This new book? I’m so proud of it. www.lavenderink.org/site/shop/sc...

A poet murdered. Global threats from a lunatic POTUS. Civil war in my other country. You guessed it. Another Poet in Mexico post I didn’t expect to write. Still? Poems and art from Jesse Lee Kercheval (beauty and peace). Oh yes. And music from John Prine. open.substack.com/pub/markstat...

Earthquakes and invasions. Claudia, Mexico and Venezuela. The pendejo in the White House. Not the Poet in Mexico I planned on writing to start the year. open.substack.com/pub/markstat...

Friends, merry Christmas from this poet in Mexico. Abrazotes. open.substack.com/pub/markstat...

Don’t we all.

As if Leavitt cares about a simple thing like the law.

He meant DOJ needs more time to break the law. He meant DOJ is defying Congress. He meant we aren’t finished scrubbing dear leader from the files. He meant we are guilty guilty guilty.

Seriously.

🤣🤣

Speaker Mike Johnson says his entire worldview comes from the Bible. But he’s about to kick 2 million Texans off their healthcare right before Christmas. If you aren’t loving your neighbor, then keep Jesus’ name out of your mouth.

Jack Smith has requested that Jim Jordan release the entire video of his 8-hour closed-door testimony which he gave this week to the House Judiciary Committee. Will Jordan release the video to the public? If not, why not?

This week’s #Poet in Mexico: a moment of gratitude being alive? Life itself? Why not? With #Mexico so amazing…Plus #poetry from Anselm Berrigan! A new song from France de Griessen in a film by Cannonball Statman! #Chanukah lights! ¡Ándale! open.substack.com/pub/markstat...

Hideous Bobby does it again… www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...

Working on tomorrow’s #Poet in #Mexico! Missed last week’s, on our expanding social safety net, how funding comes from rich corporations and individuals actually paying their fair share? #Poetry from Nicole Callihan? Here’s a chance to catch up! With music! ¡Órale! open.substack.com/pub/markstat...

This week’s #Poet in #Mexico has posted! On one of the reason’s why the Mexican social safety net is expanding! And #Claudia’s popularity (only a 74% approval rating? Something wrong here?). Plus? #Poetry from Nicole Callihan! Maria, Bonnie, and Norah! ¡Ándale! open.substack.com/pub/markstat...

Finishing up tomorrow’s Poet in Mexico! If you missed this past week? No worries! Here’s your chance! ¡Abrazotes! open.substack.com/pub/markstat...

Thanks to all who welcomed back Poet in Mexico after a short hiatus. You missed my Thanksgiving in Mexico note? And poetry festivals in Oaxaca and Cuernavaca! Recovery! A poem for Dad! Olinka, Nanci, and John! What a fine time! ¡Ándale! open.substack.com/pub/markstat...

The White House has launched a webpage to report "media bias" tips. It would be a pity if it were flooded with tips about every show on Fox News. www.whitehouse.gov/articles/202...

Pastor Black: While I was in the middle of using the words of Jesus, they opened fire on me. It was so clear that they had been so poorly trained, or — the alternative — that they had been deliberately told to escalate violence against peaceful protesters.

While Mike Johnson is running around trying to act like he’s not the most incompetent Speaker in US history, we’re pushing hard to extend the ACA tax credits for millions of Americans. We’re almost there, and you can help!

Wow! The Supreme Court basically just said, if you want to do racial gerrymandering, have at it. Let’s be clear, what Texas did was racial gerrymandering, plain and simple. SCOTUS just opened the floodgates.

VA must redistrict after the Supreme Court’s decision in the Texas case. The last excuse not to is gone.

Rep. Crockett’s Statement on the Supreme Court’s Ruling on Texas’s 2026 Map

Hi all! After a short break, #Poet in #Mexico is back! This week, no Thanksgiving? Nope. Tubería. And yet? And? #Poetry festivals in #Oaxaca and #Cuernavaca! #Recovery! A poem for Dad! Olinka, Nanci, and John! Counting blessings every second. ¡Ándale! open.substack.com/pub/markstat...

