Dave Coulter

Residents battle iwi over fate of downed pōhutakawa A hearing is under way to determine the fate of a fallen but living pōhutakawa tree on Auckland’s North Shore.

A hearing is under way to determine the fate of a fallen but living pōhutakawa tree on Auckland’s North Shore.

Ha. Well, Illinois is a blue state 😜

The ultimate legacy of LBJ's Voting Rights Act is also why it's under attack. 2012, a Black president wins his second majority. It cemented the fact that Black people aren't just house guests to be tolerated -- their names are on the deed too. That broke a lot white folks. -OS

It's the 60th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act today. We have some cool programming planned today for you to mark the occasion. Some behind the scenes stories, pictures, etc. -OS

Wait...did you want to catch it, or did it just land on you?

Good catch, congressman 🇺🇸

GOP Rep. Mocks Party's Hypocrisy Over Texas Gerrymandering Chaos Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) pointed out that members of Congress skipped town before the Epstein files could come up for a vote.

Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) pointed out that members of Congress skipped town before the Epstein files could come up for a vote.

I wish these a**holes would go back under their rocks - and stay there 🙄

Samuel Beckett's Sitcom Pitches @tomgauld.bsky.social

Photo of the three books listed in post side by side on a white comforter.

#BannedBookSkyClub schedule:

August 2025: The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
September/October 2025: 1984 by George Orwell
November 2025: Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler.

Link to feed in replies. #BookSky

Please join us.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world pulls away from us in implementing this technology. In the 70's we dreamed of having such options. Also it's bad for business and efficiency.

E.P.A. Moves to Cancel $7 Billion in Grants for Solar Energy

Today’s move to cancel $7 Billion in awards through the EPA’s Solar for All initiative, including $312 Million for Ohio is reckless, careless, and will cause job losses in American manufacturing.

Tree #1960 has apples!

"Nattering nabobs of negativism" 😜

Spiro was paying attention!

One of these days I can quit posting this 🙏

The Jobs Report: Why July Was Bad News I always caution not to make too much of a single report or single month’s data, but I think we can look at the July report and say it was unambiguously

www.counterpunch.org/2025/08/04/t...

Don't worry. It'll get hauled back down again in a couple years. ✊️

H L Mencken is more a propos now - "On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

New Report from Microsoft lists 5 jobs safest from AI:

- Pyramid Builder
- Indentured Medieval Serf
- Debtors Prisoner
- Roman Gladiator
- Megalomaniac Billionaire

American Society of Plant Taxonomists The American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT) is a community of scientists that promotes research and education in the taxonomy, systematics, and phylogeny of all plants.

Am. Soc. of Plant Taxonomists @amsocplanttaxon.bsky.social is on Bsky! Follow for news, and join our community of naturalists working together to "foster, encourage, and promote education and research in the field of plant taxonomy."

@iaptglobal.bsky.social @botsocamerica.bsky.social

www.aspt.net

We once loved pigeons. We might not remember that, but they do | Joseph Earp The gentle, beautiful curiosity of humans led to the discovery that these birds are able to differentiate between paintings by Monet and Picasso

We once loved pigeons. We might not remember that, but they do | Joseph Earp | The Guardian share.google/vHCw1G116w89...

Lovely review of Oak Origins just published on H-Environment by Evan Bentley Lott, University of Kansas History... thank you, Evan!

networks.h-net.org/group/review...

‘Dehumanizing’: Inside the Broadview ICE facility where immigrants sleep on cold concrete An investigation by the Chicago Tribune found that immigration detainees have been held for days at the processing center in west suburban Broadview.

Give this a read. ICE’s Broadview facility was never designed to hold people overnight.

Now ICE is keeping people here in an overcrowded space, for days at a time, no beds, no showers, and little to no food.

I worry about other countries coming online for wildland fire. The tendency is to think you just need more stuff--more engines, aircraft, firefighters. It's an approach that prevents you from seeing that it doesn't reach the results you want until after you have a series of really bad outcomes. 1/

Potatoes Are the Perfect Vegetable—but You’re Eating Them Wrong The humble potato is a miraculous vegetable, but Americans are eating less of them than ever before and have ditched fresh potatoes for frozen. Is it time to rebrand the spud?

The humble potato is a miraculous vegetable, but Americans are eating less of them than ever before and have ditched fresh potatoes for frozen. Is it time to rebrand the spud?

What Was the Edenton Tea Party? | Queen City Nerve While the Edenton Tea Party did not play a big role in American history, it did mark a milestone in the history of political organizing.

This weekend, Charlotte Museum of History pays tribute to the Edenton Tea Party. So what was this oft-forgotten event in American Revolutionary history that took place on the Carolina coast and how does it signify a milestone for political organizing in America?

MAN: What's that, girl? Trouble at the old mine?
LEFT-WING LASSIE: Woof! [The miners are striking for better pay and conditions]
MAN: B-but Billy's down there!
LEFT-WING LASSIE: Woof! [BILLY'S A SCAB]

Still more images from Chicago Botanic Gardens 🌞