Leslie K. Brown
@leslielkb.bsky.social
PhD, Curator, Photohistorian, Educator, and Scholar. Believer in wonder & kindness. Lover of art, music, history, science, rocks, weather, & tiny things.
The Trump-Vance administration is cutting down historic trees in East Potomac Park. We will keep fighting to protect this public park from being turned into a playground for President Trump and his wealthy friends. https://dc.citycast.fm/news/east-potomac-golf-course-tree-removal
The Trump Administration Has Been Cutting Trees at East Potomac · City Cast DC
NPS says it's routine maintenance. But amidst a court battle over Trump's ritzy golf course proposal, trust is low.
dc.citycast.fm
The Greens will fancy their chances. Should be a Labour hold though.
Keir Starmer to stand down as MP
Former prime minister’s departure will trigger byelection in Holborn and St Pancras
theguardian.com
This is 100% why I decided to make Peter Panoptican, the Flock puppet. Part of why this activist group is so cohesive is that we have fun together. We're making it whimsical and silly.
Jay Edidin@edidin.bsky.social · 2h agoToday I am thinking a lot of thoughts about the tremendous power of silliness in resistance to fascism.
This is pretty fucking wild. I had assumed in a worst case scenario he would target blue zip codes and toss ballots based on technicalities but this is even worse than I imagined.
SpacePrez@spaceprez.bsky.social · 5h agoThe polls are super bad for Trump so he's definitely going to try to cheat www.nytimes.com/2026/09/01/u...
🚨 House votes to pass short-term funding bill and prevent a shutdown before the election The vote is 370-48. It already passed the Senate. Now it goes to Trump to become law. This keeps money flowing for federal agencies on autopilot until Dec. 11. www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...
House votes to pass short-term funding bill and prevent a shutdown before the election
The legislation, which already passed the Senate, now goes to President Donald Trump to become law, checking off the main item on Congress’ to-do list ahead of the midterms.
nbcnews.com
I think it's appropriate to emphasize that US Forest Service chief Tom Schultz, who refused to speak with Nate Halverson (@paperwords.bsky.social) for this story, is a former timber company executive and logging industry lobbyist.
We are bombarding America’s forests with Roundup
Scientists are wary of glyphosate. MAHA loathes it. And our investigation shows California is spraying it everywhere.
motherjones.com
Trump gutted the IRS and wealthy tax cheats are reaping the benefits. Tax revenue collected from audits fell by 35% last year. While working families are expected to pay their fair share, Trump is making it easier for the rich to get away with not paying theirs. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/b...
IRS Audit Revenue Has Plummeted Under Trump, Watchdog Finds
The I.R.S. lost roughly a quarter of its employees since President Trump took office, hampering the agency’s ability to conduct audits.
nytimes.com
Pastor Carl Ruby, of Springfield's Central Christian Church, can state the issue more clearly than 98% of people working in politics today.
Jim Swift@jimswift.bsky.social · 6h agoThe cruelty is the point. Shame on this administration and shame on the people who voted for this. www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/spring...
A VP isn’t a high level executive at BoA, it’s a middle management position and the fact so many people are frothing at the mouth on excitement over this is a really bad sign for the health of our society I think.
FinTwitter@fintwitter.bsky.social · 7h agoBANK OF AMERICA VICE PRESIDENT KILLED IN TIMES SQUARE STABBING - BBG
While I'm glad to know they aren't *currently* planning to do this, I'd love to see a clear statement that they will *never* do this because it's wildly inappropriate and an assault on democracy.
Sahil Kapur@sahilkapur.bsky.social · yesterdayNew —> U.S. military does not plan to deploy troops to the polls in November, general says Responding to @slotkin.senate.gov’s questions, Gen. Dan Caine said the Pentagon did not plan to send military personnel to voting sites or to seize ballots or voting machines. www.nbcnews.com/politics/202...
What a historically embarrassing failure.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 7h agoQ: One of your members just said Hegseth has gone overboard on the firings. Do you have any concerns? MIKE JOHNSON: Well, I have enough to say grace over in the legislative branch. I don't really get involved in personnel decisions at the Pentagon. I don't have the bandwidth.
Maps as praxis! Ran every street in Cambridge, MA, made lots of maps about it…and also bored everyone I know about it… A magical experience I just had to write about. rachelfranklin.substack.com/p/geography-...
Geography Antics
Running every street in Cambridge, Massachusetts
rachelfranklin.substack.com
Copper Mill drops Davis Square tower project Developer blames lack of cooperation from the City of Somerville; Wilson calls this “laughable.”...
Copper Mill drops Davis Square tower project
Developer blames lack of cooperation from the City of Somerville; Wilson calls this “laughable.”
cambridgeday.com
Fact checking claims about the Decker-MacKay race Decker, MacKay answered questions about claims made during their campaign and disclosed their actual compensation....
