Ash
@ashbowie.bsky.social
Psychologist, photographer, amateur woodworker, intrepid explorer of the labyrinthine caverns of the mind, lives in Mt. Lebanon PA.
My proposal for a vision of governing principles for the Democratic Party: Affordability, The Common Good, and Getting Shit Done. www.dailykos.com/stories/2026...
A vision for the Democratic Party
The American people know things aren’t right. Many of them are being sold lies about why: pet-eating immigrants, transgender folks, smug academics, commies who want to take away guns and force…
www.dailykos.com
May 29, 2026 at 6:17 PM
My proposal for a vision of governing principles for the Democratic Party: Affordability, The Common Good, and Getting Shit Done. www.dailykos.com/stories/2026...
Platner isn't perfect. But his imperfections are out there, not hiding in a bone-filled closet. Politics is the art of getting what we can, not what we want. We are in a DefCon 1 situation. We cannot afford purity.
jacobin.com/2026/05/plat...
jacobin.com/2026/05/plat...
Why the Smears Against Graham Platner Didn’t Work
Opponents went all in on smearing Graham Platner as a Nazi based on a bad tattoo choice. It didn’t work. Maine voters decided they’d rather have universal health care and an end to reckless wars than ...
jacobin.com
May 9, 2026 at 2:50 PM
Platner isn't perfect. But his imperfections are out there, not hiding in a bone-filled closet. Politics is the art of getting what we can, not what we want. We are in a DefCon 1 situation. We cannot afford purity.
jacobin.com/2026/05/plat...
jacobin.com/2026/05/plat...
Recent research has supported what I've been arguing; that pushing absoluteist, purity-driven demands regarding trans issues is a bad strategy. Focusing on nondescrimination and GOP cruelty is a winner. Remember: win first, then push the window. puck.news/texas-senate...
The Democrats’ Trans Trap
Republicans are gleefully seizing on James Talarico’s “six sexes” comments while Trump warns darkly that Democrats want “transgender for everybody.” New polling suggests how the party can defuse the G...
puck.news
April 22, 2026 at 8:24 PM
Recent research has supported what I've been arguing; that pushing absoluteist, purity-driven demands regarding trans issues is a bad strategy. Focusing on nondescrimination and GOP cruelty is a winner. Remember: win first, then push the window. puck.news/texas-senate...
NJ primary candidate Analilia Mejia is a progressive doing it right. She is close to winning against Tom Malinowski, an establishment Dem (in a primary field of eleven), for the vacant 2026 House race. This is a moderate +5 blue district, making her result atypical. This is how progs get power...
February 7, 2026 at 1:53 PM
NJ primary candidate Analilia Mejia is a progressive doing it right. She is close to winning against Tom Malinowski, an establishment Dem (in a primary field of eleven), for the vacant 2026 House race. This is a moderate +5 blue district, making her result atypical. This is how progs get power...
I don't get billionaires. If I had billions of dollars, I'd buy the WaPo from Bezos and set up some kind of trust to keep it well-funded with the mandate to keep high journalistic standards. Then I'd do the same with the top 50 city papers, or found new ones.
February 5, 2026 at 1:24 PM
I don't get billionaires. If I had billions of dollars, I'd buy the WaPo from Bezos and set up some kind of trust to keep it well-funded with the mandate to keep high journalistic standards. Then I'd do the same with the top 50 city papers, or found new ones.
Trump has always been a racist, greedy, cruel, and dishonest conman. But now he is legitimately losing his mind. Threatening to militarily attack an ally because he didn't get a Nobel Peace Prize is how a crazy person thinks.
January 20, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Trump has always been a racist, greedy, cruel, and dishonest conman. But now he is legitimately losing his mind. Threatening to militarily attack an ally because he didn't get a Nobel Peace Prize is how a crazy person thinks.
And now we know that the Don't-Tread-On-Me, Second Amendment yahoos were full of shit the entire time.
January 15, 2026 at 5:55 PM
And now we know that the Don't-Tread-On-Me, Second Amendment yahoos were full of shit the entire time.
It is ironic and horrible that Trump is doing here what he is saying shouldn't be done in Iran. Funny that he has always hated Muslims but suddenly cares more for their freedom than our own.
January 11, 2026 at 7:08 PM
It is ironic and horrible that Trump is doing here what he is saying shouldn't be done in Iran. Funny that he has always hated Muslims but suddenly cares more for their freedom than our own.
Initial research into TDS has informed this important health warning:
December 30, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Initial research into TDS has informed this important health warning:
The Dems need to go BIG. No more appeals to "normalcy" or the status quo. Trump is dismantling the federal government—Dems need to say that they will rebuild from the rubble, sweeping in major new changes for working people. One of the first has to be fixing SCOTUS.
