Donna Benenson
@donnabenenson.bsky.social
Mom & sometime writer & pet therapy volunteer with my rescue Virgil Caine (found in Dixie “hungry and barely alive” but no Confederate) Wellesley PBK ‘74 CT/NYC
Reposted by Donna Benenson
"The clinic ... run by the Christian, Maryland-based humanitarian organization World Relief and funded by USAID, provided a key weapon in the fight: IV bags to stave off dehydration and death. The bags cost just 62 cents each, and in three months, the clinics had helped save more than 500 people."
The human cost of Trump's gutting of USAID: By the time Tor Top’s mother was sick with cholera, the nearby clinic had been shuttered for weeks. He bundled her into a canoe & paddled toward the nearest hospital, 8 hours away. Less than halfway into the journey, his mother died.
New, @propublica.org
New, @propublica.org
Trump Officials Celebrated With Cake After Slashing Aid. Then People Died of Cholera.
Behind closed doors in Washington, top advisers made a series of decisions that had devastating repercussions for the poorest country on earth. We went to South Sudan and found people who died as a re...
www.propublica.org
December 15, 2025 at 1:16 PM
"The clinic ... run by the Christian, Maryland-based humanitarian organization World Relief and funded by USAID, provided a key weapon in the fight: IV bags to stave off dehydration and death. The bags cost just 62 cents each, and in three months, the clinics had helped save more than 500 people."
Reposted by Donna Benenson
And the same frame shows up in yesterday's piece about the 10th anniversary of the Paris climate treaty. There was pushback, which made me think about the Cajun Navy example again, about the space between all and nothing, best and worst.
December 13, 2025 at 5:04 PM
And the same frame shows up in yesterday's piece about the 10th anniversary of the Paris climate treaty. There was pushback, which made me think about the Cajun Navy example again, about the space between all and nothing, best and worst.
Reposted by Donna Benenson
My position on taking action. And on the important space between everything and nothing.
December 13, 2025 at 4:54 PM
My position on taking action. And on the important space between everything and nothing.
Reposted by Donna Benenson
There is, obviously, no “Presidential Immunity Clause” in the Constitution. The conservative justices’ un-originalist efforts to imagine one into it cannot be supported by text or history. trib.al/gcWulzo
John Roberts and the Cynical Cult of Federalist No. 70
Alexander Hamilton’s treatise on executive power is one of the conservative legal movement’s favorite texts to quote—and misquote.
trib.al
December 14, 2025 at 3:22 AM
There is, obviously, no “Presidential Immunity Clause” in the Constitution. The conservative justices’ un-originalist efforts to imagine one into it cannot be supported by text or history. trib.al/gcWulzo
Reposted by Donna Benenson
🎯 CIVIL RIGHTS LAWYER @oliverma2026.bsky.social: “The detention centers are run by private prison companies (like @CoreCivic) — they make millions PER PERSON… that’s why they’re looking for anybody brown, so they can keep stealing from taxpayers.”
*THIS IS NOT TALKED ABOUT ENOUGH*
*THIS IS NOT TALKED ABOUT ENOUGH*
December 13, 2025 at 4:19 PM
🎯 CIVIL RIGHTS LAWYER @oliverma2026.bsky.social: “The detention centers are run by private prison companies (like @CoreCivic) — they make millions PER PERSON… that’s why they’re looking for anybody brown, so they can keep stealing from taxpayers.”
*THIS IS NOT TALKED ABOUT ENOUGH*
*THIS IS NOT TALKED ABOUT ENOUGH*
Reposted by Donna Benenson
The president destroyed the White House East Wing to build a facility that “violates numerous federal statutes,” the historical preservation nonprofit argues. https://bit.ly/4iQuul2
‘Should Be Immediately Halted’: National Trust Sues to Stop Trump Ballroom
The president destroyed the White House East Wing to build a facility that "violates numerous federal statutes," the historical preservation nonprofit argues.
bit.ly
December 12, 2025 at 7:44 PM
The president destroyed the White House East Wing to build a facility that “violates numerous federal statutes,” the historical preservation nonprofit argues. https://bit.ly/4iQuul2
Reposted by Donna Benenson
Reposted by Donna Benenson
TBH I wasn't sure why one wasn't issued immediately with the order of release. The danger the govt would try to rearrest him was pretty obvious.
You have to be VERY SPECIFIC with these monsters in telling them what they can't do. You can't expect them to infer the limits; they won't.
You have to be VERY SPECIFIC with these monsters in telling them what they can't do. You can't expect them to infer the limits; they won't.
BREAKING: At 7am ET, in response to the emergency overnight filing, Judge Xinis issued a TRO barring the Trump administration from re-detaining Abrego Garcia.
www.courtlistener.com/docket/71191...
www.courtlistener.com/docket/71191...
