Content warning: This is a post about an actual child suicide. You may well prefer to stop reading here. I've resisted writing about this for some time. I don't want to appear to trade on the tragedy that befell Adam Raine and his family. And, frankly,| Not a Tech Bro
Beginning more than a month ago, Donald Trump sent the US Marines and National Guard into Los Angeles. He claimed that they were necessary to protect immigration agents working for ICE, rounding up and jailing people who may or may not have been in the country illegally. Last week, he| Not a Tech Bro
Hey gang, Every August, I visit DonorsChoose to find some schoolteachers to help out. Lots of educators post there about projects they want to do or things they need for their classrooms as kids come back to school. I pick a few and fund them up in gratitude for how| Not a Tech Bro
Swinging the spotlight, for a moment, from politics to big tech. I upgraded my mother-in-law's internet service recently. As part of that upgrade, I installed a new wifi access point with better security. That meant changing the network name, which of course meant all the stuff in the house that| Not a Tech Bro
I've been, in recent elections, a pretty reliable supporter – donor, canvasser, voter – for Democratic candidates running for office locally and in state and national races. About four months ago, I adopted a new policy: I will make no more contributions, of my time or my votes| Not a Tech Bro
Quick comments on two issues of the moment before I get into the post I mean to write this morning. One: Molly White maintains an up-to-date digest of all the payments made by, and favors done for, cryptocurrency players interacting with the Trump administration. The PAC donations bug me but| Not a Tech Bro
The 27th season of the animated television show South Park premiered on Wednesday night. The show has always been, uh, edgy. I don't watch it regulary, but the new season opener has gotten so much attention that I streamed it last night. The backdrop to the episode is that media| Not a Tech Bro
My abiding patriotism struggled, yesterday, with my deep disappointment in the American politicians and institutions of the moment. I began my day by re-reading the Declaration of Independence, as I do every year (and boy, are the charges against King George III germane just now!). I gathered with friends and| Not a Tech Bro
We interrupt the budget drama to bring you this immigration update: Allison Gill has published a story on the Mueller, She Wrote blog on an amended filing by lawyers for Kilmar Garcia Abrego, alleging widespread torture of inmates at the facility, including Abrego himself. I wrote about Abrego's| Not a Tech Bro
The Senate released its version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act at midnight on Friday, into the weekend news graveyard, hoping it would attract less attention in the news and on social media. It remains an Outrageous Budget-Busting Bullshit Abomination, thanks to an extension of the 2017 tax cuts| Not a Tech Bro
I was invited to attend the college graduation ceremonies of two relatives this past week. I cry at weddings and graduations. These were both uplifting and moving in exactly the right way. My nephew completed the undergraduate work for an engineering degree at Santa Clara University. While taking the coursework,| Not a Tech Bro
Tomorrow, Saturday June 14, President Trump is planning a massive parade of military hardware to celebrate his birthday and that of the US Army. It's an embarrassing display worthy of the Soviet Union and North Korea. It demeans the institutions and the soldiers it claims to celebrate by suggesting their| Not a Tech Bro
Over a series of posts here, I've laid out my pretty simple philosophy on taxes. After World War II, and mostly up until Reagan entered office, taxes on large incomes and substantial wealth were high. That reflected the economic and social philosophy of an exceptional era in America:| Not a Tech Bro
Lots of hyenas-eating-each-other energy in the Trump White House just at the moment. It's important not to lose focus. It was, after all, inevitable that the coalition that put the President in office would fall apart eventually. His MAGA base is nativist, populist and reactionary. His tech-bro enablers are globalists.| Not a Tech Bro
I'm on the road at the far end of a skinny internet pipe, so will be quieter and more sporadic than normal for a bit. I want to lay down this marker, though. The Republican "Big Beautiful Bill" is taking final form. Tax cuts for plutocrats| Not a Tech Bro
The Trump administration comes at you fast. I planned this week to write about the widespread destruction of post-secondary education in the US. Top-flight research universities like Columbia, Berkeley and Harvard are targeted by investigations, advancing the MAGA agenda against "wokeness" and "DEI" and freedom of thought in the US.| Not a Tech Bro
Mahmoud Khalil Last Saturday, federal immigration agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a US legal resident who led anti-Israel protests at Columbia University in New York last year. It was a well-chosen opening move by a media-savvy administration, guaranteed to get saturation coverage on television and to go viral on social media.| Not a Tech Bro
Mike Masnick wrote an absolute banger of a column last Tuesday, explaining why Techdirt's editorial mission was changing. If you haven't read it, you should make time. Masnick's post has been percolating in my brain all week. He's right: If you came of intellectual age here in Silicon Valley over| Not a Tech Bro
When I got to Silicon Valley in the 1980s, I believed deeply that the technology we were building could deliver a better society than the one I'd grown up in. We were going to automate drudge work with our magical machines so you could concentrate on what was interesting. We| Not a Tech Bro
I'm working on a DEI post, which I expect to publish tomorrow. In the meantime, I've gotten lots of sign-ups (thank you!) and some great comments from folks in response to the genesis post. My good friend Mårten Mickos sent me something he'd posted to his social media sites. I| Not a Tech Bro