Get to know the National Book Rating Index, BookLens, RatedBooks, and more tools being used to ban books across US schools and libraries. Y'all, pay attention to these–and pay close attention to the latest project from Take Back the Classroom. bookriot.com/tools-used-b...

The Tools Book Banners Are Using to Target Books in 2026: Book Censorship News, July 24, 2026

Get to know the National Book Rating Index, BookLens, RatedBooks, and more tools being used to ban books across US schools and libraries.

bookriot.com

You’re absolutely right. We should not have so many people on SNAP. Because jobs should pay enough FOR PEOPLE TO EAT.

Arizonans will be able to vote on the future of the state's school voucher system. A referendum organized by parents and teachers will be on the ballot this fall to ban purchasing luxury items with taxpayer dollars, bar the wealthy from subsidizing private education with public money, and more.

Arizona Petition for ESA Reforms Exceeds Signature Goal

Save Our Schools and the Arizona Education Association submit over 400,000 signatures to support the Protect Education citizens initiative in Arizona.

pro.stateaffairs.com

Meta is currently testing "super sensing" AI glasses that will continuously record surrounding audio while snapping pictures every few seconds. The new hardware also gets rid of the LED light that notifies bystanders when the glasses are recording. www.ft.com/content/ac28...

Meta tests ‘super sensing’ AI glasses that can capture every moment

Mark Zuckerberg’s hardware ambitions are edging into a new privacy fight over who gets recorded

ft.com

This is a fantastic series. Watching the consecutive videos on YouTube, I found myself teary-eyed by the memory of the many who made us great. E pluribus unum. 🇺🇸 Follow @hcrichardson.bsky.social.

250 to 250@250to250.bsky.social · last mo.

Governor JB Pritzker is Illinois’ 43rd Governor and known for his historic investments in education, healthcare, and economic opportunity. Pritzker revisits the Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln's speech that rededicated the nation to the principle that all men are created equal. #WeAreAmerica250

I love this one. This was the one that made me realize these were going to work. A minute isn’t much time and I worried it was too little. But this one does more in a minute than I could do in a whole semester.

Kelly Guinan@kellyguinan.bsky.social · last mo.

New, one-minute learning, and celebration of American History by @hcrichardson.bsky.social team #250to250 Narrated by Jim Obergefell Obergefell v. Hodges #WeAreAmerica250 #SameSexMarriage #LoveIsLove #HumanRights @hcrichardson.bsky.social youtu.be/9YaX11f19cU?...

“For young people, especially young boys, nearly every pathway online for them to find community, to explore their interests and hobbies, is seeped with far-right grifters, influencers, racists, bigots, and individuals who are seeking to use those platforms to monetize their hate.”

What Leads a Teen Boy to Commit Mass Violence?

Authorities say the two teenagers who opened fire on the Islamic Center of San Diego, killing three, became radicalized online.

thecut.com

When white supremacists described the first black politicians winning elections in the South during Reconstruction, they too called it a "reign of terror" that innocent white people had to suffer under. Black leaders! Elected to federal office! Can you imagine the indignity?!

Ashton Pittman@ashtonpittman.bsky.social · 3mo ago

NEW: U.S. House Rep. Bennie Thompson's "reign of terror" in Mississippi "is over," Gov. Tate Reeves says, urging the ousting of the state's only Black member of Congress through redistricting before the end of 2027. He made that pronouncement even as he canceled a special session on redistricting.

WATCH: “The casualty is likely to be these minority voters.” @nytimes.com explains the impact of The Supreme Court striking down the Voting Rights Act, with Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina now redrawing maps to strip Black voters of congressional representation.

sure gas is headed to $8/gallon but at least cornell got rid of their gender studies classes. or at least i think they did, i haven’t checked and if im being honest i wouldnt really know if they had or hadnt because it doesnt affect me but it makes $8/gallon gas all worth it

My son is a library assistant and he told me that they will not allow students to enter the library freely. He says it's always empty and now students have to have permission from parents if they want to enter the library and it requires students to tell the school which books they want access to.

Ginger Turmeric Please@freeroo.blacksky.app · 3mo ago

I wish folks would see the literacy decline as a systemic issue.

This kind of thing at Substack (including their Nazi problem and trans hate problem) are why my newsletter is at Ghost.org and always has been. Andrew Tate is a spectacularly vile human being accused of numerous violent crimes against women and hugely corrosive for young male minds.

kottke.org@kottke.org · 4mo ago

Hey, look at Substack promoting Andrew Tate as the #1 new bestseller. The company's amoral leadership & backers will platform anyone, even ludicrously toxic rapists & human traffickers.

