Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 7hI am complicated, and I try to remember that everyone else is as well. 000
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 7hWe are in Betsy Days, the annual 30 day period where I remember chasing after this stinker. Relive it with me. www.oldtruckgoodcoffee.com/p/rememberin... 000
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 02/10/2026A friend told me she is proud of me today. She acknowledged that is an unusual thing to say, but I loved it. My situation is complicated, confusing, high friction right now. It lifted me up to hear that I was doing good by our shared values. What do you think of a friend being proud of you? 000
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 28/09/2026The Democratic candidates I see are not fitting the strategies of arm chair quarterbacks yelling "go left" or "run to the middle." They are fitting to their districts, ready to represent their constituents. Sounds like Democracy. 010
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Reminder that there is an awful good novel, Clear and Sane: The Craft of the Green Paintbrush available on order where resourceful people with curious hearts acquire their reading material. 000
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 27/09/2026AP: push back on the attribution of human traits to AI. Speak of the people behind AI and the people affected by AI. 010
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 26/09/2026Just got some bad news; Trump's lackeys continue to hurt and exclude good people in my community. The good news is I am working today to give them an electoral ass-whupping. Pile on with us and make them hurt. youtube.com/shorts/5RiMg...youtube.comTrump's lackeys are hurting my community. We are going to give them an electoral ass kicking.YouTube video by Joel Byron Barker 011
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Hey Bentz: Let's debate. www.mobilize.us/chrisbeckfor...mobilize.usLet's Debate!! - PETITION · Chris Beck for CongressCliff Bentz and myself have been invited to two different television debates, and I have accepted both. Rep. Bentz has declined one of them (I will be there in a Town Hall format, however). He has not yet responded to the second invitation. If you agree with me that voters deserve to see and hear from us together, in a structured debate setting that will offer the opportunity for meaningful exchange of ideas and perspectives, please sign our petition. I’d like nothing more than the chance to present myself side-by-side with Mr. Bentz, in a respectful manner, to give the people of District 2 a better sense of who and what they’ll be voting for come November. 000
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 25/09/2026I took action with Chris Beck for Congress. Will you join me? Use this link to sign up: www.mobilize.us/chrisbeckfor...mobilize.usVolunteer for Team Beck! · Chris Beck for CongressAs we barrel toward Election Day, Chris is going to need an army of volunteers from across the district to lend a hand. If you're interested in joining Team Beck, please fill out this form. Opportunit... 001
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 23/09/2026We don't like or trust AI companies, as a country. 000
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 21/09/2026pickup-trucks-progress.ghost.io/vir… pickup-trucks-progress.ghost.ioVirginia Loves Winning “Best State for Business.” Good. But Maybe It’s Time We Started Trying Just as Hard to Become the Best State to Be a Worker.But wouldn't it be something if governors started competing for another title, too? Not just the best state to locate a business. The Best State to Be a Worker. 000
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 20/09/2026I went to a Douglas Frank meeting in Oregon. The conservatives who are taking direction from Frank are so alienated from political power that they are susceptible to his weird and provably false claims. We need to be a better state, better communities. open.substack.com/pub/oldtruck...open.substack.comOregon Now — Attack ads and election deniers — could do well to remember Oregon ThenKotek, Frank, McCall 001
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Our elected representative, Cliff Bentz, voted to exclude electors from other states in the 2020 presidential election. He doesn't respect the people's vote and does not deserve your vote. 011
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 13/09/2026Today's Old Truck Good Coffee: Trying to learn about Christian Nationalism in an age of AI slop. 110
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 13/09/2026This morning writing was sitting with a candle, a hot beverage, and a page that persisted in blankness. My mind was far from blank. It was the act of writing that I could manage. 001
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Canvassing at the doors is the most joyful and most meaningful political work you can do. And we can do it together THIS SUNDAY in Madras. Starting at noon at the Performing Arts Center by the high school. Register: www.mobilize.us/chrisbeckfor... 000
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 09/09/2026Progressive Dems are welcome and have won some important races, but concluding that this is the future of the party on every block is myopic. Link below for survey information. My conclusion: Best candidate for the district, enthusiastically supported. thirdwaydatahub.substack.com/p/the-center...thirdwaydatahub.substack.comThe Center-Left Outperformed Progressives in House PrimariesCandidates endorsed exclusively by progressive and far-left groups collectively had just a 45% win rate in the primaries, compared to a 90% win rate for candidates endorsed by center-left groups. 000
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 09/09/2026I get a lot of weird proffers on LinkedIn, some highly automated. All offering to help. I like to respond as a representative of The Green Paintbrush (read my novel or go to The Green Paintbrush website) and offer to help them right back. 021
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 07/09/2026I posted a short poem upon the death of Wendell Berry earlier this week. If one is curious, here is a collection of the drafts to get to the one that I felt worked best. It became shorter (generally a good sign). I removed descriptive words as I came to trust that their heart beat was within. 000
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Curious about why people do things? Old Truck Good Coffee hosted a fascinating conversation about a recently published ethnographic study of contemporary American conservatives. www.oldtruckgoodcoffee.com/p/building-b... oldtruckgoodcoffee.comBuilding Bridges Across Political DiversityAn anarchist, two Democrats, and a moderate independent discuss Faith, Freedom, Family, and Place, An Ethnographic Study of Conservative Americans’ Relationships to Democracy 000
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 06/09/2026n Ed Zitron's masterful and satisfying recent Anti-AI Manifesto, he deftly points out something obvious that I had not considered to say: If we invested three trillion dollars in HUMANS they would most certainly perform better. It would not be a risky bet. 000
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 04/09/2026My (relatively) Popular post “Lou’s Fragile Flies” from 2024 was inspired by this Bryan Johnson character Also, he should probably watch The Five Doctors special from the Doctor Who Canon. www.oldtruckgoodcoffee.com/p/lous-fragi... 020
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 04/09/2026No complying in advance includes you. When someone makes noise that they are going to limit voting, monitor voting with masked officers, federalize voting: you say NO. You say our constitution is stronger than them. You say We The People are stronger than them. You believe and act for us. 000
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Douglas Frank is a man with a plan: cast doubt on our Oregon elections with wild claims of election fraud. Believe it or not, there are people in your county who believe him. www.truthaboutdouglasfrank.com/truthaboutdouglasfrank.comThe Truth About Douglas FrankAn election denier is touring Oregon, spreading lies about our safe and secure elections. We have the power to push back. 000
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Hegseth is a failure and shameful. He has to go. Now. The fine officers he has fired should be offered reinstatement. Republican Thom Tillis is clear on this. Our armed forces are in harms way and Hegseth is polluting social media with lies instead of enabling them. 010
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 02/09/202614,000 words of well informed confirmation bias that I look forward to reading. I suppose this helps us align over here with Nedd Ludd and Adam Smith. Would be amazing if an AI embracer would leaf through it. www.wheresyoured.at/the-ai-hater... wheresyoured.atThe AI Hater's ManifestoIf you liked this piece, you should subscribe to my premium newsletter. It’s $70 a year, $18 a quarter, or $7 a month, and in return you get a weekly newsletter that’s usually anywhere from 10,000 to 18,000 words, including vast, detailed analyses of NVIDIA, Anthropic 110
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 02/09/2026New month, new book buying budget. And hey look what is out in paperback now! You can get it anywhere but the most choice copies come from joelbyronbarker.com 000
Reposted by Joel BarkerAnonymous @youranoncentral.bsky.social · 02/09/2026Reminder that the Pentagon and Israel are investing pretty heavy on Trump propaganda and defending Hegseth, many pose as leftists or fringe leftist caricatures; their job is to finge outrage and control any criticism or backlash against the regime. “I don’t agree with (x) but (y)” Be aware. 522456
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Wendell Berry died last night. Perhaps I can be a little slower, a little more connected to the wisdom of the world around me today as I consider his absence from my world. 030
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Wendell Berry has died. “We still have not, in any meaningful way, arrived in America,” If you do not know who he was, you are the weaker. Find a poem or essay and sit with it. I am not here to tell you which one. 020
