My wife wasn’t thrilled when I put this Lego Millennium Falcon on our wedding registry. To not seem completely self-indulgent, I told her I’d wait until we had kids to build it. Today, after 10 patient years, the adventure begins. #MayThe4th#MayThe4thBeWithYou
UPDATE #1: Kids started with Darth Vader and Chewbacca. Then fought epic battles and lost focus. 45 pieces down, 1209 to go. We have built something that looks like a chassis for the falcon. Will keep you posted on progress. This may take another 10 years
UPDATE #2: I heard some noise that woke me up at 630am and came downstairs to find my 5 yr old boy working on the Falcon by himself. He did a couple of big build steps all on his own. I’m a proud dad this morning.
UPDATE #3: My boys spent the day at school scheming a better way to organize pieces and settled on color coded. This allows us to be much faster. Love to see them problem solve and work towards efficiency. Kids were so happy when finished Stage 1 that they did celebratory dance
UPDATE #4: Millennium Falcon lego construction grinded to a halt as tensions flared in Kim household. Competition over sought after work assignments hit breaking point with complaints like “that’s my piece” “my turn” and “I want to do.” Mediators are hard at work to fix breakdown
Millennium Falcon Finished! The boys promptly asked if I can get the Falcon displayed in the Capitol building. Thanks everyone for cheering us along! I haven’t seen my wife this amused in a while. Boys are totally hooked on LEGOs. They are asking “what next?” Any thoughts?
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When Lincoln was shot he wore a coat embroidered with “One Country, One Destiny.” I’ve turned to those 4 words to help me process this moment. This assassination attempt was one of the worst events I’ve seen in our democracy. It feels like we are a country unmoored…THREAD
I’ve never experienced a time more unpredictable yet with such generational consequence. So what does this particular moment mean? I remembered a passage in a book I read. “Power and violence are opposites; where the one rules absolutely, the other is absent.” 2/10
The deep unease we carry is in part the fact that we witnessed with the shooter one person trying to use the means of violence to impose their will upon a nation of 330 million and subvert the power of people that underlies our very democracy. 3/10
This month is 20 yrs since I started serving the country, first as an intern and now today I’m on the ballot to be the Dem nominee for Senate. I’ve been blessed to serve, working my way up from a desk in the photocopy room. But I always remembered my 1st lesson in service. THREAD
20 yrs ago, arriving at Union Station, I realized I didn’t know anyone else in the entire city of DC. I didn’t come from a political family or had any previous experience in DC except for a family trip or two. I was nervous. I felt out of place. I felt like I didn’t belong. 2/11
Who was I to think I could work in government? I am a son of immigrants, a public school kid. I made my way by metro lugging a big duffel to Foggy Bottom where I had a dorm room in George Washington University for the summer. 3/11
I first met @YaelBromberg, @bmpugach and Flavio Komuves just 5 months ago. While we talked, the gravity of what we were considering hit me. I asked them point blank, what’s our chance of winning a lawsuit against the political machine? Is this a Hail Mary or do we have a shot?🧵
The three of them didn’t flinch. They each took turns telling me why this was real. They embodied confidence yet humility. They were pragmatic and tactical while maintaining the hopefulness and courage one needs to take on NJ politics. 2/6
I explained to them how this would set off a massive firestorm. In some ways I wanted to make sure they were ready for it. But I realized when I talked that the three of them understood exactly what they were doing as they’ve been fighting this fight for years. 3/6
Politics in NJ is facing a real crossroads right now between elite control and power of people. The same leaders who gain political control through the county line on ballots are flexing to ram through a bill gutting OPRA and transparency. These problems are interconnected THREAD
Of all the things to fast track...leaders are spending time and capital reducing transparency. We have affordability, environmental, infrastructure challenges. It's a real prioritization problem to have a politics more interested in preserving/expanding their own control. 2/10
The actions yesterday of reportedly replacing a state Senator on a committee because he planned to vote against the bill shows how broken this process is. It gives the impression that individual lawmakers are irrelevant, and all that matters is what top leaders want. 3/10
The broken politics in New Jersey needs to end once and for all. Today I am filing suit and seeking an injunction to stop the corrupt county line system for this June 4 primary and to abolish it permanently going forward. 49 states use fair ballots; it’s time NJ does too. THREAD
Right now NJ allows a handful of party elites to give their handpicked candidates preferential placement on the ballot. This is a deeply unfair advantage that disenfranchises voters by applying undue influence and suppressing choice of candidates.
Voter disenfranchisement particularly harms candidates and voters of color. We’ve seen leaders from those communities - like NJ State Senators Shirley Turner and Troy Singleton - have the courage to take risk and come out to call for change. I’m grateful for their leadership.
Last week I was proud to be endorsed by College Democrats of NJ, but I found out the terrible backstory that shows how Jersey politics is broken. The college students were pressured and threatened to not endorse me. Good thing they recorded the call. Here’s what happened…THREAD
Prior to the endorsement announcement, someone who works for the state Democratic Party told student leaders that endorsing me could affect their future job prospects and their org’s funding. The student leaders felt threatened and recorded the call. 2/9 nytimes.com/2024/01/14/nyr…
I read the transcript of the call pressuring @NJCollegeDems to not endorse me. This line stood out to me:
“I also think there’s a very clear candidate here who should be representing the state. However, the powers that be do not want that candidate to be representing.”
3/9