Louise Mathias

Authoritarians govern through fear, not legislation. The simple fear of what they would do in certain situations can push even the opposition to capitulate. That’s success for them.

We lose when we fold due to a hypothetical. We win when we challenge the REALITY that is hurting working people.

We are hers

BREAKING: In response to our lawsuit, the National Endowment for the Arts will no longer force grant applicants to certify that they won't promote "gender ideology."

This is a big step toward defeating the NEA's unconstitutional censorship.

No, this is the most ashamed you've felt as an American *so far*.

I have covered presidential politics for 40 years. This was the most juvenile display by a President and Vice President I have ever seen. Other presidents treated their enemies with more respect. This is a low point and a dark day for the US. Totally embarrassing.

There was a President in the Oval Office today. His name is Zelensky. He had to fend off two impotent barking dogs sent by Putin. They are named Trump and Vance.

Jay Obernolte preaches deficit reduction, supports Musk in raucous Yucca Valley town hall YUCCA VALLEY — Congressman Jay Obernolte spoke to a crowd that erupted in boos and chants like “No King” Saturday morning in the community center.

Thanks to @joshtpm.bsky.social for posting a link to this piece this weekend -- absolutely worth reading:

www.hidesertstar.com/deserttrail/...

Book ban boomerang: VP Vance’s book is caught up in military school “ideology” checks. In maybe the most high profile example of the “leopards ate my face” phenomenon, Vice-President-In-Name-Only J. David Vance’s book Hillbilly Elegy is being pulled from the shelves at at least one D…

J.D. Vance’s book Hillbilly Elegy is being pulled from the shelves at at least one Department of Defense school for being “potentially related to gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology topics.”

“We cannot be made to be afraid of these f**king people. I know these people. They are cowards" - Tim Miller

For #smallpoemsunday, one by me from my latest What if the Invader is Beautiful 🍄💀and First Love by the always amazing Christine Garren

I’ve lived in the area for 15 years. It is a big deal

CALIFORNIA: Rep. @JayObernolte (R) becomes the latest to hear from the people 🇺🇸 🔥

Full: www.instagram.com/reel/DGZ0d7B...

They Are a Minority Get your mind right.

This x10000000000

“In other words: We, the opposition, are the majority. Take heart.”

www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/they-are-a...

Spent some lovely time in the old growth forests of Mendocino County last week. A good reminder that all living beings are deeply connected, dependent on each other, intertwined. As Auden said, we must love one another or die.

Brian Driscoll, the acting director of the FBI, sporting curly hair, a kinda rakish jazz dirtbag moustache and beard combo, a faintly amused look in his eyes and a wry "whaddaya gonna do" smirk

I've got to say, the guy who accidentally became the Director of the FBI does 100% look like the guy who accidentally becomes the Director of the FBI in a mid-2000s comedy about a guy who accidentally becomes the Director of the FBI

I’m on my way to the Treasury Dept to demand answers. Billionaire-in-Chief Elon Musk has been given illegal access to Americans’ private info, including Social Security numbers.

Zero people voted for Elon to run our government. This is about oversight and transparency.

We are members of Congress at the Treasury Department. We want to be let in to provide oversight on behalf of our constituents. @jasmineforus.bsky.social @sethmagaziner.bsky.social

We Choose to Fight: Nobody Elected Elon! · MoveOn **Rally at the Treasury building to stop Elon Musk’s billionaire takeover.** Nobody elected Elon! We need everyone to fight this hostile takeover at every level—that includes Democrats in Congress, wh...

We're going to be outside Treasury tomorrow at 5 PM to ask Elon Musk what he's doing with our money. SHARE AND JOIN US:
www.mobilize.us/moveon/event...

Post with video of the described: @KTLA Follow UPDATE: A large group of anti-ICE protesters have walked onto the southbound lanes of the 101 Freeway, at the Alameda Street exit in DTLA. Read more: ktla.com/news/local-new...

Fuck yes

2025 has been my least favorite decade so far.

Of Absence by Linda Gregg I climb the mountain up steps the moon has already taken. Of absence. Of things broken. To see if the moon is a mouth. To see if I am what it wants.

can't stop thinking about this little (vast) poem

Quick, let’s all lock arms before Monday. Think “nothing can separate us” these next 4 years. Also lock arms with beauty, poetry, birds, seeds, soil, wilderness, dreaming, kindness, & your favorite banned books. It’s important. Don’t forget.

RIP Michael Burkard. Such a poet.

Gisèle Pelicot has rewritten her story – and electrified women all over the world. But what about men? | Rebecca Solnit This was an extraordinary response to unimaginable crimes. Yet true change will only come when men engage with the culture that led us here, says Guardian US columnist Rebecca Solnit

"Until men engage earnestly and honestly with the pervasiveness of sexual assault and the aspects of the culture that celebrate and normalise it, not enough will change. The criminal justice system cannot change culture and consciousness; that happens elsewhere."
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

fourwaybooks.com/site/what-if...

Orange and black butterfly on a red flower with green leaves.

Good news! Today US Fish & Wildlife finally proposed to protect monarchs 🦋 under the Endangered Species Act as “threatened,” after years of advocacy, scientific reports, petitions (& lawsuits!) from @Centerforbiodiv.bsky.social et al. These pollinators have already declined by 90%.
biodiv.us/4g69lRT

Doug Burgum could soon be driving Trump’s ‘drill, baby, drill’ promises on public lands Conservationists fear an expansion of drilling with North Dakota governor Trump’s pick for secretary of the interior and White House ‘energy czar’

“He’s not a lunatic. He’s not someone wholly inappropriate for the job. But I fear the way his extractive agenda will play out in public lands.”

~ Our Great Basin Director @bitterwaterblue.bsky.social on Trump's pick of Doug Burgum for secretary of the interior. ⬇️

Some of Our Favorite Poetry Collections of the Year If a moral catastrophe and a sense of impending disorder have befallen our country, this moment differs from the modernist era, when some important writers found common ground with the fascism of t…

Excited to see my new book What if the Invader is Beautiful on this list !so many great selections here lithub.com/some-of-our-...

For most of November I’ve been hiding under a velvet quilt reading a book about butterflies that I bought in a thrift store in Ajo for $3. Did you know some species have “ears” on their wings ? Best $3 I’ve ever spent.