John Jackson

Fishers FTW! Who else makes a habit of hunting porcupines?

Europeans recognize Zohran Mamdani’s supposedly radical policies as ‘normal’ Critics of New York City’s mayor-elect have said his pledges of free bus service and universal childcare are unrealistic, but in Europe it’s a given

This perfectly encapsulates how I feel living in the US. The republican party is an insane death cult, the democratic party is 3 corporations in a trench coat, and the "socialists" are just the completely normal left-wing capitalists you'd find in any of 2 dozen European nations.

Rat-bastard Dick Cheney died. Rat-bastard Jim Watson died. These things come in threes: who will be the next rat-bastard to die?

I don't know why that would be the case. Sorry.

Opening for a tenure-track assistant professor in the history of science, with a preferred focus on water issues: 👇 #HistSTM

You support the following serious crimes: 1400 Jan. 6 rioters were convicted of crimes--silence from you. This week a federal judge ordered Trump to pay SNAP benefits, he is illegally denying that order in full--silence from you. Trump illegally bombs boats in the Caribbean--silence from you. You proudly support Trump, with his 34 felony convictions, his legal culpability for sexual assault, his continual unconstitutional use of his office for his personal enrichment.

My "Representative" Tom Barrett wrote to me claiming he had to report the sidewalk chalkers because it is a "straightforward issue of right and wrong." I answered by questioning whether or not he knew the difference between right and wrong. democracyandme.bearblog.dev/to-tom-barre...

He's not healthy. digbysblog.net/2025/11/06/w...

Defending 'Sanctuary' Principles During the Chicago Crackdown Local governments must exercise their constitutional power to cut off cooperation with federal authorities that undermine residents' rights.

Good article justifying sanctuary of immigrants. www.justsecurity.org/124069/defen...

Tyler Lemons Narcs out Pam Bondi: She Couldn't Have Ratified Lindsey Halligan's Actions - emptywheel According to a new filing from Loaner AUSA Tyler Lemons, Pam Bondi couldn't have ratified the things Lindsey Halligan did in the Jim Comey grand jury on September 25, because the only transcript that ...

@emptywheel.bsky.social is doing terrific work explaining the profound incompetence of Trump's (pseudo)legal team. Everyone should be reading it every day. www.emptywheel.net/2025/11/05/t...

Mary Sheffield makes history: Detroit elects first woman mayor • Michigan Advance Mary Sheffield’s 12-year Detroit City Council career reached a new plateau on Tuesday after the city elected her as the first woman mayor in the city’s history. Unofficial election results showed that...

Mary Sheffield’s 12-year Detroit City Council career reached a new plateau on Tuesday after the city elected her as the first woman mayor in the city’s history.

“[In me] you have a leader who brought experience, who has a record of delivering for this city”

Story from @bensolis1.bsky.social

U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett asking Michigan State University to adopt contested definition of antisemitism - The State News Though MSU has reason to be amenable to Barrett's demands, adopting the controversial definition would be likely to spark backlash.

statenews.com/article/2025...

To Tom Barrett, November 5, 2025 Rep. Barrett: I see you are attempting to pressure Michigan State University to adopt a highly controversial definition of "antisemitism" promoted by the ...

My "Representive," Tom Barrett is pressuring Michigan State University to adopt a problematic definition of "antisemitism" (see link in the comments for the story on that). Here's my letter to him about that issue.
democracyandme.bearblog.dev/to-tom-barre...

Ken Paxton Bags Another Loss in Battle Against Shield Laws There have been zero wins for the Texas attorney general when it comes to his mission to defeat shield laws.

Texas and Paxton lose again. www.jezebel.com/ken-paxton-b...

Dick Cheney, Gone But Not Forgotten - emptywheel The precedents Dick Cheney established as Vice President have empowered the madness and authoritarianism of Donald Trump.

Dick Cheney. Authoritarian scumbag. www.emptywheel.net/2025/11/04/d...

To Tom Barrett, November 1, 2025 Rep. Barrett: Your response to the messages chalked outside your office is very typical of you. Those messages were left in sidewalk chalk, the kind of ch...

I am "represented" by Tom Barrett. He'd be an authoritarian if he weren't so cowardly. democracyandme.bearblog.dev/new-post-new...

To Tom Barrett, November 1, 2025 Rep. Barrett: Your response to the messages chalked outside your office is very typical of you. Those messages were left in sidewalk chalk, the kind of ch...

