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Monica Potts

@monicapotts.bsky.social
3.4K followers 715 following 1.6K posts

Class Politics reporter at The New Republic. Tips on Signal at monicabpotts.57. Past: 538, The American Prospect. BUY: The Forgotten Girls monicapotts.com

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Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 9h
Also, going to college can be and ought to be about more than preparing you for a job. If someone wants to go to college and also be a bricklayer that can be fine too. Education has a value for us as citizens and people.
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Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 9h
Yes. My dad was disabled in his 50s
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Brad Johnson @climatebrad.hillheat.com · 02/10/2026
There are at least 35 data-center local ballot measures in November - about a third are pro-data-center, most would restrict or ban them in the locality
ballotpedia.org
Data center-related ballot measures, 2026
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F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Bookish things: top 5 of the past months - Notebook (@dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social) - Spanish Beauty (Esther Garcia Llovet) - If You Can't Take The Heat (@everywhereist.bsky.social) - London Falling (@praddenkeefe.bsky.social) - The Forgotten Girls (@monicapotts.bsky.social) More in the alt text.
Big round up of books read since April (I'm on Storygraph, same handle), plus my top 5:

- Notebook by Tom Cox: the book teenage / early 20s me would have loved to buy, and adult me found an absolute delight. Made me want to start writing down my random thoughts again, like I used to in a past life. And I did, for a few weeks in June, until our summer became a series of unfortunate medical events. But that's a story for another time. Read Notebook!

- Spanish Beauty by Esther Garcia Llovet: a gift from me to me, straight from an English-language bookshop in Barcelona. I read most of it in one sitting, while sipping an iced cappuccino on a terrace in Greece - but the sense of place is so strong, I might as well have been drinking the night away in a neon-lit coastal Spanish town. I couldn't put this book down.

- If You Can't Take The Heat by Geraldine DeRuiter: the infamous essay about the Bros restaurant in Lecce isn't even my favourite piece here (and I'll have you know my friends and I still talk about that one to this day). I wish I was half as funny, articulate and eloquent a writer as Geraldine is - we're ten years or so apart in age, and grew up in different countries, but I saw myself in her words in more ways than I can describe. Also, I too have a dad whom I've sometimes suspected of being a spy. Universe, are you listening? I'd love to translate this book into Italian.

- London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe: every bit as gripping as everything else I've read by him. It's true crime, and it's a family saga, and it left me stewing about how the rich and powerful always get away with everything. 

- The Forgotten Girls by Monica Potts: as a country girl trying to write a novel about kids desperate to escape a small town, I felt this one deeply. There's a line about putting every fiber of your being into leaving that will stay with me a long time. And the social commentary is spot on: you don't have to be American to seethe at the inequality it exposes.
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Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
One thing about the centrist "economic anxiety" take on Trump supporters is that they are very clearly letting their own classicism judge other people's economic conditions and positions. They look at a nice double-wide somewhere and think "that's a poor person." newrepublic.com/article/2160...
newrepublic.com
Liberals Must Fight The New York Times’ Monopoly Too
The paper’s editorial vision is out of step with the robust liberalism needed today.
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Perry Bacon @perrybaconjr.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
"For America to right itself, we need changes on the scale of Reconstruction and the New Deal. And I worry that’s not going to happen if Democrats and the broader anti-Trump left are taking their cues about what’s necessary and politically possible from the Times." newrepublic.com/article/2160...
newrepublic.com
The Left Must Fight The New York Times’ Monopoly Too
The paper’s editorial vision is out of step with the robust liberalism needed today.
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Aaron Huertas @aaronhuertas.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Good thread. Even GOP internal polling shows no one persuadable has any idea who Piker is.
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Minnesota Star Tribune @startribune.com · 01/10/2026
The family of Renee Good, the Minneapolis woman who was fatally shot by a federal immigration enforcement agent near her home in January, filed two federal lawsuits Thursday alleging wrongful death, among other contentions.
bit.ly
Live: Renee Good’s family files lawsuits over fatal shooting by ICE agent
Renee Good was fatally shot on Jan. 7 in south Minneapolis by ICE agent Jonathan Ross.
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Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Or write a very detailed daily diary that is so mundane it becomes the go-to source for centuries because no one else bothered to write the boring details of life down.
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Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I don't know why people are assuming Schmitt confused the Hawkeyes and the Hawks. That would be a boneheaded mistake, sure. But maybe he knew all along that they were different teams but just wanted to create the illusion of impropriety for people who half pay attention. We actually don't know.
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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Tech industry is laser focused on solving the problem of humans enjoying each other’s company bsky.app/profile/down...
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Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
He knew he wasn't at a game in Atlanta.
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Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The crazy thing is the text messages don't even say anything about the kind of game at all. newrepublic.com/post/215976/...
newrepublic.com
GOP Senator Tries to Trap Jack Smith—and Gets Every Detail Wrong
Senator Eric Schmitt accused Smith of having shady meetings while in Atlanta for a professional basketball game. In reality, Smith was in Maryland on the date in question for a college basketball game...
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Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The thing is, just the suggestion of this will make some people think there must have been collusion. "Oh he wasn't at the hawks game but I still bet he saw her." Because people already believe it's all corrupt.
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Sarah Posner @sarahposner.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
... religious freedom?
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Perry Bacon @perrybaconjr.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"The idea that you can easily separate 'economic' and 'cultural' issues is nonsense. It’s very expensive for transgender Americans to move to blue states so they can live freely. It’s harder to buy a house in a neighborhood with rising home values if you are Black." newrepublic.com/article/2159...
newrepublic.com
Why Democrats Should Stop Using the Phrase “Culture Wars”
Texas’s Gina Hinojosa and others slamming the party for focusing too much on so-called cultural issues are pushing a flawed electoral and policy strategy.
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Johannes Franzen @johannesfranzen.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Incredible stuff.
Commentary|Essay
        

AI and the crisis of the author
        

By Anchit Sathi

September 4, 2026
Read this issue

Editor’s note (September 21, 2026): We have removed this essay. AI was used in its preparation. The TLS editorial guidelines prohibit the use of AI in the writing and editing process. The author states that he was unaware of the policy.
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Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This always confuses analysts, but maybe it's because people know the difference between an absolute shitshow cause by extraordinary events or complicated systems that collapsed under the weight of their own greed, versus one caused by sheer idiocy and carelessness.
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Philip Bump @pbump.com · 28/09/2026
pretty sure "lands" is the wrong word here for at least two reasons
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Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
An acknowledgement that they view racism as the main purpose of these policies www.huffpost.com/entry/right-...
huffpost.com
Far-Right Commentators Rage Over GOP Welfare Fraud Ad Featuring White Male Gamer
A new ad by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders put white men at the center of her state welfare work requirement policy.
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Lily Geismer @lilygeismer.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Really enjoyed the chance to talk with Perry Bacon about the professional class and the Democrats
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The ten-year yield blasts thru 5.25% @cnbc.com
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Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Doesn't it ruin prints to have them in the fridge? Also if you are this rich just build a bunch of caves for wine, cheese, and produce or something
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Emily Gorcenski @emily.gorcen.ski · 28/09/2026
Here’s the most incredible story you’ll read today. A small plane with four people aboard crashes in a field. Another pilot witnesses it. That pilot happens to be flying a bunch of skydivers. They offer to jump to assist, are given permission. The skydivers happen to be EMTs. Everyone survives.
wisn.com
Skydivers alert emergency crews, assist after plane crashes near East Troy airport
Four people were aboard the single-engine plane when it went down in a cornfield near Carvers School Road in East Troy at about 1:30 p.m.
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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The lede is like something a soldier might have written decades after storming Omaha Beach, and having lived long enough to tell his grandchildren about how he somehow survived that fateful day.
For years, the first thing I did upon awakening was check Twitter to see if I had been canceled. After a quick name search to ensure that there was only the usual amount of frothing denunciation, I could get on with my day.
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VoteHub @votehub.com · 28/09/2026
NEWS — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear criticizes fellow Democrats who say transgender athletes should be barred from women’s sports. “That is not the party that we are. We start as a party of compassion and empathy.”
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Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Why is this paid for by the US government?
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Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Here is my reporting on this. newrepublic.com/article/2157...
newrepublic.com
Check Your Mail. JD Vance Might Have Canceled Your Health Insurance.
The vice president’s task force is recklessly canceling Obamacare enrollees over allegations of fraud. It will result in eligible people losing their insurance.
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Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I'm still a little feverish from the shots and thinking about comfort tv, and you know what could use an update? Mansfield Park. Could make it a neighborhood and not real cousins, just people who grew up next to each other.
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Andrew Lawrence @ndrew.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
a president planning military operations based entirely on election cycles is actually a giant scandal
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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Every single one of these people view their government appointments as an opportunity to promote themselves and make money grifting while we pay them to do it.
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Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Got my flu and Covid vaccines yesterday and am in bed today with a slight fever and I have once again remembered that I have not ordered a box set of the Megan Follows Anne of Green Gables so I can wrap myself in a quilt and watch and maybe cry a little, which is all I want to do on days like these.
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darth™️ @darthbluesky.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
i wonder how many people realize this is a real problem or just assume the party in power just always uses government money for campaign ads
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Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
"The government that proposes to make a woman’s child-care benefit contingent on her husband’s continued presence and employment is the same government that has never managed to make his support payments reliable." www.bostonglobe.com/2026/09/25/o...
bostonglobe.com
Trump’s child-care plan could punish single parents - The Boston Globe
The plan could take money from working single parents to subsidize married couples.
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Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Dogs are so good at making friends with other species. It's their super power.
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
they really think we are all idiots
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Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Just caught up to this: there's a Shaker Village in Kentucky organizing against a proposed data center nearby. (The village is gorgeous, I went once about 14 years ago.) fox56news.com/news/local/s...
fox56news.com
Shaker Village concerned by Burgin data center proposal
Leaders at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill say the development could affect far more than the farmland where it would be built.
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Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
For longtime Katmai fans, watching Beadnose's daughters go up against each other is a tough bracket! Also, Bucky is my guy this year, sorry to the others.
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Jonathan Howard @joho.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
“At least six babies in Pennsylvania have been born infected with measles, with two so sick they had to be admitted to intensive care.” H/t @ameshaa.bsky.social
nbcnews.com
America had wiped out measles. Now babies are infected at birth.
Congenital measles has rarely been seen in the U.S. That’s changing as vaccination declines and more pregnant women become infected.
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M Meerkat @kackbro.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Joe Walsh Is Right......
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Le Monde in English @english.lemonde.fr · 25/09/2026
Amnesty International calls for ICE to be abolished
lemonde.fr
Amnesty International calls for ICE to be abolished
In a report titled 'We Had Whistles, They Had Guns,' the NGO documents widespread human rights violations committed by ICE in the United States.
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Current Affairs @currentaffairs.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
From killing endangered animals to civilian deaths in drone strikes, those responsible for the worst evils pretend that “intent” is what matters. www.currentaffairs.org/news/benign-...
currentaffairs.org
Benign Intentions Are Worthless
From killing endangered animals to civilian deaths in drone strikes, those responsible for the worst evils pretend that “intent” is what matters.
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Here's today's column on the astonishing, ongoing mistreatment of people with #ME/CFS. Please spread it far and wide: the only thing which can break the media's wall of indifference is seeing an article about the issue go viral. Thank you. 1/2 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Abandoned, dismissed and gaslighted: there is no excuse for the way ME sufferers have been betrayed | George Monbiot
Changes in guidance and science seem to have little impact on millions of devastated lives. It’s a social crisis playing out behind closed doors, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
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Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
"Across multiple industries, in exchange for regulatory favor, companies have purchased Trump’s cryptocurrency, contributed to his inaugural fund, silenced a late-night talk show host, or simply paid cash for his various vanity projects." prospect.org/2026/09/24/p...
prospect.org
The Paramount Settlement Started With Trump - The American Prospect
The media conglomerate’s sweetheart deal is just the latest consequence of Trump’s interference in federal antitrust enforcement.
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ex-Lethality Jane @lethalityjane.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Literally everyone will tell you that.
Threads post 

