Ashley Pratt
@vaguelyacademic.bsky.social
Rabbinical student. MA in International Relations from King's College London. Boston.
Reposted by Ashley Pratt
Cats figured out that if you're going to be annoying you also have to be funny and that's something we could all learn from
March 9, 2024 at 7:38 PM
Cats figured out that if you're going to be annoying you also have to be funny and that's something we could all learn from
Reposted by Ashley Pratt
And yet, In Covid’s Wake quotes me as saying that “the FBI went beyond strategic information sharing and made direct moderation demands” — literally the opposite of what I argue — to buttress their claim that the government was too busy censoring speech to adequately deal with the pandemic.
December 24, 2025 at 7:00 PM
And yet, In Covid’s Wake quotes me as saying that “the FBI went beyond strategic information sharing and made direct moderation demands” — literally the opposite of what I argue — to buttress their claim that the government was too busy censoring speech to adequately deal with the pandemic.
Reposted by Ashley Pratt
My take on the “therapy isn’t enough” meme
(based on a piece by Gustave Doré 1855)
(based on a piece by Gustave Doré 1855)
December 29, 2025 at 5:17 PM
My take on the “therapy isn’t enough” meme
(based on a piece by Gustave Doré 1855)
(based on a piece by Gustave Doré 1855)
Reposted by Ashley Pratt
you do not and should not hand it to MTG under any circumstances
it is useful for us, politically, that she's broken with Trump - because "Rs in Disarray" is a good narrative
but she herself is still a vicious antisemite and transphobe and nobody progressive should lose sight of that
it is useful for us, politically, that she's broken with Trump - because "Rs in Disarray" is a good narrative
but she herself is still a vicious antisemite and transphobe and nobody progressive should lose sight of that
Should also add that right before she quit, Marjorie Taylor Greene passed a bill through the House to ban gender-affirming care for minors. She is not a moderate. She is still super right wing. She just felt Trump no longer could accomplish her goals.
“Our side has been trained by Donald Trump to never apologize and to never admit when you’re wrong.” Read the inside story of how Marjorie Taylor Greene went from zealous Trump cheerleader to his loudest Republican critic: nyti.ms/3Lbzi88
December 29, 2025 at 5:47 PM
you do not and should not hand it to MTG under any circumstances
it is useful for us, politically, that she's broken with Trump - because "Rs in Disarray" is a good narrative
but she herself is still a vicious antisemite and transphobe and nobody progressive should lose sight of that
it is useful for us, politically, that she's broken with Trump - because "Rs in Disarray" is a good narrative
but she herself is still a vicious antisemite and transphobe and nobody progressive should lose sight of that
Reposted by Ashley Pratt
Insane but true fact: making US roads as safe as Canadian, Australian, or European roads would save more lives than eliminating murder from the US.
November 21, 2025 at 3:01 AM
Insane but true fact: making US roads as safe as Canadian, Australian, or European roads would save more lives than eliminating murder from the US.
Reposted by Ashley Pratt
Living and working abroad has had its difficulties but imo it’s something everyone should do at least once. You learn things about yourself being a stranger somewhere.
December 28, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Living and working abroad has had its difficulties but imo it’s something everyone should do at least once. You learn things about yourself being a stranger somewhere.
Reposted by Ashley Pratt
even if I’m putting on my very most cynical hat, it’s a very good thing that the establishment lane understands that they’re getting graded on this
@repdangoldman.bsky.social worked with advocates + attorneys to secure the release of 9 ICE detainees
“We don’t control the immigration system. We don’t control the courtrooms. But we have some power and we are going to aggressively use it in every way we can"
talkingpointsmemo.com/feature/how-...
“We don’t control the immigration system. We don’t control the courtrooms. But we have some power and we are going to aggressively use it in every way we can"
talkingpointsmemo.com/feature/how-...
