Suzanne Trimel
@suzannetrimel.bsky.social
Veteran of global human rights orgs now Sr. Advisor @PENAmerica. Pro democracy, facts, science and free expression. Hiker. Occasional gardening posts. Greater NYC.
Sending National Guard troops into blue cities is just a pretext for ICE raids. They aren’t there to reduce crime— that’s another Trump lie. They are there to run cover for immigration raids. It’s more lawlessness.
When I reported for duty at Naval Station Great Lakes, I never imagined that some day a US President would seek to use it as a base for surveillance and enforcement activity on American soil. Our military was not set up to cater to the whims of a would-be American dictator.
Trump’s planned Chicago blitz would use naval base to house ICE agents, possibly National Guard
Federal agents would operate out of Naval Station Great Lakes near North Chicago through September, according to an email from a Navy captain who said there were "a lot of concerns and questions" abou...
chicago.suntimes.com
August 29, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Sending National Guard troops into blue cities is just a pretext for ICE raids. They aren’t there to reduce crime— that’s another Trump lie. They are there to run cover for immigration raids. It’s more lawlessness.
Americans are a rebellious lot and protest is in our DNA. So why are books about dissent and activism being banned in our public schools?
You can’t understand U.S. history or democracy without knowing about social and protest movements past and present. Yet during the 2023-24 school year, over 650 books about dissent, protest and social movements were banned.
Read more—including 5 ways to protest book bans—at: pen.org/why-ban-book...
Read more—including 5 ways to protest book bans—at: pen.org/why-ban-book...
Dissent, Protest and Social Movements are Indelibly American. So Why Are Schools Banning Books on these Topics? - PEN America
Censoring history is unlikely to stop their core human urge to speak out against unfairness they may find in their own lives.
pen.org
August 29, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Americans are a rebellious lot and protest is in our DNA. So why are books about dissent and activism being banned in our public schools?
Reposted by Suzanne Trimel
Public media has been defunded. Your support keeps journalists on the ground, lifts unheard voices, and connects communities.
Help us plan for what’s next. Make a monthly gift today. Stand with public media: n.pr/458sOhq
Help us plan for what’s next. Make a monthly gift today. Stand with public media: n.pr/458sOhq
July 27, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Public media has been defunded. Your support keeps journalists on the ground, lifts unheard voices, and connects communities.
Help us plan for what’s next. Make a monthly gift today. Stand with public media: n.pr/458sOhq
Help us plan for what’s next. Make a monthly gift today. Stand with public media: n.pr/458sOhq
Reposted by Suzanne Trimel
Return to sender: The censorship battle playing out in Wisconsin prisons
Most donated books are rejected for their content or blocked under the guise of drug prevention, cutting off a rare lifeline for incarcerated individuals. www.channel3000.com/madison-maga...
Most donated books are rejected for their content or blocked under the guise of drug prevention, cutting off a rare lifeline for incarcerated individuals. www.channel3000.com/madison-maga...
Return to sender: The censorship battle playing out in Wisconsin prisons
Most donated books are rejected for their content or blocked under the guise of drug prevention, cutting off a rare lifeline for incarcerated individuals.
www.channel3000.com
July 22, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Return to sender: The censorship battle playing out in Wisconsin prisons
Most donated books are rejected for their content or blocked under the guise of drug prevention, cutting off a rare lifeline for incarcerated individuals. www.channel3000.com/madison-maga...
Most donated books are rejected for their content or blocked under the guise of drug prevention, cutting off a rare lifeline for incarcerated individuals. www.channel3000.com/madison-maga...
This is criminal.
NEW: Over the years, Texas legislators have declined to pass at least three bills that would create siren or alert systems, a tool that Kerr County officials tried to secure for years before the July 4 flooding.
By Lexi Churchill & @lomikriel.bsky.social, w/ @texastribune.org
By Lexi Churchill & @lomikriel.bsky.social, w/ @texastribune.org
Texas Lawmakers Largely Ignored Recommendations Aimed at Helping Rural Areas Like Kerr County Prepare for Flooding
Texas lawmakers’ inaction on flood prevention often hits rural and economically disadvantaged communities the hardest, experts said.
www.propublica.org
July 22, 2025 at 1:43 AM
This is criminal.
Trump’s mismanagement of the economy— on tariffs, inflation, rising prices— is tanking his poll numbers by a lot. Americans see their costs rising on everything and they are not happy about it. Only 25 % of those polled say his policies have helped them. Brutal. apnews.com/article/poll...
