Rebecca M. Townsend
@rmtownsend.bsky.social
Deliberation, democracy & public engagement scholar #TeamRhetoric #Commsky politics in US & #CEE #transportation, public memory, Town Meeting. Lifter. Vlach/Aromanian #WMASS @TownModerator.bsky.social
Pinned
#BeyondTheColdWar Presidential Rhetoric in Central and Eastern Europe
#teamrhetoric #CEE #CentralEasternEurope
#teamrhetoric #CEE #CentralEasternEurope
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
JUST IN: Judge Boasberg gives Trump admin one week to file affidavits from all officials involved in decision to carry out Alien Enemies Act deportation to El Salvador despite Boasberg's order to turn the planes around. 'Contempt prosecution' could follow www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
Boasberg112825.PDF
www.documentcloud.org
November 28, 2025 at 9:42 PM
JUST IN: Judge Boasberg gives Trump admin one week to file affidavits from all officials involved in decision to carry out Alien Enemies Act deportation to El Salvador despite Boasberg's order to turn the planes around. 'Contempt prosecution' could follow www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
Ballistic missiles are flying over Ukraine.
In Kyiv they look to have been repelled.
In Dnipropetrovsk, there is danger.
In Kyiv they look to have been repelled.
In Dnipropetrovsk, there is danger.
November 28, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Ballistic missiles are flying over Ukraine.
In Kyiv they look to have been repelled.
In Dnipropetrovsk, there is danger.
In Kyiv they look to have been repelled.
In Dnipropetrovsk, there is danger.
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
He doesn’t care about you. At all.
November 28, 2025 at 8:01 PM
He doesn’t care about you. At all.
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
BREAKING: Trump says he’s terminating all Biden executive orders signed with an autopen — roughly 92% of them. Autopen use is a routine, legal practice used for decades. His move marks an extraordinary escalation, dismissing established procedure to push a baseless #BlueSky #NewsSky
Trump says he's cancelling executive orders signed by Biden Autopen
President Donald Trump said he would be cancelling most of Biden's executive orders on Friday.
www.newsweek.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
France hosted a large musical flash mob featuring 100 musicians who came together to perform a new orchestral version of Carol of the Bells to mark the ceremonial switching-on of the Christmas lights in the streets of Paris.
November 28, 2025 at 8:52 PM
France hosted a large musical flash mob featuring 100 musicians who came together to perform a new orchestral version of Carol of the Bells to mark the ceremonial switching-on of the Christmas lights in the streets of Paris.
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
Please read this lovely, heartwarming, holiday story!
The most stressed out I've ever been about Christmas was when I was 16 and I got my first ever job, working at M&S in Dundrum. As soon as I started I kept hearing these myths about the Christmas Eve Waste Sale, where all the food that wasn't sold on the 24th was marked down 90%.
November 28, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Please read this lovely, heartwarming, holiday story!
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
This article provides more data showing how easy it is to manipulate humans on social media.
These researchers rerouted the algorithm on Twitter to push some users toward “antidemocratic attitudes and partisan animosity”.
It only took 1 week to elicit changes that used to take 3 years.
These researchers rerouted the algorithm on Twitter to push some users toward “antidemocratic attitudes and partisan animosity”.
It only took 1 week to elicit changes that used to take 3 years.
Reranking partisan animosity in algorithmic social media feeds alters affective polarization
Today, social media platforms hold the sole power to study the effects of feed-ranking algorithms. We developed a platform-independent method that reranks participants’ feeds in real time and used thi...
www.science.org
November 28, 2025 at 2:42 PM
This article provides more data showing how easy it is to manipulate humans on social media.
These researchers rerouted the algorithm on Twitter to push some users toward “antidemocratic attitudes and partisan animosity”.
It only took 1 week to elicit changes that used to take 3 years.
These researchers rerouted the algorithm on Twitter to push some users toward “antidemocratic attitudes and partisan animosity”.
It only took 1 week to elicit changes that used to take 3 years.
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
And by naming us, you continue to put a target on our backs. Names for the lunatics to come after. Thanks a lot.
Reuters reached out to everyone that Trump or his subordinates singled out publicly for retribution, and reviewed hundreds of official orders, directives and public records. The result: the most comprehensive accounting yet of his campaign of payback.
www.reuters.com/investigates...
www.reuters.com/investigates...
November 28, 2025 at 1:08 PM
And by naming us, you continue to put a target on our backs. Names for the lunatics to come after. Thanks a lot.
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
With ALT. This is legitimately terrifying. This is a MASSIVE escalation of violent anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies.
It’s almost as if they knew unleashing the military into American cities would lead to violence and they were already planning to use that violence to justify this.
