Here's me and @errollouis.bsky.social talking about James Dolan's surveillance state -- and MSG's lawsuit against @wired.com and me for reporting on the Garden. ny1.com/nyc/all-boro...

Journalist weighs in on Madison Square Garden's database

WIRED published an article alleging that Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corporation maintained an internal database of about 40,000 VIP guests.

ny1.com

The Trump regime admitted in court filings that the cancellation of clean energy grants for Hawaiʻi was because the state voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, rather than the previously stated reasons of advancing energy needs or economic viability.

Trump Administration Lawyers Admit Hawaiʻi Funding Cuts Were Partisan

The admission about terminated clean energy grants emerged in recent court filings, confirming what many already suspected.

civilbeat.org

This is just bat-shit crazy. www.politico.com/news/2026/08...

A lab-leak proponent is in line for Fauci’s old job

Steven Quay is in final vetting to run the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

politico.com

Last night’s sunset over Lower Manhattan viewed from Pier 35. (via Noel Calingasan) #NYC 💕

When my friend + colleague @joelfeder.bsky.social published his piece on @thedrive.com about being falsely identified by Flock as driving a stolen car ... the Internet exploded. Now I'm starting to wonder if that has inspired a civil-liberties rebellion against surveillance + police overreach. Wow.

Someone Cut Down Every Single Flock Camera in This Town in a Single Night

Winona's 8 Flock Safety license plate cameras were stolen and poles cut overnight, leaving a $24,000 gap and no suspects.

gadgetreview.com

Don't look now, but the world has now installed 3TW of solar. Took 10 years to get from 100GW to 1TW. Less than 3 years to get to 2TW. Less than 2 years to get to 3TW. Analysts expect *9TW* by 2036.

The World Crossed a Major Solar Milestone. No One Noticed

The next phase of the boom may reveal a shift in who is gaining access to the technology.

bloomberg.com

I get asked a LOT if I've driven the @slateauto.bsky.social 'Blank Slate' #EV small pickup truck. I haven't. But Jens Meiner has, for @insideevs.com, and this is hia comprehensive review. Now I'm more eager to drive it than ever.

I Drove Slate’s $25,000 Electric Truck. It Could Be A Real Game-Changer

InsideEVs finally got to drive the Slate Truck. Despite the budget price, this simple EV feels planted, solid, and comfortable.

insideevs.com

"Edwards was elected to the House in 2022 after defeating the scandal-ridden Representative Madison Cawthorn, and was reelected in 2024." First the odious Cawthorn ... now the creepy Edwards ... what IS it with #NC11 ?!?

Republican Congressman Ends Reelection Bid Amid Disturbing Allegations

No, the other one. Chuck Edwards.

nymag.com

"While Iran has fought the US to an effective military stalemate, it has defeated the US strategically. Trump wants the war to end + plenty of foreign heads of state in his ear want it to end even more than he does. "Iran wants the war to end too, but has the leverage to end it on favorable terms."

Trump Needs to Choose How to Lose the Iran War

No matter how Trump tries to spin the war, Iran has defeated the U.S. strategically — and it’s time accept that and find the least bad way out.

nymag.com

Scroll down to, "A win for Zoox is a win for #Tesla". Discuss.

🎲 Zoox's big bet

axios.com

I spat tea at this one.

George Pearkes@peark.es · yesterday

Elon is talking about using robots to build a mass accelerator on the moon in support of an economy 1000x to 1 million times the current earth economy. It's a bad sci fi novel not an earnings call.

El-Sayed, Lawrence and McKinney all won progressive campaigns in Michigan last night by talking about climate and clean energy like it was a kitchen-table issue — because skyrocketing energy bills and endless wildfire smoke matter to people.

The various police forces in + around #NYC have to guard against many more types of threats than cops in smaller, less diverse, less complex places. Among them is the threat of #hybrid cars, apparently. Who knew?

Read the full quote. DAMN.

Murshed Zaheed@murshedz.bsky.social · 8h ago

"If you want a senator who's gonna lick some boots, go vote for Rogers." 🔥🔥🔥

Interesting. So it appears Republicans consider themselves the only people who can legitimately be faith leaders? That will be news to quite a few of my friends.

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins.me · 11h ago

As of last night, there are now *7* pastors, former pastors and seminarians who've become Democratic nominees running for Congress. Some have already won safe Dem seats, and several are in hotly contested races. In multiple cases, the GOP has attacked their faith. religionnews.com/2026/08/04/p...

Shocked. SHOCKED, I tell you. #NYC #billionaire

After All That, Ken Griffin Is Not Leaving New York

The hedge-fund CEO made a big to-do about Mamdani’s pied-à-terre message but in the end is sticking to his 350 Park headquarters.

curbed.com

It appears Missouri voters *rejected* a GOP amendment that would make citizen-led, state constitutional amendments all but impossible. Kansas voters rejected a GOP change to state Supreme Court justices selections. They will continue to be appointed by the governor, not elected to 6-year terms.

