Jess
@jessbetten.bsky.social
Cats-in-bow ties enthusiast, beginning knitter, Public Defender, Red Sox fan, and native masshole now residing in enemy territory.
Nothing here is legal advice or even necessarily good advice.
Follow for rage, cats, and snark
Pronouns: she/her
Nothing here is legal advice or even necessarily good advice.
Follow for rage, cats, and snark
Pronouns: she/her
Pinned
Jess
@jessbetten.bsky.social
· Apr 17
Before that, it was their 2015 exposé on the NYPD's Scruff McGruff expenditures.
McGruff the Crime Dog among questionable expenditures
McGruff the Crime Dog has taken a bite out of the NYPD’s budget: The department has dropped more than $13,500 on eight McGruff costumes in just one of several unusual purchases in recent years. The…
nypost.com
I need to point out that as NYC is looking for savings in the current budget season, that NYPD past spending has included:
$13,500 on scruff costumes
$13,000 on shrooms
$500,000 on robots
$69,000 on shoe shine machines
Not to mention
$205,631,253 in police misconduct settlements in 2024 ALONE
$13,500 on scruff costumes
$13,000 on shrooms
$500,000 on robots
$69,000 on shoe shine machines
Not to mention
$205,631,253 in police misconduct settlements in 2024 ALONE
Reposted by Jess
Heartbreaking 💔
Children scream while masked ICE goons kidnap their families in broad daylight in Harrison, New Jersey.
Children scream while masked ICE goons kidnap their families in broad daylight in Harrison, New Jersey.
October 8, 2026 at 10:38 AM
Heartbreaking 💔
Children scream while masked ICE goons kidnap their families in broad daylight in Harrison, New Jersey.
Children scream while masked ICE goons kidnap their families in broad daylight in Harrison, New Jersey.
And this is someone whose salary is higher than most of us will ever make.
And health insurance. Still. an. Issue.
We could just use our money to pay for healthcare rather than bombs.
And health insurance. Still. an. Issue.
We could just use our money to pay for healthcare rather than bombs.
⚾️ Jake Bauers of the Milwaukee Brewers says he decided not to retire because his wife was pregnant and they needed health insurance.
In the richest country in the world.
It doesn’t have to be like this. #MedicareForAllNOW
In the richest country in the world.
It doesn’t have to be like this. #MedicareForAllNOW
October 8, 2026 at 1:07 PM
And this is someone whose salary is higher than most of us will ever make.
And health insurance. Still. an. Issue.
We could just use our money to pay for healthcare rather than bombs.
And health insurance. Still. an. Issue.
We could just use our money to pay for healthcare rather than bombs.
Reposted by Jess
Harvard just dropped a study AI productivity in software engineering and it found the average increase in productivity from using Claude code is.....zero and for exactly the reasons you'd think
fion.ac/jellyfish.pdf
fion.ac/jellyfish.pdf
October 8, 2026 at 1:18 AM
Harvard just dropped a study AI productivity in software engineering and it found the average increase in productivity from using Claude code is.....zero and for exactly the reasons you'd think
fion.ac/jellyfish.pdf
fion.ac/jellyfish.pdf
Reposted by Jess
Phone Chomsavanh was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and lived in the US for four decades. He'd never been to Laos, but that was the "home" country he thought he'd be deported to when ICE grabbed him at his place in Florida in June 2025.
That is not what happened.
prospect.org/2026/10/07/t...
That is not what happened.
prospect.org/2026/10/07/t...
Third-Country National Stuck in Airport for Days After Release From African Prison - The American Prospect
Finally out of the prison Trump expelled him to, Phone Chomsavanh’s fight for freedom hit one more snag.
prospect.org
October 7, 2026 at 8:56 PM
Phone Chomsavanh was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and lived in the US for four decades. He'd never been to Laos, but that was the "home" country he thought he'd be deported to when ICE grabbed him at his place in Florida in June 2025.
That is not what happened.
prospect.org/2026/10/07/t...
That is not what happened.
prospect.org/2026/10/07/t...
Reposted by Jess
My constituent Melanie from Chelsea was abducted by ICE, taken away from her young children–one with autism–& her husband.
She has lived lawfully in the U.S. for years and is being held by ICE with an active ear infection & denied access to her anti-anxiety medication.
She has lived lawfully in the U.S. for years and is being held by ICE with an active ear infection & denied access to her anti-anxiety medication.
ICE detains mother of two outside Boston Police Department following alleged shoplifting arrest
The agency and BPD say the woman had been detained for shoplifting. The family says it’s a misunderstanding, and she was helping shop for Uber Eats.
www.wgbh.org
October 7, 2026 at 10:03 PM
My constituent Melanie from Chelsea was abducted by ICE, taken away from her young children–one with autism–& her husband.
She has lived lawfully in the U.S. for years and is being held by ICE with an active ear infection & denied access to her anti-anxiety medication.
She has lived lawfully in the U.S. for years and is being held by ICE with an active ear infection & denied access to her anti-anxiety medication.
Reposted by Jess
I'm familiar with a lot of techniques to repress protest. This is the first time I have heard of this.
