Colleen Madigan
@colleenmadigan.bsky.social
Former Maine State Representative, Democrat, Knitter, Potter, Artsy, Gamer, Social Worker, Geek, Caregiver. Cat and dog mom. Cool husband. May start writing snarky things again...
Today the pottery studio I belong to did a raku firing for the first time. This is my piece. Spectrum Raku Nebula glaze x3. And I am in love. I need to do more raku.
December 20, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Today the pottery studio I belong to did a raku firing for the first time. This is my piece. Spectrum Raku Nebula glaze x3. And I am in love. I need to do more raku.
Reposted by Colleen Madigan
RFK Jr. has staffed Health and Human Services with officials that have significant ties to the very corporations that rhetorically oppose the MAHA movement. From Julian Scoffield and @toni-v-aguilar.bsky.social:
trib.al/Ke9mtG7
trib.al/Ke9mtG7
Meet RFK’s Corporate Underlings - The American Prospect
The administration’s rhetoric about breaking corporate power in health care rings hollow, as several top officials in the Department of Health and Human Services worked for the very corporate interests their boss claims to oppose.
trib.al
October 24, 2025 at 4:15 PM
RFK Jr. has staffed Health and Human Services with officials that have significant ties to the very corporations that rhetorically oppose the MAHA movement. From Julian Scoffield and @toni-v-aguilar.bsky.social:
trib.al/Ke9mtG7
trib.al/Ke9mtG7
Reposted by Colleen Madigan
Next time some Trumper says we have to help our own people first, tell them about this.
More Retirees Are Living on Less, and Losing a Means of Help to Pay for Medicare
The budget bill signed by President Trump suspended an effort to enroll more low-income older Americans in programs that assist them with rising health care costs.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/04/b...
The budget bill signed by President Trump suspended an effort to enroll more low-income older Americans in programs that assist them with rising health care costs.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/04/b...
Millions of Poor Retirees Have Lost an Easier Path to Help With Medicare
www.nytimes.com
October 5, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Next time some Trumper says we have to help our own people first, tell them about this.
My cat, Leroy Jenkins had emergency surgery this week. Testicular cancer. He never developed big tom cat cojones, never sprayed, etc. But one of those small balls went bad and got big. Here he is recuperating at home. His appetite is back. He loves attention and purrs. He loathes the cone.
September 13, 2025 at 4:55 PM
My cat, Leroy Jenkins had emergency surgery this week. Testicular cancer. He never developed big tom cat cojones, never sprayed, etc. But one of those small balls went bad and got big. Here he is recuperating at home. His appetite is back. He loves attention and purrs. He loathes the cone.
Reposted by Colleen Madigan
Here's a scenario that someone should ask RFK Jr. about: an under-65 person with no major health conditions who is providing some in-person support for an older family member undergoing treatments that weaken the immune system. Can that person get a COVID shot?
It's me, and I can't.
It's me, and I can't.
September 7, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Here's a scenario that someone should ask RFK Jr. about: an under-65 person with no major health conditions who is providing some in-person support for an older family member undergoing treatments that weaken the immune system. Can that person get a COVID shot?
It's me, and I can't.
It's me, and I can't.
This may be the best mug I have made so far!
September 3, 2025 at 5:42 PM
This may be the best mug I have made so far!
I am one of these 63 million. The financial, emotional, and physical stress is incredible. And if your family member doesn't qualify for Medicaid, you really are on your own. I don't feel like American is great again.
More than 63 million Americans are caregivers for a family member with complex medical needs, a 20 million increase over the past decade, according to a new report. | via @Stateline.org mainemorningstar.com/2025/07/29/m...
More Americans are family caregivers; states struggle to help them, report finds • Maine Morning Star
More than 63 million Americans are caregivers for a family member with complex medical needs, a 20 million increase over the past decade, according to a new report. But state policies, workplaces and…
mainemorningstar.com
July 29, 2025 at 12:45 PM
I am one of these 63 million. The financial, emotional, and physical stress is incredible. And if your family member doesn't qualify for Medicaid, you really are on your own. I don't feel like American is great again.
Could someone please tell Susan Collins that her rural hospital fund amendment idea will do diddly-squat if the federal match for Medicaid expansion is reduced from 90%. I mean, the fund wasn't enough anyway, but with no enhanced match, it's essentially useless, much like her.
June 29, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Could someone please tell Susan Collins that her rural hospital fund amendment idea will do diddly-squat if the federal match for Medicaid expansion is reduced from 90%. I mean, the fund wasn't enough anyway, but with no enhanced match, it's essentially useless, much like her.
This started out as a mug, but it wasn't to be. So I put a hole in the bottom and tried out a new glaze combo. So it's a plant pot on my porch now!
June 21, 2025 at 12:25 AM
This started out as a mug, but it wasn't to be. So I put a hole in the bottom and tried out a new glaze combo. So it's a plant pot on my porch now!
Just a couple of us potters at the No Kings rally in Waterville, Maine today. I'm on the right. Great turnout! All ages. People were excited!
June 14, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Just a couple of us potters at the No Kings rally in Waterville, Maine today. I'm on the right. Great turnout! All ages. People were excited!