Decision Desk HQ@decisiondeskhq.bsky.social · 24h ago

Decision Desk HQ projects No wins the Missouri Amendment 4 - Require Congressional District Approval for Constitutional Amendments, Ban Foreign Contributions, and Penalize Petition Fraud #DecisionMade: 8:16 PM EDT

This.

Tempting Fate Tours@temptingfatetours.bsky.social · yesterday

Old-car guy realizes he's become an old car guy. Good piece on generational evolution of collector cars.

- Lodi - Los Angeles - Malibu - Mendocino - Mill Valley - Monterey - San Francisco - San Jose What do these California cities all have in common?

Estimates by @coxautomotive.bsky.social suggest 247,226 EVs were sold in Q2, up 14.7% from the revised Q1 total. As analysts expected, Q2 EV sales volume was down year over year for a third consecutive quarter. #EV sales made up 5.8% of total new-vehicle volume in Q2, essentially unchanged from Q2.

EV Market Stabilizes in Q2, as New Entries Help Slow Sharp Sales Decline - Cox Automotive Inc.

The electrified vehicle story in the first half of 2026 is increasingly a story about hybrids. While the overall U.S. new-vehicle market is expected to decline by 2.2% compared to a year ago, accordin...

coxautoinc.com

"In mid-June, Elon Musk’s net worth was valued at more than $1.3 trillion: [more] than the combined fortunes of Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Warren Buffett + Bill Gates. "Musk’s fortune shrank by more than $550 billion following dramatic market losses by #Tesla + #SpaceX."

How SpaceX crashed to earth

When it peaked in mid-June, Elon Musk’s net worth was valued at more than $1.3 trillion, making his individual wealth greater than the combined fortunes of Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, Ser...

oligarchwatch.substack.com

"The White House did not respond to multiple requests for comment." The kind of long-form reporting we used to find regularly in the @nytimes.com. TL/DR: Project 2025 had GOP candidate DeSantis in mind. Heritage Foundation's new CEO purged all traditional conservatives. But read it all. Juicy.

What the Crackup of the Heritage Foundation Says About the Post-Trump Right (Gift Article)

The bastion of American conservatism best known for Project 2025 has been consumed by an ideological — and generational — civil war.

nytimes.com

Every once in a while, there arises some confusion among England, Great Britain + the United Kingdom. Sport is a particular point of puzzlement. This instructive video should set the record straight. Especially recommended for ungrateful ex-Colonials (aka Americans). Take notes.

How The UK Works 🫠.

YouTube video by Jimmy Rees

youtube.com

Uhhhhhh ... pardon?

Will Sommer@willsommer.bsky.social · 2d ago

Transportation secretary Sean Duffy benefited from millions in corporate donations to make a show about road trips. But two months after Duffy said the show would premiere, it doesn't appear to exist at all. My latest False Flag @thebulwark.com: www.thebulwark.com/p/what-the-h...

Ah, @electrifyamerica.com ... no matter how low my expectations, they're never low enough. This small but convenient site only has 4 stations. And it still took me 3 attempts to get one that would, y'know, CHARGE my #EV. One was dead, another wouldn't connect to the car. Par for the course.

Oh.

Eric Geller@ericjgeller.com · 6d ago

"A US government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a state department presentation at a global conference in Brazil this week, causing a stir among attenders who took screenshots and posted them online."

In May, California generated more than half its electricity from the sun—in what is believed to be a global first. It’s the first time a large-scale power system is known to have surpassed 50% #solar for an entire month. California also made more power from solar than from natural gas in Jan-May.

California produced over half its May electricity from solar, a world record

New batteries to store solar electricity and low demand in May both contributed to high percentage of electricity that came from solar.

latimes.com

Interesting: a nearby #Tesla Supercharger has a side charging station that's perfect for Toyota RF fender #EV charge ports. Anyone know the genesis of these?

A pretty staggering poll. To quote @evanhurst.substack.com: "Time to call Talarico a gay transgender vegan fake Christian!" "OMG! James Talarico reads exotic mystical gay Sharia law Muslim Rumi poetry + even more than that, he says it’s taught him things about his Christian faith!" SHAME HIM !!

Team Talarico@teamtalaricohq.bsky.social · 6d ago

New Fox News poll: 🔵 James Talarico 51% 🔴 Ken Paxton 48%

Q: How many people here know what a 'speed rack' is? (I ask 'cause 3 different guys in their 20s + 30s had never heard the term. This seems to happen more frequently of late.)