chessie girl
@gallykaren.bsky.social
Attorney, dog-lover, DC to SD
Reposted by chessie girl
With Rwanda refusing to withdraw troops and renewed fighting in South Kivu, it's hard to see the Congo "peace deal" signed in Washington yesterday as anything other than a glorified trade deal that gives the US privileged access to the DRC's mineral wealth. Sadly, not an end to decades of war.
Trump hosts signing of peace deal between leaders of DR Congo and Rwanda
The US president hopes that a peace deal will pave the way for greater American investment in the resource-rich region.
www.bbc.com
December 5, 2025 at 1:39 PM
With Rwanda refusing to withdraw troops and renewed fighting in South Kivu, it's hard to see the Congo "peace deal" signed in Washington yesterday as anything other than a glorified trade deal that gives the US privileged access to the DRC's mineral wealth. Sadly, not an end to decades of war.
Reposted by chessie girl
The great blue herons at this park seem like old friends. I see them every time I visit. This one jumped on the railing of the bridge as I was walking across. I thought he'd fly off in a few minutes. 40 minutes later, I was still watching him preen. #birds
December 4, 2025 at 11:54 PM
The great blue herons at this park seem like old friends. I see them every time I visit. This one jumped on the railing of the bridge as I was walking across. I thought he'd fly off in a few minutes. 40 minutes later, I was still watching him preen. #birds
Reposted by chessie girl
Happy birthday Tamu! This tiny tank is 2 today
December 4, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Happy birthday Tamu! This tiny tank is 2 today
Reposted by chessie girl
As Justice Kagan begins her dissent by pointing out, what is even the point of trial, of fact-finding, of clear error, of standards of review, when the Supreme Court simply ignores every single part of that and decides everything purely on the papers without any real consideration of the facts?
December 4, 2025 at 11:08 PM
As Justice Kagan begins her dissent by pointing out, what is even the point of trial, of fact-finding, of clear error, of standards of review, when the Supreme Court simply ignores every single part of that and decides everything purely on the papers without any real consideration of the facts?
Reposted by chessie girl
The dripping contempt the right wing SCOTUS majority holds for district judges is truly a sight to behold every time. When they deign to give actual reasons for their shadow docket holdings, it’s “look at the absolute idiots who keep getting everything wrong!”
December 4, 2025 at 11:31 PM
The dripping contempt the right wing SCOTUS majority holds for district judges is truly a sight to behold every time. When they deign to give actual reasons for their shadow docket holdings, it’s “look at the absolute idiots who keep getting everything wrong!”
Reposted by chessie girl
JUST IN: Statement from Abbe Lowell, defense counsel for Letitia James, on Virginia grand jury’s refusal to re-indict the NY Attorney General on mortgage fraud charges:
December 4, 2025 at 11:59 PM
JUST IN: Statement from Abbe Lowell, defense counsel for Letitia James, on Virginia grand jury’s refusal to re-indict the NY Attorney General on mortgage fraud charges:
Reposted by chessie girl
Happy Birthday (Observed) to the uncontested KING Jonathan The Tortoise, estimated to be 192 years old
192 MORE YEARS! 192 MORE YEARS!
192 MORE YEARS! 192 MORE YEARS!
December 4, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Happy Birthday (Observed) to the uncontested KING Jonathan The Tortoise, estimated to be 192 years old
192 MORE YEARS! 192 MORE YEARS!
192 MORE YEARS! 192 MORE YEARS!
Reposted by chessie girl
Cale posted this earlier.
December 4, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Cale posted this earlier.
Reposted by chessie girl
Exclusive: The four-star admiral in charge of Caribbean operations had concerns about the legality of the boat strikes. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked him to retire shortly after they started.
Hegseth Asked Top Admiral to Resign After Months of Discord
The relationship between the Pentagon chief and military leader had been rocky since Trump’s inauguration.
on.wsj.com
December 4, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Exclusive: The four-star admiral in charge of Caribbean operations had concerns about the legality of the boat strikes. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked him to retire shortly after they started.
Reposted by chessie girl
Via @sandiegouniontribune.com: "The unincorporated parts of San Diego County are in the middle of an ADU boom — and even more could be coming."
A push for more ADUs has hit the Bay Area and San Diego. Vast areas of San Diego County could be next.
