Ken Budd
@kenbudd.bsky.social
Writer on travel, health, and other cool stuff. Bylines: Washington Post, The Atlantic, Nat Geo, NYT, Best American Travel Writing. Author of the memoir, The Voluntourist. Co-host, @upstartcrowpod.bsky.social.
Pinned
Ken Budd
@kenbudd.bsky.social
· Feb 5
Cruelty is not strength.
Reposted by Ken Budd
There are so many obvious constitutional violations in this story. It is enraging.
There is no war, there is no foreign invasion, there is nothing that justify it. This is a choice to create a military presence that will brutalize residents of cities that do not support the President.
There is no war, there is no foreign invasion, there is nothing that justify it. This is a choice to create a military presence that will brutalize residents of cities that do not support the President.
"The boy, who is Hispanic and African American, was held in a garage for five hours “without informing his family, stating any charges, or allowing him to call an attorney,” the statement said. He is a U.S. citizen, as is his entire immediate family, the release said."
Feds ram SUV after chase down residential street in Chicago, then tear-gas crowd
The crash happened late Tuesday morning near 105th Street and Avenue N in the East Side neighborhood. Two men being pursued were arrested as were two bystanders. The crash drew dozens of neighbors who...
chicago.suntimes.com
October 16, 2025 at 12:06 AM
There are so many obvious constitutional violations in this story. It is enraging.
There is no war, there is no foreign invasion, there is nothing that justify it. This is a choice to create a military presence that will brutalize residents of cities that do not support the President.
There is no war, there is no foreign invasion, there is nothing that justify it. This is a choice to create a military presence that will brutalize residents of cities that do not support the President.
Reposted by Ken Budd
EXCLUSIVE: Thousands of leaked messages show leaders of Young Republican groups joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape in a private Telegram chat.
Inside rising GOP leaders’ racist chats — obtained by POLITICO and spanning more than 7 months👇
Inside rising GOP leaders’ racist chats — obtained by POLITICO and spanning more than 7 months👇
‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat
Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.
www.politico.com
October 14, 2025 at 5:22 PM
EXCLUSIVE: Thousands of leaked messages show leaders of Young Republican groups joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape in a private Telegram chat.
Inside rising GOP leaders’ racist chats — obtained by POLITICO and spanning more than 7 months👇
Inside rising GOP leaders’ racist chats — obtained by POLITICO and spanning more than 7 months👇
Reposted by Ken Budd
Congratulations to @shubhasunder.bsky.social for winning the 8th Annual Institute for Immigration Research New American Voices Award for Optional Practical Training: A Novel, from @graywolfpress.bsky.social! Read more:
fallforthebook.org/shubhasunder...
fallforthebook.org/shubhasunder...
Shubha Sunder Wins New American Voices Award - Fall for the Book Festival
Shubha Sunder's Optional Practical Training wins 8th New American Voices Award, a post publication book prize celebrating immigrant writers.
fallforthebook.org
October 10, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Congratulations to @shubhasunder.bsky.social for winning the 8th Annual Institute for Immigration Research New American Voices Award for Optional Practical Training: A Novel, from @graywolfpress.bsky.social! Read more:
fallforthebook.org/shubhasunder...
fallforthebook.org/shubhasunder...
Reposted by Ken Budd
The following is REAL footage from Portland, 2025. Viewer discretion is advised.
October 9, 2025 at 8:23 PM
The following is REAL footage from Portland, 2025. Viewer discretion is advised.
Reposted by Ken Budd
If you like yelling about misuse of the passive voice, THIS IS IT.
Adults and children alike were pulled from their Chicago apartments, crying and screaming, during a large overnight raid that has left tenants and neighbors shaken. https://cnn.it/4pPCXIt
37 people arrested and American kids separated from parents after ICE raid at Chicago apartments | CNN
Adults and children alike were pulled from their Chicago apartments, crying and screaming, during a large overnight raid that has left tenants and neighbors shaken.
www.cnn.com
October 4, 2025 at 6:58 PM
If you like yelling about misuse of the passive voice, THIS IS IT.
Reposted by Ken Budd
Exciting news: Ariel Lawhon will be headlining Fall for the Book on Wednesday, October 8 at 7:30 p.m.! Free tickets go live soon. Thank you to the Friends of the Reston Regional Library & Friends of the City of Fairfax Library for your support!
www.eventbrite.com/e/frozen-riv...
www.eventbrite.com/e/frozen-riv...
