Gaythia Weis @Gaythia@qoto.org

#UFOI article is out now. I discuss why it’s better than #Fediblock #Fediblockmeta, my ideal solution for the #Fediblock, and how the #UFOI approaches these issues, with a nice word from @freemo addressing my most serious concern with the project.

I hope y’all find it interesting, if nothing else. Been wanting to release it for awhile now.

@ufoi

RT: https://paper.wf/api/posts/mz9uq38sjv

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s trustees “blindsided” the faculty with a resolution proposing a new school to promote conservative thought.

When a university’s trustees talk (in advance?) to a Wall Street Journal opinion writer but won’t return calls from the student paper, it’s just one sign of trouble for #NorthCarolina #unc

Proud of the student #journalists at my alma mater for being on top of this and pushing for transparency and accountability.

https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2023/01/university-unc-leaders-blindsided-trustees-decision-professional-school

There are 210 coal plants remaining in the U.S.

For 209(!) of them, it would be cheaper to replace them with renewables now than to continue running them with coal, per https://energyinnovation.org/publication/coal-cost-crossover-3-0-local-renewables-plus-storage-create-new-opportunities-for-customer-savings-and-community-reinvestment/ #ClimateTech #ClimateEcon #sustainability #climate

I hope there's a whistleblower at the New York Times and/or FBI who will reveal the source or sources who got the Paper of Record to help Trump win the presidency and derail the Clinton campaign.

Read this by @willbunch
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/mcgonigal-russian-oligarch-trump-2016-election-20230129.html

and this by Timothy Snyder

https://snyder.substack.com/p/the-specter-of-2016

The metastasizing FBI scandal has many facets, but unraveling the Times' role is crucial for journalism -- and the paper has stonewalled relentlessly since 2016.

This has been the norm in U.S. history: Moments of racial progress, or even just perceived progress, of a perceived reckoning, were followed by an intense counter-mobilizations from the Right – flanked and legitimized by centrist concerns that things were moving “too fast.” 11/

The Creamery Bridge across the Whetstone Brook in #Brattleboro. Built in 1879, a walkway alongside was added later. It has the "Town lattice" design, named after engineer Ithiel Town.

It is now paralleled by a modern bridge, hence the snow mountain blocking the road side.

It's a popular photo op for visitors, being right by the interstate and the beloved Vermont Country Deli.

#Vermont #VT #CoveredBridges

https://connecticuthistory.org/town-patents-the-lattice-truss-bridge-today-in-history/

WTF is woke culture? I was (briefly) watching MSNBC this morning and, once again, a republican politician was allowed to get away with using the term “woke culture” as if it was an actual…um…thing. If only American journalists and pundits were being paid to push back like this…

https://youtu.be/FR4rHPpoPHQ

@Gaythia Yes, Longmont's NextLight is wonderful indeed! I was lightly involved with the organizing for it back long ago and my organization has covered it over the years - https://muninetworks.org/tags/longmont

I might be a bit jealous...

Need an example of how race and class have shaped the planning and design of our cities? Robert Moses designed dozens of parkway overpasses unusually low. 9 feet at the curb. Why? So private vehicles could get to his famous Long Island beaches and parks, but buses couldn’t.
#cities #urbanism

At the protests in Los Angeles tonight, there were multiple stringers with professional camera rigs acting aggressively, shoving people, getting in people's personal space, and trying to provoke fights. After the protests disbanded, at least three of these stringers were seen huddling with LAPD.

The Haitian historian and educator Pierre Buteau was kidnapped three days ago in his home. This is terrible news and I do not know what can be done from afar, except to raise the alarm. #histodons

https://www.historians.org/news-and-advocacy/aha-advocacy/aha-letter-to-us-secretary-of-state-urging-assistance-with-safe-return-of-pierre-buteau-(january-2023)

The Police Have Been Spying on Black Reporters and Activists for Years. I Know Because I’m One of Them.
Wendi C. Thomas is a black journalist who has covered police in Memphis. One officer admitted to spying on her. She’s on a long list of prominent black journalists and activists who have been subjected to police surveillance over decades.

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-police-have-been-spying-on-black-reporters-and-activists-for-years-i-know-because-im-one-of-them

Myth America review: superb group history of the lies that built a nation https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jan/28/myth-america-review-history-zelizer-kruse?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

In Georgia, the First Amendment is pretty much banned these days when it comes to freedom of assembly: https://www.wrbl.com/news/local-news/columbus/mayor-skip-henderson-comments-on-fridays-scheduled-community-rally-in-columbus/

Column — I was Florida’s professor of the year, but my classes would now be illegal

#DeSantis #Florida #censorship

https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2023/01/26/i-was-floridas-professor-year-my-classes-would-now-be-illegal-column/?outputType=amp