Alison Smaalders
@vividwings.bsky.social
Archaeology major, currently working in P&C insurance. Gamer, LARPer, general nerd, cat lover. Occasionally known as Fun Fact. She/her.
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
I was rude to Newt Gingrich in person when I was 8 and I believe everyone should be chasing a high like that
not enough people are rude to blatant liars like Jennings to their face and in public.
Oh, I think libs should go on and burn their chance of future invites to take him on increasingly surreal ways. Yap like a small dog, do the Mamdani/Ms. Rachel wha wha wha, impersonate his fucking accent back to him.
January 20, 2026 at 7:34 AM
I was rude to Newt Gingrich in person when I was 8 and I believe everyone should be chasing a high like that
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
I just woke up from a nap and somehow while I was asleep, everyone on the bus has figured out we are not going to the right place
January 20, 2026 at 1:57 AM
I just woke up from a nap and somehow while I was asleep, everyone on the bus has figured out we are not going to the right place
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
Dear neighbor,
I’m joining faith leaders, union representatives and community members who are calling for a Day of Truth and Freedom on Friday, January 23, 2026.
This will be a general strike in Minnesota (no work, school, or shopping) in support of our immigrant neighbors. 1/
I’m joining faith leaders, union representatives and community members who are calling for a Day of Truth and Freedom on Friday, January 23, 2026.
This will be a general strike in Minnesota (no work, school, or shopping) in support of our immigrant neighbors. 1/
January 20, 2026 at 4:35 AM
Dear neighbor,
I’m joining faith leaders, union representatives and community members who are calling for a Day of Truth and Freedom on Friday, January 23, 2026.
This will be a general strike in Minnesota (no work, school, or shopping) in support of our immigrant neighbors. 1/
I’m joining faith leaders, union representatives and community members who are calling for a Day of Truth and Freedom on Friday, January 23, 2026.
This will be a general strike in Minnesota (no work, school, or shopping) in support of our immigrant neighbors. 1/
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
"Abolish ICE" is the moderate position. "Try everyone involved in ICE for crimes against humanity" is the progressive one.
A third immigrant detainee at facility in El Paso has died, ICE says.
Third immigrant detainee at facility in El Paso has died, ICE says
Camp East Montana on Fort Bliss in El Paso is one of the largest ICE detention centers in the country.
nbcnews.to
January 19, 2026 at 9:01 PM
"Abolish ICE" is the moderate position. "Try everyone involved in ICE for crimes against humanity" is the progressive one.
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
MUST READ thread before Monday night's forecasted G4 / SEVERE geomagnetic storm. Auroras could be seen as far south as the U.S.-Mexico border at times. Widespread mid-latitude displays are possible. Here's what you need to know to have a successful aurora chase tonight! 🧵
#heliophysics #aurora
#heliophysics #aurora
January 19, 2026 at 6:30 PM
MUST READ thread before Monday night's forecasted G4 / SEVERE geomagnetic storm. Auroras could be seen as far south as the U.S.-Mexico border at times. Widespread mid-latitude displays are possible. Here's what you need to know to have a successful aurora chase tonight! 🧵
#heliophysics #aurora
#heliophysics #aurora
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
COW TOOLS COW TOOLS COW TOOLS
Back-scratching bovine leads scientists to reassess intelligence of cows
Brown Swiss in Austria has been discovered using tools in multiple ways – something only ever seen in humans and chimpanzees
www.theguardian.com
January 19, 2026 at 4:06 PM
COW TOOLS COW TOOLS COW TOOLS
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
It can never be overstated that I think about this panel every day of my god damn life
January 19, 2026 at 5:25 AM
It can never be overstated that I think about this panel every day of my god damn life
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
Hunter S. Thompson on 9/11
September 12, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Hunter S. Thompson on 9/11
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
WE KNOW GREENLAND IS STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT AND THAT THERE ARE BENEFITS IN MAINTAINING A PRESENCE IN THE REGION. THE POINT IS THAT NONE OF THIS REQUIRES TAKING THE ISLAND FROM DENMARK.
The Arctic is warming around four times faster than the rest of the globe.
The changing landscape created a region ripe for opportunity factors that may play a role in President Trump’s sudden quest to obtain Greenland.
The changing landscape created a region ripe for opportunity factors that may play a role in President Trump’s sudden quest to obtain Greenland.
Melting ice may raise Greenland’s value. Trump’s fight may be just the start.
Trump has said he wants the territory because of its strategic location. Maps show how a melting Arctic is affecting geopolitics.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 18, 2026 at 11:12 PM
WE KNOW GREENLAND IS STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT AND THAT THERE ARE BENEFITS IN MAINTAINING A PRESENCE IN THE REGION. THE POINT IS THAT NONE OF THIS REQUIRES TAKING THE ISLAND FROM DENMARK.
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
the knitters too. this is the top pattern on ravelry right now
January 19, 2026 at 4:40 AM
the knitters too. this is the top pattern on ravelry right now
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
It's particularly galling to call for ICE to wear body cams when Renee Good's murder literally recorded the whole thing on his phone. He was so confident in his impunity as part of that organization that he recorded and allowed for the release of footage of him shooting a woman at point blank.
