Karen Pickell
@karenpickell.bsky.social
Author of AN ADOPTEE LEXICON. Founder @AdopteeReading.bsky.social Budding genealogist/family historian. #adoptee #AdopteeVoices #cnf #genealogy #FamilyHistory -- karenpickell.com
Pinned
Catholic Culpability in Adoption
Let me begin by admitting that it’s taken me two months to write this. In early September, I read The Price of Children: Stolen Lives in a Land Without Choice by Maria Laurino, an Italian American …
karenpickell.com
"Christianity is front and center at this moment in American history. It’s easier to recognize indoctrination in other sects than in the one you’re raised in, and that, of course, is by design." #adoptees #adoption #Catholic
karenpickell.com/2025/11/12/c...
karenpickell.com/2025/11/12/c...
Reposted by Karen Pickell
Lol, Zillow tried to rate the climate risks facing individual properties. The real estate industry *hated* it, precisely because it worked -- it made selling risky properties more difficult. So they rebelled & Zillow caved.
Don't look up!
Don't look up!
Zillow Removes Climate Risk Scores From Home Listings
www.nytimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Lol, Zillow tried to rate the climate risks facing individual properties. The real estate industry *hated* it, precisely because it worked -- it made selling risky properties more difficult. So they rebelled & Zillow caved.
Don't look up!
Don't look up!
Reposted by Karen Pickell
The 'psyops' revealed by X are entirely the fault of the perverse incentives created by social media monetization programs.
America’s Polarization Has Become the World's Side Hustle
The 'psyops' revealed by X are entirely the fault of the perverse incentives created by social media monetization programs.
www.404media.co
November 24, 2025 at 7:15 PM
The 'psyops' revealed by X are entirely the fault of the perverse incentives created by social media monetization programs.
Reposted by Karen Pickell
We need your help. Because 404 Media uses Ghost (a privacy-forward stack) we don't know much about our readers. Do they find us through articles, or podcasts? Are readers on Bluesky, Mastodon, both? Please fill this out to help us grow sustainably, it takes 1 min! www.404media.co/please-pleas...
Please, please do our reader survey
It'll take just a minute and help 404 Media figure out how to grow sustainably.
www.404media.co
November 25, 2025 at 3:16 PM
We need your help. Because 404 Media uses Ghost (a privacy-forward stack) we don't know much about our readers. Do they find us through articles, or podcasts? Are readers on Bluesky, Mastodon, both? Please fill this out to help us grow sustainably, it takes 1 min! www.404media.co/please-pleas...
Reposted by Karen Pickell
I was diagnosed with #HIV in 1998, when I was 30.
Many of my friends had died of AIDS. I did not expect to live to 50.
I’m 58 now.
HIV treatment works.
Treatment also makes it impossible for me to pass HIV on during sex.
Ensure HIV treatment for all.
End HIV stigma.
#WorldAIDSDay
Many of my friends had died of AIDS. I did not expect to live to 50.
I’m 58 now.
HIV treatment works.
Treatment also makes it impossible for me to pass HIV on during sex.
Ensure HIV treatment for all.
End HIV stigma.
#WorldAIDSDay
December 1, 2025 at 8:46 AM
I was diagnosed with #HIV in 1998, when I was 30.
Many of my friends had died of AIDS. I did not expect to live to 50.
I’m 58 now.
HIV treatment works.
Treatment also makes it impossible for me to pass HIV on during sex.
Ensure HIV treatment for all.
End HIV stigma.
#WorldAIDSDay
Many of my friends had died of AIDS. I did not expect to live to 50.
I’m 58 now.
HIV treatment works.
Treatment also makes it impossible for me to pass HIV on during sex.
Ensure HIV treatment for all.
End HIV stigma.
#WorldAIDSDay
Reposted by Karen Pickell
"Third unvaccinated Kentucky baby dies of whooping cough"
" The best way to prevent whooping cough is by receiving the Tdap or DTaP vaccine, which protects against three bacterial infections — diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, say public health experts." kentuckylantern.com/2025/11/25/t...
