Sandy

anti-authoritarian. lots of dog talk here.

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

The silent majority of Californians live grass touching lives, never give entertainment award speeches or even visit San Francisco. They are kind, resilient, and not unlike your neighbors. You can hate California governance (a majority of us do too). But you don’t know us. We have more people than Canada, Australia, New Zealand, 6 times the population of Ireland. We have exponentially more people in our political minority than most red states have in their majority.

[Saagar Enjeti @esaagar]

Hating California is a vibe check test for me: Yeah it’s a tragedy what has happened to it but the fundamentals, the natural beauty, the weather, and its pioneer spirit history are top tier

Los Angeles is such an amazing place and it’s just so horrible to watch it burn

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@BoomertarianN I mean it was not a surprise, of course he was going to win. But, wow, he is awful.

[Brian Anderson @BrianAcity]

Some higher-ed good news: Clemson is launching a new department based on the Great Books, with up to 120 scholarships a year and a Socratic tutor for each student. C. Bradley Thompson reports on The Lyceum—and on profs putting teaching first again: https://t.co/W4tWxgTUxB

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@_karaeastman @daytrashin The government shouldn’t be colluding with for profit companies. So you are half right.

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@s_assbague You are not the good guy and you don’t even know it.

[Yael Bar tur @yaelbt]

Some big news about our little podcast… @SaysCL and I are joining @ArkMediaOrg!

We are now called Chosen People Problems, but we’re still the same show and same hosts, just with more inflated egos.

Please listen, so @dansenor doesn’t regret this decision (he already might)

[Meghan Daum @meghan_daum]

This issue is so upsetting that even though I've been screaming about it for months I generally avoid engaging with it because I dread seeing it in my feed. But it's desperately urgent and our elected officials MUST ACT. There should be nothing partisan about it.

[Noah Smith 🐇🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 @Noahpinion]

The anti-American rightist movement spearheaded by malcontent assholes like Bo French is destined to fail. It's just a question of how much we let it wound our nation in the process of failing.

https://t.co/yfvfcEEw43

[The Voice of San Francisco @TheVOSF]

NEW from @susandreynolds ⬇️
As an assemblyman, Rob Bonta funneled money from donors, lobbyists, and his foundation to nonprofits run by his wife Mia Bonta. https://t.co/RonZgCr9rI

[Yinzer G @yinzer_g]

Gen X defined:

Ages 45-61
Looks 35-40
Will 100% throw hands
Doesn't care about your feelings
Cusses a lot
Will make you cry with words
Great work ethic
Pragmatic
Zero tolerance for stupidity
Skeptical of authority
Doesn't trust anyone at 1st
Extremely loyal friend
Figures shit out
Most likely your boss
Works hard, plays hard
No fear
Sarcastic as fuck
Still listens to the same music
Knows lyrics to Rock, Rap & Country
Proficient in analog & digital tech
Self reliant
Adaptable to any environment
Just wants to be left alone

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@glukianoff Must be doing something right if everyone is coming at you. Thanks for your principles and perseverance!

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@NancyRomm @ajwimsatt It’s beautiful hearing from you, @wethefifth, @KatTimpf @greggutfeld @glukianoff, @yaelbt, @SaysCL... What an honor to be someone he admired, followed and encouraged. Thanks for sharing your reflections.

[Greg Lukianoff @glukianoff]

For anyone who actually wants to read rather than posture, here’s a starter list on FIRE taking on the Trump administration:

Stanford Daily wins free-speech lawsuit against Trump administration:
https://t.co/shVsBk9mr2

FIRE: Federal court strikes down statutes used in Trump administration’s speech-based deportation campaign:
https://t.co/M33jEfyGwy

Washington Post on FIRE’s Stanford Daily suit against the Trump administration:
https://t.co/IMu351gibh

FIRE sues Rubio over deporting legal immigrants for protected speech:
https://t.co/F3TmtNGozB

FIRE’s Rosado v. Blanche case — suit against Bondi and Noem, including preliminary-injunction victory:
https://t.co/2M4TttpikF

FIRE sues Bondi and Noem over censorship of speech reporting ICE activity:
https://t.co/dL7nzRDp4j

Bloomberg Law on the Bondi/Noem suit:
https://t.co/Vav4vx13cO

Washington Post on NewsGuard, represented by FIRE, suing Trump’s FTC:
https://t.co/74USxzCiZT

FIRE sues the FTC over targeting NewsGuard:
https://t.co/C2xveoHNcR

Washington Post on FIRE client David Streever after federal agents confronted him over criticism of ICE:
https://t.co/hipdR72u5I

FIRE sues DHS for information about an alleged database tracking ICE protesters:
https://t.co/hn5d0TMh1o

