SCOOP — The White House instructed all federal agency leadership on Tuesday to send out a mandatory message to workers blaming the impending potential government shutdown on House Democrats, The Handbasket was first to learn. Absolutely no modifications to the email were permitted. My story:

Me: forever mad about the FBI’s surveillance, propaganda, violent work to destroy everyone from Du Bois to BLM Also me: people need to understand what is happening to Comey is bad, big bad. It’s the both/and. Sometimes I think the hardest work for educators and media is to explain nuance/context

We believe that #FairHousingIs the foundation. EVERY Hoosier family deserves a #safe, #affordable, and #accessible place to call home in a #community of their #choice. Follow our "Fair Housing IS" campaign to learn how the FHCCI assists Hoosier families with their housing challenges.

Everyday we get more evidence that the most revered organizations in America are willing to help re-segregate daily life. Today, I woke up to the Washington Post and Harvard-organizations ostensibly committed to "truth"-(continuing) to help re-segregation along.

"The configuration of social capital is the key in shaping resilient city dynamics. Rather than simply increasing the number of civic organizations, what is most important is how social capital is deployed, called upon, and realized by the actors within a community." - Sean Safford

A push to preserve an Indianapolis neighborhood built by Black WWII veterans: mirrorindy.org/indianapolis... 📷 Flanner House, Indiana Historical Society

A read from Judith Butler about the handing over of names & files by UC administrators to the government. Link to article below

People missing an important point about folks getting fired for whatever they said about Charlie Kirk: Americans are being conditioned to be snitches on their fellow citizens who don’t toe a party line on what is “allowed” to be expressed. And employers are going along. It’s the new secret police

When we think of sexism, it's easy to think of *active* efforts to discriminate against women. But sexism also operates *passively* - like through our inaction on issues like childcare and paid family leave. In that context, return-to-office policies are sexist in consequence, even if not in design.

When Campus Reform and Turning point came after professors and created the professor watchlist, administrators didn't pay attention..Now they are being fired and attacked. Maybe institutions should have done more to protect academic freedom....

If you're an author and haven't yet signed up for the Anthropic settlement, do yourself a favor (and strike a blow against AI) by checking to see if any of your books were involved. www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

I wrote a piece on tech contracts in higher ed. for Jacobin. The endless outsourcing is troubling for a variety of reasons. Not helping is vendors jumping on the AI hype to offer ever-more-advanced and expensive programs to universities. #CheatGPT

High-powered conservative women might *say* they have it all because of "grit, faith, family, and focus." But that's just Lean In repackaged for a right-wing crowd. In reality, if they have it all, it's because of the nannies and other paid help making their careers possible behind the scenes. 1/

When I see people online, even in jest, suggest that people living in Republican-controlled states should be abandoned because of their politicians, I feel a deep heartache. New York CREATED Donald Trump and none of y’all are ever talk about it the way you disparage Alabama or Mississippi.

Finally! 🤩 Our position piece: Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia: doi.org/10.5281/zeno... We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity. 1/n

BREAKING: ICE is sending Russian dissidents back to Russia. When the dissidents arrived in Russia, the Russian authorities were given documents relating to their asylum applications in the US which under US law are confidential. This seems to be part of a secret agreement between Trump and Putin.

This is a common conservative trope: Giving money to poor people isn't enough, we need to focus on "cultural values" like hard work and marriage. The problem is that red states have been doing that for decades and it doesn't work! Telling people that jobs are good doesn't help if there's no jobs.

had a conversation with a prominent pundit recently who did not seem to realize that the departments of the executive branch are congressional creations, so not surprised at this

I got both my covid and flu vaccines today at CVS in Indiana - it was quick and easy. If you’re in Indiana, or another state where you can get your covid vaccine without a prescription, book your appointment today!

A problem with using predictive text technology to summarize research is that an author’s use of words or phrases might be an endorsement of those words or phrases—but not reliably so, and Google seems to have no issue with rolling this technology out despite its lack of sophistication on this

He's exploiting what sociologists call the availability heuristic: the more people hear about something, the more common they assume it to be. If he can spew vaccine skepticism all over the airwaves, then he can create the perception that such skepticism is more widespread than it is. 1/

Measurement is not simply a technical concern—it shapes knowledge and everyday outcomes. #methodmatters

"The assault on university life is part of a broader authoritarian agenda. Fascists seek a society where people lack not only the motive to learn, but also the means. .... Curiosity and community are under attack."

