Matt Kracht - Author

With gravest sincerity,
Matthew Kracht
United States Citizen and Voter

do not give them a moment's peace, a cordial lunch, or even a friendly smile in the hallway again. Not until democracy and the rule of law have been re-established, and those who have attacked it have been held accountable by the rule of law that the rest of us are bound to follow.

So, do the job you swore an oath to do. Do whatever it takes to convince your colleagues, on both side of the aisle to do it, too. And for those who can't do it or won't do it,

and any of your Republican colleagues, if there are any, who still retain a shred of honor or humanity large enough to be convinced or shamed by you into showing the spine to do the RIGHT thing now, before none of us can any more. I fear that day is nearly here.

Honestly, I and many Americans feel let down by our elected officials. We demand action. Real, meaningful, and effective action on the part of you and your Democratic colleagues,

That is what we need from you right this minute, but that in itself is not nearly enough.

We The People hired you. We hired all of you, to protect us from the very kind of lawless horror that we are now witnessing on a daily basis.

I am BEGGING you as a fellow human being, and I am DEMANDING of you as a voter who helped elect you to your office: You MUST not only vote against this funding bill, but do everything within your power to reason, shame, or cajole, EVERY other Democratic senator to vote against it, too.

un-constitutional, blatantly racist and lawless attacks on our nation's residents is beyond naive; it is the equivalent of believing that more training and money for the Gestapo would have made things better for German Jews in the 1930s.

And I cannot even begin to fathom how any sane person could believe a word coming from ranking DHS officials or the administration at this point. It should be obvious that approving more funding and more training for ICE in the hope that it will somehow curtail their immoral, un-American,

ICE alone already has a larger budget than many national militaries in the world. (In 2025, ICE's budget alone was comparable to Canada's military.) This surely does not represent the will of the majority of people who voted these Democrats into office.

As horrible as it is to watch this play out, day after day after day, in front of us as a nation, I am further hurt and offended as a lifelong Democrat to watch our party betray its own principals in the House with SEVEN Democratic Representatives voting in favor of ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR DHS & ICE.

agents who are increasingly emboldened by the LACK OF ANY MEANINGFUL ACTION BY OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO STOP THEM or hold them accountable for their criminal assault on our residents and communities.

is publicly murdered by DHS agents with impunity, & our civil and legal rights continue to be trampled by an increasingly violent force of federal "law enforcement officers" (I use the quotes because, to date, ICE seems only to be in the business of breaking laws and enforcing presidential will),

Public Murders by Federal Agents, and Funding for ICE/DHS (an open letter )
Dear Senators @murray.senate.gov & @cantwell.senate.gov,

I am a writer by trade, but words cannot adequately express my white-hot anger, my shaking outrage, and my utter disgust as yet ANOTHER U.S. citizen

So glad my words can give you a brief reprieve from the horror…

“A Dumb Birds Field Guide to the Worst Birds Ever” by Matt Kracht.

First book of 2026 was a Christmas gift from my wife.

I tried a little amateur birding last year and had a ton of fun with it on a trip to Maine with friends (to the extent that I became the “bird guy”).

So this comical book about birdwatching by @mattkracht.bsky.social was a fun read.

Good news, @grantjewett.bsky.social, you could be even more of an expert if you read my other two bird books, but buckle up, because you’re going to hear some things about Cardinals & hummingbirds…

Hahahah

Wow, that monstrosity really does look like it could pierce your skull—what kind of person puts a thing like that in a dentist’s office?

But, no, I didn’t name it. If I’m responsible in any way, it’s only as an inspiration. I’m proud of your friend, though.

Like Cinclus mexicanus, I dip in and out. What’s your question?

They always think they’re clever, but they never are.

Clark’s nutcracker: What’s in a name? — Matt Kracht Author A reader asked me why I haven't included the Clark's Nutcracker in my Field Guides. The truth is that I had planned to, but I removed it prior to publishing because of who the bird was named for…

www.mattkracht.com/blog/clarks-...

Screen capture of comment in author’s blog post. Post text here: https://www.mattkracht.com/blog/clarks-nutcracker-whats-in-a-name

Screen capture of comment in author’s blog post. Post text here: https://www.mattkracht.com/blog/clarks-nutcracker-whats-in-a-name

Screen capture of comment in author’s blog post. Post text here: https://www.mattkracht.com/blog/clarks-nutcracker-whats-in-a-name

Well, I guess I’m officially woke, because the trolls have arrived… years ago I wrote a blog post about the Wilson’s Warbler and its problematic namesake. (Link to the post in comments, if you care)

The Psychology of Trolling a Tyrant: Why Gavin Newsom Has Trump’s Number The Psy-Ops Playbook Newsom Uses to Slip Into Trump’s Head and Rattle Him From the Inside Out

Give a shit about how Democrats can actually fight Trump and win? Read this excellent piece by @therealjackhopkins.bsky.social and get yourself okay with imperfection.

open.substack.com/pub/thejackh...

Congresswoman tracks down U.S. citizen children detained at Ferndale facility The kids and their mother have been held at the facility for nearly two weeks without any contact with legal representation or charges being filed, their lawyer says.

I think a lot of us (white people) in the PNW think we’re insulated from this monster’s inhumane & blatantly unconstitutional policies because we’re safely tucked in blue country. But we’re not. WAKE THE FUCK UP.

amp.bellinghamherald.com/news/politic...

Yeah, this resonates.

I haven’t seen nearly enough people talking about this.

The levels of greed and inhumane thinking on display is actually terrifying.

America really is dystopian as fuck.

White Friends, You Can't Be Woke and Silent In my travels around this country, both in person and online, I meet lots of white people who fancy themselves woke.

“Too many people seemingly waiting for a future moment they will step fully into the fray, take ownership of their convictions, and sustain the collateral damage of pushing back against the wall-builders and the book-banners.”

open.substack.com/pub/johnpavl...

Thank you for sharing this with me - I’m so glad to hear that, in some small way, my words offered a little bit of levity. Warm thoughts and wishing your family peace in this time.

Full page photo of the author in the Bend Bulletin Newspaper

Photo of event information: birder and Author Matt Kracht visits Roundabout Books. 6:30pm Thursday. 900 NW Mt. Washington Drive, Bend, Oregon. Cost: $5 or purchase of book. Contact: roundaboutbookshop.com or 541-306-6564

In #Bend #Oregon tonight? Come hear me swear about birds. According to the Bend Bulletin, I’m kind of a big deal…