An effort is underway to rewrite county law to let owners sell ADUs as condos in unincorporated areas — a policy shift made possible by a new state law looking to boost homeownership.
www.sandiegouniontribune.com
December 3, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Via @sandiegouniontribune.com: "The unincorporated parts of San Diego County are in the middle of an ADU boom — and even more could be coming."
Reposted by chessie girl
A plane crash in a jungle revealed a secret government operation to bypass Congress and threatened to bring down a president. Simpler times, man. RIP Eugene Hasenfus. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/u...
Eugene Hasenfus, Gunrunner Who Exposed Iran-Contra Plot, Dies at 84
www.nytimes.com
December 3, 2025 at 6:50 PM
A plane crash in a jungle revealed a secret government operation to bypass Congress and threatened to bring down a president. Simpler times, man. RIP Eugene Hasenfus. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/u...
Reposted by chessie girl
“Maybe we’re onto something.”
“How can we tell? We’ve only done this 187,623 times with the same success every single time. Could be a fluke.”
“How can we tell? We’ve only done this 187,623 times with the same success every single time. Could be a fluke.”
An Oregon pilot program giving cash to homeless youths sees a staggering reduction in homelessness. The program gave participants $1,000 cash payments each month for two years, and at the end of the project's first phase, 91% of participants reported being in stable housing.
Oregon pilot program giving cash to homeless youths sees staggering reduction in homelessness
The state program gave participants $1,000 cash payments each month for two years. At the end of the project's first phase, 91% of participants reported being in stable housing.
www.streetroots.org
December 3, 2025 at 6:17 AM
“Maybe we’re onto something.”
“How can we tell? We’ve only done this 187,623 times with the same success every single time. Could be a fluke.”
“How can we tell? We’ve only done this 187,623 times with the same success every single time. Could be a fluke.”
Reposted by chessie girl
Life in Bamako, the capital of Mali, has been brought to a standstill after a jihadist organisation launched a series of attacks on inbound fuel convoys. Bellingcat has verified six attacks since September, which together have damaged more than 130 fuel tankers. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/12...
Mali Under Siege: Tracking the Fuel Blockade Crippling Bamako - bellingcat
Attacks by a jihadist group on fuel convoys bound for Bamako, the capital of Mali, have destroyed more than 130 tankers since September, a Bellingcat investigation has found. The systematic attacks b...
www.bellingcat.com
December 3, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Life in Bamako, the capital of Mali, has been brought to a standstill after a jihadist organisation launched a series of attacks on inbound fuel convoys. Bellingcat has verified six attacks since September, which together have damaged more than 130 fuel tankers. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/12...
Reposted by chessie girl
Rand Paul just posted this letter from the Coast Guard confirming that 1/4 of the boats they stop carry no contraband. The likelihood that Hegseth & Bradley ordered the murder of innocent civilians is very high.
December 2, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Rand Paul just posted this letter from the Coast Guard confirming that 1/4 of the boats they stop carry no contraband. The likelihood that Hegseth & Bradley ordered the murder of innocent civilians is very high.
Reposted by chessie girl
I hope someone draws this wonderful story about Tom Stoppard's Arcadia and the power of the arts to help us see things differently, to the attention of our Education Secretary. Do read it, it will lift your spirits.
December 2, 2025 at 10:59 AM
I hope someone draws this wonderful story about Tom Stoppard's Arcadia and the power of the arts to help us see things differently, to the attention of our Education Secretary. Do read it, it will lift your spirits.
Reposted by chessie girl
Cameroon’s opposition leader, Anciet Ekane, has died in detention. Ekane was taken into custody days after 92 year old Paul Biya was declared the winner of the presidential election and the country was rocked by protests. The family has been offered no explanation about his cause of death.
December 2, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Cameroon’s opposition leader, Anciet Ekane, has died in detention. Ekane was taken into custody days after 92 year old Paul Biya was declared the winner of the presidential election and the country was rocked by protests. The family has been offered no explanation about his cause of death.
Reposted by chessie girl
I can’t promise that this is the first time a Canadian publisher of a beloved children’s book series has publicly condemned the bloodthirsty US secretary of defense’s use of its imagery to smirkingly defend heinous war crimes. I mean who can say.
