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Karen Lunch

@seekingserenity.bsky.social
1.7K followers 1.7K following 427 posts

Love cats, dogs, travel, family & having a place without trolls & porn. Recovering political junkie.

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Reposted by Karen Lunch
Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 10h
Ukraine blows up Russian data centres and immediately and mysteriously online talk about Germany’s Far Right AfD virtually disappears. Stop Putin you stop the Far Right.
Chart showing online talk about the AfD going off a cliff edge
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 15h
I keep reading that there have been no public executions in the United States for decades. Not true.
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Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 10h
We’ve been talking about this for years. None of these far-right movements are organic.
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Roger Parloff @rparloff.bsky.social · 15h
ICYMI, great statement by former VP Mike Pence about Trump's betrayal of Ukraine. Scandal there's no one else left in Republican Party able to say it out loud.
President Trump's decision to lift sanctions on Russian fuel amidst Putin's ongoing and brutal attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine makes no sense and is a betrayal of the legacy and leadership of the late Senator Lindsey
Graham.
While Ukraine fights for its survival, Putin's war machine continues to prosecute his terrorist war on civilian populations and innocent Ukrainians are dying every day.
Now, Instead of implementing the tough sanctions Lindsey Graham fought to his last breath to enact, President Trump has announced the United States is lifting sanctions on Russian energy, fueling the Putin's war machine.
As I saw firsthand in Ukraine last month, Putin is losing this war. Ukraine has fought the Russian military to a standstill and reinvented warfare with drones taking the fight into the heart of Russia.
America should not be throwing a lifeline to Putin's war machine. Now is the time to stand strong against Russian aggression as we did during the first Trump administration.
Putin doesn't want peace. Putin wants Ukraine. I have no doubt that if Putin overruns Ukraine, it will only be a matter of time until Russia's military crosses a border that our troops will have to deal with him.
America is the Leader of the Free World. For our National Security, for the security of our Allies in Europe including Ukraine, President Trump should rescind this deal immediately and return to the strong policies of our four years in the White House; impose harsh sanctions on any nation purchasing Russian energy and work with our allies to ensure Ukraine has the military support it needs to repel and defeat this Russian invasion once and for all. Slava Ukraini
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Elizabeth S @manhttnfoodproj.bsky.social · 15h
@philinvestigates.com working with the tireless journalists at @rns.org is *exactly* the kind of collaboration we need right now:
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
The first Russian diesel cargo heading for the US left St Petersburg on September 22, two weeks *before* Trump announced the deal with Putin, Windward reports. The Greek-flagged tanker Minerva Zen carrying 275,000 barrels of diesel/gasoil is due at the US East Coast around 11–12 October.
Map of tanker’s route
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American Oversight @americanoversight.org · 10/10/2026
NPR reports ICE is detaining people in a New Jersey warehouse. Stephen Miller “did not want facilities that were humane,” said a government contractor. We need to know the conditions inside. We asked ICE for related planning documents and communications. www.npr.org/2026/10/08/n...
npr.org
ICE has quietly used this warehouse as a detention facility all summer, neighbors say
Throughout the summer, rumors have been bubbling in North New Jersey that ICE has quietly been using a warehouse as a detention center. NPR investigated.
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God @thegodshow.com · 10/10/2026
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
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Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
It is not normal for a state attorney general to even have a security detail, unless there's some particular threat or an event of high concern.
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CIDRAP @cidrap.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
📰 CIDRAP News reporter Chris recaps 3 news stories: -Measles-related “immune amnesia” bit.ly/4zppJGg -Health consequences of measles bit.ly/4dWC6RM -Study: sugary foods, gut microbiome & antibiotics bit.ly/4AT90fS 🔔Subscribe: bit.ly/4ygphdu
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Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 09/10/2026
This ICE agent’s entire Instagram feed, “shooter.914,” is guns, watches, energy drinks, and alcohol.
A shooter.914 post showing a blue handgun and Reign energy drinkThe console of a car with an energy drink and handgun in the cup holders. In the foreground, shooter.914’s wrist with a fancy watch in it. Background: Two assault rifles and a Monster energy drink A screenshot of his whole account showing more of the same
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Eric Levai @ericlevai.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Now THIS is how you write a story. Devastating.
