Jonathan Cohen
@jkcohen.com
Word-wrangler. U.S. history and philosophy teacher. Literacy tutor with delusions of efficacy. Friend.
Reposted by Jonathan Cohen
no quote about the US political system has ever gone harder than this one
November 10, 2025 at 10:02 PM
no quote about the US political system has ever gone harder than this one
Reposted by Jonathan Cohen
why is this mayoral election different than all other mayoral elections?
in all other mayoral elections, we get to see andrew cuomo lose but once. but in this mayoral elections, we get to see him lose *twice*.
in all other mayoral elections, we get to see andrew cuomo lose but once. but in this mayoral elections, we get to see him lose *twice*.
July 14, 2025 at 10:16 PM
why is this mayoral election different than all other mayoral elections?
in all other mayoral elections, we get to see andrew cuomo lose but once. but in this mayoral elections, we get to see him lose *twice*.
in all other mayoral elections, we get to see andrew cuomo lose but once. but in this mayoral elections, we get to see him lose *twice*.
"Since that which is bruited about, albeit falsely, is how many infanticides each had already tasted, how many acts of incest he had shrouded in darkness." (Tertullian, Apologeticum). Nearly all religions claim that all others practice barbarity and must be destroyed. (See Vance @ Ole Miss speech.)
October 31, 2025 at 5:27 PM
"Since that which is bruited about, albeit falsely, is how many infanticides each had already tasted, how many acts of incest he had shrouded in darkness." (Tertullian, Apologeticum). Nearly all religions claim that all others practice barbarity and must be destroyed. (See Vance @ Ole Miss speech.)
Reposted by Jonathan Cohen
Best version to cross my feed so far…
October 30, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Best version to cross my feed so far…
Reposted by Jonathan Cohen
After a luxury building in East New York flopped, the city is taking advantage of a new program to fill it with formerly homeless families who have hard-to-use housing vouchers. via @patrickspauster.com: citylimits.org/this-buildin...
This Building Was Supposed to be Luxury Apartments. Now It Will House 183 Families From Homeless Shelters - City Limits
After a luxury building in East New York flopped, the city is taking advantage of a new program to fill it with families who have hard-to-use city housing vouchers.
citylimits.org
October 29, 2025 at 9:54 PM
After a luxury building in East New York flopped, the city is taking advantage of a new program to fill it with formerly homeless families who have hard-to-use housing vouchers. via @patrickspauster.com: citylimits.org/this-buildin...
Waiting impatiently for Hackett's Complete Works of Aristotle to resume sales. (They ran out of inventory, and claim there will be more today.) I hope that a Joe Sachs Aristotle omnibus is on the horizon.
October 27, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Waiting impatiently for Hackett's Complete Works of Aristotle to resume sales. (They ran out of inventory, and claim there will be more today.) I hope that a Joe Sachs Aristotle omnibus is on the horizon.
Reposted by Jonathan Cohen
Let me get this straight: Trump found tens of billions of dollars to give to Argentina for a bailout during our government shutdown, but he couldn't find funding to keep SNAP program benefits going for 42 million hungry Americans past this Friday?
October 27, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Let me get this straight: Trump found tens of billions of dollars to give to Argentina for a bailout during our government shutdown, but he couldn't find funding to keep SNAP program benefits going for 42 million hungry Americans past this Friday?
Reposted by Jonathan Cohen
The reform party nativity scene.
No unmarried mothers. No Middle Eastern people. No refugees. No people seeking emergency accommodation.
And not a wise fvcking man in sight…
No unmarried mothers. No Middle Eastern people. No refugees. No people seeking emergency accommodation.
And not a wise fvcking man in sight…
October 26, 2025 at 4:17 PM
The reform party nativity scene.
No unmarried mothers. No Middle Eastern people. No refugees. No people seeking emergency accommodation.
And not a wise fvcking man in sight…
No unmarried mothers. No Middle Eastern people. No refugees. No people seeking emergency accommodation.
And not a wise fvcking man in sight…
Reposted by Jonathan Cohen
If Emily sells prints and I don't get one for Hanukkah I will be extremely sad.
"Tzefardea Tzedek" (Frog of Righteousness)
As soon as the Portland Frog became a meme, Jewish social media blew up with jokes about the 2nd Passover plague - tzefarde'a (frogs) - and the Rabbinical commentary around it. I knew I had to make a calligraphy piece encompassing all of it. (more in alt.)
As soon as the Portland Frog became a meme, Jewish social media blew up with jokes about the 2nd Passover plague - tzefarde'a (frogs) - and the Rabbinical commentary around it. I knew I had to make a calligraphy piece encompassing all of it. (more in alt.)
October 26, 2025 at 12:06 AM
If Emily sells prints and I don't get one for Hanukkah I will be extremely sad.
