Racheline Maltese
@racheline.bsky.social
Award-winning romance author writing happily ever afters about difficult people with complicated lives. SAG-AFTRA. Figure skater. Former journalist/media analyst.
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Racheline Maltese
@racheline.bsky.social
· Aug 25
This was definitely how A QUEEN FROM THE NORTH got built. A defaced government poster about unity in a train station. It opened up the whole plot to us before we even knew what we were about https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XBPDJPM?ref=KC_GS_GB_US
Reposted by Racheline Maltese
Really good blog here. It's obviously not the worst thing the administration has done but the extent to which Trump is dedicated getting his personal grease all over every public thing in DC, and making them more expensive, exclusive, and worse, is really infuriating. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/u...
Why Is Trump Dumping East Wing Rubble in a Public Park?
www.nytimes.com
February 19, 2026 at 8:43 PM
Really good blog here. It's obviously not the worst thing the administration has done but the extent to which Trump is dedicated getting his personal grease all over every public thing in DC, and making them more expensive, exclusive, and worse, is really infuriating. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/u...
Reposted by Racheline Maltese
84 years sounds like a long time. And I know in some ways it is. But it's also not that long. I still have living relatives who were in the camps and who were old enough to remember it. This isn't abstract or ancient history. It's part of the living memory I grew up with.
84 years ago today, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, ordering the removal and incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans, about two-thirds of whom were US citizens. The Day of Remembrance this year comes as we see DHS buying land and warehouses for more camps now.
February 19, 2026 at 8:25 PM
84 years sounds like a long time. And I know in some ways it is. But it's also not that long. I still have living relatives who were in the camps and who were old enough to remember it. This isn't abstract or ancient history. It's part of the living memory I grew up with.
Reposted by Racheline Maltese
March 27, 1936: Portraits of the Führer are raised on official buildings across Berlin. This one at the Potsdamer Railway Station reads "Freedom - Peace"
February 19, 2026 at 7:21 PM
March 27, 1936: Portraits of the Führer are raised on official buildings across Berlin. This one at the Potsdamer Railway Station reads "Freedom - Peace"
Reposted by Racheline Maltese
🏳️⚧️ Great to see the elected representatives of EU countries vote to affirm trans ppl’s human rights. The vote is advisory, so has limited impact* However it is influential on decision making & for the Euro Court of Human Rights in understanding the voice of the ppl. The Parliament represents 450m ppl
European Parliament passes resolution affirming trans women's rights
The European Parliament has passed a resolution on gender equality, which contains a declaration that trans women are women.
gcn.ie
February 19, 2026 at 5:11 PM
🏳️⚧️ Great to see the elected representatives of EU countries vote to affirm trans ppl’s human rights. The vote is advisory, so has limited impact* However it is influential on decision making & for the Euro Court of Human Rights in understanding the voice of the ppl. The Parliament represents 450m ppl
Reposted by Racheline Maltese
Making matters worse, the Trump admin is REFUSING to adjudicate green card applications for refugees who come from one of the 39 countries Trump banned.
So under this policy, a refugee who applies for a green card exactly on time, doing nothing wrong, can (and DHS says must) be jailed by ICE.
So under this policy, a refugee who applies for a green card exactly on time, doing nothing wrong, can (and DHS says must) be jailed by ICE.
February 19, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Making matters worse, the Trump admin is REFUSING to adjudicate green card applications for refugees who come from one of the 39 countries Trump banned.
So under this policy, a refugee who applies for a green card exactly on time, doing nothing wrong, can (and DHS says must) be jailed by ICE.
So under this policy, a refugee who applies for a green card exactly on time, doing nothing wrong, can (and DHS says must) be jailed by ICE.
Reposted by Racheline Maltese
one reset I'd personally appreciate: behind the insistence that we must offer the electorate a little bigotry is the idea that commoners are more bigoted than the richer and more educated, who can be appealed to with high minded policy. but then you Ctrl+F "phrenology" in the Epstein files
What strikes me is that 'the volk' have incredibly incoherent and everywhere ideas, but the people who claim to speak for them in the press are like clerics who think there are two poles for all politics and everything must fit between them. These poles are like, eight inches apart
February 18, 2026 at 1:19 PM
one reset I'd personally appreciate: behind the insistence that we must offer the electorate a little bigotry is the idea that commoners are more bigoted than the richer and more educated, who can be appealed to with high minded policy. but then you Ctrl+F "phrenology" in the Epstein files
Reposted by Racheline Maltese
In related news: Consequences ARE possible
BREAKING: Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol sentenced to life prison for his brief imposition of martial law in December 2024 to suppress the opposition. Yoon is likely to appeal the verdict.
