Jane Smith
@mustelina.bsky.social
Wading through historical newspapers for glimpses into the past. https://cvillelives.org/
Listening in April for the Wood Thrush.
(Hylocichla mustelina) http://vimeo.com/238643510
Listening in April for the Wood Thrush.
(Hylocichla mustelina) http://vimeo.com/238643510
Pinned
Jane Smith
@mustelina.bsky.social
· Apr 11
“What a piece of work is a man!”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPWw...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPWw...
And how many children, like the of four children of Alejandro Carranza, have lost their fathers to this Caribbean killing spree?
www.npr.org/2025/12/04/g...
www.npr.org/2025/12/04/g...
December 5, 2025 at 5:00 PM
And how many children, like the of four children of Alejandro Carranza, have lost their fathers to this Caribbean killing spree?
www.npr.org/2025/12/04/g...
www.npr.org/2025/12/04/g...
A warning from Senator Murphy that illuminates the cruel absurdity of this moment:
“Anybody who has a voice or a soapbox in this country needs to draw a line in the sand and say that it is not acceptable for the President of the United States to call on the murder of his political opposition.”
“Anybody who has a voice or a soapbox in this country needs to draw a line in the sand and say that it is not acceptable for the President of the United States to call on the murder of his political opposition.”
The President of the United States just called for Democratic members of Congress to be executed. "HANG THEM", he posted.
If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.
If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.
November 20, 2025 at 7:07 PM
A warning from Senator Murphy that illuminates the cruel absurdity of this moment:
“Anybody who has a voice or a soapbox in this country needs to draw a line in the sand and say that it is not acceptable for the President of the United States to call on the murder of his political opposition.”
“Anybody who has a voice or a soapbox in this country needs to draw a line in the sand and say that it is not acceptable for the President of the United States to call on the murder of his political opposition.”
“In collaboration with the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, Firehouse Theatre is staging a new original play centered on the story of John Mitchell Jr., a pioneering Black newspaper editor, politician, banker, and civil rights activist known as ‘the fighting editor.’”
The Story of John Mitchell Jr. Plays at Firehouse Theatre - Virginia Humanities
The John Mitchell Jr. Project seeks to bring one of Virginia’s most fearless voices for racial justice to the stage - literally.
virginiahumanities.org
November 20, 2025 at 5:55 PM
“In collaboration with the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, Firehouse Theatre is staging a new original play centered on the story of John Mitchell Jr., a pioneering Black newspaper editor, politician, banker, and civil rights activist known as ‘the fighting editor.’”
I read the 12 pages. If Adam Serwer is right that “the cruelty is the point,” their obscene attack on Jim Ryan makes perfect sense. He was the golden retriever of college presidents.
youtube.com/shorts/4jGXa...
youtube.com/shorts/4jGXa...
UVA Runs with Jim
YouTube video by VPM
youtube.com
November 15, 2025 at 5:09 PM
I read the 12 pages. If Adam Serwer is right that “the cruelty is the point,” their obscene attack on Jim Ryan makes perfect sense. He was the golden retriever of college presidents.
youtube.com/shorts/4jGXa...
youtube.com/shorts/4jGXa...
If your spirits could use a lift, watch the rousing speech Representative Adelita S. Grijalva just gave at her long overdue 4pm swearing-in ceremony.
www.c-span.org/event/public...
www.c-span.org/event/public...
November 12, 2025 at 9:45 PM
If your spirits could use a lift, watch the rousing speech Representative Adelita S. Grijalva just gave at her long overdue 4pm swearing-in ceremony.
www.c-span.org/event/public...
www.c-span.org/event/public...
Every single day, a new horrific story.
“We deserve to have 1-year-olds not be pepper-sprayed when they are trying to go shopping. What the president of this country is doing is terrorism. We have to call it what it is.”
— Illinois State Senator Celina Villanueva
“We deserve to have 1-year-olds not be pepper-sprayed when they are trying to go shopping. What the president of this country is doing is terrorism. We have to call it what it is.”
— Illinois State Senator Celina Villanueva
Arianna Sofia Veraza and her parents were driving to Sam's Club for milk, eggs and diapers yesterday when they heard helicopters and horns blaring yesterday. They had turned around to leave when a federal agent pepper-sprayed them through a car window.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/09/c...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/09/c...
Pepper-sprayed Berwyn family rattled after getting caught up in federal blitz
Southwest Side politicians condemned Saturday’s pepper spraying and the federal sweep of Little Village as “state-sponsored terrorism” at a news conference Sunday.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Every single day, a new horrific story.
“We deserve to have 1-year-olds not be pepper-sprayed when they are trying to go shopping. What the president of this country is doing is terrorism. We have to call it what it is.”
— Illinois State Senator Celina Villanueva
“We deserve to have 1-year-olds not be pepper-sprayed when they are trying to go shopping. What the president of this country is doing is terrorism. We have to call it what it is.”
— Illinois State Senator Celina Villanueva
(Asking for a friend—actually, 42 million friends.)