July 22, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Trump’s mismanagement of the economy— on tariffs, inflation, rising prices— is tanking his poll numbers by a lot. Americans see their costs rising on everything and they are not happy about it. Only 25 % of those polled say his policies have helped them. Brutal. apnews.com/article/poll...
Reposted by Suzanne Trimel
When I was little, the U.S. military came to our home at gunpoint and took me and my family away. We were imprisoned for years in barbed wire camps simply because we were Japanese American. I have spent my life telling that story, hoping it would never be repeated.
July 21, 2025 at 5:20 PM
When I was little, the U.S. military came to our home at gunpoint and took me and my family away. We were imprisoned for years in barbed wire camps simply because we were Japanese American. I have spent my life telling that story, hoping it would never be repeated.
Trump flew on Epstein’s private getaway jet seven times. It was nicknamed the Lolita Express. That certainly tells you a lot.
July 20, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Trump flew on Epstein’s private getaway jet seven times. It was nicknamed the Lolita Express. That certainly tells you a lot.
Why do pale-skinned maga people seek darker shades of their skin tone? And do others see the ironic cluelessness and creepiness in a coalition built on white supremacy dying for a darker (brownish/orange) look?
Tanning is back. Only this time, it’s not just about looking good, @yeahyeahyasmin.bsky.social reports.
The New Sun Worship
Tanning is back. And this time, it’s not just about looking good.
bit.ly
July 19, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Why do pale-skinned maga people seek darker shades of their skin tone? And do others see the ironic cluelessness and creepiness in a coalition built on white supremacy dying for a darker (brownish/orange) look?
Reposted by Suzanne Trimel
Congress eliminated public media funding. At a time of deep division, public media brings us together.
Help keep it strong. Join our monthly donors today: n.pr/458sOhq
Help keep it strong. Join our monthly donors today: n.pr/458sOhq
July 19, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Congress eliminated public media funding. At a time of deep division, public media brings us together.
Help keep it strong. Join our monthly donors today: n.pr/458sOhq
Help keep it strong. Join our monthly donors today: n.pr/458sOhq
Until Colbert’s sacking we were able to believe that television, art, movies, literature, music “remained protected and free-willed, a rare area of control for a public that otherwise feels powerless to take action.” No more.
Why Colbert's cancellation marks a dangerous new stage for the culture at large
Colbert's cancellation is a dark warning
CBS's decision marks a dangerous new stage for the culture at large.
www.motherjones.com
July 19, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Until Colbert’s sacking we were able to believe that television, art, movies, literature, music “remained protected and free-willed, a rare area of control for a public that otherwise feels powerless to take action.” No more.
Reposted by Suzanne Trimel
Filmmaker Ken Burns tells NPR's Michel Martin about the role that federal funding has played in his documentary work and the potential impact of the loss of that funding on children's programming.
Flimmaker Ken Burns: Public broadcasting is a 'purely American expression'
Filmmaker Ken Burns tells NPR's Michel Martin about the role that federal funding has played in his documentary work and the potential impact of the loss of that funding on children's programming.
n.pr
July 18, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Filmmaker Ken Burns tells NPR's Michel Martin about the role that federal funding has played in his documentary work and the potential impact of the loss of that funding on children's programming.
Reposted by Suzanne Trimel
Congress has decided to claw back previously approved funding for public media.
This decision hurts people in communities across the country, but it has only strengthened our resolve to keep Americans informed and connected. (1/2)
This decision hurts people in communities across the country, but it has only strengthened our resolve to keep Americans informed and connected. (1/2)
July 18, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Congress has decided to claw back previously approved funding for public media.
This decision hurts people in communities across the country, but it has only strengthened our resolve to keep Americans informed and connected. (1/2)
This decision hurts people in communities across the country, but it has only strengthened our resolve to keep Americans informed and connected. (1/2)
We know that Trump is a mentally unstable compulsive liar and now we see him experiencing pretty obvious age-related memory lapses and confusion of the kind his father likely had as a victim of Alzheimers, a disease that runs in families. Is JakeTapper on the case yet?
July 17, 2025 at 1:37 AM
We know that Trump is a mentally unstable compulsive liar and now we see him experiencing pretty obvious age-related memory lapses and confusion of the kind his father likely had as a victim of Alzheimers, a disease that runs in families. Is JakeTapper on the case yet?
A victory on the book ban front from New Hampshire. Censorship is un American and 70% of Americans agree.
PEN America applauds New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte for her brave veto of House Bill 324.
This "dangerous" bill would "do a disservice to students by placing their education in the hands of politicians, not education professionals." Full statement: pen.org/press-releas...