Former South Korean President Yoon receives life sentence for imposing martial law
Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to life in prison for his brief imposition of martial law to suppress the opposition.
bit.ly
February 19, 2026 at 12:25 PM
In related news: Consequences ARE possible
Saw CHESS last night which has been a 40-year quest for me. Can’t believe it took so long for me to get there that they had to rewrite the book to explain the Cold War to the audience
February 19, 2026 at 12:41 PM
Saw CHESS last night which has been a 40-year quest for me. Can’t believe it took so long for me to get there that they had to rewrite the book to explain the Cold War to the audience
Reposted by Racheline Maltese
This is an important piece and you should read it.
Also, I wish journalists would stop saying immigrant families in MN are “staying home to avoid encounters with immigration.”
They’re IN HIDING. It isn’t a casual choice. They have been terrorized into hiding.
theconversation.com/when-ice-swe...
Also, I wish journalists would stop saying immigrant families in MN are “staying home to avoid encounters with immigration.”
They’re IN HIDING. It isn’t a casual choice. They have been terrorized into hiding.
theconversation.com/when-ice-swe...
When ICE sweeps a community, public health pays a price – and recovery will likely take years
As immigration enforcement crackdowns expand across the US, communities can mobilize to lessen the public health impacts.
theconversation.com
February 18, 2026 at 6:01 PM
This is an important piece and you should read it.
Also, I wish journalists would stop saying immigrant families in MN are “staying home to avoid encounters with immigration.”
They’re IN HIDING. It isn’t a casual choice. They have been terrorized into hiding.
theconversation.com/when-ice-swe...
Also, I wish journalists would stop saying immigrant families in MN are “staying home to avoid encounters with immigration.”
They’re IN HIDING. It isn’t a casual choice. They have been terrorized into hiding.
theconversation.com/when-ice-swe...
Reposted by Racheline Maltese
This is the kind of thing white supremacists have been doing to Emmett Till’s memorial for decades.
It’s wild to see them do this to a white woman who the entire world saw extrajudicially murdered.
It’s wild to see them do this to a white woman who the entire world saw extrajudicially murdered.
Someone doused Renee Good’s Minneapolis memorial and a nearby pile of wood with gasoline and started a fire at about 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Renee Good memorial site in south Minneapolis doused in gasoline
Damage was minimal but police are investigating.
bit.ly
February 18, 2026 at 5:19 PM
This is the kind of thing white supremacists have been doing to Emmett Till’s memorial for decades.
It’s wild to see them do this to a white woman who the entire world saw extrajudicially murdered.
It’s wild to see them do this to a white woman who the entire world saw extrajudicially murdered.
Reposted by Racheline Maltese
Someone doused Renee Good’s Minneapolis memorial and a nearby pile of wood with gasoline and started a fire at about 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Renee Good memorial site in south Minneapolis doused in gasoline
Damage was minimal but police are investigating.
bit.ly
February 18, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Someone doused Renee Good’s Minneapolis memorial and a nearby pile of wood with gasoline and started a fire at about 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Reposted by Racheline Maltese
BREAKING — WE WON! DC Superior Court Judge Darlene Soltys ordered the DC Metropolitan Police to produce ALL body cam footage of the March 2025 DOGE raid on the US Institute of Peace within 14 days.
Thanks to my @rcfp.org lawyers for their tireless work.
Details on thehandbasket.co later today!
Thanks to my @rcfp.org lawyers for their tireless work.
Details on thehandbasket.co later today!
February 18, 2026 at 3:40 PM
BREAKING — WE WON! DC Superior Court Judge Darlene Soltys ordered the DC Metropolitan Police to produce ALL body cam footage of the March 2025 DOGE raid on the US Institute of Peace within 14 days.
Thanks to my @rcfp.org lawyers for their tireless work.
Details on thehandbasket.co later today!
Thanks to my @rcfp.org lawyers for their tireless work.
Details on thehandbasket.co later today!
I could really do without People magazine providing details of the private journal for a celebrity who completed suicide 8 months ago. She may be dead but still deserves privacy. (She was also one of my cat sitting clients and I’m really sick of my feelings about this being reactivated
February 18, 2026 at 5:58 PM
I could really do without People magazine providing details of the private journal for a celebrity who completed suicide 8 months ago. She may be dead but still deserves privacy. (She was also one of my cat sitting clients and I’m really sick of my feelings about this being reactivated
Reposted by Racheline Maltese
25 years ago, a bunch of libertarians moved to NH to take over state government. Jason Osborne, one of those "Free Staters," has since risen to be majority leader in the state house.
How is he fighting for "liberty?" By helping Stephen Miller build a 324,000-foot prison for migrants and refugees.
How is he fighting for "liberty?" By helping Stephen Miller build a 324,000-foot prison for migrants and refugees.
Communities nationwide push back against proposed ICE facility sites
A proposed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Merrimack is continuing to spark strong reactions from residents and local officials.
www.wmur.com
February 18, 2026 at 4:29 PM
25 years ago, a bunch of libertarians moved to NH to take over state government. Jason Osborne, one of those "Free Staters," has since risen to be majority leader in the state house.
How is he fighting for "liberty?" By helping Stephen Miller build a 324,000-foot prison for migrants and refugees.
