Karen Bender (@karenebender.bsky.social), author of THE WORDS OF DR. L, recently joined disability advocate @nicoleforlove.bsky.social to chat about her journey as a writer, inspiration behind the stories in her recent collection, and more! Check out the interview here: buff.ly/mZoiYgu

The Queens Daily Eagle remains undefeated.

Oct. 28, 8 pm at the fabulous Book Club Bar, NYC, come hear what's new at the Stony Brook MFA in Creative Writing! Readings by new faculty--Alison Fairbrother, Eskor Johnson and Dawnie Walton, and faculty with new books: me, Robert Lopez and Susan Minot. Join us! www.bookclubbar.com/events/35240...

Trump has told staff not to post photos of the demolition from the Treasury Department building. Photos like this one. (Possibly taken before the edict was disseminated.)

Medicare has stopped paying physicians due to the shut down. Standing right on the third rail www.statnews.com/2025/10/15/c...

Let ABC know how you feel about their bowing to the thugs in power and cancelling Jimmy Kimmel's show: support.abc.com/hc/en-us/req...

In the days following the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, numerous workers have been fired for their comments on his death, among them MSNBC political analyst Matthew Dowd.

Fashion and Freud? A new exhibit at The Museum at FIT in New York City explores fashion through the lens of psychoanalysis.

ICYMI, Scoundrel Time litmag folded last year, but the static site has stayed up temporarily. Just a heads-up that the site will be permanently removed soon, likely in the next few weeks, in case you still need to retrieve your work. #writers @karenebender.bsky.social @daisyfried.bsky.social

Common theme of people I've interviewed recently. At universities, in research centers, in diplomacy, in the legal system, dealing with refugees or immigrants: The reality inside is much worse than you would think from the outside.

Day 4 #ShortStorySeptember The Words of Dr L & Other Stories by @karenebender.bsky.social featuring the story “Messengers”. www.shortstoryseptember.co.uk/the-words-of...

Tonight! I'm reading with the wonderful Matthew Gavin Frank about his incredible new work of nonfiction, "Submersed: Wonder, Obsession and Awe in the World of Amateur Submarines," hosted by Joshua Zeitler and through Ballyhoo Books! Via zoom: link in the comments below. 6:30-7:30 pm EST, join us!

An easy way to write your Member of Congress to demand covid boosters in the fall! ofhttps://actionnetwork.org/letters/write-members-of-congress-will-covid-19-vaccines-be-available-this-fall/

"Pritzker’s health department in Illinois is currently exploring the possibility of purchasing Covid-19 vaccines in bulk straight from manufacturers in response to the mess in Washington" Attn: @governor.ca.gov - this Californian is asking you - please follow Pritzker's lead.

Steve Shirley escaped the Holocaust as a child & went on to found one of the earliest software startups. The really impressive part? She employed women programmers who had been pushed out of the workforce after having kids, & allowed them flexible, family friendly, work from home jobs—in the 1960s!

The Trump deportation nightmare is even worse than we feared. A new report reveals that ICE has detained *50* children under 18 in the NYC area since January. At least 4 as young as 6 years old. 38 children have already been deported. This achieves nothing other than cruelty.

Congratulations to former Iowa Summer Writing Festival student Brunda Moka-Dias, whose terrific flash fiction, "Bridal Wear" was just published in Lost Balloon magazine! lost-balloon.com/2025/08/20/b...

The beloved and Iconic Iowa Summer Writing Festival, both in person and online, was abruptly shut down this week. This festival has been going on for 30 plus, is internationally renowned--this is unjust and awful. Please sign this petition. www.change.org/p/save-the-i...

Shout out to the colleagues who ask why I bother studying a settled issue like women’s suffrage.

Please consider giving to the Astoria Food Pantry, which serves immigrants in Queens, many of whom have been prevented from going to work because of fear of ICE raids. The line of those waiting for food was down the block when I passed by today. www.astoriafoodpantry.com/donate-money...

IS THIS THE LAST YEAR YOU SWIM AT ROCKAWAY BEACH? Trump wants to bury a pipeline off the coast of Queens, Bklyn, & Staten Island. And release cancer-causing toxins like arsenic, lead, mercury, PCBs, dioxin from under the seabed. NY rejected this deadly pipeline in 2020. @governor.ny.gov say no now!

. For more info: RiseAndResist.org

Want to believe?! 👣 @giano.bsky.social has written a book that will have you cheering for (and believing in) Bigfoot. Read the interview and pick up your copy of AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY wherever books are sold! chireviewofbooks.com/2025/07/15/a...

yikes! Trump sounded guilty as hell talking about Ghislaine Maxwell in 2020

Here’s how to help the families of detained and deported persons. lataco.com/six-gofundme...

