Oriole and Thistle

Volts is *essential* listening for our times. And not just for climate and energy obsessives.

Each episode somehow manages to get way down in the weeds AND remain very engaging (no easy feat), with no punches pulled.

Subscribe if you want to become a better, more informed, clear-eyed citizen.

Media never mentioned this : Roger Waters drops a massive bombshell, exposing that Israel used Apache helicopters to blow up their own citizens and that ZAKA paramedics lied about atrocities to justify the Gaza genocide.🎯🎯🎯💯💯💯

Ok, who leaked Caine’s concern? www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

The Epstein files document what many women researchers have long experienced but rarely seen laid bare so starkly: exclusion operating behind closed doors, shaping who gets funded, invited, mentored, and taken seriously. How many of these networks, norms, and gatekeepers remain in place?

France curtails US Ambassador Kushner's government access after he fails to obey summons US Ambassador Charles Kushner "did not appear" after being formally summoned over comments the Trump administration made about the killing of a far-right activist in France, the foreign ministry said…

France cuts off US Ambassador Charles Kushner from direct access to members of its government after he skipped a meeting to discuss comments by the Trump administration over the fatal beating of a far-right activist. www.france24.com/en/france/20...

YouTube video by Here We Come Concentration Camps Are Here (With Andrea Pitzer)

Had an incredibly powerful experience discussing America's concentration camps with the great @andreapitzer.bsky.social.

Andrea is America's leading expert in concentration camps and has been an essential voice in response to Trump since his first administration.

Discussion starts at 9:00.

Former ICE lawyer Ryan Schwank: “I received secretive orders to teach new cadets to violate the Constitution.”

taps sign: newrepublic.com/post/205582/...

We're all sending the same $100 among each other as the rich get unimaginably richer by the hour.

Wow. A Democrat running in the primary to take on Mike Lawler (in a district Harris won) says that while voters have appreciated her going to the West Bank to learn more about Israel's occupation of Palestine — and honestly identifying it as "apartheid" — party officials are now attacking her:

Yeah, I’d do TV when I was at Cato because it was part of the job but every single time I’d think “this is a horrible way to tell people about anything remotely complex, and it might be worse than nothing if the viewer now imagines they’re adequately informed about the issue.”

Trump is actually doing even worse on immigration (-18 points) than he is on the economy (-16 points) in the new WaPo poll. Tariffs are -30. These are both supposed to be GOP strengths. Trumpism is a massive debacle, with the public widely rejecting the main pillars of MAGA right wing nationalism:

Petition: Call a public inquiry into pro-Israel influence on politics & democracy We are concerned about reported Israeli state-linked and pro-Israel lobbying activity in UK politics. We believe it is important to determine the scope and impact of any such influence campaigns.

If you haven't signed yet
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/75...

New details from Epstein files reveal Lutnick had years-long business tie with sex offender The commerce secretary apparently still hasn't come clean on his connection with Epstein.

The newly unearthed connections in this are 👀
The Department of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

It seems increasingly likely that Jeffrey Epstein did not commit suicide In recent days, more explosive Epstein revelations have emerged, including investment offers regarding key US intelligence buildings, dodgy deals in Africa involving powerful figures, such as the form...

open.substack.com/pub/councile...

I just got some seeds of this subspecies crossed with the other subspecies (elegantissima.) They're out in a pot getting cold stratification right now

Can you imagine if we had instead invested those funds in climate, health care, and education instead of lining the pockets of the military industrial complex?

Scoop: DNC officials working on secret report found Gaza stance cost Harris votes The DNC's research on what went wrong in 2024 has been under lock and key since party leaders decided to hide it from the public.

Top Democratic officials who worked on the party's still-secret autopsy of the 2024 election concluded that Kamala Harris lost significant support because of the Biden administration's approach to the war in Gaza, Axios has learned.

Eliot Chen @eliotchen.bsky.social
👉 Epstein and China / Jeffrey Epstein aspired to do deals in China, corresponding with Peter Mandelson and working closely with David Stern, a German associate who was close to then-Prince Andrew www.thewirechina.com/2026/02/13/e...

What’s one way we can rein in ICE?We can start by boycotting ICE’s corporate collaborators that are profiting from the a The Corporations Quietly Backing ICE

AT&T. Amazon. Dell. Verizon

These are just a few of the corporations aiding the Trump-ICE deportation machine.

It’s time to boycott them. https://youtu.be/8FoX_0YxyIM?si=c60Ga047qMVLx-D3

👀The federal judges in West Virginia, where ICE has been pulling over and detaining people on the freeway, are literally screaming about ICE's tactics.

"It is an assault on the constitutional order," Judge Goodwin says. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

November's midterm election is not just about who controls Congress. It is also about Trump's future, possibly even the future of the American political system. November's midterm election is not just about who controls Congress. It is also about Trump's future, possibly even the future of the American political system.

NEW BLOG: November's midterm elections are about far more than who controls Congress. The vote will also determine the futures of Trump and, possibly, the American political system. Iran is also part of the story. www.jandehn.com/post/all-cha...

I documented 500+ news stories, and was able to positively identify party affiliation on 138 of the perpetrators of CSA.

Ratio was 128:9:1 Republicans to Democrats to Libertarians.

If I used a less rigorous filter, it was 247:10:1.

I stopped because it messed up my mental health for months.

Here's 1527 right wing sex predators (not all CSA) with links to their stories. docs.google.com/document/u/1...

Republican Sexual Predators, Abusers, and Enablers Pt. 60 This is the 60th installment in the list of Republican sexual predators, abusers, and enablers who contribute to rape culture. These are people who abused their power or defended the abuse of power. T...

Same thing in a different format

www.dailykos.com/stories/2026...

Just an amazing string of coincidences that the Republican Party has so many pedophiles, pedophile enablers and pedophile protectors in its ranks.

The amount of shit going down on this planet right now because of Donald Trump is truly unfathomable.

New Mexico reopens probe of alleged illegal activity at Epstein's former Zorro Ranch New Mexico’s attorney general has reopened an investigation into allegations of illegal activity at Jeffrey Epstein ’s former Zorro Ranch.

New Mexico reopens probe of alleged illegal activity at Epstein's former Zorro Ranch | PBS News www.pbs.org/newshour/nat...

Woman Who ‘Credibly Accused’ Trump of Sex With a Minor Reportedly Had Her Records Removed From Epstein Files Accusations by a woman who "credibly accused Donald Trump of having sex with a minor he met through Jeffrey Epstein," were reportedly removed from the files.

"The FBI spoke to this woman not once but at least four separate times. Now those records appear to have been removed from public viewing — despite the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The FBI recorded the first interview on August 9, 2019 — the day before Epstein was found dead in his jail cell."

Montage showing Shepherd’s purse, Cut-leaved dead nettle, Lesser celandine, Blackthorn, Annual mercury, Sweet violets, Petty spurge, White dead nettle, Common chickweed, Sweet violet again and Daisy.

Shepherd’s purse, Cut-leaved dead nettle, Lesser celandine, Blackthorn, Annual mercury, Sweet violets, Petty spurge, White dead nettle, Common chickweed, Sweet violet again and Daisy. #TheWinter10 #WildflowerHour