Kirsti
@kst.bsky.social
Librarian. Geek. Music is life. I block early & often. “Always fight for the user, never for the system.”— Cory Doctorow.
Meanwhile I have co-workers in the community college system who have to use food banks to survive.
SPD Stands by Decision to Promote Administrative Staffer to $315,000-a-Year Top Civilian Job
In an announcement, the chief touted the new Chief Operating Officer's experience as a staffer to former mayor Bruce Harrell and as a program manager at the downtown YMCA.
publicola.com/2026/01/22/s...
In an announcement, the chief touted the new Chief Operating Officer's experience as a staffer to former mayor Bruce Harrell and as a program manager at the downtown YMCA.
publicola.com/2026/01/22/s...
SPD Stands by Decision to Promote Administrative Staffer to $315,000-a-Year Top Civilian Job - PubliCola
By Erica C. Barnett The Seattle Police Department’s new Chief Operating Officer Sarah Smith, will make almost $315,000 a year—about…
publicola.com
January 23, 2026 at 3:22 AM
Meanwhile I have co-workers in the community college system who have to use food banks to survive.
Reposted by Kirsti
Prosecutors know this, and use it to get innocent women to plead guilty rather than fight it in court.
The conviction rate is higher in places with cash bail, because more innocent people plead guilty, so that their children won't be traumatized and abused by being thrown into state custody.
The conviction rate is higher in places with cash bail, because more innocent people plead guilty, so that their children won't be traumatized and abused by being thrown into state custody.
January 23, 2026 at 2:42 AM
Prosecutors know this, and use it to get innocent women to plead guilty rather than fight it in court.
The conviction rate is higher in places with cash bail, because more innocent people plead guilty, so that their children won't be traumatized and abused by being thrown into state custody.
The conviction rate is higher in places with cash bail, because more innocent people plead guilty, so that their children won't be traumatized and abused by being thrown into state custody.
Reposted by Kirsti
🤔
Is using someone's 5 year old child against them to facilitate their arrest and conviction wrong?
Phrased another way: Why would Black people who are 100% innocent ever plead guilty and confess to a crime that they know that they didn't do?
To avoid losing custody of their kids.🤷🏿♂️
Is using someone's 5 year old child against them to facilitate their arrest and conviction wrong?
Phrased another way: Why would Black people who are 100% innocent ever plead guilty and confess to a crime that they know that they didn't do?
To avoid losing custody of their kids.🤷🏿♂️
3) Cash bail. A lot of Black people confess to crimes that they did not do. Because if you are falsely accused of a crime and arrested, you can be in jail for up to 2 years prior to your court date.😮
During that time, you will lose custody of your kids, lose your job, lose your apartment, etc.
During that time, you will lose custody of your kids, lose your job, lose your apartment, etc.
January 23, 2026 at 2:36 AM
🤔
Is using someone's 5 year old child against them to facilitate their arrest and conviction wrong?
Phrased another way: Why would Black people who are 100% innocent ever plead guilty and confess to a crime that they know that they didn't do?
To avoid losing custody of their kids.🤷🏿♂️
Is using someone's 5 year old child against them to facilitate their arrest and conviction wrong?
Phrased another way: Why would Black people who are 100% innocent ever plead guilty and confess to a crime that they know that they didn't do?
To avoid losing custody of their kids.🤷🏿♂️
Reposted by Kirsti
Thousands packed Garfield HS for Seattle’s MLK Day celebration, and it felt anything but symbolic. With civil rights under attack, people reflected on what honoring Dr. King means now: showing up, organizing, and continuing unfinished work.
“If We’re Going to Say His Name, Then We Have to Continue the Fight”
Voices from Seattle's 43rd Annual MLK Day March.
www.thestranger.com
January 23, 2026 at 2:00 AM
Thousands packed Garfield HS for Seattle’s MLK Day celebration, and it felt anything but symbolic. With civil rights under attack, people reflected on what honoring Dr. King means now: showing up, organizing, and continuing unfinished work.