December 2, 2025 at 2:01 AM
I can’t promise that this is the first time a Canadian publisher of a beloved children’s book series has publicly condemned the bloodthirsty US secretary of defense’s use of its imagery to smirkingly defend heinous war crimes. I mean who can say.
Reposted by chessie girl
For some reason Democratic leaders seem to prefer telling voters what they won’t be able to do, rather than what they’d like to do.
If Hegseth ordered a war crime and lied about it, shouldn’t Ds try for impeachment? Put Rs on the spot. They might get a few defections.
www.axios.com/2025/12/01/j...
If Hegseth ordered a war crime and lied about it, shouldn’t Ds try for impeachment? Put Rs on the spot. They might get a few defections.
www.axios.com/2025/12/01/j...
Jeffries says not to expect Democrats to pursue Hegseth impeachment over boat strikes
"Republicans will never allow articles of impeachment to be brought to the floor," he said.
www.axios.com
December 2, 2025 at 12:30 AM
For some reason Democratic leaders seem to prefer telling voters what they won’t be able to do, rather than what they’d like to do.
If Hegseth ordered a war crime and lied about it, shouldn’t Ds try for impeachment? Put Rs on the spot. They might get a few defections.
www.axios.com/2025/12/01/j...
If Hegseth ordered a war crime and lied about it, shouldn’t Ds try for impeachment? Put Rs on the spot. They might get a few defections.
www.axios.com/2025/12/01/j...
Time to abolish SafeSport and start over
Sean Gardner faces federal child pornography charges for allegedly placing a hidden camera in a bathroom at a gymnastics studio in Purvis, Mississippi, between December 2017 and April 2018 to record his students. Lawsuits now allege watchdog groups failed to prevent this abuse.
buff.ly/PRiwtFP
buff.ly/PRiwtFP
Olympics Sports Watchdog Failed to Stop Mississippi Coach's Sexual Abuse, Women Allege
Two gymnasts who say they were sexually abused at an elite academy in Iowa filed lawsuits Monday against the sport’s oversight bodies.
www.mississippifreepress.org
December 1, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Time to abolish SafeSport and start over
Reposted by chessie girl
“I can’t recall any other example of a federal policy that provoked quite so much litigation in such a short period of time—or in which so many judges from across the geographical and ideological spectrum so overwhelmingly rejected the executive branch’s new interpretation of the relevant statutes.”
195. The Immigration Detention Flood
The Trump administration's attempt to quietly—but massively—expand who can be detained pending their removal has been met with overwhelming pushback from a remarkably large number of district courts.
www.stevevladeck.com
December 1, 2025 at 12:35 PM
“I can’t recall any other example of a federal policy that provoked quite so much litigation in such a short period of time—or in which so many judges from across the geographical and ideological spectrum so overwhelmingly rejected the executive branch’s new interpretation of the relevant statutes.”
Reposted by chessie girl
don't miss Lauren's big story from right before Thanksgiving:
After Biden commuted the sentences of 37 men on federal death row last year, the Trump administration is retaliating by sending them to the supermax. Prisoners are locked in cells smaller than a parking space 22-24 hours a day.
One prisoner told me he fears he won't make it out alive.
My latest:
One prisoner told me he fears he won't make it out alive.
My latest:
Death Row Prisoners Granted Clemency by Biden Brace for "Living Hell" Under Trump - Bolts
Trump officials are retaliating by imposing the harshest conditions in the entire federal prison system, including near total isolation.
boltsmag.org
November 30, 2025 at 3:23 AM
don't miss Lauren's big story from right before Thanksgiving:
Reposted by chessie girl
November 28, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Reposted by chessie girl
This is murder. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
November 28, 2025 at 6:16 PM
This is murder. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Reposted by chessie girl
This is a really sick story.
From everything I know, Boston’s Logan Airport is a legitimately dangerous place to travel through.
abcnews.go.com/US/19-year-c...
From everything I know, Boston’s Logan Airport is a legitimately dangerous place to travel through.
abcnews.go.com/US/19-year-c...
November 27, 2025 at 9:46 PM
This is a really sick story.
From everything I know, Boston’s Logan Airport is a legitimately dangerous place to travel through.
abcnews.go.com/US/19-year-c...
From everything I know, Boston’s Logan Airport is a legitimately dangerous place to travel through.
abcnews.go.com/US/19-year-c...