JT Spartz
@jtspartz.bsky.social
Occasional place writing and songcraft. MA, PhD. Struggling to make sense of whatever this is. Treading lightly on Dakota + Ho-Chunk lands, Upper Midwest, USA.
Reposted by JT Spartz
The @washingtonpost, where I started in the mailroom, is the place that made me everything I am now. Skinflint billionaire and failed fashion model Jeff Bezos has decimated it. Well, fuck that guy and give to the people he screwed. www.gofundme.com/f/standing-t... www.gofundme.com/f/standing-t...
Donate to Washington Post 2026 layoff fund, organized by Rachel Siegel
On Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, The Washington Post laid off hundreds of journalists. We ar… Rachel Siegel needs your support for Washington Post 2026 layoff fund
www.gofundme.com
February 4, 2026 at 5:04 PM
The @washingtonpost, where I started in the mailroom, is the place that made me everything I am now. Skinflint billionaire and failed fashion model Jeff Bezos has decimated it. Well, fuck that guy and give to the people he screwed. www.gofundme.com/f/standing-t... www.gofundme.com/f/standing-t...
Reposted by JT Spartz
Alabama has the worst maternal mortality in the United States at 60 deaths per 100K live births. For reference, California has 18 deaths per 100K live births.
But Dr. Oz thinks it’s “cool” that American citizens do not have access to good reproductive healthcare in the wealthiest nation in history.
But Dr. Oz thinks it’s “cool” that American citizens do not have access to good reproductive healthcare in the wealthiest nation in history.
Dr Oz: "Alabama has no OBGYNs in many of their counties, so they're doing something pretty cool. They're actually having robots do ultrasounds on these pregnant moms."
February 4, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Alabama has the worst maternal mortality in the United States at 60 deaths per 100K live births. For reference, California has 18 deaths per 100K live births.
But Dr. Oz thinks it’s “cool” that American citizens do not have access to good reproductive healthcare in the wealthiest nation in history.
But Dr. Oz thinks it’s “cool” that American citizens do not have access to good reproductive healthcare in the wealthiest nation in history.
Reposted by JT Spartz
again we do not really do a good job of explaining how wealthy people like Jeff Bezos are
his net worth is $253.2 billion.
so he could take one million dollars, and just light it on fire
and then do it again tomorrow
and again the day after that
and then do it every day for 693 years and 8 months
his net worth is $253.2 billion.
so he could take one million dollars, and just light it on fire
and then do it again tomorrow
and again the day after that
and then do it every day for 693 years and 8 months
February 4, 2026 at 5:41 PM
again we do not really do a good job of explaining how wealthy people like Jeff Bezos are
his net worth is $253.2 billion.
so he could take one million dollars, and just light it on fire
and then do it again tomorrow
and again the day after that
and then do it every day for 693 years and 8 months
his net worth is $253.2 billion.
so he could take one million dollars, and just light it on fire
and then do it again tomorrow
and again the day after that
and then do it every day for 693 years and 8 months
Reposted by JT Spartz
WaPo laid off one of the journalists who won a 2022 Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the January 6th attack on the Capitol.
February 4, 2026 at 6:16 PM
WaPo laid off one of the journalists who won a 2022 Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the January 6th attack on the Capitol.
Reposted by JT Spartz
“If a newspaper’s publisher makes a bunch of decisions that lose money, and then the owner keeps the publisher while firing the staff who puts out the paper—none of this is really about the money, is it?”
open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...
open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...
The Washington Post Dies in Daylight
Civic vandalism and the mutilation of a great paper.
open.substack.com
February 4, 2026 at 6:31 PM
“If a newspaper’s publisher makes a bunch of decisions that lose money, and then the owner keeps the publisher while firing the staff who puts out the paper—none of this is really about the money, is it?”
open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...
open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...
Reposted by JT Spartz
Update: In the past week we've learned ICE has secured property to build human warehouses in Merrimack, NH and Williamsport, MD *as well as* Surprise, AZ; Upper Bern, PA; and Tremont, PA.
Facts that bear repeating.
Facts that bear repeating.
In the past week we've learned ICE has secured property to build human warehouses in Merrimack, NH and Williamsport, MD. Just some facts I think bear repeating.
February 4, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Update: In the past week we've learned ICE has secured property to build human warehouses in Merrimack, NH and Williamsport, MD *as well as* Surprise, AZ; Upper Bern, PA; and Tremont, PA.
Facts that bear repeating.
Facts that bear repeating.
