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Erin Havel

@erinhavel.bsky.social

21K followers 18K following 1.6K posts

Renaissance woman. Writer. Reinventing in this strange political landscape.

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Erin Havel @erinhavel.bsky.social · Feb 2

Dear Gentle Readers,
There is an overwhelming amount of chaos this administration is throwing at us every minute.

Choose 1 issue that you are passionate about.

Focus your energy.

If we each pick 1 - it helps to overwhelm the darkness w/ sparks of light throughout.

#Democracy

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Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 1h

By allowing for the dismantling of minority districts held by Democrats, a ruling against the VRA could give President Donald Trump and the GOP enough additional seats to lock in the party’s control of the House for a generation. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

Fair Elections — and Perhaps Control of Congress — at Stake as SCOTUS Hears Challenge to VRA

Read more here.

www.democracydocket.com

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Kara Swisher @karaswisher.bsky.social · 10h

For the Epsteinth time, swear her in

Adelita for Congress @adelitaforcongress.bsky.social · 12h

Speaker Johnson, you ready to swear me in?

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Republicans Against Trumpism @rpsagainsttrump.bsky.social · 10h

Congressional Democrats marched to Mike Johnson’s office demanding that he swear in Democrat Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, who would become the crucial 218th signature on the discharge petition to release the Epstein files.

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 19h

POLITICO: “.. They referred to Black people as monkeys and ‘the watermelon people’ and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies .. and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery.

@politico.com
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

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Erin Havel @erinhavel.bsky.social · 21h

Waiting for my confirmation!
As my 8 year old would say…
Let’s Go!!!

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 23h

WASHINGTON (AP) - Supreme Court rejects Alex Jones' appeal of $1.4 billion judgment for calling Sandy Hook school shooting a hoax.

@apnews.com

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Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 1d

Senate is back in session today.

1/ So a quick 🧵on where things are at on the shutdown.

You get a lot of propaganda and spin thrown at you, so I want to give you the real, behind-the-scenes tea.

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Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 1d

3/ The Senate keeps voting on 2 bills to reopen.

1. The GOP bill - it raises premiums on 22m Americans and lets Trump keep acting illegally.

2. The Dem bill - it stops the premium increases and checks Trump's illegality.

Each time, neither bill gets the necessary 60 votes.

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Erin Havel @erinhavel.bsky.social · 1d

It’s shocking how many people are completely unashamed by their cruelty.

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 1d

Today, Mike Johnson will continue to keep the House adjourned for the 71st day out of the last 83, with Republicans refusing to show up to work again to avoid having to vote on the Epstein files or negotiate with Democrats.

Epstein Shutdown

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Erin Havel @erinhavel.bsky.social · 1d

Today a friend let me know #ICE spent the day at the small suburban hospital where the majority of my family was born.

Terrorizing communities, not capturing criminals yet again.

Cora Dean @c-anemone-d.bsky.social · 2d

“In solidarity with Chicago educators navigating these horrors instead of focusing on learning.”

Today in the life of a Chicago teacher.

Gender Inclusive Schools
44m • C
In solidarity with Chicago educators navigating these horrors instead of focusing on learning.
K Hurley Wales is with Craig Wales in Lincoln Square. • Follow
21h • C
Yesterday started like many others. Craig made us coffee. My neighbor offered us some freshly baked scones. The girls ate their breakfast, excited for a three day weekend and their daddy's birthday.
At 8:15 AM, we learned that an elderly man had been tackled by border control in a nearby alley.
At 8:30 AM, ICE detained two landscapers near Foster and Lincoln, a few blocks away. The entire neighborhood came out to help by recording and protesting, one of whom happened to be a WGN producer. She was violently abducted.
ICE slammed into a neighbor's parked car during their rapid getaway and kept right on driving.
At 9 AM, our school principal initiated our rapid response network and hundreds of parent, staff, and communities mobilized to patrol our school in support of our at-risk families and to allow our children to safely play and learn outdoors.
At 10 AM, ICE arrived fully alarmed near Ravenswood Elementary, a local public school where many of our friends go and teach. I spoke directly with my dear friend who teaches there immediately after it happened and, as you can imagine, she was terrified and traumatized.
At 10:15, ICE was reported outside a local daycare, where many of our neighborhood kiddos go.

