iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I’m seeing a lot of posts about talking to your sons in light of the Cornell article. And yes. Talk to your sons. Here are some things you should say, based on anti-violence research about what they need to hear:

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Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I’m seeing a lot of posts from older women about how they won’t talk or think about Cornell because it’s too painful or the problem is too big to solve. I’m urging you all to remember how you felt as a college student when older women said that to you. Don’t turn your back on the next generation.

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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Most people have no idea how much international students are the lifeblood of higher education. But they’re about to learn. Sigh.

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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 24/09/2026

The Congressional Equality Caucus has released the following statement in response to our story indicating they will not back candidates who "scapegoat transgender people." Kaptur does not appear as of this morning on their endorsed list. Several who took the same vote as her still do, sadly.

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JD Daw @jddaw.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

@asanews.bsky.social issued their annual job market and the news is bad. Stitching all the reports' TT job data together, the 2025 academic year was the worst on record. 2016 was the high water mark in recent memory. Since then, US TT sociology jobs have been going the way of the humanities.

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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Nothing makes you realize the kids are alright more than sitting & talking with a couple dozen of them for a couple hours at office hours. It would be great if the Ranting Pundits convinced that they know What Is Wrong With Higher Education could meet these students full of great questions & ideas.

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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 16/09/2026

This. We're only 3 weeks into the semester, but I'm already super impressed with the first-year undergrads in my Kids & Society seminar. They read! They write! They think critically! And they've done an awesome job using social science research to interrogate the stereotypes of "kids these days."

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Ron Hogan @ronhogan.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

“Have you ever once heard a Democratic politician say, ‘I’m opposed to trans people playing sports, but I will fight for their rights on every other issue’? No, you haven’t! Nobody ever says that.”— @juliaserano.bsky.social

juliaserano.substack.com

On Democrats Who Cave in Response to Anti-Trans Attack Ads

and more importantly: a response to all the cis people responding to the way that trans people are responding to said Democrats’ responses

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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 16/09/2026

All it took was one person to confront Rob Sand at his town hall for his anti-trans statements. There are 26 Democrats that have taken bad votes or made bad statements towards transgender people. Those who disagreed with my article said to talk to the dems instead. So, we are. Go do it!

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Luca Migo @victinibcn.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Fascists aren’t hiding anymore—they feel completely emboldened in today's political climate. At Orlando’s Kia Center, an MMA fighter with SS lightning bolt tattoos won to cheers and Nazi salutes from unmasked bigots. Ban extremist fighters and purge this hate! End fascism now! 🎥 alchemist333777

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Updated Covid vaccines for the 2026-27 season have been approved by the FDA. Article to come.

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Rolling Stone @rollingstone.com · 25/08/2026

Dolly Parton's family asked that, in lieu of flowers, fans make a donation to the singer's Imagination Library. Here's what the charity does ⬇️ www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...

rollingstone.com

Turning Pages: Inside Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

Core team of 15 staff and thousands of volunteers and partners help the country-music philanthropist deliver books to kids around the world.

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johnedwinmason @johnedwinmason.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

One more great thing about Dolly. She was a paid-up union member — American Federation of Musicians, Local 257, Nashville. And she had been for 58 years. www.afm.org/2026/08/afm-...

afm.org

AFM Statement on the Passing of Dolly Parton

Today, the entire community of professional musicians mourns the loss of an irreplaceable icon and a generous heart: Dolly Parton. While the world knows her as a global superstar and philanthropist…

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Gabe Ortíz @tusk81.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

“She was the voluptuous embodiment of empathy,” Jane Fonda writes about her friend Dolly Parton. “That’s something of hers she’d want us all to take with us.” "To her gay and trans fans, I want you to know that she loved you. You know that without me telling you.” www.justjared.com/2026/08/25/j...

justjared.com

Jane Fonda Pays Tribute to '9 to 5' Co-Star Dolly Parton, Sends Message to Her 'Gay & Trans Fans'

Jane Fonda is mourning the loss of her 9 to 5 co-star Dolly Parton. The 88-year-old actress released a statement moments ago after learning of the news of

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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 25/08/2026

This is truly heartbreaking. Dolly Parton was an extraordinary person and an irreplaceable champion of the working class. We are a better country because of her.

