Bonbon maker, writer and progressive.
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Remember literally three years ago, when centrist pundits claimed that the trans backlash was really just a wonky debate over the correct medical standards for children? Fast-forward to today and you have members of Congress calling for ALL trans people to be seized and held incommunicado
This story feels like it’s going to have huge repercussions
Katie Jacob (@katiejacob.bsky.social)
Digusting
Extreme gerrymandering. Nationalizing voter suppression. Weaponizing law enforcement. Occupying Democratic cities. Trump is pulling out all the tricks in the authoritarian playbook to rig the next election.
‘It’s dying in front of our eyes’: how the UK’s largest lake became an ecological disaster
NEW: The messages on the bullets are from a video game called Helldivers2. My latest: www.muellershewrote.com/p/new-the-me...
Nykia Hamilton went viral after a customer posted a TikTok showing the 25-year-old running a short-staffed Burger King in South Carolina by herself. Now she’s out of a job — fired for being late after struggling to line up child care, she said.
The firing of Kevin Struthers is the latest in a line of dismissals and resignations at the D.C. arts behemoth.
Katie Jacob (@katiejacob.bsky.social)
Trump's lawyers won't stop lying in court open.substack.com/pub/aaronrup...
Protesters boo and heckle Trump and Vance tonight at a DC restaurant
TAPPER: Hepatitis A, whooping cough, & chickenpox cases are rising in Florida. Before you made this decision to lift vaccine mandates, did your dept do any analysis of how many new cases there will be? LADAPO: Absolutely not T: You didn't even do a projection? L: It's an issue of right & wrong
Personally I think killing kids is wrong
This is not a thorny issue. This is not fraught. It is extrajudicial killing. It is the killing of civilians under any standard of law. He killed them on the basis of his-say so that they are drug smugglers, mere criminals. It was premeditated. And he's saying he's going to do it again and again.
South Korea charters plane to repatriate workers after US battery factory raid on.ft.com/4g8CH2y
The latest on the metastasizing horrors of Trump’s gulag: www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
After over 500 hearings, lawyer Douglas Jennings quit representing clients before the South Carolina Parole Board, citing the board's consistent rejections. "I just couldn’t justify taking somebody’s money," he told Bolts.
Over 450 workers detained at electric vehicle factory in Savannah, GA, largest raid under Trump. "Since construction began, three workers...have been killed on the job. Activists say that the raid is only likely to prevent immigrant workers from speaking out..." paydayreport.com/450-napped-b...
Katie Jacob (@katiejacob.bsky.social)
open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
Katie Jacob (@katiejacob.bsky.social)
open.substack.com/pub/robertre...
The Trump family levels of corruption are breathtaking. It’s easy to overlook because there’s so much always happening, but we’ve never seen anything like this degree of self-enrichment within government before. Some? Yes. But not this blatant and not to this degree.
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Leading genocide scholars organization says Israel is committing genocide in Gaza flip.it/INOe9s
9 CDC Directors going back to 1977 speak out. What RFK Jr has done to our nation’s public health system "should alarm every American." It "is unlike anything we have ever seen at the agency, and unlike anything our country has ever experienced." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...
Katie Jacob (@katiejacob.bsky.social)
open.substack.com/pub/weissman...
CDC website has been updated… (Deb Houry, the CDC's chief medical officer, resigned yesterday, meaning that the agency's top two leadership posts are now vacant)
Gold medal in the Stupidity Olympics
Trump’s D.C. Law Enforcement Takeover Has Black Parents on Edge www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/u...
Here's what the third day of elementary school looked like in Mount Pleasant, Washington DC.
Yarvin's view on the future of civilization: "Slavery and indentured servitude is good."
Additional far-right references: Minnesota School Shooter's pistol inscribed with "Vicki Weaver" -- wife of white supremacist Randy Weaver killed in a confrontation with the FBI at Ruby Ridge. Also had "Waco" written on rifle, likely a reference to the standoff with the Branch Davidians in 1993.
Katie Jacob (@katiejacob.bsky.social)
open.substack.com/pub/jojofrom...
Katie Jacob (@katiejacob.bsky.social)
This is an outrage. Time for anyone with the power (Congress - you do care about democracy, right?) to figure out a way to stop this and act accordingly.
National Guard troops in DC will be armed from this evening, ABC reports. And the Pentagon confirmed plans are being drawn up for the deployment of the National Guard in Chicago.
We’re 7 months in, and “Pentagon plans military deployment in Chicago” is a headline in the Washington Post. And because it’s city number three, we’re already numbing to it. If you read this about any other democracy in the world, you’d conclude that it was well on the road to a dictatorship.
White supremacy is always self-destructive. Killing their own base.
I can't imagine being in a relationship with a man who would vote against my rights. IDK how other women do it.
Somalia faces diphtheria surge amid vaccine shortages and aid cuts reut.rs/4mfYWGa
Katie Jacob (@katiejacob.bsky.social)
The American military should not be used against the American people—period. Trump’s takeover of D.C. puts every single one of us in harm's way. Add your name to the petition to protect our communities NOW! sign.moveon.org/petitions/dc...
Katie Jacob (@katiejacob.bsky.social)
open.substack.com/pub/thejackh...
The descent into authoritarianism by Nayib Bukele has been swift. Support from one of the world’s most powerful men, Donald Trump, has been helpful
This is the most important thing to read on Trump's higher ed war. It's not "Harvard vs. trade schools." It's the same ecosystem and all parts are essential. Research breakthroughs need skilled labor to manufacture/fix them. Jobs & communities are at risk. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/m...
why else have the FBI look for Trump's name in the docs but to redact those parts?
Katie Jacob (@katiejacob.bsky.social)
The Media’s Urge to Be “Fair” to Trump Is Killing the Republic newrepublic.com/article/1987... via @newrepublic.com
A total of 154,000 federal employees took the deferred resignation program. (Remember, the government is still paying these employees, so they will not show up on unemployment figures yet) abcnews.go.com/Politics/fed...
JUST IN: Senate confirms Jeanine Pirro as US Atty for DC, 50-45
Katie Jacob (@katiejacob.bsky.social)
What a nice picture!
Katie Jacob (@katiejacob.bsky.social) reply parent
What a bunch of clowns.
America's most elite institutions have largely succumbed to the Trump administration's cultural crackdown, opting to pay up — often to the tune of tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars — rather than fight back.
@maddow.msnbc.com horrifying arrest at immigration court yesterday. And what sounds like torture youtu.be/ZkqgQIjH3Po
I understand this is infuriating, but this is a case that could’ve happened under any administration in the last 35 years.
New, from an anonymous NIH insider: Trump is being pushed to spend more NIH money. The White House is ordering NIH to do multi-year budgets for awards. This budget trick means fewer awards, fewer labs funded, and lower paylines for researchers. 🧵 donmoynihan.substack.com/p/alert-the-...
Tae Heung Kim, 40: - Lived in US since he was 5 - Has green card - Getting PhD at Texas A&M - Researching vaccine for Lyme disease - Has 1 minor pot charge from 2011, since sealed Also: Detained incommunicado by DHS after returning from wedding in Korea www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
"I witnessed the Israeli Defense Forces shooting at the crowds of Palestinians," a retired US special forces officer told the BBC when asked he resigned from his work with US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution centres. www.bbc.com/news/videos/...
We're in the Orbanization of our media system now. It's happening. CNN's Brian Stelter drew this assessment from Gábor Scheiring, "who experienced Viktor Orbán's autocratic power plays in Hungary firsthand as a member of the Hungarian parliament." view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/175...
Trump on pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell: "I'm allowed to do it"
I do think you can drum up support to impeach him after the midterms if he pardons Ghislaine fucking Maxwell. It's one grotesquerie too far, even for the QAnon people. The argument against it is that the remaining hangers-on are people with a trillion dollars on the line, and they will fight dirty.
Between Musk & the Trump administration, Media Matters has been squeezed to the brink. In settlement discussions, lawyers for X demanded the organization hand over all its cash and shut down — all because MM reported ads appeared on X next to antisemitic content. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/25/u...
This is a huge and highly consequential story in @theecologist.org We have no idea what is being traded away to secure deals with other countries, and it turns out we are not allowed to know. So much for democracy. theecologist.org/2025/jul/23/...
Page One. @washingtonpost.com
Columbia University’s agreement with the Trump administration is a disaster for academic freedom, freedom of speech, & the independence of American higher education. Never in the history of our nation has an educational institution so thoroughly bent to the will of an autocrat. 1/
Absolutely shameful. Afghans promised a home in U.S. may face repatriation — and the Taliban Afghans who helped American forces are stuck in limbo as the Trump administration cuts the State Department office for Afghan relocation. We're talking upwards of 250k Afghans here.
We previously found that the Trump administration knew the vast majority of the 230+ Venezuelan men deported to El Salvador had not been convicted of violent crimes. Our latest analysis reveals another jarring reality: that most of the men were already moving through the U.S. immigration system.
a rough translation of the final sentence: “Since AFP was founded in August 1944 we’ve lost journalists in conflicts, and have had wounded and imprisoned co-workers, but none of us have any memory of having to watch a colleague die of hunger.”
Records obtained by ProPublica show the Trump administration is preparing to shut down seven major investigations of alleged housing discrimination and segregation, including some where HUD already found civil rights violations had occurred. By @jessecoburn.bsky.social
About 1 in 4 U.S. adults worry they or someone close to them could be deported. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/06/27/about-1-in-4-us-adults-worry-they-or-someone-close-to-them-could-be-deported/
Katie Jacob (@katiejacob.bsky.social)
Kristi Noem Snaps Over More Reports of Disastrous Texas Flood Response newrepublic.com/post/197917/... via @newrepublic.com
Katie Jacob (@katiejacob.bsky.social)
x.com/backavatar/s...
