Katie
@spenceke.bsky.social
Austin, TX
All opinions are my own. Re-posts don’t equal endorsements.
All opinions are my own. Re-posts don’t equal endorsements.
🧵
We’ll see what happens at SCOTUS with the Texas redistricting appeal, but one important contextual thing is that Texas is *not* being ordered to use a court-drawn map or a map that it drew only under duress.
It is being ordered to use its *own* GOP drawn 2021 map. #txlege
It is being ordered to use its *own* GOP drawn 2021 map. #txlege
November 19, 2025 at 2:32 PM
🧵
Reposted by Katie
The way we talk about the economy as positioned the losses of workers as male losses, wrong and threatening because of the way they endanger male status. But women are workers, too, and they deserve dignity and decent wages.
November 9, 2025 at 7:57 PM
The way we talk about the economy as positioned the losses of workers as male losses, wrong and threatening because of the way they endanger male status. But women are workers, too, and they deserve dignity and decent wages.
Reposted by Katie
The government has promoted a birth boom while discouraging pregnant people from taking
-SSRIs
-COVID vaccines
-Tylenol
all going against medical consensus & evidence.
We spoke to the people trying to keep their pregnancies healthy in the face of govt misinformation
19thnews.org/2025/10/preg...
-SSRIs
-COVID vaccines
-Tylenol
all going against medical consensus & evidence.
We spoke to the people trying to keep their pregnancies healthy in the face of govt misinformation
19thnews.org/2025/10/preg...
What’s safe? How do we know? The anxiety of pregnancy in America.
The way the government talks about pregnancy has transformed, putting choices about medications, vaccines and care under heightened scrutiny.
19thnews.org
October 28, 2025 at 1:28 PM
The government has promoted a birth boom while discouraging pregnant people from taking
-SSRIs
-COVID vaccines
-Tylenol
all going against medical consensus & evidence.
We spoke to the people trying to keep their pregnancies healthy in the face of govt misinformation
19thnews.org/2025/10/preg...
-SSRIs
-COVID vaccines
-Tylenol
all going against medical consensus & evidence.
We spoke to the people trying to keep their pregnancies healthy in the face of govt misinformation
19thnews.org/2025/10/preg...
Reposted by Katie
NEW Economist/YouGov
Net favorability of Donald Trump [at the start of his second term | now] among U.S. adult citizens by age
18-29: +5 | -39
30-44: -6 | -14
45-64: +12 | -10
65+: -4 | -10
today.yougov.com/politics/art...
Net favorability of Donald Trump [at the start of his second term | now] among U.S. adult citizens by age
18-29: +5 | -39
30-44: -6 | -14
45-64: +12 | -10
65+: -4 | -10
today.yougov.com/politics/art...
![A multiple line chart of YouGov polling data with the headline: "Views of Donald Trump by age in his second term."
The chart has the sub-headline: "Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of the following people? [Donald Trump] (% with a very or somewhat favorable opinion minus the % with a very or somewhat unfavorable opinion)."
The chart has the note: "Note: Responses of "don't know" are not shown."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ke6f766al4swdugyvmvyipuo/bafkreifqum7lgpne6l4l7yf57ousd7heyjlnxp4cn25v6perrhpina3pv4@jpeg)
October 21, 2025 at 8:46 PM
NEW Economist/YouGov
Net favorability of Donald Trump [at the start of his second term | now] among U.S. adult citizens by age
18-29: +5 | -39
30-44: -6 | -14
45-64: +12 | -10
65+: -4 | -10
today.yougov.com/politics/art...
Net favorability of Donald Trump [at the start of his second term | now] among U.S. adult citizens by age
18-29: +5 | -39
30-44: -6 | -14
45-64: +12 | -10
65+: -4 | -10
today.yougov.com/politics/art...
Disastrous. “If there’s no one who works at the Office of Population Affairs, there’s no one to administer the Title X family planning program, which is a massively important program for reproductive health and rights in this country."
www.notus.org/health-scien...
www.notus.org/health-scien...
HHS Appears to be Cutting Its Entire Family Planning Office
Almost every member of the Office of Population Affairs lost email access and is unable to tell if they were laid off, workers told NOTUS.
www.notus.org
October 15, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Disastrous. “If there’s no one who works at the Office of Population Affairs, there’s no one to administer the Title X family planning program, which is a massively important program for reproductive health and rights in this country."
www.notus.org/health-scien...
www.notus.org/health-scien...
Reposted by Katie
Although the Callais case at SCOTUS involves a high-profile congressional redistricting dispute, important to remember that most Section 2 cases (2/3!) continue to involve local government bodies like city councils & school boards. - mostly challenges to at-large systems.
