Rebecca Dean

Hey #Archaeology peeps: if you had a daughter who really wants to major in anthropology (despite all your arguments against), what fieldschool would you send her to? I'm thinking best educational experience, getting to know archaeologists, and an excellent, safe director.

Unexpected problem with growing up in a smallish capital city: when someone prominent dies, and you hear all of the laudatory remembrances on the news, all you can think is, “Holy buckets, but he was an arrogant jackass.”

The greatest compliment I’ve ever received also came from my eldest. When she was about 5, we were in the car, Janice Joplin came on the radio, and 5yo Eldest asked me, with some confusion, “Is that you, Mommy?”

19yo paid me the 2nd greatest compliment I’ve ever received yesterday when she expressed concern about planning for a career in academia because she didn’t think she could ever write as well as I do.
For my fellow academics laughing their asses off, I did explain that good writing was…not standard.

Prob 20% of my feed used to be academics stressed about writing, but 100% of them would endorse this sentiment.

MN FTW ❤️

“The Homeland” Is War on America: The Blood-and-Soil Nationalism That Killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti In the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, Trump has clarified an inconvenient fact: The culture war is an actual war.

A powerful, moving essay by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
www.vanityfair.com/news/story/t...

Gregory Bovino Gets Demoted The Border Patrol chief was the public face of a traveling immigration crackdown on cities governed by Democrats.

BREAKING Greg Bovino has been removed as Border Patrol "commander at large" and will return to El Centro Calif, where he is expected to retire soon. A stunning turnaround after Pretti killing. Bovino's traveling blue city crackdown is over www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

Yes, here's his quote:

"Feel free to share, edit, or do whatever with these. Someone pointed out that this will put a target on us. That's where we are. It's time to stand up. I’m okay with people printing these for themselves or their communities, but not selling them for profit."

I read all 7 books out loud, three times (one for each kid). My kids (now all teenagers) can still recognize the individual voices I used for each character and will complain that other voice actors don't have it "right".

An illustrated oriole with wings spread, blue crescent moon shape behind

This one was posted on Facebook by Bob Seay

I think I saw one on Facebook. Let me see if there's an actual link to his work.

Picture of a rebel robin by Trevor Bartlett, in the same style as the MN loon picture that has become symbolic of the MN spirit. Grey, black, white, and red robin, looking upward with wings circling, on a circular yellow background. Hope.

Photo of Chris Madel with breaking news: "LEADING GOP GOV. CANDIDATE DROPS OUT OVER ICE “DISASTER"

Chris Madel said he cannot support the GOP's "retribution on the citizens of our state."

Calling this failure out should be the bare minimum.

That is unfortunate. I'm teaching an online class for Morris and it's just really strange to talk about archaeological theory while [waves hands at all the things happening]

Just FYI, the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM) is a well-know, well-respected organization whose good work I've known about for years.

For Alex Jeffery Pretti Murdered by ICE January 24, 2026 by Amanda Gorman We wake with no words, just woe & wound. Our own country shoot ing us in the back is not just brutal ity; it's jarring betrayal; not enforcement, but execution. A message: Love your people & you will die. Yet our greatest threat isn't the outsiders among us, but those among us who never look within. Fear not the those without paper, but those without conscience. Know that to care intensively, united, is to carry both pain-dark horror for today & a profound, daring hope for tomorrow. We can feel we have nothing to give, & still belove this world wait ing, trembling to change. If we cannot find words, may we find the will; if we ever lose hope, may we never lose our humanity. The only undying thing is mercy, the courage to open ourselves like doors, hug our neighbor, & save one more bright, impossible life.

if we ever lose hope, may we never lose our
humanity

Gift link www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

And sane. Yeah.

She used to be my rep, and…wow. That’s unexpected and suggests serious movement among the base.

DHS has shot 12 people during immigration enforcement operations since September:

OMG. I grew up in Lansing and attended UofM but had never heard about this! I’m a couple years younger than you and farther away so I guess my parents could shield me more easily. That’s horrifying. I do not understand how someone like that could ever be given a platform.

A small subset of the world actually does have a personality more influenced by facts than belonging. Such personalities often end up in academia. I fight my own instincts around a good argument every day. It seems like giving up to just accept someone else is [gasp!] wrong.

I saw a debate between 2 anthropologists who teach evolution. One helps public K-12 teachers in the South. The other was a tenured university professor in the north. Guess who was vilified for not “insisting” on only ever loudly proclaiming the “truth”? Yeah, the one fighting the good fight.

This (and my previous reskeet) are also relevant for science communication, including around public health. It’s really hard to teach students that facts can actually be harmful in, say, communication around vaccines. But it’s important to think about what actually works.

First, stop arguing facts. Facts feel like attacks when belief is tied to identity. Direct correction only makes people dig in harder. Questions, inconsistencies, and unresolved tension work better because they do not trigger defense in the same way.

One of the most critical skills to develop when you’re new to activism is knowing the difference between people who are teachable vs people who gleefully refuse to engage with reality.

We need to change as many minds as we can, as fast as we can—AND we have no time for minds that refuse to change.

I went to the MSU vs UMN hockey game last night. So much fun! My shirt said Spartans but I suspect that walking across campus in a jacket without hat or gloves in 9F gave off major Minnesota vibes.

A video of Alex Pretti reading out the final salute of an unnamed veteran he cared for until the end of his life in the ICU, posted to Facebook by his son.

I could use a pissed off loon