@rjwatters.bsky.social
Mostly I talk about wolverines, snow leopards, Mongolia, and the Western US.
Reposted
Had a very nice chat with Maggie Freeman of the New Books Network's "Nomads Past and Present" series about my book, music, and the environment in Mongolia:
newbooksnetwork.com/a-song-for-t...
newbooksnetwork.com/a-song-for-t...
A Song for the Horses: Musical Heritage for More-than-Human Futures in Mongolia - New Books Network
newbooksnetwork.com
October 27, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Had a very nice chat with Maggie Freeman of the New Books Network's "Nomads Past and Present" series about my book, music, and the environment in Mongolia:
newbooksnetwork.com/a-song-for-t...
newbooksnetwork.com/a-song-for-t...
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The depth of the shame of a country this wealthy and abundant allowing its people to go hungry is impossible to measure. The fact that a handful of people could fix this by paying their fair share of taxes while still remaining obscenely wealthy makes it even worse.
October 28, 2025 at 4:09 PM
The depth of the shame of a country this wealthy and abundant allowing its people to go hungry is impossible to measure. The fact that a handful of people could fix this by paying their fair share of taxes while still remaining obscenely wealthy makes it even worse.
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Withholding money for food and finding money for every unnecessary thing is what sparked the French Revolution. Literally.
October 27, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Withholding money for food and finding money for every unnecessary thing is what sparked the French Revolution. Literally.
Reposted
When did making kids go hungry become a Christian value?
October 27, 2025 at 11:17 PM
When did making kids go hungry become a Christian value?
Reposted
Mayor Michelle Wu at the protest today: “What scares them about Boston is that we are the America they say is impossible.”
October 18, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Mayor Michelle Wu at the protest today: “What scares them about Boston is that we are the America they say is impossible.”
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Mongolian has some wild Eurasian etymologies! 🥰 My favourite one is nom ᠨᠣᠮ ('book'), from Greek νόμος, via Sogdian and Old Uyghur. The semantic shift 'custom, law' > 'scripture' > 'book' is lovely.
Btw nomos also has a Syriac > Arabic result, nāmōsā ܢܳܡܘܿܣܳܐ > nāmūs ناموس 😀
@kebuhcah.bsky.social
Btw nomos also has a Syriac > Arabic result, nāmōsā ܢܳܡܘܿܣܳܐ > nāmūs ناموس 😀
@kebuhcah.bsky.social
October 12, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Mongolian has some wild Eurasian etymologies! 🥰 My favourite one is nom ᠨᠣᠮ ('book'), from Greek νόμος, via Sogdian and Old Uyghur. The semantic shift 'custom, law' > 'scripture' > 'book' is lovely.
Btw nomos also has a Syriac > Arabic result, nāmōsā ܢܳܡܘܿܣܳܐ > nāmūs ناموس 😀
@kebuhcah.bsky.social
Btw nomos also has a Syriac > Arabic result, nāmōsā ܢܳܡܘܿܣܳܐ > nāmūs ناموس 😀
@kebuhcah.bsky.social
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I saw a post the other day that said something to the effect of ICE is a job guarantee program for racists and domestic abusers and they weren't wrong
One thing that comes through awfully clearly in these ICE videos is how many of these goons gravitated toward the job because being able to assault people with impunity is a big thrill for them.
October 3, 2025 at 10:42 PM
I saw a post the other day that said something to the effect of ICE is a job guarantee program for racists and domestic abusers and they weren't wrong
Classic abuser tactics: "I take no pleasure in hurting you, but you made me do it, so the pain I'm inflicting on you is your fault."
Johnson: "Russ does this reluctantly. He takes no pleasure in this. Russ has to sit down and decide which policies, personnel, & programs are essential & which are not. That's not a fun task and he's not enjoying that responsibility...if they keep the govt closed, it's gonna get more & more painful"
October 2, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Classic abuser tactics: "I take no pleasure in hurting you, but you made me do it, so the pain I'm inflicting on you is your fault."
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Anyone who read Project 2025 knew all this would happen.
This. This administration is even worse than any of us thought possible. Who had destroy NIH, CDC, USAID, EPA, scientific research all at the same time on their bingo card?
My thesis is that no matter how doomer you were in Nov. 2024, we're probably past your worst-case scenario for the first 9 months of this administration.
