Cugel the Clever
@cugel.bsky.social
Seattle-based software engineer with an interest in urbanism and global affairs. Anti-fascist; statist social democrat. Advocate of the Butlerian jihad. 🇺🇸🇺🇦🇵🇸🇺🇳
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
If we are banning cell phones for kids we need to be talking about banning chatbots for boomers
www.persuasion.community/p/my-chatgpt...
www.persuasion.community/p/my-chatgpt...
December 17, 2025 at 4:38 PM
If we are banning cell phones for kids we need to be talking about banning chatbots for boomers
www.persuasion.community/p/my-chatgpt...
www.persuasion.community/p/my-chatgpt...
I'm old enough to remember when Nate Silver was a hot nerd, instead of a grimy potato.
December 17, 2025 at 4:52 PM
I'm old enough to remember when Nate Silver was a hot nerd, instead of a grimy potato.
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
Cllrs Burnside and Lin have moved for TPS to detain e-bike/e-scooter riders & confiscate their vehicles if they're on the sidewalk. Our letter:
www.thebikinglawyer.ca/post/confisc...
Don't ride on sidewalks, but e-bikes did not kill or seriously injure 234 people this year
www.thebikinglawyer.ca/post/confisc...
Don't ride on sidewalks, but e-bikes did not kill or seriously injure 234 people this year
Confiscating E-Bikes is a Horrible Idea
Confiscating E-Bikes fails to acknowledge that dangerous drivers have killed and seriously injured 234 people in Toronto this year.
www.thebikinglawyer.ca
December 17, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Cllrs Burnside and Lin have moved for TPS to detain e-bike/e-scooter riders & confiscate their vehicles if they're on the sidewalk. Our letter:
www.thebikinglawyer.ca/post/confisc...
Don't ride on sidewalks, but e-bikes did not kill or seriously injure 234 people this year
www.thebikinglawyer.ca/post/confisc...
Don't ride on sidewalks, but e-bikes did not kill or seriously injure 234 people this year
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
If I had time for Seattle landmarking drama right now, I would totally follow the case of the Caroline Horton House, which was landmarked by the neighbors against the owner's will and gets its controls and incentives hearing on December 17th. www.seattle.gov/documents/De...
December 14, 2025 at 9:04 PM
If I had time for Seattle landmarking drama right now, I would totally follow the case of the Caroline Horton House, which was landmarked by the neighbors against the owner's will and gets its controls and incentives hearing on December 17th. www.seattle.gov/documents/De...
I don't know who needs to hear this, but we can empathize with a person without excusing bad behavior we might source to the real challenges they faced in their life.
December 16, 2025 at 4:29 PM
I don't know who needs to hear this, but we can empathize with a person without excusing bad behavior we might source to the real challenges they faced in their life.
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
"The old man thinks he_{2}'s in love with his_{1} daughter."
There you go, fixed it for you Tom. No need for humorous misunderstandings now
There you go, fixed it for you Tom. No need for humorous misunderstandings now
December 16, 2025 at 8:10 AM
"The old man thinks he_{2}'s in love with his_{1} daughter."
There you go, fixed it for you Tom. No need for humorous misunderstandings now
There you go, fixed it for you Tom. No need for humorous misunderstandings now
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
Some countries are heading into a reverse Enlightenment. An age of bullshit, irrationality, and idiocy. The US is rushing headlong to the cliff edge while the UK is just eroding it's capacity by ignoring the obvious crisis in the research sector
Well, this is an utter disaster for science.
This gutting of peer review is very likely driven by Project 2025/OMB/Vought, very likely is about funding junk science, and very likely is coming for #NIH and biomedical research next.
🧪
This gutting of peer review is very likely driven by Project 2025/OMB/Vought, very likely is about funding junk science, and very likely is coming for #NIH and biomedical research next.
🧪
December 16, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Some countries are heading into a reverse Enlightenment. An age of bullshit, irrationality, and idiocy. The US is rushing headlong to the cliff edge while the UK is just eroding it's capacity by ignoring the obvious crisis in the research sector
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
I lived thru the end of public smoking. Early in my career I presented to city councils who were smoking, in front of audiences who were smoking.
