Chelsea Burns
@burnschelsea.bsky.social
accordionist, music theorist. Austin, TX. I like to ride my bicycle.
Pinned
I'm so pleased to finally have this book in my hot little hands! You, too, can have this feeling—for 30% off!—with code AUFLY30 at global.oup.com/academic. Want to try before you buy? You can read the Intro for free at this link (available until October 30): academic.oup.com/book/60725/c...
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
Bolts has pretty consistently been doing of the best coverage of state-level politics I’ve seen, in an era where it is needed more than ever. Well worth supporting IMO.
a Black Friday deal: it’s a great day to support our independent journalism at Bolts
We want to prepare for 2026 on as strong a foot as possible, and we’d love to grow our supporter count (at any level!) by 50 people today.
If you can—jump onboard and help us cover local politics and civil rights!
We want to prepare for 2026 on as strong a foot as possible, and we’d love to grow our supporter count (at any level!) by 50 people today.
If you can—jump onboard and help us cover local politics and civil rights!
Support Bolts
We are a nonprofit publication that covers the nuts and bolts of political change, from the local up, and we need reader support to build our journalism.
Boltsmag.org
November 28, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Bolts has pretty consistently been doing of the best coverage of state-level politics I’ve seen, in an era where it is needed more than ever. Well worth supporting IMO.
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
Somebody should directly ask Miller and this administration what it is about Afrikaners that makes them the only refugees their administration views as able to assimilate? What conditions might they recreate of “their broken homelands?”
November 28, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Somebody should directly ask Miller and this administration what it is about Afrikaners that makes them the only refugees their administration views as able to assimilate? What conditions might they recreate of “their broken homelands?”
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
The diplomatic "achievement" of the ceasefire was to recalibrate the tempo of the genocide sufficiently to get it off the front pages and the news bulletins, thus alleviating the political pressure on Israel's western accomplices.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Israel still committing genocide in Gaza, Amnesty International says
The NGO’s chief says last month’s ceasefire ‘risks creating a dangerous illusion that life in Gaza is returning to normal’
www.theguardian.com
November 27, 2025 at 7:46 PM
The diplomatic "achievement" of the ceasefire was to recalibrate the tempo of the genocide sufficiently to get it off the front pages and the news bulletins, thus alleviating the political pressure on Israel's western accomplices.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
Israeli security forces shot dead two Palestinians in the West Bank on Thursday after they appeared to surrender, according to videos released by an international news agency and two Arab television networks.
Israeli Forces Kill Two Palestinians in West Bank After They Appear to Surrender, Video Shows
The Israeli authorities said they were reviewing the shooting, which came amid days of extensive military operations in the West Bank.
nyti.ms
November 28, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Israeli security forces shot dead two Palestinians in the West Bank on Thursday after they appeared to surrender, according to videos released by an international news agency and two Arab television networks.
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
An investigation by ProPublica and @texastribune.org found more than 60 instances of nepotism, self-dealing and conflicts of interest among 27 private schools that likely would have violated state laws had the schools been public.
Texas Private Schools Hire Relatives and Enrich Insiders. Soon They Can Do It With Taxpayer Money.
An investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found more than 60 instances of nepotism, self-dealing and conflicts of interest among 27 private schools that likely would have violated state law...
www.propublica.org
November 27, 2025 at 10:00 PM
An investigation by ProPublica and @texastribune.org found more than 60 instances of nepotism, self-dealing and conflicts of interest among 27 private schools that likely would have violated state laws had the schools been public.
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
this is just gutter racism
Stephen Miller is now arguing that assimilation is fundamentally impossible and that certain cultures are not compatible with Western civilization
November 28, 2025 at 12:59 PM
this is just gutter racism
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
This is the first Thanksgiving for Sophie & Colin Hortman without their parents, Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman who were assassinated along with the family dog in an act of political murder. National guards troops were not deployed to the state in response.
November 27, 2025 at 5:24 PM
This is the first Thanksgiving for Sophie & Colin Hortman without their parents, Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman who were assassinated along with the family dog in an act of political murder. National guards troops were not deployed to the state in response.
