@clsreads.bsky.social
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i think about this every time i look at the latest Overdrive or Hoopla or Kanopy invoice. unless prices or demand stabilize, our budget and thus our library will soon be describable as “lessee of digital content with a legacy dead-tree side concern.” 📚
No surprise to librarians, but perhaps surprising to users, demands/prices for ebooks /audiobooks are killing public library budgets. David Szalay's book, Flesh,” costs DCPL:
$28.99 hardcopy
$59.99 ebook
$69.99 audiobook
DCPL owns hardcopy; rents & must repurchase ebook & audio book every 2 yrs.
$28.99 hardcopy
$59.99 ebook
$69.99 audiobook
DCPL owns hardcopy; rents & must repurchase ebook & audio book every 2 yrs.
Libraries can't afford e-books. D.C. lawmakers have a plan.
The demand and price for e-books is up — and it’s busting the D.C. Public Library budget.
51st.news
January 17, 2026 at 8:34 PM
i think about this every time i look at the latest Overdrive or Hoopla or Kanopy invoice. unless prices or demand stabilize, our budget and thus our library will soon be describable as “lessee of digital content with a legacy dead-tree side concern.” 📚
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1/ I recently wrote about Frances Perkins—FDR’s Labor Secretary and first woman cabinet member. She is best known as the architect of the New Deal but she had a lesser-known achievement:
She dismantled her era’s version of ICE.🧵
She dismantled her era’s version of ICE.🧵
January 14, 2026 at 3:43 AM
1/ I recently wrote about Frances Perkins—FDR’s Labor Secretary and first woman cabinet member. She is best known as the architect of the New Deal but she had a lesser-known achievement:
She dismantled her era’s version of ICE.🧵
She dismantled her era’s version of ICE.🧵
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The right-wingers at SCOTUS today argue that merely allowing a trans girl to compete in sports is a great harm because we must "protect women."
But a woman exercising her First Amendment rights is a smug ....
These people don't respect women 1/10th as much as any trans woman I know does.
But a woman exercising her First Amendment rights is a smug ....
These people don't respect women 1/10th as much as any trans woman I know does.
Fox News' Will Cain: “There's a weird kind of smugness... in the way that some of these liberal white women interact with authority”
January 13, 2026 at 8:31 PM
The right-wingers at SCOTUS today argue that merely allowing a trans girl to compete in sports is a great harm because we must "protect women."
But a woman exercising her First Amendment rights is a smug ....
These people don't respect women 1/10th as much as any trans woman I know does.
But a woman exercising her First Amendment rights is a smug ....
These people don't respect women 1/10th as much as any trans woman I know does.
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I do not care what party you are. If you’re a lady you know.
January 13, 2026 at 8:20 PM
I do not care what party you are. If you’re a lady you know.
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"They were very patient" before shooting her in the face.
Mike Johnson on Renee Good: "This woman was taunting ICE officers. She was impeding law enforcement. She was violating a number of laws. They were very patient ... what I saw was she hit the accelerator and hit the ICE officer and he reacted in a split second."
January 13, 2026 at 4:08 PM
"They were very patient" before shooting her in the face.
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How many rural hospitals could we keep open with this money?
How many meals could we get to the hungry?
How many educators could we hire?
How many houses could we build?
These aren't abstract questions, these are real tradeoffs our policymakers are *choosing* to make every time they fund this.
How many meals could we get to the hungry?
How many educators could we hire?
How many houses could we build?
These aren't abstract questions, these are real tradeoffs our policymakers are *choosing* to make every time they fund this.
Here is what I would like to see reported - how much is the ICE action in Minnesota costing per day? And I mean total cost - transportation, vehicle rental, hotel, per diem, hazard pay, overtime pay, kristi noem's glam squad giving her hourly lip injections, etc. What is it costing us?
January 12, 2026 at 3:26 PM
How many rural hospitals could we keep open with this money?
How many meals could we get to the hungry?
How many educators could we hire?
How many houses could we build?
These aren't abstract questions, these are real tradeoffs our policymakers are *choosing* to make every time they fund this.
How many meals could we get to the hungry?
How many educators could we hire?
How many houses could we build?