FIRE: The Pentagon is violating Anthropic’s First Amendment rights:
https://t.co/ptIYUKMKoq

Washington Post on Harvard’s victory against the Trump administration, where FIRE filed in Harvard’s support:
https://t.co/6XVYsNybfV

FIRE on the ruling that Trump’s Harvard funding freeze was unlawful:
https://t.co/v7CGthj4xB

FIRE: Trump administration’s coercion of Columbia is unconstitutional:
https://t.co/4Qy8WvcGGF

FIRE’s brief opposing the attempted deportation of Mahmoud Khalil over protected speech:
https://t.co/77Rc9NFb0h

FIRE on the detention of Rümeysa Öztürk over an op-ed:
https://t.co/P4uzgMsmCP

FIRE’s Mahdawi v. Trump case:
https://t.co/3ua8vBRIRC

FIRE on Trump’s attacks on law firms:
https://t.co/8AnLFCpdbc

FIRE on Trump’s flag-burning executive order:
https://t.co/z1Q8Ne3WSY

FIRE on Trump/FCC threats against ABC:
https://t.co/L2awVt0evz

FIRE on Trump’s lawfare against media outlets:
https://t.co/LYzbkBtf5j

FIRE defending pollster J. Ann Selzer against Donald Trump’s lawsuit:
https://t.co/SClR1AOYAX

You don’t have to like FIRE. You don’t have to agree with us. But if your theory requires pretending this record doesn’t exist, the problem is not a lack of evidence. 2/2

[David Burge @iowahawkblog]

It's a melancholy day at Dave's Car ID Service, as we bid farewell to one of our most frequent and valued contributors - Andrew Wimsatt.

I won't belabor the terrible circustances of his death, which have been discussed in depth online recently. I am as angry and upset about his murder as anyone, but my car ID threads are designed as a sanctuary from the woes of the contemporary world. I would rather spare that anger for a different forum and choose here to focus on Andrew Wimsatt, the human being. He was a relentlessly cheerful and positive soul, I hope you will respect his spirit in your replies.

I think our mutual friend @AnnaZ perfectly summed up Andrew as "everybody's biggest fan." His various fandoms include countless bands, visual artists, podcasters, @wethefifth, @reason, @uaustinorg, and @TheFIREorg. And I am humbled that one of his fandoms was Dave's Car ID Service.

You may have noticed from reading the various tributes to him over the past few days his adjectives: kind, generous, warm, positive, never had an unkind word about anyone. All true. But he seldom spoke about himself, despite having a very distinguished career as a civil engineer in road materials research. He was far more interested in talking about you, with zero expectation of anything in return. He was the least transactional person in a hyper-transactional world.

If you were lucky enough to have Andrew as a fan he was generous with his time and support, and in my case, that support included loads of his old family photos with mystery cars.

I can't fully repay my debt to him for that. But I'd like to dedicate this episode of Dave's Car ID Service to him, and use those photos to illustrate the life a genuine mensch.

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

All of this.

[Ileana Knollenberg @IleanaAlmog]

Busty was incredibly competent, accomplished, and knowledgeable, yet in conversation he mostly asked others about themselves. He was heavily involved in raising and caring for his much younger brother, and cared for his ailing mother to the very end. He traveled all over the country to be with people whose company he enjoyed, without fanfare. In @wethefifth circles, we just expected him to be there, and he usually was. He gave his time, energy, and effort to various groups of people just because, and I don’t think he realized his contribution was unusual or extraordinary. We met in person less than a dozen times, yet he remembered details about me, and would ask about my daughters and my work as if he were personally acquainted with them. He never missed an opportunity to offer genuine appreciation, and he had a special way of making one feel important and loved instantly.

All the tributes I’m seeing from people who were tangentially connected with him make it clear that his goodness was transcendent, independent of tribal, geographical, or familial allegiances. Having met Andrew has made my, and many other people’s lives, richer. That’s a legacy to aspire to.

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@SusanDReynolds Either is disqualifying

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@amandafortini @walterkirn @NancyRomm @greggutfeld @ajwimsatt @wethefifth @countyhwy Oh my gosh I forgot about that! The 3pm (pacific time?) daily coffee break - he brought a few of his friends along with him and I’m one. He will be so missed.

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@lesleynka_LA That’s a great photo. I want to hug you all.

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@MattWelch @wethefifth @KatTimpf @Gutfeldfox God this is awful. He really was your biggest - and no one would ever argue - BEST fan. He nurtured a quirky, disagreeable, loud and diverse @wethefifth community and was universally loved by all us weirdos. I’ll miss him.

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@SenecaSpeaks21 Sigh. “Too”

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@SenecaSpeaks21 Truth. It’s so sad that he’s also to smart for the audience.