Stacey Berg
@staceyberg.bsky.social
Democracy, science, writing, and whatever else is on my mind. Author of SF novels DISSENSION & REGENERATION. Opinions my own. She/her.
Texas: we don’t need no highly educated foreigners taking American jobs. Also Texas: we’re not teaching our kids no stinkin’ Plato.
Texas isn’t greater for halting H-1B visas. It’s smaller.
"Gov. Abbott's directive ordering state agencies and public universities to freeze new H-1B visa petitions does everything but put the real needs of Texans first," writes the editorial board.
www.houstonchronicle.com
January 30, 2026 at 1:29 PM
Texas: we don’t need no highly educated foreigners taking American jobs. Also Texas: we’re not teaching our kids no stinkin’ Plato.
Entities whose primary function is to make profit might follow the direction we want them to go, but they’ll never lead.
Why Minnesota’s CEOs finally broke their silence | CNN Business
Minnesota’s corporate giants have remained silent publicly for more than a month as their businesses and the local economy suffered from massive federal immigration operations in the Twin Cities.
www.cnn.com
January 27, 2026 at 12:47 PM
Entities whose primary function is to make profit might follow the direction we want them to go, but they’ll never lead.
Important insight into how “honor culture”—a belief system that says “disrespect” demands retaliation, including violence & murder—is foundational to ICE under MAGA. “Justifying law enforcement officers’ misconduct in the light of honor norms…preemptively excuses misconduct.”
No one should die for failing to show “respect” to ICE | Opinion
Research psychologist Aaron Pomerantz says blaming Renée Good’s killing on “disrespect” plays into honor culture narratives that undermine the rule of law.
www.houstonchronicle.com
January 23, 2026 at 9:43 PM
Important insight into how “honor culture”—a belief system that says “disrespect” demands retaliation, including violence & murder—is foundational to ICE under MAGA. “Justifying law enforcement officers’ misconduct in the light of honor norms…preemptively excuses misconduct.”
On the one hand, zoning can block affordable housing & promote NIMBY. On the other, this luxury high rise in zoning-free Houston doesn’t look like “the thoughtful evolution of a long-term vision…carefully refined to align with the character & scale of its surrounding neighborhood” to me.
January 16, 2026 at 1:58 PM
On the one hand, zoning can block affordable housing & promote NIMBY. On the other, this luxury high rise in zoning-free Houston doesn’t look like “the thoughtful evolution of a long-term vision…carefully refined to align with the character & scale of its surrounding neighborhood” to me.
This is a football town: Pittsburgh-area school district imposing 2-hour delay morning after Steelers playoff game.
January 12, 2026 at 1:49 PM
This is a football town: Pittsburgh-area school district imposing 2-hour delay morning after Steelers playoff game.
Denmark as our vaccine model? How about Norway as our maternal health model:
US: 18.3 deaths per 100,000 live births overall, 47.4 deaths per 100,000 live births for Black women.
Norway: 1 death per 100,000 live births.
US: 18.3 deaths per 100,000 live births overall, 47.4 deaths per 100,000 live births for Black women.
Norway: 1 death per 100,000 live births.
‘We cannot continue to lose our women’: A community mourns as a midwife’s death highlights a crisis in Black maternal health | CNN
Janell Green Smith, a certified nurse-midwife and doctor of nursing practice in South Carolina, chose her career because of her concern about Black women’s health. Less than a week after giving birth,...
www.cnn.com
January 10, 2026 at 1:39 PM
Denmark as our vaccine model? How about Norway as our maternal health model:
US: 18.3 deaths per 100,000 live births overall, 47.4 deaths per 100,000 live births for Black women.
Norway: 1 death per 100,000 live births.
US: 18.3 deaths per 100,000 live births overall, 47.4 deaths per 100,000 live births for Black women.
Norway: 1 death per 100,000 live births.
I know that we live in a post-irony world but Trump saying about Iran
“I have let them know that if they start killing people, which they tend to do during their riots … we’re going to hit them very hard,” while he supports ICE killings of protestors (not even rioters) here is just…a lot.
“I have let them know that if they start killing people, which they tend to do during their riots … we’re going to hit them very hard,” while he supports ICE killings of protestors (not even rioters) here is just…a lot.
