Melanie Scheller
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melaniescheller.com
Melanie Scheller
@melaniescheller.com
2.5K followers 2.1K following 1.7K posts
Writer. Childless cat lady with attitude. Happy to call the NC mountains home. Fiercely proud of my rural Southern heritage. Defender of democracy, banana pudding, and the Oxford comma.
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melaniescheller.com
Melanie Scheller @melaniescheller.com · Dec 6
A few of my favorite things: writing children's books, orange tabby cats, reading children's books, old-time music, tuxedo cats, collage art, gray tabby cats, quilt shows, black cats, waterfalls, blue-gray cats, sewing, tortoiseshell cats, bluegrass music, white cats, craft fairs, calico cats.
melaniescheller.com
One of my favorite headlines of the year:

JD Vance Has Nearly Completed His Quest to Become the Most Unlikable Person in Politics
JD Vance Has Nearly Completed His Quest to Become the Most Unlikable Person in Politics
During his speech at Turning Point USA’s loony fest, the vice president embodied everything wrong with American politics today.
www.esquire.com
December 23, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
rbreich.bsky.social
I’m old enough to remember when CBS News would never have surrendered to a demagogic president or any other politician. Remember Edward R. Murrow?
December 22, 2025 at 6:01 PM
melaniescheller.com
An Asheville educator visited 185 houses of worship in one month as a "love letter to spiritual diversity."

Despite what JD Vance thinks, the regime can't homogenize our souls, y'all.
Asheville educator reflects on religious diversity after breaking Guinness record – Mountain Xpress
mountainx.com
December 22, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
marielamba.bsky.social
So many honors for THE INK WITCH by @stephcherrywell.com!
December 22, 2025 at 7:14 PM
melaniescheller.com
Ooh! Good stuff here. Be sure to read all the responses.
erinbartram.bsky.social Erin Grievances @erinbartram.bsky.social · 1d
Archivists/librarians please share the coolest thing in your collections that will never be digitized.
bungdan.bsky.social Dan Murphy @bungdan.bsky.social · 1d
I live in the heart of California gold country. One of the richest mines ever in CA is nearby. Opened circa 1860 closed 1942. A local foundation has preserved the records on site. I know not a stitch has been digitized and am confident no more than 2 pro historians have ever been in there.
December 22, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
therealtruther.bsky.social
Should the spikes continue into January, the U.S. will lose its "measles-free" designation from the World Health Organization - a label achieved in 2000.

How is "Make America Healthy Again" going?

apple.news/A2lwHU43FSB6...
‘More Kids Will Die’: Measles Is on the Rise — and Doctors Say There’s No End in Sight — Rolling Stone
Amid the Trump administration’s assault on vaccines and cuts to the CDC, there are now more than 2,000 confirmed cases — and counting — nationwide
apple.news
December 22, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
rbreich.bsky.social
Casual reminder that the myth of “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” is a cruel hoax designed to convince poor people from all walks of life that the injustices they face are a result of their own actions, rather than an oppressive system rigged against them.
December 21, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
penamerica.bsky.social
PEN America: Cancellation of 60 Minutes segment—reportedly because the Trump administration refused to be interviewed—represents an abandonment of "central principles of press freedom and independent news gathering."

Full statement: pen.org/press-releas... #60Minutes #Journalism #FreePress
After ‘60 Minutes’ Pulls Investigation on Deportations, PEN America Warns that Journalism Can’t Depend on Government Approval
The decision by Bari Weiss, the new CBS News editor in chief, to pull a “60 Minutes” segment on the deportation of Venezuelan migrants—reportedly because the Trump administration refused to be intervi...
pen.org
December 22, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
denisedwheeler.bsky.social
Do not forget—95 murders on the high seas so far.

That’s a lot of murder.

Trump's legacy just grows and grows.

Meanwhile, Bondi is working hard to cover up every Trump crime.
95 murders on the high seas so far.
December 22, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
annabower.bsky.social
Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:
News Team, Thank you for the notes and texts. I apologize for not reaching out earlier. I learned on Saturday that Bari Weiss spiked our story, INSIDE CECOT, which was supposed to air tonight. We (Ori and I) asked for a call to discuss her decision. She did not afford us that courtesy/opportunity. Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now-after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one. We requested responses to questions and/or interviews with DHS, the White House, and the State Department. Government silence is a statement, not a VETO. Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story. If the administration's refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a "kill switch" for any reporting they find inconvenient. If the standard for airing a story becomes "the government must agree to be interviewed," then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast. We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state. These men risked their lives to speak with us. We have a moral and professional obligation to the sources who entrusted us with their stories. Abandoning them now is a betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism: giving voice to the voiceless. CBS spiked the Jeffrey Wigand interview due to legal concerns, nearly destroying the credibility of this broadcast. It took years to recover from that "low point." By pulling this story to shield an administration, we are repeating that history, but for political optics rather than legal ones. We have been promoting this story on social media for days. Our viewers are expecting it. When it fails to air without a credible explanation, the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship. We are trading 50 years of "Gold Standard" reputation for a single week of political quiet. I care too much about this broadcast to watch it be dismantled without a fight. Sharyn
December 22, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
courtneyellis.bsky.social
Btw, the week between Christmas and New Year’s is Book Bacchanalia week. Read. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

Libraries may not be open, so plan your haul now.
December 22, 2025 at 3:40 AM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
yardgonewild.bsky.social
Happy Winter Solstice from Squirrel who celebrated the day with some new bedding😄
December 22, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
rachelhaimowitz.bsky.social
Let's not forget that Whatley is also the "Helene Tzar" for NC and has done SUCH a bad job that our state has so far seen a whopping 6% of reimbursements for cleanup/repair/rebuild costs from the federal government (compared to more like 40% on historical average). Dude SUCKS. Laugh him out.
roycoopernc.bsky.social Roy Cooper @roycoopernc.bsky.social · 2d
My opponent, Michael Whatley, keeps trying to tell North Carolinians prices are down, wages are up, and that this is the greatest economy ever.

