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frannyhelen.bsky.social
frannyhelen
@frannyhelen.bsky.social
2.7K followers 3.5K following 630 posts
Midwestern by birth, California girl for 45 years, now in NC. Fan of excellent sports writing.
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Reposted by frannyhelen
susankayequinn.bsky.social
somehow it's "hoarding" when I keep my old tech as long as possible and resent forced obsolescence

but not "hoarding" when billionaires and tech companies suck up all the money and burn though the planet in search of endless growth
whippoorwont.bsky.social tunes to make you run away @whippoorwont.bsky.social · 22h
stupid young people, stop buying a new phone every year if you don't want to be broke. wait no, not like that.
November 26, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Reposted by frannyhelen
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
The first official confirmation that Noem herself made the decision not to turn the planes around. A couple hundred men were tortured as a result — and soon after, the Supreme Court confirmed that the Trump admin’s Alien Enemies Act process was a total violation of due process.
juliedicaro.bsky.social Julie DiCaro @juliedicaro.bsky.social · 14h
BREAKING:

“After receiving that legal advice, Secretary Noem directed that the AEA detainees who had been removed from the United States before the Court’s order could be transferred to the custody of El Salvador. “
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove provided DHS with legal advice regarding the Court’s order as to flights that had left the United States before the order issued, through DHS Acting General Counsel Joseph Mazzara. Mr. Mazzara then conveyed that legal advice, as well as his own legal advice, to Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem. See 6 U.S.C. § 113(a)(1)(J). After receiving that legal advice, Secretary Noem directed that the AEA detainees who had been removed from the United States before the Court’s order could be transferred to the custody of El Salvador. As explained below, that decision was lawful and was consistent with a reasonable interpretation of
November 26, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Reposted by frannyhelen
carmelacruz.bsky.social
Trump’s pal. If reports are correct, he was trying to seek asylum in U.S. He sounds like a nice guy. 🙄

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/w...
Bolsonaro to Start Serving 27-Year Sentence Over Coup Plot
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Reposted by frannyhelen
marcelias.bsky.social
🚨BREAKING: Wisconsin Supreme Court APPOINTS three-judge panel to hear lawsuit brought by my law firm on behalf of voters seeking new congressional boundaries in time for the 2026 election. www.democracydocket.com/cases/wiscon...
🚨 Bothfeld v. Wisconsin Elections Commission
Learn more.
www.democracydocket.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Reposted by frannyhelen
kimmasters.bsky.social
Witkoff is a joke and it enrages me that he gets to walk around thinking he isn’t.
November 26, 2025 at 1:47 AM
Reposted by frannyhelen
bgrueskin.bsky.social
"Now, me to you, I know what it’s going to take to get a peace deal done: Donetsk and maybe a land swap somewhere."
-- Steve Witkoff, in his call to Putin aide Yuri Ushakov

Read the whole transcript of the Oct 14 call. It's amazing.

Gift link (for 7 days) ⤵️

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Witkoff Discusses Ukraine Plans With Key Putin Aide: Transcript
The following is a transcript of an Oct. 14 phone call lasting just over 5 minutes between Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy for peace missions, and Yuri Ushakov, Vladimir Putin’s most senio...
www.bloomberg.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Reposted by frannyhelen
blackamazon.bsky.social
PERTUSSIS?!? PERTUSSIS

Babies are dying of things I only read about in Little House on The Prarie
jessdkant.bsky.social Jesspooka Kant 🎃 @jessdkant.bsky.social · 17h
A third infant has died in Kentucky, KYDPH adds:

“These are Kentucky’s first pertussis deaths since 2018. None of the infants nor their mothers received the recommended pertussis vaccinations during pregnancy or early infancy.”

