Kate Branden
@katebranden.bsky.social
Writer. Photographer. Wandergirl. VCFA WCYA grad. Fan of cats and wool. she/her
katebranden.com/me
katebranden.com/me
Reposted by Kate Branden
Signalgate 2.0, this time not about plans for attacking Houthis in Yemen, but sending the 82nd Airborne to Portland, Oregon
this is wild: while Stephen Miller's guy was in Minnesota for his uncle's funeral, somebody was able to see his entire phone and take pictures of his Signal group chats talking about military deployments to Portland, and brought them to the Strib (gift link: www.startribune.com/trump-offici...)
October 4, 2025 at 1:41 AM
Signalgate 2.0, this time not about plans for attacking Houthis in Yemen, but sending the 82nd Airborne to Portland, Oregon
So today Meta let me know that my Insta, which I haven’t been active on in the last year but that I check in on at least weekly, was in violation of community guidelines. I appealed and they deleted both my Insta and Threads. So I guess I’m now “Meta-free.”
See ya later, Zuck! Blue skies ahead!
See ya later, Zuck! Blue skies ahead!
October 2, 2025 at 7:34 PM
So today Meta let me know that my Insta, which I haven’t been active on in the last year but that I check in on at least weekly, was in violation of community guidelines. I appealed and they deleted both my Insta and Threads. So I guess I’m now “Meta-free.”
See ya later, Zuck! Blue skies ahead!
See ya later, Zuck! Blue skies ahead!
Reposted by Kate Branden
Hey hey
Ho ho
RFK has got to go
Ho ho
RFK has got to go
NIH whistleblowers say HHS manipulated the grant review process to undermine vaccines. @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/09/04/h...
September 4, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Hey hey
Ho ho
RFK has got to go
Ho ho
RFK has got to go
Reposted by Kate Branden
Selectively revoking constitutional rights for vulnerable minority groups is a GIGANTIC red flag. The reddest possible flag.
The "from my cold dead hands" crowd wants to ban people from owning guns
September 4, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Selectively revoking constitutional rights for vulnerable minority groups is a GIGANTIC red flag. The reddest possible flag.
Popping back in here after and rather long and unintentional absence and realizing I've missed you all. Hello again!
September 4, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Popping back in here after and rather long and unintentional absence and realizing I've missed you all. Hello again!
Reposted by Kate Branden
THIS IS HUGE! Researchers at Scripps Research Institute have developed a groundbreaking UNIVERSAL coronavirus vaccine that triggers STONG immune responses AND shows promise in neutralizing MULTIPLE coronaviruses, including those responsible for causing COVID-19, MERS, AND even the “common cold.” 🧪🧵⬇️
March 27, 2025 at 4:00 PM
THIS IS HUGE! Researchers at Scripps Research Institute have developed a groundbreaking UNIVERSAL coronavirus vaccine that triggers STONG immune responses AND shows promise in neutralizing MULTIPLE coronaviruses, including those responsible for causing COVID-19, MERS, AND even the “common cold.” 🧪🧵⬇️
Reposted by Kate Branden
The analysis he's talking about is from the Rand Corp., which is one of the most scrupulously nonpartisan research groups out there www.rand.org/pubs/working...
March 5, 2025 at 5:59 PM
The analysis he's talking about is from the Rand Corp., which is one of the most scrupulously nonpartisan research groups out there www.rand.org/pubs/working...
Reposted by Kate Branden
I'm a goofy history nerd, so DOGE makes me think about the Doge of Venice who attempted a coup in 1355. His cronies were hanged, and he was not only beheaded but declared damnatio memoriae (damnation of memory), stricken from official history forever.
It's a nice thought.
It's a nice thought.
February 27, 2025 at 5:05 AM
I'm a goofy history nerd, so DOGE makes me think about the Doge of Venice who attempted a coup in 1355. His cronies were hanged, and he was not only beheaded but declared damnatio memoriae (damnation of memory), stricken from official history forever.
