The women-empowering-women genre of political ad.

This new Spencer Pratt ad may be somewhat innovative in its forthright use of AI:

“You are not alone.” Yoga moms, silent majority, and a preference cascade all in one. Whether or not Angelenos elect @spencerpratt as LA mayor, he and his team are revolutionizing politics. pic.twitter.com/l4pwOSmNUH

— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) May 17, 2026

But it reminded me of something else that got plenty of attention not too long ago. I'll bet you remember this Kamala Harris ad:

Both ads depict women as inhibited in expressing their personal political preference but speaking woman-to-woman and conquering that inhibition. 

Everybody's talking about L.A.

A glance at Real Clear Politics:

I love the way RCP just alternates pro- and anti-Trump headlines. I'll just check in on one of each:

"The Reason The Left Loves Riots/Is Because It Hates Civilization," asserts Michael Shellenberger: "It's 'inflammatory' to enforce migration laws, say Democrats. But it's not. It's essential for protecting the vulnerable. The reason the Left opposes law enforcement is that they take pleasure at the destruction of civilization, at least so long as it only hurts other people."

"We are witnessing the first stages of a Trump police state," warns Robert Reich: "As civilian control gives way to military control, the nation splits into those who are most vulnerable to it and those who support it. The dictatorship entrenches itself by fomenting fear and anger on both sides. These are frightening and depressing times. But remember: although it takes one authoritarian to establish a police state, it takes just 3.5% of a population to topple him and end it."

That link on "3.5%" goes to a definition "the 3.5% rule": "Nonviolent protests are twice as likely to succeed as armed conflicts – and those engaging a threshold of 3.5% of the population have never failed to bring about change." Reich is hoping 3.5% of Americans will take to the streets — peacefully and patriotically — and "topple" the duly elected President.

Both Shellenberger and Reich say they're for peace, and both also say that they believe the other side is out for violence.

In The Twitter Files, Part 4, Michael Shellenberger looks at "The Removal of Donald Trump: January 7."

"As the pressure builds, Twitter executives build the case for a permanent ban." 

Sorry I missed this last night. I mean, I'm not really sorry. Sometimes I'm not hanging around on line looking for the next thing. 

ADDED: Shellenberger's summary:

On Jan 7, senior Twitter execs: 

 - create justifications to ban Trump 

- seek a change of policy for Trump alone, distinct from other political leaders 

 - express no concern for the free speech or democracy implications of a ban

MORE: On Jan 7, senior Twitter execs: - create justifications to ban Trump - seek a change of policy for Trump alone, distinct from other political leaders - express no concern for the free speech or democracy implications of a ban 

AND:

"Neighbors described DePape as a homeless addict with a politics that was, until recently, left-wing, but of secondary importance to his psychotic and paranoid behavior."

"'What I know about the family is that they’re very radical activists,' said one of DePape’s neighbors, a woman who only gave her first name, Trish. 'They seem very left. They are all about the Black Lives Matter movement. Gay pride. But they’re very detached from reality. They have called the cops on several of the neighbors, including us, claiming that we are plotting against them. It’s really weird to see that they are willing to be so aggressive toward somebody else who is also a lefty.'.... Wrapped up in their own obsession with Trump Republicans, most journalists have missed the real story. David DePape is not a microcosm of the political psychosis gripping America in general. Rather, he’s a microcosm of the drug-induced psychosis gripping the West Coast in particular. Yesterday afternoon I visited the Berkeley house where DePape had lived with his former lover, Oxane 'Gypsy' Taub, 53, a charismatic Russian immigrant 11 years David’s senior. DePape appears to have fallen under the spell of Taub around 2003, when DePape was a quiet, video game-obsessed 21-year-old in Powell River, a town of 14,000 people that is a four-hour drive up the coast of British Columbia from Vancouver....."

Writes Michael Shellenberger in "Pelosi Attack Suspect Was A Psychotic Homeless Addict Estranged From His Pedophile Lover & Their Children/Berkeley resident David DePape was more in the grip of drug-induced psychosis than ideology-induced fanaticism" (Substack).

This is my second DePape post of the morning. For the Depape-is-a-righty perspective, go to the earlier post. I am utterly neutral on DePape. I don't need him to fit one narrative of the other. So I will continue to watch and post/comment when I think it might be helpful.