Kate

Kate

@katastrophe98.bsky.social

She/Her. Environmental scientist. Aspiring worthwhile human being. Solidarity is the only way. South Jersey. Yes…it’s the best state.

1.3K followers1.2K following2.2K posts

Kate reposted

I emailed Patrick Healy, assistant managing editor for standards and trust at NYT, to ask why their story about a House report with new details of rape allegations against the President of the United States included neither those details, nor a single use of the word "rape." archive.is/1s9AM

Kate reposted

I am old enough to remember when politicians felt the need to hide behind euphemism and obfuscation. As frustrating as these obfuscations were I hope it is becoming clear to all that they were an advance, historically speaking

The Bulwark@thebulwark.com

RFK: "There's five hundred million Arabs in the world. And yet they don't produce science. They don't win the Nobel Prize. They don't win the Fields Prize. They don't win the Wolf Prize. They don't produce literature."

Kate reposted

Replying to @marisakabas.bsky.social

A serial rapist was elected twice as President, a fact we don't reckon with nearly enough. Now one of two major political parties has been molded in his image, run for and by violent sexual abusers who hate women.

Kate reposted

Via @stephenjcaruso.bsky.social, who really should post here more than there, I'm counting $8.52M from Jeffrey Yass to try to preserve a GOP state senate majority in PA (candidate giving, SRCC, and State GOP) and another $1.1M to stanch the bleeding in the state house, where Dems lead 103-100.

Kate reposted

A single billionaire megadonor is propping up the Republican effort to stop Dems from flipping Pennsylvania’s Senate and gaining full control of government—to a much greater degree than Elon Musk is doing it at the federal level

Adam Bonin@adambonin.bsky.social

Via @stephenjcaruso.bsky.social, who really should post here more than there, I'm counting $8.52M from Jeffrey Yass to try to preserve a GOP state senate majority in PA (candidate giving, SRCC, and State GOP) and another $1.1M to stanch the bleeding in the state house, where Dems lead 103-100.

Kate reposted

Kate reposted

The Grand Old Rape Party

Prem Thakker ツ@premthakker.bsky.social

NEW: "Donald Trump was an active participant in Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of young women during the mid-to-late 1990s," per new House Judiciary Dem report. Report has new allegation that Trump raped a 24-year-old and then promised the victim a visa & NYU admission, demanding she stay quiet.

Kate reposted

It’s not hard to be on the right side. I especially appreciate calling out how cynical a play it is.

BeshearStan@beshearstan.bsky.social

Kansas Dem Sen. nominee Adam Hamilton on trans rights: “I don’t think we should take a small group of people and bully them, pick on them, and hurt them. I understand one thing really clearly when it comes to transgender people, and that is Jesus told me I was to love my neighbor as I love myself”

Kate reposted

We acknowledge that no one has the bandwidth for this, but if it helps: -It’s ‘sleight of hand’ -It’s ‘bated breath’ -It’s ‘lo and behold’ -It's 'buck naked' -It’s ‘brass tacks’ -It’s ‘free rein’ -It’s ‘toe the line'

Kate reposted

Replying to @andycraig.bsky.social

What happens to these criminals will determine whether, at some point in the near future, some not-huge number of years down the line, this country is a liberal democracy or else has a consolidated authoritarian regime and/or collapses into civil conflict. That's not hyperbole, it's what's at stake.

Kate reposted

JUST POSTED: Today at The NYT we are publishing a major investigation into how President Trump used his executive powers to expose millions of Americans to greater cancer risks. A six month-long investigation built on more than 10,000 pages of FOIA records. Read it www.nytimes.com/2026/10/24/c...

nytimes.comHow Trump Gave the Worst Polluters a Free Pass (Gift Article)The president temporarily waived clean-air rules for industrial facilities that spew cancer-causing gases. Then his appointees worked to gut the regulations altogether.

Kate reposted

JUST POSTED: A Russian energy giant has secretly moved to acquire a position in a massive Alaska gas project. Its part of talks between Witkoff/Kushner & Putin. But CEO of US company resigns after learning of Russian money in the project. A wowzer of a story. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/23/u...

nytimes.comIn U.S. Gas Talks With Kremlin, Hidden Financing for Alaska Project EmergesInterviews and documents show a Russian energy giant secretly funded a U.S. firm. The deal has been discussed in talks to end the war in Ukraine.

