The Bystander
LightNews LightNews
banner
thebystander99.bsky.social
The Bystander
@thebystander99.bsky.social
1.4K followers 2.9K following 2.4K posts
Attorney. Spoonie. Tired most of the time. Criminal justice, disability & autoimmune disease, cats, Dodgers, hopefully something positive every now and then. He/him. Hopes to make sense of all this eventually, but probably won’t.
Posts Replies Media Videos
thebystander99.bsky.social
I personally don’t think you’re a cold, unfeeling monster just because you can’t picture an apple, but you may be one if you watch Erin Brockovich and root for PG&E
Matthew Yglesias: “A recent New Yorker piece made people like me with no mental imagery out to be cold, unfeeling monsters. I prefer to think we are level-headed and rational whole the rest of you are unduly swayed by the happenstances of what you see.” The accompanying image shows five silhouettes of a human head: four of them contain a picture of an apple with various decrees of detail, from a complete picture to an outline. The fifth contains no apple at all.
November 20, 2025 at 4:15 AM
thebystander99.bsky.social
??

#caturday
A white cat with wing-shaped orange patches on his back and orange spots on his head is stretched out on a blue blanket. He’s stretched out to the point where he’s very long and thin, and none of his legs are visible, so he kind of looks like a serpent. His orange tail is tucked underneath him and sticking out in the middle of his back. his puffy cheeks are pressed against the blanket, making his head a weird shape. Everything just looks very strange and uncanny, but he also looks very comfortable and relaxed.
November 16, 2025 at 3:38 AM
thebystander99.bsky.social
And thank you! I totally see it too—I’ve called him a dipped cat before! He’s named Caramel Applehead (courtesy of his foster mom before I adopted him), thanks to his head spots and his huge [former] tomcat cheeks…Also, his orange patches on his shoulders kinda look like angel wings to me?
A white cat lies on his side on a blue blanket. He has his back to the camera, and his head hangs off the edge of the blanket over a spotted rug. He has two patches of orange fur on his shoulders that are sort of shaped like angel wings. He also has orange spots on the top of his head that look like caramel drops. His orange and white striped tail pokes out from underneath him A white cat with orange spots of orange fur on the top of his head lies on a green blanket. There’s a white pillow, blue couch cushions, mustard-yellow curtains, and blue patterned wallpaper behind him. He has a big puffy white face and chest, and his paws are folded politely in front of him, facing inward. He looks thoughtfully off to the side, a slight smile on his face
November 9, 2025 at 8:26 PM
thebystander99.bsky.social
Hey!, got one of those over here too
White cat with a shaved belly, an orange tail, one brown and one blue eye, and a few orange spots on his head lies on his side on a green carpet. He looks at the camera like he knows he’s being watched, and he hasn’t decided how he feels about it yet
November 9, 2025 at 8:41 AM
thebystander99.bsky.social
He may love me so much he can barely stand it, or this may be my last moment on Earth.

#NationalCatDay
A white cat has his eyes barely open, his ears back, his mouth slightly agape with a shiny pink lower lip. His whiskers and eyebrows stand out against the dark background.
October 30, 2025 at 2:56 AM
thebystander99.bsky.social
At least there’s this guy
White cat with a few orange spots lounges on a midnight blue blanket. Behind him, the wall is covered with a dark blue wallpaper showing the treetops of a nighttime forest. The cat is on the left of the frame, with a giant left arm and paw, extending just to the edge. His head is tilted downward, his eyes are barely open, like he’s half asleep, or in a trance. He looks very relaxed. His glorious white whiskers extend out from the right side of his face. He has a pink nose, a fluffy chest, and magnificent puffed up (former) tomcat cheeks.
October 10, 2025 at 6:58 AM
thebystander99.bsky.social
He’s modeling the kind of serenity I’m desperately looking for…
A white cat with an orange tail, and orange spots on his head and back, sleeps on a blue blanket. His big puffy head rests on his arm, and his tail curls around him, resting on his side.