How Rep. Dan Goldman’s Office Became a ‘Triage Center’ for ICE Detainees
It began in the spring, when Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) went to...
talkingpointsmemo.com
December 23, 2025 at 3:53 PM
even if I’m putting on my very most cynical hat, it’s a very good thing that the establishment lane understands that they’re getting graded on this
Reposted by Ashley Pratt
I don’t mean to sound extreme, but I don’t think we should have torture camps for people with criminal records either.
December 23, 2025 at 1:51 AM
I don’t mean to sound extreme, but I don’t think we should have torture camps for people with criminal records either.
This is actually unhinged, we are so far gone already… www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/u...
Judge Convicted of Obstructing Agents as They Sought Undocumented Immigrant
www.nytimes.com
December 19, 2025 at 6:33 PM
This is actually unhinged, we are so far gone already… www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/u...
Can someone explain to me which Jewish holidays aren’t “family-friendly”?
December 14, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Can someone explain to me which Jewish holidays aren’t “family-friendly”?
Post-Thanksgiving dinner is objectively the most correct time to swipe on dating apps.
November 28, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Post-Thanksgiving dinner is objectively the most correct time to swipe on dating apps.
Reposted by Ashley Pratt
“we need to be nicer to men” bro they didn’t let women have their own credit cards til 50 years ago
November 23, 2025 at 10:39 PM
“we need to be nicer to men” bro they didn’t let women have their own credit cards til 50 years ago
Reposted by Ashley Pratt
Your yearly reminder that “holiday” celebrations that only include Christian traditions are not, in fact, inclusive even if you don’t use the word Christmas, so tbh I’d rather you just say it’s Christmas.
Until a few years ago, ugly holiday sweaters didn’t exist. They’re ugly Christmas sweaters, with some generic Jewish iconography to be “inclusive.” But the truth is, when I have to buy one to wear to a work party, I feel like I’m in another culture’s drag.
November 22, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Your yearly reminder that “holiday” celebrations that only include Christian traditions are not, in fact, inclusive even if you don’t use the word Christmas, so tbh I’d rather you just say it’s Christmas.
They should talk to the team over at Sky Sports about how the Halo channel launch went before they fully commit to this
If they really wanted to appeal to women they should have made a drink called Monster Fucker.
November 17, 2025 at 6:55 PM
They should talk to the team over at Sky Sports about how the Halo channel launch went before they fully commit to this
Reposted by Ashley Pratt
“there is a point on the graph where things get Worse, and there you will find Ronald Reagan” stays undefeated
it's fascinating that you can see when exactly the Reagan revolution happened
November 15, 2025 at 9:26 PM
“there is a point on the graph where things get Worse, and there you will find Ronald Reagan” stays undefeated
Reposted by Ashley Pratt
Reposted by Ashley Pratt
“More than once, the name ‘Frantz Fanon’ was broached—which had the virtue of certain hand-showing clarity.” …
“‘People read Foucault,’” the redoubtable David Brooks once wrote, in an actual column…” …
“‘Critics say’ is the tell, and does it ever go on telling.” and it keeps going…
“‘People read Foucault,’” the redoubtable David Brooks once wrote, in an actual column…” …
“‘Critics say’ is the tell, and does it ever go on telling.” and it keeps going…
What an amazing essay from the former chair of Africana Studies at Bowdoin. I'll share a few sections in the reply but seriously, read the whole thing. It's all insightful and beautifully written.
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani
It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…
lithub.com
November 8, 2025 at 11:34 PM
“More than once, the name ‘Frantz Fanon’ was broached—which had the virtue of certain hand-showing clarity.” …
“‘People read Foucault,’” the redoubtable David Brooks once wrote, in an actual column…” …
“‘Critics say’ is the tell, and does it ever go on telling.” and it keeps going…
“‘People read Foucault,’” the redoubtable David Brooks once wrote, in an actual column…” …
“‘Critics say’ is the tell, and does it ever go on telling.” and it keeps going…
Reposted by Ashley Pratt
Today, Mike Johnson will keep the House adjourned for the 95th day out of the last 107.
12 days of work in 107 days.
With full pay and benefits.
The senate has been working, so this is not about the shutdown.
