Bonnie Catena, Catena Connects
@catenaconnects.bsky.social
Me: Fundraiser. Nonprofit Advisor. Writer. Trainer. Child-Free Dog Lady.
Likes: Democracy. Justice. Accountability. Equity. Serial Commas.
Dislikes: Patriarchy. Oligarchy. Misogyny. Christian Nationalism. Passive Voice.
Likes: Democracy. Justice. Accountability. Equity. Serial Commas.
Dislikes: Patriarchy. Oligarchy. Misogyny. Christian Nationalism. Passive Voice.
In my favorite office with Happy, Catena Connects's CJO (Chief Joy Officer).
July 18, 2025 at 4:24 PM
In my favorite office with Happy, Catena Connects's CJO (Chief Joy Officer).
July 10, 2025
open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
July 12, 2025 at 6:25 PM
July 10, 2025
open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
Some declaration. Call your representative at 202-224-3121 to tell them to vote no.
The GOP's Medicaid-busting tax scheme is filled with poison pills antithetical to the values of our people. So I wrote a proper preamble for their big, ugly bill.
July 2, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Some declaration. Call your representative at 202-224-3121 to tell them to vote no.
Many are no more than 1°-2° of separation from the 1 in 5 in the US on Medicaid. For ex., is your parent—or a parent of someone you know—in assisted living, spending down their assets before applying for Medicaid? Has a friend lost their job? Does a cousin work 3 jobs, but none offer healthcare?
Should the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ reach President Trump’s desk, “it would represent the biggest rollback in federal support for health coverage ever,” writes KFF’s @larrylevitt.bsky.social.
For @nytopinion.nytimes.com, Larry writes about the potential impact of the bill:
For @nytopinion.nytimes.com, Larry writes about the potential impact of the bill:
Opinion | We’ve Never Seen Health Care Cuts This Big
www.nytimes.com
July 2, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Many are no more than 1°-2° of separation from the 1 in 5 in the US on Medicaid. For ex., is your parent—or a parent of someone you know—in assisted living, spending down their assets before applying for Medicaid? Has a friend lost their job? Does a cousin work 3 jobs, but none offer healthcare?
Stop Obeying in Advance
confident that if Biden were blackmailing Corporate Media into giving him $16 million in cash, Corporate Media would call him out for blackmail AND how that weakens freedom of speech, democracy, and our economy. instead, Corporate Media normalizes Trump Family corruption by treating it as business.
we’ve totally normalized that he’ll interfere with private business if he’s not paid off. every legal expert said this suit was meritless.
July 2, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Stop Obeying in Advance
"[Republicans] are trying to force through a measure that will dramatically cut the nation’s social safety net while at the same time increasing the national debt by $3.3 trillion over the next ten years."
June 30, 2025
"This is the most deeply immoral piece of legislation I have ever voted on in my entire time in Congress,” said Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT).
open.substack.com
July 2, 2025 at 3:24 AM
"[Republicans] are trying to force through a measure that will dramatically cut the nation’s social safety net while at the same time increasing the national debt by $3.3 trillion over the next ten years."
"Suppose ... [Trump] is (for once) telling the truth. Wouldn’t that represent the most shocking dereliction of duty one could imagine for the commander-in-chief?"
"What would have happened if a Democratic president ... had said he let a foreign adversary fire on an American military installation?"
"What would have happened if a Democratic president ... had said he let a foreign adversary fire on an American military installation?"
Trump Says He Gave Iran Permission to Bomb U.S. Base in Qatar and…Well, Mostly Crickets?
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This...
talkingpointsmemo.com
July 1, 2025 at 2:30 AM
"Suppose ... [Trump] is (for once) telling the truth. Wouldn’t that represent the most shocking dereliction of duty one could imagine for the commander-in-chief?"
"What would have happened if a Democratic president ... had said he let a foreign adversary fire on an American military installation?"
"What would have happened if a Democratic president ... had said he let a foreign adversary fire on an American military installation?"
The @brennancenter.org on the Trump admin's use of force to silence free expression: "Using public power to squelch dissent is the practice of the United States’ adversaries: dictatorships, juntas, and rogue states."
Padilla’s Treatment Exemplifies Administration’s Use of Force to Suppress Dissent
The Trump administration has detained multiple members of Congress who were attempting to perform their oversight duties.
www.brennancenter.org
June 19, 2025 at 8:52 PM
The @brennancenter.org on the Trump admin's use of force to silence free expression: "Using public power to squelch dissent is the practice of the United States’ adversaries: dictatorships, juntas, and rogue states."
