Cairsten
@cairsten.bsky.social
She/her. Mother, dreamer, yearner for warm asphalt roads under crisp moonlit skies, dabbler in fractal art and writing, proto-midwife, Tante in training. Caribbean child, twice an immigrant, now at home in Australia.
Reposted by Cairsten
Dem leaders: if you fight back, we will rally behind you. This isn't complicated. More of this please.
"Let's not take the soul-sucking path of sacrificing the most persecuted for that which we deem to be most popular. I know that there are transgender children right now looking out at this world and wondering if anyone is going to stand up for them and for their simple right to exist. Well, I am."
March 25, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Dem leaders: if you fight back, we will rally behind you. This isn't complicated. More of this please.
Reposted by Cairsten
And let me guess what kids they’ll expect to fill these jobs
Which part of making America great again is this??
Florida debates lifting some child labor laws to fill jobs vacated by undocumented immigrants | CNN Business
Florida has been working for years to crack down on employers that hire undocumented immigrants. But that presented a problem for businesses in the state that are desperate for workers to fill low-wag...
www.cnn.com
March 25, 2025 at 4:55 PM
And let me guess what kids they’ll expect to fill these jobs
Reposted by Cairsten
I spoke with the wife of a Venezuelan man who was deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration. She gave me Venezuelan and US records showing that he has no criminal history and told me he is a family man. He is now in a notorious Salvadoran prison open.substack.com/pub/beyondth...
Venezuelan Dad Deported to Salvadoran Prison Was Family Man Who Worked for DoorDash
Alirio Guillermo Belloso Fuenmayor’s wife is trying to find a way to get him released and home to Venezuela.
open.substack.com
March 25, 2025 at 4:21 PM
I spoke with the wife of a Venezuelan man who was deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration. She gave me Venezuelan and US records showing that he has no criminal history and told me he is a family man. He is now in a notorious Salvadoran prison open.substack.com/pub/beyondth...
Reposted by Cairsten
A Pentagon-wide advisory that went out one week ago warns against using the Signal, the messaging app, even for unclassified information.
A Pentagon-wide email recently went out warning about Signal's vulnerability
A Pentagon-wide advisory that went out one week ago warns against using the Signal, the messaging app, even for unclassified information.
www.npr.org
March 25, 2025 at 5:08 PM
A Pentagon-wide advisory that went out one week ago warns against using the Signal, the messaging app, even for unclassified information.
Reposted by Cairsten
JUST BECAUSE THE CLOWN CAR GOES VERY FAST DOES NOT MEAN IT ISN’T FULL OF CLOWNS
the speed at which these guys have broken everything has given a lot of folks who should know better the impression that they are an unstoppable force and the only option is to negotiate the terms of surrender
just because the clown car goes very fast does not mean it isn’t full of clowns
just because the clown car goes very fast does not mean it isn’t full of clowns
Whatever the immediate fallout of the scandal, what is going to stick around is the impression it gives, of hapless idiots doing ridiculous things. And I think that seriously reduces the appeal of capitulating to these jokers.
March 25, 2025 at 3:59 PM
JUST BECAUSE THE CLOWN CAR GOES VERY FAST DOES NOT MEAN IT ISN’T FULL OF CLOWNS
Reposted by Cairsten
The rich HATE public land. This administration is purposefully hamstringing national parks so they can cry "wasted money" and sprint towards privatization. They desperately want to strip OUR parks of resources or make them exclusive spaces for the wealthy. We went through similar shit with the USPS
Want to go visit the national parks this year?
Sorry.
The reservation system is shut down, EMT personnel are gone, so don't get hurt or lost. No one can clean the bathrooms or cabins, so they'll be closed. Rangers are fired.
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
Sorry.
The reservation system is shut down, EMT personnel are gone, so don't get hurt or lost. No one can clean the bathrooms or cabins, so they'll be closed. Rangers are fired.
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
Yosemite halts camping reservations, with no timetable for their return
Yosemite halts camping reservations, with no timetable for their return at a time when federal employees are being laid off
www.sfchronicle.com
February 18, 2025 at 8:48 AM
The rich HATE public land. This administration is purposefully hamstringing national parks so they can cry "wasted money" and sprint towards privatization. They desperately want to strip OUR parks of resources or make them exclusive spaces for the wealthy. We went through similar shit with the USPS
Reposted by Cairsten
Think about how much money and effort means testing costs versus giving money no strings attached, etc.
Cruelty *inherently* costs more than kindness. The cruel solution will always be inefficient.
Cruelty *inherently* costs more than kindness. The cruel solution will always be inefficient.
