Becksellence 📚 (she/her)

Dear senators who think you can’t do anything,

Today, Senator Van Hollen - through diplomatic pressure - got a meeting with Abrego Garcia in El Salvador. So that thing you’re thinking about doing? DO IT.

~ All of Us

Photo of Senator Chris Van Hollen with Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.

Photo of hand holding the book "The Sirens" by Emilia Hart

Thank you @netgalley.bsky.social, @stmartinspress.bsky.social, & @emiliahart.bsky.social for this ARC!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was so excited to see a new book from Emilia Hart and this did NOT disappoint. I was sucked in immediately. The imagery, narration, mystery, magical setting - all of it 🤌.

Still photo of Winston Bishop character from New Girl. Text says: “Maturing is realizing Winston was actually the best roommate.”

#newgirl
#winnythebish

From @yuval_abraham on Twitter: A group of settlers just lynched Hamdan Ballal, co director of our film no other land. They beat him and he has injuries in his head and stomach, bleeding. Soldiers invaded the ambulance he called, and took him. No sign of him since.

Hey. Focus. The Oscar-winning co-director of NO OTHER LAND was just "lynched" by settlers and abducted by IDF soldiers in the West Bank. This was witnessed first-hand by his co-director.

Xavier transitioned and became Vivian Jenna Wilson. She is alive and well and lives in Japan.

No loving parent would ever write such a disgusting thing as this, and it speaks volumes.

I got laid off today, with the rest of 18F.

18F was an elite federal software shop. We made gov't websites work better, more efficiently for the American people. We saved taxpayers from getting screwed over by contractors. And were fired for it.

We made this website to tell our story:
18f.org

Musk’s status as a “special government employee” limits him to 130 days in the executive branch. However, despite working daily—documented by his own X posts—they claim he only works one day a week, effectively stretching his limit to 130 weeks. This needs to be brought to Congress—please share.

Measles death of unvaccinated child in Texas outbreak is 1st fatality in US in a decade An unvaccinated school-aged child in Texas has died of measles, the first associated with an outbreak that has infected more than 100 people.

This news truly breaks my heart.

We are calling on HHS to take immediate action. Secretary Kennedy needs to bring back weekly measles tracking from the CDC, rehire the health experts, and roll out a serious vaccine campaign. Our kids' safety is on the line!

abcnews.go.com/Health/1st-m...

Trump administration is planning to use polygraphs to assess federal employee loyalty. There are ways to manipulate polygraph results, and we will provide guidance to coalition members. Polygraph results are not admissible in court due to their potential for false positives and negatives.

This is real

We are now finding bird flu in deer mice and house mice in Washington State.

H5N1 is advancing along the evolutionary ladder—affecting birds, mammals, and humans. This is not speculation; it’s a timeline.

New:

DOGE's spending has been secret.

No longer.

My colleagues have uncovered it.

www.propublica.org/article/doge...

Three updates:
1. The Justice Department has deleted a database tracking federal police misconduct. The database was first proposed in 2020 following the police killing of George Floyd.

Holy shit! You’ve got to see this town hall. Republicans are starting to get torn apart by their own constituents.

Rep. Rich McCormick: “You don’t think I’m going to stand up for you?”

Woman in the crowd: “You need to stand up.”

Another woman: “Don’t bend over.” 🔥

When FAA employees are telling us it’s not safe to fly, we should probably listen.

Leslie Halligan, District Court Judge Fourth Judicial District Missoula County Courthouse 200 West Broadway Missoula, Montana 59802 (406) 258-4771 MONTANA FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, MISSOULA COUNTY SUSAN EDWARDS; MONTANA TWO SPIRIT SOCIETY; KAEL FRY; ANNA TELLEZ; EDEN ATWOOD; SHANNON ALOIA, Plaintiffs, v. THE STATE OF MONTANA; GREG GIANFORTE, in his official capacity as GOVERNOR OF MONTANA, AUSTIN KNUDSEN, in his official capacity as ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MONTANA, Defendants. Dept. No. 1 Cause No. DV-23-1026 ORDER ON CROSS MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT This matter comes before the Court on opposing motions for summary judgment. Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment on Counts I, II, & III (“Motion”) seeks to declare Senate Bill 458 as facially unconstitutional. Defendants’ (collectively, the “State”) Motion for Summary Judgment seeks to dismiss Plaintiffs’ claims arguing the absence of a case or controversy. The Court has considered both motions, the parties’ supporting and opposing briefs, and the

Major news! A court in Montana has just declared SB458, a bill that "defines sex" in a way that ends the legal recognition of transgender people in Montana, as facially unconstitutional.

This is the first time a bill defining sex has been ruled on!

Huge win for trans people in MT!

What the actual fuck?! America, it’s time to rise. When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty!

DOGE recommended firing workers at:

-FDA, which oversees Neuralink

-FAA, which oversees SpaceX

-USAID, which probed Starlink

-CFPB, which oversees Tesla's financing arm and a potential payment platform on X.

"Conflict of interest" is a severe understatement.

✅ DEI Job of the Day™

Nestlé - Diversity & Inclusion Manager

"We recognize that a diverse workforce enhances our decision-making and innovation, and our leaders are trained to cultivate an inclusive environment where everyone can grow and thrive."

Apply: jobdetails.nestle.com/job/Arlingto...

We have been careful to avoid using the word coup, but it’s time to call it what it is—this is a coup. Trump signed an executive order granting only the attorney general or the president the authority to interpret laws executed by the executive branch.

If you wanted to cut waste, fraud, and abuse, you would empower the inspectors general.

If you wanted more waste, fraud, and abuse, you would fire them.

This is probably the most accurate take.

Portuguese editorial cartoonist Zez Vaz reaches back to Tiananmen Square to call on American defiance.

Spoken like a true dictator.

Don’t buy stuff on February 28. Money’s the only thing these dicks understand.
#resist

Our team reviewed the entire DOGE website. Nothing they have identified constitutes evidence of fraud or corruption—both of which are crimes. Feel free to audit us. The funds were allotted by Congress, and OIGs regularly reviewed expenditures for fraud.