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Katherine D. Johnston

@katherinejohnston

Assistant Professor English, Writing, and Rhetoric at SUNY Stony Brook. Contemporary American Literature, Surveillance Studies https://uipress.uiowa.edu/books/profiles-and-plotlines

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Latest posts by Katherine D. Johnston @katherinejohnston

This cannot be something a civilian law enforcement agent is allowed to wear in the US β€” and an agency that has a culture that tolerates this cannot be saved.

04.02.2026 00:53 πŸ‘ 10532 πŸ” 3040 πŸ’¬ 269 πŸ“Œ 82

When I teach Vietnam, I explain that opposition to the war really grew in fits and starts. Some big rallies and visible protests, but also a steady stream of celebrities and ordinary folks breaking with their priors and taking a new stand.

This last month, this last week, feels like a real shift.

26.01.2026 22:20 πŸ‘ 3774 πŸ” 561 πŸ’¬ 125 πŸ“Œ 22
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ICE watchers in Maine say they were threatened by federal agents Community members have been monitoring the activity of immigration agents in Greater Portland.

ICE is changing tactics in Maine: "Now, the volunteers in Maine say federal agents have started showing up at their homes and intimidating them or threatening arrest. Some of them, masked and wearing tactical gear, have issued stark warnings not to follow them." www.pressherald.com/2026/01/23/i...

26.01.2026 23:06 πŸ‘ 4664 πŸ” 2508 πŸ’¬ 166 πŸ“Œ 281

Exactly right.

Bovino's leaving? Great, get Noem to resign.

Noem resigns? Great, defund and dismantle ICE.

Go after Stephen Miller too. Bring charges against ICE thugs at the state and local level. Lawsuits. New state laws restricting them.

Every possible angle.

27.01.2026 00:13 πŸ‘ 19736 πŸ” 5013 πŸ’¬ 423 πŸ“Œ 187

The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced the Democrats have to push their hand immediately. The parallels with the delays and subsequent failures after January 6th are blaring warning signs about what will happen if they don’t go after the issues with ICE and CBP at the root RIGHT NOW.

26.01.2026 23:35 πŸ‘ 7401 πŸ” 1765 πŸ’¬ 125 πŸ“Œ 133

So important. What they say is not the story. That is never the story. What happened is the story. Write what happened.

25.01.2026 00:05 πŸ‘ 8895 πŸ” 2799 πŸ’¬ 92 πŸ“Œ 112

Masked government agents are conducting β€œshow me your papers” stops, detaining 5-year-olds to use them as bait, and brutally murdering U.S. citizens.

Call it what it is β€” fascism.

History will not look fondly on politicians and so-called "leaders" of this country who stood by and enabled this.

25.01.2026 01:24 πŸ‘ 7418 πŸ” 2076 πŸ’¬ 236 πŸ“Œ 77

β€œWhat does responsibility look like when technology simulates care, performs intimacy, and is actively reshaping how young people think, feel, and relate?”

Thoughtful questions and insights from @mila-quebec.bsky.social AI Policy Fellow, Helen A. Hayes.

22.01.2026 12:25 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

ICE kidnapped a 5-year-old and sent him alone to a facility in Texas. Hell isn't hot enough.

21.01.2026 23:14 πŸ‘ 9092 πŸ” 3344 πŸ’¬ 172 πŸ“Œ 193

His name is Liam Ramos, and he is 5. He was abducted from Minneapolis and trafficked to a detention camp in Texas.

21.01.2026 23:27 πŸ‘ 7319 πŸ” 3938 πŸ’¬ 238 πŸ“Œ 1
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Minnesota: "School officials say the [5-year-old] child was used as bait. They say [ICE] agents made little Liam knock on the door to ask to be let in in order to see if anyone else was home."

22.01.2026 00:05 πŸ‘ 15571 πŸ” 8597 πŸ’¬ 713 πŸ“Œ 1967

Absolute monsters.

Abolish ICE.

Prosecute them.

Sue them.

Never forget what they've done and continue to do to people.

22.01.2026 00:17 πŸ‘ 149 πŸ” 53 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
Trump’s Year of Anarchy The unconstrained presidency and the end of American primacy.

Academic Dean @dandrezner.bsky.social co-authors a piece for @foreignaffairs.com titled "Trump’s Year of Anarchy: The Unconstrained Presidency and the End of American Primacy." @profsaunders.bsky.social

www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

20.01.2026 21:50 πŸ‘ 39 πŸ” 13 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 1
This line graph illustrates the percentage change in agency staff levels from the previous year for nine major U.S. federal scientific and health organizations between the fiscal years 2016 and 2025. The agencies tracked include the CDC, Department of Energy, EPA, FDA, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, and NSF. For the majority of the timeline between 2016 and 2023, the agencies show relatively stable fluctuations, generally staying within a range of +5% to -5% change per year. However, there is a dramatic and uniform plummet starting in the 2024–25 period. Every agency depicted shows a sharp downward trajectory, with staffing losses ranging from approximately -15% to over -25%. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the most significant decline, dropping to roughly -26%, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows the least severe but still substantial drop at approximately -15%.

This line graph illustrates the percentage change in agency staff levels from the previous year for nine major U.S. federal scientific and health organizations between the fiscal years 2016 and 2025. The agencies tracked include the CDC, Department of Energy, EPA, FDA, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, and NSF. For the majority of the timeline between 2016 and 2023, the agencies show relatively stable fluctuations, generally staying within a range of +5% to -5% change per year. However, there is a dramatic and uniform plummet starting in the 2024–25 period. Every agency depicted shows a sharp downward trajectory, with staffing losses ranging from approximately -15% to over -25%. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the most significant decline, dropping to roughly -26%, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows the least severe but still substantial drop at approximately -15%.

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

20.01.2026 22:53 πŸ‘ 14450 πŸ” 8317 πŸ’¬ 90 πŸ“Œ 765

We cannot normalize this federal occupation of Minneapolis.

It is not normal to watch people abducted in front of our eyesβ€”dragged from car windows, pulled from their homes, and children left without parents.

This is not about immigration. It’s about unchecked cruelty.

20.01.2026 18:16 πŸ‘ 7884 πŸ” 1918 πŸ’¬ 195 πŸ“Œ 59
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Academics Must Seize the Means of Knowledge Production - Public Books Trumpism has canceled the knowledge society.

www.publicbooks.org/academics-mu...

18.01.2026 01:19 πŸ‘ 29 πŸ” 9 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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The mirage of AI deregulation One of the most interventionist approaches to technology governance in the United States in a generation has cloaked itself in the language of deregulation. In early December 2025, President Donald Tr...

🧡 Trump administration AI policy is widely described as deregulatory. This description is misleading. What's happening is not the absence of governance but its rearrangement--intensive state intervention operating through mechanisms we don't typically call regulation. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

15.01.2026 19:23 πŸ‘ 593 πŸ” 321 πŸ’¬ 9 πŸ“Œ 37

There is so much tear gas in the air it can be felt driving on the other side of highway 94 in Minneapolis - in your car.

15.01.2026 04:34 πŸ‘ 506 πŸ” 165 πŸ’¬ 8 πŸ“Œ 16

Non-protesting dad just trying to hustle his kids, as young as 6mo, out of the neighborhood. ICE threw a flash-bang INTO HIS car, all 6 kids in the hospital now.

If anyone wondered how things turn against occupying armies there's a case study playing out in front of you.

15.01.2026 04:27 πŸ‘ 17838 πŸ” 8370 πŸ’¬ 302 πŸ“Œ 490

my friend was maced by ICE agents outside of the coffee shop where I do my homework. she was just standing there filming them and they maced her directly in the eyes and fled the scene. our communities are being terrorized.

15.01.2026 02:17 πŸ‘ 3429 πŸ” 798 πŸ’¬ 17 πŸ“Œ 13
Statement by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell
Statement by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell YouTube video by Federal Reserve

Video message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...

12.01.2026 00:35 πŸ‘ 24036 πŸ” 9202 πŸ’¬ 1150 πŸ“Œ 2892

"The bad news: The crisis of the humanities has been revealed by the events of the last year to be a crisis of civil society writ large."

07.01.2026 00:55 πŸ‘ 15 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

It’s not about drugs. If it was, Trump wouldn’t have pardoned one of the largest narco traffickers in the world last month.

It’s about oil and regime change.

And they need a trial now to pretend that it isn’t. Especially to distract from his sinking under Epstein and skyrocketing healthcare costs.

03.01.2026 15:34 πŸ‘ 31705 πŸ” 8436 πŸ’¬ 1207 πŸ“Œ 382

If you are a resident of California, the state now has a portal where you can demand deletion of your personal data from 500+ registered data brokers with a single request form, for free.

consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov

02.01.2026 02:26 πŸ‘ 11740 πŸ” 5193 πŸ’¬ 277 πŸ“Œ 362
Preview
More than 20% of videos shown to new YouTube users are β€˜AI slop’, study finds Low-quality AI-generated content is now saturating social media – and generating about $117m a year, data shows

The combination of disinformation potential and environmental destruction of the spread of AI slop is just so deeply depressing. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

28.12.2025 13:10 πŸ‘ 155 πŸ” 39 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 3

PRIMARY THE DEM DEFECTORS.

10.11.2025 01:42 πŸ‘ 285 πŸ” 54 πŸ’¬ 10 πŸ“Œ 1

If Democrats get no concessions, then what they are doing is casting blame on themselves for the shutdown,

09.11.2025 20:55 πŸ‘ 790 πŸ” 172 πŸ’¬ 30 πŸ“Œ 24

The senate dems are about to embarrass themselves and us AGAIN! I hope these reports are not true.

09.11.2025 20:50 πŸ‘ 1749 πŸ” 242 πŸ’¬ 76 πŸ“Œ 8
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😍 Boston, you are beautiful. #NoKings

18.10.2025 17:22 πŸ‘ 51217 πŸ” 12373 πŸ’¬ 1031 πŸ“Œ 863