Jen Howard

I reject fatalism [a form of moral disengagement]. What happens next is not predetermined and depends in part on us.

🚨
His first term attempt at this was defeated by broad pushback.

Hello journalists. If you report this you gotta say that under the Constitution he has no power to do it. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Depiction, from a Roman mosaic, of a red crested snake sticking out its tongue

Apparently wearing a raspberry beret (the kind you find in a second hand store), this cheeky red-crested, tiny-tongued tessellated serpent features on a mid 4th century #Roman mosaic from Dorchester

Found in Durngate Street in 1905, it's now in @dorsetmuseum.bsky.social

📷 Sept 2024

#MosaicMonday

Stanford newspaper sues Trump administration over student deportations The lawsuit challenges Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s ability to revoke student visas and deem an individual deportable based on the content of their speech.

Stanford University’s student-run newspaper sued two senior Trump administration officials Wednesday, challenging Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s ability to revoke student visas and deem an individual deportable based on the content of their speech.

I'd say so.

US hunter reportedly killed by buffalo during expedition in South Africa Asher Watkins, 52, of Texas died while tracking 1.3-ton Cape buffalo on a hunting trip in the country’s Limpopo province

I am sorry for this guy's family. But I do not think it counts as an "unprovoked" attack if you're killed by the thing you're trying to hunt down and shoot dead. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

Likewise! I love these recs.

ACLS, AHA, and MLA "commend Judge Colleen McMahon's decision for the Authors Guild, which ensures that funds for terminated National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grants can not be reallocated while the case is being tried." #SaveNEH #humanities

Last night I read the first couple of stories in Ed's new book, AN ORAL HISTORY OF ATLANTIS, and was enthralled. Neat to read this conversation with him about what he's up to.

Always here for good pencil content.

Go figure.

Ralph Wiggem “I’m in danger” meme

*Academics in early August

He helped Microsoft build AI to help the climate. Then Microsoft sold it to Big Oil. A former Microsoft product manager reveals how the tech giant is using AI to help Big Oil drill—and how he and his partner are now pushing for change.

Anecdotally, I'd say most articles about the climate/environmental impact of AI only consider the energy/water costs of operating the technology.

They rarely grapple with what the AI is actually being used for—which in many cases, is helping huge polluters pollute more

Big Tech’s Net-Zero Goals Are Looking Shaky

Good piece outlining how Big Tech companies' carbon emissions are soaring due to the AI boom, but it overlooks a huge piece of the puzzle

It's not just the energy use of AI hurting the planet, but the fact that many tech companies are selling AI to oil companies to help them drill more

A Rare Copy of ‘The Hobbit’ Is Found on an Unassuming Shelf

Fun find! And I love the use of "unassuming" in the headline. 📚https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/world/europe/the-hobbit-first-edition-bristol-auction.html?unlocked_article_code=1.cE8.10kc.2KNPEcxopD7t&smid=url-share [gift link]

Once again I made the mistake of looking at the news first thing in the morning. Some people never learn.

I believe one of the new mRNA vaccines was expected to treat colon cancer, and another had the potential to keep pancreatic cancer from recurring. That’s what they’re taking away.

RFK Jr. backs down all the time when he gets push back, so if anyone wants to call, here's the HHS number 1-877-696-6775.
I'd also call your senators/reps as well.

Writing in a jokey tone to your wife is in fact one of the main benefits of having a wife. Once again, why are you outsourcing the fun part of existence to the machine.

RFK Jr. cuts $500 million in mRNA vaccine contracts, dealing major blow to promising area of research The cuts add to mounting evidence that Kennedy is pursuing an aggressive anti-vaccine agenda.

We need a word for someone who is beyond perverse, sadistic, sociopathic. Blocking mRNA vaccine research means that you or someone you love will die of something you could have avoided or survived. He is intentionally killing people.

Trump’s War on Big Law Means It’s Harder to Challenge the Administration Some of America’s largest law firms are refusing to take pro bono and paid legal work from groups that seek to hold the government to account on issues like environmental protection, LGBTQ+ rights and...

New from me: Big Law is fearful of representing anyone Trump sees as his enemies, and it's thwarting challenges to his agenda.

“There are cases that aren’t being brought at a time when civil rights abuses are maybe at the highest they’ve been.” www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Hello. The president's continued insistence that the BLS numbers are rigged, political, or otherwise manipulated is a lie. Please stop saying 'baseless claim.' Thank you.

Wikipedia Editors Adopt ‘Speedy Deletion’ Policy for AI Slop Articles “The ability to quickly generate a lot of bogus content is problematic if we don't have a way to delete it just as quickly.”

pay very close attention to Wikipedia to find a way out of the AI slop internet www.404media.co/wikipedia-ed...

Once again, AI is not a miracle machine mind, it is an additional layer of obfuscation between the product and the people exploited to make it.

This is also me in any workplace

"Judges are not the only players in the legal system who have shown a measure of distrust in the Justice Department.....federal grand juries in Los Angeles have been refusing to indict many defendants whom prosecutors have sought to charge in connection with immigration protests."

"The dissolution of these traditional bonds of trust — known in legal circles as the presumption of regularity — goes well beyond judges’ use of blunt words — “egregious,” “brazen,” “lawless” — to describe the various parts of Mr. Trump’s power-grabbing policy agenda."

Judges Openly Doubt Government as Justice Dept. Misleads and Dodges Orders

I appreciate this pull-no-punches NYT headline (not to mention the thorough reporting behind the story). www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/u...

That's a great thing to do.