Joshua Walker
@jshwlkr.bsky.social
Ann Arbor // Tech Lead & Fixer
Commonly referred to as a shit-starter. Perpetually annoyed. Not escaping Samsara anytime soon.
https://jshwlkr.info
Commonly referred to as a shit-starter. Perpetually annoyed. Not escaping Samsara anytime soon.
https://jshwlkr.info
Pinned
Joshua Walker
@jshwlkr.bsky.social
· Apr 8
"The impact of good reporting can topple politicians, send murderous cops to jail, prompt major reforms, expose environmental destruction, threats to public health, labor issues, human rights violations, and so much more." www.meditationsinanemergency.com/journalism-i...
Journalism Is Dead. Long Live Journalism
In some respects, this is a golden age of journalism. Right now, a host of brilliant, dedicated souls do fantastic work reporting and interpreting the news in independent newsletters, podcasts,…
www.meditationsinanemergency.com
February 17, 2026 at 2:21 PM
"The impact of good reporting can topple politicians, send murderous cops to jail, prompt major reforms, expose environmental destruction, threats to public health, labor issues, human rights violations, and so much more." www.meditationsinanemergency.com/journalism-i...
Decentralized social networks remain important. arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Platforms bend over backward to help DHS censor ICE critics, advocates say
Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem sued for coercing platforms into censoring ICE posts.
arstechnica.com
February 14, 2026 at 2:21 PM
Decentralized social networks remain important. arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Reposted by Joshua Walker
“Horizon loss”—or the feeling that the future is closing rather than opening—is reshaping Americans’ emotional lives and civic behavior. Neuroscientist turned civic data nerd Sarah Stamper takes a deep dive in today's FWIW.
Breaking the Doom Loop
Also inside: a mysterious PAC running attack ads in Georgia, the State of the Swamp SOTU rebuttal event, and more
www.fwiw.news
February 13, 2026 at 11:22 PM
“Horizon loss”—or the feeling that the future is closing rather than opening—is reshaping Americans’ emotional lives and civic behavior. Neuroscientist turned civic data nerd Sarah Stamper takes a deep dive in today's FWIW.
"Even if Trump decides he wishes to run for an unconstitutional third term—even if he attempts to rig the election—even if his cronies on the Supreme Court say this is all acceptable—elections have a power all their own in the American consciousness."
From Powerlessness to Power
We will not achieve any of our ultimate goals without exercising state power, and the most effective way to take state power is through nonviolent but confrontational resistance.
www.liberalcurrents.com
February 12, 2026 at 2:21 PM
"Even if Trump decides he wishes to run for an unconstitutional third term—even if he attempts to rig the election—even if his cronies on the Supreme Court say this is all acceptable—elections have a power all their own in the American consciousness."
@gallup.com I might suggest now that you're not measuring presidential approval you can spend that time measuring the amount of spine among the Gallup leadership.
February 12, 2026 at 3:46 AM
@gallup.com I might suggest now that you're not measuring presidential approval you can spend that time measuring the amount of spine among the Gallup leadership.
"losing billions of dollars per year, and as part of its efforts to break even, it has significantly hiked its rates" Can we not @niemanlab.org? No one says the army loses money or the roads lose money. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of how public service works.
“Terribly frustrating”: After USPS changes, more newspapers aren’t reaching subscribers on time
Newspaper delays are just one consequence of cost cuts and changes to a fraying 250-year-old system.
www.niemanlab.org
February 12, 2026 at 1:14 AM
"losing billions of dollars per year, and as part of its efforts to break even, it has significantly hiked its rates" Can we not @niemanlab.org? No one says the army loses money or the roads lose money. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of how public service works.
"The argument that America had undergone a massive rightward shift was less a factual contention and more an ideological assertion, an article of faith. It has proven to be a stubbornly resistant myth that is exceedingly hard to kill. And the same is true for the idea that 'there are no protests.'"
Why the Resistance Matters
Anti-authoritarian “neighborism” and cross-racial solidarity from below are a massive problem for the regime, exposing Trumpism’s weaknesses and ideological blind spots
steady.page
February 10, 2026 at 2:21 PM
"The argument that America had undergone a massive rightward shift was less a factual contention and more an ideological assertion, an article of faith. It has proven to be a stubbornly resistant myth that is exceedingly hard to kill. And the same is true for the idea that 'there are no protests.'"
Reposted by Joshua Walker
Canada paid for the bridge. Trump now wants half.
I put this together from my notes of years of covering this thing locally, going through his grievance list. www.dailydetroit.com/canada-paid-...
I put this together from my notes of years of covering this thing locally, going through his grievance list. www.dailydetroit.com/canada-paid-...
