We were not all local! But almost all of us were hit lol.

If like me you've been worried that Trump's anti-immigrant actions might've killed the World Music Festival, I have good news and bad news! It's happening, and the lineup is great—but the number of artists from outside the country has declined significantly. chicagoreader.com/music/music-...

Politics or no politics, you gotta worry about any child growing up in a house where that is accepted as sound medical advice.

You can’t pay somebody that’s not fucking real. This is money laundering. And killing the planet.

"More professors in the United States have been fired for controversial views in the past week than any other week in all of American history." www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...

So Flint, Michigan gave $1,500 to all pregnant people, plus $500 each month for the first year of the child’s young life. It saved Flint $6.2 million dollars a year, due to lower rates of rates of prematurity and low birth weight, with fewer corresponding admissions. The right thing, AND cheaper.

by my (unofficial and probably low) count, ice arrested at least 17 people today in/around chicago. it sounds like the bulk of the arrests—more than a dozen—came from an hour away in the village of west chicago. my megathread:

reposting with alt text because this feels incredibly significant. the right-wing disinfo machine means a lot of the people grieving Charlie Kirk never heard any of the things he said that would have tarnished his brand as Guy Who Just Wants to Have Dialogue Across the Aisle

We need more games and internet journalists. And also more trans journalists. And also more journalists. aftermath.site/tyler-robins...

Does this make Ned an “in-shell?” www.independent.co.uk/news/science...

in this week’s powerhouse make it make sense from @chicagoreader.com: 🚨ice launches chicago deportation blitz 🌳city evicts unhoused legion park residents (via @bysavannahh.bsky.social) ✉️ idoc wants to ban physical mail (via @dmbrown-tboy.bsky.social) 🏛️walter burnett jr’s son takes over as alder

ice is out in chicago today putting on a show for tv cameras. two ice suvs wrapped with the slogan “defend the homeland” were parked outside the cook county jail. at least 2 agents arrested one person. fox news also accompanied ice agents (and blurred their faces!) on a raid this morning.

Holy fuck, NO. THIS FOOTAGE IS THREE MONTHS OLD. Stop. Doing This!!

🧵

ICYMI: I spoke with drummer and music curator Mike Reed about his ambitious new festival, Sound & Gravity, which takes place in Avondale 9/10-14. Read the interview here or pick up a Reader if you’re out and about. chicagoreader.com/music/music-...

The lack of mainstream coverage of regular huge protests reminds me of a talk from a Twitter employees who explained that they had to drop BLM off the Trending Tags section because otherwise it would have been there permanently. The modern media environment has no appetite for sustained movements.

If you are reposting the video of the salt trucks in Chicago, the one with no date on it, which gives no source or credit, which is not being reported by any news organization in town, big or small, then Garfield has a message for you

The president of the United States just declared war, actual military war, not a metaphorical one, on a major American city, and one governed by his political opponents. In any other period, this would be impeachment-worthy.

A lot of great stuff in @jamieludwig.bsky.social’s interview with Mike Reed! chicagoreader.com/music/music-...

Next week the new Sound & Gravity festival begins, filling seven venues around Belmont and Western with a staggering lineup of boundary-pushing music. @jamieludwig.bsky.social talked to fest founder Mike Reed about what he hopes to accomplish and why. chicagoreader.com/music/music-...

Ok, Midwest states. Let’s do this.

🚨Congress is back from recess today. If they’re serious about protecting democracy in this crisis and beyond, here’s what they *must* do—immediately. 🧵

He sounds like he’s weighing options between last minute weekend getaway deals.

Adding to the chaos will be the legions of out of town press (both corporate and fascist) parachuting here that will push narratives very different from reality

BREAKING: Gov. JB Pritzker says the Trump administration has sent the Texas National Guard to Great Lakes Naval Base outside Chicago, awaiting orders to deploy to Chicago. Trump administration officials will target Mexican Independence Day (Sept. 16) celebrations. @wttw.bsky.social

This is great reporting on what's happening in one county in western Nebraska, one where I've spent a lot of time, as people watch ICE raids and deportations in other places and expect it will get to Chase County sooner or later. So much better than NYT-style stories on rural places and politics.