February 18, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Think about how much money and effort means testing costs versus giving money no strings attached, etc.
Cruelty *inherently* costs more than kindness. The cruel solution will always be inefficient.
Cruelty *inherently* costs more than kindness. The cruel solution will always be inefficient.
Reposted by Cairsten
Cruel policies are always going to be inefficient, money-burning, self-destructive policies.
The people who propose them, aren't *interested* in whether those policies actually benefit anyone, including themselves.
If they did, at all, they wouldn't be choosing a cruel policy.
The people who propose them, aren't *interested* in whether those policies actually benefit anyone, including themselves.
If they did, at all, they wouldn't be choosing a cruel policy.
February 18, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Cruel policies are always going to be inefficient, money-burning, self-destructive policies.
The people who propose them, aren't *interested* in whether those policies actually benefit anyone, including themselves.
If they did, at all, they wouldn't be choosing a cruel policy.
The people who propose them, aren't *interested* in whether those policies actually benefit anyone, including themselves.
If they did, at all, they wouldn't be choosing a cruel policy.
Reposted by Cairsten
A reminder that @scarleteen.bsky.social is 100% queer and trans run and will ALWAYS be providing educational materials, support, and more to youth seeking sex, relationships, and health education from a source who won't casually erase their existence with their political winds.
1. Three sexual abuse nonprofits have removed all or nearly all references to trans, queer and non binary people (h/t @devtesla.bsky.social)
I wrote a second article today to document and archive some of the impacted pages.
www.madycast.com/p/capitulati...
I wrote a second article today to document and archive some of the impacted pages.
www.madycast.com/p/capitulati...
February 18, 2025 at 4:43 AM
A reminder that @scarleteen.bsky.social is 100% queer and trans run and will ALWAYS be providing educational materials, support, and more to youth seeking sex, relationships, and health education from a source who won't casually erase their existence with their political winds.
Reposted by Cairsten
Ding ding ding! Watch this. He’s laying it out.
My team at Stanford Internet Observatory documented this process meticulously, over & over again, in 2020. The R machine retaliated against us.
When Elon bought X, it became even sharper.
The rest of the political spectrum needs to get in the game.
My team at Stanford Internet Observatory documented this process meticulously, over & over again, in 2020. The R machine retaliated against us.
When Elon bought X, it became even sharper.
The rest of the political spectrum needs to get in the game.
Watters: We are waging a 21st century information warfare campaign from the left…It's like grassroots guerrilla warfare. Someone says something on social media, Musk retweets it, Rogan podcasts it, Fox broadcasts it.. and by the time it reaches everybody, millions of people have seen it.
February 18, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Ding ding ding! Watch this. He’s laying it out.
My team at Stanford Internet Observatory documented this process meticulously, over & over again, in 2020. The R machine retaliated against us.
When Elon bought X, it became even sharper.
The rest of the political spectrum needs to get in the game.
My team at Stanford Internet Observatory documented this process meticulously, over & over again, in 2020. The R machine retaliated against us.
When Elon bought X, it became even sharper.
The rest of the political spectrum needs to get in the game.
Reposted by Cairsten
"Project 2025 approved SSA administrator steps down just 3 weeks into the administration, giving up a GS-15 career in the process, because she knew even one more week on the job would risk putting her in prison for decades" is a very good and comforting sign
(Musk's touching the stove)
(Musk's touching the stove)
Just to be clear, because I don’t think the Post story highlights it enough: This was Trump’s day-one pick to lead the Social Security Admin until his nominee got confirmed who RESIGNED a career job rather than do what Musk’s DOGE team wants.
This is Treasury (DOGE) and DOJ (Adams) all over again.
This is Treasury (DOGE) and DOJ (Adams) all over again.
Top Social Security official exits after clash with Musk’s DOGE over data
Yet another top career staffer is leaving the administration amid a disagreement over a request by Elon Musk’s team for sensitive government information.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 18, 2025 at 5:09 AM
"Project 2025 approved SSA administrator steps down just 3 weeks into the administration, giving up a GS-15 career in the process, because she knew even one more week on the job would risk putting her in prison for decades" is a very good and comforting sign
(Musk's touching the stove)
(Musk's touching the stove)
Reposted by Cairsten
States argue that Musk wields the kind of power that can only be exercised by an officer of the gov’t who’s been nominated by the president & confirmed by the Senate under the Appointments Clause of the Constitution & allege DOGE hasn’t been authorized by Congress.
www.reuters.com/legal/judge-...
www.reuters.com/legal/judge-...
