MerTheLibrarian
@merthelibrarian.bsky.social
Just keep trying to do the next right thing.
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
BREAKING:
The Trump administration has filed an appeal over Rhode Island v. Trump, which barred the administration from further dismantling the IMLS.
That, plus the IMLS propaganda-laden grant application period.
bookriot.com/rhode-island...
The Trump administration has filed an appeal over Rhode Island v. Trump, which barred the administration from further dismantling the IMLS.
That, plus the IMLS propaganda-laden grant application period.
bookriot.com/rhode-island...
Trump Administration Appeals Decision in IMLS Lawsuit Brough By State Attorneys General
The Trump administration had filed an appeal to overturn the court's decision in November that bars further dismantling of the IMLS.
bookriot.com
January 19, 2026 at 2:30 PM
BREAKING:
The Trump administration has filed an appeal over Rhode Island v. Trump, which barred the administration from further dismantling the IMLS.
That, plus the IMLS propaganda-laden grant application period.
bookriot.com/rhode-island...
The Trump administration has filed an appeal over Rhode Island v. Trump, which barred the administration from further dismantling the IMLS.
That, plus the IMLS propaganda-laden grant application period.
bookriot.com/rhode-island...
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
New from 404 Media: ICE's facial recognition app, which the agency is using to decide who to detain and deport, misidentified a woman. Twice.
ICE says results of the app are definitive and override a birth certificate; obviously this case shows the app is inaccurate
www.404media.co/ices-facial-...
ICE says results of the app are definitive and override a birth certificate; obviously this case shows the app is inaccurate
www.404media.co/ices-facial-...
ICE’s Facial Recognition App Misidentified a Woman. Twice
In testimony from a CBP official obtained by 404 Media, the official described how Mobile Fortify returned two different names after scanning a woman's face during an immigration raid. ICE has said th...
www.404media.co
January 19, 2026 at 2:31 PM
New from 404 Media: ICE's facial recognition app, which the agency is using to decide who to detain and deport, misidentified a woman. Twice.
ICE says results of the app are definitive and override a birth certificate; obviously this case shows the app is inaccurate
www.404media.co/ices-facial-...
ICE says results of the app are definitive and override a birth certificate; obviously this case shows the app is inaccurate
www.404media.co/ices-facial-...
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Today MN faith leaders are meeting with the Target CEO demanding they side with our communities instead of ICE. Stand with me in demanding Target call for #ICEOUT #ReclaimMLK share.jwj.org/s/e1bYb4MZ
Tell Target: ICE OUT
share.jwj.org
January 19, 2026 at 2:33 PM
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Today MN faith leaders are meeting with the Target CEO demanding they side with our communities instead of ICE. Stand with me in demanding Target call for #ICEOUT #ReclaimMLK share.jwj.org/s/e1bYb4MZ
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
The decision has been made to break an American city. It is an experiment. We must do all we can (legally) to help Minneapolis hold on.
if you want to know what it is like in minneapolis, I don’t even have to scroll on facebook to find a horror story. it’s basically my whole feed.
everyone i know in minneapolis is seeing ICE take people—at gas stations, taquerias, bus stops, schools. just snatching random people.
everyone i know in minneapolis is seeing ICE take people—at gas stations, taquerias, bus stops, schools. just snatching random people.
January 10, 2026 at 2:47 PM
The decision has been made to break an American city. It is an experiment. We must do all we can (legally) to help Minneapolis hold on.
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
We've removed the paywall from this guide so everyone can access it. 👇 Stay safe.
Just days into 2026, the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has sparked protests around the US.
If you’re planning to protest, here’s how to safeguard your digital security.
If you’re planning to protest, here’s how to safeguard your digital security.
How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance
Law enforcement has more tools than ever to track your movements and access your communications. Here’s how to protect your privacy if you plan to protest.
www.wired.com
January 8, 2026 at 6:35 PM
We've removed the paywall from this guide so everyone can access it. 👇 Stay safe.