" The best way to prevent whooping cough is by receiving the Tdap or DTaP vaccine, which protects against three bacterial infections — diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, say public health experts." kentuckylantern.com/2025/11/25/t...
Third unvaccinated Kentucky baby dies of whooping cough • Kentucky Lantern
A third unvaccinated infant in Kentucky has died of pertussis as public health officials urge Kentuckians to get vaccinated against the disease.
kentuckylantern.com
December 1, 2025 at 3:24 AM
"Third unvaccinated Kentucky baby dies of whooping cough"
" The best way to prevent whooping cough is by receiving the Tdap or DTaP vaccine, which protects against three bacterial infections — diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, say public health experts." kentuckylantern.com/2025/11/25/t...
" The best way to prevent whooping cough is by receiving the Tdap or DTaP vaccine, which protects against three bacterial infections — diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, say public health experts." kentuckylantern.com/2025/11/25/t...
Reposted by Karen Pickell
Remarkable story of a Georgia high school team who used CRISPR to make a rapid diagnostic test strip for Lyme disease, speeding dx from 2 weeks to days
www.cbsnews.com/news/teens-m...
www.cbsnews.com/news/teens-m...
Teens may have come up with a new way to detect, treat Lyme disease using CRISPR gene editing
To compete at iGEM, a sort of science Olympics, teens at a Georgia high school set their sights on finding a better way to detect and treat Lyme disease. Their approach uses CRISPR gene editing.
www.cbsnews.com
December 1, 2025 at 4:06 AM
Remarkable story of a Georgia high school team who used CRISPR to make a rapid diagnostic test strip for Lyme disease, speeding dx from 2 weeks to days
www.cbsnews.com/news/teens-m...
www.cbsnews.com/news/teens-m...
Reposted by Karen Pickell
There are flyers circulating and even mailers showing up in people’s mailboxes in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District that list the wrong date for the upcoming special election. Voters are being told to vote on the incorrect day.
November 29, 2025 at 8:04 PM
There are flyers circulating and even mailers showing up in people’s mailboxes in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District that list the wrong date for the upcoming special election. Voters are being told to vote on the incorrect day.
Reposted by Karen Pickell
The Boston Globe identified the companies in Massachusetts that employ the most SNAP recipients. A key stat: "In Massachusetts, 74% of working-age recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are employed, half of them full-time."
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
November 29, 2025 at 3:55 PM
The Boston Globe identified the companies in Massachusetts that employ the most SNAP recipients. A key stat: "In Massachusetts, 74% of working-age recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are employed, half of them full-time."
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
I'm in a reading slump & need recommendations. What's the best book you read in the last year? (No matter when it was published.)
November 29, 2025 at 2:34 PM
I'm in a reading slump & need recommendations. What's the best book you read in the last year? (No matter when it was published.)
Reposted by Karen Pickell
BLACKOUT BLACK FRIDAY. Workers, teachers, advocates, community members turn out on Michigan Ave to say don't spend $ at Target, Amazon, Home Depot, At&T! @icirr.bsky.social @caarprnow.bsky.social @chicago-cata.bsky.social @peopleslobbyusa.bsky.social @ctulocal1.bsky.social @ocadchicago.bsky.social
November 28, 2025 at 7:23 PM
BLACKOUT BLACK FRIDAY. Workers, teachers, advocates, community members turn out on Michigan Ave to say don't spend $ at Target, Amazon, Home Depot, At&T! @icirr.bsky.social @caarprnow.bsky.social @chicago-cata.bsky.social @peopleslobbyusa.bsky.social @ctulocal1.bsky.social @ocadchicago.bsky.social
Proud to have bought absolutely nothing from any place yesterday.
November 29, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Proud to have bought absolutely nothing from any place yesterday.
