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Reposted by Jen Howard

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 10h

Sunday reading:

I wrote about the aggrieved extremist who is currently firing thousands of federal workers and ravaging state capacity based on conspiratorial nonsense - and about mainstream media’s infuriating tendency to sanitize Russell Vought and the regime he serves.

This week’s piece:

We need to talk about Russell Vought – But Properly

Why certain mainstream outlets insist on sanitizing Vought as a devout “small government” conservative – and what actually animates his war against pluralistic democracy

steady.page

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 1d

Seven National Guardsman patrolling my local farmers market this morning. 🙄 Good to know there will be no produce mayhem today.

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Capitol Hill Books @capitolhillbooks.bsky.social · 1d

Hey, DC: Are you poor and/or furloughed but looking for good times? This Saturday from 5pm to 7:30pm we’ll have free wine & cheese plus 10% off all purchases.

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 1d

"The Labor Department warned in an obscure document filed with the Federal Register last week that 'the near total cessation of the inflow of illegal aliens' is threatening 'the stability of domestic food production and prices for U.S. consumers.'”

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 1d

Saying the quiet part out loud. "The Trump administration said that its immigration crackdown is hurting farmers and risking higher food prices for Americans by cutting off agriculture’s labor supply." wapo.st/48Iuil5

Trump administration says immigration enforcement threatens higher food prices

U.S. farmers face labor shortages and potential food price hikes due to Trump’s immigration policy, the administration acknowledged in a Federal Registry document.

wapo.st

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skellyton bones jensen @heykellyjensen.bsky.social · 1d

Michiganders and those within the Detroit metro area–I'll be facilitating a rad Youth Right to Read Summit on November 8 for people ages 15-22. It's *FREE* with travel reimbursement for young folks.

Details + registration ---> www.milibraries.org/youth-summit...

Image of a megaphone on a green background. The text in the image says "Clinton Macomb Public Library - Main Branch, Saturday November 8, 10 am - 3 pm. Youth Summit on the Right to Read."

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LCV – League of Conservation Voters 🌎 @lcv.org · 2d

It's been over two weeks since #AZ07 decisively elected @adelitaforcongress.bsky.social to represent them in Congress.

And yet, Speaker Johnson continues to deliberately delay swearing her in.

JOIN US in demanding Johnson swear her in without further delay 👇

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 2d

Meanwhile, news closer to home (for those of us in DC), a magistrate judge takes "a remarkable stand" and rejects an "unprecedented" indictment:

“I am not a rubber stamp, as frustrating as that may be to the government,” he said. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/u...

Judge Rejects ‘Unprecedented’ Indictment Amid Trump’s D.C. Clampdown

www.nytimes.com

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Miriam Posner @miriamposner.com · 2d

IDK, man. School started 2 weeks ago for us, and once again students remind me that they’re so curious and interested in the world and anxious to ask big questions. We hear that these questions are no longer useful or relevant, but wherever that’s coming from, it’s not what students believe.

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Meg Reid 🦦 @megireid.bsky.social · 2d

Losing our NEA funding was a huge blow but it was interesting to see how many people were shocked we were only getting $25,000. The top tier funding for literary arts was $50,000 and the total pool was only like 1.4 million.

Nick Sturm @nicksturm.bsky.social · 3d

Adjusted for inflation, NEA funding was highest--$1.8 billion--over the four years of the first Reagan administration & has remained stagnate--about $750 million per presidential term--for the last 25 years.

Line graph visualizing the NEA budget by presidential administration from 1966 to 2024 adjusted for inflation

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 2d

“Fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone”: MIT becomes the first (but surely not the last) to reject the so-called Compact for Academic Excellence. wapo.st/4niC09b

MIT rejects Trump administration deal for priority federal funding

MIT is one of the nine schools that were asked to agree to adopt conservative priorities and policies in exchange for funding perks.

wapo.st

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 2d

Well done, @sunyoswego.bsky.social. Heartening to see a school investing in the #humanities rather than cutting them.

Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 2d

“Upon moving here and figuring out what I want to do, I came to realize what history means... I didn’t realize how many answers we can find today from studying history. I don’t think generally people think about history that way.” bit.ly/4q5vvZO

New School of Humanities seeks solutions to big problems

SUNY Oswego’s new School of Humanities –- part of the College of Liberal Arts, Sciences and Engineering (CLASE) –- is connected by storytelling, searching and solutions, said Candis Haak, the inaugura...

bit.ly

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 2d

Wow, this is great. Thanks for sharing.

Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 2d

Good. Keep up the pressure. www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

Democratic Lawmakers Amplify Pressure on UVA

Democrats are demanding answers over the University of Virginia president’s resignation and warning the board against signing a proposed federal compact.

www.insidehighered.com

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McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 2d

"This is a good book. It has a cover and many pages. This book is endorsed by parents and is church-friendly. It is clean and full of Grace, as in it was approved by a Florida state media consultant named Grace."

Finally, a Book That Cannot Be Banned

This is a good book. It has a cover and many pages. This book is endorsed by parents and is church-friendly. It is clean and full of Grace, as in i...

buff.ly

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 2d

Dreading all the faux-tombstone "RIP Democracy" Halloween decorations I am sure I will see in my DC neighborhood this year.

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 3d

Thinking you might skip the flu jab this year for yourself and your kiddos? Please reconsider. wapo.st/476xgNJ

Opinion | Thinking of skipping your flu shot? Here’s why you should reconsider.

Four recent CDC studies highlight the necessity of getting this year’s vaccine.

wapo.st

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Meg Reid 🦦 @megireid.bsky.social · 3d

The clearest place the burnout from our times is showing up in my line of work is in acquisitions. Readers and editors are tired just thinking about a 400-page novel. The question does this even matter? feels more complex than ever. We need to keep making art, but the artmakers are worn out.

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 3d

Guy's biweekly Five Things newsletter is worth your time, BTW. loudpoet.com/newsletter/

The Newsletter | @glecharles | As in guillotine...

As in Guillotine: The "newsletter" (blog posts sent via email) from Guy LeCharles Gonzalez — aka glecharles and loudpoet.

loudpoet.com

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 3d

@loudpoet.com on Bluesky's moderation snafus: "It’s another reminder that social media at scale is just an ephemeral data collection scheme, and you shouldn’t make any of these platforms your primary source of news, engagement, or connections with people you care about." loudpoet.com/2025/10/09/f...

Five Things: October 9, 2025 | As in guillotine...

"Please let Bluesky be the last time y'all fall for this trick." On 'rust out', indie magazines, punk zines, waffles, and Blacksky.

loudpoet.com

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 3d

I did not know there was an app! Thank you.

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 3d

Thank you!

Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 4d

I wish this weren't paywalled, because I've love to read it. Both my Gen Z kids both learned to drive stick because we've always had manual-transmission cars. It was hell in their early days behind the wheel—but they learned fast, and now they have bragging rights with their friends.

The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 4d

A Gen Z affinity for old-school technology is just one of the reasons my daughter decided to learn how to drive a stick shift.

I Thought I Could Drive Stick. Then My Gen Z Daughter Asked Me to Teach Her.

When my 16-year-old said she wanted to learn to drive a manual transmission, I decided it was time to sharpen my own clutch-pedal skills.

on.wsj.com

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 4d

i desperately want everyone involved in the destruction of USAID to have to, st the very least, answer to the american people for the suffering and misery they have caused apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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Martin Paul Eve @eve.gd · 4d

This makes me so angry. These people view all life as training for lifelong servitude/work. There's no room for interest, enjoyment, and culture in their bleak vision of education. At least she'll never be in power to see it through. Though Reform are probably worse.

Badenoch: Curb students taking "rip-off" degrees such as English. The performing arts, sociology and anthropology are among the subjects the Conservatives would like to cut

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