Desiree Weber
@desireeweber.bsky.social
Political theorist at the College of Wooster — books, bikes, hikes and kittens — observing whatever it is that we make of this here world
Reposted by Desiree Weber
So apparently the administrators at Northwestern have caved to the extortionist demands of the Feds. Faculty voted 595-4 AGAINST this measure.
November 29, 2025 at 3:30 AM
So apparently the administrators at Northwestern have caved to the extortionist demands of the Feds. Faculty voted 595-4 AGAINST this measure.
Reposted by Desiree Weber
Northwestern’s leaders will likely try to justify their choice to appease fascist extortion with some BS about needing to help researchers get federal funds that were illegally withheld, so it’s important to note that virtually all of the researchers said not to.
So apparently the administrators at Northwestern have caved to the extortionist demands of the Feds. Faculty voted 595-4 AGAINST this measure.
November 29, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Northwestern’s leaders will likely try to justify their choice to appease fascist extortion with some BS about needing to help researchers get federal funds that were illegally withheld, so it’s important to note that virtually all of the researchers said not to.
Reposted by Desiree Weber
Northwestern bent the knee, choosing to give in to extortion at the expense of academic freedom.
Among the provisions:
-Pay a big bribe
-Give the govt data on students
-Validate BS about "fighting antisemitism"
-Be cruel to trans students
What to do about Vichy universities (now, later, or both)?
Among the provisions:
-Pay a big bribe
-Give the govt data on students
-Validate BS about "fighting antisemitism"
-Be cruel to trans students
What to do about Vichy universities (now, later, or both)?
BREAKING: Northwestern University has agreed to pay the U.S. Treasury $75 million, over the course of three years as part of an agreement with the federal government to restore funding and end investigations into the university
Full statement from NU below:
Full statement from NU below:
November 29, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Northwestern bent the knee, choosing to give in to extortion at the expense of academic freedom.
Among the provisions:
-Pay a big bribe
-Give the govt data on students
-Validate BS about "fighting antisemitism"
-Be cruel to trans students
What to do about Vichy universities (now, later, or both)?
Among the provisions:
-Pay a big bribe
-Give the govt data on students
-Validate BS about "fighting antisemitism"
-Be cruel to trans students
What to do about Vichy universities (now, later, or both)?
Reposted by Desiree Weber
There are two methods for cranberry harvest- wet method and dry method. Pictured is the ‘wet harvest’ method where the cranberry bog is flooded and the plants are shaken to dislodge the submerged berries, which float. (Fun fact: in a flooded bog the workers become high ground for the spiders.)
November 26, 2025 at 6:59 PM
There are two methods for cranberry harvest- wet method and dry method. Pictured is the ‘wet harvest’ method where the cranberry bog is flooded and the plants are shaken to dislodge the submerged berries, which float. (Fun fact: in a flooded bog the workers become high ground for the spiders.)
Reposted by Desiree Weber
Reposted by Desiree Weber
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
November 20, 2025 at 5:32 PM
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
Reposted by Desiree Weber
NEW: The White House intervened in a DHS investigation.
The target? Sex offender Andrew Tate.
The WH person? Paul “Nazi Streak” Ingrassia.
Who was previously also Tate’s lawyer.
A banger from @robert-faturechi.bsky.social & Avi Asher-Shapiro
www.propublica.org/article/andr...
The target? Sex offender Andrew Tate.
The WH person? Paul “Nazi Streak” Ingrassia.
Who was previously also Tate’s lawyer.
A banger from @robert-faturechi.bsky.social & Avi Asher-Shapiro
www.propublica.org/article/andr...
November 18, 2025 at 11:41 AM
NEW: The White House intervened in a DHS investigation.
The target? Sex offender Andrew Tate.
The WH person? Paul “Nazi Streak” Ingrassia.
Who was previously also Tate’s lawyer.
A banger from @robert-faturechi.bsky.social & Avi Asher-Shapiro
www.propublica.org/article/andr...
The target? Sex offender Andrew Tate.
The WH person? Paul “Nazi Streak” Ingrassia.
Who was previously also Tate’s lawyer.
A banger from @robert-faturechi.bsky.social & Avi Asher-Shapiro
www.propublica.org/article/andr...
