Rebecca M. Townsend
@rmtownsend.bsky.social
Deliberation, democracy & public engagement scholar #TeamRhetoric #Commsky politics in US & #CEE #transportation, public memory, Town Meeting. Lifter. Vlach/Aromanian #WMASS @TownModerator.bsky.social
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#BeyondTheColdWar Presidential Rhetoric in Central and Eastern Europe
#teamrhetoric #CEE #CentralEasternEurope
#teamrhetoric #CEE #CentralEasternEurope
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
if someone punches your neighbor and you go to protect them, that does not make you a protester. that makes you someone who protects your neighbor.
January 18, 2026 at 4:43 PM
if someone punches your neighbor and you go to protect them, that does not make you a protester. that makes you someone who protects your neighbor.
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
Victor Manuel Diaz was kidnapped from Minneapolis. He was my neighbor and he died in an American concentration camp. He was not "illegal," he was a human being made in the image of the divine. May his memory be a blessing, and may the rest of us fight like hell until we stop this brutality.
This is the sixth death in ICE custody in 18 days. This isn’t enforcement, it’s a system that cages people, outsources care, and shrugs when they die. Abolish ICE.
January 18, 2026 at 10:29 PM
Victor Manuel Diaz was kidnapped from Minneapolis. He was my neighbor and he died in an American concentration camp. He was not "illegal," he was a human being made in the image of the divine. May his memory be a blessing, and may the rest of us fight like hell until we stop this brutality.
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
Once again, it all should have ended immediately in 2017, when he started monetizing the presidency at his hotel blocks from the White House.
January 18, 2026 at 10:26 PM
Once again, it all should have ended immediately in 2017, when he started monetizing the presidency at his hotel blocks from the White House.
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
Deutsche Bank here with the good stuff.
Game on.
Game on.
January 18, 2026 at 6:59 PM
Deutsche Bank here with the good stuff.
Game on.
Game on.
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
ICE agents. are putting. stuffed animals. on dashboards. to fool children. into thinking. they won't be kidnapped.
Thanks. We have folks in our community giving vulnerable students rides to school, and a teacher shared that they were putting small stuffed animals on their dashboards to help kids identify safe cars. ICE picked up on it and started doing the same. Horrifying.
January 18, 2026 at 9:04 PM
ICE agents. are putting. stuffed animals. on dashboards. to fool children. into thinking. they won't be kidnapped.
Would or could?
I wonder: unusual pine needles
I wonder: unusual pine needles
January 18, 2026 at 8:38 PM
Would or could?
I wonder: unusual pine needles
I wonder: unusual pine needles
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
The Russians were only working on this for 100 years, so hats off, I guess.
Russia celebrates. “The Transatlantic alliance is over.”
Trump has done his master’s work.
Trump has done his master’s work.
Russia welcomes Trump's tariffs on NATO allies over Greenland as 'collapse' of alliance
"The transatlantic alliance is over," Kremlin economic negotiator Kirill Dmitriev said.
kyivindependent.com
January 18, 2026 at 6:48 PM
The Russians were only working on this for 100 years, so hats off, I guess.
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
Honestly love the framing from Minneapolis because it's true:
So many are saying, they're our *neighbors.* Why wouldn't we defend them?
The difference between the Twin Cities and so much of this country is they don't have that asterisk next to "neighbor" that says "terms and conditions apply."
So many are saying, they're our *neighbors.* Why wouldn't we defend them?
The difference between the Twin Cities and so much of this country is they don't have that asterisk next to "neighbor" that says "terms and conditions apply."
January 18, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Honestly love the framing from Minneapolis because it's true:
So many are saying, they're our *neighbors.* Why wouldn't we defend them?
The difference between the Twin Cities and so much of this country is they don't have that asterisk next to "neighbor" that says "terms and conditions apply."
So many are saying, they're our *neighbors.* Why wouldn't we defend them?
The difference between the Twin Cities and so much of this country is they don't have that asterisk next to "neighbor" that says "terms and conditions apply."
Anyway, glad you are lifting again!
January 18, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Anyway, glad you are lifting again!
Women have only been recently encouraged to lift heavy. And they had (according to sociologist Dworkin) been facing glass ceiling of sort due to ideologies about what is proper.
January 18, 2026 at 5:22 PM
Women have only been recently encouraged to lift heavy. And they had (according to sociologist Dworkin) been facing glass ceiling of sort due to ideologies about what is proper.
As a former (who knows maybe again) competitive powerlifter who set state records, I can say in a friendly way that it does NOT apply to me. :)
It was truly humbling to come back after a rotator cuff repair and look forward to lifting a coffee cup.
It was truly humbling to come back after a rotator cuff repair and look forward to lifting a coffee cup.
January 18, 2026 at 5:22 PM
As a former (who knows maybe again) competitive powerlifter who set state records, I can say in a friendly way that it does NOT apply to me. :)
It was truly humbling to come back after a rotator cuff repair and look forward to lifting a coffee cup.
It was truly humbling to come back after a rotator cuff repair and look forward to lifting a coffee cup.
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
BRENNAN: Noem called on your to set up a safe zone where protest would be contained. Is that something you're looking at?
JACOB FREY: First Amendment speech is not limited to one park or one section of the city. You're allowed to protest so long as you're doing it peacefully
JACOB FREY: First Amendment speech is not limited to one park or one section of the city. You're allowed to protest so long as you're doing it peacefully
January 18, 2026 at 3:56 PM
BRENNAN: Noem called on your to set up a safe zone where protest would be contained. Is that something you're looking at?
