a key thing about vought — and all of these guys — is that they have a totally top down and hierarchical vision of the world. they believe that the cultural changes they hate can be turned off by destroying the federal government because they can’t imagine that they emerged bottom-up in society

Oh look the party that screams “family values” every five minutes is silent when one of their megachurch darlings pleads guilty to child sex abuse. But they’ll trip over themselves to ban books and attack drag shows. Tells you everything you need to know.

The Chicago ICE raid has proven once again that US citizenship is irrelevant. It is race or perceived race that matters. Anyone Black or brown is a target. Our Christofascist regime is accelerating ethnic cleansing tenfold. Elections will not save us from this.

“Finally: AI cannot do your job, but an AI salesman can 100%convince your boss to fire you and replace you with an AI that can't do your job, and when the bubble bursts, the money-hemorrhaging ‘foundation models’ will be shut off and we'll lose the AI that can't do your job…” - Cory Doctorow

This is what we have to do across the United States—or at least it’s major cities: a general strike. It may be one of the last levers we have left to stop our government from supporting genocide

Excellent article on the AI bubble, how so many are over-invested in it while AI companies engage in shady accounting, and what to expect when it bursts: pluralistic.net/2025/09/27/e...

“The UN Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel has committed four of the five genocidal acts defined under the 1948 Genocide Convention, just one of which would legally constitute a genocide.“

If European politicians were serious, sanctions would be one of the simplest and most direct tools they could use.

If you're a bigot then it's neither here nor there if you use polite language to promote your hatred and prejudice. You're just a bigot.

CARTOON OF THE DAY (Updated Version)

In contrast to the recently released problematic film Songs of Paradise, Arfat Sheikh’s film on Kashmir—Saffron Kingdom—looks to be a tour de force, addressing Kashmiri life & struggles & the experience of the diaspora & those who have remained in the Valley with insight & nuance. A must see!

Excellent review of the new, problematic film on Kashmir — Songs of Paradise. I especially appreciated the section of the article “The persistent binary in Kashmir-centric cinema”:

This. youtu.be/qL58Ko889DU?... @sabbysabs2.bsky.social

The key problem with what Ezra Klein says here is that he fails – or is unwilling – to grapple with the fundamental reality of the political conflict: The movement that dominates today’s Right fully rejects the very idea of “living here with each other” as equals. That’s their defining position.

Remember the good old days when FBI directors cared about telling the truth? Zowie.

PEN America: “The firing and suspension of multiple journalists after the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk should alarm anyone who cares about free speech and a free press." Full statement: pen.org/press-releas...

For some this image may provoke a self-righteous scoff at red staes. But this is so sad, because most people do not reach financial distress due to profligate spending on unnecessary luxuries but are in debt due to medical expenses, high housing costs, & income too low to cover basic costs of living

Some personal news: I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting. Thread incoming. substack.com/@karenattiah...

Columbia cancelled my class on race and journalism, but I'm teaching anyway. Only 9 Days left to register for my class on Race, Media and International Affairs 101, and 102! I will not be teaching this again until 2026, so don't miss your spot! www.resistancesummerschool.com/fall-2025-re...

This article addresses well why debate bros and preachers like Charlie Kirk who hold events in which they appear to genuinely take Q&A from an audience are actually a problem. 1/4

people pretend that debate signals and defends a commitment to high minded politics. what it elevates instead is performative dishonesty as a basic mode of politics www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Over the last year, I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Joan Scott. It was clear how much the experience of her father -- victim of McCarthyism -- shaped her as a scholar and person. This essay is a powerful testament to that. www.bostonreview.net/articles/a-g...

🎯🎯🎯🤬

This is from a Yemeni Houthi rebel.

For the Zionist Israeli settlers stealing Palestinian land:

What is not being widely reported regarding the Charlie Kirk shooting is that immediately before being shot, he was asked the question, “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?” (1/3)

“Habituate your heart to mercy for people and to affection and kindness for them. Do not stand over them like greedy beasts who feel it is enough to devour them. Remember, Maalik, that amongst your subjects there are two kinds of people: your brothers in faith, and your equals in humanity.” (1/2)

The president of the United States just declared war, actual military war, not a metaphorical one, on a major American city, and one governed by his political opponents. In any other period, this would be impeachment-worthy.

DOJ Lawyer Waging War Against Harvard Sure Seems to Like Hitler newrepublic.com/post/199883/... via @newrepublic.com

On the India’s recent book ban in Kashmir: “But we know that books live beyond bans. In the digital age, such measures are not only moot, but also reiterate that the state continues to fear ideas. Now, more than ever, readers across the world should decide for themselves what to read and why” (1/2)

Look I am clearly a heavy social media user but I also don’t need to validate my social media use by imagining that a politician having someone on their team who is good at making memes means that they would be a great president and have good policy ideas Like please be serious

Gift link. Read it for the sheer stupidity of our President's reasons for wrecking our relationship with India, not to mention a chunk of their export trade.

Folks who enjoyed K-pop Demon Hunters, which is an allegory built on biracial heritage experiences in Korean society but does not include any people of biracial heritage in it, should read about Insooni, a Black Korean whose career began with the Hee Sisters, and push for KPDH2 to do better!

It’s a commonplace of the depiction of vulgar nouveau-riche bores in literature that they tell you how much their possessions cost.

Ok - so I'm going to do a real context+write up but for now, here's what some of these things look like. To start my data reference is DCinbox which is ~208,000 official e-newsletters over the past 15 years.

If you find yourself repeating fascist threats and lies and bluster, you are only helping them. “They’re going to deport Kilmar to Uganda on Monday.” Shut the fuck up. No they’re not. They want you to think they’re invincible monsters. They’re not. They’re decaying pedophiles.

not gonna lie, if one of my friends told me they used ChatGPT to write all their texts to me, I would slowly edge that person out of my life

Every year the consequences of climate crisis become more deadly for Pakistan.

Rep. Nicole Collier forced to leave interview by Texas police: "They're saying it's a felony for me to do this"

This. And that we are still not demanding accountability from those journalists whose cowardice and complicity have created an anti-civics, anti-democracy ecosystem of political discourse amazes me.

One of the biggest cultural issues we have is that no major media or journalistic institutions have been reinforcing norms of what things *should* look like. That corruption isn’t normal, that cronyism isn’t normal, that lies and scandals should be punished, that incompetence is disqualifying.

politics is conflictual and you should pay attention to who benefits from pretending otherwise and how they do so

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu: “Silence in the face of oppression is not an option. The U.S. Attorney General asked for a response by today. So here it is…Stop attacking our cities to hide your administration's failures.”

Boston speaks up.👇

Praise and honor to Mehboob-ul-Alam & Sultan-ul-Arifeen Sheikh Hamza Makhdum Sahib on this day of his Urs

Excellent article on 16th-century Suhrawardi hagiographer Daud Khaki’s early text Qasīda-e-Zarūriyya and what it implies about Islamic faith and Muslim (especially Sufi) life in early modern Kashmir

This oped builds off this news from last week that I want to share because that's a boss headline www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/08/m...