Jake Wertz
@jakewertz.bsky.social
Living + gardening just west of Chicago. PhD sociologist doing research + transformation in a large suburban public school district. 🏡🪴🌉📈📊👨🏫
Chicago, lacking any nearby mountains for skiing as well as any sizable ponds for ice skating, has gotten creative with outdoor winter recreation activities… I’m playing tennis in a blizzard.
November 29, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Chicago, lacking any nearby mountains for skiing as well as any sizable ponds for ice skating, has gotten creative with outdoor winter recreation activities… I’m playing tennis in a blizzard.
Reposted by Jake Wertz
How did the @nytimes.com editors let this sentence appear?
"Critics have likened Mr. Trump’s approach to extortion, while others have chalked it up as a cost of doing business with this administration."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
"Critics have likened Mr. Trump’s approach to extortion, while others have chalked it up as a cost of doing business with this administration."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Northwestern University Nears Deal to Resolve Its Conflict With the White House
www.nytimes.com
November 29, 2025 at 1:07 AM
How did the @nytimes.com editors let this sentence appear?
"Critics have likened Mr. Trump’s approach to extortion, while others have chalked it up as a cost of doing business with this administration."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
"Critics have likened Mr. Trump’s approach to extortion, while others have chalked it up as a cost of doing business with this administration."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Reposted by Jake Wertz
There are Friday news dumps and then there are 6:20 pm on Thanksgiving Friday news dumps
www.northwestern.edu/leadership-n...
www.northwestern.edu/leadership-n...
Agreement to Restore Federal Funds: Leadership Notes - Northwestern University
Earlier today, the University reached an agreement with the federal government to restore hundreds of millions of dollars in critical research funding.
www.northwestern.edu
November 29, 2025 at 1:00 AM
There are Friday news dumps and then there are 6:20 pm on Thanksgiving Friday news dumps
www.northwestern.edu/leadership-n...
www.northwestern.edu/leadership-n...
Navy spends millions each year on the SEALS program as like an advertisement for enlistment. “Join the navy and you can be an elite specially trained troop” but now they’re just showing the whole world that the Navy sits at computers and does murder by keyboard. Gotta suspect that hurts recruiting.
November 29, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Navy spends millions each year on the SEALS program as like an advertisement for enlistment. “Join the navy and you can be an elite specially trained troop” but now they’re just showing the whole world that the Navy sits at computers and does murder by keyboard. Gotta suspect that hurts recruiting.
Thanksgiving dinner at 5pm makes perfect sense. We had a great party, I got home, ‘cousin walked’ the dog, and put the kids to bed all before 8 o’clock
November 28, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Thanksgiving dinner at 5pm makes perfect sense. We had a great party, I got home, ‘cousin walked’ the dog, and put the kids to bed all before 8 o’clock
Donald Trump has less than five hours left to end his stupid tariff on Japan and deliver the Black Friday Nintendo Switch 2 Miracle that millions of American families like mine are dreaming of. Too bad the old man is already in bed.
November 28, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Donald Trump has less than five hours left to end his stupid tariff on Japan and deliver the Black Friday Nintendo Switch 2 Miracle that millions of American families like mine are dreaming of. Too bad the old man is already in bed.
Reposted by Jake Wertz
In the richest city in the richest country on the planet, the thing we can’t afford is to forget those who are left hungry.
November 27, 2025 at 9:50 PM
In the richest city in the richest country on the planet, the thing we can’t afford is to forget those who are left hungry.
So much to be grateful for this year.
November 27, 2025 at 11:44 PM
So much to be grateful for this year.
Rested for a bit, got even crispier and I think the cream absorbed into the potato
November 27, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Rested for a bit, got even crispier and I think the cream absorbed into the potato
Reposted by Jake Wertz
An investigation by ProPublica and @texastribune.org found more than 60 instances of nepotism, self-dealing and conflicts of interest among 27 private schools that likely would have violated state laws had the schools been public.
Texas Private Schools Hire Relatives and Enrich Insiders. Soon They Can Do It With Taxpayer Money.
An investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found more than 60 instances of nepotism, self-dealing and conflicts of interest among 27 private schools that likely would have violated state law...
www.propublica.org
November 27, 2025 at 10:00 PM
An investigation by ProPublica and @texastribune.org found more than 60 instances of nepotism, self-dealing and conflicts of interest among 27 private schools that likely would have violated state laws had the schools been public.
Made Kenji’s potato gratin
November 27, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Made Kenji’s potato gratin
I’m no good with a pastry bag, but still I think I came pretty close
November 27, 2025 at 8:46 PM
I’m no good with a pastry bag, but still I think I came pretty close
I’m making a tart 🦃
November 27, 2025 at 6:38 PM
I’m making a tart 🦃
Here’s some great sports journalism, worth reading whether you care about college football and even if you don’t
The running back from Lemont, who was born without a right hand or forearm, graduates in June. After graduating, he'll have another season of eligibility and is strongly considering a transfer. Like anyone else, he just wants to play.