October 5, 2025 at 10:53 PM
thebystander99.bsky.social
Kristi Noem: ICE WILL BE AT THE SUPER BOWL LITERALLY TO POLICE YOUR THOUGHTS
"I have the responsibility for making sure everybody who goes to the Super Bowl has the opportunity to enjoy it and to leave, and that's what America's about," she said. "So yeah, we'll be all over that place. We're going to enforce the law." Noem added, "So, I think people should not be coming to the Super Bowl unless they're law-abiding Americans who love this country."
October 4, 2025 at 11:53 PM
thebystander99.bsky.social
It’s not among the movies Noah Baumbach is really known for, but it should be
Screenshot of the rotten tomatoes page for the movie Highball showing it with a 40% score and a still of Eric Stoltz and Ally Sheedy
September 17, 2025 at 12:55 AM
thebystander99.bsky.social
I lurk around in my office in the back hallways of a courthouse (or, more often, at home), researching criminal procedure, 4th Am., & post conviction issues for judges. I live with Dermatomyositis. I have a great cat. And I just steam cleaned this chair without even ruining it, I think…?
A tufted, lime green velvet arm chair from t he late 1960s with matching ottoman, sits on a corner of a room on dark green carpet. One wall behind the chair has black wallpaper with gold fan palms.
September 11, 2025 at 1:49 AM
thebystander99.bsky.social
Here’s my gentleman retired street cat
A white cat with orange spots on his head and back, a brown right eye and a blue left eye, and folded flipper paws lounges on a green blanket with a thoughtful look on his face. His cheeks are puffed out and he also looks like he’s smiling, with a hint of his pink lower lip showing
September 9, 2025 at 11:03 PM
thebystander99.bsky.social
One week into a flare myself. This is the enormous-cheeked cat who takes care of me
A white cat with orange spots on his head and an orange and white striped tail sleeps on his stomach on a blue blanket. He has giant puffy, white cheeks, his left arm extends out like he’s holding his back foot, and his tail extends toward the camera and curls at the end like a hook. His head rests on his right front paw. He looks very peaceful.
September 6, 2025 at 7:54 PM
thebystander99.bsky.social
Having a ginger tail still counts (especially when you appreciate it as much as he does).

#gingercatappreciationday
A mostly white cat with orange spots on his head, and an orange and white striped tail, sleeps on his side on a blue blanket. He has a smile on his face, and an arm outstretched, with the paw of his outstretched arm holding his tail
September 2, 2025 at 6:15 AM
thebystander99.bsky.social
Here’s what the still-unconfirmed US Atty in L.A. is posting. Not only does it contain a particularly suggestive unfinished sentence, but the fact that the he claims the state he lives and serves in won’t punish sex trafficking, & that he & Bondi have to come to the rescue, is totally insane
Statement from Acting US attorney Bill Essayli: “The US Department of Justice, under the leadership of Attorney General Pamela Bondi, is making Los Angeles safer by arresting prolific gang members who are viciously trafficking young for . [A word or words are missing here in the original statement.] There are no meaningful consequences for their conduct under state law, so the federal government—aided by its local law enforcement partners— will step in to make sure these criminals face lengthy prison sentences. today’s operation is the first step in returning the Figueroa corridor—long known as a prostitution haven— back to its resident who have suffered for too long while criminals were allowed to run amok.”
August 14, 2025 at 10:13 PM
thebystander99.bsky.social
This is my cat, Caramel Applehead, a former street cat who survived the fires in Altadena. Now he has a safe, warm, loving home after years of fending for himself out there. So, in the midst of whatever horribleness, sometimes we just can’t begin to anticipate the wonderful things around the corner
A white cat with orange spots on his head and back and an orange striped tail sleeps peacefully on a blue blanket, one of his paws upturned and pressed against his puffy cheek A white cat with orange spots on his head lies on a blue blanket, his eyes half open in a kind of zen-ed out bliss and a big smile on his face
August 1, 2025 at 11:36 PM
thebystander99.bsky.social
The danger is very, very real
A gray tabby cat lies on his back on an old, faded, spotted blue and white rug. the gray, black, and white spots on the tabby‘s belly, and the stripes on his legs, make him blend into the pattern on the rug
July 28, 2025 at 1:05 PM
thebystander99.bsky.social
How is this even a cat?