Atlanta journalist fights deportation from Ice jail despite dropped charges: ‘I’m seeing what absolute power can do’ A Salvadorian reporter, Mario Guevara, was arrested while livestreaming a protest against Trump in June – and is still struggling for freedom #freepress #pressfreedom
imagine if political journalists showed the same solidarity for their illegally imprisoned colleagues that jake tapper showed for fox news when obama tried to move their seat in the briefing room to the second row
“This is the Biggest Threat to Our Democracy That Nobody’s Talking About” Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Greg Casar of Trump’s scheme to gut the Voting Rights Act and gerrymander the 2026 election.
Why Colbert's cancellation marks a dangerous new stage for the culture at large
Border Patrol raids in Sacramento intended to send message: 'No such thing as a sanctuary state'
Andry Romero has been wrongfully imprisoned in El Salvador for months after being deported with no due process. Free Andry Now.
Trump’s tariffs are a tax on the American people. They raise prices on everything from food to medicine, hurt our farmers and manufacturers, and put jobs at risk. This isn’t tough negotiating. It is economic sabotage that hits working families the hardest. www.cnbc.com/2025/07/12/t...
There is currently an NWS flash flood warning in effect for all five boroughs of NYC. But no City agency has posted it on this platform. Please help spread the word. “If you live in a basement apartment or low-lying area, be ready to move to higher ground.”
#ICEMonsters are invading Disneyland. Disneyland. #MoreOfUs #RiseUp #ICEOUT #PeopleOverPaperwork
Children saying goodbye to pets at shelters because some or all of the family is being deported. www.tiktok.com/t/ZT6LCUm25/
Trump is pushing for cuts that could require 350 of the 433 sites run by the National Park Service to shut down.
The Big Ugly Bill sets up what is effectively a no-bid contract for Peter Thiel. newrepublic.com/post/197779/...
How the end of USAID is playing out in this ‘rape capital of the world’ Ending USAID could lead to the deaths of 14 million people over the next five years, an analysis from a medical journal predicts.
Marines and DHS arrest anti-ICE protester after children were spotted in chains at the federal detention center in LA
A disabled US veteran and citizen is still missing after ICE raided Camarillo yesterday. The family can’t get answers from authorities. Article in next post/
Katie Jacob (@katiejacob.bsky.social)
This cause is close to my heart - please sign: sign.moveon.org/petitions/un...
The trauma being experienced by children tear gassed during these ICE raids and pulled from their parents will scar them for a lifetime open.substack.com/pub/greattra...
The Justice Department has issued subpoenas demanding confidential patient information from more than 20 doctors and hospitals that provide gender-related treatments to minors, according to officials with knowledge of the move. Story from The New York Times.
Katie Jacob (@katiejacob.bsky.social) reply parent
Those subjects are good
We are almost done with our podcast “vacation,” i’m curious what you guys wanna hear about or focus on besides the usual rising authoritarianism and slow rolling constitutional crisis
Trump regime ICE forces provoking and attacking civilians in California. #3E #StopICE
Greg Abbott and Trump are calling to redistrict Texas as they are afraid the entire hill country will turn blue after the disaster in Kerr County. Watch for them to chop that county up into several districts. That will diffuse their voices.
For years—years!—privacy scholars have been warning of letting these databases run wild. Now an administration set on exploiting our inaction is here—
If the Supreme Court finishes off the Voting Rights Act, Republicans in some other Southern states could pass new congressional gerrymanders that in theory could replace several seats held by Black Democrats with districts designed to elect white Republicans
Republicans are so worried about losing the House in 2026 that they're poised to implement an even more extreme gerrymander of Texas' congressional map. Previous NYT reporting indicated they might try to flip as many as 4-5 Democratic-held seats if they go through with it
Reports begin to emerge regarding the inhumane conditions under which people are being detained at the Florida Everglades concentration camp. • One meal per day • No showers • Maggot-infested food • Lights on 24/7 These are known torture tactics. Many detainees are legal residents. #OnYourSide
The Trump EPA may let chemical plants bypass pollution limits—raising cancer risk for millions, especially in Black & Latino communities. Ethylene oxide exposure is deadly. Loosening the HON rule = disaster. tinyurl.com/yp758zcn #ClimateJustice #ClimateCrisis #CancerRisks
I have no difficulty saying Trump and Musk caused the deaths of some of the 50+ people who died in the floods in Texas. And here's why: these two men with no expertise in disaster preparedness were told not to cut the positions they cut—and were told people would die if they did. Then people died.
Measles cases surge to record high since disease was declared eliminated in the US www.cnn.com/2025/07/05/h...
UPDATE: After early judicial action, courts allow Trump admin to send men to South Sudan. An initial stay on the Fourth of July gave way to a later order denying relief based on past SCOTUS orders in the matter. The men were later sent to South Sudan. Final update at Law Dork:
