Huh well it turns out I heard from a few federal workers about this and well "We civil servants organized to help our colleagues face the hardship of the shutdown, we put up with the pain and our only request was to not be betrayed like this. Trade our pain, make it count."

Boston Harbor is having a Wreck of the Edmjnd Fitzgerald Memorial Gale!

Everyone around the great lakes watch out for those Gales Of November!

THEY PEPPER SPRAYED A BABY THEY PEPPER SPRAYED A BABY Please read this entire excellent piece by Caroline, which points out that a judge ordered the Feds (again) to stop doing **this exact kind of thing** and they are still continuing to do it all over Chicago

The coordinated nature of this—none are facing voters in 2026—means that either Schumer approved it or failed in his job as Senate Majority Leader to stop it. Dems voting "no" get zero credit until they demand a change in leadership. Schumer out as Leader, Durbin out as Whip.

Just wild that this is how Jeanne Shaheen chooses to end her time as a New Hampshire senator. Shameful stuff from the NH congressional delegation.

watching a graduation ceremony and based on these name pronunciations, I'm pretty sure the faculty member reading names has never seen a syllable.

snailposting! (a snail I met in Borneo)

As antidote to current US government's reprehensible erasure of Black soldiers' WWII contributions, here's Jacob Lawrence's "Beachhead," 1947, a work in his larger War series. Lawrence himself served in WWII as an artist on the US military's first racially integrated ship whitney.org/collection/w...

ICE's campaign of violence against our neighbors in Massachusetts and Rhode Island has totally depleted the fund for helping community members with bonds and legal representation. This would be a great place to donate if you have funds!

pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.

The sound of distant thunder suddenly starting to climb...

Ideal kind of day for the train on the New England coast. A little early for really good train birding (weird duck density is still pretty low), but I've seen a common loon, an osprey, and *maybe* some brants mixed in amongst the Canada geese, mallards, and double crested cormorants.

"What I'm trying to tell in the story is one of a brilliant scientist who somehow got left out of the story."

Hey folks, as news of Watson's demise spreads, please don't set aside his weighty legacy of misogyny and racism. He was truly among the worst of us. www.vox.com/2019/1/15/18...

BREAKING: Cornell caved. Here is the settlement agreement, signed today by the university's president, Michael Kotlikoff: statements.cornell.edu/2025/documen...

The Black Women’s Player Collective has dropped a statement as well this morning on their Instagram in light of the recent comments made this week.

really good piece 🎁 www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/d...

Sitting down for this in about 30 hours and I think that means I can listen to ~10 iterations of the original cast recording in the meantime?

I helped make a film, out this week, called “Rovina’s Choice,” about the deaths this man without conscience or accountability has caused — already 600,000, ⅔ of them children.

7. Justice Jackson, joined by justices Kagan and Sotomayor, issued a blistering dissent:

1. In a major shadow docket ruling from the Supreme Court, the court has ruled against trans people's passports, giving a stay to the Trump administration. The admin has previously indicated it intend to revoke some passports if it got this ruling. Subscribe to support our journalism.

I was just asked to review a primatology paper for the first time in literally years and I am honestly so happy to have people think of me and remember that I was a thoughtful and curious colleague who tried to be a pretty good reviewer and that didn't go away when I didn't get a permanent job.

My apologies to all men and nonbinary colleagues.

"Many of the workers had tried to show the immigration agents their work permits and identification but were denied. 'Instead of allowing them to go to their locker and get their information, ICE just took them.'"

Chicago Alderman, Andre Vasquez, pulls out a whistle from around his neck and asks fellow Chicago citizens to join the Whistle Brigade that patrols streets and sends whistles to warn neighborhoods of the presence of ICE. "Everyone asks what did they do in 1930s Germany? They did things like this."

The anti-trans grifters are coming for the NWSL: defector.com/the-anti-tra...

This really hasn’t gotten enough attention this week. @wired.com #ICE www.wired.com/story/fbi-wa...

Friends— here it is. Updated & expanded thanks to the space afforded to me in the @therumpus.net & the guidance of the brilliant @roxanegay.bsky.social’s edits. The win centers Muslims humanity — but what does that mean in a country that rejects that? therumpus.net/2025/11/05/z...

A devastating set of decisions on the part of UC leadership to withdraw support from our nationally recognized postdoc program that prioritizes research excellence combined with addressing our university public service mission. www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

BREAKING: Starbucks workers have just authorized a massive strike. Union Starbucks baristas voted to authorize the strike by 92%. Now baristas in over 25 cities could launch an unfair labor practice strike on Thursday, November 13th.

1/5 EXCLUSIVE: I’m in Kampala, Uganda, where I’ll be living & reporting this month. Since it’s @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social’s hometown, I wanted to share a bit of the pride the people of Kampala have on NYC’s Election Day for their hometown boy (full video here, feel free w credit to thrashery)

New Yorkers faced the choice between hope and fear, and just like we've seen in London, hope won. Huge congratulations to @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social on his historic campaign. Tonight you get your roti and your roses - enjoy!

Thrilled that Ayah Al-Zubi was elected to city council here in Cambridge, but that Tim Flaherty is the other new councilor is a pretty silly outcome. It really underscores exactly how divided about policy (and especially expanding affordable housing!) Cambridge is, even from the ostensible left.

I know there a few consequential mayoral races being decided today, but! 7-time mayor of Everett Carlo DeMaria (the highest paid mayor in Massachusetts!) lost!

A seeming bit of history tonight as Ghazala Hashmi becomes the first Asian American to win statewide office in Virginia - and the first Muslim woman to win statewide office *anywhere* in the United States.

This is horrible.

I don't know what will happen in NYC tonight, but I do know that regardless of outcome, any number of public figures, celebrities, politicians and institutions that oppose Mamdani have done so with a level of rhetorical ugliness, racism, and dishonesty that should neither be forgotten nor forgiven.

In Memoriam: Cheney Haunted By People He Didn't Manage To Kill In Iraq War

No better way to honor Dick Cheney's memory than actually holding trials for folks committing war crimes.

If you haven't voted yet and you're also in Cambridge, check out these two groups of endorsed candidates! www.cambridgebikesafety.org/election/ www.abettercambridge.org/election2025

I love voting in Cambridge because there are so many good progressive candidates, my polling place has a bake sale where you can get mango cheesecake, and the stickers are very good.

I am so upset. Last week Time Magazine solicited a piece from me on Zohran Mamdani & anti-Muslim hate. I pitched a framing re the dehumanization of Muslims & how Mamdani’s inclusive, socialist campaign in its content resists that. They agreed. I wrote the piece. 1/

My commute book right now is Dennis Lehane book that starts in Boston in 1918, and Chekhov's Molasses Tank has just entered the scene.

Truly, this is an absurd place to live.

It's a good thing the world series ended in the 11th because it means us bat-and-ball-sport sickos had several hours of sleep between baseball and the women's ODI final ⚾👉🏆👈🏏

First pitcher with three wins in the world series since Randy Johnson in 2001 - that's pretty cool!

me nine innings ago / me now

"The notices state that “Payment in full is due now” & list an array of potential consequences for failure to pay, including collection litigation & negative impacts on their immigration cases. Fines that aren’t paid in full will accrue interest." Children in detention can't work. And are CHILDREN.