Bittersweet Northwestern football career likely nearing an end for Albert Kunickis III
chicago.suntimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Here’s some great sports journalism, worth reading whether you care about college football and even if you don’t
Reposted by Jake Wertz
the decline and fall of the american republic in two headlines
November 26, 2025 at 4:52 PM
the decline and fall of the american republic in two headlines
You can share recipes. You can share your gratitude. You can talk football. You can go for a walk and tell us about it. Cook something and take a picture and put it here. There are so many better ways to Thanksgiving-post on Bluesky than chirping about the quality of categories of food.
November 26, 2025 at 2:25 AM
You can share recipes. You can share your gratitude. You can talk football. You can go for a walk and tell us about it. Cook something and take a picture and put it here. There are so many better ways to Thanksgiving-post on Bluesky than chirping about the quality of categories of food.
Reposted by Jake Wertz
Skokie takes a stand.
November 26, 2025 at 2:16 AM
Skokie takes a stand.
I’m sorry, this is supposed to be a luxury good? It looks like a gas station imitation of Culver’s. And the signage printed and assembled at Kinko’s.
November 25, 2025 at 3:14 PM
I’m sorry, this is supposed to be a luxury good? It looks like a gas station imitation of Culver’s. And the signage printed and assembled at Kinko’s.
Tobacco industry tactics
Meta halted internal research that purportedly showed (young) people who stopped using Facebook became less depressed and anxious, according to an unredacted legal filing released on Friday. www.cnbc.com/2025/11/23/m...
Meta halted internal research suggesting social media harm, court filing alleges
Meta is alleged to have halted internal research suggesting social media harm, according to court documents.
www.cnbc.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:56 AM
Tobacco industry tactics
San Francisco had this awesome giant brutalist public fountain at Embarcadero Plaza. Here’s a photo of me there in the early 90s. In recent years the city let it fall into disrepair and is now committed to destroying it. Kind of sad.
November 23, 2025 at 4:39 PM
San Francisco had this awesome giant brutalist public fountain at Embarcadero Plaza. Here’s a photo of me there in the early 90s. In recent years the city let it fall into disrepair and is now committed to destroying it. Kind of sad.
Awake from your slumber
arise from your sleep
a new day is dawning
for all those who weep
arise from your sleep
a new day is dawning
for all those who weep
There is no pain
You are receding
A distant ship's smoke on the horizon
You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying
You are receding
A distant ship's smoke on the horizon
You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying
November 23, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Awake from your slumber
arise from your sleep
a new day is dawning
for all those who weep
arise from your sleep
a new day is dawning
for all those who weep
Joining the platform tennis league this fall has been the best thing I’ve done for my mental and physical health in a decade. Its also contradicted everything in the discourse about male loneliness and emotional insecurity.
November 23, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Joining the platform tennis league this fall has been the best thing I’ve done for my mental and physical health in a decade. Its also contradicted everything in the discourse about male loneliness and emotional insecurity.
Reposted by Jake Wertz
Also another reminder that <10 people in Washington - all of whom are Republicans & all of whom keep getting total daily free passes from the media about their cowardice - could end most of the madness tomorrow by simply caucusing with the Democrats & giving them control of both the House & Senate.
Suddenly the special election in TN-07 becomes potentially hugely consequential. It shouldn’t be competitive, but if Democrats steal it, when Greene resigns the Republican majority will be down to 218-216 w a sure Dem seat with no special scheduled in Texas.
Just catching up; what’s the significance of Jan 5? Does waiting until then affect when the special will be scheduled?
November 22, 2025 at 6:30 AM
Also another reminder that <10 people in Washington - all of whom are Republicans & all of whom keep getting total daily free passes from the media about their cowardice - could end most of the madness tomorrow by simply caucusing with the Democrats & giving them control of both the House & Senate.
Is Trump going to drop the tariffs before Christmas? I’d like a Nintendo Switch 2 but I’m patient. Feels like there could be a lot of news before Wednesday on the tariff front.
November 22, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Is Trump going to drop the tariffs before Christmas? I’d like a Nintendo Switch 2 but I’m patient. Feels like there could be a lot of news before Wednesday on the tariff front.
This will buy you 6-24 months before Google disables the ability to opt-out. They’ve done this slow roll-out of invading your privacy before. It’s a legal, legislative, and regulatory strategy of slowly boiling the frog. The frog is us.
you do have to do it in a couple of places but this tutorial makes it easy to go uncheck the boxes that otherwise lets Google's AI read all your shit. or move everything over to protonmail but moving everything over is a giant thing I know.
Google has started automatically opting you in to let it read your stuff to train AI. You need to turn this off in SEVERAL places in your settings (not just for Gmail), if you want to maintain privacy and confidentiality.
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
November 22, 2025 at 4:21 AM
This will buy you 6-24 months before Google disables the ability to opt-out. They’ve done this slow roll-out of invading your privacy before. It’s a legal, legislative, and regulatory strategy of slowly boiling the frog. The frog is us.