It’s almost as if they knew unleashing the military into American cities would lead to violence and they were already planning to use that violence to justify this.
November 28, 2025 at 4:51 AM
With ALT. This is legitimately terrifying. This is a MASSIVE escalation of violent anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies.
It’s almost as if they knew unleashing the military into American cities would lead to violence and they were already planning to use that violence to justify this.
It’s almost as if they knew unleashing the military into American cities would lead to violence and they were already planning to use that violence to justify this.
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
ICYMI: New England Kicks Off $450M Plan To Supercharge Heat Pump Adoption #ctnewsjunkie #ctpolitics
New England Kicks Off $450M Plan To Supercharge Heat Pump Adoption
New England winters can get wicked cold and five of the region’s states have launched a $450 million effort to warm more of the homes in the often-frigid region with energy-efficient, low-emission heat pumps instead by burning fossil fuels.
dlvr.it
November 27, 2025 at 11:37 PM
ICYMI: New England Kicks Off $450M Plan To Supercharge Heat Pump Adoption #ctnewsjunkie #ctpolitics
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
US Republican Congressman Don Bacon calls for the firing of Witkoff due to his apparent Pro-Russian stance.
November 25, 2025 at 10:55 PM
US Republican Congressman Don Bacon calls for the firing of Witkoff due to his apparent Pro-Russian stance.
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
In Springfield tonight, Bright Nights is lighting up the region with 750,000 lights and a million visitors. It’s magic. It’s music. It’s joy. A beautiful tradition to kick off the holidays in Western Massachusetts.
November 27, 2025 at 3:23 AM
In Springfield tonight, Bright Nights is lighting up the region with 750,000 lights and a million visitors. It’s magic. It’s music. It’s joy. A beautiful tradition to kick off the holidays in Western Massachusetts.
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
I’ve gotten my maple syrup from the same place in western Mass for probably 20 years now?
Then there’s the small batch stuff my brother makes.
Then there’s the small batch stuff my brother makes.
I love the concept of a maple syrup “dealer.”
November 27, 2025 at 6:41 PM
I’ve gotten my maple syrup from the same place in western Mass for probably 20 years now?
Then there’s the small batch stuff my brother makes.
Then there’s the small batch stuff my brother makes.
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
BREAKING:
This documentary on suburban turkeys in Massachusetts might be just what you need today 🦃 #Thanksgiving
www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...
www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...
TURKEY TOWN (full documentary)
YouTube video by GBH
www.youtube.com
November 27, 2025 at 10:06 PM
BREAKING:
A descendant of Rebecca Nurse, executed in Salem "Witch" Trials shared a meal today w/ a descendant of the Putnam family primary accuser of Nurse).
That was a wild coincidence to discover.
Then the rest of us talked abt more recent immigration statuses & complicated family histories
That was a wild coincidence to discover.
Then the rest of us talked abt more recent immigration statuses & complicated family histories
November 27, 2025 at 10:37 PM
A descendant of Rebecca Nurse, executed in Salem "Witch" Trials shared a meal today w/ a descendant of the Putnam family primary accuser of Nurse).
That was a wild coincidence to discover.
Then the rest of us talked abt more recent immigration statuses & complicated family histories
That was a wild coincidence to discover.
Then the rest of us talked abt more recent immigration statuses & complicated family histories
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
I think it’s time to put this one back out into the ether, friends
Come and learn about how the tropes undergirding anti-Jewish hatred and conspiracy theories as they exist today came to be…
Come and learn about how the tropes undergirding anti-Jewish hatred and conspiracy theories as they exist today came to be…
The Antisemitism Post (tm)
Gotta get the history to know where the tropes live in the discourse today.
www.lifeisasacredtext.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:12 PM
I think it’s time to put this one back out into the ether, friends
Come and learn about how the tropes undergirding anti-Jewish hatred and conspiracy theories as they exist today came to be…
Come and learn about how the tropes undergirding anti-Jewish hatred and conspiracy theories as they exist today came to be…
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
🇪🇺‼️ Over the past 100 years, Russia has attacked more than 19 countries, some of them even three or four times, — Kallas
None of these countries has ever attacked Russia.
None of these countries has ever attacked Russia.
November 27, 2025 at 9:57 PM
🇪🇺‼️ Over the past 100 years, Russia has attacked more than 19 countries, some of them even three or four times, — Kallas
None of these countries has ever attacked Russia.
None of these countries has ever attacked Russia.
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
PROMOTE YOUR BOOKS! EVERYONE WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR PUBLISHED BOOKS!
gonna be reposting your books because hoo you made a book!
www.versobooks.com/products/303...
gonna be reposting your books because hoo you made a book!
www.versobooks.com/products/303...
November 26, 2025 at 9:49 PM
PROMOTE YOUR BOOKS! EVERYONE WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR PUBLISHED BOOKS!
gonna be reposting your books because hoo you made a book!
www.versobooks.com/products/303...
gonna be reposting your books because hoo you made a book!
www.versobooks.com/products/303...
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
WOW!
Now they don’t want us to find out where we can get vaccinated: CDC Quietly Turned Off Its Vaccine Search Tool. It’s Not Clear When It’s Coming Back.
www.notus.org/health-scien...
Now they don’t want us to find out where we can get vaccinated: CDC Quietly Turned Off Its Vaccine Search Tool. It’s Not Clear When It’s Coming Back.
www.notus.org/health-scien...
CDC Quietly Turned Off Its Vaccine Search Tool. It’s Not Clear When It’s Coming Back.
“I have heard that they are planning to ‘update it’ and shudder to think what that will mean,” Demetre Daskalakis, a former member of CDC leadership, told NOTUS.
www.notus.org
November 26, 2025 at 12:29 PM
WOW!
Now they don’t want us to find out where we can get vaccinated: CDC Quietly Turned Off Its Vaccine Search Tool. It’s Not Clear When It’s Coming Back.
www.notus.org/health-scien...
Now they don’t want us to find out where we can get vaccinated: CDC Quietly Turned Off Its Vaccine Search Tool. It’s Not Clear When It’s Coming Back.
www.notus.org/health-scien...
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
Loving your work can be great, but judging whether others love their work isn’t.
When passion becomes a standard, employees who do their work for stability or family needs can be unfairly judged or overlooked. buff.ly/dzkpMMZ
When passion becomes a standard, employees who do their work for stability or family needs can be unfairly judged or overlooked. buff.ly/dzkpMMZ
Treating love for work like a virtue can backfire on employees and teams
If you view intrinsic motivation as a virtue, you likely judge yourself and your co-workers by ‘passion’ – which can backfire.
theconversation.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Loving your work can be great, but judging whether others love their work isn’t.
When passion becomes a standard, employees who do their work for stability or family needs can be unfairly judged or overlooked. buff.ly/dzkpMMZ
When passion becomes a standard, employees who do their work for stability or family needs can be unfairly judged or overlooked. buff.ly/dzkpMMZ
Happy Thanksgiving!
Enjoy some wonderful words from Wendy Willis on democracy.
democracypie.substack.com/p/democracy-...
Enjoy some wonderful words from Wendy Willis on democracy.
democracypie.substack.com/p/democracy-...
Democracy: The Apples and the Pie
On democracy and why I love it.
democracypie.substack.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Happy Thanksgiving!
Enjoy some wonderful words from Wendy Willis on democracy.
democracypie.substack.com/p/democracy-...
Enjoy some wonderful words from Wendy Willis on democracy.
democracypie.substack.com/p/democracy-...
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
The war will end when Russia stops fighting. Therefore, pressure has to be put on Russia, so that they stop believing that they will win. Why is that so hard to understand?
November 27, 2025 at 1:49 AM
The war will end when Russia stops fighting. Therefore, pressure has to be put on Russia, so that they stop believing that they will win. Why is that so hard to understand?
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
I wrote an essay for @bostonreview.bsky.social about what I learned about close reading when I taught at West Virginia University
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
The Claims of Close Reading - Boston Review
Literary studies have been starved by austerity, but their core methodology remains radical.
www.bostonreview.net
November 26, 2025 at 3:14 PM
I wrote an essay for @bostonreview.bsky.social about what I learned about close reading when I taught at West Virginia University
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
This article heavily implies that ICE is being used in a custody dispute to help Karoline Leavitt's brother get his son and have the mother locked up in ICE detention
"A woman with a family connection to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Revere, Massachusetts."
www.wcvb.com/article/karo...
www.wcvb.com/article/karo...
![REVERE, Mass. —
A woman with a family connection to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Revere, Massachusetts.
The woman, Bruna Ferreira, has an 11-year-old son with Michael Leavitt, Karoline Leavitt's brother.
Ferreira migrated with her family to the United States from Brazil as a child and is currently in custody at an ICE facility in southern Louisiana.
Michael Leavitt released a statement, saying that his "only concern has always been the safety, well-being, and privacy of [his] son."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:x4qyokjtdzgl7gmqhsw4ajqj/bafkreiacyzixchgacpjse7wyra342opgjsvdxzqdrkxq55zzqah65zyeae@jpeg)
November 26, 2025 at 4:24 AM
This article heavily implies that ICE is being used in a custody dispute to help Karoline Leavitt's brother get his son and have the mother locked up in ICE detention