Christine Grimaldi (she/her)

Burns Notice Trans rights, politics internet culture, gaming, and the occasional sports thing. A newsletter by independent journalist Katelyn Burns.

I'm happy with the week I had and the work I put in. There's one more piece of mine coming tomorrow and maybe another newsletter piece Sunday but thank you all for helping me launch my new newsletter.

burns-notice.ghost.io

“Salt in the wound is Trump’s favorite flavor.” That kicker is still a kick in the gut, five years and a second Trump administration later.

'Ice Barbie' Kristi Noem: The Face of Our Slide Into Fascism Kristi Noem’s appearance is designed for reality TV and her aesthetic reflects the brutality of the Trump administration.

This is one of the excellent points @tinavasquez.bsky.social makes in her @theflytrapmedia.com piece about Kristi Noem. DHS can barely buy a fucking drink at the bar. the-flytrap.ghost.io/ice-barbie-k...

Amy Coney Barrett Would Destroy Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Legacy And that’s exactly why President Trump would nominate her

OMG @alexanderchee.bsky.social, I shared the wrong article (about other right-wing operatives) because as I have commiserated with fellow toddler parents, it’s hard to potty train and teach social-emotional development while fighting fascism. 🫠 The Barrett piece: gen.medium.com/the-nominati...

The two of them continue to reshape our government under the cloak of right-wing dark money. Thanks for reading + thanks for sharing and shining a light where it’s needed.

Roger Severino wrote the Health and Human Services chapter of Project 2025 and was once thought of as the worst potential pick for HHS secretary.

This is the awesome piece that I read last year (oh gosh it was only last year) where I learned about him, his wife, and their whole awful deal.

This is one of the excellent points @tinavasquez.bsky.social makes in her @theflytrapmedia.com piece about Kristi Noem. DHS can barely buy a fucking drink at the bar. the-flytrap.ghost.io/ice-barbie-k...

'Ice Barbie' Kristi Noem: The Face of Our Slide Into Fascism Kristi Noem’s appearance is designed for reality TV and her aesthetic reflects the brutality of the Trump administration.

This is one of the excellent points @tinavasquez.bsky.social makes in her @theflytrapmedia.com piece about Kristi Noem. DHS can barely buy a fucking drink at the bar. the-flytrap.ghost.io/ice-barbie-k...

0/10 country, 10/10 meme

She’s a living nightmare.

Meet the Conservative Power Couple Behind Trump’s War on Your Civil Rights Carrie Severino has been quietly and effectively reshaping the judiciary, while Roger Severino has been undermining the laws it upholds

The night the (far from perfect) RBG died, I sat down and wrote this piece about how Barrett would be the replacement. I’d covered a previous Capitol Hill event where Republicans were shilling for/fawning over her and I got a Big Bad Feeling that never went away. gen.medium.com/meet-the-con...

YouTube video by Cancel Me, Daddy - Media & Politics Podcast Can Free Speech Survive the Charlie Kirk Backlash? (ft. Kat Tenbarge)

hey for anyone who's not already aware:

the new episode of @cancelmedaddy.bsky.social featuring feat. @kattenbarge.bsky.social is really really really worth listening to:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE3E...

The Flytrap Feminist cultural criticism against the algorithm

you wanna:

- fund anti-fascist, feminist journalism
- hang out with some total weirdos
- hear about some BIG NEW PLANS from the Flytrap

So how about: grab a discounted Flytrap subscription ASAP (w/a free gift sub for a bud!) and join me + Flytrap cofounders for a virtual hang this evening >>>

Donald Trump rode the escalator in the right way.

by Ezra Klein

If you’re unfamiliar, “refrigerator mother” was a theory that kids became autistic bc their mother was cold & unloving.

Je. Sus. As in this shit’s sus.

YouTube video by Cancel Me, Daddy - Media & Politics Podcast Can Free Speech Survive the Charlie Kirk Backlash? (ft. Kat Tenbarge)

But let's not forget what this is about: It's about strengthening the journalism they both do.

Here's the episode that will provide a take that you won't find from legacy newsrooms.

We have been hit especially hard by the youtube viewership issue, so if you could watch and leave a comment, you'd be a hero to me.

It's a very good night to watch 3 smart women talk about current events.

The best part of this tweet from January is she limited who could reply to it

I've been vocally, publicly, on the side of shame since 2021, when people said not to shame people for breaking covid rules.

The alternative to shame is criminilization which... has problems and often doesn't work for stuff like this

New Cancel Me Daddy now out on YouTube! We were lonmg overdue in getting @kattenbarge.bsky.social on the show but we had a really thoughtful discussion about the free speech threats of this last week.

Trump rails against Tylenol but autism claims not supported by science President’s announcement latest move in campaign that seeks to valorize the ‘natural’ – often at women’s expense

Trump & RFK's attack on Tylenol is part of an emerging campaign within the right to valorize “natural” pregnancy & motherhood—to the point it corrodes women’s health & safety.

Under this campaign, pregnancy & motherhood are seen as women’s natural states.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Anti-Choice Democrats Employ 'Dangerous,' Contradictory Strategies Democrats for Life of America leaders, politicians, and rank-and-file supporters often contradict each other, and sometimes themselves, exposing a lack of coherent strategy at a time when the Democrat...

Did you ever read this gem I co-reported on the Dems for Life at the 2016 DNC? Because things have worked out so well since then?? rewirenewsgroup.com/2016/08/18/a...

Alas, I cannot and will not be responsible for the poor decisions and opinions of another mediocre white man.

The “debate me bro” grift economy isn’t a good look on you, @ezraklein.bsky.social. And my formerly preeclamptic ass isn’t afraid of you, not after waking up in an MRI machine ~12 hours after giving birth. You ever want to debate me, bro? Your abstractions have nothing on my—our—lived experiences.

When I developed severe preeclampsia by week 34 of my pregnancy, my OB-GYN didn’t give a fuck. You better believe I asked my new OB-GYN how hard she’d fight the hospital lawyers to save my life at, say, 15 weeks or if she’d go “nah, you’re not preeclamptic enough” or “septic enough” for an abortion.

Ezra’s journalist wife survived harrowing pregnancies—the subhead of her essay (linked below) is “my pregnancies could have killed me, but at least I chose them.” @ezraklein.bsky.social—you value choice in your house, but not for the unhoused? Uninsured? Undocumented? For Black and brown women?

American Motherhood My pregnancies could have killed me, but at least I chose them.

Hey @ezraklein.bsky.social, is that big tent worth my life? Your wife’s? We are not abstractions, you absolute trash clown. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Someone please make sure to send my body to Ezra Klein, c/o The New York Times, if I die of sepsis in a hospital parking lot because too many doctors are already more afraid of providing abortion care than spending a night in jail.