People on X are having a melt down, but here it’s nothing but celebration! 🥳

Chickies are laying!

Finished this painting. Underwater Candy, 12×18 acrylic on wood.

Adelita Grijalva won her election to Congress over two weeks ago, but Mike Johnson still hasn't sworn her in. Why the delay? Perhaps it's because Grijalva would cast the final vote needed to release the Epstein files.

No Kings, For the love of America.

New knitting post on the Notes From the Studio Substack! Fun to be talking knitting again. open.substack.com/pub/elizabet...

Chicken coop decor day 3

I'm thrilled to collaborate with Elizabeth Morrison again with a new Substack, Notes from the Studio! Check out my first post here. open.substack.com/pub/elizabet...

Covered in kittens #fosterkittens

The largest SNAP cuts in history went into effect yesterday, eliminating or drastically cutting food assistance for millions of Americans. And it’s all to pay for more tax cuts that primarily benefit the super-rich. Trickle-down economics isn't just a hoax — it's cruel.

Trump’s regime wants to put AI in charge of deciding which Medicare patients receive care — and they're giving AI companies a profit-incentive to deny coverage. Everything about this is sick and wrong, and Congress must take action. 👇

This vile administration tried to deport children, in the middle of the night, to Guatemala. CHILDREN!

Get to DC if you are able to Sept. 6! Info: WeAreDC.net ❤️‍🩹 Please share on socials and push this out through other channels to any peeps who might like to march. @thekattalk.bsky.social

Netflix just gave Gavin Newsom 2 million for the redistricting fight and made a deal with Sesame Street. New episodes will air there and the backlog of old episodes will Be free to watch. Netflix picked a side. I will keep my subscription.

Made some buttons yesterday 😁

CHICAGO…

No matter what @MarshaBlackburn keeps saying, it’s not criminals they’re targeting. www.cnn.com/2025/08/30/u...

CW: Sexual assault Women are being kidnapped and assaulted by men who impersonate ICE agents. This is one of many reasons why we can’t have a masked, unaccountable secret police force roaming the streets. Urge your elected officials to take action today: www.bluestatedefianc...

Can't stop won't stop wet-on-wet watercolor

🗣️ LIBRARIES ARE COOLING CENTERS! Beat the heat by visiting your local library for air conditioning. Please be kind if their AC is on the fritz! They are doing their best, just like you 🩵

Don't know why it won't rotate, but you get the idea. I know this painting is so simple, but learning the wet on wet technique has made me so happy.

The Trump administration’s slashing of budgets and staff have Great Lakes scientists concerned that they have lost the ability to protect the public from toxic algal blooms, which can kill animals and sicken people. (Published May)

New foster kittens freshly brought from the countryside, where they were living in abandoned gopher tunnels with their mom. Meet Grasshopper 😁

CW: Violence An unarmed veteran was attacked from behind, injured, and hauled into a Portland ICE facility. This is just one example of the unchecked brutality carried out by a secret police force operating in the shadows. Tell your elected officials to act now: www.bluestatedefianc...

The election tampering begins. Trump announced on his social media that he would push to eliminate mail-in ballots and sign an executive order to “help bring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm Elections.”

My law firm is currently litigating 50 voting and election cases in 22 states. Here are the states with the most cases: GA, AZ, FL, NC, LA, MT, NV, WI. The fight for free and fair elections is the fight for democracy. Please, pay attention.

Outside Dupont north metro

My paint-in-bed station.

Finally able to paint again after 10 days of fever and nausea. Very satisfying. I'm going to continue to slowly climb out of this hole with the help of creativity.

Just found this coffee shop watercolor sketch from a few weeks ago. Energy is all around us. Take it in!

Trump's politics are "animated by anger, fear, and, most of all, pettiness, a small-minded vengefulness that takes the place of actual policy making," writes @radiofreetom.bsky.social. I think that's right. I just wish fewer voters found vicarious pettiness and small-minded vengefulness appealing.

So happy to have our fam back together last weekend! We got to take in the Radicals Ultimate game, see nesting eagles, run/walk a 5k and spray paint this shirt for Lil Buddy to take back to Colorado.

Starting a new mural in my studio! I wanted something just fun and uplifting.

"You might have forgotten about the trade war, but the trade war has not forgotten about you." Households will pay an average of $2,400 more for goods this year, thanks to Trump’s policies. www.theatlantic.com/economy/arch...

WTF?!? Border Czar Tom Homan claimed that ICE and Border Patrol agents don’t need probable cause to detain people they suspect are undocumented, saying they can do so based on factors like physical appearance. This is straight-up racial profiling, not law enforcement.

We will never be silent. The Trump administration has placed 139 EPA staffers on leave after they signed a letter of dissent opposing the agency’s current direction and policies. Silencing experts won’t silence the truth.

Don’t call it ‘Alligator Alcatraz.’ Call it a concentration camp. This facility’s purpose fits the classic model, and its existence points to serious dangers ahead for the country.

In short, despite its “patriotic” title, the Make America Beautiful Again Commission prioritizes economic development over environmental stewardship. It represents a stark shift away from conservation and could lead to irreversible damage to some of the last intact wilderness areas in the U.S.

Immediately.

Our national parks are in trouble. Since Trump returned to office, the National Park Service has lost nearly a quarter of its full-time staff. That’s thousands of people who used to care for trails, run visitor centers, respond to emergencies, and protect the land, gone.

Flicker. Dodo. Titmouse. #FDT Drop a ✊🏾 or a 🖤when you get it. Shoutout to Kestrel Hays for the shirt. We are NOT Ok. This is NOT Normal! 🇺🇸🗽😢

Freedom from kings. Freedom from fascism. Power to the people forever. ♥️ Happy Independence Day 🇺🇸

Watercolor cloudscape, seen on the road back from Milwaukee. So much to learn!

I think we all just need a moment of Balloon today.

Friendly foster baby Calypso is a lap cat for sure. See her at the adoption fair at Earthwise West in Madison this Saturday!

Luminous chicken from watercolor class yesterday.

The current administration has more successfully destroyed US science and the scientific enterprise than the hypothetical nuclear weapons program in Iran.

A win! Thank you to everyone who spoke out! After facing bipartisan resistance, the Senate Parliamentarian, ruled that Sen. Mike Lee’s proposal to sell off millions of acres of federal land cannot be included under reconciliation rules.

New post! jaalaspiro.substack.com/p/paint-your...