Rebecca Spang
@rlspang.bsky.social
Professor of History at big public university in Midwest. Writes about money, French Revolution, restaurants. Friend to vert paleo. ex UCL History; Yale SOM Visiting Fellow; Guggenheim and New America Fellow. once/future Mainer Atheist
This is like a "choose your own adventure book". If you choose option A, it will do the next step for you, etc. This is not writing. This is producing text for a grade. Writing has value as a way to figure out what you think and why. If students see this possibility in a product that is/5
Last year, Maine's wild blueberry growers saw their production costs double and $28 million in economic losses from the weather. www.bangordailynews.com/2026/08/05/d...
Maine blueberry farmers hopeful for 2026 after ‘devastating’ losses last year
Maine farmers provide almost all of the country’s domestic supply of wild blueberries, which play a big role in the region’s economy.
bangordailynews.com
Brown University has a widget that tracks the cost of the Iran war to American consumers (as contrasted to whatever the Pentagon is spending). Per-household cost now exceeds $600. iranwarcost.watson.brown.edu
It’s hard to overstate just how hard Republicans pushed for this. Broadcast. Cable. YouTube. Facebook. Missouri voters have been deluged w ads presenting Am. 5 as a way to protect their savings and hurt “greedy politicians.” I’m happily surprised that, for once, Missourians saw through the lies.
@flamesofchaos.bsky.social · 12h ago
Tonight in a restaurant with a lovely patio, l heard a patron say ‘I eschew the outdoors’—and I had to smile in appreciation of how he expressed the sentiment.
Quite an upset in the #KSGov Dem primary. State Sen. Cindy Holscher, who came out against data centers and the Kansas City Chiefs stadium deal, has defeated state Sen. Ethan Corson, who had a big financial edge and an endorsement from term-limited Gov. Laura Kelly.
The move to limit statewide votes on constitutional amendments just one piece of a larger effort to protect power of a legislature that knows it doesn’t reflect the opinions of the majority of Missouri voters.
Missouri election chief rejects bid to hold public vote on Trump-backed congressional districts
Missouri’s top election official has rejected a petition for a statewide referendum on new congressional districts backed by President Donald Trump.
apnews.com
But this advert itself provokes severe nausea (even among the unpregnant) so any potential benefit from the drug was immediately reversed
Maladroithe@maladroithe.bsky.social · 18h agoThey pulled this from shelves in 1969when they realized it caused liver toxicity
Voters opposed eliminating state income tax!!! A hopeful sign that the American electorate is starting to understand how taxes actually work
KCUR (Kansas City's best news source)@kcur.org · 13h agoBREAKING: Missouri's Amendment 5 has been rejected. Voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposal that would have given state lawmakers the ability to expand sales and use taxes in order to eliminate the state income tax. (@stlpublicradio.bsky.social)
Phang: "Capital One said, 'We don't want the business anymore of the 45th president of the United States, his businesses, his failed sons, and his revocable trust.' So you can imagine -- I am just hypothesizing... but it suggests whatever Capital One uncovered was pretty bad. Makes you wonder..."
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit from the Trump administration on Monday that sought to compel Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold to hand over sensitive voter information to the federal government. via @coloradonewsline.com www.newsfromthestates.com/article/%E2%...
Trump administration’s attempt to obtain Colorado voter data shut down by federal judge
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit from the Trump administration on Monday that sought to compel Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold to hand over sensitive voter information to the federal…
newsfromthestates.com
More than 1 million Ohioans are not getting essential safety-net benefits for which they're eligible, according to a new analysis by the Urban Institute ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/08/04/m...
More than 1 million Ohioans aren't getting essential safety-net benefits, analysis shows • Ohio Capital Journal
More than 1 million Ohioans are not getting essential safety-net benefits for which they're eligible, according to a new analysis.
ohiocapitaljournal.com
Trump is killing it. People, animals, the planet, democracy, rule of law.