Reposted by Desiree Weber
Happy 40th birthday to Bill Waterson’s ‘Calvin and Hobbes’. A work of consummate, stubborn, human, and more-than-human art.
November 18, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Happy 40th birthday to Bill Waterson’s ‘Calvin and Hobbes’. A work of consummate, stubborn, human, and more-than-human art.
Reposted by Desiree Weber
Of all my posts, this is the one that I wish would be shared widely. I hope people will donate to Bryan's legal defense, but even if you don't, it's important to be aware of the human rights horrors that are going on around us on a daily basis.
Please help Bryan, a decent and hardworking person who was just kidnapped off the street in DC. He has been in this country since he was a child. He has a business and a family. He does not deserve such shameful cruelty. Please share.
www.gofundme.com/f/help-bryan...
www.gofundme.com/f/help-bryan...
Donate to Help Bryan Fight for His Freedom, organized by Kira Tewalt
Help Bryan Fight for His Freedom
My name is Kira, and I’m asking for your help on… Kira Tewalt needs your support for Help Bryan Fight for His Freedom
www.gofundme.com
November 17, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Of all my posts, this is the one that I wish would be shared widely. I hope people will donate to Bryan's legal defense, but even if you don't, it's important to be aware of the human rights horrors that are going on around us on a daily basis.
Reposted by Desiree Weber
The debate over whether this is 'fascism' is a silly semantic one in which a small minority mean 'completed fascist authoritarianism' and the vast majority mean 'the people in power say and do things that demonstrate completed fascist authoritarianism is what they want to achieve.'
November 17, 2025 at 9:06 AM
The debate over whether this is 'fascism' is a silly semantic one in which a small minority mean 'completed fascist authoritarianism' and the vast majority mean 'the people in power say and do things that demonstrate completed fascist authoritarianism is what they want to achieve.'
Reposted by Desiree Weber
This piece makes it sound totally normal that the police gets to decide whether or not to "work with" Mamdani as mayor, and it continues, as nearly all the paper's coverage, to wield normative terms like "moderate" and left" in a prejudicial way. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/n...
The N.Y.P.D. Prepares for Mayor Mamdani and a New Era in Public Safety
www.nytimes.com
November 16, 2025 at 5:58 PM
This piece makes it sound totally normal that the police gets to decide whether or not to "work with" Mamdani as mayor, and it continues, as nearly all the paper's coverage, to wield normative terms like "moderate" and left" in a prejudicial way. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/n...
Reposted by Desiree Weber
A potential prelude to military action against Venezuela—even though the FTO designation as such confers no authority to use force.
(And this supposed cartel may not even exist.)
A regime change campaign in the guise of counterterrorism.
(And this supposed cartel may not even exist.)
A regime change campaign in the guise of counterterrorism.
November 16, 2025 at 10:44 PM
A potential prelude to military action against Venezuela—even though the FTO designation as such confers no authority to use force.
(And this supposed cartel may not even exist.)
A regime change campaign in the guise of counterterrorism.
(And this supposed cartel may not even exist.)
A regime change campaign in the guise of counterterrorism.
Reposted by Desiree Weber
Brownshirts assemble.
Redeemers ride. bsky.app/profile/alka...
Redeemers ride. bsky.app/profile/alka...
New:
On The Gateway Pundit's podcast yesterday, Stewart Rhodes announced he's relaunching the Oath Keepers
He also urged Trump to “call us up as a militia" & "order us all to come together in our counties under his command."
www.mediamatters.org/oath-keepers...
On The Gateway Pundit's podcast yesterday, Stewart Rhodes announced he's relaunching the Oath Keepers
He also urged Trump to “call us up as a militia" & "order us all to come together in our counties under his command."
www.mediamatters.org/oath-keepers...
![STEWART RHODES (FOUNDER, OATH KEEPERS): And one other thing I want to say is that President Trump, as commander in chief, always has absolute authority to call all of us up as the militia because every one of us — in federal statues defining the militia, it's every able-bodied male from age 17-45. And for us veterans, it goes up to age 64 because of our prior training and experience.
Right now, under federal statutes, President Trump can call us up as the militia if he sees it necessary, especially for three purposes: to repel invasions, to suppress insurrections, and to execute the laws of the union. And right now, we see all three of those in play.
...
And the militia is all of us. So the National Guard is part of the militia, which is why it's completely lawful for him to use the National Guard as he has, and he should do more of that, I think, across the country.