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
A handful of people with more money than the entire middle class combined want you to blame anyone and anything but their own greed for why everything is so expensive. Don’t fall for it.
January 2, 2026 at 9:17 PM
A handful of people with more money than the entire middle class combined want you to blame anyone and anything but their own greed for why everything is so expensive. Don’t fall for it.
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
I’ve been searching a lot of highly specific things (old tech, specific model numbers, different types of medication, etc) and nearly every search the AI overview isn’t just wrong, it’s about something else entirely AND it’s wrong
December 31, 2025 at 3:15 AM
I’ve been searching a lot of highly specific things (old tech, specific model numbers, different types of medication, etc) and nearly every search the AI overview isn’t just wrong, it’s about something else entirely AND it’s wrong
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
COMMENTARY: Putting Steve Pearce at the helm of BLM would put Arizona’s cherished landscapes at risk of being stripped of protections, ransacked by extractive industries and sold to the highest bidder.
Trump’s Bureau of Land Management nominee threatens Arizona’s public lands
President Trump recently nominated Steve Pearce — an anti-environmentalist obsessed with selling off public lands — to run the nation’s largest land management agency.
azmirror.com
January 2, 2026 at 7:15 PM
COMMENTARY: Putting Steve Pearce at the helm of BLM would put Arizona’s cherished landscapes at risk of being stripped of protections, ransacked by extractive industries and sold to the highest bidder.
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
Google is hosting a CBP app that uses facial recognition to identify immigrants, while simultaneously removing apps that report the location of ICE officials because Google sees ICE as a vulnerable group. “Big tech has made their choice.”
www.404media.co/google-has-c...
www.404media.co/google-has-c...
Google Has Chosen a Side in Trump's Mass Deportation Effort
Google is hosting a CBP app that uses facial recognition to identify immigrants, while simultaneously removing apps that report the location of ICE officials because Google sees ICE as a vulnerable…
www.404media.co
December 28, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Google is hosting a CBP app that uses facial recognition to identify immigrants, while simultaneously removing apps that report the location of ICE officials because Google sees ICE as a vulnerable group. “Big tech has made their choice.”
www.404media.co/google-has-c...
www.404media.co/google-has-c...
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
A Chicago man originally from Bulgaria died in ICE custody this week after being arrested during Operation Midway Blitz.
blockclubchicago.org/2025/12/21/c...
blockclubchicago.org/2025/12/21/c...
December 22, 2025 at 12:19 AM
A Chicago man originally from Bulgaria died in ICE custody this week after being arrested during Operation Midway Blitz.
blockclubchicago.org/2025/12/21/c...
blockclubchicago.org/2025/12/21/c...
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
Now seems like a swell time to point out that Frontline just released this excellent 11-minute mini-documentary about what happened inside CECOT.
Surviving CECOT (full documentary) | Deported to a Maximum-Security Prison | FRONTLINE + ProPublica
YouTube video by FRONTLINE PBS | Official
m.youtube.com
December 21, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Now seems like a swell time to point out that Frontline just released this excellent 11-minute mini-documentary about what happened inside CECOT.
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
On this week’s @onthemedia.bsky.social I spoke with Stephen Witt about how AI tycoons have tied our economy up in knots and are demanding that we let them do significant harm to our planet:
Deep Fakes, Data Centers, and AI Slop — Are We Cooked? | On the Media | WNYC Studios
Donald Trump has signed an executive order limiting state regulation on artificial intelligence. On this week’s On the Media, Republicans spar over AI, and what deregulating the indus...
www.wnycstudios.org
December 21, 2025 at 1:57 PM
On this week’s @onthemedia.bsky.social I spoke with Stephen Witt about how AI tycoons have tied our economy up in knots and are demanding that we let them do significant harm to our planet:
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
CBP, DEA and local law enforcement agencies have created a massive surveillance dragnet targeting drivers on highways along the US-Mexico border. Here's how to spot automated license plate readers by the roadside. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
How to Identify Automated License Plate Readers at the U.S.-Mexico
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and scores of state and local law enforcement agencies have installed a massive dragnet of automated license plate
www.eff.org
December 20, 2025 at 8:01 PM
CBP, DEA and local law enforcement agencies have created a massive surveillance dragnet targeting drivers on highways along the US-Mexico border. Here's how to spot automated license plate readers by the roadside. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
Now there is an effective metaphor.
