Signed as an MBA alum and current teaching assistant. Botstein must resign.

“How many of these gentle people have I helped to kill just by paying my taxes?" June Jordan, 1984

Leon Botstein, president of @bardcollege.bsky.social, has repeatedly made public statements about his relationship with the pedophile sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein that have turned out to be misleading, incomplete, or untrue. I'm going to make a thread to compile them all here.

The cuts made to RIPTA go beyond a line item in the budget. Behind every cut & reduction in service is an affected community member. Their stories matter. We encourage you to watch Bus Cuts. Special thanks to @pvdstreets.bsky.social for sharing this short film. www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgsH...

Union Carpenter Derek Ellis of Skowhegan was down the street from his job site in Portland when he saw ICE agents shout at a woman to "get the hell out" of her car. As they tore her out of her car, she screamed "I'm a US citizen! I'm a citizen!" as her small child in a carseat cried hysterically.

MEDIA ADVISORY: Join us Thurs. Jan. 8 at the State House for a press conference launching our 2026 Save RIPTA Legislative Campaign + releasing the 2025 Service Cuts Impact Report. The report illustrates the consequences that RIPTA riders & workers are suffering. Read the release on our website ⤵️

3 cheers for this proposal for an investment into employee ownership from @sabinamatos.bsky.social. "It’s time to chart a new path: one where the businesses that define Rhode Island stay open and remain in the hands of the communities who built them."

Over the last five years we built Reclaim Rhode Island into a potent housing justice, tenant organizing, left political organization. We’re hiring: - tenant organizers to be supervised by SEIU 1199 NE - an executive director to build Reclaim up into a powerhouse cadre org. Details below!

A joy to facilitate visioning & priority-setting with the RI Worker Cooperative Alliance last night at Fuerza's beautiful space!

The Economic Progress Institute celebrates 10 wins that promote progress & equity for Rhode Islanders “I put myself into it to make sure people talked about taxing the rich, & we did. We did it in a big way this year, & we’re not giving up," said Weayonnoh Nelson-Davies. "The year isn’t over yet.”

turns out climate change will cost dramatically more than economists predicted, and the cost of addressing it is actually negative. oops! prospect.org/environment/...

We’re making the (g)rounds this summer, visiting some of Rhode Island’s finest coffee shops! Come out to see us every Wednesday morning at 8-9 a.m. for a quick hello, to talk community investment, or just to support a local business. We’re starting this Wednesday at worker-owned White Electric.

Amer Rabee was a Palestinian American born in New Jersey. He was not a terrorist — he was just a child. In the West Bank and in Gaza, atrocities like the killing of Amer are occurring daily. We cannot stay silent. We cannot look away.

"The Suffering Is Beyond Description": Report from Gaza as U.N. Warns 14,000 Babies Could Soon Die

I wrote about Republicans proposed cuts to childcare funding, and the broader right-wing effort to undo the Second Wave and push women out of the paid workforce. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

#PVDlocal/#RIocal: Butler Hospital refuses to meet the need for safe staffing & fair wages, so the strike covered in this article is moving forward on Thursday 5/15. If there are opportunities for members of the public to support, I'll share them. steveahlquist.substack.com/p/butler-hos...

73% of mothers with kids under 18 are in the workforce. More than flowers or brunch, working moms need: -Paid family leave -Equal pay -Universal childcare (But get your mom flowers, too)

Pronatalists: Encourage white births, enforce regressive, hierarchal & stratified social roles, push women out of public sphere & limit women’s prospects for social, professional intellectual life to pregnancy, childcare & housework. @moiradonegan.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

You already pay more than your fair share in taxes. It's time for the top 1% in #RI to pay theirs. TONIGHT Join our 20min "power calls" Wednesdays at 6:30pm For info on: 💸 RI's funding cliff 💸 why taxing the 1% matters 💸 what you can do to help www.mobilize.us/riwfp/event/...

"The agreement includes meaningful raises, smaller class sizes, and more classroom resources, but it also codifies some of the most comprehensive LGBTQ+ protections ever included in a public school labor deal." Check out "bargaining for the common good" www.advocate.com/news/chicago...

Action is necessary, planning is essential. convergencemag.com/articles/pla...

Admit you made a mistake

Chilling. They are saying that simply taking action in opposition to US foreign policy is grounds for deportation. Think of the proud lineage of protests against US-backed wars, coups, torture... BREAKING: Mahmoud Khalil Can Be Deported, Immigration Judge Rules open.substack.com/pub/zeteo/p/...

this is a staggering amount of money to build camps—suggesting that building & running a gulag will be the primary function of the otherwise gutted Trump-state in last fiscal yr: "D.H.S. allocated about $3.4 billion for the entire custody operation overseen by ICE" www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/u...