October 13, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Although the Callais case at SCOTUS involves a high-profile congressional redistricting dispute, important to remember that most Section 2 cases (2/3!) continue to involve local government bodies like city councils & school boards. - mostly challenges to at-large systems.
SNL comes out swinging with the first network appearance of Huntrix. What a get! youtu.be/LW9QJIT_T-A?...
KPop Demon Hunters - SNL
YouTube video by Saturday Night Live
youtu.be
October 5, 2025 at 5:44 PM
SNL comes out swinging with the first network appearance of Huntrix. What a get! youtu.be/LW9QJIT_T-A?...
Reposted by Katie
60 years ago today, LBJ signed the Immigration Nationality Act of 1965 into law at the base of the Statue of Liberty.
October 3, 2025 at 12:11 PM
60 years ago today, LBJ signed the Immigration Nationality Act of 1965 into law at the base of the Statue of Liberty.
Reposted by Katie
Beverly Hills, California.
February 14, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Beverly Hills, California.
Reposted by Katie
Can we get some focus on the perfidy of Speaker Mike Johnson?
So much of Trump’s excesses are made possible because Johnson has disabled the House as a check on the President. He has handed Trump his gavel symbolically and in reality.
We need to focus on Trump’s enablers.
So much of Trump’s excesses are made possible because Johnson has disabled the House as a check on the President. He has handed Trump his gavel symbolically and in reality.
We need to focus on Trump’s enablers.
Grijalva: I was looking at the example of now-Representative Walkinshaw from Virginia, who was elected two weeks ago Tuesday. The following Wednesday—less than 24 hours later—he was sworn in, with unofficial results.
So for me, apparently the rules have now changed in just two weeks.
So for me, apparently the rules have now changed in just two weeks.
September 27, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Can we get some focus on the perfidy of Speaker Mike Johnson?
So much of Trump’s excesses are made possible because Johnson has disabled the House as a check on the President. He has handed Trump his gavel symbolically and in reality.
We need to focus on Trump’s enablers.
So much of Trump’s excesses are made possible because Johnson has disabled the House as a check on the President. He has handed Trump his gavel symbolically and in reality.
We need to focus on Trump’s enablers.
New brief, hot off the presses!
New Resound Research brief links SB8 abortion ban to increased mental distress in young Texans.
🧠 28% of women ages 18–29 reported frequent poor mental health after the ban.
🔗 Read: resoundrh.org/wp-content/u...
🧠 28% of women ages 18–29 reported frequent poor mental health after the ban.
🔗 Read: resoundrh.org/wp-content/u...
resoundrh.org
September 16, 2025 at 6:14 PM
New brief, hot off the presses!
Reposted by Katie
New paper finds lack of abortion access leads to "significant economic hardship...lower labor force participation, rising debt, widening income inequality, and heightened housing insecurity." www.nber.org/papers/w34245
Abortion, Economic Hardship, and Crime
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...
www.nber.org
September 15, 2025 at 11:47 AM
New paper finds lack of abortion access leads to "significant economic hardship...lower labor force participation, rising debt, widening income inequality, and heightened housing insecurity." www.nber.org/papers/w34245
Reposted by Katie
Wow: Texas quietly dropped its lawsuit against Dr. Hector Granados, an El Paso pediatric endocrinologist who Ken Paxton called a "scofflaw" for allegedly violating the state's ban on providing hormones / puberty blockers to trans kids:
apnews.com/article/tran...
apnews.com/article/tran...
Texas drops lawsuit against doctor accused of illegally providing care to transgender youth
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office says one of the first doctors in the U.S. accused of illegally providing care to transgender youth under GOP-led bans was found not to have broken the law.
apnews.com
September 11, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Wow: Texas quietly dropped its lawsuit against Dr. Hector Granados, an El Paso pediatric endocrinologist who Ken Paxton called a "scofflaw" for allegedly violating the state's ban on providing hormones / puberty blockers to trans kids:
apnews.com/article/tran...
apnews.com/article/tran...
OK! 👀
State Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin) will enter the race for the Senate. #txlege
www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
State Sen. James Talarico to jump in Texas Senate race
The rising star has been flirting with a bid as Democrats look to flip the Lone Star state.
www.politico.com
September 5, 2025 at 7:21 PM
OK! 👀
Reposted by Katie
Reposted by Katie
It's official: Texas' bathroom bill, SB 8, is going to the Governor's desk to become law. I will have more soon, but the law impacts publicly owned facilities. It caps off a decade of trying to pass a bathroom bill. From my friend Aaron Torres:
www.dallasnews.com/news/politic...
www.dallasnews.com/news/politic...
