Love this! I have fond memories of volunteering for Meals on Wheels with my mom as a kid, then at soup kitchens, a residential retirement center, Head Start, & an animal shelter over the years. It reinforced my empathetic nature & increased my gratitude & set me up for a career in civil service.

Merry Christmas 🎄 If you grew up celebrating Christmas & this time of year is tough for you, hang in there. We’re almost through it 💙 Wishing peace, joy, & love to all as I quietly ground myself in nature 🏜️ Photos: desert sky just before and after daybreak, on winter solstice 🌌 🌄

CBS and the regime don’t want you to see this canceled 60 Minutes report on the Venezuelans deported to CECOT concentration camp*. This could be any of us, at any time, for any reason. These are human beings. *Conditions violate global standards, so is not simply ‘a maximum security prison.’

Water thread 💦 🧵 The Colorado River is managed through ten-year agreements. This upcoming draft environmental assessment (with public comment period) is crucial for shaping the next pact, focusing on sustainable water resource sharing among 7 Western states amid evolving environmental challenges.

This story is part of a series on “Lost Science” or more accurately #ScienceUnderSiege because as you well know, @nytimes.com, wording influences interpretation. Science isn’t misplaced. Science is being purposely erased, & federal research projects, programs, & staff are being terminated.

While families beg for the ACA subsidies to be extended, Republicans in DC are more worried about delisting gray wolves from endangered species list. "The bill also blocks any effort to challenge the delisting in court."

Let’s give this article a more apt name. How about ‘Federal Science and Scientists Under Siege’? Mostly sharing from NYT because I appreciate the inclusion of an audio option. Also taking this opportunity to make a plug for donating to conservation nonprofits this year if you have spare change.

You’re having trouble paying for groceries, rent / mortgage, medical costs, gifts, dependent care, etc. Meanwhile, this megalomaniacal monster just wants to rant BS incoherently, and to put his name on everything like a dog that pisses on every shrub.

Fever dreams have nothing on reality these days. apnews.com/article/trum...

Please read this entire thread. Federal workers across the government are dealing with similar situations and it is atrocious and not ok. At all.

It’s unethical to hold hospitals hostage by denying Medicare and Medicaid payments to any hospital system that provides gender-affirming care to youth. Treatment should be between patients & their providers. Please feel free to share resources for (families of) trans youth in the comments. 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈 💙

Participatory thread alert🧵 (An upbeat break for your afternoon) I’m realizing some of my all-time favorite movie lines are from Rob Reiner films. I’m going to add a few to the thread here. What are yours?

“The most important thing is that you be a good person & you live by the golden rule of do unto others. If you live by that, that's all I care about.” - Rob Reiner Rest in peace & power, Rob & Michele May our nation, and the planet at large, rise to its full potential of integrity.

For whoever needs to hear it: the holiday season isn’t joyous for everyone. For some, it’s the hardest time of year— short days, dreary weather, loneliness, etc. This year is especially tough. *gestures emphatically* If you’re struggling, be kind to yourself. You matter. 💙🫂

Time for some fantastic conservation news! Sunflower stars, which protect kelp forests, are a critically endangered species, but thanks to collaborative effort aimed at species recovery, their population is being restored in California, starting in Monterey Bay!🌻⭐️🌊 #TimelineCleanse

National monuments don’t just protect the cultural and ecological resources within their boundaries. They are also instrumental in protecting sources of the water we drink. 31 national monuments are under threat. Tell your representatives to protect our public lands and drinking water.

A push for more carbon emissions, brought to you by the people who think PFAS pesticides are okay on your food. MAGA: making pollution and dangerous chemicals great again! This will pair nicely with the lack of affordable healthcare to treat illnesses that will surely be caused by all this madness.

It has been an extremely challenging year for the federal workforce, & the shutdown / reopening has only compounded the situation: inconsistent backpay; managers kept in the dark while trying to guide staff; tension between those who worked during the shutdown & those who didn’t; etc.

If you hold a gov or gov adjacent job & you are - Helping your colleagues keep their jobs as they're being hunted Fast walking approvals that protect families Finding creative ways to honor your oath & this nation We see you. We appreciate you. Hang in there. 🫶

On Thanksgiving Eve, I am thankful for #AltGov & #AltFam. The struggles persist & so do we. We will get through this together. Love & justice will prevail. Keep speaking up for one another & the planet. Protect time for rest, connection & joy. Thanks for making the world a kinder place. 💙

For anyone who hasn’t thrown away their utterly useless 2025 bingo card yet, check for this: Vaccines = bad 💉❌ Forever chemicals = delicious & nutritious on your lettuce, broccoli and potatoes. 🥬 🥦 🥔 😋 ✅ Treat yo’self to extra mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving this year before they’re poisoned!

Climate change is real. Conservation and restoration are critical for protecting people, infrastructure, and the economy. The current regime’s view that conservation is hunting and big energy misses the point. We need marshes, wetlands, and dunes to weather hurricanes and storms.

Take your turn and set this photo to a song! I went with “Happy Together” by The Turtles.

Happy Friday, y’all. A toast with your beverage of choice: To finishing the first full week back after the shutdown. It was already a strange week, and then, well…this happened (happy to take the weird win!) — Trump: Mamdani is a communist! Also Trump:

Can we put a stop to corporations and billionaires “winning” at the expense of conservation, wildlife, and climate resilience? #ConservationOverCorporations www.doi.gov/pressrelease...

