Kristin
@bionicvalkyrie.bsky.social
Complicated and often cranky
Born and raised in flyover country and still here. Nostalgic for purple Iowa that helped Obama go to the White House. *sigh*
Born and raised in flyover country and still here. Nostalgic for purple Iowa that helped Obama go to the White House. *sigh*
Reposted by Kristin
Maybe, let's not have the guy that admits he snorted cocaine off a toilet seat in charge of our health.
This is not an old clip that resurfaced. This was #RFKjr on a podcast YESTERDAY.
RFK Jr. reveals he used to 'snort cocaine off of toilet seats' share.google/Rnoa9U3IRvHW...
This is not an old clip that resurfaced. This was #RFKjr on a podcast YESTERDAY.
RFK Jr. reveals he used to 'snort cocaine off of toilet seats' share.google/Rnoa9U3IRvHW...
RFK Jr. admits to snorting 'cocaine off of toilet seats'
Speaking on Theo Von's podcast, "This Past Weekend," the HHS secretary talked about his recovery from alcohol and substance abuse.
share.google
February 13, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Maybe, let's not have the guy that admits he snorted cocaine off a toilet seat in charge of our health.
This is not an old clip that resurfaced. This was #RFKjr on a podcast YESTERDAY.
RFK Jr. reveals he used to 'snort cocaine off of toilet seats' share.google/Rnoa9U3IRvHW...
This is not an old clip that resurfaced. This was #RFKjr on a podcast YESTERDAY.
RFK Jr. reveals he used to 'snort cocaine off of toilet seats' share.google/Rnoa9U3IRvHW...
Reposted by Kristin
My team at the Crowd Counting Consortium (@djpressman.bsky.social, Soha Hammam, & Chris Shay) has shared a big data update, covering all recorded US protests through Jan 2026. Some key takeaways 🧵:
February 12, 2026 at 6:19 PM
My team at the Crowd Counting Consortium (@djpressman.bsky.social, Soha Hammam, & Chris Shay) has shared a big data update, covering all recorded US protests through Jan 2026. Some key takeaways 🧵:
Reposted by Kristin
Extremely important article. Please share.
"These numbers matter because they dismantle a myth that has shaped public safety for generations: that without armed authority, chaos will follow."
"These numbers matter because they dismantle a myth that has shaped public safety for generations: that without armed authority, chaos will follow."
New on Knock: activists are transforming LA’s response to mental health. In its first year, the Unarmed Model of Crisis Response program has diverted 6,900 calls away from the police, avoiding violent escalation and connecting people in need to services.
knock-la.com/how-local-ac...
knock-la.com/how-local-ac...
How Local Activists Are Reshaping LA’s Response to the Mental Health Crisis - Knock LA
Los Angeles organizers and community voices are leading the fight for interventions that do not involve the police.
knock-la.com
February 12, 2026 at 12:25 AM
Extremely important article. Please share.
"These numbers matter because they dismantle a myth that has shaped public safety for generations: that without armed authority, chaos will follow."
"These numbers matter because they dismantle a myth that has shaped public safety for generations: that without armed authority, chaos will follow."
Reposted by Kristin
Everybody and their monkey's uncle has a theory about mass market paperbacks.
Once far outstripping every other format - a 4:1 ratio at its peak - the 4.25" x 7" paperback sold millions of copies, not just of Louis L'Amour, but of journalism, science, movie tie-ins, and more.
So what happened? 🧵
Once far outstripping every other format - a 4:1 ratio at its peak - the 4.25" x 7" paperback sold millions of copies, not just of Louis L'Amour, but of journalism, science, movie tie-ins, and more.
So what happened? 🧵
February 12, 2026 at 12:39 AM
Thanks to @naomikritzer.bsky.social I just read the most delightful story
kaleidotrope.net/archives/aut...
kaleidotrope.net/archives/aut...
“What a Big Heart You Have” by Marissa Lingen
kaleidotrope.net
February 11, 2026 at 11:58 PM
Thanks to @naomikritzer.bsky.social I just read the most delightful story
kaleidotrope.net/archives/aut...
kaleidotrope.net/archives/aut...
Reposted by Kristin
NEW: This was the last essay I was supposed to publish at the Washington Post. But they fired me.
I'm publishing it anyway-- about my family's connection to a sword the British looted from Ghana in 1874.
If youve ever wondered why I love swords, here's why.
open.substack.com/pub/karenatt...
I'm publishing it anyway-- about my family's connection to a sword the British looted from Ghana in 1874.
If youve ever wondered why I love swords, here's why.
open.substack.com/pub/karenatt...