"...commercial and economic plans the Trump administration had been pursuing with Russia, including jointly mining rare earths in the Arctic."
This reporting from from WSJ is must read (gift link). True to form,Trump’s aim with the 28-point plan for Ukraine was to extract profitable deals for US and Russian businesses, not to protect US military interests or alliances. Hegemonic suicide. www.wsj.com/world/russia...
Make Money Not War: Trump’s Real Plan for Peace in Ukraine
The Kremlin pitched the White House on peace through business. To Europe’s dismay, the president and his envoy are on board.
www.wsj.com
November 29, 2025 at 1:42 PM
"...commercial and economic plans the Trump administration had been pursuing with Russia, including jointly mining rare earths in the Arctic."
Reposted by Karen Pickell
A college freshman trying to fly from Boston to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving was deported to Honduras in violation of a court order.
College freshman is deported flying home for Thanksgiving surprise, despite court order
A college freshman trying to fly from Boston to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving was deported to Honduras in violation of a court order.
bit.ly
November 29, 2025 at 10:00 AM
A college freshman trying to fly from Boston to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving was deported to Honduras in violation of a court order.
Reposted by Karen Pickell
"The agreement places no restrictions on our transgender community."
Except whether they can play sports, where they can use the bathroom or locker room, what kind of housing they can live in, and what healthcare they can receive.
Except whether they can play sports, where they can use the bathroom or locker room, what kind of housing they can live in, and what healthcare they can receive.
November 29, 2025 at 4:32 AM
"The agreement places no restrictions on our transgender community."
Except whether they can play sports, where they can use the bathroom or locker room, what kind of housing they can live in, and what healthcare they can receive.
Except whether they can play sports, where they can use the bathroom or locker room, what kind of housing they can live in, and what healthcare they can receive.
Reposted by Karen Pickell
Five-byline alert: 🚨
“.. the full scope of [Witkoff’s talks] went much further, according to people familiar .. They were privately charting a path to bring Russia’s $2 trillion economy in from the cold—with American businesses first in line .. to the dividends. 🇺🇦
www.wsj.com/world/russia...
“.. the full scope of [Witkoff’s talks] went much further, according to people familiar .. They were privately charting a path to bring Russia’s $2 trillion economy in from the cold—with American businesses first in line .. to the dividends. 🇺🇦
www.wsj.com/world/russia...
November 29, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Five-byline alert: 🚨
“.. the full scope of [Witkoff’s talks] went much further, according to people familiar .. They were privately charting a path to bring Russia’s $2 trillion economy in from the cold—with American businesses first in line .. to the dividends. 🇺🇦
www.wsj.com/world/russia...
“.. the full scope of [Witkoff’s talks] went much further, according to people familiar .. They were privately charting a path to bring Russia’s $2 trillion economy in from the cold—with American businesses first in line .. to the dividends. 🇺🇦
www.wsj.com/world/russia...
Reposted by Karen Pickell
Home Depot wanted holiday cheer, got a whole-ass choir calling out their partnership with ICE instead…
November 29, 2025 at 6:18 AM
Home Depot wanted holiday cheer, got a whole-ass choir calling out their partnership with ICE instead…
Reposted by Karen Pickell
Indiana Republican Sen. Mike Bohacek, who has a daughter with Down syndrome, says he’ll vote No on redistricting following Trump’s “retarded” slur at Gov. Walz.
November 28, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Indiana Republican Sen. Mike Bohacek, who has a daughter with Down syndrome, says he’ll vote No on redistricting following Trump’s “retarded” slur at Gov. Walz.
