A quercus among us
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leafyrachel.bsky.social
A quercus among us
@leafyrachel.bsky.social
🇺🇸🇰🇪🇰🇿🇺🇦 American following news in E. Africa, Central Asia and Ukraine. Still believe democracy is the answer. Trees are the answer will also be accepted.
I think Christmas should be secular….its a fun holiday, everyone should be able to enjoy it if they wish.
You might come across the notion that secular Christmas is a "Jewish invention," part crass commercialism and part an attack on Christ. But this is not just antisemitic; it is a rejection of pluralism, and a rejection of something distinctly American.
America’s Two Christmases—and Why They’re Both Pretty Great
The double joy of a particularly Christian, and a distinctly American, holiday.
lnk.thebulwark.com
December 25, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Reposted by A quercus among us
You might come across the notion that secular Christmas is a "Jewish invention," part crass commercialism and part an attack on Christ. But this is not just antisemitic; it is a rejection of pluralism, and a rejection of something distinctly American.
America’s Two Christmases—and Why They’re Both Pretty Great
The double joy of a particularly Christian, and a distinctly American, holiday.
lnk.thebulwark.com
December 25, 2025 at 5:00 PM
This stuff was awesome.
December 16, 2025 at 9:35 PM
I didn’t know ticks were arachnids, and more importantly, they have to be attached for more than a day to spread the disease.
December 16, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Reposted by A quercus among us
Wasting money and resources to investigate a conspiracy theory about Lyme Disease, despite the known mechanism of how it infects humans.

🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/rfk-...
RFK, Jr.–Backed Lyme Disease Conspiracy Theory May Be Probed under New Bill
President Donald Trump is expected to sign a defense bill this week that orders an investigation into whether the U.S. military bioengineered Lyme disease
www.scientificamerican.com
December 16, 2025 at 8:44 PM
If the U.S. was invaded, Trump would hand over the country if the bribe was big enough, you wouldn’t ever see him near a front line.
Badass.
Zelensky stood just 1.3 km from Russian positions and 500 meters from the gray zone during his visit to Kupiansk.
December 12, 2025 at 3:54 PM
I really don’t want MBS screwing around with Star Trek. Captain Pike we need a plan!
December 12, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Sooo how do we stop it?
I need you to listen to and share this story - of how Trump is preparing to abandon Ukraine in exchange for Russian money for his billionaire friends.

It could be the greatest corruption of American foreign policy in our history. Russia gets Ukraine. Trump's friends get rich.
December 10, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Reposted by A quercus among us
I need you to listen to and share this story - of how Trump is preparing to abandon Ukraine in exchange for Russian money for his billionaire friends.

It could be the greatest corruption of American foreign policy in our history. Russia gets Ukraine. Trump's friends get rich.
December 9, 2025 at 10:45 PM
F the algorithm. I did a search on “gifts for 13 year old engineers and under “sponsored results” pops up “Christmas Gifts for Boys” and “35 Best Gifts for 13 Year Old Boys in 2025”. The teen engineer in question is MY NIECE.
December 7, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Disappointed to see so many abstentions, Kenya among them.
The UN General Assembly voted to demand Russia return Ukrainian children.

The motion was passed 91 to 12 (57 abstained)
Those bastions of democracy to vote against freeing kids were Russia, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cuba, DR Congo, Eritrea, Iran, Mali, Nicaragua, Niger + Sudan.
December 4, 2025 at 12:05 AM
It seems Witkoff (aka Dim Philby as @michaeldweiss.bsky.social calls him) went into a meeting with nothing but a Kremlin supplied translator AGAIN. After the disaster in Alaska. No one is in charge and at the White House and they don’t care about peace otherwise they wouldn’t let him do this.
December 3, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Jacob Zuma’s daughter accused of helping Russia recruit S. Africans for their army. www.reuters.com/world/africa...
Zuma's daughter quits South Africa parliament over Russia recruitment allegations
Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, a daughter of former South African president Jacob Zuma, has resigned from parliament amid allegations that she lured 17 men to fight for Russia in Ukraine, her party said on F...
www.reuters.com
November 29, 2025 at 3:53 PM
November 29, 2025 at 3:36 PM
This makes me so angry, I don’t even know what to say.
November 22, 2025 at 1:24 AM
The White House has acknowledged Kirill Dmitriev, Vladimir Putin’s envoy, wrote the proposal together with Donald Trump’s special representative Steve Witkoff. The pair hammered out the text during a meeting in Miami.

www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
Ukraine risks losing key partner or its dignity, warns Zelenskyy, as Trump sets Thanksgiving deadline to accept deal – as it happened
US president says ‘Thursday is an appropriate time’ in radio interview as Ukrainian leader weighs up US proposal
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Reposted by A quercus among us
X has changed their policy and now you can see where the accounts are based.

Here’s an “influencer from Texas”
November 21, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Cancer treatment isn’t f-ing shampoo
Cassidy: "If she goes and gets 2 types of shampoo & one is a dollar cheaper, she'll get the cheaper one & the other lowers their price. Once you give her the power of making the decision, she's gonna shop -- that begins to save her money and squeezes waste out of the healthcare system."
November 20, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Reposted by A quercus among us
*bizarre

@jay.bsky.team Edit Button Now!
November 18, 2025 at 4:34 AM
Sweet suffering Jesus. I negotiate with my insurance company all the time. (Why won’t you pay for this thing you said you’d pay for?) It’s really time consuming, frustrating and they always win.
TRUMP: We’re going to give Americans the money to buy health insurance

REPORTER: But won’t they buy it from
Insurance companies?

TRUMP: Ahhh. Some may. I mean they’ll be negotiating prices
November 16, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Reposted by A quercus among us
I’m glad to receive the Knight International Journalism Award. This award isn’t just for me—it’s for every journalist who risks their life to shine a light in dark places. It’s for the three Russian journalists killed in Central African Republic in 2018. It’s for you, my friends
November 15, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Reposted by A quercus among us
November 14, 2025 at 7:57 AM
I loved the reformed vampire botanist character but outside of that I didn’t even see the point of the Witcher season 4. Nothing really happened.
November 12, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Why didn’t the battle commission tell heritage to pound sand?
Two panels commemorating the contribution of Black American soldiers towards the liberation of the Netherlands in World War Two have been quietly removed from a cemetery in Limburg. It follows a complaint by right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission.
nrc.nl NRC @nrc.nl · Nov 7
Op Margraten zijn twee panelen over zwarte Amerikaanse bevrijders van Nederland opeens weg. ‘Past bij beleid van de regering-Trump’
November 9, 2025 at 12:16 PM