Memorandum and Order – #114 in Abrego Garcia v. Noem (D. Maryland, 8:25-cv-02780) – CourtListener.com
MEMORANDUM ORDER granting 112 Motion for Temporary Restraining Order; Respondents are enjoined from re-detaining Petitioner in ICE custody until this Court can receive further briefing from the partie...
www.courtlistener.com
December 12, 2025 at 2:20 PM
TBH I wasn't sure why one wasn't issued immediately with the order of release. The danger the govt would try to rearrest him was pretty obvious.
You have to be VERY SPECIFIC with these monsters in telling them what they can't do. You can't expect them to infer the limits; they won't.
You have to be VERY SPECIFIC with these monsters in telling them what they can't do. You can't expect them to infer the limits; they won't.
Reposted by Donna Benenson
If cost has kept you from picking up There Is No Place for Us (which is totally understandable), good news: the ebook is *$1.99* today—93% off!—on Kindle, B&N, Bookshop, and elsewhere.
So grateful to everyone who's been reading and sharing the book this year. It means a lot.
So grateful to everyone who's been reading and sharing the book this year. It means a lot.
There Is No Place for Us by Brian Goldstone: 9780593237144 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES AND THE ATLANTIC’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • Through the “revelatory and gut-wrenching” (Associated Press) stories of five Atlanta families, this landmark...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
December 12, 2025 at 12:28 PM
If cost has kept you from picking up There Is No Place for Us (which is totally understandable), good news: the ebook is *$1.99* today—93% off!—on Kindle, B&N, Bookshop, and elsewhere.
So grateful to everyone who's been reading and sharing the book this year. It means a lot.
So grateful to everyone who's been reading and sharing the book this year. It means a lot.
Reposted by Donna Benenson
She is speaking the obvious, objective truth but we have so completely normalized the dysfunction and everyday horrors of this administration, that it’s shocking to hear.
And her remedy is so simple and to the point.
And her remedy is so simple and to the point.
Congresswoman Ramirez to Noem: "Your options are limited: resign, get fired or get impeached."
December 12, 2025 at 3:08 AM
She is speaking the obvious, objective truth but we have so completely normalized the dysfunction and everyday horrors of this administration, that it’s shocking to hear.
And her remedy is so simple and to the point.
And her remedy is so simple and to the point.
Reposted by Donna Benenson
das right
NEW: Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) says Colorado will not release Tina Peters after President Trump announced he is pardoning her state-level convictions.
"This is a lawless act. It's an act of intimidation," Weiser said. "It has no basis in the American law."
"This is a lawless act. It's an act of intimidation," Weiser said. "It has no basis in the American law."
December 12, 2025 at 2:53 AM
das right
Reposted by Donna Benenson
It’s more than an ineffective pardon; it’s an invitation for others to cheat for him
BREAKING: Donald Trump claims he has granted a “full pardon” to Tina Peters — the Colorado election denier serving a state sentence.
Presidents cannot pardon state crimes. His statement has no legal force.
Presidents cannot pardon state crimes. His statement has no legal force.
Trump Grants Tina Peters a Legally Meaningless 'Pardon'
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:09 AM
It’s more than an ineffective pardon; it’s an invitation for others to cheat for him
Reposted by Donna Benenson
A reminder that before the Trump admin/RFK took over this year, the U.S. had officially declared measles eliminated in 2000.
The measles outbreak in South Carolina is “accelerating” with no end in sight following Thanksgiving and other large gatherings, state health officials say.
South Carolina measles outbreak is 'accelerating,' driving hundreds into quarantine
Some students who remain unvaccinated are now in a second 21-day quarantine since the beginning of the school year.
nbcnews.to
December 11, 2025 at 2:23 AM
A reminder that before the Trump admin/RFK took over this year, the U.S. had officially declared measles eliminated in 2000.
Reposted by Donna Benenson
I’m expecting the “Ghislane Maxwell Peace Prize” to be awarded to Trump any day now.
December 11, 2025 at 1:15 AM
I’m expecting the “Ghislane Maxwell Peace Prize” to be awarded to Trump any day now.
Reposted by Donna Benenson
This is an excellent snapshot of the bad, the ugly, and the good of present-day New York Times journalism. The paper still does stellar enterprise reporting and investigations, but its framing of day-to-day Trump atrocities is persistently impotent.
Here's my list of the essential truths about our current crisis that are routinely missing from New York Times coverage: presswatchers.org/2025/12/new-...
December 10, 2025 at 5:43 PM
This is an excellent snapshot of the bad, the ugly, and the good of present-day New York Times journalism. The paper still does stellar enterprise reporting and investigations, but its framing of day-to-day Trump atrocities is persistently impotent.
Reposted by Donna Benenson
December 5, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Reposted by Donna Benenson
At least once you get past the border, you can enjoy America's amazing national parks - for an extra $100 per person for foreign visitors in addition to the entry fee.
So if you are a family of four, its a grand for visas, and another $400 for every national park.
www.doi.gov/pressrelease....
So if you are a family of four, its a grand for visas, and another $400 for every national park.
www.doi.gov/pressrelease....
December 10, 2025 at 2:15 AM
At least once you get past the border, you can enjoy America's amazing national parks - for an extra $100 per person for foreign visitors in addition to the entry fee.