Canada Paid For The Bridge. Trump Wants Half.
I've followed this project for nearly a decade. Trump's threat to block the opening of the Gordie Howe — demanding half of a bridge we didn't pay for — deserves context. Here's the line-by-line realit...
www.dailydetroit.com
February 10, 2026 at 3:38 AM
Canada paid for the bridge. Trump now wants half.
I put this together from my notes of years of covering this thing locally, going through his grievance list. www.dailydetroit.com/canada-paid-...
I put this together from my notes of years of covering this thing locally, going through his grievance list. www.dailydetroit.com/canada-paid-...
"Popular pressure, protests, and civil society’s mobilization now appear as the sole safeguard for democracy and human rights in the United States." www.commondreams.org/newswire/uni...
United States Plunges into Unlawful Rule and Extrajudicial Killings
Renee Good and Alex Pretti were murdered by federal agents because they were human rights defenders, bearing witness to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) widescale human rights abuses…
www.commondreams.org
February 1, 2026 at 2:21 PM
"Popular pressure, protests, and civil society’s mobilization now appear as the sole safeguard for democracy and human rights in the United States." www.commondreams.org/newswire/uni...
"Trump, more than anything, wants to be popular. His sense of what leads to popularity is deeply broken, as are the moral values around it, but it's just a fact of the man that he wants people to praise him and doesn't like it when they don't." www.aaronrosspowell.com/3mdgqfumjy22f
Trump is Governing a Country that Doesn't Exist—And Destroying One That Does - Aaron Ross Powell's Blog
Cognitive decline and a curated information environment means Trump has no idea what's happening in the world outside his head.
www.aaronrosspowell.com
January 31, 2026 at 9:10 PM
"Trump, more than anything, wants to be popular. His sense of what leads to popularity is deeply broken, as are the moral values around it, but it's just a fact of the man that he wants people to praise him and doesn't like it when they don't." www.aaronrosspowell.com/3mdgqfumjy22f
"Pendulums swing; surprises erupt; public opinion shifts; the kind of campaigns that are initially dismissed or sneered at or attacked nevertheless often continue until they prevail" www.meditationsinanemergency.com/past-perform...
"Past Performance Is Not Indicative of Future Results": On Immigration and Assumptions
This morning the Wall Street Journal ran an editorial warning about the consequences of the persecution and deportation of immigrants and its impact on the overall labor force: "The Census Bureau…
www.meditationsinanemergency.com
January 31, 2026 at 2:21 PM
"Pendulums swing; surprises erupt; public opinion shifts; the kind of campaigns that are initially dismissed or sneered at or attacked nevertheless often continue until they prevail" www.meditationsinanemergency.com/past-perform...
"There are more of us than there are them. There are more good people in the world than bad. There are more virtuous people who believe in community than angry insecure people who believe that everything is a zero sum game. " www.techdirt.com/2026/01/28/m...
Minneapolis Proved Something MAGA Can’t Accept: Most People Are Actually Virtuous
There’s a line buried in Adam Serwer’s recent Atlantic piece on the Minneapolis resistance to ICE that deserves to be pulled out, examined, and posted on every lamppost in America: The …
www.techdirt.com
January 30, 2026 at 9:10 PM
"There are more of us than there are them. There are more good people in the world than bad. There are more virtuous people who believe in community than angry insecure people who believe that everything is a zero sum game. " www.techdirt.com/2026/01/28/m...
Can you actually use WiGLE to automatically alert you of nearby Flock/Axon devices or is that all blogosphere sensationalism?
January 30, 2026 at 8:39 PM
Can you actually use WiGLE to automatically alert you of nearby Flock/Axon devices or is that all blogosphere sensationalism?
And fuck the #NRA too. "They don’t honestly care how many people are killed by law enforcement officers. The only thing they care about is being able to open carry while shopping at Walmart or invading federal buildings to overturn elections." www.techdirt.com/2026/01/28/g...
www.techdirt.com
January 30, 2026 at 7:21 PM
And fuck the #NRA too. "They don’t honestly care how many people are killed by law enforcement officers. The only thing they care about is being able to open carry while shopping at Walmart or invading federal buildings to overturn elections." www.techdirt.com/2026/01/28/g...
"We’re all in this country and world together with our fates inexorably intertwined. These are crimes being committed against all of us, trying to destroy the fabric of our nation, its values, and all the law that is supposed to protect us all." www.techdirt.com/2026/01/29/s...
Speak Its Name: Yes, This Is Naziism
History never repeats exactly the same, which is how it can be hard to recognize when it is indeed repeating—too many little things may be different the second time around for subsequent events to …
www.techdirt.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:21 PM
"We’re all in this country and world together with our fates inexorably intertwined. These are crimes being committed against all of us, trying to destroy the fabric of our nation, its values, and all the law that is supposed to protect us all." www.techdirt.com/2026/01/29/s...
