Rachel DL
@racheldl.bsky.social
Disabled cartoonist, journalist, and youth advocate based in Madison, WI. Comics and writing in The Washington Post, The Nib, Disability Visibility, Tone. #endyouthhomelessness
Melt ICE 🧊
She/Her
Website: https://www.racheldl.com/
Melt ICE 🧊
She/Her
Website: https://www.racheldl.com/
Pinned
Rachel DL
@racheldl.bsky.social
· Feb 19
"My disabled life is not glamorous, nor is it particularly beautiful. This life is unbearably lonely, often painful, and filled with fear of the unknown about the future. But it deserves to be witnessed."
– Rachel Litchman on poverty and chronic illness
www.disabilitydebrief.org/debrief/forg...
– Rachel Litchman on poverty and chronic illness
www.disabilitydebrief.org/debrief/forg...
Forgotten
Finding my own worth in a frightening shadow world
www.disabilitydebrief.org
Deep thanks to @desibility.bsky.social for working with me on this essay. I'm so happy to be given a space to talk about what the past 6 months have looked like me, from a long time in the hospital, losing my ability to walk, and now - although mostly trapped - home.
Reposted by Rachel DL
ICE at the polls! Bannon is basically yelling “fire” in a crowded theater here. His objective is to cause chaos (and suppress votes on the left). And it’s already working.
This threat works on multiple levels and doesn’t have to be “real” to serve its purpose.
Let me explain & offer some advice.
This threat works on multiple levels and doesn’t have to be “real” to serve its purpose.
Let me explain & offer some advice.
Steve Bannon says the federal government is planning to send ICE officers to patrol polling stations during the midterms.
"We're going to have ICE surround the polls come November."
"We're not going to sit here and allow you to steal the country again." www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
"We're going to have ICE surround the polls come November."
"We're not going to sit here and allow you to steal the country again." www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Steve Bannon says ICE will ‘surround the polls’ as Trump doubles down on taking over elections
Trump doubled down on his comments to nationalize voting Tuesday during an Oval Office press conference. “If you think about it, a state is an agent for the federal government in elections,” Trump sai...
www.democracydocket.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:13 PM
ICE at the polls! Bannon is basically yelling “fire” in a crowded theater here. His objective is to cause chaos (and suppress votes on the left). And it’s already working.
This threat works on multiple levels and doesn’t have to be “real” to serve its purpose.
Let me explain & offer some advice.
This threat works on multiple levels and doesn’t have to be “real” to serve its purpose.
Let me explain & offer some advice.
begging folks to unsubscribe from the WaPo if they haven't already and put that money toward sustaining independent journalism ❤️
WaPo laid off one of the journalists who won a 2022 Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the January 6th attack on the Capitol.
February 4, 2026 at 7:18 PM
begging folks to unsubscribe from the WaPo if they haven't already and put that money toward sustaining independent journalism ❤️
Reposted by Rachel DL
Unfriendly reminder, AI is being used to destroy trust. Do not normalize the use of AI. AI can not reliably enhance videos or low-quality images.
This is the quiet replacement of reality. Do not let this be normalized.
This is the quiet replacement of reality. Do not let this be normalized.
January 29, 2026 at 12:05 AM
Unfriendly reminder, AI is being used to destroy trust. Do not normalize the use of AI. AI can not reliably enhance videos or low-quality images.
This is the quiet replacement of reality. Do not let this be normalized.
This is the quiet replacement of reality. Do not let this be normalized.
Reposted by Rachel DL
ICE activity has not noticeably tapered off yet here and in fact this week they seem to be focused on terrorizing kids at bus stops and schools.
yes, there are no real signs of any big change in DHS activity here yet. In Chicago there really was after Bovino left and they basically ended "Midway Blitz" not so here so far.
I don’t know, declaring victory in MN seems premature. They’re still arresting people and brutalizing the community. The changes appear—so far—to be cosmetic
January 28, 2026 at 11:59 PM
ICE activity has not noticeably tapered off yet here and in fact this week they seem to be focused on terrorizing kids at bus stops and schools.
Reposted by Rachel DL
Ahhhhh this quote. This is what I keep saying and I’ll say it til the day I die.
A pebble starts an avalanche. Do the small thing you can. No effort is too small. You never know.
A pebble starts an avalanche. Do the small thing you can. No effort is too small. You never know.
January 27, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Ahhhhh this quote. This is what I keep saying and I’ll say it til the day I die.
