Tom Vásquez
@tomvasquez.bsky.social
Dad, progressive, troublemaker, grandson of Mexican immigrants, storyteller. All opinions expressed here are my own. Tigers/Mariners fan. He/him.
Reposted by Tom Vásquez
Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer.
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
November 9, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer.
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
Reposted by Tom Vásquez
Not a political consultant but I’m not sure “standing up to trump doesn’t work” is the best midterm message, even if if accurately represents senate dems position. Not much point in putting you in power then bsky.app/profile/atru...
November 10, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Not a political consultant but I’m not sure “standing up to trump doesn’t work” is the best midterm message, even if if accurately represents senate dems position. Not much point in putting you in power then bsky.app/profile/atru...
Reposted by Tom Vásquez
some good news: kim davis publicly ate shit, again
New: The Supreme Court DENIES Kim Davis' request to overturn Obergefell, the marriage equality decision. No noted dissents. www.supremecourt.gov/orders/court...
November 10, 2025 at 2:37 PM
some good news: kim davis publicly ate shit, again
Reposted by Tom Vásquez
idk which possibility is more damning for Schumer
either
A) he helped orchestrate the fold
OR
B) he genuinely opposed the fold but was so incompetent that he was unable to stop the splinter group from folding
either
A) he helped orchestrate the fold
OR
B) he genuinely opposed the fold but was so incompetent that he was unable to stop the splinter group from folding
November 10, 2025 at 4:44 AM
idk which possibility is more damning for Schumer
either
A) he helped orchestrate the fold
OR
B) he genuinely opposed the fold but was so incompetent that he was unable to stop the splinter group from folding
either
A) he helped orchestrate the fold
OR
B) he genuinely opposed the fold but was so incompetent that he was unable to stop the splinter group from folding
Reposted by Tom Vásquez
SINCERE POST™️: you might be very angry tonight. don't let that anger eat you. that doesn't mean "don't be angry." just don't let it turn you to despair. anger in an energy, and you can use it as fuel for actions. As the saying goes, let this radicalize you
November 10, 2025 at 5:22 AM
SINCERE POST™️: you might be very angry tonight. don't let that anger eat you. that doesn't mean "don't be angry." just don't let it turn you to despair. anger in an energy, and you can use it as fuel for actions. As the saying goes, let this radicalize you
With all due respect (which is none), this is a lie. You have rolled over, you engineered a surrender and then pretended your dirty hands were clean. Shame on you.
Democrats have been fighting for months to address America's healthcare crisis
For the millions who will lose coverage
For people with cancer who won't get the care they need
For working families who can't afford to pay $25K more a year for healthcare
We will keep fighting
For the millions who will lose coverage
For people with cancer who won't get the care they need
For working families who can't afford to pay $25K more a year for healthcare
We will keep fighting
November 10, 2025 at 5:20 AM
With all due respect (which is none), this is a lie. You have rolled over, you engineered a surrender and then pretended your dirty hands were clean. Shame on you.
Reposted by Tom Vásquez
Reposted by Tom Vásquez
That doesn't mean let up on the pressure, oh no. Just that I cannot, and you cannot, let your sense of purpose depend on Democratic Senators doing the work. They - en masse - will not. Not yet anyway.
November 10, 2025 at 4:21 AM
That doesn't mean let up on the pressure, oh no. Just that I cannot, and you cannot, let your sense of purpose depend on Democratic Senators doing the work. They - en masse - will not. Not yet anyway.
Reposted by Tom Vásquez
These 8 Senators sold us out to Trump:
Hassan
King
Cortez-Masto
Shaheen
Kaine
Fetterman
Durbin
Rosen
Understand This Fact: Chuck Schumer is behind this. None of these 8 are up for reelection in 2026. Schumer asked them vote yes—they agreed. He's such a coward that he folded and won't even own it.
Hassan
King
Cortez-Masto
Shaheen
Kaine
Fetterman
Durbin
Rosen
Understand This Fact: Chuck Schumer is behind this. None of these 8 are up for reelection in 2026. Schumer asked them vote yes—they agreed. He's such a coward that he folded and won't even own it.