Street protests erupt in Tehran as nationwide anti-government turmoil spreads | CNN
Anti-government protests erupted in Tehran on Thursday, as Iranians angered by a flailing economy and crackdowns by security forces marched through the streets of the capital and shouted slogans again...
www.cnn.com
January 8, 2026 at 10:27 PM
I know that we live in a post-irony world but Trump saying about Iran
“I have let them know that if they start killing people, which they tend to do during their riots … we’re going to hit them very hard,” while he supports ICE killings of protestors (not even rioters) here is just…a lot.
“I have let them know that if they start killing people, which they tend to do during their riots … we’re going to hit them very hard,” while he supports ICE killings of protestors (not even rioters) here is just…a lot.
Plato accused of corrupting the youth of A&M; school offers professor hemlock.
No Plato: Texas university pulls readings on gender ideology in philosophy class
Texas A&M University blocked a philosophy professor from teaching certain Plato texts after a new rule against "advocating" gender and race ideology.
www.houstonchronicle.com
January 8, 2026 at 1:49 AM
Plato accused of corrupting the youth of A&M; school offers professor hemlock.
Everything that’s wrong with college football part 9 million and 2
QB Williams hits portal despite signed UW deal
Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. said on social media Tuesday night he is entering the transfer portal, a move that comes just days after he agreed to return to the Huskies for the 2026 seas...
www.espn.com
January 7, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Everything that’s wrong with college football part 9 million and 2
Reposted by Stacey Berg
While the U.S. will still vaccinate against rotavirus, coverage is likely to be severely undercut by RFK Jr.’s actions.
This chart shows the significantly higher rate of pediatric rotavirus hospitalizations in Denmark compared to the U.S.
Removing vaccine recommendations will harm children.
This chart shows the significantly higher rate of pediatric rotavirus hospitalizations in Denmark compared to the U.S.
Removing vaccine recommendations will harm children.
Hospitalizations from rotavirus in Denmark (doesn't vaccinate for it) and the US (stopped vaccinating for it yesterday).
January 6, 2026 at 4:00 PM
While the U.S. will still vaccinate against rotavirus, coverage is likely to be severely undercut by RFK Jr.’s actions.
This chart shows the significantly higher rate of pediatric rotavirus hospitalizations in Denmark compared to the U.S.
Removing vaccine recommendations will harm children.
This chart shows the significantly higher rate of pediatric rotavirus hospitalizations in Denmark compared to the U.S.
Removing vaccine recommendations will harm children.
Everything that’s wrong with college football part 9 million and one
Brendan Sorsby's 1-Year TTU Contract Reportedly Tops Shedeur Sanders' Full Browns Deal
Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby's one-year deal with the school is reportedly worth more than Cleveland Browns passer Shedeur Sanders' entire NFL rookie contract.
bleacherreport.com
January 6, 2026 at 3:29 AM
Everything that’s wrong with college football part 9 million and one
Everything that’s wrong with college football part 9 million: team advances to the semifinals and most of the coaching staff is leaving in the middle of the playoffs.
Kiffin's assistants in flux as Ole Miss advances
Shortly after Pete Golding and Ole Miss finished an upset of Georgia on Thursday, a source told ESPN's Mark Schlabach to expect some "fireworks," as LSU coach Lane Kiffin decides how many of his assis...
www.espn.com
January 2, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Everything that’s wrong with college football part 9 million: team advances to the semifinals and most of the coaching staff is leaving in the middle of the playoffs.
“We’re here bc of the political struggle of others. That applies for every Houstonian, whether your ancestors arrived on a steamship from London or a bus from Tegucigalpa. Not one of us “deserves” to be here by birthright alone; we are heirs to a legacy of choices, fought & made &remade once more.”
Washington broke the promise of immigration. Houston shows a way to fix it.
As the Trump administration moves beyond 'illegal' to target vetted refugees and green card holders, we risk going back to a dark chapter of our history, writes the Houston Chronicle editorial...
www.houstonchronicle.com
January 1, 2026 at 2:40 PM
“We’re here bc of the political struggle of others. That applies for every Houstonian, whether your ancestors arrived on a steamship from London or a bus from Tegucigalpa. Not one of us “deserves” to be here by birthright alone; we are heirs to a legacy of choices, fought & made &remade once more.”
In case Pittsburgh sports fans don’t have enough to be angsty this week, there’s always the statistical near impossibility of the Pirates’ wasting Paul Skenes.
MLB’s Strange But True Player of the Year? Paul Skenes for the win!