s3.amazonaws.com/nursing-netw...
Kentucky Public Health KENTUCKY HEALTH ALERT Increase in Pertussis in Kentucky Recommendations for Identification and Prevention November 21, 2025 Kentucky health officials are alerting providers that cases of pertussis ("whooping cough") have increased steadily across the Commonwealth in recent weeks. To date, 566 cases of pertussis have been reported in Kentucky in 2025, the highest number of cases in the Commonwealth since 2012. This follows a trend that was first announced in July 2024 when pertussis cases began increasing in Kentucky to levels not seen in over a decade. Health officials anticipate that pertussis will continue to increase during the winter months based on historic trends. Many U.S. states and other countries are also experiencing elevated levels of pertussis. Many of the recent cases have occurred in young infants, and health officials also recently confirmed the third pertussis-related death in a Kentucky infant within the last year. This follows two other infant deaths that were announced in June. These are Kentucky's first pertussis deaths since 2018. None of the infants nor their mothers received the recommended pertussis vaccinations during pregnancy or early infancy. Health officials urge all Kentuckians to remain up to date on recommended pertussis immunizations and emphasize the importance of maternal immunization during pregnancy, and for all infants beginning promptly at two months of age. Health officials also encourage providers to consider pertussis as a diagnosis in addition to circulating seasonal respiratory viruses such as influenza, RSV and COVID-19. A significant number of cases have also occurred in school-aged children, many of whom were up to date on pertussis vaccination. Immunity from vaccination or natural infection wanes over time so infections can occur in people who are fully vaccinated. However, the vaccine is known to reduce disease severity, and hospitalization among vaccinated individuals is rare. The Kentucky Dep… Kentucky Public Health regularly in Kentucky, however an increase beyond the expected background rate has been reported in recent weeks. Though pertussis vaccination (DTaP or Tdap) is available and widely implemented, B. pertussis continues to spread in the U.S. due to lack of vaccination or timely boosters, the lack of lifelong immunity from vaccination or natural infection and the long duration of infectiousness in untreated cases. Symptoms of pertussis usually begin with a runny or congested nose, a low-grade fever, and mild coughing; apnea/stopping breathing can also occur in infants. After one to two weeks, the cough can progress to rapid, violent (paroxysmal) coughing fits that can cause the "whooping" sound, vomiting or labored breathing. Young children are the most severely affected; most teens and adults will have mild symptoms. People with preexisting health conditions that may be worsened by whooping cough are at high risk for developing a severe infection. Testing for Pertussis: The preferred methods for pertussis testing include nasal pharyngeal (NP) swab or nasal wash via PCR testing or culture. PCR has optimal sensitivity during the first three weeks of cough, is widely available at commercial laboratories and has a fast turnaround time. Culture is considered the gold standard due to excellent specificity but may take longer to complete. Serology for antibodies to B. pertussis is available at many commercial laboratories, however, serologic assays are not generally recommended for primary diagnosis of pertussis due to variability and unknown clinical accuracy. The most promising serologic assays are those that measure IgG antibodies against pertussis toxin only and are collected two to eight weeks following cough onset. Prevention of Pertussis: Prevention of pertussis is primarily achieved through routine vaccination with DTaP (ages two months to six years) and Tdap (ages seven years and older), followed by appropriate booster doses. Vaccination of pr… Bordetella parapertussis B. parapertussis is a bacterium that is similar to B. pertussis and can cause pertussis-like illness but does not produce pertussis toxin. Symptoms of parapertussis are typically milder and infection may be asymptomatic. There is no vaccine for B. parapertussis and post-exposure prophylaxis is not recommended, however treatment recommendations for symptomatic patients are the same as those for B. pertussis. B. parapertussis is not reportable in Kentucky. Thank you for your attention to this alert and guidance. The KDPH pertussis website includes supplemental resources, including a pertussis quicksheet with additional information that providers may find useful. If you have questions regarding reporting, testing, or prevention of pertussis or other infectious diseases, please contact the Kentucky Immunization Branch at (502) 564-4478 or after hours by calling the KDPH Epidemiology on-call line at 888-9-REPORT (888-973-7678). Our Mission: To improve the health and safety of people in Kentucky through Prevention, Promotion, and Protection
November 26, 2025 at 1:48 AM
Reposted by frannyhelen
charles.littlegreenfootballs.com
It was only a failure if you assume they ever had good intentions. If you assume they intended to destroy the federal government from within, they succeeded.

We’ll be dealing with the results of this monumental breach of the federal government for many years to come.
nycjayjay.bsky.social Jay Kuo @nycjayjay.bsky.social · 14h
This point needs to be made and frequently.
November 26, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Reposted by frannyhelen
the17thqueen.bsky.social
I wish to god every artist and every person who knows artists or buys the work of artists understood all of this.

We don’t live in a society which values or is willing to support creatives, yet it feels entitled to their work.

The art world is NOT a meritocracy, that is certain.
scalzi.com John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 15h
2. It's rare for any creative, including writers, to be able to live solely off their creative income. Moreover, there is no correlation between the creative value of art and the income status of its creator. It's okay to have another gig to eat and pay bills and survive our capitalist hellscape.
November 26, 2025 at 1:39 AM
Reposted by frannyhelen
nonfinality.com
This is one county north of Columbus, and it’s bad. Really, really bad. My best wishes & sympathy for the prosecutor whom this felony-court judge is credibly accused of stalking & sexually assaulting.

(They’ll have a visiting judge & special prosecutor from a different county.)
Delaware County judge accused of sexually assaulting assistant prosecutor
Delaware County Common Pleas Court James Schuck is accused of stalking an assistant prosecutor and pressuring her for sex.
www.dispatch.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:48 AM
Reposted by frannyhelen
gbrockell.bsky.social
Sending people to a country we know will send them back to a place where they face persecution is called chain refoulement and it’s against US and international law. So that’s why our govt is pretending it isn’t aware of what Ghana has been doing for two months.
November 26, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Reposted by frannyhelen
gbrockell.bsky.social
Yes, I’ve heard from immigration attorney that this is a regular practice on ICE flights to Africa. They will pick 1-10 migrants at random for the WRAP device (basically a straitjacket, sometimes with a hood or spitguard added) as a way to threaten others. “Behave or this will happen to you, too.”
Alghali called his mother while the I-Team was with him. She said as she was flown from the U.S. to Ghana, her wrists and ankles were shackled for the entire 10-hour flight. Some had it even worse, she said. "There was another guy on the floor. That guy, they chained from the head. Down to the feet," Kuyateh said. "They said if you don't cooperate with us, that's how we're going to tie you."
November 26, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Reposted by frannyhelen
gbrockell.bsky.social
Ms. Kuyateh was one of 19 third-country nationals sent to Ghana on Nov. 6. At least 61 TCNs have been removed there since September.

