People who never read books now in charge of books.

It’s weird to live in a time when basic principles like cruelty is wrong, cheating is empty & the idea that curiosity, generosity, originality, the satisfaction of earned accomplishments & loving intimacy are the center of a good life feel like countercultural concepts

"Masked security forces captured an opposition leader in the coastal province of New Jersey as regime officials continue their months-long crack-down against pro-democracy elements in the embattled United States. The arrest comes as the regime issued calls for summary detentions without trial."

How do these guys go home and look at their children in the eye after tearing apart an entire family? The United States is an absolute despicable country. 😡 ICE is the American equivalent of Gestapo. #USA

You MUST watch this exchange from today’s Tx House debate on anti-library HB3225. “This is about your desire to make sure that children have access to sexually explicit materials,” says the bill’s author. “Rep Alders, do you know what I have done for a living?” Says @voteannjohnson.bsky.social

BREAKING: Rümeysa, our union sister who was snatched by ICE, is free today. We stood up for our union family and demanded justice! When you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. #4the1st ✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿

"Your department is out of control." youtu.be/EwZWCk1ytPU?...

Fun fact: Under the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. sec. 407, two copies of every copyrighted book must go to the Library of Congress. So she was dismissed because of the Copyright Act and the fact that not every book is appropriate for children. Got it, Klaus Barbie.

Pentagon directs military to pull library books that address diversity, anti-racism, gender issues

Tomorrow night!!

If you are in Texas or know someone who is, and you love books and hate censorship, ACT TODAY to stop SB 13, which is in front of the Texas House Committee on Public Education, before it destroys our libraries and classrooms. injusticereport.substack.com/p/sb-13-in-t...

So much fun to talk with these amazing authors about their amazing books. @jessicagoudeau.bsky.social @genoways.bsky.social and Victoria Blanco. Thanks you @latimes.com

Thrilled to be moderating a Saturday panel @latimes.com Festival of Books. Come join me & @genoways.bsky.social & @jessicagoudeau.bsky.social & Victoria Blanco as we sleuth out these family histories.

LA!! Come see us!!

My latest op-ed.The bill’s threat of a $10,000 fine per infraction will only create fear and lead to banning perfectly good books for people who happen to be minors. www.statesman.com/story/opinio... @frankstrong.bsky.social @technolibrary.bsky.social @becalzada.bsky.social @penamerica.bsky.social

Finally, proof of life

Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s case is about a pattern that goes all the way back to the earliest lynchings, and has profound implications for the US: False Urgency / Illegal Action / Story Change. open.substack.com/pub/injustic...

The Librarians is a must-see documentary about the recent history of book banning in the US

The number of lies Trump, Bukele, and Stephen Miller are telling today about Zelenskyy (who didn't start the war, Russia did) and Abrego Garcia (who absolutely can and should be released immediately--the US government ADMITTED they falsely deported him) should be stunning. Should be.

Austin! Come see me in conversation with one of my very favorite authors, @sarahkendzior.bsky.social, tomorrow night at Austin Central Public Library, presented by @bookpeople.bsky.social. I can't wait to talk about her exquisite new book, THE LAST AMERICAN ROAD TRIP. See you there!

@jessicagoudeau.bsky.social & Tim Hernandez at the San Antonio Book Festival THIS WEEKEND! April 12, 2025, 9am-5pm. So many amazing writers! Make your list. See you there.

“We cannot overstate what just happened. It took just 71 days for Trump to wreck the American economy, mortally wound NATO, and destroy the American-led world order... There is no going back... The Canadian prime minister declared the age of American leadership over. He was right.” @jvl.bsky.social

Wow who could’ve guessed that this would happen It’s almost as if USAID was a pillar of American soft power and influence in the world It’s almost as if it was entirely predictable that America’s adversaries would work to fill the void left by USAID’s destruction

Israel invaded Syria in a ground incursion that is a frightening new escalation of the conflict—and I’ve been getting real time updates. As one friend told me, “Imagine: surviving the war for all those years, only to die now.” My latest for the Injustice Report: open.substack.com/pub/injustic...

