Ariel
@sycoraxpine.bsky.social
Reader, amateur beekeeper, theatregoer, prof, chicken enthusiast, perpetually novice aerialist, feeder of two cats and one small (human) dragon
Reposted by Ariel
I wrote on the shameful situation re: the recession of a deanship to Emily Suski at the University of Arkansas Law. What was the reason? Prof. Suski signed an amicus brief supporting trans rights. The Arkansas legislators admitted that was it! Horrible outcome. ballsandstrikes.org/legal-cultur...
A Law School Dean Signed a Brief Defending Trans Rights. She Lost Her Job Because of It
The revocation of Emily Suski’s job offer at the University of Arkansas sends a chilling message to law professors everywhere.
ballsandstrikes.org
January 22, 2026 at 6:35 PM
I wrote on the shameful situation re: the recession of a deanship to Emily Suski at the University of Arkansas Law. What was the reason? Prof. Suski signed an amicus brief supporting trans rights. The Arkansas legislators admitted that was it! Horrible outcome. ballsandstrikes.org/legal-cultur...
Reposted by Ariel
Liam’s teacher, who expressed shock over the boy’s detention: “Liam is a bright young student. He is so kind and loving, and his classmates miss him. He comes into class every day and just brightens the room. All I want is for him to be back here and safe.”
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
ICE detains five-year-old Minnesota boy arriving home, say school officials
Superintendent says Liam Ramos and his father were taken into custody while in their driveway and sent to Texas
www.theguardian.com
January 22, 2026 at 8:14 PM
Liam’s teacher, who expressed shock over the boy’s detention: “Liam is a bright young student. He is so kind and loving, and his classmates miss him. He comes into class every day and just brightens the room. All I want is for him to be back here and safe.”
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Reposted by Ariel
I broke down the ICE “reforms” being proposed by Dem leadership. tl;dr: They totally avoid touching ICE’s funding, in key ways actually increase ICE funding and instead focus on meaningless busywork like “body cams” and “more training”.
Good’s killer was a 10-year ICE veteran, himself a trainer, and recorded the killing. What good would more training and more cameras have done? By @ahjohnson.bsky.social
In response to the Renee Good killing, Dems propose ICE reforms that would have done nothing to prevent the Renee Good killing
Good’s killer was a 10-year ICE veteran, himself a trainer, and recorded the killing. What good would more training and more cameras have done?
therealnews.com
January 22, 2026 at 8:28 PM
I broke down the ICE “reforms” being proposed by Dem leadership. tl;dr: They totally avoid touching ICE’s funding, in key ways actually increase ICE funding and instead focus on meaningless busywork like “body cams” and “more training”.
Reposted by Ariel
In which I explain that the Third Amendment—the one nobody ever talks about—allows hotels to refuse to house Kristi Noem’s ICE goons.
Opinion: Hotels Have a Constitutional Right Not To House ICE Agents
The Third Amendment prohibits the government from forcing people to “quarter” troops. ICE is essentially a paramilitary force—so why would hotels let them stay?
rewirenewsgroup.com
January 21, 2026 at 2:37 PM
In which I explain that the Third Amendment—the one nobody ever talks about—allows hotels to refuse to house Kristi Noem’s ICE goons.
Reposted by Ariel
“Hospitals in Gaza say Israeli forces killed at least 11 Palestinians on Wednesday, including two 13-year-old boys and three journalists, in the latest violence to undermine a three-month-old ceasefire.” Killing hasn’t ever stopped. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Three journalists among 11 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza
Reporters had been in car on way to new camp, says media group, as two 13-year-old boys killed in separate incidents
www.theguardian.com
January 22, 2026 at 10:50 AM
“Hospitals in Gaza say Israeli forces killed at least 11 Palestinians on Wednesday, including two 13-year-old boys and three journalists, in the latest violence to undermine a three-month-old ceasefire.” Killing hasn’t ever stopped. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Reposted by Ariel
#OtD 22 Jan 1891 Italian Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci was born in Sardinia. His key contribution was his theory of hegemony, which describes how the capitalist class maintains its power through its domination of culture. Commemorative merch here: shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/...
January 22, 2026 at 10:25 AM
#OtD 22 Jan 1891 Italian Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci was born in Sardinia. His key contribution was his theory of hegemony, which describes how the capitalist class maintains its power through its domination of culture. Commemorative merch here: shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/...
Reposted by Ariel
Looking out for companies which will start requesting handwritten letters of application. Of course, people could still use AI to compose them – but we’re at a point when rather than making processes smoother, there is going to be an advantage in adding points of friction.
January 22, 2026 at 9:40 AM
Looking out for companies which will start requesting handwritten letters of application. Of course, people could still use AI to compose them – but we’re at a point when rather than making processes smoother, there is going to be an advantage in adding points of friction.
Reposted by Ariel
Minnesota: "School officials say the [5-year-old] child was used as bait. They say [ICE] agents made little Liam knock on the door to ask to be let in in order to see if anyone else was home."
