Vicki Madden
@vlmadden.bsky.social
Teacher, very slow writer, lover of libraries & trains. Words in A Public Space and The New York Times. Rewilding my 1/3 acre garden, mending and darning socks and my little corner of the world
Also I help school leaders.
truenorthbk.org
vickimadden.net
Also I help school leaders.
truenorthbk.org
vickimadden.net
Huge loss--Tekserve was everything quirky and non-huge-corporation-controlled that made NYC what it was. As tech direction at schools, I made a choice in mid-90s to be "mac person." It saved me so much work maintaining 100s of computers. Tekserve was my go to. RIP
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/t...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/t...
David Lerner, a Mr. Fix-it of Apple Computers, Dies at 72
www.nytimes.com
November 28, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Huge loss--Tekserve was everything quirky and non-huge-corporation-controlled that made NYC what it was. As tech direction at schools, I made a choice in mid-90s to be "mac person." It saved me so much work maintaining 100s of computers. Tekserve was my go to. RIP
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/t...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/t...
Reposted by Vicki Madden
I need everybody to read this and understand what’s going on. These are spouses of US citizens in the country legally. They have entry clearance and green cards, they’ve passed background checks and have no criminal records. ICE is taking them anyway.
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Green Card Interviews End in Handcuffs for Spouses of U.S. Citizens
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:40 PM
I need everybody to read this and understand what’s going on. These are spouses of US citizens in the country legally. They have entry clearance and green cards, they’ve passed background checks and have no criminal records. ICE is taking them anyway.
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
What. Is. Happening.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Green Card Interviews End in Handcuffs for Spouses of U.S. Citizens
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:22 PM
What. Is. Happening.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Reposted by Vicki Madden
Sometimes I think it’s going to be the librarians who will save us all.
November 25, 2025 at 1:47 AM
Sometimes I think it’s going to be the librarians who will save us all.
Tuesday mood
the long tension of Ahab’s bodily strength did crack, and helplessly he yielded to his body’s doom
November 25, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Tuesday mood
Reposted by Vicki Madden
The mayor-elect’s much-touted online portal has received 70,000 -plus applications from people seeking “roles across City agencies and offices.”
But that’s not the real path to landing a city job. Good stuff, as they say in the trade, from @reuvenblau.bsky.social www.thecity.nyc/2025/11/25/c...
But that’s not the real path to landing a city job. Good stuff, as they say in the trade, from @reuvenblau.bsky.social www.thecity.nyc/2025/11/25/c...
70K Apply to Mamdani’s Transition Team. Here’s How to Actually Get Hired by NYC.
More than 70,000 people have applied to Mamdani’s transition site, but the real route to thousands of open roles runs through civil service exams.
www.thecity.nyc
November 25, 2025 at 2:01 PM
The mayor-elect’s much-touted online portal has received 70,000 -plus applications from people seeking “roles across City agencies and offices.”
But that’s not the real path to landing a city job. Good stuff, as they say in the trade, from @reuvenblau.bsky.social www.thecity.nyc/2025/11/25/c...
But that’s not the real path to landing a city job. Good stuff, as they say in the trade, from @reuvenblau.bsky.social www.thecity.nyc/2025/11/25/c...
@katiehonan.bsky.social I'm listening to the newest FAQ NYC with Crystal Hudson. Did she say that the Speaker's office has a staff of 400? That seems shocking.
November 24, 2025 at 10:33 PM
@katiehonan.bsky.social I'm listening to the newest FAQ NYC with Crystal Hudson. Did she say that the Speaker's office has a staff of 400? That seems shocking.
"The educated poor is a class that used to make up the creative life of New York City....A reasonable cost of living & local & national programs [made] a dignified life accessible for more Americans & gave people the ability to provide for themselves and their families while still living creatively.
You all MUST READ this piece by Kaitlyn Greenidge about the power of art to “exist outside of a tech lord’s algorithm.”
www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/art-...
www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/art-...
