Christine Pulliam
@christinepulliam.bsky.social
Astronomer. Aviator. Always looking up. Cat mom. Science communicator/media relations at STScI. Views are my own.
If Democrats cared about literally anything, this is what their leaders would say.
I wrote the speech I *wish* Chuck Schumer would give tonight - as an actual opposition leader. Here it is:
"My fellow Americans: At this hour, an unrestrained force of militarized and violent federal officers is carrying out a project of ethnic cleansing in the streets of American cities."
1/14
"My fellow Americans: At this hour, an unrestrained force of militarized and violent federal officers is carrying out a project of ethnic cleansing in the streets of American cities."
1/14
Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included.
January 25, 2026 at 2:56 AM
If Democrats cared about literally anything, this is what their leaders would say.
Reposted by Christine Pulliam
Furry friends at BARCS are looking for temporary homes during the snowstorm
Furry friends at BARCS are looking for temporary homes during the snowstorm
Dozens of people entered the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter on Thursday empty-handed and left with a bag of food, a leash and a dog for the weekend.
buff.ly
January 23, 2026 at 1:00 AM
Furry friends at BARCS are looking for temporary homes during the snowstorm
As a person with family in Texas, I get this.
Better batten down the hatches. Ted Cruz is getting on a plane to Laguna Beach in winter.
January 22, 2026 at 2:48 AM
As a person with family in Texas, I get this.
As promised, here's a beautiful new Webb image! I love how organic it looks.
#NASAWebb’s new view of the famous Helix Nebula zooms into a section of the shells of gas cast off by a dying star, revealing pillars that look like comets with extended tails: https://news.stsci.edu/4qPKTsL
January 20, 2026 at 5:01 PM
As promised, here's a beautiful new Webb image! I love how organic it looks.
It says a lot about MAGA-ites that they can't understand why a person would stand up and defend their neighbors if there's nothing in it for them.
Every time the Trump regime uses the words "funded protesters" and "outside agitators" news outlets need to cut to this photo from last week.
ICE has invaded these communities. Outside agitators don't show up in their fucking bathrobes.
ICE has invaded these communities. Outside agitators don't show up in their fucking bathrobes.
January 19, 2026 at 8:46 PM
It says a lot about MAGA-ites that they can't understand why a person would stand up and defend their neighbors if there's nothing in it for them.
And following up on my last post, stay tuned for some really neat JWST news coming out this week! It'll be perfect to view while curled up by a warm fire. (There's a pun/hint in there.)
January 19, 2026 at 3:02 PM
And following up on my last post, stay tuned for some really neat JWST news coming out this week! It'll be perfect to view while curled up by a warm fire. (There's a pun/hint in there.)
I've been posting a lot of politics lately (for good reason), so I'm excited to get to share a cool science story with you! WBAL did a really excellent job with this report on one of our Hubble news items from the AAS conference:
"[Cloud-9] is a starless gas cloud in a dark matter halo, which is effectively a galaxy that wasn't, or a failed galaxy. It never formed stars, so it has all the components, and it could have become a galaxy, but it never did," said Dr. Rachael Beaton, an associate astronomer at STScI in Baltimore.
'Cloud-9': Baltimore astronomers' discovery sheds light on dark matter
A starless discovery by astronomers in Baltimore is shedding new light on dark matter.
www.wbaltv.com
January 19, 2026 at 3:00 PM
I've been posting a lot of politics lately (for good reason), so I'm excited to get to share a cool science story with you! WBAL did a really excellent job with this report on one of our Hubble news items from the AAS conference:
Reposted by Christine Pulliam
For @msnownews.bsky.social, I wrote an article about how ICE Watch is grounded in sociological theories of violence prevention.
The reality is that most men will only commit public violence in extremely specific scenarios and ICE Watch disrupts the conditions necessary for escalation.
The reality is that most men will only commit public violence in extremely specific scenarios and ICE Watch disrupts the conditions necessary for escalation.
Opinion | I'm a Minneapolis sociologist who studies violence. Here's how ICE observers are helping.
Research into how violence occurs shows that disapproval from the people around you can help reduce it.
www.ms.now
January 16, 2026 at 6:55 PM
For @msnownews.bsky.social, I wrote an article about how ICE Watch is grounded in sociological theories of violence prevention.
The reality is that most men will only commit public violence in extremely specific scenarios and ICE Watch disrupts the conditions necessary for escalation.