September 10, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Exciting news: Ariel Lawhon will be headlining Fall for the Book on Wednesday, October 8 at 7:30 p.m.! Free tickets go live soon. Thank you to the Friends of the Reston Regional Library & Friends of the City of Fairfax Library for your support!
www.eventbrite.com/e/frozen-riv...
www.eventbrite.com/e/frozen-riv...
Reposted by Ken Budd
The president and his sons made $5 billion on paper as their cryptocurrency started trading — highlighting the extraordinary degree to which they are personally profiting from Trump's return to the Oval Office.
How Trump's latest crypto launch enriches his family
The president and his sons made $5 billion on paper as their cryptocurrency started trading — highlighting the extraordinary degree to which they are personally profiting from Trump's return to the Oval Office.
n.pr
September 3, 2025 at 8:27 PM
The president and his sons made $5 billion on paper as their cryptocurrency started trading — highlighting the extraordinary degree to which they are personally profiting from Trump's return to the Oval Office.
Reposted by Ken Budd
yup. I wrote something similar last week
christinapagel.substack.com/p/grand-desi...
"the very word “America” conjures up the celebrated ideal of “America the free”. But “America the free” are just words and they are rapidly losing all meaning."
christinapagel.substack.com/p/grand-desi...
"the very word “America” conjures up the celebrated ideal of “America the free”. But “America the free” are just words and they are rapidly losing all meaning."
Grand Designs: the loss of American freedom
Exactly seven months into Trump's second term, we have reached 1000 authoritarian actions. Here I lay out the enormity of what has happened.
christinapagel.substack.com
August 28, 2025 at 2:59 PM
yup. I wrote something similar last week
christinapagel.substack.com/p/grand-desi...
"the very word “America” conjures up the celebrated ideal of “America the free”. But “America the free” are just words and they are rapidly losing all meaning."
christinapagel.substack.com/p/grand-desi...
"the very word “America” conjures up the celebrated ideal of “America the free”. But “America the free” are just words and they are rapidly losing all meaning."
Reposted by Ken Budd
New, from me:
America is no longer a functioning democracy. It is a competitive authoritarian system, hurtling rapidly toward authoritarianism.
This was a hard piece to write but we can't move forward if we don’t acknowledge where we are.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-author...
America is no longer a functioning democracy. It is a competitive authoritarian system, hurtling rapidly toward authoritarianism.
This was a hard piece to write but we can't move forward if we don’t acknowledge where we are.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-author...
The authoritarian checklist
It is time to admit that America is no longer a functioning democracy
donmoynihan.substack.com
August 28, 2025 at 1:19 PM
New, from me:
America is no longer a functioning democracy. It is a competitive authoritarian system, hurtling rapidly toward authoritarianism.
This was a hard piece to write but we can't move forward if we don’t acknowledge where we are.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-author...
America is no longer a functioning democracy. It is a competitive authoritarian system, hurtling rapidly toward authoritarianism.
This was a hard piece to write but we can't move forward if we don’t acknowledge where we are.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-author...
Reposted by Ken Budd
Authoritarians who unwind democracy are similar in one respect.
They seek to take control of centers of power and dissent in society. Call it the authoritarian checklist. Trump’s second term is best understood by his systemic checking off of this checklist.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-author...
They seek to take control of centers of power and dissent in society. Call it the authoritarian checklist. Trump’s second term is best understood by his systemic checking off of this checklist.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-author...
August 28, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Authoritarians who unwind democracy are similar in one respect.
They seek to take control of centers of power and dissent in society. Call it the authoritarian checklist. Trump’s second term is best understood by his systemic checking off of this checklist.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-author...
They seek to take control of centers of power and dissent in society. Call it the authoritarian checklist. Trump’s second term is best understood by his systemic checking off of this checklist.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-author...
Reposted by Ken Budd
@adriancarrasquillo.bsky.social: "Trump’s deployment of 2,300 National Guard troops and 500 federal law enforcement agents has hurt foot traffic, chilled business, and made people cancel trips and nights out. It is slowly choking the life out of Washington, D.C."
www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-is-s...
www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-is-s...