The Artist Who Reminds Us that Another Way Is Possible
The late artist Abigail McGrath cultivated a creative life for herself filled with freedom, joy, and a commitment to beauty. In an age of authoritarianism and algorithms, it’s a kind of life worth pro...
www.harpersbazaar.com
November 23, 2025 at 7:05 PM
"The educated poor is a class that used to make up the creative life of New York City....A reasonable cost of living & local & national programs [made] a dignified life accessible for more Americans & gave people the ability to provide for themselves and their families while still living creatively.
Reposted by Vicki Madden
Grand opening, grand closing.
X quietly disabled a new feature that showed which country an account was posting from when it revealed that lots of popular right wing MAGA accounts were being run from foreign countries like India and Nigeria.
X quietly disabled a new feature that showed which country an account was posting from when it revealed that lots of popular right wing MAGA accounts were being run from foreign countries like India and Nigeria.
November 22, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Grand opening, grand closing.
X quietly disabled a new feature that showed which country an account was posting from when it revealed that lots of popular right wing MAGA accounts were being run from foreign countries like India and Nigeria.
X quietly disabled a new feature that showed which country an account was posting from when it revealed that lots of popular right wing MAGA accounts were being run from foreign countries like India and Nigeria.
Reposted by Vicki Madden
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
November 21, 2025 at 2:56 PM
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
Reposted by Vicki Madden
The partisan divide has grown, too. The wealthiest 100 tended to give more to Republicans than to Democrats before last year. But giving to the GOP spiked in 2024, with *84%* of donations going to back Republicans or conservative PACs.
November 21, 2025 at 2:56 PM
The partisan divide has grown, too. The wealthiest 100 tended to give more to Republicans than to Democrats before last year. But giving to the GOP spiked in 2024, with *84%* of donations going to back Republicans or conservative PACs.
Reposted by Vicki Madden
Federal election spending by the 100 wealthiest Americans is now 140x what it was in 2000.
Last year they crossed $1 billion in election spending.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
Last year they crossed $1 billion in election spending.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
November 21, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Federal election spending by the 100 wealthiest Americans is now 140x what it was in 2000.
Last year they crossed $1 billion in election spending.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
Last year they crossed $1 billion in election spending.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
This confirms my experience: under Bloomberg we had to retain kids who didn’t “pass” NYS exams. Idea was adults would change and address kid needs, but mostly we just got 6th graders who were 2 years over-age, discouraged and acting out (because they still couldn't read as well as 11 yo classmates)
Despite temporary test score gains, Jiee finds that “third grade retention significantly reduces annual earnings at age 26 by $3,477 (19%)” — driven by increased absenteeism, violent behavior, and juvenile crime, and reduced likelihood of H.S. graduation.
Super important findings for policymakers!
Super important findings for policymakers!
November 21, 2025 at 1:32 PM
This confirms my experience: under Bloomberg we had to retain kids who didn’t “pass” NYS exams. Idea was adults would change and address kid needs, but mostly we just got 6th graders who were 2 years over-age, discouraged and acting out (because they still couldn't read as well as 11 yo classmates)
I just love this article so much about all the things libraries do for us and with us. Featuring my library @bklynlibrary.bsky.social and also seed library, which I may help maintain at my other library in Catskill.
Extralibrary Loan: placesjournal.org/article/extr...
Extralibrary Loan: placesjournal.org/article/extr...
Extralibrary Loan: Making the Civic Infrastructure We Need
Amid a war on public knowledge, libraries are pushing outward, enlarging the commons through new configurations of civic and creative life.
placesjournal.org
November 21, 2025 at 12:51 AM
I just love this article so much about all the things libraries do for us and with us. Featuring my library @bklynlibrary.bsky.social and also seed library, which I may help maintain at my other library in Catskill.
Extralibrary Loan: placesjournal.org/article/extr...
Extralibrary Loan: placesjournal.org/article/extr...