JACOB FREY: First Amendment speech is not limited to one park or one section of the city. You're allowed to protest so long as you're doing it peacefully
JACOB FREY: First Amendment speech is not limited to one park or one section of the city. You're allowed to protest so long as you're doing it peacefully
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
While people were considering their choices of candidates, Ohio State University said that a man who had already demonized & targeted multiple marginalized groups in our society, called professors the enemy, etc., is a dedicated public servant who reflects who they are as a university.
January 18, 2026 at 2:20 PM
While people were considering their choices of candidates, Ohio State University said that a man who had already demonized & targeted multiple marginalized groups in our society, called professors the enemy, etc., is a dedicated public servant who reflects who they are as a university.
It is really beautiful out!
This family anticipates 2 games, that one today, and the Indiana one tomorrow!
This family anticipates 2 games, that one today, and the Indiana one tomorrow!
January 18, 2026 at 2:14 PM
It is really beautiful out!
This family anticipates 2 games, that one today, and the Indiana one tomorrow!
This family anticipates 2 games, that one today, and the Indiana one tomorrow!
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
If anything, the terrorism is more important to their project than the deportations themselves. The only way they could ever "remove" 14 million people from this country is for most of them to remove themselves.
There is no recalibrated or sanitized way to conduct the war that Trump and Stephen Miller are waging on American cities right now. That’s because it’s a campaign of deliberate terror.
The policy *is* the terror, and the terror *is* the policy.
newrepublic.com/article/2053...
The policy *is* the terror, and the terror *is* the policy.
newrepublic.com/article/2053...
January 17, 2026 at 3:51 PM
If anything, the terrorism is more important to their project than the deportations themselves. The only way they could ever "remove" 14 million people from this country is for most of them to remove themselves.
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
"License plate readers and personal data from car registrations are only supposed to be accessed for an active criminal investigation...
“Following or observing or reporting on federal agencies is not a criminal activity — it's protected 1st Amendment activity...”
www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
“Following or observing or reporting on federal agencies is not a criminal activity — it's protected 1st Amendment activity...”
www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
Privacy advocates: ICE using private data to intimidate observers and activists
MPR News has looked into reports that federal agents have accessed private data to track and intimidate anti-ICE activists since the immigration crackdown surged in Minnesota in December. Privacy advo...
www.mprnews.org
January 17, 2026 at 11:00 PM
"License plate readers and personal data from car registrations are only supposed to be accessed for an active criminal investigation...
“Following or observing or reporting on federal agencies is not a criminal activity — it's protected 1st Amendment activity...”
www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
“Following or observing or reporting on federal agencies is not a criminal activity — it's protected 1st Amendment activity...”
www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
⚡️ 'Warmth from Poland' — Fundraiser raises $330,000 to buy generators for Kyiv as Russia targets energy.
After quickly reaching the initial target, organizers raised the goal to 2 million zloty ($550,000).
After quickly reaching the initial target, organizers raised the goal to 2 million zloty ($550,000).
'Warmth from Poland' — Fundraiser raises $330,000 to buy generators for Kyiv as Russia targets energy
After quickly reaching the initial target, organizers raised the goal to 2 million zloty ($550,000).
kyivindependent.com
January 18, 2026 at 12:53 PM
⚡️ 'Warmth from Poland' — Fundraiser raises $330,000 to buy generators for Kyiv as Russia targets energy.
After quickly reaching the initial target, organizers raised the goal to 2 million zloty ($550,000).
After quickly reaching the initial target, organizers raised the goal to 2 million zloty ($550,000).
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
There have been confirmed reports from local organizers in Portland ME that ICE is knocking on doors claiming to be from MaineCare and “offering help“
January 18, 2026 at 12:22 AM
There have been confirmed reports from local organizers in Portland ME that ICE is knocking on doors claiming to be from MaineCare and “offering help“
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
Make no mistake, he is justifying violence if he objects to the outcome of an election. Keep that in mind as we prepare for 2026.
January 17, 2026 at 10:53 PM
Make no mistake, he is justifying violence if he objects to the outcome of an election. Keep that in mind as we prepare for 2026.
"The Arsenal at Springfield" by Longfellow - Springfield Armory National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service) share.google/AwLu6MCkrS2D...
"The Arsenal at Springfield" by Longfellow - Springfield Armory National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)
share.google
January 18, 2026 at 12:04 AM
"The Arsenal at Springfield" by Longfellow - Springfield Armory National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service) share.google/AwLu6MCkrS2D...
The Organ of Muskets
The "Organ of Muskets" - Springfield Armory National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service) share.google/QitZMV0QCdr5...
The "Organ of Muskets" - Springfield Armory National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service) share.google/QitZMV0QCdr5...
January 18, 2026 at 12:03 AM
The Organ of Muskets
The "Organ of Muskets" - Springfield Armory National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service) share.google/QitZMV0QCdr5...
The "Organ of Muskets" - Springfield Armory National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service) share.google/QitZMV0QCdr5...
Photos of maps of New England and the Knox Trail
January 18, 2026 at 12:01 AM
Photos of maps of New England and the Knox Trail
Reposted by Rebecca M. Townsend
I am honored to serve as the 75th Governor of Virginia.
It is with a profound sense of duty to all Virginians that I assume the Governorship and pledge myself to work tirelessly on behalf of our Commonwealth — our home.
It is with a profound sense of duty to all Virginians that I assume the Governorship and pledge myself to work tirelessly on behalf of our Commonwealth — our home.
January 17, 2026 at 7:41 PM
I am honored to serve as the 75th Governor of Virginia.
It is with a profound sense of duty to all Virginians that I assume the Governorship and pledge myself to work tirelessly on behalf of our Commonwealth — our home.
It is with a profound sense of duty to all Virginians that I assume the Governorship and pledge myself to work tirelessly on behalf of our Commonwealth — our home.