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Anna
@annaharv.bsky.social
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Reposted by Anna
mjsdc.bsky.social
When liberals secured a majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2023, they changed internal procedures—over the objection of the conservative chief justice, who claimed they were taking away her power. Today the justices released MESSY details about the affair...
www.wicourts.gov/sc/rulhear/D...
BRIAN HAGEDORN, J. (concurring). The Wisconsin Supreme Court is composed of seven justices who are supposed to be members of the same team. Unlike trial courts, when we act, we do so collectively. To accomplish this, over the last 175 years, this court has established various practices and traditions, both formal and informal. These practices ensure all voices are heard, create clear lines of decision-making authority, and establish consistent and neutral processes to govern our case-deciding and administrative work. Some of these are reflected in formally adopted Supreme Court Rules, and some in our Internal Operating Procedures. But the true currency of a court like ours is trust. When trust is broken like it has been here, every aspect of our work suffers. ¶2 This all began in the summer of 2023 when four justices wished to make significant changes to how this court functions. Fair enough. These modifications could have been pursued through a process built on collegiality and mutual respect. Instead, my colleagues pursued a more destructive path. ¶3 The morning our then-newest justice was sworn into office——August 1, 2023——my four colleagues at that time set off to reshape our court and the operation of the court system. They had apparently engaged in significant discussions in the months prior and decided to force through these changes during our summer recess, and to do so via email with or without the input of their other colleagues. They issued a press release triumphantly announcing that these changes were all about transparency, accountability, and inclusivity. This was true in the same way Pearl Harbor was a strike for peace in the Pacific. I will not rehash every detail (Justice Ziegler's excellent writing recounts much of the history), but the reader deserves a taste. ¶4 The first shot sounded when my four colleagues fired the Director of State Courts, who functions as the CEO of administrative matters for the entire judicial branch. Without following any established process, one of my colleagues sent an email proposing that we fire our Director and install a new, preselected interim Director in his place. This happened through email, over the course of two business days, while the Director was out of town on state business, during our summer recess. He never received a performance review indicating concerns; he was simply told his employment was over. This came just months after some of these same colleagues emphasized the importance of having all justices participate in hiring key staff. ¶5 Later that same week, my colleagues proposed dramatic changes via email affecting both our case-deciding and administrative responsibilities. The email invited justices to attend a new, unscheduled meeting of the court later that week to discuss the proposals. One justice said she could not be there; another objected to the meeting as outside our court calendar. The meeting would go forward no matter what, we were told. I implored my colleagues to reconsider, to treat their fellow colleagues with the respect they would want if circumstances were reversed. They refused. The meeting went on as expected, and with only four members present, they voted to fundamentally remake our court. ¶7 Among their changes, my colleagues radically altered the role of the chief justice. They created a new, three-person administrative committee (on which the chief justice would ostensibly sit) to take over nearly all of the chief justice's most important administrative duties. And they did so in the face of serious objections that these changes violated the Wisconsin Constitution, which says the chief justice "shall be the administrative head of the judicial system." Wis. Const. art. VII, § 4. One justice who in the past championed the constitutional role of the chief justice suddenly changed course. Again, these actions stripping the chief justice of powers she had exercised for as long as anyone could remember were proposed via email, and were voted on a few days later during an unscheduled meeting of just four justices during our summer recess. Not exactly transparent, accountable, and inclusive. ¶8 Another significant series of amendments to our internal rules involved modifying the way we consider certain kinds of cases, essentially making it much easier for this court to expedite cases coming to us outside the normal appeals process. Why the change? As everyone understood, my colleagues had the not-sosecret goal of swiftly hearing particular politically charged cases. This was all by design. ¶9 And how did this experiment go? Not well. Administratively, it was not clear who was in charge. We experienced significant breakdowns in communication amidst a lack of clarity about who was doing what. Our staff was often caught in the middle of a court that did not have established lines of communication and authority. And when the Director of State Courts was unceremoniously fired for what many perceived as political reasons, it sent a shockwave through the system. Furthermore, my colleagues' changes were not one and done. Throughout the past two years, they continued to modify the court's procedures in a similar ad-hoc fashion, often after realizing problems with their earlier ill-considered changes. This only added to the confusion. ¶10 Finally, at one of the court's internal conferences this past June, my colleagues shifted course. One of the four announced she was "withdrawing" her prior votes from the past two years (which, by the way, is not a thing) with the idea that every disputed change was now, all of a sudden, reversed. What changed? Again, it was no mystery. My colleagues wanted to take power away from then-Chief Justice Annette Ziegler. Such a move ensured that my colleagues would run the court through the administrative committee. Following the April 2025 election, they concluded they would have the votes to elect a chief justice of their choosing and have a block of votes to support her, so they no longer needed to seize those powers. This is not a cynical take. It is exactly what happened. ¶11 What's past is past, however. I have no desire to hold this against my colleagues, and I am grateful they have changed course. In fact, I was happy to work collaboratively on many operational changes reflected in this order, most of which I
November 25, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Reposted by Anna
newyorker.com
“When you are dying, at least in my limited experience, you start remembering everything.” Tatiana Schlossberg, the daughter of Caroline Kennedy, writes about receiving a terminal diagnosis. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/4SkkDI
A Battle with My Blood
When I was diagnosed with leukemia, my first thought was that this couldn’t be happening to me, to my family.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 22, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Reposted by Anna
democracydocket.com
California Sen. Alex Padilla was just forcibly removed from a DHS press conference and handcuffed.

