valkratzer.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

There were howls of protest and denial from the GOP any time we pointed out that Republicans want to cut Social Security. Now the most powerful official in the White House goes on TV and calls it "the big one to eliminate."

submitted 1 day ago • 1339 comments

Since this is probably about to be relevant: a reminder that when you poll the general public, they estimate NASA to be between 10-30% of the federal budget. It's less than 1%. All that amazing science and technology and wonder is got for less than a penny on the dollar of your taxes.

submitted 1 day ago • 33 comments

Columbia grad student with a green card and a pregnant US citizen wife, abducted by ICE because of his political organizing, and now his lawyers can't find him. Hey, @schumer.senate.gov. This is your constituent. Bring him back home.

submitted 2 days ago • 151 comments

If it's not fully setting in how ominous this is, try reading it this way:

submitted 3 days ago • 31 comments

Why are Canadians fighting harder to restore an American sense of fairness than Americans are? www.tiktok.com/t/ZT2CtKbuF/

submitted 4 days ago • 16 comments

Maybe I’m missing something, but is there anything preventing members of Congress from saying that Elon Musk’s orders and subordinates have no legal or constitutional authority, and so they do not recognize those actions?

submitted 6 days ago • 23 comments

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu at the House hearing on sanctuary cities: "If you wanted to make us safe, pass gun reforms. Stop cutting Medicaid. Stop cutting cancer research. Stop cutting funds for veterans. That is what will make our cities safe." Mic drop! 🎤

submitted 6 days ago • 857 comments

French Senator Claude Malhuret: "Washington has become Nero’s court, with an incendiary emperor, submissive courtiers and a jester high on ketamine... We were at war with a dictator, we are now at war with a dictator backed by a traitor."

submitted 6 days ago • 1752 comments

The Bay Area weather radar (KMUX) has been out of service for more than 24 hours now. An expensive broken part needs to be replaced and specially ordered, but that may not be possible due to ongoing freeze on government credit card spending, I’ve been told.

submitted 9 days ago • 78 comments

We are literally crowd sourcing the weather right now. NWS Bay Area posted on X: "Our radar is currently offline & we need your help! Are you seeing rain/hail/snow/flooding today? If so, be a citizen scientist. Send mPINGs."

submitted 9 days ago • 1 comment

If "60 hours a week is the sweet spot of productivity," that's only because the tech workers who can put in all those hours at the office have offloaded all their caregiving responsibilities onto others more vulnerable than them. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/27/t...

submitted 11 days ago • 45 comments

Hi, former White House intern, DNC communications staffer, and re-election team partner here: One does not ‘slip’ into the Oval Office. Does not. Period, ever. That’s not a thing.

submitted 11 days ago • 228 comments

roughly 7 in 10 adults who receive SNAP benefits work 30 or more hours a week. poverty is not a moral failing. extreme wealth is though.

submitted 12 days ago • 3 comments

This is a good analogy www.thehandbasket.co/p/government...

submitted 12 days ago • 9 comments

Hey @elienyc.bsky.social, since it looks like the US isn’t going to survive this fiasco, I’d love for you to write our new constitution when we pick up the pieces. Assuming we get that far.

submitted 12 days ago • 0 comments

It’s always gratifying (and harrowing) to read @sarahkendzior.bsky.social. But I especially enjoy it when amidst the stark truths about our crisis she turns out passages like this: open.substack.com/pub/sarahken...

submitted 13 days ago • 46 comments

Make a huge mistake. Then make a false claim about how you fixed it. They did it for PEPFAR. Now Ebola. I follow this particular topic VERY closely, so here's what really happened and why this isn't true AT ALL...🧵

submitted 13 days ago • 217 comments

SSA employee to me re: 50% staff reduction: "Can say unequivocally that such deep cuts to SSA, which is already at historically low staffing, will cause significant to extreme degradation of services, very likely including checks missed and individuals dying before their claims can be processed."

submitted 13 days ago • 123 comments

Just heard from a friend who is a true hero veteran. His company was destroyed in 30 days by the VA when they canceled 5 contracts without notice. 23 Americans mostly veterans out of work and a veteran owned small business destroyed. For nothing. They're dismantling the VA not "reforming" it.

