#London pals - the wonderful @jancarsonwrites.bsky.social will be at Bard Books in E3 next Thurs (21st May 7pm) talking to the equally wonderful Caoilinn Hughes - do book a seat & go - bookings currently low & they deserve support & you can talk about me. Bx

“A nation can never abandon its fate to an authority it cannot control.” — Lord Acton

Powerful article by Micah Nathan in @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i... “Writing isn’t just the production of sentences – it’s the training of endurance by way of sustained attention. It’s a way of learning what one thinks by attempting to say it.” Same can be said for reading

Congratulations to the Chicago Tribune on its Pulitzer Prize win for local reporting. The country was able to see the impacts of the Trump Administration's chaos and violence during Operation Midway Blitz thanks to the hard work of local journalists.

BREAKING: Congressman Johnny Olszewski (D-MD) is introducing a constitutional amendment to establish term limits for Supreme Court Justices. The ROBE Act would establish 18-year term limits for justices.

I get it now. There is no ‘Art of the Deal’. There is just enough power and money to screw the other guy to get what you want in zero-sum terms. They don’t concede? Annihilate them with whatever means you have and then blame them for not coming to the table. You don’t succeed? Not your fault.

Anyone reading this and thinking that this president cares a shred about anyone else’s free speech or basic democratic principles is kidding themselves. This isn’t just talk.

Didn't Melania's husband mock the Pope, post blasphemous content, threaten genocide, ridicule and threaten the press, and engage in an illegal, unwinnable war with Iran -- all of that in the past month? Very offensive, divisive, and hateful.

Amazing to me that the British are ready to oust their prime minister for failing to vet Mandelson properly while in the US, the president, a convicted felon, remains in office unassailed by any connection to Epstein, Putin or any other heinous cretins in this world.

April 15, 2026

Europeans when asked to unblock the Strait of Hormuz:

This is the stuff of children’s books. Let’s hope that the bully really does learn that huffing and puffing may blow the houses down, but doesn’t buy you real friends in the end: Trump Disparages Allies for Rebuffing His Requests for Military Assistance www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03...

Trump administration today: "No, you are wrong. We TOTALLY planned on the Strait of Hormuz being closed because of President Trump's decisions. And our plan was to beg the allies we'd insulted to bail us out. That they rudely ignored us was *their* plan, not ours. Otherwise, our plan was perfect."

He attacks Iran without buy in from anyone except Israel and now is looking for backup. Honestly, who is running this ship of fools? And why are average people around the world the only ones really paying for it with their lives and their pocketbooks?

OFC it does. The Trump Putin connection … played out on an international stage, all at a cost to everyone except them.

The saddest poll I have seen in a long time…

Friends, BOB IS THE BIGGEST, STRONGEST, AND SMARTEST is out in the world. I'm celebrating with gobs of gratitude to Amy Jindra Hodgson, the wonderful team at Penguin/Rocky Pond, and all the young readers who will get to know Bob and his forest friends. jeanreidy.com #picturebook #friendship #kidlit

I'm a fan of @poynterinstitute.bsky.social's daily newsletter. I was struck today by the Don Lemon quote that in this administration, “The process is the punishment.” Ironic after accusations of silencing by the right during the Biden years, this admin has no shame in intimidating the press now.

A powerful post. I am grateful to @elizagreywrites.bsky.social for the strength it took to write it. Please share.

The outcome of this is baffling and truly unjust.

People who can’t see the difference between this administration and any one previous don’t want to.

Layoffs over the last year: UPS: 48,000 Amazon: 32000 Intel: 27,159 Microsoft: 15,387 Nestle: 16000 Verizon: 15000 Google: 12000 Chevron: 8000 Paramount: 7000 Walmart: 7000 P&G: 7000 Estée Lauder: 7000 Your reminder that massive corporate tax cuts don’t create jobs, they create profits.

Yes, it’s astonishing that Kristi Noem still has her job after the deaths, lies, and failures on her watch. But the American people have the final say when it comes to holding this entire administration - from the president on down - accountable for its cruelty and corruption.