January 22, 2026 at 12:05 AM
Minnesota: "School officials say the [5-year-old] child was used as bait. They say [ICE] agents made little Liam knock on the door to ask to be let in in order to see if anyone else was home."
Reposted by Ariel
"School district officials in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, say their sense of security is shaken and their hearts shattered after four students from the district have recently been taken by officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement."
ICE has arrested four children in same Minnesota school district
School district officials in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, say their sense of security is shaken and their hearts shattered after four students from the district have recently been taken by officers wi...
www.cbsnews.com
January 22, 2026 at 12:19 AM
"School district officials in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, say their sense of security is shaken and their hearts shattered after four students from the district have recently been taken by officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement."
Reposted by Ariel
BREAKING: Whistleblower disclosures reveal a formal ICE policy to ignore the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.
Every American should be terrified by this secret ICE policy authorizing its agents to kick down your door & storm into your home. 1/
Every American should be terrified by this secret ICE policy authorizing its agents to kick down your door & storm into your home. 1/
Immigration officers assert sweeping power to enter homes without a judge's warrant, memo says
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press reveals that the agency allows immigration officers to forcibly enter homes to make arrests without a judicial warrant.
apnews.com
January 21, 2026 at 9:57 PM
BREAKING: Whistleblower disclosures reveal a formal ICE policy to ignore the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.
Every American should be terrified by this secret ICE policy authorizing its agents to kick down your door & storm into your home. 1/
Every American should be terrified by this secret ICE policy authorizing its agents to kick down your door & storm into your home. 1/
Reposted by Ariel
We must each find the unique skills and capacities that we can bring to bear to this moment.
This, by Dr. @iwashyna.bsky.social is inspiring & might help you think on the you have that are relevant now-- and how you might use them.
We need all hands on deck, and there's an awful lot of deck.
This, by Dr. @iwashyna.bsky.social is inspiring & might help you think on the you have that are relevant now-- and how you might use them.
We need all hands on deck, and there's an awful lot of deck.
On Not Betraying Our Trainees, Especially Now
www.atsjournals.org
June 27, 2025 at 5:44 PM
We must each find the unique skills and capacities that we can bring to bear to this moment.
This, by Dr. @iwashyna.bsky.social is inspiring & might help you think on the you have that are relevant now-- and how you might use them.
We need all hands on deck, and there's an awful lot of deck.
This, by Dr. @iwashyna.bsky.social is inspiring & might help you think on the you have that are relevant now-- and how you might use them.
We need all hands on deck, and there's an awful lot of deck.
Reposted by Ariel
I gave a second interview with the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) about why the right is attempting to shut down NPR and PBS, and how rural station closures will affect democratic discourse. Thanks to the excellent Lucy Schiller.
The NPR and Colorado stations that took Trump to court.
“It isn’t just an affront to localism. It’s an attempt to reengineer thought.”
www.cjr.org
January 21, 2026 at 3:27 PM
I gave a second interview with the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) about why the right is attempting to shut down NPR and PBS, and how rural station closures will affect democratic discourse. Thanks to the excellent Lucy Schiller.
So much projection.
It can't be overstated how much the far right built itself around the paranoia that federal agents were just one corrupt administration away from being able to kick down your door for any reason, so be ready to kill at a moment's notice.
BREAKING: Immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to enter homes without a judge’s warrant, a memo obtained by AP says.
January 21, 2026 at 11:16 PM
So much projection.
Reposted by Ariel
If you don’t peek under the hood and learn how your buttons can be pressed and used against you, you remain unnecessarily vulnerable to widespread, large scale manipulation
January 21, 2026 at 6:11 PM
If you don’t peek under the hood and learn how your buttons can be pressed and used against you, you remain unnecessarily vulnerable to widespread, large scale manipulation
Reposted by Ariel
If the AI bubble is really about to burst, I really hope people think about how easy it was to be made to think they had to go along w/ something that didn’t work as advertised, harmed people & the environment, & was doomed to fail anyway
How many people were convinced to say “AI is here to stay”
How many people were convinced to say “AI is here to stay”
January 21, 2026 at 6:11 PM
If the AI bubble is really about to burst, I really hope people think about how easy it was to be made to think they had to go along w/ something that didn’t work as advertised, harmed people & the environment, & was doomed to fail anyway
How many people were convinced to say “AI is here to stay”
How many people were convinced to say “AI is here to stay”
Reposted by Ariel
So many people don't realize/understand that if you have a chronic illness or are considered disabled, you're basically trapped here.
January 21, 2026 at 10:07 PM
So many people don't realize/understand that if you have a chronic illness or are considered disabled, you're basically trapped here.
When you foment hatred against every single person in a country because its leaders are monsters, you are creating the conditions where it is impossible for the targets of atrocity to find refuge and safety.
Another element is that even Jews who scraped together the cash and documents to flee were often refused entry by ‘safe’ nations, including the USA and U.K.