The neighborhood rapid response group still hasn't met even though some folks were pretty insistent they wanted to meet face to face. Now somebody's asking about an agenda & doesn't want to show up without knowing an agenda in advance. My fellow white people are kinda getting on my nerves.
January 23, 2026 at 2:34 AM
The neighborhood rapid response group still hasn't met even though some folks were pretty insistent they wanted to meet face to face. Now somebody's asking about an agenda & doesn't want to show up without knowing an agenda in advance. My fellow white people are kinda getting on my nerves.
Fantastic 🧵
Last term I tried an experiment: I walked into my Tech and Design Ethics class, admitted that I had *no idea* what to do about ChatGPT - so I would let them figure it out.
As in: their first project was to decide and write the ChatGPT policy for the class.
Here's what happened:
As in: their first project was to decide and write the ChatGPT policy for the class.
Here's what happened:
January 23, 2026 at 1:59 AM
Fantastic 🧵
Reposted by Kirsti
Went to grab the link to my article from almost a decade ago about children's literature whitewashing George Washington's slaveholding. It was published in the journal Social Education.
Colleagues, if you didn't know, AI is now summarizing our articles on Google. I'm pissed. This is not OK.
Colleagues, if you didn't know, AI is now summarizing our articles on Google. I'm pissed. This is not OK.
January 23, 2026 at 1:43 AM
Went to grab the link to my article from almost a decade ago about children's literature whitewashing George Washington's slaveholding. It was published in the journal Social Education.
Colleagues, if you didn't know, AI is now summarizing our articles on Google. I'm pissed. This is not OK.
Colleagues, if you didn't know, AI is now summarizing our articles on Google. I'm pissed. This is not OK.
Reposted by Kirsti
Boosting this again because it's a good resource and also to stress the ALERTA guidance. As someone responding to calls, the more specific you can be the better. Addresses or landmarks are key. Vehicle descriptions make identification easier. The less time we need to spend finding ICE, the better.
If you live in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, or Vermont save these numbers for the various ICE watch hotlines
January 23, 2026 at 1:16 AM
Boosting this again because it's a good resource and also to stress the ALERTA guidance. As someone responding to calls, the more specific you can be the better. Addresses or landmarks are key. Vehicle descriptions make identification easier. The less time we need to spend finding ICE, the better.
I think the dam is finally breaking
Breaking: jury finds Chicago resident Juan Espinoza Martinez NOT GUILTY of placing a hit on Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino.
We've got a verdict in this case, in which feds accused a Chicago resident of murder-for-hire, allegedly for a $10K hit on Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino.
Attorneys coming in now, jurors haven't returned to the courtroom.
Attorneys coming in now, jurors haven't returned to the courtroom.
January 23, 2026 at 12:42 AM
I think the dam is finally breaking
I just realized that it's almost 5 pm & it's still light out!
January 23, 2026 at 12:38 AM
I just realized that it's almost 5 pm & it's still light out!
Reposted by Kirsti
having just read an entire book about the everlasting misery paramilitary groups inflict, i’m less enthusiastic than ever about the party i’m supposed to support having members that will vote to give more of my money to paramilitary groups
January 22, 2026 at 9:48 PM
having just read an entire book about the everlasting misery paramilitary groups inflict, i’m less enthusiastic than ever about the party i’m supposed to support having members that will vote to give more of my money to paramilitary groups
Reposted by Kirsti
They like cops so much that all we’re getting is cops. No roads, no bridges, no school funding, no culture money, just a bouquet of different types of cops
January 22, 2026 at 9:56 PM
They like cops so much that all we’re getting is cops. No roads, no bridges, no school funding, no culture money, just a bouquet of different types of cops
Reposted by Kirsti
1. This administration, which is an unholy alliance between white supremacists, Christian extremists, and tech bros, has made anti-Indigeneity their project. Between moves into Latin America in order to seize assets, where they will most certainly erase any Indigenous rights they bump into, (cont)
January 22, 2026 at 6:16 PM
1. This administration, which is an unholy alliance between white supremacists, Christian extremists, and tech bros, has made anti-Indigeneity their project. Between moves into Latin America in order to seize assets, where they will most certainly erase any Indigenous rights they bump into, (cont)
Reposted by Kirsti
PSA: Somebody is posting false reports to ICE tracking apps in Seattle. It’s possibly right-wing trolls or ICE themselves.