November 10, 2025 at 2:59 AM
These 8 Senators sold us out to Trump:
Hassan
King
Cortez-Masto
Shaheen
Kaine
Fetterman
Durbin
Rosen
Understand This Fact: Chuck Schumer is behind this. None of these 8 are up for reelection in 2026. Schumer asked them vote yes—they agreed. He's such a coward that he folded and won't even own it.
Hassan
King
Cortez-Masto
Shaheen
Kaine
Fetterman
Durbin
Rosen
Understand This Fact: Chuck Schumer is behind this. None of these 8 are up for reelection in 2026. Schumer asked them vote yes—they agreed. He's such a coward that he folded and won't even own it.
Reposted by Tom Vásquez
i think this is key. taking the deal would amount to taking the blame. it would turn a clear political victory into an unambiguous defeat.
If the Dems blink after all of this, for a deal that all but ensures no ACA subsidies in 2026 anyway, then what was the purpose of letting the shutdown go for 40 days in the first place?
November 10, 2025 at 12:56 AM
i think this is key. taking the deal would amount to taking the blame. it would turn a clear political victory into an unambiguous defeat.
Reposted by Tom Vásquez
I'm hearing the same thing. Dems are nearing a surrender. I'm shocked. Largest protest in history + best election night in years + polling showing we're kicking their ass in public opinion. And now Dems may cave.
It ain't over til it's over, so please do call if you've got a Dem senator.
It ain't over til it's over, so please do call if you've got a Dem senator.
Sounds like the squishes in the senate caucus are ready to pull the plug with no ACA changes. This is real. If you want to register your opinion you shld call yr senator in the next hour. They not only want to reopen w/nothing. They want cover from their colleagues who still want to hold out.
November 9, 2025 at 9:04 PM
I'm hearing the same thing. Dems are nearing a surrender. I'm shocked. Largest protest in history + best election night in years + polling showing we're kicking their ass in public opinion. And now Dems may cave.
It ain't over til it's over, so please do call if you've got a Dem senator.
It ain't over til it's over, so please do call if you've got a Dem senator.
Reposted by Tom Vásquez
Sometimes I wonder if our many years of jokes about writers hating writing and doing anything but writing, etc, have convinced people that the writing part is the hurdle and the goal is just to have a thing in hand. But I am here to tell you: the writing is the best part. The act is the thing.
November 9, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Sometimes I wonder if our many years of jokes about writers hating writing and doing anything but writing, etc, have convinced people that the writing part is the hurdle and the goal is just to have a thing in hand. But I am here to tell you: the writing is the best part. The act is the thing.
Reposted by Tom Vásquez
“I want you to understand what it is like to live in Chicago during this time.”
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
November 9, 2025 at 5:26 PM
“I want you to understand what it is like to live in Chicago during this time.”
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
Reposted by Tom Vásquez
Cyndi Lauper delivered a powerful call to action during her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
"Look at us: We are a community of light. Don't forget that, in case it gets really dark."
Photo by Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for RRHOF
"Look at us: We are a community of light. Don't forget that, in case it gets really dark."
Photo by Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for RRHOF
November 9, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Cyndi Lauper delivered a powerful call to action during her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
"Look at us: We are a community of light. Don't forget that, in case it gets really dark."
Photo by Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for RRHOF
"Look at us: We are a community of light. Don't forget that, in case it gets really dark."
Photo by Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for RRHOF
I haven't set foot in a Target in a year, and this is a great way to guarantee that I will never enter a Target again.
"Store employees are now required to smile if they are within 10 feet of a shopper.
They also must make eye contact with and wave to or greet the customer.
If they’re within four feet, the employee should ask how the customer’s day is going or if they need help."
🙄 Won't stop the boycott, y'all.
They also must make eye contact with and wave to or greet the customer.
If they’re within four feet, the employee should ask how the customer’s day is going or if they need help."
🙄 Won't stop the boycott, y'all.
Target is now requiring its employees to smile more
As the holiday season fast approaches, Target is urging its employees to add a little more “jolly” to their work routine.
www.wilx.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:51 PM
I haven't set foot in a Target in a year, and this is a great way to guarantee that I will never enter a Target again.