Border Patrol is forcing a land defender to breath truck exhaust.
Border Patrol is forcing a land defender to breath truck exhaust.
🚨 Latest from the border wall blockade: tree sit is still up, one land defender is locked down to machinery, Border Patrol has wrapped a Mylar blanket around them and is running the truck and pumping the blanket full of exhaust to try to gas them out, potentially killing them.
October 8, 2026 at 4:40 AM
I'm familiar with a lot of techniques to repress protest. This is the first time I have heard of this.
Border Patrol is forcing a land defender to breath truck exhaust.
Border Patrol is forcing a land defender to breath truck exhaust.
Reposted by Jess
How do I get a job chaperoning orphaned kittens on a field trip to the aquarium
Orphaned kittens meet sharks and stingrays on an aquarium field trip at the Mall of America
Rescue kittens with names like Turkey Leg and Mouth Trap got to explore the aquarium at the Mall of America in Minnesota, watching in awe as fish soared by just out of reach.
apnews.com
October 7, 2026 at 10:56 PM
How do I get a job chaperoning orphaned kittens on a field trip to the aquarium
Reposted by Jess
October 7, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Reposted by Jess
WHOA. This is big news.
Mr. Soliman is a 31-year-old gay man from Egypt who came here at 3 with a green card. He lost his green card after a conviction, but an immigration judge found that he would be persecuted in Egypt and barred sending him there. He's locked in a hotel in Equatorial Guinea now.
Mr. Soliman is a 31-year-old gay man from Egypt who came here at 3 with a green card. He lost his green card after a conviction, but an immigration judge found that he would be persecuted in Egypt and barred sending him there. He's locked in a hotel in Equatorial Guinea now.
October 8, 2026 at 2:42 AM
WHOA. This is big news.
Mr. Soliman is a 31-year-old gay man from Egypt who came here at 3 with a green card. He lost his green card after a conviction, but an immigration judge found that he would be persecuted in Egypt and barred sending him there. He's locked in a hotel in Equatorial Guinea now.
Mr. Soliman is a 31-year-old gay man from Egypt who came here at 3 with a green card. He lost his green card after a conviction, but an immigration judge found that he would be persecuted in Egypt and barred sending him there. He's locked in a hotel in Equatorial Guinea now.
It must be possible
to hold in your heart the pain and fear and terror so many Israelis lived on Oct. 7 and long after
and
to hold in your heart the pain and fear and terror and genocide of so many Palestinians
and to know that your heart can break in so very many ways for futures stolen by hate
to hold in your heart the pain and fear and terror so many Israelis lived on Oct. 7 and long after
and
to hold in your heart the pain and fear and terror and genocide of so many Palestinians
and to know that your heart can break in so very many ways for futures stolen by hate
October 8, 2026 at 3:21 AM
It must be possible
to hold in your heart the pain and fear and terror so many Israelis lived on Oct. 7 and long after
and
to hold in your heart the pain and fear and terror and genocide of so many Palestinians
and to know that your heart can break in so very many ways for futures stolen by hate
to hold in your heart the pain and fear and terror so many Israelis lived on Oct. 7 and long after
and
to hold in your heart the pain and fear and terror and genocide of so many Palestinians
and to know that your heart can break in so very many ways for futures stolen by hate
Reposted by Jess
What he means is people who are non straight white men with money who think like him.
Honestly if you’re going to be racist and xenophobic and homophobic and transphobic and classist this blatantly
at least just fucking say your facist bullshit clearly rather than awkwardly.
Also, this is not ok.
Honestly if you’re going to be racist and xenophobic and homophobic and transphobic and classist this blatantly
at least just fucking say your facist bullshit clearly rather than awkwardly.
Also, this is not ok.
Trump: "When the blues get in, everything becomes dirty. The streets are dirty. The doorknobs going into stores are dirty. The sidewalks are filthy dirty. Everything becomes dirty and has a bad smell. But we're gonna escape all that lawlessness and corruption ... "
October 8, 2026 at 2:30 AM
What he means is people who are non straight white men with money who think like him.
Honestly if you’re going to be racist and xenophobic and homophobic and transphobic and classist this blatantly
at least just fucking say your facist bullshit clearly rather than awkwardly.
Also, this is not ok.
Honestly if you’re going to be racist and xenophobic and homophobic and transphobic and classist this blatantly
at least just fucking say your facist bullshit clearly rather than awkwardly.
Also, this is not ok.
Reposted by Jess
I LOVE how @propublica.org dealt with official comment here, editorially and stylistically.
October 6, 2026 at 1:39 PM
I LOVE how @propublica.org dealt with official comment here, editorially and stylistically.
🔥🔥🔥🔥
October 6, 2026 at 1:28 AM
🔥🔥🔥🔥
Reposted by Jess
If you’re arresting a Jewish 94-year-old human rights lawyer for peacefully protesting, you’re on the wrong side of history.
www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10...
www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10...