"It’s a game to them to lie because it “triggers the libs.”
They will justify and celebrate murder so long as they can meme it and parade around how mad it makes empathetic people to see their friends and neighbors murdered." www.techdirt.com/2026/01/26/a...
They will justify and celebrate murder so long as they can meme it and parade around how mad it makes empathetic people to see their friends and neighbors murdered." www.techdirt.com/2026/01/26/a...
January 27, 2026 at 3:45 PM
"It’s a game to them to lie because it “triggers the libs.”
They will justify and celebrate murder so long as they can meme it and parade around how mad it makes empathetic people to see their friends and neighbors murdered." www.techdirt.com/2026/01/26/a...
They will justify and celebrate murder so long as they can meme it and parade around how mad it makes empathetic people to see their friends and neighbors murdered." www.techdirt.com/2026/01/26/a...
"ICE agents are not acting like federal officials trying to serve the community - because that’s not what they are doing. In Minneapolis, the federal government is laying siege to an American city." steady.page/en/democracy...
January 27, 2026 at 2:21 PM
"ICE agents are not acting like federal officials trying to serve the community - because that’s not what they are doing. In Minneapolis, the federal government is laying siege to an American city." steady.page/en/democracy...
Just me spending the day charging every device I own while braving the roads to go hoard various soups.
January 25, 2026 at 9:58 PM
Just me spending the day charging every device I own while braving the roads to go hoard various soups.
If you want to help Minnesota: naomikritzer.com/2026/01/21/h...
How To Help if You are Outside Minnesota
Last edited January 22, 2026 I’m going to assume that if you’re reading this, you more or less understand the situation in Minnesota and I don’t have to explain it to you! That sa…
naomikritzer.com
January 25, 2026 at 9:10 PM
If you want to help Minnesota: naomikritzer.com/2026/01/21/h...
Mutual aid resources for Minnesota right now: linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid
January 25, 2026 at 2:21 PM
Mutual aid resources for Minnesota right now: linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid
Reposted by Joshua Walker
I came to Minneapolis to report on what's going on, and one of the main questions I showed up with is "just what is the scale of the resistance?" After all, we're all used to the news calling Portland a "war zone" or whatever when it's just some protests in one part of town.
January 22, 2026 at 3:58 AM
I came to Minneapolis to report on what's going on, and one of the main questions I showed up with is "just what is the scale of the resistance?" After all, we're all used to the news calling Portland a "war zone" or whatever when it's just some protests in one part of town.
@feedly.com Is your firewall documentation still accurate? I'd like to keep your crawler from being blocked in Cloudflare but it doesn't seem like your IP listed in the docs is the one I'm seeing. Alternatively if you can just get your bot verified by Cloudflare then this isn't an issue.
January 23, 2026 at 8:57 PM
@feedly.com Is your firewall documentation still accurate? I'd like to keep your crawler from being blocked in Cloudflare but it doesn't seem like your IP listed in the docs is the one I'm seeing. Alternatively if you can just get your bot verified by Cloudflare then this isn't an issue.
Pikapods is a good place to run Immich, right? I always have anxiety over whether or not I'm spending the appropriate amount of both time and money on purchases like this.
January 17, 2026 at 8:20 PM
Pikapods is a good place to run Immich, right? I always have anxiety over whether or not I'm spending the appropriate amount of both time and money on purchases like this.
Reposted by Joshua Walker
It's wild to read this work I edited back in 2021, and see the rights of vulnerable groups in STEM further regress due to ongoing anti-"woke" moral panics. You can't even use the term "DEI" in a governmental setting anymore. And oh, Gavin Newsom vetoed a bipartisan bill banning caste discrimination.
A lot of people coming from higher castes claim to be caste-blind.
Even in the sciences, the range of experiences of those navigating a career in STEM is a testament to how deep-rooted caste is even among those who claim to have given up the practice. (Published Oct. 2021)
Even in the sciences, the range of experiences of those navigating a career in STEM is a testament to how deep-rooted caste is even among those who claim to have given up the practice. (Published Oct. 2021)
Perspective: Saying DEI in an Indian Accent
Contrary to popular American belief, there is no such thing as an Indian accent, there are many.
www.thexylom.com
January 16, 2026 at 3:26 AM
It's wild to read this work I edited back in 2021, and see the rights of vulnerable groups in STEM further regress due to ongoing anti-"woke" moral panics. You can't even use the term "DEI" in a governmental setting anymore. And oh, Gavin Newsom vetoed a bipartisan bill banning caste discrimination.