Notices by kottke.org (kottke@mastodon.social)

A recent study found that Black Lives Matter protests had a “significant and decisive impact” on the 2020 election. “This represents one of the most consequential impacts of a social movement on electoral politics in recent history.” https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/black-lives-matter-movement-had-a-significant-and-decisive-impact-on-us-politics-study-finds

Waldo Jaquith on why he works in the open (blogging, open sourcing software, etc.): “I’ve long worked in the open, overwhelmingly for one reason: it increases enormously the surface area for success.” https://waldo.jaquith.org/blog/2025/03/work-open/

This is great: a DIY 3D-printed stamp that turns Andrew Jacksons into Harriet Tubmans on US $20 bills https://kottke.org/18/09/the-harriet-tubman-20-stamp

“The Trumpian lie is different. It is the power lie or the bully lie. It is the lie of the bigger kid who took your hat and is wearing it while denying that he took it. There is no defense…because the point of the lie is to assert power…” https://kottke.org/25/03/the-bully-lie

A brave letter from a lawyer whose firm has declined to resist Trump. “[I wondered] what I would do in the moments…where my values were tested and demanded great sacrifice. I do not wonder anymore. I know who I am. I thought I knew who we all were.” https://kottke.org/25/03/it-is-now-or-it-is-never

What the hell? Saturn now has a total of 274 moons. That’s so many that they may have to relax the naming conventions because there aren’t enough Norse deities to cover them all. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/11/astronomers-discover-128-new-moons-orbiting-saturn

What is the opposite of fascism? Living freely, colorfully, openly. Humanizing. Connecting with others. Gathering. Hoping. Following your dreams. Communing. Nurturing. Refusing despair. Laughing loudly. https://the.ink/p/the-opposite-of-fascism

Beautiful Public Data posts about the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII using historical documents from the Library of Congress & National Archives, including photos by Ansel Adams and Dorothea Lange. https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/wwii-japanese-mass-incarceration-collections/

Freedom of the Press Foundation: “[Wired] is going to stop paywalling articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.” https://freedom.press/issues/wired-is-dropping-paywalls-for-foia-based-reporting-others-should-follow/

The 100 Greatest TV Performances of the 21st Century (one per show & actor). Ian McShane (Deadwood), Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men), Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag), Anna Sawai (Shōgun), Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey), Peter Dinklage (GoT). Who’s your #1? https://variety.com/lists/greatest-tv-performances/elisabeth-moss-as-peggy-olson-mad-men/

After 54 years, the organizers of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest (which celebrates bad opening lines to novels) have brought an end to the contest. So bummed…a friend and I had a pretty good entry we’ve been workshopping! https://www.bulwer-lytton.com/

Buttondown makes it super-easy to migrate your newsletter from Substack. Plus: “Need help migrating to Buttondown? Just contact our support team and we’ll take care of it for you!” No more excuses. https://docs.buttondown.com/substack

The Covid Alarmists Were Closer to the Truth Than Anyone Else. Those who followed the science and predicted mass death & social, economic, and political chaos in early 2020 were ridiculed — but they were right. (See also Trump alarmists.) https://kottke.org/25/02/covid-alarmists-closer-to-the-truth

“The ‘war on woke’ did not suddenly appear. It is an idea deeply rooted in a form of scientific racism that has been laundered into the mainstream over decades by the Pioneer Fund and right-wing activists connected with this group.” https://bylinetimes.com/2025/02/27/trumps-war-on-woke-and-dei-incubated-by-a-nazi-eugenics-foundation/

Great Timothy Snyder analysis of the Trump/Vance/Zelenskyy meeting. “There was a logic to what happened…the logic of throwing away all reason, yielding to all impulse, betraying all decency…in order to bring out the worst in the world.” https://snyder.substack.com/p/the-war-trump-chooses

Dana Milbank responds to the WaPo’s pivot to focusing on “personal liberties and free markets” with a piece *in the Post* calling Donald Trump “the single greatest threat to ‘personal liberties and free markets’ in the United States today”. 👏 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/02/28/free-markets-personal-liberties-trump-threat/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzQwNzE4ODAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzQyMDk3NTk5LCJpYXQiOjE3NDA3MTg4MDAsImp0aSI6IjJmNGI5ZTJiLWU0ZmMtNDBiNi05N2E2LTMwY2M4MWRjNzMwOSIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9vcGluaW9ucy8yMDI1LzAyLzI4L2ZyZWUtbWFya2V0cy1wZXJzb25hbC1saWJlcnRpZXMtdHJ1bXAtdGhyZWF0LyJ9.vk_xqU0U-9i92b2c-jWPeCIzm7ILdtT-h37stIcRdv8

Women Are Scared And Scrapping Their Baby Plans Under This Administration & For Good Reason. “I don’t want to die trying to have another baby. I don’t want to leave my own living child motherless.” https://www.romper.com/pregnancy/the-families-changing-their-baby-plans-now-that-gestures-broadly

JD Vance is skiing at a Vermont resort this weekend. The resort’s snow reporter took the opportunity to make some good trouble, sending out a message of resistance against an administration “threatening our democracy, our livelihoods, our land”. https://kottke.org/25/03/jd-vance-chastised-by-vermont-snow-reporter

Many are participating in a 24-hour economic boycott on February 28th to protest the ongoing actions of the Trump administration and to send a message to corporate America. “No online shopping or in person. No Amazon, no Walmart, no Best Buy.” https://kottke.org/25/02/the-february-28-economic-blackout

Pedro Pascal responding to transphobia on social media: “I can’t think of anything more vile and small and pathetic than terrorizing the smallest, most vulnerable community of people who want nothing from you, except the right to exist.” https://www.capitalfm.com/news/pedro-pascal-trans-instagram-sister-lux/