Fact checking claims about the Decker-MacKay race
Decker, MacKay answered questions about claims made during their campaign and disclosed their actual compensation.
cambridgeday.com
This is low-level propaganda that elides the real story, which is that the younger candidate in this race is an anti-trans clown and the older candidate is one of the Senate's strongest progressives. Please vote for Markey in MA, friends. The old guy is the only choice here.
NBC News@nbcnews.com · 10h agoTuesday’s primaries in Massachusetts have turned into the latest battlefield in the Democratic Party’s generational divide, with several longtime legislators facing off against younger challengers.
Awful. Just awful. A promising young man, a high school honors grad who joined JROTC and dreamed of becoming a doctor, killed himself because of the Trump admin’s obsession with hurting Haitians and the humiliating shame of an ICE ankle monitor. His blood is on their hands.
Tom Joscelyn@tomjoscelyn.bsky.social · 9h ago“A Haitian immigrant who had grown increasingly distraught after losing his protection from deportation and being outfitted with an ankle monitor was run over and killed Monday in what his family believes was a suicide.” www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Impeach. Convict. Remove. Bulldoze.
Sahil Kapur@sahilkapur.bsky.social · 11h agoWhat @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social told me the House agenda will be next year if Democrats win —Reverse Trump’s Medicaid cuts —Extend expired ACA tax credits —Restore Congress’s authority on tariffs —“Decisively” end the Iran war Beyond that: “We’ve established five working groups on affordability”
I'm glad that he is explicit. Some were in my mentions yesterday contorting yourselves to say that it was not possible for the party to articulate CLEARLY what they would do.
Sahil Kapur@sahilkapur.bsky.social · 11h agoWhat @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social told me the House agenda will be next year if Democrats win —Reverse Trump’s Medicaid cuts —Extend expired ACA tax credits —Restore Congress’s authority on tariffs —“Decisively” end the Iran war Beyond that: “We’ve established five working groups on affordability”
Great. I'm glad to see him pushing data centers. That should put him in good graces with the people.
Mother Jones@motherjones.com · 9h agoDonald Trump, prolific poster of AI slop, wants you to let data centers "reign"
it's finally september. silly season is over. time to hunker down and hammer out the message: vote Republican so we can investigate the opponents of data centers.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 9h agoScalise: "We are investigating whether China is behind a lot of this misinformation against data centers"
happy election day to those who celebrate!
Taniel@taniel.bsky.social · yesterdayA busy election day Tuesday in Massachusetts. Besides Markey-Moulton, there are DA races & many legislative primaries between the left and the center (including against incumbent Dems who opposed the summer's abortion law). Oh, and a data center recall in MO. Explore: boltsmag.org/whats-on-the...
the fact that the papers of supreme court justices are treated as their personal property is outrageous www.nytimes.com/2026/09/01/u...
How the Supreme Court Locks Away Its Own History (Gift Article)
After Justice Scalia died, the justices held private negotiations about locking away their papers. We may not see the ultimate record of the Roberts court for decades.
nytimes.com
1/ Just in: An anonymous federal worker has filed a whistleblower disclosure warning that the U.S. Postal Service's attempt to create a system to regulate mail voting for the midterms has been "rushed, chaotic, and fundamentally flawed." @propublica.org has the details 👇
SCOOP: After the Census Bureau issued a highly unusual report tied to a President Trump-aligned think tank, the bureau’s parent agency, the Commerce Department, cut language banning political interference from its scientific integrity policy, @npr.org has learned www.npr.org/2026/08/31/n...
Trump officials cut political interference ban after unusual Census Bureau report
After the Census Bureau issued a report tied to a Trump-aligned think tank, the bureau's parent agency cut language banning political interference from its scientific integrity policy, NPR learned.
npr.org
I would like ask JD Vance about Pierre Damas Bel.
Tom Joscelyn@tomjoscelyn.bsky.social · 9h ago“A Haitian immigrant who had grown increasingly distraught after losing his protection from deportation and being outfitted with an ankle monitor was run over and killed Monday in what his family believes was a suicide.” www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Tonight Rebecca Solnit has posted several quotes by the great Wendell Berry, who has died. This quote in particular speaks to me, as someone who has to fight off cynicism every waking hour. 👇🏽
Rebecca Solnit@rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 20h ago“Be joyful though you have considered all the facts” - Wendell Berry
bsky.app/profile/pbum... www.texastribune.org/2026/08/31/t...
Texas hospitals to lose $27 million in Medicaid funding daily
Starting Sept. 1, the Trump administration will withhold about $9.8 billion in extra annual funding that helps hospitals cover the difference between Medicaid payments and the actual cost of services.
texastribune.org
Philip Bump@pbump.com · last yr.Spoke with someone who works with a public hospital system. His assessment of the effects of the GOP spending bill: “I think this is going to be a very apparent catastrophe, very quickly.”
