Cathy Gellis
@cathygellis.bsky.social
Lawyer, writer, all-around-great person
I mostly post about technology, law, and civil liberties (especially free speech), and how they intersect. And mostly at Techdirt: https://www.techdirt.com/user/cathy/
I also post silly things too.
I mostly post about technology, law, and civil liberties (especially free speech), and how they intersect. And mostly at Techdirt: https://www.techdirt.com/user/cathy/
I also post silly things too.
Pinned
Cathy Gellis
@cathygellis.bsky.social
· Jan 3
Oaths Of Office, And How Everyone Not Moving To Impeach Trump Is Violating Their Own
Until very recently the only member of Congress excused from not having moved to impeach Trump was Rep. Grijalva, because until someone swore her in there was nothing she could officially do. But f…
www.techdirt.com
A reminder: any member of Congress not impeaching is violating their own oath of office.
It's not optional.
www.techdirt.com/2025/11/26/o...
It's not optional.
www.techdirt.com/2025/11/26/o...
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
Trump wants to nationalize our elections, and Republicans are enabling him. This insane bill is the latest remix of their decades-long crusade to destroy voting rights – but even worse. It blocks millions of eligible Americans from registering to vote, including military families, women, and more.
Trump backs the SAVE America Act: Here's what's actually in it
The SAVE Act would fall short of his broader demands.
www.axios.com
February 9, 2026 at 8:33 PM
Trump wants to nationalize our elections, and Republicans are enabling him. This insane bill is the latest remix of their decades-long crusade to destroy voting rights – but even worse. It blocks millions of eligible Americans from registering to vote, including military families, women, and more.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
I don’t know if there’s a crisis of masculinity, but I do know this: a barber shop with no women present, in any town anywhere in the world where I’ve ever found myself, is the essence of masculinity.
February 9, 2026 at 8:20 PM
I don’t know if there’s a crisis of masculinity, but I do know this: a barber shop with no women present, in any town anywhere in the world where I’ve ever found myself, is the essence of masculinity.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
elon musk is a D.A.R.E. psyop to scare teenagers in to thinking ketamine is lame
February 9, 2026 at 1:57 AM
elon musk is a D.A.R.E. psyop to scare teenagers in to thinking ketamine is lame
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
SMH. RFK's CDC measles dashboard has a lead image of flights coming into the US from abroad -- as if other countries are to blame for our skyrocketing measles numbers.
>89% of cases last year were home-grown and >92% of cases this year. This is a US problem that needs domestic solutions.
>89% of cases last year were home-grown and >92% of cases this year. This is a US problem that needs domestic solutions.
February 9, 2026 at 7:33 PM
SMH. RFK's CDC measles dashboard has a lead image of flights coming into the US from abroad -- as if other countries are to blame for our skyrocketing measles numbers.
>89% of cases last year were home-grown and >92% of cases this year. This is a US problem that needs domestic solutions.
>89% of cases last year were home-grown and >92% of cases this year. This is a US problem that needs domestic solutions.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
The real story is why *more* elite athletes are not regularly masking and occasionally quarantining as needed. If you spent years training for an event, wouldn't you take every step to ensure peak performance?
For most people, the pandemic days of masking are behind us. In certain corners of the Winter Olympics, though, things still look a lot like they did in Covid times. Some athletes are taking extreme measures to stay healthy. n.pr/4akK70l
Olympic Covid restrictions are gone, but some athletes still self-quarantining
For most people, the pandemic days of masking are behind us. In certain corners of the Winter Olympics, though, things still look a lot like they did in Covid times. Some athletes are taking extreme measures to stay healthy.
n.pr
February 9, 2026 at 8:25 PM
The real story is why *more* elite athletes are not regularly masking and occasionally quarantining as needed. If you spent years training for an event, wouldn't you take every step to ensure peak performance?
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
Cool/important job alert:
Principal Research Scientist at the Wikimedia Foundation's
Research team for the area of knowledge integrity
Job posting: job-boards.greenhouse.io/wikimedia/jo...
Principal Research Scientist at the Wikimedia Foundation's
Research team for the area of knowledge integrity
Job posting: job-boards.greenhouse.io/wikimedia/jo...
Principal Research Scientist
Remote
job-boards.greenhouse.io
February 9, 2026 at 8:07 PM
Cool/important job alert:
Principal Research Scientist at the Wikimedia Foundation's
Research team for the area of knowledge integrity
Job posting: job-boards.greenhouse.io/wikimedia/jo...
Principal Research Scientist at the Wikimedia Foundation's
Research team for the area of knowledge integrity
Job posting: job-boards.greenhouse.io/wikimedia/jo...