But people aren’t buying it because they simply can’t afford it.
December 21, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
elizabethjacobs.bsky.social
“The main reason I supported Kennedy was because Bill Cassidy thought that we should see how it plays out”.

-United States Senator Thom Tillis
Thom Tillis Reveals Infuriating Reason RFK Jr. Was Confirmed
A senator who cast a key vote apparently decided to just wait and see what happens.
www.yahoo.com
December 20, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
duh4healthcare.bsky.social
drclaymoss
Clay Moss, MD @drclaymoss
Your insurance will pay $75,000 for bypass surgery.
But they'll deny the $150 calcium score that could have lead to its prevention.
We don't have a healthcare system. We have a disease management system.
drclaymoss Clay Moss, MD @drclaymoss Your insurance will pay $75,000 for bypass surgery. But they'll deny the $150 calcium score that could have lead to its prevention. We don't have a healthcare system. We have a disease management system.
December 21, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
jeanie31199.bsky.social
www.npr.org/2025/12/11/n...
The ignorant government demands organizations stop using words to describe their mission & a description of those whom they are serving… including the words “disability,” “women,” “female.”
December 21, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
boghuma.bsky.social
This is a reminder of how much it matters that pediatricians, public health specialists, scientists and members of the public who care about vaccines and science based recommendations continue to speak up. Many voices break through.
www.politico.com/news/2025/12...
RFK Jr. wanted to endorse the Danish vaccine schedule. He was forced to pull back.
Legal and political concerns prompted the health department to cancel a planned announcement on Friday, officials said.
www.politico.com
December 21, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
wunc.org
From North Carolina Health News: The case raises questions about employee background checks, repeat safety violations and the state’s reliance on residential psychiatric treatment facilities for vulnerable children.

www.wunc.org/term/news/20...
Lawsuit alleges sexual abuse at NC youth psychiatric facility
The case raises questions about employee background checks, repeat safety violations and the state’s reliance on residential psychiatric treatment facilities for vulnerable children.
www.wunc.org
December 18, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
ncstories.bsky.social
"I had very strong feelings about how people ought to be treated and the fact that they ought to have equal and good opportunities to achieve and to be something and to have a good life." -Former 4 time governor, Jim Hunt
December 18, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
atrupar.com
Rand Paul: "We've never in our past decided just to shoot smugglers who are unarmed without even proof they're smuggling anything. So I think this is a horrendous thing that should stop. I think it's illegal & immoral... the kids in the military - I'm not for sending them down there to die for oil"
December 18, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
stephenrodrick.bsky.social
I met Melissa Hortman in October of 2024. She was smart and kind. I heard about her murder in a LA hotel room and it dropped me to my knees. So I went to Minnesota and talked to her kids, parents, and friends. This is not true crime, this is Melissa in real life. www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Melissa Hortman Died in a Shocking Act of Political Violence. This Is the Story of Her Life
Melissa Hortman died in a shocking act of political violence. This is her story
www.rollingstone.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
repbeatty.bsky.social
The White House claims the vote to rename the Kennedy Center was “unanimous.” That is false. I was muted on the call and denied the opportunity to speak or register my opposition. That is not consensus. That is censorship.
December 18, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
erockian00.bsky.social
#science
“What do you think science is? There's nothing magical about science. It is simply a systematic way for carefully and thoroughly observing nature and using consistent logic to evaluate results. Which part of that exactly do you disagree with? Do you disagree with being thorough? Using careful observation? Being systematic? Or using consistent logic?” —Dr. Steven Novella
December 19, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
thelastmileusaid.bsky.social
A light blue research flyer titled “Evaluating the Impact of U.S. Foreign Policy on HIV and Reproductive Health in Southern Africa.” Large central text reads “Were your HIV or reproductive health programs affected by recent U.S. policy changes? We want to hear from you.” A section labeled “Who can participate?” lists representatives from global health organizations that receive or received U.S. government funding, provide HIV or sexual and reproductive health services or support, and work in southern African countries. A QR code appears on the right. A link to an online survey is shown near the bottom, along with a note that participants may be eligible for an e card voucher. Contact names and emails are listed. Logos for UCLA, the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations, the David Geffen School of Medicine, and the Bixby Center appear at the bottom.
December 19, 2025 at 1:56 AM
Reposted by Melanie Scheller
Jim Hunt, NC governor who won four terms and shaped legacy on education, dies ncnewsline.com/2025/12/18/j...
Former North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt dies • NC Newsline
“It is with deep sadness that I share the passing of my beloved daddy and hero, former Gov. Jim Hunt,” Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt said.
ncnewsline.com
December 18, 2025 at 9:50 PM