December 13, 2025 at 3:43 PM
The Dems need to go BIG. No more appeals to "normalcy" or the status quo. Trump is dismantling the federal government—Dems need to say that they will rebuild from the rubble, sweeping in major new changes for working people. One of the first has to be fixing SCOTUS.
December AP-NORC poll has Trump down to 36% approval. Only 31% approve of his handling of the economy. It's not a surprise that Dems are over-performing by as much as 15-20 points in recent elections. If the GOP let's ACA subsidies expire, this will become much worse for them.
December 12, 2025 at 2:57 PM
December AP-NORC poll has Trump down to 36% approval. Only 31% approve of his handling of the economy. It's not a surprise that Dems are over-performing by as much as 15-20 points in recent elections. If the GOP let's ACA subsidies expire, this will become much worse for them.
The massive shift towards Dems presents a major opportunity: for the party to embrace a more working-class-centric agenda and for the left to embrace coalition building to influence the party's direction forward, thereby helping to grow a progressive wave going into the 2026 midterms.
December 11, 2025 at 7:11 PM
The massive shift towards Dems presents a major opportunity: for the party to embrace a more working-class-centric agenda and for the left to embrace coalition building to influence the party's direction forward, thereby helping to grow a progressive wave going into the 2026 midterms.
Just cancelled Disney+.
September 19, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Just cancelled Disney+.
"Political violence...is political cowardice. It means that you cannot convince people of the correctness of your ideas, and you have to impose them through force." youtu.be/HlIvH6ozvv4
In Wake of Charlie Kirk Murder, Sen. Bernie Sanders Addresses Rising Political Violence in America
YouTube video by Senator Bernie Sanders
youtu.be
September 11, 2025 at 11:43 PM
"Political violence...is political cowardice. It means that you cannot convince people of the correctness of your ideas, and you have to impose them through force." youtu.be/HlIvH6ozvv4
"You will never live in a society when you have an armed citizenry and you won't have a single gun death. That is nonsense. It's drivel. But I am—I think it's worth it."
—Charlie Kirk
—Charlie Kirk
September 10, 2025 at 11:47 PM
"You will never live in a society when you have an armed citizenry and you won't have a single gun death. That is nonsense. It's drivel. But I am—I think it's worth it."
—Charlie Kirk
—Charlie Kirk
I'm going out on a limb here—yes call me crazy—but I predict the SCOTUS will say that all of Trump's tariffs are 100% fine and dandy.
September 9, 2025 at 11:56 PM
I'm going out on a limb here—yes call me crazy—but I predict the SCOTUS will say that all of Trump's tariffs are 100% fine and dandy.
Gavin Newsom would not be my first choice for president. Not by a long shot. But right now he's polling at the top of the Dem party and beating both T and Vance. If he's the nom, would anyone on the left work to undermine his campaign, thereby helping the GOP nom? I'm genuinely curious.
September 6, 2025 at 1:38 AM
Gavin Newsom would not be my first choice for president. Not by a long shot. But right now he's polling at the top of the Dem party and beating both T and Vance. If he's the nom, would anyone on the left work to undermine his campaign, thereby helping the GOP nom? I'm genuinely curious.
Mamdani has been hailed as the new template for progressive leadership in the Dem party. But let's look at the mayor of the most progressive city in the US, San Fran, Daniel Lurie. He currently has a 73% approval rating, and is positive among all groups. Asians like him best; progressives less so.
August 27, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Mamdani has been hailed as the new template for progressive leadership in the Dem party. But let's look at the mayor of the most progressive city in the US, San Fran, Daniel Lurie. He currently has a 73% approval rating, and is positive among all groups. Asians like him best; progressives less so.
In my purity swarm I saw several patterns. Here's one: purity activists do not discern between their approach to advocacy and the thing they are advocating for. So criticizing their political behavior is the same as rejecting or opposing their political aims. This is done to...
August 26, 2025 at 1:31 AM
In my purity swarm I saw several patterns. Here's one: purity activists do not discern between their approach to advocacy and the thing they are advocating for. So criticizing their political behavior is the same as rejecting or opposing their political aims. This is done to...
Alas, the purity left have not learned their lesson. They are still waiting for their ideal candidate before giving support and votes, no matter how bad the MAGA candidate might be. Moving forward, we anti-MAGA cannot expect them to help. We have no choice but to seek a majority with moderates.
August 23, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Alas, the purity left have not learned their lesson. They are still waiting for their ideal candidate before giving support and votes, no matter how bad the MAGA candidate might be. Moving forward, we anti-MAGA cannot expect them to help. We have no choice but to seek a majority with moderates.