Curiosity Is Underrated

🗣️ **Let’s Start a Conversation About Immigration** 🗣️

Data shows that states often perceived as having high immigration rates, like Texas and Florida, host millions of undocumented immigrants. In contrast, states like Minnesota have significantly lower numbers. This raises an important question: What does this really mean for our communities and our policies? 🤔

📊 **Key Points to Consider:**

- **Diverse Experiences:** Every state has its unique challenges and contributions when it comes to immigration. Understanding these differences can shape our policies more effectively.

- **Beyond Numbers:** Immigration is more than just statistics; it’s about families, communities, and shared experiences. How can we foster a dialogue that reflects the human side of this issue?

- **Community Engagement:** Let’s engage in discussions that unite rather than divide. What are the solutions that benefit everyone in our communities?

- **Be Informed:** Misunderstandings can lead to fear and division. Let’s commit to seeking accurate information and listening to diverse perspectives.

Standing in his laboratory, Harvard professor Sean Eddy gazes at a row of vacant work stations. More than a year ago, this lab was filled with over a dozen researchers. On a given day they might be working independently on analyzing genomic sequencing or gathered around the group table, drinking coffee and helping each other troubleshoot questions about genomic data from different species.

Now, after his funding was terminated under the Trump administration, the computer screens are gone and the room is silent. He's one of the last people left.

the one I was looking for originally also has a summer variant. (artist is Frederick Charles Herrick: 'it is warmer below' is from 1927, 'it is cooler below' is 1926)

This video, presented by Thom Hartmann, details a controversial proposal by Russell Vought (an architect of Project 2025) to overhaul how the federal government distributes over $1 trillion in annual grants.

Key takeaways:

The Policy Shift: The proposal aims to replace non-partisan, expert-led peer review panels with political appointees. Decisions on funding for science, the arts, and infrastructure would be filtered through ideological alignment with the administration (0:00-2:18).

Impact on Science: Watchdog groups like PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility) warn this would institutionalize cronyism and corruption, effectively forcing researchers to align their work with administration goals to secure funding (2:20-3:50).

Historical Context: Hartmann frames this move as a return to the 19th-century "spoils system," starting with Andrew Jackson, where government jobs and funds were used as political rewards. He contrasts this with the Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883, which was established following the assassination of President James A. Garfield to create a professional, non-partisan civil service (4:02-8:24).

Ernest Crim III, a Chicago native and former high school history teacher of 12 years, has built one of the largest independent Black history education platforms online, reaching an estimated 4 million people a month across Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, where his combined following runs into the millions. He left the classroom to teach on a global scale instead, offering live virtual courses like “The Black History Book Club” for K-5 students, an Emmy-nominated CBS series, and two bestselling books, “How Black History Can Save Your Life” and “The ABCs of Affirming Black Children.”

Crim’s path into this work traces back to a 2016 incident where he was targeted with racial slurs during a night out, which he captured on video and which sparked national conversation about racism at the time. Rather than let the moment define him, he built his career around using overlooked Black history as what he calls a tool for equity, awareness and action, working with schools and organizations to shift culture through education.

Attorneys Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian cover the staggering conflict of interest at the center of Todd Blanche's attorney general confirmation hearing.

Blanche was Trump's criminal defense lawyer. Now he oversees the DOJ's compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a law requiring public release of millions of documents related to a convicted sex trafficker with documented ties to his former client.

Judge Emmet Sullivan found Blanche "conceded that he is in violation" of the act after failing to substantively respond to a lawsuit by journalist Katie Phang. Sullivan ordered unredacted release of FBI interview notes with a woman who accused Trump of sexual abuse as a minor after Epstein introduced them. Blanche refused.

Phang's team filed for $1,000-a-day contempt fines. Meanwhile, victim names were improperly exposed while potential co-conspirators remained redacted.

Blanche personally interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell, who said Trump was "always a gentleman," while an Epstein email to Maxwell read: "The dog that hasn't barked is Trump" and noted one of his victims "spent hours at my house with him."