Testimonies of survivors of the Coast massacre Documented by Rosa Yassin Hassan for Syria Untold 1. “To whom will I say good morning from now on?” syriauntold.com/2025/03/20/t...

This "error" means that this regime can pick up any American, anywhere, and ship them to a foreign prison without due process. We should grind this country to a halt over this.

SCOOP: The Trump admin appears to be going into a visa database to quietly change students' immigration status. It's coming entirely by surprise — setting students up to be detained without warning. It's Mahmoud Khalil & Rumeysa Ozturk — on a wider scale.

Not only did they send emails to people revoking their visa -- something we have never heard done before -- the emails also said that those students can be deported to countries that are not their own. They're using the specter of El Salvadorian prisons to threaten our students.

For the Injustice Report today, my colleague @olivalejandra.bsky.social wrote a jaw-dropping, must-read post: "Yes, the El Salvador 'Deportations' Are Really Bad' open.substack.com/pub/injustic...

Thank you to @jessicagoudeau.bsky.social, one of this country’s best writers on migration, for supporting A GREEK TRAGEDY. It means a lot. A GREEK TRAGEDY is out in just 5 days—March 25, 2025! Hit the link in my bio to pre-order! 📖 #newbook #bookrelease

Cannot wait for this!!

There are a few writers whose work I snatch up immediately, and whose minds I never get enough of. @sarahweinman.com is one of them, and this interview with @aliahanna.bsky.social about her path to becoming a writer was fascinating and insightful: substack.com/home/post/p-... (Loving this series!)

What will fix immigration is better, more efficient bureaucracy, not…whatever this is. www.axios.com/2025/03/07/i...

Everyone who has dismissed Texas as one big red state, notice that OUR reps are resisting louder than anyone right now. Al Green and Jasmine Crockett are clear, outspoken, and not intimidated—true Texans.

Not surprised that it's community colleges that are fighting back. Community colleges serve the greatest number of people facing systemic barriers. A large percentage of community college students are the first in their family to attend college.

Can’t wait!!

BREAKING: Judge Nichols has issued his written order formalizing his decision to block the Trump administration from putting 2,200 USAID workers on leave tonight. He also orders the reinstatement of 500 workers previously put on leave. s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25...

As Trump goes after DEI, HillmanTok University is teaching Black history for free to TikTok users. These are someof their lessons ⤵️

“We are witnessing one of the worst and most costly foreign policy blunders in U.S. history.” www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/o...

With all the wild news this week, you may not have heard about the Great Egg Heist of 2025: apnews.com/article/eggs...

BREAKING Attorneys for the Justice Department have agreed to temporarily restrict staffers associated with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing information in the Treasury Department’s payment system. Full Story: https://bit.ly/3WPo5gp

This piece is SO GOOD

HUNDREDS of thousands of people are going to die. US interests will be set back generations (I'm not as worried about US interests, but politicians usually are). This isn't a "hill" to "die on," it's people's lives. Do we want to defund some programs? Do it over time and responsibly. Not like this.

Just when I think I couldn’t love Malinda Lo more!! If you haven’t read her books, you need to! Listen to our (gushing) episode about her often banned, brilliant book, THE TELEGRAPH CLUB, for The Beautiful & Banned podcast: www.buzzsprout.com/2312739/epis...

Today I joined a coalition of publishers including @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social, authors @dashkaslater.bsky.social and David Levithan, @authorsguild.bsky.social, and Idaho librarians, parents, and students, in a lawsuit against Idaho's book banning law, HB 710. I'm proud to be part of the fight.

Excellent news! @freadomfighters.bsky.social @oif.bsky.social

In 2016 the NYT ran multiple front page stories page about the grave national security risk of Hillary Clinton's server. Today's front page, and nary a mention of the successful "plutocratic coup" (said by a sitting House member) or "constitutional crisis (said by a sitting Senator) unfolding

The end of the US refugee program is underreported but it has dire consequences for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people. Here’s what’s happening and what you can do. Please share! open.substack.com/pub/injustic...

Musk's new department, which just seized control over payments as broad as USAID, defense, and social security, is presently livetweeting screenshots as they gleefully stop payments related to DEI, accessibility, and immigration. The account claims $1B in payments have already been cut off.