Deirdre Good

Kenya/Brit/ThD nowUScitizen&married#independentscholar#author#editor

[Bulcahan @BulcahanTurk]

Bir gram iyilik, bir ton iyi niyetten daha değerlidir...

[Gabriele Corno @Gabriele_Corno]

For many years, 13-year-old Liam had lived in different homes, moving so often that he stopped unpacking his small bag because nothing ever stayed tamiliar for long. He learned to expect quick goodbyes, short placements, and sudden changes, and he carried that weight into the courtroom this morning, thinking it would be another short hearing that sent him somewhere new.
Judge Raymond Cole had followed Liam's file through more updates than he wanted to count. The pages showed the same pattern each time, with returns, missed placements, and notes from staff who said the boy didn't trust anyone enough to settle. The judge looked down at Liam, who stood quietly in the bright orange uniform, his shoulders tight and his eyes lowered as if he hoped no one would notice the fear behind them.
The judge read through the latest report and saw something different this time, a note about a retired teacher named Mrs Turner and her husband who'd visited Liam at the facility for the last 5 months. They arrived every week, bringing puzzle books, small stories, and steady conversation, and they stayed long after the scheduled time because they wanted him to feel like someone was showing up just for him.
The judge placed the file aside and spoke gently.
"Liam, I need you to listen closely," he said.
The boy lifted his eyes for a moment, unsure what was coming next.
"These visits weren't part of any program. They came because they chose you."
Liam frowned, confused at first, then waited without speaking.
The judge stepped off the bench and held the final set of documents in his hand.
"They filed everything this morning," he said.
"They're not here as visitors. They're here as your family."
The room went silent.
Liam didn't breathe.
The judge gave a small nod, steady and calm.
"You're leaving with them today. This is your last hour in the system."
Every wall Liam had built across the years broke at once. His breath shook, his knees weakened, and he covered his face for a moment because the feeling was too heavy to hold. When he lowered his hands, the tears had already fallen, and he couldn't stop them no matter how hard he tried.
The bailiff looked away, unsure whether to step closer or stay where he was.
The judge didn't hesitate. He walked forward and opened his arms.
Liam moved without thinking, leaning into the only steady support he'd felt in years, and his whole body trembled as he held on tightly to the robe in front of him.
Some people in the room turned away, unsure if a judge should cross that line. Others whispered that the moment showed more truth than any rulebook ever could. Moments like these always divide people because everyone carries their own history of family, loss, and forgiveness.
Liam didn't hear any of it.
He only felt a real hug, warm and firm, and the sense that someone tinally wanted him to stay. Outside the courtroom doors, the Turners waited nervously with gentle smiles and shaking hands.
Judge Cole kept one hand on the boy's back and spoke softly, almost like a father sending a child toward a safer place.
"You're wanted," he said. "You always were."

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

The world does not need an artificial intelligence that diminishes humanity; rather, it needs human intelligence enlightened by wisdom, political authority guided by conscience and technological innovation directed by charity. Only then will artificial intelligence become not a rival to humanity but a servant of the common good.

[Sam @SamCKx]

It's fair to say that @SadiqKhan is probably the single most maligned man in British politics, and I think we all know why. He is Muslim. The extraordinary level of hatred directed at him, including from people like Donald Trump and Elon Musk, has nothing to do with his actual record and everything to do with the fact that attacking a Muslim mayor of London fits perfectly into their wider rhetoric. Khan has never attempted to push Islam on anyone. There is no Sharia law operating in London. The idea that London has somehow fallen under Islamic control is complete bullshit.

Meanwhile, his actual record is remarkably strong. ULEZ was an incredibly brave and often unpopular political decision, but it has dramatically reduced harmful air pollution and is improving the health of Londoners from babies to the elderly. Homicide and violent crimes have fallen significantly under this tenure. Council house building has reached levels not seen since the 1970s. The Elizabeth line opened under his administration and has transformed transport across London. None of this means London doesn’t have huge problems, particularly affordability, but pretending Khan has presided over some collapsing dystopia simply isn’t supported by reality.

One policy that particularly matters to me is universal free school meals for London’s state primary school children. I received free school meals myself, and they made a huge difference to my life. For periods of my childhood, it was probably the only decent meal I had each day. Today, 270,000 children benefit from knowing that at least five days a week they are going to get a proper meal.