The reality is that most men will only commit public violence in extremely specific scenarios and ICE Watch disrupts the conditions necessary for escalation.
Reposted by Christine Pulliam
We recently tested ~ a dozen public statements from a diverse set of Democratic elected officials on the murder of Renee Good and this was the top testing one
AOC: I want everybody to understand that the cuts to your health care are what’s paying for this. You get screwed over to pay a bunch of thugs in the street that are shooting mothers in the face.
January 15, 2026 at 5:30 PM
We recently tested ~ a dozen public statements from a diverse set of Democratic elected officials on the murder of Renee Good and this was the top testing one
I was hoping the Capital Weather Gang would share someone's photo of this morning's gorgeous sunrise!
January 14, 2026 at 6:03 PM
I was hoping the Capital Weather Gang would share someone's photo of this morning's gorgeous sunrise!
Reposted by Christine Pulliam
"It'll take an hour, but I'll do it in 5 minutes."
"Release docking clamps; thrusters to half speed." (But only if you're kinky 😂😂😂)
January 12, 2026 at 9:43 PM
"It'll take an hour, but I'll do it in 5 minutes."
And now there's a GoFundMe for the murderous ICE agent. I spent 10 minutes trying to report it for violating their terms of service (you can't fundraise for legal expenses to defend against murder charges) but it kept timing out. I'm sure it would have gone right through if I'd been a donor.
January 12, 2026 at 12:16 AM
And now there's a GoFundMe for the murderous ICE agent. I spent 10 minutes trying to report it for violating their terms of service (you can't fundraise for legal expenses to defend against murder charges) but it kept timing out. I'm sure it would have gone right through if I'd been a donor.
Reposted by Christine Pulliam
If there are *any* Democrats in Congress who will still vote to keep funding this administration when it is using that money to terrorize our cities and refusing to allow congressional representatives their clear right to observe their activities, then those reps need to be primaried into retirement
I was just denied access to the ICE processing center at the Whipple Building.
Members of Congress have a legal right and constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight where people are being detained.
The public deserves to know what is taking place in ICE facilities.
Members of Congress have a legal right and constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight where people are being detained.
The public deserves to know what is taking place in ICE facilities.
JUST NOW: Huge mass of agents in a standoff, weapons drawn as Reps. Ilhan Omar, Angie Craig, and Kelly Morrison attempt to conduct congressional oversight at the Whipple Building, which has been HQ for thousands of ICE agents.
@zeteo.com
@zeteo.com
January 10, 2026 at 6:49 PM
If there are *any* Democrats in Congress who will still vote to keep funding this administration when it is using that money to terrorize our cities and refusing to allow congressional representatives their clear right to observe their activities, then those reps need to be primaried into retirement
Reposted by Christine Pulliam
It's time to state clearly that if MAGA and Republicans can't condemn any part of this shooting, continue to blame the victim for it, and even hint that it's a just outcome that others "deserve," that's a crossing of the line that the rest of us won't ever be able to forget.
Rep. Randy Fine: "If you impede the actions of our law enforcement as they seek to repel foreign invaders from our country, you get what's coming to you. I do not feel bad for the woman that was involved."
January 8, 2026 at 8:19 PM
It's time to state clearly that if MAGA and Republicans can't condemn any part of this shooting, continue to blame the victim for it, and even hint that it's a just outcome that others "deserve," that's a crossing of the line that the rest of us won't ever be able to forget.
Reposted by Christine Pulliam
DHS Warns Any Action By Americans Will Be Treated As Domestic Terrorism https://theonion.com/dhs-warns-any-action-by-americans-will-be-treated-as-domestic-terrorism/
January 8, 2026 at 6:57 PM
DHS Warns Any Action By Americans Will Be Treated As Domestic Terrorism https://theonion.com/dhs-warns-any-action-by-americans-will-be-treated-as-domestic-terrorism/
This is why you need robust local newsrooms.
Kristi Noem, herself, supplied the method used to ID the agent. She said he "been dragged by a vehicle” in an earlier incident.
@startribune.com reporters, who know their way around court records, quickly unearthed his name and confirmed his identity.
@startribune.com reporters, who know their way around court records, quickly unearthed his name and confirmed his identity.
The agent, Jonathan Ross, was dragged by a vehicle and injured during a June operation in the Twin Cities, court records show.
January 8, 2026 at 8:31 PM
This is why you need robust local newsrooms.
It is past time for Democrats to take decisive action. No more strongly worded social media posts. Put your votes where your mouths are. No one will ever vote for you again if you do not fight against state-sanctioned murder.
January 8, 2026 at 6:17 PM
It is past time for Democrats to take decisive action. No more strongly worded social media posts. Put your votes where your mouths are. No one will ever vote for you again if you do not fight against state-sanctioned murder.
Scientists have identified "astronomy's platypus" - and I got to put out the press release about it. My career is complete. science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
Scientists Identify 'Astronomy’s Platypus' with NASA’s Webb Telescope - NASA Science
After combing through NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s archive of sweeping extragalactic cosmic fields, a small team of astronomers at the University of
science.nasa.gov
January 6, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Scientists have identified "astronomy's platypus" - and I got to put out the press release about it. My career is complete. science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
Job alert #2: the National Solar Observatory is hiring a head of education & public outreach. Based in Boulder, CO: recruiting2.ultipro.com/SPA1004AURA/...
recruiting2.ultipro.com
January 6, 2026 at 4:48 PM
Job alert #2: the National Solar Observatory is hiring a head of education & public outreach. Based in Boulder, CO: recruiting2.ultipro.com/SPA1004AURA/...
Come work with me! STScI is hiring a new head of the Office of Public Outreach. It's a great opportunity for scicomm for NASA's flagship missions: recruiting2.ultipro.com/SPA1004AURA/...
recruiting2.ultipro.com
January 6, 2026 at 3:44 PM
Come work with me! STScI is hiring a new head of the Office of Public Outreach. It's a great opportunity for scicomm for NASA's flagship missions: recruiting2.ultipro.com/SPA1004AURA/...
In what is surely a metaphor for 2025, we had to get rid of our tree on Christmas Day due to an out-of-control aphid infestation. Here’s hoping next year is better.
December 25, 2025 at 7:57 PM
In what is surely a metaphor for 2025, we had to get rid of our tree on Christmas Day due to an out-of-control aphid infestation. Here’s hoping next year is better.
It’s a small thing in the grand scheme of things, but I really enjoy how our local fire department brings Santa through the neighborhood every year on Christmas Eve. ❤️🎄
December 24, 2025 at 11:13 PM
It’s a small thing in the grand scheme of things, but I really enjoy how our local fire department brings Santa through the neighborhood every year on Christmas Eve. ❤️🎄
Please enjoy this last Hubble news item of 2025. Happy holidays!
Hubble has imaged the largest planet-forming disk ever seen! At 400 billion miles wide, it is roughly 40 times the diameter of our solar system. The disk is unexpectedly chaotic and turbulent, offering new insights into how planetary systems form: https://bit.ly/477sQ9b 🔭 🧪
December 23, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Please enjoy this last Hubble news item of 2025. Happy holidays!
I predict that before this administration is over, the Museum of African American History and Culture will be shut down, and quite possibly bulldozed. Because how dare you portray slavery as a bad thing? It built our great country! www.cnn.com/2025/12/21/p...
White House pushes Smithsonian to comply with review to receive federal funding | CNN Politics
The Trump administration has signaled to the Smithsonian Institution that the White House could withhold federal funding from the museum organization if it does not comply with the administration’s un...
www.cnn.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:05 PM
I predict that before this administration is over, the Museum of African American History and Culture will be shut down, and quite possibly bulldozed. Because how dare you portray slavery as a bad thing? It built our great country! www.cnn.com/2025/12/21/p...
Reposted by Christine Pulliam
That’s what these ‘debates’ are really about: framing old fashioned oppression as some kind of high-brow concern for women’s happiness.
You know what makes us happy? Bank accounts. Voting rights. The ability to leave a bad marriage and not have a miscarriage kill us.
You know what makes us happy? Bank accounts. Voting rights. The ability to leave a bad marriage and not have a miscarriage kill us.
December 21, 2025 at 12:29 AM
That’s what these ‘debates’ are really about: framing old fashioned oppression as some kind of high-brow concern for women’s happiness.
You know what makes us happy? Bank accounts. Voting rights. The ability to leave a bad marriage and not have a miscarriage kill us.
You know what makes us happy? Bank accounts. Voting rights. The ability to leave a bad marriage and not have a miscarriage kill us.