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Pulsar @pulsarbird.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I knew Parton was a supporter of the LGBT community and helped with the AIDS crisis, but I never saw this pic of her with Keith Haring. That's amazing RIP

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Amanda A. Stewart @dramandastewart.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Just set up a monthly donation to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. If you can give, even just a little, I encourage you to do so to keep her legacy of love and literacy alive for generations to come. imaginationlibrary.com

Screenshot of donation letter from Dolly - Thank you so much for making a donation to my Imagination Library. This program is so special to me and I am thrilled that it is special to you, too. My Daddy was the inspiration for the Imagination Library and he told me many times that out of all of the dreams I had fulfilled, this program was the one thing that made him the most proud of me!

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Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

A wonderful story you may want today.

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Tasha Robinson @tasharobinson.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Another hard hit to take. Yes, the music was wonderful and I loved her in movies as a kid. But the older I got, the more I appreciated what a smart, frank, no-nonsense advocate she was for women's rights, self-determination in any form, and plain old kindness to others. What a legend.

nytimes.com

Dolly Parton, Country Music Superstar Whose Songs Spoke to Millions, Dies at 80

Known for her outsize persona, appearance and talent, she rose from rural poverty to become a top-selling singer, songwriter and entrepreneur.

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Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 25/08/2026

Dolly Parton supported so many important causes, among them donating a million dollars to COVID vaccine research early in the pandemic, which saved millions of lives. She will always be remembered as a champion of the people.

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Amadi Lovelace @amaditalks.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Remember that if you got the Moderna Covid vaccine, you have Dolly Parton to thank, she gave the largest individual contribution toward their research to make it possible.

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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library gifted more than 332,000,000 books since it was first created 31 years ago.

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Alan Sepinwall @sepinwall.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

RIP, Dolly Parton. I watched 9 to 5 far more often than it made any sense for an elementary schooler in the early 80s to do so. Absolute legend, great in everything, and an even better human than she was a singer or songwriter or actress. www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPQR...

youtube.com

"I'm gonna change you from a rooster to a hen in one shot!"

YouTube video by CC Trubiak

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Amanda A. Stewart @dramandastewart.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Please show your support and keep this amazing organization and her vision for a more kind and just world alive. 💛

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Heba Gowayed هبة جويد @hebagowayed.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

A man died in ICE custody due to neglect of his leukemia. Gary Indiana has no power & water sources are contaminated — people with electric stoves have no way to boil it. These are told as separate stories but they’re the same fact of death by neglect written in different fonts.

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

For the last seven months straight, the U.S. government has refused to process immigrant visas for nationals of 75 countries around the world; including visas for spouses of U.S. citizens. Today, a federal judge ruled the policy flagrantly illegal.

Map of the world, with the 75 countries impacted highlighted in yellow. They include countries in South America like Brazil and Venezuela, about half of all African countries, and most Middle Eastern countries.

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amulya.bsky.social @amulya.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

My husband Drew wrote this at breakneck speed while moving cross-country and caring for an 8 month old, bc he felt it was necessary, ethically and politically, to correct the record. If you read Tyler Austin Harper's piece, I hope you'll read this.

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Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 19/08/2026

Glad to see some reporting on this. When I first posted on July 17 about these incidents where an airline worker is asked or tricked into helping ICE, person who told me was too afraid of being identifiable for me to report it out. Bottom line: If you are not a citizen, do not use US air travel rn.

Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com
I saw video this week from another major airport of a woman being taken by plainclothes ICE after an airline worker paged them to the ticket counter.
Worker clearly didn't know it was ICE asking them to page and was upset. They follow, asking ICE for a warrant & woman who they can call for her.

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Lex McMenamin (they/them) @lexmcmenamin.com · 19/08/2026

60 yrs ago, sex workers, drag queens and street youth held a landmark riot against police in SF's Tenderloin—the world's 1st Trans District now that space is held by Geo Group. trans people are still arrested at SF Pride—over tagging Flock cams. the trans fight against police in '66 and today:

theguardian.com

The fight to protect a trans landmark in California from ICE’s biggest contractor

Compton’s Cafe is one of the earliest examples of LGBTQ+ resistance. Today, a prison company occupies the site

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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 14/08/2026

Two married professors and their son are being held in ICE detention, despite being legal permanent residents and having no criminal records. All, apparently, because their mom/MIL was a translator for the Iranian hostage takers in 1979, before they were even born. www.thenation.com/article/soci...

thenation.com

One Woman’s Message From the Hell of ICE Detention

My husband, son, and I have been locked up for months—despite being permanent residents with no criminal record. It is an unendurable, unending nightmare.