I am proud to say that Democracy Docket does not publish on Substack. www.democracydocket.com

kottke.org@kottke.org · 4mo ago

Hey, look at Substack promoting Andrew Tate as the #1 new bestseller. The company's amoral leadership & backers will platform anyone, even ludicrously toxic rapists & human traffickers.

I genuinely believe that people don't appreciate just how much of all the bad vibes right now are still largely a COVID hangover. It was a profoundly traumatizing event for American society, on the order of the civil war or the great depression and we've largely decided to just pretend

Faine Greenwood@faineg.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Looking at this graph of consumer economic sentiment, seems clear the vibes have been Bad since May 2020 - and I suspect a pervasive sense of chaos and instability since, coupled with Covid trauma we mostly just don't talk about, is contributing big-time to that: yougov.com/en-us/articl...

This

The NY Times saves its harshest skepticism for progressives. Instead of being impressed by 3,000+ coordinated protests, NYT dismisses the value of “hitting a number” and asks if No Kings will be “a primal scream that fades into a whimper.” F off, NY Times. We'll defeat fascism w/o you. (Gift link)

A Challenge for ‘No Kings’ Protests, the Third Time Around

nytimes.com

Social movement scholar here to comment on No King again. a 🧵: These protests are important b/c: 1.) as sustained image events, protests offer evidence of continued disapproval of the direction the country is going and disavowal of the country's leadership.

Mark Jacob@markjacob.bsky.social · 4mo ago

The NY Times saves its harshest skepticism for progressives. Instead of being impressed by 3,000+ coordinated protests, NYT dismisses the value of “hitting a number” and asks if No Kings will be “a primal scream that fades into a whimper.” F off, NY Times. We'll defeat fascism w/o you. (Gift link)

Social movement scholar here again. So, why protest? Nihilists were out yesterday arguing that "protests don't do anything." A short 🧵:

The VA lost about 700 social workers and 500 psychologists and psychiatrists over the course of 2025 — a significant change for an agency that was adding mental health staffers nearly every month leading up to Trump’s return to office. Read more: https://propub.li/4rBUJOV

Reminder: gas prices spiked under Biden because Russia invaded Ukraine. Gas prices spiked under Trump because Trump launched an attack on Iran. These two things are not the same.

They either didn't know Iran would shut down the Strait of Hormuz or they knew and didn't have a plan. Either way - just totally clear they don't give a damn about what this war means for hardworking Americans.

I keep seeing people ask about the 25th Amendment. Guys. His entire Cabinet is walking around in shoes that don’t fit because they’re scared to take them off. The 25th is never happening.

The Trump administration could really restore confidence by getting the entire Cabinet to ride a tanker through the Straits of Hormuz to show everyone how safe and easy it is now. They could bring along a lot of MAGA influencers and Fox News hosts to broadcast it all live!

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 5mo ago

Bessent: "That was always in our planning -- the chance that the US Navy or perhaps an international coalition will be escorting tankers through. There are tankers coming through now. We know that they have not mined the Straits."

Yes. ICE agents don't get to carve out a First Amendment exception for themselves.

Do I Have the Right to Film ICE?

Despite government attacks against protesters and the press, documenting interactions with law enforcement and federal agents is protected by the First Amendment. Here’s what you need to know.

aclu.org

Social media created this nonsense idea that not exposing yourself to hatred is isolationist. Choosing to not spend your free time with bigots isn’t living in a bubble. I don’t need to know what’s going on at X. I won’t be smarter or more knowledgeable or empathic by being there. Neither will you.

Another forever war because people can’t bring themselves to vote for women…

Then what happened?

What would your city do differently if simply making neighborhoods nice places to live — with good schools, low crime and walkable streets — was a better economic development strategy than tax incentives and industrial policy? www.indystar.com/story/opinio...

Why Carmel beats Muncie for jobs — and what it means for cities | Opinion

There are a lot of Muncies around the Midwest. That's why economic growth has been so sluggish across the Great Lakes states.

indystar.com

"We must speak loudly and clearly: Casey Means is totally unqualified to serve as U.S. Surgeon General and must be rejected by the Senate. She is a “health influencer,” not board certified in any specialty and not licensed to practice medicine." Sign on here: actionnetwork.org/letters/oppo...

Oppose Nomination of Casey Means for Surgeon General

The Senate HELP Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the nomination of Casey Means to serve as U.S. Surgeon General on Wednesday, February 25th. While we were hoping this nomination was dead, i...

actionnetwork.org