IT'S UP! An article about the rain-soaked disaster that was July 4th in Washington DC this year, including all the videos I couldn't upload of the sad and angry crowds, plus details that didn['t make the thread. Please check it out if you would like to!

Beauty in simplicity. [📹 shouxin13141]

There was a rule when I was in Trump's first term: if a memo had a staple in it, it was too long for him to read. Life-or-death decisions were cut to one page. Or a half-page. Or less. Bold fonts. BIG pictures. When you’re wondering why everything’s a mess, remember that.

Happy Flag Day. I enjoy the U.S. flag as a symbol of the country. I’ve always been a little less comfortable with children reciting a pledge to it. This began with dual goals: to support public education and as a marketing gimmick to sell flags. (Thread) www.smithsonianmag.com/history/pled...

Hello! 👋 I'm hoping to raise money for two Bay Area cat rescues. If you post a screenshot of you donating at least $20, I will answer a style-related question for you. But first, let me tell you about the rescues, why they're worthy of your support, and hopefully get you to adopt a cat. 🧵

This is Lily's brother Vinnie (in front) with their mom Rei. I absolutely love that Vinnie has the exact same white facial marking as Rei. He is getting so big already! The kittens are almost 7 months old. #Caturday #CatsofBluesky

Here is a new Lily photo of her "helping" to make the bed. She was spayed a week ago, and within two days was back to full speed. She will be 7 months old next week. #Caturday #CatsofBluesky

This is Lily's sister Inky (at right), snoozing with Otis, my daughter's first cat. They are not related at all, but look remarkably alike! Otis is a big kitty, but did great with accepting the kittens and their mom.

"The table of contents alone is enough to trigger despair, but it’s also a reassurance and a promise: We can’t forget, we won’t forget, and this catalogue of betrayals lays groundwork for the reckoning to come." Read it; you've already wept.

Simple, aggressive, repetitive messages break through to voters who don’t obsess over politics. An effective message attacks the other side’s core beliefs. epurchaseattack.substack.com/p/10-one-lin...

This is such an important song promoting activism. Lovely, too. 💜

Kitten update: We've had Lily now for almost 3 months, and it has been a challenging time. Despite a slow introduction with our older two kitties, it was a pretty rough adjustment. We didn't give up, and we have made some progress. This is the closest to a snuggle so far!

Natalie Anne Kyriacou OAM - an Australian environmentalist, social justice advocate & author, delivers a powerful and deeply provocative address. Opening with the question, “How do you think we will be written about in history books?”

Congresswoman Becca Balint snaps on Dr. Oz. Not sure if Oz or RFK, Jr. is worse. Pure insanity from this regime.

Visualizations from The Economist on how profoundly unpopular Donald Trump is

Good news is there are steps you can take to mitigate the data flow. Depending on your devices and how much you are willing to give up in functionality. coveryourtracks.eff.org

This website shows you what your browser is leaking about you. sinceyouarrived.world/taken

set up a nesting box with cam nine days ago and this morning got a prospective tenant - fingers crossed that his mate will approve

A coast-to-coast sprint of partisan one-upmanship in which eight states have redrawn their congressional districts since last summer is likely to escalate next year to at least a dozen more. Free link: archive.is/202605090919...

Your morning grift report:

Did y'all know that depending on the strain, Hantavirus can have an incubation period of up to 8 weeks, and a mortality rate of as high as 40%? I'm guessing the people in power here right now don't want you to know this.

Agriculture Secretary Rollins boasts of a "golden age" for farmers after 46% increase in farm bankruptcies in 2025 under Trump.

"This is not just the most corrupt presidency in American history, it is among the most corrupt regimes on earth." And abject corruption on a mass scale, it turns out, is not politically popular. New from @monacharen.bsky.social:

1/ The ecological disasters of the war w/ Iran are bad enough. Noxious smoke from bombed oil facilities, spills in the Gulf’s waters, contamination of farmland & groundwater w/ chemicals unleashed by explosions & their debris, millions more tons of CO2 spewed into the air. tinyurl.com/pas6b67a

I really want a Democratic Party that goes on offense instead of reactionary defense. I want big plans. Sweeping changes of liberty and equity. Durable permanent changes. And consequences with teeth. Tell us the plan. Big plan. Make it a whole meal.

May the Fourth be with you! 😎 This is SO worth listening to again. Because it's not just funny—it's oddly moving.

