Katherine Ward
@katheward.bsky.social
•desert archaeologist, semi-retired •anthropology adjunct prof
•environment and climate•affordable sustainable•language and evolution •(paleo)ethnobotany•rainshadow farm🌿
•environment and climate•affordable sustainable•language and evolution •(paleo)ethnobotany•rainshadow farm🌿
Reposted by Katherine Ward
It starts with knowing the truth. Don’t allow yourselves to be gaslit into believing this is a real question.
December 6, 2025 at 2:44 PM
It starts with knowing the truth. Don’t allow yourselves to be gaslit into believing this is a real question.
Reposted by Katherine Ward
Heartbreaking. The University of Nebraska will terminate its entire Earth science department.
One of the country's most successful and respected geology & climate programs: gone.
When ideologues & politicians are threatened by the very act of studying climate change, I wonder: who of us is next?
One of the country's most successful and respected geology & climate programs: gone.
When ideologues & politicians are threatened by the very act of studying climate change, I wonder: who of us is next?
It's over.
Despite the fact that the academic council recommended against it, despite the fact that the program brought in more tuition than it cost, and despite the fact that Nebraskans need & deserve this expertise, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences will be cut.
www.dailynebraskan.com/news/adminis...
Despite the fact that the academic council recommended against it, despite the fact that the program brought in more tuition than it cost, and despite the fact that Nebraskans need & deserve this expertise, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences will be cut.
www.dailynebraskan.com/news/adminis...
BREAKING: ‘This hurts’: UNL eliminates 4 programs despite faculty, student pleas
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln eliminates the Earth and atmospheric sciences 8-0, educational administration 7-1, statistics 7-1, textiles, merchandising and fashion design 7-1 programs.
www.dailynebraskan.com
December 6, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Heartbreaking. The University of Nebraska will terminate its entire Earth science department.
One of the country's most successful and respected geology & climate programs: gone.
When ideologues & politicians are threatened by the very act of studying climate change, I wonder: who of us is next?
One of the country's most successful and respected geology & climate programs: gone.
When ideologues & politicians are threatened by the very act of studying climate change, I wonder: who of us is next?
😮🥲❤️
Some good news.
“A wild beaver has been spotted in Norfolk for the first time since beavers were hunted to extinction in England at the beginning of the 16th century.”
“A wild beaver has been spotted in Norfolk for the first time since beavers were hunted to extinction in England at the beginning of the 16th century.”
‘No one knows where it came from’: first wild beaver spotted in Norfolk for 400 years
Cameras capture lone creature collecting materials for its lodge in riverside nature reserve
www.theguardian.com
December 7, 2025 at 6:07 AM
😮🥲❤️
Reposted by Katherine Ward
"I did not resign to make a symbolic point," writes Dr. Debra Houry, former chief medical officer of the CDC. "I resigned because staying silent would have made me complicit." 🛟 🧪 time.com/7338714/dr-d...
I Left the CDC 100 Days Ago. My Worst Fears About the Agency Are Coming True
"Things have not improved," writes Dr. Debra Houry. "They have worsened. And Congress has still failed to act."
time.com
December 5, 2025 at 10:08 PM
"I did not resign to make a symbolic point," writes Dr. Debra Houry, former chief medical officer of the CDC. "I resigned because staying silent would have made me complicit." 🛟 🧪 time.com/7338714/dr-d...
Reposted by Katherine Ward
The fact that a second strike like that in an armed conflict is definitely a war crime should not completely negate the fact that *there is no war* and ALL the strikes are cold-blooded murder. The whole chain of command are murderers.
December 5, 2025 at 1:20 AM
The fact that a second strike like that in an armed conflict is definitely a war crime should not completely negate the fact that *there is no war* and ALL the strikes are cold-blooded murder. The whole chain of command are murderers.
Reposted by Katherine Ward
CARTOON OF THE DAY
December 5, 2025 at 4:27 AM
CARTOON OF THE DAY
Reposted by Katherine Ward
Yep. This guy. And there are other things. That big tent thing. I bought into that with hope for a long time. No more. We see where that's landed us.
Gov. @gavinnewsom says he disagrees with Mayor @zohrankmamdani about the need for a wealth tax on billionaires, which he is “adamantly against” - says Dems are a “big tent party” with both views.
More on the CA proposal: www.sacbee.com/news/politic...
More on the CA proposal: www.sacbee.com/news/politic...
December 5, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Yep. This guy. And there are other things. That big tent thing. I bought into that with hope for a long time. No more. We see where that's landed us.
Reposted by Katherine Ward
Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents.
They’ve had their necks kneeled on.
They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.
At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them.
They’ve had their necks kneeled on.
They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.
At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them.
More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...
www.propublica.org
December 4, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents.
They’ve had their necks kneeled on.
