Josh Spickler

M.I.T. Rejects a White House Offer for Special Funding Treatment

This is the way

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/u...

Memphis' jail has 200 more people in it this morning than it did last Monday after the President and the Governor unleashed 200 federal agents onto our streets to work w/ a police dept that has been found to routinely violate our rights.

Here's the front page of the @dailymemphian.bsky.social

Just like their local comrades, the occupiers park wherever they want. Never mind that it’s an active lane of traffic. This, while they execute a warrant on a hamburger at Huey’s, no doubt.

Whatever would we have done without these 219 "special deputized" federal agents?

The president just gathered the highest ranking officers in the military to tell them that he may order them to kill American citizens -- and that they better follow his orders. All in response to a series of crises that have no basis in reality.

I don't know how to yell any louder.

So exhausting..

What Trump's Secret Police did today.

Trump: "Things that take place in the home they call crime....If a man has a little fight with the wife, they say this is a crime."

EXTREMELY excited to report that I have just purchased a gift subscription to the Onion for my local books-to-prisoners program (they also accept periodicals).

Support good journalism, give incarcerated people a chance to laugh. Win-win!

cc: @theonion.com

"Memphis is crying out for leaders who act with both head and heart, leaders who pray with their feet."

I have seen Tami Sawyer in action. She walks this talk. We need more like her.

“This happened because a whole chain of people did not do their jobs. Most of them work for the sheriff.”

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The proposed Cage City will not resolve our jail problem.

The Shelby County Jail is outdated, but an old jail should NOT be deadly anymore than a new one should.

Seven men have lost their lives in the jail this year alone - none of them because of the age of the building.

We need sweeping changes to leadership and policy before we build a new jail.

“Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”

Helluva way to sign a birthday card.

900 is a lot.

What might one call a police-type force that insists on operating secretly in this way.

“The criminal legal system is full of inequities, and the fact the defendant in this case was able to post bail and wasn’t held in custody while the case was pending made a huge difference,” Diner said. “She was able to work directly with her lawyers in a way that people can’t from behind bars. She was able to give interviews and craft a public narrative that a person without means would be unable to do. All of that work helped contribute to the verdict, and that is a privilege that most people charged with second-degree murder do not have.”

I don't care even a little bit about the Karen Read case but this part is important:

Uncertainty looms as Human Rights Commission nears end date - Nashville Banner The Tennessee Human Rights Commission is set to cease operations at the end of June, leaving many employees uncertain about their future.

I'm beginning to think the State of Tennessee doesn't prioritize human rights. nashvillebanner.com/2025/06/13/t...

We had a deal.

All of the current violence is because Trump pulled us out of the deal.

We defeat fascism on street corners in the rain. We defeat fascism in community centers on a Saturday morning. We defeat fascism by going wherever we have to go.

But it’s looking like we’re probably going to have to leave the house.

Totally normal stuff

I broke my glasses in a mosh pit. We fall down and we get picked back up again. 🤓

My friend @kerrycoeo.bsky.social is pretty good at rock n roll shows, but he's much better at writing and pitching good stories to good reporters. Check him out:

Nashville faces Congressional probe over immigration actions - Nashville Banner Congressman Andy Ogles' threat to investigate Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell does Nashville no good on a number of fronts.

Andy Ogles has found his villian. The congressman from Maury County — under investigation for campaign finance problems — is targeting Mayor Freddie O'Connell with a congressional investigation over immigration. And Nashville is stuck in the crossfire.

Column: @scavendish.bsky.social

Something remarkable is happening with violent crime rates in the US Americans remained scared of violent crime. The numbers tell a different story.

“If we fail to adjust to what is actually happening around us — not just what we think is happening — it won’t just make us think our cities are more dangerous than they really are. It’ll sap energy for the reforms that can really make a difference.” www.vox.com/good-news-ne...

Shelby County, TN has nearly 3,000 men, women, and children in jail this morning. The vast majority have not been convicted and cannot afford bail.

“They don’t care. They don’t care if it’s legal or not. It just doesn’t matter anymore.”

Just City at 10 10 things we’ve done in 10 years (and one party you don’t want to miss).

Thanks @memphisflyer.com for letting us celebrate in your pages this week. Join us on June 8 at Minglewood Hall for a proper celebration featuring @roywoodjr.bsky.social, @justinjpearson.bsky.social, and much more! Tickets at justcity.org/standup

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division Dismisses Biden-Era Police Investigations and Proposed Police Consent Decrees in Louisville and Minneapolis Today, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division is beginning the process of dismissing lawsuits against the Louisville, Kentucky and Minneapolis, Minnesota police departments.

The kind of callous indifference we've come to expect. Black lives, Black leadership, Black prosperity, Black agency, Black cities. None of it matters.

Explaining the COVID Violence Spike and the Roaring Crime Decline Four Reasons for the Historic Beginning to the 2020s

Highly recommended reading on the COVID crime spike and "the roaring crime decline" since then. johnkroman.substack.com/p/explaining...