These aren't abstract questions, these are real tradeoffs our policymakers are *choosing* to make every time they fund this.
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This is a big deal.
Editorial in the National Catholic Reporter: "The vice president's comments justifying the death of Renee Good are a moral stain on the collective witness of our Catholic faith. His repeated attempts to blame Good for her own death are fundamentally incompatible with the Gospel."
Catholic Vice President Vance takes to social media to justify killing of Renee Good
After the tragic shooting of Renee Good at the hands of ICE, the Catholic vice president of the United States took to social media to justify the killing.
www.ncronline.org
January 9, 2026 at 2:58 AM
This is a big deal.
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30 years ago they were like we have to ban song lyrics for the children but it’s full steam ahead for the here’s how to do drugs until you die machine
“ChatGPT started coaching Sam on how to take drugs, recover from them and plan further binges. It gave him specific doses of illegal substances, and in one chat, it wrote, ‘Hell yes—let’s go full trippy mode’”
www.sfgate.com/tech/article...
www.sfgate.com/tech/article...
A Calif. teen trusted ChatGPT for drug advice. He died from an overdose.
"Who on earth gives that advice?"
www.sfgate.com
January 5, 2026 at 11:30 PM
30 years ago they were like we have to ban song lyrics for the children but it’s full steam ahead for the here’s how to do drugs until you die machine
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When you complain that democracy is under threat from Nazis because “too many niche groups” are demanding the same rights you have - you understand neither democracy nor the history of Nazis.
January 8, 2026 at 1:05 PM
When you complain that democracy is under threat from Nazis because “too many niche groups” are demanding the same rights you have - you understand neither democracy nor the history of Nazis.
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If you're reporting on the deepfake porn site because of Grok, please make clear in the headline that governments not acting are allowing the scaled abuse of women and children online.
Don't say Grok is doing that harm. Grok isn't doing anything. It's human men who are doing these things.
Don't say Grok is doing that harm. Grok isn't doing anything. It's human men who are doing these things.
January 7, 2026 at 9:12 AM
If you're reporting on the deepfake porn site because of Grok, please make clear in the headline that governments not acting are allowing the scaled abuse of women and children online.
Don't say Grok is doing that harm. Grok isn't doing anything. It's human men who are doing these things.
Don't say Grok is doing that harm. Grok isn't doing anything. It's human men who are doing these things.
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When kids/teens are interested in what they're reading about, they're more likely to do it. And the more they read, the stronger their skills at taking in, understanding and remembering information. The more gatekeepers discount what interests a kid/teen, the less likely they are to engage.
Reading comics counts as reading. Reading graphic novels counts as reading. Reading fan fiction counts as reading. Listening to audio books counts as reading. Reading a 10k word Tumblr treatise on Star Trek/Dr Who parallels counts as reading.
January 6, 2026 at 9:08 PM
When kids/teens are interested in what they're reading about, they're more likely to do it. And the more they read, the stronger their skills at taking in, understanding and remembering information. The more gatekeepers discount what interests a kid/teen, the less likely they are to engage.
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This Langston Hughes poem is relevant af.
January 5, 2026 at 4:27 PM
This Langston Hughes poem is relevant af.
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My doctor: Are you feeling increased anxiety or depression that makes it hard to function in your everyday life?
Me: Are you not? 👀
Me: Are you not? 👀
January 5, 2026 at 3:28 PM
My doctor: Are you feeling increased anxiety or depression that makes it hard to function in your everyday life?
Me: Are you not? 👀
Me: Are you not? 👀
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Ever relevant, this poem by Mary Oliver, especially today.
January 3, 2026 at 2:02 PM
Ever relevant, this poem by Mary Oliver, especially today.
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It’s 2026 and one of the first things that has happened is that a major news outlet has announced that it will no longer seek information from experts.
I don’t think this is gonna help with what I think is the most existential threat to our society currently: disinformation.
I don’t think this is gonna help with what I think is the most existential threat to our society currently: disinformation.
January 2, 2026 at 4:00 PM
It’s 2026 and one of the first things that has happened is that a major news outlet has announced that it will no longer seek information from experts.
I don’t think this is gonna help with what I think is the most existential threat to our society currently: disinformation.
I don’t think this is gonna help with what I think is the most existential threat to our society currently: disinformation.
