. . . The right to ask questions on the public’s behalf. . .

Still one of our all-time faves. ✊

🎯🎯

Minnesota, Hail to Thee . . .

Book bans are on the rise. Again. Books are challenged, their availability restricted, or they are simply removed from public school classrooms and libraries. Some states have debated or passed laws about book removals – some favor them (Idaho). Some oppose them (Washington).

Since mid-February, the planes leaving the frosty tarmac of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport are mostly empty; federal agents load less than a dozen immigration detainees on board. It’s a far cry from last month when as many as 127 detainees were loaded and flown out.

U2 just released a new EP, Days of Ash, that opens with a protest song aimed squarely at the U.S. government's immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. In part a tribute to slain mother of three Renee Good, it's called "American Obituary."

ICE cut 240 hours of training from a 584-hour program, among them, classes that teach the Constitution, legal system, firearms, use of force, lawful arrests, proper detention and the limits of officers’ authority, instructor says. That seems significant.

Tech company changes — X’s new terms of service, Google’s chokehold on search traffic and ad dollars, AI-powered tools that 'adapt' content and present it as their own — have forced many newspapers to reinvent content; sadly moving on from once-beloved newspaper roles, like editorial cartoonists.

The big "unanswered questions” that societies urgently need to address: how to adapt to job losses due to AI, find paths for countries to work together in a climate of increasing geopolitical chaos, and safeguard human rights and liberal democracy.

2 Washington Post writers at the Olympics despite being laid off, say it was important to be there

Today, the Trump administration repealed the endangerment finding: the ruling that served as the basis for limits on tailpipe emissions and power plant rules. Without it, we’ll be less safe, less healthy and less able to fight climate change—all so the fossil fuel industry can make even more money.

The withdrawal comes as a number of lawsuits seek to hold oil and gas companies accountable for the damage caused by climate change, which has been scientifically linked to the emissions produced by burning fossil fuels.

Hail Minnesota . . . A constitutional observer, a trained community member, observes and documents federal law enforcement activity to help ensure constitutional rights are followed. They don't intervene. They watch. They record. They bear witness.

The great Peggy Noonan on the demise of the @washingtonpost.com: "The capital of the most powerful nation on earth appears to be without a vital, fully functioning newspaper to cover it. That isn’t the occasion of jokes, it’s a disaster." www.wsj.com/opinion/a-la...

Seven years ago yesterday, this ad ran during the Super Bowl.

I’d like to report a murder. Trying to fix a legacy media company is hard — we all know the economics — but Jeff Bezos just killed the @washingtonpost.com in the most cowardly & inept way possible. He would never entertain others who wanted to fix it too like me www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...

Our founders, though deeply flawed, understood that democracy requires an informed citizenry and a government accountable to it people. That’s why the press is the only profession protected by the Constitution. It’s also why autocrats and oligarchs seek to control and destroy it.

The ramped-up presence of federal immigration agents in the Twin Cities along with the fear it creates has disrupted normal school day routines for thousands of students across Minnesota.

“This is not a matter of being cited or detained on the scene. This is a matter of their opening an investigation (and) actively pursuing him weeks after the fact,” Freedom of the Press Foundation chief of advocacy Seth Stern said.

In carrying out Trump's executive order . . . the U.S. Park Service has been removing information about historic racism, sexism, LGBTQ rights, slavery, and climate change since last year.

Birds are key indicators of ecological health . . .

Cursive!

A huge White House response to a single recent viral video that claims to expose fraud at Somali-run child care centers in Minnesota. Viewed by millions of people, it set off a series of events showing the symbiotic relationship between the Trump administration and so-called 'citizen journalists'.

Investigative journalism is leaving television behind

There it is. The final print edition, after more than 150 years, of the Atlanta Journal Constitution elink75f.mail.breakermedia.com/ss/c/u001.o7...

Big disruption, little saving. Many of the 'savings' DOGE claimed were wrong, notes this NYT report. While DOGE made thousands of smaller cuts – jolting foreign aid recipients, American small businesses, and local service providers – they amounted to little in the scale of the federal budget . . .

I'll be with you in a minute, I'm just watching a live stream.

You should know about Melissa Hortman, Minnesota legislator who was murdered In the early hours of June 14, 2025, along with her husband, Mark, and their dog, Gilbert, in their Brooklyn Park, Minnesota home. You will learn a lot. This story from Rolling Stone . . .

‘60 Minutes’ Pulled a Segment. A Correspondent Calls It ‘Political.’

Solstice Peace, Hope, Light... ✌️✨🫶

It’s the “season of love and giving”…but this year, doesn’t it seem more like a “season of fear and taking”? Like many of you, I’ve been saddened by the human impact of draconian government budget cuts and how angry many housed Americans are at unhoused Americans. 🧵 1 of 9

How Project 2025 kneecapped the US press . . .

Large data center buildings, filled with computer servers, consumed more than 4% of the nation’s electricity in 2023. Analysts estimate that will increase to some 12 percent in three years as computers that train A.I. systems consume more electricity than those used for popular internet services.

Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.

The New York Times’s Michael Barbaro moderates a panel of journalists and personalities from across the industry about the state of media in 2025.

Excited to share some tips for writing about polls for anyone coming in cold to the subject! (Pictured: a thing on which pollsters are probably not calling you these days).

The EPA has scrubbed most of its website of any mention that human activity is driving climate change.

James Garfield was murdered by a man who thought he deserved a government job. Chester Arthur—once a machine politician—responded by helping create civil service reform. Today’s GOP wants to undo that progress and return to patronage politics. open.substack.com/pub/adamkinz...

Hope alone cannot build a greener world . . . but through decisions bold enough to change the planet.

Stop producing so much plastic; then shift to reusable and refillable systems. If reusable packaging is not possible shift to paper, cardboard, glass, or metal. Companies, who will not do this on their own, must be required. It's the only way to ensure people are prioritized over plastic.

Hey @MarkJCarney - "It's not an investment if it's destroying the planet." #PanelsNotPipelines #cdnpoli #ActOnClimate

A new study from Brown University details how certain law firms, supported by and aligned with fossil fuel companies, work to obstruct wind energy projects. . . efforts that not only raise costs but also slow down the transition to cleaner energy sources.

Guaranteed you will smile