Maximum New York

Who is in charge of New York's cybersecurity? maximumnewyork.com/p/who-is-…

I made parkevents.nyc with NYC Open Data. Browse all events in NYC parks, and sign up for emails for events near you. @NYCParks had a lot to offer: exercise, star gazing, movies, and more!

Take a listen, it was a delightful conversation!

Cohort 16, baby! Application are now open. We start September 14. maximumnewyork.com/p/applica…

I’m planning a “How to be a good political party member” seminar via Maximum New York for the fall. Participants will be Democrats and Republicans. DM if you are a party official who likes what I do, and who wants to speak/have ideas. This post is a preview of how I approach party issues: maximumnewyork.com/p/conside…

It's here: maximumnewyork.com/p/large-l…

First video with the video QT feature, thanks @emhuntersmith

The events list: maximumnewyork.com/p/mny-eve…

Upcoming MNY events include: - What is COGE, and how you can get involved (June 18) - New York (Vertical) Film Festival (June 20) - How to Talk Politics Well, Effectively, and Pro-Socially (July 2), an off-the-record chat between me, @Prigoose, and @__drewface

What is COGE, @NYCMayor's Commission on Government Efficiency? Is it a city DOGE? I wrote about what COGE is, what its powers are, and how you can get involved as it moves to place ballot questions before voters this November: maximumnewyork.com/p/what-is…

NYC's FY2027 executive budget was just released:

AI maximumnewyork.com/p/ai

In @Curbed:

Link: maximumnewyork.com/p/youre-i…

I’m running a reading group for America’s 250th birthday! It’s open to anyone, anywhere, and we’re reading the American history textbook “Land of Hope.” We start in two weeks. You have to finish the book by the Fourth of July!

Optimism is the American Way. Often people think of optimism in one of two ways: (1) as an unsubstantiated hope that things must get better, or (2) a "definite optimism" that is borne out by a contemplation of the facts. I embrace both of these, in their proper time and place. Primarily, I am an advocate of #2. If reality gives me hope for betterment, then by God I will strive for it. And in any darkness where the light doesn't shine, the task is to find a match. In no world ought one give in to the demands of small-minded acceptance of current circumstance. But the American DNA has a particular twist on optimism that is revealed, surprisingly, in historian Daniel Boorstin's view that "the colonies were a disproving ground for utopias" ("The Americans: The Colonial Experience, 1958). Each of the several colonies were founded on a vision, and in each case that vision ultimately did not endure upon sustained contact with reality. Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies were created to bring about a renewed godly society; both ultimately lost their religious organizing zeal, and inspired new colonies (Rhode Island) who pursued the same thing, only to also fail. Maryland was originally a safe haven for Catholics that was inundated with Protestants. Virginia was chartered with a vision of bringing English society to the new world, but quickly found itself unable to even survive. And yet. And yet the first Americans forged ahead, their original visions lying in shards around them, to create a new society nonetheless--one adapted to their context, steeped in a tradition of self-government, and still hopeful for the future. When their plans failed to connect with their ideals, the Americans instead adjusted course and kept sailing. We see this over and over again in the nation's history. This is the whole story of our Constitution. After the Treaty of Paris ended the Revolution in 1783, America proceeded to fail. The Articles of Confederation did not work. And so a new course was charted in our Constitution--which itself has failed, and been renewed, multiple times. The American view of optimism, my view of optimism, assumes that plans laid against ideals will most definitely shatter. The optimism does not rely upon the plans succeeding fully or permanently, but in the assurance that one can make new plans and adjust course. American optimism does not live in our ends, but in our methods. Not in the attainment of happiness, but in the pursuit of it. Our Constitution's Preamble begins: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union..." American optimism takes perfection as our present state, but qualifies "perfection" with "more." You could think of this as a contradiction of terms, like "very unique." But "more perfect" reveals the American view of optimism--we hold certain truths to be self evident, we pursue ideals, we view our project as the most noble and just, and assume that it falls short nonetheless. And that we can do something about that. Fundamentally, the American optimist is the one who meets every "even though?" with an ardent "even so!" The American optimist places their faith in their character, their ability to act, and in the noble pursuit, acknowledging that nothing can be guaranteed, but that no great thing can be won permanently anyway. To be an American optimist is to be in pursuit. To look up and out. To win, lose, renew, and win again. American optimism is the only way I want to live.

Applications are open for Foundations of New York (cohort 14) and Foundations of the Liberal Arts (cohort 2). Apps due within two weeks, class starts in three!

Sic Semper Contemptui maximumnewyork.com/p/sic-sem…

The link to sign up: maximumnewyork.com/p/blue-bo…