Can We the People sue the executive branch for breach of contract in a class action lawsuit where the class is all American citizens who pay taxes? We paid for a system funded by laws passed by our Congress and we are not getting what we paid for. (gift article) www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...
Trump Administration Live Updates: Officials Demand States ‘Undo’ Work to Send Full Food Stamps
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:42 PM
(Asking for a friend—actually, 42 million friends.)
Can We the People sue the executive branch for breach of contract in a class action lawsuit where the class is all American citizens who pay taxes? We paid for a system funded by laws passed by our Congress and we are not getting what we paid for. (gift article) www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...
Trump Administration Live Updates: Officials Demand States ‘Undo’ Work to Send Full Food Stamps
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Can We the People sue the executive branch for breach of contract in a class action lawsuit where the class is all American citizens who pay taxes? We paid for a system funded by laws passed by our Congress and we are not getting what we paid for. (gift article) www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...
Wow—incisive, thought provoking statement! Pondering which specific norms that sustain democracy are being disregarded now. I had to look up “undemocratic institutions.” This helped:
youtu.be/XOuZO2sGxzw?...
youtu.be/XOuZO2sGxzw?...
October 22, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Wow—incisive, thought provoking statement! Pondering which specific norms that sustain democracy are being disregarded now. I had to look up “undemocratic institutions.” This helped:
youtu.be/XOuZO2sGxzw?...
youtu.be/XOuZO2sGxzw?...
I got a little choked up when I came on Bluesky this morning and saw photos of #NoKings protests (with a few frogs!) in Berlin, Bremen, Seville, Tokyo, London, Amsterdam, Florence, Paris, Stockholm . . . 🌎
October 18, 2025 at 1:17 PM
I got a little choked up when I came on Bluesky this morning and saw photos of #NoKings protests (with a few frogs!) in Berlin, Bremen, Seville, Tokyo, London, Amsterdam, Florence, Paris, Stockholm . . . 🌎
@danielbachman.bsky.social I think you might really like the first two minutes of this video.
“You can listen to the life of trees just as you can listen to your own life.”
youtu.be/HeYHtMkLl30?...
“You can listen to the life of trees just as you can listen to your own life.”
youtu.be/HeYHtMkLl30?...
Why I Left Harvard
YouTube video by Adam Walker - Close Reading Poetry
youtu.be
October 7, 2025 at 3:42 PM
@danielbachman.bsky.social I think you might really like the first two minutes of this video.
“You can listen to the life of trees just as you can listen to your own life.”
youtu.be/HeYHtMkLl30?...
“You can listen to the life of trees just as you can listen to your own life.”
youtu.be/HeYHtMkLl30?...
“Civility is wielded as a cudgel to further clarify the differences between ‘us’ and ‘them.’ It is the demand of people with thin skin who don’t want their delicate egos and impoverished ideas challenged.”
🎁 link: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/o...
🎁 link: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/o...
Opinion | Civility Is a Fantasy
www.nytimes.com
September 24, 2025 at 2:26 PM
“Civility is wielded as a cudgel to further clarify the differences between ‘us’ and ‘them.’ It is the demand of people with thin skin who don’t want their delicate egos and impoverished ideas challenged.”
🎁 link: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/o...
🎁 link: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/o...
“Whose forest was this? Why is it empty . . .”
Tom Paxton wrote this song 55 years ago for the first Earth Day. It hits different now.
“Tell me again, I need to know—
The forests had trees, the meadows were green,
The oceans were blue and birds really flew—
Can you swear that was true?”
Tom Paxton wrote this song 55 years ago for the first Earth Day. It hits different now.
“Tell me again, I need to know—
The forests had trees, the meadows were green,
The oceans were blue and birds really flew—
Can you swear that was true?”
Whose Garden 🪴 Was This - Tom Paxton Live at The Spanish Ballroom in Tacoma, Washington 11/15/2024
YouTube video by Devin Creisler Studios
youtu.be
September 22, 2025 at 6:18 PM
“Whose forest was this? Why is it empty . . .”
Tom Paxton wrote this song 55 years ago for the first Earth Day. It hits different now.
“Tell me again, I need to know—
The forests had trees, the meadows were green,
The oceans were blue and birds really flew—
Can you swear that was true?”
Tom Paxton wrote this song 55 years ago for the first Earth Day. It hits different now.
“Tell me again, I need to know—
The forests had trees, the meadows were green,
The oceans were blue and birds really flew—
Can you swear that was true?”
“There'll be love and laughter
And peace ever after
Tomorrow
When the world is free . . .”
And peace ever after
Tomorrow
When the world is free . . .”
White Cliffs of Dover
YouTube video by The Checkers - Topic
youtu.be
September 20, 2025 at 10:48 PM
“There'll be love and laughter
And peace ever after
Tomorrow
When the world is free . . .”
And peace ever after
Tomorrow
When the world is free . . .”
Reposted by Jane Smith
AP live feed of the CDC walkout in Atlanta. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ7Q...
LIVE: CDC staff plan walkout at Atlanta HQ after Trump firings
YouTube video by Associated Press
www.youtube.com
August 28, 2025 at 7:02 PM
AP live feed of the CDC walkout in Atlanta. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ7Q...