It's a nice thought.
It's a nice thought.
Reposted by Kate Branden
Wow. DOGE is far more expensive than the USDS that it pretends to be.
www.propublica.org/article/doge...
www.propublica.org/article/doge...
February 20, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Wow. DOGE is far more expensive than the USDS that it pretends to be.
www.propublica.org/article/doge...
www.propublica.org/article/doge...
Reposted by Kate Branden
Please read and share. But especially share with folks that might not realize how critical Section 504 is to so many people. I tried to write a simple clear explanation at the break. Gift link here: www.startribune.com/why-are-repu...
February 21, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Please read and share. But especially share with folks that might not realize how critical Section 504 is to so many people. I tried to write a simple clear explanation at the break. Gift link here: www.startribune.com/why-are-repu...
Reposted by Kate Branden
"Sure did boss, real fuckin sexy just like you asked."
Happy Presidents’ Day!
Let’s aim for 100 weird facts about presidents, presidential elections, and maybe even vice presidents.
1. Lincoln and Washington are — as far as I know — the only two presidents to have been sculpted topless. (But please send others if they exist!)
Let’s aim for 100 weird facts about presidents, presidential elections, and maybe even vice presidents.
1. Lincoln and Washington are — as far as I know — the only two presidents to have been sculpted topless. (But please send others if they exist!)
February 17, 2025 at 4:41 PM
"Sure did boss, real fuckin sexy just like you asked."
Reposted by Kate Branden
Fascinating profile of a park ranger in San Francisco who works with unhoused residents and has adopted the novel tactic of treating them like human beings, building relationships, and helping them access resources on their own timeline.
Her job is to remove homeless people from SF's parks. Her methods are extraordinary
Instead of forcing people out of Golden Gate Park, ranger Amanda Barrows helps them find housing.
sfstandard.com
February 16, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Fascinating profile of a park ranger in San Francisco who works with unhoused residents and has adopted the novel tactic of treating them like human beings, building relationships, and helping them access resources on their own timeline.
Reposted by Kate Branden
Reposted by Kate Branden
I think about this *all* the time. What if we just encouraged *everyone* to be kind, gentle, and caring *as well as* strong, ambitious, and fierce? Why are the latter valued and the former denigrated, again and again?
Boy howdy, do I, a trans woman, have some thoughts about how the gender revolution put a lot more emphasis on letting girls do boy stuff, and almost none on letting boys do girl stuff, which if anything reinforced the idea that girl stuff is inferior if not shameful.
I think it's one of the strongest examples of how our gender revolution to this point has been incomplete, mostly a half-effort of increasing tolerance for women doing "masculine" tasks without actually degendering most tasks, while it remains taboo for men to indulge anything seen as feminine.
February 16, 2025 at 9:10 PM
I think about this *all* the time. What if we just encouraged *everyone* to be kind, gentle, and caring *as well as* strong, ambitious, and fierce? Why are the latter valued and the former denigrated, again and again?
Reposted by Kate Branden
A lot of the childhood vaccine provide durable immunity but if in doubt you can have your PCP check a titer and get a booster is your titer is low. Besides that get the recommended adult vaccines for your age group.
www.cdc.gov/vaccines/imz...
www.cdc.gov/vaccines/imz...
Recommended Vaccinations for Adults
Guide for individuals to ensure they stay up-to-date on recommended vaccines.
www.cdc.gov
February 14, 2025 at 1:41 PM
A lot of the childhood vaccine provide durable immunity but if in doubt you can have your PCP check a titer and get a booster is your titer is low. Besides that get the recommended adult vaccines for your age group.
www.cdc.gov/vaccines/imz...
www.cdc.gov/vaccines/imz...
Reposted by Kate Branden
This comment on r/fednews really stood out to me. Trump and Musk want people to think they're firing do-nothing "bureaucrats," but they're really getting rid of people dedicated to serving this country and keeping it operational. I hope these stories get told.