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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 27/07/2026

So, what happens if I'm a parent and I know that my kid needs highly paid teachers, a library full of books with diverse characters, trans-inclusive bathrooms and extracurriculars, and a curriculum unpacking topics like systemic racism, colonial oppression, economic inequality, and climate change?

Facebook post from the U.S. Department of Education, saying "Parents know best" with a picture of a cartoon White, two-parent, heteronormative family, featuring a dad in a tie and sweater vest and a mom in a dress and pearls.

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Evan Greer @evangreer.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

BREAKING: @wired.com (apparently undeterred by James Dolan's bogus lawsuit) reveals that MSG turned off their controversial facial recognition system during Taylor Swift's wedding. MSG has always claimed their use of AI surveillance is for security. It's hard to imagine a higher security event...

wired.com

For Taylor Swift, Madison Square Garden’s Controversial Cameras Briefly Went Dark

MSG’s sprawling surveillance system can monitor guests down to the second. Its owners made an exception for the pop star’s rehearsal dinner.

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Sami Schalk @drsamischalk.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Police murdered a Black man in the street in Madison WI today. Shot point blank in the head while on the ground, tased, and surrounded by four cops. It looks like an execution. Multiple videos circulating online. Things are about to get very bad here.

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Amanda Fanniff, PhD @amandafanniff.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Not collecting data doesn't stop discrimination, it facilitates it. Reminds me of John Roberts saying "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race" in a decision that undermined the ability of school boards to implement desegregation policies.

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Mags Visaggio 🏳️‍⚧️ @magsvisaggio.com · 20/07/2026

i keep coming back to this. it's not about hating us. it's about degrading femininity as such, and reducing the definition of women to baby makers and ornaments. trans folk get in the way of that. so does women's sports. so does the fucking vote.

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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 19/07/2026

The Ohio Democratic party is censoring its own members from criticizing Amy Acton. This even includes the Pride Caucus chair who has to criticize her from their personal capacity. They've threatened to kick caucuses out that formally criticize Acton over her transphobic positions.

Holding the Line: An Update on the Fight for Trans Rights and Accountability in Ohio
Over the last couple of weeks, our community has taken some incredibly painful hits from people who are supposed to be our allies. Hearing a statewide candidate validate anti-trans narratives and write off our rights as "settled law" is a flat-out betrayal. Let’s be entirely clear: absolutely no boys are playing in girls' sports. Trans girls are girls, trans boys are boys, and transphobia and misgendering must be condemned, regardless of which political party it comes from. The anger out there right now is completely justified.
A lot of you have reached out asking why I haven’t made a loud public statement yet, especially given my role with the Pride Caucus. I want to be very clear: the public quiet right now is not compliance. It’s strategy.
Behind the scenes, the work hasn’t stopped for a single day. I, along with many other advocates, have been on the phone constantly with state party leadership, coordinating with allied organizations, and pushing back hard. We are forcing these conversations to happen, and we are not going to let this campaign run out the clock or sweep this under the rug hoping we just forget about it.
The harm was done in public, and I believe that requires a public resolution. I will not settle for vague, backroom promises. We are demanding real, public accountability and an absolute respect for our community's right to exist. Anything less is completely unacceptable.

Disclaimer: To be entirely transparent, I am posting this strictly in my capacity as a trans advocate, a legislative candidate, and a trans Ohioan living this reality every day. I am not writing this on behalf of, or as a representative of, my official role as Vice Chair of the ODP Pride Caucus. So, to the ODP compliance team: you can save yourselves the phone call, because I will not be taking this down.

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Tripling union membership would… -Raise the median worker’s wages by $7k+ annually -Reverse 1/3 of the increase in inequality since 1979 -Increase the number of people with health insurance And more. Unions are the key to taking on runaway corporate power. Every worker deserves one.

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

This is I believe the third incident where ICE has gone to arrest people, they flee, and someone is hit by a car or other vehicle and dies. In this case, ICE officers went to question some people at a gas station, they panicked, and one of them ran into the road and was hit by a truck.