This one, posted today, included an AI generated photo of ICE at a 7-11. Use caution before sharing.
This one, posted today, included an AI generated photo of ICE at a 7-11. Use caution before sharing.
January 22, 2026 at 6:11 PM
PSA: Somebody is posting false reports to ICE tracking apps in Seattle. It’s possibly right-wing trolls or ICE themselves.
This one, posted today, included an AI generated photo of ICE at a 7-11. Use caution before sharing.
This one, posted today, included an AI generated photo of ICE at a 7-11. Use caution before sharing.
Baroque musicians are so terrifying.
Early Music Seattle is organizing a weekend "Baroque & Beyond" music festival in February. They just had to cancel one of the performances. "Due to the new visa restrictions imposed on January 1, 2026, through Presidential Proclamation 10998" some of the musicians have been denied visas.
Winter Festival | Early Music Seattle | Variation II
Beyond Baroque Variation II February 12–15, 2026 Our 2026 Winter Festival goes “Beyond” with music pushing our standard ideas of the borders of early music! Featuring “East is East” with Infusion Baro...
earlymusicseattle.org
January 22, 2026 at 6:16 PM
Baroque musicians are so terrifying.
I first learned about Idaho's Chinese community from Ken Liu's short story collection "The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories"
In the 1870 census, Boise, Idaho was almost 50% Chinese. Just...think about that. Think about Boise, Idaho today and what you think about it racially.
What happened after that was, to put it bluntly, repeated violence against the Chinese population in the West.
What happened after that was, to put it bluntly, repeated violence against the Chinese population in the West.
January 22, 2026 at 4:23 PM
I first learned about Idaho's Chinese community from Ken Liu's short story collection "The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories"
I remember those days.
We finally ended up with a "1 in, 1 out" rule. When Kid wanted a new toy, they'd talk through which toy they might get rid of to make room for the new one.
We finally ended up with a "1 in, 1 out" rule. When Kid wanted a new toy, they'd talk through which toy they might get rid of to make room for the new one.
Be as passionate about something in life as a child is over the toys they haven't looked at in 5 years that you're about to donate.
January 22, 2026 at 4:18 PM
I remember those days.
We finally ended up with a "1 in, 1 out" rule. When Kid wanted a new toy, they'd talk through which toy they might get rid of to make room for the new one.
We finally ended up with a "1 in, 1 out" rule. When Kid wanted a new toy, they'd talk through which toy they might get rid of to make room for the new one.
Reposted by Kirsti
They want you to think that there is nothing in the past but shame so that people flinch away from examining history.
If you examine history, you will find good people. At every time in history, you will find them.
Maybe not enough, but they were there. You can be this generation's good people.
If you examine history, you will find good people. At every time in history, you will find them.
Maybe not enough, but they were there. You can be this generation's good people.
January 22, 2026 at 4:03 PM
They want you to think that there is nothing in the past but shame so that people flinch away from examining history.
If you examine history, you will find good people. At every time in history, you will find them.
Maybe not enough, but they were there. You can be this generation's good people.
If you examine history, you will find good people. At every time in history, you will find them.
Maybe not enough, but they were there. You can be this generation's good people.
