Davka Daze

(Old Man At Sea, Open Edition, by Mark Ludy) I recently turned 40 years old. As a Millennial man, I assume that I'll be lucky to make it another 40 years. This true mid life has prompted a crisis, of sorts. Because I never expect to live this long in the first place. Like many young people, I thought I'd live fast forever in death as a beautiful corpse. So when I didn't, I wasn't sure how to react. I fell in love, graduated college, started a career, got married, had children, bought a house, graduated college again, and before I knew it I was here. Exactly where I wanted to be and exactly where I never expected to find myself. A good life with good people and good works. (Even as the world at large descends into madness, corruption, and strife.) It's a privilege built on survival, tenacity, and sheer luck. So many other people in my life didn't make it. They lost something, someone, or even themselves, in whole or in part. I thought that was my fate. I assumed ...

I've been saying it for years   and years . But now it seems like many in the community are finally figuring it out : San Leandro Mayor Juan Gonzalez is terrible. From political corruption to moral cowardice. From selling out the city to big tech to silence on women's healthcare rights. From photo op facades, taking credit for the work of others, particularly women, to trying to hijack millions in taxpayer funds for pet projects and donor desires. In fact, it's fair to say that Juan Gonzalez has presided over one of the most expensive, incompetent, and disastrous periods in San Leandro's modern political history. His lack of leadership and inability to govern resulted in not just dysfunction on the city council , but the waste of precious public resources towards pet projects and petty grievances. Well, I think it's past time for me to share the 50+ receipts I have been saving for just this moment. And those just the ones I was able to save before they were modera...

( Getty / The Atlantic) The country continues to struggle through the Trump regime's destruction of American democracy , even during the semiquincentennial . At the same time, two of the architects behind the rise of modern American fascism, Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell * are finally dead. Trump is likely to die soon too . After all, 80 year-old demented bigots fueled by diet coke, fast food, and obsessive social media habits aren't exactly known for their longevity. And given the current polling around the upcoming midterm elections showing widespread anger over utterly predictable corruption and incompetence by the regime, it's clear that rightwing control is facing a period of fragility. All of this has got me thinking more about the need for a new reconstruction era and what it should look like when this national nightmare finally ends. If it ever ends. American fascism didn't start with Trump and there are plenty of acolytes willing to sell their souls for...

(Sophie Park for The New York Times) My thoughts on Graham Platner are basically the same as Professor David Schraub . Yes, Platner was obviously terrible and the first red flag was his Nazi tattoo. Which is partly why many were attracted to him. Yes, he's being a selfish fool by trying to demand concessions for dropping out after being revealed as a rapist. Which is what someone picked by anti-establishment leftists would do. But I want to emphasize that a lot of you, especially allies from Our Revolution, Indivisible, Pod Save America, and other progressives are pretending that y'all weren't zealously pushing this man on the Dems from day one! Platner wasn't the fault of the Democratic establishment. He wasn't the pick of Chuck Schumer or Hakeem Jeffries or the DNC. Their support was tepid and reticent, even after he became the presumptive nominee. No, this was the fault of the anti-establishment crowd who (like with Fetterman) completely failed to listen to those...

"Those quotations were really quite obscure. Anyone can see that he is a very well-read man." — Barbara Pym One of my hobbies is collecting quotes. Proverbs, aphorisms, book passages, lines in a magazine, unknown statements, and anything else worth quoting. They're profound pieces of wisdom that have shaped me as a person since I started my collection as a teenager. Now, I have over 1,100 quotes, as well as a collection of words, phrases, law, rules, and related references. You can check them out for yourself. Perhaps my favorite thing about collecting quotes, is that whenever I can't think of anything else to read, or if I need inspiration, or when I want to seek solace, or during times of confusion and struggle, I have access to over 3,000 years of the collected knowledge of all humanity already curated for me to rely on. I think if more people felt this way, the world might be a better place.

As your local advocate and community organizer, I'm here to bring you the only comprehensive guide for San Leandro voters, election after election . I'm here to help you decide what to vote for (or against) along with reasons and receipts. This will be a long post, so buckle up! I'm starting with the local San Leandro measure, then the county races, then the local judgeships, then our federal district, then the state offices. If you're strapped for time, you can find the TL;DR version just below and then check out the details further down at your leisure. NB: this does not include any candidates that are uncontested and so won't be on your ballots, but feel free to reach out if you'd like information about them too. *** City of San Leandro Measure F: Yes County of Alameda District 3 Supervisor: Write-In Member, Board of Education, 4th Trustee Area: Aisha Knowles County Superintendent of Schools: Alysse Castro District Attorney: Pamela Price Judicial Offices Sup...

We finally have some much needed moral clarity from someone in a position of city leadership, albeit on a volunteer basis. This past Wednesday at its regular monthly meeting, Bob Bailey, Chair of the Community Police Review Board, issued the following statement on a recent police scandal involving Shaquille Coleman , an unhoused individual who was assaulted and kidnapped by SLPD before being dumped miles away in Oakland. His comments also debunked a simultaneous "scandal" alleged about SLPD Chief Averiett .  *** " Public statement from Bob Bailey @ April 15, 2026 CPRB Meeting As has been noted, the CPRB was unable to place on our agenda for discussion concerns about the ABC TV News stories about SLPD that were aired the week of 3/30 because it is a confidential personnel matter. I am choosing to speak on the matter as an individual member of the CPRB representing the community. My remarks do not speak for the CPRB as a whole. But I believe they are consistent with the ...