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free

The far-reaching effect of a bully in the White House is the why for escalating tensions in America. A president’s main responsibility is to keep the states united in hard times. Trump’s legacy of hatred is on repeat now, brute force over reason. He’s counting his untaxed billions while people die.

Friends, while you're stuck at home during the storm, this app makes it so easy to take action! I hope you download it and give it a try. 5calls.org

What an extra-happy way to start the new year! BOB IS THE BIGGEST, STRONGEST, AND SMARTEST got a big, beautiful Booklist STARRED review. I couldn't be more excited. Find out more at jeanreidy.com. #kidlit #bookreview #starredreview #picturebook #friendship #SEL

Stay ahead in the publishing industry! 📝 Join our mailing list today for first access to discounts, industry insights and flexible courses that will enhance your career! Sign up here: bit.ly/PTC-mailing-... #BookIndustry #PublishingCourses #IndustryTraining

"The whole idea of an implicit Reasonable Viewer was based on an underlying consensus about basic values, which no longer exists. Instead, we have lots of groups of loyal partisans, and their pet figures getting rich off their clicks..." Worth a read... unherd.com/2025/12/does...

This is seriously twisted thinking…

"Do you think you're standing next to a 'jihadist' right now in the oval office?" a reporter asked, quoting Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik [...] "No I don't," Trump quickly said."You say things sometimes in a campaign." Stick to the issues-not name calling. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

⏳ Last chance to sign up for December’s Progress in Editorial Skills. bit.ly/3LEEiCn Learn how to tackle the trickiest editorial challenges and workflows. Don't miss out – secure your spot before registration closes! #EditorialSkills #CareerGrowth #PublishingTraining #CopyEditing #BookIndustry

Join us at our December webinar to learn how to navigate the latest #AI developments in #publishing. Find out what is happening in recruitment, how publishers are applying AI across functions, and how AI is reshaping #BookCareers. www.publishingtrainingcentre.co.uk/webinars/107...

When a US president posts an AI-video of him in a crown poo'ing on protesters in his country, you can dismiss intelligence at work here. This is classic schoolyard bullying. Humor can disarm bullies; it can also embolden them and the sycophants who laugh along. Sad days.

Major applause to the IDSNews editors and designers for this brilliant digital edition #nocensorship #studentpower issuu.com/idsnews/docs...

Worth a scary listen...

“However, a number of studies into politically-motivated killings and violence in the US - over several decades - suggest that more cases were carried out by people with "right-wing" ideologies than with "left-wing" ones, though more data is likely necessary to draw a firm conclusion.” Worth a read.

Anna Gomez, the only Democratic member of the FCC, criticised Carr's remarks. She posted on X that "an inexcusable act of political violence by one disturbed individual must never be exploited as justification for broader censorship or control".

Some personal news: I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting. Thread incoming. substack.com/@karenattiah...

First, on economic security. We need to treat economic security as a national security priority—because it is. I believe in my bones that the existential threat to the United States is the shrinking middle class here at home.

"Those [...] who celebrate political violence are unwitting gravediggers who don’t realize [...] all they’re doing is digging up more earth for all of us to be at greater risk of having that empty space filled with our bodies." Worth reading/unmissable writing from @charlotteclymer.bsky.social

“She had been too early habituated to anxious reasoning to drop the habit suddenly.” ― Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge

What would we know about life if we couldn’t appreciate differences?

The really important thing is to try and make opinion increasingly responsible to the facts. There can be no liberty for a community which lacks the information by which to detect lies — Walter Lippmann

RULE ABOUT AMERICAN FLAGS: If you burn the fabric part, you're looking at jail. But it you use the pole part to assault a police officer, you get a presidential pardon, praise, and some cash.

Why don't people in democracies just vote to tax the rich, so they have no where else to threaten to go?

Spread far and wide. @govpritzker.illinois.gov is a hero of democracy as is @hcrichardson.bsky.social. No one is fooled by Trump’s tactics. Anyone who supports the White House’s overreach wants a dictatorship and has no interest in anyone’s free speech or civi rights except their own.