtually extinct? Cravats. The number of cravats in the world makes about the same amount of difference to me as the number of white people. At least cravats don't act out on some weird need to be better than other articles of clothing.
it should probably be a bigger story that the richest man on earth and leading Republican is a fucking Nazi
media needs to stop beating around the bush. this is Nazi shit.
media needs to stop beating around the bush. this is Nazi shit.
December 3, 2025 at 8:45 PM
You know what else is virtually extinct? Cravats. The number of cravats in the world makes about the same amount of difference to me as the number of white people. At least cravats don't act out on some weird need to be better than other articles of clothing.
I have been saying this for years. Yes, we should all be concerned about the corrosive effects on society of massive wealth concentration; but the massively wealthy should also be concerned about the inevitable gulf that forms between them and humanity.
I think part of What's Going On with billionaires is that the daily friction of interacting with normal people is part of what anchors people to the real world, and once you have enough money to buy your way out of the friction you can knock down a load-bearing column propping up your sanity.
December 3, 2025 at 8:39 PM
I have been saying this for years. Yes, we should all be concerned about the corrosive effects on society of massive wealth concentration; but the massively wealthy should also be concerned about the inevitable gulf that forms between them and humanity.
Everyone's talking about the survivors that Hegseth murdered and I'm just over here like They wouldn't have been "survivors" in the first place if it weren't for Hegseth's earlier, bigger murder.
December 2, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Everyone's talking about the survivors that Hegseth murdered and I'm just over here like They wouldn't have been "survivors" in the first place if it weren't for Hegseth's earlier, bigger murder.
Man I'd love to see what the portrait in her attic looks like.
Megyn Kelly on alleged war crimes: "I really do kind of not only wanna see them killed in the water, whether they're on the boat or in the water, but I'd really like to see them suffer. I would like Trump and Hegseth to make it last a long time so they lose a limb and bleed out."
December 2, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Man I'd love to see what the portrait in her attic looks like.
I don't think this is understood widely enough. It isn't that the libs are here and MAGA is there. It's that there, you see whatever will boost revenue the most - i.e., the rage-y stuff. Here, we see only what we _ask_ to see. And no one's asking for... that.
The real question is not "Why is Bluesky so left-coded," the real question is "Why can't the right exist in a social media environment without algorithmic assistance, where people can ignore them"
December 2, 2025 at 5:03 PM
I don't think this is understood widely enough. It isn't that the libs are here and MAGA is there. It's that there, you see whatever will boost revenue the most - i.e., the rage-y stuff. Here, we see only what we _ask_ to see. And no one's asking for... that.
When I was growing up, videophones were on a par with lunar hotels: very out of reach, but if they ever arrived, a sure sign that we'd arrived at the glorious future we kept hearing about.
Then one day, suddenly everyone had them. No fanfare. It's just a thing that happened.
Still disoriented.
Then one day, suddenly everyone had them. No fanfare. It's just a thing that happened.
Still disoriented.
December 1, 2025 at 8:36 AM
When I was growing up, videophones were on a par with lunar hotels: very out of reach, but if they ever arrived, a sure sign that we'd arrived at the glorious future we kept hearing about.
Then one day, suddenly everyone had them. No fanfare. It's just a thing that happened.
Still disoriented.
Then one day, suddenly everyone had them. No fanfare. It's just a thing that happened.
Still disoriented.
Why stop with the autopen? Cancel everything not signed with a quill and an inkpot, as the Founders clearly intended. Cancel everything not signed in daylight or by candlelight or oil lamp.
November 30, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Why stop with the autopen? Cancel everything not signed with a quill and an inkpot, as the Founders clearly intended. Cancel everything not signed in daylight or by candlelight or oil lamp.
Trump: "The [people] circling Biden around the beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office took the Presidency away from him."
Every accusation is a confession.
Every accusation is a confession.
November 30, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Trump: "The [people] circling Biden around the beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office took the Presidency away from him."
Every accusation is a confession.
Every accusation is a confession.
If you're troubled by the fact that AI produces output after training on copyrighted works, but feel it's not exactly plagiarism, this article is for you.
Large language models and plagiarism
Are large language models plagiarism machines, as some pending lawsuits allege?
bobglickstein.medium.com
November 29, 2025 at 5:13 PM
If you're troubled by the fact that AI produces output after training on copyrighted works, but feel it's not exactly plagiarism, this article is for you.