Smoking in restaurants, airplanes, hospitals…
All of that seems insane now, but it was very controversial when we DID change it.
We CAN change things.
Smoking in restaurants, airplanes, hospitals…
All of that seems insane now, but it was very controversial when we DID change it.
We CAN change things.
It’s crazy that people used to be able to just smoke cigarettes wherever they wanted
December 15, 2025 at 8:04 AM
I lived thru the end of public smoking. Early in my career I presented to city councils who were smoking, in front of audiences who were smoking.
Smoking in restaurants, airplanes, hospitals…
All of that seems insane now, but it was very controversial when we DID change it.
We CAN change things.
Smoking in restaurants, airplanes, hospitals…
All of that seems insane now, but it was very controversial when we DID change it.
We CAN change things.
The new Knives Out movie was okay, but very much felt like a "welp, I guess we're contracted to release a third movie".
The strength of the previous films in the series had been in the engaging characters. WUDM utterly lacked that, leaving it to the unfurling of the mystery to carry the film.
The strength of the previous films in the series had been in the engaging characters. WUDM utterly lacked that, leaving it to the unfurling of the mystery to carry the film.
December 16, 2025 at 4:02 AM
The new Knives Out movie was okay, but very much felt like a "welp, I guess we're contracted to release a third movie".
The strength of the previous films in the series had been in the engaging characters. WUDM utterly lacked that, leaving it to the unfurling of the mystery to carry the film.
The strength of the previous films in the series had been in the engaging characters. WUDM utterly lacked that, leaving it to the unfurling of the mystery to carry the film.
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
used to be like "ha ha how could people fall for snake oil" and now it's like "oh everyone falls for every kind of snake oil possible all the time including billionaires and politicians, just guzzling up snake oil at a horrifically alarming rate and vomiting out onto the rest of us" 🫠🙃
December 11, 2025 at 2:37 PM
used to be like "ha ha how could people fall for snake oil" and now it's like "oh everyone falls for every kind of snake oil possible all the time including billionaires and politicians, just guzzling up snake oil at a horrifically alarming rate and vomiting out onto the rest of us" 🫠🙃
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
When cameras are installed, they issue many violations in the first month, followed by a steep decline in the second month. This suggests that the cameras effectively deter speeding by changing underlying driver behavior rather than relying on sustained revenue extraction.
December 8, 2025 at 8:19 PM
When cameras are installed, they issue many violations in the first month, followed by a steep decline in the second month. This suggests that the cameras effectively deter speeding by changing underlying driver behavior rather than relying on sustained revenue extraction.
My dad (mid-70s) got hit by a car while cycling yesterday. He escaped with just a few abrasions, but it could have been drastically worse.
Fuck cars and fuck our car-first infrastructure.
Fuck cars and fuck our car-first infrastructure.
December 9, 2025 at 4:22 PM
My dad (mid-70s) got hit by a car while cycling yesterday. He escaped with just a few abrasions, but it could have been drastically worse.
Fuck cars and fuck our car-first infrastructure.
Fuck cars and fuck our car-first infrastructure.
Watched Ken Burns' Statue of Liberty documentary this weekend and, oof, some of the quotes about the vulnerability of freedom and democracy to apathy and authoritarianism hit hard.
December 8, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Watched Ken Burns' Statue of Liberty documentary this weekend and, oof, some of the quotes about the vulnerability of freedom and democracy to apathy and authoritarianism hit hard.
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
Pretty crazy that nearly all of the EU Commission is still on X even as Elon Musk is literally talking about destroying the EU.
You can leave X. It's really not that difficult.
You can leave X. It's really not that difficult.
So what's the outcome?
2️⃣5️⃣ of the 27 Commissioners have posted in the last week
2️⃣4️⃣ of the 27 generally post every week (Albuquerque has never been on X, Ribera is sporadic, McGrath has somehow stopped)
0️⃣ have stopped as a result of what Twitter has become since the Musk takeover
2️⃣5️⃣ of the 27 Commissioners have posted in the last week
2️⃣4️⃣ of the 27 generally post every week (Albuquerque has never been on X, Ribera is sporadic, McGrath has somehow stopped)
0️⃣ have stopped as a result of what Twitter has become since the Musk takeover
December 7, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Pretty crazy that nearly all of the EU Commission is still on X even as Elon Musk is literally talking about destroying the EU.