So if you are a family of four, its a grand for visas, and another $400 for every national park.
www.doi.gov/pressrelease....
So if you are a family of four, its a grand for visas, and another $400 for every national park.
www.doi.gov/pressrelease....
Reposted by Donna Benenson
You will have to pay $250 for the honor of also turning over all of your personal information
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/t...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/t...
December 10, 2025 at 2:08 AM
You will have to pay $250 for the honor of also turning over all of your personal information
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/t...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/t...
“We're in a hell of a lot of trouble. Us, America, but the world is in a lot of trouble because the most powerful man in the world is both evil and demented.” - Dr John Gartner founder of Duty To Warn and former assistant prof of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Medical School.
youtu.be/9OtO-cypKmY?...
youtu.be/9OtO-cypKmY?...
'Trump will not make it to the end of this term compos mentis' | Psychologist analyses Trump
YouTube video by Times Radio
youtu.be
December 9, 2025 at 1:34 AM
“We're in a hell of a lot of trouble. Us, America, but the world is in a lot of trouble because the most powerful man in the world is both evil and demented.” - Dr John Gartner founder of Duty To Warn and former assistant prof of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Medical School.
youtu.be/9OtO-cypKmY?...
youtu.be/9OtO-cypKmY?...
Reposted by Donna Benenson
"My grandfather’s ship was attacked by the Japanese during World War II. I’m grateful there was no follow-up strike on the defenseless survivors."
Read @membrich.bsky.social's commentary: www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Read @membrich.bsky.social's commentary: www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
December 6, 2025 at 2:02 PM
"My grandfather’s ship was attacked by the Japanese during World War II. I’m grateful there was no follow-up strike on the defenseless survivors."
Read @membrich.bsky.social's commentary: www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Read @membrich.bsky.social's commentary: www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Reposted by Donna Benenson
ICE attack dog??? Why the fuck does ICE have attack dogs???
I mean, I know why, they're sadistic cowars. But there's no legitimate reason to use attack dogs for civil infractions.
I mean, I know why, they're sadistic cowars. But there's no legitimate reason to use attack dogs for civil infractions.
December 6, 2025 at 2:48 AM
ICE attack dog??? Why the fuck does ICE have attack dogs???
I mean, I know why, they're sadistic cowars. But there's no legitimate reason to use attack dogs for civil infractions.
I mean, I know why, they're sadistic cowars. But there's no legitimate reason to use attack dogs for civil infractions.
Reposted by Donna Benenson
US Taxpayers contribute $6.2B that goes right into Walmart's $16B annual profits.
Walmart workers receive an estimated $6.2 billion in total public assistance annually based on a 2014 Americans for Tax Fairness analysis using data from a U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce study.
Walmart workers receive an estimated $6.2 billion in total public assistance annually based on a 2014 Americans for Tax Fairness analysis using data from a U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce study.
December 6, 2025 at 2:07 AM
US Taxpayers contribute $6.2B that goes right into Walmart's $16B annual profits.
Walmart workers receive an estimated $6.2 billion in total public assistance annually based on a 2014 Americans for Tax Fairness analysis using data from a U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce study.
Walmart workers receive an estimated $6.2 billion in total public assistance annually based on a 2014 Americans for Tax Fairness analysis using data from a U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce study.
Reposted by Donna Benenson
That broken man, who hates himself and by proxy the world, is the perfect conduit for the corruption of the government by a group of wealthy, unscrupulous people who recognize his vulnerabilities and are desperate to further enrich and empower themselves and are taking every advantage.
December 5, 2025 at 7:11 PM
That broken man, who hates himself and by proxy the world, is the perfect conduit for the corruption of the government by a group of wealthy, unscrupulous people who recognize his vulnerabilities and are desperate to further enrich and empower themselves and are taking every advantage.
Reposted by Donna Benenson
2/2
To say this for the 50th time, for anyone who doesn't know:
Three young conservative lawyers were part of the GOP "Florida recount" team that led to GWB becoming president, via Bush-v-Gore.
They were: John Roberts. Brett Kavanaugh. Amy Coney Barrett.
Small world.
To say this for the 50th time, for anyone who doesn't know:
Three young conservative lawyers were part of the GOP "Florida recount" team that led to GWB becoming president, via Bush-v-Gore.
They were: John Roberts. Brett Kavanaugh. Amy Coney Barrett.
Small world.
December 5, 2025 at 7:09 PM
2/2
To say this for the 50th time, for anyone who doesn't know:
Three young conservative lawyers were part of the GOP "Florida recount" team that led to GWB becoming president, via Bush-v-Gore.
They were: John Roberts. Brett Kavanaugh. Amy Coney Barrett.
Small world.
To say this for the 50th time, for anyone who doesn't know:
Three young conservative lawyers were part of the GOP "Florida recount" team that led to GWB becoming president, via Bush-v-Gore.
They were: John Roberts. Brett Kavanaugh. Amy Coney Barrett.
Small world.