Khan’s tenure hasn’t been flawless. No political tenure ever is. Things get better, things get worse and politicians should absolutely be criticised when they get things wrong. But the sheer hatred and vilification directed at this man bears absolutely no relationship to his actual record. He has taken years of abuse, including attacks from some of the most powerful people in the world, kept his resolve and carried on doing the job. He deserves far more credit than he gets.

[Amy Siskind @Amy_Siskind]

Peggy Noonan goes to town on Trump and his kleptocracy. I gifted this so you can read it.

"And there’s the sheer scale: The extraordinary becomes ordinary through repetition; scandals add up and become a blur, not a call to action. But the country pays a cost for all this. Institutionally, everything happening today sets a precedent. Every abuse we accept widens the range of possible misbehavior for the next administration.

Corruption is more dangerous, has a more deteriorating effect, than bad policy. Bad policy can be reversed. Corruption works its way into a system and changes its nature.

Suppose a Republican president leaves office having established that a president can use regulatory powers against antagonistic institutions, exert pressures on companies needing government approval, and demand personal loyalty throughout the executive branch, all with no lasting repercussions. The next administration, disposed in other ideological directions, inherits the precedents. It says turnabout is fair play."
https://t.co/Y7v4eX4AgB

[Antigone Journal @AntigoneJournal]

This piece has had 5,000 views in just the last 12 hours: something good and Greek is in the water!

[Elizabeth Warren @SenWarren]

Tech executives are warning that AI could lead to “a level of wealth concentration that will break society."

I refuse to accept that.

If we’re going to build a future that works for everyone, we need to tax AI and invest in people.

[Charlie Bączyk-Bell 🏳️‍🌈 @charliebelllive]

Some truth telling by Rowan here

https://t.co/wkTdyyhzMh

[rogueclassicist ~ david meadows @rogueclassicist]

I've just updated my Nolan's Odyssey page with a couple hundredd or so more links, fwiw ...

The Odyssey of Nolan’s Odyssey – rogue classicism
https://t.co/O7pTFOLhdw

[Cal @wyattyhalpert]

On the back of Emily Wilson's response to The Odyssey, a lot of people have been asserting the need for more intellectual and scholarly dialogue around popular culture. Ironically, given the differences in their career stages, this is a better example of what that looks like.

[Aaron Parnas @AaronParnas]

BREAKING: Epstein survivors release powerful PSA urging Senators to vote NO on Todd Blanche's nomination.

[mary beard @wmarybeard]

Your 50 minute guide to the Odyssey is here. What you need to know before you do (to the film!) is here! 90 combined years of homer reading distilled in under an hour! https://t.co/oJGZh53L64

[Deirdre Good @good_deirdre]

VICTORY: Federal appeals court decisively rejects Florida’s ‘Stop WOKE Act’ https://t.co/94zYUfAeVc via @TheFIREorg

[Red Arrows @rafredarrows]

Statue of Liberty, skyscrapers and a flotilla of ships - the Red Arrows over New York in a huge international flypast this morning, celebrating the Fourth of July with the American people on the 250th anniversary of independence.

#RedArrows | #RAF | #NewYork | #America250

[Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 @ScooterCasterNY]

WATCH: Eiffel Tower Blazes "USA 250" as Paris Kicks Off America's Semiquincentennial

Tonight the Eiffel Tower is lighting up with a "USA 250" display beginning Friday, July 3rd at 11:00 PM local time, marking the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence.

The illumination shows "USA 250" in red, white, and blue lettering across the tower's first-level facade.

The lighting is part of a wider summer program organized by the City of Paris celebrating the historic friendship between France and the United States

Video by @CLPRESSFR | Licensing @FreedomNTV [email protected]

[Victor Shi @Victorshi2020]

NEW: On America's 250th, Sarah Jessica Parker narrates a reading on resisting authoritarianism and building a better future—featuring Mark Ruffalo, Ted Danson, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Leslie Odom Jr., Margaret Atwood, & more.

"What happens next is not inevitable. It depends on us."

[David Frum @davidfrum]

250 years after July 4, 1776, the successor of King George III pays taxes and publishes his returns. The successor of George Washington does not. https://t.co/CbIXDe8UQY

[Hillary Clinton @HillaryClinton]

The Buttigiegs have experienced a nightmare that should never have happened at all.

I hope whoever is responsible is found and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. https://t.co/mFaGCzZYJB

[Timothy Snyder @TimothyDSnyder]

A book I’m excited to see. I have learned a great deal about the history and politics of health from @_S_Silverstein.
https://t.co/qS72QtKPZY