Sarah Cardin
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sarahcardin.bsky.social
Sarah Cardin
@sarahcardin.bsky.social
510 followers 2K following 480 posts
Feral historian, recovering journalist, editor, concertina player, native plant gardener, cat mom, lesbian. (Very) minor goddess.

I'm crazy for volcanoes.

Banner: Aurora over Portland.

Avatar: Olive the Death Kitty

Mastodon: https://mas.to/@sarahc
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sarahcardin.bsky.social
Sad news.

I got my new issue of the New Yorker today & it was loaded with AI slop.
Part of the page of the New Yorker magazine showing a cartoon by Roz Chast. In the cartoon, a male street vendor is standing on the sidewalk under an umbrella. In front of him is a huge open pot of liquid labeled A.I. SLOP. The end of a giant ladle is resting on the lip of the pot, ready to dole the slop out to customers.
March 6, 2026 at 11:41 PM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
It's so considerate of ICE to run this public service announcement telling the resistance the best way to tie up maximum ICE resources.
An online ad for ICE recruitment showing a set of handcuffs and the headline: Number of law enforcement officers needed to arrest a criminal alien. The body of the administration shows that 8 to 10 officers are needed in 'Uncooperative Jurisdictions' versus 2 officers in 'Cooperative Jurisdictions.' The rest of the ad text is basically commentary on the main point.
October 4, 2025 at 6:22 PM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
Fixed your headline, Guardian:

Democrats accept shutdown to stop Republicans from making Trump's drastic health care cuts permanent

Democrats say Trump budget 'decimates' healthcare for 20 million Americans; Republicans falsely claim Dems will give federally paid healthcare to 'illegal aliens'
Side by side photos of Democratic and Republican Senate leaders. Both have a stern look on their face.
October 1, 2025 at 5:51 PM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
The average American has three friends.
The three Marx Brothers in a still from the film A Night in Casablanca: Groucho on left, Chico in the center, Harpo on the right. They are in a 1946 set designer's idea of an exotic Arabic room, with lots of pillows and fancy fabrics. They are sitting next to a large hookah & are sticking the hookah mouthpieces into their ears.
May 2, 2025 at 6:37 AM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
Rua pushes the boundaries of ear breathing.
Big orange Manx tabby laying on a dark blue bed pillow next to a window. Rua's body is pointing toward the camera, with his head facing down, buried in the pillow.
April 21, 2025 at 6:57 PM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
Despite what news coverage may make it seem, protest against the Trump regime is more widespread now than it was at the same point in Trump's first term. And the types of protests being used by regime opponents are far more diverse.

wagingnonviolence.org/2025/03/resi...
Graph showing the number of protest events that occurred over the first five weeks of Trump's first and second terms. By the end of the 5-week period, there were twice as many protests in 2025 as there were in 2017 (about 1300 protests per week in 2017 vs about 2800 protests per week in 2025).
March 19, 2025 at 6:48 PM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
For cats that often don't get along at all, this mob is surprisingly good at sharing my bed.
Three cats laying on a bed atop a multicolored Pendleton blanket. In front are Luna (a gray & black Maine Coon cat) and Rua (an orange tabby Manx). In back is Olive the Death Kitty (a black Manx). Only one tail among the three.
March 18, 2025 at 7:41 PM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
The red flowering currants in my native garden are starting to put out flowers. It's definitely looking like spring is arriving in Portland, Oregon.
Closeup of a cluster of flower buds hanging from the end of a green stem on a red flowering currant bush. More than a dozen long, egg-shaped buds are visible. Each bud is a reddish pink color.
March 2, 2025 at 12:04 AM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
Notice that these sentences are nowhere in Musk's post:

'Me and DOGE have totally f*cked up the FAA.'

'US skies are not safe right now.'