Reposted by Karen Pickell
A Real Life Snowglobe Last Night at A House from A Christmas Story in Cleveland, Ohio
November 28, 2025 at 10:01 PM
A Real Life Snowglobe Last Night at A House from A Christmas Story in Cleveland, Ohio
Reposted by Karen Pickell
When troops are deployed overseas in places they absolutely should not be because of a warmonger ass president, and they are killed by someone who acted on their own accord, we typically don’t have a problem blaming the U.S. commander in chief
"In the months leading up to the D.C. deployment, Beckstrom worked for a community health center that serves people with mental illness and substance abuse disorders." www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
National Guard member killed in D.C. shooting remembered for 'heart of gold'
The slain soldier’s former boyfriend recalled her empathy and generosity. “She doesn’t even have to know you and she’ll do anything for you,” he said.
www.nbcnews.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:42 PM
When troops are deployed overseas in places they absolutely should not be because of a warmonger ass president, and they are killed by someone who acted on their own accord, we typically don’t have a problem blaming the U.S. commander in chief
Reposted by Karen Pickell
This is a highly unusual order from a Secretary of Defense, and it’s almost certainly a war crime.
In the strike in question, two people survived and were clinging to the side of the ruined boat, and a second mission was spun up to execute them.
In the strike in question, two people survived and were clinging to the side of the ruined boat, and a second mission was spun up to execute them.
Exclusive: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave an order to “kill everybody” in the first strike on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. After two men survived, the mission commander ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions, according to two sources.
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:30 PM
This is a highly unusual order from a Secretary of Defense, and it’s almost certainly a war crime.
In the strike in question, two people survived and were clinging to the side of the ruined boat, and a second mission was spun up to execute them.
In the strike in question, two people survived and were clinging to the side of the ruined boat, and a second mission was spun up to execute them.
Reposted by Karen Pickell
20 year-old National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom has died from her gunshot wounds. May she rest in peace.
November 28, 2025 at 1:41 AM
20 year-old National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom has died from her gunshot wounds. May she rest in peace.
Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you've seen
R.E.M.
Lilith Fair
Pat Benatar
Bryan Adams
AC/DC
R.E.M.
Lilith Fair
Pat Benatar
Bryan Adams
AC/DC
Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you’ve seen.
The Divine Comedy
The Dead Milkmen
The Lucksmiths
Mandy Patinkin
David Devant & his Spirit Wife
(Or really, bands/artists I’ve seen at least twice, most much more)
The Divine Comedy
The Dead Milkmen
The Lucksmiths
Mandy Patinkin
David Devant & his Spirit Wife
(Or really, bands/artists I’ve seen at least twice, most much more)
Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you’ve seen.
Lau
The Tiger Lillies
George Clinton
Efterklang
Yeasayer
(I've deliberately left out the big names - Pink Floyd and Prince won't tell you the first thing about me.)
Lau
The Tiger Lillies
George Clinton
Efterklang
Yeasayer
(I've deliberately left out the big names - Pink Floyd and Prince won't tell you the first thing about me.)
November 27, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you've seen
R.E.M.
Lilith Fair
Pat Benatar
Bryan Adams
AC/DC
R.E.M.
Lilith Fair
Pat Benatar
Bryan Adams
AC/DC
Reposted by Karen Pickell
Happy Thanksgiving, Illinois.
November 27, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Happy Thanksgiving, Illinois.
Reposted by Karen Pickell
Everyone (esp media) pay attention. In 2021 almost every Republican attacked the Biden administration and State dept for being too slow in approving Afghanistan special visas as Afghanistan fell.
Now they are attacking Biden for doing what they asked him to do.
Now they are attacking Biden for doing what they asked him to do.
November 27, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Everyone (esp media) pay attention. In 2021 almost every Republican attacked the Biden administration and State dept for being too slow in approving Afghanistan special visas as Afghanistan fell.
Now they are attacking Biden for doing what they asked him to do.
Now they are attacking Biden for doing what they asked him to do.
Reposted by Karen Pickell
If one Afghan nationalist shooter means all Afghan nationalists are evil, wait until I tell you about white male shooters.
November 27, 2025 at 11:04 AM
If one Afghan nationalist shooter means all Afghan nationalists are evil, wait until I tell you about white male shooters.