“I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” — James Baldwin

Being asked to remain 100% peaceful while absolutely bursting with rage has given me a more profound appreciation for everyone in this country who marched for civil rights.

Villain, thou know’st nor law of God nor man

It is impossible to overstate the relief felt by queer people when, in the midst of ever-present caution and uncertainty, they realize they are in a safe space. If you are an ally, please remember this when considering how clearly you need to signal your allyship. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

“We can never know what to want, because, living only one life, we can neither compare it with our previous lives nor perfect it in our lives to come.” — Milan Kundera, The Incredible Lightness of Being #sundaysentence

If I were trying to kill people, I’d make it harder for them to get vaccinated against disease, reduce funding for meteorological science in the face of increasingly destructive storms, and limit loopholes on the sale of weapons while simultaneously cutting resources for mental health programs.

“Mary Jane let go the curtain and wandered back to the blue chair, passing two heavily stocked bookcases without glancing at any of the titles.” — JD Salinger, “Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut” #sundaysentence

A restaurant called “Don’t fill up on that” where all we serve are the free bread courses from other restaurants. Cheddar Bay biscuits, chips and salsa, brown bread from Outback, breadsticks from the Olive Garden, and the servers are always all “now don’t fill up on this” and we all laugh and laugh

It would be amazing and so relatable if Pope Leo is actually a diehard Cubs fan but his brother told the world that he’s a White Sox fan just to mess with him.

For college professors, it’s nearly unbearable to look at this problem straight on. That’s how massive, and massively complex, it is. With all the issues facing higher ed right now, I think this one, coming from inside the house, poses the most profound, long term threat.

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · last yr.

“Massive numbers of students are going to emerge from university with degrees, and into the workforce, who are essentially illiterate…Both in the literal sense and in the sense of being historically illiterate and having no knowledge of their own culture, much less anyone else’s.”

The devastating, shortsighted attack on literature continues. List from Magic City Books. Who'd they miss? Note: the small publishers selected here for financial attack include (among other very worthy and important presses) @transitbooks.bsky.social, publisher of 2023 Nobel laureate Jon Fosse.

I wondered what it would take for me to finally become unhinged. Now I know. It’s the quote below. To @electricliterature.com and every other essential, brilliant organization impacted by the NEA cuts, you are my parents and I am Batman.

NEW from me — National Endowment for the Arts rescinds grants, dazing publishers and theaters Arts orgs across the country saw their grants pulled with little explanation, while a proposed federal budget sought to eliminate the arts funding agency altogether. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

National Endowment for the Arts rescinds grants, dazing publishers and theaters

Arts organizations across the country saw their grants pulled with little explanation, while a proposed federal budget sought to eliminate the arts funding agency altogether.

washingtonpost.com

The silence you hear is the silence of thousands of future writers and musicians whose community arts programs were defunded today.

“I am not the kind of woman who dreams of doing things.” - Three Days in June, Anne Tyler #sundaysentence

If Biden, who is actually Catholic, posted a picture of himself as Pope there would be a thousand op-eds and cable news hits for months about how it was the most blasphemous thing an American president has ever done and we’d assume he had gone insane.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last yr.

This is real

It is as we all suspected: he is not the man we elected. But still, it's staggering to see it laid out so explicitly.

If you want to supplement your real friends without lining the pockets of billionaires, destroying the environment, and contributing to the decline of human imagination, may I suggest reading a book?

Drew Harwell@drewharwell.com · last yr.

Mark Zuckerberg says Meta's chatbots will supplement your real friends: "The average American has fewer than 3 friends ... but has demand for ... 15 friends" (h/t x.com/romanhelmetg...)

We must take away hundreds of age-appropriate books from kids to ensure they learn about certain topics the old fashioned way: wildly inaccurate speculation from peers.

One of my all time favorite photos. Of anyone. Doing anything.

“Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” — Elie Wiesel

I, too, was a snob. And I, too, became a convert during Covid. I can no longer imagine my life with audiobooks. Terrific piece by @andrewporter01.bsky.social.

Andrew Porter@andrewporter01.bsky.social · last yr.

I wrote an essay for The Wall Street Journal about how I came to LOVE audiobooks! And I do love audiobooks! You can read it here: www.wsj.com/arts-culture...

Things there are more of than the number of transgender athletes currently competing in the NCAA: - Texas kids in the hospital with measles - Sexual assault allegations against the president - Challenged novels by Toni Morrison - Seasons of “Cheers” - Your fingers

This is it right here.

Irish Literary Times@irishlittimes.bsky.social · last yr.

“I get melancholy if I don't [write]. I need the company of people who don't exist.” ― William Trevor

Imagine putting magic and joy out into the world and then spending the rest of your life doing all you can to take it away.

The Beaverton@thebeaverton.com · last yr.

JK Rowling launches awareness campaign of how much she fucking sucks

Four of the Big Five Publishers Sign Letter Urging Congress to Restore IMLS 📚 www.wordsandmoney.com/four-of-the-...

Four of the Big Five Publishers Sign Letter Urging Congress to Restore IMLS

Shuttering IMLS would be "an act of monumental neglect, violating the very foundation of America and what it stands for as a country," the publishers assert.

wordsandmoney.com

Best sign from Strongsville Ohio Hands Off protest 4/5/25

Omelas, folks, what a wonderful city. So beautiful. So beautiful. Streets are clean, the economy, oh the economy, it's so beautiful. Really beautiful economy. They—and the liberal media won't tell you this folks—they keep a child in a dungeon. This child dungeon. They showed it to me. So beautiful