Primary every single Dem. Every one. They need to fear their base. There's no way out of this mess without that.

If you don't already teach Dr. Martin Luther King honoring Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois on what would've been his 100th birthday, I recommend it. King discusses Du Bois's scholarship (like Black Reconstruction), his organizing, his love, and defends his communism. credo.library.umass.edu/view/full/mu...

One generation after another of Americans were assiduously taught these falsehoods & the collective mind of America became poisoned w/racism & stunted w/myths. Dr. Du Bois confronted this powerful structure of historical distortion & dismantled it. - Dr. King www.zinnedproject.org/news/dr-king...

This week, I talk to @dreanyc123.bsky.social about the role of criminalization in authoritarianism and fascism—and why we need more outlaws, and less confusion about what the law protects and who it targets.

It's funny how vaccines worked so well that now infant mortality is low enough for all the new generations to forget it was ever a common thing. Vaccine stability has made us forget why it was so important in the first place. Before vaccines, 450 children died out of every 1000. Now? 20.

Paging Betty Friedan

RIP CBS News

This is important. The first 24 hours of press coverage fumbled the ball. But the US just murdered 11 people in international waters. Analogies to the US’s (highly suspect, morally and legally) targeted killings of suspect terrorists don’t work. This crossed their own lines, and they know it.

In April, the AAUP & our Harvard chapter sued the Trump admin for demanding that Harvard censor speech & restructure core operations or else face $8.7 billion in funding cuts. We hope this decision clarifies to Harvard’s administration that bargaining w/ tyrannical authoritarians is unacceptable.

They keep losing in court because everything they’re doing is illegal

Look guys, the martial law is temporary. It’s just a brief vacation from having any rights.

A very helpful guide: defector.com/how-the-fuck...

Oh look. When you fight instead of capitulating, you can have your funding restored.

had to conclude anything other than huge chunks of mainstream media like donald trump and want him to be dictator

Seems bad that the gulf between the reality you can go outside and see and experience yourself, and the one the political press describes, is widening very rapidly

#Sociologists - @asanews.bsky.social is soliciting nominations for the 2026 Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award. If you know someone who has made distinguished contributions to teaching in #sociology, please consider nominating them! Learn more: www.asanet.org/about/awards...

I've been finding it morbidly funny how little the MSM and pundits are pointing out that racism is rampant across the U.S. Like absolutely virulent in the regime, yes but also at large.

In the aftermath of Emmett Till's lynching, white supremacists called for federal troops to invade and occupy Chicago. "If the federal government intervenes in the interests of law enforcement anywhere, it should start in Chicago, crime capital extraordinary." h/t @larryglickman.bsky.social

Someone asked me what victory against the forces seeking to occupy Chicago looks like. Obviously, those forces being repelled is the goal, but there are layers to what success looks like in these deteriorating conditions. The first is to successfully resist the normalization of military occupation.

A little BUTTER for your feed 🧈 📸Nichelle Short

NEW on HEADS UP NEWS: This year, Labor Day is no picnic www.headsupnews.org/p/this-year-...

I said this elsewhere but the way that the white male dominated field of economics is defending Lisa should tell you how serious this move is. Not that they wouldn’t — her work is stellar — but this isn’t a case like Harvard where colleagues are willing to risk losing a colleague.

High-quality sociology education shouldn't break the bank. Our free textbook proves that excellent academic resources can be accessible to ALL students, regardless of financial status.

People have embraced authoritarianism in large part because they've been sold individualistic explanations for social problems. If you think people are poor or unhoused because they've made "bad choices," then you'll see appeal in authoritarian leaders who promise to punish those who are "bad."

Because structural thinking offers inoculation against authoritarianism, the Right has vilified terms that nod to structure (privilege, patriarchy, critical theory), and attacked the institutions trying to help people understand systemic problems. Refusing to use the terms emboldens further attacks.

Undecided students exploring sociology? The Sociology Coach provides honest, comprehensive information to inform their decision-making process. sociologycoach.com/sociology-ma...

New on the Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 newsletter: A bit of historical context for the past week's news that, gee, "AI" isn't all it's cracked up to be buttondown.com/maiht3k/arch... w/@alexhanna.bsky.social and @deccamuldowney.bsky.social