DeSantis gutted New College, stuffed it with political flunkies & jocks, & now spends *ten times* as much per student there - not a misprint - as at other Florida public colleges. And guess what? It's getting hammered on its outcomes. That's what happens when you don't actually care about learning.

Whether you're in Chicago or any other U.S. city, remember federal agents and military troops are bound by the Constitution. Know your rights if you're approached by federal forces. aclu.org/deployment_kyr

By way of contrast, a Times piece today set in Maine, *also* by an out-of-town reporter, but who didn't have a glib point to prove & bothered to talk to people on the ground. It begins, from the first line, w/ someone directly affected. The Times can do great work -- when it chooses to. Gift link:

Where to begin. *Reporter parachutes in * Gimmick lede + dopey quote *Hothouse sourcing: councilors, consultants, Jordan Schnitzer. No, you know... VOTERS *No context on city's (mixed, yes) recovery Textbook example of how a story may technically lack errors & yet functionally be wrong

ABOVE THE FRUITED PLAINNN

The language of non-consent around AI is really telling. "It's too late to be scared." "It's here whether we want it or not." "You'll have to learn to work with it." "You can't fight the inevitable." All just variations of "you're not allowed to say no." Creepy technology made by creepy people.

[Camera pan over a tintype of a uniformed soldier; faint banjos] My dearest Clarabelle. How I miss you. Portland is a hell on earth. The water is disgustingly fresh, with only matcha-infused hardtack to eat. The land is devastated by greenery & the air filled with the awful cries of migrating birds

Live from "war ravaged" Portland

Currently a 25-minute wait for brunch in the crime-ridden hellhole of Portland.

This is the most complete information I've seen about the Anthropic copyright settlement — dates of when things are likely to happen, what to do now, and what it all means for different types of writers. nwu.org/anthropic/

Hey, authors: make sure your publisher filed copyright for your book. The Anthropic case is turning up multiple publishers (including majors) who blew it off. Do a title lookup in the Copyright Office database below - if it's not listed, ask your agent, b/c your publisher has some EXPLAINING to do.

Danny Thompson was just a fantastic upright bassist on an incredible range of stuff - backed Roy Orbison, played on "The Dreaming" & "The Hounds of Love," AND cofounded Pentangle.

Not noted in the story: this is just a block from a steadily rising Biscayne Bay, so someday the Trump Library’s attractions may include snorkeling over it.

Yes, someone in a hot dog costume just hand-delivered Councilor Green a hot dog before starting today's council chat on sidewalk vending.

Wow, this case has everything: * Skeezy online learning deal that outsourced teaching to randos * A tech firm with a terrible name * A homophobic church * Church elders scrambling to hide assets right before a bankruptcy. Gift link:

"Hold my potato chip bag." -- Tom Homan, apparently

Damn @carolleonnig.bsky.social with a barn burner of a scoop www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/t...

This is a Rule 8 dismissal, which is not common when you’re represented by a lawyer, but is very common when you’re a sovereign citizen suing without a lawyer. This judge is treating the president of the United States as a pro se litigant.

February 1962.

A great essay on Pennhurst, a huge asylum 10 miles from where I grew up. (A classmate's mom worked there; it tended to come up in hushed tones, or as a grim joke.) Now, largely staffed by people with disabilities, it exists in a very fraught space between museum & hell-house style spectacle.

Immigration advocates say if you see ICE targeting someone, knowing what to do in the moment is critical to protecting immigrants. It’s hard to know what to look for, but this guide can help you better understand how to be an effective bystander in Oregon, and your legal right to do so.

Huh. Apparently returns on some public pension fund investments have been FOI exempt (?!), after state-level lobbying across the US decades ago. A former SEC atty: “[Private investment managers] want to manage public money for hefty fees, but they don’t want to be subject to public scrutiny.”

This story about abuse - torture, really - at a facility for the intellectually disabled is exactly what you'd fear, but with an extraordinary turn. Amid the non and semi-verbal victims, there was a witness: a prisoner who faked his way in, thinking the facility would be better than jail. It wasn't.

I've noticed this too -- only in some cars, & especially with drivers who tend to ride the brakes. But when it does happen, it's *really* noticeable.

Well I'll be damned. Good things can still happen in our government... sometimes. I don't know if it was Times reporting that lit a fire under the Forest Service, so to speak, but the timing sure looks like it. This is an important protection for the 11k workers on USFS fire crews.

If you're an author and haven't yet signed up for the Anthropic settlement, do yourself a favor (and strike a blow against AI) by checking to see if any of your books were involved. www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

Of all ethics cases, this is truly the most Philadelphian

"How Are the Very Rich Feeling About New York’s Next Mayor?" A Dramatic Reading of The Recent New York Times Dispatch from the Hamptons. Presented by The Gilded Age's Morgan Spector.

Something curious I came across: Alzheimer's patients retain the ability to understand conventional metaphors after comprehension suffers with novel ones. New figurative language appears to be processed differently than cliches. alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

The rest of us can give up now, somebody already got the best book title & subtitle:

Good. GOOD. George Mason, btw, is a public U. (Like my alma mater W&M, they sound private & they're not. Virginia's... weird that way.) So lots of leverage can be wielded against it by hostile politicians. He's showing more spine than a dozen other college presidents combined.

This guy should sue, and UO should lose that lawsuit.

Going through the attic & found this reminder of when all ads and packaging invoked inflation.

Are your sheep always turning up late for work? Are they taking too long on their lunch break or simply struggling to get through the workload? Are they always just mucking about? Then you need some

Portlanders -- this is well worth supporting! It's tax deductible & you can donate at www.streetroots.org

Oh goddamnit

It just makes me happy that someone designed this: a turn of the century Huntley & Palmers biscuit tin made to look like a set of leatherbound books, right down to the marbled edges.

This is good news, and maybe a promising type of legal backstop for other states to adopt too? (Here's the Oregon law: oregon.public.law/statutes/ors... )

The daughters of Hermann Göring's aide - who refused for years to talk with art-theft investigators - put their home in Argentina up for sale, and GUESS WHAT.

While riding the B or Q trains between Dekalb Ave station and the Manhattan Bridge, you may catch a glimpse of "Masstransiscope," a public art installation by Bill Brand. It was added to the #NYCsubway system in 1980.

Honestly, surprised it took them this long.

$160 USD one of the funnier conceivable bribe amounts

Someday there will be an Eric Adams musical with a giant dancing Herr's potato chip bag

A federal court ruled that ANTHROPIC illegally copied MILLIONS of books to train its AI. All authors and publishers whose books were downloaded by Anthropic from pirate websites are subject to receiving compensation. This could involve your work. For more info: authorsguild.org/news/anthrop...

"[The Tribune] was left with just two newsroom employees... “We don’t really know who is an investor [in privately held Carpenter] or who they’re attached to,' Scott said. 'It’s completely shaded: We don’t know how much money they have, it’s very secretive, and we don’t know what their aim is.'"

"Countries with major wildfire seasons, including Canada, Australia & Greece, hand out half-face respirator masks... But year after year, the Forest Service sends crews into smoke with nothing... its workers are not allowed to wear masks on the front line, even if they want to." Gift link:

Was their CEO born in 1832

Yep. I've seen this happen to people. Overall psych bed capacity, esp juvenile units, is a big part of it. OHSU's study is national, but we're a prime example. Oregon more or less drove out a proposed facility in Wilsonville b/c the new Unity in Portland was supposed to meet demand. It did not.

Reminder: Reporters can simply do this, rather than concede the narrative.