"I am Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary."

Video from @Elex_Michaelson on X via Padilla's staff.
June 12, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Reposted by Anna
aljazeera.com
Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli attacks put European Hospital in Khan Younis out of service, putting patients at risk.
Israel kills at least 115 in Gaza as Palestinians commemorate Nakba Day
Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli attacks put European Hospital in Khan Younis out of service, putting patients at risk.
bit.ly
May 15, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Reposted by Anna
changethesystem.bsky.social
Mayor Baraka from Newark, NJ holds a press conference detailing how GEO Group has opened an ICE detention facility without permits or inspections. They can’t even verify if there are detainees inside because GEO Group is refusing to allow city officials inside.
May 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM
Reposted by Anna
annaleighclark.bsky.social
NEW: The Great Lakes hold 95% of all the surface freshwater in the United States.

Severe cuts have decimated the NOAA Great Lakes lab.

Scientists worry they’ve lost the ability to protect the public from toxic algal blooms, which can kill animals and sicken people.

My story for @propublica.org
Millions of People Depend on the Great Lakes’ Water Supply. Trump Decimated the Lab Protecting It.
The Trump administration’s slashing of budgets and staff have Great Lakes scientists concerned that they have lost the ability to protect the public from toxic algal blooms, which can kill animals and...
www.propublica.org
May 6, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Reposted by Anna
theonion.com
Trump Vows To Reopen Joann Fabrics As Prison theonion.com/trump-v...
Trump Vows To Reopen Joann Fabrics As Prison
May 5, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Reposted by Anna
aljazeera.com
Israeli soldiers have filmed themselves blowing up a building in Gaza for a ‘gender reveal’, having rigged it with explosives that give off blue smoke to indicate a fetus is male.
May 5, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Reposted by Anna
joshgondelman.bsky.social
The most jarring element of these deportations (to me) is that people are carrying them out. Nobody in charge stopped them from happening. That feels obvious but also extremely chilling to me when directly considered.
aclu.org ACLU @aclu.org · Apr 26
This is a shocking abuse of power by ICE that has inflicted harm and jeopardized the lives of vulnerable children and a pregnant woman.

We are demanding the return of these families.
Trump Has Now Deported Multiple U.S. Citizen Children With Cancer
Two families who had lived in the United States for years, including a child with cancer and a pregnant mother, were deported by ICE on Friday.
www.rollingstone.com
April 26, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Reposted by Anna
propublica.org
The staff of a program that helps millions of poor families keep the electricity on, in part so babies don’t die from extreme heat or cold, have all been fired.

The office overseeing the enforcement of child support payments nationally has been hollowed out.
The Trump Administration’s War on Children
The administration is quietly putting America’s children at risk by cutting funds and manpower for investigating child abuse, enforcing child support payments, providing child care and much more.
www.propublica.org
April 25, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Reposted by Anna
channel3000.com
Milton High School is looking to add an animal science facility with the support of the school's Future Farmers of America Alumni.
Milton High School looks to add animal science facility for hands-on learning
The Brief:
www.channel3000.com
April 24, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Reposted by Anna
boltsmag.org
Sethy Seam, who was 16 when sentenced to life without parole, received clemency last year, and left prison in January after 27 years: “A lot of kids had hard lives. They did 25 years in prison, and now they’re a whole lot different. They need hope, too.”
In North Carolina, Juvenile Lifers See a Pathway to Freedom - Bolts
After North Carolina's previous governor granted clemency to people sentenced to life in prison as minors, others with juvenile life sentences are hoping for a new administration that also believes in...
boltsmag.org
April 19, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Reposted by Anna
wisconsinexaminer.com
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction rejects Trump administration request for certification of anti-DEI compliance via @bspears.bsky.social wisconsinexaminer.com/briefs/wisco...
Wisconsin DPI rejects Trump administration request for certification on DEI ban compliance  • Wisconsin Examiner
DPI Superintendent Jill Underly said schools are following the law and "Washington, D.C. should not dictate how schools educate their kids."
wisconsinexaminer.com
April 18, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Reposted by Anna
washingtonpost.com
Mohsen Mahdawi, who has been a green-card holder for 10 years, was detained at an ICE field center in Vermont while appearing for a naturalization test — a key step on the path to U.S. citizenship. wapo.st/3Y36270
April 15, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Reposted by Anna
nkalamb.bsky.social
One of hundreds of people abducted by ICE and sold to slavery in El Salvador was a 19 year old with no criminal record in the US or Venezuela and no tattoos of any kind.