“. . .considering recommendations to redesign it to enhance safety, reduce pedestrian and vehicle conflicts, improve signal operations, and support better connectivity to downtown destinations, such as the Downtown Mall.”
VDOT studying potential changes to Ridge, West Main intersection
VDOT studying potential changes to Ridge, West Main intersection
VDOT and Charlottesville officials will hold a meeting on Aug. 14 to get resident feedback on alternatives for the intersection of Ridge Street and West Main Street.
www.cbs19news.com
August 9, 2025 at 3:59 PM
“. . .considering recommendations to redesign it to enhance safety, reduce pedestrian and vehicle conflicts, improve signal operations, and support better connectivity to downtown destinations, such as the Downtown Mall.”
The housing crisis is cruel and unfair. My friend, 82, is a veteran, born here, a sober churchgoer who’s worked hard all her life. The rent went up on her apartment and she couldn’t afford to renew the contract. She can’t find an apartment and there are long waiting lists for subsidized housing.
July 29, 2025 at 8:45 PM
The housing crisis is cruel and unfair. My friend, 82, is a veteran, born here, a sober churchgoer who’s worked hard all her life. The rent went up on her apartment and she couldn’t afford to renew the contract. She can’t find an apartment and there are long waiting lists for subsidized housing.
I was browsing the Caturday posts for the lolz when this popped up. 🧵1/3
July 12, 2025 at 6:36 PM
I was browsing the Caturday posts for the lolz when this popped up. 🧵1/3
“I charge you to drop every paltry and insignificant thought for any man’s success. It is nothing; I am nothing . . . But do not destroy that immortal emblem of Humanity - the Declaration of American Independence.” —Abraham Lincoln, 1858
Brilliant thread. 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
Brilliant thread. 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
Woke up with more to say about the historical significance of JD Vance's dismissal of the idea that America is "purely an idea." His political party was LITERALLY FOUNDED on this bedrock claim--that the Declaration of Independence's assertion of human equality is THE foundational American principle.
July 9, 2025 at 5:13 PM
“I charge you to drop every paltry and insignificant thought for any man’s success. It is nothing; I am nothing . . . But do not destroy that immortal emblem of Humanity - the Declaration of American Independence.” —Abraham Lincoln, 1858
Brilliant thread. 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
Brilliant thread. 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
🥰 the 8-year-old’s take the tour:
“‘It kind of made me feel sad, because Black people really did not deserve that . . . I'm also thankful for the people who helped so today that we can have a good life,’ she said. Malia added that she particularly enjoyed the popsicle break.”
“‘It kind of made me feel sad, because Black people really did not deserve that . . . I'm also thankful for the people who helped so today that we can have a good life,’ she said. Malia added that she particularly enjoyed the popsicle break.”
“My hope is that my kids always know who they are, and despite what history tells them, they're still beautiful, and they're brilliant and they have the ability to basically accomplish anything they want to.” said Dorothy Retland, one of the walking tour’s organizers.
www.vpm.org/news/2025-07...
www.vpm.org/news/2025-07...
Charlottesville residents tour local Black history sites for July Fourth
Jalane Schmidt, a UVA professor, led the child-friendly walk.
www.vpm.org
July 7, 2025 at 1:38 PM
🥰 the 8-year-old’s take the tour:
“‘It kind of made me feel sad, because Black people really did not deserve that . . . I'm also thankful for the people who helped so today that we can have a good life,’ she said. Malia added that she particularly enjoyed the popsicle break.”
“‘It kind of made me feel sad, because Black people really did not deserve that . . . I'm also thankful for the people who helped so today that we can have a good life,’ she said. Malia added that she particularly enjoyed the popsicle break.”
“. . . I see you’re consulting the Parliamentarian . . . I’m thankful that my grandmother saw fit to have her grandson educated.”
We are too, Leader Jeffries. We are too.
We are too, Leader Jeffries. We are too.
Jeffries, still going strong 8 hours in: "Extraordinary to me, Mr.
Speaker, that you got folks in this town talking about draining the swamp. Guess what. You are the swamp ... we've never seen anything like this -- the type of corruption that has been unleashed on the American people."
Speaker, that you got folks in this town talking about draining the swamp. Guess what. You are the swamp ... we've never seen anything like this -- the type of corruption that has been unleashed on the American people."
July 3, 2025 at 6:14 PM
“. . . I see you’re consulting the Parliamentarian . . . I’m thankful that my grandmother saw fit to have her grandson educated.”
We are too, Leader Jeffries. We are too.
We are too, Leader Jeffries. We are too.
Martin Hardware is a local treasure. We had a leaky kitchen faucet Saturday and could find no brand name or id# on it. We took the old broken faucet cartridge to MH. The man took one look at it, nodded, walked over to an entire wall of cartridges, and plucked out the exact right one. Awesome!
July 3, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Martin Hardware is a local treasure. We had a leaky kitchen faucet Saturday and could find no brand name or id# on it. We took the old broken faucet cartridge to MH. The man took one look at it, nodded, walked over to an entire wall of cartridges, and plucked out the exact right one. Awesome!