Today is Keith Haring's birthday. I have been a huge fan since the early 1980s. I have multiple prints of his paintings in my house. Haring died of AIDS at age 31. 😭 He would've been 68 today. Never forget his remarkable legacy. His artwork brought so much joy to the world. ❤️

Indifference to evil is more insidious than evil itself... it is a silent justification of injustice.

Fascinating historical thread, and a reminder that democracy in the United States has survived worse than our current moment.

Staged is the wrong word. Are they letting possible assassins through an outer ring of protection, deliberately not apprehending them there and letting them to get closer deliberately for dramatic effect? The amateurish nature of the last three attempts suggests, yes.

The number of ways Trump has screwed up Iran policy is truly mind-boggling: Pulling out of the JCPOA was disaster one, that triggered them resuming enrichment (disaster two), that led to new negotiation which he disrupted by bombing last year (disaster three), that led to resumed negotiations...

Measles is basically a canary in the coal mine for our entire system. When it surges like this, it signals that our vaccination programs are starting to fail, and that other diseases won’t be far behind. Gift link. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/25/o...

Another all-nighter of shit posting insanity. Today, he will nod off repeatedly during work hours. Every single one of us would be terminated from our job for this behavior. He’s repeating this behavior more frequently. When is the press around him going to do their job? The GOP?

Facial recognition. License plate readers. Phone tracking. Data brokers. Five parts of surveillance infrastructure with no off-ramp. This is the field guide. Not hope exactly, but footing.

Donald Trump and his administration committed 61 more cruelties, collusions, corruptions, and crimes in March 2026. #LestWeForgetTheHorrors

Lucian is in rare form today: "Let’s stop right there. The President of the United States called into a talk show on a television channel that ordinarily covers the world of business to discuss his strategy to get us out of the war with Iran. Out loud. In public."

Washington can only pay attention to a scandal or two at a time, which means in the Trump age there are all sorts of should-be-big-deal scandals that don’t get the oxygen or media focus that they should. I'll bet you've missed at least three of these: www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/five-trump...

The ghosts of your absent prosperity won’t leave you alone until you punish those responsible. epurchaseattack.substack.com/p/its-time

I have a weird trick for when I'm stuck: I turn my monitor off & type out my random raw thoughts without being able to see the words. The little nubbins on the index-finger keys keep it from being gibberish, and my internal saboteur can't stop me.

So much truth here, and Noel's Notes never disappoints (with humor, no less.) One important point for this week: "By retweeting his content and clips and passing it off as ‘resistance’, influencers unintentionally allow Donald Trump to control the narrative."

DOJ seeks to vacate insurrectionists’ convictions, while going after a former CIA Director: If Trump can make convictions disappear for allies while prosecuting critics, the damage isn’t just theoretical. Once that line is crossed, it doesn’t easily uncross itself. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...

If you are as infuriated as you read this as I am, know that Congress not only has the power to fix the abuse of the Shadow Docket but also that the legislation is already drafted. We just need to get it to the floor. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/u...

To state the obvious (but being forgotten by many), we didn’t need to go to war to open the Strait of Hormuz. It was already open. To claim this outcome as a war achievement is paradoxical.

Heartbreaking description of the pointless, thoughtless damage being done to the Kennedy Center. It was such an important part of life in Washington, and is now being destroyed for no reason www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...

"I'm a Christian. And Donald Trump does something to trash the teachings of my faith every day. But this latest thing, well, I just might object to. That's how strongly I feel about my faith."

Please check out my latest piece, below, for @atrupar.com Public Notice, in which I examine in detail how badly Trump’s public approval ratings are. And consider subscribing to PN. Thx! open.substack.com/pub/aaronrup...

Recurring🧵of cartoons: when you get to the end, click on Read 1 more reply. If you save a cartoon, keep caption w/ artist's name & handle. Previous 🧵s under Feeds tab of my profile. Rick McKee @rmckee.bsky.social

Recurring🧵of cartoons: when you get to the end, click on Read 1 more reply. If you save a cartoon, keep caption w/ name & handle. Previous 🧵s under Feeds tab of my profile. Dan Perkins aka Tom Tomorrow @tomtomorrow.bsky.social Support Dan's work at thismodernworld.com/subscriptions

TODAY is Election Day! Polls are open RIGHT NOW until 7PM. If you’re in line by 7PM, you can vote. Make the time. Nothing changes if you sit this one out. #Vote #MO02