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
Many people think of Nazi concentration camps as purpose-built institutions. But many of the concentration and internment camps in Germany and occupied countries were repurposed buildings: asylums, barracks, farm complexes, even hotels.
former Ilag VIII internment camp, Toszek, Poland
former Ilag VIII internment camp, Toszek, Poland
February 9, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Many people think of Nazi concentration camps as purpose-built institutions. But many of the concentration and internment camps in Germany and occupied countries were repurposed buildings: asylums, barracks, farm complexes, even hotels.
former Ilag VIII internment camp, Toszek, Poland
former Ilag VIII internment camp, Toszek, Poland
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
Since 1987, the entire construct of the U.S. mandatory sentencing code is that convicted defendants can only receive reductions in sentences for displaying remorse and fully cooperating with prosecutors. The perversity of Trump and his guilt is that for a pardon, Maxwell must display the opposite.
February 9, 2026 at 7:56 PM
Since 1987, the entire construct of the U.S. mandatory sentencing code is that convicted defendants can only receive reductions in sentences for displaying remorse and fully cooperating with prosecutors. The perversity of Trump and his guilt is that for a pardon, Maxwell must display the opposite.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
so you've got the valid criticisms of the Netflix merger (layoffs, price hikes)
you've got theater owners who just don't want antiquated release windows changed for obvious reasons
then you've got the Ellison/Trump alliance that wants to scuttle the deal so Ellison can buy CNN/HBO/Warner instead
you've got theater owners who just don't want antiquated release windows changed for obvious reasons
then you've got the Ellison/Trump alliance that wants to scuttle the deal so Ellison can buy CNN/HBO/Warner instead
Theater Owners Call Pending Netflix-Warner Bros Merger “Catastrophic” In Statement To Senate Lawmakers
Cinema United, the trade org for exhibition, has made public its remarks about the pending Netflix–Warner Bros merger to the Senate antitrust subcommittee, saying, “If Netflix succeeds in acquiring Wa...
deadline.com
February 9, 2026 at 7:38 PM
so you've got the valid criticisms of the Netflix merger (layoffs, price hikes)
you've got theater owners who just don't want antiquated release windows changed for obvious reasons
then you've got the Ellison/Trump alliance that wants to scuttle the deal so Ellison can buy CNN/HBO/Warner instead
you've got theater owners who just don't want antiquated release windows changed for obvious reasons
then you've got the Ellison/Trump alliance that wants to scuttle the deal so Ellison can buy CNN/HBO/Warner instead
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
Three members of Congress say US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr lied during his Senate confirmation hearings, that newly revealed emails undermine his testimony that a trip he took to Samoa ahead of a deadly measles outbreak had “nothing to do with vaccines”
RFK Jr misled Senate during confirmation, Congress members and Hawaii governor say
www.theguardian.com
February 9, 2026 at 5:50 PM
Three members of Congress say US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr lied during his Senate confirmation hearings, that newly revealed emails undermine his testimony that a trip he took to Samoa ahead of a deadly measles outbreak had “nothing to do with vaccines”
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
Administration is just rounding up people showing us what the administration is doing.
In one 30-minute stretch, three legal observers were arrested — as Trump’s Border czar Tom Homan calls on locals to “end the resistance.”
“Uptick In Abductions”: ICE Ramps Up Targeting of Minneapolis Legal Observers
In one 30-minute stretch, three Minneapolis legal observers were arrested as ICE ramped up its targeting of community volunteers.
interc.pt
February 9, 2026 at 8:12 PM
Administration is just rounding up people showing us what the administration is doing.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
Even Haitians who have been U.S. citizens for decades are constantly looking over their shoulders. “If they can do it to white people in Minnesota, they can do it to anyone.” My latest:
newrepublic.com/article/2062...
newrepublic.com/article/2062...
Trump Has Made Haitians Fear for Their Lives
While the Trump administration continues to try to revoke Temporary Protected Status, even Haitians with full U.S. citizenship now fear violence and deportation.
newrepublic.com
February 9, 2026 at 1:02 PM
Even Haitians who have been U.S. citizens for decades are constantly looking over their shoulders. “If they can do it to white people in Minnesota, they can do it to anyone.” My latest:
newrepublic.com/article/2062...
newrepublic.com/article/2062...
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
It is. The Jewish Musuem in Prague has a collection of children's drawings from the Terezin ghetto. It was the worst thing I've seen in my life.
“Collection of Handwritten Letters from Children in Detention Center” sounds like an exhibit in the Holocaust Museum.
1/ ProPublica collected handwritten letters in mid-January from children held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the same facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was taken.
Hundreds of kids are still detained.
We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵
Hundreds of kids are still detained.
We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵
February 9, 2026 at 8:12 PM
It is. The Jewish Musuem in Prague has a collection of children's drawings from the Terezin ghetto. It was the worst thing I've seen in my life.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
If Bad Bunny was serious about uniting Americans, he would have given his Grammy to Donald Trump.
February 9, 2026 at 1:36 PM
If Bad Bunny was serious about uniting Americans, he would have given his Grammy to Donald Trump.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
It's been interesting to think about how this movie is and isn't about my experience. I'm not in it, nobody has asked me to speak or write about it, it's almost like what happened to me never happened. Except that Iowa extremists are attacking libraries because 'ALA wants to queer the catalog.'
February 9, 2026 at 8:13 PM
It's been interesting to think about how this movie is and isn't about my experience. I'm not in it, nobody has asked me to speak or write about it, it's almost like what happened to me never happened. Except that Iowa extremists are attacking libraries because 'ALA wants to queer the catalog.'
I have a new post at Techdirt that is both a look back at just about everything I've written about Section 230 since its 20th birthday, and a crash course in how it works and why we need it.
On Section 230’s 30th Birthday, A Look Back At Why It’s Such A Good Law And Why Messing With It Would Be Bad
This past weekend Section 230 turned 30 years old. In those 30 years it has proven to be a marvelous yet misunderstood law, often gravely, as too many, including in Congress and the courts,…
This past weekend Section 230 turned 30 years old. In those 30 years it has proven to be a marvelous yet misunderstood law, often gravely, as too many, including in Congress and the courts,…
On Section 230’s 30th Birthday, A Look Back At Why It’s Such A Good Law And Why Messing With It Would Be Bad
This past weekend Section 230 turned 30 years old. In those 30 years it has proven to be a marvelous yet misunderstood law, often gravely, as too many, including in Congress and the courts, mistakenly blame it for all the world's ills, or at least those that happen in some connection with the Internet. When in reality, Section 230 is not why bad things happen online, but it…
www.techdirt.com
February 9, 2026 at 8:11 PM
I have a new post at Techdirt that is both a look back at just about everything I've written about Section 230 since its 20th birthday, and a crash course in how it works and why we need it.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
Secretary Howard Lutnick lied to the country about his ties to Epstein.
Now we learned that they were in business together.
He has no business being our Commerce Secretary.
He should resign.
www.politico.com/live-updates...
Now we learned that they were in business together.
He has no business being our Commerce Secretary.
He should resign.
www.politico.com/live-updates...
Howard Lutnick faces bipartisan calls to resign over latest Epstein revelations
Recently disclosed records suggest a closer relationship than the Commerce secretary previously indicated.
www.politico.com
February 9, 2026 at 6:19 PM
Secretary Howard Lutnick lied to the country about his ties to Epstein.
Now we learned that they were in business together.
He has no business being our Commerce Secretary.
He should resign.
www.politico.com/live-updates...
Now we learned that they were in business together.
He has no business being our Commerce Secretary.
He should resign.
www.politico.com/live-updates...
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
In Boston ICE randomly pulled over this huge white Irish guy with a Mass drivers license, 20 years in the states, legal status, pending green card and have held him for 5 months, his citizen wife paid a $4k bond that was ignored(!) ICE forged his signature on deportation agreement, no appeal
Kerryman who is married, living and working legally in the United States for >20 years has been incarcerated by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) since September 2025.
Profoundly disturbing report by Karlin Lillington @klillington.bsky.social
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
Profoundly disturbing report by Karlin Lillington @klillington.bsky.social
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
‘Absolute hell’: Irish man with valid US work permit held by Ice since September
Seamus Culleton has been in a detention facility in Texas for nearly five months despite having no criminal record
www.irishtimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 12:42 PM
In Boston ICE randomly pulled over this huge white Irish guy with a Mass drivers license, 20 years in the states, legal status, pending green card and have held him for 5 months, his citizen wife paid a $4k bond that was ignored(!) ICE forged his signature on deportation agreement, no appeal
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
Ilag VIII (Tost) was an internment camp for British, French, Dutch, Canadian, Australian, and American enemy aliens in Nazi-occupied Poland. In 1939, it was an asylum/hospital for disabled people. The Nazis killed some patients and displaced others, then turned the buildings into an internment camp.
February 9, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Ilag VIII (Tost) was an internment camp for British, French, Dutch, Canadian, Australian, and American enemy aliens in Nazi-occupied Poland. In 1939, it was an asylum/hospital for disabled people. The Nazis killed some patients and displaced others, then turned the buildings into an internment camp.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
Sinclair has been very effective at flying under the radar. It's not clear that people understand how much of the news they own.
February 9, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Sinclair has been very effective at flying under the radar. It's not clear that people understand how much of the news they own.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
This is the rub. If they won't even say the word 'impeach' right now, what makes anyone think they will do it if they're in the majority?
Even their strongly-worded letters don't lay out plans of action. We want impeachment, conviction, removal, and consequences.
Vote the cowards out.
Even their strongly-worded letters don't lay out plans of action. We want impeachment, conviction, removal, and consequences.
Vote the cowards out.
February 9, 2026 at 7:34 PM
This is the rub. If they won't even say the word 'impeach' right now, what makes anyone think they will do it if they're in the majority?
Even their strongly-worded letters don't lay out plans of action. We want impeachment, conviction, removal, and consequences.
Vote the cowards out.
Even their strongly-worded letters don't lay out plans of action. We want impeachment, conviction, removal, and consequences.
Vote the cowards out.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
A reminder: there is not a single housing market in America—not one city, state, or county—where someone relying on SSI can afford a one-bedroom apartment.
Deaths like these are always preceded by engineered abandonment. Disproportionate homelessness among people with disabilities is no accident.
Deaths like these are always preceded by engineered abandonment. Disproportionate homelessness among people with disabilities is no accident.
High rents outpace federal disability payments, leaving many homeless
Supplemental Security Income, a federal program meant to be a financial floor for people unable to work, hasn't kept pace with inflation. Many recipients are homeless, unable to save for an apartment.
www.npr.org
February 9, 2026 at 4:41 PM
A reminder: there is not a single housing market in America—not one city, state, or county—where someone relying on SSI can afford a one-bedroom apartment.
Deaths like these are always preceded by engineered abandonment. Disproportionate homelessness among people with disabilities is no accident.
Deaths like these are always preceded by engineered abandonment. Disproportionate homelessness among people with disabilities is no accident.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
10th Cir. (unpublished): for self-represented lawyer (she says she's ex-Army JAG) who used ChatGPT to draft her appeal brief, which included at least seven fabricated citations, $1,000 for opposing party's costs and referral to her state disciplinary authority.
www.ca10.uscourts.gov/sites/ca10/f...
www.ca10.uscourts.gov/sites/ca10/f...
![Courts have issued a variety of sanctions against attorneys and pro se parties for similar misconduct, including monetary sanctions, payment of the opposing party’s attorney fees incurred in responding to the misconduct, striking filings containing fabricated case citations, dismissing complaints, dismissing or denying appeals, and referring attorneys to the appropriate disciplinary body. See United States v. Hayes, 763 F. Supp. 3d 1054, 1071–72 (E.D. Cal. 2025) (collecting cases). Considering Amarsingh’s candor and remorse, and the novelty at the time of the infraction (January 24, 2025) of the use of AI by lawyers, we conclude that the following sanctions are appropriately tailored to the conduct and circumstances in this appeal: (1) Within 30 days of the filing of this decision, Amarsingh must pay $1,000 to Frontier to offset attorney fees and costs Frontier incurred in responding to the problems Frontier and the court have identified in Amarsingh’s brief. See, e.g., Benjamin v. Costco Wholesale Corp., 779 F. Supp. 3d 341, 351 (E.D.N.Y. 2025) (imposing $1,000 fine on attorney, which was “lower than in many other similar cases in part because of [the attorney’s] candor and sincere regret,” one-time use of GenAI, and voluntary CLE participation); Jackson v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co.,](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:24vva42nxim6zbcmnozegoef/bafkreic3cjulnybwt4hnfxkl4j3evr4bcjoaxfvdxdkpgny4fain6mr6tm@jpeg)
February 9, 2026 at 7:18 PM
10th Cir. (unpublished): for self-represented lawyer (she says she's ex-Army JAG) who used ChatGPT to draft her appeal brief, which included at least seven fabricated citations, $1,000 for opposing party's costs and referral to her state disciplinary authority.
www.ca10.uscourts.gov/sites/ca10/f...
www.ca10.uscourts.gov/sites/ca10/f...
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
In one 30-minute stretch, three legal observers were arrested — as Trump’s Border czar Tom Homan calls on locals to “end the resistance.”
“Uptick In Abductions”: ICE Ramps Up Targeting of Minneapolis Legal Observers
In one 30-minute stretch, three Minneapolis legal observers were arrested as ICE ramped up its targeting of community volunteers.
interc.pt
February 9, 2026 at 6:19 PM
In one 30-minute stretch, three legal observers were arrested — as Trump’s Border czar Tom Homan calls on locals to “end the resistance.”
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
This is a really big, terrifying deal 🧪
Fearing that educated judges might rule on climate cases, Republican Attorneys General successfully bullied the The Federal Judicial Center (the education & research arm of the federal court system) into removing a chapter summarizing climate science from their scientific judicial reference manual.
February 9, 2026 at 6:37 PM
This is a really big, terrifying deal 🧪