Courtney Zoffness

WOW. A lawyer told @miamiherald.com that a Florida Highway Patrol agent told her that they are calling Border Patrol to investigate anyone who "appears Hispanic" that they pull over.

That is direct evidence of racial profiling — said over the phone to a lawyer! They aren't even hiding it!

BREAKING: Scientists are staging a “science fair” in the lobby of a Congressional building to tell elected officials about the critical knowledge the US will lose because their research grants have been canceled.

I spoke to an expert in authoritarianism, who explained to me that things like this are extremely meaningful and they help protect democracy, even if there’s not a straight line between this and actual legislating

Hope to see you in LA! @jennifergilmore.bsky.social #AWP

A crowd of 100 people standing together holding signs expressing their dismay with Sen. Schumer

NOW: Almost 100 people are outside the home of @schumer.senate.gov calling on him to vote NO on cloture and NO on the disastrous Trump-Musk budget

Ursula K. Le Guin — Nominate a Book for the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction

Nominations are now open for the 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction—and anyone can nominate work for this $25,000 prize! We hope you'll nominate books you love that meet this year's criteria:

I am usually in this camp but I am interested in today’s experiment and what happens if it becomes a regular activity

There’s not one way through this morass but as a prof of vulnerable students (nonbinary, non-American, non-white, non-rich), I can help them recognize their worth. As such: hosting a Queer Lit Panel @ Drew Univ. on 2/19 w talents Isle McElroy, @temim.bsky.social & Meg Fernandes. ALL ARE WELCOME! 🦄

He who violates its laws will never save his country.

How Authors Against Book Bans helped defeat attempted library censorship in Florida. If you’ve been following the right wing’s obsessive book-banning over the last few years, you’ve probably heard of Authors Against Book Bans, a coalition of writers, illustrators, and other book pe…

How Authors Against Book Bans helped defeat attempted library censorship in Florida.

Even worse incompetence: they accidentally fired, then apparently today un-fired, hundreds of the people who manage America's nuclear weapons.

BOMB Magazine | Endearments A work of flash fiction about a couple’s alternatives to love.

Wrote a wee valentine for @bombmag.bsky.social Maybe you’ll relate:

‘You Can’t Let This Happen,’ Says Fundraising Email From Sitting U.S. Congressperson

‘You Can’t Let This Happen,’ Says Fundraising Email From Sitting U.S. Congressperson

No one in the arts should stand for this. If you’re on an NEA panel this year, it’s time to resign. If you’ve recently been awarded a grant, you should turn it down. And you should do it as publicly as possible.

old enough to remember the North American Trade War of February 1st through 3rd 2025

"That sounds nuts, so yeah, probably me"

Elon Musk Is Running the Twitter Playbook on the Federal Government The US Office of Personnel Management is telling federal workers to get in line—or get out.

The same week he announced that his business plan at Twitter has failed:

Elon Musk Is Running the Twitter Playbook on the Federal Government

www.wired.com/story/elon-m...

Trump’s Freeze on Grant Funding Temporarily Halted by US Judge A federal judge in Washington has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a new directive to halt payments of federal grants, loans and other assistance to an array of programs across the country.

Stopped for now. There's been all kinds of pushback all day, and this judge's halt to their power grab just happened. Do not dismiss either the seriousness of what happened or the impact of the strong reaction by.... www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

What Trump didn’t say in his inauguration speech | Bernie Sanders The simple truth is that Trump ignored almost every major issue facing this country’s working families in his first speech

In the new Trump presidency, we have got to remain focused. We can’t panic.

No matter how many executive orders he signs or statements he issues, our goal is the same:

We must fight to create an America based on economic, social & environmental justice.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The Trump Administration is launching nothing less than a giant affirmative action program for straight white men, a great many of whom, including Trump and Vance, are utterly unqualified for their positions and would be mocked for their hubris if they were women or Black or gay or.....

We will not forget

Experts saw Samoa's plunging vaccination rates as a crisis. RFK Jr. saw an opportunity. New details show how Robert F. Kennedy Jr., then chair of an anti-vaccine group and now Trump’s pick for health secretary, sought to exploit a deadly vaccine accident.

The story behind RFK Jr. in Samoa's measles crisis has never been reported. He wasn't there to spread misinformation about vaccines (though he did). He wanted to study a "natural experiment" of unvaccinated kids.

“I can’t imagine anything less ethical or more cruel.”
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

There’s not one way through this morass but as a prof of vulnerable students (nonbinary, non-American, non-white, non-rich), I can help them recognize their worth. As such: hosting a Queer Lit Panel @ Drew Univ. on 2/19 w talents Isle McElroy, @temim.bsky.social & Meg Fernandes. ALL ARE WELCOME! 🦄

SHARE WIDELY.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS.

With mass deportations starting today across the country, it is vitally important - for both citizens and non-citizens - to know your rights.

You have the right to remain silent. Assert it. You have the right to a lawyer. Ask for one.

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Convicted US Capitol rioter Pam Hemphill turns down Trump pardon Former "Maga granny" Pamela Hemphill tells the BBC the Trump government is trying to "rewrite history".

I was struck this morning by this story of Pamela Hemphill, who refused a pardon

"I pleaded guilty because I was guilty, and accepting a pardon also would serve to contribute to their gaslighting and false narrative…We were wrong that day, we broke the law"

Integrity!

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

Believer Classified Ad To purchase a classified ad, please use the quantity window to your right to select the number of words in your chosen message. Now you too can know the thrill of seeing your words in print, thanks t...

Classified ads are on sale for $1/word. Whether you're promoting a chapbook, offering your editorial services, or just sharing a passing thought, we've got space for you.

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Yup, @jamellebouie.net has this exactly right. What these guys are celebrating/pursuing/yearning for is not masculine energy, it's *adolescent* energy. Drinking Red Bull, crushing Call of Duty, refusing to clean your room. It is indescribably pathetic. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/18/o...

Such an intimate and important anthology. 💙 Out 5/6/25.

@readandbreathe.bsky.social

Planet Fitness locations in Los Angeles are “offering anyone impacted by the fires—first responders and residents—free access to shower, recharge, and relax”

No membership is required to take advantage of locker rooms, WiFi, charging stations at any LA County location not impacted by the fires.