An Excellent Example of Public Library Leadership Advocating for School Libraries Teton County Library's Board of Directors has issued a powerful statement against the passage of HR 7661, a national book banning bill. bookriot.com/teton-county...

HAPPY PRIDE 🌈🌈🌈🌈✨✨✨✨BE FREE, READ GAY BOOKS AND COMICS

As US graduation season takes place, some speakers are being told they can no longer give their address at commencement ceremonies because of opinions they have voiced. PEN America’s Kristen Shahverdian tells The Guardian the cancellations send a troubling message www.theguardian.com/world/video/...

UPDATE: hateful homophobe Pinocchiogles deleted this tweet Happy pride month! 🏳️‍🌈

BREAKING: CBS News has terminated 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley's contract following his vocal disagreements with the new leadership under Bari Weiss.

He deleted it. Not very MAGA to cave to the Woke Mob. ❄️

My May book reviews are up (free patreon post) and information about THREE different federal book banning bills, all of which I urge you to call your reps about. I wrote call scripts: www.patreon.com/posts/may-20...

Happy Pride Month. If you know a young person (age 13-26) in the US who is getting their access to queer library books restricted because of local small-minded folks, please refer them to the Books Unbanned program. More people should know about it. #pride booksunbanned.com/card

ANY PERSON this age group can get a card, whether or not they’re experiencing book bans. That’s powerful for queer young folks in small towns with no libraries or libraries with limited hours or collections, too.

Republicans are advancing H.R. 7661, a bill that could affect millions of kids by restricting access to books addressing topics such as LGBTQ+ identities, puberty, and sex. Here are a few books loved by chapter members that could be affected if this legislation becomes law.

We're proud to be led by every openly-LGBTQI+ Representative and to be able to work so closely alongside @housedemocrats.bsky.social's leadership in the fight for LGBTQI+ equality. Read our Co-Chairs' and House Democratic Leadership’s #PrideMonth messages:

JUST IN: Iran has suspended talks and message exchanges with the United States in protest of Israel’s military actions in Lebanon, according to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency.

What happens when publishers begin avoiding LGBTQ+ stories before a book is ever challenged? This article explores how years of censorship efforts are creating a chilling effect across the publishing industry, making it harder for queer voices & stories to reach readers bookriot.com/queer-books-...

Yes book bans are super harmful, and it does impact school and library sales, but retailers are also a part of this and they are so often not held to task for their part!

I know what they’ll say but either force them not to comment or make them say it out loud

Someone follow up with book buyers at the big retailers (who shape a *lot* of what is seen) — Walmart, target, Barnes and noble, Amazon — ask the actual people who are buying books for their stores why they’re not pushing for more lgbtq+ stories bc buyers are immensely powerful in this conversation

The past was erased, the erasure won’t be forgotten, the Big Lie won’t become the truth. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...

"60 Minutes" reporter Sharyn Alfonsi, fired for standing up for editorial independence, doesn't want a CBS repeat at CNN. She's joined nearly 250 journalists in signing our letter speaking out against the Ellisons giving the gov. a seat at the news desk.

Member of @authorsabb.bsky.social @jerroldconnors.bsky.social came through in the best way and assembled this for us all! Know thine shitty bills!

There are currently three bills in the House and Senate that would impact the freedom to read: H.R. 2616, 7661, and 8705. 1️⃣ Contact our reps about these bills 2️⃣ Vote in every election 3️⃣ Join/run for our school and library boards

Congrats to Freedom250 for finally booking a new act.

Epstein survivor Maria Farmer: “Pam Bondi’s continued evasion of questions about her grave mishandling of the release of the Epstein files was not surprising — it’s a pattern of behavior. At every turn, Bondi has ignored and disregarded the will of Epstein survivors”

Oof, Guillermo del Toro absolutely roasting Gutierrez with subtweets over on X-Twitter... I can't even imagine. I hope the money was worth it.

I love living in Kansas City, but Missouri makes it tough each day. Reading to our young kids is essential for their development. There are currently 169,000 Missouri kids in the program, which sent out half a million books in the first three months of the year. Most won’t get new books.

have we considered that flo rida and vanilla ice might be locked in a deadly game of chicken where both performers have their entire net worth tied up in elaborate parallel kalshi bets that they will be the last act to drop out? I am asking us to consider it

Everyone's fleeing Trump's Freedom 250 concerts

These may sound like important and uncontroversial names, but these acts are straightforwardly hateful and regressive, especially toward the trans and queer communities. The CHARLIE act would also target the teaching of accurate racial history.

