by #HamiltonNolan:

"I will never stop being mad at the Democratic Party over their response to the 'Defund the Police' movement. I’m sorry. I’ve written about this before. But we are still paying ever increasing social debts for the party’s cynical, cowardly, and thoughtless approach to an issue that required a measure of bravery and thoughtfulness. And there is new data that reinforces just how disgusted we should be.

"Briefly, because I know the well-worn pathways that the discussion of this issue usually follows, let me explain why this issue in particular makes me want to set a large portion of the Democratic Party apparatus, including much of its pundit intelligentsia, adrift on a raft in an endless sea. It is not just the grotesque optics of all those Congressional Democrats joining BLM marches and taking a knee in the Capitol rotunda and then proceeding to make running against any actual defunding of the police a prominent plank of their election efforts the very same year. (And, still, now, ongoing.) It is the way that a genuine moment of opportunity for meaningful social change was thrown away by the party whose job it is to facilitate that change for some of the stupidest reasons I have ever witnessed."

https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/talk-louder-about-defunding-the-police

#DefundThePolice #police #racism #BlackLivesMatter #BLM #DemocraticParty #Democrats #USPolitics #USPol #politics

by #HamiltonNolan:

"A new research paper by UC Berkeley economists finds that there are indeed (as anyone who has moved from a small town to a humming big city knows) earnings premiums for workers who live in certain areas—but 'local housing costs at least fully offset local pay premiums.' That is to say they found that all or more of the extra money that a worker earns by moving into an economically strong area is clawed back by housing costs. That big raise that your union fought for in the last contract? Send that right on over to the landlord."

https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/housing-is-a-labor-issue

#housing #unions #union #workers #labor #landlords #rent #pay

Really looking forward to this book. The labor movement as the means to redistribute power:

https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/hamilton-nolan/the-hammer/9780306830921/

#HamiltonNolan #Labor #BuildingPower

Best quote from "Against Exercise Machines" on #Slate by #HamiltonNolan:
"Your $4,800 treadmill can be replaced by running your hermit ass down the street." 🏃 🚲 🏋️‍♂️

https://slate.com/business/2023/06/exercise-machines-expensive-gyms-alternatives.html

Kotaku: 40+ Weird Vintage Video Game Ads We Can’t Stop Thinking About https://kotaku.com/best-retro-video-game-ads-playstation-atari-xbox-360-1850548825 #gaming #tech #kotaku #formulaonevideogames #homevideogameconsole #technologyinternet #videogamecompanies #homecomputergames #videogameconsole #hamiltonnolan #mariosunshine #playstation3 #arcadegames #davidlynch #donkeykong #johnberger #videogames #microsoft #centipede #robwalker #nintendo #paulrudd #rayman #homes #atari #sega #sony #ps2 #ps3

But you don't have to look back to the stocking frame to find this kind of solidarity. As #HamiltonNolan writes in his newsletter, "Hollywood is the single best example of mature labor power in America":

https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/the-coral-reef-of-humanity-encircling

The entire Hollywood workforce, from grips to carpenters, costumers to plumbers, teamsters to medics, is unionized. That includes writers and actors (I'm a member of #IATSE Local 839, AKA #TheAnimationGuild).

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