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 31/08/2026I am enjoying my return to Obsidian for note keeping. It is a nicely fleshed out project. I am not a software developer but I got it up and running easily. the community plugins are strong and nicely documented. 020
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 30/08/2026My short reflection on Dolly. If you ask me, there are not too many personal reflections on Dolly. Let's keep talking about her forever. On this week's Old Truck Good Coffee www.oldtruckgoodcoffee.com/p/flirting-e... 000
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 30/08/2026"There is a special level of hell for taking away a competent person’s confidence." I have been guided by Mike Monteiro's profanity-threaded professional advice for well over a decade. He is an it-man for the AI world designers, if'n you ask me. buttondown.com/monteiro/arc...buttondown.comHow to usher in an era of abundant vengeanceA lot of people on the Internet who I once respected seem to have full-blown AI brain worms. Am I going to get conned like them at some point? Have you ever been conned by something as pervasive as this? 073
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 28/08/2026Practical realism —→Romanticism. I wrote this, not that long ago but when I came across it on the piles on my desk I can not recall where I drew it from. 000
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 26/08/2026If you want to know more about Dolly and by extension America, this podcast is beautiful. www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/dol... wnycstudios.orgDolly Parton's America : Episodes | WNYC Studios | PodcastsThe story of a legend at the crossroads of America’s culture wars. 100
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 26/08/2026I read "You are my teacher" aloud to myself four times, each time emphasizing a different word. 000
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 24/08/2026This week's Old Truck Good Coffee: Leo pumps gas and pumps the breaks on the loss of our liberties. 000
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Sorry, I can't take the time to retype this for you. If you want to read my poem you will have to read it with the glint of sun through whiskey in the photo here. 010
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 23/08/2026Learn about your vote and how to protect it! Come learn from Secretary of State Tobias Read and community leaders Liz Goodrich & Jonathan Davidson. Don't miss a performance from local activist music group ReSistas. www.mobilize.us/indivisibler...mobilize.usCast Your Vote · Indivisible RedmondCome learn from community leaders Liz Goodrich, Jonathan Davidson, as well as Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read about the importance of voting and how casting your ballot makes a difference. Don't miss a performance from local activist music group ReSistas. 000
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 21/08/2026Hi! I think you are lovely but I won't group think with you. 110
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 18/08/2026Aaron buried the lede here: Ossoff said: you gotta show up, volunteer, and help us win in 2026 or we are fucked. 010
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 16/08/2026It's speculation season and I'm resisting, even here on our speculation engine. open.substack.com/pub/oldtruck...open.substack.comResisting processed food and speculationI can't do it every day. 010
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 15/08/2026I bet you are speculating what Old Truck Good Coffee will be about this week. The answer is it is largely about macaroni and cheese. Available Sunday morning. 010
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 12/08/2026"Not one of their clients would face a business challenge if OpenAI went out of business tomorrow." Cory Doctorow is one person you should actually listen to. www.thenerve.news/p/cory-docto...thenerve.newsCory Doctorow: The people who tell you ‘AI is changing everything’ are lyingIt has become impossible to tell managers mesmerised by artificial intelligence that the tools are not, in fact, helpful. So employees just play along with the fiction to keep their jobs, writes our tech columnist 010
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 10/08/2026"The book touches something deep and interesting …then circles away…. to move on to observe something or someone new and interesting… then it circles back…" Yes, I read my reviews on Good Reads. If you want to circle back with me, pick up Clear and Sane wherever finer books are sold. Now paperback! 000
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 09/08/2026Among our interesting and inspiring political stories is the Dems who are stepping aside for better non-affiliated candidates. Leo has a great look inside the story in Montana. Check it out. Bankhead has one day left to get off the ballot. www.oldtruckgoodcoffee.com/p/stop-maga-... 100
Joel Barker @joelbyronbarker.bsky.social · 09/08/2026"It would be nice if these Tech CEOs were more accountable for what they said." garymarcus.substack.com/p/elon-musks...garymarcus.substack.comElon Musk’s preposterous and possibly harmful claim about robotic surgerySome predictions are off. This one is way off. 000