Dear Friends, Thanks for your patience as I transfer my writing to a new website. I hope you find The Bureau of Ideas to be everything you like about The Octopus and The Ant. I haven't figured out all the bells and whistles yet, but one of these
No Kings protesters estimate that over 7 million people marched yesterday, although you'd barely know that from looking at the NYT front page. Regardless, local news outlets covered a lot of the protests, especially in smaller towns and red states that would actually be purple if it weren&
Today's post is full of the regular links but I am going to do some light sorting by state when I can. I want you to be so inspired by all the surprising places that are planning No Kings protests that you decide to attend one yourself. The
Here's another semi-regular round-up of the news that shows people are standing up and fighting back. If you'd like more regular posts, check out Chop Wood, Carry Water, a daily digest of actions and news. Jess Craven reports that there are currently 2500 protests planned for
Hi folks. It's been a little more challenging to find "good" news of people and organizations fighting back against the Trump administration this week because he's absolutely flooding the zone with crazy authoritarian shit. But please don't despair! People are fighting back.
Newsletter
Introducing The Bureau of Ideas
A Road Map For Democratic Reform In the United States of America The Problem Just as many of the solutions of our democracy originate in the Constitution, a lot of the problems in this country are also rooted in our founding document. The current reading Second Amendment contributes to our
I wrote the following essay in April 2023. Two and a half years later, my caseload is still as robust as it was before the pandemic, with slightly more in-person cases than before. I still won't fly for a hearing, and I do get selected for cases that
Pocatello and Idaho Falls to join national ‘No Kings’ day of action in mid-October Protesters Disrupt Carr’s First FCC Meeting Since Kimmel Suspension Protests begin over National Guard deployment request to New Orleans Gallego denounces Trump’s call to use US cities as ‘training grounds for our military’ South
The defense that is not a defense
Democratic anger at their own party fuels 2026 primaries Democratic Report Says Disorder at DOGE Jeopardized Americans’ Data Wall Street Journal asks judge to make Trump pay up for filing 'meritless' lawsuit over 'proven true' story about Jeffrey Epstein birthday letter UN General Assembly Trump Protest
Comedy, Movies, IG, Music - no reading required
State Lawmakers Are Getting Arrested at Detention Centers and Yelling at Masked ICE Agents. Good. Unions Sue Trump Administration Over Union Busting at Voice of America, USAGM 3 members of federal control board in Puerto Rico sue Trump and others for illegal firings Film and TV writers — and Michael Eisner
Dear Friends: I appreciate that the title of this newsletter is a little obtuse. I explained it my first post this way: The name of this newsletter, The Octopus and The Ant, is taken from my two tattoos, which are, well, you can probably guess. The Octopus, to Aristotle, was
I'm not the only one who thinks we need the next ten amendments. Rep. Sean Casten (IL-6) has introduced a Package of Legislation to Reform American Democracy. Go Sean! Please ask your rep to support! I set up a bunch of new alerts for protests nationwide. I find
Thanks to social media, people have had increased opportunities to share their personal and political views beyond their immediate circle of friends and family. As a result, there is an increase in the number of people who have come under scrutiny at work for their comments on social media about
I'll get to the links below, but first, I want to share an idea I've been kicking around all week. It is not, unfortunately, a plan to rescue the labor movement and thus the country. It's bigger than that. Just as many of the
Well, Not Quite
As you know, most of my posts are just links, harvested from the internet to give you a quick reminder that all is not lost. Occasionally, I will create more in-depth content, such as my Resource Guide and My Blueprint for Saving Democracy. Today, I want to dive into some