Screenshot from this article: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/08/us/politics/fort-hood-execution-streamed-public.html?unlocked_article_code=1.HVE.Rw7O.Sj-0_s5YONzL&smid=nytcore-android-share
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 09/10/2026
I am angry tonight. Because tonight ICE shot a New Yorker. They shot a New Yorker while his five year old child was in the car. ICE makes this city less safe. We want them out. Now.
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Laura Bassett @lebassett.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
“If you don’t like public executions just don’t watch it” says the crowd trying to ban drag shows and books
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Ali Winston @awinston.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
The ICE agent seen brandishing an AR-15 at the scene of yesterday’s shooting in NYC’s Marble Hill has a record of lying, excessive force & getting caught by judges. He also goes by “Shooter Cuni” on social media, & posts the same gun he had on him today W/@dmehro.bsky.social @regret.bsky.social
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Shoe-per Intelligence @shoe.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Roger Marshall is like it Mr. Burns had become a doctor.
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Eric Columbus @ericcolumbus.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
www.nytimes.com/2026/10/08/w...
nytimes.com
How a U.S. Diplomat Suppressed and Altered Reports Critical of Israel (Gift Article)
A top aide to Ambassador Mike Huckabee skewed information to portray the Netanyahu government in a favorable light, according to multiple officials and documents obtained by The Times.
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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 08/10/2026
“…real-time crime centers have not just ALPR cameras and sensors, but video analytics and drones and essentially a way to create a visual single-pane-of-glass vision of what's going on in a city…”
npr.org
Flock is catching flak. Experts say other police surveillance tools are more worrisome
Real-time crime-center software is a sometimes overlooked but powerful tool allowing police to aggregate immense amounts of data, significantly expanding their surveillance reach.
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Sanho Tree @sanho.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
One of the first things Trump did in Feb. 2017 was set up an office in DHS to *exclusively* publicize crimes committed by immigrants — just as the Nazis used Der Stürmer to publish a special section only highlighting “Jewish crimes.” See this article from 2017: www.thewrap.com/der-sturmer-...
& thewrap.com
But mass-slander-by-anecdote has a long tradition. As The Atlantic explains:
In The Nazi Conscience, Duke historian Claudia Koonz notes that the Nazi newspaper Der Sturmer ran a feature called "Letter Box," which published readers' accounts of Jewish crimes. When the Nazis took power, the German state began doing something similar.
Frustrated by the failure of most Germans to participate in a boycott of Jewish businesses in April 1933, Adolf Hitler's government began publicizing Jewish crime statistics as a way of stoking anti-Semitism.
Trump introduced a new government entity Tuesday that will similarly flag and highlight crimes by illegal immigrants - without, of course, providing any context about how many crimes they commit compared to U.S. citizens, or how illegal immigrants as a group might contribute positively to American society.
"The office is called VOICE - Victims Of Immigration Crime Engagement," Trump explained. "We are providing a voice to those who have been ignored by our media, and silenced by special interests."
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AILA @aila.org · 08/10/2026
"I indicated that I was a member of Congress, and I was here to provide oversight and to enter and to see this series of rooms...They said no, I was not allowed to enter," said Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Arizona. bit.ly/47a2ZxX
bit.ly
DHS Is Using FEMA Buildings as Pop-up Immigration Courts, Denying Public Access
Congressman Greg Stanton says he was blocked from entering a makeshift immigration courtroom, raising concerns about public access to the proceedings.
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Jenn Budd @jennbudd.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
youtube.com/shorts/m_M9b...
youtube.com
Lawyer for Renee Good family enacts the Ku Klux Klan act
YouTube video by MPR News
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Dan Friedman @dfriedman.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Ken's piece yesterday that Trump reacted to noted that Zeljka Cvijanovic, an ally of Bosnia Serb boss Milorad Dodik, met recently with WH chief of staff Susie Wiles, with help from lobbyist Robert Garcia of Continental Strategy. Continental also happens to employ Wiles' daughter. Can't hurt.
