The Trowel and Pen
@thetrowelandpen.bsky.social
Archaeologist. 🏞️ Poet. 📚 Sunrise and sunset enthusiast. 🌅 Always on the look out for nature snacks while hiking. 🥾 Living and learning on Indigenous lands 💚 #YouAreOnNativeLand
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If you, like many of us, are uncomfortable with Thanksgiving, you will understand why today is also designated as a Day of Mourning.
Them Magazine has compiled some activists you can follow!
Hope everyone gets to take this weekend to do some reflection, spend time with loved ones, and relax.
Them Magazine has compiled some activists you can follow!
Hope everyone gets to take this weekend to do some reflection, spend time with loved ones, and relax.
Did you know that today is also Day of Mourning?
Become an ally to our indigenous and two-spirit siblings!
Become an ally to our indigenous and two-spirit siblings!
8 Two-Spirit Artists, Activists, and Healers To Follow Right Now
Looking to learn more about Land Back, water protectors, and the fight for Native sovereignty? These creators can show you the way.
www.them.us
November 27, 2025 at 9:40 PM
If you, like many of us, are uncomfortable with Thanksgiving, you will understand why today is also designated as a Day of Mourning.
Them Magazine has compiled some activists you can follow!
Hope everyone gets to take this weekend to do some reflection, spend time with loved ones, and relax.
Them Magazine has compiled some activists you can follow!
Hope everyone gets to take this weekend to do some reflection, spend time with loved ones, and relax.
Reposted by The Trowel and Pen
“The Invention of Thanksgiving,” @smithsoniannmai exhibit “Americans,” curator Paul Chaat Smith (Comanche)
“We’re in your head, your pantry, your garage,” the land we walk and live on, and call “ours,” the gardens we garden, the foods we harvest, the seeds we plant. 🌱 Part 2 in comments!
“We’re in your head, your pantry, your garage,” the land we walk and live on, and call “ours,” the gardens we garden, the foods we harvest, the seeds we plant. 🌱 Part 2 in comments!
November 27, 2025 at 9:35 PM
“The Invention of Thanksgiving,” @smithsoniannmai exhibit “Americans,” curator Paul Chaat Smith (Comanche)
“We’re in your head, your pantry, your garage,” the land we walk and live on, and call “ours,” the gardens we garden, the foods we harvest, the seeds we plant. 🌱 Part 2 in comments!
“We’re in your head, your pantry, your garage,” the land we walk and live on, and call “ours,” the gardens we garden, the foods we harvest, the seeds we plant. 🌱 Part 2 in comments!
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Thou shalt remove all the pedophiles from thy government. Seriously humans, it’s such a low bar to clear.
November 12, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Thou shalt remove all the pedophiles from thy government. Seriously humans, it’s such a low bar to clear.
I really don't understand how Fox News and the rest can spin this one.
(No, that's not a challenge or request. I don't actually care enough to look it up. Just baffled about MAGA gullibility again.)
(No, that's not a challenge or request. I don't actually care enough to look it up. Just baffled about MAGA gullibility again.)
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on a request from the Trump administration to keep blocking states from providing full SNAP benefits.
Beneficiaries in some states, including Oregon, have received their full monthly allocations while in others, they have received nothing.
Beneficiaries in some states, including Oregon, have received their full monthly allocations while in others, they have received nothing.
The Supreme Court is expected to say whether full SNAP food payments can resume
The Supreme Court is expected to rule Tuesday on a request from President Donald Trump’s administration to keep blocking states from providing full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, arguing the money might be needed elsewhere.
www.opb.org
November 11, 2025 at 8:10 PM
I really don't understand how Fox News and the rest can spin this one.
(No, that's not a challenge or request. I don't actually care enough to look it up. Just baffled about MAGA gullibility again.)
(No, that's not a challenge or request. I don't actually care enough to look it up. Just baffled about MAGA gullibility again.)
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I want to thank all the veterans who have served this country, but especially the transgender veterans who served and still desire to serve in spite of being treated like 2nd class citizens by the very country they defend. Thank you all for your service.
November 11, 2025 at 5:01 PM
I want to thank all the veterans who have served this country, but especially the transgender veterans who served and still desire to serve in spite of being treated like 2nd class citizens by the very country they defend. Thank you all for your service.
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🇺🇸 This #Veterans Day, honor our vets by sharing the facts. For many veterans, service doesn’t end when they come home. Veterans make up nearly 1 in 4 federal employees, and 15% of the National Park Service. The federal government is the largest employer of veterans in the country. #VeteransDay #NPS
November 11, 2025 at 5:43 PM
🇺🇸 This #Veterans Day, honor our vets by sharing the facts. For many veterans, service doesn’t end when they come home. Veterans make up nearly 1 in 4 federal employees, and 15% of the National Park Service. The federal government is the largest employer of veterans in the country. #VeteransDay #NPS
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Instead of funneling endless amounts of money into our bloated Pentagon budget while thousands of veterans face homelessness and hunger, let’s use those funds to truly take care of our veterans — ensuring every one has a home, food, and access to medical and mental health care.