I keep a small blog recording all my letters to "Representative" Barrett. Here's my response: democracyandme.bearblog.dev/new-post-new...

Congressional candidate hosts food drive and vigil outside Rep. Tom Barrett’s Lansing office • Michigan Advance William Lawrence, Democratic congressional candidate in Michigan’s 7th District, is holding a 30-hour vigil and food drive outside of the district office of U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte), in pro...

Democratic congressional candidate William Lawrence is holding a food drive outside the Lansing office of U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte) in protest of the proposed lapse in SNAP benefits.

Meanwhile, Barrett says chalk messages from a prior rally are ‘vandalism’ and ‘political harassment’.

Heritage Foundation’s Kevin Roberts: Conservatives Shouldn’t Cancel Nick Fuentes

Heritage Foundation: "Look, just because the Nazi wants to kill all non-Christians doesn't mean he's not a fine, upstanding conservative! But don't call us Nazis!" www.peoplefor.org/rightwingwat...

Amazon is helping fund a $300 million build of a ballroom for the White House.

Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity.

They are not the same.

Which is to say, if you have to choose a “pedia” to trust, you might choose the one assembled by a bunch of pedantic nerds saying “well, ACTUALLY” to each other until the heat death of the universe, over the one assembled by an LLM controlled by an insecure Nazi salute-throwing billionaire who sprints to reprogram that LLM every time it shares a fact that makes that billionaire angry or sad, or doesn’t fit into his Playskool Machiavellian ambitions and plans. In this particular case, a thousand pedantic nerds is much better than a single rich one.

@scalzi.com on Melon Husk's Artificial "Intelligence" LLM. Beautifully done. whatever.scalzi.com/2025/10/30/a...

The Flytrap Feminist cultural criticism against the algorithm

We have not paid ourselves at all this year, but we have managed to turn a small profit! Which is good for a first year online feminist publication that pays fair wages.

We would really like to be able to pay ourselves. You can help make that happen:

the-flytrap.ghost.io/chomp

Text "analysis of Nokings coverage" over image of NYT front page: https://open.substack.com/pub/mediaanddemocracyproject/p/analysis-of-no-kings-coverage-the?

A 🧵
See our grades & analysis of 60+ front pages for #NoKings coverage.
Influential news outlets like NYT/ WSJ continue trivialize coverage of the pro-democracy movement & demonstrations like #NoKings. Editors of local outlets did better.
+ A few surprises
see: open.substack.com/pub/mediaand...
1/n

Cut it out, you are making the rest of us look bad.

How Much Profit Did Elsevier Make in 2024? | PublishingState.com Elsevier, now a division of RELX plc, remains the dominant player in academic publishing. If you’ve glanced at headlines or overheard the occasional mutter in

My colleagues and I are having an article come out in an Elesevier journal. Elsevier is giving us the opportunity to order offprints of our article! And the bargain-basement price of $320 for 50! The nerve of these people! publishingstate.com/how-much-pro...

Elon Musk’s politics cost his firm Tesla more than one million EV sales, report reveals | CNN Business Elon Musk’s polarizing political actions since acquiring Twitter, later rebranded X, in 2022 dramatically hurt the automaker’s U.S. sales, underscoring how deeply its fortunes are intertwined with the...

Melon Husk is destroying the company he pretends he founded. www.cnn.com/2025/10/28/b...

The Soccer Mom Who Strikes Fear Into the Heart of ICE Meet Angelica Vargas, one of the most prominent of a new kind of activist: the ICE chaser.

ICE chasing! www.thenation.com/article/acti...

Designating Antifa as FTO Could Threaten Civil Liberties Trump's plan to designate Antifa as an FTO has implications extending beyond anti-fascist activists to the architecture of US civil society.

A sober and sobering analysis. There seems to be little "could" about it. How about "will?" www.justsecurity.org/122643/antif...

Update on "the biggest freak on the planet." digbysblog.net/2025/10/27/a...

Usually stock options.

STOP talking trash about apples.

Cosmic Crisp are DELICIOUS

Gala are SERVICEABLE

Stayman are PERFECTLY CRONCHY AND SWEET

Honeycrisp are EXPENSIVE BUT GREAT

Granny Smith are SOUR IF THAT’S YOUR THING

McIntosh are TASTY BUT OFTEN MUSHY

Red Delicious

Golden Delicious are SERVED IN CAFETERIAS