You can leave X. It's really not that difficult.
You can leave X. It's really not that difficult.
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
🇺🇸 trifectas get shot at doing something
Obama chose policy (ACA). It didn’t fix the authoritarian problem
Biden chose policy (ARP/IRA). It didn’t fix the authoritarian problem
The platform must be institutional reform next time. Right from the start, as @dhnexon.bsky.social said
Obama chose policy (ACA). It didn’t fix the authoritarian problem
Biden chose policy (ARP/IRA). It didn’t fix the authoritarian problem
The platform must be
If we want to actually be a representative democracy, then the platform needs to be institutional reform. All the Popularism and all the policies follow from that, not the other way around.
- DC/PR/USVI statehood
- Enlarging the House
- MMDs
- New VRA
- Totally revamping SCOTUS: bsky.app/profile/mcop...
- Automatic universal voter registration
- Rewriting the "national emergency" laws: bsky.app/profile/mcop...
- Subordinating the Senate: bsky.app/profile/mcop...
Etc.
- Enlarging the House
- MMDs
- New VRA
- Totally revamping SCOTUS: bsky.app/profile/mcop...
- Automatic universal voter registration
- Rewriting
- Subordinating the Senate: bsky.app/profile/mcop...
Etc.
December 7, 2025 at 4:16 PM
🇺🇸 trifectas get shot at doing something
Obama chose policy (ACA). It didn’t fix the authoritarian problem
Biden chose policy (ARP/IRA). It didn’t fix the authoritarian problem
The platform must be institutional reform next time. Right from the start, as @dhnexon.bsky.social said
Obama chose policy (ACA). It didn’t fix the authoritarian problem
Biden chose policy (ARP/IRA). It didn’t fix the authoritarian problem
The platform must be
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
To trivialize this as a "sex scandal" is, in the kindest construction, myopic. A high status journalist (inter alia) sat on highly incriminating information about the guy currently bringing measles and whooping cough back as head of HHS!
this is extraordinary. too many people in my profession have circled the wagons around someone who lacks the moral sense of a child
@timmiller.bsky.social: "He's being nominated to HHS Secretary…You had information that you could have shared…and you didn't share anything about him. Why? Did you still love him?"
Olivia Nuzzi: "I don't know how to responsibly handle this on camera." lnk.thebulwark.com/4ozkaz8?utm_...
Olivia Nuzzi: "I don't know how to responsibly handle this on camera." lnk.thebulwark.com/4ozkaz8?utm_...
December 5, 2025 at 2:36 AM
To trivialize this as a "sex scandal" is, in the kindest construction, myopic. A high status journalist (inter alia) sat on highly incriminating information about the guy currently bringing measles and whooping cough back as head of HHS!
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
Wtf are we doing?
"CNN partners with Kalshi to integrate prediction markets into its global newsroom. The first major news network to embrace Kalshi prediction markets."
"CNN partners with Kalshi to integrate prediction markets into its global newsroom. The first major news network to embrace Kalshi prediction markets."
December 3, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Wtf are we doing?
"CNN partners with Kalshi to integrate prediction markets into its global newsroom. The first major news network to embrace Kalshi prediction markets."
"CNN partners with Kalshi to integrate prediction markets into its global newsroom. The first major news network to embrace Kalshi prediction markets."
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
“If you believe the MAGA postliberal project is real, then liberalism must understand MAGA is not a reaction to economic consequences or “elite failures,” but an affirmative preference for illiberalism.
Liberalism must stop apologizing. Stop excusing. And fight.”
www.thebulwark.com/p/maga-and-l...
Liberalism must stop apologizing. Stop excusing. And fight.”
www.thebulwark.com/p/maga-and-l...
Liberals: Stop the Masochism
Why liberalism romanticizes the Forgotten Man and is reluctant to take its own side in the fight against authoritarianism.
www.thebulwark.com
December 3, 2025 at 7:17 PM
“If you believe the MAGA postliberal project is real, then liberalism must understand MAGA is not a reaction to economic consequences or “elite failures,” but an affirmative preference for illiberalism.
