Someone should go listen at Ted Kennedy's grave and check if there's a loud whirring noise.

(uncpress.org/978080785866... is where I learned about the centrality of anti-Catholicism to colonialist culture, and how it was shaped around ideas of conspiracy.)

But also e.g. anti-Catholicism was a huge part of American culture for centuries, and a lot of conspiratorial thinking is structured by that history, weird echoes like cyclists who want bike lanes are tiny yet super-powerful foreign infiltrators. And yet it's... gone. So not sufficient explanation.

How the Specter of Islam Fueled European Colonization in the Americas As every schoolchild learns, Columbus set sail with India on his mind’s horizon. Rarely, though, do schoolchildren learn why Columbus sought to cross the Atlantic. Hoping for an alliance with the G…

lithub.com/how-the-spec... argues it's a lot deeper and goes back a lot further. Based in part on a much larger book (and if memory serves the argument could've used its own, separate book).

😭 So fucking horrifying.

But perhaps also effective in reducing gas usage?

How Many Parking Permits? In 2017 I wrote: One of the major reasons existing residents often oppose adding more housing is that as more people move in it gets harder to find on-street parking. What if we added a new catego...

To make building housing more palatable, Somerville allows new units near transit to be ineligible for street parking. Affordable units are always eligible; how much of an impact is this? Of 90 affordable units in the 450-unit Union Sq tower, only 7 have permits.

So they end up providing cover for Israel based on the idea that the imaginary country in their head could do so much better with just a little sweet talking from the US.

My other issue that pro-"Israel" progressive positions are about an imaginary Israel, not the real one. E.g. the IDF's main force is conscripts and reservists, so this was genocide by a people's army, not just Netanyahu and co. No Jewish party supports a 2-state solution or end to occupation. Etc.

(I've done endorsements, I know one sometimes has to support people because the alternative is worst, or because they're mostly decent even if not perfect, etc.. Power requires coalitions, etc.. But they still chose to endorse someone also endorsed by AIPAC despite her running unopposed.)

For context, Rep Clark typically runs unopposed; no Republican would win here. (This year she finally has primary challengers, I assume JStreet will ignore them).

Are there other relevant orgs? 'Cause the biggest self-consciously liberal Zionist group doesn't seem super helpful from over here.

From the perspective of local politics, in 2024 JStreet PAC endorsed my congressperson Rep. Clark (Dem Whip). She voted for the IHRA in Congress, has received massive amounts of money and endorsement from AIPAC, doesn't support Block the Bombs AFAIK. Other side of town is Rep Ayanna Pressley.

Given Israel has internal segregation (I lived in a Jewish town, I went to a Jewish school, etc) and US lib Zionists are fine with this, and attitudes like jstreet.org/refugees/, I can see how that might be a threat to AIPAC but I don't see how that's particular helpful on a policy level.

“Socialism or barbarism” is a phrase we‘ve all heard many times. But it’s never felt it so viscerally true before now.

This is Massachusetts, we don't pass laws

Automobiles!

It's a good book!

Soo... why did you vote in favor of honoring a white supremecist?

I know people are very sensitive about the use of the word “genocide” but the attempts to medically eliminate trans children is very clearly meets the standard because they are trying to eliminate a population and also they know some of those kids are going to kill themselves

Also 50% IIRC went to rich people, who are a small number of people compared to everyone else, so on a per-person level it was a ludicrously massive giveaway to the rich.

Especially if Starlink and friends result in Kessler syndrome.

Kansas, Missouri, Indiana...

still think the genocidal unpersoning of trans people is abstract hysteria?

Tell Gov. Healey: Get ICE Out of Massachusetts NOTE: Please add your information if you would like to sign this letter urging Governor Healey to take immediate and decisive action to get ICE out of Massachusetts. Although we believe in broad soli...

Jewish MA residents, you can join our call here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Stand up for Science Stand up for Science

This Saturday at 12PM at the Boston Common parkstand: Stand Up For Science rally. There will be accordion music.

fight2win.standupforscience.net/Boston-March/

#Boston

Shout out to the NIMBY neighbors who managed to kill the original proposal because they felt their aesthetic prejudices, and access to street parking, were more important than having affordable housing. Hope they enjoy the resulting even-taller building!

I grew up in a small suburb in Israel: 68% good, far higher than USA. A common form of transport (including for teenagers) was hitchhiking. The town had built shelters for this, in/outbound; sometimes to get home we held signs at major intersections. It worked!

OTOH: apartheid, and later, genocide.

It's now an example on the standard first slide of software talks I give, "Software you shouldn't write".

Oops, replied too early in thread creation :/

This was part of how the genocide in Gaza happened: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AI-assi...

The Massachusetts Department of Correction has been fighting me for months, trying to withhold data about its collaboration with ICE.

Yesterday, I won that fight, and obtained records showing that the state has transferred more than 2,000 people into ICE custody since 2009.

A quick thread: