Sign in

Joan McRobbie

@joanmcrobbie.bsky.social
474 followers 610 following 1.6K posts

Policy, communication, former journalist, HKS MPA.

PostsRepliesMedia
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 1m
@normornstein.bsky.social warns that once Dems win they have to act fast or face backlash from the base. His list of priorities is excellent.
000
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I don’t think everyone realizes how bad things are for US science: For the fiscal year that just ended, the Trump regime withheld $1.4 billion from the National Science Foundation’s research budget, which is about 1/5 of its primary research budget.
nytimes.com
National Science Foundation Diverted $1.4 Billion in Science Funds Mandated by Congress (Gift Article)
The move, affecting about one-fifth of the National Science Foundation’s primary research budget, is the latest sign of how the White House is asserting more control over grants.
191751872
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This is about as upset as a NYT reporter is allowed to get:”An admission that the American president offered to sell arms to China is extraordinary.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/27/u...
nytimes.com
Trump Offered to Sell Arms to China, U.S. Ambassador Says
President Trump made the offer to Xi Jinping, China’s leader, said David Perdue, the ambassador to China. The White House later said the U.S. had no plans for such a sale.
19438169
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
It’s so weird. Mamdani just…gets stuff done.
000
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
@vermontgmg.bsky.social "We need to return to punishing people who do obvious crimes." And how.
doomsdayscenario.co
It's the accountability, stupid.
Doing crime
14810
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
@timothynoah makes a good case for why Republicans may soon finally see it in their best interest to get rid of madman Trump.
000
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
Peter Gleick @petergleick.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Given the outrageous, dangerous, and outright false statements made about how the polio (and other) vaccine was a "fraud" (at the Children's Health Defense conference), here's a reminder of what a massive success it was. RFK Jr. & his minions must be stopped from destroying the US healthcare system.
Graph of the number of cases and deaths from polio from 1910 to 2022, showing how polio completely disappeared after the introduction of the vaccine -- one of the most important health advances of the 20th century. Data from the US Public Health Services; the Center for Disease Control.
9300133
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
@pkrugman.bsky.social points to cause for celebration: Fear of Trump declines globally as Trump hatred prevails Fear Strikes Out
paulkrugman.substack.com
Fear Strikes Out
But the hatred remains
000
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Can we survive 28 more months of madness at the helm?
nytimes.com
Opinion | Trump Has Untethered Himself From Reality
The president’s distortions have an impact on much more than belief in his claims about what he was doing on Sept. 11.
01310
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
DOJ spokeswoman Kiersten Pels said she found it “remarkable that sitting federal judges are giving on-the-record interviews.” It is remarkable! Seven judges, appointed by Dem and GOP presidents, are doing this. Why, Ms. Pels, do you think they're doing this? www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/u...
nytimes.com
Trump’s Minnesota Surge Threatened Democracy, Judge Warns (Gift Article)
In a rare interview, Patrick Schiltz, who served as the federal court’s chief judge last winter, called the administration’s actions “a grave threat to the rule of law.”
25819
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Listen to this KY city council member's eloquent testament to how a good local newspaper enables a community to thrive. She speaks to what's being lost as new hedge fund ownership guts the Lexington Herald Leader.
000
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Good day for voters.
000
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Agree wholeheartedly with @pkrugman.bsky.social: "So let’s applaud leaders like Amodei for speaking up and applaud the growing willingness of other CEOs to warn about the dangers of their technology, even if their attack of conscience partly reflects the looming prospect of Democratic subpoenas."
paulkrugman.substack.com
The MAGA Plot(s) to Destroy Humanity
On AI and climate, it’s the same story of mass destruction
000
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Amen to this.
000
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 12/09/2026
mackenzie scott really seems like the only billionaire to figure out that you can be a literal hero to millions with a relative pittance
357155532732
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I've taught this many times. It's an astonishing piece, one of the best by a brilliant writer. Very hard going; worth it if you can.
1012332
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Burns.
252178404294
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
Just Security @justsecurity.org · 11/09/2026
On the Just Security Podcast, @ambdanfried.bsky.social recalls NATO allies’ “spontaneous outreach” to the United States in the days and weeks after 9/11. Watch the full episode: www.justsecurity.org/156794/just-...
02517
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
SCOTUS may decide the midterms, says Judge Luttig, expressing plaintive hope that the Court is aghast at what it has wrought "Surely, surely, it will understand the signal moment in Am'n constitutional history that would be presented, & this time understand its supreme obligation to the nation."
000
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Even now some things are beyond belief.
001
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
theonion.com
Trump Claims He Was Falling Man
WASHINGTON—Saying America could frankly be more grateful for the enduring image he provided, President Donald Trump claimed Wednesday that he was the previously unidentified Falling Man captured midai...
412021316
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I miss eating. Thanks, Brooke Rollins.
000
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Mamdani just keeps showing how it's done.
000
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
Peter Baker @peterbakernyt.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
Our reporters interviewed 40 of the men the Trump administration sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador: They described being beaten, sexually assaulted by guards and driven to the brink of suicide. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
nytimes.com
‘You Are All Terrorists’: Four Months in a Salvadoran Prison
611058620
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
That's it on burgers for me.
nytimes.com
Opinion | Why Did Trump Order Up 660 Million Pounds of Mystery Meat? (Gift Article)
On second thought, I’m not that hungry.
212
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I flunked algebra and hated math, but this story was inspiring, and a testament to working collaboratively. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/06/s...
nytimes.com
