Amber Buck
@ambuck.bsky.social
Writing Prof | Digital Rhetoric Scholar | Senior Editor, Computers & Composition Digital Press | Midwesterner living in the South
My opinions here are just mine, not my employer’s
My opinions here are just mine, not my employer’s
"Among households with extremely low incomes, Alabamians pay nearly a quarter of their earnings for electricity—the highest percentage in the country." alabamareflector.com/2025/11/04/h...
How Alabama Power kept bills up and foes out to become one of the nation's most powerful utilities | Alabama Reflector
Lax to nonexistent regulation by Alabama state authorities has meant Alabama Power customers pay some of the highest bills in the nation.
alabamareflector.com
November 5, 2025 at 7:02 PM
"Among households with extremely low incomes, Alabamians pay nearly a quarter of their earnings for electricity—the highest percentage in the country." alabamareflector.com/2025/11/04/h...
Reposted by Amber Buck
There are so many terrible things about SNAP funding being willfully throttled, and just one of them is being an org trying to figure out how to help without being overwhelmed.
October 30, 2025 at 11:09 AM
There are so many terrible things about SNAP funding being willfully throttled, and just one of them is being an org trying to figure out how to help without being overwhelmed.
Reposted by Amber Buck
This is one of the best analyses of the total grift and scammery of AI in education I’ve seen, and it is a MUST Read: “Higher Ed’s Rush To Adopt AI Is About So Much More Than AI - defector.com/higher-eds-r...
Higher Ed’s Rush To Adopt AI Is About So Much More Than AI | Defector
If you don’t work at a university or have college-age kids, you may have missed the flurry of news stories and social media banter about AI adoption in higher ed, stories which have snowballed into th...
defector.com
October 24, 2025 at 11:26 PM
This is one of the best analyses of the total grift and scammery of AI in education I’ve seen, and it is a MUST Read: “Higher Ed’s Rush To Adopt AI Is About So Much More Than AI - defector.com/higher-eds-r...
Reposted by Amber Buck
Our ability to comprehend daily events has been corrupted by a toxic info environment where political & attentional dynamics distort & manipulate our “collective sensemaking” processes. Our “official” sources are now products of that same environment. Reality fractures, along with the social fabric.
September 13, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Our ability to comprehend daily events has been corrupted by a toxic info environment where political & attentional dynamics distort & manipulate our “collective sensemaking” processes. Our “official” sources are now products of that same environment. Reality fractures, along with the social fabric.
"Living through the rise of a dictatorship just means inhabiting a space that is gradually shrinking. There’s no point in resisting, not at first. You just make do with whatever breathing room you still have—until you lose that too."
Authoritarianism Feels Surprisingly Normal—Until It Doesn’t
Life in Venezuela was deceptively mundane. Then everything collapsed.
www.theatlantic.com
September 10, 2025 at 12:26 AM
"Living through the rise of a dictatorship just means inhabiting a space that is gradually shrinking. There’s no point in resisting, not at first. You just make do with whatever breathing room you still have—until you lose that too."
Reposted by Amber Buck
As a historian of computing, can confirm, this is exactly what happened
the dailup sound was a protection spell the computer said for us every time we went online but we thought we were too good for it. we wanted to be on the phone and the computer at the same time. we wanted to be on the phone and the computer at the same time and now we’re fucked
September 5, 2025 at 5:34 AM
As a historian of computing, can confirm, this is exactly what happened
Reposted by Amber Buck
🔥 “If I’m willing to drive three hours to come here and talk, I’m gonna ask you to get off your phone and listen to what I have to say.”
August 18, 2025 at 1:16 AM
🔥 “If I’m willing to drive three hours to come here and talk, I’m gonna ask you to get off your phone and listen to what I have to say.”
Reposted by Amber Buck
This from @tressiemcphd.bsky.social hit me over the head like a mallet of truth. This is the thing. This is what I’ve been trying to warn people about perfectly crystallized. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/o...