An ICE kidnapper who grabbed him outside his house said, "He's not the one."

The other said, "Take him anyway."

So they did.
Wilmer only found out his son had been detained after receiving a phone call on March 15 from his nephew, Luis, who lives with them. That morning was their last time together; they had gone around the corner to do their laundry. Later that day, Wilmer said that his son met with a friend to get help with some errands at the American Red Cross. He learned this from Luis, who looked at the situation from inside the apartment: when his son was on his way back, just steps from his home when ICE agents stopped him. “The officers grabbed him and two other boys right at the entrance to our building. One said, ‘No, he’s not the one,’ like they were looking for someone else. But the other said, ‘Take him anyway.'” That moment marked the beginning of Wilmer’s search for answers — answers he’s still waiting for.
April 14, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Reposted by Anna
thetnholler.bsky.social
“BRING HIM HOME” 🔥
April 13, 2025 at 2:59 AM
Reposted by Anna
wisconsinexaminer.com
Details emerge about Milwaukee courthouse arrests by ICE
Details emerge about Milwaukee courthouse arrests by ICE • Wisconsin Examiner
Two people, from Mexico and Nicaragua, were detained by ICE at the Milwaukee County Courthouse, new details emerge about who they were.
buff.ly
April 9, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Reposted by Anna
vulture.com
More than 40 years after the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the full scope of the toll AIDS took on the world of theater in New York remains difficult to access.
The List Keepers
More than 40 years after the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the full scope of the toll AIDS took on the world of theater in New York remains difficult to access.
www.vulture.com
April 9, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Reposted by Anna
boltsmag.org
Newark is the third U.S. city, and the first in New Jersey, to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in school board elections. The change came after a yearslong student-led campaign. boltsmag.org/newark-...
Newark Teens Gear Up for School Board Elections After Voting Age Extended to 16
This month for the first time, 16- and 17-year olds will help decide Newark’s school board members thanks to a measure passed last year, just the third reform of its kind in the nation.
boltsmag.org
April 9, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Reposted by Anna
filmupdates.bsky.social
Jack Lowden is in talks to star as Mr. Darcy in the upcoming Netflix series adaptation of ‘PRIDE AND PREJUDICE.’

(variety.com/2025/tv/glob...)
April 9, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Reposted by Anna
wkow27news.bsky.social
BREAKING NEWS: Attorney General Josh Kaul said he plans to take legal action against Elon Musk in response to a cash prize related to Wisconsin's Supreme Court election.
Wisconsin DOJ plans to take legal action against Elon Musk for election-related cash prize
MADISON (WKOW) -- Attorney General Josh Kaul (D-WI) said on Friday he plans to take legal action against Elon Musk in response to a cash prize the billionaire is giving
www.wkow.com
March 28, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Reposted by Anna
annaleighclark.bsky.social
In Wisconsin, people who fear they’ll be deported are mailing their most precious things back to Nicaragua — just in case.

A must-read by @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social + photographer Benjamin Rasmussen.
How One Immigrant Community Is Coping With the Threat of Deportation
The Nicaraguans who keep Wisconsin’s dairy farms, restaurants and factories working are sending home their most prized possessions, bracing for potential mass deportations. “We don’t have much, but wh...
www.propublica.org
January 31, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Reposted by Anna
annaeclark.bsky.social
This is what's so baffling about so many suggestions for AI in the humanities classroom: they mistake the product for the point. Writing outlines and essays is important not because you need to make outlines and essays but because that's how you learn to think with/through complex ideas.
jaxwendy.bsky.social Jacquelyn Ardam @jaxwendy.bsky.social · Dec 11
I'm sure many have said this before but I'm reading a student-facing document about how students might use AI in the classroom (if allowed) and one of the recs is: use AI to make an outline of your reading! But ISN'T MAKING THE OUTLINE how one actually learns?
December 11, 2024 at 10:43 PM
Reposted by Anna
michaelbarajas.bsky.social
“‘Legal’ and ‘illegal’ are not stable categories of belonging”

a very helpful exchange here on the vast network of local and for-profit lockups that jail immigrants, how that system evolved, and what to watch for as conservative officials promise to expand it

boltsmag.org/the-past-and...
The Past and Present of Immigration Detention: Your Questions Answered
A historian of migrant detention responds to questions from <em>Bolts</em> readers on the vast network of local lockups that jail immigrants, and how it
boltsmag.org
December 11, 2024 at 4:08 PM