Erik Ostrom

(To be clear, I am going back to Minnesota.)

On previous international trips I’ve relied on wifi and free roaming. Now I’m in the UK with a data-only travel eSIM. Never going back.

“objectively pro-measles” is the moderate description

Greater Minnesota schools felt the fear as ICE presence surged While the surge of federal agents in the Twin Cities grabbed much of the attention the past few months, stories of children hiding at home, crying in class and being detained have quietly gripped some...

While the surge of federal agents in the Twin Cities grabbed much of the attention the past few months, stories of children hiding at home, crying in class and being detained have quietly gripped some Minnesota small towns since January.

It's always time for this anti-fascist moment from Casablanca.

Measuring middle age by observable phenomena like “when I search Apple Music for ‘sinead,’ it’s the wrong one.”

🚨 Bdoté Prayer Camp is being evicted 🚨

They were given 24 hour notice to clear out by tribal authorities. The camp has decided to comply but want to preserve as much of their supplies as possible so it doesn’t get trashed or destroyed. This is an all hands on deck situation.

"What if, instead of constantly berating yourself for what you are not, what if you keep in mind that maybe whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever you are might be exactly what someone else needs right now?"

Just added this book to my queue.

pretty wild Anders Folk is campaigning for Hennepin county attorney on a pledge to end the "Mary Moriarty era" on day one.

idk, seems like Mary’s the only one not rolling over and is fighting unrelentingly for our civil rights.

Everything that comes out of this administration is both destructive and embarrassing, in equal measures.

Well, of course I remembered the final twist, but I got to experience everything else as little surprises

One word that made me wince, some dated choices, but still a delight from cover to cover

And probably formative for me in its casual diversity

Everyone in Minneapolis knows someone who lives in a house that looks just like this.

This is worth a read. We didn't have to have a system where a handful of billionaires swallow all of the world's resources and wealth, leaving the rest of us fighting for crumbs. This was a choice that we absolutely have the power to undo. Will we?

📣 Minnesotans - call to action

Donald Trump killed two of my constituents. He is a liar and should be ashamed of himself.

If you order someone to break the law, you have broken the law

Support Innocent Victim of Viral Right-Wing Attack In Somali, “albi” means heart. Before 2026, when the surge of federal agents, right-winged agitators and social media influencers came to town, Albi Kitchen was thriving. A place of community and lovi...

Albi Kitchen opened in their spot just off Loring park in late 2025.

Then Nick Shirley showed up to “investigate” the daycare next door and Albi endured weeks of random angry MAGAs wandering, causing problems, and costing them business. Now they need help to recover. chuffed.org/project/1689...

A street mural depicting Liam Ramos (in color), in front of and facing away from a looming array of gray, wraithlike figures in tactical armor, masks. and sunglasses, ICE written on their chests.

NDSM, Amsterdam.

The agents who murdered Good and Pretti have had lengthy careers.

ICE (and CBP) are rotten to the core. The agents who murdered people less than a mile from my house have trained others and harmed others.

Abolish ICE. Break up DHS. The agency isn’t even old enough to rent a car. End it.

“Concentration camps” is the right term and the right framework for what we’re trying to destroy

Update: GVB operates the trams, subways, and SOME of the buses, including the one that sped right past the stop where I was waiting, but not the one that stopped a couple minutes later

Hope to get somewhere at some point

Update: Tram, bus, and subway all have the same operator. I must have been thrown off by the airport train, which is separate.

Anyway, today I saw the Anne Frank house.

A couple of weeks ago in a Saint Paul restaurant I eavesdropped on a conversation about someone who had refitted their attic so an immigrant family could stay there in these unprecedented times.

It’s possible I just couldn’t figure it out. I’m in Amsterdam now and I think there’s an app that will sell you two tickets for your bus/subway trip, but I’m not sure.

So, really enjoying the frequency of service

OTOH spending time in cities with multiple transit agencies with different apps and different fares is making me a little wistful for the simplicity of Metro Transit

In Copenhagen I arrived at a Metro platform as my train was pulling away, but it was okay: the next one was due in literally one minute

Still saw people sprinting down the escalators to catch their trains

Dated but unfortunately not in a way that matters: eattherichtextformat.github.io/1-pixel-weal...

Stacks of short small books on a table: Questions, Democracy, Play, Corruption, Sleep, Age, Love, Brains, Careers, and Dreams. All have different authors. The name of the series is Reflections.

Denmark has 33 1/3 but for abstract concepts.

The second surest way to my block list is to be authoritatively stupid, so thank you for leading me to David Rothkopf.