It is about avoiding a vote to release the Epstein files.
12 days of work in 107 days.
With full pay and benefits.
The senate has been working, so this is not about the shutdown.
It is about avoiding a vote to release the Epstein files.
November 7, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Today, Mike Johnson will keep the House adjourned for the 95th day out of the last 107.
12 days of work in 107 days.
With full pay and benefits.
The senate has been working, so this is not about the shutdown.
It is about avoiding a vote to release the Epstein files.
12 days of work in 107 days.
With full pay and benefits.
The senate has been working, so this is not about the shutdown.
It is about avoiding a vote to release the Epstein files.
Reposted by Ashley Pratt
Not a shitpost: #NoKings is feel-good performative activism for comfortable mostly upper and upper middle class white folks and that’s good, actually. Millions of people in the streets protesting a fascist regime is good. It is good for the normie baseline to be massive displays of public dissent.
October 19, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Not a shitpost: #NoKings is feel-good performative activism for comfortable mostly upper and upper middle class white folks and that’s good, actually. Millions of people in the streets protesting a fascist regime is good. It is good for the normie baseline to be massive displays of public dissent.
Reposted by Ashley Pratt
English Lit Major voice: Akhnai is the oven, not the rabbi
September 28, 2025 at 3:13 PM
English Lit Major voice: Akhnai is the oven, not the rabbi
Reposted by Ashley Pratt
I understand why Western artists and academics immediately see their own fields as the place where they can make a difference but Israeli artists and academics are often (though not always) the ones the Israeli government is, itself, trying to silence.
September 19, 2025 at 5:58 PM
I understand why Western artists and academics immediately see their own fields as the place where they can make a difference but Israeli artists and academics are often (though not always) the ones the Israeli government is, itself, trying to silence.
Reposted by Ashley Pratt
Anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia are very real and powerful forms of bigotry in our modern world, and deserve to be talked about on their own terms. We can do that without taking away one of the words Jews have, rooted in the very particular Jewish experience in modern Europe.
September 15, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia are very real and powerful forms of bigotry in our modern world, and deserve to be talked about on their own terms. We can do that without taking away one of the words Jews have, rooted in the very particular Jewish experience in modern Europe.
Reposted by Ashley Pratt
So antisemitism refers to Jews, because that was how the term was invented. It was a way of inventing the racialization of the Jews, and it therefore differs from (while still borrowing from) earlier Christian anti-Judaism.
September 15, 2025 at 12:43 PM
So antisemitism refers to Jews, because that was how the term was invented. It was a way of inventing the racialization of the Jews, and it therefore differs from (while still borrowing from) earlier Christian anti-Judaism.
Reposted by Ashley Pratt
It is nearly always clear from context that when people use "during Covid" they mean "during the emergency response to the Covid-19 pandemic" (too long to write every time!) and are not making any statement at all about the continued circulation of the virus or the effects of the disease.
Maybe unpopular take but I think "during COVID" is fine!
Death data show a clear acute phase from spring 2020 until spring 2022. Since then deaths have steadily trended downward and this winter fell below flu deaths. You can take COVID seriously and still talk about the worst of it in the past tense
Death data show a clear acute phase from spring 2020 until spring 2022. Since then deaths have steadily trended downward and this winter fell below flu deaths. You can take COVID seriously and still talk about the worst of it in the past tense
September 3, 2025 at 12:44 AM
It is nearly always clear from context that when people use "during Covid" they mean "during the emergency response to the Covid-19 pandemic" (too long to write every time!) and are not making any statement at all about the continued circulation of the virus or the effects of the disease.
Have we as a society settled on what you do when you are approaching a location where you’re meeting someone and you see them but you’re kind of a long way away so it’s awkward to acknowledge them but then you’re basically looking right at them for a minute or more as you walk??
August 28, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Have we as a society settled on what you do when you are approaching a location where you’re meeting someone and you see them but you’re kind of a long way away so it’s awkward to acknowledge them but then you’re basically looking right at them for a minute or more as you walk??