All the niceties are gone. The players are not even pretending at governance. All is done by fiat and force. Why not occupy the House, gather the Democratic Representatives, declare a quorum, and start passing laws? Of course, this escalates into chaos, but is there more chaos than there was before?
October 26, 2025 at 3:33 AM
All the niceties are gone. The players are not even pretending at governance. All is done by fiat and force. Why not occupy the House, gather the Democratic Representatives, declare a quorum, and start passing laws? Of course, this escalates into chaos, but is there more chaos than there was before?
CA: Voting on Prop. 50 starts today. Your vote is likely your best means of holding back tyranny in your lifetime. Mark your ballot (this is a one-issue election, so it will take about sixty seconds to mark, seal, and sign/date. Mail, drop off, or take to a Vote Center to scan, and you're golden!
October 25, 2025 at 3:42 PM
CA: Voting on Prop. 50 starts today. Your vote is likely your best means of holding back tyranny in your lifetime. Mark your ballot (this is a one-issue election, so it will take about sixty seconds to mark, seal, and sign/date. Mail, drop off, or take to a Vote Center to scan, and you're golden!
Reposted by Jonathan Cohen
Congratulations to @neuromelody.bsky.social and all the honorees!
I’m excited to announce that I’ve been selected as a winner of the National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org!!
Learn more: www.nationalacademies.org/news/2025/10... #scicomm
Learn more: www.nationalacademies.org/news/2025/10... #scicomm
October 24, 2025 at 1:43 AM
Congratulations to @neuromelody.bsky.social and all the honorees!
Judd Legum (popular.info/p/ice-boosts...) says that ICE is stockpiling chemical weapons. Are these lethal chemical weapons like sarin and VX, or are they non-lethal like tear gas or pepper spray? If the former, we are fish in a barrel. If the latter, more of the same.
ICE boosts weapons spending 700%
A Popular Information investigation reveals tens of millions in new ICE spending on guns, chemical weapons, and explosives.
popular.info
October 22, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Judd Legum (popular.info/p/ice-boosts...) says that ICE is stockpiling chemical weapons. Are these lethal chemical weapons like sarin and VX, or are they non-lethal like tear gas or pepper spray? If the former, we are fish in a barrel. If the latter, more of the same.
Reposted by Jonathan Cohen
ICE is stockpiling arms, including chemical weapons, guided missile warheads and explosive components. The spending dwarfs anything we've ever seen in the agency - a 700% increase.
The President is building an army to attack his own country.
The President is building an army to attack his own country.
October 21, 2025 at 2:45 PM
ICE is stockpiling arms, including chemical weapons, guided missile warheads and explosive components. The spending dwarfs anything we've ever seen in the agency - a 700% increase.
The President is building an army to attack his own country.
The President is building an army to attack his own country.
I worked (as a part-time contractor) for IRG, which, among other things wrote reports for IES's "What Works Clearinghouse." My full-time colleagues, the investigators, were brilliant, classy, and professional. The work they did was impeccable and helped U.S. K-12 education tremendously. No more.
October 21, 2025 at 4:54 PM
I worked (as a part-time contractor) for IRG, which, among other things wrote reports for IES's "What Works Clearinghouse." My full-time colleagues, the investigators, were brilliant, classy, and professional. The work they did was impeccable and helped U.S. K-12 education tremendously. No more.
Reposted by Jonathan Cohen
Reposted by Jonathan Cohen
🇺🇸 🔥 That. Was. Impressive.
We are watching America reassert itself and its values from the grassroots up. The world saw you and we have huge hope invested in you.
We are watching America reassert itself and its values from the grassroots up. The world saw you and we have huge hope invested in you.
October 19, 2025 at 11:04 AM
🇺🇸 🔥 That. Was. Impressive.
We are watching America reassert itself and its values from the grassroots up. The world saw you and we have huge hope invested in you.
We are watching America reassert itself and its values from the grassroots up. The world saw you and we have huge hope invested in you.
TROUBLESHOOTING:
1. My democracy is throwing errors.
There is a tiny hole in the bottom into which you can stick an unbent paper clip. Factory reset, followed by bootstrapping the Constitution. To tell you how the progress is going, each of the fifty stars on the American flag lights up, one by one.
1. My democracy is throwing errors.
There is a tiny hole in the bottom into which you can stick an unbent paper clip. Factory reset, followed by bootstrapping the Constitution. To tell you how the progress is going, each of the fifty stars on the American flag lights up, one by one.
October 14, 2025 at 4:25 AM
TROUBLESHOOTING:
1. My democracy is throwing errors.
There is a tiny hole in the bottom into which you can stick an unbent paper clip. Factory reset, followed by bootstrapping the Constitution. To tell you how the progress is going, each of the fifty stars on the American flag lights up, one by one.