PatriotTakes 🇺🇸@patriottakes.bsky.social · 15h agoTrump announces he is rolling back protections for endangered species
Heatwaves reaching the upper thermal limits of mammals Poor lions, poor residents of Tokyo And yes, we should be worried and yes we know what to collectively do
Sanho Tree@sanho.bsky.social · yesterday“Three female lions died of suspected heatstroke at Tokyo's Tama Zoo, the first heat-related deaths among the facility's lion population in its 62-year history. The lions, aged 3, 11 and 15 and all born in the zoo, showed signs of severe dehydration and multiple organ failure in post-mortem exams”
If we really want to tax the rich (why wouldn’t we?!) we need to rewrite the tax code and close a lot of loopholes. This fund intentionally generates losses that can then be deducted, thereby allowing grotesquely rich people to pay no tax on their even bigger wins.
Bloomberg News@bloomberg.com · 21h agoThe wealthiest 1% have found a way to eliminate their taxes. Here’s how the world’s biggest hedge fund makes that happen. Read The Big Take ⬇️
Whitehouse: "Next we get to this crooked slush fund Trump family tax amnesty scam. We've got these two new pieces of paper. One signed only by Blanche, one not signed by anybody. Neither of which has any legal effect whatsoever. They are decorative. Can you trust Todd Blanche? I do not."
Republicans wrote the Big Ugly Bill to funnel cash to billionaires — and they used your grandmother's Medicare as the piggy bank. Half a trillion in cuts start January 1. Vote them all out. #RepublicanMedicareCuts
Yep. Earlier this year I was interviewed by Sharyn Alfonsi of 60 Minutes about my Epstein investigation. Subsequently, CBS pulled the segment and fired the reporter. The MAGA buyout of media is aiding the Trump administration’s Epstein cover up.
The New Republic@newrepublic.com · yesterdayBanks permitted millions in suspicious transactions tied to Epstein—and former 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi had the story months ago. But the report would never air. trib.al/ZShZlIS
Here’s the key takeaway from our report: Epstein couldn’t have carried out his trafficking and criminal activity without the help of the highest ranking employees and executives at the most powerful banks in the world. Wall Street is complicit in Epstein’s crimes from top to bottom.
It's both humbling and wonderful to keep learning US history (the history that teenage me believed to be "boring" and not as cool as European history). For instance: O.C. Barber and Barberton, Ohio where 250 million matches/day were made. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbert...
Barberton, Ohio - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Important to underscore that private prisons have long been centrally important to the deportation state. That is why Illinois banned them entirely.
Aman Batheja@amanbatheja.bsky.social · yesterdayNew: ICE recently spent over a billion dollars buying two private prisons that they were already using as detention centers. Officials with the two biggest private prison companies say they expect more such deals are coming.
'Powerless': Indiana families describe the toll of losing Medicaid access
'Powerless': Indiana families describe the toll of losing Medicaid access • Indiana Capital Chronicle
Indiana families describe delayed care, confusion and financial strain as Medicaid coverage lapses ripple across the state's health system.
indianacapitalchronicle.com
Everyone not demanding impeachment, R or D, is blatantly shirking their duty.
Sahil Kapur@sahilkapur.bsky.social · 2d ago"The Trump administration admitted that it terminated nearly 300 federal research grants 'solely because' the projects were connected to states that voted against Donald Trump in 2024 and had two Democratic senators in office, according to court filings." www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
Because of rain damage, I need a new « all purpose » protest sign. I considered : Congress, do your job—but vanishingly few members of Congress drive by Post Office Square (even on Saturday). So should it be: Make Congress do its job! No Tyranny. 4.4 Billion spent so far on « mass deportation »
George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸@gtconway.bsky.social · 2d agoBut our current Congress, as an institution, is too corrupt and cowardly to fulfill its constitutional duty to exercise this power and duty. And that, sadly, is where we are today.
THE COCOANUTS (1929) w/ the Marx Bros. is streaming free on Wikipedia! And it's still got the Paramount logo, even though it's public domain. What a time to be alive. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Th... #FilmSky
Unlike the Ontario wildfires, which were mostly burning in the woods, these fires have now burned through urban areas, making the smoke extra, extra toxic. Take the AQI warnings seriously this week, PNW neighbors.
Matthew Pfab@matthewpfabwx.bsky.social · 3d agoHeads up, #Seattle...smoke from massive fires in Eastern Washington and Southern British Columbia will move into Western Washington starting early Monday, getting denser through Tuesday and Wednesday. Prepare for an extended period of degraded air quality. #wawx