Kate reposted

AOC: "As AI begins to encroach in our society, their goal is to take your cognition away from you. AI's goal is to take your thoughts away from you, your ability to think away from you, so that you become dependent on a machine ... reading books is active resistance"

Kate reposted

MAJOR UPDATE: Shortly after this published, I obtained another document confirming this will be a removal flight only. If carried out, it would be the largest third-country removal to Africa so far: 25 people to Eq. Guinea, 30 to Burundi + 100 to Central African Rep. prospect.org/2026/10/21/i...

prospect.orgIt Should Be a Rescue Flight; Docs Show It Will Be Another Immigrant Expulsion - The American ProspectDocuments show an ICE flight is expected to land in the African country where immigrant Ahmed Soliman, who a federal judge ordered to be returned, is currently imprisoned.
Gillian Brockell@gillianbrockell.com

SCOOP: I've obtained documents showing an ICE flight is scheduled to land Thursday or Friday in Equatorial Guinea -- where Ahmed Soliman is still imprisoned and seriously ill, despite a federal judge ordering his return to the US more two weeks ago. prospect.org/2026/10/21/i...

Kate reposted

TRUMP: We gave nothing in exchange for Stephen. We never give anything in exchange for hostages. TRUMP LITERALLY MOMENTS LATER: If I implemented sanctions on Russia, Steven wouldn't be coming out right now.

Kate reposted

Translation: If the government turns on him, he's finished.

The Editorial Board@editorialboard.bsky.social

"Almost none of his net worth is held in cash. Nearly all of it is **unrealized equity** in companies he still runs, and he draws no salary. His wealth is not money he extracted and stored. It is the market’s estimate of promises he hasn’t yet kept." fortune.com/2026/06/23/e...

Kate reposted

BREAKING: Citing noncompliance concerns and highlighting problems with the declaration submitted Monday, Judge Hinderaker orders *daily* reports that include a declaration from someone with "personal involvement" in effectuating the court's order to facilitate a deported gay man's return to the US.

Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social

BREAKING: Lawyers raise questions of whether the Trump administration is in noncompliance with an October 6 court order to facilitate the return of a gay man from Egypt who the administration sent to Equatorial Guinea.

Kate reposted

Forbes has been tracking Trump's wealth since the early 80s. They described Trump's first year back in office as "the most lucrative year of [Trump's] life." And it's not even close. Trump is earning hundreds of millions more than he ever has.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

JD Vance: "There is no person who hates the idea of people enriching themselves fraudulent over access to the government than Donald J Trump"

This is just….wow. Imagine being Zelenskyy and having to listen to these lickspittles trying to curry favor for future biz deals while Ukrainians are dying.

Ron Filipkowski@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social

Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff to Vladimir Putin today: “You talk so much about Trump being a humanitarian, you are a humanitarian also, sir. And I salute that. I commend you.”

The US government making deals with private companies owned by criminals and cutting out the government of the country they’re looting.

Aaron C. Davis@byaaroncdavis.bsky.social

NEW: Trump’s mega Venezuelan oil deal, signed by Hegseth and Rubio, benefits an unknown group of investors and was intentionally crafted to keep the next U.S. president or future leaders of Venezuela from undoing it. @propublica.org saw the secret contract: www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Kate reposted

My brain cannot process this level of corruption. She was being paid $50 million to engineer a pardon from Trump *while working at the Justice Department* as a "Special Government Employee." And it worked. He got the pardon, and she got the money. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/20/u...

nytimes.comA Billionaire Wanted a Trump Pardon. His Family Gave Alina Habba a $50 Million Deal. (Gift Article)Julio Herrera Velutini, a prominent Venezuelan, was seeking clemency. He got it not long after his daughter gave Ms. Habba, a lawyer close to President Trump, an extraordinarily lucrative job.