January 16, 2026 at 7:54 PM
It's particularly galling to call for ICE to wear body cams when Renee Good's murder literally recorded the whole thing on his phone. He was so confident in his impunity as part of that organization that he recorded and allowed for the release of footage of him shooting a woman at point blank.
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
Deutsche Bank here with the good stuff.
Game on.
Game on.
January 18, 2026 at 6:59 PM
Deutsche Bank here with the good stuff.
Game on.
Game on.
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
MORMONS: look its very clear that God and his established authority on the earth, do not have the power to actually influence sporting events. Thats why BYU doesn't win anything important. That would be way too hard
POPE (roller skating backwards while eating a hot dog) not that hard
POPE (roller skating backwards while eating a hot dog) not that hard
January 19, 2026 at 2:40 AM
MORMONS: look its very clear that God and his established authority on the earth, do not have the power to actually influence sporting events. Thats why BYU doesn't win anything important. That would be way too hard
POPE (roller skating backwards while eating a hot dog) not that hard
POPE (roller skating backwards while eating a hot dog) not that hard
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
I'm not Too Online enough to believe there's a causal connection, but the fact that both Star Wars and Star Trek both decided to blow up their aspirational triumph-of-democratic-ideals futures because they were bored with the idea does seem really of a piece with what's going on in the Real World.
January 18, 2026 at 10:01 PM
I'm not Too Online enough to believe there's a causal connection, but the fact that both Star Wars and Star Trek both decided to blow up their aspirational triumph-of-democratic-ideals futures because they were bored with the idea does seem really of a piece with what's going on in the Real World.
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
Conservatives and their reactionary cousins believe that their views are true because they believe them. They don't need hard proof or to be able to argue for them. They're "common sense."
This viewpoint is the fundamental unifier of everyone on the right, from atheist ancaps to Christofascists.
This viewpoint is the fundamental unifier of everyone on the right, from atheist ancaps to Christofascists.
January 18, 2026 at 5:53 PM
Conservatives and their reactionary cousins believe that their views are true because they believe them. They don't need hard proof or to be able to argue for them. They're "common sense."
This viewpoint is the fundamental unifier of everyone on the right, from atheist ancaps to Christofascists.
This viewpoint is the fundamental unifier of everyone on the right, from atheist ancaps to Christofascists.
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
This is who voted against establishing DHS
January 18, 2026 at 3:23 PM
This is who voted against establishing DHS
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
A neighbor was taken to a care facility, and her little tortoiseshell kitty was left behind. I can't take her in but I've been feeding her and giving her water every day. No one in the neighbor's family can take her in. Is there anyone in the Inland Empire area that could foster or adopt her?
January 12, 2026 at 11:35 PM
A neighbor was taken to a care facility, and her little tortoiseshell kitty was left behind. I can't take her in but I've been feeding her and giving her water every day. No one in the neighbor's family can take her in. Is there anyone in the Inland Empire area that could foster or adopt her?
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
We frankly should have strung up not just Davis but every Confederate General, Jefferson Davis, his Vice President, and every member of his cabinet. And everyone who signed articles of secession.
You have to hang Jefferson Davis. You have to put Bull Connor and Richard Nixon in their own prisons. Otherwise you get Connor, and then Nixon, and then Trump.
January 18, 2026 at 3:52 PM
We frankly should have strung up not just Davis but every Confederate General, Jefferson Davis, his Vice President, and every member of his cabinet. And everyone who signed articles of secession.
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
Thing about cadaver synods is it’s never too late
Sic semper tyrannis, motherfuckers. It's not too late to dig up their bones and scatter them and overturn their monuments and melt them down.
January 18, 2026 at 4:48 PM
Thing about cadaver synods is it’s never too late
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
Imagine spending $77 billion dollars in six years on a failed Temu Sims that no one wanted and have no immediate financial impact to your business model? Now imagine how much genuine help that could have provided for actual communities and real fucking people.
The division has lost over $77 billion since its inception in 2020.
Meta Lays Off Thousands of VR Workers as Zuckerberg's Vision Fails
The company has laid off some 1,500 virtual reality developers as part of a broader shift toward AI wearable devices.
trib.al
January 18, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Imagine spending $77 billion dollars in six years on a failed Temu Sims that no one wanted and have no immediate financial impact to your business model? Now imagine how much genuine help that could have provided for actual communities and real fucking people.
Reposted by Alison Smaalders
Respectfully, I am going to whisper to some of our white comrades a truth that should be more widely known: You definitely have some ancestors to be proud of, ancestors who refused white supremacy, and poured out their lives in many of these struggles over time.
Time to claim your true history.
Time to claim your true history.
January 17, 2026 at 7:29 PM
Respectfully, I am going to whisper to some of our white comrades a truth that should be more widely known: You definitely have some ancestors to be proud of, ancestors who refused white supremacy, and poured out their lives in many of these struggles over time.
Time to claim your true history.
Time to claim your true history.