Please contact your reps about... H.R. 8705: CHARLIE Act www.govtrack.us/congress/bil... H.R. 7661: Stop the Sexualization of Children Act www.govtrack.us/congress/bil... H.R. 2616: Stopping Indoctrination and Protecting Kids Act www.govtrack.us/congress/bil...

TLDR: call your house reps to demand they vote NO on 8705 and 7661 Call your senators to demand they vote NO on 2616 All three seek to ban books nationally. All three are the fever dream of bigots. All three must be stopped.

Tomorrow night in Santa Rosa!

Larry Ellison has pledged 30% of his Oracle shares for roughly $21bn of personal loans. The future of Oracle and the Ellison family hinges on its ability to build 7.1GW of data center capacity and for OpenAI to pay it $300 billion over 5 years. www.wheresyoured.at/how-openai-k...

State voting restrictions enacted so far this year include requirements to show documents such as a passport or a birth certificate to register for state elections. Our new roundup has the details: bit.ly/4dzRNNM

UPDATE: After loud backlash, @KnoxSchools has put ‘ROOTS’, a Pulitzer-prize winning state book, back in schools. tennesseelookout.com/2026/05/26/k...

NEWS: Trump-backed Ken Paxton will defeat incumbent John Cornyn in the Texas GOP Senate runoff, setting up a high-stakes general election showdown with Democratic nominee James Talarico. Paxton’s victory gives the Democrats their best chance in years to flip a Texas Senate seat blue.

Google overhauled Search at I/O 2026, replacing blue links with AI agents. The backlash has been swift. DuckDuckGo app installs spiked 30% as users seek a way out.

Book Bans Aren’t About Books. They’re About Panic. katiecouric.com/news/opinion...

As promised, an update! An Excellent Example of Public Library Leadership Advocating for School Libraries Teton County Library's Board of Directors has issued a powerful statement against the passage of HR 7661, a national book banning bill. bookriot.com/teton-county...

This needs too be normalized at conventions.

There's a theme in these lawsuits where a librarian has been fired for refusing to remove books or discriminate against LGBTQ+ folks. They are not losing. www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/edu...

Salt Lake City library system offers buyouts to its staff citywide www.sltrib.com/news/2026/05...

How it started 🧑‍🌾 How it’s going Tennessee soybean festival canceled, as TN farmers continue to struggle under Trump’s trade war — devastating rural towns. sign of the times: www.wbbjtv.com/2026/05/22/t...

For more than a decade, Stephen Colbert has been one of the top voices of late night—making us laugh and, even more importantly, reminding us who we are and what America stands for. Michelle and I enjoyed being Stephen’s guests—even when the games were rigged—and we’re grateful to call him a friend.

Four Translators On the Value of Their Profession and What Comes Next https://pen.org/translators-value-their-profession/ #PENWorldVoices

I'm really excited to share that I have now seen a phenomenal letter from a public library board in response to HR 7661, and it'll go out in the Literary Activism newsletter next week.

AOC: This is what drinking water in Georgia looks like after Meta began data center construction in the community.

I loved this book! If you are in SF this weekend, say hi to @jooliefiveash.bsky.social and pick up a copy of The Froggy Library!

"Iowa lawmakers move to mandate students take Center for Intellectual Freedom classes amid low enrollment" This is the right's "intellectual freedom" nonsense, and since students aren't falling for it, they'll just legislate it. SO MUCH FOR INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM. www.kcrg.com/2026/05/20/i...

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., told reporters about the plan hours after Trump signaled he could target him in his midterm revenge campaign.

I'm lucky - my Senators are absolutely against this. But for everyone else, please call your Senators and get on the record. Then protest, raise funds (www.thetrevorproject.org) and get on your local media.

CALL YOUR SENATORS & tell them not to pass this horrific bill on their end. Trans kids WILL die if outed to violently bigoted parents. This is also a book banning bill to erase all mention of gender identity in schools nationwide. If one of the Dem reps that voted for this POS is yours, primary them