'If you come back, I promise you won't get fired on short (or no) reason without cause.'
Screenshot of post from Elon Musk on X. Text reads: There is a shortage of top notch air controllers. If you have retired, but are open to returning to work, please consider doing so.
February 27, 2025 at 9:00 PM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
If there's just one ray of sunshine on a rainy day, Rua will find it.
Orange Manx tabby cat happily sitting in the sunshine at the end of a bed. Rua's eyes are closed, and both of his front legs are hanging off the edge of the bed, almost crossed. The sunshine is making his orange fur glow in a nice contrast the the dark blue & green bedspread he's laying on.
February 24, 2025 at 8:55 PM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
Olive the Death Kitty says I can't move until she's done with me.
Very close-up photo of a black Manx cat that is sitting on her human's hip, with only part of her head and body visble. The cat's head is facing off to the left, but both big yellow eyes are looking directly at the viewer.
February 23, 2025 at 12:00 AM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
A panoramic view of part of the Presidents' Day protest in Portland, Oregon around a half hour in. I could see at least 5000 people fron where I was, and there were likely another thousand or two stretched out on the sides of streets adjacent to the 'official' protest site.
February 17, 2025 at 10:41 PM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
Noon Monday 2/17 . Portland, Oregon. The demo is just starting.
Hundreds of protesters across from City Hall in Portland,Oregon. The demo is just starting.
February 17, 2025 at 8:01 PM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
Sez Luna: I'm sure that Caturday thing is in here someplace.
Gray & black Manx tabby is trying to poke her head into the camera. Most of her head is visible, especially her nose and one yellow eye.
February 15, 2025 at 8:53 PM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
If it means getting to sleep on my warm spot, Olive the Death Kitty is willing to tolerate Rua's presence.
Two Manx cats asleep on a messy bed about 1 ft/03 m apart. The black cat (Olive) is on the left, leaning against a dark blue pillow. The orange tabby on the right (Rua) is smuggled in a white fleecy bed. A green plaid blanket marks the neutral zone between the two. No tails are involved.
February 13, 2025 at 11:13 PM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
Hey hoomin! I'm trying to sleep here, okay?
Orange Manx tabby cat is curled up on a brown cushion on a wooden chair. The cat's head is lifted slightly as he gives a reproachful look at the irritating human who insists on taking a photo.
February 12, 2025 at 10:53 PM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
Rua is considerably more cheerful than I am today.

Even half a bar of Blanxart milk chocolate didn't help. Me, not Rua.
Close-up of orange Manx tabby cat with head slightly tilted, looking up. Rua is definitely in a cheerful mood.
February 7, 2025 at 10:28 PM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
This is propaganda that Trump and Musk's apologists are writing to justify the coup against democracy. Its glorification of the Musk script kiddies now in control of many federal agencies is a pep talk for insiders and a tool for enticing new followers into the fold.

archive.ph/2025.02.07-1...
Screen shot of first page of a pro-coup propaganda piece on Substack. The main element is a largely monochrome graphic of (apparently) Trump in the Oval Office looking large and powerful. Headline: Inside the Revolution Rewiring American Power Large caption below graphic: The clock struck 2 AM on Jan 21, 2025.
February 7, 2025 at 8:00 PM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
Here's what happened in Oregon today, protest-wise.

(The photo shows the Portland protest I was at earlier.)

www.opb.org/article/2025...
Hundreds stand outside U.S. Senator Ron Wyden’s office in Portland, Ore., protesting the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s role in the White House, Feb. 5, 2025. Photo: Troy Brynelson / OPB
February 6, 2025 at 1:23 AM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
Bloomberg and other US media are reporting this with a straight face.
Screen shot of Bloomberg News story by Dana Hull, dated February 5, 2005. Headline: White House Says Musk Will Police His Own Conflicts of Interest First paragraph: The White House said Elon Musk, the billionaire leading President Donald Trump’s government cost-cutting efforts, will determine if there are conflicts of interest between his work reviewing federal spending and his overlapping empire of six companies.
February 5, 2025 at 10:26 PM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
A few of us in Portland went over to talk with staffers for Oregon's two US senators and the local US representative about what they're doing to stop the coup. One thing was clear: The pressure that people are putting on members of Congress is having an effect.

We need to keep it up!
February 5, 2025 at 9:55 PM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
Olive the Death Kitty is resting up in preparation for the oncoming battles.
Black Manx cat is laying in a white fleecy bed, asleep. The bed is surrounded by stacks of books, including Hitler's First Hundred Days, Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, and Life With the Enemy. Whatever happens, Death Kitty will be prepared.
January 28, 2025 at 8:27 PM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
Rua can't bear to look.
The front half of a big orange tabby cat laying belly-up on a bed. One front paw is reaching up toward the viewer; the other is draped across the cat's eyes, hiding most of his face.
January 28, 2025 at 7:29 AM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
Someone is crowdsourcing reports of ICE activity.

padlet.com/PeopleoverPa...
Scrernshot of Google Msps showing reported ICE activity in all 50 US states and Puerto Rico. The map is very crowded.
January 28, 2025 at 6:53 AM
sarahcardin.bsky.social
Rua appears to have forgiven me for that mess of hairball gunk I smeared all over his front legs about a half hour ago.
Close-up of an orange Manx tabby cat that's laying on a bed, head resting on an open paperback book. The cat is looking up at the camera with a look that says 'No morevof thatvicky stuff, please.'
January 25, 2025 at 12:58 AM