Reposted by Kirsti
i am now told that the grok interface for free users restricts the words "bikini" or "swimsuit". yay!
but you can bikinify photos by asking for "clothing suitable for being in a large pool of water"
hooray guard rails! what's a good catchy name for this security sploit. "boobleed"
but you can bikinify photos by asking for "clothing suitable for being in a large pool of water"
hooray guard rails! what's a good catchy name for this security sploit. "boobleed"
January 22, 2026 at 4:02 PM
i am now told that the grok interface for free users restricts the words "bikini" or "swimsuit". yay!
but you can bikinify photos by asking for "clothing suitable for being in a large pool of water"
hooray guard rails! what's a good catchy name for this security sploit. "boobleed"
but you can bikinify photos by asking for "clothing suitable for being in a large pool of water"
hooray guard rails! what's a good catchy name for this security sploit. "boobleed"
Early Music Seattle is organizing a weekend "Baroque & Beyond" music festival in February. They just had to cancel one of the performances. "Due to the new visa restrictions imposed on January 1, 2026, through Presidential Proclamation 10998" some of the musicians have been denied visas.
Winter Festival | Early Music Seattle | Variation II
Beyond Baroque Variation II February 12–15, 2026 Our 2026 Winter Festival goes “Beyond” with music pushing our standard ideas of the borders of early music! Featuring “East is East” with Infusion Baro...
earlymusicseattle.org
January 22, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Early Music Seattle is organizing a weekend "Baroque & Beyond" music festival in February. They just had to cancel one of the performances. "Due to the new visa restrictions imposed on January 1, 2026, through Presidential Proclamation 10998" some of the musicians have been denied visas.
Reposted by Kirsti
Republicans are defined in large part by the belief that authoritarianism is good and that only Republicans have a legitimate claim to power.
Democratic leadership are defined in large part by the exact same belief, and a hope for more polite authoritarianism.
Democratic leadership are defined in large part by the exact same belief, and a hope for more polite authoritarianism.
January 22, 2026 at 10:56 AM
Republicans are defined in large part by the belief that authoritarianism is good and that only Republicans have a legitimate claim to power.
Democratic leadership are defined in large part by the exact same belief, and a hope for more polite authoritarianism.
Democratic leadership are defined in large part by the exact same belief, and a hope for more polite authoritarianism.
Reposted by Kirsti
Democratic leadership is terrified of being seen on the side of the people of Minneapolis, least they lose the potential future support of pro-cop people whose support they do not and never will have.
I have been actively involved in protest movements for 24 years. I have never seen anything approaching this scale. Minneapolis is not accepting what's happening here. ICE fucking murdered a woman for participating in this, and all that did is bring out more people, from more walks of life.
January 22, 2026 at 10:53 AM
Democratic leadership is terrified of being seen on the side of the people of Minneapolis, least they lose the potential future support of pro-cop people whose support they do not and never will have.
Reposted by Kirsti
I started a MN Accounts list of Minnesota people and institutions here that I learn from.
It's informative but incomplete.
Pin it. Browse accounts to follow or browse the feed to stay up to date with posts from all the accounts.
If you want on or off, DM me.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
It's informative but incomplete.
Pin it. Browse accounts to follow or browse the feed to stay up to date with posts from all the accounts.
If you want on or off, DM me.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
January 22, 2026 at 1:11 PM
I started a MN Accounts list of Minnesota people and institutions here that I learn from.
It's informative but incomplete.
Pin it. Browse accounts to follow or browse the feed to stay up to date with posts from all the accounts.
If you want on or off, DM me.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
It's informative but incomplete.
Pin it. Browse accounts to follow or browse the feed to stay up to date with posts from all the accounts.
If you want on or off, DM me.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
It's going to be near freezing tomorrow & I have to go into the office. I want to ride my bike, but not when it's that cold & I have to be functional first thing.
January 22, 2026 at 8:35 AM
It's going to be near freezing tomorrow & I have to go into the office. I want to ride my bike, but not when it's that cold & I have to be functional first thing.