@letloriswim.bsky.social
researcher/analyst/editor re Mexico, US & LATAM - Cold water swimming enthusiast & my dog’s fan club manager
Reposted
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath recently met with a top official from Turning Point USA to discuss creating chapters in all of the state’s high schools, days before Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick promised $1 million in campaign funds to help bring the project to life.
Turning Point USA talked expansion with Texas education chief
The meeting happened days before Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pledged $1 million to help establish chapters of the conservative student group on every Texas college and high school campus.
www.texastribune.org
November 25, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath recently met with a top official from Turning Point USA to discuss creating chapters in all of the state’s high schools, days before Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick promised $1 million in campaign funds to help bring the project to life.
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This is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future. In the meantime, it benefits unnamed Russian and American investors, at the expense of everyone else.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Trump Has a Recipe for War and Corruption, Not Peace
Who would benefit from the White House’s 28-point proposal for Ukraine?
www.theatlantic.com
November 22, 2025 at 11:11 AM
This is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future. In the meantime, it benefits unnamed Russian and American investors, at the expense of everyone else.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
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We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
November 21, 2025 at 2:56 PM
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
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THIS!!!!!!
(Former FM of Lithuania)
(Former FM of Lithuania)
November 21, 2025 at 6:01 PM
THIS!!!!!!
(Former FM of Lithuania)
(Former FM of Lithuania)
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This @pemalevy.bsky.social / @ariberman.bsky.social joint effort on John Roberts is a must-read.
"The Roberts court has spent Trump’s second term not applying the law so much as clearing it out of his way."
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
"The Roberts court has spent Trump’s second term not applying the law so much as clearing it out of his way."
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
This is all John Roberts’ fault
Trump owes his corrupt and abusive reign to one man.
www.motherjones.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:42 PM
This @pemalevy.bsky.social / @ariberman.bsky.social joint effort on John Roberts is a must-read.
"The Roberts court has spent Trump’s second term not applying the law so much as clearing it out of his way."
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
"The Roberts court has spent Trump’s second term not applying the law so much as clearing it out of his way."
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
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Out today: Enrollment by international students from China dropped by 3 percent, from India by 4 percent, and enrollment from students from Mexico has flatlined. What are the consequences for Texas' education and economy?
The High Cost of Targeting International Students in Texas
The Trump administration’s bans and airport detentions are derailing the academic dreams of students who carry out important research—and sometimes pay hefty tuition—to attend Texas institutions.
www.texasobserver.org
November 18, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Out today: Enrollment by international students from China dropped by 3 percent, from India by 4 percent, and enrollment from students from Mexico has flatlined. What are the consequences for Texas' education and economy?
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“A democracy whose citizens operate with fundamentally different understandings of the past and its implications cannot sustain itself,” @clintsmithiii.bsky.social writes:
Tell Students the Truth About American History
We owe it to Americans of all ages to be honest about the country’s past, including its contradictions.
bit.ly
November 17, 2025 at 5:15 PM
“A democracy whose citizens operate with fundamentally different understandings of the past and its implications cannot sustain itself,” @clintsmithiii.bsky.social writes:
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Democracy in action!
"It was tough to beat Apple, but the Swiss did it." said one administration official.
How the Swiss convinced Trump to drop tariffs with gifts of a Rolex desk clock and a 1 kg gold bar.
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
How the Swiss convinced Trump to drop tariffs with gifts of a Rolex desk clock and a 1 kg gold bar.
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
How to lobby Trump with Swiss precision: gifts, gold and gab
How the Swiss broke a diplomatic logjam on tariffs by arriving with tributes fit for a king.
www.axios.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Democracy in action!
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“Hiding your friends as subcontractors is like playing hide the salami with the taxpayer”
When making Noem's $220,000,000 ad campaign, DHS bypassed the competitive bidding process, designed to prevent waste & corruption in federal contracts, to give the job to the husband of her spokesperson
When making Noem's $220,000,000 ad campaign, DHS bypassed the competitive bidding process, designed to prevent waste & corruption in federal contracts, to give the job to the husband of her spokesperson
November 14, 2025 at 12:51 PM
“Hiding your friends as subcontractors is like playing hide the salami with the taxpayer”
When making Noem's $220,000,000 ad campaign, DHS bypassed the competitive bidding process, designed to prevent waste & corruption in federal contracts, to give the job to the husband of her spokesperson
When making Noem's $220,000,000 ad campaign, DHS bypassed the competitive bidding process, designed to prevent waste & corruption in federal contracts, to give the job to the husband of her spokesperson
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Conservatives claim that structural racism does not exist while simultaneously creating innovative new forms of structural racism like banning discussions of the concept.
Texas A&M Tightens Rules on Talking About Race and Gender in Classes www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/u...
“The policy defines race ideology as, among other things, ‘a concept that attempts to shame a particular race or ethnicity.’”