As the day unfolded, at least 8 of our neighbors were detained, and there were dozens of confirmed ICE sightings outside local schools and businesses. Craig and I spent a collective 10 hours patrolling our daughters' school. Several schools went into lockdown, following the same protocol response we'd follow for an active shooter.
Elsewhere in the city, in the last 2-3 weeks ICE has:
-killed a young father after he dropped his son off at school, the agent sustained minor injuries
-shot a woman 5 times and tried to blame her for provocation (body cam footage proves otherwise)
-shot a priest in the head with a pepper bullet while he prayed at a protest
-teargassed dozens of Chicago police
-teargassed reporters and non-violent protestors
-stormed a building with helicopters, arresting (among criminals) US citizens who had done nothing wrong, including zip tying 4 children, torn from their beds in the middle of the night barely clothed and not allowed to dress
-detained a family while their children played in the fountains at Millennium Park
-handcuffed an alderperson inside a hospital
-Stormed through suburban parks to try and catch nannies walking babies
-they are masked, wear no names, 'arrest' with no warrants, and will kill you if you try to fight back
-71 percent of the people taken have no criminal history, most are just trying to work through the slow process of naturalization
As I write this, l'm seeing live footage of them raiding Home Depot and receiving reports of them detaining 18 Uber drivers at O'Hare.
If you're outside of Chicago and weren't aware of what's happening here, now you know. This is not okay. Nobody should be pretending this is okay.

As I write this, I'm seeing live footage of them raiding Home Depot and receiving reports of them detaining 18 Uber drivers at O'Hare.
If you're outside of Chicago and weren't aware of what's happening here, now you know. This is not okay. Nobody should be pretending this is okay.
Chicago is my favorite place in the whole world. I have lived here for 28 years and I have never felt so profoundly unsafe until this week. And it's not because of gangs or crime or unhoused people or drug users or migrants.
I feel unsafe because there are militarized units with loaded guns in the school parking lots of my district, kidnapping my neighbors.
Now please enjoy my family photo, taken last night while trying to salvage Craig's birthday and preserve normalcy for our children at one of this city's incredible restaurants.
I made this post public so that it can be shared.
I will also post footage and media links in my comments.

A white family with hearts over their children’s faces

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 1d

FLORIDA now requires public schools to share space with charter schools, and “one charter operator intends to occupy space in more than 100 public schools (!)” 🤔

Privatizing public schools at breakneck speed, filling their pockets with taxpayer funds. www.fox13news.com/news/charter...

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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 1d

"Support the troops, y'all!"

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Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 1d

Let's be clear: If North Carolina Republicans gerrymander their already illegal map further, they will be sued and they will lose.

I never bluff and I usually win.

Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 1d

🚨BREAKING: North Carolina became the latest GOP-controlled state to announce it will gerrymander its congressional map to please President Donald Trump. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

North Carolina Is Latest Gop-Controlled State To Announce a Gerrymander

Read more here.

www.democracydocket.com

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Governor Tim Walz @governorwalz.mn.gov · 1d

Today is Indigenous Peoples Day – a time to honor the 11 sovereign Tribal Nations and robust urban Native communities that continue to enrich our state’s cultural landscape, economy, and heritage.

It was a beautiful morning to celebrate on the shore of Bde Maka Ska.

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Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 2d

Spread this around. Missouri and Ohio Democrats need at least 100,000 valid signatures to take on Republican gerrymandering maps. This is the fight 🔥

Guardrails of Democracy @demguardrails.bsky.social · 3d

MO & OH Dems need us to help Rally support!

A commissioned poll shows nearly 1/2 of MO voters oppose the maps

The Dem committee needs over 100,000 valid signatures across multiple congressional districts before the state’s 90-day window expires on Dec. 11 to let voters decide on the maps.

Missouri Democrats have an opportunity to block a new congressional map. They say they’re largely on their own.

Despite relatively little investment from Washington, Missouri and Ohio Democrats are looking to block new Republican-drawn maps through uncertain avenues.

www.politico.com

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Erin Havel @erinhavel.bsky.social · 2d

Thank you Canada!!

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Mueller, She Wrote @muellershewrote.com · 2d

The reason Mike Johnson is able to keep the House closed and not pass bills to pay the military or fund the government is because Trump is going to circumvent congress and illegally steal that money from other government programs. All to avoid releasing the Epstein files.

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Erin Havel @erinhavel.bsky.social · 2d

This was on a #Chicago discussion page. I don’t know who the man with the megaphone is, but the riot geared people moved on.

Tensions are rising, but it’s important to continue peaceful protest.

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Erin Havel @erinhavel.bsky.social · 3d

Heads up:

#election
#vote

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Dominion, voting firm targeted by false 2020 election claims, sold to new owner

Company, which reached $787.5m defamation settlement with Fox News, becomes new entity called Liberty Vote

www.theguardian.com

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darren32359.bsky.social @darren32359.bsky.social · 3d

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 3d

Epstein files giving House Republicans over two months paid vacation and counting.

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 3d

Save this graph for the next time @MarshaBlackburn @SpeakerJohnson @JDVance try to hold $50 Billion for rural hospitals out as a of win for the 🇺🇸 people

We’re bad at math but $1.1 TRILLION in cuts (for tax cuts for the rich) > $50 BILLION

They think we are all morons

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Erin Havel @erinhavel.bsky.social · 3d

This is him telling on himself again. There are bad actors that his administration must be planning to plant in peaceful protests.

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Erin Havel @erinhavel.bsky.social · 3d

He’s telling on himself again. If he is claiming someone else did this then HE is placing agitators in crowds of protestors.