August 12, 2025 at 12:03 PM
This from @tressiemcphd.bsky.social hit me over the head like a mallet of truth. This is the thing. This is what I’ve been trying to warn people about perfectly crystallized. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/o...
Reposted by Amber Buck
The US could see a 30-40% decline in new international student enrollment, resulting in nearly $7 billion in lost revenue and more than 60,000 fewer American jobs. https://www.nafsa.org/fall-2025-international-student-enrollment-outlook-and-economic-impact
August 3, 2025 at 1:20 PM
The US could see a 30-40% decline in new international student enrollment, resulting in nearly $7 billion in lost revenue and more than 60,000 fewer American jobs. https://www.nafsa.org/fall-2025-international-student-enrollment-outlook-and-economic-impact
Reposted by Amber Buck
"As a college professor, watching the dismantling of America’s education system has been among the most discouraging events of my life."
We agree
@aaup.org @higheredlabor.bsky.social
We agree
@aaup.org @higheredlabor.bsky.social
Without humanities studies, I would not have been a very good scientist. My humanities classes were a master class in creativity, envisioning new futures and how to think. The skills we learned in our humanities classes brought creativity to all our endeavors.
www.deseret.com/opinion/2025...
www.deseret.com/opinion/2025...
Opinion: Gutting humanities signals the end of innovation in business and STEM
Lose the humanities, and you lose the very ground of science and business that depend on it.
www.deseret.com
July 28, 2025 at 12:53 PM
"As a college professor, watching the dismantling of America’s education system has been among the most discouraging events of my life."
We agree
@aaup.org @higheredlabor.bsky.social
We agree
@aaup.org @higheredlabor.bsky.social
Things I have searched for in the past week:
1. How do you get children to sleep in their own beds?
2. Are all 5 year olds sociopaths?
3. How to manage time out effectively
4. How to treat poison ivy
It’s been quite a summer.
1. How do you get children to sleep in their own beds?
2. Are all 5 year olds sociopaths?
3. How to manage time out effectively
4. How to treat poison ivy
It’s been quite a summer.
July 21, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Things I have searched for in the past week:
1. How do you get children to sleep in their own beds?
2. Are all 5 year olds sociopaths?
3. How to manage time out effectively
4. How to treat poison ivy
It’s been quite a summer.
1. How do you get children to sleep in their own beds?
2. Are all 5 year olds sociopaths?
3. How to manage time out effectively
4. How to treat poison ivy
It’s been quite a summer.
Reposted by Amber Buck
If you have the means, can I also recommend setting up a recurring donation? Clinics like WAWC need steady funding that they can rely on, and the attention economy tends to provide funds in surges that then dry up as attention shifts. Recurring donations can help to cover the leaner times.
Today is a great day to donate to @wawchealth.bsky.social if you want to put some good into the world! wawchealth.networkforgood.com/projects/250...
Can you help us close our 2025 gap?
To make it past September we need your help! West Alabama Women's Center (dba WAWC Healthcare) is a non-profit free and sliding scale clinic for uninsured, under-insured and Medicaid patients in Alaba...
wawchealth.networkforgood.com
July 4, 2025 at 3:45 PM
If you have the means, can I also recommend setting up a recurring donation? Clinics like WAWC need steady funding that they can rely on, and the attention economy tends to provide funds in surges that then dry up as attention shifts. Recurring donations can help to cover the leaner times.
Reposted by Amber Buck
With all of the chaos brought upon us from this administration, remember: We are the Revolution.
We, the people, deserve better. And, we must fight to get it. Together.
#PoliticalRevolution #WeThePeople #FiftyFiftyOne #ThePeoplesMovement #Grassroots
@50501movement.bsky.social
We, the people, deserve better. And, we must fight to get it. Together.
#PoliticalRevolution #WeThePeople #FiftyFiftyOne #ThePeoplesMovement #Grassroots
@50501movement.bsky.social
July 4, 2025 at 3:53 PM
With all of the chaos brought upon us from this administration, remember: We are the Revolution.
We, the people, deserve better. And, we must fight to get it. Together.