Judge calls rare hearing on a holiday in case against Musk's DOGE
The case was brought by Democratic state attorneys general.
www.reuters.com
February 18, 2025 at 3:33 AM
States argue that Musk wields the kind of power that can only be exercised by an officer of the gov’t who’s been nominated by the president & confirmed by the Senate under the Appointments Clause of the Constitution & allege DOGE hasn’t been authorized by Congress.
www.reuters.com/legal/judge-...
www.reuters.com/legal/judge-...
Reposted by Cairsten
USAID has been paying for removal of Vietnam-era land mines in Cambodia. Trump's funding freeze has compromised those efforts.
Almost immediately, China stepped in to aid Cambodia instead. Besides humanitarian costs here, how does any of this serve US interests?
www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u...
Almost immediately, China stepped in to aid Cambodia instead. Besides humanitarian costs here, how does any of this serve US interests?
www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u...
Program clearing deadly U.S. mines left reeling after Trump USAID funding suspension
“I am over here because my mother told me as a little kid to clean up after myself,” said Bill Morse, who was a U.S. Army officer during the Vietnam War and co-founded the Landmine Relief Fund.
www.nbcnews.com
February 15, 2025 at 3:08 PM
USAID has been paying for removal of Vietnam-era land mines in Cambodia. Trump's funding freeze has compromised those efforts.
Almost immediately, China stepped in to aid Cambodia instead. Besides humanitarian costs here, how does any of this serve US interests?
www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u...
Almost immediately, China stepped in to aid Cambodia instead. Besides humanitarian costs here, how does any of this serve US interests?
www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u...
Reposted by Cairsten
The Trump administration is seeking to halve the workforce of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the agency that houses the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center. By @scottpwaldman.bsky.social for E&E News (republished here in Scientific American)…
Trump Team Looks to Drastically Cut Weather and Climate Agency
Mass layoffs at the U.S. climate and weather agency would have a ripple effect across the economy, say former NOAA officials
www.scientificamerican.com
February 15, 2025 at 1:31 PM
The Trump administration is seeking to halve the workforce of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the agency that houses the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center. By @scottpwaldman.bsky.social for E&E News (republished here in Scientific American)…
Reposted by Cairsten
Seriously silly to spend your time making fun of people who want to avoid illness while your country’s infrastructure and government mechanisms to ensure clean air and water are being dismantled
I don’t know, I thought after Long Covid effectively ended my chance at a directing career, ruined my health, my energy, my ability to eat a lot of foods, and my body, it would seem pretty obvious why I don’t want to get it again, even going so far as to sacrifice (the horror!) bars and restaurants.
February 15, 2025 at 6:30 AM
Seriously silly to spend your time making fun of people who want to avoid illness while your country’s infrastructure and government mechanisms to ensure clean air and water are being dismantled
Reposted by Cairsten
Quick intro to Sydette's amazing "Baby has hat" from a talk she did in 2018!
February 15, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Quick intro to Sydette's amazing "Baby has hat" from a talk she did in 2018!
Reposted by Cairsten
I think the people in charge of the US govt should know who manages America’s nuclear arsenal, or at least take a few minutes to look that up before removing some people who do it without cause or replacements.
Sorry to get so partisan, but that’s how I feel. I’ll try to be less politically biased.
Sorry to get so partisan, but that’s how I feel. I’ll try to be less politically biased.
Great news everyone it was so much more FUCKING STUPID than it may at first appear
www.cnn.com/2025/02/14/c...
www.cnn.com/2025/02/14/c...
February 15, 2025 at 1:51 PM
I think the people in charge of the US govt should know who manages America’s nuclear arsenal, or at least take a few minutes to look that up before removing some people who do it without cause or replacements.
Sorry to get so partisan, but that’s how I feel. I’ll try to be less politically biased.
Sorry to get so partisan, but that’s how I feel. I’ll try to be less politically biased.
Reposted by Cairsten
Your regular reminder that measles has a r0 (basic reproduction number) of 12-18, which means that in an immune-naive environment every infected person will infect 12 to 18 people around them: it's one of the most infectious diseases out there. Get a MMR booster or get your titers checked, ASAP.
In 3 days, the number of measles cases in a highly unvaccinated area of Texas has doubled. There are now 48 cases, all of whom are unvaccinated, and 13 of whom have been hospitalized so far, for a hospitalization rate of 27%. This is huge figure in epidemiology. This outbreak will keep spreading.
February 15, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Your regular reminder that measles has a r0 (basic reproduction number) of 12-18, which means that in an immune-naive environment every infected person will infect 12 to 18 people around them: it's one of the most infectious diseases out there. Get a MMR booster or get your titers checked, ASAP.
