Kristin Nicholson
@kristinndc.bsky.social
here we go again
i like congress, music & cats
i like congress, music & cats
Blair Witch at the Uptown in DC (RIP). Sold out, had to sit front row, felt like the entire theater was collectively holding its breath then screaming in unison.
Honorable mention to pretty much any movie at the old Union Station theater for sheer crowd entertainment value.
Honorable mention to pretty much any movie at the old Union Station theater for sheer crowd entertainment value.
Raising the always fun question: What are your most memorable theater-going experiences?
Mine also include The Matrix, Blair Witch, and being way too stoned in Belgium when Fellowship of the Ring was sold out so we sat in the back row for Mulholland Drive instead.
Mine also include The Matrix, Blair Witch, and being way too stoned in Belgium when Fellowship of the Ring was sold out so we sat in the back row for Mulholland Drive instead.
It was hands-down one of the most memorable theater-going experiences I can remember, a collective 30-minute butt-clench/armrest-grab for the final climb. And we knew he lived! Wild.
December 13, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Blair Witch at the Uptown in DC (RIP). Sold out, had to sit front row, felt like the entire theater was collectively holding its breath then screaming in unison.
Honorable mention to pretty much any movie at the old Union Station theater for sheer crowd entertainment value.
Honorable mention to pretty much any movie at the old Union Station theater for sheer crowd entertainment value.
Was the Grink there
December 11, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Was the Grink there
I'm having a rough week, but I just bought an archery set for a kid who's the same age my boys were when they started archery and I suddenly feel a lot better. Highly recommend!
🧵 We are, in fact, doing the thing again for @onesimplewish.bsky.social. In 2024, the kind people of this community put the money cannon on blast to help grant $75K in wishes for children in foster care. Toys, tech, a suit for job interviews. Here we go again! 👇
www.onesimplewish.org/giving/megwa...
www.onesimplewish.org/giving/megwa...
November 23, 2025 at 5:17 PM
I'm having a rough week, but I just bought an archery set for a kid who's the same age my boys were when they started archery and I suddenly feel a lot better. Highly recommend!
Reposted by Kristin Nicholson
When Nancy Pelosi stepped down as Speaker I was asked to evaluate her time as leader, which was really exciting until the scope and scale of that task began to settle in. Put simply, she is among the greatest speakers in House history. www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
Speaker Nancy Pelosi: A Master of the House
This article analyzes the record of Nancy Pelosi’s four terms as Speaker of the House of Representatives. It evaluates her performance through three main lenses: as a party leader, institutional leade...
www.degruyterbrill.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:40 PM
When Nancy Pelosi stepped down as Speaker I was asked to evaluate her time as leader, which was really exciting until the scope and scale of that task began to settle in. Put simply, she is among the greatest speakers in House history. www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
Reposted by Kristin Nicholson
New Congress, Two Beers In! We discuss the shutdown, Congress’s spending power, enduring constitutional fights, the Epstein files, and Rep-Elect Grijalva. Listen here! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
The Shutdown Again! And other sundry things.
Podcast Episode · The Government Affairs Institute · 10/24/2025 · 33m
podcasts.apple.com
October 27, 2025 at 3:35 PM
New Congress, Two Beers In! We discuss the shutdown, Congress’s spending power, enduring constitutional fights, the Epstein files, and Rep-Elect Grijalva. Listen here! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Reposted by Kristin Nicholson
I wrote about pocket rescissions, PTA meetings, and the problem of treating plainly absurd actions as technical legalistic questions.
open.substack.com/pub/mattglas...
open.substack.com/pub/mattglas...
Is that a rescission in your pocket?
I-C-A looming problem for congressional spending supremacy.
open.substack.com
September 2, 2025 at 7:56 PM
I wrote about pocket rescissions, PTA meetings, and the problem of treating plainly absurd actions as technical legalistic questions.
open.substack.com/pub/mattglas...
open.substack.com/pub/mattglas...
Never Take the Place of Your Man, Wanna Be Your Lover or Adore depending on the day
August 25, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Never Take the Place of Your Man, Wanna Be Your Lover or Adore depending on the day
💚💛
The New Pornographers' power-pop motherlode 'Twin Cinema' turns 20 tomorrow. A look back:
The New Pornographers' 'Twin Cinema' Turns 20
Carl Newman was on an unstoppable tear — an all-time NBA Jam “HE’S ON FIRE” power-pop onslaught. His band the New Pornographers had exploded out of Vancouver with their high-powered, ultra-catchy 2000...
www.stereogum.com
August 22, 2025 at 1:52 PM
💚💛
My kids have taken a DC Metrobus to and from school every day since they were 11 years old
Tom Cotton claims he has to tell his interns in DC that they need to travel around the city "with other people" because of crime
August 11, 2025 at 4:32 PM
My kids have taken a DC Metrobus to and from school every day since they were 11 years old
38, thanks in part to following the Dead for years
July 31, 2025 at 2:31 AM
38, thanks in part to following the Dead for years
Reposted by Kristin Nicholson
This is going to end up being about whether individual members of Congress have standing to sue and over what but this is a textbook limitation rider that the administration appears to be violating, and ignoring riders (spending $$ on things you've been told not to spend $$ on) is also a big deal.
July 30, 2025 at 6:07 PM
This is going to end up being about whether individual members of Congress have standing to sue and over what but this is a textbook limitation rider that the administration appears to be violating, and ignoring riders (spending $$ on things you've been told not to spend $$ on) is also a big deal.
