I needed a little levity today!

Thanks to A Mighty Girl on Facebook for highlighting this quote.

There has long existed in America a conundrum of Blacks and the military...A nation that had enslaved Blacks would come to call upon them during the Civil War to save America. Those Black soldiers—told by Confederate forces they’d be hanged if captured—served with distinction.

Fighting Abroad and At Home: Remembering the Experiences of Black Vietnam Veterans

If you were a twelve-year-old kid, as I was in the summer of 1966, N. Fifth Street in Columbus, Ohio seemed a bucolic place. Every neighborhood kid seemed to have a bicycle. Trees shaded homes. Men…

lithub.com

"In 2022...Noem singled me out by name, accusing me of having an agenda and being unfair. That tactic did not come from South Dakota’s political tradition. It came straight from a national playbook designed to weaken trust in journalism."

This Is What the Breakdown of Accountability Looks Like: My History with Kristi Noem

My History with Kristi Noem

angelakennecke.substack.com

The graphic novel version of Timothy Snyder’s “On Tyranny” was released in 2021, but I recently discovered it existed and requested that my library acquire it for their collection. They did, and I’m currently reading it. This version is quite powerful with the added photos and illustrations.

"Those who support or excuse this campaign of terror and civil rights abuses, say: Why can’t you simply comply with these officers? They’re just doing their jobs. As if better compliance is the root issue with asking someone to show papers based on skin color."

Letter From Minnesota: Can You Hear Us, America?

Since early December of last year, thousands of ICE officers have streamed into Minnesota to carry out a violent and grossly unconstitutional campaign of state intimidation upon the people of Minne…

lithub.com

In solidarity with today's ICE OUT OF MINNESOTA blackout, MinnMax is donating $1 to the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota for every share of this Bluesky post for the next hour.

Minnesota author Kent Nerburn on Facebook, after attending protests in Minneapolis: "Trump, in his tiny vicious rage, hoped his oafish Brownshirts would create chaos. Instead, in this corner of America, on this particular day, they were creating community." www.facebook.com/knerburn

Cartoon by @badiucao.bsky.social.

I think @terrymoranabc.bsky.social has the right idea of breaking up the onslaught of horrific news from the regime with regular poetry breaks. I needed this palate cleanser today.

Sunrise on the Missouri River near Yankton, South Dakota. Saturday, December 27, 2025.

"'The fact is that we did it,' Murdoch M. Wood said, 'and I then came to the conclusion that I have held very firmly ever since, that if we had been left to ourselves there would never have been another shot fired.'"

Silent Night, Peaceful Night — Attic Planet

On Christmas Eve 1914, the guns stopped, the front fell still, and the soldiers came out of the trenches. . .

atticplanet.space

"To call such people ‘garbage' is not just a lie. It is a moral disgrace. It is the language of someone who wants to divide Americans into those who belong and those who can be discarded. It stems from the mind and heart of a man who treats human beings as refuse."

Dragging America Down to His Level

No human being should be called "garbage." But Trump's second term is trashing our country.

open.substack.com

Rapid City, South Dakota, has a number of statues of presidents in the downtown area called City of Presidents. They recently installed a statue of Trump. Some residents are making it clear how they feel about that. Photo courtesy of the Indivisible 605 Facebook group.

"I suspect Trump and the assholes at his side are no match for Elissa Slotkin, Jason Crow, Mark Kelly, Maggie Goodlander, Chrissy Houlahan and Chris Deluzio, the senators and congress members in the video. They’ve actually read, understood and know how to fight for our Constitution."

@fightthefire.bsky.social · 8mo ago

New at Fight the Fire: Trump's hit a new low of stupid and dangerous with his threats against members of Congress. All links and subscriptions are free at Fight Fire. Check us out. We'd love to have you with us as we enter our second year of covering the disastrous Trumpster fire.

R/T John Roedel via Facebook Many more gems found @johnroedel.bsky.social.

"South Dakota women are imprisoned at a rate of 338 per 100,000. That’s a higher rate than Montana or Idaho...All three states have higher rates than El Salvador, the country with the highest incarceration rate. The nationwide incarceration rate for women in the U.S. is 112 per 100,000."

South Dakota locks up women at a higher rate than any other state, report says • South Dakota Searchlight

South Dakota incarcerates women at a higher rate than other U.S. states — and countries — according to a new report from the Prison Policy Initiative.

southdakotasearchlight.com

A bit of good news! "In a little over two months, South Dakota Public Broadcasting raised $1.6 million to help keep its staff after losing federal funding. In July, SDPB announced it lost 100% of its federal funds, which amounts to around $2.3 million annually and around 22% of its entire budget."

“‘Motherf***ing wind farms. Loud, ugly, harmful to nature,' he says, then pauses and shakes his head. ​'Who says that? These giants are standing tall against fossil fuels, rising up from the ocean like a middle finger to CO2.’"

Samuel L. Jackson, with few choice words for Trump

Watch the Snakes on Plane star take on the snake in the Oval Office

open.substack.com

"On trumpet, Ernestine ‘Tiny' Davis was 'the female Louis Armstrong.' When she played in DC, Armstrong himself offered her five times her meager Sweethearts salary to join his band. She refused. ‘Well,' Davis recalled, 'I just loved them gals too much.’"

SWINGIN' WITH THE SWEETHEARTS

Big Bands were all male, all white. Then from the shadows of Jim Crow came the International Sweethearts of Rhythm.

theattic.space

"The promoters of Christian nationalism seek a dangerous convergence of government and religion. Christian religion, of course. "We have seen what happens in other countries where religion and government become one. We should never want that here."

Beware of Christian nationalism, even on a T-shirt • South Dakota Searchlight

The promoters of Christian nationalism seek a dangerous convergence of government and religion. Christian religion, of course.

southdakotasearchlight.com

New at Fight the Fire: An unprecedented look at Trump’s unprecedented level of claims about unprecedented stuff. Trust us, you’ve never seen anything like it, at least since the last time you never saw anything like it.

An unprecedented look at Trump’s unprecedented level of claims about unprecedented stuff

Trust us, you’ve never seen anything like it, at least since the last time you never saw anything like it

fightthefire.substack.com

Late summer in South Dakota.

Perhaps we should also paint tunnels on the wall so unsuspecting immigrants run right into it (aka Roadrunner vs. Coyote?) My god, this truly is the stupidest timeline.