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
Q: Officials say the suspect in the DC shooting was vetted & it came up clean
TRUMP: He went cuckoo. He went nuts. There was no vetting
Q: Actually, your DOJ IG says there was thorough vetting of Afghans. So why blame Biden?
TRUMP: You're just asking questions because you're a stupid person
TRUMP: He went cuckoo. He went nuts. There was no vetting
Q: Actually, your DOJ IG says there was thorough vetting of Afghans. So why blame Biden?
TRUMP: You're just asking questions because you're a stupid person
November 28, 2025 at 12:42 AM
Q: Officials say the suspect in the DC shooting was vetted & it came up clean
TRUMP: He went cuckoo. He went nuts. There was no vetting
Q: Actually, your DOJ IG says there was thorough vetting of Afghans. So why blame Biden?
TRUMP: You're just asking questions because you're a stupid person
TRUMP: He went cuckoo. He went nuts. There was no vetting
Q: Actually, your DOJ IG says there was thorough vetting of Afghans. So why blame Biden?
TRUMP: You're just asking questions because you're a stupid person
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
the only time i ever gave back to my community (cinephile dorks whose parents claim they can't see it but we suspect are messing with us a little)
November 27, 2025 at 1:19 AM
the only time i ever gave back to my community (cinephile dorks whose parents claim they can't see it but we suspect are messing with us a little)
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
MGT has seen her networth jump from $700k to $25 million since joining Congress in 2021. And she served juuust long enough to get a lifetime tax payer-funded pension.
She got the joke.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
She got the joke.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Marjorie Taylor Greene Came So Close to Getting the Joke
What the Georgia representative learned in Washington
www.theatlantic.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:29 PM
MGT has seen her networth jump from $700k to $25 million since joining Congress in 2021. And she served juuust long enough to get a lifetime tax payer-funded pension.
She got the joke.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
She got the joke.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
I know most of the focus is on RFK Jr.'s weird horny texts, but the news that he used to spam Bill Nye with anti-vax weirdness and Bill was like, "Dude, you're you're confusing correlation for causation" is the only RFK text-message news I will ever need.
November 27, 2025 at 1:15 AM
I know most of the focus is on RFK Jr.'s weird horny texts, but the news that he used to spam Bill Nye with anti-vax weirdness and Bill was like, "Dude, you're you're confusing correlation for causation" is the only RFK text-message news I will ever need.
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
With DC shooter now identified as an Afghan national not the antifa secret agent White House hoped for a good time to remember the Trump admin has gutted domestic anti-terrorism capacity and reassigned many to finding grandmothers to arrest at immigration hearings.
November 27, 2025 at 4:06 AM
With DC shooter now identified as an Afghan national not the antifa secret agent White House hoped for a good time to remember the Trump admin has gutted domestic anti-terrorism capacity and reassigned many to finding grandmothers to arrest at immigration hearings.
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
To be clear Lizza’s story is that Nuzzi sat on important matters of national significance for personal benefit and he’s sat on these details until he could personally benefit.
All of DC media needs to be thrown into the sea. Anyone who defends these people is a goddamn clown.
All of DC media needs to be thrown into the sea. Anyone who defends these people is a goddamn clown.
November 26, 2025 at 10:17 PM
To be clear Lizza’s story is that Nuzzi sat on important matters of national significance for personal benefit and he’s sat on these details until he could personally benefit.
All of DC media needs to be thrown into the sea. Anyone who defends these people is a goddamn clown.
All of DC media needs to be thrown into the sea. Anyone who defends these people is a goddamn clown.
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
Karoline Leavitt's brother says his only concern is for his son. The mother of his child can rot in hell.
I bet he wears a big shiny cross around his neck too.
I bet he wears a big shiny cross around his neck too.
"A woman with a family connection to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Revere, Massachusetts."
www.wcvb.com/article/karo...
www.wcvb.com/article/karo...
![REVERE, Mass. —
A woman with a family connection to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Revere, Massachusetts.