Bill banning transgender people from bathrooms headed to governor after Senate approval
A measure prohibiting transgender Texas from using public bathrooms and similar private spaces that aligns with their gender identity is headed to Gov. Greg...
www.dallasnews.com
September 4, 2025 at 1:09 AM
It's official: Texas' bathroom bill, SB 8, is going to the Governor's desk to become law. I will have more soon, but the law impacts publicly owned facilities. It caps off a decade of trying to pass a bathroom bill. From my friend Aaron Torres:
www.dallasnews.com/news/politic...
www.dallasnews.com/news/politic...
Reposted by Katie
It's more than a *messaging* failure that a significant percentage of the country didn't know that tariffs are a tax on the consumer [almost always]. It's a complete lack of political education AND of the public's curiosity.
September 2, 2025 at 4:56 PM
It's more than a *messaging* failure that a significant percentage of the country didn't know that tariffs are a tax on the consumer [almost always]. It's a complete lack of political education AND of the public's curiosity.
🥲
Democratic congressman Lloyd Doggett (TX-37) says he will retire rather than run for re-election unless courts overturn the new Texas congressional map, which pairs him with fellow Democrat Greg Casar. #txlege
www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett says he'll retire after Texas redistricting unless courts overturn GOP map
Doggett and fellow Rep. Greg Casar's two heavily Democratic seats were shrunk into one in the Republican gerrymander.
www.nbcnews.com
August 21, 2025 at 10:59 PM
🥲
Reposted by Katie
SB 8 will be heard tomorrow in House State of Affairs.
SB 8 prohibits trans people from accessing essential facilities including in family violence shelters, placing them in even greater danger.
link to submit a comment can be found here: comments.house.texas.gov/home
#txlege
SB 8 prohibits trans people from accessing essential facilities including in family violence shelters, placing them in even greater danger.
link to submit a comment can be found here: comments.house.texas.gov/home
#txlege
House Public Comment
The purpose of this form is to aid Texas residents in electronically submitting public comments to House committees on measures or matters included on public hearing notices.
comments.house.texas.gov
August 21, 2025 at 8:19 PM
SB 8 will be heard tomorrow in House State of Affairs.
SB 8 prohibits trans people from accessing essential facilities including in family violence shelters, placing them in even greater danger.
link to submit a comment can be found here: comments.house.texas.gov/home
#txlege
SB 8 prohibits trans people from accessing essential facilities including in family violence shelters, placing them in even greater danger.
link to submit a comment can be found here: comments.house.texas.gov/home
#txlege
The lack of public notice and process is a huge tell that TX republicans are doing something shameful.
Rep Trey Martinez Fischer lining out the many irregularities in this process, including the failure to do a field hearing in Bexar County. "we have now allowed this process to be taken outside of this building" and bringing it back without real debate, and saying "I don't know" to questions #txlege
August 20, 2025 at 10:02 PM
The lack of public notice and process is a huge tell that TX republicans are doing something shameful.
ATX transit plan lingering for 50 years!
Sorry this took me so long to dig out but if you’d like to get really mad, the ~same transit plan has been needed since about 1973 and gone nowhere
bsky.app/profile/ndha...
bsky.app/profile/ndha...
Dating all the way back to 1973 =>
August 20, 2025 at 12:27 PM
ATX transit plan lingering for 50 years!
👀
ooooh a writ of habeas corpus regarding the detention of Nicole Collier in the Texas Capitol has been filed.
The main point of contention is whether or not Collier is an absent member. Her presence in the Capitol demonstrates she's present not absent.
www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/u...
The main point of contention is whether or not Collier is an absent member. Her presence in the Capitol demonstrates she's present not absent.
www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/u...
August 19, 2025 at 2:56 PM
👀
Reposted by Katie
On the Texas House side, there is a new, new congressional map as a committee substitute. The new map is Plan C2333.
dvr.capitol.texas.gov/Congress/89/... #txlege
dvr.capitol.texas.gov/Congress/89/... #txlege
August 18, 2025 at 8:35 PM
On the Texas House side, there is a new, new congressional map as a committee substitute. The new map is Plan C2333.
dvr.capitol.texas.gov/Congress/89/... #txlege
dvr.capitol.texas.gov/Congress/89/... #txlege
Reposted by Katie
Democratic lawmakers fled the state to protest a Trump-backed redistricting plan. For the mothers among them, leaving meant juggling summer milestones, first days of school — and showing their kids what democracy requires.
Parenting while protecting democracy: The moms who fled the Texas legislature
Democratic lawmakers fled the state to protest a Trump-backed redistricting plan. For the mothers among them, leaving meant juggling summer milestones, first days of school — and showing their kids wh...
19thnews.org
August 7, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Democratic lawmakers fled the state to protest a Trump-backed redistricting plan. For the mothers among them, leaving meant juggling summer milestones, first days of school — and showing their kids what democracy requires.