Early Beatlemania was fuelled by teenage girls, but they won't tell you that.

Women and girls have always been the trendsetters and the tastemakers.
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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
We just dropped a bombshell investigation into ChatGPT's role in the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting. Incredible reporting from @markfollman.bsky.social that will have far-reaching effects...hopefully: www.motherjones.com/media/2026/0...
motherjones.com
ChatGPT helped the Tumbler Ridge school shooter focus on guns, tactics, and terror, our investigation reveals
OpenAI’s chatbot fed the shooter’s violent fantasies and planning up to the massacre.
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Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This comes across my feed all the time, and it makes me think of the time we took our GSD mix Banjo to the dog park during a Pomeranian meetup.
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Matt Zoller Seitz @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Never forget that Frank Oz believes the stress of dealing with Disney's initial, relentless attempts to buy his creations is what killed Jim Henson. "The Disney deal is probably what killed Jim. It made him sick," he told The Guardian. www.theguardian.com/culture/2021...
theguardian.com
Frank Oz on life as Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy and Yoda: ‘I’d love to do the Muppets again but Disney doesn’t want me’
He played some of the most memorable characters of all time on The Muppet Show and Sesame Street - then became a brilliant comedy director. What is he most proud of?
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
BREAKING: A POLITICO reporter was denied access to the White House Thursday and his press credentials confiscated after a judge ordered the Trump admin to immediately restore access for news organizations that Trump banned.
politico.com
POLITICO barred from White House after court ruling restoring access
The Secret Service confiscated a POLITICO reporter's press pass Thursday morning despite a federal judge’s decision hours earlier that a media ban appeared to violate the constitutional due process ri...
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