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Avery Kolers

@averykolers.bsky.social
357 followers 409 following 151 posts

Philosopher at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, specializing in applied ethics & political philosophy. Co-Editor of The Journal of Applied Philosophy. Previously at the University of Louisville.

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Avery Kolers @averykolers.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Lovely article from Mario Juarez-Garcia.
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Avery Kolers @averykolers.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Radley Balko tracks the law-enforcement side of the descent into fascist dictatorship. The police militarization debate is over open.substack.com/pub/radleyba...
open.substack.com
The police militarization debate is over
Quaint disputes about the proper role of police and military have been superseded by a more urgent threat: Donald Trump is creating his own, personal paramilitary force
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Wajahat Ali @wajali.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
Trump realizes people are turning on him, which means he will get more desperate, aggressive, extreme, and violent. These are all actions of a weak regime and weak man.
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
He’s gonna send the troops into our cities to create violence as a pretense for shooting us to control the violence.
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John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 08/06/2025
As this passage from a letter from several Dem lawmakers makes clear, ICE’s refusal appears to violate explicit federal law:
Long passage my phone won’t let me copy, providing info on the Fed law allowing Congressional visits.
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Avery Kolers @averykolers.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
53 Republican Senators and not a one of them represents the state of any of the universities on Trump's hit list. What a coincidence. (Source: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/08/u...)
Screen shot of N.Y.T. article: "Harvard University, whose former president Claudine Gay resigned last year following a bruising appearance before a House committee, is also on the list.

So are George Washington University; Johns Hopkins University; New York University; Northwestern University; the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Minnesota; and the University of Southern California."
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Brian Kahn @blkahn.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
Just thinking about what the US looked like before the EPA existed
A vintage photo from the National Archives shows smog hanging over the New York skylineA vintage photo from the National Archives shows damaged oil drums piled high at an Exxon refinery. A vintage photo from the National Archives shows cars driving down a road as smoke spews from factories in the distance and air pollution hangs over everything.A vintage photo from the National Archives shows smog in Los Angeles taken from a high vantage point.
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Avery Kolers @averykolers.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
Imagine a president so villainous he is trying to destroy Habitat for Humanity.
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Amy Spitalnick @amyspitalnick.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
Again, the goal for this administration isn’t to counter antisemitism or protect Israel. It’s to weaponize antisemitism to go after their political enemies, advance an extreme agenda, and undercut democracy — and it only makes Jews *less* safe.
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Avery Kolers @averykolers.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
Trump's assault on Kentucky's economy continues. First he spurs retaliatory bourbon tariffs. Now he imposes steel and aluminum tariffs.
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The American Prospect @prospect.org · 12/03/2025
From 2020-2022, "more than $1 billion flowed from more than 3,500 foundations and high-net-worth donors to about 150 nonprofits that advocate purging people from the voting rolls, restricting vote-by-mail or early voting, removing drop boxes, and other ways of making it harder for people to vote."
prospect.org
Right-Wing Donors and Foundations Spent $1 Billion to Keep People From Voting Last Year
A new study documents the fortunes spent to suppress voting in 2024.
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Avery Kolers @averykolers.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Casting Trump's Canada/Fentanyl lie into further relief: thankfully, this catastrophe, which took off under Trump 1, began to subside well before Trump 2 took office. www.npr.org/2025/03/07/n...
npr.org
Deadliest phase of fentanyl crisis eases, as all states see recovery
In some parts of the U.S., drug deaths have plunged to levels not seen since the fentanyl crisis exploded. Addiction experts say communities still face big challenges.
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Zack Beauchamp @zackbeauchamp.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
A recent report showed that the destruction of just one USAID program, the anti-AIDS PEPFAR initiative, would lead to the deaths of one million people *every year* www.vox.com/future-perfe...
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Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 09/03/2025
Glad to see a statement from AAU on Columbia, since AAU can afford to be more assertive than any particular targeted university can be. But disappointed to see "unprecedented" not spelled out. 1/ www.aau.edu/newsroom/pre...
aau.edu
Statement of AAU President Barbara R. Snyder Regarding the Cancellation of $400 Million in Federal Contracts and Grants to Columbia University | Association of American Universities (AAU)
Statement of AAU President Barbara R. Snyder regarding the cancellation of $400 million in federal contracts and grants to Columbia University.
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William Clare Roberts 🇵🇸 @marxinhell.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Not only does the ADL support Trump's DHS/ICE goons disappearing a legal permanent resident, they openly hope that it will scare others into being quiet.
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Avery Kolers @averykolers.bsky.social · 09/03/2025
"Sorry, did I say Canada? Heh. Kentucky. I meant Kentucky."
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Avery Kolers @averykolers.bsky.social · 09/03/2025
If you haven't yet fired your bank, why not fire your bank? (Specifically: Bank of America, BMO, CIBC, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, National Bank, TD Bank Group, and Wells Fargo.) www.wired.com/story/big-ba...
wired.com
The Biggest US Banks Have All Backed Out of a Commitment to Reach Net Zero
In the lead up to the inauguration, the six largest US banks left a voluntary alliance with the UN to reach net zero by 2050. Now, critics are calling for new climate laws.