Knowles-Nelson #stewardship preserves wildlife habitat and supports outdoor recreation in #Wisconsin "by authorizing state borrowing and spending for the purchase of land and by giving grants to local governments and nonprofit conservation organizations." #LandUse #GetOutside
Bills limiting land acquisition for Knowles-Nelson stewardship program receive Senate hearing. @bspears.bsky.social has the latest
Bills limiting land acquisition for Knowles-Nelson stewardship program receive Senate hearing • Wisconsin Examiner
“I think we've landed it in a good spot now. Is it perfect? I'll be the first to admit this is not a perfect bill,” Sen. Patrick Testin said.
buff.ly
February 4, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Knowles-Nelson #stewardship preserves wildlife habitat and supports outdoor recreation in #Wisconsin "by authorizing state borrowing and spending for the purchase of land and by giving grants to local governments and nonprofit conservation organizations." #LandUse #GetOutside
Reposted by JT Spartz
With its reporting on ICE raids and foreign wars, Amjambo Africa aims to build a more inclusive community. Eloge Willy Kaneza speaks with Carolina Abbott Galvão. www.cjr.org/the-intervie...
Eloge Willy Kaneza says Maine’s immigrants ‘see themselves in us.’
With its reporting on ICE raids and foreign wars, Amjambo Africa aims to build a more inclusive community.
www.cjr.org
February 4, 2026 at 3:12 PM
With its reporting on ICE raids and foreign wars, Amjambo Africa aims to build a more inclusive community. Eloge Willy Kaneza speaks with Carolina Abbott Galvão. www.cjr.org/the-intervie...
Reposted by JT Spartz
I consider 2025 my finest professional year. The Post just laid me off.
February 4, 2026 at 3:06 PM
I consider 2025 my finest professional year. The Post just laid me off.
Reposted by JT Spartz
Garcia: I want to remind the American public of Stephen Miller. There's probably no single person in this government that has done more damage and more harm to people across this country than this man right here. It's our job to hold him responsible
February 3, 2026 at 11:04 PM
Garcia: I want to remind the American public of Stephen Miller. There's probably no single person in this government that has done more damage and more harm to people across this country than this man right here. It's our job to hold him responsible
Reposted by JT Spartz
Well, my fellow Maine voters. Here is Susan Collins today paying tribute to her boss while holding her MAGA hat.
February 4, 2026 at 12:37 AM
Well, my fellow Maine voters. Here is Susan Collins today paying tribute to her boss while holding her MAGA hat.
Reposted by JT Spartz
I’m sharing Aliya’s entire opening statement. We owe it to her, and those who no longer have a voice, to watch. youtu.be/zrcW8SZtYpI?...
WATCH: Minneapolis resident and U.S. citizen Aliya Rahman describes being detained by ICE
YouTube video by PBS NewsHour
youtu.be
February 4, 2026 at 3:44 AM
I’m sharing Aliya’s entire opening statement. We owe it to her, and those who no longer have a voice, to watch. youtu.be/zrcW8SZtYpI?...
Reposted by JT Spartz
This is tremendous. Take the time to watch it.
Highlighting the speaker who stood in front of the Surprise mayor and told him to consider what the Mayor of Ohrdruf must’ve thought before he died by suicide: “He might have thought ‘how is this my fault I had no jurisdiction over this’ maybe he said ‘this site was not subject to local zoning.’”
February 4, 2026 at 1:48 PM
This is tremendous. Take the time to watch it.
Reposted by JT Spartz
Tulsi Gabbard is withholding a whistleblower complaint from Congress, citing executive privilege (which means it involves Trump) and that it's "too classified to give to Congress," which is ridiculous. You can support the lawyers representing the whistleblower here: whistlebloweraid.org/beans
Daily Beans Fundraiser - Whistleblower Aid
Daily Beans Listeners Fundraiser for Whistleblower Aid The American rule of law has survived many challenges, but now faces one of the most serious threats in our history. Checks and balances within o...
whistlebloweraid.org
February 2, 2026 at 9:54 PM
Tulsi Gabbard is withholding a whistleblower complaint from Congress, citing executive privilege (which means it involves Trump) and that it's "too classified to give to Congress," which is ridiculous. You can support the lawyers representing the whistleblower here: whistlebloweraid.org/beans
Reposted by JT Spartz
International migration slowed in Maine in 2025 and across much of the United States.
via @mainepublic.org
via @mainepublic.org
Maine's population surpassed 1.4 million last year, mostly from domestic migration
International migration slowed in Maine in 2025 and across much of the United States.
www.bangordailynews.com
February 2, 2026 at 9:54 PM
International migration slowed in Maine in 2025 and across much of the United States.
via @mainepublic.org
via @mainepublic.org
Reposted by JT Spartz
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com
“We need to rip ICE down to the studs and start over,” Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota writes. “In the wake of this catastrophe, there is no reason we can’t come up with a way of enforcing our laws that doesn’t trample on our values and our Constitution.”
“We need to rip ICE down to the studs and start over,” Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota writes. “In the wake of this catastrophe, there is no reason we can’t come up with a way of enforcing our laws that doesn’t trample on our values and our Constitution.”
Opinion | Senator Tina Smith: I Won’t Vote to Fund ICE Until It Gets Out of My State
Minnesotans have stood up for common decency and our founding principles.
nyti.ms
January 29, 2026 at 9:10 PM
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com
“We need to rip ICE down to the studs and start over,” Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota writes. “In the wake of this catastrophe, there is no reason we can’t come up with a way of enforcing our laws that doesn’t trample on our values and our Constitution.”