How is he fighting for "liberty?" By helping Stephen Miller build a 324,000-foot prison for migrants and refugees.
Reposted by Racheline Maltese
For the entire history of first amendment law, porn has been the canary in the coal mine and sex workers are always, ALWAYS correct about what's coming years before anyone else can see it.
February 10, 2026 at 4:10 PM
For the entire history of first amendment law, porn has been the canary in the coal mine and sex workers are always, ALWAYS correct about what's coming years before anyone else can see it.
Reposted by Racheline Maltese
Same is true with teachers. People have figured out that the folks who want to do these jobs want to do these jobs because of how much they care about others (far more than the owners of the healthcare biz) and use that humanity of theirs as a hostage tactic against them in salary negotiations.
It drives me insane because no nurse wants to "abandon" patients, but the only people abandoning them are those who write the payroll at the end of the day. They're the ones pushing nurses out!
February 18, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Same is true with teachers. People have figured out that the folks who want to do these jobs want to do these jobs because of how much they care about others (far more than the owners of the healthcare biz) and use that humanity of theirs as a hostage tactic against them in salary negotiations.
Reposted by Racheline Maltese
2026 basically
February 18, 2026 at 4:23 PM
2026 basically
I’m seeing some of the most annoying behavior from classic Twitter pop up here and I’m (not at all) sorry my sentence about the very bad thing that I said was very bad is not identical to the sentence in your head about the very bad thing. I’m not doing this again, kids. We’re all on the same side
February 18, 2026 at 5:30 PM
I’m seeing some of the most annoying behavior from classic Twitter pop up here and I’m (not at all) sorry my sentence about the very bad thing that I said was very bad is not identical to the sentence in your head about the very bad thing. I’m not doing this again, kids. We’re all on the same side
For those curious about the spelling of Kazakhstan on Shaidorov’s team jacket, may I introduce you to the Kazakh romanization situation which was supposed to be complete last year and definitely isn’t? thediplomat.com/2024/09/the-...
The Latinization of Kazakhstan: Language, Modernization and Geopolitics
Kazakhstan’s planned transition to a Latin alphabet is intertwined with issues of national identity, geopolitical shifts, and post-colonial discourse.
thediplomat.com
February 18, 2026 at 5:22 PM
For those curious about the spelling of Kazakhstan on Shaidorov’s team jacket, may I introduce you to the Kazakh romanization situation which was supposed to be complete last year and definitely isn’t? thediplomat.com/2024/09/the-...
Brooklyn currently has an air quality advisory because the Gowanus Canal, a superfund site, froze during the recent extreme cold and is now finally thawing, resulting in several neighborhoods - including Gowanus, Park Slope, and Carroll Gardens - smelling like a severe gas leak.
February 18, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Brooklyn currently has an air quality advisory because the Gowanus Canal, a superfund site, froze during the recent extreme cold and is now finally thawing, resulting in several neighborhoods - including Gowanus, Park Slope, and Carroll Gardens - smelling like a severe gas leak.
Reposted by Racheline Maltese
His name is Nazgul! A gate-crashing dog steals the show at the Olympics : NPR share.google/W47oFZJk3So6...
Surprise 4-legged Olympic competitor wows cross-country fans
Nazgul sprints on the course at a cross-country ski race, crossing the finish line in an unsanctioned quest for glory.
share.google
February 18, 2026 at 1:36 PM
His name is Nazgul! A gate-crashing dog steals the show at the Olympics : NPR share.google/W47oFZJk3So6...
Reposted by Racheline Maltese
This guy (@glutelord.bsky.social) is correct about a lot of the discourse around "looksmaxxing" and so much of guys' ideas of what men should look like, and he should keep saying it.
February 17, 2026 at 7:57 PM
This guy (@glutelord.bsky.social) is correct about a lot of the discourse around "looksmaxxing" and so much of guys' ideas of what men should look like, and he should keep saying it.
When you have a tattoo scheduled despite your recent basement disaster… onward hammerheads! (Tattoo by Hellion, flash design by Jessica Valentine, both at Haven in NYC)
February 18, 2026 at 3:21 PM
When you have a tattoo scheduled despite your recent basement disaster… onward hammerheads! (Tattoo by Hellion, flash design by Jessica Valentine, both at Haven in NYC)
Reposted by Racheline Maltese
SCOOP: Ring’s controversial, AI-powered “Search Party” feature isn’t intended to be limited only to dogs, the company’s founder, Jamie Siminoff, told Ring employees in an internal email obtained by 404 Media.
Leaked Email Suggests Ring Plans to Expand ‘Search Party’ Surveillance Beyond Dogs
Ring's CEO told staff the feature is “first for finding dogs,” indicating a plan to expand.
www.404media.co
February 18, 2026 at 2:53 PM
SCOOP: Ring’s controversial, AI-powered “Search Party” feature isn’t intended to be limited only to dogs, the company’s founder, Jamie Siminoff, told Ring employees in an internal email obtained by 404 Media.
Reposted by Racheline Maltese