"AI is the asbestos in the walls of our technological society, stuffed there with wild abandon by a finance sector and tech monopolists run amok. We will be excavating it for a generation or more."
This piece on AI by Cory Doctorow is spectactular.
pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/p...
This piece on AI by Cory Doctorow is spectactular.
pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/p...
December 20, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Now there is an effective metaphor.
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
@stateline.org probes the deal the Justice Department has offered multiple states on their voter rolls. It would allow the federal government to identify voters to be dropped. That's unprecedented and dangerous. Our Eileen O'Connor weighs in. stateline.org/2025/12/18/t...
Trump’s DOJ offers states confidential deal to remove voters flagged by feds • Stateline
The U.S. Department of Justice has sent confidential draft agreements on voter data sharing to more than a dozen states, part of the Trump administration’s effort to obtain unredacted voter rolls, wit...
stateline.org
December 20, 2025 at 8:04 PM
@stateline.org probes the deal the Justice Department has offered multiple states on their voter rolls. It would allow the federal government to identify voters to be dropped. That's unprecedented and dangerous. Our Eileen O'Connor weighs in. stateline.org/2025/12/18/t...
Some great stuff entering public domain on Jan 1 2026! #PublicDomainDay
Public Domain Day 2026 | Duke University School of Law
January 1, 2026 is Public Domain Day: Works from 1930 are open to all, as are sound recordings from 1925! By Jennifer Jenkins and James Boyle[1] CC BY 4.0 Please note that this site is only about US l...
web.law.duke.edu
December 18, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Some great stuff entering public domain on Jan 1 2026! #PublicDomainDay
None of this is okay.
AI Surveillance Startup Caught Using Sweatshop Workers to Monitor US Residents — Futurism
Who's watching the watchers? Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. What does it take to become the most successful AI surveillance company in 2025? If you’re anything like Flock, the startup...
apple.news
December 7, 2025 at 11:25 PM
None of this is okay.
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
Do you hate the new Vaccines and Autism webpage revisions as much as we do? Yes? Great. Some action items:
1. Submit your concerns through CDC INFO: www.cdc.gov/cdc-info/for...
2. (if not a fed employee) Consider adding "vaccines do NOT cause autism" to your signature line 😈
1. Submit your concerns through CDC INFO: www.cdc.gov/cdc-info/for...
2. (if not a fed employee) Consider adding "vaccines do NOT cause autism" to your signature line 😈
Email CDC-INFO
Users can use this form to direct questions to the CDC.
www.cdc.gov
November 22, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Do you hate the new Vaccines and Autism webpage revisions as much as we do? Yes? Great. Some action items:
1. Submit your concerns through CDC INFO: www.cdc.gov/cdc-info/for...
2. (if not a fed employee) Consider adding "vaccines do NOT cause autism" to your signature line 😈
1. Submit your concerns through CDC INFO: www.cdc.gov/cdc-info/for...
2. (if not a fed employee) Consider adding "vaccines do NOT cause autism" to your signature line 😈
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
With ICE and border patrol goons spreading out across the country, I put together a resource guide for buying, printing, and distributing whistles, based on my own experience. Now is the time to whistle up, hope this helps. dansinker.com/posts/202…
November 21, 2025 at 9:35 PM
With ICE and border patrol goons spreading out across the country, I put together a resource guide for buying, printing, and distributing whistles, based on my own experience. Now is the time to whistle up, hope this helps. dansinker.com/posts/202…
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
Commentary: Halving the library’s collections budget will have immediate, real-world impacts. That means longer wait times for new books, fewer digital resources and a reduced ability to serve residents who depend on CPL for everything from résumé writing to after-school programs.
Ald. Samantha Nugent: Libraries in Chicago are essential. Why is the mayor cutting CPL’s budget?
