Susan Strasser

Looking forward to the federal takeover of Tusla, Oklahoma's police department.

More in tomorrow's Popular Information.

popular.info/subscribe

For those in D.C., join the protest:

📍 815 16th St NW
⏰ NOW

Drug Enforcement Administration officers patrolling the National Mall.

If you know DC you understand how tremendously goofy this is

(h/t @lorenzohall1.bsky.social)

Blurred world I suspect that history will record 2025 as an inflection point in American (if not world) history, the point at which the promise of a future rooted in universal access to knowledge collapsed under th...

I wrote about how, even beyond Trump, the blurring of real and artificial is one of the central challenges of the era. www.pbump.net/o/blurred-wo...

Amazon Ring Cashes in on Techno-Authoritarianism and Mass Surveillance Ring founder Jamie Siminoff is back at the helm of the surveillance doorbell company, and with him is the surveillance-first-privacy-last approach that made Ring one of the most maligned tech devices....

ICYMI: Amazon still doing Amazon things

The company is not only reintroducing new versions of old features that allow police to access footage from Ring users

Amazon is introducing a new Ring feature that will allow police to request *livestream* access to our home security devices.

@eff.org

Smithsonian removes Trump from impeachment exhibit in American history museum A temporary placard, on display since 2021, described the president's historic impeachments. Officials said the exhibit was restored to an earlier version following a review of legacy content.

wapo.st/3HhfyxU

The “deal” that Brown made with the Trump admin is much more extreme than is being reported. It includes government oversight of course evaluations and no barrier to government interference in faculty hiring.

Read it for yourself here:

www.brown.edu/sites/defaul...

Epstein Is Only the Tip of the Iceberg: The Trump Protection Machine and the Epidemic of Violence Against Women On July 2, the jury delivered a guilty verdict on some of the charges against music mogul Sean Combs for his decades of horrific sexual abuse of women with the help of his extensive staff and deep poc...

"One of the reasons the epidemic of violence against women is so unacknowledged is because cases like these are talked about individually, and often treated as though they are shocking aberrations rather than part of a pervasive pattern that operates at all levels of society."

Birthright Citizenship Is a Sacred Guarantee | The Atlantic — David W. Blight The attack on it is a violation of the nation’s post–Civil War rebirth. The attempt to end birthright citizenship in the United States is an attempt to reverse history, to push our nation back, way ...

#ThisDayInHistory: July 28, 1868. The 14th Amendment is adopted, granting citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the US—including formerly enslaved people. Former OAH President David Blight reflects on the enduring power of birthright citizenship:
🔗 ow.ly/sCLY50WwlQ8

A new analysis projects a 24% cut to Social Security benefits by late 2032. Trump's "big, beautiful bill" will cause sharp cuts to Social Security by late 2032, a new analysis says.

🚨 #SocialSecurity is on the chopping block. Thanks to Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill,” retirees are now staring down $18,000-a-year benefit cut in just seven years. Seniors who paid in their whole lives are left holding the bag.
– $13,600 cut for a typical retired couple.

Today, as a Medicare recipient, I got my first "Stay Healthy with Dr. Oz," a new email series from the head of Medicare, "to help you stay healthy." It says that walking is a good idea. I unsubscribed.

Amy Sherald Cancels Her Smithsonian Show, Citing Censorship

Freedom of speech includes fine art.

Can the World’s Largest Zipper Manufacturer Survive Trump’s Tariffs? The world’s largest zipper manufacturer has spent decades mastering the global supply chain. Now it has to weather the Trump-tariff era.

Reaaaaally love this Businessweek story from @viajoshhunt.bsky.social about the world’s largest zipper-maker, YKK, which is totally fascinating in too many ways to enumerate in a post. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

Wow, so interesting. Thanks for the link.

When you're a star, they let you do it.

Maurene Comey’s farewell note to the SDNY after being fired by the Trump administration. Yet another warning.

Delta moves toward eliminating set prices in favor of AI that determines how much you personally will pay for a ticket The airline touted a partnership with an AI-enabled revenue system as a step on the road to fully personalized ticket pricing, part of its goal to raise profit margins long-term.

“By the end of the year, Delta plans for 20% of its ticket prices to be individually determined using AI, president Glen Hauenstein told investors last week.”

“Over time, the goal is to do away with static pricing altogether…”

I don't enjoy facing the truth about the Supreme Court, either, but if I believe anybody, I believe Sherrilyn Ifill. Read this, and sign up for the webinars.

Horrendous. In attempting to reclassify Head Start as “welfare” rather than education, the Trump administration is trying an end run around Supreme Court precedent that protects undocumented children from limits to education based on their immigration status. 🧵

an actual loyalty test to hold a state job

“The dismantling of Harvard’s diversity offices arrived at Harvard College on Wednesday as websites for centers serving minority students, LGBTQ students, and women disappeared suddenly and without fanfare.”

www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

On my way home from the dentist in downtown DC. Everybody’s stressed, he says. Grinding teeth like crazy. Breaking teeth.

Donald Trump’s UFC stunt is more than a circus. It’s authoritarian theatre | Karim Zidan The planned fight on White House grounds isn’t just macho spectacle – it’s a chilling marker of where the US is headed

Donald Trump’s UFC stunt is more than a circus. It’s authoritarian theatre
www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/j...

We love our National Parks. Help us #SaveOurSigns We need your help to #SaveOurSigns

The @datarescueproject.org has a #SaveOurSigns project to preserve National Park Service signs that are being removed because of the anti-DEI policy and the erasure of American history. You can help. 👇🏼
www.datarescueproject.org/save-our-sig...

Protesting in a red state…

More good advice from @jesscraven101.bsky.social here. The whole rep office uses the same call tracking system, and junior staff or interns in the district offices can take down your input too. Just be sure they know you’re a constituent, ask who you’re talking to, and (politely) request a response.

‼️ Y'all, House Republican leadership just told their members to go back to their offices. The floor has emptied. They don't even have the votes to pass the procedural Rule that's needed to get to a passage vote on the bill. 👀

There's still time to make noise --> 5calls.org

We may need to update Dorothy Thompson's 1941 "Who Goes Nazi?" essay

harpers.org/archive/1941...

Echoes
www.loc.gov/item/2021771...