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Rick Claypool @rickclaypool.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Yesterday I released a @Public_Citizen report documenting 200+ corporations benefiting from Trump's canceled enforcement. Today: A new report shows a handful of those corporations gave $200 million to MAGA Inc. & other Trump-aligned super PACs www.citizen.org/article/cost...
citizen.org
The Cost of Canceled Corporate Enforcement - Public Citizen
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Andy Carvin @acarv.in · 07/10/2026
Records obtained by @americanoversight.org: "The Trump administration reduced training for officers whose departments agreed to help ICE from four weeks of in-person education to 40 hours of virtual training last year as part of a broader effort to expand the agency’s footprint across the nation."
washingtonpost.com
Emails show how ICE trimmed training for deputized officers
Police officers helping ICE arrest unauthorized immigrants were given a shortened training course that scaled back instruction on the nation’s immigration laws.
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lwilde11.bsky.social @lwilde11.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
www.cnbc.com/2026/10/06/a...
cnbc.com
Anduril lands $2.9 billion Navy submarine shipyard contract days after Luckey joins Pentagon weapons group
Defense tech leaders are gaining sway in Washington in President Donald Trump's military reindustrialization push
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Paul Marvin @paulmarvin.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
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Vittoria Elliott @telliotter.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
This isn't the first time we're seeing the IPA system being used as a roundabout way to bring the administration's allies into government. Last month, we found that the same thing was happening at Census with a group of employees from a Trump-aligned think-tank. www.wired.com/story/a-trum...
wired.com
The Census Bureau Is Overrun With Staffers From a MAGA Think Tank
The US Census is home to vast troves of sensitive data on nearly every person living in the country, which is used for apportioning and drawing congressional districts as well as allocating federal fu...
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Vittoria Elliott @telliotter.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
SCOOP: Last week the National Design Studio announced a new AI website, America.gov. Turns out some NDS workers are on loan to the government and are actually employed by a newly formed nonprofit, founded by the general counsel of SpaceXAI who is himself a DOGE alum. www.wired.com/story/myster...
wired.com
A Mysterious Nonprofit Run by SpaceXAI’s Top Lawyer Is Paying the Salaries of Government Workers
The National Design Studio has been something of a successor agency to DOGE. A WIRED investigation finds some of its members are on loan from a nonprofit run by SpaceXAI’s general counsel.
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Tom Walsh @tewalsh340.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
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Patrick G. Eddington @pgeddington.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Another deeply reported story by @lindseywilkinson.bsky.social at @fedscoop.bsky.social on DHS and Washington's "culture of corruption," to borrow a phrase my wife coined when we became CIA whistleblowers. It's also just one more reason why #DHS should be abolished.
fedscoop.com
The revolving door for tech officials at Trump's DHS
IT leaders at the agency have flirted with the boundaries of ethical and legal limits with various ties to federal contractors, government experts say.
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Paul Waldman @paulwaldman.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
In case you were wondering, they STILL haven't managed to fix the Reflecting Pool, six months after work began
Livestream image taken from the Washington Monument, showing the Reflecting Pool still empty
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Jared Rennie @jjrennie.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I think a lot about this video made by the Weather Channel indicating how high these actual colors mean. It might seem silly to some, but it's really REALLY informative and helps contextualize the water. Impacts Impacts Impacts #Isaías www.youtube.com/watch?v=q01v...
youtube.com
Storm Surge Like You've Never Experienced it Before
YouTube video by The Weather Channel
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Not that anyone needs a reminder but this man has the nuclear codes. Far too many people will just shrug this off or find some way to justify it. But Trump is unwell, incoherent, and a danger to us all.
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Rick Claypool @rickclaypool.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Since Trump took office, @publiccitizen.bsky.social has tracked the admin's retreat from enforcement against corporate lawbreaking. Today, our new report documents the admin's cancellation of investigations, lawsuits, & penalties against more than *200* corporations. www.citizen.org/article/trum...
citizen.org
Trump’s Cascade of Canceled Corporate Enforcement Against Over 200 Corporations - Public Citizen
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mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
imagine if the mainstream media covered Republicans' number one donor — the biggest political donor in US history! — and his controversial views with as much scrutiny as they covered Hasan Piker's
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Barb McQuade @barbmcquade.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
It’s October and the neighbors are back with #SkeletonCrew. Strong start!