This is an excellent and politically easy list. I'm going to contact my state senator and assemblyman about this.
I'd only add a paper-ballot requirement. Too much room for shenanigans in black-box voting machines.
I'd only add a paper-ballot requirement. Too much room for shenanigans in black-box voting machines.
I am often asked what laws I would recommend blue states adopt. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, there are seven changes every state could adopt right now, for virtually no cost or administrative burden. www.democracydocket.com/opinion/seve...
Seven Voting Laws Every Blue State Should Enact Right Now
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
November 29, 2025 at 4:52 PM
This is an excellent and politically easy list. I'm going to contact my state senator and assemblyman about this.
I'd only add a paper-ballot requirement. Too much room for shenanigans in black-box voting machines.
I'd only add a paper-ballot requirement. Too much room for shenanigans in black-box voting machines.
Reposted by Bob G.
"Congress’s inaction is as damaging as Trump himself"
It is imperative to impeach.
It is imperative to impeach.
Oaths Of Office, And How Everyone Not Moving To Impeach Trump Is Violating Their Own
Until very recently the only member of Congress excused from not having moved to impeach Trump was Rep. Grijalva, because until someone swore her in there was nothing she could officially do. But f…
www.techdirt.com
November 27, 2025 at 6:16 PM
"Congress’s inaction is as damaging as Trump himself"
It is imperative to impeach.
It is imperative to impeach.
Looking for a Republican to denounce death threats.
November 22, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Looking for a Republican to denounce death threats.
Reposted by Bob G.
In an era filled with tech dipshits who never developed emotionally past the age of 13 & use their wealth to become odious monsters ...
... listen to Steve Wozniak.
... listen to Steve Wozniak.
November 21, 2025 at 7:41 PM
In an era filled with tech dipshits who never developed emotionally past the age of 13 & use their wealth to become odious monsters ...
... listen to Steve Wozniak.
... listen to Steve Wozniak.
Yeah, I know: "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
Maybe this is why Dems aren't pushing impeachment. Let Trump and the GOP keep digging the hole they're in.
Meanwhile, there is death+suffering. And what remains of America to save when MAGA is gone keeps shrinking.
Impeach.
Maybe this is why Dems aren't pushing impeachment. Let Trump and the GOP keep digging the hole they're in.
Meanwhile, there is death+suffering. And what remains of America to save when MAGA is gone keeps shrinking.
Impeach.
Why is this not the 1000th item in some Articles of Impeachment, updated daily?
Every day Dems don't hammer on this topic is a day of acquiescence in the regime's illegality.
Every day Dems don't hammer on this topic is a day of acquiescence in the regime's illegality.
November 21, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Yeah, I know: "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
Maybe this is why Dems aren't pushing impeachment. Let Trump and the GOP keep digging the hole they're in.
Meanwhile, there is death+suffering. And what remains of America to save when MAGA is gone keeps shrinking.
Impeach.
Maybe this is why Dems aren't pushing impeachment. Let Trump and the GOP keep digging the hole they're in.
Meanwhile, there is death+suffering. And what remains of America to save when MAGA is gone keeps shrinking.
Impeach.
@davidfrum.bsky.social: "If conservatives become convinced they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy."
Sounds prescient. But the thing is, they can't win democratically because they _have_ abandoned conservatism.
Sounds prescient. But the thing is, they can't win democratically because they _have_ abandoned conservatism.
November 21, 2025 at 9:20 PM
@davidfrum.bsky.social: "If conservatives become convinced they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy."
Sounds prescient. But the thing is, they can't win democratically because they _have_ abandoned conservatism.
Sounds prescient. But the thing is, they can't win democratically because they _have_ abandoned conservatism.
Why is this not the 1000th item in some Articles of Impeachment, updated daily?
Every day Dems don't hammer on this topic is a day of acquiescence in the regime's illegality.
Every day Dems don't hammer on this topic is a day of acquiescence in the regime's illegality.
November 20, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Why is this not the 1000th item in some Articles of Impeachment, updated daily?
Every day Dems don't hammer on this topic is a day of acquiescence in the regime's illegality.
Every day Dems don't hammer on this topic is a day of acquiescence in the regime's illegality.