Missed the Sopranos when that was a thing, so I'm watching it now with my husband. Tony's mother is the best-written villain of all time. I reflexively cringe whenever she comes on screen.

Cops in places with policies against coordinating with ICE are pretending to call ICE for "translation services" which of course prompts the feds to drive over & kidnap the non-english-speaking person without being explicitly tipped off that they might be undocumented www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news...

"The first person to be executed for treason in the US was not a spy or someone who sold secrets to a foreign government. It was not a Confederate general who took up arms against his government. It was an abolitionist named John Brown." from @nhannahjones.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/m...

Despite more men, more manufacturing, and virtually no threat of invasion, the Union kept flailing and failing for the first two years of the Civil War because white northerners and their political leaders expected that white southerners would be overtaken by unionist sentiment and return freely.

I’m howling.

Here’s the full piece on why I’m optimistic, even in dark times: open.substack.com/pub/data4dem...

If there's one empirical insight I'd want everyone to understand about American politics, it's this: America's problems are solved problems. Just not here. What would change if the US simply matched the average of 31 peer democracies? Not Denmark or Norway. Just the middle of the pack. 🧵

this is the sickest shit ive ever seen

If a conservative anywhere has to hear, encounter, or be subject to judgement based on an opinion they disagree with that’s maoism but if conservatives use state power to prosecute, defund, or censor you that’s fine because they’re just entitled to do that for reasons

for @tonemadison.bsky.social this week, I wrote about a handful of my fav 2025 tunes from Avoidancepolicy + Carl Johnson, Jonathon Millionaire, Mr. Chair, @rockstarelise.com, and @sirsigra.bsky.social. thx to our music editor @stevenmps.bsky.social for all his essential editorial planning.

Senate Democrats absolutely have to shut the govt down to stop this ICE insanity in the Twin Cities. This is not sustainable & cannot be normalized. Any Democratic vote to provide money to the thugs who are brutalizing this community is a grave betrayal to the people here. Accountability can't wait.

We need to pick up this Overton Window and throw it as far as we can. Stop waiting for shit to “be popular” and start advocating for what is transparently right.

Jesse Welles on Renee Good's death at the hands of ICE. Now they'll circle the wagons, drape the man in a flag, and say, "Don't trust what your eyes can see." They'll say, "It's her fault instead for getting shot in the head when we all watch the same damn thing.

🎙️Today is the deadline for candidate filings in the state of Wisconsin. @stinadale.bsky.social, Enjoyiana Nururdin, and @fayeparks.bsky.social break down the races in this busy election year with host Dana Pellebon. Listen here: www.wortfm.org/local-journa...

Democrats need to understand that they can just say “It’s insane to threaten Greenland” and “I don’t think ICE should murder Americans in the street” and you don’t need to pretend to link it to the affordability crisis. Say bad things are bad.

The US has already killed innocent civilians in Venezuela. Stop acting as though this attack was legitimate and the only problems are in a hypothetical future.

This should be our theme song. youtu.be/aKpgb2WrGo0?... (End screen notes that no human is illegal.)

If today and tomorrow a total of 19 people donate to @tonemadison.bsky.social who have never donated before, we get $1,000 thanks to NewsMatch. If you’ve never donated to Tone, this is the perfect time to start. tonemadison.com/donate/

We're in the final stretch of our make-or-break fundraiser. If 22 people donate for the first time, we'll also receive a $1,000 bonus. Help us reach our goal during NewsMatch so our small-but-mighty publication can keep publishing the perspectives you really care about. tonemadison.com/donate/

support Tone Madison so we can persist with unparalleled local coverage of the arts (and incredible interviews just like this). only a few days remain to maximize the impact of your donation through NewsMatch. ty! tonemadison.com/donate/

We only have four days left to unlock $8,400 in matching funds. Tone Madison could unlock a total of $21,000 for journalism that's "full of heart and unafraid to punch up." But we need your help to do it. tonemadison.com/donate/ 🙏

Understand, Ron Johnson is incredibly stupid as well as morally bankrupt

"The question of honest work in colonial systems and fine arts institutions raises the specter of censorship, particularly of art that is deemed 'political.' But what makes a work of art political or apolitical?" asks Managing Editor @stinadale.bsky.social after a visit to the Trout Museum of Art.

just one more lane…

Why decline all these chances to defend feminism? Because to participate would be accepting the premise that our rights and humanity are up for debate in the first place. Once you’ve conceded that it’s reasonable to ask whether women’s equality was a mistake, you’ve already lost.

This year we've... • Questioned how local governments allocate resources by pointing out the impacts on the most vulnerable. • Interrogated the narratives that lead to harmful economic policies. • Championed the perspectives of workers and organized labor. tonemadison.com/donate/ 🙏

How do you write an entire piece about the bystander without ever naming him? His name is Ahmed el Ahmed. Is that the problem for you all?