The "Return" of the Golden Sword
My grandfather guarded it. The British stole it. I'm named after it—and I'm going to fight for it.
open.substack.com
February 11, 2026 at 6:20 PM
NEW: This was the last essay I was supposed to publish at the Washington Post. But they fired me.
I'm publishing it anyway-- about my family's connection to a sword the British looted from Ghana in 1874.
If youve ever wondered why I love swords, here's why.
open.substack.com/pub/karenatt...
I'm publishing it anyway-- about my family's connection to a sword the British looted from Ghana in 1874.
If youve ever wondered why I love swords, here's why.
open.substack.com/pub/karenatt...
Reposted by Kristin
Child at the podium: “A woo woo woo.”
Mamdani: That’s how I felt when we came up with this plan. Together, we will expand the idea of what is possible in our city—and what sounds and noises we can make at a press conference.
Mamdani: That’s how I felt when we came up with this plan. Together, we will expand the idea of what is possible in our city—and what sounds and noises we can make at a press conference.
February 6, 2026 at 4:11 AM
Child at the podium: “A woo woo woo.”
Mamdani: That’s how I felt when we came up with this plan. Together, we will expand the idea of what is possible in our city—and what sounds and noises we can make at a press conference.
Mamdani: That’s how I felt when we came up with this plan. Together, we will expand the idea of what is possible in our city—and what sounds and noises we can make at a press conference.
Reposted by Kristin
Minnesota folks: if you know someone who needs a flight to MSP after being detained in Texas, standwithminnesota.com has collected donated SkyMiles to help them get home -- spread the word!
if you are in MN and hear of anyone in need of a flight home from detention please send them my way (contact@standwithminnesota.com)
February 2, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Minnesota folks: if you know someone who needs a flight to MSP after being detained in Texas, standwithminnesota.com has collected donated SkyMiles to help them get home -- spread the word!
Reposted by Kristin
Reposting even though I want less competition for the raffle prize :P
HEY I AM DOING A FUNDRAISER FOR MINNESOTA RENT FUNDS
AND GIVING AWAY A SIGNED ARC (advance review copy) OF OBSTETRIX
THAT'S RIGHT YOU CAN HELP MINNESOTA FAMILIES AND MAYBE GET A FREE EARLY SIGNED COPY OF MY BOOK
AND GIVING AWAY A SIGNED ARC (advance review copy) OF OBSTETRIX
THAT'S RIGHT YOU CAN HELP MINNESOTA FAMILIES AND MAYBE GET A FREE EARLY SIGNED COPY OF MY BOOK
January 31, 2026 at 9:20 PM
Reposting even though I want less competition for the raffle prize :P
Reposted by Kristin
This is such a darn good story
www.uncannymagazine.com/article/butt...
www.uncannymagazine.com/article/butt...
Butterfly Pavilion - Uncanny Magazine
There are so many: yellow and silver and black, morphos whose wings are a demure moth-brown on one side and iridescent blue on the other, like princesses in disguise. The children follow them around t...
www.uncannymagazine.com
January 28, 2026 at 6:13 PM
This is such a darn good story
www.uncannymagazine.com/article/butt...
www.uncannymagazine.com/article/butt...
Reposted by Kristin
This was just me making this comparison yesterday, but today the Korean news is calling Minnesota "America's Gwangju" and have human rights lawyers explaining how America is now living through the dictatorship Korea once had.
The Chun regime that my wife fought against in the 80s did the exact same thing. They needed a "crisis" that "only they could solve" to hoard more ill-gotten power, so they chose one city (Gwangju), declared its inhabitants enemies, sent trucks full of soldiers to violently attack and kill them.
January 25, 2026 at 11:37 PM
This was just me making this comparison yesterday, but today the Korean news is calling Minnesota "America's Gwangju" and have human rights lawyers explaining how America is now living through the dictatorship Korea once had.
Reposted by Kristin
Alex Pretti, the man killed by federal agents today in Minneapolis, appears to have been a registered nurse, an athlete, a son and a brother, with ties to Colorado and Wisconsin.
Here is a photo he used for several accounts.
Here is a photo he used for several accounts.
January 24, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Alex Pretti, the man killed by federal agents today in Minneapolis, appears to have been a registered nurse, an athlete, a son and a brother, with ties to Colorado and Wisconsin.
Here is a photo he used for several accounts.
Here is a photo he used for several accounts.
Reposted by Kristin
In solidarity with today's ICE OUT OF MINNESOTA blackout, MinnMax is donating $1 to the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota for every share of this Bluesky post for the next hour.
January 23, 2026 at 4:01 PM
In solidarity with today's ICE OUT OF MINNESOTA blackout, MinnMax is donating $1 to the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota for every share of this Bluesky post for the next hour.
