Rebecca Traister

I think that the fascists have a different political project and that they do not have to actually deliver anything except cruelty against the out groups. Trump is authentically cruel and crass. People like that because they believe him on those things.

The NIH’s 2024 budget of just under $37B generated $95B in economic activity in 2024 alone. 99.4% of new pharmaceuticals approved from 2010-2019 came from NIH-funded research. I’m hard pressed to think of anything that generates as much direct economic benefit as our NIH did before they destroyed it

Wernher Von Braun, Gustav Mahler, Alma Mahler-Werfel, the Elements, Hubert Humphrey, George Murphy, Oedipus Rex, Lena Horne, Vatican Two, Sexually-Transmitted Infections and masochism — just a few things I learned about obsessively listening to Tom Leher albums starting when I was 10.

Senators are Van Hollen, Welch, Schatz, Murray, Kaine, Durbin, Merkley, Sanders, Warren, Smith, Baldwin, Markey, Warnock, Heinrich, Duckworth, Klobuchar, Hirono, Alsobrooks, Lujan, Ossoff, and Murphy. Both GA Senators and Baldwin from WI but no one else from a Trump 2024 state. No NY, NJ, or CA.

Spring is here, suh-pring is here
Life is skittles and life is beer
I think the loveliest time of the year is the spring
I do, don't you? ‘Course you do
But there's one thing that makes spring complete for me
And makes every Sunday a treat for me
— my childhood

“Univ. of Illinois report shows that a large humanities department like English produces substantial net profit; units like engineering and agriculture run at a loss. The widely respected Delaware Study of Instructional Costs and Productivity shows the same pattern.” /7 thi.ucsc.edu/the-humaniti...

This is very bad. Although entirely predictable. Once more the humanities are being cut back to prop up STEM and, increasingly, AI investment (including at the expense of bench science). In the past, cuts to humanities were promoted on two separate logic streams that do not hold true: /1

Who could’ve guessed.

Gaza is starving. Where are the American Jewish leaders? A fear of being labelled antisemitic still deters American Jews and Jewish institutions from taking a position that is morally correct.

The mass starvation & killing of Palestinians in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli gov’t is a chillul hashem, a desecration of God.

Jewish leaders who criticized Zohran Mamdani for three words he doesn’t use should raise their voices loudly here as well.
forward.com/opinion/7575...

French President Macron says France will recognize Palestine as a state French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will recognize Palestine as a state, amid snowballing global anger over people starving in Gaza.

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will recognize Palestine as a state, amid snowballing global anger over people starving in Gaza.

🚨NEW: A horror story emerges from hacked flight logs of the March 15 flight to El Salvador: mass disappearances.

It's possible there are DOZENS of additional people the Trump admin sent to be imprisoned in El Salvador without trial who are imprisoned there whose names have never been disclosed.

More on Collins and the weird distortions and tidying up of her record that seem to happen every time her seat is up, this time with the (batshit) help of Planned Parenthood:

Susan Collins is now denying she got a hall pass despite other Republicans literally saying she got one.

#mesen #mepolitics

“It Blows My Mind That There’s No Opposition”: When ICE Allies Run Unchallenged In a populous city in southeast Virginia, a Republican sheriff who calls himself “Detain ’Em Dave” is in a race to the right against a GOP challenger who wants more immigration enforcement. No Democrat or independent has filed to run.

The sheriff of Chesapeake, Virginia's second largest city, is calling himself “Detain ‘Em Dave”. He lost the GOP primary in June to a candidate who wants to crack down even further on immigration. No Democrat or independent filed to run. boltsmag.org/sheriff...

Poll Shows Public Knows Little About Trump’s Ugly Megabill The battle to define this incredibly significant legislation has just begun, particularly for Democrats.

Why? Why don't they know? Whose responsibility is it to ensure they know, how are those mechanisms failing, and what can we do to repair or replace them?

