Platty Platypus

Teaching kids about Thanksgiving or Columbus? They deserve the real story My students felt betrayed, angry even, that throughout their elementary and middle school years, teachers had pushed a fake narrative, or had done little, if anything, to correct the record.

Teachers: A lesson on #MediaLiteracy —

See this PBS News Hour piece (2017) by teacher, David Cutler, on Columbus Day: "My students felt betrayed..." https://loom.ly/TicHRHI

Then see this post on Trump signing a "Columbus Day" proclamation Thursday: "We're back, Italians." https://loom.ly/bbN0_hc

Beyond words

This evening, President Trump is ordering 400 members of the Texas National Guard for deployments to Illinois, Oregon, and other locations within the United States. No officials from the federal government called me directly to discuss or coordinate. We must now start calling this what it is: Trump's Invasion. It started with federal agents, it will soon include deploying federalized members of the Illinois National Guard against our wishes, and it will now involve sending in another state's military troops. I call on Governor Abbott to immediately withdraw any support for this decision and refuse to coordinate. There is no reason a President should send military troops into a sovereign state without their knowledge, consent, or cooperation. The brave men and women who serve in our national guards must not be used as political props. This is a moment where every American must speak up and help stop this madness.

Statement from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker

Officials Said They Busted a Tren de Aragua Party. Attendees Beg to Differ. A highly publicized multi-agency raid in Hays County resulted in dozens of arrests on low-level immigration charges and left an Austin mother's life in tatters. It also fit a pattern of unproven…

“It’s just deeply disturbing, that level of militarization for a raid.”

Featured story from @francescadnunz.bsky.social: A multi-agency raid in Hays County resulted in dozens of arrests on low-level immigration charges and left an Austin mother's life in tatters.

Dana Carvey parodied George HW Bush on SNL — “Nah, wouldn’t be prudent” — the President called him up and they became friends. .

Daryl Hammond imitated Clinton through his Presidency, including savage stuff during his sex scandal. Clinton invited him to do a “dueling Presidents” gag.

Not really an overstatement to say that the test of a free society is whether or not comedians can make fun of the country's leader on TV without repurcussions.

At this point, my friend, democracy is like the dollar bill: You're going to have to believe in it if you want it to work.

One of the reasons there is horrible news every single day is because the few, flimsy guard rails we had for a lot of bad stuff are all gone

DPS on track to pay millions in overtime for Operation Lone Star, even with border crossings down The agency said it expects to pay about $77 million this year in overtime pay for Operation Lone Star shifts.

Border crossings in Texas have fallen to record lows this year, but state troopers dispatched as part of Operation Lone Star have continued to cost the state millions in overtime pay: $77 milion this year alone.

this case was devised in a lab to reveal the hypocrisy of both the “free speech on campus” and the “cancel culture” grifters simultaneously

A&M Dean removed following student complaints over curriculum The Department of Justice has also acknowledged the situation and said it would be investigating.

A professor at Texas A&M taught… something related to gender that offended a student, who secretly filmed herself objecting. That video is picked up by TX legislators, who demand her firing, and now the dean and dept head have been fired.

www.kbtx.com/2025/09/09/a...

In today's SCOTUS decision, I recommend Justice Sotomayor's dissent (joined by Kagan and Jackson). I don't know if it's her particular gift, or just that the issues are so straightforward, but she always writes with clarity for laypeople.

www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

"I've been work shopping some new science .. " 😂🫣

A sign at an electric vehicle charging station in the parking lot of the Edgewater Whole Foods that says “Defend The Homeland, Join ICE Today”

Trump has declared war on Chicago and now his secret police are running racist ads in Edgewater.

Let’s be clear: ICE isn’t welcome here. Trump isn’t welcome here. And they’re certainly not going to recruit their goons from here.

I DID have Sen Rand Paul stands up for the Constitution and the rule of law on my bingo card! [I had 500 bingo cards printed with different names in the desperate hope that somebody would do it.]

This database cool is seriously the coolest thing. When I read “every fire you tend” and “the last pomegranate tree” I thought — I’d really like to learn more about Kurdish literature — and now!!

“This is nuts.” —- Franz Kafka

Horrible.

“West Bank Is the Prize”: Israel OKs New Settlements to “Bury” Palestinian State Israel gave final approval Wednesday for a controversial settlement project in the occupied West Bank, sabotaging efforts at creating a future Palestinian state. The project has been on hold for over ...

While Israel is "obliterating Gaza," the government is simultaneously escalating violence and construction of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. "Israelis don’t want Palestinians on this land," says writer Mariam Barghouti.

People need to understand what's happening today: Trump sent the FBI to investigate one of his most prominent critics, and then threatened to military occupy multiple US cities.

He's trying to become a full dictator who makes it illegal to oppose him.

Disgusting

Talarico owns Will Cain so hard that he has to tap out of their interview based on "time"

Robert Reich The Truth About Immigrants and the Economy | Robert Reich

Just a reminder that immigrants are good for society and the economy. https://youtu.be/LCl9-uaKzv8?feature=shared

Congrats! Glad to see it!

I’m not a PhD advisor, but I have been in both of these moods. I try to fix it before sending the feedback to my students!

If you have limited internet access or cell service, here's a version of our guide to giving and receiving help that's easier to load: texastribune.org/text/hQ22z4et/

to their viewers.

by Israeli forces, Massive Attack would urge the BBC & other media outlets to redirect their considerable news resource to reporting the truth of what is happening, daily, to the people of Gaza, and critically, to explaining the corresponding inaction
of western governments (such as the UK)

As we all watch on aghast, every single day, shouting or typing into an echo chamber of complicity, the media and political classes focus again on .. artists.

Given the total ban by Israel on international journalists reporting from Gaza, & the simultaneous murder of hundreds of journalists in Gaza

artists and performers. They tend not to have had media training, or regularly updated Linkedin accounts, or social inhibitions.