A white fur lump with a few orange spots sits on a blue blanket. An orange line at the bottom could be a tail, and there’s a point on the bottom in the foreground that could be a tail, but who can say for sure?
July 27, 2025 at 4:21 AM
thebystander99.bsky.social
That’s very much the variety we have in my house!
White and orange catloaf resting on a blue blanket with a big, puffy face, orange spots on his head and back and his orange striped tail curled up around his side. He has his sweet pink mouth open slightly and looks slightly off to the side of the camera
July 22, 2025 at 4:00 AM
thebystander99.bsky.social
Oh my god, I took this a couple seconds later. And for those who’re curious, it was “Everyone who’s over 50 and remembers what Times Square was like in the 70s when you couldn’t walk through it without getting stabbed and beaten and murdered is gonna vote for Adams in the general!”
Joy Reid looking appropriately bewildered and disgusted on a split screen with Arthur Aidala, who has his eyes closed and mouth open as he continues to rant and rave about Zohran Mamdani turning New York into a crime-filled cesspool because he’s a 33 year old immigrant
June 25, 2025 at 3:03 AM
thebystander99.bsky.social
Things continue to be genuinely disturbing, so, please look at my cat, who likes to smile at me with his fangs out
A white cat with some orange spots on his head and an orange tabby cat tail lies in front of the camera in a sphinx position. He has a smile on his big, fat face, with his eyes closed, his mouth slightly open and his top fangs sticking out A white cat with orange spots on his head lies in front of the camera, one paw folded in front of him and the other sticking out straight. He has a surprised look in his eyes (one of which is blue and the other is green), a smile on his face with his mouth slightly open and his top fangs sticking out
June 22, 2025 at 1:19 AM
thebystander99.bsky.social
Oh, yes, the hours of yelling (and grumbling…so much grumbling). And I totally got a 3:30 a.m. hand hitting too, just hours after midnight snack that I was SURE would do the trick 🤦‍♂️ In fact, he’s literally glaring at me right now as I type this
White cat with orange patches standing on the back of a blue couch, looking down at the camera with pursed lips and equal parts anticipation and disapproval in his eyes
June 20, 2025 at 5:00 AM
thebystander99.bsky.social
HOLY SHIT, I was looking at this one the other day thinking, “wow, it’s (clockwise from bottom left) Hegseth, Vought, Bessent, RFK Jr, Emil Bove, & Karoline Leavitt”—but, pretty hard to beat this match for Flattop
A publicity still of grotesque characters from the 1990 movie Dick Tracy—including Flattop, who has an naturally large flathead; prune face whose face is wrinkled; and big boy caprice, with an exaggerated chin and mouth – surrounding Madonna
June 6, 2025 at 12:37 PM
thebystander99.bsky.social
I’m not sure this was the “fresh new look” they had in mind
A roped off area of a lawn in front of a hotel. In the foreground—on one of the posts of the roped off area—a sign says “Landscaping renewal in progress fresh new look on the way…” Behind the sign, inside the roped off area, sits a gray tabby cat with an annoyed look on his face
May 2, 2025 at 11:51 PM
thebystander99.bsky.social
The world is on fire and you’re posting cat photos…
An old gray tabby cat lying on his back between a pair of human legs, his body extended along a couch moving away from the camera, arms extended straight up in the air and his back toes curled, his mouth wide open in what looks like mid-scream
April 23, 2025 at 5:09 PM
thebystander99.bsky.social
In other news, I think the hummingbirds have had just about enough of these other high-fallutin’ assholes getting all big-shoty around the feeder they don’t even drink out of
A hummingbird sits on the rim of a blue hummingbird feeder, which is hanging from a stand a couple feet off the ground. A larger bird is perched on the top part of the stand above the feeder, its beak pompously in the air like it owns the place
April 14, 2025 at 1:50 AM