November 11, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Instead of funneling endless amounts of money into our bloated Pentagon budget while thousands of veterans face homelessness and hunger, let’s use those funds to truly take care of our veterans — ensuring every one has a home, food, and access to medical and mental health care.
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🪖🎖️🩺 This week, 69 current Dept of Veterans Affairs (VA) physicians & ~100 other current/former VA staffers signed the Lincoln Declaration, voicing urgent concerns that Trump's policies undermine the VA’s health care system, overwhelm VA’s budget, & negatively affect the lives of all veterans
September 26, 2025 at 9:33 PM
🪖🎖️🩺 This week, 69 current Dept of Veterans Affairs (VA) physicians & ~100 other current/former VA staffers signed the Lincoln Declaration, voicing urgent concerns that Trump's policies undermine the VA’s health care system, overwhelm VA’s budget, & negatively affect the lives of all veterans
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Executing a RIF during a shutdown would violate the Anti-Deficiency Act, as stated here by Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va
Article contains an OMB memo expressing intent to do just that.
It’s not about saving money. They’ve spent billions paying people not to work
www.nextgov.com/people/2025/...
Article contains an OMB memo expressing intent to do just that.
It’s not about saving money. They’ve spent billions paying people not to work
www.nextgov.com/people/2025/...
Connolly's successor, James Walkinshaw, looks to carry on his IT and workforce legacy
“A shutdown gives the Trump administration no new legal authority to fire federal workers or to conduct reductions in force,” Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., told Nextgov/FCW in response to the White Ho...
www.nextgov.com
September 27, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Executing a RIF during a shutdown would violate the Anti-Deficiency Act, as stated here by Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va
Article contains an OMB memo expressing intent to do just that.
It’s not about saving money. They’ve spent billions paying people not to work
www.nextgov.com/people/2025/...
Article contains an OMB memo expressing intent to do just that.
It’s not about saving money. They’ve spent billions paying people not to work
www.nextgov.com/people/2025/...
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LISTEN UP
Proud to be a feminist! What an answer from this young man.
September 27, 2025 at 2:16 PM
LISTEN UP
Little fact checking on some things I shared earlier. Still very very bad.
I'm seeing a lot of big accounts missing the mark on this story. HHS through BARDA is cancelling contracts for mRNA vaccine research related to viral respiratory illnesses. This does not affect mRNA cancer research by NIH and Moderna.
It's still bad news but let's try to keep our facts straight.
It's still bad news but let's try to keep our facts straight.
August 6, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Little fact checking on some things I shared earlier. Still very very bad.
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THIS! Cutting federal jobs and federal-funded jobs hurts communities. These funding and employment cuts have widespread effects - that may come for your community, even if you don't realize it.
They lost their jobs and funding under Trump. What did communities lose?
We asked those affected by federal climate and environment cuts to reach out. Their stories illuminate how these losses are reverberating across the country.
grist.org/climate/trum...
#Jobs #Climate #Policy #Politics #DOGE
We asked those affected by federal climate and environment cuts to reach out. Their stories illuminate how these losses are reverberating across the country.
grist.org/climate/trum...
#Jobs #Climate #Policy #Politics #DOGE
They lost their jobs and funding under Trump. What did communities lose?
We asked those affected by federal climate and environment cuts to reach out. Their stories illuminate how these losses are reverberating across the country.
grist.org
August 6, 2025 at 12:47 AM
THIS! Cutting federal jobs and federal-funded jobs hurts communities. These funding and employment cuts have widespread effects - that may come for your community, even if you don't realize it.
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Climate disasters are killing small businesses\
Whether it’s hurricanes, wildfires, heat waves, or ice storms, small businesses are more vulnerable to climate shocks than larger businesses
grist.org/extreme-weat...
Whether it’s hurricanes, wildfires, heat waves, or ice storms, small businesses are more vulnerable to climate shocks than larger businesses
grist.org/extreme-weat...
Climate disasters are killing small businesses
Research shows 40% of small businesses do not reopen after a natural disaster and another 25% shutter within a year of the catastrophe.
grist.org
August 5, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Climate disasters are killing small businesses\
Whether it’s hurricanes, wildfires, heat waves, or ice storms, small businesses are more vulnerable to climate shocks than larger businesses
grist.org/extreme-weat...
Whether it’s hurricanes, wildfires, heat waves, or ice storms, small businesses are more vulnerable to climate shocks than larger businesses
grist.org/extreme-weat...
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Trump is upset about an abysmal jobs report, yet he cheers on DOGE as it slashes jobs and makes the lives of civil servants a living hell.
Do I have this right?
Do I have this right?
August 5, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Trump is upset about an abysmal jobs report, yet he cheers on DOGE as it slashes jobs and makes the lives of civil servants a living hell.
Do I have this right?
Do I have this right?
