Jill Piggott
@jillpiggott.bsky.social
Philosophy & lit professor, now disabled by migraine & ME/CFS. Cofounder, headsUPmigraine. Volunteer prison educator, Equal Justice Initiative. Progressive activist.
Half-time Mainer, half-time Canadian Maritimer
Half-time Mainer, half-time Canadian Maritimer
The Senate voted on whether or not to exercise its Constitutional duty to authorize war re: Trump's Venezuelan attacks, and Republicans voted to let him go it alone, with my Senator, Susan Collins, casting the decisive 50th vote.
GOP Senators own this every bit as much as the admin.
GOP Senators own this every bit as much as the admin.
December 3, 2025 at 12:54 PM
The Senate voted on whether or not to exercise its Constitutional duty to authorize war re: Trump's Venezuelan attacks, and Republicans voted to let him go it alone, with my Senator, Susan Collins, casting the decisive 50th vote.
GOP Senators own this every bit as much as the admin.
GOP Senators own this every bit as much as the admin.
Susan Collins rarely casts a decisive vote. She did so in November, casting the 50th vote in favor of letting Trump launch attacks against Venezuela without Congressional authorization. Mainers have to hold her accountable. #mepolitics
December 3, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Susan Collins rarely casts a decisive vote. She did so in November, casting the 50th vote in favor of letting Trump launch attacks against Venezuela without Congressional authorization. Mainers have to hold her accountable. #mepolitics
I posted this elsewhere today, but I just can't get over the fact that DoD's Law of War Manual explicitly cites "orders to fire upon the shipwrecked" as its example of a "clearly illegal" order that troops have a "duty" to disobey. www.justsecurity.org/125948/illeg...
![From the article: "in clear cases, the duty [to disobey] attaches. As the Manual for Courts-Martial explains, the general presumption that an order can be inferred to be lawful 'does not apply to a patently illegal order, such as one that directs the commission of a crime.'"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:qoewv4sal6ftjn3gwcrzyn4g/bafkreidfc4diyehqicjrejaprykc6dubuyihptq5n3ukvcpetqabrjpn2m@jpeg)
December 2, 2025 at 3:23 AM
I posted this elsewhere today, but I just can't get over the fact that DoD's Law of War Manual explicitly cites "orders to fire upon the shipwrecked" as its example of a "clearly illegal" order that troops have a "duty" to disobey. www.justsecurity.org/125948/illeg...
The Department of Defense’s Law of War Manual (18.3.2.1) explicitly cites "an order to kill shipwrecked persons" as an example of a "clearly illegal" order that troops have a "duty" to disobey. www.justsecurity.org/125948/illeg...
December 1, 2025 at 8:42 PM
The Department of Defense’s Law of War Manual (18.3.2.1) explicitly cites "an order to kill shipwrecked persons" as an example of a "clearly illegal" order that troops have a "duty" to disobey. www.justsecurity.org/125948/illeg...
Astounding that the Dept of Defense's Law of War Manual specifically identifies "orders to fire upon the shipwrecked" as "clearly illegal." www.justsecurity.org/125948/illeg...
December 1, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Astounding that the Dept of Defense's Law of War Manual specifically identifies "orders to fire upon the shipwrecked" as "clearly illegal." www.justsecurity.org/125948/illeg...
I didn't make this, but I certainly appreciate it!
December 1, 2025 at 4:35 PM
I didn't make this, but I certainly appreciate it!
I'm having a classy French-themed weekend: I'm rereading Baldwin's classic "Giovanni's Room" and, because I'm trying to revive my college French after decades of neglect, a book from the classic children's series "Le Petit Nicolas."
November 30, 2025 at 5:26 PM
I'm having a classy French-themed weekend: I'm rereading Baldwin's classic "Giovanni's Room" and, because I'm trying to revive my college French after decades of neglect, a book from the classic children's series "Le Petit Nicolas."
Thomas King's "Green Grass, Running Water" is one of my all-time favorite books. I would love & recommend it no matter the ethnicity of the author. #LitFic #CanLit www.bbc.com/news/article...
November 27, 2025 at 3:18 AM
Thomas King's "Green Grass, Running Water" is one of my all-time favorite books. I would love & recommend it no matter the ethnicity of the author. #LitFic #CanLit www.bbc.com/news/article...
I was really touched by Caleb Azumah Nelson's tender "Open Water." I like this blurb: “Open Water is...an exploration of intimacy & vulnerability between 2 young artists learning to be soft with each other in a world that hardens against Black people.” #LitFic groveatlantic.com/book/open-wa...
November 26, 2025 at 10:59 PM
I was really touched by Caleb Azumah Nelson's tender "Open Water." I like this blurb: “Open Water is...an exploration of intimacy & vulnerability between 2 young artists learning to be soft with each other in a world that hardens against Black people.” #LitFic groveatlantic.com/book/open-wa...
"Collins furrowed her brow incredulously ... before darting into the Senate Chamber."
That pretty much sums things up. #mepolitics thehill.com/homenews/sen...
That pretty much sums things up. #mepolitics thehill.com/homenews/sen...
November 26, 2025 at 1:40 PM
"Collins furrowed her brow incredulously ... before darting into the Senate Chamber."
That pretty much sums things up. #mepolitics thehill.com/homenews/sen...
That pretty much sums things up. #mepolitics thehill.com/homenews/sen...
