jess banks
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profbanks.bsky.social
jess banks
@profbanks.bsky.social
Hypercompetent polyglot know-it-all. Unrepentant SJW troublemaker. Neuroqueer teacher, mom, partner, Official Auntie, best friend, co-conspirator. An American in Aotearoa New Zealand. Always noncompliant. She/her/elle/ia
They installed a paper towel dispenser in our staff bathroom with a big yellow sign saying DISPOSE OF PAPER TOWELS IN THE RUBBISH BIN.

I wrote in whiteboard market on the sign WHAT RUBBISH BIN?

There is now a rubbish bin.
November 11, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Reposted by jess banks
I'm single. No kids, no claims, no pre-existing conditions. The cataclysmic leap from paying $50 a month to $1,228.28 a month is a level of devastation the depth of which I'm struggling to articulate. I wasn't going to be able to afford when I thought it was going up to $350 a month. And now...😵
I thought my new health insurance premium was going to be $350 per month until I got this letter informing me that it would be $1,228.28 PER MONTH. I CURRENTLY PAY $50. Is my math mathing? Is that.... a 2,356.42% increase?

2256.42%????

TWO THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED FIFTY SIX POINT FORTY TWO PERCENT😩
November 10, 2025 at 1:54 AM
So fucking pointless. Vote them all out.
Under Schumer's leadership, eight Democrats (Cortez Masto, Durbin, Fetterman, Hassan, Kaine, King, Rosen, & Shaheen) joined the Republicans in moving forward a bill to reopen the government without ACA subsidies—Dems' stated key aim—or any other real concessions from the status before the shutdown.
November 10, 2025 at 4:01 AM
When teachers and staff who’ve been at our school for a while leave, they’re asked to contribute an ornament for the big holiday tree. I decided to make a tatreez pattern, the Bethlehem Star motif. I used satiny thread which I won’t use again soon, but I think it turned out okay.
November 10, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Reposted by jess banks
if he votes yes on this durbin should never know peace
Dick Durbin gets to retire in comfort while I see myself sliding further away from the middle class with every passing month and face the prospect of no health insurance as I face ever higher risks of illness in middle age and beyond
November 10, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Reposted by jess banks
DO THIS.
Find your senators at reps.fyi or call 202-224-3121
November 10, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Reposted by jess banks
The Democrats who caved just taught Republicans that using mass starvation as a weapon works.
November 10, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Reposted by jess banks
The article says he doesn't have name suppression any more, but they're still not naming him for 'legal reasons'. What does that mean?
#nzpol
IT'S TIM JAGO, EVERYONE KNOWS IT IS🤦‍♂️

Any proper journalists want to hammer Seymour on why they fought for name suppression FOR YEARS in the run up to the election?
#nzpol
Well-known figure pleads not guilty to indecent assault charge from three decades ago
The well-known figure has denied a charge of indecent assault and sought a trial by jury.
www.stuff.co.nz
November 10, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Reposted by jess banks
This is a lie. All 31 Moms for Liberty candidates in contested races lost their 2025 elections. The only "wins" were in uncontested races. Apparently, being hypocritical, book-banning scolds isn't so popular.
November 9, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Reposted by jess banks
Some unofficial news: After talking with friends and neighbors about the type of bold progressive leadership needed to replace Mayor-Elect Kaohly Her in the House, I’ve decided to run in the special election to represent the residents of 64A. Look for a more formal announcement tomorrow. #mnleg
November 10, 2025 at 12:31 AM
I have to decide whether to go to the school Xmas party on the last day of the year. It is a crowded, hot, loud sensory nightmare, and I’ve left in meltdown tears before. But it’s the last thing I’ll do with these folks.
November 10, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Reposted by jess banks
This how I find out I have a son??
November 9, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Reposted by jess banks
They’re gonna send Stephen Miller out to do a full-on Grinch on SNAP recipients, snatching up cans of Hoo hash and whatnot.
November 9, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Reposted by jess banks
Loving today's news that the mysterious "fedora man" outside the Louvre heist was actually a 15-year-old museum visitor who dresses like a 1940s French detective all the time, just because. apnews.com/article/louv...
Fedora man unmasked: Meet the teen behind the Louvre mystery photo
Fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux has become an internet sensation after an Associated Press photo captured him outside the Louvre on the day of a crown jewels heist.
apnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Babies. They’re abducting and abusing babies. And yet silence from conservatives.

Between this and SNAP, I don’t think there’s any doubt left that they only care about “children” until they’re born.
"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 11:26 PM
Reposted by jess banks
I want to thank a generation for bringing the expression “cringe” into the mainstream
Just a little more gold and it will be perfect
November 8, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Reposted by jess banks
the only time the filibuster has ever been used to protect a particular interest of a set of states is to kill anti-lynching and civil rights legislation. that's it.
November 8, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Reposted by jess banks
the thing about this is that a) small states do not have any interests that are inherent to their size (no less than james madison understood this) b) the senate is organized along party lines which makes the small/big distinction almost irrelevant and c) the filibuster has never been used this way
Underrated aspect of killing the filibuster is making pundit hacks at Cook Political p-p-p-piss their pants
November 8, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Reposted by jess banks
if you are struggling to find free food right now - please DM me! I will help you find your local place to go with zero judgment. I have been involved with Food Not Bombs and similar organizations for almost 20 years. FNB is GLOBAL so even if you're outside the USA you can check them out!
November 8, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Reposted by jess banks
November 7, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Reposted by jess banks
Hey folks, as news of Watson's demise spreads, please don't set aside his weighty legacy of misogyny and racism. He was truly among the worst of us. www.vox.com/2019/1/15/18...
DNA scientist James Watson has a remarkably long history of sexist, racist public comments
“People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty,” he said in 2003. “I think it would be great.”
www.vox.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Reposted by jess banks
Notable that FIRE (@thefireorg.bsky.social) filed an amicus in support of bullying trans youth. This is why trans people don't trust your transphobic organization, @aricohn.com.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
November 7, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Reposted by jess banks
Okay this is so cool. The ancient world was so brightly coloured, not the beige sand and marble we usually see. Murals, painted statues, mosaics—colour everywhere!
Today, a friend involved in the Esna restoration project has shared with me his latest stunning photos of the restored ceiling and columns of the Temple of Khnum in Esna, Upper #Egypt. During a multi-year restoration project, the dirt and soot that had obscured the ...🧵1/3

📷 D. v. Recklinghausen
🏺
November 7, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Reposted by jess banks
Aw, man.

Have to admit, I haven't looked at one of these for years. But when I was ter lad I read it a *lot*. (Also got up super-early on Sunday mornings for the "Farmer's Report" on Channel 56. I was a little odd).

Ave atque vale!

www.farmersalmanac.com/fond-farewel...
A Fond Farewell
After more than 200 years of sharing wit and wisdom, the 2026 Farmers' Almanac will be our last edition. But our story stays alive in you.
www.farmersalmanac.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:01 PM