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Matt Sebastian @mattsebastian.com · 13/07/2026

NEW: The private prison giant Geo Group has signed a $528.6 million contract with the Trump administration to reopen a shuttered prison in Hudson, Colorado, and turn it into a 1,188-bed immigration detention center, @sethklamann.bsky.social reports

denverpost.com

ICE signs contract to open new immigration detention center northeast of Denver

The private prison giant Geo Group has signed a multiyear contract with the Trump administration to reopen a shuttered prison in Hudson, Colorado, and turn it into an immigration detention center.

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The Sociological Quarterly @socquarterly.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

NEW IN TSQ Anneliese Schenk-Day and Jack Wippell show that the recent surge in anti-transgender legislation has been accompanied by a rise in moralized rhetoric--but bills with more moralized rhetoric are less likely to pass. Read more at bit.ly/4pdxUBJ

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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 09/07/2026

I just created www.lgbtqlegislation.com which builds on the work of the LegiAlerts team to provide an interactive data dashboard to look at 20+ years of anti-LGBTQ legislation and especially anti-trans legislation. It also includes an overview of pro-LGBTQ legislation. Check it out!

lgbtqlegislation.com

LGBTQ+ Legislation Tracking Project

Two decades of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, documented bill by bill — 10,000+ bills tracked across every state and Congress by the LegiAlerts team.

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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

BREAKING: Eleventh Circuit, on a 2-1 vote, upholds injunction blocking Florida from enforcing its 2022 Stop WOKE Act in the university context. The majority opinion is from Judge Britt Grant, a Trump appointee: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Before GRANT, LAGOA, and WILSON, Circuit Judges.
GRANT, Circuit Judge:
"Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech." U.S. Const. amend I. The First Amendment, incorporated against the States in 1868, is this country's written commitment to the idea that freedom of speech is essential to freedom of thought, and that both are essential to maintaining our liberty. The Supreme Court has long been clear that teaching and scholarship are due some measure of protection under the Amendment. But how much? And in what contexts? That Court has not had to say, but this one is now put to the test. The State of Florida legislated a broad set of speech restrictions banning certain viewpoints relating to race, color, sex, and national origin in various settings. The provision at issue here bars Florida's educators from promoting or endorsing those distavored ideas when instructing students. Its prohibition applies not only in primary and secondary education, where states traditionally exercise a great deal of control, but also in public colleges and universities, where the state government's role has been far more limited.
When several groups of professors challenged Florida's new restrictions, the State cast about for an existing case or doctrine that could support its speech ban in the university setting. Finding none, it tried to marry public-employee speech cases with government speech doctrine, resulting in a new rule: if the

government pays a professor's salary, it has total control over her classroom speech.
That is not a blessed union. Florida's salary-for-speech rule is a breathtaking assertion of power to ban unpopular ideas from public discourse in the very places the State's own statutes recognize as centers of inquiry-classrooms where students are trusted to puzzle through ideas that are good and bad, easy and hard, ideally getting ever closer to the truth. This new rule also runs headlong into the Supreme Court's repeated, if imprecise, endorsements of academic freedom. If the First Amendment offers any boundary of protection at all for public university classrooms, this statute crosses it.
Nor does this Court's leading academic speech precedent,
Bishop v. Aronov, demand the outcome Florida seeks. 926 F.2d 1066 (11th Cir. 1991). In fact, it counsels the opposite. The restriction in that case was imposed by one university, against one professor, relating to speech about one thing— personal religious views that got in the way of the course's well-understood parameters.

That precedent makes clear that universities and even other government entities have crucial authority to shape curricular content, discipline teachers, and take other steps to guide and govern postsecondary education. But the speech ban Florida's political leaders seek to impose here is different in both nature and degree from these ordinary concerns. The rule Florida developed for this case does not withstand scrutiny.
11 Case: 22-13992
Document: 156-1 Date Filed: 07/07/2026 Page:
22-13992
Opinion of the Court
5
The ideas Florida targets may well be noxious. Or maybe
not.
Either way, in this context the First Amendment trusts students to figure it out for themselves. We affirm the district court's preliminary injunction.

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Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

The reason the allegations get worse as the election draws closer isn’t political opportunism. Survivors often hesitate to reopen their traumas—especially to national scrutiny. But realizing how many other victims there are and how much power their perpetrator could hold can make people very brave.

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Elizabeth Hernandez @lizzy-hernandez.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Any professors/grad student at a Colorado university interested in talking about research or grant funding canceled under this federal administration & the impacts of that to your field/science/academia/career etc? I’d love to chat! Feel free to message me & pass along. #HigherEd #Edcolo

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