Reposted by Kristin
remarkable how much contempt this white house has for the nation’s historical and artistic treasures
VOA's headquarters, 'the Sistine Chapel of the New Deal,' faces possible destruction as part of the Trump administration's drive for "maximum value for the federal real estate footprint." wapo.st/4a5NCsq
The stunning art trove hidden in a D.C. building marked by Trump for disposal
Packed with frescoes, paintings and reliefs, the federal government’s Cohen Building has been called “the Sistine Chapel of the New Deal.” Advocates fear these works could be at risk.
wapo.st
January 22, 2026 at 3:00 PM
remarkable how much contempt this white house has for the nation’s historical and artistic treasures
Reposted by Kristin
“If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.
Everyone understands that countering lies with (obvious) truth matters...until it's Black people speaking with clarity about the US and their experience of it.
Then it's cringe.
Then it's cringe.
January 21, 2026 at 6:01 PM
“If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.
Reposted by Kristin
Reposted by Kristin
In which I explain that the Third Amendment—the one nobody ever talks about—allows hotels to refuse to house Kristi Noem’s ICE goons.
Opinion: Hotels Have a Constitutional Right Not To House ICE Agents
The Third Amendment prohibits the government from forcing people to “quarter” troops. ICE is essentially a paramilitary force—so why would hotels let them stay?
rewirenewsgroup.com
January 21, 2026 at 2:37 PM
In which I explain that the Third Amendment—the one nobody ever talks about—allows hotels to refuse to house Kristi Noem’s ICE goons.
Reposted by Kristin
America couldn’t have done all of this without Trump! Americans’ pensions & lifesavings devastated by inflation, skyrocketing costs, cuts to healthcare & SNAP to give tax breaks to billionaires in the Trump/GOP’s BIG UGLY BILL! We couldn’t have uprooted post-WWII stability or covered up pedophiles!
January 20, 2026 at 4:11 PM
America couldn’t have done all of this without Trump! Americans’ pensions & lifesavings devastated by inflation, skyrocketing costs, cuts to healthcare & SNAP to give tax breaks to billionaires in the Trump/GOP’s BIG UGLY BILL! We couldn’t have uprooted post-WWII stability or covered up pedophiles!
Reposted by Kristin
Dignity and morality isn't something you can buy. There's not a shred of either in Trump and his enablers, regardless of their monetary wealth.
January 20, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Dignity and morality isn't something you can buy. There's not a shred of either in Trump and his enablers, regardless of their monetary wealth.
Reposted by Kristin
I'm looking forward to Governor Rob Sand doing this for #Iowa
The first thing Virginia Spanberger did after being sworn in as Governor of Virginia was repeal Youngkin’s executive order requiring state and local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE.
This is the kind of leadership Democratic governors nationwide should be emulating.
This is the kind of leadership Democratic governors nationwide should be emulating.
January 18, 2026 at 4:29 PM
I'm looking forward to Governor Rob Sand doing this for #Iowa
Reposted by Kristin
Today, Minneapolis had their annual Powderhorn Art Sled Rally. A community organized event that this time featured de-Icer sleds and bowling pins named for world leaders.
A very Minnesotan way to protest ICE. 😍🙌🏻
A very Minnesotan way to protest ICE. 😍🙌🏻
January 18, 2026 at 4:07 AM
Today, Minneapolis had their annual Powderhorn Art Sled Rally. A community organized event that this time featured de-Icer sleds and bowling pins named for world leaders.
A very Minnesotan way to protest ICE. 😍🙌🏻
A very Minnesotan way to protest ICE. 😍🙌🏻
Reposted by Kristin
Who could've predicted that in just 3 short years Twitter would be the world's foremost website for both antisemites AND AI child porn
January 18, 2026 at 4:46 PM
Who could've predicted that in just 3 short years Twitter would be the world's foremost website for both antisemites AND AI child porn
Reposted by Kristin
Blueskis, studies have shown that when folks see or hear about a book more than five times, they are likely to check it out, and buy it.
So in the spirit of creating buzz, here is the gorgeous cover of THE WESTERNERS, which will be published on March 31!
So in the spirit of creating buzz, here is the gorgeous cover of THE WESTERNERS, which will be published on March 31!
January 18, 2026 at 3:27 PM
Blueskis, studies have shown that when folks see or hear about a book more than five times, they are likely to check it out, and buy it.
So in the spirit of creating buzz, here is the gorgeous cover of THE WESTERNERS, which will be published on March 31!
So in the spirit of creating buzz, here is the gorgeous cover of THE WESTERNERS, which will be published on March 31!