Melissa Hartman
mssemicolon.bsky.social
Melissa Hartman
@mssemicolon.bsky.social
Editor of a higher-ed magazine. Loves: science, words, live music. When in doubt, delete it.
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
bringing this statement over from Alice’s Twitter. it appears the below was Alice’s last post before passing. I am heartbroken
November 15, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
I’m heartbroken to hear of the death of Alice Wong. She was a powerhouse of the disability rights movement in the US and on a personal level, generously gave her time to me over the years. I know she will be missed immensely by those who knew her and those who felt her presence online.
November 15, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
Some news: tomorrow at 9am, Ted Koppel + CBS Sunday Morning will air a two-part story on the devastating surge of full-time workers being pushed into homelessness.

I'll be interviewed along with two families from There Is No Place for Us. It would mean a lot if you'd watch and help spread the word.
November 15, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
JD Vance owns a company that buys American real estate and sells it to foreign investors. They specifically target Americans in crisis to buy their property for less than it is worth.
JD Vance: "A lot of young people are saying housing is way too expensive. Why is that? Because we flooded the country with 30 million illegal immigrants who were taking houses that ought by right go to American citizens."
November 13, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
Friends! With 2 weeks till 🇺🇸 Thanksgiving, I'm asking for your help to get my FREE cookbook #AfterTheFeast to as many people as possible.

Please share here and elsewhere, and let your local food pantries know about it so they can give out the URL during turkey drives! ivacheung.com/2025/09/afte...
After the Feast: A Turkey Leftovers Cookbooklet - Iva Cheung
After a couple decades of editing and indexing cookbooks, I took a stab at writing (a small!) one. After the Feast brings together 25-ish of my favourite ways to use up the leftovers from big turkey d...
ivacheung.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
For folks (and journalists) who want to search the Oversight Committee email texts, I made a database for searching the 20k text files:

splendorous-chaja-f79791.netlify.app
Epstein Document Search
splendorous-chaja-f79791.netlify.app
November 13, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
Today is a good day to remember, and to say, that the #MeToo movement was right, and was righteous, and has been vindicated over and over again. There was no overreach. There was no excess. There was no they-went-too-far.

So much work remains to be done.
November 12, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Very proud of my senator, who I wish were leader of this party.
I’ve voted 7 times to reopen the government in a way that holds Trump accountable for his lawlessness and prevents a health care crisis.

I’m prepared to work toward a compromise, but this “deal” before us does not come close to meeting those terms. Voting NO.

Full statement:
November 10, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
schumer: don't worry, I've got us right where they want us
November 10, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
My theory about Joyce Carol Oates is that all her bad posts are her charging up like Godzilla's spines until she lets loose with a radioactive blast that leaves the world's richest Nazi a pile of ash
November 9, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
I’ve come to believe that we need to gather considerable forces and a campaign to demand the removal of face masks by ICE, Border Patrol, FBI and police.

It is a practice in conflict with the principles of transparency & accountability that are central to the concept of democracy.
Video on social media shows an immigration agent pulling a gun in Little Village and holding it to the side — which is not an appropriate or safe way to hold a gun. (Among other issues.)
November 9, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
From my son (who also has non-speaking autism): "This poor man is terrified. He does not deserve such brutal treatment. I am disgusted at the depravity of the ICE agents. A sad commentary on how we non-speaking autistics are treated. Shame, shame, shame."
ICE agents in Chicago violently detain a non verbal autistic man for being “non compliant”

He couldn’t “comply” because of his disability…they don’t care

This is not the first time they’ve gone after a disabled person

They target the most vulnerable because it’s an easy way to meet their quota
November 8, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
"When I picked up my granddaughter from the federal agents, she had a dirty diaper, a bruise on her face, and was developing a rash. She was exhausted and cried… My heart aches knowing this could happen to others, to my kids, or even me, despite being U.S. citizens.”
November 8, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
HE'S APPEALING TO THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES THAT HE BE ALLOWED TO STARVE AMERICANS
#BREAKING: The Trump administration is asking #SCOTUS for an immediate “administrative” stay of a Rhode Island district judge’s order that is otherwise requiring it to resume the distribution of SNAP benefits from other funding sources no later than the end of today.
November 7, 2025 at 11:50 PM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
The man who ended USAID is the world's first trillionaire
November 7, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
Maths...

If you make $100,000 a year (not bad), it will take you 10 MILLION years to earn a trillion dollars.

If you make a million dollars a year (wow!), it'll still take you a million years to earn a trillion dollars.

Tax the rich.
November 6, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
It’s been a pleasure working with Lex and everyone in the politics vertical at Teen Vogue. I’m heartbroken that my column, Disability Visibility, is gone. Teen Vogue was one of the few places that published disabled journalists regularly. I just spent the last 2 months working on my next column
I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day.

certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
November 6, 2025 at 5:28 AM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
I don’t know how many times I’ve watched this video.

I don’t know how we’ve gotten to the point where men in full balaclavas can abduct daycare teachers while they’re watching children.

But I do know that this isn’t sustainable. Abolish ICE. There is no way to reform this.
Federal agents pulling a woman out of Rayito Del Sol, a daycare by Lane Tech high school
November 5, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
[Exit Clown.]
November 5, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
I’m just a small-town political scientist, & it’s still relatively early, but it appears that The Actual Democrats did not Need To Do any of the Things or Learn any of the Obvious Lessons that Ezra Douthglesias said they Must Do & Learn.
November 5, 2025 at 2:08 AM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
I just got back from a walk. While I was walking through the park, a little white boy and his father flagged me down from the very other end of the park. Now to be fair, I have on my hat on, so I’m easy to spot lol. The little boy drew me this. A month ago. He has been waiting to see me again.
November 4, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
SNAP *is* the safety net. it’s not just another benefit or program, as some wonks have framed it. if republicans don’t follow the law, this will — not could, will — turn into a humanitarian disaster like nothing we’ve seen in my lifetime. this can get lost in the policyspeak.
November 4, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
November 4, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
Here in Atlanta yesterday, more than 2,000 people waited in their cars—one woman for 14 hours—for a box of food. The giveaway ended early; there wasn't enough to go around.

Multiply this scene by countless others across the country, and you get a sense of how crushing the desperation is right now.
November 2, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Reposted by Melissa Hartman
Food insecurity is a self-inflicted, manufactured problem in the richest nation in the world
Ahead of the 1st shutdown of US food aid to hungry Americans in 60 years, some of the 200,000 Little Free Library locations are converting into food pantries. Thanks @littlefreelibrary.bsky.social
October 30, 2025 at 11:11 PM