Trump Is Strangling the Life Out of D.C.’s Restaurants
“We’re back to a very pandemic-feeling city.”
www.thebulwark.com
August 27, 2025 at 3:45 PM
@adriancarrasquillo.bsky.social: "Trump’s deployment of 2,300 National Guard troops and 500 federal law enforcement agents has hurt foot traffic, chilled business, and made people cancel trips and nights out. It is slowly choking the life out of Washington, D.C."
www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-is-s...
www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-is-s...
Reposted by Ken Budd
It’s always so easy to laugh at this, but it’s not funny. For 3hrs today, grown men & women all took turns getting down on their knees, fellating their dear leader. In front of the cameras. It’s sad. It’s gross. It’s North Korea. It shouldn’t happen here.
August 27, 2025 at 12:13 AM
It’s always so easy to laugh at this, but it’s not funny. For 3hrs today, grown men & women all took turns getting down on their knees, fellating their dear leader. In front of the cameras. It’s sad. It’s gross. It’s North Korea. It shouldn’t happen here.
Reposted by Ken Budd
Don’t let them tell you he’s joking.
He’s putting armed troops in the streets.
Not a joke. Not a drill.
He’s putting armed troops in the streets.
Not a joke. Not a drill.
Trump: "The line is that I'm a dictator, but I stop crime. So a lot of people say, 'You know, if that's the case, I'd rather have a dictator.'"
August 26, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Don’t let them tell you he’s joking.
He’s putting armed troops in the streets.
Not a joke. Not a drill.
He’s putting armed troops in the streets.
Not a joke. Not a drill.
Reposted by Ken Budd
@billkristolbulwark.bsky.social: It's not backsliding, it's a march to dictatorship.
Only @thebulwark.com
Only @thebulwark.com
August 25, 2025 at 1:47 PM
@billkristolbulwark.bsky.social: It's not backsliding, it's a march to dictatorship.
Only @thebulwark.com
Only @thebulwark.com
Reposted by Ken Budd
NEW VIDEO: President Donald Trump announced he will issue a new executive order to get rid of mail-in voting and to control the counting of ballots in 2026. This is not a political stunt. It is an existential threat to democracy.
I explain.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6K4...
I explain.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6K4...
No Mail-in Voting? Trump Is One Step Closer To Stealing the 2026 Election | Marc Elias
YouTube video by Democracy Docket
www.youtube.com
August 20, 2025 at 7:13 PM
NEW VIDEO: President Donald Trump announced he will issue a new executive order to get rid of mail-in voting and to control the counting of ballots in 2026. This is not a political stunt. It is an existential threat to democracy.
I explain.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6K4...
I explain.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6K4...
Reposted by Ken Budd
Thank you to everyone who has helped us reach our Double Your Dollar goal! We are so grateful to you! Our VIP Ticket raffle is still ON - anyone who gives 25+ during August will be entered in to win 2 VIP tickets to the headliner of their choice.
givebutter.com/DYD2025
givebutter.com/DYD2025
August 20, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Thank you to everyone who has helped us reach our Double Your Dollar goal! We are so grateful to you! Our VIP Ticket raffle is still ON - anyone who gives 25+ during August will be entered in to win 2 VIP tickets to the headliner of their choice.
givebutter.com/DYD2025
givebutter.com/DYD2025
Reposted by Ken Budd
The places where Trump has sent troops in DC so far tell part of the story, writes Helene Cooper. Most have been seen near the National Mall, large monuments and other tourist-heavy areas rather than where the most violent crime happens. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/u...
National Guard Troops in Washington Stick to Tourist Areas
www.nytimes.com
August 19, 2025 at 11:16 PM
The places where Trump has sent troops in DC so far tell part of the story, writes Helene Cooper. Most have been seen near the National Mall, large monuments and other tourist-heavy areas rather than where the most violent crime happens. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/u...
Reposted by Ken Budd
Reposted by Ken Budd
Trump claims his militarized takeover of DC has made people feel safer to go out to restaurants, but in fact restaurants in DC have seen the number of diners plummet more than 25% since he sent feds into the street. @jordanonrecord.bsky.social www.wusa9.com/article/news...
Reservations plunge across DC restaurants after Trump's police takeover
Online reservations dropped more than 25% in the days following President Trump's announcement that he was federalizing DC Police, according to OpenTable data.
www.wusa9.com
August 19, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Trump claims his militarized takeover of DC has made people feel safer to go out to restaurants, but in fact restaurants in DC have seen the number of diners plummet more than 25% since he sent feds into the street. @jordanonrecord.bsky.social www.wusa9.com/article/news...