It's very strange for me to realize I wasn't pessimistic enough.
www.thebulwark.com/p/we-are-in-...
It's very strange for me to realize I wasn't pessimistic enough.
www.thebulwark.com/p/we-are-in-...
September 30, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Anyone who read Project 2025 knew all this would happen.
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If any other president in all of history said the military should use American cities as a training ground he would be removed from office that same day. The hardest thing to tolerate in all this is how relatively silent elected democrats are. It’s ridiculous.
September 30, 2025 at 2:57 PM
If any other president in all of history said the military should use American cities as a training ground he would be removed from office that same day. The hardest thing to tolerate in all this is how relatively silent elected democrats are. It’s ridiculous.
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General pattern in regime change: the comedy gets better and then it gets banned.
September 18, 2025 at 12:05 AM
General pattern in regime change: the comedy gets better and then it gets banned.
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I know everyone is consumed with other news, but this is a big fucking deal: The Trump administration says that IUDs and the Pill are actually abortions.
Here's what USAID told the NYT about the $10m in birth control they plan to destroy.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/h...
Here's what USAID told the NYT about the $10m in birth control they plan to destroy.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/h...
September 12, 2025 at 10:27 PM
I know everyone is consumed with other news, but this is a big fucking deal: The Trump administration says that IUDs and the Pill are actually abortions.
Here's what USAID told the NYT about the $10m in birth control they plan to destroy.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/h...
Here's what USAID told the NYT about the $10m in birth control they plan to destroy.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/h...
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Remember: There is nothing natural or inevitable about extreme inequality; it’s the result of an economic system that values wealth and power over human dignity and justice.
It doesn't have to be this way.
It doesn't have to be this way.
September 9, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Remember: There is nothing natural or inevitable about extreme inequality; it’s the result of an economic system that values wealth and power over human dignity and justice.
It doesn't have to be this way.
It doesn't have to be this way.
My high school English teacher (50-ish) had a poster on his door of a cartoon pig wearing a t-shirt that said "chauvinist." He openly harassed the girls during class, and had been accused of having affairs with teenage students. My public high school in liberal MA did nothing, despite complaints.
Anyone talking about the 90s like it was a feminist haven free of a manosphere has clearly forgotten about what the 90s was actually like or never bothered to study it
August 3, 2025 at 5:03 PM
My high school English teacher (50-ish) had a poster on his door of a cartoon pig wearing a t-shirt that said "chauvinist." He openly harassed the girls during class, and had been accused of having affairs with teenage students. My public high school in liberal MA did nothing, despite complaints.
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It’s always “Ladies, if you are alienated by overwork, drop out of the public sphere and become a tradwife” and never “Ladies, if you are alienated by overwork, form a union.”
July 11, 2025 at 3:45 PM
It’s always “Ladies, if you are alienated by overwork, drop out of the public sphere and become a tradwife” and never “Ladies, if you are alienated by overwork, form a union.”
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Globally, roughly a third more power is being generated from the sun this spring than last. If this exponential rate of growth can continue, we will soon live in a very different world, @billmckibben.bsky.social writes.
4.6 Billion Years On, the Sun Is Having a Moment
In the past two years, without much notice, solar power has begun to truly transform the world’s energy system.
www.newyorker.com
July 9, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Globally, roughly a third more power is being generated from the sun this spring than last. If this exponential rate of growth can continue, we will soon live in a very different world, @billmckibben.bsky.social writes.
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The US Global Change Research Program's website, including all its sub-domains that host the National Climate Assessments and related reports, is now offline.
The 1990 Global Change Research Act (see below) mandates its research findings be available to all federal agencies & departments.
The 1990 Global Change Research Act (see below) mandates its research findings be available to all federal agencies & departments.
June 30, 2025 at 8:21 PM
The US Global Change Research Program's website, including all its sub-domains that host the National Climate Assessments and related reports, is now offline.
The 1990 Global Change Research Act (see below) mandates its research findings be available to all federal agencies & departments.
The 1990 Global Change Research Act (see below) mandates its research findings be available to all federal agencies & departments.
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This wacky SCOTUS opinion could be used against teaching any kind of science, history, or critical reasoning more generally, which might pose "a very real threat of undermining" religious beliefs. Even if it doesn't actually, there's the threat!
June 27, 2025 at 4:06 PM
This wacky SCOTUS opinion could be used against teaching any kind of science, history, or critical reasoning more generally, which might pose "a very real threat of undermining" religious beliefs. Even if it doesn't actually, there's the threat!