February 14, 2025 at 1:52 PM
This comment on r/fednews really stood out to me. Trump and Musk want people to think they're firing do-nothing "bureaucrats," but they're really getting rid of people dedicated to serving this country and keeping it operational. I hope these stories get told.
Reposted by Kate Branden
The author of this piece was an associate WH counsel under Reagan. He has a very polite way of explaining that what Trump is doing with DOGE is a coup. wapo.st/4hSE7Ox
February 12, 2025 at 1:44 PM
The author of this piece was an associate WH counsel under Reagan. He has a very polite way of explaining that what Trump is doing with DOGE is a coup. wapo.st/4hSE7Ox
Reposted by Kate Branden
If you needed something positive today, here it is.
February 12, 2025 at 11:05 PM
If you needed something positive today, here it is.
Reposted by Kate Branden
The big takeaway here is that Reuters won this case against the AI company on grounds they violated fair use—the judge found the AI company was guilty because, in using copyrighted works to generate its output, it “meant to compete... by developing a market substitute.”
Huge.
Huge.
Thomson Reuters has won the first major AI copyright case in the US. The decision has big implications for the battle between generative AI companies and rightsholders.
Thomson Reuters Wins First Major AI Copyright Case in the US
The Thomson Reuters decision has big implications for the battle between generative AI companies and rightsholders.
wrd.cm
February 11, 2025 at 9:28 PM
The big takeaway here is that Reuters won this case against the AI company on grounds they violated fair use—the judge found the AI company was guilty because, in using copyrighted works to generate its output, it “meant to compete... by developing a market substitute.”
Huge.
Huge.
Reposted by Kate Branden
🚨 COVID-19 may Enduringly Impact Cognitive Performance and Brain Haemodynamics in Undergraduate Students 🚨
Not a cold.
Not no big deal.
Not *just* a threat to the “vulnerable.”
This is brain damage.
Not a cold.
Not no big deal.
Not *just* a threat to the “vulnerable.”
This is brain damage.
February 9, 2025 at 10:46 PM
🚨 COVID-19 may Enduringly Impact Cognitive Performance and Brain Haemodynamics in Undergraduate Students 🚨
Not a cold.
Not no big deal.
Not *just* a threat to the “vulnerable.”
This is brain damage.
Not a cold.
Not no big deal.
Not *just* a threat to the “vulnerable.”
This is brain damage.
Reposted by Kate Branden
Reminder that while the “He Gets Us” ads pretend to be “inclusive”/care about everyone, up until 2024, the group that ran them (The Servant Foundation) donated over $60 million to an anti-abortion, anti-contraception, anti-LGBT rights conservative legal advocacy group (Alliance Defending Freedom).
February 10, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Reminder that while the “He Gets Us” ads pretend to be “inclusive”/care about everyone, up until 2024, the group that ran them (The Servant Foundation) donated over $60 million to an anti-abortion, anti-contraception, anti-LGBT rights conservative legal advocacy group (Alliance Defending Freedom).
Reposted by Kate Branden
February 9, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Reposted by Kate Branden
I just lost my job, along with most of my coworkers, due to the illegal grant freeze.
I worked at an organization that
-helped veterans who have lost a limb
-Assisted elderly and disabled people
-Helped hospitals better treat people who have lost limbs
I worked at an organization that
-helped veterans who have lost a limb
-Assisted elderly and disabled people
-Helped hospitals better treat people who have lost limbs
February 7, 2025 at 6:33 PM
I just lost my job, along with most of my coworkers, due to the illegal grant freeze.
I worked at an organization that
-helped veterans who have lost a limb
-Assisted elderly and disabled people
-Helped hospitals better treat people who have lost limbs
I worked at an organization that
-helped veterans who have lost a limb
-Assisted elderly and disabled people
-Helped hospitals better treat people who have lost limbs