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I just had a specialist doctor appointment booked.
The first available is August.
People worried about single payer coming with wait times, as if we aren't already dealing with that, are so full of shit lol
The first available is August.
People worried about single payer coming with wait times, as if we aren't already dealing with that, are so full of shit lol
January 2, 2026 at 9:58 PM
I just had a specialist doctor appointment booked.
The first available is August.
People worried about single payer coming with wait times, as if we aren't already dealing with that, are so full of shit lol
The first available is August.
People worried about single payer coming with wait times, as if we aren't already dealing with that, are so full of shit lol
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Mandy Patinkin and the PS22 Children's Chorus of Staten Island perform "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" at Zohran Mamdani's Mayoral inauguration
January 1, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Mandy Patinkin and the PS22 Children's Chorus of Staten Island perform "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" at Zohran Mamdani's Mayoral inauguration
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I'm not NOT crying at Mandy Patinkin singing "Over the Rainbow" in the freezing cold with a chorus of Staten Island schoolkids.
January 1, 2026 at 6:55 PM
I'm not NOT crying at Mandy Patinkin singing "Over the Rainbow" in the freezing cold with a chorus of Staten Island schoolkids.
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Let’s swap out the fragile, slowly maturing frontal cortexes of society’s teens and replace them with a soulless, sycophantic pattern recognizing machine designed by hubristic, Ayn Rand obsessed simpletons with no historical sensibility, & whose main motivation is profit maximization. This is fine.
Adam Raine’s life hurtled toward tragedy soon after he began talking with ChatGPT about homework. Analysis of his ChatGPT account shows how the chatbot became a confidant as he planned to end his life.
74 suicide warnings and 243 mentions of hanging: What ChatGPT said to a suicidal teen
Analysis of high-schooler Adam Raine’s ChatGPT account by attorneys for his parents shows how the chatbot became a confidant as he planned to end his life.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 28, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Let’s swap out the fragile, slowly maturing frontal cortexes of society’s teens and replace them with a soulless, sycophantic pattern recognizing machine designed by hubristic, Ayn Rand obsessed simpletons with no historical sensibility, & whose main motivation is profit maximization. This is fine.
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I am reading The Correspondent and lol, Sybil, give Mr. Lübeck a chance! I mean damn! She is STRICT!
December 28, 2025 at 5:10 AM
I am reading The Correspondent and lol, Sybil, give Mr. Lübeck a chance! I mean damn! She is STRICT!
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What I really hate about this is that it's a strain of Democratic Party know-it-all-ism which is going to assert itself with a lot of $$ and a lot of free media in '26 and '28, which is "We could win this whole thing if you freaks would either just act normal or hide." Do not trust those messengers.
December 28, 2025 at 7:45 PM
What I really hate about this is that it's a strain of Democratic Party know-it-all-ism which is going to assert itself with a lot of $$ and a lot of free media in '26 and '28, which is "We could win this whole thing if you freaks would either just act normal or hide." Do not trust those messengers.
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America has 925 billionaires as of this year. Collectively they have a record $6.9 trillion in wealth.
The bottom 50% of Americans control $4.2 trillion in wealth.
When 925 people control more wealth than half a country’s population, we have a very serious problem.
The bottom 50% of Americans control $4.2 trillion in wealth.
When 925 people control more wealth than half a country’s population, we have a very serious problem.
December 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM
America has 925 billionaires as of this year. Collectively they have a record $6.9 trillion in wealth.
The bottom 50% of Americans control $4.2 trillion in wealth.
When 925 people control more wealth than half a country’s population, we have a very serious problem.
The bottom 50% of Americans control $4.2 trillion in wealth.
When 925 people control more wealth than half a country’s population, we have a very serious problem.
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It never stops being funny to me that in the dark alternate universe of It’s a Wonderful Life Mary is a librarian
December 24, 2024 at 11:26 PM
It never stops being funny to me that in the dark alternate universe of It’s a Wonderful Life Mary is a librarian
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Get in loser, we're going west to diminish
July 13, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Get in loser, we're going west to diminish
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ChatGPT could NEVER.
December 22, 2025 at 2:13 PM
ChatGPT could NEVER.