considering quitting my job to become a procurement reform activist (because I'm super cool and exciting 😂). (not really but only because of how depressing it would be).

(my team has also addressed your previous issue on pricing by ... not allowing us to even see the pricing. 🤷‍♀️)

Waldo, I am STILL in procurement hell. I'm losing my mind. We've been trying to hire someone for this massive project for five years! (this is unusually excessive, but real). boooooo!

Picture of Marjane Satrapi alongside a quote from her. The quote reads: The world is not divided into countries. The world is not divided between East and West. You are American, I am Iranian, we don't know each other, but we talk together and we understand each other perfectly. The difference between you and your government is much bigger than the difference between you and me. And the difference between me and my government is much bigger than the difference between me and you. And our governments are very much the same... - Marjane Satrapi, Iranian-French graphic novelist

Thinking about this quote from Persepolis creator Marjane Satrapi again.

Evergreen…

Where can I find these nerds in NYC 😂. I’m a straight women (no beard) but check the other four of those boxes, and Vance’s “Catholicism” makes me sputter with rage on a regular basis!

Wahoowa!

This was magnificent.

Violence has no place in our politics. Horrific.

Beware any claims that are made before credible information is available.

It was a game changer for me to listen to audiobooks at higher speeds (I do anywhere from 1.5 to 2x!). Also a fast reader, and somehow the faster speeds matches my brain more. But agree any book experience is a good one!

Congrats to Stephen Colbert for never bending the knee.

Two NYT headlines stating the WH wants to promote more childbearing and the EPA is ending testing for chemicals that hurt children.

Two headlines in the New York Times today.

Yes!!! Gov Pritzker!

It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours, and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic.

When the fire starts to burn, every good person better be ready to man a post with a bucket of water if you want to stop it from raging out of control.

5 Calls app!!

When I was a Hill staffer in 2009, a Dem trifecta was trying to pass universal healthcare. In response, Senate GOP released a memo detailing all of the tactics they in the minority could use to delay the effort as much as possible. I'm recirculating that 2009 GOP memo here. Take inspiration from it.

A first edition of Silent Spring, with an iconic green dust cover

I'm rereading Silent Spring. When Rachel Carson wrote it, things seemed hopeless. Industry was completely unchecked in its pollution and exploitation of our environment. She wrote a book and changed the world, using the power of knowledge and science. We can do it again.

Pahlka's book really is good! as a liberal government employee, in the trenches, I'd argue that her book at least highlights real blind spots liberals have in implementing good policy. (I don't agree that DOGE has any good intentions whatsoever, however!).

"We should be unromantic about what this means. If we remove barriers to market housing production, some capitalist firms will benefit; if we don’t, other capitalist firms—the ones that profit off of housing scarcity—will benefit instead."

NYC just passed City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, our most significant pro-housing reform in decades!!!!

Combining the largest zoning overhaul in 50 years with a $5B housing investment, this marks a sea change in how NYC builds homes.

📌

A lot of people have shared this poem over the past week. It’s a sentiment I think about a lot, especially now.

I hope everyone is doing what they need to take care of themselves. One step at a time. One day at a time.