This "dangerous" bill would "do a disservice to students by placing their education in the hands of politicians, not education professionals." Full statement: pen.org/press-releas...
With Her Veto of a Book Banning Bill, N.H. Gov. Ayotte Recognizes the Damage It Would Have Caused - PEN America
PEN America today applauded New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte for her brave veto of a Republican-backed bill that would have prohibited schools from distributing materials described as "harmful to minor...
pen.org
July 16, 2025 at 11:32 PM
A victory on the book ban front from New Hampshire. Censorship is un American and 70% of Americans agree.
The view that rural America needs public radio in natural disasters is probably not enough to persuade Republicans who took away their health care but it is an important voice even if it feels like a cry from the wilderness.
In a new essay for PEN America, bestselling author Heather Lende details why "remote communities in Alaska and around the country whose populations have lived through floods, fires and storms" are now "fearful about the loss of their local stations."
pen.org/in-my-small-...
pen.org/in-my-small-...
In my small southeast Alaska town public radio is literally a lifeline - PEN America
Writing about the possible loss of federal funding for public broadcasting, author Heather Lende writes: "I cannot, will not, imagine what could happen the next time, if KHNS isn’t here. And I’m sure ...
pen.org
July 16, 2025 at 11:29 PM
The view that rural America needs public radio in natural disasters is probably not enough to persuade Republicans who took away their health care but it is an important voice even if it feels like a cry from the wilderness.
Violence, instability and the ongoing risk of sickness, even death from Vietnam-era Agent Orange—the awful outcomes in countries abroad from Trump’s destruction of USAID. And this doesn’t even take into account the damage to our reputation as a nation. Trump’s destruction has spread worldwide.
🧵 Since the start of this administration, our reporters Brett Murphy and @annamaria.bsky.social have been closely tracking the fallout of USAID's destruction.
In March, we wrote about how Trump's halting of a massive Agent Orange cleanup in Vietnam puts hundreds of thousands at risk. (1/3)
In March, we wrote about how Trump's halting of a massive Agent Orange cleanup in Vietnam puts hundreds of thousands at risk. (1/3)
Trump Halted an Agent Orange Cleanup. That Puts Hundreds of Thousands at Risk for Poisoning.
Diplomats in Vietnam warned Washington that halting USAID’s efforts to clean up the massive deposit of postwar pesticides would be a catastrophe for public health and relations with a key strategic…
www.propublica.org
July 13, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Violence, instability and the ongoing risk of sickness, even death from Vietnam-era Agent Orange—the awful outcomes in countries abroad from Trump’s destruction of USAID. And this doesn’t even take into account the damage to our reputation as a nation. Trump’s destruction has spread worldwide.
It’s no coincidence that they’ve banned a book about the concentration camps that held Japanese people in the US during WW2 just as the government has opened prison camps to hold immigrants like Alligator Alcatraz in Florida.
The extremist movement to ban books basically wants to erase any history that looks critically at injustices of all kinds. That doesn’t fit their narrative of admirable white people, the facts be damned.
Recently, my book THEY CALLED US ENEMY was banned – again – in Tennessee. Book bans are out of control. Huge parts of American history are being restricted. To join me in standing up for the freedom to read, go to pen.org/action. @penamerica.bsky.social @topshelfcomix.bsky.social @idwpublishing.com
July 13, 2025 at 7:48 PM
It’s no coincidence that they’ve banned a book about the concentration camps that held Japanese people in the US during WW2 just as the government has opened prison camps to hold immigrants like Alligator Alcatraz in Florida.
We’re facing harms to our health and finances.
But what moves MAGA to revolt?
Conspiracies over a dead billionaire’s past sexual crimes.
It’s hard to fathom the level of psychosis in this wretched movement of bigoted white men.
But what moves MAGA to revolt?
Conspiracies over a dead billionaire’s past sexual crimes.
It’s hard to fathom the level of psychosis in this wretched movement of bigoted white men.
July 13, 2025 at 3:33 PM
We’re facing harms to our health and finances.
But what moves MAGA to revolt?
Conspiracies over a dead billionaire’s past sexual crimes.
It’s hard to fathom the level of psychosis in this wretched movement of bigoted white men.
But what moves MAGA to revolt?
Conspiracies over a dead billionaire’s past sexual crimes.
It’s hard to fathom the level of psychosis in this wretched movement of bigoted white men.