#PoliticalRevolution #WeThePeople #FiftyFiftyOne #ThePeoplesMovement #Grassroots
@50501movement.bsky.social
We, the people, deserve better. And, we must fight to get it. Together.
#PoliticalRevolution #WeThePeople #FiftyFiftyOne #ThePeoplesMovement #Grassroots
@50501movement.bsky.social
Reposted by Amber Buck
Everyone's on edge—fighting Trump, Congress, Elon Musk, even each other.
Meanwhile, millions are hitting the streets, standing up for rights under threat. In our latest package, we’ve put together guides to help you stay safe and fight back—wherever you are.
Meanwhile, millions are hitting the streets, standing up for rights under threat. In our latest package, we’ve put together guides to help you stay safe and fight back—wherever you are.
How to Win a Fight
These days it feels like the next fight is always just around the corner. What matters is picking your battles—and knowing how to win.
www.wired.com
June 19, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Everyone's on edge—fighting Trump, Congress, Elon Musk, even each other.
Meanwhile, millions are hitting the streets, standing up for rights under threat. In our latest package, we’ve put together guides to help you stay safe and fight back—wherever you are.
Meanwhile, millions are hitting the streets, standing up for rights under threat. In our latest package, we’ve put together guides to help you stay safe and fight back—wherever you are.
Reposted by Amber Buck
Want to push back against the bigoted attacks targeting trans and gender-nonconforming people? Here are specific ways you can help—with your time, money, and everyday actions.
How to Advocate for Trans Rights in Your Community
Want to push back against the bigoted attacks targeting trans and gender-nonconforming people? Here are specific ways you can help—with your time, money, and everyday actions.
www.wired.com
June 19, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Want to push back against the bigoted attacks targeting trans and gender-nonconforming people? Here are specific ways you can help—with your time, money, and everyday actions.
Reposted by Amber Buck
There are not, generally speaking, magic thresholds in social systems. Engaging 3.5 percent of the population in protests does not make change inevitable. The sustained work involved in making so many people turn out can make change much more likely.
June 16, 2025 at 1:49 AM
There are not, generally speaking, magic thresholds in social systems. Engaging 3.5 percent of the population in protests does not make change inevitable. The sustained work involved in making so many people turn out can make change much more likely.
Reposted by Amber Buck
I'm seeing a lot of blue state/red state discourse today. This is a reminder that Sarah is right: we're all purple like a bruise. The large protests in states run by the GOP prove that. They're not red, they're hurting.
As I've said many times, "America is purple -- purple like a bruise." I've got the same number of bestsellers on the list as Trump's former press secretary, in a state that Democrats routinely denigrate and dismiss.
June 15, 2025 at 7:06 AM
I'm seeing a lot of blue state/red state discourse today. This is a reminder that Sarah is right: we're all purple like a bruise. The large protests in states run by the GOP prove that. They're not red, they're hurting.
Reposted by Amber Buck
Demonstrators gathered at the Federal Building and Courthouse in Tuscaloosa as part of the nationwide 'No Kings' protests on Saturday, June 14, 2025. In one photo, a motorist can be seen shouting at protesters.
More: https://www.al.com/galleries/YI42GPDVTJA2JF6HKOSJC447PI/
📸: Ben Flanagan
More: https://www.al.com/galleries/YI42GPDVTJA2JF6HKOSJC447PI/
📸: Ben Flanagan
June 15, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Demonstrators gathered at the Federal Building and Courthouse in Tuscaloosa as part of the nationwide 'No Kings' protests on Saturday, June 14, 2025. In one photo, a motorist can be seen shouting at protesters.
More: https://www.al.com/galleries/YI42GPDVTJA2JF6HKOSJC447PI/
📸: Ben Flanagan
More: https://www.al.com/galleries/YI42GPDVTJA2JF6HKOSJC447PI/
📸: Ben Flanagan
Reposted by Amber Buck
Truly wild photos coming in from Los Angeles right now.
June 15, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Truly wild photos coming in from Los Angeles right now.
Reposted by Amber Buck
#JournoRequest Hoping I can find #Alabama college students from these countries who have been banned/restricted. Signal: wmorris.07.
