Bill Chapman
classroomtools.bsky.social
Bill Chapman
@classroomtools.bsky.social
Retired secondary social studies teacher, still working to help others learn to distinguish fact from fiction and truth from fantasy. See my website http://www.classroomtools.com Born when CO2 was 310 ppm.
Reposted by Bill Chapman
Another SpaceX oopsy seems like a good occasion to share this @propublica.org piece from a few weeks back
One Agency Tried to Regulate SpaceX. Now Its Fate Could Be in Elon Musk’s Hands.
The Trump ally and DOGE chief is expected to turn his budget-slashing sights on the FAA’s little-known commercial spaceflight office, which has proposed fines and grounded SpaceX after explosions and ...
www.propublica.org
March 7, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
Dear Democrats in Congress, Trump and Musk are breaking laws everyday. They are criminals. We should say so, loudly, 24/7/365. They are criminals and are betraying our country and our Constitution everyday.

www.politico.com/news/2025/03...
Trump administration ordered to reinstate thousands of fired USDA workers
The decision is a blow to the Trump administration’s effort to drastically and quickly shrink the federal bureaucracy.
www.politico.com
March 5, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
Dropping tomorrow. Also, the name "Phoebe Abdee" was likely constructed in the 1960s. I reveal two surnames *Phebe went by, and I can name her parents and original enslaver. Hint: a local municipality is named after her original enslaver.
March 6, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
The 14th Amendment, a Reconstruction amdt that Black Americans died for, established #BirthrightCitizenship. A 1898 SCOTUS case brought by #WongKimArk, a Chinese American from SF, affirmed birthright citizenship. Trump's EO is unconstitutional and rooted in his desire to make America white.
For anyone interested in the history of birthright citizenship, here was my piece from 2018 about the man whose case protected the right for everyone.

www.politico.com/magazine/sto...
Birth of a Birthright
Meet Wong Kim Ark, the Chinese-American whose Supreme Court case changed the country.
www.politico.com
January 21, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
BREAKING - Trump just asked Congress for a death penalty for anyone who murders a police officer

Says the man who PARDONED over 400 violent insurrectionists who assaulted the Capitol Police on his behalf on January 6 -- with 4 officers ultimately dying
March 5, 2025 at 3:42 AM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
This is very bad.
March 5, 2025 at 4:12 AM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
Being able to drop a quarterly US GDP prediction by 5.1% from +2.3% to -2.8% in a single week is one of the most impressive economic developments in the history of the world.
March 4, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
Hours before Trump addresses the country, his administration tells a federal court states should be allowed to threaten doctors with prison if they provide an abortion to a dying patient www.politico.com/news/2025/03...
Trump admin moves to drop fight over emergency abortions, reversing Biden admin stance
An Idaho hospital is stepping in to argue that the state’s near-total abortion ban violates patients’ rights.
www.politico.com
March 4, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
A court order doesn't mean just change documents and lie.
No to these idiots.
www.govexec.com/workforce/20...
March 5, 2025 at 12:03 AM
To appreciate how the US has changed, watch these classic movies.
- The Post
- All the President’s Men
- Hidden Figures
- American President
- Dave
- Apollo 13
- Good Night & Good Luck
- Imitation Game
- Spotlight
- Wag the Dog
- Die Hard With A Vengeance

The world they depict is unimaginable now.
March 5, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
Sam Alito gave cities more leeway to dump raw sewage into our water supply by deploying a sleight of hand so clumsy that it would fail to impress a kindergarten class.

This isn't statutory interpretation. It's a gut renovation of the Clean Water Act on behalf of polluters. slate.com/news-and-pol...
Supreme Court Rules the Clean Water Act Doesn’t Actually Require That Water Be Clean
Amy Coney Barrett was not having it.
slate.com
March 4, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
Which US state has the most billion dollar weather and climate disasters?

It’s not California and it’s not Florida - it’s Texas.

As this article explains, the only state subject to more wildfires than Texas is California. Texas even leads California in acreage burned.
Experts sound alarm over 'ticking time bomb' that could rip through Texas: 'We're sitting here waiting for [it] to explode'
The only state subject to more wildfires than Texas is California.
www.thecooldown.com
March 4, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
NEW SCOOP: Some staffers at Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency are drawing robust taxpayer-funded salaries from the federal agencies they are slashing and burning, WIRED has learned.