...
He could just say given the circumstances of an invasion, insurrection, and resistance against federal law being being enforced, I'm calling up the militia, ordering all the men to come together [in] every county, put the veterans in charge of training and organizing all the other men and just have them stand too and await his orders. He can do that and I think he should do that. And so that's what I'll be advocating for from him. So from the bottom, from down the rank and file, we can let President Trump know that we're ready to serve, encourage him to do that, call us up as a militia, order us all to come together in our counties under his command, which gives you complete legal sanction to do what you're doing.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:af7tqcetuyt352aolf3znlxe/bafkreialm4skuozqobejpd6vx4m6kuwsgtidxmmxvj3ftcff6otiuyohiy@jpeg)
November 10, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Brownshirts assemble.
Redeemers ride. bsky.app/profile/alka...
Redeemers ride. bsky.app/profile/alka...
Reposted by Desiree Weber
Agents rappelled from a Black Hawk helicopter in a massive show of force. Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building.
But after the cameras were gone, federal prosecutors did not charge anyone.
With @frontlinepbs.bsky.social & @blockclubchi.bsky.social
But after the cameras were gone, federal prosecutors did not charge anyone.
With @frontlinepbs.bsky.social & @blockclubchi.bsky.social
“I Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arres...
www.propublica.org
November 16, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Agents rappelled from a Black Hawk helicopter in a massive show of force. Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building.
But after the cameras were gone, federal prosecutors did not charge anyone.
With @frontlinepbs.bsky.social & @blockclubchi.bsky.social
But after the cameras were gone, federal prosecutors did not charge anyone.
With @frontlinepbs.bsky.social & @blockclubchi.bsky.social
Reposted by Desiree Weber
This is an important new line being crossed. Trump isn't just pardoning the act of attempting to overthrow the government on January 6: he's pardoning *those people* for committing crimes generally. He may be creating a group of (federally) legally untouchable people.
Trump re-pardons a Jan. 6 defendant to erase unrelated gun conviction
Trump re-pardons a Jan. 6 defendant to erase unrelated gun conviction
The new pardon ends a legal clash over the limits of Trump’s sweeping Day One clemency for those who stormed the Capitol.
dlvr.it
November 16, 2025 at 12:49 AM
This is an important new line being crossed. Trump isn't just pardoning the act of attempting to overthrow the government on January 6: he's pardoning *those people* for committing crimes generally. He may be creating a group of (federally) legally untouchable people.
Reposted by Desiree Weber
NEW: In his first interview since his arrest for protesting outside the Chicago-area ICE facility, @revdrmichaelwoolf.bsky.social tells me he has "bruises all over my body."
Even so, he said, “the cruelty that goes on that facility … must be 100 times worse." religionnews.com/2025/11/15/a...
Even so, he said, “the cruelty that goes on that facility … must be 100 times worse." religionnews.com/2025/11/15/a...
November 15, 2025 at 7:52 PM
NEW: In his first interview since his arrest for protesting outside the Chicago-area ICE facility, @revdrmichaelwoolf.bsky.social tells me he has "bruises all over my body."
Even so, he said, “the cruelty that goes on that facility … must be 100 times worse." religionnews.com/2025/11/15/a...
Even so, he said, “the cruelty that goes on that facility … must be 100 times worse." religionnews.com/2025/11/15/a...
Reposted by Desiree Weber
"Some are trying to set the NPS “up to fail” as a pretext for privatizing some of the nation’s most popular parks, he claimed, while others are focused on “facade management”: preserving the jobs of staff in visible roles, like rangers, while cutting “everything else behind the scenes”,
National parks facing ‘nightmare’ under Trump, warns ex-director of service
Jonathan Jarvis, who led the agency from 2009 to 2017, laid out the dire consequences of not closing parks in shutdown
www.theguardian.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:09 PM
"Some are trying to set the NPS “up to fail” as a pretext for privatizing some of the nation’s most popular parks, he claimed, while others are focused on “facade management”: preserving the jobs of staff in visible roles, like rangers, while cutting “everything else behind the scenes”,
Reposted by Desiree Weber
Former UVA president Jim Ryan, who resigned over the summer due to pressure from the Trump Administration, just shared this 12-page letter with the Faculty Senate, detailing his experience with the Board of Visitors and DOJ.