This is fucking grim. Somebody invented a white guy, an "IT professional" named Edward Crabtree, who stopped the Bondi shooting and spread it all over the internet, which was picked up by AI agents and slop aggregation sites. The real hero is a fruit stand owner named Ahmed el Ahmed.

"As comic artists themselves, the MAC Fest organizers are using their intimate knowledge of opportunity gaps within the movement to carve out a new space for growth." @cmy-kay.bsky.social previews the inaugural event at Aubergine (1226 Willy St) this Sat, Dec 13, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

We can't imagine a better legacy for a media outlet than to inspire aspiring writers to pursue ambitious, critical stories. But they can only do that if you continue to support us. We are HALFWAY to our fundraising goal. THANK YOU! But we still have a ways to go. tonemadison.com/donate/

If someone, anyone, wants to develop an viable alternative to Quickbooks, I will be first in line.

"The playbook here is familiar," @parkermolloy.com writes for HW. "Find a trans person in a position of minor institutional authority. Manufacture or amplify a confrontation. Blast it through the conservative media ecosystem until it becomes national news. Watch as institutions capitulate."

as a grantwriter, the lack of unrestricted funding is a MASSIVE burden on nonprofits. everyone wants to fund a new shiny pilot program that makes them look like innovators. they don’t want to help make your tried and tested programs that have served the community for 50 years more sustainable

This Friday, we'll be releasing "Resolution"—a new Bandcamp compilation—as part of our year-end fundraiser. Music Editor @stevenmps.bsky.social goes over the concept, reveals some contributing artists, and outlines the advance listening party in our latest. tonemadison.com/articles/loo...

Every single congressional Democrat needs to be out there, right now, insisting that Pete Hegseth resign right now and announcing that he will be held accountable for committing war crimes. If you do not demand accountability here and now, they will only become more emboldened.

I can only think of one person for whom this is true and it’s Stephen Miller, who for some reason will not rest till the US reproduces the violent xenophobia that made his and my ancestors flee eastern Europe. The rest of his family seems normal, though

Photos from St. Paul today captured by MPR photojournalist Kerem Yücel. He filed them even after being hospitalized after being injured by a less lethal munition.

it’s never a bad time to start a $5/month donation to @tonemadison.bsky.social

On Sat, Nov 29, we've teamed up with MAMA to spotlight four emerging acts as part of the "New Artist Listening Room" at Harmony Bar & Grill. Show starts at 8 p.m., and cover is just $10! Hear on-the-rise local talents Marigold Motel, Jonathon Millionaire, The Stoplights, and @rockstarelise.com. 🎶

Including @tonemadison.bsky.social! tonemadison.com/donate/

Megyn Kelly claimed Epstein was into “the barely legal type,” referring to 15 year-olds. So I wrote about how her comments highlight the ways both purity culture and rape culture sexualize young girls and make male desire their responsibility. www.liberalcurrents.com/the-barely-l...

Come check out up-and-coming Madison musicians on Saturday, November 29 at Harmony Bar and Grill!

On Sat, Nov 29, we're co-hosting a showcase of new and emerging local artists with Madison Area Music Association at Harmony Bar & Grill (2201 Atwood Ave). In this week's Microtones, Music Editor @stevenmps.bsky.social shares a few words on the announcement and our valuing of the music community.

"What does it mean to be a co-op if the Group Health Cooperative Board is now going to disregard the unanimous votes at a well-attended and well-noticed meeting of its own membership?" ask Adam Chern and Rebecca Kemble in a joint guest column.

"What happens when an industry spends 15 years telling talented young journalists that personal brand is currency, that access is the game, that being a character in the story makes better content—and then acts shocked when someone takes that logic a few degrees too far?"

"Even as MDEV expands, making the industry accessible to newer indie developers remains a key focus of the conference." @manateemailbox.bsky.social reports from the @wigamesalliance.bsky.social MDEV conference (Nov 7-8), and talks with game developers and industry representatives alike. 🎮

One thing I love about Madison is that you have pretty good odds of bumping into Rob Dz on any given night. A delightful person who has also fought some long uphill battles in our local cultural scenes. Rob had a heart attack last week. Please help him out if you can.

The Christian right for decades has fear-mongered that federal agents (under Dem presidents) would "criminalize" Christianity and literally prevent them from worshipping. Now that Trump's stormtroopers are doing it ... crickets

Remember the recent middle-of-the-night apartment building raid where children were dragged outside naked & zip-tied in the street while black & Latino residents were _sorted by race_ and piled into separate vans while their apartments were ransacked & robbed? That raid? So it resulted in 0 arrests.

Same playbook. Taking people at grocery stores. “Border Patrol arrested two people at Dany’s Supermarket off The Plaza in Charlotte Sunday morning,“