Jo Zienty
@jozienty.bsky.social
Nat Board Cert Teacher/Librarian. Winner: 2014 Soon-to-be-Famous Illinois Author Award, writer, reader, devoted to democracy & justice 4 all. I have friends everywhere. If U wouldn’t say it 2 my face, don’t post it in replies.
https://www.joannezienty.com
https://www.joannezienty.com
Pinned
Jo Zienty
@jozienty.bsky.social
· Apr 1
For those who follow me, a humble “Thank you!” I will endeavor to be interesting and “follow-worthy.” ❤️
This poem breaks my heart every time I encounter it.
I’m thinking of Maggie Smith’s poem ‘Good Bones’ bc I’m hosting my daughter’s birthday party while thinking about today’s murder by ICE, & bc, while I engage my kids to protest injustice, I can’t tell them HOW much I have in common w/ the last 2 people ICE has shot & killed bc they worry about me.
January 25, 2026 at 4:23 AM
This poem breaks my heart every time I encounter it.
Never did I ever…
Also, may I say that I don’t agree with people saying ICE and CBP need “more training.” They’re doing exactly what this administration has trained them to—impose a reign of fear in blue cities. They don’t need more training. They need to be ripped up root and branch.
January 25, 2026 at 12:47 AM
Never did I ever…
Reposted by Jo Zienty
Drew Sheneman, Newark Star Ledger
January 24, 2026 at 4:08 AM
Drew Sheneman, Newark Star Ledger
What’s next? Bloodletting and poultices? Barber surgeons? We are beset by idiots.
January 24, 2026 at 4:15 AM
What’s next? Bloodletting and poultices? Barber surgeons? We are beset by idiots.
It was cold and windy but that didn’t stop Wheaton, IL from turning out to demand justice for Renee Good. Estimates of between 400-500 people on a day’s notice. Including a young man who was at risk of frostbite @indivisibledupage.bsky.social
#ICEoutforgood
#ICEoutforgood
January 11, 2026 at 12:08 AM
It was cold and windy but that didn’t stop Wheaton, IL from turning out to demand justice for Renee Good. Estimates of between 400-500 people on a day’s notice. Including a young man who was at risk of frostbite @indivisibledupage.bsky.social
#ICEoutforgood
#ICEoutforgood
Reposted by Jo Zienty
"Ohio" (1971) - written by Neil Young in reaction to the Kent State shootings of May 4, 1970. Performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. 🗃️
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN_9...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN_9...
Ohio - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (Music And Song Courtesy:Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)
YouTube video by peaceandfreedom2011
www.youtube.com
January 7, 2026 at 8:15 PM
"Ohio" (1971) - written by Neil Young in reaction to the Kent State shootings of May 4, 1970. Performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. 🗃️
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN_9...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN_9...
Reposted by Jo Zienty
It may not seem like it, but that particular day will be here sooner than you think, and when it comes, the celebrations will be luminous. On tough days, think of the celebrations to come.
January 6, 2026 at 11:29 PM
It may not seem like it, but that particular day will be here sooner than you think, and when it comes, the celebrations will be luminous. On tough days, think of the celebrations to come.
Reposted by Jo Zienty
Yes, this is exactly the time to demand Democrats "do something."
They can denounce Trump's actions as unconstitutional. They can state that he must be impeached and removed. They can make clear that all involved will be held accountable.
These are the core duties of a role they all signed up for.
They can denounce Trump's actions as unconstitutional. They can state that he must be impeached and removed. They can make clear that all involved will be held accountable.
These are the core duties of a role they all signed up for.
January 3, 2026 at 9:02 PM
Yes, this is exactly the time to demand Democrats "do something."
They can denounce Trump's actions as unconstitutional. They can state that he must be impeached and removed. They can make clear that all involved will be held accountable.
These are the core duties of a role they all signed up for.
They can denounce Trump's actions as unconstitutional. They can state that he must be impeached and removed. They can make clear that all involved will be held accountable.
These are the core duties of a role they all signed up for.
Okay, third time’s a charm:
January 1, 2026 at 6:43 PM
Okay, third time’s a charm:
Just finished this by the light of the Xmas tree. Beautiful writing as always by @sarahkendzior.bsky.social An examination of navigating our current America while keeping one’s sanity. Heartwarming & terrifying at once. ❤️the quote about loving America “honestly.” Why do so many find that so hard?
December 24, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Just finished this by the light of the Xmas tree. Beautiful writing as always by @sarahkendzior.bsky.social An examination of navigating our current America while keeping one’s sanity. Heartwarming & terrifying at once. ❤️the quote about loving America “honestly.” Why do so many find that so hard?