My old boss often worked harder during "recess" than session - long days/nights of constituent meetings, town halls, ribbon-cuttings, senior centers, small biz tours, community events, and on and on. And got stopped everywhere in between by folks looking for help or answers or just to vent.
[sigh]
("District work period" sounds like a euphemism but the truth is that a big part of the job is meeting with constituents. Out of session does not equal vacation.)
("District work period" sounds like a euphemism but the truth is that a big part of the job is meeting with constituents. Out of session does not equal vacation.)
Congress taking an entire month off in a country where most people don’t get more than 2 weeks vacation is awesome
July 29, 2025 at 4:42 PM
My old boss often worked harder during "recess" than session - long days/nights of constituent meetings, town halls, ribbon-cuttings, senior centers, small biz tours, community events, and on and on. And got stopped everywhere in between by folks looking for help or answers or just to vent.
Reposted by Kristin Nicholson
I'd like to talk about the Government Accountability Office, a little known but important federal government agency. Headed by the US Comptroller General, it was established in the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 as a congressional watchdog to investigate public spending.
July 27, 2025 at 12:15 PM
I'd like to talk about the Government Accountability Office, a little known but important federal government agency. Headed by the US Comptroller General, it was established in the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 as a congressional watchdog to investigate public spending.
Little known fact many Congress experts won’t tell you: Senators can vote no if they dislike a bill or the process behind it!
Sen Lisa Murkowski (R-AK): "This has been an awful process—a frantic rush to meet an artificial deadline that has tested every limit of this institution. While we have worked to improve the present bill for Alaska, it is not good enough for the rest of our nation—and we all know it"
July 1, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Little known fact many Congress experts won’t tell you: Senators can vote no if they dislike a bill or the process behind it!
Reposted by Kristin Nicholson
I spent five weeks talking to federal workers about knowledge loss and brain drain across the federal government, and its implications, both right now and for decades to come. Their stories are frightening, but I think it's important to know what we're facing: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
When it comes to Trump's brain drain, “the damage is already done”
How the DOGE-triggered attack on government research left America in the dark.
www.motherjones.com
May 29, 2025 at 4:59 PM
I spent five weeks talking to federal workers about knowledge loss and brain drain across the federal government, and its implications, both right now and for decades to come. Their stories are frightening, but I think it's important to know what we're facing: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Kristin Nicholson
spiral notebooks are a conspiracy against left handed writers is my one conspiracy theory tbh
May 28, 2025 at 12:17 AM
spiral notebooks are a conspiracy against left handed writers is my one conspiracy theory tbh
Reposted by Kristin Nicholson
The reality is that the U.S. government is ALREADY remarkably transparent and has a ton of oversight over the work it does, and people have been working for years to make it more efficient. But that story isn't going to get clicks, so government bashing is the norm and the DOGE bros bought it all.
Interesting piece which reveals a lot of the tech bro ignorance of government: DOGEr comes in, expects to find lots of inefficiency, is at least willing to acknowledge he was wrong unlike the hard core ideologues.
May 8, 2025 at 1:54 PM
The reality is that the U.S. government is ALREADY remarkably transparent and has a ton of oversight over the work it does, and people have been working for years to make it more efficient. But that story isn't going to get clicks, so government bashing is the norm and the DOGE bros bought it all.
Reposted by Kristin Nicholson
I've seen a lot of crazy stuff on Capitol Hill, but I don't remember ever seeing this. The FBI Director is asking Congress to ignore President Trump's budget, which cuts the FBI by half a billion dollars. jamiedupree.substack.com/p/fbi-direct...
FBI Director asks Congress to ignore Trump budget cuts
More hiccups for Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'
jamiedupree.substack.com
May 8, 2025 at 11:07 AM
I've seen a lot of crazy stuff on Capitol Hill, but I don't remember ever seeing this. The FBI Director is asking Congress to ignore President Trump's budget, which cuts the FBI by half a billion dollars. jamiedupree.substack.com/p/fbi-direct...
Reposted by Kristin Nicholson
My attempt to give a clear picture of the upcoming appropriations picture left me with more questions than answers. open.substack.com/pub/joshhude...
Congress's Power of the Purse?
Contemplating the uncertain future of appropriations.
open.substack.com
April 21, 2025 at 2:25 PM
My attempt to give a clear picture of the upcoming appropriations picture left me with more questions than answers. open.substack.com/pub/joshhude...
Unload the groceries before the formation lap ends challenge starts now
April 20, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Unload the groceries before the formation lap ends challenge starts now
Reposted by Kristin Nicholson
Top Secret was Val Kilmer's best performance, I will not be taking feedback at this time
April 2, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Top Secret was Val Kilmer's best performance, I will not be taking feedback at this time
Just an incredible stroke of timing that Signalgate is playing out the same week as World Wide Threats - pretty much the only open/public hearings the House and Senate Intel committees have all year.
March 26, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Just an incredible stroke of timing that Signalgate is playing out the same week as World Wide Threats - pretty much the only open/public hearings the House and Senate Intel committees have all year.
Reposted by Kristin Nicholson
Congress could push back with stronger oversight, but its increasingly centralized structure has weakened its oversight capacity, writes @mattglassman312.bsky.social. hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/how-oversi...
How oversight got overlooked
Congress weakened committees for internal reasons - and unintentionally weakened its position in the constitutional order as a result.
hypertext.niskanencenter.org
March 10, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Congress could push back with stronger oversight, but its increasingly centralized structure has weakened its oversight capacity, writes @mattglassman312.bsky.social. hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/how-oversi...