Laia Balcells

There it is.

I’m just going to keep repeating that undocumented immigrant workers actually _help subsidize federal programs for everybody else_.

In 2022 alone, they paid $25.7 billion into Social Security and $6.4 billion into Medicare—both programs they can’t access due to their legal status👇🏽

Before and after images show glaciers vanishing before our eyes They are melting like never seen before, changing landscapes around the world beyond recognition.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

Gosh, maybe if these toxic know-it-all bros had taken the time to educate themselves on Trump & his positions before they endorsed him, this wouldn’t be happening now.

A Deal That Would End Universities’ Independence The free-speech provisions of the so-called compact are an exercise in contradiction.

“The administration is inviting universities to voluntarily put on a yoke and hand it the keys.“

From @kevincarey1.bsky.social: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

The Vice President of the United States used his social media page to tell Joy Reid, a private citizen with no connection to the government, that she should express "gratitude" for how this country has treated her.

Black women remain the most consistent targets in all of this.

Not everything is something. Some things are nothing. Some things are not a thing.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Treasury Department considers minting a $1 Trump coin The draft design of the coin, which was overseen by the Office of the U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach, features Trump’s profile on one side of the coin.

As a kid, I got into politics partly to do my bit fighting the Soviet Union.

Now we have a president who wants to turn us into a country that mimics the Soviet Union.

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Even if he manages to bring about the end of the war in Gaza, he can’t be worthy of the Noble prize because he declared war on half his own people.

Screenshot of message from UPS: Hi Adam, All import fees must be paid prior to delivery. Save time - prepay online for your FREIGHTCOM shipment. If import fees are not paid before delivery, an additional surcharge will be applied. Total Amount Due 119.20 USD Additional charges may have been applied based on recent tariff policy changes. Pay Now ›

How bad are tariffs going?

I paid for $32 of shaving cream from Canada. Unique stuff I’ve used for years, nothing like it in US. Small family business.

UPS guy came to my door today with box and said I have to pay additional $120 before he can hand it to me.

That makes it 5x more expensive!!! 🤯

There's a book launch at Georgetown on October 30, hosted by @mortaracenter.bsky.social and with my fantastic colleague @laiabalcells.bsky.social as discussant. If you’re in the DC area, please consider joining!

Democrats should run on one promise: release the Epstein files. They’d crush.

Good morning. Starting the day overhearing two American business men at a US airport: "This whole tariffs issue is nonsense. Just look at the EO. It does not make any sense. They are undermining the backbone of American economic growth".

Jane Goodall, ethologist and conservationist, has died. She was 91

Sorry we had to cancel your cancer treatment, but the Secretary of Defense had to fly all the generals in so he could call them fat.

'The question is, why did Donald Trump shut down the government? He says he doesn't need Congress's permission to spend taxpayer money as he wants. He says he doesn't have to follow spending laws. So why doesn't he just order the Treasury to keep everything running? He's the boss, right?'

Someone on FB urged me to "GPT a recipe" and I immediately unfriended him.

Just be normal, dude.

This is happening tomorrow!

A photo of the Susan Welch Liberal Arts building at sunrise

📢 Come join us! Penn State Anthropology is hiring *two tenure-track assistant professors*, one in human reproductive ecology and one in archaeology. Here are just a few reasons why working at Penn State is awesome:

Just having a moment reflecting on what a ridiculous state we're in, where the president is making "deals" with private universities by personally meddling in federally allocated education and research funding and this is being treated as just ordinary politics.

I would argue that when I first moved to the US American politics was way less dramatic than today. And I came in 2004!

'Disbelief': Pentagon reporter can't find one military official who liked Hegseth's speech Longtime Pentagon reporter Helene Cooper said that she can't find any military officials who attended the meeting in Virginia with President Donald Trump and Secretary Pete Hegseth and liked what the...

'Disbelief': Pentagon reporter can't find one military official who liked Hegseth's speech

www.rawstory.com/trump-milita...

Very grateful for the comments I have received at the Department of Political Science at @upenn.edu. Wonderful group of faculty, students, and post-docs!

Student detained for their expressed political ideas. Which country?

Is there a reason I ask that the Times are using a picture of asylum seekers in a boat to describe rules for migrants who came on legal routes such as skilled worker visas for doctors?

Inside the Tony Blair Institute Who really benefits from the former PM’s tech evangelism?

Bookmarking this: Inside the Tony Blair Institute www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...

A lot of people think that every international student admitted means one fewer spot for domestic students, when the opposite is more likely true - the tuition revenue international students bring allows public universities to provide substantial discounts to domestic students, improving access.

Unpopular opinion: I did not love Adolescence.

As a health reporter, one of the hardest parts of my job is getting rapid access to research reports in medical journals. Interested members of the public aren't going to bother.
👇👇

Trump State Department Nominee Deleted Tweets Calling for Violence Against Democrats In one of his posts, Jeremy Carl called for some figures on the left to receive the death penalty.

Jeremy Carl, President Donald Trump’s top nominee for a State Department position, deleted thousands of social media posts before his nomination, many of which advocated violence toward Democrats.