Afghanistan, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos. Sierra Leone
Afghanistan, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos. Sierra Leone
June 5, 2025 at 1:57 PM
#JournoRequest Hoping I can find #Alabama college students from these countries who have been banned/restricted. Signal: wmorris.07.
Afghanistan, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos. Sierra Leone
Afghanistan, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos. Sierra Leone
Reposted by Amber Buck
Int’l students make America stronger and shape our world. Trump’s attacks on @harvard.edu don’t just threaten one school. They deprive our country of influential leaders for generations. If u came to the U.S. to study at schools under attack, SHARE UR STORY: forms.gle/pNpThs2wtSzX1
forms.gle
May 30, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Int’l students make America stronger and shape our world. Trump’s attacks on @harvard.edu don’t just threaten one school. They deprive our country of influential leaders for generations. If u came to the U.S. to study at schools under attack, SHARE UR STORY: forms.gle/pNpThs2wtSzX1
Reposted by Amber Buck
Tuscaloosa friends, I hope you will join us on June 14th at 6PM. www.mobilize.us/nokings/even...
Think Trump and his band of cronies have gone too far? Want to say enough is enough? This event is for you.
Our event will be happening DURING his $45 million parade
#NoKings @indivisible.org
Think Trump and his band of cronies have gone too far? Want to say enough is enough? This event is for you.
Our event will be happening DURING his $45 million parade
#NoKings @indivisible.org
www.mobilize.us
May 27, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Tuscaloosa friends, I hope you will join us on June 14th at 6PM. www.mobilize.us/nokings/even...
Think Trump and his band of cronies have gone too far? Want to say enough is enough? This event is for you.
Our event will be happening DURING his $45 million parade
#NoKings @indivisible.org
Think Trump and his band of cronies have gone too far? Want to say enough is enough? This event is for you.
Our event will be happening DURING his $45 million parade
#NoKings @indivisible.org
Reposted by Amber Buck
A large proportion of these canceled awards are focused on broadening the participation of underrepresented groups in STEM, which NSF was mandated to do by Congress. At what point does Congress plan to act to restore the balance of power?
NSF just released a public list of terminated awards. It’s linked on the bottom of the FAQ page at: nsf.gov/updates-on-priorities#termination-list
Updates on NSF Priorities
nsf.gov
May 22, 2025 at 6:43 PM
A large proportion of these canceled awards are focused on broadening the participation of underrepresented groups in STEM, which NSF was mandated to do by Congress. At what point does Congress plan to act to restore the balance of power?
Reposted by Amber Buck
"We are not the elites the billionaires claim we are. Most professors don’t have tenure. The humanities professoriate don’t even have full time jobs, have been known to sleep in their cars. How did these inconsequential people become enemies of the state?"
www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outl...
www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outl...
I'm a professor. We're not the 'elite' the powerful billionaires say we are.
Most professors don't have tenure. An increasing number don't even have full-time jobs. How did these inconsequential people become enemies of the state?
www.houstonchronicle.com
May 16, 2025 at 9:48 PM
"We are not the elites the billionaires claim we are. Most professors don’t have tenure. The humanities professoriate don’t even have full time jobs, have been known to sleep in their cars. How did these inconsequential people become enemies of the state?"
www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outl...
www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outl...
Reposted by Amber Buck
Trump’s feud with elite universities like Harvard and Columbia grabs headlines, but <1% of U.S. college students attend these schools. The real story? Nearly 40% attend community colleges, and most are at regional public universities, not Ivy League schools. theconversation.com/trumps-battl...
Trump’s battle with elite universities overlooks where most students actually go to college
The Trump administration has clashed with elite private universities and threatened to pull their funding. But most college students don’t attend these institutions.
theconversation.com
May 17, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Trump’s feud with elite universities like Harvard and Columbia grabs headlines, but <1% of U.S. college students attend these schools. The real story? Nearly 40% attend community colleges, and most are at regional public universities, not Ivy League schools. theconversation.com/trumps-battl...