Imperfection is required for a good life. And other equiste things I learned in the last two months.

Book reviews for February, March, and April.

open.substack.com/pub/melissar...

Karen Bass is proposing a $124 million increase to the LAPD's operational budget. This would bring their total budget to north of $3.6 billion

Oh a woman in my writing group does this!

"...no matter how hard I tried to write another woman, this was the person who showed up for me."

The Grand Performance of Womanhood: Liz Button interviews Caro Claire Burke about Yesteryear (@aaknopf.bsky.social).

➡️ buff.ly/0RDCNI2

Okay, WERK!

Eric Swalwell, Tony Gonzales to Resign From Congress After Threat of Expulsion Votes The California Democrat and Texas Republican said they planned to leave Congress in the wake of sexual-misconduct allegations that sparked calls for them to quit or face expulsion votes.

Gonzales and Swalwell are resigning.

This is significant—but it is not about celebration.

It’s about justice, the importance of listening to survivors, and turning this moment into cultural change. We will keep fighting for survivors.

www.wsj.com/politics/hou...

both parties are not the same.
democrats throw out the trash.

Rooted in Resistance - Local News Pasadena Inside the Pasadena group, turning everyday acts into political power. Inside the Pasadena group, turning everyday acts into political power.

Some local coverage of our #Indivisible group.
localnewspasadena.com/2026/rooted-...

Not real but also perfection

I remember some wisdom from an old journo who’d been around politics for ages. He said to look out for the politician who only receives praise from those who trade such things for political favours. Be wary of those who don’t have anyone saying good things about them who has nothing to gain from it.

I just wanna be clear: I’m aware of over at least 20 more women who may become public in the coming days. My wife is the only person to go on the record to date. 1/

Eric Swalwell drops bid for California governor after sexual misconduct allegations The Democratic candidate faced immediate calls to end his campaign, with many supporters withdrawing their endorsements.

Hot damn. We did it, Joe.

www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele...

Done!

Thank you for believing women and standing by her and all the other victims.

The bar is low and it is amazing to see how many people can’t do the bare minimum of believing women who come forward.

Thank you for your bravery.

This is what Times Square will look like when Congress or a cheeseburger finally does its job

Al Franken had more than one woman. He had five. There were multiple women too. He bowed out before the stories came too public.

But in that case the women faced the same thing because we had such a thin margin. It’s like running into a wall every time a survivor comes forward.

Him to drop out, and not this wait and see nonsense.

I think the only place we agree is that the Republicans who are calling for his removal are laughable since they don’t move this quickly with their own people.

And it’s just so shameful that men immediately jump to, are we sure this is true?

I think your jump to “let’s see the corroboration “ means you haven’t read the SF Chronicle article, the CNN article, or looked into the influencers who helped break the stories.

One of your first questions is “where were they in 2019?” If you had read any of those things you would be calling on

a close up of a man 's face with his mouth open . ALT: a close up of a man 's face with his mouth open .

No one convinced these women not to come forward earlier. THIS IS HOW IT IS FOR WOMEN.

If they came out in November they’d still have to face the same “let’s wait and see if it’s true” because no one trusts us when it happens, they can’t believe is they need more. More. More!

I just don’t know why your first jump to is let’s wait and see…we’ve been listening to the same story of why women don’t come forward for fifty $&$@ years. Why the knee jerk from “believe women” to “ehhh until I have video proof I’m not gonna believe it.”

Four women. Four exact same stories.

I’ve got that handled!

How many times have accusations like these been proven to be false?

I’ll wait.

Hey so, I just spent the whole day with California Democratic Party volunteers and can confidently say:

Swalwell is fucking cooked

Eric Swalwell loses all 21 of his endorsements from Democratic colleagues in Congress It is a stunning reversal for Swalwell in the 24 hours after he was accused of sexual misconduct.

Something you will never see from Republicans: Swalwell loses all 21 of his endorsements from Democratic colleagues

Dude, we met at the foothill dems meeting and the second you whispered this intel to me it all clicked. I told you at the convention this man had an extremely punchable face and this was zero percent shocking. Having to convince people behind the scenes for the past five weeks has been hard.

No the worst time to come forward would have been August when we had no other choice. Ballots haven’t been sent, this was the best time.

There is corroborated evidence, that’s why it finally went public. It was well known in dc circles. And the speed at which they are dropping him means they know and have known how bad it is.

Eric Swalwell resign bitch

Is Gavin not saying anything because he’s got skeletons in his closets?