Richard Silvia
banner
yesrising.bsky.social
Richard Silvia
@yesrising.bsky.social
YesRising | Hope for the weird ones still standing.
Essays, poetry, music, & meaning.
You’re not alone. 🏳️‍🌈
👉🏻 https://linktr.ee/YesRising
Pinned
A lot of people feel exhausted, out of place, and quietly hopeful anyway. That’s not a contradiction. That’s a sign you’re still human.

YesRising
Reposted by Richard Silvia
Tomorrow, I’m leading a deposition of Les Wexner for oversight dems. Wexner was Epstein’s largest benefactor and contributor of wealth. Why? And what does he know?

I have a bunch of questions, and I bet you do too.👇🏾
February 17, 2026 at 9:05 PM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
The Boss is bringing his resistance to D.C.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s 20-date protest tour begins in Minneapolis with a final concert at Nationals Park, three miles from the White House, on May 27.
Bruce Springsteen brings his political message to Nationals Park in May
The D.C. concert is the final date of the North American leg of Springsteen’s newly announced “Land of Hope and Dreams” tour.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 17, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
Married women could lose their right to vote if we don’t take ACTION.

Under the SAVE America Act, millions of women who changed their names after marriage could be blocked from registering to vote. Tell your Senators to STOP this anti-voter bill before its too late: VoteRiders.org/SAVE
House passes bill that could create voting barriers for married women
The House of Representatives passed a bill on Feb. 11 that would require proof of citizenship to vote.
www.usatoday.com
February 17, 2026 at 9:04 PM
Some of our finds from our visit at the Norton Museum in West Palm Beach yesterday. What a great place! We went to see the Rembrandt exhibit.
February 17, 2026 at 7:32 PM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
Modi: Held wide-ranging talks with President Macron in Mumbai. …we have elevated India-France relationship to a Special Global Strategic Partnership. Ours is a partnership for global stability and progress. We discussed cooperation in industry, defence, clean energy, space and emerging technologies.
February 17, 2026 at 5:57 PM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
Right-wing influencers like Johnson were primarily taking aim at homeless and transitional housing — and exaggerating their “findings.” It’s a strategy state election officials have long been aware of. www.democracydocket.com/analysis/rig...
Right-wing influencers are going viral claiming voter fraud. The problem? They’re wrong
“A lot of this is about homeless people, or people who are in sort of dire situations financially, living in buildings that are condemned… and moving, and therefore the building no longer exists. But ...
www.democracydocket.com
February 17, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
“As the airplane took off, Epstein started touching me forcibly in between my legs, and I freaked out. I realized, this is not a modeling opportunity, I've been kidnapped. They whisked me away to the island. I was stuck there. They never arranged any modeling opportunities, I was completely conned."
Epstein survivor tells CBS News how she was trafficked, and assaulted
Juliette Bryant says not long after meeting Jeffrey Epstein, he assaulted her, and she realized, "this is not a modeling opportunity, I've been kidnapped."
www.aol.com
February 17, 2026 at 6:06 PM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
Visitors to our country should not face a digital shakedown. @wyden.senate.gov and I are calling on CBP to reverse its invasive proposal to collect five years of social media history from travelers from trusted partner nations.
February 13, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
There was such hope.
Such pride.
Such joy in living to see that moment.
I saw the news of Obama’s election in 2008 on a TV in the Harvard Graduate School of Education library, where I was helping close up after a work study shift.

As y’all know, I’m contractually neutral on politics. But when I saw Jesse Jackson weeping, I lost it. youtu.be/Dgs8siSNXNU?...
Rev. Jesse Jackson weeps in Grant Park after Barack Obama elected president in 2008
YouTube video by CBS Chicago
youtu.be
February 17, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
Trump’s propaganda czar Brendan Carr and Trump-controlled CBS refused to let Colbert air his interview with James Talarico. You can watch the interview here, and it already has 1.4M views. youtu.be/oiTJ7Pz_59A?...
Rep. James Talarico On Confronting Christian Nationalism, And Strange Days In The Texas Legislature
YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
youtu.be
February 17, 2026 at 5:37 PM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
The mass censorship this administration is doing is happening in big ways (Colbert) + countless medium and small ways that many people are not allowed to say because their employer has forbidden them; they won’t risk losing their job to speak up. There are lists of forbidden words & images.
February 17, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
History teaches us that the greatest harms often begin with the quiet acceptance of the unacceptable. I have seen where that road leads, and I will not walk it again without resistance.
February 17, 2026 at 5:51 PM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
Radley Balko: The Democrats' demands to "reform" Trump's immigration thugs aren't reforms at all. They're already the law, the Constitution, and widely accepted police practices. And in a free society, they'd never be negotiable.
The Constitution is not a bargaining chip for a budget negotiation
The Democrats demanded that Trump's immigration cops follow the law and the Constitution. The Republicans called those demands "nonstarters."
open.substack.com
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 PM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
Florida: we deported all your hard working employees, but have no fear, we're bringing back child labor to fix it.

