@straythoughts.bsky.social
Bioinformatics, history, photography, cats
Reposted
blockclubchicago.org/2025/12/21/c... Local man with untreated diabetes who is not a public safety threat dies in ICE custody at 56.
Chicago Man From Bulgaria Dies In ICE Custody In Michigan
Nenko Stanev Gantchev, 56, died Dec. 15 in an ICE detention center in Michigan after being arrested locally in September. He lived in the Chicago area for 30 years and was a business owner, reports sa...
blockclubchicago.org
December 22, 2025 at 4:47 PM
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Congrats again to everyone for pretending the far right authoritarian party’s assault on higher education was really about fighting antisemitism
JD Vance: "Wouldn't you rather lead a movement of freethinkers who sometimes disagree than a bunch of drones who take their orders from George Soros?"
December 21, 2025 at 8:00 PM
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Curvature - Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), Huntley Meadows Park, Alexandria, Virginia, July 25, 2021
#birds #birdphotography #urbanwildlife
December 21, 2025 at 4:50 PM
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“.. We are aware of at least 30 deaths at ICE detention centers this year, making 2025 the deadliest year for immigrants in ICE custody," Ramirez said in an online statement.
December 20, 2025 at 1:14 PM
December 20, 2025 at 3:05 PM
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Is everyone ready to write a novel this November? NaNoWriMo may have shut down, but we can still write 50,000 words! Here's a list of writing resources for inspiration and assistance with writing your novel!
Write a Novel This November!
Happy (almost) National Novel Writing Month! NaNoWriMo may have shut down, but we can still write 50,000 words this November (or 30,000 words, or 60 pages—I just take it as a challenge to write every day, so do whatever you have time for). If you’re looking for a structured writing experience, check out Chill Subs’ First Draft November newsletter; they’ll be sending out prompts and providing a space for discussion and accountability throughout November.
readasawriter.wordpress.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:12 PM
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Woodworking is a heartwarming exploration of friendship among trans women, the necessity of love and community, and the ways that people try to be themselves—or hide themselves. It's an amazing book with flawed, sympathetic characters and amazing uses of narrative POV.
Book Review: Woodworking by Emily St. James
This post contains affiliate links to Bookshop.org. If you purchase a book through those links, I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I loved this book. It was a heartwarming exploration of friendship among trans women, the necessity of love and community, and the ways that people try to be themselves—or hide themselves. In…
readasawriter.wordpress.com
December 17, 2025 at 6:17 PM
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Growl... Today the U.S. House passed H.R. 845, the Pet and Livestock Protection Act. This bill removes gray wolves in the lower 48 US states from Endangered Species Act protections, leaving them open to mass kills in the states. In Feb. 2021, for example, 216 wolves were killed in WI in <60 hours.
December 19, 2025 at 2:02 AM
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"The Trump administration came in with four plans to reorganize the labor market. None of them came to pass."

Brutally accurate @mtkonczal.bsky.social
#NumbersDay #EconSky
newsletter.mikekonczal.com/p/a-year-in-...
A Year In, the MAGA Labor Market Story Has Fallen Apart
The administration bet on government cuts, tariffs, deportations, and a gendered theory of growth. The data say otherwise.
newsletter.mikekonczal.com
December 19, 2025 at 1:33 PM
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Today in life under competitive authoritarianism
Border patrol under command of Greg Bovino running a checkpoint at the exit to the Uber lot at O’Hare airport in Chicago, asking drivers for proof of valid residency in this country
December 18, 2025 at 12:00 AM
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Within 15 minutes today, I got two back-to-back notifications of deaths at ICE facilities.

28 people have died in ICE custody since Trump took office. These facilities are overcrowded & are putting their own profits over health and safety. We need oversight & accountability NOW.
December 18, 2025 at 5:32 PM
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Large Border Patrol presence at the Home Depot off Oakton Street in Evanston, IL.

Agents just detained at least one person. Whistles going off. Helicopter circling low.

One agent just told Evanston mayor Daniel Biss, who's on scene, to back up.
December 17, 2025 at 6:24 PM
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Chicagoland braces for another wave of Border Patrol attacks today.

8 days until Christmas.
December 17, 2025 at 3:02 PM
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border patrol caravan still moving through chicago. appears to be roughly 40-60 agents pulling onto dusable lakeshore drive from i-55.
December 17, 2025 at 4:36 PM
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Small-scale, fiercely independent journalism rarely gets recognition when awards are handed out, but it's vital in our communities—especially this year. So I made an award and am thrilled to announce @unraveledpress.com and @lataco.bsky.social as the inaugural winners. dansinker.com/posts/2025-1...
Announcing the Inaugural Snooping Newsie Awards for Excellence in Independent Journalism | dansinker.com
dansinker.com
December 15, 2025 at 5:42 PM
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Jews everywhere understand that this is the omnipresent reality of being Jewish now. There's a reason my synagogue built a 10-foot tall fence around the whole building and has armed security guards.
December 14, 2025 at 2:32 PM
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This Day in Labor History: December 14, 1945. The House passed what would become the Employment Act of 1946 once Harry Truman signed it. Let's talk the attempt for a real full employment bill and the watered down bill that actually got passed.
December 14, 2025 at 1:26 PM
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Remarkable how brutal the ruling against Trump on Abrego Garcia truly is: It details flagrant and malicious abuses of power all throughout. Trump and Stephen Miller were testing their ability to spread lawless state terror. But the court held the line. 1/

(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2043...
Fiasco for Trump as Judge Issues Harsh Rebuke in Abrego Garcia Case
Judge Paula Xinis’s ruling temporarily freed Kilmar Abrego Garcia from custody. It also savagely indicted Trump’s lawless handling of this whole affair from start to finish.
newrepublic.com
December 12, 2025 at 5:39 PM
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My latest this AM with @warontherocks.bsky.social. Of note: "[Military officers] will be active participants with choices to make about the degree to which they continue to serve civilians intent on undermining the liberal values enshrined in the Constitution."

1/

warontherocks.com/2025/12/the-...
The Soldier in the Illiberal State is a Professional Dead End
The American political system today is indeed in crisis. Government function is in doubt, the administration has politicized and weaponized a previously
warontherocks.com
December 1, 2025 at 6:34 PM
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#jewishbookmonth #jewishbookmonth100 #Jewish="/hashtag/JewishBooks" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link">#JewishBooks #Jewish #Books

Celebrate Jewish Book Month by reading some Jewish books! Check out this list of Jewish books I've enjoyed, including fantasy, nonfiction, and an essay collection!
Jewish Book Month 2025
Jewish Book Month is an annual celebration of Jewish books during the month before Hanukkah. This year, it takes place from November 13, 2025 to December 14, 2025. If you're looking for a book to read to celebrate, here's a list of Jewish books I've enjoyed (with the exception of the last one, which I haven't read, but I think it sounds interesting)!
readasawriter.wordpress.com
December 11, 2025 at 5:18 AM
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White House Begins Christmas Season With Ceremonial Lighting Of Cross
December 10, 2025 at 10:00 PM
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Al’s Under The L, 2908 West Lake Street
December 11, 2025 at 12:57 AM
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Agents in Key Largo, Florida ripped this woman wearing medical scrubs out of her car as she screamed she is a US citizen. Agents cuffed her and put her in one of their cars.

She was eventually let go, per David Goodhue of the Miami Herald, who also took this footage:
December 3, 2025 at 5:20 PM