I’ve encountered a few white guys over the past week who are essentially of the “Bring it/FAFO” mindset. And like, no!!! Leave your macho bullshit out of this. So many people will get hurt or otherwise have their lives disrupted if this happens, and you’re not going to be the hero who stops it.

Trump/RFK are decapitating our public health system, a pillar of American greatness. So Dem Govs should scour every corner of the law for creative new ways to defend their people from this madness. Dems should polarize this debate to the max. Thoughts on this here: newrepublic.com/article/1998...

NEW — Black organizers and elected leaders gathered today to denounce Trump’s threats to send military forces to Chicago. They are developing a 30-day emergency response plan, which includes establishing mutual aid hubs and Know Your Rights training sessions. thetriibe.com/2025/08/blac...

EXCLUSIVE: DHS, ICE and CBP agents — and possibly National Guard troops — would operate from a suburban naval base for much of next month as part of President Donald Trump’s plan to target Chicago, per an email from Navy leadership obtained by CST. They'd be at Naval Station Great Lakes Sept. 2-30.

Breaking actual real-life good media industry news: Chicago, you’re stuck with us 😜 💛 chicagoreader.com/noisy-creek-...

Idk how one gets this deep into black metal before getting a whiff of its non-PC side, but it’s a shame to cast it as something to “box up” without acknowledging that NSBM is a small minority of the genre—let alone the rise of openly anti-NS black metal. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Hi! I am writing something for The Objective about pre-reporting and how it constitutes a lot of unpaid work for freelance journalists. If you are a freelance journalist, could you please fill out this survey? Trying to see how widespread this is. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

"People can bypass these powerful polarizing influences by connecting face-to-face (or at least through media that embrace the mission of social conciliation). That’s the common goal of these counterpolarization projects."

And to add, it has happened at lightning speed. Talented colleagues who specialize in their field have been made jobless within the past two years. Language has been handed over to big tech.

1000% POTUS making the explicit request is an unprecedented power grab by an unpopular Trump. I’ve been shouting about Dems needing to get serious about gerrymandering since 2015. This arms race was predictable. As soon as REDMAP happened. Banning gerrymandering should have been a top priority.

Yay! Welcome home, Bam Bam. 🥰

Friday! You could find a quieter place to blow off the tension of your week than Conan’s show at Reggies, but would it be as much fun? I don’t think so.

The people dominating our political landscape, culture, and economy are just so stupid and full of shit it's almost impossible to describe

Annual I hate the Air & Water Show post.

Very bad news from Costco. One of the groups orchestrating this pressure campaign is Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian Nationalist law firm that is hellbent on reshaping US society. The ADF coalition "now turns its focus to CVS and Walgreens."

Black lung is still destroying lives and families in Appalachia, and this “pro-coal” government doesn’t care. The implementation of a lifesaving safety rule has been delayed yet again, and coal miners will continue to pay the price. Via @westvirginiawatch.com westvirginiawatch.com/2025/08/14/t...

A Chicago woman went to immigration court. Her case was dismissed; she and her infant were taken by federal agents who turned her over to contractor MVM. They spent five days confined at the Sonesta O'Hare hotel without communication to the outside world. My first byline at @injusticewatch.org:

I keep thinking of how in Nazi-occupied Denmark, if a Nazi walked into a bar, everyone would pay up and walk out.

My latest @religiondispatches.org - GOP leader Mike Johnson visited the West Bank yesterday & proclaimed support for Israeli annexation. But few noticed the Christian Zionist operative who has arranged trips like his for decades, driven by Biblical prophecy religiondispatches.org/media-fail-t...

More women have nearly bled to death during miscarriage under Texas’ abortion ban. Experts say the trend paints a troubling picture of the harms of unnecessary delays in care. “This is striking,” one doctor said. “The trend is very clear.”

"One of the reasons the epidemic of violence against women is so unacknowledged is because cases like these are talked about individually, and often treated as though they are shocking aberrations rather than part of a pervasive pattern that operates at all levels of society."

Just going to pop in to remind everyone that the fascists have intentionally inverted their language in an effort to confuse broader society and inject Philo Semitism into the milieu as a continuing form of radicalization and cooption of the language needed to counter their agenda of hate.

Hey no big deal and all but... Senate Republicans just confirmed Joe Kent, a conspiracy theorist with alarming ties to white nationalists and far-right groups, to lead the National Counterterrorism Center. www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...