This Poet in Mexico? A small tribute to two very good men. Hope you get a chance to understand my gratitude. open.substack.com/pub/markstat...

I had a run in with ICE snatching a man out of his car while walking my children to school this morning in NW DC I asked a neighbor to continue walking my kids to school and I turned back to document and confront the ICE agents. I am in contact with @dcmigrantmutualaid.org with the full video.

A shorter #Poet in #Mexico than usual this week—but full of good stuff—a single #poem, a single song, some poetry events in #Oaxaca and #Cuernavaca, and our local saint of social justice and racial equality! ¡Ándale! open.substack.com/pub/markstat...

Many are comparing Mamdani to Obama, but you know who else pounded the pavement as a youthful Millennial candidate with a short resume, fantastic ground game, social media savvy, and no problematic donors? AOC!! Not a criticism, just an observation that Mamdani is not a fluke—there’s a playbook!!!

🟥 Senadoras adelantaron que buscarán tipificar el abuso sexual como un delito grave tras la agresión contra la presidenta Claudia. Sheinbaum. Agregaron que revisarán los pendientes legislativos en torno a la violencia de género.

Pres Scheinbaum’s prosecution of sexual assault case returns needed attention to broader structural issues of feminicide, sexual violence & gender inequality that permeate Mexican society, and that MORENA gov’ts & their predecessors have systematically failed to tackle m.youtube.com/watch?v=qPhH...

Man @gavinnewsom’s team doesn’t mess around

Did you know that more than 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used in the US every year? And they don't just disappear. They pollute the air, water, and soil long after they're applied. Tell the EPA to ban #pesticides that other countries already consider too dangerous to use ➡️ bit.ly/4otOUCz

BIG NEWS buried amid the blue wave: @govwesmoore.bsky.social announces that Maryland is IN when it comes to redrawing maps for 2026. "Come next November in Maryland, we will have fair maps."

Scientists thought Great Barrier Reef doomed if global temperatures rise 1.5C – but a new study finds hope University of Queensland modelling says reef will suffer ‘rapid coral decline’ in coming decades but could still recover if targets met www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Casting around for culprits, leaders in the party blamed their candidates, the government shutdown and a weak economic message.

Zohran Mamdani ran on freezing the rent in NYC. Abigail Spanberger ran on supporting fired federal workers and lowering the cost of living in VA. Mikie Sherrill ran on lowering utility bills in NJ. Ensuring people can afford to live a decent life is the path forward.

November 5, 2025

Newsom’s social media team is on a level we’ve never seen before

"Pope Leo said Scripture emphasizes the question that will be posed at the end of the world: 'How did you receive the foreigner, did you receive him and welcome him, or not? I think there is a deep reflection that needs to be made about what is happening'..." chicago.suntimes.com/pope-leo-xiv...

Mamdani: "My message to ICE agents & to everyone across this city is that everyone will be held to the same standard of the law. If you violate it, you must be held accountable. There is sadly a sense growing that certain people are allowed to violate that law, whether they be POTUS or ICE agents."

A terrific piece by Rabbi Jay Michaelson forward.com/opinion/7802...

A lot of gratitude for the responses to my Día de los Muertos post. And here we go. Memory and love. If you missed it? open.substack.com/pub/markstat...

I’m apprehensive about Substacks in general (isn’t it another rw/neo-fash platformer) but I read the ones published by @jntod.bsky.social @markstatman.bsky.social Carl Wilson Anne Trubek Henry Gould and @lloydcole.bsky.social

#Poet in #Mexico has posted! Some thoughts on time, history, death, and #poetry. ¡Día de los Muertos en #Oaxaca! With #poems from me, music from Lila Downs and the (goth) Tempus Quartet. It’s lovely stuff. ¡Adelante! open.substack.com/pub/markstat...

Working now on tomorrow’s #Poet in #Mexico. Missed last week’s on No Kings in #Oaxaca and #poems by Jeffrey Harrison? Not too late to check it out! (Of course it’s never too late really, since you can just go to the Poet in Mexico archive…). ¡Ándale! open.substack.com/pub/markstat...