It's a surreal--and troubling--read.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...
It's a surreal--and troubling--read.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...
November 14, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Former UVA president Jim Ryan, who resigned over the summer due to pressure from the Trump Administration, just shared this 12-page letter with the Faculty Senate, detailing his experience with the Board of Visitors and DOJ.
It's a surreal--and troubling--read.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...
It's a surreal--and troubling--read.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...
Reposted by Desiree Weber
Scoop from @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social & me: new docs obtained by @weareoversight.bsky.social show DHS trying to obtain drivers license data from all 50 states to weaponize Trump’s false claims of voter fraud & possibly remove voters from rolls before midterms www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
New docs show DHS is gathering drivers’ license data in voter fraud crusade
Experts worry the Trump administration will use the info to disenfranchise voters.
www.motherjones.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Scoop from @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social & me: new docs obtained by @weareoversight.bsky.social show DHS trying to obtain drivers license data from all 50 states to weaponize Trump’s false claims of voter fraud & possibly remove voters from rolls before midterms www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Desiree Weber
I feel like Trump has pioneered a new form of spoils, where criminal allies of the President can expect to be compensated for their crimes.
The settlement talks between the Trump administration and Michael Flynn and Stefan Passantino marked a change in position by DOJ, which previously had successfully argued in court to have both of their lawsuits tossed out
bit.ly/4hWdolc
bit.ly/4hWdolc
Michael Flynn, DOJ in Settlement Talks Over $50 Million Claim
The Justice Department has been discussing settlements with two former officials from Donald Trump’s first term who — like the president — claim they’re owed major payouts from the US government as vi...
bit.ly
November 14, 2025 at 4:51 PM
I feel like Trump has pioneered a new form of spoils, where criminal allies of the President can expect to be compensated for their crimes.
Reposted by Desiree Weber
I think a lot, especially living where I do now, that Ruby Bridges (now 71) is younger than my mom.
Today I’m thinking about how she walked into William Frantz Elementary School when she was younger than my Small Niece is now.
Today I’m thinking about how she walked into William Frantz Elementary School when she was younger than my Small Niece is now.
November 14, 2025 at 4:21 PM
I think a lot, especially living where I do now, that Ruby Bridges (now 71) is younger than my mom.
Today I’m thinking about how she walked into William Frantz Elementary School when she was younger than my Small Niece is now.
Today I’m thinking about how she walked into William Frantz Elementary School when she was younger than my Small Niece is now.
Reposted by Desiree Weber
I was told there was a crisis of free speech on campus that must be reversed
MAGA’s ongoing war on academic freedom, reflected in headlines from the last 24 hours.
November 14, 2025 at 1:18 PM
I was told there was a crisis of free speech on campus that must be reversed
Reposted by Desiree Weber
"According to project scientists working on NASA's next generation Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.. they were given only four days to empty a mission-critical laboratory." www.space.com/space-explor...
'This all must end now.' NASA lab closures at Goddard Space Flight Center under Congressional scrutiny
A congressional letter is putting NASA on blast.
www.space.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:17 AM
"According to project scientists working on NASA's next generation Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.. they were given only four days to empty a mission-critical laboratory." www.space.com/space-explor...
Reposted by Desiree Weber
Important to understand the Epstein stuff and the fascism and the corruption are, in a lot of ways, really all the same story from different angles: powerful men who can and do abuse vulnerable people around them because they can, and because systems of elite accountability catastrophically failed
November 12, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Important to understand the Epstein stuff and the fascism and the corruption are, in a lot of ways, really all the same story from different angles: powerful men who can and do abuse vulnerable people around them because they can, and because systems of elite accountability catastrophically failed
Reposted by Desiree Weber
I love seeing a shred of accountability for Trump as much as anyone, but it's pretty striking that most people are prepared to believe a man who's a convicted serial rapist-sex trafficker and NOT ALL THESE WOMEN katemanne.substack.com/p/the-actual...
The Actual Conspiracy Theory Surrounding Trump and Epstein
It’s not what you think it is.
katemanne.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:27 AM
I love seeing a shred of accountability for Trump as much as anyone, but it's pretty striking that most people are prepared to believe a man who's a convicted serial rapist-sex trafficker and NOT ALL THESE WOMEN katemanne.substack.com/p/the-actual...