“Nature gives you the face you have at twenty. Life shapes the face you have at thirty. But at fifty you get the face that you deserve.”—Coco Chanel
Karoline Leavitt is only 28. Wow… all that lying carves its way into skin and soul… and lots of pinpricks in the lips…
Karoline Leavitt is only 28. Wow… all that lying carves its way into skin and soul… and lots of pinpricks in the lips…
December 17, 2025 at 3:00 AM
“Nature gives you the face you have at twenty. Life shapes the face you have at thirty. But at fifty you get the face that you deserve.”—Coco Chanel
Karoline Leavitt is only 28. Wow… all that lying carves its way into skin and soul… and lots of pinpricks in the lips…
Karoline Leavitt is only 28. Wow… all that lying carves its way into skin and soul… and lots of pinpricks in the lips…
Reposted by Jo Zienty
Hey, can my deleted BlueSky post get re-posted?
December 3, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Hey, can my deleted BlueSky post get re-posted?
Yes! This book is incredibly informative and entertaining. Not sure it’s a “comfort read” but if you want to understand more about the whys and hows of the current state of the world and the foundations of foreign policies, read this NOW! The author has a wonderful book about flags as well.
This book has been so soothing. I have probably learned more about the foreign policies that shape the world just in the first three chapters than I have in at least the last 15 years of news media. 🙃 It's helped clarify a lot of the absolutely batshit nonsense of the current timeline. COMFORT READ
November 29, 2025 at 4:22 AM
Yes! This book is incredibly informative and entertaining. Not sure it’s a “comfort read” but if you want to understand more about the whys and hows of the current state of the world and the foundations of foreign policies, read this NOW! The author has a wonderful book about flags as well.
So we’re executing alleged drug traffickers on boats in the Caribbean, but pardoning convicted drug traffickers… yeah, that tracks…
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/w...
Trump Announces Pardon for Honduran Ex-President Convicted in Drug Case
www.nytimes.com
November 29, 2025 at 1:28 AM
So we’re executing alleged drug traffickers on boats in the Caribbean, but pardoning convicted drug traffickers… yeah, that tracks…
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/w...
Hilarious! Happy Thanksgiving!
November 27, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Hilarious! Happy Thanksgiving!
Well, Illinois, are we up for this challenge?
We can do away with it without a new Supreme Court. Nor do we need a constitutional amendment. There’s a far simpler way to get rid of Citizens United. Let me explain. https://robertreich.substack.com/p/how-to-get-rid-of-citizens-united
November 24, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Well, Illinois, are we up for this challenge?
When you're weary, feeling small,
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;
I'm on your side. When times get rough
And friends just can't be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;
I'm on your side. When times get rough
And friends just can't be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
November 23, 2025 at 3:17 AM
When you're weary, feeling small,
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;
I'm on your side. When times get rough
And friends just can't be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;
I'm on your side. When times get rough
And friends just can't be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Another reminder of the "less is more" theory. Enjoy this gift article.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
To Get Happier, Make Yourself Smaller
Self-esteem is overrated. The better path to enlightenment is through contemplating one’s insignificance.
www.theatlantic.com
November 22, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Another reminder of the "less is more" theory. Enjoy this gift article.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Awesome thread! Behold the female, destroyer of worlds!
November 7, 2025 at 3:45 AM
Awesome thread! Behold the female, destroyer of worlds!
Hope in the dark
A year ago today, we had a really terrible election night, and because I know how people fall into despair I sat down at 11pm and wondered what I could tell you. I told you:
November 6, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Hope in the dark
1000x this. 👇
Trump and his enablers are NOT popular. If they were, they wouldn’t need to break every law in order to enact their gross agenda.
November 1, 2025 at 4:52 PM
1000x this. 👇
Truth straight up
October 31, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Truth straight up
You can count on historian Jill Lepore to deliver it straight, no need for a chaser:
Reason to Brain Dead Rage: From Thomas Jefferson’s missives to the all-caps post, the voice of the President has gone from deliberate to deranged. Donald Trump’s unending broadcast has outpaced the reach of history—and analogies from America’s past offer false comfort.
Trump and the Presidency That Wouldn’t Shut Up
His posts and rants are omnipresent, ugly, and unhinged. Don’t look to history to make it make sense.
www.newyorker.com
October 29, 2025 at 10:41 AM
You can count on historian Jill Lepore to deliver it straight, no need for a chaser:
So over all of this…
October 27, 2025 at 1:10 AM
So over all of this…
Epic takedown!
As always the most boneheaded take comes from Ross Douhat, who never fails to jam whatever issue is happening into the exact same reductive tune, huffing and puffing on the laziest sousaphone around: Why Trump’s East Wing Demolition Needed to Happen www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/o...
Opinion | Why Trump’s East Wing Demolition Needed to Happen
www.nytimes.com
October 26, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Epic takedown!