While we’re waiting for hurricane season & the likelihood that Trump’s FEMA won’t be up to whatever unfolds we should also understand that flu season follows that and his HHS Secretary does not accept yearly flu shots as prevention. Death and harm are coming. This is the reality MAGA imposed on us.
The rule of law isn’t the only cornerstone of our democracy that has been severely damaged during the Trump era. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
Is Public Health Dead?
This is one of the questions we tease out answers to in the Democratic Institutions Seminar I teach.
open.substack.com
July 13, 2025 at 3:27 PM
While we’re waiting for hurricane season & the likelihood that Trump’s FEMA won’t be up to whatever unfolds we should also understand that flu season follows that and his HHS Secretary does not accept yearly flu shots as prevention. Death and harm are coming. This is the reality MAGA imposed on us.
The hardest work in America.
Picking fruit. Mopping floors. Lifting garbage. Washing dishes.
Who will do this work when millions are jailed or flown to places unknown?
Certainly not you.
But you too will live amid the shattered glass of a broken land.
#MAGA
Picking fruit. Mopping floors. Lifting garbage. Washing dishes.
Who will do this work when millions are jailed or flown to places unknown?
Certainly not you.
But you too will live amid the shattered glass of a broken land.
#MAGA
July 12, 2025 at 9:17 PM
The hardest work in America.
Picking fruit. Mopping floors. Lifting garbage. Washing dishes.
Who will do this work when millions are jailed or flown to places unknown?
Certainly not you.
But you too will live amid the shattered glass of a broken land.
#MAGA
Picking fruit. Mopping floors. Lifting garbage. Washing dishes.
Who will do this work when millions are jailed or flown to places unknown?
Certainly not you.
But you too will live amid the shattered glass of a broken land.
#MAGA
Reposted by Suzanne Trimel
Never in the history of man have those that wanted to ban books been on the good guys.
July 12, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Never in the history of man have those that wanted to ban books been on the good guys.
The extremist movement to ban books basically wants to erase any history that looks critically at injustices of all kinds. That doesn’t fit their narrative of admirable white people, the facts be damned.
Recently, my book THEY CALLED US ENEMY was banned – again – in Tennessee. Book bans are out of control. Huge parts of American history are being restricted. To join me in standing up for the freedom to read, go to pen.org/action. @penamerica.bsky.social @topshelfcomix.bsky.social @idwpublishing.com
July 11, 2025 at 11:11 PM
The extremist movement to ban books basically wants to erase any history that looks critically at injustices of all kinds. That doesn’t fit their narrative of admirable white people, the facts be damned.
Reposted by Suzanne Trimel
they want to destroy higher education and do as much as they can to segregate what remains. basically, then the clock back to before the 1960s, when university education was reserved for a small slice of the public.
NEW: When university president Gregory Washington received notice that the Trump administration had opened an investigation into complaints of antisemitism, he was “perplexed.”
But there are signs it may be part of a coordinated campaign to oust him.
But there are signs it may be part of a coordinated campaign to oust him.
George Mason Is the Latest University Under Fire From Trump. Its President Fears an “Orchestrated” Campaign.
When university president Gregory Washington received notice that the Trump administration had opened an investigation into complaints of antisemitism, he was “perplexed.” But there are signs it may…
www.propublica.org
July 11, 2025 at 11:28 AM
they want to destroy higher education and do as much as they can to segregate what remains. basically, then the clock back to before the 1960s, when university education was reserved for a small slice of the public.
Reposted by Suzanne Trimel
☠ Don't let Bondi & Noem decide who gets to do oversight or when. ☠
🔥 Tell Congress to do right.
☎️ 202 224 3121
Congressional Switchboard
🚦 @resist.bot is a tool to efficiently email all of your legislators at once. resist.bot/petitions/PA...
🔥 Tell Congress to do right.
☎️ 202 224 3121
Congressional Switchboard
🚦 @resist.bot is a tool to efficiently email all of your legislators at once. resist.bot/petitions/PA...
Demand oversight on inhumane detention of migrant families
Text SIGN PADXYJ to 50409 to send this to your officials.
resist.bot
July 10, 2025 at 3:01 AM
☠ Don't let Bondi & Noem decide who gets to do oversight or when. ☠
🔥 Tell Congress to do right.
☎️ 202 224 3121
Congressional Switchboard
🚦 @resist.bot is a tool to efficiently email all of your legislators at once. resist.bot/petitions/PA...
🔥 Tell Congress to do right.
☎️ 202 224 3121
Congressional Switchboard
🚦 @resist.bot is a tool to efficiently email all of your legislators at once. resist.bot/petitions/PA...