A pebble starts an avalanche. Do the small thing you can. No effort is too small. You never know.
A pebble starts an avalanche. Do the small thing you can. No effort is too small. You never know.
Reposted by Rachel DL
I also worry it creates a missed opportunity for crucial solidarities between Black citizen and immigrant communities. The state terror that both overlapping communities are faced with right now must be acknowledge for solidarity to be possible.
January 23, 2026 at 4:26 PM
I also worry it creates a missed opportunity for crucial solidarities between Black citizen and immigrant communities. The state terror that both overlapping communities are faced with right now must be acknowledge for solidarity to be possible.
Reposted by Rachel DL
I am all for reaching back to slavery-era when it makes sense. But I think we obscure the present when we do that too quickly and too blithely without attention to context.
January 23, 2026 at 4:09 PM
I am all for reaching back to slavery-era when it makes sense. But I think we obscure the present when we do that too quickly and too blithely without attention to context.
Reposted by Rachel DL
As Dorothy Roberts teaches us, the child welfare system and policing precede and set the tone for the family separations, the using of children as “bait,” and the surveillance of ICE.
January 23, 2026 at 4:09 PM
As Dorothy Roberts teaches us, the child welfare system and policing precede and set the tone for the family separations, the using of children as “bait,” and the surveillance of ICE.
Reposted by Rachel DL
I think it’s far far more useful to think about how legacies of state terror and ideas about the Black family have shaped US government agencies like the child welfare system and policing, which in turn shape the political and juridical cultures and practices of ICE.
January 23, 2026 at 4:09 PM
I think it’s far far more useful to think about how legacies of state terror and ideas about the Black family have shaped US government agencies like the child welfare system and policing, which in turn shape the political and juridical cultures and practices of ICE.
Reposted by Rachel DL
There’s a lot being said about ICE paralleling fugitive slave patrols. As a historian of slavery, I think it’s far more complicated than most are articulating. A lot of historical context and power dynamics are being mashed up in the process.
January 23, 2026 at 4:09 PM
There’s a lot being said about ICE paralleling fugitive slave patrols. As a historian of slavery, I think it’s far more complicated than most are articulating. A lot of historical context and power dynamics are being mashed up in the process.
Reposted by Rachel DL
This is Minneapolis.
Literally every corner along Lake St. packed with people holding candles, many singing, honoring a person who by all accounts was an absolute gem of a human, whose life was tragically stolen by a fascist, paramilitary occupation force.
Literally every corner along Lake St. packed with people holding candles, many singing, honoring a person who by all accounts was an absolute gem of a human, whose life was tragically stolen by a fascist, paramilitary occupation force.
January 25, 2026 at 2:46 AM
This is Minneapolis.
Literally every corner along Lake St. packed with people holding candles, many singing, honoring a person who by all accounts was an absolute gem of a human, whose life was tragically stolen by a fascist, paramilitary occupation force.
Literally every corner along Lake St. packed with people holding candles, many singing, honoring a person who by all accounts was an absolute gem of a human, whose life was tragically stolen by a fascist, paramilitary occupation force.
Reposted by Rachel DL
This is Alex Pretti. He had a life, a family, a future — and he was killed by federal agents in Minneapolis.
Hug your families today. ❤️ We must all show up for each other.
Hug your families today. ❤️ We must all show up for each other.
January 25, 2026 at 1:54 AM
This is Alex Pretti. He had a life, a family, a future — and he was killed by federal agents in Minneapolis.
Hug your families today. ❤️ We must all show up for each other.
Hug your families today. ❤️ We must all show up for each other.
Reposted by Rachel DL
Thank goodness everyone spent months deciding that the Chinese were stealing our data so we could switch to good old patriotic American data stealing
According to its new privacy policy, TikTok now collects more data on its users, including their precise location, after majority ownership officially switched to a group based in the US. www.wired.com/story/tiktok...
TikTok Is Now Collecting Even More Data About Its Users. Here Are the 3 Biggest Changes
According to its new privacy policy, TikTok now collects more data on its users, including their precise location, after majority ownership officially switched to a group based in the US.
www.wired.com
January 23, 2026 at 9:35 PM
Thank goodness everyone spent months deciding that the Chinese were stealing our data so we could switch to good old patriotic American data stealing
Reposted by Rachel DL
I think about the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital strike where the western media & governments insisted on Israel's innocence, saying that even suggesting that Israel would ever do such a thing was antisemitic. Then Israel destroyed every other hospital and bragged about it.