Others report similar treatment. Nigerians were forced to cross into Togo w/o documents, rendering them essentially stateless

www.nbcwashington.com/investigatio...
Woman deported from Maryland shown on video being dragged in Ghana
Rabbiatu Kuyateh was detained this summer at her annual ICE check-in, her son said. She moved to the D.C. area 30 years ago as she fled civil war in Sierra Leone.
www.nbcwashington.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Reposted by frannyhelen
felipedlh.bsky.social
I think it shocks some of my students but I emphasize that having a job outside journalism is fine and common. I also toss in practical industry talk that’s not strictly in the curriculum. On Monday we discussed contracts: “for-hire,” indemnity, kill fees, scope of work. Freelancers need to know!
moryan.bsky.social Mo Ryan @moryan.bsky.social · 16h
If you have ever thought that my journalism or my first book were net positives for the world, understand that they probably would not exist if I did not have a spouse who paid the mortgage. If I'd been a solo earner/parent, I likely would have left criticism, journalism or book writing long ago.
lindsaykingmiller.bsky.social thank u, hexed @lindsaykingmiller.bsky.social · 16h
And the folks who are actually writing full-time generally only got there after years of day jobs, family support, or both.

The point of sharing this is not to demoralize anyone, but to let emerging writers know they're not failing if they can't make a living off writing alone. Almost no one can.
November 26, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Reposted by frannyhelen
jael.bsky.social
Republican senator now publicly defending Mark Kelly
Lisa Murkowski : Senator Kelly valiantly served our country as an aviator in the U.S. Navy before later completing four space shuttle missions as a NASA astronaut. To accuse him and other lawmakers of treason and sedition for rightfully pointing out that servicemembers can refuse illegal orders is reckless and flat-out wrong. The Department of Defense and FBI surely have more important priorities than this frivolous investigation.
November 25, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Reposted by frannyhelen
mrsbettybowers.bsky.social
Hilarious to see Trump aide Steve Witkoff coach Yuri Ushakov, the top foreign policy aide to Putin, on how to butter up the perpetually praise-needy, Donald Trump. They all know he’s a thirsty pushover if given enough false flattery.
November 26, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Reposted by frannyhelen
tomjoscelyn.bsky.social
This should be a major scandal. The Blaze falsely reported that a former U.S. Capitol Police officer was the Jan. 6th pipe bomber. But it wasn’t just another miss by conservative media promoting conspiracies.

Someone in US intel - at ODNI - was promoting it:

www.cbsnews.com/news/jan-6-p...
November 25, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Reposted by frannyhelen
scalzi.com
Sure. I was a journalist and freelancer for many years, starting in 1990; it wasn't until about 2010 that the books I wrote became my primary source of income. I was a professional writer through all of that time; it was my day job before it was my current job.
ostaley.bsky.social Oliver Staley @ostaley.bsky.social · 15h
There are also lots of ways to be a writer. It’s not really clear what sort of writer people are talking about. Authors of books of fiction? Freelance essayists? I earned a living as a salaried journalist for 30 years and now I work in corporate communications. I was a writer then and a writer now
November 26, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Reposted by frannyhelen
rincewind.run
could not agree more it’s so much better
rincewind.run Micah @rincewind.run · 17h
my take on Food Discourse is that it's always ridiculous but it's also nice to be fighting about dumb internet shit again instead of dealing with Oppressive Despair all the time so please keep posting your bad takes
November 26, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Reposted by frannyhelen
erinbiba.bsky.social
Y’all I’m really enjoying the pie discourse.

We have to do more ridiculous shit like this.

We can’t just torture ourselves and each other all day every day with trauma.

It’s good to sometimes have some silly fun and remember that happiness still exists and we should fight for more of it.
November 26, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Reposted by frannyhelen
sbworkersunited.org
Solidarity with @teamsters.bsky.social , who sanctioned our strike nationwide and won't be delivering food, picking up trash, or bringing packages across picket lines! ✊🔥

#NoContractNoCoffee
November 25, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Reposted by frannyhelen
elnopower.bsky.social
No Report, no Health plan, no NOTHING... except hate, chaos, and cruelty 😡
November 25, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Reposted by frannyhelen
joneson.bsky.social
👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
letatcestmoi.bsky.social L’Etat C’est Moi @letatcestmoi.bsky.social · 18h
NC Gov. Josh Stein is asking us to support Justice Anita Earls, who’s up for re-election to the NC Supreme Court in 2026.

Anita is one of only two Democratic justices on the Court. The NC GOP is targeting her.

Support Anita Earls so she can win in numbers too big to challenge!

earls4justice.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Reposted by frannyhelen
sari.bsky.social
A little lesson on socialism v democratic socialism v communism
November 25, 2025 at 11:40 PM