A lot of Americans are not eligible for foreign long term visas.
A lot of Americans are not eligible for foreign long term visas.
People don't really think through how the Nazis actively made it harder for Jews to leave
The idea that all Americans are guaranteed any kind of freedom of movement, including boarding a flight, is quite the presumption at this point.
The idea that all Americans are guaranteed any kind of freedom of movement, including boarding a flight, is quite the presumption at this point.
January 21, 2026 at 11:05 PM
When you foment hatred against every single person in a country because its leaders are monsters, you are creating the conditions where it is impossible for the targets of atrocity to find refuge and safety.
Reposted by Ariel
People don't really think through how the Nazis actively made it harder for Jews to leave
The idea that all Americans are guaranteed any kind of freedom of movement, including boarding a flight, is quite the presumption at this point.
The idea that all Americans are guaranteed any kind of freedom of movement, including boarding a flight, is quite the presumption at this point.
German Jews were citizens of Germany at the start of 1933. By the end of 1933, the Nazis had
removed citizenship from naturalized citizen Jews.
In 1935, all German Jews were fully stripped of their German citizenship.
Citizenship under dictatorships is contingent for targeted minorities.
removed citizenship from naturalized citizen Jews.
In 1935, all German Jews were fully stripped of their German citizenship.
Citizenship under dictatorships is contingent for targeted minorities.
January 20, 2026 at 8:47 PM
People don't really think through how the Nazis actively made it harder for Jews to leave
The idea that all Americans are guaranteed any kind of freedom of movement, including boarding a flight, is quite the presumption at this point.
The idea that all Americans are guaranteed any kind of freedom of movement, including boarding a flight, is quite the presumption at this point.
Reposted by Ariel
We could have a future without Pap smears.
"The human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause six types of cancer.
....most people are unaware of the connection between HPV and all of these cancers."
www.news-medical.net/news/2025081...
....most people are unaware of the connection between HPV and all of these cancers."
www.news-medical.net/news/2025081...
Most Americans unaware that HPV causes multiple types of cancer
The human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause six types of cancer.
www.news-medical.net
January 21, 2026 at 10:29 PM
We could have a future without Pap smears.
Reposted by Ariel
Spare a thought for my colleague teaching "Constitutional Law-Criminal Justice" for the first time this semester.
🚨HOLY CRAP. An ICE whistleblower just revealed a secret memo authorizing ICE officers to break into homes without a judicial warrant, which DHS's own legal training materials say is unconstitutional!
ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.
ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.
January 21, 2026 at 10:32 PM
Spare a thought for my colleague teaching "Constitutional Law-Criminal Justice" for the first time this semester.
Reposted by Ariel
First of all--it doesn't even get things right half the time. If I want to look outside of myself for an answer to a thing, I am going to try to avail myself of a resource that is probably going to be right.
General genAI is simply not that. It is an averaging machine, not a verification machine.
General genAI is simply not that. It is an averaging machine, not a verification machine.
January 21, 2026 at 10:39 PM
First of all--it doesn't even get things right half the time. If I want to look outside of myself for an answer to a thing, I am going to try to avail myself of a resource that is probably going to be right.
General genAI is simply not that. It is an averaging machine, not a verification machine.
General genAI is simply not that. It is an averaging machine, not a verification machine.
Reposted by Ariel
8th circuit gives ICE go ahead to use force against peaceful demonstrators, a decision which will immediately lead to injury.
US appeals court pauses lower court order restraining immigration agents' use of force against Minnesota protesters
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals paused a lower court's order on Wednesday that had restrained federal immigration agents' use of force against peaceful protesters.
www.reuters.com
January 21, 2026 at 7:47 PM
8th circuit gives ICE go ahead to use force against peaceful demonstrators, a decision which will immediately lead to injury.
Reposted by Ariel
I am just a simple small-town lawyer but I really can’t think of a more toxic and self-defeating political strategy than telling your constituents the things they care about are “a distraction.”
January 21, 2026 at 8:29 PM
I am just a simple small-town lawyer but I really can’t think of a more toxic and self-defeating political strategy than telling your constituents the things they care about are “a distraction.”
Reposted by Ariel
Calling all the PhDs I know to make monumental annoyances of themselves (and honestly, who better)
January 21, 2026 at 9:16 PM
Calling all the PhDs I know to make monumental annoyances of themselves (and honestly, who better)
Reposted by Ariel
listen to this king. a team with low morale is ineffective. relatedly, a team with high morale is effective. also relatedly: we are going to win
“I want their morale as low as possible because a team with low morale is ineffective.”
Meet the veteran who chases ICE on a scooter
Meet the veteran who chases ICE on a scooter
Meet the veteran who chases ICE on a scooter
Clifford “Buzz” Grambo patrols the streets of Baltimore to keep his neighbors safe—and make federal agents uncomfortable.
www.motherjones.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:06 PM
listen to this king. a team with low morale is ineffective. relatedly, a team with high morale is effective. also relatedly: we are going to win