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Journal of Applied Philosophy @the-joap.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
JOAP SPECIAL ISSUE ON PROCREATION, INTERGENERATIONAL JUSTICE, AND THE CLIMATE CRISIS | Guest Eds: Serena Olsaretti & Isa Trifan onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14685930... #philsky #appliedphilosophy
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Journal of Applied Philosophy: Vol 42, No 1
Click on the title to browse this issue
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Craig Calcaterra @craigcalcaterra.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Rather than get mad at "retaliatory tariffs" maybe the Kentucky Distillers' Association should place the blame where it belongs: on Donald Trump. whiskeynetwork.net/2025/03/kda-...
whiskeynetwork.net
KDA Statement on “Retaliatory Tariffs” on Bourbon - Whiskey Network
Kentucky Distillers' Association President Eric Gregory released the following statement today on what the KDA calls "retaliatory tariffs" against bourbon:"Kentucky bourbon is a great American success...
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Kentucky Lantern @kentuckylantern.com · 05/03/2025
Commentary by Tom FitzGerald Shortsighted and unconstitutional Senate Bill 84 would tip scales of justice against health and safety, encroach on KY courts’ independence. kentuckylantern.com/2025/03/05/s...
kentuckylantern.com
Bill would tip scales of justice against health and safety, encroach on KY courts' independence • Kentucky Lantern
A bill moving in the Kentucky legislature would hamstring the courts in their independent role and state agencies in their duty to implement laws.
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MomsRising @momsrising.org · 05/03/2025
FACT: Immigrants are our nation's strength! Immigrants make up 17% of all health care workers, 28.2% of physicians, 27% of direct care workers, and a staggering 38% of home health aides. #ProtectImmigrantFamilies #MOMSky
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John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
My favorite explanation, which isn't a complete one (nor would the author claim it was), is this by @johnkroman.bsky.social, who points to the not-much-help-from-the-Feds restoration of local social services, who are in many ways even more "first-responders" than the police.
johnkroman.substack.com
Why did crime decline in 2023?
Because local government went back to normal
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John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
It's true homicides are still higher than they were in the early 2010s, when they hit near-historic lows. But the decline in homicide since 2021 has been truly staggering. It's a huge public safety win, and thousands of ppl are alive bc of it. It deserves--demands--the same attention as the spike.
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Avery Kolers @averykolers.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Seconding this idea. The only good response in the joint address today is to walk out 25 at a time every third sentence, then gather at some designated meaningful spot outside for an event foregrounding T&M's victims, and formally announce the end of their cooperation with the coup.
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Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
We are not starting from scratch. The strategies and tactics are out there to resist the #Trump mafia state. But it’s time to put it all into action. Find some friends and start making some beautiful, good trouble. beautifultrouble.org
beautifultrouble.org
Beautiful Trouble
Creative tools for a more just world.
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Dr Keith 🎃 Wilson @keithwilson.eu · 04/03/2025
Resources for philosophers on Bluesky: 1. Starter packs go.bsky.app/kiKSKZ (people) go.bsky.app/RMuQBg3 (orgs) 2. New PhilSky+ feed 🦋 bsky.app/profile/did:... – uses #PhilSky & other common hashtags (see profile for more) 3. Lists bsky.app/profile/did:... (people) bsky.app/profile/did:... (orgs)
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Trish Greenhalgh @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
The most extraordinary thing about James Harrison, who donated his rare plasma every 2 weeks for over 60 years and saved the lives of an estimated 2.4 million babies, is that he had to overcome a FEAR OF NEEDLES. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
independent.co.uk
James Harrison, whose rare blood helped save millions of babies, dies at 88
By donating blood over 1,100 times, James Harrison helped develop Anti-D, a life-saving treatment for newborns at risk of Rhesus disease
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
Imagine that. 💰
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Kaila Adia Story @doctressstory.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
✊🏾🖤🪧📢🫶🏾🎯🫶🏾📢🪧🖤✊🏾
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 03/03/2025
NEW: One million children will go untreated for severe malnutrition, up to 166,000 people will die from malaria and 200,000 more children will be paralyzed by polio over the next decade, internal memos estimated. The USAID programs were cut anyway. By Brett Murphy and @annamaria.bsky.social
propub.li
Internal Memos: Senior USAID Leaders Warned Trump Appointees of Hundreds of Thousands of Deaths From Closing Agency
One million children will go untreated for severe malnutrition, up to 166,000 people will die from malaria and 200,000 more children will be paralyzed by polio over the next decade, the memos estimate...
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Avery Kolers @averykolers.bsky.social · 02/03/2025
These are the shock troops of a coup d'etat.
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Avery Kolers @averykolers.bsky.social · 02/03/2025
Also, people answer this question based not on what the government actually spends, but what they think it spends. People tend to think we spend too much on foreign aid, but when asked how much we should spend, they say a number that is far higher than we actually do. (Or, did.)