“We need to rip ICE down to the studs and start over,” Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota writes. “In the wake of this catastrophe, there is no reason we can’t come up with a way of enforcing our laws that doesn’t trample on our values and our Constitution.”
Reposted by JT Spartz
Black History Month is a time to recognize the lived, shared experience of all Black folks who have fundamentally shaped, challenged, and ultimately strengthened America. It’s about taking an unvarnished look at the past so that we can create a better future.
February 1, 2026 at 5:09 PM
Black History Month is a time to recognize the lived, shared experience of all Black folks who have fundamentally shaped, challenged, and ultimately strengthened America. It’s about taking an unvarnished look at the past so that we can create a better future.
Reposted by JT Spartz
People are still being profiled.
People are still being wrongfully detained.
People still can’t go to work or school out of fear.
Do not look away and do not buy any political spin coming out of DHS.
ICE OUT OF MINNESOTA.
People are still being wrongfully detained.
People still can’t go to work or school out of fear.
Do not look away and do not buy any political spin coming out of DHS.
ICE OUT OF MINNESOTA.
February 2, 2026 at 8:43 PM
People are still being profiled.
People are still being wrongfully detained.
People still can’t go to work or school out of fear.
Do not look away and do not buy any political spin coming out of DHS.
ICE OUT OF MINNESOTA.
People are still being wrongfully detained.
People still can’t go to work or school out of fear.
Do not look away and do not buy any political spin coming out of DHS.
ICE OUT OF MINNESOTA.
Reposted by JT Spartz
Predicting that this week we’ll hear more conciliatory words from the Administration regarding Minnesota (since they’re starting to realize that ICE has become politically toxic) but everyone outside of Minnesota needs to know that nothing on the ground has changed.
February 2, 2026 at 8:43 PM
Predicting that this week we’ll hear more conciliatory words from the Administration regarding Minnesota (since they’re starting to realize that ICE has become politically toxic) but everyone outside of Minnesota needs to know that nothing on the ground has changed.
Reposted by JT Spartz
From the Epstein documents: The FBI having to Google where Wisconsin is???
January 31, 2026 at 2:57 PM
From the Epstein documents: The FBI having to Google where Wisconsin is???
Wolves are good for ecosystem health. Humans... not so much. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
Wolves, long feared and reviled, may actually be lifesavers
A new line of research has revealed a surprising finding about how the presence of wolves helps keep people safe.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 2, 2026 at 4:27 PM
Wolves are good for ecosystem health. Humans... not so much. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
Reposted by JT Spartz
My new piece about Resistance 2.0 is up at @theguardian.com! Give it a read to understand why we should expect much more confrontation and disruption this time around. Thanks for the suggestions @victorerikray.bsky.social @sociologistray.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Resistance to Trump 2.0 is getting more confrontational | Dana R Fisher
In Trump’s first term, activists focused on lobbying and voting. Now tactics are shifting to nonviolent civil disobedience
www.theguardian.com
February 1, 2026 at 12:32 PM
My new piece about Resistance 2.0 is up at @theguardian.com! Give it a read to understand why we should expect much more confrontation and disruption this time around. Thanks for the suggestions @victorerikray.bsky.social @sociologistray.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The More You Know. ✨🌈
This is a post about animal excrement and the English language.
bull$#!% = nonsense/lies
chicken$#!% = petty or cowardly
horse$#!% = nonsense/lies
dog$#!%= low quality
ape$#!% = wild
bat$#!%= crazy
Ordered above from oldest to newest: bull$#!% (1914), bat$#!% (1971).
bull$#!% = nonsense/lies
chicken$#!% = petty or cowardly
horse$#!% = nonsense/lies
dog$#!%= low quality
ape$#!% = wild
bat$#!%= crazy
Ordered above from oldest to newest: bull$#!% (1914), bat$#!% (1971).
February 2, 2026 at 3:51 PM
The More You Know. ✨🌈
#Minnesota Moms are The Best. #ICEout
"The momfluencers on the front lines of ICE takeover: Twin Cities parents pivot from makeup tutorials and parenting videos to speaking out against ICE"
The momfluencers on the front lines of ICE takeover - Salon.com
Twin Cities parents pivot from makeup tutorials and parenting videos to speaking out against ICE
www.salon.com
February 2, 2026 at 3:34 PM
#Minnesota Moms are The Best. #ICEout
Reposted by JT Spartz
"The momfluencers on the front lines of ICE takeover: Twin Cities parents pivot from makeup tutorials and parenting videos to speaking out against ICE"
The momfluencers on the front lines of ICE takeover - Salon.com
Twin Cities parents pivot from makeup tutorials and parenting videos to speaking out against ICE
www.salon.com
February 2, 2026 at 3:27 PM
"The momfluencers on the front lines of ICE takeover: Twin Cities parents pivot from makeup tutorials and parenting videos to speaking out against ICE"