Reposted by Bonnie Catena, Catena Connects
An advance look at “On Parade,” David Plunkert’s cover for next week's issue. #NewYorkerCovers
June 13, 2025 at 2:34 PM
An advance look at “On Parade,” David Plunkert’s cover for next week's issue. #NewYorkerCovers
For a beachside community on a cold, gray April day, Provincetown, MA, represented for #handsoff. Thanks to @womencrafts.bsky.social for organizing and every pissed off year-rounder who showed up for the country we love — its promise and its warts.
April 6, 2025 at 2:02 AM
For a beachside community on a cold, gray April day, Provincetown, MA, represented for #handsoff. Thanks to @womencrafts.bsky.social for organizing and every pissed off year-rounder who showed up for the country we love — its promise and its warts.
What the actual f$&k?
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.
www.theatlantic.com
March 25, 2025 at 3:57 AM
What the actual f$&k?
Reposted by Bonnie Catena, Catena Connects
I transcribed the speech here: www.readtpa.com/p/watch-illi...
Watch Illinois Governor JB Pritzker Reject the Politics of Trans Abandonment
As some Democrats retreat, Pritzker doubles down on protecting the most vulnerable.
www.readtpa.com
March 24, 2025 at 8:44 PM
I transcribed the speech here: www.readtpa.com/p/watch-illi...
"[A]uthoritarians become dictators and really tear down the temple by just ignoring the Constitution, ignoring the judiciary. We won’t have an independent judiciary any longer.
That would be the shocking end to our 250-year experiment. It would be bad."
That would be the shocking end to our 250-year experiment. It would be bad."
If Trump Defies the Courts, Here’s What a Judge Can Do
A former federal judge weighs in on the escalating tension between the White House and the judiciary.
www.politico.com
March 21, 2025 at 2:57 AM
"[A]uthoritarians become dictators and really tear down the temple by just ignoring the Constitution, ignoring the judiciary. We won’t have an independent judiciary any longer.
That would be the shocking end to our 250-year experiment. It would be bad."
That would be the shocking end to our 250-year experiment. It would be bad."
If you're not terrified, you're not paying attention.
A gift to the @brennancenter.bsky.social is the best investment you can make to rebuild the guardrails of democracy that the Trump-Vance-Musk administration has bulldozed over.
A gift to the @brennancenter.bsky.social is the best investment you can make to rebuild the guardrails of democracy that the Trump-Vance-Musk administration has bulldozed over.
March 19, 2025 at 5:55 PM
If you're not terrified, you're not paying attention.
A gift to the @brennancenter.bsky.social is the best investment you can make to rebuild the guardrails of democracy that the Trump-Vance-Musk administration has bulldozed over.
A gift to the @brennancenter.bsky.social is the best investment you can make to rebuild the guardrails of democracy that the Trump-Vance-Musk administration has bulldozed over.
“Our Constitution is built on checks and balances. We must all insist that presidents cannot simply defy court orders they don’t like. Anything less means the end of the Constitution and the degradation of democracy.”
A Showdown over Court Authority
Under the Constitution, presidents can’t simply defy court orders they don’t like.
www.brennancenter.org
March 18, 2025 at 10:00 PM
“Our Constitution is built on checks and balances. We must all insist that presidents cannot simply defy court orders they don’t like. Anything less means the end of the Constitution and the degradation of democracy.”
Reposted by Bonnie Catena, Catena Connects
These are the senators who collaborated with the GOP.
Schumer
Fetterman
Cortez Masto
Durbin
King
Shaheen
Gillibrand
Schatz
Hassan
Peters
Don’t let them forget it. No peace for them.
Schumer
Fetterman
Cortez Masto
Durbin
King
Shaheen
Gillibrand
Schatz
Hassan
Peters
Don’t let them forget it. No peace for them.
March 14, 2025 at 8:57 PM
These are the senators who collaborated with the GOP.
Schumer
Fetterman
Cortez Masto
Durbin
King
Shaheen
Gillibrand
Schatz
Hassan
Peters
Don’t let them forget it. No peace for them.
Schumer
Fetterman
Cortez Masto
Durbin
King
Shaheen
Gillibrand
Schatz
Hassan
Peters
Don’t let them forget it. No peace for them.
Reposted by Bonnie Catena, Catena Connects
I think some in the Senate have convinced themselves that the backlash to folding will be limited to “the left” and therefore ignorable.
Those people are deeply and profoundly misreading the moment and the stakes.
Virtually every swing district House Dem walked the plank to vote NO for a reason.