Reposted by Cairsten
A woman in Wyoming has been hospitalized with #H5N1 #birdflu, WY's health dept announced Friday. Likely exposure was to backyard poultry. Wyoming said #CDC confirmed the infection, though CDC did not add it to its H5 page today. Not clear if this is B3.13 or D1.1. health.wyo.gov/wyomings-fir...
Wyoming’s First Human Bird Flu Case Confirmed - Wyoming Department of Health
Wyoming’s first case of H5N1 avian influenza in a human has been confirmed in a Platte County older adult, according to the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH). The woman represents the third confirmed...
health.wyo.gov
February 15, 2025 at 4:10 AM
A woman in Wyoming has been hospitalized with #H5N1 #birdflu, WY's health dept announced Friday. Likely exposure was to backyard poultry. Wyoming said #CDC confirmed the infection, though CDC did not add it to its H5 page today. Not clear if this is B3.13 or D1.1. health.wyo.gov/wyomings-fir...
Reposted by Cairsten
a year ago 16-year-old Oklahoman Nex Benedict died after a bathroom beating. in the time since, we've lost more trans kids, while losing federal trans rights.
how a community is holding itself together after years of living under Trump's current anti-trans policies at the state level @teenvogue.com
how a community is holding itself together after years of living under Trump's current anti-trans policies at the state level @teenvogue.com
A Year Without Nex Benedict
"We are saying that the rhetoric is just as damaging as the bullet or the blow."
www.teenvogue.com
February 11, 2025 at 3:03 PM
a year ago 16-year-old Oklahoman Nex Benedict died after a bathroom beating. in the time since, we've lost more trans kids, while losing federal trans rights.
how a community is holding itself together after years of living under Trump's current anti-trans policies at the state level @teenvogue.com
how a community is holding itself together after years of living under Trump's current anti-trans policies at the state level @teenvogue.com
Reposted by Cairsten
Brief overview of the catastrophic impact this administration’s layoffs are having on Tribal Nations —to tribal colleges, tribal public health programs, and tribal fire fighting, all which are being amplified with mass layoffs of federal employees the last few days
ictnews.org/news/life-or...
ictnews.org/news/life-or...
‘Life or Death Consequences’: Layoffs throw Indian Country into turmoil
Thousands of workers are losing their jobs in health, education and other key tribal programs and agencies
ictnews.org
February 15, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Brief overview of the catastrophic impact this administration’s layoffs are having on Tribal Nations —to tribal colleges, tribal public health programs, and tribal fire fighting, all which are being amplified with mass layoffs of federal employees the last few days
ictnews.org/news/life-or...
ictnews.org/news/life-or...
Reposted by Cairsten
Musk’s takeover of US health agencies raises pandemic threat, experts warn
Musk’s takeover of US health agencies raises pandemic threat, experts warn
Doge wreaks havoc on HHS and CDC as Trump seeks to grant committee sweeping governmental powers
The “department of government efficiency”, the Donald Trump-created program known as Doge and headed by the billionaire Elon Musk, has accessed or requested…
www.theguardian.com
February 15, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Musk’s takeover of US health agencies raises pandemic threat, experts warn
Reposted by Cairsten
Reposted by Cairsten
It is perfectly legal to know your rights and to educate others about them, too.
EVERYONE in the United States, citizen or not, has rights. I will not allow this administration to intimidate us from helping you know about them.
Here’s our shareable guide ⬇️: (pt. 1/2)
EVERYONE in the United States, citizen or not, has rights. I will not allow this administration to intimidate us from helping you know about them.
Here’s our shareable guide ⬇️: (pt. 1/2)
February 14, 2025 at 11:47 PM
It is perfectly legal to know your rights and to educate others about them, too.
EVERYONE in the United States, citizen or not, has rights. I will not allow this administration to intimidate us from helping you know about them.
Here’s our shareable guide ⬇️: (pt. 1/2)
EVERYONE in the United States, citizen or not, has rights. I will not allow this administration to intimidate us from helping you know about them.
Here’s our shareable guide ⬇️: (pt. 1/2)
Reposted by Cairsten
Don’t lose hope. Remember, Watergate took over two years to fully unravel from the initial break-in to Nixon’s resignation. Just like then and now, Americans are losing faith in their government. We are documenting every illegal action and will hold this administration and Elon Musk accountable.
February 15, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Don’t lose hope. Remember, Watergate took over two years to fully unravel from the initial break-in to Nixon’s resignation. Just like then and now, Americans are losing faith in their government. We are documenting every illegal action and will hold this administration and Elon Musk accountable.