The 92-Year-Old Mathematician and the Teenage Apprentice (Gift Article)
Joan Birman thought her major discoveries were behind her. Then came an email from a young neighbor — a girl who knew little but wanted to learn.
26616
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
20-year-old college student Pierre Damas Bel, forced to wear an ankle bracelet simply for being Haitian, killed himself. His blood is on JD Vance’s hands.
000
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
Mike Luckovich @mluckovich.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
12865275
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
Spencer Ackerman @attackerman.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
"But in Springfield, the heightened level of fear is so widespread, & the state-imposed terror vs a vulnerable minority so constant, that it is impossible to see this as anything but [Trump's] proof of concept for the president’s militarized vision of what America should be" - @swin24.bsky.social
zeteo.com
Inside Trump’s Nightmare for Haitians in Springfield: ‘We’re Following Our Orders’
The most urgent moral test in all of Trump’s America today is happening in a small Ohio city – and we as a country are failing it miserably.
11366179
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Read this thread from @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social if you need a reminder of why we honor Gloria Steinem. Or if you are somehow unaware of how radically things have changed for women just since the 1960s--due to the leadership of Steinem & others. Some of us remember vividly.
020
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
Jen Rubin @jenrubin.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
This just called to my attention: SUPERB @ianbassin.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/protectd...
open.substack.com
The two-branch doom loop
Eight ways to check the Supreme Court's role in the authoritarian project
1012756
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
Jen Mercieca @jenmercieca.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
"You should write about take no-shit women like me. Girls need to know they can break the rules." ― Gloria Steinem, My Life on the Road
425982
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
No greater reason to vote out Trumpists in November.
010
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
What?
021
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Why legal immigration is nearly impossible
020
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
@jamellebouie.net couldn't be more right.
010
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
@bgrueskin.bsky.social is right. This Aussie’s summary of Carney v Trump is a rollicking ride. “Come November, if the map goes the way it’s trending, [Carney] won’t be negotiating with Trump at all. He ll be walking all over that flatulent flubberfuck like a used Persian rug.”
012
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
💯
000
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Wondering why data centers are as unpopular as nuclear waste? It's not the data centers. The problem is both more obvious and more fundamental: The daily lived experience of the AI boom sucks. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/ai-is-maki...
doomsdayscenario.co
AI is making everything worse
The political problem isn't the data centers — it's that AI is a turd mountain looming over daily life.
39794271
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
Leonore (Lee) Carpenter @leecarpenter.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
In case you are an academic who is currently being gaslit into believing that you're a caveman who wants their students to be jobless if you resist allowing AI in your classrooms... I present to you Berkeley Law's response, which can be summarized as "Fuck off directly into the sun."
law.berkeley.edu
Artificial Intelligence Policy
Effective Summer 2026 Purpose Future lawyers may need to use artificial intelligence (“AI”) fluently. But the current state of the technology requires that AI use be coupled with the cognitive […]
231900796
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
Mike Luckovich @mluckovich.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
188100522592
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
The warning signs for voter suppression in Nov are flashing red. Trump’s DOJ will send an unprecedented 1000 “observers” to the polls. Listen to Marc Elias.
000
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
There should be an emergency meeting among Dem leadership tonight and the entire Dem delegation should be on the Capitol steps tomorrow morning denouncing this and describing steps they’ll take in light of this latest dangerous insanity.
1252280750
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Read this terrific, inspirational piece from @harrylitman.bsky.social on how a small group of citizens successfully pressured Citizens Bank to stop funding the major private prison companies running ICE’s hellhole detention centers.
000
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
Alex Russell @infrequently.org · 15/08/2026
Stephen Miller deserves to spend the rest of his natural life fighting a legal system charging him of crimes he didn't commit in a language he does not speak, alone, and without counsel: publicnotice.co/p/stephen-miller…
publicnotice.co
Stephen Miller's secret campaign against helpless kids
That it's happening in the shadows doesn't make it less of a moral blight.
954165634916
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
Democracy Forward @democracyforward.org · 14/08/2026
On this day in 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a law to establish Social Security and create the groundwork for medical, disability, old age, and other major benefits for Americans. Our country is better and stronger for the systems that help us and each other.
213652
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
this guy’s personal wealth is roughly the gdp of portugal. he could personally cover healthcare of every person living in the state of illinois for a year and still be one of the tenth richest people alive. he’d be just as rich as he was two years ago.
techcrunch.com
Google co-founder Sergey Brin has now spent $100 million to fight the billionaire tax | TechCrunch
California's Prop 40 would impose a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of the state's billionaires.
30843258
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
The cruelty.
000
Reposted by Joan McRobbie
Kim Lane Scheppele @kimlanelaw.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
As always, Sherrilyn Ifill is the conscience of our times -- and her warnings are urgent. Listen. And act.
227079
Joan McRobbie @joanmcrobbie.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
"AI is not for children and not for young people. It risks becoming an iron curtain that comes down between a young person and their potential for thinking, for experiment and conquering frustration, for stamina and for invention...It risks halting learning before it can take flight."
theguardian.com
‘I hate what AI is doing to the minds and happiness of the young’: Katherine Rundell on the view from the classroom
Education is at a crossroads, argues the author and academic. Should we embrace new technology in the name of efficiency, or is it time to fight back?
000