Reposted by Colleen Madigan
As Medicaid cuts harm rural health care and thus rural people’s health, they also harm rural economies. #mepolitics
"Those cuts not only threaten health care coverage for millions of vulnerable Americans but also would endanger many rural hospitals, which are more likely than urban hospitals to rely on government health care spending to stay in business." newrepublic.com/article/1955...
The Republicans’ Medicaid Cuts Could Cause a Rural Unemployment Crisis
The spending cuts could force many rural hospitals to close. That wouldn’t just be a crisis for rural health care but for rural employment too.
newrepublic.com
May 21, 2025 at 11:43 AM
As Medicaid cuts harm rural health care and thus rural people’s health, they also harm rural economies. #mepolitics
The Maine Pottery Tour was this weekend! I was happy to show my work in our studio in Waterville-The Art of Clay Studio. A while ago, I set a goal to make 100 mugs, so I would know how to make a good mug. I did it! Here are some of them.
May 5, 2025 at 1:12 PM
The Maine Pottery Tour was this weekend! I was happy to show my work in our studio in Waterville-The Art of Clay Studio. A while ago, I set a goal to make 100 mugs, so I would know how to make a good mug. I did it! Here are some of them.
I got this out of the kiln yesterday and it demanded that it go to a friend. I think she will like it.
Also, keep on defending democracy and the vulnerable.
Also, keep on defending democracy and the vulnerable.
April 24, 2025 at 11:28 AM
I got this out of the kiln yesterday and it demanded that it go to a friend. I think she will like it.
Also, keep on defending democracy and the vulnerable.
Also, keep on defending democracy and the vulnerable.
Reposted by Colleen Madigan
It's Patriot's Day here in Maine, the day we celebrate the start of the American Revolution. Those colonists had had enough of a king who lock someone away without any evidence of a crime. And here's a pic of a mug I got out of the kiln this weekend. Pretty proud of this one.
April 21, 2025 at 7:38 PM
It's Patriot's Day here in Maine, the day we celebrate the start of the American Revolution. Those colonists had had enough of a king who lock someone away without any evidence of a crime. And here's a pic of a mug I got out of the kiln this weekend. Pretty proud of this one.
Gotta say I am pretty proud of this mug. I will be drinking my coffee out of this tomorrow morning. And I had breakfast with a state Democratic Representative and we had a nice chat.
April 12, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Gotta say I am pretty proud of this mug. I will be drinking my coffee out of this tomorrow morning. And I had breakfast with a state Democratic Representative and we had a nice chat.
If you're in Maine, consider coming to this free event this Thursday. A movie screening and discussion regarding homelessness in Maine. I'll be on the panel discussing what we are doing here in Waterville.
April 8, 2025 at 11:29 PM
If you're in Maine, consider coming to this free event this Thursday. A movie screening and discussion regarding homelessness in Maine. I'll be on the panel discussing what we are doing here in Waterville.
A really good piece by @citizencohn.bsky.social on Trump, Musk, and RFK's gutting of the agency that has actually made progress in addressing the opioid epidemic.
When ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Actually Means the Opposite www.thebulwark.com/p/when-make-...
When ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Actually Means the Opposite www.thebulwark.com/p/when-make-...
When ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Actually Means the Opposite
As part of a ‘painful period’ of cuts, Trump and RFK Jr. plan on dismantling the agency that focuses on substance abuse.
www.thebulwark.com
March 30, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Got a number of mugs out of the kiln yesterday. I think this one is my favorite. I'm gonna keep this one. And yes, my coffee was delicious in this mug this morning!
March 22, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Got a number of mugs out of the kiln yesterday. I think this one is my favorite. I'm gonna keep this one. And yes, my coffee was delicious in this mug this morning!
Reposted by Colleen Madigan
BREAKING: Trump's billionaire Commerce Secretary says that seniors won't care if they don't get their Social Security checks — and that anyone who does complain is a fraudster.
March 21, 2025 at 6:19 PM
BREAKING: Trump's billionaire Commerce Secretary says that seniors won't care if they don't get their Social Security checks — and that anyone who does complain is a fraudster.
Our local supermarket is undergoing renovations. They keep changing where things; shelves are empty sometimes. So they didn't have Frankie's usual treats. I bought what I thought was an acceptable alternative. Frankie disagrees. I think he would also like to speak to the manager at Hannaford
February 25, 2025 at 3:47 AM
Our local supermarket is undergoing renovations. They keep changing where things; shelves are empty sometimes. So they didn't have Frankie's usual treats. I bought what I thought was an acceptable alternative. Frankie disagrees. I think he would also like to speak to the manager at Hannaford
Got this out of the kiln today. I think it's the best mug I have done so far. The walls are even. The shape is good. I love the colors.
Pottery is a process. Not everything you make works out. But you keep trying, learning. Much like we all have to do in the present moment. Just keep trying.
Pottery is a process. Not everything you make works out. But you keep trying, learning. Much like we all have to do in the present moment. Just keep trying.
February 12, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Got this out of the kiln today. I think it's the best mug I have done so far. The walls are even. The shape is good. I love the colors.
Pottery is a process. Not everything you make works out. But you keep trying, learning. Much like we all have to do in the present moment. Just keep trying.
Pottery is a process. Not everything you make works out. But you keep trying, learning. Much like we all have to do in the present moment. Just keep trying.