Uruguay, with 3.5 million people, generates 98% of its electricity from renewable sources. The architect of that transformation, Ramón Méndez Galain, put it simply: "The key is not technology; it is institutions. Once the rules are fair and predictable, the system builds itself."

Our solar power model isn't working — there's a fairer way

Solar lease-to-own could unlock Ireland's energy future — Uruguay, the Netherlands and Germany have all made this work with straightforward rules, writes Mary Teehan

irishexaminer.com

Universal free school meals will be funded for *every* student in Washington State starting later this decade... ...unless I-645 passes, which would repeal the tax on the rich that helps fund it. Vote NO on I-645. Tax the rich to feed the kids.

CBS News@cbsnews.com · 2d ago

Fewer U.S. children may have access to free school meals this academic year amid changes ushered in by the Republicans' tax-and-spending law, the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," according to food and public policy experts.

Somewhat relatedly, the worst lobbying rarely involves anything like the dark arts or influence operations that it’s sometimes made out as… …more often it’s just taking advantage of legislator’s lazy impulse to do this, to say “good enough” to whatever garbage is easy and doesn’t challenge them.

Jason Linkins@dceiver.bsky.social · 15h ago

Candidates using AI are demonstrating a fast and loose relationship with the truth and the tendency to make arbitrary choices. It’s a huge red flag emblazoned with the words “YOU CAN’T TRUST ME FOR SHIT”

Candidates using AI are demonstrating a fast and loose relationship with the truth and the tendency to make arbitrary choices. It’s a huge red flag emblazoned with the words “YOU CAN’T TRUST ME FOR SHIT”

Also, and I'm sure this isn't a formal part of this treaty, through Pakistan, the Saudis gain a path to developing nuclear infrastructure – and a bomb – as an alternative/hedge to a deal with the Americans (and Israelis, since Trump tacked on Abraham-Accords membership to a US-Saudi nuclear deal).

It can't be overstated how unfit ICE's OPLA attorneys are to practice law outside of their kangaroo immigration courts. Dull & vicious in equal measure. I'm a solo prac who's spent most of his career in housing court & I've made mincemeat out of them. What attorneys with actual talent do is obscene.

If you’re a victim of crime in DC, you might be relying on a newly hired ICE attorney, whose experience is in deportation proceedings and who doesn’t know criminal or DC law, to get justice for you.

amanda moore 🐢@noturtlesoup17.bsky.social · 2d ago

NEW: ICE attorneys have been detailed to work as prosecutors in DC Superior Court.

My personal unpopular op: Politicians that say they care about traffic safety but aren’t hustling to approve safer street designs, reduce driving speeds, rein in truck bloat or incentivize bike/walk/transit are performative/unserious. E-moto/e-bike regulation isn’t even a bandaid on car culture.

TLDR: ignore jonathan chait and james carville and all the other centrist squish types and instead read something like "before the storm"

We're building our strength at home.

At the same time, we’re 20 years in from austerity politics of the Great Recession. As Republicans slash federal programs, state governments have no more “waste” to cut when trying to backfill federal losses. Roads will crumble. Tuition will go up. Everything nickel and dimed like state parks fees

Chad Loder@chadloder.dev · yesterday

We are increasingly living in what's called a "K-shaped economy" - the poor and middle class have no more money to extract, while the top 0.1% have grown immensely wealthy. Companies selling ultra-luxury goods and services are booming. Mega-yachts, supersonic flight, space travel, etc.

What if, and just hear me out on this, we elevated the voices of people who actually know what the fuck they're talking about instead of the same talk radio hosts over and over again. mynorthwest.com/kiro-opinion...

'Virtue signaling': KIRO hosts debate former Gov. Jay Inslee linking Spokane fires to climate change - MyNorthwest.com

Former Washington Governor Jay Inslee made a post on social media Sunday linking the fires raging in Spokane to climate change.

mynorthwest.com

I want you to understand that they are jumping through all of these hoops to avoid tax bills that are, in many cases, $50 grand. Or $100k. Yes, to normal folks that is all the money in the world. But these people *routinely* spend that on weekend vacations. They would _definitely_ give it at a gala.

Dominique Baker@bakerdphd.bsky.social · yesterday

"As a joke, comedian and entrepreneur Madi Walser started a website to advertise New York City artists willing to stay in empty vacation homes as 'charity to the 1%.' Then, she received eight inquiries from pied-à-terre owners interested in joining." Wild read 🎁 www.wsj.com/real-estate/...

Three years ago, EPA proposed cybersecurity rules for municipal water systems. Republicans sued to prevent the rules from going into effect, and that was the end of that. Now seven states' water systems are under attack by Iran.

