Marla Varner
pennylanequilts.bsky.social
Marla Varner
@pennylanequilts.bsky.social
(she/her)
Modern quilter with a hint of vintage
Reposted by Marla Varner
You know the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)? Venerable research institution, respected worldwide?

Trump has put an oil executive in charge of it & changed its name to the "National Laboratory of the Rockies."

It's so embarrassing being American these days.
News Release: Energy Department Renames NREL 'National Laboratory of the Rockies' | NREL
www.nrel.gov
December 3, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
December 6, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
The US government is summarily executing people on a weekly basis without telling the American people any of their names or presenting any proof of their guilt, for alleged crimes that do not carry the death penalty in the US.
December 6, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
With little to no evidence to justify the strike on alleged drug traffickers, it seems that Pete Hegseth and the Trump Administration are doubling down on the strike.

Read more about the strike, the contradicting statements made by Hegseth and other news at AD:

open.substack.com/pub/justingl...
There was no fog of war
The strike was clear. Helpless men were killed. The justification doesn't add up.
open.substack.com
December 6, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
“All the hatred, all the persecution, seems like the panic of racists pretending they can stop the future of this country no longer being majority white through sheer cruelty.”

The always wise @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social calls out the lies of the GOP fantasy to make America white, when it never was…
Trump wants to recreate a white America that never existed | Rebecca Solnit
The persecution of brown people and mass deportations will not create the white country of far-right fantasy
www.theguardian.com
December 6, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
NEW: Kristi Noem, Todd Blanche, and Joseph Mazzara identify themselves (and now-judge Emil Bove) as the decision-makers involved in directing deportation flights to El Salvador despite Judge Boasberg's order. Their declarations are otherwise substance-free. www.courtlistener.com/docket/69741...
December 6, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Reposted by Marla Varner
"In the worst cases, the infected would die from liver cancer before reaching adulthood. Brian McMahon, a physician who treated some of those cases, told me about one particular patient—'18 years old, 4.0 GPA, with a full ride to University of Alaska.'"
RFK Jr.’s Crusade Against Vaccines Hits Its Action Phase
His anti-vax–stacked advisory committee is expected to revise rules for life-saving hepatitis B vax.
lnk.thebulwark.com
December 6, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Reposted by Marla Varner
My constituent, Wilmer, was mauled by an ICE attack dog despite the fact that, as he has consistently explained, he was not resisting arrest or trying to flee—his wife and young children, all U.S. citizens, were forced to watch helplessly as Wilmer was violently attacked and dragged away.
December 6, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Reposted by Marla Varner
The decision by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to downgrade its recommendations to protect infants from hepatitis B is a dangerous move that will harm children.

Click here to read AAP's full statement: bit.ly/3Y9ZQJT
December 5, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
New: "Trump-Linked Crypto Firm Alt5 Sigma Shakes Up Leadership Amid SEC Filing Questions"

me, for @forbes.com

1/
Trump-Linked Crypto Firm Alt5 Sigma Shakes Up Leadership Amid Questions Over SEC Filing
The Nasdaq-listed company, which holds more than $1 billion from the president’s crypto project, disclosed a sweeping leadership change in a late-night filing before Thanksgiving.
www.forbes.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
NEW: Far-right lawyer and anti-voting activist Cleta Mitchell said she is "praying" DOJ Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon will seize ballots cast in the 2020 election in Georgia to probe for evidence of already debunked voter fraud claims.
Cleta Mitchell ‘Praying’ DOJ Seizes Georgia Ballots in Probe of Debunked 2020 Election Claims
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
December 5, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
Earlier this week, House Republicans advanced the misleadingly named the Equal Representation Act, an unconstitutional bill that would add a citizenship question in the U.S. census. This administration is attacking our immigrant communities at higher rates than ever before.
December 5, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
As Republicans attempt to gerrymander their way to a 2026 election win, they’re encountering one big obstacle: the courts and voters.

Now, the party is waging war on both by attacking voter-approved measures, threatening impeachment and more.
To Protect Gerrymanders, GOP Lawmakers Target Judges — and Voters
Read more here.
bit.ly
December 5, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
Suozzi: Prices are up. Why? Because of the tariffs. Prices are going up in health insurance because of the cancellation of the premium tax credits. Prices are going up in energy because there’s new demand for energy at the same time they cut supply.
December 5, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
NEW: The Trump administration sent Head Start employees a six-page list of "prohibited words" for grant applications, including terms like: disabilities, tribal, Black, and women.

The administration wants to erase communities and block access to early childhood services. We'll see them in court.
December 5, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
Please do not take medical advice from this administration. Listen to the actual experts.
Kressly: So let’s talk about the contagiousness of hepatitis B. It can live on surfaces, and it can be spread through touch—from someone who is shedding the virus to someone else.

So when we’re in situations where we can’t know 100% who is at risk, the right answer is to protect everyone.
December 5, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
When everyone knows it's probably Grandpa's last Christmas so everyone makes a big deal about him
this shit is just beyond parody, man
December 5, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
Patel is a real throwback to the petty self-enrichment of a Scott Pruitt in Trump's first term, it's refreshing and quaint in a way
December 5, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
HOOSIERS: Your state Senate Republicans might be on the verge of caving to Trump's threats and passing the new partisan maps.

The final vote is MONDAY Dec 8th

Call your state Senators NOW 👉 5calls.org/state/indian...
December 5, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
The Trump administration has ordered at least 20 strikes on boats near Venezuela, killing over 85 people. These strikes are patently unlawful — just like Secretary Hegseth’s alleged order on September 2 to kill any survivors.

Killing people with no due process is murder. Full stop.
Second US Strike on Boat Attack Survivors Was Illegal—But Experts Stress That the Rest Were, Too | Common Dreams
Amid outrage over a double-tap strike that kicked off the administration's boat bombing spree, rights advocates and legal experts emphasize that all of the Trump administration's attacks on alleged dr...
www.commondreams.org
December 5, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
Putin has once again mentioned Novorossiya. In an interview ahead of his visit to India, he stressed that, in any case, Russia will 'liberate' Donbas and Novorossiya by military or other means.

It is telling that Putin is now speaking not only about the Donetsk region.
December 5, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
The Indiana state House just passed a new congressional map that'd make the state's delegation all Republican (9-0, up from 7-2 now).

Now, up to the Senate, which has been resistant: They're taking it up Monday. www.wishtv.com/news/politic...
House passes Indiana redistricting bill 57-41; bill now moves to Senate
Indiana lawmakers pass bill to redraw congressional districts, splitting Marion County into four. Democrats criticize the move as diluting minority voices.
www.wishtv.com
December 5, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
NEW info on shipwreck attack. It gets worse.

The 2 survivors climbed atop wreckage and waved to overhead.

"Some of the people viewing the video thought ... could have been an attempt to surrender"

Others "said the most logical explanation was ... signaling for a rescue."

1/
December 5, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
Rep. Grijalva says she was pepper-sprayed by ICE
December 5, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Reposted by Marla Varner
Thankful to have the powerful and passionate voice of the President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr Susan Kressly, on with us this morning.

We will not stay silent and be cowed by utter nonsense at the top. More of this incoming.

Thank you @ameracadpeds.bsky.social
December 5, 2025 at 3:55 PM