Zero.
And I still own that proper dusty dictionary. I won it in a spelling bee.
And I still own that proper dusty dictionary. I won it in a spelling bee.
(i got a zero lolz)
THE FABULOUS WEIRD CHECKLIST
Give yourself I point for each thing you've NEVER done.
THE FABULOUS WEIRD CHECKLIST
Give yourself I point for each thing you've NEVER done.
November 8, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Zero.
And I still own that proper dusty dictionary. I won it in a spelling bee.
And I still own that proper dusty dictionary. I won it in a spelling bee.
Reposted by Tom Vásquez
which generation let this slip out of regular usage, how dare they
Word of the Day is ‘catchfart’ (17th century): an obsequious individual who sucks up to the boss and always follows the political wind.
November 7, 2025 at 6:36 PM
which generation let this slip out of regular usage, how dare they
Reposted by Tom Vásquez
am reminded of the old joke: what did James Watson discover?
Rosalind Franklin’s notes.
Rosalind Franklin’s notes.
November 7, 2025 at 9:15 PM
am reminded of the old joke: what did James Watson discover?
Rosalind Franklin’s notes.
Rosalind Franklin’s notes.
Reposted by Tom Vásquez
White supremacist James Watson, who stole women’s work on DNA and presented it as his own, is dead at 97
James Watson, who stole women’s work on DNA and presented it as his own, is dead at 97
There, fixed it for you
(Also, TIL he was still alive…)
There, fixed it for you
(Also, TIL he was still alive…)
November 7, 2025 at 9:43 PM
White supremacist James Watson, who stole women’s work on DNA and presented it as his own, is dead at 97
Reposted by Tom Vásquez
If I was running for Congress, I would promise to appropriate money for USAID, b/c as far as I am concerned it remains an agency as no-one repealed the statute that created it in 1998. It blew my mind at the time that we were like, yep, sure, we will just close an agency without authorization.
The elimination of USAID was an unforgivable moral atrocity that should haunt Trump, Elon Musk and Marco Rubio for the rest of their days and beyond
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
November 7, 2025 at 2:30 PM
If I was running for Congress, I would promise to appropriate money for USAID, b/c as far as I am concerned it remains an agency as no-one repealed the statute that created it in 1998. It blew my mind at the time that we were like, yep, sure, we will just close an agency without authorization.
Reposted by Tom Vásquez
💀See Miss World Chile IGNACIA FERNÁNDEZ contestant growl original death-metal song
www.revolvermag.com/culture/see-...
www.revolvermag.com/culture/see-...
See Miss World Chile contestant growl original death-metal song
Ignacia Fernández doubles as Decessus vocalist
www.revolvermag.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:31 PM
💀See Miss World Chile IGNACIA FERNÁNDEZ contestant growl original death-metal song
www.revolvermag.com/culture/see-...
www.revolvermag.com/culture/see-...
The alt text is pure poetry.
November 7, 2025 at 12:48 AM
The alt text is pure poetry.
Reposted by Tom Vásquez
It’s been a pleasure working with Lex and everyone in the politics vertical at Teen Vogue. I’m heartbroken that my column, Disability Visibility, is gone. Teen Vogue was one of the few places that published disabled journalists regularly. I just spent the last 2 months working on my next column
I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day.
certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
November 6, 2025 at 5:28 AM
It’s been a pleasure working with Lex and everyone in the politics vertical at Teen Vogue. I’m heartbroken that my column, Disability Visibility, is gone. Teen Vogue was one of the few places that published disabled journalists regularly. I just spent the last 2 months working on my next column
Reposted by Tom Vásquez
Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson: We are in a critical moment right now, y'all. So I need you to take this call to action seriously. Make sure your Senator knows that you want ACA healthcare credits extended and an end to the shutdown, not one or the other.
November 6, 2025 at 1:17 AM
Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson: We are in a critical moment right now, y'all. So I need you to take this call to action seriously. Make sure your Senator knows that you want ACA healthcare credits extended and an end to the shutdown, not one or the other.