They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.
At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them.
They’ve had their necks kneeled on.
They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.
At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them.
😮
I want to laugh but somehow that seems wrong
I want to laugh but somehow that seems wrong
Sure, an America raccoons will go out and get drunk, then pass out in liquor stores.
However, Canadian raccoons will move in to your place uninvited, then OD on fentanyl, and need you to get a vet to give them Narcan.
However, Canadian raccoons will move in to your place uninvited, then OD on fentanyl, and need you to get a vet to give them Narcan.
December 4, 2025 at 10:42 AM
😮
I want to laugh but somehow that seems wrong
I want to laugh but somehow that seems wrong
Yep. Some of us never trusted these guys. Here they are showing their true colors.
Palantir is the engine driving the immigrant dragnet, and I will note that it is also fueled by the cross-agency data DOGE illegally expropriated and fed into their system.
V WaPo:
Palantir’s software is helping U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement track undocumented immigrants and deport them faster, according to federal procurement filings and interviews with people who have knowledge of the project
wapo.st/43ZPRuc
#GiftLink
Palantir’s software is helping U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement track undocumented immigrants and deport them faster, according to federal procurement filings and interviews with people who have knowledge of the project
wapo.st/43ZPRuc
#GiftLink
December 4, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Yep. Some of us never trusted these guys. Here they are showing their true colors.
Reposted by Katherine Ward
Still waiting for a godlike AI superintelligence to solve climate change.
Meanwhile, Chevron's soon reaching FID on a 2.5 to 5 gigawatt fossil-fuelled power station being built exclusively for data centres.
(while climate-tech folks dismiss this as a meaningless rounding-error nothing-burger)
Meanwhile, Chevron's soon reaching FID on a 2.5 to 5 gigawatt fossil-fuelled power station being built exclusively for data centres.
(while climate-tech folks dismiss this as a meaningless rounding-error nothing-burger)
Chevron updates timeline for gas-fired power plant project
Chevron's first facility, to be based in West Texas, could come online in 2027, executives say
www.upstreamonline.com
December 4, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Still waiting for a godlike AI superintelligence to solve climate change.
Meanwhile, Chevron's soon reaching FID on a 2.5 to 5 gigawatt fossil-fuelled power station being built exclusively for data centres.
(while climate-tech folks dismiss this as a meaningless rounding-error nothing-burger)
Meanwhile, Chevron's soon reaching FID on a 2.5 to 5 gigawatt fossil-fuelled power station being built exclusively for data centres.
(while climate-tech folks dismiss this as a meaningless rounding-error nothing-burger)
Reposted by Katherine Ward
Reposting this everyday until Pete Hagueseth faces justice for his crimes against humanity.
Thou Shalt Not Murder Fishermen While Pardoning Drug Lords
This is evil.
www.thegodpodcast.com
December 3, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Reposting this everyday until Pete Hagueseth faces justice for his crimes against humanity.
Reposted by Katherine Ward
i'd go even further and say there is a reason even nixon kept this kind of stuff to himself. you would have to go back quite a bit to find a point at which is acceptable for a president to say anything like this *in public*, to say nothing of in the oval office.
I don’t want to be pollyannish about the past, but it was basically inconceivable twenty years ago that a president would say this publicly
Trump: "It’s a hellhole right now. And those Somalians should be out of here. They've destroyed our country. And all they do is complain, complain, complain. You have her. She’s always talking about the Constitution provides me with – go back to your own country and figure out your constitution."
December 3, 2025 at 11:04 PM
i'd go even further and say there is a reason even nixon kept this kind of stuff to himself. you would have to go back quite a bit to find a point at which is acceptable for a president to say anything like this *in public*, to say nothing of in the oval office.
Reposted by Katherine Ward
I don’t want to be pollyannish about the past, but it was basically inconceivable twenty years ago that a president would say this publicly
Trump: "It’s a hellhole right now. And those Somalians should be out of here. They've destroyed our country. And all they do is complain, complain, complain. You have her. She’s always talking about the Constitution provides me with – go back to your own country and figure out your constitution."
December 3, 2025 at 11:01 PM
I don’t want to be pollyannish about the past, but it was basically inconceivable twenty years ago that a president would say this publicly
Give your librarians some love!
📚 🦸🏻♀️RUTHERFORD COUNTY — “Go and thank your librarian. Absolute heroes.”
Library director Luanne James gets thunderous applause for bravely blowing the whistle on library board director Cody York, the latest front in the right-wing war on books in Tennessee.
Full: www.threads.com/@thetnholler...
Library director Luanne James gets thunderous applause for bravely blowing the whistle on library board director Cody York, the latest front in the right-wing war on books in Tennessee.
Full: www.threads.com/@thetnholler...
December 4, 2025 at 5:04 AM
Give your librarians some love!
