This is a weird take. Almost every con is an unspoken “wherdcon” because the lens from which it’s organized is usually mainstream, white, and heteronormative. For something like Blerdcon, just like any random con, anyone is welcome--it’s not about segregating attendees. But if you’re not comfortable with the mission…

That’s always been my general feeling about Kanye’s public persona. There are probably easier things to do than figuring out what the hell is wrong with him on any given day.

As a policy person and not a politics person, that is an incredibly confounding statement.

That’s what I call being bad at small talk. There are definitely people I only talk to because it’s useful for me to keep up a good relationship. But they’ll never know that because I’m slick about it.

Because I want my pencil to actually write well. Mechanical pencils are not for the heavy-handed.

Two Weeks is on the list.

Pretty solid stuff (although I’d trade a couple of the repeat artists for some Tori Amos and Bjork who I didn’t see in my cursory scroll). I also figured this wasn’t a Bob and Robin led thing—those NPR dudes aren’t the worst, but they’re close.

Between this and River City Rock Fest, San Antonio has got some weird festival action happening these days.

My first exposure to the Green Party long ago was in an already very liberal town where the candidates really were just more progressive, grassroots Dems running against establishment, rich Dems. I can’t imagine voting Green in the current environment given the stakes and that they’ve never quite gotten their act…

That’s my biggest issue with this whole topic. If people aren’t taking that into account then they deserve to be held accountable for it. There are folks who own up to the fact that their choice is likely to pave the way for marginalized people being worse off (and that includes Democrats and Republicans). I can at…

That’s the thing though, it’s not playing smart at all and these aren’t minor strategic missteps. It’s a culture of trading away leverage and getting nothing back for it. That the courts aren’t a priority for many congressional leaders is a big part of the problem and why we’re in a lot of the messes we’re in right…

Who’s asking for that? I’m talking about simply being reliable and vocal on what is an incredibly important public interest issue. Senators have a responsibility to push leadership to make effective short- and long-term strategic decisions. Rolling over on process, no matter their effort on individual nominees, puts…

I think people should vote their values...but they are accountable for that vote and whatever consequences come from it. So if folks truly think a Green Party candidate is the way to go, either individually or systemically, it’s something to have a ready response for (and activism if things go sideways).

SCOTUS is the most high-profile issue on the judiciary but it’s not the most important. The lower court judges are the most important because they are the ones deciding issues for everyday people and are the gatekeepers for what gets elevated to the Supreme Court. And lower court judges aren’t necessarily a priority…

You probably make this work for you, but I’m not sure this is the most effective strategic approach generally. Often small talk leads to incredibly useful information as well as builds relationships to get to useful information. And the danger of course is that you don’t know who has that useful information and small…

I don’t love small talk, but I do agree that there’s a lot of value to it. For strangers, it’s a basic act of acknowledging that someone exists and is worth engaging with. And with non-strangers, whether I enjoy someone’s company or not, it acknowledges that sustaining a relationship with them is valuable on some…

I agree. Family as a topic can be a minefield because it can also suggest a status quo that may not be appropriate—like value judgments about having a spouse or kids, etc. And the norms are subjective too regionally. For example, I get asked a lot about church when I’m at home in the south and that can get awkward.

One of our management people is brutally criticized for one-word responses to emails or forwarding something with a question mark or putting a request/question in the subject line. My boss does it too. I think it matters what their personal demeanor is as to whether it’s a time management issue, rather than a personal…

Gillibrand has some work to do. She’s not great on judges and can be inconsistent in terms of solid left messaging. I’m amenable though. She’s cool. 

Harris is an interesting prospect. I’ve known of her since Bay Area politics and I think she straddles being an establishment Democrat and law enforcement as well as she could. Those are the two biggest hurdles for me, but it also makes her trajectory for the larger stage a pretty solid one—she has bonafide public…