I've been thinking about this a lot, for months: Gaza was a breaking point between verifiable reality and liberal governance. "AI" sparks fears ppl will believe things that aren't true, but Gaza SHOWED things that WERE true—& western governments, universities & news outlets pretened they were not.
What did we think Trump was going to do, if Europe showed him we would fully collaborate on the total destruction of the Gaza Strip and ferociously repeat even the most absurd lies about it to our citizens? Did we think he would decide: best to not push the law breaking and war crimes, be sensible.
January 21, 2026 at 3:08 PM
I think about the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital strike where the western media & governments insisted on Israel's innocence, saying that even suggesting that Israel would ever do such a thing was antisemitic. Then Israel destroyed every other hospital and bragged about it.
Reposted by Rachel DL
America 2026 apnews.com/article/immi...
January 21, 2026 at 2:50 PM
America 2026 apnews.com/article/immi...
Reposted by Rachel DL
Disability Thinking Weekday - Monday, January 19, 2026 - ICE, immigration, and disability
#Disability #Disabled
disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io/1-19-26-ice-...
#Disability #Disabled
disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io/1-19-26-ice-...
1/19/26 - ICE, immigration, and disability
Good afternoon!
Here in the US, it's hard to think of anything but ICE actions. And as Friday's newsletter made clear, there is definitely a disability angle to the issue – more than one angle actua...
disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io
January 19, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Disability Thinking Weekday - Monday, January 19, 2026 - ICE, immigration, and disability
#Disability #Disabled
disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io/1-19-26-ice-...
#Disability #Disabled
disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io/1-19-26-ice-...
Reposted by Rachel DL
German Jews were citizens of Germany at the start of 1933. By the end of 1933, the Nazis had
removed citizenship from naturalized citizen Jews.
In 1935, all German Jews were fully stripped of their German citizenship.
Citizenship under dictatorships is contingent for targeted minorities.
removed citizenship from naturalized citizen Jews.
In 1935, all German Jews were fully stripped of their German citizenship.
Citizenship under dictatorships is contingent for targeted minorities.
January 19, 2026 at 10:22 PM
German Jews were citizens of Germany at the start of 1933. By the end of 1933, the Nazis had
removed citizenship from naturalized citizen Jews.
In 1935, all German Jews were fully stripped of their German citizenship.
Citizenship under dictatorships is contingent for targeted minorities.
removed citizenship from naturalized citizen Jews.
In 1935, all German Jews were fully stripped of their German citizenship.
Citizenship under dictatorships is contingent for targeted minorities.
Good advice for literally anyone regardless of exposure to violence. talking to people I love about death has made me feel so much less afraid when I experience any kind of bodily crisis.
"I'm just asking you to live your life without fear of death. Be prepared. I'm not asking you to go look for that bullet. I'm simply saying be ready, have your affairs in order, have your soul ready, in case you find yourself in trouble."
This bishop says it's past time for words: we're entering a "new age of martyrdom" when clergy may have to "put [their] bodies on the line".
www.npr.org/2026/01/18/n...
www.npr.org/2026/01/18/n...
January 19, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Good advice for literally anyone regardless of exposure to violence. talking to people I love about death has made me feel so much less afraid when I experience any kind of bodily crisis.
Reposted by Rachel DL
This was the 26th dedicated ICE air deportation flight to operate out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International since January 1, 2026.
We estimate they've deported 1,830 people on these flights - just over 100 per day, on average, so far this month.
We estimate they've deported 1,830 people on these flights - just over 100 per day, on average, so far this month.
January 18, 2026 at 10:50 PM
This was the 26th dedicated ICE air deportation flight to operate out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International since January 1, 2026.
We estimate they've deported 1,830 people on these flights - just over 100 per day, on average, so far this month.
We estimate they've deported 1,830 people on these flights - just over 100 per day, on average, so far this month.
Reposted by Rachel DL
"Advocates[...]warned against “mildwashing,” or the tendency to focus primarily on less severe cases"
Very important and good article about the harmful exclusion of the most severely affected from scientific trials & undertakings.
@neurologistmom.bsky.social
#ethics #mecfs #longcovid #mcas #pots
Very important and good article about the harmful exclusion of the most severely affected from scientific trials & undertakings.
