Trump sows chaos in federal workforce then says “resign within a week and I’ll give you 7 months severance.” Don’t fall for it!  Trump told innumerable contractors he’d pay—then stiffed them. He has no authority to promise severance pay. Wait him out!
apnews.com/article/trum...

Thanks to George Conway for posting Caroline Kennedy's letter so everyone is informed about RFK Jr. Please repost far and wide.

The undemocratic and potentially unconstitutional demands of the Trump presidency as explained by his longest serving National security advisor (a former assistant attorney general in the Reagan admin). I’m still so turned around by how people of conscience voted for this man.

I know what I saw and what I heard on January 6, 2021 and I’m never going to forget it. We’ve learned that some banks are too big to fail and some people are too big to be prosecuted, but I still know the difference from right and wrong and won’t ever forget that either.

We don’t have time for an either/or mentality. Proud of my sister, a lead engineer at this company: “Climeworks, a Swiss company that has already built the largest operational direct air capture facility in the world, in Iceland….”

Justin Baldoni and his studio buds, who hired a PR team to create an invisible attack and manipulate Blake Lively’s online presence to “bury her” after she made efforts to protect herself from his creepy misogyny, can go to hell. We may have elected a rapist as president but we can’t normalize this.

A podcast from a woman who describes herself as aggressively left, who discusses sports and “mom stuff?” Hell, yes.

Trump will either tank it or take credit for it — either way it’s a gut punch. We need mass education in the political economy yesterday (like how the President does not determine interest rates or what a tariff is). Even my liberal arts college has no courses on the subject…

In Opinion

“I could not in good conscience continue being a spokesman for an industry that was making it increasingly difficult for Americans to get often lifesaving care,” writes Wendell Potter, a former health insurance executive.

If Trump’s tariffs scuttle my kitchen reno plans, which rely heavily on timber from Canada, so help me…. Seriously, this country will get what it deserves but can those of us who voted against him get exempt from the price hikes? Please?

If you read one thing this week, make it this. These are the contradictions at the heart of what’s happening in and to this country that we all need to be pondering. I appreciate the complex and human way this story was reported.

“I’ve never felt like a foreigner until now.” His friends and family members in a Georgia town voted for Donald Trump in support of mass deportation. Now he is scrambling to stay in the country. nyti.ms/3ZJrCgQ

Grades are in, Professor Gibson is out for the semester. I couldn’t find the right quote to add to my courses’ shared classroom portfolios, so I wrote this. When people ask what I teach, the short version is “college level critical reading and writing skills.” The long version is…

Also, can we figure out how to make more spots and teams rather than cut 495 kids for the 5 spots in any of the things? The level of competition to simply participate by the time someone is in the 7th grade is crippling emotional, spiritual, and intellectual development. Signed: Mom & College Prof.

Notice to youth coaches and extracurricular admins: knock it off w/scheduling mandatory activities during the winter break. The destruction of childhood, time with extended family, contemplation of the sacred, and any notion of a private life is obscene.

As someone who owned a small business in one of the seasons of my life this is your reminder to shop local. I walked to my business district with a friend and found great stocking stuffers and presents. These shopping dollars support the incomes of people in my community & keep public spaces alive ✨

Well, nothing says winter in MN like that morning when you realize your kid left her Chromebook behind and the bus is pulling up so you throw on snow pants and a parka but there’s no time for a hat or a balaclava or mittens and you are sprinting in -4 degrees for a full block. More effective than ☕️

Last night the 12 yo read us a Kwanzaa story: guy brings water to share since he figures everyone else will bring wine (they all bring water). I connected it to the “tragedy of the commons” and how this happens with taxes. She said: “Mom, only you would turn this into a commentary on tax evasion.”