These GOP-led efforts will ruin their states’ public universities. Sad!
“The policy defines race ideology as, among other things, ‘a concept that attempts to shame a particular race or ethnicity.’”
These GOP-led efforts will ruin their states’ public universities. Sad!
Texas A&M Tightens Rules on Talking About Race and Gender in Classes
www.nytimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Conservatives claim that structural racism does not exist while simultaneously creating innovative new forms of structural racism like banning discussions of the concept.
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If you have to get permission to teach in your area of expertise from people who are definitionally not qualified to adjudicate your expertise then you are no longer working at a university.
You’re working at a state propaganda factory.
You’re working at a state propaganda factory.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Texas A&M adopts policy requiring professors to get OK from school president to discuss certain race and gender issues.
November 13, 2025 at 11:48 PM
If you have to get permission to teach in your area of expertise from people who are definitionally not qualified to adjudicate your expertise then you are no longer working at a university.
You’re working at a state propaganda factory.
You’re working at a state propaganda factory.
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Let me fix that for you:
Texas A&M is limiting how instructors may discuss gender identity and race in classrooms in an assault on academic freedom unseen in America since the Red Scare.
Texas A&M is limiting how instructors may discuss gender identity and race in classrooms in an assault on academic freedom unseen in America since the Red Scare.
November 13, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Let me fix that for you:
Texas A&M is limiting how instructors may discuss gender identity and race in classrooms in an assault on academic freedom unseen in America since the Red Scare.
Texas A&M is limiting how instructors may discuss gender identity and race in classrooms in an assault on academic freedom unseen in America since the Red Scare.
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"The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal, sources familiar with the matter told CNN." www.cnn.com/2025/11/11/p...
Exclusive: UK suspends some intelligence sharing with US over boat strike concerns in major break | CNN Politics
The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes ...
www.cnn.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:21 PM
"The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal, sources familiar with the matter told CNN." www.cnn.com/2025/11/11/p...
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For those keeping count, this makes two House seats that the GOP has delayed Democrats from being sworn in to or elected.
You're pissed off about Johnson refusing to swear in Grijalva, but Texas Dem Sylvester Turner died in March and Greg Abbott delayed the election to replace him until yesterday - and because no one won a majority, he'll probably hold the runoff in January. Ten months!
www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele...
Two Democrats advance to a special election runoff for a deep-blue Texas House seat
Christian Menefee, the county attorney of Harris County, and attorney Amanda Edwards advanced to the runoff, NBC News projects.
www.nbcnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:30 AM
For those keeping count, this makes two House seats that the GOP has delayed Democrats from being sworn in to or elected.
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Every month for the last 77 years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has estimated Americans' unemployment rate
This streak dies tomorrow
Govt staff could not survey Americans about whether they're working or looking for work in Oct, the 1st time in 934 months
This blind spot will remain forever
This streak dies tomorrow
Govt staff could not survey Americans about whether they're working or looking for work in Oct, the 1st time in 934 months
This blind spot will remain forever
Here's the planned BLS data release schedule for Nov 2025.
On Tues, it couldn't release Sept job openings, hires, layoffs and firings data.
This morning, it couldn't release 2025Q3 business Productivity and Costs data.
Tomorrow, it can't release Oct 2025 #JobsReport
www.bls.gov/schedule/202...
On Tues, it couldn't release Sept job openings, hires, layoffs and firings data.
This morning, it couldn't release 2025Q3 business Productivity and Costs data.
Tomorrow, it can't release Oct 2025 #JobsReport
www.bls.gov/schedule/202...
November 6, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Every month for the last 77 years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has estimated Americans' unemployment rate
This streak dies tomorrow
Govt staff could not survey Americans about whether they're working or looking for work in Oct, the 1st time in 934 months
This blind spot will remain forever
This streak dies tomorrow
Govt staff could not survey Americans about whether they're working or looking for work in Oct, the 1st time in 934 months
This blind spot will remain forever
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A group of immigration judges, who almost never speak to the press, describes the dismantling of our immigration court system from the inside. A powerful episode of This American Life.
www.thisamericanlife.org/868/the-hand...
www.thisamericanlife.org/868/the-hand...
The Hand That Rocks The Gavel - This American Life
A group of immigration judges, who almost never speak to the press, describes the dismantling of our immigration court system from the inside.
www.thisamericanlife.org
November 7, 2025 at 2:18 AM
A group of immigration judges, who almost never speak to the press, describes the dismantling of our immigration court system from the inside. A powerful episode of This American Life.
www.thisamericanlife.org/868/the-hand...
www.thisamericanlife.org/868/the-hand...
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What is happening at Goddard is absolutely devastating. We are losing history. We are losing an incredible amount of human talent, skill, and knowledge. Rebuilding it will be impossible same for same. Industry can not absorb the people or the equipment. This is undoing space science in the US.