Lol
“Get insurance companies out of it. We don’t need a middle man. They’re like the mob, taking their cut off the top.”
@RepTimBurchett unwittingly makes the case for MEDICARE FOR ALL as Republicans flail for a way to deal with skyrocketing health care costs.
(H/T @PabloReports)
@RepTimBurchett unwittingly makes the case for MEDICARE FOR ALL as Republicans flail for a way to deal with skyrocketing health care costs.
(H/T @PabloReports)
December 4, 2025 at 5:03 AM
Lol
👍
NEW: Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) is the latest state election leader to reject a request from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to share private, unredacted voter data with the federal government. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Colorado Tells DOJ ‘Take a Hike’ as It Rejects Demand for Statewide Voter Data
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
December 4, 2025 at 1:40 AM
👍
Reposted by Katherine Ward
The U.S. constitution is widely considered the hardest constitution in the world to amend.
The U.S. Senate is the only legislative body in the democratic world which requires a supermajority for normal legislation.
The U.S. is one of the only advanced democracies with a two-party system.
The U.S. Senate is the only legislative body in the democratic world which requires a supermajority for normal legislation.
The U.S. is one of the only advanced democracies with a two-party system.
December 3, 2025 at 3:02 PM
The U.S. constitution is widely considered the hardest constitution in the world to amend.
The U.S. Senate is the only legislative body in the democratic world which requires a supermajority for normal legislation.
The U.S. is one of the only advanced democracies with a two-party system.
The U.S. Senate is the only legislative body in the democratic world which requires a supermajority for normal legislation.
The U.S. is one of the only advanced democracies with a two-party system.
Reposted by Katherine Ward
The U.S. is the only democracy in the world with:
- Lifetime terms for high court judges
- An electoral college for choosing an executive
- A legislative chamber where legislative minorities routinely and permanently thwart legislative majorities
- 75% requirements for constitutional amendments
- Lifetime terms for high court judges
- An electoral college for choosing an executive
- A legislative chamber where legislative minorities routinely and permanently thwart legislative majorities
- 75% requirements for constitutional amendments
December 3, 2025 at 2:53 PM
The U.S. is the only democracy in the world with:
- Lifetime terms for high court judges
- An electoral college for choosing an executive
- A legislative chamber where legislative minorities routinely and permanently thwart legislative majorities
- 75% requirements for constitutional amendments
- Lifetime terms for high court judges
- An electoral college for choosing an executive
- A legislative chamber where legislative minorities routinely and permanently thwart legislative majorities
- 75% requirements for constitutional amendments
Reposted by Katherine Ward
Starbucks settles New York City worker scheduling violations. "Fast food employers must give workers regular schedules..., must provide schedules 14 days in advance and cannot reduce hours by more than 15% without ‘just cause or a legitimate business reason’." www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/n...
Starbucks to Pay $39 Million in Landmark N.Y.C. Labor Law Settlement
www.nytimes.com
December 3, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Starbucks settles New York City worker scheduling violations. "Fast food employers must give workers regular schedules..., must provide schedules 14 days in advance and cannot reduce hours by more than 15% without ‘just cause or a legitimate business reason’." www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/n...
Reposted by Katherine Ward
*stares in Adelita Grijalva*
December 3, 2025 at 3:15 PM
*stares in Adelita Grijalva*
Reposted by Katherine Ward
Agents in Key Largo, Florida ripped this woman wearing medical scrubs out of her car as she screamed she is a US citizen. Agents cuffed her and put her in one of their cars.
She was eventually let go, per David Goodhue of the Miami Herald, who also took this footage:
She was eventually let go, per David Goodhue of the Miami Herald, who also took this footage:
December 3, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Agents in Key Largo, Florida ripped this woman wearing medical scrubs out of her car as she screamed she is a US citizen. Agents cuffed her and put her in one of their cars.
She was eventually let go, per David Goodhue of the Miami Herald, who also took this footage:
She was eventually let go, per David Goodhue of the Miami Herald, who also took this footage:
Ffs 🤬
"The 6-year-old is part of a growing number of children arrested and detained by ICE"
God have mercy
God have mercy
December 3, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Ffs 🤬
Reposted by Katherine Ward
SAPPHIRE AND ICE: A Steller's jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) forages in the snow on a cold winter day near Anchorage, Alaska. Resourceful and tough, these jays have little trouble surviving Southcentral Alaska's winters.
#birds #jays #nature #photography
#birds #jays #nature #photography
December 3, 2025 at 3:37 AM
SAPPHIRE AND ICE: A Steller's jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) forages in the snow on a cold winter day near Anchorage, Alaska. Resourceful and tough, these jays have little trouble surviving Southcentral Alaska's winters.
#birds #jays #nature #photography
#birds #jays #nature #photography