⬇️ Here's how much they're making:
Some DOGE Staffers Are Drawing Six-Figure Government Salaries
Engineers and executives at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency are drawing healthy taxpayer-funded salaries—sometimes from the very agencies they are cutting.
www.wired.com
March 4, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
NEW: A source tells me that response teams for FEMA set to deploy to the South Carolina wildfires are unable to travel because their government issued travel cards have had their limits reduced to $1. FEMA response team cards were supposed to be exempt.
March 4, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
Gum arabic, a vital ingredient used in everything from Coca-Cola to M&M's sweets, is increasingly being trafficked from rebel-held areas of war-torn Sudan, complicating Western companies' efforts to insulate their supply chains from the conflict reut.rs/41ncOoL
How a key ingredient in Coca-Cola, M&M's is smuggled from war-torn Sudan
Gum arabic, a vital ingredient used in everything from Coca-Cola to M&M's sweets, is increasingly being trafficked from rebel-held areas of war-torn Sudan, traders and industry sources say, complicating Western companies' efforts to insulate their supply chains from the conflict.
reut.rs
March 4, 2025 at 7:12 AM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
Well y’all - It looks like hell has frozen over. 😂 I’ve never seen Hoosiers but I’m excited to see what all the talk has been about. Join in Sunday with #HATM. I am certain it will be an entertaining night! Everyone is welcome. Hope to see you there!
This week Historians At The Movies talks Gene Hackman, basketball, and the worst state in America. God help me, join us on Amazon Prime this Sunday, March 9 at 8pm eastern for HOOSIERS.

Play varsity for #HATM by sharing and we’ll see you soon!
March 3, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
Warren Buffett, the famed investor who runs the sprawling conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, described tariffs as “an act of war” in an interview with CBS.
Warren Buffett Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs Plan in CBS Interview: ‘Act of War’
The rebuke of President Trump’s tariff plans came just days before sweeping tariffs on Canada and Mexico were expected to go into effect.
www.nytimes.com
March 4, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
This may be the most alarming thing I have read in months. www.thedailybeast.com/former-socia...
Social Security Checks Could Stop Going Out by April, Ex-Head Warns
The former Social Security commissioner said the system could “collapse,” causing disruptions in payments within “30 to 90 days.”
www.thedailybeast.com
March 4, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
I just attended a sold out screening of NO OTHER LAND and something I’ve never experienced happened. After the film, no one spoke. Every single person remained silent. All the way to the exit. If that interests you, see this film. It is truly a miracle that it exists. @belcourttheatre.bsky.social
March 4, 2025 at 2:04 AM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
Wowwwwww

Just wow.
Scoop: Incoming Paramount boss Jeff Shell has made it clear to CBS News chief Wendy McMahon and "60 Minutes" boss Bill Owens that they need to get on board with Trump settlement and possible admission of wrongdoing—something sure to raise questions of gun-jumping. www.status.news/p/paramount-...
Shell-Shocked at CBS
As Paramount’s merger with Skydance nears the finish line, CBS News chief Wendy McMahon and “60 Minutes” boss Bill Owens have faced escalating pressure to settle Donald Trump’s lawsuit—including from ...
www.status.news
March 4, 2025 at 3:59 AM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
Just making sure everyone saw what the former Social Security Administrator told CNBC on Saturday...
March 3, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
Elon Musk is hustling the MAGA base as surely as Bondi did with the “Epstein files.” But he has advantages she doesn’t. Gift link: wapo.st/4i0MV5r
Opinion | Can Elon Musk find any fraud before Trump’s base notices the con?
The truth is that “fraud” has never been the target.
wapo.st
March 4, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Reposted by Bill Chapman
Once again, if you voted for Trump because you thought he'd lower your grocery bills, I have some very bad news for you.
news.bloomberglaw.com/internationa...
Trump Says Tariffs on Agricultural Imports to Start April 2 (2)
President Donald Trump said the US would impose tariffs on “external” agricultural products starting on April 2, his latest threat to impose trade barriers on imported goods.
news.bloomberglaw.com
March 3, 2025 at 7:51 PM