Readers who enjoy Winchester on the making of the OED might also enjoy Pip Williams's historical fiction, "The Dictionary of Lost Words." NYT Book Review: “Delightful... [a] captivating and slyly subversive fictional paean to the real women whose work on the OED went largely unheralded."
November 23, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Readers who enjoy Winchester on the making of the OED might also enjoy Pip Williams's historical fiction, "The Dictionary of Lost Words." NYT Book Review: “Delightful... [a] captivating and slyly subversive fictional paean to the real women whose work on the OED went largely unheralded."
T must have a compelling reason for sitting thru Oval Office photo ops. If he keeps up the habit despite this photo, it must be serious.
November 22, 2025 at 5:22 PM
T must have a compelling reason for sitting thru Oval Office photo ops. If he keeps up the habit despite this photo, it must be serious.
Mark Hertling, Lt. General (Ret) & former Commanding General of US Army Europe and the Seventh Army, on the duty to disobey illegal orders:
November 22, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Mark Hertling, Lt. General (Ret) & former Commanding General of US Army Europe and the Seventh Army, on the duty to disobey illegal orders:
I'm having a blast reviving my college French with "Le Petit Nicolas" chapter books about a lively gang of little boys. I highly recommend them to other French learners. They are laugh out loud--rire aux éclats!--funny. #BookSky
November 20, 2025 at 3:25 PM
I'm having a blast reviving my college French with "Le Petit Nicolas" chapter books about a lively gang of little boys. I highly recommend them to other French learners. They are laugh out loud--rire aux éclats!--funny. #BookSky
A kindergarten assistant was fired for accurately quoting Kirk *before* his death was announced. "Vaughn, a 37-year-old Christian who has taken missionary trips to Guatemala, said her call for prayer was sincere" (Reuters).
November 19, 2025 at 4:38 PM
A kindergarten assistant was fired for accurately quoting Kirk *before* his death was announced. "Vaughn, a 37-year-old Christian who has taken missionary trips to Guatemala, said her call for prayer was sincere" (Reuters).
You might try "Open Water," Caleb Azumah Nelson's prize-winning debut novel. groveatlantic.com/book/open-wa...
November 19, 2025 at 1:01 PM
You might try "Open Water," Caleb Azumah Nelson's prize-winning debut novel. groveatlantic.com/book/open-wa...
"Open Water," a first novel by Caleb Azumah Nelson, is one of my favorite reads of the year. From Black Cat publishing, it's a short novel, rather than a novella. Good description in the link so you'll see if it's something you'd like to try. #LitFic groveatlantic.com/book/open-wa...
November 17, 2025 at 8:30 PM
"Open Water," a first novel by Caleb Azumah Nelson, is one of my favorite reads of the year. From Black Cat publishing, it's a short novel, rather than a novella. Good description in the link so you'll see if it's something you'd like to try. #LitFic groveatlantic.com/book/open-wa...
I'm old enough to remember Nixon's secretary Rose Mary Woods demonstrating how she mistakenly erased a critical 18.5 minutes from the secret tapes.
November 17, 2025 at 7:44 PM
I'm old enough to remember Nixon's secretary Rose Mary Woods demonstrating how she mistakenly erased a critical 18.5 minutes from the secret tapes.
Your solar-powered French-English dictionary is one of my favorite things. As you can see.
November 17, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Your solar-powered French-English dictionary is one of my favorite things. As you can see.
I remember that moment well! Congratulations!
November 8, 2025 at 2:03 AM
I remember that moment well! Congratulations!
Aroostock Dems noting Collins's cozy relationship with the banking industry & her "criticism" of RFK, Jr., for whom she voted. We can't let the D primary take our eyes off the prize: Susan's retirement. #mepolitics
November 4, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Aroostock Dems noting Collins's cozy relationship with the banking industry & her "criticism" of RFK, Jr., for whom she voted. We can't let the D primary take our eyes off the prize: Susan's retirement. #mepolitics
I read literary fiction. It's been a good reading week: Moore, "February"; Richardson, "The End of the Alphabet"; Urquhart, "The Whirlpool"; Barbery, "Gourmet Rhapsody." But like you, I've found there are fewer litfic readers than I once assumed.
October 3, 2025 at 9:17 PM
I read literary fiction. It's been a good reading week: Moore, "February"; Richardson, "The End of the Alphabet"; Urquhart, "The Whirlpool"; Barbery, "Gourmet Rhapsody." But like you, I've found there are fewer litfic readers than I once assumed.
Let's be clear. *This* is what Kimmel said about Kirk: he "sent love to the Kirks." His suspension was triggered by comments he made about the *political* reaction, not the shooting, not the victim.
September 20, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Let's be clear. *This* is what Kimmel said about Kirk: he "sent love to the Kirks." His suspension was triggered by comments he made about the *political* reaction, not the shooting, not the victim.
Eventually a suit by a teacher or govt worker fired for online comments about Kirk will hit SCOTUS. There's an almost exact precedent from 1987, Rankin v. McPherson, which ruled in favor of the worker's 1st Amendment right. Will it be upheld by the Roberts Court? supreme.justia.com/cases/federa...
September 19, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Eventually a suit by a teacher or govt worker fired for online comments about Kirk will hit SCOTUS. There's an almost exact precedent from 1987, Rankin v. McPherson, which ruled in favor of the worker's 1st Amendment right. Will it be upheld by the Roberts Court? supreme.justia.com/cases/federa...