Halving the Chicago library’s collections budget will mean longer wait times for new books and a reduced ability to serve residents.
trib.al
November 8, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Commentary: Halving the library’s collections budget will have immediate, real-world impacts. That means longer wait times for new books, fewer digital resources and a reduced ability to serve residents who depend on CPL for everything from résumé writing to after-school programs.
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
Senator Menendez is sitting in his cell at Allenwood right now because he took a 1kg gold bar from the Egyptians, among other forms of “lobbying.”
"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 4:31 PM
Senator Menendez is sitting in his cell at Allenwood right now because he took a 1kg gold bar from the Egyptians, among other forms of “lobbying.”
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
I'm not quite sure how Vivian Nereim and Rebecca Ruiz found a way to avoid the words "corruption" or "emoluments" in this piece. "https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/world/middleeast/trump-organization-saudi-development-deal.html?smid=bs-share
Trump Organization Is Said to Be in Talks on a Saudi Government Real Estate Deal
www.nytimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 9:49 PM
I'm not quite sure how Vivian Nereim and Rebecca Ruiz found a way to avoid the words "corruption" or "emoluments" in this piece. "https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/world/middleeast/trump-organization-saudi-development-deal.html?smid=bs-share
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
@govpritzker.illinois.gov I want you to watch this video of me slammed to the ground- why are you allowing this to happen to people you know are on the right side of history. They tied my hands behind my back and when I asked them to be loosened because I was going numb they said, “STFU.”
at one point, i watched a cook county sheriff’s officer (who appears to be in charge) point out a priest in the crowd.
he and a couple officers then went into the crowd , dragged him into the street, and arrested him.
situation is still tense as crowd jostles with police to get into the street.
he and a couple officers then went into the crowd , dragged him into the street, and arrested him.
situation is still tense as crowd jostles with police to get into the street.
November 15, 2025 at 5:34 PM
@govpritzker.illinois.gov I want you to watch this video of me slammed to the ground- why are you allowing this to happen to people you know are on the right side of history. They tied my hands behind my back and when I asked them to be loosened because I was going numb they said, “STFU.”
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
Also in here: DHS responded to the faith-led protest yesterday, calling participants “violent rioters” and “imbecilic morons” who need to “get a job.”
Asked about the statement, one UMC pastor who participated in the protest told me: "This is our job." religionnews.com/2025/11/15/a...
Asked about the statement, one UMC pastor who participated in the protest told me: "This is our job." religionnews.com/2025/11/15/a...
November 15, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Also in here: DHS responded to the faith-led protest yesterday, calling participants “violent rioters” and “imbecilic morons” who need to “get a job.”
Asked about the statement, one UMC pastor who participated in the protest told me: "This is our job." religionnews.com/2025/11/15/a...
Asked about the statement, one UMC pastor who participated in the protest told me: "This is our job." religionnews.com/2025/11/15/a...
Reposted by MerTheLibrarian
Devastating piece on the human toll of Kavanaugh Stops.
Especially infuriating to know that rich white guys like Brett K can simply close their eyes to the human suffering their racist jurisprudence has unleashed.
Especially infuriating to know that rich white guys like Brett K can simply close their eyes to the human suffering their racist jurisprudence has unleashed.
For two months, the U.S. government has been racial profiling as masked federal agents hunted for immigrants throughout Chicago. They’ve repeatedly snatched up U.S. citizens while traumatizing communities. “I felt like a piece of trash.” Here is our story www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/15/l...
Latino US citizens racially profiled by federal immigration agents in Chicago: ‘I felt like a piece of trash’
The Tribune spoke to U.S. citizens and green card holders who have either been questioned or detained during Trump’s Operation Midway Blitz.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Devastating piece on the human toll of Kavanaugh Stops.
Especially infuriating to know that rich white guys like Brett K can simply close their eyes to the human suffering their racist jurisprudence has unleashed.
Especially infuriating to know that rich white guys like Brett K can simply close their eyes to the human suffering their racist jurisprudence has unleashed.