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this is just an observation but one way to think of the civil war is that it WAS about states rights, but the right in question was the right of free states to stay free
[whispers provocatively] the 1850 fugitive slave act is the model: reactionaries have the right to extend their authority across state lines, and their opponents have to actively assist them
June 27, 2025 at 3:14 PM
this is just an observation but one way to think of the civil war is that it WAS about states rights, but the right in question was the right of free states to stay free
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Ideally, a country should be led by a person that understands that other people are real.
June 22, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Ideally, a country should be led by a person that understands that other people are real.
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This is a vital message: one of the larger reasons BlueSky is refreshingly free of alt-right shitlords is because in the early days we made a gentleperson’s agreement to starve these fuckos out and it worked. No likes, no quotes, no engagement. They got bored and left. Please keep the Old Ways.
June 18, 2025 at 11:17 PM
This is a vital message: one of the larger reasons BlueSky is refreshingly free of alt-right shitlords is because in the early days we made a gentleperson’s agreement to starve these fuckos out and it worked. No likes, no quotes, no engagement. They got bored and left. Please keep the Old Ways.
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Here's our rapid response list of orgs to reach out to if you're trans and in need of aid right now (or if you're cis and want an org to support): www.them.us/story/scotus...
Not exhaustive, but Quispe, @sal.gay, and I hope you still find it useful
Not exhaustive, but Quispe, @sal.gay, and I hope you still find it useful
June 18, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Here's our rapid response list of orgs to reach out to if you're trans and in need of aid right now (or if you're cis and want an org to support): www.them.us/story/scotus...
Not exhaustive, but Quispe, @sal.gay, and I hope you still find it useful
Not exhaustive, but Quispe, @sal.gay, and I hope you still find it useful
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Unironically they should buy up the domains for about 60 defunct local newspapers in swing states. Hire two reporters to write almost exclusively about highschool sports and new restaurants opening with every 10th article about how the local GOP is screwing over people.
NEWS:
Democratic mega-donors are debating plans to spend tens of millions of dollars on a range of influencer plans to "find the liberal Rogan."
We've got pitch decks, investor meetings, and internal docs.
One Democrat has a spreadsheet of 26 different proposals.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/20/u...
Democratic mega-donors are debating plans to spend tens of millions of dollars on a range of influencer plans to "find the liberal Rogan."
We've got pitch decks, investor meetings, and internal docs.
One Democrat has a spreadsheet of 26 different proposals.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/20/u...
Democrats Throw Money at a Problem: Countering G.O.P. Clout Online
www.nytimes.com
May 21, 2025 at 1:07 AM
Unironically they should buy up the domains for about 60 defunct local newspapers in swing states. Hire two reporters to write almost exclusively about highschool sports and new restaurants opening with every 10th article about how the local GOP is screwing over people.
Reposted
"The researchers named the species Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, meaning Dragon Prince of Mongolia.
Khankhuuluu represents an evolutionary shift - from those small hunters that scampered around during the Jurassic period - to the formidable giants, including T.rex."
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Khankhuuluu represents an evolutionary shift - from those small hunters that scampered around during the Jurassic period - to the formidable giants, including T.rex."
www.bbc.com/news/article...
‘Dragon prince’ dinosaur discovery 'rewrites' T.rex family tree
The dinosaur skeletons, found hidden in a museum collection in Mongolia, is an ancestor of the mighty tyrannosaurs.
www.bbc.com
June 15, 2025 at 2:57 PM
"The researchers named the species Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, meaning Dragon Prince of Mongolia.
Khankhuuluu represents an evolutionary shift - from those small hunters that scampered around during the Jurassic period - to the formidable giants, including T.rex."
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Khankhuuluu represents an evolutionary shift - from those small hunters that scampered around during the Jurassic period - to the formidable giants, including T.rex."
www.bbc.com/news/article...
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i am not being pollyannish when i insist that the people who sign up do not sign up to advance a president’s domestic political agenda www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Troops and marines deeply troubled by LA deployment: ‘Morale is not great’
Several service members told advocacy groups they felt like pawns in a political game and assignment was not necessary
www.theguardian.com
June 12, 2025 at 12:45 PM
i am not being pollyannish when i insist that the people who sign up do not sign up to advance a president’s domestic political agenda www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...