Holy shit

New from me: an example of how the voices of "moderation" have ALWAYS gotten it wrong in struggles for civil rights & equality. This would be a very good time to FINALLY collectively figure this out.

The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) by Rabih Alameddine review – drag fabulousness in war-torn Beirut

get em @letsgomathias.bsky.social

with alt text, because everyone needs to be able to read this 😭

South Carolina Lowers Another Confederate Flag 🗃️ #CivilWarMemory open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...

A benefit of free buses I hadn’t heard enough about until this piece from @galvinalmanza.bsky.social

Happy Valentines Day skeeters.

Fucking love this guy.

Thanks @chicago.suntimes.com / @stltoday.com @kansascity.com

"The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (And His Mother) conveys one message compellingly, and it is this simple but radical one: you cannot change what happened. But you can maybe, just maybe, decide what it means." www.theguardian.com/books/2026/f...

Summer might be a few months away, but we're already looking for lifeguards to keep our pools and beaches safe for all New Yorkers.  You have until February 28th to sign up to become a city lifeguard for this summer. Go to nyc.gov/parks/lifeguard for more info.

It turns out that the only thing standing between us and a version of the pentagon that closes airspace to shoot down party balloons were those diversity trainings at work

Comes out tomorrow in Britain

easy slogan for the next democratic presidential candidate is “i will reform the corrupt supreme court and repeal citizens united”

first time in new york since zohran took office and other than having to recite the shahada on arrival at laguardia nothing much has changed

I don't know if it's really clear, outside of coverage of Mpls and pockets of organizing elsewhere, that hundreds of thousands of people are actively and at every level of society fighting our government as it abducts and imprisons and torments our neighbors.

If you ever groaned at a "both sides" treatment of an issue you care about, you might gain something from Brian's post.

Marty Baron's Post thrived because it took meaningful steps away from false balance, toward a defensible north star. As long as media execs insist financial pressures require wooing back right-wing audiences, why help them build a false sense that this is possible? www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...

Cannot believe that I got to profile an extraordinary filmmaker, who happens to be the mother of NYC’s new mayor, and think about intersections of art and politics, and how familial love might produce a buffer against the corrosive politics and cynicism of our time. My story about Mira Nair:

Great piece by @jamellebouie.net on the need for ICE hearings. Get it all out there. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/o...

Tina Brown telling Bezos he's wrong: “'The data tells us what is valuable and where to focus.' No, it’s not the data that tells us, Jeff. It’s the intellect and enterprise of journalists searching out stories that readers didn’t know." tinabrown.substack.com/p/bafflement... I agree but... 1 of 2

Truth and reparations. Great piece by @jamellebouie.net. (Gift link.)

History will remember, as we flood, boil and parch. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/c...

Always a great sign for how things are going in your country when 21-year-olds are like “hey, I innovated a system to play bagpipes in tear gas”

Reading. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/b...

A no class and no ideas character from start to finish. Good riddance. (See thr next pane.) www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/t...

Take heart!

A Sikkimese woman carrying a European man on her back

Mamdani: "I speak of Renee Good, whose final words to the man who murdered her were, 'I'm not mad at you.' I speak of Alex Pretti who died as he lived, caring for the stranger. ICE shot him bc he did something they could never fathom ... let us offer a new path: one of defiance through compassion."

Chip Berlet was one of my primary mentors, a delightful human being, and was both insightful and dead accurate. I will miss him deeply.

Good one cat

not to mention @unicornriot.bsky.social

Here's what you need to know... www.tiktok.com/t/ZP89LCE8W/

No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition. Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

A must read for anyone paying attention to what is happening out there and a riveting read for those who live for espionage and undercover lit.

NEW on The Handbasket — An excerpt of Christopher Mathias' (@letsgomathias.bsky.social) new book 'To Catch A Fascist,' including a special intro from the author himself. It’s an excellent read and you should buy it and I’m not just saying that because there’s a blurb from me on the back. Read now:

Having literally written the book on the National Prayer Breakfast -- borne of the idea that God cares more for the rich and powerful than everyone else -- I can say this is the rare instance where Trump's grotesqueness is deeply appropriate.

From the former Poet Laureate of #Northfield #Minnesota (reportedly).

Civil rights activist Medgar Evers was shot in the back by a Klansman in 1963. The National Park Service has removed visitor brochures from Evers' museum and reportedly plans to remove references that call his murderer a “racist"

today’s tech barons get compared to the robber barons (I’ve done it myself) but it’s notable how the current generation has responded to the philanthropic and cultural legacy of Carnegie et al with their own campaign of wanton destruction of cultural institutions

The kicker here is worth the entire read. www.newyorker.com/news/annals-...

P

If you're thinking about Washington Post, "well, to hell with them, they did it to themselves," then count yourself on the side of management. Because, no, labor didn't do this to themselves, didn't grind the paper down, yank it right, & rip out its spine. That's capital. Now we'll all suffer.

MacKenzie Scott has the chance to do the funniest thing right now.

Here's who the Washington Post just laid off.

My disgust is total. But it begins with this smarmy newspaper leaders' convention of signing even the gravest communications with the faux intimate use of first names only.