thodson
thodson.bsky.social
thodson
@thodson.bsky.social
Podcast producer and host, journalist, attorney, former trial judge and higher education administrator. Director Emeritus of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University and WOUB Public Media. I'm interested in law, politics & journalism.
November 14, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Very, very interesting...no wonder Trump is calling this a Democratic hoax...He is worried. And Epstein committed suicide in jail?? Right.
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
After Trump Split, Epstein Said He Could ‘Take Him Down’
www.nytimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Well this is interesting. Grants favor white students & disadvantage Hispanic & Black students. Grants favor more affluent students and disadvantage students in the bottom quartile of income. And, Trump and his minions say we don't need DEI...Bullshit.
www.axios.com/2025/11/07/c...
Here's who is getting grant money from colleges
College grant money is going to families who need it the least, a new analysis of government data finds.
www.axios.com
November 12, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Ohio University is responding with appeasement and compliance. So far the university has lost its moral soul. One can comply with the law but with defiance instead of with silence.
time.com/7332870/coll...
How College Leaders are Navigating Federal Pressures
In the face of Trump’s higher education crack down, colleges are being forced to decide between compliance and defiance.
time.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Thought you might like to see my piece in The Vindicator about Sid Davis and the value of Public Media.
Valley’s Sid Davis reminds us of value of public media www.vindy.com/opinion/edit...
Valley’s Sid Davis reminds us of value of public media
Youngstown’s Sid Davis reminds us of the importance of public media Thank you, The Vindicator, for publishing a thorough obituary on Oct. 31 of Youngstown-born journalist Sidney Alan “Sid” Davis (1927...
www.vindy.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Don't get too excited...The conservatives on the court will wait for a better case in order to revisit same-sex marriage.
Supreme Court rejects long-shot effort to overturn same-sex marriage ruling www.nbcnews.com/politics/sup... via @nbcnews
Supreme Court rejects long-shot effort to overturn same-sex marriage ruling
The court turned away an appeal filed by Kim Davis, a former county clerk in Kentucky who was sued after refusing to issue a marriage license to a gay couple.
www.nbcnews.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:51 PM
President Trump orders states not to feed their people. If they do, consequences will follow, he says.
wapo.st/4qLEG1X
Trump administration orders states to pause paying full SNAP benefits
A memo issued by the Agriculture Department warns states that if they do not comply with the new orders, they will face consequences.
wapo.st
November 9, 2025 at 4:56 PM
President Trump orders states not to feed their people. If they do, consequences will follow, he says.
wapo.st/4qLEG1X
Trump administration orders states to pause paying full SNAP benefits
A memo issued by the Agriculture Department warns states that if they do not comply with the new orders, they will face consequences.
wapo.st
November 9, 2025 at 4:56 PM
AP does top journalism to show the reality of Trump's killer attacks o Venezuelan boats. This is a must read if you are concerned about the TRUTH.
apnews.com/article/trum... 
Trump has accused boat crews of being narco-terrorists. The truth, AP found, is more nuanced
Trump has accused boat crews of being narco-terrorists. The truth, AP found, is more nuanced
One was a fisherman struggling to eke out a living on $100 a month. Another was a career criminal. A third was a former military cadet.
apnews.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Inside Courts: Officials lacked local judicial authority to release men to ICE. Athens County Common Pleas Judge Patrick Lang has ordered the county to get the men back for a Nov. 12 hearing. Whether that will happen remains to be seen.
athensindependent.com/inside-court...
Inside Courts: Officials lacked judicial authority to release men to ICE – Athens County Independent
Judge Patrick Lang has ordered the county to get the men back for a Nov. 12 hearing. Whether that will happen remains to be seen.
athensindependent.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:58 AM
...And...of course she is...
Laura Loomer is now credentialed to cover the Pentagon wapo.st/4qHsi2S
Laura Loomer is now credentialed to cover the Pentagon
The far-right activist has repeatedly criticized defense officials on her website and social media accounts while boasting of her close ties to President Donald Trump.
wapo.st
November 4, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Inside one of Trump's attacks on higher education...misuse of Title VI.
The legal debate over Trump’s Title VI campus crackdown www.highereddive.com/news/title-v... via @HigherEdDive
The legal debate over Trump’s Title VI campus crackdown
Recent enforcement actions have set off high-stakes arguments about whether the federal government is weaponizing the civil rights law.
www.highereddive.com
November 1, 2025 at 2:58 PM
As Election Day arrives, Trump continues calling for same-day, in-person voting only — even as GOP officials push early voting to boost turnout.

Legal experts say he can’t end early voting by Executive Order.

We unpack it all on Next Witness Please.
🎧 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
Early Voting Divide: Trump Rejects It — Republicans Urge Voters to “Work It”
Podcast Episode · Next Witness...Please · 10/30/2025 · 1h 1m
podcasts.apple.com
October 31, 2025 at 4:57 PM
This is our Massachusetts Governor speaking truth to power...Wish Ohio had someone like her. Please watch.
www.instagram.com/reel/DQUsV9u...
October 29, 2025 at 6:04 PM
This is terrifying...It should make everyone furious. ICE is now spying and conducting surveillance on American citizens who oppose ICE's tactics and Americans who speak out against ICE's actions. BEWARE. ICE could be coming after YOU.

reason.com/2025/10/23/i...
ICE is mounting a mass surveillance campaign on American citizens
Without strict oversight, the agency’s new technology threatens Americans’ free speech and privacy.
reason.com
October 29, 2025 at 4:16 PM
The secret police (ICE) become eveb more secret. Evidently masks and gaiters are not enough.

www.npr.org/2025/10/29/g...
Camouflaging cars and swapping license plates: How agents make immigration arrests
Immigration enforcement officers are sometimes forgoing license plates or otherwise masking their cars while apprehending migrants across the U.S.
www.npr.org
October 29, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Another on the DOJ/Trump hit-list.
AG Pam Bondi announces investigation into another Trump foe: Nancy Pelosi www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo... via @msnbc
AG Pam Bondi announces investigation into another Trump foe: Nancy Pelosi
Pelosi suggested those who break the law should be held accountable, even if those people are federal agents. The attorney general wasn’t pleased.
www.msnbc.com
October 29, 2025 at 2:05 PM
This is not good when currently 97 percent of the state has health insurance: "Over 97% of Massachusetts residents are currently insured, the most of any state."
Mass. residents face massive health care premium hikes amid shutdown www.axios.com/local/boston...
Mass. residents face huge health care premium spikes amid shutdown
Increases could average more than $1,300 per year based on 2026 rates, per Health Connector officials.
www.axios.com
October 29, 2025 at 11:49 AM
The Revolution is coming...SAVE THE DATE.
October 27, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Here is the latest...yet, state universities and colleges in Ohio like Ohio University, keep appeasing the feds and the state. What ever happened to moral courage and an institutional moral compass? I guess those things have been lost to transactional policies.
www.highereddive.com/news/america...
70% of Americans say feds shouldn’t control admissions, curriculum
The Public Religion Research Institute poll comes as the Trump administration is pressuring colleges to change their policies.
www.highereddive.com
October 27, 2025 at 3:07 PM