@neurologistmom.bsky.social
#ethics #mecfs #longcovid #mcas #pots
People with the most severe #LongCOVID symptoms represent the most clinically urgent population, yet they remain absent from the evidence base that guides care. They are not beyond the reach of science; they are where real progress begins.
Read more from @neurologistmom.bsky.social: bit.ly/49TMXdz
Read more from @neurologistmom.bsky.social: bit.ly/49TMXdz
January 16, 2026 at 11:09 PM
"Advocates[...]warned against “mildwashing,” or the tendency to focus primarily on less severe cases"
Very important and good article about the harmful exclusion of the most severely affected from scientific trials & undertakings.
@neurologistmom.bsky.social
#ethics #mecfs #longcovid #mcas #pots
Very important and good article about the harmful exclusion of the most severely affected from scientific trials & undertakings.
@neurologistmom.bsky.social
#ethics #mecfs #longcovid #mcas #pots
Reposted by Rachel DL
US-Israeli cooperation agreement on AI looks less banal when you know about the central role of Israeli tech in surveillance, zero contact phone hacking, facial recognition, targeting, and other core instruments of state repression.
www.state.gov/releases/off...
www.state.gov/releases/off...
Joint Statement of the United States and Israel on the Launch of a Strategic Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, Research, and Critical Technologies - United States Department of State
The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and the State of Israel on the occasion of the launch of a Strategic Partnership on Artificial Intel...
www.state.gov
January 17, 2026 at 3:52 PM
US-Israeli cooperation agreement on AI looks less banal when you know about the central role of Israeli tech in surveillance, zero contact phone hacking, facial recognition, targeting, and other core instruments of state repression.
www.state.gov/releases/off...
www.state.gov/releases/off...
Reposted by Rachel DL
ICE has kidnapped so many people from their cars that the city had to put out this statement. Let that sink in.
Vehicles that are abandoned due to an ICE detention and towed to the City's impound lot will be released to their owners or a representative at no cost.
Learn more: https://www.minneapolismn.gov/getting-around/parking-driving/impound-lot/#d.en.200746
Learn more: https://www.minneapolismn.gov/getting-around/parking-driving/impound-lot/#d.en.200746
January 16, 2026 at 11:42 PM
ICE has kidnapped so many people from their cars that the city had to put out this statement. Let that sink in.
“She has endorsed Netanyahu’s “decisions and resolute actions in the course of the [Gaza] war,” in her words, and lauded the bombing of Iran. Her party has a strategic partnership with Netanyahu’s Likud Party on political, ideological and military issues”
January 16, 2026 at 3:31 PM
“She has endorsed Netanyahu’s “decisions and resolute actions in the course of the [Gaza] war,” in her words, and lauded the bombing of Iran. Her party has a strategic partnership with Netanyahu’s Likud Party on political, ideological and military issues”
Reposted by Rachel DL
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado “presented” her gold Nobel peace prize medal to Donald Trump at the White House, following Trump's kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro, because she has more of a thirst for power than respect. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
María Corina Machado says she presented Trump with her Nobel peace prize medal
The Venezuelan opposition leader did not confirm whether the US president accepted the award
www.theguardian.com
January 16, 2026 at 2:58 AM
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado “presented” her gold Nobel peace prize medal to Donald Trump at the White House, following Trump's kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro, because she has more of a thirst for power than respect. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Reposted by Rachel DL
James Watson sold his Nobel Prize for $4.1 million in 2014 and donated the proceeds to education.
Physicist Leon Lederman sold his Nobel Prize medal for $765,000 in 2015 to cover medical bills.
Machado gave it away to a fascist after he killed Venezuelan citizens and kidnapped their president.
Physicist Leon Lederman sold his Nobel Prize medal for $765,000 in 2015 to cover medical bills.
Machado gave it away to a fascist after he killed Venezuelan citizens and kidnapped their president.
January 16, 2026 at 4:19 AM
James Watson sold his Nobel Prize for $4.1 million in 2014 and donated the proceeds to education.
Physicist Leon Lederman sold his Nobel Prize medal for $765,000 in 2015 to cover medical bills.
Machado gave it away to a fascist after he killed Venezuelan citizens and kidnapped their president.
Physicist Leon Lederman sold his Nobel Prize medal for $765,000 in 2015 to cover medical bills.
Machado gave it away to a fascist after he killed Venezuelan citizens and kidnapped their president.