When the unhittable ace of the Pirates takes the mound, amazing things happen. It would be cool if winning was one of those things.
www.nytimes.com
December 30, 2025 at 11:53 PM
In case Pittsburgh sports fans don’t have enough to be angsty this week, there’s always the statistical near impossibility of the Pirates’ wasting Paul Skenes.
Reposted by Stacey Berg
"If setting goals and trying to use willpower doesn’t work, what other options do we have? Is there a way to use the New Year as a new beginning without setting ourselves up for failure?"
New Year’s (Not Exactly) Resolutions
Is it possible to make New Year's resolutions that don't require willpower to keep?
wellnessrounds.org
December 30, 2025 at 10:24 PM
"If setting goals and trying to use willpower doesn’t work, what other options do we have? Is there a way to use the New Year as a new beginning without setting ourselves up for failure?"
It’s not too late to protect yourself from serious illness and death! Get your flu shot!
Latest CDC data shows flu activity is increasing sharply across the US | CNN
Most US states are experiencing high or very high flu activity, and levels continue to increase nationwide.
www.cnn.com
December 30, 2025 at 6:19 PM
It’s not too late to protect yourself from serious illness and death! Get your flu shot!
This is genius. Also, it’s a dead-on description of Texas in August.
Transcendent.
This is one of the most beautiful things I have witnessed, the craft here is impeccable.
December 30, 2025 at 1:53 PM
This is genius. Also, it’s a dead-on description of Texas in August.
The core argument against Democratic centrism in arguably its apex city: “Houston’s GDP reached a record $697 billion in 2023, yet roughly 1 out of 5 Houstonians live at or below the poverty line and over 30 percent of children grow up poor… These conditions are the product of political choices.”
Houston progressives knocked Whitmire. We’re coming back for more. | Opinion
Houston progressives knocked Whitmire. We’re coming back for more, writes Corisha Rogers, Anthony Rios, and Dr. Audrey Nath-Flaum, the leadership of the Houston Progressive Caucus.
www.houstonchronicle.com
December 29, 2025 at 2:20 PM
The core argument against Democratic centrism in arguably its apex city: “Houston’s GDP reached a record $697 billion in 2023, yet roughly 1 out of 5 Houstonians live at or below the poverty line and over 30 percent of children grow up poor… These conditions are the product of political choices.”
Are we tomatoes? No! We are devo!
Tomatoes in the Galápagos appear to be evolving backward. Here’s what it could mean | CNN
In a suspected case of reverse evolution, wild tomatoes in the Galápagos have developed a defense mechanism that hasn’t been seen in millions of years.
www.cnn.com
December 28, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Are we tomatoes? No! We are devo!
You can’t appreciate how scornful a plant can be until you’ve let your Ming arelia get too cold outside, and then brought it inside, and then let it get too dry.
December 27, 2025 at 8:55 PM
You can’t appreciate how scornful a plant can be until you’ve let your Ming arelia get too cold outside, and then brought it inside, and then let it get too dry.
“A Defense Department official, who insisted on animosity to discuss details not made public…”
With this administration you can’t tell if it’s a typo or a philosophy.
With this administration you can’t tell if it’s a typo or a philosophy.
President Trump says U.S. strikes Islamic State targets in Nigeria after group targeted Christians
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. launched a “powerful and deadly
www.post-gazette.com
December 26, 2025 at 1:36 PM
“A Defense Department official, who insisted on animosity to discuss details not made public…”
With this administration you can’t tell if it’s a typo or a philosophy.
With this administration you can’t tell if it’s a typo or a philosophy.
Linguists of BlueSky, does anyone track the early onset of language fads? I’ve seen “clock” in its use as a verb “to understand” about 5 times in the last week, including in some slightly-more-formal-than-I’d-expect settings. Anyone else? @lingthusiasm.bsky.social?
December 24, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Linguists of BlueSky, does anyone track the early onset of language fads? I’ve seen “clock” in its use as a verb “to understand” about 5 times in the last week, including in some slightly-more-formal-than-I’d-expect settings. Anyone else? @lingthusiasm.bsky.social?
This takes “fall back” to new lows.
How a power outage in Colorado caused U.S. official time to be 4.8 microseconds off
Officials said the error is likely too minute for the general public to clock it, but it could affect applications such as critical infrastructure, telecommunications and GPS signals.
www.npr.org
December 22, 2025 at 9:23 PM
This takes “fall back” to new lows.
The 3 Wise Men in disguise?
December 21, 2025 at 7:12 PM
The 3 Wise Men in disguise?