Francis Fernandez

@francisfernandez.com

As a pragmatic centrist, I read the Niemöller poem differently. After each group mentioned I pencil in what percentage of the population they are, and if it’s a small number I cross off their names as disposable. Poetry is fine but math wins elections!!

At a time time when the White House is posting AI slop of Optimus Prime and Hasbro is pushing their '86 toy commercial where he appears for maybe 20 minutes, a quick reminder that we once had him paraphrasing Benn's Five Questions (IDW's The Transformers #23, 2011, Roberts/Milne/Lafuente/Lee)

Page from IDW's The Transformers #23 where Optimus Prime is dragged from the senate saying, “My friend’s name is Megatron and he had three questions, three things he said you should demand to know of any powerful institution.  Question 1: In whose interests do you exercise your power? Question 2: To whom are you accountable? Question 3:  How can we get rid of you?”

As a devoted Pluribys and Widows Bay fan, I am thriving in the wake of these Emmy wins. But as a St. Louisian, I am disgusted and outraged by DTF St Louis' win. We hate that show here. It wasn't even filmed in Missouri and it takes place in a fictional subrub in the county!! More like GTFO st louis.

“Be Strong enough to be gentle.” Peter Cullen tells the story of how his brother inspired the voice he would use to play Optimus Prime. It’s a simple yet poignant quote that sums up why Optimus and Peter are so beloved. Til All Are One. 💔

NEW: Republicans tried to get Missourians to effectively kill direct democracy and ballot initiatives. Last night, Missourians literally laughed in their face — rejecting the measure by a massive 80% to 20%. Here’s what to know:

Missourians Reject Measure That Threatened to Kill Citizen-Led Ballot Initiatives - Bolts

Missourians on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted against a measure to restrict direct democracy, while state officials are trying to block even more citizen-led reforms from the November ballot.

boltsmag.org