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Avery Kolers @averykolers.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
Ain't nobody here but us chickens. OK, now where's my flu vaccine? www.wired.com/story/chicke...
wired.com
The US May Start Vaccinating Chickens Against Bird Flu
With egg prices soaring, the US is considering vaccinating laying chickens, which have been hit particularly hard by the avian influenza outbreak.
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Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 01/03/2025
I can't stop laughing at this man I'm sorry. This is the kind of shit the biggest loser in the world would say to their girlfriend about buying her flowers on Valentine's Day once, and he's doing so in an argument that started because he called her a bitch
Tweet: "Have you said thank you once?" -@VP JD Vance - pic of jd Vance looking oddly symmetrical.  Why are his pants so tight?
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Avery Kolers @averykolers.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
Please don't say the US has always been on the side of democracy or that the lapses were mistakes. At best, the lapses were viewed as prices worth paying. But the people who made that judgment weren't the ones to pay the price. A song for the day. open.spotify.com/track/4cDWsK...
open.spotify.com
Nicaragua
Bruce Cockburn · Stealing Fire (Deluxe Edition) · Song · 2003
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Lauren Heberle @laurenheberle.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
While our national and state electeds continue to embarrass us, our students are not! Specifically our students in Kentucky. I’m so damn proud of them. www.insightintodiversity.com/kentucky-stu...
insightintodiversity.com
Kentucky Students Stage Statewide Protests in Defense of DEI
Students at every public university in Kentucky are organizing a coordinated series of protests against recent state legislation, President Donald Trump’s U.S. Department of Education directives, an
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Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
Think about this for a hot second
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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 28/02/2025
Musk treats his companies like 8-year-old millennials treated their Tamagotchi pets. Totally obsessed for the first few weeks. Then neglectful when the novelty wore off. Then so annoyed when the thing got needy that they mistreated it intentionally.
Tesla stock in free fall
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Avery Kolers @averykolers.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
The Lard Problem of Consciousness. You're a vegetarian. You start eating a pastry. By the time you realize it might contain congealed animal fat, you've mindlessly eaten through two-thirds of the treat.🧟
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Avery Kolers @averykolers.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
You are the weakest link. Good bye.
Screen shot of email confirming cancelation of my Washington Post subscription.
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Avery Kolers @averykolers.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Brilliant. @repmcgarvey.bsky.social, take the show on the road across Kentucky. A town hall in every district!
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Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
The next most important thing you can do is call your GOP member's office every single day. When I worked in the Senate, in every single weekly all-staff meeting, we went over the phone calls we'd received.
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Avery Kolers @averykolers.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
These people are such cretins. Who talks like this? www.npr.org/2025/02/25/n...
From NPR story: "White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to the 21 DOGE workers resigning en masse, in a statement: "Don't let the door kick you on the way out," she said."
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Avery Kolers @averykolers.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
People talk about boycotting retailers, but boycotting gasoline would be more effective. It's not easy. But we can each reduce gasoline consumption by 10% or more a month. Get out of our cars. Find bus routes & trains. Walk, bike, carpool. This is nuts. We are funding our own destruction.
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Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 24/02/2025
Just in one year, just the clean air act, prevented hundreds of thousands of early deaths. The lowest possible estimate of the benefits found that benefits outweigh the costs by 3 to 1. The most likely estimate is 30 to 1. The high estimate is 90 to 1. Ninety. Nine Zero. www.epa.gov/clean-air-ac...
A figure from EPA's report https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/benefits-and-costs-clean-air-act-1990-2020-second-prospective-study showing a blue circle of benefits of $2,000 billion ($2 trillion) and much smaller circle of costs of $65 billion, for the clean air act ammendments
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Avery Kolers @averykolers.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Social norms in animal societies! Louisville folks: learn more about the social and moral lives of animals as Dr. @kristinandrews.bsky.social (@yorkuphil.bsky.social) delivers the keynote address for the 22nd annual Humphrey Colloquium this Friday, 2/28 at 4:00 p.m. in BAB 218 on the UofL campus!
22nd annual Steven Humphrey Undergraduate Philosophy Colloquium
Philosophy Department, University of Louisville
Date & Time: February 28, 2025. Sessions begin at 9:00 a.m.
Location Belknap Academic Bldg. room 218
Keynote Address: Kristin Andrews (York University), “Wild Societies: Social norms in animal cultures”. 4:00 p.m.
Free & open to the public. Refreshments provided
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Avery Kolers @averykolers.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
In one way, computer engineers are like computers. They are great for helping you accomplish what you want to accomplish, and even for helping you rethink what you want to do in light of what can be done. They are not great for deciding what's worth doing.
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Terra Field @rainofterra.gay · 24/02/2025
The public comment period for changing passports to misgender trans people is open. Please take a moment to let them know that you do not support that change.
federalregister.gov
30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Application for a U.S. Passport
The Department of State has submitted the information collection described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we are requesting comments on these collections from all interested individuals and organizations....
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