‘I’m rather proud’: Barrister, 94, arrested for supporting Palestine Action
Margaret Owen OBE, a celebrated human rights lawyer and friend of Ed Miliband’s late mother, talks to Al Jazeera.
www.aljazeera.com
October 5, 2026 at 4:33 PM
If you’re arresting a Jewish 94-year-old human rights lawyer for peacefully protesting, you’re on the wrong side of history.
www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10...
www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10...
Reposted by Jess
[car dealership waiting room]
Me: [chanting] knobs, knobs-
Other car buyers: knobs, KNOBS
Car salesman: [pounding desk] KNOBS, KNOBS, KNOBS!
Me: [chanting] knobs, knobs-
Other car buyers: knobs, KNOBS
Car salesman: [pounding desk] KNOBS, KNOBS, KNOBS!
Knobs Returning To Some Automakers’ Vehicles, To The Relief Of Many
Auto companies are listening to the complaints of consumers, who want their knobs and buttons back.
www.forbes.com
October 5, 2026 at 7:45 PM
[car dealership waiting room]
Me: [chanting] knobs, knobs-
Other car buyers: knobs, KNOBS
Car salesman: [pounding desk] KNOBS, KNOBS, KNOBS!
Me: [chanting] knobs, knobs-
Other car buyers: knobs, KNOBS
Car salesman: [pounding desk] KNOBS, KNOBS, KNOBS!
Do not plan your vigilante potluck on the internet. Makes it too easy for cops.
But otherwise, no notes.
But otherwise, no notes.
This gets my vote for the best thing I've seen on the Internet today:
October 6, 2026 at 1:13 AM
Do not plan your vigilante potluck on the internet. Makes it too easy for cops.
But otherwise, no notes.
But otherwise, no notes.
Reposted by Jess
Being a prison abolitionist and/or wanting to see an expansion of restorative justice practices in an overly carceral country does not mean you need to be a rape apologist or attack survivors who come forward. Indeed, you should not do either of those things.
October 3, 2026 at 7:17 PM
Being a prison abolitionist and/or wanting to see an expansion of restorative justice practices in an overly carceral country does not mean you need to be a rape apologist or attack survivors who come forward. Indeed, you should not do either of those things.
how is it that the federal
govt keeps getting hacked but it’s never to erase student loan debt?
govt keeps getting hacked but it’s never to erase student loan debt?
October 2, 2026 at 6:30 PM
how is it that the federal
govt keeps getting hacked but it’s never to erase student loan debt?
govt keeps getting hacked but it’s never to erase student loan debt?
Reposted by Jess
Neiman Marcus closed its downtown Dallas flagship on Wednesday. The store played a notable role in the history of desegregation in Dallas.
Previously, Black shoppers across the US could enter department stores, but they weren't allowed to try on clothes without adhering to certain conditions. 🧵
Previously, Black shoppers across the US could enter department stores, but they weren't allowed to try on clothes without adhering to certain conditions. 🧵
October 2, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Neiman Marcus closed its downtown Dallas flagship on Wednesday. The store played a notable role in the history of desegregation in Dallas.
Previously, Black shoppers across the US could enter department stores, but they weren't allowed to try on clothes without adhering to certain conditions. 🧵
Previously, Black shoppers across the US could enter department stores, but they weren't allowed to try on clothes without adhering to certain conditions. 🧵
Reposted by Jess
Yall wanna see a 2 hour old highland cow
October 1, 2026 at 10:29 PM
Yall wanna see a 2 hour old highland cow
Reposted by Jess
This is the most heartbreaking stories I’ve heard in a long time.
ICE detained 2-year-old Orlin Hernandez Reyes’ mother. She begged to be reunited with him before deportation. ICE refused.
What happened next is horrific.
No matter how you feel about immigration, normal people don’t like cruelty.
ICE detained 2-year-old Orlin Hernandez Reyes’ mother. She begged to be reunited with him before deportation. ICE refused.
What happened next is horrific.
No matter how you feel about immigration, normal people don’t like cruelty.
October 1, 2026 at 9:16 PM
This is the most heartbreaking stories I’ve heard in a long time.
ICE detained 2-year-old Orlin Hernandez Reyes’ mother. She begged to be reunited with him before deportation. ICE refused.
What happened next is horrific.
No matter how you feel about immigration, normal people don’t like cruelty.
ICE detained 2-year-old Orlin Hernandez Reyes’ mother. She begged to be reunited with him before deportation. ICE refused.
What happened next is horrific.
No matter how you feel about immigration, normal people don’t like cruelty.
This is not how you treat workers if you have any kind of empathy or ethics.
Yesterday was the final day of employment for eight laid-off union workers at Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE). This is how they were informed:
October 2, 2026 at 1:39 AM
This is not how you treat workers if you have any kind of empathy or ethics.
Reposted by Jess
We are beyond thrilled to share that the @freedom.press has published a piece in @theintercept.com about this ridiculous fee for two records requests.
Please give it a read and give us a follow to show your support ⤵️
Please give it a read and give us a follow to show your support ⤵️
October 1, 2026 at 10:13 PM
We are beyond thrilled to share that the @freedom.press has published a piece in @theintercept.com about this ridiculous fee for two records requests.
Please give it a read and give us a follow to show your support ⤵️
Please give it a read and give us a follow to show your support ⤵️