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💡New points for policymakers highlight the benefits of prescribed fire compared to mechanical thinning and potential applications to wildfire policy 🔥
Download the research brief with insights from Stanford scholars Makoto Kelp, Noah Diffenbaugh, and Marshall Burke: stanford.io/4mnek3h
Download the research brief with insights from Stanford scholars Makoto Kelp, Noah Diffenbaugh, and Marshall Burke: stanford.io/4mnek3h
August 5, 2025 at 11:54 PM
💡New points for policymakers highlight the benefits of prescribed fire compared to mechanical thinning and potential applications to wildfire policy 🔥
Download the research brief with insights from Stanford scholars Makoto Kelp, Noah Diffenbaugh, and Marshall Burke: stanford.io/4mnek3h
Download the research brief with insights from Stanford scholars Makoto Kelp, Noah Diffenbaugh, and Marshall Burke: stanford.io/4mnek3h
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RFK Jr. backs down all the time when he gets push back, so if anyone wants to call, here's the HHS number 1-877-696-6775.
I'd also call your senators/reps as well.
I'd also call your senators/reps as well.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces he will cancel $500 million in vaccine development projects.
August 5, 2025 at 11:00 PM
RFK Jr. backs down all the time when he gets push back, so if anyone wants to call, here's the HHS number 1-877-696-6775.
I'd also call your senators/reps as well.
I'd also call your senators/reps as well.
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Props to @blumenthal.senate.gov for finding the waste, fraud and abuse!
www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/pre...
www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/pre...
The $21.7 Billion Blunder: New PSI Report Reveals Billions in Taxpayer Dollars Squandered by DOGE | U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut
[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) released a Minority...
www.blumenthal.senate.gov
August 6, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Props to @blumenthal.senate.gov for finding the waste, fraud and abuse!
www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/pre...
www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/pre...
Stupid actions have stupid consequences
The National Weather Service has reportedly been given the OK to hire 450 new meteorologists, hydrologists and radar technicians following DOGE cuts.
www.forbes.com/sites/maryro...
www.forbes.com/sites/maryro...
National Weather Service To Fill 450 Positions After Firing 600, Report Says
Cuts to the federal weather forecasting agency have been criticized in the wake of a deadly flooding event in Texas, where local offices were understaffed.
www.forbes.com
August 6, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Stupid actions have stupid consequences
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I believe one of the new mRNA vaccines was expected to treat colon cancer, and another had the potential to keep pancreatic cancer from recurring. That’s what they’re taking away.
WHAT, WHAT, WHAT ARE WE DOING!!!
“Vaccine experts and people steeped in pandemic preparedness expressed horror at the news.” www.statnews.com/2025/08/05/m...
“Vaccine experts and people steeped in pandemic preparedness expressed horror at the news.” www.statnews.com/2025/08/05/m...
Health secretary RFK Jr. shuts door on U.S. investment in mRNA vaccine research
Vaccine experts and people steeped in pandemic preparedness expressed horror at the news that RFK Jr. has shut the door in U.S. investment in mRNA vaccine research.
www.statnews.com
August 6, 2025 at 12:02 AM
I believe one of the new mRNA vaccines was expected to treat colon cancer, and another had the potential to keep pancreatic cancer from recurring. That’s what they’re taking away.
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Well said, @voteannjohnson.bsky.social Love what the Texas Dems are doing to fight for our democracy.
August 6, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Well said, @voteannjohnson.bsky.social Love what the Texas Dems are doing to fight for our democracy.
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Thou Shalt Redact The Names of Epstein's Victims, Not His Accomplices.
August 6, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Thou Shalt Redact The Names of Epstein's Victims, Not His Accomplices.
That quote sums up the effect of Department of Government "Efficiency" across agencies. 😤
"There was a goal to 'to reach a specific threshold in cuts ... . But in practice it’s clear there was no intent for actual savings. The losses in services, and time wasted fixing systems because a critical purchase as small as a website certificate was held up was significant.'"
Thomas Shedd departs as Labor CIO
The longtime Tesla engineer appears to still be working at the General Services Administration, according to two employees, even as he leaves his post at the Labor Department.
www.nextgov.com
August 6, 2025 at 12:35 AM
That quote sums up the effect of Department of Government "Efficiency" across agencies. 😤
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This message is powerful.
Question for Mike Flood: With $450 million being allocated to Alligator Alcatraz, and ICE burning through $8.4 million a day to illegally detain people—How much does it cost for fascism? How much do the tax payers have to pay for a fascist country?
August 5, 2025 at 1:14 AM
This message is powerful.
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Imagine in another country a corrupt president was trying to change the election laws.
Then that president's political ally threatened to remove all the legislators of the other party to get it done.
That's what's happening in Texas right now.
Then that president's political ally threatened to remove all the legislators of the other party to get it done.
That's what's happening in Texas right now.
August 4, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Imagine in another country a corrupt president was trying to change the election laws.
Then that president's political ally threatened to remove all the legislators of the other party to get it done.
That's what's happening in Texas right now.
Then that president's political ally threatened to remove all the legislators of the other party to get it done.
That's what's happening in Texas right now.