Please comment on the proposed changes to promote big energy over endangered species. www.regulations.gov/document/FWS...

I couldn’t wait for #AltTacoTunesday to share this link to Jesse Welles performing his song “Join ICE” on Colbert especially after spotting this ICE add on LinkedIn yesterday. Signing bonuses, & that big, huh? Just last week we couldn’t pay SNAP benefits. 🤔 youtu.be/61I4hlig78w?...

Would go to this forest again. Lush, good nest material, tasty worms, solid berry selection. 4 out of 5 stars. Recommend. Docking one point for suspected surveillance. Found an audio recording device strapped to a tree. Kinda creepy. - 🐦 #TimelineCleanse www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/c...

🧵1/2 The Bureau level staff across DOI in HR, IT, Communications & Contracts who were “consolidated” to the Department level back in May(!) continue to be in a bizarre limbo and the Bureaus are being bullied into funding staff & “fees” while having their resources taken away.

A new tool tracks individual monarch butterflies as they migrate! PS: Butterflies are the only form of monarch we should have in the US. A different kind of monarch (also orange & spineless but aggressive & not pretty) is threatening the habitat of butterflies & other species, & must be stopped.

Echoing this gratitude for admin folks across Department of the Interior! 💚

NYT: when asked about guaranteeing a vote on ACA subsidies, Johnson said “the Republicans would demand a lot of reforms before anything like that was possible.” Everyone: Who actually believed the GOP would do what they said and hold a future vote on it?! 14 Democratic Congress members:

Rabble-rouser roars “Revolution!” “Resistance!” Reeling in the Right Haiku by @altreclamation.altgov.info

Quick point of clarification for pundits, politicians, journalists, & any others commenting on the Epstein Trump files: The victims were NOT "young women". They were CHILDREN. As such, they were not capable of giving legal consent. Sex without consent is rape. Words matter. Get them right.

Call your House Representative and tell them to vote NO before this afternoon! The House switchboard number is: 202-224-3121 If you don’t know who your Representative is, you can look them up here: www.house.gov/representati...

Check it out if you’re in range!A friend in Southern Vermont just sent me this super cool photo (buildings cropped out by me). P.S. Do you see the smiley face? 😊

Happy Veterans Day 🇺🇸 Thank you for your service and sacrifices. May we as a people look out for you and your families as well as you look(ed) after our nation 🫡 💙

I’ll help draft a list! 1) obstructed democracy 2) protected a pedophile 3) let Americans go hungry 4) took more paid vacay while Feds went unpaid 5) failed to swear in Rep Grijalva Could have easily listed more than five things - such a productive week!

🧵 What a week! Tuesday’s wins, the regime’s tug of war over SNAP $ despite $40B to Argentina; ~8 weeks of the House on paid hiatus; Rep. Grijalva still not sworn in; Feds missing another paycheck; & GOP shooting down a reopen deal that would extend ACA subsidies (more below), and going on vacation.

If only the Speaker put half as much energy into governing as he does into avoiding work. He still hasn’t sworn in Representative-elect Grijalva, people are hungry, planes are grounded, and Republicans are on vacation. They’re showing you exactly who they are. Believe them.

BREAKING: A federal appeals court leaves an order in place that requires the Trump administration to provide full SNAP benefits for November.

The tacky irony of Congress on weeklong(!) recess for observance of a holiday honoring veterans, whilst screwing over said veterans on SNAP, or who are now civilian Feds going without pay, or in vocational or job transition training that’s currently closed… Way to honor our veterans, Congress!

How might the deregulatory agenda advanced by the Trump administration affect drinking water quality? The latest blog in EDGI’s “State of Environmental Protection” series answers this question by analyzing EPA data on Safe Drinking Water Act enforcement. envirodatagov.org/threats-to-d...

Why don’t airline CEOs offer to pay the salaries of TSA & Air Traffic Control during the shutdown? Surely, cancelled flights cost them more. Maybe they don’t want to set a precedent. Also, should air travel security be funded by taxes when we lack basics like single payer healthcare? 🤔 Thoughts?

Are you emotionally exhausted and feeling punchy? How about a caption call? (Also— sincerely hoping the person who collapsed is okay. Because, you know… any decent person would be concerned…which is why the lack of compassion seen in the photo seems ripe for a caption call.) #AltsAfterDark

Department of the Interior is going to comply with the federal judge. There will not be a reduction in force (RIF) during the shutdown. @altfws.altgov.info @resistancerangers.altgov.info @altblmatinterior.bsky.social @altwasonps.bsky.social @altacadia.bsky.social @altdoi.altgov.info

You did it. You used your vote, your voice. You sent an unequivocal message that you will not tolerate rhetoric & policies aimed at hurting the most vulnerable among us. More than that, you sent a message of hope that we can & will do better, fueled by compassion & equity. Keep going. ✊💙☮️🇺🇸🌎

The year is 2025. Much of the US seems more afraid of diversity than dictatorship. It is Election Day, & there’s fear it could be the last. You cast your ballot & confirm each of your friends has voted. (Nag if necessary.) You change the course of history. #Vote ✊

Ok but can we please get more of this energy front and center from the Dems??? Pretty please??? 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