submitted 13 days ago • 1256 comments

Q: how to 6x DOGE savings ($2.5b)? A: Cut subsidies to Tesla ($15b)

submitted 14 days ago • 132 comments

This is what House Republicans voted for tonight. Another reminder that we have socialism for the rich, harsh capitalism for the rest.

submitted 14 days ago • 253 comments

What many people don't understand is that while the National Park budget is $3.6 billion, it creates $55 billion in economic impact.

submitted 14 days ago • 13 comments

Elon Musk and his 19-year-olds have now disrupted the approval of medical devices that save lives. Every member of Congress bears a responsibility to stop this right now.

submitted 14 days ago • 813 comments

It may not be cool or hip in some circles, but we legitimately do need a massive amount of people to run for office. Flood the school boards, councils, county seats, state legislatures, Congress, etc. Big changes at the top happen when the ground shifts at the bottom. And that can start now.

submitted 17 days ago • 2237 comments

So working class white folks have started taking over Republican leaning bars and just playing Hostile Government take over And I’m cackling www.tiktok.com/t/ZT2P3TcdA/

submitted 17 days ago • 7 comments

Lots of people protesting at the Berkeley Tesla dealer today.

submitted 17 days ago • 0 comments

I truly think people don’t realize how many universities and colleges — especially public ones — may shut down if restrictions on and withholding of federal funding persists for even one presidency We are facing the demolition of American higher education

submitted 17 days ago • 94 comments

Three things that make the U.S. the envy of the world: 1) Professionalized military with strong norm of civilian control 2) Higher education and cutting-edge scientific research 3) Ability to welcome immigrants and attract the “best and the brightest” All three are under threat.

submitted 18 days ago • 218 comments

Just look at these paragraphs from the AP story. Hegseth called Brown unqualified solely because he's Black. Then they fired him... and replaced him with a white guy so indisputably unqualified that he requires a Presidential waiver. This is what "merit" means to them. apnews.com/article/trum...

submitted 18 days ago • 485 comments

“If DOGE is a federal agency, it can’t shield its records from the public. If it’s not an agency, then DOGE’s tens of millions of dollars in funding weren’t legally allocated and should be returned, some contend.” www.propublica.org/article/doge...

submitted 19 days ago • 143 comments

“Zelensky survived a dozen Russian assassination attempts including a special forces assault on his presidential complex.He stood up to Trump. I’m sure he’ll be deeply impressed to learn our Congressional Republicans live as terrified hostages of their own party leader.” ~ @michaeldweiss.bsky.social

submitted 20 days ago • 796 comments

I don’t judge Mitch McConnell for his choice of political party. I judge him for his greed, racism, and hunger for power. I judge him for causing irreparable damage to the Supreme Court, and not voting to convict Donald Trump. So will others. So will history.

submitted 19 days ago • 148 comments

Musk’s Wealth 2012: $2 billion 2025: $394.2 billion Bezos’ Wealth 2012: $18.4 billion 2025: $241.9 billion Zuckerberg’s Wealth 2012: $17.5 billion 2025: $254.1 billion Federal Minimum Wage 2012: $7.25 2025: $7.25 It’s not the start of an oligarchy. — We’re in the thick of it.

submitted 22 days ago • 62 comments

This. Especially Senate Republicans.

submitted 23 days ago • 144 comments

Knowledge is power…

submitted 23 days ago • 1041 comments

👇🏻👇🏻

submitted 24 days ago • 772 comments

In his declaration in the lawsuit, fired IG Larry Turner says he was chasing down another $135B in unemployment fraud leftover from COVID. So ~$200B that SBA IG was working on and $135 that Turner was. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

submitted 25 days ago • 27 comments

if I were writing stories about the gov "firing thousands of probationary workers" I would probably rewrite as "firing thousands of new hires -- who are often on a status called "probation" --" because I think the general understanding of "probation" is "in trouble for something they did"

submitted 25 days ago • 85 comments

The federal civilian worker payroll totaled $271 billion in 2022. The annual cost of permanently extending Trump's tax cuts that primarily benefited rich individuals? $400 billion. Keep this in mind as Trump and DOGE lay off thousands of federal workers.

submitted 25 days ago • 92 comments