As an Oxford Comma loving gal, the True Purpose of a paper dictionary in these times:

This worries me as much as the shredding of our rights.

Why do headlines say "norms shattered" when what is meant is "laws broken" or "Constitution violated"?

It’s been five years since John Prine died of COVID-19. If you’re so inclined (and able — it’s long), here’s an essay I wrote about how his songs helped me accept a life with the debilitating, deeply marginalized chronic illness ME/CFS. 1/3

Advice to military staff ordered to meet in Quantico with Hegseth next week, from a *Very* knowledgeable source. www.justsecurity.org/121421/hegse...

the inevitable result of masked policing is it's being taken advantage of by other criminals

Disbanding ICE and prosecuting everyone who led and worked for it is, in fact, the moderate position.

They are SO damned loud. But just because they are noisy doesn’t make them the majority. #sandInTheGears #never51 #elbowsUp

In Charlie Angus’s post today, something I haven’t seen covered in the media about “Farmageddon” : “MAGA was more than willing to bend to corporate lobbyists to loosen the regulations on agricultural pesticides.” But now “other markets, such as the EU, are unwilling to purchase their product.”

Of course it’s extortion. Care to bet whose bank account receives that money? www.npr.org/2025/09/26/g...

Trump’s prosecution of a Democratic lawmaker is a test run for authoritarian rule www.vox.com/politics/462...

It's Don't Argue Inside Your Head With Other People Friday. Today, if you find yourself arguing inside your head w/someone who's not present, or whom it's not safe or not fair for you to argue with, gently move your mind away. Do this as many times as you need.

Lots here on government refusal to provide discovery in case of Representative LaMonica McIver:

#ICE is working hard towards their goal of one million people in custody or deported by the end of this year - by grabbing people without any criminal record whatsoever. Almost 60K currently in detention atm, according to their own data.

SF Bay Area folks, can anyone take in this gorgeous creamsicle cat?

Just a reminder that in the Los Angeles ICE case, Justice Kavanaugh's concurrence played up the extent to which those *not* properly subject to immigration arrest were detained "briefly" and released "promptly." www.stevevladeck.com/p/bonus-177-... That wasn't true in L.A., and it isn't true here.

Boosting. (My cousin’s kid did this internship, which turned into deeply meaningful work. Highly recommended.)

Reading this piece on the wildland firefighter pulled off an active fire line in Washington by #ICE & his release by the feds with dropped charges after a month in detention ought to infuriate every American. Our tax dollars are paying for this BS. Just an outrage. www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/0...

Jay Kuo: DOJ is “playing with fire. … in a deep credibility and ethical hole with the judiciary & skeptical grand juries … White House seems intent on pouring gasoline down that very hole … Time for judges and grand jurors to stand ready with extinguishers.” open.substack.com/pub/statusku...

It’s all about the photo-ops, looking good for the glance-&-move-on optics. I swear, several times I hear that tag line from the old Cartoon Network show ‘Courage the Cowardly Dog’ - “stupid dog, you made me look bad!” - with news on this current administration

Of course they defy. This is going to be an interesting test of CA local police departments, to say the least. #ICE

Gotta admire how a prosecutor who *really* knows the law can explain it.

Medicaid work requirements cost twice as much as just covering people’s medical needs. Which means it’s a goldmine for putting public money into private pockets. Because that’s where “administrative costs” end up, amirite?

Interesting thread on turning a half-millennial bog oak log into furniture planks. (Am thinking Juliet McKenna could make good use of this story in her Green Man series.)

"Though FEMA can be picky in disbursing aid, it must abide by federal civil rights law; private charities do not." -->really smart story about Trump + private faith-based disaster aid. @grist.org tried to follow the money and...it got murky grist.org/accountabili...

Of course this is the obvious escalation. Damn them all. #ICE www.fox4news.com/news/dallas-...

Wish more cities & towns thought ahead to what it means to have a private prison as a major employer. Is more jobs (how many more?) worth the rise in domestic violence, living under prison rules, the reputations hit, drop in property values… Look at how the towns near Nazi camps fared over time.

Destroy car dealerships and you save US democracy

This. The anti-vaxx movement is built upon grifters, starting with Wakefield & right up to the present day.

Long may she - & her farm - thrive! 🌱

Guide to creating wildlife-friendly urban yards! 🌱

On the face of it, firing 100 immigration judges in the last 8 months (“over 100” so far, + these) is crazily counterproductive to their plans to deport thousands of people each month. Why do this?

It's weird how Tylenol caused autism (first diagnosed in 1943) before it was even invented (1955). What a clever drug.

This ought to be engraved somewhere.

A bit underplayed that the Homan sting didn't reportedly come out of a public corruption investigation, it was a counter-intelligence one. Which means they somehow made the not-very-far leap to him from initially targeting a foreign and almost certainly state actor.

“The anticipated regulation could reduce eligibility for new applicants to the SSDI program by as much as 20 percent overall, and up to 30 percent among older workers. The potential impact on the SSI program is unclear.“ just no.

*9/22/2025 noncooperation thread* “The most important thing is to be respectful and responsive to what the day laborer community wants.... Our number one purpose is to be responsive and dynamic. We set up the table, listen to their needs, and respond.” 5/

Public libraries have been the stopgap in crossing that digital divide for 2-3 decades. But this administration has cut library funding far past the bone; without a *lot* more local money (from where?), I doubt they’ll be able to continue that narrow bridge.

Happy September Equinox! Today the dividing line between day and night runs exactly from the North pole to the South pole, and the sun is directly over the equator. This is an actual image of the Earth today, taken from the Himawari-8 satellite.

At the Nuremberg trials, Karl Dönitz was convicted of war crimes for the sinking of civilian vessels. This is not a complicated question, it's been illegal for centuries.

As we wait for today's announcement about autism, Erin McCanlies tells us how RFK, Jr. brought an end to her research on the environmental causes of autism www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Spd...

Now, she is using her platform to bring attention to the plight of women in detention, like 32-year-old Palestinian Leqaa Kordia, the second Columbia University protester arrested this spring, who has since been dubbed “the forgotten prisoner” while sitting in ICE detention for nearly six months.

the fact that in multiple cases the Supreme Court has worked to legalize bribery in the United States is a major corrosion of our civil order

OMG

And it's still about a month off, but the last Monday in October (the 27th) is Vasily Aleksandrovich Arkhipov Withholds Authorization Day!

Mark your calendars!

the funny thing about the constant misappropriation of MLK is that the guy left a massive body of writing specifically aimed at explaining his views of those of the movement he represented to the broad public. it is extremely easy to know what the guy thought on a variety of subjects and yet

Unhinged antics by transphobes: open.substack.com/pub/erininth... I hated stripping in locker room fishbowls in jr. high / high school, but there’s an easy solution to that. Why not offer cubicles with privacy curtains, like adult gym facilities or the Y?