Boston Tom Levenson

Boston Tom Levenson

@tomlevenson.bsky.social

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Writer (of science-and books, mostly--science and culture, science and history, etc.). Quondam documentarian (credits at PBS, BBC, etc.) Professing science writing at MIT. Lucky spouse and father, and servant to two tuxedo cats. He/him.

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Covet

Shift drink: Día de Sandía 1.5oz jalapeño-infused mezcal 1oz watermelon syrup .75oz acid-adjusted watermelon juice handfulla mint 3 drops saline

Enjoy

NGC 253, also known as Sculptor Galaxy, viewed in near-infrared light. This image was taken by JWST (NIRCam) and the data was processed by John Bozeman. www.astrobin.com/rn1zab/ 🔭 🧪

I grew up with half-Siamese kittens and a calico cat and her tortoiseshell daughter, but… I’ve come to believe that there is no one better to take a spin with than a tuxedo girl (or boy): www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Lcn...

Another thread just made me recall meeting Dick Gregory in 1978. One thing about living long enough in certain spaces—the number of amazing people you encounter mounts, for which I am deeply grateful.

I’ve been going through my mum’s letters & papers the last couple of days. Some amazing finds (& tons of why-on-earth-save-that). Some of it is from my childhood. It is so strange to be suddenly brought face to face with both a person and a world that was me and mine and is now irretrievably gone.

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Boston Tom Levenson

We need more, but credit where due: both The Nation (June 2024 issue) and Boston Review have run a breakdown of the Project 2025 “Mandate for Leadership” document. Media Matters, too. Lots of good work going on digesting this. www.bostonreview.net/articles/ins... www.mediamatters.org/project-2025

Where are the columnists who are experts in specific fields, breaking down what the Heritage Foundation + Trump want to do to each individual federal agency? E.g. I read the section dedicated to our intelligence agencies, and had to stop, since I was starting to feel a little nauseous.

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Boston Tom Levenson

the courts knocked down his first attempt at student loan relief and he tried again, and again, and again, long after the news cycle had lost interest. he capped insulin prices and said "trans rights" with his full chest. I want to keep moving in this direction.

Just going to put this out there: Biden has been the most legislatively effective president since LBJ. The most pro-labor president WW2. He's done more re climate change than any POTUS. He's built an international coalition for Ukraine despite Russia-fueld GOP opposition. And yeah: he's hella old.

Just going to put this out there: Biden has been the most legislatively effective president since LBJ. The most pro-labor president WW2. He's done more re climate change than any POTUS. He's built an international coalition for Ukraine despite Russia-fueld GOP opposition. And yeah: he's hella old.

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Boston Tom Levenson

Note the filing date of the document, 4/26/2016. I mean, it's great that this is getting some notice now, but this shit was out there during the 2016 campaign if anyone wanted to amplify it instead of butter emails.

Looks like something useful is happening on the Nazi site - this court document about Donald Trump’s involvement in the Epstein case is going viral This is a disgusting read

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I was speaking to a friend who once worked at the Gray Lady, and they noted when I suggested imbalanced coverage that the paper has covered Trump's many sins. They have. Just not with the timing and intensity they directed at Clinton or Biden...1/2

Or there was the time the NYT dedicated five reporters and 14 months to reporting on the money Trump inherited. They started in Feb 2017 - a year earlier it might have affected the election - and discovered he'd used blatant fraud to duck taxes on a billion dollars. But it was never a lasting story.

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Boston Tom Levenson

Or there was the time the NYT dedicated five reporters and 14 months to reporting on the money Trump inherited. They started in Feb 2017 - a year earlier it might have affected the election - and discovered he'd used blatant fraud to duck taxes on a billion dollars. But it was never a lasting story.

Hey! Historians of American higher ed.: got any use for a visiting graduate student's notes for classes in American history taught at Harvard in 1949-50? I'm going through my mother's papers; she took courses from Schlesinger, Morrison, Albion & others. Took detailed lecture notes. Of interest?

Should add: Netanyahu has already made some troubling noises about this and again: nothing is done until it's done. But this is a wedge in the door. A start, not guaranteed to but essential to achieve something vital for every soul in Gaza--and, I'd argue, Israel.

To this naive observer this seems like a BFD: Nothing's done until its done, but this is a necessary step to get to the desired end. Seems like sleepy and addled Joe Biden might actually have been doing something on all those exhausting foreign trips.

Hamas briefs Hezbollah on proposal for ceasefire, Hezbollah welcomes step, sources saywww.reuters.com The Palestinian militant group Hamas informed its ally Hezbollah it had agreed to a proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the leader of the powerful Lebanese group welcomed the step, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

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#Metoo ruined lives: the women’s. For the summer issue of Bookforum, I wrote about Christine Blasey Ford’s memoir “One Way Back,” the aftermath of disclosure, and what it means to be a public survivor when storytelling has proven futile. www.bookforum.com/culture/disp...

Disposable Heroeswww.bookforum.com Christine Blasey Ford’s memoir captures the hazards of “coming forward” – Moira Donegan

To this naive observer this seems like a BFD: Nothing's done until its done, but this is a necessary step to get to the desired end. Seems like sleepy and addled Joe Biden might actually have been doing something on all those exhausting foreign trips.

Hamas briefs Hezbollah on proposal for ceasefire, Hezbollah welcomes step, sources saywww.reuters.com The Palestinian militant group Hamas informed its ally Hezbollah it had agreed to a proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the leader of the powerful Lebanese group welcomed the step, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

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Boston Tom Levenson

For everyone on here that is worried that voters are as willfully credulous as our news media, the Biden campaign understands that Trumps post about Project 2025 is an admission of vulnerability and they are leaning in harder on tying him to it.

Some of my colleagues teach classes from 7-10 pm. I can't. 1: Any 3 hr writing seminar is bootless. Somewhere betw. 90 min. & 2 hrs, everyone's brains freeze. 2: Goes double in evening classes. That's time for reading, reflection, letting the mind play. Not knife-edge pro/con decision making.

Im 50 and couldn’t handle regular events after 8 pm!

Looking at Amazon's First Reads options for July I encountered a new genre term: Romantasy. I am bemused.

Terry Pratchett is everywhere. (See The Truth)

THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR IDIOMS: Portugal vs France 🇵🇹 The Portuguese version of “I’m on cloud nine” translates to “I’m on my seven farms” vs 🇫🇷 A French was of saying you are well or happy is “I have the potato”

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Boston Tom Levenson

This is a classic Trump trope, when something might drag him down "I never met the guy" in the face of photos of them bro hugging after a two hour meeting.

The ramped-up hits on Project 2025 must be landing — Trump just shoved it right in front of the bus

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Boston Tom Levenson

The Dobbs decision, now Project 2025. There's more than enough to beat Trump right there, and his campaign staff knows it.

even trump’s campaign staff (i assume he didn’t write this) knows that the reactionary, authoritarian agenda that’s project 2025 is going to be unpopular with the average voter.

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Boston Tom Levenson

Oh look. It is possible for national media to focus on what far-right candidates are saying & doing rather than publishing speculative hit pieces about a candidate who isn’t an existential threat to democracy & the rule of law. You should try it sometime @nytimes.com @washingtonpost.com @cnn.com

Dérapages de candidats du RN : pourquoi l’excuse des « quelques brebis galeuses » ne tient pas

Vidéo. Dérapages de candidats du RN : pourquoi l’excuse des « quelques brebis galeuses » ne tient paswww.lemonde.fr

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Boston Tom Levenson

NEWS --> Mark Robinson, the MAGA extremist GOP nominee for governor in North Carolina, appeared to endorse political violence against unnamed foes in a recent speech. "Some folks need killing!" he shouted. "It's a matter of necessity!" Video and story here: newrepublic.com/article/1834...

MAGA Gov Candidate’s Ugly, Hateful Rant: “Some Folks Need Killing!”newrepublic.com Mark Robinson, the GOP nominee for governor in North Carolina, has a long history of incendiary comments. But he may have topped himself this time.

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Boston Tom Levenson

Just a reminder, that's convicted felon Donald Trump, who has also been found by a court to have sexually assaulted at least one woman.

Keep talking about how Donald Trump is credibly accused of sexually assaulting twelve year old children, with assistance from Epstein.

I believe Champ has achieved attention-span-zero:

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Boston Tom Levenson

I said this on Imgur the other day. If voting is voluntary, it's much easier and cheaper to demoralise the opposition than it is to convince them to your side. Every "I don't vote" is one less they need to win.

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Boston Tom Levenson

those arguing that taylor swift can't be a role model because she is an unmarried and childless woman at 34 are doing a great job of arguing that children need more women role models who are unmarried and childless at 34

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Boston Tom Levenson

🚨BREAKING: Wisconsin Supreme Court OVERTURNS ban on ballot drop boxes. Congratulations to our client Priorities USA and the voters of Wisconsin. We are not done fighting for free and fair elections and we are not done winning! www.democracydocket.com/cases/wiscon...

🚨 Voting Rights Victory in Wisconsinwww.democracydocket.com Read about the latest voting rights victory in Priorities USA v. Wisconsin Elections Commission.

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Boston Tom Levenson

"You think evil is going to come into your houses wearing big black boots. It doesn’t come like that. Look at the language. It begins in the language." —Joseph Brodsky