Weekly illustrations created using #ProCreate & #AffinityDesigner, featuring holiday themes, #Spoonflower #DesignChallenges and a charming #hermitthrush drawn in various styles #warmup4art #delfttiles #floraldesigns #greetingcards

#WayFinders begins the new year with a #fooddrive for Care and Share Food Bank, encouraging ongoing donations and to walk to protect #civilrights

I added 700+ followers in the past three weeks after gaining only about 1k since I came here. I wonder if I will see this in increased visits to my blogs. One is tutormentor.blogspot.com

Join us for a #NewYear #fooddrive and #diaperdrive supporting local families and protecting #constitutionalfreedoms. Donations welcome!

The Trump administration has been busy revoking legal status for immigrants who entered the country through legal pathways -- affecting at least 1.6 million people pca.st/episode/804d...

Every day my belief in the magic of writing community was reinforced

Happy holidays to all www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFDm... #clmooc

Just before dawn, song thrush singing loudly in the lime tree across from our close. Clear sky too. https://johnjohnston.info/blog/song-thrush/

The park pond in reflective mood today. After so much rain I hope the blue sky hold for a while. Just short of 7 hours daylight today.

healing is necessary to finding joy and peace

This interactive Kumu visualization shows orgs that attended one or more Tutor/Mentor Leadership & Networking Conferences between 1994 and 2015. Can you find your org? tutormentor.blogspot.com/2025/12/take... I've tried to connect w them & help them connect w each other since 1990s. Are any here?

Some day in the future these videos will show how cruel this government has become. If there is a GOD that judges good and evil, there will be a long line under 'evil'.

What is your #onelittleword for the next year and what led you to it? I hope you will share your #olw inspirations with me! metawriting.deannamascle.com/notable-note...

And there is a video version of the #clmooc calendar for 2026 as well www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSY0...

The #clmooc collaborative calendar for 2026 (A Colorful Year) is now posted and free to download. It features contributions of photos, art and poetry from 14 of us from all over the world. Each month has a color theme. clmooc.com/clmooc-calen...

@tutormentor.bsky.social Dan, here is the link for the 2026 #clmooc calendar project clmooc.com/clmooc-calen...

Today, in the Sunday print NYT, we published an investigative look at Harold Hamm, the 13th child of Oklahoma sharecroppers who started an oil company named Continental, which turned him into a billionaire, powerbroker and friend of Donald J. Trump. You may never have heard of Hamm. But you should

#walkfordemocracy and #humanrights, #fooddrive and #diapers for those in need.

At least one person has died every day, on average, from a mass shooting in the United States this year.

A retired Tennessee policeman who spent more than a month in jail over an anti-Trump Facebook post is suing the authorities responsible for his arrest. “In America, we do not jail people for political speech,” the lawsuit states. https://wapo.st/4j4NKv6

A new rule from the Trump administration prohibits certain classes of immigrants from obtaining truck driver’s licenses. The Transportation Department said the change is intended to make roads safer, but there’s no data to suggest that immigrants cause more truck accidents.

Rural schools hit by Trump's grant cuts have few options for making up for the lost money apnews.com/article/trum...

December 18, 2025

In Illinois, ICE agents have been documented swapping license plates to hide their identity. Under Illinois law, this constitutes a Class A misdemeanor. The state has made clear that this law will be enforced. Federal agents are not exempt from Illinois vehicle and registration statutes.

I also have been assuming that the primary purpose of this conflict is domestic

Juxtaposition of Trump promise to release video with casual insistence that never said any such thing. Just a pristine example of the most mendacious public official in US history. youtu.be/oDlh7Tm3IdE

In @nytopinion “In the face of great evil, great good arose,” our columnist David French writes. “Ahmed el Ahmed, Boris and Sofia Gurman and Jessica Rozen — remember their names. Remember their deeds.”

Ahead of the release of the Epstein Files, fascist Republicans cancelled Congressional session tomorrow and sent all members home for the holiday. This follows Bongino’s resignation and Ghislaine Maxwell’s request for her conviction to be vacated. Pay close attention.

Thursday night, there were major developments in both the Brown University mass shooting, where the gunman was identified & found dead & the prosecution of Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan, which resulted in a conviction. All the details you need to be up to speed here: open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...

Kennedy Center board member says she was muted for ‘unanimous’ vote on Trump rebrand

Speaker Mike Johnson says his entire worldview comes from the Bible. But he’s about to kick 2 million Texans off their healthcare right before Christmas. If you aren’t loving your neighbor, then keep Jesus’ name out of your mouth.

I respectfully disagree with the jury’s verdict in the Judge Hannah Dugan case. The trial evidence showed that Judge Dugan did not obstruct ICE agents from arresting an undocumented immigrant. Let’s see what happens on appeal. Meanwhile, our support for Judge Dugan continues.

A pair of near-misses between passenger jets and US Air Force aircraft off the coast of Venezuela last weekend raise questions about air travel in the Southern Caribbean.

The changes in the attention span makes educators find different spaces to develop learning. A presentation by Emily Conyard #SocMedHE25

Hmm but I was told this was fake news.

The Post reported on the Coast Guard’s plan to revise harassment policy last month. The Trump administration called the story “false,” but hours later, the acting commandant issued a memo denouncing swastikas and nooses and reaffirmed they were prohibited.

Breaking news: U.S. Coast Guard allows a new workplace harassment policy to take effect, downgrading the definition of swastikas and nooses from overt hate symbols to “potentially divisive” despite facing backlash over the new language.

SHOUT-OUT to multi-talented International Treasure: DICK VAN DYKE! Today we celebrate his 100th year+3 days birthday. From the day I first met him (story included below) he's been an inspiration & a source of joy to his countless fans around the globe, myself included. Thank you sir 🙏 For DVD: 🎂❤️

Read @kieraevebutler.bsky.social's report here:

Why did Donald Trump pardon a former president who was convicted of trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine and taking millions of dollars in bribes? Follow the tech bros.

Gov. Shapiro on Vance's visit to PA: “This guy shows up and lies to the good people of Pennsylvania and tries to convince them to unsee something they saw with their own eyes — rising prices at the grocery store and elsewhere…I know they'll reject JD's BS.”

ICE and border patrol agents roaming around the streets of Chicago in unmarked cars, faces covered, armed with military-style semi-automatic weapons. Locals are finding unique ways to fight back. This week on Reveal, lessons from Trump's war on the Windy City:

📽️ VIDEO: Harvard Law Professor @nikobowie.bsky.social joins @marcelias.bsky.social to unpack how SCOTUS is dismantling democracy. From the Voting Rights Act to campaign finance reform, this conversation explores why the court is no longer exercising judicial restraint.

AI and crypto have created the illusion that all is well with the economy — even as Trump has taken a wrecking ball to it. When the AI and crypto bubbles burst, we’ll likely see the damage Trump’s wrecking ball has done. Be warned.

when you read this it is very clear that Wiles thinks she is flexing the administration's muscle. relatedly, it is also very clear that the White House is completely delusional about its standing with the public. they are high on their own supply.

Wiles must be leaving. This story is insane. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/u...

Exactly this… 👇 💯🎯

Footage of Minnesotans rallying to protect immigrants in freezing weather from ICE is an important reminder that so many Americans are good people. “The wrong will fail, the right prevail.” There is hope. Thanks @maddow.bsky.social for sharing these stories.

I am getting utterly horrific reports of ICE engaging in terrorism against the people of Minnesota. They are attacking civilians without cause and local LE are apparently doing nothing to stop them. This is an invasion, and it is time for @governorwalz.mn.gov to show leadership on stopping it.