Kate reposted

there’s no middle ground position on this. either musk is forcibly rooted out of government infrastructure or every war proceeds at the whims and dictates of a generational buffoon

Kate reposted

They both did it, it was a joint effort, it’s one of the crazier things to happen in the national security space (which is really saying something) and every government should be scrambling to reduce dependence on—and as soon as possible get off—Starlink/shield or any Musk product, including the US.

Kate reposted

Yeah I don’t see how this isn’t a crisis at this point? You cannot have a private citizen running a full private foreign policy which runs against that of the United States like this

Kate reposted

this is how oligarchy operates. it’s not just billionaires dictating political choices, bad as that is. it’s his literal exercise of an authority that belongs with government. this should be his undoing but he exercises unaccountable power and trump allows it.

Good luck with your hurricanes and tornados to some of the poorest and reddest states in the country I guess….

Kyle Griffin@kylegriffin1.bsky.social

BREAKING: Trump's head of FEMA just told states to prepare to handle disasters on their own. The Trump admin's disaster chief told state officials they must increase their financial reserves and emergency capabilities to handle most disasters on their own — without federal help.

Kate reposted

What’s extremely important to remember in this is that for a fascist/authoritarian regime to take hold, it requires the population turning on itself. The government does not have the numbers to do it on its own, it needs people willing to sell each other out and others living in constant fear.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump: "People will make millions of dollars by turning others in"

Kate reposted

It is so important that European leaders acknowledge the truth as Kaja Kallas does here. Trump and the USG have been trying to force Ukraine to surrender for almost two years. There has been no recent pivot to Russia. It’s been a constant US policy www.euronews.com/2026/10/20/k...

euronews.comKallas accuses US of pushing Ukraine to 'surrender on Putin's terms'"American negotiators have been trying to push Ukraine into surrender for almost two years," Kaja Kallas said amid rising EU-US tensions.

Kate reposted

I'm not sure how much more blatant it can get that these guys are looting the federal government and then pointing over there and saying "look what THOSE BLACK PEOPLE ARE GETTING AWAY WITH!!!" bsky.app/profile/atru...

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Stephen Miller claims Somali-Americans in Minnesota are "buying Mercedes, buying BMWs, they buy a nice house, all their kids fly first class all over the world" (This is a lie!)

The CEO of my multi-national corporation just encouraged his employees to download the meta AI assistant and use it. Real George Carlin “it’s one big party and you aren’t invited” moment.

Kate reposted

Today we launch the first episode of my podcast. I interviewed Whitney Mitchell, whose fiancé and caretaker Garrett Foster was murdered at a BLM protest in 2020. Foster's killer was convicted by a jury and given a 25-year sentence. Then Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pardoned him.

radleybalko.substack.comHer fiancé and caretaker was murdered by a far-right extremist. Then Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pardoned the killer. My interview with Whitney Mitchell.For my new podcast, The Watch With Radley Balko, Mitchell and I discuss Abbott, the coming election, and the legacy of Garrett Foster, her late fiancé

If they had their way, El-Sayed would have already been apologizing to Tommy for dogwalking him when this story broke!

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Kate reposted

wait wait wait. the Republican ratfucking dad and son are named "Tommy and Timmy Teepell." are you fuggin kidding me with this shit

Marisa Kabas@marisakabas.bsky.social

Huge follow-up reporting to my scoop: The Guardian confirmed America Next—the conservative nonprofit founded by Bobby Jindal that was offering students $ to disrupt El-Sayed events—paid a firm registered to Tommy Teepell’s dad Timmy $250k for “canvassing and influencer marketing” against El-Sayed.

Kate reposted

look man. I realize we live in an era of repulsive politics but this is some low-down shit right here bsky.app/profile/eric...

Eric Michael Garcia@ericmgarcia.bsky.social

Amy Acton's brother slams Vivek Ramaswamy featuring her estranged mother in a campaign ad. "This desperate, disgusting attack reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core – a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants."

Aren’t these farmers just folks who got a government check the first go-around and decided they wanted a government check again?

Carl Quintanilla@carlquintanilla.bsky.social

“.. It was the second time in two years that the president authorized billions of dollars in bailout money for farmers harmed by his administration’s policies.” @nytimes.com #KSsen www.nytimes.com/2026/10/20/b...