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The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 06/10/2026
The service members were left to seek their own medical treatment. trib.al/cLKQe1P
trib.al
Soldiers Wounded in Iran Say DOD Made Them Get Their Own Treatment
The service members were left to fend for themselves.
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Dr Dean Burnett @drdeanburnett.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
"By using AI, tasks like essays that used to take hours can be completed in minutes!" Sure, like how if I arrive at the gym and immediately go for a shower, my workout is done in record time. And if I throw my sandwiches straight in the bin, I can finish my lunch in under 10 seconds.
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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 06/10/2026
Federal immigration officers are now asking immigrants they arrest if they have ever voted illegally and whether they did so by mail or in person as part of a pre-election push to root out alleged voter fraud.
washingtonpost.com
In run-up to election, ICE is asking detainees if they voted illegally
People who admit to voting illegally are then asked if it was by mail or in person.
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American Oversight @americanoversight.org · 06/10/2026
We’re in court today for one of the first lawsuits we filed back in 2017. A Congressional committee has been trying to keep its communications with federal agencies secret. That’s not the law and we'll keep fighting for the public’s right to the records. americanoversight.org/press-releas...
americanoversight.org
Judge Rejects Boilerplate “Congressional Records” Label Used to Shield Agency Emails from Disclosure - American Oversight
American Oversight clears the way to uncover communications, as Congress and the Trump administration drive up health care costs and cut coverage.
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MuckRock @muckrock.com · 06/10/2026
@americanoversight.org obtained the Army’s 2024 report on shock gloves through a FOIA request. Here’s what the report says.
americanoversight.org
What the Army’s Testing Report Tells Us About ICE's New Shock Gloves - American Oversight
American Oversight obtained the Army’s 2024 report on shock gloves, raising further concerns about ICE using them.
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Paul Waldman @paulwaldman.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Also, the DoD just put Anduril founder Palmer Luckey on "Project Meridian," its commission to determine the future of warfare, which may just involve buying lots of Anduril products, who knows. Luckey has made over 1,000 contributions to Republicans since 2017, 23 of which were for over $100K each.
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The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 06/10/2026
A veteran lawyer at the Department of Interior submitted a resignation letter warning about the complete “assault on the rule of law.” trib.al/Gk5tjh0
trib.al
Federal Lawyer Quits, Warns Trump Admin Is Creating “a Shitty Country”
A veteran lawyer at the Department of Interior submitted a resignation letter warning about the complete “assault on the rule of law.”
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Reuters @reuters.com · 06/10/2026
US Senator Murphy says Pentagon denied him access to US base in Qatar reut.rs/4hP5HOp
reut.rs
US Senator Murphy says Pentagon denied him access to US base in Qatar
Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy said the US Department of Defense denied ​him access to a key US military base in ‌Qatar during a visit to the Middle East, describing it as part of a US government effort to conceal the impact of the Iran war.
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Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 06/10/2026
I LOVE how @propublica.org dealt with official comment here, editorially and stylistically.
The Trump administration says none of this is happening. 

"DHS is NOT arresting U.S. citizens by mistake." "There are no 'indiscriminate' stops." Allegations of "racial profiling are disgusting, reckless and categorically FALSE." "The pattern is NOT of law enforcement using force." "ICE does not zip tie or restrain children." 

But that is precisely what is happening, and at a far larger scale than previously reported.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 04/10/2026
“The ultimate goal was to create chaos and doubt in the vote-by-mail process,” said the American Postal Workers Union president. “You’re creating a rule to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.”
propublica.org
The Untold Origins of Trump’s Plan to Sharply Restrict Mail-In Voting
ProPublica’s reporting reveals for the first time the extent of the White House’s role in trying to dictate how mail-in ballots are processed, spurring behind-the-scenes drama that played out for near...
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Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
On the left: President Trump false claims of violent crime in Chicago (as prelude for laying a pretext) On the right: Most recent official stats showing Chicago success in back-to-back years of historic reductions in violent crimes
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firejourney.bsky.social @firejourney.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Got mine today and here is the story: Under federal regulations, an insurer selling a policy through a federally facilitated Marketplace pays HHS a fee calculated as a %of the premium . The fee is used to administer the ACA marketplace. There is a surplus and they returned some to enrollees.
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