🧵 1/5 Thanks, Trump. Because only you could turn a shutdown into an asbestos awareness week. 🎉

#EastWingDemolition #ShutdownShitshow #AsbestosAwareness

As with most public health hazards, there’s a Call the Midwife episode about that.

Senator Merkley Warns of Authoritarianism Under Trump in Nearly 23-Hour Speech The Oregon Democrat achieved a goal of topping the previous longest speech by a senator from his state.

Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, concluded a marathon speech on the Senate floor Wednesday evening after 22 hours and 37 minutes, saying he was “ringing the alarm bells” on the arrival of authoritarianism under President Trump.

Thanks! If you think they would have Wayne county forms as well, I wouldn’t mind heading out there.

I found the Money out of Politics on Saturday—the volunteers were out in force ❤️but I still haven’t found the third one. I’m in Wayne County

The Rak MI vote petition website has a clear event listing on their website so I was able to find and sign. I have not yet found the get money out of politics or the invest in kids — if you have an in regarding where they would be, i would love to know!

Rereading @marthawells.com Murderbot #5 and right on the first page this phrase leaps out: “…intense xenophobic, paranoia, tempered only by desperate greed.” *sigh

A black bird stands on some cracked concrete, looking upwards at camera. The angle, its stance and its plumage - white eyes are the only let-up from the black - makes the bird look thoroughly pissed off

The Blackbird of Annoyance has replaced the Bluebird of Happiness in my life

The Reality TV President show is really awful. Still brings up bad memories of Stephen King’s The Running Man. Which incidentally is getting a new screen adaptation this year.

Tatanisha Love: Spreading the Power of Libraries | 2025 School Librarian of the Year Finalist What's the favorite part of her job? Turning reluctant readers into bookworms, says Tatanisha Love, library media specialist at Southwest Academy Magnet School for Science and Engineering in Baltimore...

“Working with students that love to read, that’s great, but quite a number say they don’t like reading. I ask them about their interests so they can find their perfect match. It’s always cool to find a reluctant reader and turn it around for them.”
- Tatanisha Love

Amen.

At the end of today’s newsletter there’s a general overview of how people are standing up for democracy. @ariellaelm.bsky.social has been marking these efforts—both large and small—daily, if that’s the kind of galvanizing content you need.

Just a reminder that nothing matters and there are no rules anymore so you can pretty much watch A Muppet Christmas Carol whenever you want now

The image shows a news article from the Detroit Free Press dated March 25, 2025. The headline reads "Michigan libraries, museums brace for loss of federal funds after Trump executive order" with the subheading "Changes would be 'devastating' to cultural, literary landscape." The article features a photograph of a library interior where a person in a purple sweater is reaching up to grab a book from a tall bookshelf filled with various books. In the background, there appears to be another person near what's labeled as a "Book Corral" sign. The beginning of the article text mentions that "Michigan has just shy of 400 public libraries, 87 academic libraries, nearly 3,000 school libraries, 650 museums and hundreds of historical organizations that use these resources..." The article was written by Christina Hall and was published on March 24, 2025, with an update on March 25, 2025.

Did you know every $1 invested in our statewide digital library (MeL) returns $25+ to Michigan? $4.8 million in federal IMLS funding has a huge impact on our state. But now it's at risk.📚💔

You can visit bit.ly/ProtectLibraryFunding to tell your reps how the order to eliminate IMLS could impact you.

Not a fan of this aesthetic, and the Secretary of Homeland Security’s promo video was full of it. @peters.senate.gov and @slotkin.senate.gov

“When hate is the seeds, you can only harvest weeds.” (Ernst Jünger, The Glass Bees, 44)

Normally I’m a big fan of exclamation points, but in this context it’s reading more as an anxiety point.

Hits just the right note.

Something to think about

Time gets there in the end.
Credit also to Mary Shelley for stewarding her husband’s work.

And why thoughtful history books for kids are so important. I hear the History Smashers series is great ❤️😉

For folks in Western Wayne County.

a poster for daylight savings with a clock Alt: a poster for daylight savings with a clock

Good morning, fellow time travelers.

It looks like they are creating a desert and calling it efficiency.

One of the words that keeps popping up lately is engagement. And while it’s a little buzz-wordy, I think that reinvigorating our civic engagement is so utterly necessary. This seems like a reasonable idea to incorporate into all the many ways to be engaged in society and political life.

Sometimes it’s too easy to laugh at things we don’t understand. For all its recent popularity, I did not know where Ozempic came from, nor the purpose of shrimps on a treadmill.

Lifelong learning is important. Visit or call your local library to look up words like “transgenic.”

Nor yet “demand gratitude for being extorted and moan about not getting enough respect.”

Yes they are. If you haven’t looked at a picture book in a while, spend some time in your local library.

*shakes my fist* at the buttons and touch screens.