Suspected Iran Cyberattacks on U.S. Water Supply Follow Years of Warnings and Neglect (Gift Article)

Federal and state officials are racing to address an assault on the nation’s water supply that they believe is the work of Iranian hackers.

nytimes.com

El-Sayed, every day for the last 15 months: I am running to get money out of politics, put money in your pocket, and pass Medicare for All. This is what my campaign is about. The media, for some reason:

#StupidSuez@diplomatofnight.com · 2d ago

CNN had Abdul El Sayed on last. night and asked him five questions in a row about Israel and zero on healthcare, affordability, housing, or local Michigan politics.

A good example of why, whenever I see an article about low employee morale at Meta, my first thought is that it still isn't low enough.

Kevin Elliott@kjephd.bsky.social · 2d ago

Facebook has been paying a white nationalist & Neo-Nazi to produce content on their platform through an invitation-only revenue-sharing program. This guy has even been banned from Musk's *X*. Very good write-up here with good context.

The Conservatives lost almost 60 seats to the Lib Dems at the last general election. How many of these does she expect to win back with this strategy?

When you ask voters to approve taxes for public transit, what you mostly get is a map of residential density. Here's the latest from Spokane, WA where the measure narrowly leads at the moment.

ATTENTION TO ALL DEM TAX CUT SLOPULISTS

In a conference call hosted by the White House Faith Office on July 30 with thousands of religious leaders around the country, Blanche said he was committed to achieving policy solutions so that the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision “becomes permanent in every single state.”

Kelcie Moseley-Morris@kelciemmorris.bsky.social · 4d ago

The recording of Blanche's call with faith leaders hosted by the White House Faith Office was still live as of a few hours ago, but has since been taken down.

tyranny

Kathleen Bachynski@bachynski.bsky.social · 4d ago

"Get away from me right now," King, a retired U.S. Army captain who served in Iraq and earned both a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star, can be heard telling the three male guard members in the video as they approach her on the bench. "You have absolutely no authority to detain me."

If Democrats retake the majority in the Senate and I become chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, one of my first acts will be to subpoena the bankers that helped Epstein carry out his crimes and help deliver real accountability.

It's absolutely insane we've somehow let the Covid recriminations debate become like "why didn't we reopen in person schools before there was a vaccine" and not "why did none of the trump guys go to jail for stealing PPE from New York hospitals in March 2020"

Indeed - any Democratic Senator voting for this deal - is also voting to keep Susan Collins as the Senator from Maine.

Dante Atkins@danteatkins.bsky.social · 6d ago

Dem Senators who are allowing Collins to.give herself moderate cover are either stupid or evil. I am completely out of patience with this quisling behavior

The way we're supposed to listen to this guy 35 years after his one achievement is incredible. Pat Caddell (Carter's Carville) was by 1992 a pariah in the Democratic Party, and he ended up on Brietbart, Fox News, and the Trump campaign. They all do this. You can just stop listening to them.

Widow's Bay DSA@gonebabygone.bsky.social · 6d ago

James Carville isn’t even good at what he got famous for anymore (folksy bullshit that appeals to consultants who think southern people are some kind of pixie), now he just goes on TV to go “you’d probably be happy if I killed myself”

Covid lockdowns demonstrated, in a deeply imperfect way, the possibility of large-scale social solidarity for a higher cause. That is a prime reason why so many powerful people want us to run screaming away from them into the comforting arms of selfish individualist competition.

This is a story about the President and several of his hand-picked appointees all committing crimes and blatantly lying to the public while stealing public funds and abusing the criminal justice system, but the NYTimes describes the situation like they're recapping a soap opera.

Larry Glickman@larryglickman.bsky.social · 6d ago

Another example of the problem with the fixation with Trump’s putative emotions: here a story about the Trump administration’s corruption, incompetence, and venality is framed as one about Trump’s “wrath.” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/01/u...

we are talking about covid because their base is pissed and telling pollsters they won’t show up and the racism dial is already turned as far as it can go but they think maybe there’s a little blood to be squeezed still from the fauci stone. that’s it. that’s the only reason we are doing this.

STA’s mutual aid today, assisting with evacuations, is another good reminder of why we should support Proposition 1 on August 4.

Kirk Hovenkotter@kirkhovenkotter.com · 6d ago

Today started off with the biggest canvass yet in Spokane for Yes for Buses with Teamsters Local 690. By afternoon, it ended up being more eventful than we’d like. Immense gratitude to the firefighters, staff & leaders who are keeping Spokane safe

one policy debate we deserve but are never going to get to have is what demands to be done to make blue states and cities whole after this presidency

Stephen Judkins@stephenjudkins.bsky.social · 7d ago

this absolute scumbag www.oregonlive.com/wildfires/20...