Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
@badtoss.bsky.social
Guggenheim Fellow, Prof Emerita and Author: The Gilded Edge (Dutton) and forthcoming, a book on America's home grown Soviet spy (37Ink). Oh, and tennis tweets. Expect them.
Lit rep: Mackenzie Brady Watson
Stacks at https://prendergastc.substack.com
Lit rep: Mackenzie Brady Watson
Stacks at https://prendergastc.substack.com
Pinned
American Songbirds for the Kremlin
On Calla Walsh's Trip to Tehran and its Foreboding Precedent
prendergastc.substack.com
I turned my previous thread on Calla Walsh, and why she is in deep, deep trouble, into a substack.
prendergastc.substack.com/p/american-s...
prendergastc.substack.com/p/american-s...
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
"Had Brexit not happened, the modern politics of Europe and the wider world would have left London as potentially the most important capital on the continent."
www.thenewworld.co.uk/luke-mcgee-t...
www.thenewworld.co.uk/luke-mcgee-t...
The unBrexited Britain that could have led Europe
London could have been the EU’s capital, leading the continent’s defence against Putin and Trumpworld, instead of a spectator to decisions it once helped to shape
www.thenewworld.co.uk
February 18, 2026 at 4:57 PM
"Had Brexit not happened, the modern politics of Europe and the wider world would have left London as potentially the most important capital on the continent."
www.thenewworld.co.uk/luke-mcgee-t...
www.thenewworld.co.uk/luke-mcgee-t...
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
Last year in the White House, when Trump tried to intimidate Maine into following his executive order, I fought back, took him to court, and won.
Anyone can talk tough — but I get things done. Watch my new ad:
Anyone can talk tough — but I get things done. Watch my new ad:
February 18, 2026 at 1:24 PM
Last year in the White House, when Trump tried to intimidate Maine into following his executive order, I fought back, took him to court, and won.
Anyone can talk tough — but I get things done. Watch my new ad:
Anyone can talk tough — but I get things done. Watch my new ad:
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
Even though a grand jury of patriots rejected the charges as ridiculous, like most of the rest of us did, we still need to stop and realize how far this fascist authoritarian president is going -- and trying to go -- in his efforts to destroy our Constitution and the rule of law in this country.
February 18, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Even though a grand jury of patriots rejected the charges as ridiculous, like most of the rest of us did, we still need to stop and realize how far this fascist authoritarian president is going -- and trying to go -- in his efforts to destroy our Constitution and the rule of law in this country.
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
Just to be clear...I am not saying that the only reason they play up religion is competing for evangelicals. Was just using that as an example of a rationale I have heard from folks about why we need more religion from candidates. More broader point is...no we don't.
February 18, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Just to be clear...I am not saying that the only reason they play up religion is competing for evangelicals. Was just using that as an example of a rationale I have heard from folks about why we need more religion from candidates. More broader point is...no we don't.
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
So, I see Andy Beshear has a book out offering himself up as the latest Bible-thumping Dem (see James Talarico.) Folks, if you think competing for evangelicals is the Dem path to victory...no. If you think we need more religion in US politics...no. Religion in politics is a problem not a solution.
February 18, 2026 at 3:12 PM
So, I see Andy Beshear has a book out offering himself up as the latest Bible-thumping Dem (see James Talarico.) Folks, if you think competing for evangelicals is the Dem path to victory...no. If you think we need more religion in US politics...no. Religion in politics is a problem not a solution.
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
Would summarise this as: treat voters like adult stakeholders and not children who need to be managed.
Carney's incredible secret sauce seems to be - say what the problem is, whose fault it is, what you will have to do about it and what it will cost.
Keep reading articles about how impossible it is to be a successful centre/left PM these days. And then I look at Mark Carney...
February 18, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Would summarise this as: treat voters like adult stakeholders and not children who need to be managed.
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
No, Donald Trump cannot implement voting changes via Executive Order. He may try but if he does, he we will sue and we will win.
BARTIROMO: Could the president just implement an executive order to get the SAVE Act across the finish line going into the midterms?
REP. MARK HARRIS: That's a great question. I don't know the answer to that, quite frankly.
REP. MARK HARRIS: That's a great question. I don't know the answer to that, quite frankly.
February 18, 2026 at 1:39 PM
No, Donald Trump cannot implement voting changes via Executive Order. He may try but if he does, he we will sue and we will win.
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
More weirdness. Just days before USAtty Pirro tried & failed to indict 6 congress members for the don't-follow-illegal-orders video, one's atty, @preetbharara.bsky.social asked prosecutors what the charge was. They wouldn't say. Per @gregsargent.bsky.social newrepublic.com/article/2066...
