Diane Shane Fruchtman

Rutgers Senate Proposes Big Ten 'Mutual Defense Compact' to Protect Campus Speech | Common Dreams Rutgers University Senate takes a stand against Trump's attacks on First Amendment rights, forming a mutual defense compact with other Big Ten schools. Will this bold move inspire other institutions t...

Thanks to @commondreams.org for covering the Rutgers University Senate's resolution for a Mutual Academic Defense Compact. It's touched a strong chord among academics and others because it charts a truly imaginable (if difficult!) way to stand up TOGETHER.

www.commondreams.org/news/rutgers...

Documenting, putting on record the effects of this administration’s assault on democracy; commanding attention in the news cycle; amplifying ordinary and marginalized voices; refusing to do business as usual, and above all else taking action when others aren’t.

Inside Cory Booker’s Plan To Disrupt ‘Business As Usual’ On The Senate Floor A member of the U.S. Senate took the floor at 7:00 p.m....

I texted with Cory @booker.senate.gov as he headed for his marathon speech on the Senate floor. Here's what he told me. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/inside-...

I don’t doubt that some of my co-religionists have experienced antisemitism. Sometimes aggressively so.

But it’s use as a cudgel to destroy institutions essential to our country has absolutely nothing to do with that.

LIVE: Cory Booker speaks on the Senate floor YouTube video by Associated Press

Oh my God, I just had a full night’s sleep and Cory Booker is still going…
www.youtube.com/live/rCUK2Vb...

An ‘Administrative Error’ Sends a Maryland Father to a Salvadoran Prison The Trump administration says it mistakenly deported an immigrant with protected status but that courts are powerless to order his return.

When "due process" doesn't exist, and in its place there's just a half-assed, lazy, racist hunt for bodies:
www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

#KeepGoingCory
The people expect to see news coverage of Senator Cory Booker standing up for the American people and a better America.
@nbcnews.com
@cbsnews.com
@cnn.com
@msnbc.com

Live: Speaking on Trump, Musk, and America’s Moral Moment on the Senate Floor | Senator Cory Booker YouTube video by Senator Cory Booker

Cory Booker is still speaking against Trump's damaging policies.
It's coming up to 10 hours now!!!
#KeepGoingCory
WATCH NOW AND SUPPORT HIM!!!
#CoryBooker
Keep talkin', Cory!
www.youtube.com/live/v2utlMx...

Book cover of Christian Women in the Patristic World: Their Influence, Authority, and Legacy in the Second through Fifth Centuries by Lynn H. Cohick and Amy Brown Hughes

Almost missed posting for #WomensHistoryMonth!

I wrote (with Lynn Cohick) Christian Women in the Patristic World.

The thesis: women contributed substantially to the development of theology and practice in early Christianity.

Buy at your fave bookshop!

www.bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/christ...

Antisemitism watchdog group unveils alternative plan to Trump's campus fight The Nexus Project calls for protecting DEI and fighting the "weaponization of antisemitism."

Proud to have worked on @nexusproject.bsky.social's Fighting Antisemitism, Protecting Democracy: A Strategy for the Trump Era, a look at what actually fighting antisemitism would entail...
www.axios.com/2025/03/31/c...

Excerpt from Rutgers University Senate resolution calling for a Mutual Academic Defense Compact. The excerpt reads: "BE IT RESOLVED THAT, the Rutgers University Senate urges the President of Rutgers University to formally propose and help establish a Mutual Academic Defense Compact (MADC) among all members of the Big Ten Academic Alliance; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, under this compact, all participating institutions shall commit meaningful funding to a shared or distributed defense fund. This fund shall be used to provide immediate and strategic support to any member institution under direct political or legal infringement;"

This exciting resolution from Rutgers University Senate is exactly the kind of model I think higher ed needs: a mutual defense pact of, in this case, Big 10 schools. They call for member institutions to create a joint defense fund and make resources available to any member institution under attack.

FAA says a military helicopter collided with the American Airlines passenger jet from Wichita near DCA.

There must be immediate hearings on how the federal government/Department of Defense allowed this to happen and if removal of safety protocols and recent personnel changes led to this incident.

Hi! Would you mind adding me? Thanks!!

Quaker groups file suit over the end of policy restricting ICE arrests in houses of worship The suit appears to be the first from a faith-based organization challenging the change in court.

Oh, per @nbcnews.com: Quaker groups file suit over the end of policy restricting ICE arrests in houses of worship.

Note: Quakers were some of the earliest supporters of Sanctuary, even putting out a booklet on the topic in 1984 (it's still available). www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...

Also: You can call multiple times a day. I’ve been told by staffers that they count the number of calls, not the number of constituents.

Several concerning bills are moving through the Statehouse this week. Please take a minute to email or call the legislator listed on each graphic to express your concern. Follow along with all the bills we're tracking at MADVoters.org.

White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion The Trump administration has put a hold on all federal financial grants and loans, affecting tens of billions of dollars in payments.

I think some people hear “grants” and think that without them, scientists and government workers just have less stuff to play with at work. But grants fund salaries for students, academics, researchers, and people who work in all areas of public service.

“Pausing” grants means people don’t eat.

A bird's-eye view of a former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp showing a wide dirt pathway flanked by parallel rows of barbed-wire fences. Groups of visitors walk along the path, surrounded by the remnants of brick structures and barracks, now reduced to foundations. Green grass contrasts with the somber history of the site, as the path leads toward a guard tower in the distance.

Auschwitz was at the end of a long process. It did not start from gas chambers.

This hatred was gradually developed by humans. From ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.

Auschwitz took time.

As long as private & charter schools receive public funding, we will continue to demand accountability and transparency from them. Tell the Senate Education Ctte chair, Sen. Raatz, to bring SBs 320 and 403 to the Education committee for consideration: s27@iga.in.gov, 317-233-0930. Call by Feb. 11!

I’m so sorry, Ellen!

Again, the *real* MLB wouldn’t ever post something like this.

This account is just a conservative parody of what liberals think and advocate, stealing Rhonda’s identity to try to catfish people.

Block and Report, please.

Yeah, the *real* MLB wouldn’t ever post something like this.

This whole account is just a conservative parody of what liberals think and advocate.

If you’re reading this, please know that this is a local troll trying to catfish people.

Block and Report, please.

Highly recommend reading this book, and also following @supportccs.bsky.social as we keep up the good fight here in Carmel, Indiana.

Confirmed via other socials, @helphelpmerhonda.bsky.social is the real MLB.

*This* is a malicious troll (if you couldn’t tell from their other skeets).

Please block and report.

@prodigalhoosier.bsky.social did you see that this is a fake account? Malicious, too. Please block and also report.

The real MLB is @helphelpmerhonda.bsky.social

It is a lot of work, but it can be (ideally always should be) sustaining, rather than draining.

5/ Whatever happens to American democracy in the coming years, this type of organizing is what will help us survive together.

4/ For most folks it wont look a lot like “campaigning.”

It will look more like building up our local circles; working outside of partisan politics on causes that speak to our values; doing what good we can; building relationships and networks locally; having more uncomfortable conversations…