Those are the questions those who believe in journalism as public service should be asking ourselves. Because 48% is a failing grade.

really interesting that the vice president cites as a key intellectual influence a guy who thinks black people are natural slaves

Oval-framed daguerreotype portrait of Frederick Douglass, a prominent 19th-century African American abolitionist, writer, and orator. He wears a dark jacket, patterned waistcoat, white shirt, and bow tie. His expression is serious and resolute, with his wavy hair parted to the side. The photograph reflects his dignity and strength as a leader in the fight against slavery.

In July of 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered one of the greatest speeches in US history. Today it’s often presented in abridged form, though, and skips what seems like a long-winded introduction. If you read the intro closely, however, there’s an ingenious structure. THREAD👇🏽

AOC: They’re giving people crumbs and they are taking away the whole loaf.

These people think they’re at the end of a story — that they ARE the end of a story — and they are wrong. More than that: the story is changing around us all the time, in the ways that people who think they will always have the power to write it cannot even begin to anticipate.

120. Upon arrival at CECOT, the detainees were greeted by a prison official who stated, "Welcome to CECOT. Whoever enters here doesn't leave." Plaintiff Abrego Garcia was then forced to strip, issued prison clothing, and subjected to physical abuse including being kicked in the legs with boots and struck on his head and arms to make him change clothes faster. His head was shaved with a zero razor, and he was frog-marched to cell 15, being struck with wooden batons along the way. By the following day, Plaintiff Abrego Garcia had visible bruises and lumps all over his body. 121. In Cell 15, Plaintiff Abrego Garcia and 20 other Salvadorans were forced to kneel from approximately 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM, with guards striking anyone who fell from exhaustion. During this time, Plaintiff Abrego Garcia was denied bathroom access and soiled himself The detainees were confined to metal bunks with no mattresses in an overcrowded cell with no windows, bright lights that remained on 24 hours a day, and minimal access to sanitation. 122. After approximately one week at CECOT, prison director Osiris Luna and other officials separated the 21 Salvadorans who had arrived together. Twelve individuals with visible gang-related tattoos were moved to another cell, while Plaintiff Abrego Garcia remained with eight others who, like him, upon information and belief had no gang affiliations or tattoos. 123. As reflected by his segregation, the Salvadoran authorities recognized that Plaintiff Abrego Garcia was not affiliated with any gang and, at around this time, prison officials explicitly acknowledged that Plaintiff Abrego Garcia's tattoos were not gang-related, telling him "your

“In Cell 15, Plaintiff Abrego Garcia and 20 other Salvadorans were forced to kneel from approximately 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM, with guards striking anyone who fell from exhaustion. During this time, Plaintiff Abrego Garcia was denied bathroom access and soiled himself…”

There’s just so much: the victory of a new political talent, the loss of an old tyrant, the possibilities of alliance & positive strategizing, the hope for a more just future, the cracking of the last generation’s stranglehold on power. Also the joy and force of Tish James! Listen to her voice!

Spare a thought for Jessica Ramos, who threw out her principles & alliances for a spot in the Cuomo administration, and today got 0.39% and is watching a likely Mamdani primary win.

The 8th and last round of counting ended with 140,202 inactive ballots - nearly 20 times Adams's margin of victory. If roughly 5 percent of the inactive ballots had featured Garcia in any position, she would have beaten Adams.

Why you need to rank Mamdani — even if he’s at #5 — in addition to not ranking Cuomo www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Seriously—at this point… FIGHT ME, TRANSPHOBES.

Rep. Melissa Hortman, killed in targeted attack, was a champion for Minnesotan families Hortman worked closely with Gov. Tim Walz to enact policies that prioritized children and expanded protections for abortion and gender-affirming care

Here’s a look at Hortman’s legislative history and legacy on key policies during her 20 years in office.

#NoKings in Langhorne PA

The #NoKings march in Dallas, Texas is HUGE!

Dallas, Texas police estimate there are 10,000 people attending the "No Kings" protest on Saturday.
#NoKings #Dallas #Texas

Boston showed up for No Kings Day!