The woman, Bruna Ferreira, has an 11-year-old son with Michael Leavitt, Karoline Leavitt's brother.
Ferreira migrated with her family to the United States from Brazil as a child and is currently in custody at an ICE facility in southern Louisiana.
Michael Leavitt released a statement, saying that his "only concern has always been the safety, well-being, and privacy of [his] son."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:x4qyokjtdzgl7gmqhsw4ajqj/bafkreiacyzixchgacpjse7wyra342opgjsvdxzqdrkxq55zzqah65zyeae@jpeg)
November 26, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Karoline Leavitt's brother says his only concern is for his son. The mother of his child can rot in hell.
I bet he wears a big shiny cross around his neck too.
I bet he wears a big shiny cross around his neck too.
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
The subtext in JD Vance asking for "patience" on the economy: When leaders stop talking about current conditions and jump straight to rosy forecasts, they’re signaling the present isn’t defensible. That’s your cue to scrutinize the numbers, not just the narrative.
November 25, 2025 at 10:56 PM
The subtext in JD Vance asking for "patience" on the economy: When leaders stop talking about current conditions and jump straight to rosy forecasts, they’re signaling the present isn’t defensible. That’s your cue to scrutinize the numbers, not just the narrative.
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
So either Trump spoke to Bolsonaro about plotting to escape to the US right before the latter got caught trying to saw off his ankle monitor, or Trump imagined a conversation he didn’t have. Both scenarios are incredibly dark
An amazing new Trump controversy, Part II of II:
- Saturday afternoon: Trump says he spoke to Bolsonaro the night before and planned to see him “in the very near future”
- Monday afternoon: The Trump White House isn’t sure whether Trump actually had the conversation he referenced two days earlier
- Saturday afternoon: Trump says he spoke to Bolsonaro the night before and planned to see him “in the very near future”
- Monday afternoon: The Trump White House isn’t sure whether Trump actually had the conversation he referenced two days earlier
White House hedges on Trump’s curious claim about his call with Brazil’s Bolsonaro White House hedges on Trump’s curious claim about his call with Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro
Did the Republican president talk to Bolsonaro as the Brazilian plotted to escape? Trump said yes, but the White House isn’t so sure.
www.ms.now
November 25, 2025 at 7:28 PM
So either Trump spoke to Bolsonaro about plotting to escape to the US right before the latter got caught trying to saw off his ankle monitor, or Trump imagined a conversation he didn’t have. Both scenarios are incredibly dark
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff has been outed as a Russian asset. This is traitorous stuff.
Steve Witkoff helped Russia derail Ukraine’s access to Tomahawk missiles. He tipped off the Kremlin about Zelensky’s U.S. visit, giving Moscow time to arrange a call that convinced Trump to block the deal. Witkoff actively works against Ukraine’s defense, in coordination with Putin’s regime.
November 26, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff has been outed as a Russian asset. This is traitorous stuff.
Because the only illnesses are "lifestyle" illnesses?
Markwayne Mullin on healthcare: "What the president would like to do is say, hey, if you take care of yourself -- you don't smoke, you don't dip, you're not drinking, you're not overweight, you're working out -- then you should pay less than the guy that obviously is not taking care of himself."
November 26, 2025 at 4:20 AM
Because the only illnesses are "lifestyle" illnesses?
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
Congratulations to the UVM Catamounts men’s soccer team on an excellent season.
I know you’re disappointed that you didn’t repeat as NCAA Division 1 Champs, but a 14-1 season ain’t bad. You made the entire state proud.
I know you’re disappointed that you didn’t repeat as NCAA Division 1 Champs, but a 14-1 season ain’t bad. You made the entire state proud.
November 25, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Congratulations to the UVM Catamounts men’s soccer team on an excellent season.
I know you’re disappointed that you didn’t repeat as NCAA Division 1 Champs, but a 14-1 season ain’t bad. You made the entire state proud.
I know you’re disappointed that you didn’t repeat as NCAA Division 1 Champs, but a 14-1 season ain’t bad. You made the entire state proud.