As the new board chair for the @fallforthebook.bsky.social festival, I'm thrilled by our two headliners! I'll be interviewing Erik Larson at the event on October 10. Go to fallforthebook.org for info. #booksky #books
August 13, 2025 at 3:27 PM
As the new board chair for the @fallforthebook.bsky.social festival, I'm thrilled by our two headliners! I'll be interviewing Erik Larson at the event on October 10. Go to fallforthebook.org for info. #booksky #books
Reposted by Ken Budd
Mark Peterson’s black-and-white images of ICE agents evoke film noir and the urban-crime photography of the 1930s and ’40s. “If someone is doing everything right, and then they still get detained, it’s a crime scene,” he said.
ICE’s Spectacle of Intimidation
Immigrants showing up for court dates in Manhattan must now navigate past rows of masked federal agents.
www.newyorker.com
August 10, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Mark Peterson’s black-and-white images of ICE agents evoke film noir and the urban-crime photography of the 1930s and ’40s. “If someone is doing everything right, and then they still get detained, it’s a crime scene,” he said.
Reposted by Ken Budd
Fall for the Book’s Double Your Dollar campaign is back.
We have lost our funding from the National Endowment for the Arts for 2025. In one swift move, over 10% of our annual budget is gone—now, we’re asking for your help to make up the difference.
givebutter.com/DYD2025
We have lost our funding from the National Endowment for the Arts for 2025. In one swift move, over 10% of our annual budget is gone—now, we’re asking for your help to make up the difference.
givebutter.com/DYD2025
August 4, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Fall for the Book’s Double Your Dollar campaign is back.
We have lost our funding from the National Endowment for the Arts for 2025. In one swift move, over 10% of our annual budget is gone—now, we’re asking for your help to make up the difference.
givebutter.com/DYD2025
We have lost our funding from the National Endowment for the Arts for 2025. In one swift move, over 10% of our annual budget is gone—now, we’re asking for your help to make up the difference.
givebutter.com/DYD2025
Reposted by Ken Budd
"The lesson for Democrats here is straightforward. Opposing Trump vigorously, even when — or especially when — doing so seems distasteful or risky, can in fact damage Republicans. Damaging Republicans makes resistance easier, which in turn can erode Trump’s standing, and so on."
On Epstein, Democrats have Mike Johnson running scared
Resistance doesn’t always work. But failing to resist never does.
www.publicnotice.co
July 28, 2025 at 2:53 PM
"The lesson for Democrats here is straightforward. Opposing Trump vigorously, even when — or especially when — doing so seems distasteful or risky, can in fact damage Republicans. Damaging Republicans makes resistance easier, which in turn can erode Trump’s standing, and so on."
Reposted by Ken Budd
NEW: South Park showed courage last night, refusing to bow to political intimidation by delivering a fearless, uncompromising, (full) frontal assault on the president's authoritarian agenda.
newsletter.ofthebrave.org/p/south-park...
newsletter.ofthebrave.org/p/south-park...
South Park Just Did What CBS News Refused to Do
Stand up to Trump and call out Paramount’s cowardice.
newsletter.ofthebrave.org
July 24, 2025 at 5:01 PM
NEW: South Park showed courage last night, refusing to bow to political intimidation by delivering a fearless, uncompromising, (full) frontal assault on the president's authoritarian agenda.
newsletter.ofthebrave.org/p/south-park...
newsletter.ofthebrave.org/p/south-park...
Scott Strode used fitness—from rock climbing to hikes—to overcome his addictions, and now he helps others to do the same. He shared his powerful story for my "Everyday Heroes" column in the @satevepost.bsky.social.
www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2025/07/toge...
www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2025/07/toge...
Together We Rise: A Story of Addiction, Fitness, and The Phoenix | The Saturday Evening Post
Physical fitness helped him overcome his battle with addiction, and now he’s helping others conquer theirs.
www.saturdayeveningpost.com
July 23, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Scott Strode used fitness—from rock climbing to hikes—to overcome his addictions, and now he helps others to do the same. He shared his powerful story for my "Everyday Heroes" column in the @satevepost.bsky.social.
www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2025/07/toge...
www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2025/07/toge...