Those people are deeply and profoundly misreading the moment and the stakes.
Virtually every swing district House Dem walked the plank to vote NO for a reason.
March 14, 2025 at 2:46 AM
I think some in the Senate have convinced themselves that the backlash to folding will be limited to “the left” and therefore ignorable.
Those people are deeply and profoundly misreading the moment and the stakes.
Virtually every swing district House Dem walked the plank to vote NO for a reason.
Those people are deeply and profoundly misreading the moment and the stakes.
Virtually every swing district House Dem walked the plank to vote NO for a reason.
Reposted by Bonnie Catena, Catena Connects
And it continues. Please do not wait for them to come for you before standing up.
Law firms are being targeted for representing positions the administration doesn’t like. All other law firms need to show solidarity. And so do clients and prospective clients, judges at all levels, law schools, and law students. Firms need to feel the benefits of doing the right thing right NOW.
March 15, 2025 at 2:21 AM
And it continues. Please do not wait for them to come for you before standing up.
Reposted by Bonnie Catena, Catena Connects
Sixty years ago, civil rights activists marched in Alabama to demand equal access to the ballot. The state’s 2024 election data shows how progress since then is being rolled back. #Selma
Alabama’s Racial Turnout Gap Hit a 16-Year High in 2024
Sixty years after Bloody Sunday in Selma, civil rights activists’ progress in securing equal access to the ballot is being eroded by a widening racial turnout gap.
www.brennancenter.org
March 7, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Sixty years ago, civil rights activists marched in Alabama to demand equal access to the ballot. The state’s 2024 election data shows how progress since then is being rolled back. #Selma
Reposted by Bonnie Catena, Catena Connects
Images from left to right:
Brennan Center staff outside the Frank Johnson Courthouse
“Legislating in the Dynamic South” event
Brennan Center staff outside Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastor from 1954-1960
Outside Rosa Parks's apartment
Brennan Center staff outside the Frank Johnson Courthouse
“Legislating in the Dynamic South” event
Brennan Center staff outside Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastor from 1954-1960
Outside Rosa Parks's apartment
March 7, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Images from left to right:
Brennan Center staff outside the Frank Johnson Courthouse
“Legislating in the Dynamic South” event
Brennan Center staff outside Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastor from 1954-1960
Outside Rosa Parks's apartment
Brennan Center staff outside the Frank Johnson Courthouse
“Legislating in the Dynamic South” event
Brennan Center staff outside Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastor from 1954-1960
Outside Rosa Parks's apartment
The writer’s struggle is real, my friends. It’s real.
March 6, 2025 at 11:44 PM
The writer’s struggle is real, my friends. It’s real.
www.instagram.com/reel/DG0mmHR...
@petebuttigieg.bsky.social to libertarians and freedom-loving conservatives: WHERE ARE YOU????????????
@petebuttigieg.bsky.social to libertarians and freedom-loving conservatives: WHERE ARE YOU????????????
March 5, 2025 at 5:11 PM
www.instagram.com/reel/DG0mmHR...
@petebuttigieg.bsky.social to libertarians and freedom-loving conservatives: WHERE ARE YOU????????????
@petebuttigieg.bsky.social to libertarians and freedom-loving conservatives: WHERE ARE YOU????????????
One day late, but Happy F*%&ing Grammar Day!
March 5, 2025 at 3:17 PM
One day late, but Happy F*%&ing Grammar Day!
In 2015, SCOTUS allowed corporations + individuals to buy elections.
Cue Elon Musk.
In 2024, SCOTUS gave presidents king-like powers.
Cue Trump's America 2.0.
SCOTUS needs reform. No more lifetime appointments. No more self-policing.
@brennancenter.bsky.social has the solutions >>
Cue Elon Musk.
In 2024, SCOTUS gave presidents king-like powers.
Cue Trump's America 2.0.
SCOTUS needs reform. No more lifetime appointments. No more self-policing.
@brennancenter.bsky.social has the solutions >>
March 5, 2025 at 3:06 PM
In 2015, SCOTUS allowed corporations + individuals to buy elections.
Cue Elon Musk.
In 2024, SCOTUS gave presidents king-like powers.
Cue Trump's America 2.0.
SCOTUS needs reform. No more lifetime appointments. No more self-policing.
@brennancenter.bsky.social has the solutions >>
Cue Elon Musk.
In 2024, SCOTUS gave presidents king-like powers.
Cue Trump's America 2.0.
SCOTUS needs reform. No more lifetime appointments. No more self-policing.
@brennancenter.bsky.social has the solutions >>