Karen Perry Stillerman

190. SNAP WTF? A very quick explainer on what (and why) Justice Jackson issued an "administrative stay" in the SNAP case late on Friday night, and on what's likely to happen next

Trying to figure out what #SCOTUS just did with #SNAP, and why Justice Jackson temporarily froze the district court's ruling?

Via "One First," me on what's going on—and why I think Jackson's move was savvy, notwithstanding the awful circumstances that forced it:

www.stevevladeck.com/p/190-snap-wtf

HE'S APPEALING TO THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES THAT HE BE ALLOWED TO STARVE AMERICANS

I was just thinking things didn't feel quite chaotic enough.

No.

The people yearn for (democratic) socialism (this one will make you cry)

Experts Issue Grave Warning as SNAP Benefits Set to Run Out Food banks are unlikely to be able to meet the demand amid the government shutdown, experts tell TIME.

On November 1, President Trump’s government shutdown will deliver another horrible outcome: more than 40 million people won’t receive their monthly food assistance benefits. 🧵1/5

I left Fremont in 1986 and while I mostly don't regret it, I am sad I missed the Afghan food boom.

"Of course."

WOW: The White House says the president's MAIN PRIORITY is his BALLROOM. SNAP is ending. Subsidies for health care are gong to double and in some instances quadruple plan premiums. The government is shut down. The cost of living is through the roof. And his priority is his ballroom.

a basketball player with his fist in the air in front of a washington wizar sign . Alt: Steph Curry celebrating on a basketball court.

Me right now:

In social movement studies, we talk about how marches and protests expand the threshold of acceptable risk so that people take more and bigger social risks IN PUBLIC, EN MASSE. This is extremely important for the bourgeois white folks holding signs and building social rapport.

I know it's frustrating when lawyers point out when something the administration is doing is not legal. But responding with "the law doesn't matter anymore" is really unhelpful and defeatist. Clarifying the law is important because it reminds us not to comply in advance and to resist and take action

It’s Time to Confront the Trump Administration’s Authoritarianism If you can, if you feel safe enough, please join a peaceful, powerful No Kings protest near you.

"The level of cruelty, the scale of wanton destruction, the blatant violation of the Constitution and rule of law, the violence and grasp for power and money ... It puts us all in danger." Rachel Cleetus @ucs.org on why we must say, loudly, #NoKings on October 18. blog.ucs.org/rachel-cleet...

"The U.S. is two economies. There's an enormous AI boom going on, huge investments, particularly in data centers. If you took that out of the numbers and you just looked at the non-AI parts of the economy, it's basically flatlining. We're on the cusp of a non-AI recession."
-- Me

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

He froze because he realized, in real time, that what he’d just said carried serious constitutional implications. Which now will be used against the Trump administration in court. He invoked “plenary authority.” That phrase means complete authority, basically the president has dictatorial powers.

Took a moment in class to remind my undergrads to get their flu and covid jabs. Not my usual role as an econ prof, but right now they have too few trusted voices. And if others are trying to avoid political strife (this ISN'T political!!!), my students may not be hearing it elsewhere.

It's kind of funny that Trump's idea of how to Make America Great again is to make it what it was like in his 20s and 30s but that somehow doesn't extend to the tax code.

Some are arguing that the current tenor - limited targeted protests - is a form of gray rocking.

The theory is that Trump wanted 2020 George Floyd style protests which media could frame as violence from nowhere, but that isn't what they are getting.

Q&A: What is ‘gray rocking’ and why is it trending? UVA psychologist Bethany Teachman says while the viral approach to difficult conversations can help, other strategies are available.

Tiktok taught me a new phrase which is "gray rocking"

A gaggle of nine National Guard members (including two carrying cameras with telephoto lenses) stand around in Logan Circle, DC, as residents walk, jog, sit on benches, and play with dogs around them.

Logan Circle, Monday evening. Doing a little photo shoot?

You absolutely are not.

Loved this book!

The USDA Cancels Annual Hunger Study While Trump Policies Drive Up Food Prices Canceling the annual Household Food Security Reports is part of a broader Trump administration effort to suppress data inconvenient to its political agenda.

As food prices surge, the Trump admin cancels a critical hunger study. “It’s the latest sign that the president and his allies are hell-bent on eliminating science and data that don’t support their political agenda.” -my colleague @karenstillerman.bsky.social blog.ucs.org/karen-perry-...

Exclusive | USDA Puts Food Researchers on Leave The move comes days after the Trump administration abruptly canceled an annual Agriculture Department report that measures hunger in America.

On Saturday, @wsj.com broke the news that the USDA canceled its annual report on food insecurity & hunger. Now, researchers in the unit responsible for the survey have been put on indefinite leave.

In which @chuckwendig.bsky.social wins the alt text prize for the day.

And if they're ever ordered to rough us up or shoot at us, I hope they'll remember that DC residents aren't bad people, we don't blame them for this, and we're all in this together. 4/4

They were careful to keep their expressions neutral but thanked me and said they appreciated what I said. Who knows what they really thought, or whether they agree with this deployment. I wanted to be kind while maybe giving them something to think about. 3/4

The two Guardsmen looked a bit sheepish but greeted me politely. They were so young, I don't think they could have been more than 19 or 20.

Me: "Hi guys. I just want to tell you that I'm sorry he has put you in this position because I think you deserve better. We all deserve better than this." 2/4