Liberalism must stop apologizing. Stop excusing. And fight.”
www.thebulwark.com/p/maga-and-l...
Liberalism must stop apologizing. Stop excusing. And fight.”
www.thebulwark.com/p/maga-and-l...
Not that I need to feel more pessimistic about "AI", but this article does a great job of conveying the gut-wrenching surreality of the current moment. We're on the cusp of an epistemic collapse and the worst people you know are doing everything possible to press the pedal to the metal.
„CSU—US’s largest public uni system—went all-in with a $17mill partnership with OpenAI. . .CSU unveiled its grand technological gesture just as it proposed slashing $375mill from its budget. While admin cut ribbons on AI, they were cutting faculty positions, academic programs, student services.“
AI is Destroying the University and Learning Itself
Students use AI to write papers, professors use AI to grade them, degrees become meaningless, and tech companies make fortunes. Welcome to the death of higher education.
www.currentaffairs.org
December 3, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Not that I need to feel more pessimistic about "AI", but this article does a great job of conveying the gut-wrenching surreality of the current moment. We're on the cusp of an epistemic collapse and the worst people you know are doing everything possible to press the pedal to the metal.
San Francisco can fuck right off with this performative, anti-science nonsense.
The city of San Francisco filed a lawsuit against some top food manufacturers on Tuesday, arguing that ultraprocessed food from the likes of Coca-Cola and Nestle are responsible for a health crisis. n.pr/48hVZ3v
San Francisco sues nation's top food manufacturers over ultraprocessed foods
The city of San Francisco filed a lawsuit against some top food manufacturers on Tuesday, arguing that ultraprocessed food from the likes of Coca-Cola and Nestle are responsible for a health crisis.
n.pr
December 3, 2025 at 7:36 AM
San Francisco can fuck right off with this performative, anti-science nonsense.
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
"You know the difference between a real science and a pseudoscience? A real science recognizes and accepts its own history without feeling attacked." - Foucault
December 2, 2025 at 1:25 PM
"You know the difference between a real science and a pseudoscience? A real science recognizes and accepts its own history without feeling attacked." - Foucault
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
There has to be a term, concept for how the virtues of a free society fall apart in the face of nothing but advertising, soliciting, and propagating, and glorifying vice.
December 1, 2025 at 3:02 AM
There has to be a term, concept for how the virtues of a free society fall apart in the face of nothing but advertising, soliciting, and propagating, and glorifying vice.
Reposted by Cugel the Clever
We're excited to announce that The Urbanist has relaunched a podcast, in partnership with KVRU 105.7 FM.
In the first episode, @metropolitanglide.bsky.social and @amysundberg.bsky.social break down this month's election results.
www.theurbanist.org/2025/11/27/u...
In the first episode, @metropolitanglide.bsky.social and @amysundberg.bsky.social break down this month's election results.
www.theurbanist.org/2025/11/27/u...
Urbanist Podcast Election Extravaganza: Puget Sound Progressives Prevail » The Urbanist
# The Urbanist Podcast is back after a hiatus, just in time to break down 2025 election results. In this episode, Urbanist publisher Doug Trumm and reporter Amy Sundberg discuss what happened in Seatt...
www.theurbanist.org
November 27, 2025 at 6:53 PM
We're excited to announce that The Urbanist has relaunched a podcast, in partnership with KVRU 105.7 FM.
In the first episode, @metropolitanglide.bsky.social and @amysundberg.bsky.social break down this month's election results.
www.theurbanist.org/2025/11/27/u...
In the first episode, @metropolitanglide.bsky.social and @amysundberg.bsky.social break down this month's election results.
www.theurbanist.org/2025/11/27/u...
I still don't grasp how this is defaulted to on when the feature makes shows look like trash. To say nothing of the fact that many viewers presumably leave it unchanged.
Legit thought my buddy's TV was malfunctioning when I first came across it.
Legit thought my buddy's TV was malfunctioning when I first came across it.
November 27, 2025 at 12:58 AM
I still don't grasp how this is defaulted to on when the feature makes shows look like trash. To say nothing of the fact that many viewers presumably leave it unchanged.
Legit thought my buddy's TV was malfunctioning when I first came across it.
Legit thought my buddy's TV was malfunctioning when I first came across it.