Seems like Democrats have all sorts of messaging opportunities here
Florida AG James Uthmeier: "We need to focus on getting people into the workforce even earlier. We passed legislation last year to help high school students get their hands dirty and get on job sites more quickly."
February 17, 2026 at 4:58 PM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
Tricia McLaughlin is reportedly out at DHS, according to multiple sources. She’s a very close ally of Noem.

That news, plus stories like the below which are coming out daily, strongly suggest the knives are clearly out for Noem inside DHS.
February 17, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
I don’t think anyone acquainted with the Epstein files can deny that the Republican Party is sincerely committed to putting children to work.
Florida AG James Uthmeier: "We need to focus on getting people into the workforce even earlier. We passed legislation last year to help high school students get their hands dirty and get on job sites more quickly."
February 17, 2026 at 4:36 PM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
In a way, not surprising at all. Public officials like Dr. Birx (who was actually a respected expert on AIDS before Covid) and Fauci often restrained Trump's impulses and Trump hated it. He believes Covid cost him the election (and it did). His new appointees are a revenge against public health.
Not only did Trump fail to learn any lessons from covid, but his public health policies have somehow gotten far more dangerous and destructive in Trump 2.0. God forbid he and RFK Jr have to handle a global pandemic. We'll be pining for the days of Dr. Birx.
Trump somehow got worse on public health after covid
He's incapable of learning lessons and actively resists it.
www.publicnotice.co
February 17, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
Here is what Democracy Docket is tracking for you today:

Active Voting Rights Cases: 166
Active Redistricting Cases: 49
Active Anti-Voting Cases: 89
Active Pro-Voting Cases: 73
Active DOJ Lawsuits: 24

Stay informed. Subscribe today. hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0
February 17, 2026 at 3:52 PM
Excellent American Conversation: @katebarrcanwin.bsky.social and @hcrichardson.bsky.social —I call this a demonstration of hope for the time we are living in. This is how we reclaim civil society, in my eyes.

www.youtube.com/live/_WwKZH7...
American Conversations: Kate Barr
YouTube video by Heather Cox Richardson
www.youtube.com
February 17, 2026 at 4:51 PM
This campaign is a demonstration of hope. I just watched her interview with Heather Cox Richardson. Highly recommend ⬇️
Early voting starts TODAY.

And in District 14, the primary is the election that actually decides who goes to Congress.

Because of gerrymandered maps, the general is basically predetermined. The Republican primary is the real contest. So here’s how you vote for me 🧵
February 17, 2026 at 4:46 PM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
Tomorrow I get to ask one of my favorite thinkers alllll about political parties. (I have so many questions.)

If you are also a nerd, fan, and/or want to understand what on earth is happening right now, I hope you’ll join us!

Live on HCR’s YouTube channel and Facebook tomorrow (Tuesday) at 11am
February 17, 2026 at 3:04 AM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
“Moral panic” is the projection of half baked media hosts, journalists, and networks beholden to the thugs that own them.

America has much better to offer should we decide to get off our asses and do something about it.
February 17, 2026 at 4:13 PM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
This
February 16, 2026 at 6:40 PM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
As an attorney with occasional experience with the Equal Time rule, I can explain what's going on here and how the FCC's Brandon Carr is leveraging his position to force late night and daytime talk show hosts to exclude Democratic candidates.

First I need to explain the Equal Time rule itself. 1/
Stephen Colbert said that the FCC and CBS - which is in no way a compromised or complicit organization - wouldn’t allow him to broadcast an interview with Democratic State Rep James Talarico. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/a...
Colbert Doesn’t Give an FCC About Calling Out CBS
www.nytimes.com
February 17, 2026 at 1:37 PM
Reposted by Richard Silvia
1. Major corporations — including General Motors, State Farm, JPMorgan Chase, Delta, and Microsoft — are bankrolling a political ad from Senate candidate Andy Barr featuring a white nationalist slogan.
Major corporations bankroll political ad featuring white supremacist slogan
Congressman Andy Barr (R-KY), who is running to replace Mitch McConnell in the United States Senate, released his first television ad earlier this month.
popular.info
February 17, 2026 at 1:43 PM