1. My democracy is throwing errors.
There is a tiny hole in the bottom into which you can stick an unbent paper clip. Factory reset, followed by bootstrapping the Constitution. To tell you how the progress is going, each of the fifty stars on the American flag lights up, one by one.
Darned if these politicians think Western classical civilizations are "safe" and unthreatening to entrenched power. Quite the opposite! Our waning hegemony is prefigured by theirs.
Hybris->atis->nemesis->tisis.
Hybris->atis->nemesis->tisis.
Lisa Moore: "like the medieval monks and nuns who buried precious manuscripts to hide them from the kings who burned their abbeys, we will preserve this knowledge and progress for another time in the future."
October 10, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Darned if these politicians think Western classical civilizations are "safe" and unthreatening to entrenched power. Quite the opposite! Our waning hegemony is prefigured by theirs.
Hybris->atis->nemesis->tisis.
Hybris->atis->nemesis->tisis.
Reposted by Jonathan Cohen
This is of niche industry interest, but here goes:
The digital catalog platform most independent bookstores use to peruse and order new books for their stores (called Edelweiss) has jacked up their prices on publishers to catalog new titles 200-300%.
Why does this matter?
The digital catalog platform most independent bookstores use to peruse and order new books for their stores (called Edelweiss) has jacked up their prices on publishers to catalog new titles 200-300%.
Why does this matter?
October 7, 2025 at 1:48 AM
This is of niche industry interest, but here goes:
The digital catalog platform most independent bookstores use to peruse and order new books for their stores (called Edelweiss) has jacked up their prices on publishers to catalog new titles 200-300%.
Why does this matter?
The digital catalog platform most independent bookstores use to peruse and order new books for their stores (called Edelweiss) has jacked up their prices on publishers to catalog new titles 200-300%.
Why does this matter?
Never Trust AI. I was trying to create a Discogs tracklist for a recording of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. It's picky work, and I thought it might be easier to tell Claude how to do it. He was subtly and completely wrong. He left out all the tracks in minor keys! Facepalm.
October 6, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Never Trust AI. I was trying to create a Discogs tracklist for a recording of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. It's picky work, and I thought it might be easier to tell Claude how to do it. He was subtly and completely wrong. He left out all the tracks in minor keys! Facepalm.
Reposted by Jonathan Cohen
Administrators of the @uofcalifornia.bsky.social can let the Trump administration pick off campuses one by one.
Or they can stand together, resist this abomination, and win the gratitude and support of their state and their >2 million living alumni.
CC: @governor.ca.gov
Or they can stand together, resist this abomination, and win the gratitude and support of their state and their >2 million living alumni.
CC: @governor.ca.gov
Why elite colleges aren't pushing back on Trump, and why silence is dangerous
Their caution, one expert notes, is "potentially fatal for the university as we know it."
www.motherjones.com
October 6, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Administrators of the @uofcalifornia.bsky.social can let the Trump administration pick off campuses one by one.
Or they can stand together, resist this abomination, and win the gratitude and support of their state and their >2 million living alumni.
CC: @governor.ca.gov
Or they can stand together, resist this abomination, and win the gratitude and support of their state and their >2 million living alumni.
CC: @governor.ca.gov
May our repentance, prayer, and righteousness avert G-d's severe decree. Given events of the past year, G-d may be serving us justice; hopefully, we will merit a little more mercy this year. An easy fast, honest reflection, and a good outcome for all of us!
October 1, 2025 at 9:07 PM
May our repentance, prayer, and righteousness avert G-d's severe decree. Given events of the past year, G-d may be serving us justice; hopefully, we will merit a little more mercy this year. An easy fast, honest reflection, and a good outcome for all of us!
"The anthropologist Marshall Sahlins has said that every culture is a 'gamble played with nature' in the sense that it depends on the continued availability of environmental resources, and on challenges that it can continue to negotiate." —Jonathan Lear, "Radical Hope."
September 26, 2025 at 5:19 AM
"The anthropologist Marshall Sahlins has said that every culture is a 'gamble played with nature' in the sense that it depends on the continued availability of environmental resources, and on challenges that it can continue to negotiate." —Jonathan Lear, "Radical Hope."
Belated news: Peter Gelb announced that, due to the unavailability of any billionaire donors, he has made a deal with the Saudis involving Met performances there. There's only one catch: the dramaturgs will be Sunni clerics who will "snip, snip, snip" the librettos. What will the operas look like?
September 26, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Belated news: Peter Gelb announced that, due to the unavailability of any billionaire donors, he has made a deal with the Saudis involving Met performances there. There's only one catch: the dramaturgs will be Sunni clerics who will "snip, snip, snip" the librettos. What will the operas look like?