Every day I become more and more convinced that the main thing we need to do to improve literacy is just make kids read a lot of books, both on their own and as read-alouds

Steve is feeling rather cool today...

this is a war of aggression. it is illegal under international law, and he has no right to launch it. you might fairly argue that it none of that has constrained him, but laws matter when powerful actors insist they do, and there are powerful actors who could start insisting they do.

Regime change begins at home.

Don’t you cry! No crying! Well… maybe a little is okay. Okay… Go ahead… we all have a lot to let out. Now dry your eyes & figure out where you’re going to be for No Kings on March 28th. Together we can end the heartache & mend the heartbreak. www.nokings.org

J. M. W. Turner, Snow Storm- Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth (circa 1842)

Go read Ethan Iverson's interview with composer Georg Friedrich Haas - published in advance of a Thursday concert premiere here in NYC of Haas's 𝘈𝘯𝘯ä𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘨 with Miranda Cuckson and Parker Ramsay. See comments for links.

RIP Eliane Radigue, a legend of slow sound

Fun fact: The divorce scene in the Kid Rock show was an actual divorce showing a wife leaving her conservative husband.

🚨SPECIAL ELECTION - ALABAMA STATE HOUSE DISTRICT 38🚨 Democrat: Hazel Floyd Election Date: 🗓️THIS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3RD🗓️ Area: Between Auburn and Columbus (see map for towns) Notes: A tough red district. But we have friends everywhere, which means we fight everywhere.

i think this MLK day the thing to focus on is the strategic focus and tactical brilliance of the civil rights movement and the way it was laser focused on a set of achievable goals

Happy New Year’s Eve, everyone! ✨

We should never have stopped calling these people weird

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If you're planning on shopping during black Friday or cyber Monday, why not consider supporting artists, writers, creators? Buy a book, purchase an indie video game, commission an art piece, gift someone a Patreon. Your support means everything.

#RIP Sonny Curtis - here’s a worthy rendition of his Mary Tyler Moore theme song

Tim Walz: "I'll tell you what doesn't make people feel safe -- a tank next to Chipotle. It's stupid and it's for the cameras ... where are the 'don't tread on me' people?"

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Fox News: “How do we fix this country? How do we come back together?” Trump: “I couldn’t care less.”

This “explicit” is a weird editorial choice. The constitution gives the president no power over this at all. It’s not ambiguous.

The Free State of Florida is now trying to ban *sidewalk chalking*

Ruin a book by adding "Tom Clancy's" to the title Tom Clancy's Unbearable Lightness of Being

In honor of sandwich guy getting out of his legal pickle, here is the original video synced with Freedom - George Michael 1990.

To Donald Trump and his administration: If you hurt my people, nothing will stop me — not time or political circumstance — from making sure you face justice under our constitutional rule of law.

Fascism is, underneath the corruption and injustice, an aesthetic project. The nation is supposed to look and behave a certain way. Anything that deviates from the ideal is a crime.

If you’re a cable host interviewing a Republican this week and you don’t come prepared with the crime stats from their home state or city, you’re missing the easiest dunk imaginable.

Let It Slide open.substack.com/pub/stevehic...

Feels like this #FourthOfJuly is not so much a celebration of independence as it is a going away party.

ICE: The only government agency where a ski mask and no badge means “official business.”

My latest Substack post.

It’s a good thing Congress isn’t alive to see this

House Democrats need to bring articles of impeachment against Kristi Noem, while Senate Democrats need to bring that chamber to a fucking halt.

Best one of these I've seen in a bit...

How much of a coward do you have to be - how uninformed and afraid do you have to be - to do this?

For starters, Democrats need to actually field a candidate against Mike Johnson, unlike the 2022 and 2024 campaigns when they let him run unopposed. The odds of unseating him will be long, but use the campaign to put him on defense and make our version of Pierre Poilievre sweat a little.

They say sports builds character. Here, perhaps, is some real evidence for the claim: