as many of you know, I'm not Christian but always loved Christmas. My wish: may the light in you and your loved ones shine bright may that light comfort and inspire others may our lights dispel darkness and fear may they give the gift of hope may we walk in light, unafraid, towards what is to be

That's my neighbor!!! I've literally watched his transformation unfold on the aisle of the local Lowe's store. www.facebook.com/profile.php?...

Mosquitoes, a photo gallery:

Attention NYC: We made it past the earliest sunset of the year. No, it's not on the solstice. That's the shortest day, but the earliest sunset is sooner and the latest sunrise is later. So those of us who, like me, are primarily offended by early sunsets have officially survived rock bottom.

Just as humans pass houses down through generations, so do some birds pass down nests, even through centuries. For example, Bearded Vultures nest in caves on cliffs in Europe, returning every year to the same caves to raise broods. The birds build the nest up with new nesting material each year....

After becoming a congressional leader, a politician’s stock portfolio beats out those of peers by 47 (!!!) percentage points a year through trades timed around bills and firms that later get government contracts www.nber.org/papers/w34524 via @florianederer.bsky.social

The layers of cultural and metacultural complexity in this video—the Red Army Choir singing "Sixteen Tons"—are pretty much incalculable.

I really appreciate that @pbsnews.org ended the interview with this graphic. It captures, in the simplest and starkest terms, the brutal arithmetic driving this country's homelessness catastrophe.

This THREAD.

“This was the week from hell for environmental policy in the United States,” said Pat Parenteau of Vermont Law and Graduate School. “Unless stopped by the courts, each of these proposed rollbacks will do irreparable harm to the nation’s water quality, endangered species and marine ecosystems.”

Keep this in mind when people claim cars mean business — closing Central #Madrid to cars over holidays resulted in a 9.5% boost in retail spending on its main shopping street: STUDY. There was also a 71% drop in air pollution. Via @carltonreid.com in @forbes.com. #citymakingmath #citiesforpeople

I'd like to add that REBUILD is currently connecting people of color who have been detained by ICE/DHS to FREE counseling/therapy. Please pass along the word: www.darknessrisingproject.org/help-me-find...

Xicano Hardcore: Pomona scene turns community energy into youth scholarships. idioteq.com/xicano-hardc...

You can't know the U.S.'s history without knowing the U.S.'s Black history. “America does not have a full accounting of itself without the historic Black press,” says Nicole Carr, author, investigative journalist, and professor at Morehouse College in Atlanta.

+1

This is wonderful news!!! #ncpol

“Love has never been a popular movement. And no one’s ever really wanted to be free. The world is held together by the love and the passion of a very few people.” badfaithtimes.com/love-is-neve...

“If you join a fight for social justice you may win or lose, but just by being part of the struggle, you win, and your life will be better for it.” — Howard Zinn

"Successful democratic movements depend, above all, on courage." – David Shimer www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/o...

The sound of democracy working. ❤️🇺🇸

This is amazing news. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

racketmn.com/elevated-acc... - People are in motion EVERYWHERE...

"Here’s the bigger question: What will we fill their heads with? Now that’s a question worth giving your life to. Everyone is dying, and if you’re worried about that, then throw yourself into preserving knowledge. Or preserving goodness." Thought-provoking essay. Thank you, @jkuznicki.bsky.social

Twice a year I hold a workshop on writing a nonfiction book proposal. It’s organized to lead you through exercises that results in a draft or revision (or just learn about the genre) Next one starts in January

My 83 year old dad went to his first ever protest today. He brought the American flag from their front stoop

lolol

Tomato and White Bean Soup With Lots of Garlic (gift link 🎁)

🚨BREAKING: North Carolina’s top elections official is pressing the state’s Division of Motor Vehicles for unprecedented access to voters’ full Social Security numbers — a move that could erode voter privacy protections and lay the groundwork for mass voter purges

you ever think about those real weird overlaps. like tennessee williams might have listened to the ramones

Central Banks around the world have moved their holdings to gold from US Treasuries. And that suggests a complete failure of confidence in the US Treasury.

In which Ta-Nehisi Coates shows why Ezra Klein is lucky to have him as a friend - the kind of friend who continues to believe he might just muddle through and get a clue, eventually. Coates is a national treasure. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/o...

> @macfarlanenews.bsky.social

War-ravaged Portland

Sure seems like the president just instructed the military to use lethal force against US citizens.

Why do headlines say "norms shattered" when what is meant is "laws broken" or "Constitution violated"?

"A few weeks ago, I was complaining bitterly about how the New York Times routinely resorts to weasel words, euphemisms and third-party critiques to avoid speaking the truth about Donald Trump. But in the last 10 days..." Froomkin senses a shift, led by Peter Baker presswatchers.org/2025/09/is-t...

Should this man be in any law enforcement position? Now ask this: do you believe this man will face any consequences for this violent assault on an unarmed, emotionally distressed woman? We can call in complaints to the DHS misconduct hotline: 1-800-323-8603 www.oig.dhs.gov/hotline

Straight guys might not want advice from gay guys but: having a social life is a project that you can either work at, or not. If you’re lonely, join clubs, civic groups, and a church if you’re religious. LGBT folks do exactly that in spaces that we’ve made for ourselves. And it works.

Nick Kristof travels to Uganda and shows that the Trump DOGE cuts to foreign assistance and humanitarian aid are killing kids who are dying unnecessarily from hunger and disease b/c Elon needed a tax cut. Many stories of suffering of little children. GIFT LINK. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/o...

How Southern judges put a trans civil rights lawyer under criminal investigation for doing his job, with @chrisgeidner.bsky.social

My @cato.org colleague Alex Nowrasteh has great post on politically motivated violence in US, its (generally low) incidence, and who does it (9/11 dominates stats; otherwise right-wing violence much more common than left-wing & other since 1975): www.alexnowrasteh.com/p/politicall...

This is Wally. He's distraught because he had a fun time playing at grandma's house and has to go home. Tries not to play favorites, but grandma is definitely his. 13/10

Try to praise the mutilated world. Remember June’s long days, and wild strawberries, drops of wine, the dew. -Adam Zagajewski Resharing a favorite. [trans. Clare Cavanagh, published in TheNewYorker’s Sept 2001 special issue] #everynightapoem

New nationwide Child Care Gap analysis tool gives information about local child care supply and child population, from U Nebraska, the Bipartisan Policy Center, & Child Care Aware. childcaregap.org

Last night, about 60 Chicago activists and organizers gathered to discuss Trump's threatened military occupation of our city. Our convo centered around a worksheet that some friends and I put together this week—a tool that can help us build and strengthen local networks of support and protection.

In pictures and videos, 2 of the experts whose testimony helped shut down "Alligator Alcatraz" walk us through their beloved Big Cypress National Park. It's a fascinating look at a dynamic ecosystem: wapo.st/3JCCpoG (gift). 🌎

A Honduran Christian nonprofit goes beyond offering aid or micro-loans — it tackles the structural barriers that keep people from thriving. religionnews.com/2025/08/27/c...