On the left is an Onion headline from March. On the right is Reuters, today.

In 2017, Criselda Vasquez painted this portrait of her parents and titled it "The New American Gothic." Last month, her father, the man in this portrait, was abducted by ICE after being in the US for 30+ years. The family is now struggling with bills. A GoFundMe has been started: gofund.me/456d8a193

For my newsletter, I wrote about the killing of Juniper Blessing and ruminated on who the media thinks deserves attention in death. Friday newsletters are usually paywalled, but I have made the mini-essay portion of this post free to all: www.burnsnotice.com/her-name-was...

TPUSA was promoting an anti-trans event on Juniper's campus when she was stabbed to death Sunday. I'm pretty well-informed + I only heard about this today on the "It Could Happen Here" podcast. Violence against trans and nonbinary people has skyrocketed in recent years. Media coverage is dismal.

This is a form of psychosis. These people will burn the world if they have their way.

The fact that Sangar has a big stupid grin on his face while he’s being accused of treason by the POTUS doesn’t exactly help. If he doesn’t take his job seriously why should anyone else?

There comes a point where total inaction in the face of the indefensible ceases to be merely cowardly and embarrassing and becomes professional malpractice.

You know, a President accusing a NYT reporter of committing treason just for asking a question is actually quite a big deal, and this bunch just standing there listening to it and doing nothing is not encouraging the public to think of journalism as a serious business or of words meaning anything.

Thank you Charles Barkley.

“We’re families, we have small animals and pets, got kids getting on the bus in the morning and it just doesn’t feel safe to have that traffic.”

Inflation is at a three-year high. Everything costs more — groceries, gas, healthcare, a plane ticket. The math is simple. Every American dollar spent overseas on war is a dollar that could’ve been spent here at home to pay for a dignified life. It's time we change the equation.

It was such a thrill to meet @brooklynspoke.bsky.social and @sgoodyear.bsky.social of @thewaroncars.bsky.social and have them join last night's @wednightrides.org!

So happy to be able to show our special guests @brooklynspoke.bsky.social @sgoodyear.bsky.social from @thewaroncars.bsky.social the best of Philly through our streets, culture, and our people! Come hear them talk *tonight*, 7pm in Center City! 5thsq.app.neoncrm.com/nx/portal/ne...

LOL OMG "The facility will require about 9GW of power, which is more than the entire state of Utah currently consumes, and suck up a significant amount of water in an area that has been hit by severe drought in recent years." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Our society would be a much better place if more of us just got used to being around other people. It's great, folks. Other people are cool.

If you are in Philadelphia, go listen to @sgoodyear.bsky.social and @brooklynspoke.bsky.social ! They do a good show—and you get to connect with awesome community members. I really enjoyed meeting and listening to them here in Atlanta :)

The cost to paint DC’s reflecting pool is now >$13 million, seven times what Trump said it would be originally. The company doing the work received a no-bid contract for the job, in defiance of federal regulations.

maybe they are using AI now?

"Higher taxes on second homes already exist in conservative strongholds like South Carolina and Montana, but if Mamdani adopts them in New York, the ultrarich argue, we might as well be in Soviet Russia." Appreciate this reality check on the push to get zillionaires to pay their fair share:

I reject austerity. There's enough for all of us. I reject the "commonsense" scarcity bullshit espoused sometimes even by people who call themselves Leftists. There's enough for every single person to live in dignity.

Crossover episode!!!

yet another investigation concludes that Tesla isn't seriously operating a robotaxi service, but is staging yet another in a long series of "self-driving" performances with no greater goal than propping up its absurd stock price www.reuters.com/business/aut...

My friend who used to say the final stage of corporate greed was demanding to be loved is never, ever proved wrong.

I know I say it a lot, but ICE is present nearly every day in my area of Massachusetts. The only difference from a year ago is they're primarily focusing on abducting people in courthouses, out of view of the public. No big show of force, but the same fear and abuse.

Last night I saw the brilliant, hilarious Tina Friml play @caveatnyc.bsky.social and it was such a good night. Check out her work if you like laughing: www.tinafriml.com

Roads should be safe for everyone. Including teenagers. Including teenagers who may or may not have had good judgment. Everyone. That's the agenda we're pushing.

Huge news in Charlotte: after months of community outcry, Charlotte city council has rescinded its support for a highway expansion through downtown. Still some steps to go, but a massive win for community orgs and neighbors.

Loved to talk with Casey about the importance of giving our bodies the chance to move and be strong in the real world. This is a big part of what it's all about for us.

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If I could solve only one problem with Beltway Media, it'd be to have them hold Trump to any kind of objective standard. Trump promised two things during the 2024 campaign: 1. He'll bring back manufacturing jobs 2. He'll tame inflation Both of those are headed in the wrong direction -- and fast.

IMO, if you want to protect "the children," you should do something about the two leading causes of death for US children. (Guess which party works relentlessly to prevent any progress on this score.)

some really, really exciting news. we're hiring a two-year reporting fellow to cover higher ed in NYC but especially CUNY!! come work with me and dive into an amazing, complicated and under-covered beat

We’ve destroyed the economy so badly we’re lowering the bar for ourselves as to what a great economy is

The only reason they saw their son was because a judge ordered that they be deported back to Mexico after they were held in an ICE concentration camp for more than a month

this is a really great piece that gets at just how messy this problem is

call me controversial and finicky, but if I buy a car, I don't think it reasonable that I have to learn how to "hack" it so it doesn't kill my family But that might just be me. www.thestar.com/news/canada/...

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it is pretty fun to watch. what's crazy is that she just sticks to the script perhaps because she literally can't think of how to respond to reality as it is happening to her

the work of repair is the work we are charged with on all fronts

Being human is the ultimate resistance

an incredible speech and crowd reaction that shows us the moment we're in

Sean Duffy’s reality series is getting slammed for all of the obvious reasons, but don’t look past the fact that his show is being sponsored by companies his department oversees and regulates. In other words, it’s not just a political mess, it’s also an ethical one. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

two things. 1. when the trump administration says that something is “illegal DEI” they are saying “you don’t deserve this” 2. the practical effect of destroying the VRA is to make it nearly futile for these americans to get relief from congress

E.g. bsky.app/profile/dutc...

I'm not taking that ride unless I can skip back to the 70s

Atmospheric CO₂ of 340 ppm

Oh I have to see this

Mothers invented traffic calming.