Mo Torres
@motorres.bsky.social
1.3K followers 280 following 400 posts
sociologist: cities, political economy, race/racism umich.edu/~motorres
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motorres.bsky.social
any good comparisons of AI with the dot-com bubble?
motorres.bsky.social
I got to chat with @louiseseamster.bsky.social last week and you'd appreciate that a good chunk of our short convo was about TIFs. Clearly you're hitting a nerve!
motorres.bsky.social
this is so nasty. I’m really sorry, Dan. I’ll add myself to the list of people who have learned a great deal from you over the years. If critiquing TIFs gets this much heat from those in positions of power, then you are clearly onto something important…
motorres.bsky.social
honestly impressed by this—if you aren’t paying close attention you could mistake the “yeah” at the end for an affirmative response to the question, with the “she didn’t say that!” defense baked in already in the event she gets pushback for it. harris is a real master at this type of aversion game
diplomatofnight.com
On MSNBC, Kamala Harris was asked if she agreed that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians.

“I will tell you that when you look at the number of children that have been killed [...] the refusal to give aid, we should all step back and ask this question and be honest about it, yeah.”
Former Vice President Kamala Harris held back from labeling Israel's actions in Gaza a "genocide" on Sunday but said it was an appropriate question.
"A lot of folks in your party have called what's happening in Gaza a genocide. Do you agree with that?" correspondent Eugene Daniels asked Harris during an interview on MSNBC's "The Weekend."
"Listen, it is a term of law that a court will decide," Harris responded. "But I will tell you that when you look at the number of children that have been killed, the number of innocent civilians that have been
killed, the refusal to give aid and support, we should all step back and ask this question and be honest about it, yeah."
motorres.bsky.social
very excited to read!!!
Reposted by Mo Torres
olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social
I think that how people talk about colonialism I think is one of the better tells for what their politics actually are. ymmv
motorres.bsky.social
I asked my Race & Place students this term if any of them were reading it and was surprised that only one student was... (I got a lot of housing policy students this semester!)
Reposted by Mo Torres
blmckean.bsky.social
Very bad: OSU unilaterally cancelled the registration of grad students attending the joint conference of the National Society of Black Physicists and the National Society of Hispanic Physicists. And OSU won't fund recruiting at the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science.
Ohio State changes policy on group conferences after Trump administration threats
A federal investigation into potentially discriminatory practices at Ohio State prompted the university to change its policies regarding conferences.
www.dispatch.com
motorres.bsky.social
also realizing this would be a great text for next year’s policy school-wide read. this year’s was… Ab*ndance…
motorres.bsky.social
a fun part of aziz rana’s recent-ish @thedigradio.bsky.social series was learning about du bois as a constitutional scholar + how social movements have varied in their (strategic, rhetorical) relationships to the founding texts
stephenwest.bsky.social
How W. E. B. Du Bois responded to government policing of "anti-American" sentiment during the 1910s:

"I took great satisfaction in being able to sit back in my chair and answer blandly, 'We are seeking to have the Constitution of the United States thoroughly and completely enforced.' ”
Federal agents invaded even the offices of The Crisis and the National Association for the advancement of colored people and asked searching questions: " just what, after all, were our objects and activities?” I took great satisfaction in being able to sit back in my chair and answer blandly, “We are seeking to have the constitution of the United states thoroughly and completely enforced.” It took some ingenuity, even for Southerners, to make treason out of that.
Reposted by Mo Torres
daniellaurison.bsky.social
Sociologists, political scientists, other scholars & practitioners of US politics - submit a proposal to our People-Ing Politics conference as part of the Eastern Sociological Society's conference in DC this March 5 - 8th. Apply by 10/15 (unless they extend) & please share - ess2026.exordo.com/login
Call for paper flyer with too much text to type, but the gist is:
Bringing the People Back In - Race, Class, and Inequality in US politics. 
People-Ing Politics Network Mini-Conference 
March 6-7, 2025, Washington DC
Amid threats to democracy, this conference will bring together social scientists and practitioners who study US politics with a focus on race, class, inequality, and the influence of social and cultural forces.
We are looking for papers that explore:
- how people's cultures, identities, and social groups shape their political views and behaviors
- how race, class, and other forms of inequality influence political engagement, representation, and policy outcomes
- the roles played by behind-the-scenes actors such as campaign staff, organizers, and bureaucrats, as well as by marginalized communities, in shaping political institutions and procesess.
visit https://www.essnet.org to apply; make sure to select this mini-conference when you do.
Reposted by Mo Torres
olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social
yearly reminder to people insisting that we view Christopher Columbus as "a man of his time" that *the people responsible for the Spanish Inquisition* thought Columbus was out of pocket
tlecaque.bsky.social
Christopher Columbus was dragged back to Spain in chains by a crusading knight, convicted of tyranny and immeasurable cruelty, pardoned by Isabella but banned from returning to Hispaniola.

Fuck Columbus.
Reposted by Mo Torres
notalawyer.bsky.social
the actual story here, which the media never talks about, is that police in this country have become a discrete right-wing political operation. the story isn't about cops leaving (they're lying about that), it's about the police trying to exert influence over elections.
misoshnik.bsky.social
Lmao is this supposed to be a bad thing?
A tweet from Bari Weiss that says “"It's shaken me to my core," a lieutenant said of Mamdani's unexpected victory in June. "The absolute dread I feel is palpable.
"
Today in @TheFP our @Olivia_Reingold talks to the cops who say they will walk if Zohran Mamdani is elected in November:”
Reposted by Mo Torres
prisonculture.bsky.social
I'm so proud of everyone from my old neighborhood of Rogers Park in Chicago. I see what you have been and are doing. I am so proud of how organized the community is and how much more so everyone is becoming. It is inspiring. Just one example... And this is something EVERYONE can do. Everyone.
Informational flyer about Rogers Park Whistle Protocols, explaining how to use whistles to alert neighbors of emergencies, with color-coded alerts, steps for use, and encouragement to form a crowd and stay loud for safety.
Reposted by Mo Torres
polotek.bsky.social
I had a lot of convos with people who said they were sympathetic, but Defund the Police was a "bad slogan". I told them it wasn't a slogan. It was an answer. It was an answer to the constant question "what can we do to actually lower crime and make our neighborhood's safer?"

Anyway. Here we are.
johnathanperk.bsky.social
Should’ve defunded the police like we instructed smh
Reposted by Mo Torres
danimmergluck.bsky.social
🧵1/3

I've argued against a 25-year extension of all the (already) 20+year-old tax increment financing districts (TADs) in Atlanta. Someone sent me an email from "Atlantans for Safety" arguing against my explanation for why extending the TADs is a bad idea. Their email & my responses are (next)...
Reposted by Mo Torres
kvetch.gay
Incredibly cool: "half of the species responded to the end of the eclipse by singing a dawn chorus despite the 'night' lasting only a few minutes" is mind-blowing! The whole paper is free to read:
motorres.bsky.social
“Students [who thought they’d be graduating] from a highly ranked 100 year old institution, and are now told that they’re going to be getting a degree from a department in an ill-conceived ‘School of AI’ are feeling, rightfully, betrayed… to get this now-tarnished and politically co-opted degree.”
UNC schools of data science and information science to merge, forming unnamed ‘School of AI’
SDSS Dean Stanley Ahalt will be made dean of the new school while SILS Dean Jeffrey Bardzell will stand as the University’s Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer and Vice Provost for AI.
dailytarheel.com