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
i have no pie ranking — i like all pie — but i will say that my sweet potato pie once won an award
November 26, 2025 at 12:29 AM
i have no pie ranking — i like all pie — but i will say that my sweet potato pie once won an award
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
Rereading this 2024 piece and wow it's bleak. Amazing how much of mainstream political reporting relies on "let's assume this is all in a vacuum and I can't put any context into it!"
Can’t think why it turned out how it did with the media reporting honestly.
www.npr.org/2024/08/25/g...
www.npr.org/2024/08/25/g...
12 misleading or lacking-in-context claims from Harris’ DNC speech
They range from characterizations of former President Trump’s stances on abortion rights and Social Security to her plans to address housing and grocery prices.
www.npr.org
November 21, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Rereading this 2024 piece and wow it's bleak. Amazing how much of mainstream political reporting relies on "let's assume this is all in a vacuum and I can't put any context into it!"
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
El Sol se ha ido oficialmente en Alaska, y no volverá a salir hasta el 22 de enero de 2026.
November 20, 2025 at 8:15 PM
El Sol se ha ido oficialmente en Alaska, y no volverá a salir hasta el 22 de enero de 2026.
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
“never in modern U.S. history has the office intersected so broadly and deeply with the financial interests of the commerce secretary’s own family, according to interviews with ethics lawyers and historians.” Great reporting from a NYT team.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/u...
Family Affair: Commerce Secretary’s Sons Cash In on A.I. Frenzy
www.nytimes.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:32 AM
“never in modern U.S. history has the office intersected so broadly and deeply with the financial interests of the commerce secretary’s own family, according to interviews with ethics lawyers and historians.” Great reporting from a NYT team.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/u...
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) says someone showed up to her D.C. office today and made white supremacist threats. Capitol Police had to intervene.
This was hours after Trump said Democrats in Congress should be executed.
"When leaders promote hate, hate shows up."
This was hours after Trump said Democrats in Congress should be executed.
"When leaders promote hate, hate shows up."
November 21, 2025 at 3:13 AM
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) says someone showed up to her D.C. office today and made white supremacist threats. Capitol Police had to intervene.
This was hours after Trump said Democrats in Congress should be executed.
"When leaders promote hate, hate shows up."
This was hours after Trump said Democrats in Congress should be executed.
"When leaders promote hate, hate shows up."
Reposted by Chelsea Burns
Kash Patel's personal firing of the Pride flag-displaying employee was always absurd and unconstitutional, so I'm glad David Maltinsky is suing, but, wait.
It was a flag FLOWN BY THE FBI that was given to him BY THE FBI?! Come on.
Complaint: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
It was a flag FLOWN BY THE FBI that was given to him BY THE FBI?! Come on.
Complaint: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
![On October 1, 2025, after successfully completing 16 weeks of the FBI Academy's
19-week training program, Maltinsky was handed a letter terminating his employment with the
FBI. The letter was signed by Defendant Patel ("Patel"). In the letter, Patel wrote that he had
"determined that [Maltinsky] exercised poor judgment with an inappropriate display of political signage in [his] work area during [his] previous assignment at the Los Angeles Field Office." In short, Patel fired Maltinsky for displaying a pride flag at his workstation that had been flown by the FBI at the LAFO and then given by the FBI to Maltinsky.
The Defendants' discrimination against Maltinsky for engaging in protected speech
was a clear and brazen violation of federal law and the Constitution.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:36eqtmzysqf7wsslczw4uxcd/bafkreid5rog4gjpv3qeneunmoyqxoesnuxac2srp3u6ppnjdxphfv7jcoe@jpeg)
November 20, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Kash Patel's personal firing of the Pride flag-displaying employee was always absurd and unconstitutional, so I'm glad David Maltinsky is suing, but, wait.
It was a flag FLOWN BY THE FBI that was given to him BY THE FBI?! Come on.
Complaint: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
It was a flag FLOWN BY THE FBI that was given to him BY THE FBI?! Come on.
Complaint: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...