People living under fascism didn’t survive by giving up joy—they protected it.

They held onto the things fascism tried to erase: art, friendship, jokes, rituals, language, memory.

Not as escapism but as resistance. As proof they were still human.

Joy isn’t frivolous under fascism. It’s strategic.

I give you a momentary reprieve from the madness:

The Vera Rubin Observatory has taken its first images of the sky, and they are *extraordinary*. Mind blowing detail, jaw dropping beauty.

badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/rubin-open...

🔭 🧪

As I've been saying www.readtpa.com/p/the-grok-w...

I dunno guys but I just think maybe scicomm would be more effective if we really thought about this like it's sharing

Happy National Indigenous Peoples Day! I edited today's @thenarwhal.ca story, which comes from the Inuit community of Cambridge Bay. Fascinating science journalism and stunning visuals, but also — in the spirit of the day — a couple pics of some very cute Indigibabies enjoying a celebration. Enjoy!!

“The idea of a flag that unites us all is no different than a universally designed product that is intended for all. Both require the totalizing force of colonization to unify the masses through homogeny.” Read my and @fractalecho.bsky.social latest:
buttondown.com/TYFYFL/archi...

Yesterday was a historic day in New York history (indeed, in US history): Mahmoud Khalil was released from ICE and returned to New York City, and Zohran Kwame Mamdani walked the length of Manhattan. Both brave men have me thinking about the powerful politics of being vulnerable.

JENA, La. (AP) — Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil has been released from an immigration jail after 104 days in custody.

Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.

Alright everyone, one last push.

If you or anyone you know is:
- LGBTQ+
- 13-24 years old
- In the US

Trevor Project is recruiting responses for their survey on LGBTQ+ mental health.

It has HUGE impacts on policy, please take it and share widely if you can :)

trvr.org/survey2025

scholar of partisan violence/Latin American Dirty Wars here: there is nothing to distinguish this from how people were taken in Argentina, Guatemala, Chile, etc, except that it's all on camera

No darkness lasts forever. And even there, there are stars.

For the folks talking about the "3.5% rule", remember that after you come out for a rally you also need to take part in organized, effective resistance. Materially disrupt things. Make trouble. Create support networks to feed your neighbors and bail out protesters.

Don't show up just one day.

Find something you can do. There is *always* something. No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.

Every fascist uses illness and violence to disable opponents.

They disable us with covid, poverty, police violence, climate destruction, war, transphobia.

They count on ableism to make us deny this reality and to abandon each other.

Resist. Wear an n95. Use alt text. Make protests accessible.

Some thoughts about the military parade in my hometown of Washington DC today -- specifically, the route. Military parades in DC are quite rare. But when they happen, they have always begun, symbolically and geographically, at the Capitol and moved outward. 1/

Case in point: my dad began at No Kings today said it was packed, no crazy cop presence, then went to the zucotti park one explicitly anti-Ice and pro Palestine, cops are everywhere.

Happy FOIAFriday the 13th! NEW issue of my newsletter is out.

In March, I filed a #FOIA request with the US Institute of Peace just as DOGE was taking over the agency. This week USIP sent me the most incredible response to a #FOIA request I have ever received.
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

@prisonculture.bsky.social and I have been encouraging people to read chapter six of our book, Let This Radicalize You, which deals with the question of "violence" in social movements. We have decided to share the chapter publicly, to offer some context and grounding for the current conversation.

I did my best to compile as many protest safety notes as possible into a one page foldout zine! Coincidentally…it seems the file has breached containment…like it’s available for anyone to print or hand out 👀⚖️

toonyart.com/s/PSZine.pdf

leftists: that thing you teach us in school to be terrified of is happening

historians: that thing is definitely happening

star wars: here is a beat-for-beat breakdown of how the thing happens, but with pew pew lasers. we know you watched it

news outlets: these protesters are out of control

As LAPD makes this announcement over a P.A.:

"I hereby declare this to be an unlawful assembly"

Literally 5 SECONDS later, the first impact munition round is fired.

MULTIPLE munitions are launched before the announcement is finished. It's no longer audible over the booms and frightened screams.

Have you ever observed/participated in pushback related to accessibility/disability computing research? We’re collecting short stories which will remain confidential, of pushback, at ALL levels in both industry and academia, to identify tensions in the research community.