So proud of Rhode Island for showing up this weekend. I saw neighbors, coworkers from former jobs, lots of people I usually don't see at protests. Mass mobilization is critical right now - there is no mandate for the corporate coup. Let's do it again soon! #HandsOff #PopularFront

Thousands take to the streets of Providence to protest the Trump/Musk Administration "Thousands mobilized today because we stand united against Rhode Island being bought, sold, and gutted just so billionaires can get a few more tax breaks." steveahlquist.substack.com/p/thousands-...

TOMORROW! AFT members are joining thousands of people in a nationwide day of action to say: Hands off our Social Security. Hands off our public schools. Hands off our Medicare. Hands off our jobs. It's not too late to find an event near you: www.mobilize.us/handsoff #HandsOff #ProtectOurKids

On this Trans Day of Visibility, we celebrate and recommit to protecting our transgender, non-binary, and gender nonconforming siblings! 🏳️‍⚧️💜 Trans rights are labor rights! ✊ #TDOV #TransDayofVisibility

Stripping collective bargaining and union rights from workers across the federal government is the very definition of union busting — and a blatant attempt to silence us. We will fight this outrageous attack on our members with every fiber of our collective being.

Democracy is under profound attack. Integrity requires applying democratic concepts and frameworks consistently - and acting accordingly. Anything else is deeply corrosive. #solidarity #courage

Too many Democrats spent a good part of last year demonizing campus protesters, refusing to acknowledge Palestinians as humans, and painting people who want an end to Israel's genocidal actions as terrorists. Trump is pouring on the gas, but Dems lit the match and threw in some logs.

Our family in the union movement will be out tomorrow in South Providence, we hope everyone can join! Rally for Working People 12–2pm Saturday March 22 375 Adelaide Ave, Providence (Across from Tesla dealership) Optional RSVP: bit.ly/4h5eY29

My beloved bike collective is running a workshop series focused on cooperatives, community care, and do-it-together skills. Check it out! We'd love to have you.

Super excited to be doing a workshop on Community Investing with @leftylooseybike.bsky.social on April 9. Come out to join us! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

If you're looking for a positive thing to do today that will benefit your people and place, consider an investment in the Local Return Diversified Community Investment Fund. We're building community wealth by investing in real estate in disinvested neighborhoods in RI. Our investors are our members!

They're trying to deport my colleague from the med school and holding her without counsel. She was coming back from a visit to her family. If there are ways to help I'll let you know. www.providencejournal.com/story/news/l...

Good Lord

I would like to see my representatives on this list.

So inspired by @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social's campaign. Visionary policy to meet real human needs. Let's go!

We're doing a workshop on community investment with the Lefty Loosey Bike Collective on April 9, as part of their amazing lineup of 2025 workshops. Learn more: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

If you missed tonight’s town hall with @naomiaklein.bsky.social, @chenjerai.bsky.social, @astra.bsky.social, and @keeanga.bsky.social on resisting the shock and awe politics of the far right and their billionaire enthusiasts, you can watch the video here:

An attack on women’s access to paid work.

Reappropriate billionaire wealth. 🧠

Ed Martin ran Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum. Schlafly was a Bircher whose first big book (A Choice not an Echo) promoted Goldwater’s nomination in 1964. Her final book was “The Conservative Case for Donald Trump.” This is the culmination of the far right’s 60+ year effort to take over the GOP.

Boycott Amazon Bezos Whole Foods.

EMERGENCY RALLY TO END MUSK'S GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER Don't freak out alone. Come out to Kennedy Plaza at 1pm Saturday to stand against the Trump/Musk coup and urge our Senators to use every lever of their power to stop it. Details and RSVP: www.mobilize.us/indivisibler...

New reporting shows that despite the supposed unfreezing of federal grants, many Head Start centers still can't access funds, forcing them to close and leaving kids without preschool and health services and families (esp moms) without the care they need to work for pay. www.salon.com/2025/02/06/e...

1. Forced displacement is ethnic cleansing, and a component of genocide. 2. Trump admits every building is leveled, which confirms once more Netanyahu committed war crimes with indiscriminate bombing. 3. The "US taking over Gaza" is a violation of international law This exactly is fascism in 2025.

Two massive unions have sued the Treasury Department for granting Musk's “Department of Government Efficiency” access to federal government payment systems. SEIU and AFGE, with nearly 3 million combined members, are fighting DOGE's illegal activity. www.huffpost.com/entry/unions...