Angry Trump Humiliated as Effort to Prosecute Dems Backfires Again
A grand jury laughed Trump’s prosecutors out of court—but new details about these nakedly political prosecutions reveal serious abuses of power that are no laughing matter.
newrepublic.com
February 18, 2026 at 2:32 PM
More weirdness. Just days before USAtty Pirro tried & failed to indict 6 congress members for the don't-follow-illegal-orders video, one's atty, @preetbharara.bsky.social asked prosecutors what the charge was. They wouldn't say. Per @gregsargent.bsky.social newrepublic.com/article/2066...
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
Aight yall the tin foil hats got me. I think Nancy got snatched to intimidate Samantha who interviewed the Epstein survivors!
a man is standing in front of a microphone with a youtube logo on the wall behind him
ALT: a man is standing in front of a microphone with a youtube logo on the wall behind him
media.tenor.com
February 18, 2026 at 3:53 PM
Aight yall the tin foil hats got me. I think Nancy got snatched to intimidate Samantha who interviewed the Epstein survivors!
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
To those on the Left insisting (wrongly) that their votes need to be EARNED...
WTF did Jill Stein do to "earn" your vote? She shows up once every four years, co-opting whatever issues online leftists are complaining about, and disappears once the election is over. Zero actual accomplishments.
WTF did Jill Stein do to "earn" your vote? She shows up once every four years, co-opting whatever issues online leftists are complaining about, and disappears once the election is over. Zero actual accomplishments.
February 18, 2026 at 3:05 PM
To those on the Left insisting (wrongly) that their votes need to be EARNED...
WTF did Jill Stein do to "earn" your vote? She shows up once every four years, co-opting whatever issues online leftists are complaining about, and disappears once the election is over. Zero actual accomplishments.
WTF did Jill Stein do to "earn" your vote? She shows up once every four years, co-opting whatever issues online leftists are complaining about, and disappears once the election is over. Zero actual accomplishments.
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
How the IR regime uses Western media influencers like Bushra Sheikh and Calla Walsh to whitewash the #IranMassacre, in which tens of thousands of Iranians lost their lives.
Iranian Diaspora Collective:
"While the sons and daughters of Iran
Iranian Diaspora Collective:
"While the sons and daughters of Iran
February 18, 2026 at 2:15 PM
How the IR regime uses Western media influencers like Bushra Sheikh and Calla Walsh to whitewash the #IranMassacre, in which tens of thousands of Iranians lost their lives.
Iranian Diaspora Collective:
"While the sons and daughters of Iran
Iranian Diaspora Collective:
"While the sons and daughters of Iran
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
Tremors from the Epstein files rattle the age-old foundations of Britain’s House of Lords
www.ctvnews.ca/world/articl...
www.ctvnews.ca/world/articl...
Tremors from the Epstein files rattle the age-old foundations of Britain’s House of Lords
Fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein files has landed on the gilded wood and plush red benches of Britain’s House of Lords.
www.ctvnews.ca
February 18, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Tremors from the Epstein files rattle the age-old foundations of Britain’s House of Lords
www.ctvnews.ca/world/articl...
www.ctvnews.ca/world/articl...
So Epstein did time and they didn’t even give a hard look at all his properties.
New Mexico lawmakers Monday passed legislation to launch what they said was the first full investigation into what happened at Zorro Ranch, where the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is accused of trafficking and sexually assaulting girls and women.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...
New Mexico approves comprehensive probe of Epstein’s Zorro Ranch
The so-called truth commission seeks to identify ranch guests and state officials who may have known what was going on at the 7,600-acre property.
www.nbcnews.com
February 18, 2026 at 3:08 PM
So Epstein did time and they didn’t even give a hard look at all his properties.
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
The scam moves on and on. Today I had one that came with a zoom link already set up and ready for me to click on.
Latest AI bookclub scam "I host (title) a curated Zoom series centered on thoughtful conversation . We spend 45–60 minutes exploring the heart of the story and then open the floor to an intimate audience of 50–100 engaged readers who come prepared with meaningful questions" I'll bet they do, and
February 18, 2026 at 3:05 PM
The scam moves on and on. Today I had one that came with a zoom link already set up and ready for me to click on.
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
Lindsey Graham is a haggard old alcoholic who sold his soul on the golf course after Trump told him he also knew about the worst kept secret on Capitol Hill (nice work, Jared). Having him insult our allies while in a blackout is not what our forefathers envisioned. Retire, lush.
February 18, 2026 at 1:23 PM
Lindsey Graham is a haggard old alcoholic who sold his soul on the golf course after Trump told him he also knew about the worst kept secret on Capitol Hill (nice work, Jared). Having him insult our allies while in a blackout is not what our forefathers envisioned. Retire, lush.
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
It did for this past subscriber
Bezos' bigotry part of equation in WaPo's mass layoffs:
“This comes 6 months after hearing in a national meeting that race coverage drives subscriptions [for The Post],” former race & ethnicity reporter @efelton.bsky.social tweeted.