Goddard spacecraft engineer: "I think it just kind of speaks to the atmosphere of the agency and the nation, where people are like, 'Well, laws don't matter for the people at the top anymore.'"
NASA is sinking its flagship science center during the government shutdown — and may be breaking the law in the process, critics say
"There is just a general acknowledgement that a lot of what is happening is illegal…"
www.space.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:43 PM
What is happening at Goddard is absolutely devastating. We are losing history. We are losing an incredible amount of human talent, skill, and knowledge. Rebuilding it will be impossible same for same. Industry can not absorb the people or the equipment. This is undoing space science in the US.
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1/Forget abundance. Welcome to the politics of scarcity.
The Trump Administration is saying Americans will need to live with less -- fewer flights, less food aid, smaller universities, shrunken federal workforce. Why? Its not about prosperity but power.
apnews.com/article/gove...
The Trump Administration is saying Americans will need to live with less -- fewer flights, less food aid, smaller universities, shrunken federal workforce. Why? Its not about prosperity but power.
apnews.com/article/gove...
FAA reducing air traffic by 10% across 40 'high-volume' markets during government shutdown
The Federal Aviation Administration says it plans to reduce air traffic by 10% across 40 “high-volume” markets beginning Friday morning to maintain safety during the ongoing government shutdown.
apnews.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:05 PM
1/Forget abundance. Welcome to the politics of scarcity.
The Trump Administration is saying Americans will need to live with less -- fewer flights, less food aid, smaller universities, shrunken federal workforce. Why? Its not about prosperity but power.
apnews.com/article/gove...
The Trump Administration is saying Americans will need to live with less -- fewer flights, less food aid, smaller universities, shrunken federal workforce. Why? Its not about prosperity but power.
apnews.com/article/gove...
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Amarillo is one of the reddest towns in Texas.
But I showed up because our campaign is not writing off any community.
It was standing room only.
But I showed up because our campaign is not writing off any community.
It was standing room only.
November 6, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Amarillo is one of the reddest towns in Texas.
But I showed up because our campaign is not writing off any community.
It was standing room only.
But I showed up because our campaign is not writing off any community.
It was standing room only.
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Join our editors this month at the 30th annual Texas Book Festival and Texas Tribune Festival’s Open Congress for panels on Texas culture, politics, true crime, and storytelling. https://www.texasmonthly.com/press-room/texas-monthly-editors-2025-texas-book-festival-and-texas-tribune-festival/
Texas Monthly Editors Take the Stage at Texas Book Festival and Texas Tribune Festival
This November, join us for a live experience featuring the engaging stories and insightful discussions that define Texas Monthly. The magazine's
www.texasmonthly.com
November 5, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Join our editors this month at the 30th annual Texas Book Festival and Texas Tribune Festival’s Open Congress for panels on Texas culture, politics, true crime, and storytelling. https://www.texasmonthly.com/press-room/texas-monthly-editors-2025-texas-book-festival-and-texas-tribune-festival/
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President Trump claimed the National Guard was needed in "war-ravaged" Portland. But a @propublica.org review of protests in the months leading up to his claims -- including more than 700 (!!) videos -- show a different reality.
via @robwdavis.bsky.social and Steve Suo
via @robwdavis.bsky.social and Steve Suo
What Really Happened in Portland Before Trump Deployed the National Guard
In the two months before Trump’s decision, criminal charges were announced against only three people. On nights when physical conflict did erupt, it often came from police firing on, shoving, pepper-s...
www.propublica.org
November 5, 2025 at 7:28 PM
President Trump claimed the National Guard was needed in "war-ravaged" Portland. But a @propublica.org review of protests in the months leading up to his claims -- including more than 700 (!!) videos -- show a different reality.
via @robwdavis.bsky.social and Steve Suo
via @robwdavis.bsky.social and Steve Suo
Powerful and appropriately despairing
“When universities abandon faculty under attack, when they violate their own governance procedures, when they tell contradictory stories about their motivations, when they refuse basic transparency about their decision-making—they’re not protecting their institutions. They’re hollowing them out.”
My University Just Taught Extremists How to Eliminate Academic Programs They Don't Like
Texas Christian University handed its power to the people working hardest to dismantle learning itself.
www.texasobserver.org
November 5, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Powerful and appropriately despairing
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Absolutely enraging. Twice as good, twice as strong to do the same job, always.
Man gropes Mexico president as she speaks with citizens on the streets
Video shows man trying to kiss and embrace Claudia Sheinbaum, highlighting both security risk and harassment faced by Mexican women
www.theguardian.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Absolutely enraging. Twice as good, twice as strong to do the same job, always.
Mexico’s Day of the Dead Needs a New Life www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/o...
Opinion | Mexico’s Day of the Dead Needs a New Life
www.nytimes.com
November 3, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Mexico’s Day of the Dead Needs a New Life www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/o...