Farmworkers and advocates announced a national labor pause from July 16-18, requesting a pathway to citizenship for all undocumented workers. www.nbclosangeles.com/on-air/its-g...

Some personal news… @roxanegay.bsky.social and @debbiemillman.bsky.social are relaunching @therumpus.net!!! And I’m excited to be joining their team as poetry editor! 🤓 WEEEEE!!! You can submit your poetry for consideration here: therumpus.submittable.com/submit

There is currently an NWS flash flood warning in effect for all five boroughs of NYC. But no City agency has posted it on this platform. Please help spread the word. “If you live in a basement apartment or low-lying area, be ready to move to higher ground.”

Every American should read this ACLU lawsuit about what is happening in Los Angeles and California. It is the stuff of dystopian nightmares. This is not immigration enforcement. It is positively stuffed with videos and articles documenting racial profiling on a scale unseen since Jim Crow.

Avelo Airlines has accepted a $150M contract to operate deportation flights, aiding in the illegal removal of people without due process.

Here’s JD Vance-influencer Curtis Yarvin advocating a return to slavery. So that’s how things are going on this July 4th.

3. Corporations that publicly endorsed Trump's megabill: 3M Altria AT&T Charter Communications Chevron Cisco Comcast Delta Airlines Door Dash Great Clips Hair Cuttery T-Mobile Uber United Airlines UPS Verizon

I don’t think anyone is prepared for what they just did w/ ICE. This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined. It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.

An estimated 1.5 million New Yorkers could lose their Medicaid coverage and become uninsured. Over one million, including children, could see their SNAP benefits reduced or eliminated. How the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' cuts could affect New Yorkers:

I'm excited to be running my "Plot: Creating Urgency in a Story" for The Loft Literary Center on July 9, 10-12 Central Time. loft.org/class…. Info to sign up. below! https://loft.org/classes/plot-creating-urgency-story

Thank you, wonderful Maureen, for this! And I can't wait for your new novel!!!!!!

Great to see The Language of Remembering by @hollowaywriter.bsky.social featured in this summer reads pick by @karenebender.bsky.social readherlikeanopenbook.com/2025/06/26/f... #epoquepresstitles #epoquepressauthors #books #reading #summerreading #summerreads

Developed in Central America during the civil wars of the 1980s, accompaniment strategies show how movements can reduce authoritarian attacks and resist state repression.

President Donald Trump is ignoring the assessment of U.S. spy agencies that said Iran wasn't building a nuclear weapon before the latest conflict with Israel. buff.ly/67hK23P

Is it too late to give Sacha Baron Cohen an Oscar for this? Not a damn lie told. 🇺🇸

Who should you rank on your ballot to be the next mayor of New York City? Take the same quiz the candidates did and find your closest match. projects.thecity.nyc/meet-your-ma...

Contact your senators and urge them to reclaim their constitutional authority by supporting Sen. Kaine’s war powers resolution: act.indivisible.org/sign/no-iran... Then urge your representative to support the war powers resolution from Reps. Khanna and Massie: act.indivisible.org/sign/no-iran...

I was briefed on the intelligence last week. Iran posed no imminent threat of attack to the United States. Iran was not close to building a deliverable nuclear weapon. The negotiations Israel scuttled with their strikes held the potential for success.

"The President in every possible instance shall consult with Congress before introducing United States Armed Forces into hostilities ..." 50 U.S.C. § 1542

In the spring of 2008, I feared America was on the verge of war with Iran — and, believing that it’s good style to get to know people before you bomb them, I made “Rick Steves’ Iran,” a one-hour special that could (and would) only debut on PBS. Sadly, this special has become pertinent again today.

Masked ICE agents just violently arrested a US citizen —and elected official — for simply asking to see a judicial warrant. This is authoritarianism. Comptroller Lander must be released immediately.

Breaking News: Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller who is running for mayor, was detained by ICE agents at an immigration court as he tried to escort a migrant out of the courthouse to prevent his arrest. nyti.ms/4jWkANE

San Fernando Valley: Help support local street cart vendors. ICE has kidnapped dozens of vendors and this is a great program by a trusted org: Venmo: @AetnaStreetSolidarity — use a taco emoji 🌮 in the memo field

For those who think evacuating Tehran is possible based on #Israel’s warnings, which are nothing but a performative act. It would take weeks if not months to evacuate Tehran. What’s represented here doesn’t even come close to capturing the full size of #Iran’s capital city.

Melissa Hortman, who was assassinated last night, was the Speaker of the Minnesota House in the 2023-2024 session, when Democrats ran the state government. That means she had a leading role in shepherding the many landmark reforms that Dems adopted in that period—an important legacy. Brief 🧵.