Reposted by Vicki Madden
1/ Announcing GovScape – a public search system for 10 million U.S. government PDFs (70 million pages)! GovScape offers visual search, semantic text search, and keyword search. Explore below:
Website: www.govscape.net
ArXiv link: arxiv.org/abs/2511.11010
Website: www.govscape.net
ArXiv link: arxiv.org/abs/2511.11010
www.govscape.net
November 18, 2025 at 8:19 PM
1/ Announcing GovScape – a public search system for 10 million U.S. government PDFs (70 million pages)! GovScape offers visual search, semantic text search, and keyword search. Explore below:
Website: www.govscape.net
ArXiv link: arxiv.org/abs/2511.11010
Website: www.govscape.net
ArXiv link: arxiv.org/abs/2511.11010
I'm kind of expecting the Neptune-Saturn conjunction to have something to say about this.
Nine-month-old AI company you've never heard of that revealed its first product last month wants to be valued as much as Ford
Sources: Mira Murati's Thinking Machines Lab is in talks with potential investors to raise about $5B and is aiming for a valuation of at least $50B (The Information)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
November 18, 2025 at 11:52 AM
I'm kind of expecting the Neptune-Saturn conjunction to have something to say about this.
Reposted by Vicki Madden
every epstein email is some creep complaining about MeToo and then being like “oh before i forget, any advice on how to use my position of authority to force women into sleeping with me?”
November 17, 2025 at 1:31 PM
every epstein email is some creep complaining about MeToo and then being like “oh before i forget, any advice on how to use my position of authority to force women into sleeping with me?”
Sorry but these aren’t the files we are looking for
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/u...
Trump Administration Releases Thousands of Amelia Earhart Files
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Sorry but these aren’t the files we are looking for
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/u...
Reposted by Vicki Madden
The parenthetical is my favorite bit of the article
November 14, 2025 at 8:19 PM
The parenthetical is my favorite bit of the article
Reposted by Vicki Madden
What if CEOs earned 100x what the average worker earned? This used to be normal. And rich people still managed to live rich lives. Billionaires have been created by government policies, tax policy, taking money from average people and giving it to CEOs & super rich. We can stop it.
Last year, Starbucks’ CEO took home $95.8 million. The typical Starbucks worker got $14,674. That’s a gap of 6,666 to 1.
It’s no wonder Starbucks workers across the country are going on strike today.
Show solidarity and shop elsewhere.
It’s no wonder Starbucks workers across the country are going on strike today.
Show solidarity and shop elsewhere.
November 14, 2025 at 11:37 AM
What if CEOs earned 100x what the average worker earned? This used to be normal. And rich people still managed to live rich lives. Billionaires have been created by government policies, tax policy, taking money from average people and giving it to CEOs & super rich. We can stop it.
Reposted by Vicki Madden
“Between 1989 and 2022, households in the top 1 percent added about 100 times as much wealth as households at the national median. The share of all U.S. wealth held by the top 0.00001 percent has nearly doubled over the last decade.” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/o...
Opinion | The Haves and Have-Nots Are, Once Again, at War
www.nytimes.com
November 12, 2025 at 10:43 PM
“Between 1989 and 2022, households in the top 1 percent added about 100 times as much wealth as households at the national median. The share of all U.S. wealth held by the top 0.00001 percent has nearly doubled over the last decade.” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/o...
Reposted by Vicki Madden
All those Pizzagate MFs are quiet AF right now
November 13, 2025 at 3:41 AM
All those Pizzagate MFs are quiet AF right now
"There are many ways to work on writing--reading, thinking, researching, walking, watching a film or seeing art, talking to friends, doubting... all are writing. Perhaps the churning that needs to be done is not words on a page but inwards."
Kate Zambreno, found in my old 2018 notebook
Kate Zambreno, found in my old 2018 notebook
November 12, 2025 at 1:19 PM
"There are many ways to work on writing--reading, thinking, researching, walking, watching a film or seeing art, talking to friends, doubting... all are writing. Perhaps the churning that needs to be done is not words on a page but inwards."
Kate Zambreno, found in my old 2018 notebook
Kate Zambreno, found in my old 2018 notebook