“This wasn’t a financial decision, it was an ideological one.”
“This comes 6 months after hearing in a national meeting that race coverage drives subscriptions [for The Post],” former race & ethnicity reporter @efelton.bsky.social tweeted.
“This wasn’t a financial decision, it was an ideological one.”
Washington Post layoffs disproportionately affected union members of color, preliminary Guild data shows
"We cannot ignore what this means for equity, representation, and the future of this organization."
www.niemanlab.org
February 18, 2026 at 3:05 PM
It did for this past subscriber
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
Zelensky warned that any agreement requiring Kyiv’s armed forces to unilaterally withdraw from the region and hand it over to Russia would fail in a referendum.
www.kyivpost.com/post/70282
www.kyivpost.com/post/70282
Zelensky Says Ukrainians Would Reject Deal Handing Donbas to Russia
The Ukrainian president warned that any agreement requiring Kyiv’s armed forces to unilaterally withdraw from the region and hand it over to Russia would fail in a referendum.
www.kyivpost.com
February 18, 2026 at 12:04 PM
Zelensky warned that any agreement requiring Kyiv’s armed forces to unilaterally withdraw from the region and hand it over to Russia would fail in a referendum.
www.kyivpost.com/post/70282
www.kyivpost.com/post/70282
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
BBC correspondent James Waterhouse reported from Geneva that Wednesday's lateral talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the US lasted only 2 hours. Further talks would ensue, it was agreed. Among the many unresolved issues is a possible US military commitment once a ceasefire would be in place, he said.
February 18, 2026 at 1:21 PM
BBC correspondent James Waterhouse reported from Geneva that Wednesday's lateral talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the US lasted only 2 hours. Further talks would ensue, it was agreed. Among the many unresolved issues is a possible US military commitment once a ceasefire would be in place, he said.
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
“There are no limits for Putin, because a human dimension is not a priority of these negotiations…The politicians discuss natural minerals, Russia’s territorial interests, even Putin’s vision of Ukrainian history, but they don’t speak about people at all.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/w...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/w...
Trump Said He’d End the War in a Day, but It’s Worsened for Ukrainians
www.nytimes.com
February 18, 2026 at 1:19 PM
“There are no limits for Putin, because a human dimension is not a priority of these negotiations…The politicians discuss natural minerals, Russia’s territorial interests, even Putin’s vision of Ukrainian history, but they don’t speak about people at all.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/w...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/w...
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
Florida has almost 350 local and state agencies working with ICE to implement the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, the most of any state.
https://www.notus.org/immigration/florida-287g-ice-trump-administration
https://www.notus.org/immigration/florida-287g-ice-trump-administration
How Florida Systematized Its Cooperation With ICE
Florida has almost 350 local and state agencies working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to implement the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, the most of any state.
www.notus.org
February 18, 2026 at 1:20 PM
Florida has almost 350 local and state agencies working with ICE to implement the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, the most of any state.
https://www.notus.org/immigration/florida-287g-ice-trump-administration
https://www.notus.org/immigration/florida-287g-ice-trump-administration
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
This just stinks anti democratic to me. I know diplomats aren’t elected! But having your son in law and business partner just run foreign policy all over the world? What’s a good analogy for this historian friends?
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/u...
Trump Bets on Diplomacy Without Diplomats
www.nytimes.com
February 18, 2026 at 1:15 PM
This just stinks anti democratic to me. I know diplomats aren’t elected! But having your son in law and business partner just run foreign policy all over the world? What’s a good analogy for this historian friends?
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/u...
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
My guess is that the goal here is not only to punish the children for turning more people against ICE/DHS, but also to make news outlets think twice about reporting on kids' suffering at the hands of ICE/DHS, out of concern that doing so might lead to retaliation against the kids.
ProPublica published children's letters and drawings documenting their sadness and suffering at Dilley. And Dilley staff are now retaliating by confiscating kids' letters and drawings.
www.sacurrent.com/news/san-ant...
www.sacurrent.com/news/san-ant...
February 18, 2026 at 1:17 PM
My guess is that the goal here is not only to punish the children for turning more people against ICE/DHS, but also to make news outlets think twice about reporting on kids' suffering at the hands of ICE/DHS, out of concern that doing so might lead to retaliation against the kids.
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
Sad stuff from Iran's protests against their Fascist Theocratic tyrant gov www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
‘Deliberate targeting of vital body parts’: X-rays taken after Iran protests expose extent of catastrophic injuries
Exclusive: Expert analysis of images from one hospital suggests severe trauma to the face, chest and genitals was caused by metal birdshot and high-calibre bullets
www.theguardian.com
February 18, 2026 at 6:16 AM
Sad stuff from Iran's protests against their Fascist Theocratic tyrant gov www.theguardian.com/global-devel...